#TRSSKETCHCHALLENGE07 - Just a Note

Well hello my "sketchy" friends!  I'm sharing my Three Room Studio Stamps Sketch Challenge card with you.  I'm sorry I posted my blog a couple days late, life happens, right?!!  For me it seems my health keeps getting in the way.  Be patient and hang with me!

The sketch challenge was actually last week at TRS.  I posted my card before the week was out, but am just now getting to my blog.  Here's a picture of the sketch we used to make our cards. 

As I contemplated my card design within these parameters, I was drawn to one of my favorite stamp sets, It's a Ponderful Life.  I just love the little frog stamp, so that's what I used for the centerpiece of my card.  Not just one frog, three frogs- because more is better, right?!  Here's a picture of my card and most of the items I used to color it. 

 First I die cut the panels that I would be using with my MFTs stitched rectangles dies.  I used #80 NSW for both the background and smaller frog panel.  The card base is #110 NSW, as is the "Just a Note" paper piece I cut by hand and colored with the Copic YR21 to match the card perfectly.

The background is made by ink blending Distress Oxide inks, beginning at the bottom with Evergreen Bough, then Broken China, and finally Salty Ocean at the top.  Leave plenty of room to overlap your colors for a smooth transition.  I then used my anti-static bag along where the horizontal line would be so that I would have a crisp embossing line once my panel was completely dry.  I generously used a small ink pad of Versamark directly to the paper while I held a sheet of copy paper in place for my line.  I then used Distress Embossing Glaze in Broken China to create a shiny, but darker side to the background panel (plus I just like to find ways to use the Distress Glaze, I love it!).  I then spattered lightly some Pearl Mica Spray by Wendy Vecchi.  

Next I went about coloring my three frogs that I stamped with my MISTI for perfect alignment.  I chose YR21, YG17 and BV04 as my mid-tone colors for the frogs, then used some lighter and darker tones of each to achieve some semblance of dimension.  I had a big Copic accident well into my coloring.  A big blob of green dropped onto the belly of my green frog.  So as you can see, that frog has spots!!  Luckily I was able to salvage the accident, though truly that frog looked better without the large spots.  I adhered my background panel to my white card base then used some foam tape to adhere my froggy panel.  I then stamped the sentiment on my prepared sentiment strip using the stamp set Simple Sentiments.  I used some snail adhesive on the back of the strip and a narrow strip of adhesive backed fun foam along the outside half of the sentiment strip so that it layed flat when placed along the edge of the frog panel.

That completes my card.  A pretty basic one this time.  In case you don't realize, these weekly challenges are not just for the Design Team, but for all fans of Three Room Studio.  So show off your stuff on Instagram using #trscardchallenge and on Facebook at Three Room Studio's Fourth Room.  We'd love to see your creations!  To see all my card creations, visit me on IG @jktaylor911.

Thank you for visiting my blog, I am truly grateful,

Jill ✂

TRS Instagram Hop - Fairy Love card

Hello my crafty friends!  I'm finally getting around to posting on my blog - for good reason, too.  Three Room Studio is hosting their first Instagram Hop on Saturday, April 25th.  If you are following along the hop, I'm sort of in the middle of the pack, after Sam- @samvandesigns.  I hope you are as blown away as I am not only on the fabulous stamps with this release, but the sheer talent in our group.  There are so many GREAT cards!!  The images are so great to color, which if you know me is sorta my jam.  My card could be viewed as a 2 for 1 deal.  The inside panel is just as nice as the outside panel and could be used for a card front by itself as well!  I didn't really intend on that when I started, it just sorta worked out that way.  Here is the front view of my card:

As you can see, this is a window card, but the window is open, no acetate.  So when you open the card it's the cute frog scene and a sentiment. 

Let's dive into how I made this card.  I started out with a standard A2 folded card base in Neenah Solar White and covered it with Altenew's Washi tape in Watercolor Nebula then die cut a square window in the front, with the card in landscape position.  The 2 stamp sets I used from this TRS new release were Believe in Fairies and It's a Ponderful Life.  I knew I wanted the fairy on the outside and the frog inside the window.  I decided the fairy would be made from 40 lb. vellum.  I first fussy cut her out, then I colored her from the back side first with Copic markers, then used some Prismacolor pencils on the front.  I felt like she needed to sparkle, so I used some Ranger Stickles Glitter Gel in Nebula on her wings, which caused them to curl forward just a bit when they dried.  I actually love that 3-D dimensional look. Then I used some liquid shimmer on her dress- Shimmer Stix by Imagine, which has like double the shimmer power of Wink of Stella.  I finished her off with a white colored pencil for highlighting. 

Next I created a stencil with the same square cut out of it.  I positioned it in the same place as the window, then temporarily adhered it to the inside panel.  First I stamped the frog, then masked him using Post it Notes with full adhesive.  Then I stamped the lily pad he was sitting on and masked that as well.  Then I lightly marked the water line and then did some ink blending with Distress Oxide inks for the water and sky.  I then stamped the background grass from the frog stamp set, using MFTS Hybrid ink.  I added lighter and darker tones to the grass with my Copic markers so the grass had some depth to it.  I uncovered my frog and lily pad and Copic colored them.  Next I stamped the foreground grass in a very dark grey color, again to make it feel closer to you and give the scene depth and dimension.  Finally I removed my stencil and I just loved my little scene!  

