Miss Your Smile

Hey guys! It's Kara, and today I'm sharing a fun new technique that I've seen recently, but adapted it to the supplies I already have on hand.

New products are great and so much fun to shop for, but I love the challenge of creating the look with supplies I already own. Recently, Debby of Lime Doodle Design, created a background with a stencil and new Distress Crayons. I thought perhaps I could do the same with my Gelatos and I was right. I love the subtle results!

Starting with a piece of watercolor paper, I taped down my stencil and applied some of the white Gelato. I smoothed it over with my finger before removing the stencil. While I set that aside to dry, I started die cutting and stamping my images from the Happy Wishes set. I always stamp more than I need so that the flower arranging is easier later on. I stamped my flowers and leaves with Pure Color Dye Ink in the colors Mojito, Wild Mango, Sweet Nectar, and Warm Wool. I stamped a sweet sentiment from That Is All on the banner from the Bountiful Blooms die set. I curved the sentiment on my acrylic block so it followed the curve of the banner.

Once the Gelato was dry, I added just a bit of color with Peacock Feathers Distress Ink. The Gelato dries with a bit of texture and resists the ink.

Now it's time to assemble all of the pieces. I added the banner to my card front with some dimensional adhesive so that the flowers and foliage could be tucked in behind and layered on top of the banner. Finally, I die cut 'hello' four times, also from the Bountiful Blooms die set, and layered them up. I layered the stenciled piece with a piece of vellum and a piece of white cardstock on top of a Lake House card base.

Thanks so much for stopping in and taking a peek!

Featured Wplus9 Supplies

Wplus9 Happy Wishes 4x6 Stamp Set Wplus9 Happy Wishes Companion Die Wplus9 Bountiful Blooms Die Wplus9 That Is All 4x6 stamp set Wplus9 Sweet Nectar PURE COLOR Dye Ink Wplus9 Pure Color Warm Wool Dye Ink Wplus9 Mojito PURE COLOR Dye Ink Pad Wplus9 Wild Mango PURE COLOR Dye Ink Pad Wplus9 White Premium Cardstock Wplus9 Lake House Cardstock

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VIDEO: Happy Wishes & Lasting Hearts Card Drive

Hello everyone! Dawn here and I have a special post today in support of the Lasting Hearts Card Drive.

In today's video, I'm sharing some tips on mass producing cards on colored card stock with multi-colored floral arrangements with the MISTI stamping tool. The trick to making the colors stay true and "pop" is by stamping the images first in white pigment ink. This technique probably already has a clever name, but I'm calling it ghost stamping.

Watch above or watch in HD at YouTube

About Lasting Hearts Card Drive

Lasting Hearts is here to help comfort mothers who have lost a piece of their heart. Losing a child, whether in pregnancy or older, can be one of the hardest pains a parent can endure. We would like to raise awareness and show other mothers that they are not alone, that they are stronger than they realize, and that there are people out there who care dearly.

There are so many amazing people in this industry who are constantly looking for ways to help others. Lasting Hearts came to fruition after a very personal loss for Kimberly of Hero Arts. You can read in her own words all about it here.

There is a lot of information and many ways that you can help and participate in the Last Hearts Campaign. I'll provide a brief overview, but please visit Jennifer McGuire's blog for complete details and information on how you can become involved and help.

There are several ways that you can help support this wonderful cause including:

• Donations - 100% to be used to purchase “You are the Mother of all Mothers” books by Angela Miller to give to parents who have just experienced the loss of a child via miscarriage. The price of each book is $12 but any amount helps.
• Card Drive - send in handmade cards to accompany each book (specifics and where to mail can be found on Jennifer's blog)
• Purchasing the Prayers Stamp Set. 25% of the profits of this stamp and die set will be donated to the Lasting Hearts efforts

Again, please visit Jennifer McGuire's blog for much more information.

I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for stopping by, hopefully your weekend has been good to you! ;o)

VIDEO: Sentiment Card Set with Kelly Latevola

Hello Crafters!

It's Kelly here and I created a tone on tone card set to share with you today.

I told you before I'm in love with the That is All set and I'd be using it a ton. Here it is again as promised.

I did a quick video for you guys so you can see how I used the set to create my own patterned backgrounds. I just love making something your own, don't you?

Watch above or watch in HD at YouTube

Seriously, it has so many different sentiments in it, I mean, I made a whole card set. See what I'm saying ;)

I absolutely love that tone on tone stamping. It's just enough interest to keep the cards from being boring but not so much that it takes away from the focal point. Vellum is the best for setting off a sentiment on a busier background.

These simple cards are perfect to send to your friends or maybe wrap them up and give them as a gift to let your friend's brighten someone else's day.

Thanks so much for stopping in!

