Happy Day Cloud Background

This week at Heart 2 Heart- the technique set is sponging- and I knew exactly what I wanted to do!

I have been waiting to use this Build A Rainbow Thin Cuts since I first purchased them- so I got to work creating a card with these.

I cut one of the clouds and used that as a template to sponge a piece of White Daisy Cardstock using Glacier Ink and a Sponge Dauber. 

I just kept repeating the sponging process, using the cloud thin cut as a guide, until I had completeted the background. 

To create the completed card- I used a piece of yellow stripe paper from the In This Together Paper Packet and then matted the sponged background onto Grape Cardstock. I then cut the rainbow from Candy Apple, Nectarine, Clover and Lagoon cardstock and added two more clouds, which I also sponged with Glacier ink and popped up on 3D Foam Tape for some extra dimension. 

I stamped the sentiment from the Hillside Cottage Cardmaking Stamp Set using Grape Ink, and my card was done! I would love to know what you think. 

Just Distress Oxide It!

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop!  This month there are 10 of us highlighting different ways to use Distress Oxide inks.  This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating this technique.

If you are coming from Tamara's Blog, you are on the right track! 

I love using Distress Oxides to create my own backgrounds when I don't have the right colours or papers lying around. To start off with for this particular scrapbook page, I simply swiped Abandoned Coral and Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide inks over a piece of Mink Cardstock. 

Here's the finished layout- but lets have a look at some of the details that distress oxides a great way to do a background. 

The Mink cardstock showing through the distress inks really mimics the look of the Hillside Cottage Paper with the distressed look- it shows up on the journal sticker too. 

Dropping water onto a distress oxide background creates a fun look too- and as seen here you can still use embellishments and stamps directly onto the inks such as these Hillside Cottage Shapes or this title stamped with Intense Black ink from the Hillside Cottage Cardmaking Stamp Set. 

Here's the completed layout with photos and journalling- I'd love to know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by!  Please continue onto Judy's Blog where you will find some additional artwork highlighting this technique!  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of my variation and happy hopping!

Inky Fingers

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop!  This month there are 12 of us highlighting ideas to use the new Distress Oxide inks. 

This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating this technique.

If you are coming from Haley’s Blog, you are on the right track!

My first card uses the distress oxide inks as a background under the Hearts Background Thin Cuts. I layered Picked Raspberry and Abandoned Coral distress inks under the thin cut and then all I had to do was add a sentiment as the inks and thin cut were the main stars of this card.

Here’s a close up of the beautiful ombré look you get from blending the colours. I only used two colours but because they meet in the middle and blend together you can create even more colours. 

After I had made the first card, I had all of the little hearts left over so I decided to make another card! I simply stamped a sentiment all over to create a background in Smoothie ink, and then lightly blended the Abandoned Coral distress ink over the right hand corner to add some interest. Smoothie ink and cardstock goes so well with the Abandoned Coral distress ink! I then cut an envelope using the Mini Envelope Thin Cuts and filled it with some of the leftover hearts from my first card.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please continue onto Brandi’s Blog where you will find some additional artwork highlighting this technique!  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of my variation and happy hopping!

Plastic Patterns

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop!  This month there are 10 of us highlighting the stencils featured in the Core Catalogue.  This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating this technique.  

If you are coming from Cat's Blog, you are on the right track!  

Today I wanted to show you a fun background technique using the striped corner stencil from Stencil Pack 2. 

I used the bottom triangle of the striped template only, and used it on opposite corners of my layout. I sponged the template with Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide ink onto Blue Belle Cardstock, which I then matted onto Sapphire Cardstock for some extra depth. 

I also used a mister to spray some Green Apple Reinker over the ink stencil, as the oxide in the ink reacts with the water. I then directly stamped the sentiment and some stars onto the cardstock using Sapphire Ink. 

I also added some paper and stickers from the Party Time Paper Packet and Sticker Sheet, and finished off the layout with the Bitty Sparkles.You can see that the water reacts with the inks on the stencilled part, which I really like the look of. 

I find stencils such a fun way to add some interest to busy group photos or masculine layouts without using too many layers, patterned papers or embellishments.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please continue onto Brandi’s Blog where you will find some additional artwork highlighting this technique!  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of my variation and happy hopping!

Distressed much?

Welcome to our Technique Blog Hop!  This month there are 13 of us highlighting the Distressing Technique.

This blog hop is a great big circle so you can start wherever you want and continue through to see all the fabulous artwork incorporating this technique.

If you are coming from Ronda’s Blog, you are on the right track!

I wanted to showcase how I create a distressed look background, and the Yesterday and Today paper packet was the perfect paper for this! Here is the finished card...keep reading to learn how to create this distressed look.



To create this distressed background, I started off by scrunching up a piece of the Yesterday and Today patterned paper. I then used a spray bottle to lightly spritz it with water. I then uncrumpled it, leaving it slightly bent and messy, and ran my Espresso and Heather ink pads over the paper to ink the ridges in the crumpled paper.

Once this was done, I left it to dry and then attached it to my card base. I then added one of the beautiful Yesterday and Today stickers and a simple sentiment as well as some gold bling.

Thanks for stopping by!  Please continue onto Tamara's Blog where you will find some additional artwork highlighting this technique!  Be sure to leave a comment and let me know what you thought of my variation and happy hopping!

February SOTM Blog Hop - Heartfelt Sentiments

Welcome to our Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  We will be featuring February's SOTM, which is Heartfelt Sentiments, a set of 9 stamps. 

If you have come here from Brandi's Blog, you are on the right path! The blog hop is a great big circle, so you can start here and work your way all around.  If you get lost along the way, you’ll find the complete list of participating consultants on Melinda’s Blog. 

This month we have 23 Close To My Heart Consultants sharing their creations using this month's SOTM and other great CTMH products on their blogs. This is simple to do - just click on the link at the end of the post on each blog to move to the next one! Here we go!

I was inspired by a recent post on the Close To My Heart Blog about the Sponging and Droplet technique, so I decided to give it a go myself!

For the first card, I used the wow factor stamp, stamped in Eggplant over a Lilac and Blossom ponged background. 



Here's a close up where you can see the effect of the sponging and droplet technique- it makes any white cardstock turn into a beautiful marbled style background.




For the next card, I stuck with Mint and Emerald and used one of the smaller sentiment stamps with the banner stamp. The house was cut on the Cricut from the You Are Here cartridge and I just added a simple red glitter heart for embellishment.




Once again, here is a close up of the background so that you can see the colour variant and the splatters.



The great thing about this technique is you can personalise it completely with colours, stamping and embellishments.

Now "Hop" on over to Carrie's Blog to see her work! Be sure to visit all the Consultants at their Blogs to get some great crafting ideas and other fun ideas! Remember, the February SOTM is only available until the last day of the month!  Contact your CTMH Consultant (or click here) to see how you can get this stamp set at a discount!

Versamark Embossed Title

Today I am going to share with you a technique to create a bold title image using Versamark ink and watercolour paints.

Here is my layout so far- it needs a title!



I cut a stencil on my Cricut using the Artistry cartridge, and secured it to my layout using some washi tape.



I then carefully swiped the Versamark ink over the stencil to get in all the gaps of the letters.



The next step is to remove the stencil and put clear embossing ink over the Versamarked image.



You should now be able to see where you have inked.



Take your heat gun and heat the stamped title. You should see it go from a powdery white to a clear, glossy finish.



Using your watercolour paints, start brushing light sweeps of colour over the title.



I used three types of orange to create an ombre effect, but you could use one colour, create a rainbow title- the possibilities are huge!



Once your title is dry, take a clean paintbrush and go over the Versamarked area to get rid of any excess watercolour paint.


Here is my finished layout with the Versamarked title. It really adds a great interest to your page and allows you to customise your title in terms of the sentiment and the colours used.



Now it is your turn to try!

ABC Blog Hop- W

Welcome to the Everything ABC's Blog Hop!

For this hop we will be featuring the letter W. This may be the name of a paper, a stamp set or an embellishment. Whatever the crafter has chosen as their W element will be featured in their post.

If you came from Wendy then you're on the right track!

For my W I decided to try Water Stamping. This is a fun technique that involves placing your stamp on a wet paper towel and then stamping with the water directly on to an inked background.

The first thing I did was ink a 3x3 White Daisy square with Fern and Ruby ink.

I then took the medallion from the Hello Wonderful stamp set and placed it on a damp paper towel, then stamped it directly onto the inked cardstock.

As the cardstock dries, you are left with a water stamped image. No two are the same! For quicker results, you can iron the cardstock or use your heat tool to prevent warping.

I matted each square on a 3.25" square of Fern, Cocoa or Ruby cardstock, then attached them to a 3.5" card base.

I stamped a sentiment from Merry,Merry in Cocoa ink in the middle, and now I have some cute little gift cards ready to go for my neighbour gifts this year!

 

Your next stop on our Everything ABC'S blog Hop is Catherine of CatScrapbooking,

In case you get lost along the way I have a complete list below of the participants!

1. Lauren Moore
2. Catherine Nowak
3. Darlys Recker
4. Wendy Kessler 

ABC Blog Hop- N

Welcome to the Everything ABC's Blog Hop!

For this hop we will be featuring the letter N. This may be the name of a paper, a stamp set or an embellishment. Whatever the crafter has chosen as their N element will be featured in their post.

If you came from Linda then you're on the right track!

I decided to show you the Northern Lights background technique today, as this is a background I have only recently tried and I love the end result.

To start, sponge some Canary ink randomly over a piece of 3.5x4.5 cardstock.



Under these, sponge Pear ink.



Next, swipe some Lagoon over the cardstock.



Fill in any remaining areas with Gypsy ink.



Take your Outdoor Denim ink and go over the colours, creating dark and light areas within the colours.



Stamp a silhouette image over the colours, and sponge the edges in Black ink.



Lastly, take your White Gel Pen and add some random spots above your image.



Mat this onto your card, add a sentiment and you have a beautiful Northern Lights card!



I hope you enjoyed this tutorial- I would love to know if you have tried this technique before.

Your next stop on our Everything ABC'S blog Hop is Catherine of Catscrapbooking.

In case you get lost along the way…go to Scrappy Therapy for a complete list of participants!

CTMH supplies used:
Cardstock: White Daisy
Ink: Black, Canary, Gypsy, Lagoon, Outdoor Denim, Pear
Stamp set: Always Grateful
Tools: Round Sponge