Next I went back to the front of the card, used some vellum tape to secure my fairy along the left border of the window.  Next I used my Embossing Buddy to remove any static from my card front, then stamped the sentiments in my MISTI with SSS white Pigment ink, followed by some Ranger embossing powder in Silver Pearl.  Next I stamped the star clusters in the same ink but used Ranger's Iridescent embossing powder on them, for a little sparkle!  Last, I finished off the inside panel with some cattails, small dragonflies and a sentiment (all from the 2 TRS stamp sets)..

I hope you like my card and are enjoying our IG Hop!  In fact, just hop on over to Kevin's post @kevinbray10 and see what card design he came up with.  If you like what you see, don't forget to stop by the store - Three Room Studio, I believe the stamp sets are available for purchase.  We also have a Facebook page called, Three Room Studio's Fourth Room.  There you can catch all the DT cards, the weekly challenges, and even post your own creations (we love that) or just post to IG at #trscardchallenge.

Thanks again for stopping by- be safe, be well, and happy crafting (a safe activity, yay!),

Jill ✂

TRS Coffee "Full set Syndrome."

Welcome to the new week and all the Coronavirus madness!  I hope you all are taking full advantage of this social isolation by digging into your crafting!  What better way to stay safe, right??  Well, I decided I was not happy with my previous coffee cards and wanted to redeem myself.  So I think I hit a home run, or at least close to it.  I combined stamp sets Awesome Coffee with Retail Therapy and came up with this:

Using my MISTI, I centered then stamped the coffee cup in front.  I then created a 2-piece mask with Mask It.  I probably could have made a single mask, but I was considering a pattern on the mugs.  An idea I later scrapped.  I masked over the full cup first, then stamped the cups on either side, moved the mask over to the second position and stamped the right outside cup, then moved the mask to the second position on the left, and stamped the last cup on the left.  Easy peasy! Once that was done I began my Copic coloring.  I first colored with 3 color family markers for the shading for each of the five cups.  After I colored the lids, I felt the shading was a bit understated.  So I added C3 and C5 to the cup's shaded areas (depending on the cup color).  I added a little white colored pencil details to the lids as well.  I then stamped and masked the coffee bean rings onto the cups with some MFTs Hybrid ink in Hot Fudge, then stamped the main sentiment in MFTs Hybrid ink in Steel Grey.  I then die cut a banner from MFTs Blueprint Sketch and white heat-embossed the smaller sentiment on some shimmery, Black Pearl cardstock by Crafter's Companion.  I then trimmed my card panel to 4.25" x 5.0"and mounted my card panel to the same Black Pearl cardstock for my card base. 

  

I hope you enjoyed my card, poking a little fun at one our crafter's neuroses!  Stay safe and healthy.  Stay indoors and craft more during this difficult time.  God bless you and thank you for stopping by.  Don't forget to visit https://threeroomstudio.com to shop, or click on the blog for all things TRS.  We have a FB page called "Three Room Studio's Fourth Room" for the design team and TRS fans to post their creations.  We'd love to see what you make!

Jill✂

Three Room Studio First Design Team. I'm in!!

Hello friends and fellow crafters!  I'm happy to announce (a little late) that I was chosen to be on Three Room Studio's first Design Team for 2020.  I'll include a couple winter/Christmas cards that I made with the December release, but my first complete card blog for TRS will be in early February just in time for Valentine's Day!

I've been busy with the holidays (just like most people) and recovering from a total hip replacement (early damage to joint due to hip dysplasia... yes, just like dogs).  I'm recovering well, I just can't sit for too long as things really stiffen up.  Below is a picture of  the amazing design team that I'm on.

Just as promised, here are the two cards that I made with the December Release.  The first one was made using the stamp set "Let's Hygge."  I'll be honest, I didn't even know what that term meant until it was explained to me.  It's a word used to convey all the things you do in winter to get cozy.  Hence, it's a term primarily used in places that have long, cold winters.  I also used the stamp set "Moving Sentiments" for the cat, plant, lamp shade, sentiments and window elements.  I colored it using Copic markers and a white gel pen.

The second card used the stamp set "Skate Sleep Repeat" as the focal point of my card.  I ink blended the background using Distress Oxide Inks then stamped a Simon Says Stamp Holiday Background stamp in varying tones of green.  I die cut an oval from the center and replaced it with an oval piece I had stamped and colored (with Copics) the skater image on, then die cut 2 oval frames.  Using the MISTI I was able to stamp the image over 3 layers so that she appears to be one image over all the layers.  I masked the skater and ink blended the blue background before I adhered it to my card.  I hand lined the hash marks around the oval, then cut the width of the panel to 4 inches.  I mounted it to a dark blue-green cardstock that I applied some clear Wink of Stella to the outside edges for a little sparkle.

I hope you make your way back to my blog to see what other neat cards I'm making for TRS.  Check out their website www.threeroomstudio.com as well as their blog that's on their website for all things TRS.  We also will be having a weekly color challenge that will be posted to Instagram.  The DT and any other crafter who uses TRS stamps can join in.  I believe the # is #trscardchallenge. 

Thanks so much, I look forward to engaging on my blog again and hopefully inspiring some of you on your crafty journey!

Jill ✂

Witt & Sass Ghost in a Jar DT Project

Welcome back my crafty friends, I have a spooktacular card to share with you.  I'm still recovering from surgery on my arm, but was still able to complete this card, though at a snail's pace!  I made it for Witt & Sass Stamp Company featuring the stamp set Ghost in a Jar.  This is such a fun stamp set, used alone or with other 

W & S products, such as in my card here, I also used:

-the Background Builders Wave Stencil on the water AND in the sky! 

-I also used the Background Builders Sand and White Caps in the foreground sand area.

-Additionally, I used the new Sassy Pack Boo-licious (the sequins and cool sequin bats). 

I used A LOT of other products as well on my card.  I'd have to say this is somewhat mixed media, as I used Distress Ink, Distress Oxide Ink, Dye and Hybrid inks, Copic Markers, acrylic paints, and colored pencils on this baby!

Here's the colors of the products I used from above: (the Distress Inks/Oxides I strictly used on the background areas around the jar)

Distress Ink- Antique Linen and Gathered Twigs

Distress Oxide Ink- Antique Linen, Tumbled Glass, Mermaid Lagoon, Salty Ocean, and Faded Jeans

Dye Inks- Memento Tuxedo Black and London Fog (the jar and it's elements were stamped in London Fog)

Hybrid Inks:  MFTs Brick Red and Steele Blue (used on the label)

Acrylic Paint- DecoArt Matte Metallics in Pewter and DecoArt Media Fluid in Carbon Black (used on the label and metal ring at the top of the bottle) and Acryla Gouache in Primary White (for the highlights on the bottle)

Colored Pencils- Faber-Castell Polychromos in Burnt Ochre, Raw Umber, Walnut Brown, Warm Grey II, Warm Grey V, Dark Indigo, Black and White

Copic Markers- E21, E23, E25, E51, E53, YR000, YR20, BV000, BV01, BV04, B000, B00, B02, C1, C3,C5,C7 and BG90

Clear Wink of Stella

Paper Elements- American Crafts Spooky Boo! paper pad, EK success Sticko Halloween stickers and other miscellaneous papers from my stash.

Dies and Punches- Top Note Die (?), Large Cross-Stitched Rectangle by Lawn Fawn, and Fiskars Postage Stamp Edge Punch.

I truly had fun making this card and challenging myself to color the glass jar as realistically as I could. Also mixing it up with a variety of coloring products was a great change of pace.  I hope you give it a try.  Coloring glass can be one of the most difficult things to color, but fun too once you begin to master it. If you are still reading down here (congratulations!), shoot me a comment, I'd love to hear from you! 

If you enjoyed this card, please visit my Instagram account where all my cards get posted.  I am jktaylor911.  Also take a look at wittandsassstampco on Instagram where you'll find lots of inspiration from the other designers. 

Witt & Sass has a daily blog with all the DT cards throughout the month and lots of W & S information.  We also post our creations on the Witt & Sass Facebook page (there's so much goodness out there for you to learn and enjoy). 

Wishing you blessings and spooktacular crafting,

Jill ✂  

Witt & Sass Launch - You are Beautiful, You Amaze Me Shaker card

Hello again!  Welcome back to my blog.  Today I have something very special to show you.  I made it for the Witt & Sass launch of the "You Are Beautiful" stamp set.  My card is sparkly, it's shiney, it's elegant, it's pink and gold, and it's floral!!  AND it's a shaker card!  What could be better than that?  I know, it's very girlie, girl... but I'm sorta that way, so I do love it for a change of pace.  Warning- this did take me quite some time to make (but I'm not known for my card-making speed!)  For me, the key to making this lovely card, aside from the great stamps and layered stencils from Witt & Sass, is Gina K's Wreath Builder Stencil.  I used the smaller stencil and my MISTI to achieve this nice round/balanced wreath.  To make this card, I used two products from Witt & Sass:  the You are Beautiful stamp set and the Layered Stencil Floral.

How I made this card:

I started by first stamping the wreath using the largest floral cluster and the largest single flower stamp in the set.  I used the Gina K. Designs Wreath Builder Stencil to help me position my stamps and stamp them in a circle.  I started with the largest floral cluster and stamped it twice on opposite sides of the cardstock.  I then created two masks of each end of the floral cluster, so I could stamp the large single flower in the two gaps, but it overlapped a bit, so that's where the masks came in handy.  I stamped the other flower into the gaps, then I used the tiny flower trios in the stamp set to fill in any areas that looked a bit barren.  I set this aside to work on my background paper so I would know what colors to use when I colored my wreath.

