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Wednesday, May 27, 2020

a fun coloring technique to try the next time you make a card

Are you looking for a fun coloring technique to try next time you stamp & create a card? One of my favorite coloring techniques to use with stamps is selective coloring!
Selective coloring (or spotlight coloring) is as simple as just choosing part of a stamped image to add color to.

I love coloring just part of my image for a few reasons...

  • coloring a large image can feel overwhelming or be time-consuming so only having to tackle a small piece is awesome!
  • coloring just part of an image also let's me focus on practicing with a few colors of whatever medium I'm using like getting some extra practice with this Copic combo.
  • and it's just fun!
Sometimes I like to layer images and use the overlapping area as the place to add color. 

For this card, I stamped the blooms from the Sending Bunches Of Love with The Stamp Market's No-Line ink. I love the soft gray color of this ink for No-Line coloring but also just for stamping.

Next I stamped "LOVE" in black ink with the Chunky Outline Alpha over the top and used just a few Copic markers to color the flowers inside the letters.
To add "sending" I used some low-tack tape to mask part of the stamp. I inked with black ink, removed the tape and stamped in onto my card.



I hope you are inspired to try a little selective coloring if you haven't already!

Thanks for stopping by!

Carly

P.S. Here are a few more selective coloring ideas from past cards...
selective coloring with essentials by ellen stamps
spotlight coloring with neat & tangled
1 new honey bee stamp, 3 cards & bunches of talented makers


supplies:
affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. thank you!
The Stamp Market Inks No-Line & Black
Copic Markers RV52, RV55, BG11, BG34 & 100

Friday, May 22, 2020

creating a clear card with nuvo drops

Have you ever made a see through card? Acetate makes it really easy and I think adding Nuvo Drops makes it extra cool!
First let's chat about acetate for a second...

I've tried a handful of different acetates for creating clear & shaker cards and so far my favorite is the Essentials by Ellen Crystal Clear Plastic Sheets. It's comes in 8-1/2 x 11 sheets which is perfect for cutting into cards. The weight is also heavy enough to be a card base but not so heavy that you can't cut with a paper trimmer or die cuts. And it cuts cleanly, with no ragged edges, which not all acetate does.
To create this card, I used low-tack tape to mask off a rectangle on the front of my acetate card. Then I applied Nuvo Crystal Drops in a rainbow and spread them with a squeegee.

The Nuvo Crystal Drops are opaque on cardstock but are more transparent on the acetate. When I write a message on the inside of my card, it will show through just a bit creating a fun look!

You can see more about the making of this card in my quick video tutorial...


By the way...if you are here for Ardyth, Kathya & Jenny's celebration video hop, there are lots of great prizes so leave a comment on my YouTube video to be entered to win!

And you can find the whole hop list on Ardyth's blog.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Carly

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

rainbow word card with essentials by ellen

It seems that I never tire of creating handmade cards with rainbows! I love rainbow stamps, rainbow die cuts, rainbow colors of ink...the list could go on but this card didn't actually start with a rainbow product, it started with this rainbow saying.

Gratitude is always a good idea but lately the practice of "counting my rainbows" seems extra important. And I thought it would make an encouraging card saying, especially when paired with a unicorn!
To create the rainbow striped letters, I started by applying some Stick Adhesive to the back of piece of white cardstock. Stick It is great for making die cut "stickers" because it is extra thin and dies will still cut cleanly.

I die cut the adhesive backed cardstock with The Stamp Market's 1/8 Quick Strip die. All The Stamp Market's Quick Strip dies are super handy to have but if you don't have a die that cuts strips, you could also use your paper trimmer.
Next I used Copic Markers to color the strips.

Then I applied the strips onto a lightweight piece of printer paper in rainbow order. I used the printer paper as the base so it would still be easy to die cut through the stripes & their printer paper backer.

Aren't the rainbow striped letters cute?!

I die cut the rest of my letters from black cardstock and used a glue pen to adhere the saying to the front of a white card.

Finally I added a very simply colored little unicorn.

Hope your day is full of rainbows to count! Thanks so much for stopping by!
Carly


supplies:

Thursday, May 7, 2020

rainbow sentiment strip card

Do you ever sit down to create with absolutely no idea what you are going to make?
I sat down to play with no plan to create and ended up creating a rainbow of sentiment strips just for fun. 

Then I liked them all together so much, I created this card...
A little bit more about creating this card...

I didn't have the rainbow cardstock on hand that I wanted, so I cut the strips from white cardstock with The Stamp Market's 1/4" Quick Strip Die. I love this die for sentiment strips and easy stripes!

Then I colored the strips by just swiping my ink pads across them.
After the ink was dry, I stamped the little sentiments from The Stamp Market's Ton of Type set in clear embossing ink, added white embossing powder and heat set.

I adhered the rainbow strips onto a 4 x 5-1/4 piece of light blue cardstock. The cardstock is Bazzill's Icy Mint but I think it is the perfect light blue to pair with rainbow projects.
I trimmed the excess strips off and mounted the panel to a white card.

Finally I added the white "hello" die cut.
Hope your day has rainbow! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs!
Carly

supplies:

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

how to create an easy handmade card set with the stamp market

With Mother's Day coming up and social distancing still in effect, it's the perfect time to create & send the gift of a handmade card set!
Want to hear the story of how this set was made? Well I sat down with The Stamp Market's Sending Bunches Of Love stamp set and had so much fun creating, I ended up with a BUNCH of cards that coordinated.
I hadn't actually intended to make a set of cards to give as a gift but it just worked out! Here are a few easy things I did that made these cards the perfect set...
  • I used the same color palette on all my cards.
  • I also used the same stamp as a focal point on each card even though the card design & techniques varied.
  • I made some decorated envelopes by stamping the flowers on the flap of the envelopes.
  • And I bundled the cards & envelopes together! Easy peasy!
Here's a little bit more about each card...
This card uses one of my very favorite stamping techniques, faux watercolor. You ink your stamp with water-reactive inks and then mist with clean water before stamping onto watercolor cardstock. 

While the ink was wet, I used a paint brush to spread the color. And after it was dry, I put it back into my MISTI where the stamp was waiting, and I stamped the image again in Navy ink over the Bubble Gum.
These cards use the same faux watercolor technique but with more colors of ink. And only adding the Navy stamped-second layer on the second card.



You can see more about the faux watercolor technique in this video.
To create the easy color blocking on these cards, I used low-tack purple tape to mask off the top of each panel. I used blending brushes to create the color-blocked border and then I stamped the flowers and sentiments in Navy.
This card is just a little ink smooshing with Citrine ink and then the flowers stamped on top in Navy.

And finally this card couldn't be more simple! It's just the flowers stamped in Navy with a Tropic Teal watercolored sentiment strip.

Check out The Stamp Market's latest stamps & dies HERE and if you can, don't forget to support small business!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope you are staying safe & well!
Carly

supplies:
The Stamp Market Inks Bubble Gum, Coral Reef, Citrine, Tropic Teal & Navy
Bristol Cardstock
Blending Brushes
Light Mist Spray Bottle
Purple Tape
MISTI