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 ✂

CEP Hi There Bear!

Welcome back to my blog friends and crafters.  Do I have a treat for you!  I will be sharing cards with you as Guest Designer for Creative Escape Papercrafting (CEP), periodically focusing on products they are selling in the store, outside of the kits.  They have really expanded their store and they want me to help promote those products and boost overall awareness of them.  The online store has had a "make-over" and it's much nicer to shop as well!

So here is my card, showcasing Concord & 9th's cute as a button "Hi There Bear" stamp set. 

There are many options with this stamp set.  I just opted to use the textured bear stamp, the umbrella and fill-in panels, and the 2 stamp layering bouquet.  I also added the small flowering ground plant along the edge of the walkway and bank of flowers.

So this is how I made my card.  I first stamped the bear in a medium and dark brown dye ink at the same time (they were mini cubes).  I followed that up with my new Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils, to really provide good contrast and shading (and yes, I love them!).  I stamped the umbrella using Gina K's new Amalgam Ink, then stamped the fill-in panels from the stamp set.  I added the 2 step bouquet using some Gina K inks as well.  I then added shading to the ground with my Copics.  My inspiration for this background is from a Sandy Allnock card that she did a video of as well.  I changed it by adding the gravel surface and sidewalks on the side. 

When I colored the background, I did switch to my Copic markers.  I first made the sidewalks and gravel surface.  I then grabbed 3 very light colors that I rather randomly colored around, simulating a soft flower background and greenery.  I did add some slightly darker tones to mimic the flowers, but then softened them out with the lighter shade again. 

I wasn't happy with the colored stamping on the umbrella, so I went back with my Polychromos and a white gel pen.  I also added yellow centers to the bouquet with a Copic marker.  To create the clouds in the sky, I airbrushed it with my Copic markers and a stencil I had in my stash from MFTs- Mini Cloud edges. I did mask the umbrella before airbrushing, the stencil covered up the rest.  It was my first time using the stencil it, and it is really easy to use and gives great results.  Next I stamped the small flowering plant from the stamp set along the sidewalk edge, just towards the front.  I colored them with my Copics.  Last, I stamped the sentiment from the stamp set in Gina K's Amalgam ink.  I must say, my first time using it and I like it a lot.  Very crisp/black.  I next mounted my card panel on some peach cardstock (top-folding A2 card base).  I had trimmed my card panel to a width of 4 inches so that the peach card base is seen on both sides.

I hope you enjoyed my card!  This is just one of many ways to use this stamp set.  You can stamp it, color it, and add multiple elements.  One funny thing happened as I was making my bear.  I didn't see the small bear stamp that is the eyes and nose, so I made my own.  So your bear face will look distinctly different than this one.  Oh well, silly me!!

Don't forget to check out the store and all it's new products, as well as their Facebook and Instagram pages for other great ideas from the other designers and updates from the store.  Feel free to add your card creations to the FB page, too.  I hear rumors that even more products are coming!!  The most comprehensive collection of my work can be found on Instagram, as jktaylor911.

As always, happy crafting and may you be blessed,

Jill ✂

Creative Escape Papercrafting June's Fully Loaded Kit, First Four Cards

Well hello my fellow crafter's and friends, I know it's been a while since my last post (I believe I mentioned there may be a delay through May) as I dealt with some health issues and the death of a very dear friend.  But I'm back, and I have a very fun kit to show you from Creative Escape Papercrafting (CEP).  I'm a guest designer and I've made 4 cards so far from the June kit and I'll share how I made each one.

June Fully Loaded Card Kit

My first card (going counter-clockwise from the back right corner) is the Giraffe Shaker card.  I used a lot of elements in that card alone.  The June kit is built around The Pebbles Happy Hooray Collection.  There are 18 sheets of specialty paper, a 40 pack of ephemera, and a 12" x 12" cut-apart sheet that has a nice pattern on the back, so you have options.  The other 2 major items are the Altenew Halftone Stars stamp set and a Spellbinders Celebrate word die + balloon die.  I'm not going to list all the other pieces in the kit except when I use them on a card.

