Digging Into My Stash to Make a Birthday Card

I need a birthday card for someone who loves cats and gardening.  The Shopping Our Stash theme is "The Cat is in the Bag" which means use a cat (no problem for this proud, crazy cat lady) or a purse, bag, backpack, etc.  I decided to challenge myself to use mostly old, as in retired, products.  When I saw this Freshly Made Sketch my concept began to form in my head.

I do not have arch dies, but I do have a retired die, Kitty Window, from Tutti Designs featuring cats looking on a garden through a cathedral shaped window.  I cut two from 110 lb white cardstock and stacked them.  Now for a background to go behind the window.  I looked though my stash of backgrounds and found one with appropriate colors made using Lindy's Magicals.  Because the current theme at Seize the Birthday is embossing, I put the background upside down in a retired 3D Fern embossing folder from Stampin' Up so that the design would be debossed, that is pressed down into the paper.  Then I rubbed a Stampin' Up ink pad in Wild Wasabi, a retired color, over it, so you could see the ferns.

Please forgive my stained craft mat and the quality of photos taken with my phone as I worked.  After selecting the part I wanted to use I traced around the window portion and cut it out.

Because the background was done on thick watercolor paper, the window portion of the die cut would be thicker than the window sill and cats' tails, so I needed make another die cut from watercolor paper, trim off the part I needed and glue it on the back to level up the die cut.

Now that my focal point was done I could work on the rest of my card.  I cut a 4 x 5.25 inch panel and embossed it with a retired Stampin Up embossing folder which I think was called Subtle.  I gilded the edges by holding the panel vertically and pressing each edge into Versamark ink, then Ranger Princess Gold embossing power, and melting the powder with my heat tool. 

I used the the retired Perfect Sentiments stamp and die from Pink Fresh Studio for the sentiment.  It is a single stamp and die which makes eleven  assorted sentiments at a time.  Because part of the sentiment over laps the cat die cut I ran into the same issue of having the prop up the part that was hanging off.  I put two small pieces of card stack and one of watercolor paper under the Happy Birthday sentiment in the die to make shadow pieces pieces that I could stack so they were the same height as the cat die and then snipped off part of it to glue onto the back of the sentiment to make it level.

Now all I had to do was put everything together on a card base and I had a birthday card.  Except for the paper, Magicals, and embossing powder, everything used in this card is not only older, but no longer available.  I also plan enter this card in the Sisterhood of Crafters Birthdays challenge.  

This is what it looks like when you tilt it to light.  I love Lindy's Magicals.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

A Simple Quick(ish) Christmas Card

 

'Tis the season for stepping up my Christmas card making.  To make it easier I have an 8 x 14 lucite bin that I store all my Christmas themed dies, embossing folders, stencils, and leftover die cuts.  I keep the stamps separately "filed" in a drawer by theme such as sentiments, snowflakes, trees, religious, etc.    Because snowflakes are my favorite design element, I get out all my snowflake dies early in the year and cut multiples of each and keep them sorted in clear "flip flop" pockets.  If I need a quick Christmas card I can get out a card base, pick a background from my stash or a trimming from one, add a large snowflake or several small ones, a leftover sentiment or quickly stamp one, add a sparkle in the center of the snowflakes and I have a card.  If I have time I can add a few more touches like an extra layer or embossing.  

Towards the end of summer I go through my other stencils, embossing folders, and dies and add any that might be useful to my Christmas bin to have handy,  Let's face it.  Most of the cards I will be making for the next few months will be holiday cards.  Last week when I was looking through my embossing folders I found a Sizzix 3D Impresslits Snowflake folder by Tim Holtz hiding in the back which was easy for it to do given that it's only @ 3 x 4.5 inches.  It cuts and embosses a 2.75 and 1.75 inch snowflake in one step.  Talk about a time saver!  I bought it as part of the 2021 release and forgot all about it.  It has now lost it's status as a NBUS (Never Been Used Stuff).  I used it and the sketch below from CAS Colours and Sketches for the Alphabet K for Keep it Simple Challenge.

I followed the "add a few more touches" version of my quick(ish) formula.  I picked a strip left over after trimming a background I made, I don't know how long ago, and swiped the edges with ColorBox silver metallic pigment ink.  I put a small scrap of silver foil into the newly rediscovered embossing folder, ran it through my die cut machine and had a 3D snowflake to use now and a small one for my stash.  I looked through my snowflake stash and selected one cut using the retired Beautiful Blizzard die from Stampin' Up to layer on the silver one and finished my focal point with a sparkle.  I cut a 4 x 5.25 piece of white to add a layer for interest and heat embossed a sentiment from Close to My Heart's Snow Flurries set in silver.  All that was left to do is attach everything to the card base and stamp a sentiment inside.  In less than half an hour I had a card.

I also plan to enter this in the NBUS, Jingle Belles Cardstock Christmas (no patterned paper), Can You Handle the Pressure Anything  Goes Using an Embossing Folder, and Peace on Earth Anything Christmas Goes Challenges.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Colorful Leaves

 

For this card I wanted bright Fall colors which is not a palette I typically use, so there wasn't going to be a suitable background in my stash.  One custom background coming up.  I started by ink smooshing Festive Berries, Abandoned Coral, and Wild Honey Distress Oxide inks on Epson premium glossy photo paper which is thicker and sturdier than most photo papers.  The directions I have read on this technique say to apply Distress Glaze to reveal vibrant colors.  I have found that rubbing hard with a dry microfiber cloth will remove the oxidation without leaving the background slightly tacky to the touch.  I cut the top layers of the leaves using Altenew's Leaf Mix die set and laid them on the background to find the optimal spots to cut the bottom layers.

The "foil" paper is holographic paper in grapefruit I ordered from Stampin' Up years ago.  I grounded the arrangement with a piece cut using Altenew's Linear Crossroads die.  The sentiment is from Taylored Expressions Simple Strips line.

I plan to enter this card in the Sisterhood of Crafters Encouragement, Time Out Challenges Friendship/Encouragement, Support,  Four Seasons Fall Season September, A Place to Start Anything Goes, and Die Cut Divas Anything Goes challenges.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Luna the Christmas Kitten

 

When I saw this week's sketch on Sunday Stamps Challenge titled "Put a Bow On It" I envisioned a card that resembles a  wrapped gift tied with ribbon and a tag.   

This seems to be vintage week because the Jingle Belles Challenge theme is "The Spirit of Christmas Past" and the Peace on Earth Challenge, an anything goes challenge, has this mood board:

Because the As You Like It Challenge question is "What is your favorite coloring medium and why," the tag needed to have a colored stamp  The four challenges provided the parameters for my card:  A card that looks like a wrapped package with a colored stamp and a vintage feel.  

The Christmas Kitten from Stampendous not only fits the vibe, it is my favorite cat stamp because Luna, who was adopted when she was a year old, may have looked like this kitten when she, herself, was a kitten (except for the white paws).  Luna, who will be 19 in September based on her estimated birthday when she was rescued, prefers that I post this picture that shows her in her prime.

I stamped the kitten with Stampin' Up's Early Espresso ink and colored her with my go-to Prismacolors.   I love them because they are flexible and forgiving.  You can show pencil strokes or blend them using a blending pencil.  You can also use the blending pencil to blend out color so there is no edge.  That is how I created dimension on the naughty kitty on this card.  My favorite way to use them is to layer colors so that the colors below show through colors in the layers above as I did with Sherlock on this card.  I like the softness you can get with good quality pencils.  Also if you make a mistake or apply too much color you can pick it up with a Prismacolor eraser.  Try doing that with alcohol or watercolor markers.  

For the gift wrapping I used an old patterned paper from DCWV.  The pattern looks like it could have been drawn with colored pencils and has a vintage look that compliments the tag.  This card is 5x6.5 to accommodate that tag.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time. Hansi

Sending Warm Wishes for a Speedy Recovery

 I bought this Hero Arts stamp pre=pandemic because it made me think of my teenage years, yet I have only used it once and that was a couple years ago.  The Neglected Stuff  and Shopping Our Stash Hot Hot Hot challenges motivated me to use this poor neglected stamp lingering in my stash.  Of course the first step was to go through my stash of backgrounds to see if I had anything that would work.  This one goes back to when Distressed Oxide inks were introduced and a friend brought some tags over to play with my new inks.  For this one I ink smooshed Worn Lipstick, Wild Honey, and Broken China.  To add some texture to this old background I random stamped Lavinia's Sacred Spells text stamp in second generation and then, for a focal point stamped the sun using Ground Espresso Distress Oxide.  The sentiment comes from Stampin' Up's Desert Details set.  I don't use sparkles that often anymore, and when I do, I usually use clear ones.  For this card I went through my stash of embellishments and found these tiny, 2mm, black sparkles from Close to My heart that were retired years ago.   I also plan to enter this in the A Place to Start with an optional twist of Summer Things Challenge.

I am sending this to a friend who is rehabbing after knee replacement surgery.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Happy Hawaii Day

 

Colorful Options is celebrating Hawaii Day with a bonus mid month 1 week challenge using this color palette:

My first thought was a lotus or other tropical flower with blue, cool pink and aqua.  This provided the perfect use for my recently acquired Leaf Mix Die set from Altenew which I couldn't wait to play with.  I used this sample card from their website as inspiration but, when I tried to link it I found that the card no longer shows on their website, so I linked to the pin on my Pinterest.

First I needed a background.  I sprayed Snow Flurries, Shiny Bauble, and Fortune Teller Distress mica sprays and Dylusions White Linen mica spray on my craft mat, with no water, and smooshed a piece of water color paper in it multiple times until I was happy with the result.  Once it was dry I used the Sacred Spells stamp from Lavinia, curly corner stamp from Inkadinkado , and a cross hatch stamp from Stampin' Up's Timeless Textures set to stamp randomly with Hickory Smoke archival ink.  Lastly I gilded the edges of the panel by pressing it perpendicularly into a Versamark ink pad and Ranger super fine silver embossing powder and melting it.  All that mica means that when you tip the card in the light it really sparkles as you can see in the second photo.

I used my new Leaf Mix die set to cut the petal bases in white, top detail layers in silver foil, and the stamen and "leaf" pad in white paper that I ink blended with Seedless Preserves Distress ink.  After putting everything together on a card base I finished it off with a clear sparkle.  You may notice there is no sentiment.  I am working on building a stash of cards ready to go that I can put an appropriate sentiment on for whatever occasion I need a card for.  This one will probably have one embossed in silver on a white strip or one embossed in white on a black strip  placed below the lotus.   Because I am preserving the ability to use this card for any occasion I am entering it in the Addicted to Stamps and More Any Occasion challenge.

I am also entering this in the Beautiful Blossoms Anything Floral Goes and A Place to Start Optional Twist Summer Things Challenges.  Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi

Abigayil and Her Kittens

 This card was inspired by my all time favorite children's book, Abigayil, The Story of the Cat in the Manger, written by Rouben Mamoulian and illustrated by Marshall Goodman.  It has lots of text and beautiful watercolor and charcoal illustrations.  The story, told in the voice of Abigayil, a cynical streetwise cat who lives with her kittens in a stable in Bethlehem, is her testimony about the night Jesus was born.  Her paw was broken that morning when boys threw a rock at her while she was foraging food and now seems to be infected.  She is worried about being able to provide for her kittens and the possibility of not surviving her injury.  A woman gives birth while spending the night in her stable, and she hears the parents call him Jesus.  She is puzzled by the visitors that come to worship him and the fact that she feels his love and finds herself unable to attack the mice who are watching from their holes.  During the night a cold breeze begins to  blow through the cracks in the door, and as a mother herself, she is concerned about the baby, so despite her pain, she leaves her hiding spot and manages to get into the manger where she stretches out along side him to warm him with her body.  As dawn approaches Mary stirs, so she leaves Jesus and goes outside and sees a new star in the sky.  Abigayil is so filled with joy she does a high twisty jump before racing around the barnyard and fields.  Then she remembers her paw and stops in horror, sure that she has done irreparable, possibly fatal harm to herself, but when she checks her paw she finds it completely healed.  Come to think of it, the pain began to leave as soon as she touched Jesus.  Recognizing this as a miracle, she goes back to the manger, kneels at his feet and thanks him for healing her and showing her that love needs no reason.  She ends her testimony saying that Jesus is no ordinary baby.  He is a prescious gift of love and light to the world who will be a blessing to all.  

Now about the card:  I started by ink Smooshing Balmy Night Shimmer spray and plain water on watercolor paper and allowing it to dry naturally between layers until is liked how it looked.  Like with Brushos, the pigments broke into their component revealing other colors.  Next I used the Sacred Spells stamp from Lavinia and second generation to stamp along the sides.  I used the Star of Wonder die from Memory Box for the star, Cat D-Lites die from Spellbinders for the Mama cat, and Cat Set die from Impressions Obsession for the kittens.  After laying out the die cuts to check their position,  I used the Sparkle stencil from Tim Holtz and transparent matte texture paste for the smaller stars   I gilded the edges of the panel by pressing the edges a Versamark ink pad and then fine silver embossing powder and melting it with my heat tool.

I plan to enter this in the Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round "Oh Holy Night," Mix It Up "Mixed Media," Cut it Up  "Add a Sentiment" and Peace on Earth "Anything Goes"  challenges.

Thank you for stopping by!  Until next time, Hansi