For the background paper I found this lovely pink 6 x 6 paper that had some variation in color to it.  Not quite ombre, maybe closer to a watercolor look.  I decided to use the Layered Stencil Floral on it from W & S in slightly darker pinks than the paper (but I did not want it bold).  I started by using the floral stencil's solid flower shape and used Distress Ink, Spun Sugar on both the large and small floral shapes.  Next I shifted the stencil so that the stencil flower petals lined up with what I just colored.  I started with Nuvo Embellishment Mousse in Pink Flambe' on a rag and rubbed it in.  It needed additional color, so I grabbed my Distress Oxide Ink in Picked Raspberry and very gently pounced it on with my mini ink blending tool.  Once a section was done, I quickly ran over to my embossing station and put some Ranger Holographic Embossing Powder over the freshly inked flowers and heat set it.  I repeated those steps until my entire pink paper was done.  I then trimmed it down to 5.75" on both sides, as I didn't want my card to exceed 6" on any side. 

I returned to my floral wreath and practiced colors on a scratch piece of paper before I just dove in.  I wanted 3 colors of roses, one matching the background paper, the other two variations of pink.  I also wanted 1-2 flowers between any same color flower.  Fortunately the numbers of flowers worked!  I started by coloring all the same color flowers first with my Copic markers (I used a 3 color combination on them- but did I remember to write down which ones?  Yikes!  The answer is no 😞

(that's something I have to work on before I clean up my space!)  Anyhow, then I colored the leaves, again I masked a few areas and tucked in some leaves from the large single rose where I thought it needed more for balance.  I used 3 Copic markers in the BG family, then used C5 to make the leaf crease down the center.  I colored the small dainty flowers a deep red, then went around with my Sakura Jelly Roll pen in Clear Star to the centers of all the flowers in the wreath.  Then I used Clear Wink of Stella on all the roses.  Last, I decided to heat emboss the 3 small circle clusters as a single stamp from the You are Beautiful stamp set.  I didn't want them to be too overbearing, so I only stamped them 3 times with Versamark ink, then used my Stampin' Up! Gold Embossing Powder.  I trimmed my wreath cardstock to 4" x 4", rounding the two bottom corners.  I then went about fussy cutting the inside of my wreath using my handy #11 Penblade (the yellow, pointed one).

I placed my wreath cardstock onto the pink background to where I liked how the background flowers showed and left enough reveal on all sides.  I cut down my pink layer a bit more and rounded the bottom  two corners.  

Very Important step:  If you secure your bow with a brad, do it now before proceeding any further, or it may be impossible to use a brad at all!  I made a 3 piece bow from some Stampin' Up! ribbon I had that matched my card nicely.  I made a hole through all 3 pieces of ribbon with my pokey tool, put the brad through it, then poked a hole about 1/4" from the top of my floral wreath, in the middle and pushed my brad through the hole and opened the legs on the back side to secure.

Next I picked out some foiled white cardstock from DCWV to frame and support my pink paper (it was not the heaviest of papers and I was making a shaker card, so I wanted more rigidity).  That layer ended up being 5.75" x 5.5" (well below my 6" max.).  It also brought out the gold elements in my card.  I then adhered that to my card base, that was a top folding card of 11" x 5.75" total (I wanted not to have to cut into a 12" x 12" piece of my cardstock, I prefer using my 8.5" x 11" cardstock for my card bases.)

Next I lined up my wreath paper onto the pink paper, then marked very lightly in pencil the corners.  This would help me when I finally adhere my wreath paper onto the pink paper.  Next I marked a few points of the inside of the wreath onto the pink paper, then removed the wreath paper and drew a very light almost round circle.  I would eventually add my adhesive foam tape around my marked pencil line, ensuring  none of the tape would show.  But first I needed a piece of acetate for my shaker window.  I decided to use one of the floral stamp's sentiment on the acetate.  It just barely fit! So that I got the sentiment centered, I went ahead and glued the acetate in place on the backside of the floral frame.  Once secure, I stamped the sentiment inside the middle of the wreath, using the help of my MISTI for perfect positioning and no slipping around with the ink.  I used Ranger's Archival black ink and did double stamp it to make it darker (not a problem when you use a great stamp positioner!)  I set it aside to dry, while I made my shaker element.

I used Scotch 3M foam adhesive tape around the circle I had drawn on the pink paper.  I decided to make it double think for more dimension and room for more goodies inside the shaker.  I carefully used an antistatic tool along the inside of the tape ring so that my shaker elements wouldn't stick to it.  I used several products on the inside, all light pink, gold, white, holographic/rainbow, and a few tiny hexagons in those colors and a few blueish-green ones that matched the leaves and ribbon on the wreath.  I also used a few pink gem stickers from DCWV inside and outside on the pink paper.  I feel that a few elements glued in place inside the shaker helps keep all the shaker elements from falling to the bottom (unless that's what you want, of course!).  So once all the shaker bits were added...drum roll please... I very carefully laid down my wreath paper onto the foam adhesive ring (using my corner markers as a guide.  One thing I forgot to do was put more double thick foam tape around the rest of my wreath paper.  The edges sagged a bit.  I had to fix it.  I very carefully cut the foam tape lengthwise in half and measured approximately the length I needed.  I stacked them up double, removed the release tape and gently wedged them in place along the outside edges.  Harder to do this way than to have had it done before I placed the wreath paper down, but you can't tell the difference, so only you and I know!!  

Last, I chose 6 of the shaker elements and glued them to the pink paper, 3 each on opposite corners.  Now, finally, this card is done.  Though a little time consuming, I love how it came out, I hope you do too!  I can't help myself but shake my card around and look at all the pretties inside!  

Thank you for visiting my blog (this one more lengthy than usual), I know!  I hope to see some of your shaker creations using Witt & Sass products.  Remember if you are following a challenge from an order you received from W & S, use #wscardchallenge on Instagram so we can see what you create.

To see other Witt & Sass Design Team creations, go to the  

Witt & Sass Facebook page (you'll need to join first) or check Instagram at @wittandsassstampco.  Also the store's website has lots of inspiration and information about  W & S, some of it quite funny!  Their website is:   https://www.wittandsassstampcompany.com/  
  

Also, don't miss out on all the Blog stuff, too.  You'll find that at: 

https://www.wittandsassstampcompany.com/blogs/news  

**For your convenience, I've linked the W & S products to the store and linked to the various social media platforms as well!**

However, if you just want to see more of my stuff, visit me on Instagram, that's where all my work is located.  I'm jktaylor911.  I don't blog every card, so IG has so much more!

Thanks again, and happy crafting!!

Jill ✂

Banners and Blooms, Concord & 9th from CEP

Welcome back to my blog my friends, today I have the pleasure of sharing a card I made for Creative Escape Papercrafting as their Guest DT.  I am again featuring products by Concord & 9th that are featured in the store.  The stamp set I used is called Banners and Blooms.  I primarily used the floral component and a couple words as well.  No banner on this card!

Here's the process to make this card:
I started by placing the floral stamp on my Stamp Platform then proceeded to stamp the image along the diagonal line of my landscape A2 sized 80# NSW card panel.  I never moved the stamp, I moved my cardstock for each stamping of the image.  I did use some masking in a few places so that where the images overlapped slightly it would look natural.  The stamp set also has individual stamps of the floral image, so I could "fill-in" with leaves and branches where I thought they needed to be.  I used Gina K. Designs new Amalgam Ink to stamp all the floral images.  It worked wonderfully, no smearing at all.  After that I chose my color palette for the flowers and started coloring with my Copic markers.  Once that was done, I stamped "Happy Everything" in the blank areas between the floral diagonal lines in Lawn Fawn's Manatee (a light grey).  Also some hash marks from the stamp set.  Next I die cut the panel using a large stitched rectangle die, so the panel was 4" x 5.25".  Next I taped 2 of my Simon Says Stamp rectangle dies together to cut out a frame from the central portion of my card panel.  This was so I could make a shaker card with a fun die cut sentiment over the front of the card.

I also decided to place a piece of black cardstock behind the shaker window so that just the frame had a narrow band of black around it.

I adhered my floral panel to some turquoise cardstock, then the black cardstock, then the inside floral panel.  I then cut narrow strips of the Thermoweb 3D Foam Strips from CEP and made the shaker frame just to the outside of the inner floral panel.  I filled the space mostly with CEP's Glam Metal Sequin Mix of rose gold, gold, silver and clear elements.  I did add some yellow sequins and light purple pearls from my stash to better coordinate with my colored flowers.  I chose to glue a few elements into the top half of the shaker so that there would always be a little bling everywhere in the shaker, not all pooled up at the bottom.  Next I adhered some clear acetate to the back of the floral frame.  Once dry, I carefully placed it atop the adhesive strips.  My shaker element was complete!!
Next I went about die cutting Concord & 9th's You've Got This die 3 times: once in the turquoise cardstock, then the black cardstock, and finally the black fun foam for more dimension.  I adhered the layers together, making sure I offset the turquoise so the black looked like a shadow.  So that everything lined up how it was supposed to be, I fit the letters and word segments back into the cardstock it was cut from (it's negative piece), then applied some Press and Seal over the top to make it all stick together.  I flipped the whole piece over and applied the glue to the back of the letters.  I then carefully positioned it over my shaker window and lightly pressed down.  I let it stay there a couple minutes before I peeled the Press and Seal off and the other paper piece.  Last, I took 5 sequins from the CEP Glam Metal Sequin Mix and glued them on and around the frame.  Card complete!  And oh how it sparkles. It only took me 4 days (sessions) to finish.  I never said I was a fast card-maker.  You'll probably never hear me say that!!  Quality over quantity, that's my motto.😃

To see more of my card creations, visit me on Instagram as jktaylor911.  Visit Creative Escape Papercrafting's Facebook page to see other designer's work and other information regarding everything CEP.  Don't forget to visit the online store.  It's been given a face lift and has lots of new items.

Well that's it for me.  I hope wherever you are, you're getting a little summer sun, because here in Montana its been rain almost every day...
Until next time, blessings to you all and happy crafting!

Jill ✂

Spring at Last, Santoro Gorjuss Girl card as Guest Designer for 7 Kids Craft Supply Store

Welcome back to my blog friends and fellow crafters!!  We had a "sneak peak" of spring a couple weeks ago in Montana and it inspired me to make this card for The 7 Kids Craft Supply Store, as my second creation in February as a Guest Designer and entrance card in their current Rainbow challenge.  I know, you say where is the rainbow???   Well, she's looking at it!  I love doing this for Kelly, the owner, as she is so great to work with and she's brought so many fun products to the store to work with.

I was not familiar with Santoro Gorjuss Girls before I shopped at Kelly's store.  Boy was I missing out!  This is my first completed card using a Gorjuss girl as my main image.  I have since bought more because they are great stamps AND they have matching dies as well.  I don't have the dies yet, so I fussy cut my pretty girl!

Since she is laying on the ground in Springtime, presumably, I decided to make a shaker card with Distress Oxide inks on the background paper (in light yellow/greens and green with subtle DIY shimmer spatters) that matched the paper I was using on the frame of the card and my girl's dress.  I used a mixture of sequins, some of which were flower shaped to denote laying amongst the flowers.  My window sheet from Stampin' Up! has some flowers and vines on it, just perfect for my card as well!  As I was also making this birthday card for a friend, she has dogs and a new puppy, so I wanted a cute dog on my card as well.  I used a C.C. Designs Puppy Power image that I first die-cut out with the matching dies, but decided to fussy cut the white outline away since my girl figure didn't have any white around her.  That made all the difference. The stamped images were all colored with Copic markers.

The frames on this card are from 2 different sets.  The larger one from Mama Elephant and the scalloped one from Simon Says Stamp.  The single frame looked too plain, so I added the orange contrasting color with the second frame to balance out the colors in the card and create better visual interest.  The Happy Birthday Banner is from Brutus Monroe's Botanical Banners set.  I fussy cut that out.

After adhering all the top layers together I grabbed my Scotch 3M Foam Adhesive tape and created zones on the back of the card so that the shaker pieces wouldn't congregate in one area (see photo).  Once this was done, I added my shaker elements to all the zones (mental note, use your Anti-static Powder Tool along the sides of your adhesive strips so that the shaker elements don't end up sticking to them).  I forgot, and it was an annoyance but didn't cost me too much time.

With the front panel already flipped over, I adhered my Distress Oxide panel to a standard A2 side-folding card base of NSW 110# cardstock.  I then very carefully adhered that to the backside of my front panel.  Some finishing touches was using some clear Wink of Stella on the flowers on the girl's dress, the flowers in her purse, and the butterfly on her dress.
Project complete!!

I was really happy with how this card came out.  A bit different in style for me, but I really enjoyed making this card!  I hope you are inspired to try a shaker card, try out some Distress Oxides and/or Copic markers, or some of the other products I used from The 7 Kids Crafting Supply Store.  There is a products list at the end of this blog post for your convenience.  The majority of the products used were from the store.

If you'd like to see more creations from the other Design Team members or other customers using products from the store, go to Facebook on the
7 Kids Customers Create! page, visit Instagram  @7kidscraftingsupplystore or go to the store at http://7kidscraftstore.com.

If you'd like to see more of my work, visit me on Facebook or for the largest collection of my work, please visit my page on Instagram.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog, I wish you blessings and lots of crafting time!!



Jill ✂


Supplies List:


7 Kids Crafting Supply Store-
Santoro Gorjuss stamp - Spring at last (full size), C.C. Designs Puppy Power stamp/die, Brutus/Monroe Botanical Banners stamp, Mama Elephant Hug it Out die, Copic Markers, Ranger Distress Oxide Ink (Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio and Lucky Clover), Finnabair Art Ingredients- Mica Powder in Silver for DIY shimmer spray, Nuvo Glue Pen, and the MISTI stamping tool.

Other Supplies-
Flower Fantasy Painted Window Sheets from Stampin' Up!, Designer Series Patterned Paper and colored cardstock from Stampin' Up!,  Pistachio Pudding Classic Dye Ink from Stampin' Up!, Scalloped Frames die from Simon Says Stamp, Neenah Solar White cardstock in both 80# for coloring, and 110# for cardbase, Shaker elements from Pretty Pink Posh, Kennedy Grace Creations, and others(?), Scotch 3M Adhesive Foam tape, Tombow Dot Adhesive Stamp Runner, and Wink of Stella in clear, and the Sizzix Big Shot.

Grace's Bouquet

Hello again and thank you for visiting my blog.  Today I have an elegant Get Well card to share featuring the stamp set Grace's Little Note from Kennedy Grace Creations.  Although I used another stamp set on this card, I highlighted the Kennedy Grace Creations stamp by coloring it in with bright, vivid Copic markers.  I left the other stamping in  neutral tones or very pale blue to keep the focus on our flowers.  I used a lot of masking on this card, heat- embossing with Ranger's Liquid Platinum embossing powder of the background floral image from The Ton's stamp, Peony Bouquet and then for the crystal bowl from the same stamp set, I used MFT's Hybrid ink in both Grout Grey and Blu Raspberry so that I could add additional Copic coloring for shading and the water in the bowl.

Masking of the flowers that allowed me to heat-emboss around them.

