Ink Smooshing and Two-for-One Backgrounds

Happy Monday everyone! It's Amanda from Twiddler's Nook. Mix it up Monday is extra inky fun on the Doodlebugs blog today. We're ink smooshing and getting two-for-one backgrounds from our efforts. So fun, easy to do and there is no messing up.

Start with a piece of white cardstock and water based markers like Tombow Dual Brush Pens or Distress Ink Pads. Smoosh or scribble a color on an acrylic block or glass mat and spritz it with water. If you use an acrylic block you can stamp the block all over your paper creating splotches of color. If you're using your glass mat, do that same thing with your paper on the mat to mop up the watery ink. I suggest using a heat gun or letting the panel dry between colors. This layers the colors and gives more interest, instead of colors blending together if the panel is still wet.

Once the panel is ink smooshed to your liking and dry, run it through your die cutter with the Mama Elephant Heart Grid cover plate die. Mine happened to keep all of the hearts in the die which made the next step easier but it's not game over if they come out.

I chose the melon color from my inking to be the background for both of my cards. So I cut two pieces and adhered them to white card bases. I popped the first one up with foam strips.

For the next one, I place a foam square on the back of each heart while they were stuck in the die, removed the release paper and carefully placed my paper centered over the hearts. They stuck to the paper and made it easy to have them equally spaced.

Then I cut some balloons from the Pretty Pink Posh Party Balloons die set in coordinating colors and stamped this sweet Mama Elephant bear, coloring it in coordinating colors as well. 

After adding the extra balloons and image to the design with foam squares, I stamped and heat embossed sentiments on sentiment strips, that are added with liquid glue and foam strips. For finishing touches I added black glaze pen to each bear's eye and glossy accents to his nose and the balloons.

Two birthday cards in almost the same amount of time to make one. I love that kind of crafting!

 

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

 Links to products used or recommended are listed below: 

I carrot 'bout you

 I'm trying to squeak in as many Easter themed cards this week.  Here's how I was inspired today:

These are the products I'm featuring:

• Pretty Pink Posh - Winter Mug | die
• Pretty Pink Posh - Spring Mug Additions | die
• Pretty Pink Posh- Layered Floral Vines | stencils
• Lawn Fawn - Carrot 'Bout You | bundle

I can't seem to get enough of that sweet bunny and her carrot mobile! I adore the Layered Floral Vines stencil.  I used the Waffle Flower Grip Mat for all my stenciling.  These are the inks I used:

• Concord & 9th - Ballet Slipper
• Concord & 9th - Dragonfruit
• Concord & 9th - Parsley

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

 Links to products used or recommended are listed below:   

Embossing Your Ink Blending - Floral Fun for Spring

Happy Monday friends! This is Amanda from Twiddler's Nook. I have a pretty floral card to share with you today featuring some of the March Pretty Pink Posh release plus some previously released goodies from Pretty Pink Posh and Spellbinders.

I started by stamping and coloring images from Pretty Pink Posh Daisies with copic markers. I chose a gray copic-friendly ink to soften the look of everything too. Once they were colored, I used the coordinating dies to cut them out and liquid glue to adhere the bow in place.

Next I ink blended a white cardstock panel with distress oxide inks, fading from milled lavender to victorian velvet. I spritzed the panel with water and flicked pearl water color on it for interest. While that was drying I cut the next-to-largest Spellbinders Make a Wish Arch Labels from iridescent vellum. Using the florals as a guide, I stamped and heat embossed my sentiment at the bottom. This came from the Pretty Pink Posh Sentiment Strips | Valentine stamp set.

When I started layering things together, my inked background felt too plain, so I ran the panel through my die cutter in the Spellbinders Candy Stripe embossing folder. This gives a little texture to the background without taking away from the florals in the foreground.

To assemble everything, I added foam squares to the florals and attached it to the vellum panel. Then I hid tape runner behind that to adhere the vellum to the embossed panel. The edges started to curl so I smeared a layer of liquid glue on the corners and a few places around the arch and held it down while the glue dried. If you use your finger or a dauber to spread the glue really thin on vellum, it doesn't show through.

For finishing touches, I added a scattering of white pearls across the design. They're soft and elegant, which I thought was perfect for the feel of this card.

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

 

 Links to products used or recommended are listed below: 

Using Your Paper Scraps For Cards

I've been on a mission to use up some of my paper scraps.  So, today I'm sharing another card idea for using your paper scraps. 

I used the Simple Strips die from Pretty Pink Posh to cut quite a pile of strips.  I like that this die will cut strips with different widths.  This allowed me to cut multiple strips with one pass on the die cutting machine making the process quick.

Once I had the strips cut I glued them to a sheet of copy paper to create a striped pattern.  Then I used the Markered Messages die to cut the word thanks.

I placed the word thanks onto the the shadow layer I cut from white cardstock and then onto the front of my card after stamping a sentiment.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you're inspired to used up some of your scraps!

-Cathy

  Links to products used or recommended are listed below: