Autumn Tree Birthday Card (and other “Positively Negative” cards)

Posted in Birthday Cards, Cards, Get Well/Sympathy, Other, Thank You Cards, Wedding/Anniversary by lisababitz

Autumn Tree Birthday Card (and other “Positively Negative” cards)

I was asked to be the guest hostess for this week’s Mod Squad Challenge, and my challenge, called Positively Negative, is to create a project using the negative of a die (manual or electronically cut), punch, or hand-cut shape. (Sadly, this site is no longer active.)

This card was originally posted in my stamptv gallery (Sadly, this site is no longer active.), but I’m posting it here to show an example of a card where I did reverse masking (using the negative of a die) to create the sponged background for my tree image.

I used the Gina K Designs “The Giving Tree” set. Card stock used was gina k ivory and dark chocolate, and ink was gina k dark chocolate and memento desert sand. I used Flower Soft (autumn and nut brown) for the leaves. As mentioned above, a mat was made with the Spellbinders Wonky Squares die (discontinued?) to create the background for the tree. Yarn, a button and a gina k wood leaf finished it off.

Two more cards using the negative to sponge the background for my stamped images are below:

You can see the original post in my stamp tv gallery. (Sadly, this site is no longer active.)

The sentiment and floral image on this card are from the “With Love & Prayers” set by GKD. Gina K Wild Lilac and Moonlit Fog inks with a square mask were used to create the background. The image and sentiment were stamped with Gina K’s Edible Eggplant ink.

and

My card was originally posted in my stamp tv gallery. (Sadly, this site is no longer active.)

This is a card I CASED after watching Melanie Muenchinger’s tutorial (HERE). The stamp sets I used are Gina K Designs “A Year of Flowers 2” and “All Occasion Tags” (retired?) for the sentiment. I used the Spellbinders Wonky Square die for this reverse mask as well.

I also did a card a few weeks ago where I used the negative of a flower die cut to create the template for my image using the Confetti Cluster Stamping technique.

You can see my original post (HERE).

And finally, here is a sample of where I used the actual negative on my card of a heart I created and cut with my Silhouette.

You can see the original post in my stamptv gallery. (Sadly, this site is no longer active.)

I can’t wait to see your “Positively Negative” creations over at the Mod Squad Challenge Blog this week!

Thanks for checking out my post!

This content uses referral links as described in the disclosure policy on my sidebar.

20May2015

Positively Negative Thank You Note

Posted in Cards, I'm Honored, Thank You Cards by lisababitz

Positively Negative Thank You Note

I am so excited to have been asked to be the guest hostess for this week’s Mod Squad Challenge! (Sadly, this site is no longer active.)

My challenge, called Positively Negative, is to create a project using the negative of a die (manual or electronically cut), punch, or hand-cut shape. ~~(http://modsquadchallenge.blogspot.com/2015/05/positively-negative.html~~

The negative is the piece of paper (or other medium) from which the shape or shapes were cut. There are many different ways you could use the negative. You could do Confetti Cluster Stamping using the negative as your template. You could do Reverse Masking to create a background for your images. You could use the actual negative on your project. Stencils are negatives, too! These are just a few examples of ways to use the negative on your project.

I needed to make a few thank you notes and wanted to create something that was easy to duplicate and wouldn’t require extra postage or a trip to the post office!

Using Gina K “Edible Eggplant” ink, I stamped my flourish (from Inkadinkado’s “Dot Flourishes“) and greeting (from Gina K Designs “Thank You Duo” – retired?) on a piece of Bazzill “Infatuation” card stock.

I wanted my flowers cut from this panel with the patterned paper showing through the “holes” left by the dies, and I also wanted a darker inner border showing around the inside border of each flower. The problem was that I don’t have smaller dies to make the borders , so I placed this panel on a slightly larger panel of Gina K “Edible Eggplant” card stock, lining them up in the lower right corner (as shown)

… and die cut the flowers (through both panels at once) using dies from the Momenta Flowers 2 (Lot 004798) die set. (I added a bit of repositional adhesive to keep the two panels in place temporarily.) Once the flowers were cut, removed (and saved for a later project!), I centered the lighter purple panel on the darker one. This caused the cut-outs to be slightly offset creating a partial “shadow” effect. It didn’t go around the flowers perfectly or completely, but it was enough to add a little contrast between the light panel and the patterned paper. This matted panel was adhered to the patterned panel (“Dark Plum Damask” – Sonnets by Sharon – Creative Imaginations) and then to an Edible Eggplant card base. Lavender Gem Stickers (Martha Stewart Crafts) were added to the centers of the flowers and on the flourish.