For added interest, I partial die cut the crystal bowl using the matching die, added some Fun Foam to the back to give it dimension, then adhered it on top of the card base that I had prepped with a layer of embossed dots onto some Crafter's Companion Shimmering Cardstock in Silver Starlight (almost the exact color of the embossing powder I had used on the card).  I also used some Adhesive Glitter Tape in purple from The Ton on both sides of the crystal bowl to tie into the color of my flowers and accentuate the layers of the card.

Final touches included using At You Spica yellow glitter pen for the center of the flowers, clear Wink of Stella on the lines of the crystal bowl, and lastly some light blue adhesive pearls from Hero Arts added to the details in the crystal bowl.  I also used some Distress Ink in Tumbled Glass inside of the flowers with a little bit of water spattering as well for interest.  The Sentiment was from Grace's Little Note stamp set as well.

I hope you liked my card.  I think it shows just how versatile those little flowers from Grace's Little Note are.  If you'd like to see more of my creations, please visit my Instagram account jktaylor911 which has the largest collection of my work, or Jill Taylor on Facebook.

Thank you so much for visiting me, blessings to you-

Jill 🖌

Please be sure to follow the Kennedy Grace Creations blog, facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterest. Our Design Team has great projects to inspire you with our great stamp sets.

Splendid Birthday Roses (for Kennedy Grace Creations) February Mood Board

Welcoming you back to my blog with a card I made for Kennedy Grace Creations February Mood Board.  This month's board is gorgeous, with some of my favorite colors (see below).  My card, of course inspired by it, uses the stamp sets Splendid Roses for the main image and Beautiful Blooms - Sweet Rose for the sentiment.  I used 2 KGCs sequin mixes on my card, Cotton Candy and Enchanted Evening. 

This month, as soon as I saw the mood board I knew what I wanted to do.  I recently received the Splendid Roses stamp set from Kennedy Grace Creations, and was itching to use it.  I also recently bought an Avery Elle cover die called Horizontal Stripes.  It has a lovely circle cut out in the middle of the stripes (perfect for my roses!).  The two in my mind were meant to be together.

February Mood Board

I first stamped the roses image onto a NSW 80# cardstock (superior for blending Copics) with Hero Arts Intense Black Ink.  I colored the images with my Copics (colors listed below) then lightly colored YR20 around the center background area, blending it softly out from the middle. Wanting a bit of sheen to my flowers, I decided to use a product fairly new to me, Ken Oliver Crafts Liquid Metal.  It comes out dropper style, so I used a paint brush and applied Metallic Rose to the roses and Metallic Jade to the leaves.  These did intensify the colors a bit and I wanted even more sheen, so after drying, I applied the Platinum color to the roses only.  This is pure sheen and beautiful!

With my cover die cut in hand (NSW 110# cardstock) I wanted my roses to spill over the sides of the die cut circle a bit, so I lightly traced a circle larger than the cover die circle around my image and decided which areas were going to go beyond the circle.  Those areas I fussy cut out.

Next I placed some liquid adhesive on the back side of the cover die's circle to adhere my roses in the proper place.  Once adequately dry, I flipped the entire piece over and applied lots of 3M Scotch foam adhesive tape so that the cover die had some dimension and sturdiness over my white cardstock base.

Once adhered to the cardbase, I white heat-embossed the Happy Birthday sentiment from Beautiful Blooms- Sweet Rose using WOW! Super Fine, Opaque Bright White Embossing Powder on some black cardstock and cut it to size.  Wanting some sparkle on the card, I cut 2 strips of white prism glitter paper from my stash and placed one under the black sentiment banner and one along the bottom edge of my top folding card.  Lastly, I used some gorgeous sequins from Kennedy Grace Creations in pink and green tones from the Cotton Candy mix and the Enchanted Evening mix.

I really enjoyed making this card, and I hope you enjoyed it too!  I hope it inspires you in your next floral card adventure.


**I've linked all Kennedy Grace Creations products in the body of the blog to the store for your convenience.  If you like my card and want to see more, please visit me on Instagram for the most comprehensive collection of my cards and projects (jktaylor911).

Happy crafting my friends,
Jill

Products used:

Kennedy Grace Creations Products:  Splendid Rose and Beautiful Blooms- Sweet Rose stamps, Sequin Mixes Cotton Candy and Enchanted Evening.
Neenah Solar White cardstock 80#/110#
Hero Arts Intense Black Ink
Copic Sketch Markers RV00, RV02, RV04, RV06, R22, YG23, YG25, YG97 and YR20
Ken Oliver Crafts Liquid Metals in Metallic Rose, Metallic Jade, and Platinum
3M Scotch Foam Adhesive Tape
Versamark Ink
WOW! Embossing Powder in Opaque Bright White, Super Fine
White Prism Glitter paper
Black cardstock
Ranger Multi Medium Matte Liquid Adhesive

Please be sure to follow the Kennedy Grace Creations blog, facebook, twitter, instagram and pinterest. Our Design Team has great projects to inspire you with our great stamp sets.

A Whimsy Stamp Christmas card (and a winner on 7 Kids Create! on FB)

Hello, my friends and fellow crafters.  It's November, so it's officially (I think) Christmas card season!  I'd like to share a Christmas card I made using a Whimsy Stamp, called Berry.  I decided for the first time to enter it in the 7 Kids Create! October challenge on Facebook.  Theme:  Anything Goes.  I posted it on the very last day of the challenge, and wouldn't you know (to my shock and awe) - I won!! 

So here's what I did to make this card.  I stamped little miss Berry on NSW 80# card-stock, then used Molotow Art Masking Liquid (2.0mm pump marker) to protect the image while I worked on the background.  I used two different winter snow trees because I didn't want them all to look the same.  I used a Penny Black Stamp Nature's Friends and Hero Arts stamp Color Layering Snowy Trees.  I used some WOW! Opaque White embossing powder on the trees.  I masked the foreground Penny Black trees with Post-it paper to then stamp and emboss the Hero Arts trees.  I used Distress Inks blended with Ranger Mini- ink Blending tools (Spun Sugar, Tumbled Glass and Broken China) for the sky.  I stamped the sentiment from The Ton Stamps Holiday Love Poinsettia in Versafine Black Onyx ink. 

Then the fun part - removing the masking fluid to Copic color this little cutie!!  I also used my Copics to color the snowy ground.  I like using a combo of cool greys (COO, C1, C3) and the very light BGs (BG000, BG00) for snow.  I also applied a bit of clear Wink of Stella to parts of the snow and on miss Berry. 

I cut down my card to 4.25" X 5.25" and adhered it to a red A2 side-folding cardbase that I had applied some Wink Of Stella to the bottom for some extra shimmer.

So that's it!!  I hope you like my card and you try out making some cards with some scenery in the background and masking.  It's so rewarding to make these little scenes that make your focal image come alive!!

Enjoy your Christmas and Holiday season, blessings to you -

Jill

**To see all of my card creations, look for me on IG as jktaylor911**

Kennedy Grace Creations Mood Board Shaker Card

Hello, this is Jill making a card for Kennedy Grace Creations!!  I created this card for October with their Mood Board as inspiration.  I used a stamp set originally tailored for Moms/Mother's Day, etc. as I loved the flower image and always thought it would make a great shaker type card.  It's called Loving Mom.  I only used the largest flower image on this card and took my cues on coloring it from the mood board.

First I die cut a circle into an A2 sized 80# NSW card stock using a MFTs Die- Circle Shaker Window and Frame set.  I knew I'd be using a MFTs Circle Shaker Pouch, so the sizing of the circle die was perfect for the pouch.  I then stamped the 4 flower images around the die cut window and placed masks over each one, as I was going to color the background with some Distress Oxide inks.  As I sometimes like to do, I had already practiced the background on another piece of lesser quality card stock since I wasn't exactly sure how it would look.  I used first Twisted Citron Distress Oxide ink in various spots on the paper.  Then I used Black Soot to fill-in, blend, and cover-up some of the Twisted Citron.  The only change I made was adding the Encore! Silver pigment ink.  It bridged the two colors nicely and added a little sheen as well.  I removed the masks and immediately liked the bold whiteness of the flowers against the background.  So I decided that I would bring in the orange color to the inside of the window, the window frame and the stamens on the flowers.

I'd been wanting to use this Silver Gem Nuvo Glimmer Paste that I'd had for a couple months, so I used the inside circle of the window I had die cut, placed a Penny Black Hypnotic stencil over it and carefully spread out the paste onto the circle.  Once dry (which it does rather quickly, so clean your stencil and spatula immediately, or you'll regret it!) I air-brushed the circle with my R12 Copic marker so that the card stock and the glitter was the same color.  I then went about coloring my flowers.  I used C1 and C3 Copic markers on the petals, and E93 and R14  on the stamen.  I also added some clear Wink of Stella to the stamen as well.

I chose a sentiment from another KGC stamp set called Time to Blossom.  I heat embossed the sentiment with WOW! Opaque White embossing powder.  I chose multiple color sequins from a variety of KGC sequin mixes.  I regrettably didn't have any orange sequins (that I will have to fix!).  I mounted my trimmed panel onto 110# NSW card base that I had used some 1/2" adhesive backed foil in burnished silver from The Ton along each side. The frame was difficult to decide what color/finish it should have.  I finally decided on orange foil (I used a Peel and Stick Toner Sheet and Foil from Deco Foil).  I layered it on top of other rejected frames to give it some dimension and sturdiness.  Finally, not quite satisfied, I found the silver metal "together" piece that I'd had for years in my stash.  I do not know who made it, possibly Making Memories, as I used to buy a lot of their nick-knacks way back when.

So that is it!!  My October Shaker Mood Board card, and another lengthy dissertation from me.  I'll forego a products list since I include it in my write-up.  KGC products are linked.  Please, if I was not clear on a product that I used or a technique, use the comment section and I'll be sure to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed my card.  Join in the fun of creating cards with the October Mood Board and post it on the Kennedy Grace Creations Fan Page on Facebook!  If you prefer to share elsewhere, remember to tag it #kennedygracecreations so we can admire your work. 


Have a blessed day!

Jill 💌