Clean and Simple Dimension with Detailed Stamps

Hi all, it's Maureen here with a CAS card set using the newly released Beautiful Bouquets: Ranunculous stamp set and the Bountiful Blooms die.

 Wplus9 Supplies:
Stamps: Beautiful Bouquets:  Ranunculous// Dies: Bountiful Blooms, Love Mom Layers// Cardstock: White

This stamp is simply gorgeous colored, as you've seen many of the WPlus9 designers do. You know what I've found though? It looks just as stunning heat embossed on colored card stock.

To make my card set, I started by die cutting colored card stock using the Love Mom Layers Die. With the help of my MISTI, I was able to quickly stamp the images with Versamark ink and then heat emboss them with White Embossing Powder several times onto various colors of card stock. To make the embossed images pop a bit more, I traced the outline of the images using a Versamarker. You can also get a similiar result using Copic Markers if you don't have the Versamarker.

The ranunculous images are so beautiful that I did very little to the rest of the card. I die cut the sentiment from the Bountiful Blooms die set and added it to a strip of Vellum card stock. Each card was embellished with sequins.

Thanks so much for stopping by the WPlus9 Design Blog today. I hope you are inspired to create your own CAS card set!

Beautiful Bouquet With Joni Andaya

Hello everyone, Joni here, back with another card using the newly released Happy Wishes and Beautiful Bouquet: Ranunculus stamp sets.

Wplus9 Supplies:
Stamps: Happy Wishes, Beautiful Bouquet: Ranunculus // Inks: Coconut Husk // Other: Autumn Splendor: Red Enamel Dots

To begin, I first stamped the flower image in Coconut Husk dye ink onto watercolor paper and watercolored it. Any watercolor type will work with this gorgeous flower image.

Next, I used the Black ZIG Clean Color Real Brush to color the empty spaces on the watercolor panel to give it a patterned paper look. If you do not have the ZIG Clean Color Real Brush you can use any black marker with a brush tip for easy application.

Here is a look at the individual pieces of the card. For the sentiment, I used the new Happy Wishes stamp set stamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed in Gold.

I adhered the sentiment with foam tape and added some enamel dots to finish off the card.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you that enjoyed today's card!

Happy Love Birds

Hey Guys, it's Kara. I've already started to see your projects show up on your blogs and Instagram feeds using the February release and they are gorgeous! With so many great sets and dies released, it wasn't difficult to qualify for the Free Biggest Fan stamp set. If you haven't already, don't forget, today is the last day to qualify for this FREE set! Today I have paired it with another new favorite, Happy Birds, to create some one-of-a-kind Valentines for my husband.

I bought him a few little, silly treats and wanted to package them up in a way that made them seem a little more special.

Let's start with the card. I created the frame using the Sunshine Layers Die and the Anastasia Tag Die. I stamped the 'I just love you' sentiment from Biggest Fan at the top. The little love birds are stamped, die cut and colored with Copics. I created a male and female bird by adding a cute little bow and bowtie using the Unforgettable Dies.

By using a small hole punch, I was able to punch holes in the card front and tie the cinnamon toothpicks on with some cotton twine. Attaching the card front to the Cupids Bow card base {my favorite red by the way} with foam tape allowed room for the knots on the back of the card front.

I also picked up some Cherry Pop Rocks for him. I decided to create matchbook style packaging to hold them. And it's really easy to do.

Instructions:

1. Cut a piece of card stock to 8.5 x 3.5 inches
2. Score horizontally (across the short side) at 1 inch and again at 6.25 inches
3. Fold at score lines and staple your treats inside
4. Embellish

I embellished the front with more love birds, that awesome sentiment from Biggest Fan and sprinkled around a few hearts from the Backgrounds and Borders 3 stamp set. I can't wait to give these to Ryan on Valentine's Day. He really is a dork, but hey, so am I ;)

I also made him a batch of his favorite Molasses Cookies.  Visit my blog if you're interested in the recipe.

Thanks for stopping by!

Featured Supplies

Wplus9 Happy Birds 4x6 clear stamps Wplus9 Borders & Backgrounds 3 4x6 Clear Stamps Wplus9 Happy Birds Die Wplus9 Unforgettable Die Wplus9 Sunshine Layers Die Wplus9 Anastasia Tag Die Wplus9 Cupid's Bow Cardstock Wplus9 White Premium Cardstock Wplus9 PURE COLOR Black Dye Ink Copic Sketch Marker R32 PEACH *Copic Sketch Marker R29 LIPSTICK RED Bright Bold 3M Scotch DOUBLE-SIDED FOAM TAPE Permanent http://www.simonsaysstamp.com/product.aspx?id=334856 Tombow MONO Adhesive PERMANENT Tape Dispenser Ranger .5 Oz. MINI MULTI MEDIUM MATTE Glue Adhesive Paint INK41511

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***Some supplies in the list have been substituted with equivalents due to availability.***