Thanksgiving 2024 | Happy Thanksgiving

Hi friends!  For today’s card I will be doing some ink smooshing with Tim Holtz Distress Inks and cutting some autumn leaves to frame this cheerful Thanksgiving (or Autumn card if you aren’t in the U.S.).   This project can also be found on my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@VeehattInspired .

The supplies used were:

  Distress Watercolor Cardstock

  Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Crackling Campfire, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick,

Candied Apple, Fossilized Amber, Squeezed Lemonade, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint)

  Sizzix/Tim Holtz Thinlits – “Fall Foliage” Dies

  Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz – “Falling Leaves” Stamp Set

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Archival Ink “Ground Espresso”

Studio Katia - "Autumn Borders" Stamp Set

  Spellbinders “Precision Layering A2 A” Dies

  Spellbinders “Crimson” Color Essentials Cardstock

  Brutus Monroe – “Penny” Embossing Powder

  Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing Ink

  Taylored Expressions Anti-static Powder Tool

  My Sweet Petunia Misti Stamp Positioner

I started the project with ink smooshing Tim Holtz Distress Ink in the colors Crackling Campfire, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Candied Apple, Fossilized Amber, Squeezed Lemonade, Shabby Shutters, and Peeled Paint onto pieces of Distress Watercolor Cardstock.  I made four total panels using a random layer of the different ink colors.  I set these aside to dry (sidebar – I also used my Ranger Heat It tool to complete the drying when I was ready to die cut them).

Using Spellbinders’ “Precision Layering A2 A” dies, I cut my two matting layers – the largest die to cut an A2 size panel from Spellbinders Crimson cardstock and the next to largest die to cut a panel of from a scrap Distress Oxide sprayed background I already had in my stash.  If you would like to make a similar looking panel, I believe I used Distress Oxide in the colors Gathered Twigs, Mustard Seed, and Shabby Shutters.

Once the ink smooshed cardstock panels were dry, I used the Tim Holtz/Sizzix die set called “Fall Foliage” and selected some leaf dies in different sizes and die cut them from the inky panels.  Next, I selected three of the leaf diecuts that I liked most and used a foam applicator to apply ink to the edges of the leaves for a distressed look.  I followed that up by stamping a layer of interest to each of the three leaves using Ground Espresso Distress Archival Ink and the Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz stamp set called Falling Leaves.  I simply selected one of the rubber stamps that would accommodate each leaf’s size and stamped the oversized image onto the diecut.

I placed my yellow-ish colored top panel into my Misti Stamp Positioning Tool and placed the “Happy Thanksgiving” sentiment from the Studio Katia “Autumn Borders” stamp set near the lower center of my panel.  To ensure no embossing powder would stick where I didn’t want it, I applied a layer of Taylored Expressions anti-static powder to the area to be embossed and applied Simon Says Stamp’s clear embossing ink to the greeting and gently stamped it onto the cardstock.  I generously sprinkled Brutus Monroe’s “Penny” embossing powder to the inked greeting and used my heat tool to melt the embossing powder.

For the next step, I placed strips of Simon Says Stamp Big Momma Foam tape to the back of the front card panel and adhered it to the Crimson cardstock panel.  I placed thin foam squares onto the backs of the three leaf diecuts and adhered them above the sentiment on the card front in a single row.  Lastly, I glued the completed card front to an A2 size, side folding card base.

I hope you enjoyed the card and found inspiration for some of your own card making projects!  Until next time… happy making!

Halloween 2024 | Boo!

Hi friends!  For today’s Halloween card I wanted to try something different.  I’ve combined a little watercoloring, colored pencil work, and vellum stamping to make a not-so-spooky little ghost card.   This project can also be found on my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@VeehattInspired

The supplies used were:

§  Paul Rubens Hot Press Watercolor Paper

§  Schmincke Watercolor Paint – Colors:  Deep Sea Black & Tundra Orange

§  Whimsy Stamps “Dungeon Door” Red Rubber Stamp

§  Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing and Watermark Ink

§  Taylored Expressions Anti-static Powder Tool

§  Ranger Super Fine Black Embossing Powder

§  Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils – Door: PC947, PC1082, PC1033, PC1034, PC942, PC914 and Stones: PC1058, PC1056, PC1052, PC1050)

§  Tonic Studios Craft Perfect Pearled Silver Vellum

§  Honey Bee Stamps “Lovely Layers: Party Frames” Die Set

§  Sizzix/Tim Holtz “Vault Gothic Portraits” Die Set

§  Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz “Spooky Spirits” Red Rubber Stamp

§  Xyron Creative Station Sticker Maker

§  Distress Black Two-Tone Woodgrain Cardstock

§  Altenew “Black Diamond” Glitter Cardstock

§  Thermoweb iCraft Black 3D Foam Tape

§  Tim Holtz Idea-ology Halloween Deco Sheets (Orange)

§  My Sweet Petunia Misti Stamp Positioner

For the background, I started by placing a piece of Paul Rubens hot press watercolor paper into my Misti stamp positioning tool and dusted it with anti-static powder.  I then stamped the Whimsy Stamps “Dungeon Door” red rubber stamp onto the watercolor paper using Simon Says Stamp clear embossing ink.  I applied Ranger black embossing powder over the stamped image and tapped off the excess.  Lastly, I used my embossing tool to melt the embossing powder.

Once the embossed image cooled, I used masking tape to adhere the watercolor paper to a hardboard.  I added a few drops of water to my pans of Schmincke watercolor paint in the colors Deep Sea Black and Tundra Orange to get them ready for use (these come in a tube, but I keep quarter pans of all my colors, I feel I waste less paint that way). 

Using a #16 round paint brush, I applied water to the entire piece of watercolor cardstock and began to apply a watered-down layer of Deep Sea Black to serve as a base layer for my colored pencil work that will come later.  Then I used a #6 round paint brush to apply a watery layer of the Tundra Orange watercolor paint.  I used my Ranger Heat Tool to speed up the drying process.

Once the watercolor panel was dry, I used my Prismacolor Premier colored pencils (colors listed above) to color the dungeon door and the stonework directly surrounding the door plus the steps.  I removed the cardstock from the hardboard and set it aside.

For the ghost, I stamped one of the ghosts from the Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz “Spooky Spirits” stamp set and Jet Black StazOn ink to stamp it onto a piece of Tonic Studios Craft Perfect Pearled Silver vellum.  To make the ghost image less transparent, I ran the piece of vellum through the Xyron Creative Station to essentially make it a sticker, then adhered it to a second piece of vellum before fussing cutting the image.  Once the ghost was trimmed out, I ran it through the Xyron again to add adhesive to the back of the double-stacked vellum ghost.

To create the sentiment, I cut the “boo” die in the Sizzix/Tim Holtz “Vault Gothic Portraits” set twice from black cardstock and once from the orange piece of Tim Holtz Idea-ology Deco Sheets that were from a Halloween release.  I adhered the stack sentiment die cuts together using liquid glue.  I also cut the smallest bat from the same die set out of Altenew Black Diamond glitter paper.

Now for the card front.  I used Honey Bee Stamps’ “Lovely Layers: Party Frames” and used the postage edged die to cut out the watercolored panel and then used the largest die in this set to cut my base layer from Distress Black Two-Tone Woodgrain cardstock.  I believe Tim Holtz commented that this cardstock was no longer going to be made; however, I had purchased several packages when it was released.  If you want to recreate a similar look you could use black cardstock ran through a woodgrain embossing folder or simply use a piece of black cardstock… it’ll still look great.

I applied Thermoweb black 3D foam tape to the back side of the watercolor panel and adhered it to the woodgrain cardstock.  I removed the ghost from the Xyron backing sheet and adhered it to the card front at the bottom of the steps.  Using liquid glue, I adhered the sentiment and bat toward the top of the dungeon panel. Lastly, I glued the completed card front to an A2 size, top folding card base.

I hope you enjoyed the card and found inspiration for some of your own card making projects!  Until next time… happy making!

It’s Your Birthday! | Penny Black + Simon Says Stamp

Hi friends!  Today I wanted to share the creation of a birthday card using tools and supplies from Simon Says Stamp, Spellbinders, Brass and Bliss (formerly Rubbernecker Stamps), and Penny Black.   This project can also be found on my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@VeehattInspired .

The supplies used were:

  Simon Says Stamp “It’s Your Birthday” die set

  Penny Black “Ascending” die

  Penny Black “Dignified” die

  Simon Says Stamp “Kaleidoscope” embossing folder

  Spellbinders “Precision Layer A2 A” die set

  Brass & Bliss “Deckle Hills” die set

  Simon Says Stamp White Glossy Cardstock

  Simon Says Stamp Rose Gold Metallic Cardstock

  Finetec Pearlescent Colours watercolor paint – 9034-Golden Rose

  Studio Katia – Arctic Breeze Pearls

  Glue and other adhesives from my stash

I started the project by cutting the 8-1/2” x 11” piece heavy weight white in half to create an A2 top folding card base. 

I cut another piece of the white cardstock to be 4-1/4” x 5-1/2” using the largest die from Spellbinders’ “Precision Layer A2 A” die set and then utilized one of the dies from Brass & Bliss’ “Deckle Hills” edger die to cut the panel to cut it in half diagonally.  I misted the piece of the panel I’m going to use for the card front with water and placed it in Simon Says Stamp’s “Kaleidoscope” embossing folder and ran it though my Anna Griffin Empress die cutting and embossing machine.  I applied tape adhesive to the back of the embossed panel and attached it to my card base.

Using Simon Says Stamp’s “It’s Your Birthday” die, I cut it two times from white cardstock and a third time from Simon Says Stamp’s Rose Gold Metallic cardstock.  I applied Distress Collage Medium to the backs and adhered those three sentiment pieces together and set them aside for the glue to dry.

I used Penny Black’s “Ascending” die and cut it once from Simon Says Stamp’s Glossy White cardstock and cut Penny Black’s “Dignified” die from Simon Says Stamp’s Rose Gold Metallic cardstock.  Before placing these onto the card front, I lightly splattered Finetec Pearlescent Colours Watercolor Paint in “Golden Rose” onto the front of the card base and embossed panel.  Once that dried, I placed a combination of glue and Simon Says Stamp Thin 3D Foam Squares to the back sides of the Penny Black foliage dies and adhered them down the card front starting in the upper right corner and letting them cascade toward the lower right of the card front.

Lastly, I glued the “It’s Your Birthday” sentiment onto the lower right corner of the card and adhered a scattering of Studio Katia “Arctic Breeze” white pearls around the foliage.

I hope you enjoyed the card and found inspiration for some of your own card making projects!  Until next time… happy making!