I knew I wanted to do a shaker card as soon as I saw the Heidi Swapp hot pink glitter decorative frame.  I decided first on the elements for the outside of the frame, then decided on 2 different specialty papers for inside the shaker and around the frame.  I used the giraffe and star ephemera on the outside, and a piece of rolled up candy ephemera on the inside, which I adhered so it wouldn't shake around with the other elements.  I used the Spellbinders die to make the balloon and string, then used a small piece of white/yellow baker's twine from the kit for the bow, which I adhered with a glue dot from my stash.  The Spellbinder's "celebrate" was die cut from some green glitter cardstock from the April card kit I had leftover..  That's what's nice about the kits, there are leftovers to use with other projects/cards and keeping the non-perishables like the stamp sets and die cuts are great items to either start a stamp and die collection, or add to your existing ones.  I used some of the 3D foam from the kit to adhere the giraffe where it hit the acetate window.

To assemble my shaker, I adhered some strips of Thermoweb dimensional foam (from April's kit), but cut them in half down the length of the strip.  I then adhered it all around the back side of my frame (I previously glued the clear acetate window in place).  I then filled the window with about half of the Studio Katia Crystal Rainbow Fusion Sequins that I received from CEP.  They are very bright and almost iridescent!  I then carefully placed the rainbow striped specialty paper to the foam adhesive on the back of the frame.  I decided to keep the card large so that you could really see the specialty paper on my card base.  It is 5.5'' x 5.5''.  I cut and scored the yellow cardstock in the kit for my card base, rounded the bottom corners, then adhered a slightly smaller piece of the specialty paper on top, so that the sides would show the pop of yellow that coordinated so nicely with the other elements in the card.  Lastly I positioned and adhered the shaker element to my card base.  Card #1 complete!! 

In card #2 I decided to use the Altenew stamp set.  I first cut some cardstock that was about 3.5" wide by 5.5" in length.  I heat embossed the 3 stars onto the panel using my Ranger's Silver Pearl embossing powder (it leaves a really nice sheen to the stars).  

I then blended 3 colors of Distress Oxide Inks- Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers and Fossilized Amber over the star panel.  I buffed the stars with a cloth when done to remove any ink remaining on the stars.  I then splattered some DIY shimmer to the panel and blotted dry.  

I picked out an acetate cupcake ephemera to use at the base of my star panel.  I used small glue dots from my stash to adhere it so that the adhesive would be nearly invisible.  For my card base, I used the blue cardstock in the kit, die cut a piece of white cardstock using Lawn Fawn's Quilted Backdrop that I bought from CEP and adhered it to the blue base.  Next I cut strips of the green glitter cardstock (from April's kit) and positioned them so that the reveal was about 1/8th" on both sides from my colored panel.  Last I adhered my colored star panel to the prepared base.  Card #2 done!

Card #3 features a large central oval ephemera sentiment image that I applied some Salty Ocean Distress Oxide ink along the edge to coordinate with the main specialty paper in the background.  That paper was the 12" x 12" Pebbles Happy Hooray cut-apart sheet, which I chose to use the backside of, and take advantage of the "YAY" sentiment strip along the bottom edge.  I also applied the same Distress Oxide ink to the other 3 edges to make the card more cohesive.  

I chose red to be my accent color and used it for my card base, as well as the Sizzix Ticket die that was placed between the ephemera piece and the specialty paper.  The red paper came with the kit.  I adhered all layers (popping up the ephemera piece) with the included 3D foam pieces in the kit.  To finish off my card, I used the blue and white cord included in the kit by tying it around the top of the folded cardbase and tying it off on the right side.  That'll do it for card #3!!

Card #4 uses all kit supplies except for the die cut background hills and frame.  That is a Lawn Fawn product called Stitched Hillside Backdrop: Landscape (as it comes in Portrait as well) that I purchased from the store (though I believe they sell the Portrait version).  I inked the edges of the 2 hills with Bundled Sage Distress Oxide ink as I felt that coloring the entire hill would look too obtrusive.  I decided on the blue and white polka dot specialty paper for the sky.  I glued that to the back of my die cut frame/hills, and while it dried I picked through the ephemera to decide what would go on next.  First I found the "PARTY" rectangular piece printed in rainbow colors.  It was just a tiny bit short, so I decided to frame it, again with the green glitter cardstock from April's kit (I love that stuff!).  I adhered the two pieces together, then found several animal pieces in the ephemera.  I picked out the Zebra.  I adhered both elements, using my small glue dots on the Zebra that you can barely see.

I also added a star that I found in the ephemera pack.  I adhered all of this to my white standard A2 card base.  Looking at the card, I decided it needed a little bling!  So I pulled out 4 sequins (red, orange, yellow-green, and green) from the Studio Katia pack I received and applied them following the color of the words "PARTY."

Now I thought I was done.  However, as I was writing this blog and looking at my cards, I realized I had to do one more thing to this card.  The flat yellow star was screaming for some of my  Wink of Stella!  So I grabbed not the clear one I usually use, but the yellow one.  I wanted the star to be a bit more vibrant.  So now my friends, card #4 is done!!

I hope you enjoyed my examples.  This kit is a lot of fun, especially for kids celebrations.  Although the Altenew stamp set makes it very versatile.  My goal for the next few cards are making some a bit more for adults.  So stay tuned and see how I do!  
Don't forget to visit me on Instagram, as they have my largest selection of card creations.  I am jktaylor911.  Please visit the store, there are so many new items to see and a newly redesigned online store at https://creativeescapepapercrafting.com.  Also visit their Facebook page to see what all the talented designers are creating as well as new happenings with CEP.  For your convenience, I've linked everything to the store and social media.

For now I say goodbye, and blessings to you all,

Jill Taylor✂

Creative Escape Papercrafting, April's card kit- cards #5, 6,and 7

Welcome back to my blog friends and crafters, I have three more cards I'd like to share with you from Creative Escape Papercrafting (CEP), made from their April card kit.  As a reminder, this kit coordinates with the Maggie Holmes "Flourish" collection. 
These three couldn't be more different from one another, even if I tried!  If you are keeping track, these are cards #5, 6 and 7 for this kit.  I still have lots of supplies left (more supplies than time right now!).  May is a very busy time for me, so I may not get to posting all my projects here (at least some of the time), but we'll see! (please follow my Instagram posts though, as those will continue).

My first card that I created here is the pink rose card.  I love this background paper and as I was looking at all the ephemera provided in the kit, I realized that one of the die cut flowers was exactly the same shape and size as the main rose on my background paper!  So I decided to pop it up with dimensional adhesive and slightly stagger it down and to the right.  I then grabbed a foiled vellum double leaf shape and adhered it behind the rose at about the 11 o'clock position.  In looking for a sentiment, I knew I wanted something in black to really pull out the dark colors in the rose paper.  In the kit there are 4 Jen Hadfield tags, some in black, like I wanted.  I chose the "I miss you" tag, cut off the eyelet end and adhered it at an angle near the base of the popped up rose.
Feeling like it needed another gold embellishment of some kind, I found in my stash some Stampin' Up! gold epoxy stickers.  I picked out the heart and added it to my sentiment tag.  To finish off this card I adhered it to the mint cardstock that was in the kit, but after I had added a strip of black cardstock near to the bottom edge, so that you would see just a small strip of black against the rose background paper. 




The "Lemon Card" is my 6th card made from the April kit.  It is a horizontal gatefold card, but with about a 3/4" overlap.  I started with the white cardstock in the kit, cut it to a width of 6" by 9 1/2".  I scored the cardbase at 2 3/8" from the top and 2 3/4" from the bottom.  I then cut 2 pieces of the lemon specialty paper to the size of the two front sections of the gatefold card.  I then decided to use one of the cut apart images as the center of the gatefold card. 

I mounted it with dimensional foam tape to the green glitter cardstock I received in the kit.  Before adhering this to my card, I decided to cut down the size of the specialty paper on the top portion of my card by 1/4", so that the white cardstock base showed.  I liked the contrast and how it made the small white flowers on the specialty paper pop!  I adhered the specialty paper to the bottom of my card.  I then used some very strong adhesive to the top half of my framed cut apart image and adhered it to the top half of my gatefold card.  I then added a removable glue dot to the bottom half of my framed cut apart image.  That allowed the card to stay closed, but also be easily opened. 

For card #7, I chose the lovely foiled fern specialty paper as my background.  I decided to cut a window in the center, then make a frame, using my Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle dies.  The frame was made using my Crafter's Companion Shimmering cardstock in Silver Starlight.  For inside the window, I chose a cut apart image, "life is Lovely" that I decided to stamp on as well.  I used the fern image from the Vintage Artistry stamp set from 49 and Market that came with the kit, with Hero Arts Soft Granite dye ink.  
Finally, I picked out the ephemera from the kit that would complement this card.  I chose just the top portion of a foiled sprig and a cluster of small-ish yellow flowers.  I inserted the foiled sprig inside the top right corner of the window and positioned the yellow flowers outside the window in the lower left corner of the card.  After adhering all elements, I adhered my card panel onto the white cardstock provided in the kit, cut to A2 proportions, allowing for a nice white border around the card. 

I hope you enjoyed my cards and perhaps they gave you some inspiration in creating some of your own cards.  If you'd like to see more of my work, please visit me on Instagram as jktaylor911.  To see all things Creative Escape Papercrafting, visit their Facebook page and see what all the designers are up to.  Please visit the store for featured Card Kits and many other card making supplies.

As always, I wish you many blessings and happy crafting!

Jill ✂

April Creative Escape Papercrafting Fully Loaded Kit, My Love card

Hello everyone, I hope May finds you well and enjoying some warm(er) weather!  We are ending a rainy period here in Montana, but it should clear shortly to some beautiful spring weather.  Most of the cards made from the April Fully Loaded kit from Creative Escape Papercrafting (CEP) has strong spring vibes- the colors are pink, mint green, yellow, light orange, and several shades of blue/green.  A lot of florals and papers with foil accents.  The kit coordinates with the Maggie Holmes "Flourish" collection.  Also included, are some Nuvo flakes for gilding some of the wood pieces in the kit, or foiling a stamped image like I did.  

My card uses a Maggie Holmes specialty paper- large roses on a pink background, that I adhered some of the navy ribbon in the kit down the middle of the vertical line of the card.  I then layered a piece of white cardstock from the kit, die cut it with a stitched rectangle die I had in my stash, then used some Scotch 3M adhesive foam tape to adhere my pink frame that was a part of the cut apart sheet in the kit. 

But let me go back and describe the technique I used to guild the roses image from the Heidi Swap stamp set called, "Only You" that came in the kit.  To prep my pink frame paper piece, I first used my Embossing Buddy to eliminate static and any possible oils on the paper from me handling it with my fingers.  I then stamped the image in Versamark Ink and applied some WOW! Bonding Powder to the image.  I quickly melted it with my heat tool, then applied the Nuvo Rose Gold Flakes, pressing them down firmly to the surface.  I then took a stiff bristled brush and brushed away the excess.  Do this in a box as the flakes are quite messy!  You get sort of a vintage foiling look, as it is not perfectly or uniformly applied.  This image has a lot of fine details that did make the foiling more challenging.  However, I was satisfied with the result.  I then stamped the "my love" sentiment in Distress Oxide Ink, in Evergreen Bough as it matched the color of the roses.  I previously had gilded the wooden heart, and after I assembled my card I felt it needed that gilded accent to go with the rose gold foiling of the roses.  After adhering my creation to a white A2 card base, I attached a navy ribbon bow at the base of the die cut white rectangle. 

This was a simple card, but elegant.  The blues and greens take it to a place where I think it is a bit masculine, even though it is floral.  I hope you enjoyed my card creation.  There are many products on the market for foiling stamped images.  Ranger makes a Sticky Embossing Powder that works well, and an older product (I don't know if it is still available) called Stuck on You bonding powder by Stampee Crafts.  I've had it for a long time and I like it a lot.  To help you foil your stamped images, I do recommend using a stamp positioner, like a MISTI or other similar device to allow you to restamp and apply more bonding powder if the first time did not yield adequate results. 

If you enjoy my blog and want to see more of my card creations (I don't post a blog on every card I make), please visit me on Instagram, as jktaylor911.  To see other great card designs and videos from CEP's other designers, please visit Creative Escape Papercrafting on Facebook and don't forget to visit the store online at Creative Escape Papercrafting to see their wonderful card kits, but also the many other products recently added to the store (Lawn Fawn, Avery Elle, Concord and 9th, etc.).  Visit their Blog for more CEP information from the store's site as well. 

As always, thank you for visiting me and I hope you return to see what else I create!
Blessings to you and happy crafting,

Jill ✂