The Mod Squad Challenge prize (for a randomly drawn winner) is “stuff” from my stash [Spellbinders “Circles” Impressabilites (which can be used as a stencil if you don’t have a machine for embossing), two packs of metal embellishments, and silver foil tape.

Join us for the Mod Squad “Positively Negative” Challenge this week. (Details on the rules can be found ~~HERE.)~~ I can’t wait to see what you create! (Sadly, this site is no longer active.)

Thanks for checking out my card project and post!

This content uses referral links as described in the disclosure policy on my sidebar.

17May2015

Pop-Up Wedding Cake Card

Posted in Cards, Interactive, Wedding/Anniversary by lisababitz

Pop-Up Wedding Cake Card

Join us over at Perfectly Rustics for a new challenge. This fortnight, the challenge is to create a pop-up card. (http://perfectlyrustics.com/2015/05/18/prdc-no-48-pop-up/)

The pop-up portion of my card was created using the Sizzix “Cake, Three Tier, 3-D” Bigz Die and my Big Kick machine. The base pieces were cut from Gina K Innocent Pink heavy base weight card stock. The die provides the bases and supports for the three tiers, along with a bride and groom and a candle, as shown below. The sides are 1 inch strips (of whatever material you want the sides to be) cut with a trimmer.

It was suggested by the designer of the die (Karen Burniston) that the sides of the cake be cut from a material that is resistant to folding since these circular sides flatten somewhat when the card is closed, and you want these sides to become circular again once it is opened. Grunge paper and acetate are good choices. If you choose to use card stock, she suggests crimping the strips because it will hide any folds that may end up on these pieces when the card closes and opens.

With this in mind, I decided to go with crimped card stock, but I wanted them to be a little less likely to tear while still being flexible, so I covered my white card stock strips with crumpled tissue paper from Hallmark. (I had recently discovered the tissue paper technique and had posted a few projects using it HERE.) I covered my flat strips with decoupage, then placed the crumpled tissue paper on the strips, flattened them, trimmed off the excess tissue paper, and then sealed each of them with a top coat of the decoupage. Once the strips were dry, I ran each of them through my crimper.

Also at Karen Burniston’s suggestion, I cut a “plate” using one of the dies from the Spellbinders Stately Circles set, and assembled my cake on this piece before adhering it to my card base.

The bride and groom on the top of the cake were cut from Recollections glitter paper. The flowers on the top tier are by Offray which I found in the DIY Wedding aisle at the craft store. The leafy flourishes were cut from a die from the Heartfelt Creations (Spellbinders) “Cut Mat Create 2A Die” set and cut into smaller pieces. The hearts were cut using a Creative Memories Two Heart Punch.

The card base is two pieces of heavy chipboard covered with papers from the My Mind’s Eye Simply Delightful 12×12 paper pad and attached in the center with Washi tape. I needed to use the Washi tape to keep the center of the card base somewhat flexible to allow the card to open and close once the cake was glued to the inside. I think that building the cake on the “plate” panel was easier perhaps than building it directly on the card base, but I also think that this “plate” makes closing the card VERY difficult! I am definitely going to have to play around with this some more to see if the plate could be done differently or eliminated or if there is another way to make the base to better accommodate the plate.

My card is meant to be displayed opened with the cake popped-up. My card front is very simple with some of the same paper I used on the inside along with a couple of hearts. To keep the card closed until the recipient is ready to open it, I loosely tied a piece of white ribbon around the whole card. I left off a sentiment because this card could be used for a wedding or an anniversary. I don’t think a sentiment is needed, but it could always be added later if desired in the form of a small banner or tag, for example. Even though I chose to make my card front very simple, you can see that it is possible to display the card “closed” as shown, so you can make your card front as elaborate as you want.

Here are a few views of the card as it opens. The circular tops of each tier are folded when the card is closed and open flat when card is completely opened. Notice how the sides of each tier kind of fold together when the card is closed. You don’t want to see a sharp fold on the sides of the cake when it is opened. This is why using a fold resistant material or a crimped piece of card stock is recommended.

Now it’s your turn. Create a Pop-Up card, and enter it in the challenge over at Perfectly Rustics. I’d love to see your project!

Thanks for checking out my card post!

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17May2015

Mod Squad Challenge – “Encouragement” – A Top 3 Winner!

Posted in I'm Honored by lisababitz

Mod Squad Challenge – “Encouragement” – A Top 3 Winner!

(April 29, 2015)

(The host/hostess picked the “Top 3” which will be featured on PINTEREST.)

~~Click HERE to see the winning announcement~~. (Sadly, this site is no longer active.)

~~Click HERE to see the original challenge post.~~ (Sadly, this site is no longer active.)

Click HERE to see original blog post for this card project.

Thanks for checking out my post!

3May2015

Three Beach Babes

Posted in Cards, Other by lisababitz

Three Beach Babes

They ARE fabulous, aren’t they?!

This fortnight, the challenge over at Perfectly Rustics is to use three of something on your project. (http://perfectlyrustics.com/2015/05/04/prdc-no-47-three-of-something/)

For this card project, I used the three beach babes image from the Art Impressions (Hampton Art) “Beach Babes” stamp set. Here is what is included in this set:

I stamped the image and sentiment on white card stock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Then I masked the image using a mask I made with my Silhouette and stamped my background swipes using a stamp from the Stampin’ Up “Work of Art” stamp set. I used Memento Desert Sand ink for the sand, and I used Gina K Turquois Sea ink (which I “stamped off”) for the sea/sky. (I LOVE this stamp set and can see myself using it a lot. However, I am embarrassed to tell you how many times I tried to get my background swipes “just right” for this card! You’d think it would be random and quick (and it may be for most people!), but I’m not really a random stamper, and I experimented with a lot of different combinations before coming up with the design I ended up using.) Once I was FINALLY happy with the background, I colored the image with Copic Markers (Skin – E50, E31, E33, E04, R21; Clothes – B29, B04, YR68, Y15, B66, E47; Chairs – C1, B04; Drinks – Y15, E50, and E55, E57, YR68).

The card stock I used was Gina K Turquoise Sea, Sweet Mango, and white. The background paper is from a digital pack called “Beach Holiday Fun” from Digital Potpourri. (You can see the listing HERE.)

Since this card was made for a challenge to use three of something, I decided to create 3 coconut embellishments to add to the palm tree. I made these with my Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio Bubble Cap maker , Clear Round (14) epoxy shapes, and a scrap of orange swirly paper from my stash. This tool is pretty cool because you can use whatever paper you want to create custom embellishments for your projects. You can check out this tool HERE on amazon.com.

In order to keep the palm tree on the background (my daughter insisted!) and still fit my rather large stamped image, my card needed to be 5×7. Before making this version, I played around with a number of different background styles which I included here.

The paper, card stock and copic marker colors are all the same as the ones listed above. The enamel dots on these cards were by Teresa Collins, and the embossing folder used on the third card sample is Basket Weave by Darice. Initially, I had stamped the sentiment a little too far away from my image (in my opinion) so I added the enamel dots under it to fill in some of the space. I’m not sure if I love that or not! Then I went back and tried one with the sentiment closer. Much better!

Now it’s your turn! Create a project using three of something, and share it over at Perfectly Rustics!

Thanks for checking out my card projects!

Oh, and one more thing…

As I’ve mentioned on several occasions, my daughter LOVES palm trees and often ~~pesters me~~ suggests that I include them on my cards. She just returned home from the International Career Development Conference that was held in Orlando, Florida this year. (She and her two brothers qualified to attend this international competition by placing first in our region in the Stock Market Simulation game in which they participated with their school/business class. Hooray Kelly, Kevin and Keith!) Anyway, here are a few pictures that Kelly’s friends took of her while there: