Embossing powder + Stamps!

Hello there Sweet fans! It's Kristie Larsen here to share a fun little tutorial that involves embossing powder and some Sweet stamps! 

First, here is my card. I created a big gold emblem for the front of my card. Let me show you what I did so you can create your own!

First I started by using the fun California Lovin' stamp set. I randomly stamped the state all across my card stock panel.

Next I took the big GOLDEN sentiment and measured it onto a scrap piece of card stock to make a mask. I wrote right on the paper to measure how big I wanted it. I didn't want it too big or it would cover up all my background stamping. You definitely want to use card stock. Thicker masks for this technique work best. 

 I took a die cut and partially cut one side and then the other to create my own style of mask. I did this because I wanted it to be a specific size and I didn't have a die cut that was perfect. That's the great thing, you can alway make your supplies do what you want! You just have to get creative.

Ok, here is where it gets tricky. I first took my anti-static powder and applied it all around the mask to keep my powder from sticking where I didn't want it. I then took my Versamark ink pad and smooshed and smeared it INTO the empty mask space. Thus making the entire shape sticky. I then pulled off the mask, covered the ink with gold embossing powder and heat set it. You are going to want to do this 2 or 3 times to get the desired thickness and constancy for a good impression.  I used Ultra Thick embossing powder so I only had to do this step twice. It was already nice and thick.  Just put the mask back over the embossed area, smear it with more Versamark, add another layer of powder and heat set it. If you use regular embossing powder I recommend doing this step at least 3 times.

Ok, so once you are on your last heating, have your stamp ready and while your embossing powder is nice and hot, you stamp the image (in my case a sentiment) right INTO the hot melted powder.

I rocked my stamp back and forth a bit to be sure I got it nice and impressed. Then I pulled it off. I don't think it will get stuck in there...Haven't had that happen to me yet! This is a fun way to make it look like an old wax seal or you can use it to add little bits of color and textured stamping to your card, layout or planner.

The last thing I did was trim down the card panel and color around the states with some Copic markers. I then added a vellum strip with an additional sentiment and some gold sequins to finish off the look.

This is a really fun technique to try if you like fast moving, hands on crafting! You have to be on your toes to be sure things melt and press in the way you want it. But the fun part is, it creates a different look every time you do it! You never know what you are going to get.

Thanks for stopping in today. I hope you have learned something fun! Also, wasn't last months release so so great?! I know August is going to be just as amazing. Be sure to follow us on Facebook to be in the know for all things Sweet.www.thwww.sweetstampshop.com The releases just keep getting better and better!

Until next time,

xoxo
k

Sweet Stamp Shop July Release!

Hey there! Today is THE day! Join up over at Sweet Stamp Shop for their July Release! Things were a bit delayed this month but we are getting it in, juuuuust under the wire for July.

I wanted to share with you a card I created just for the occasion.

Starting with the full thang....

You're A Big Dill. hahahahahaha! Oh MAN! That makes me laugh every time! For some reason I think this stamp is hillll-ar-ious.  

 

Ok, so I took my cool guy and coloured him and die cut him into a rectangle and mounted him on some black card stock. I wanted him to look like a poloriod but then I got a bit excited about the sentiment being big and kind of lost the look there a bit. I then die cut the SMILE circle out of shiny gold card stock and adhered it all to this cool pattern paper that makes my dill even more cool.

And that's all! Just one card for you today. I hope you have a happy release! Jump on over to the Facebook even page to check out all the new stuff and then head to the STORE for some shopping! Woot!

Thanks for stopping in today!
xoxo
k

Sweet Stamp Shop June Release (just a month late :)

Hey there Sweet Stamp Shop fans. Thanks so much for joining me!! It's been awhile since I have been around, and I'll tell you why. Well, I decided at the beginning of June to get the heck out of dodge and left Singapore for the USA to spend a month with my family. My kids had a month break from school so I thought it was high time they got to enjoy all the things that America has to offer. Technically it had been 3.5 years since they had been state-side so they were all due a trip. So since I was gone, I kinda missed a pretty big event.... yup, the Sweet Stamp Shop June release. Well, we all celebrated through Facebook and Instagram but I just kind of missed it here. So now, here I am!

I wanted to show you my card:

I'm not gonna lie, this card took some time. I wanted it to be different. More then just the undies image and background paper. But in order for it to be different I had to put on my thinking cap. Well, the straightness of the undies gave me an idea. Hexagons! Let me show you how I executed it.

I first measured my little undies stamp. It was exactly 1 inch. 

So I took to Photoshop and created a 1inch hexagon and printed it out.

 I then trimmed out my hexagon and traced it all over my card base with a pencil.

I then stamped all the undies going around each traced hexagon to be sure my lines were straight and even. (I practiced once on scrap paper, just in case)
I left one hexagon empty and traced around it with a black marker. I then coloured it in with some Copic markers. Dark on the inside and lighter toward the outside.

I used this hexagon as a background for my main undies image and the sentiment which I fussy cut around and then coloured with a R20 Copic marker. I also added some hearts inside each hexagon for an added touch of pink color.

And that's it! Simple right? Hahaha... that made me laugh! Well, sometimes when I am crafting late at night I get hair-brained ideas and they just go off without me. But I'm glad I got to share it with you!

And from here on out, be sure to really look at your stamps and see what other shapes may lurk inside them :) You never know what you can create!

ALSO..... Don't miss this months Sweet Stamp Shop release which is coming up soon! Another great release and I promise to have a card here to share with you, ON TIME!

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a good one!
xoxo
k

Freehand Watercolor Condolences

Hellooo there Sweet Stamp Shop fans! I'm here to share with you a fun technique for today.  I think the hardest cards for me to make are condolence cards. I never seem to be able to find the right image I want to use. Well, I love the Sweet Stamp Condolences sentiment set but its just that, only sentiments. Well have no fear, enter in freehand watercoloring! I think there are so many great sentiments within the set that can be used and I kind of like knowing that I can now choose whatever image I want because its actually really easy to freehand a water-colour card. Let me show you what I mean.

Here is my final card. Because it is a condolence card I wanted it as SIMPLE as possible. No bells or whistles on this one, but still beautiful.

First, I feel like flowers are a very appropriate and safe image to use for condolence cards, but considering it is a sensitive time, it still has to be just the right flower image. I google searched 'flowers' and of course a whole slew of images came up. It didn't take me long to find one.

It spoke to me in just the ways I wanted it to. It said two things: 1."I'm an easy shape that you probably can't mess up" and 2. "Paint me!"

Now let me preface this by saying, in a very very serious tone, that I in NO way consider myself to be a person who can draw. True story, cross my heart, I never tell a lie. And that is exactly why this technique can be done by anyone. If I can do it, so can you. Promise! Also don't forget, water-colour is very forgiving so it doesn't have to look perfect to be lovely. Now, that's my kind of art :)

Ok, so I just kept my googled image close to me and traced it out with a pencil as best I could. This is when picking an image with very few lines is really really helpful.

After I got it how I wanted it, I picked some Distress Ink colours and a aqua brush and set to work. Remember, Distress Inks are formulated to work with water so its like having water-colour paints in your ink pad. I just smoosh them onto my craft mat (you can use an acetate sheet or even a plate) and add some water to them.

I started by having the light source hit the top of the petals, but as time went on I changed how I wanted it to look. I will show you that a bit later. First, a few tips for watercoloring: 1. Be sure to water-colour sections that don't touch each other because unless the sections are dry you will get some bleeding. And you definitely don't want that! 2. Run your clean water over the section you want to paint first. This will help the color spread and not be so concentrated. Just how water-colour should be. 3. If you are impatient like I am, heat up each section after you are done painting. It dries faster that way. Plus you can add different colors without too much bleeding if you want heavy shadows.

After doing the lighter wash, I went back in and added darker shades and different colours. Especially to the sections where the light source would cast a shadow, like where each new petal overlaps another petal. 

Also, you can see in this picture that I changed the light source to the left side of the flower, but only after I had painted it already! I did this by rubbing around a fair amount of clean water and lifting up the color with a paper towel. You can do that trick over and over until you get it as light as you want. That is the beauty of water-colour!

After it dried, it was just a matter of trimming down the panel and adding the sentiment. Simple but beautiful.

I also added a few rainstones to help pull the focus to the sentiment a bit more and adjusted the water-colour panel to be down in the bottom left corner which helps shift the weight as well. When putting a card together be sure to step back from it a bit to get a feel for the balance of the card. This can help you be sure it looks just right.

And that's it for today! Thanks for joining me. I hope you learned something new today and found some confidence to try this technique for yourself. I would love to see what you create so if you do try this out, be sure to leave a comment so I can come check it out! This was intimidating to me for the longest time, but once I tackled it I felt so much better! I hope you do too.

Also, check out the Sweet Stamp Shop Facebook page and also Instagram for so much inspiration your eyes might pop out! 

Until next time,

xo

k

Single Layer Stamping

Hello there Sweet Stamp Shop fans!  I wanted to share a quick card with you that doesn't involve much but some stamping and colouring. This is a fun way to make fast cards when you're in a pinch for simple but great!

I started by picking one simple image. You can do this with a number of Sweet Stamp sets. Look through your stash and find an image that you can repeat and color to create a great focal point. I stamped my images and overlapped them a bit. Don't worry about overlapping! You can color them in and blend the colours or you can stamp the images in different colours and leave them plain inside. That can be a fun look too. For this card I decided to  color in the balloons to make more of a statement.

I did some blending with my Copic Markers. You do NOT need to own Copics for colouring. You can blend using any alcohol markers plus you can also get a great blend using coloured pencils. I started with the mid-tone color, then the darkest color, then went over it again with the mid-tone and then finally the lightest color. If you are using color pencils, you can get a great blend by colouring in small circles. This will prevent those lines you get when you usually color.

I also used a darker color to add some dot details to my bear as well as a lighter pink color to do the cheeks and ear. The lighter tones of alcohol markers will removed the dark color kind of like an eraser. Then it left a little pink tone in its place.

The colouring went together fast! This is the kind of card you can make up while watching TV or chatting with some friends. Stamp out a few panels and then get to colouring!  I also added my sentiment from my very favorite Sweet sentiment set called Happy Birthday. It has so many great fonts. If you don't have this one yet, you really should check it out! I finished off the card by trimming it down a bit, adding it to a card stock base and adding a slew of enamel dots.

Thanks for joining me today. I hope you feel inspired and learned a few things along the way! Now get going and get stamping!!

Also, be sure to check us out on Instagram. There is always something inspirational coming your way plus you can chat with other Sweet fans and the DT is there to answer any questions you may have. 

until next time,

xoxo

k

Sweet Stamp Shop May Release

 Hey there! Long time no see, eh?? Welcome welcome! Today I wanted to show you a little bit how I made this card here for this months Sweet Stamp Shop release.

Here is the card:

I started by doing some mask stamping around this little coffee guy here. The HAPPY sentiment is nice and big so it was easy to just ink up the H first and then move onto the PPY after. I colored in the letters using Copics in a bit of a gradient.

Next I laid down this Tim Holtz stencil and mixed up three different colours of embossing paste using some Distress Inks. I smeared it around on my craft sheet that you see there. That thing is a wonder! I love it so much. Kind of wish I could cover my whole desk in it.

Nexxt I started at the drakes and smeared in the paste at the bottom being careful not to go too high because I wanted the color to grade up. I then applied the next two colours. 

Reallyl the hardest part about making this card was waiting for it to dry!! That is actually why I then covered it with some Glitter embossing powder and heat set it all. Made dry up nice and fast.

And there you have it!! Have you check out the Sweet Stamp Shop store? All the goods are there ready for you to buy. Go take a look!

Thanks for stopping by!
xoxo
k

Sweet Stamp Shop April release

Welcome Welcome to Sweet Stamp Shop release day!! YAY! I have two cards to share with you using only 2 images from all of the amazing sets that are being released.

Here is the first one:

These little critter images that Nicole designs are always so adorable! I coloured mine with some Copics.

Then I added it to some polka dots and some vellum. In my mind, that is all I could think about when I saw the sentiment. This card is all about pretty and pink!

Next I pulled out my watercolors (i.e. Distress Inks) I did some white embossing using the Happy Sentiments set and then watercolored over it for an embossing resist.

I then die cut some vellum and sewed it over the sentiment panel. 

I coloured my bear, net and butterflies with some Copic markers and popped them up with some dimensional adhesive.

That's all for me today. Be sure to jump over to the store to see all the new sets available. There is so much Sweet cuteness, you could pass out. So be forewarned!!

Thanks for stopping in today
xoxo
k

Sweet Stamp Shop: Undies Banner!

Yup, you read that right, today's post over at Sweet Stamp Shop features my very own undies banner.
Now don't get too excited, its a small banner that fits on a card front, but it is a banner that I DID sew together with my own sewing machine. I just couldn't help but fly those undies in the wind!

Jump on over to check out THE Tutorial.   There is another bonus card there too.

Thanks for stopping in today!
xoxo
k

Sweet Stamp Shop March Release!

Hey there!! Today I am sharing my cards for the latest stamp release over at Sweet Stamp Shop. If you haven't see the new sets yet, head on over to check them out!

Here is the first card using the cute set TURNIP:

I wanted my card to ROCK it! So I added some gold and craft chevron card stock underneath my main sentiment panel. I colored in the sentiments to help them pop a bit. And I colored my beets and turnips using Copic markers.

Next I wanted to make this little gang of veggies happy and partying it up! So I added some little party details using other Sweet sets that you may already have in your stash. The balloons are from PERFECT PANDA and the maracas are from TACO BOUT IT:

I coloured them all using Copics and added a hand cut party hat and a die cut for the 'birthday' sentiment.  I drew in the balloon strings using a white gel pen from CutCardStock.com

As always, Nicole has some fun designs over at Sweet Stamp Shop. Also, don't forget she is going gangbusters on the personal planner stamp sets. She released a new one this month too: Plan Pet.

So don't be shy, head on over and take a look! Also check them out on FB. There are always fun things to  see and also info on sales and giveaways!

Thanks for joining me today. Hope you have a great week!

k

Sweet Stamp Shop December Release!!

 Hello!! It's that time again.... Time to release the dickens out of the Sweet Stamp Shop! Today I get to share with you a few of my projects. First I have this penny rolling card:

This uses the new Petite Sweet Give 'Em Tacos. Anyone out there know the song "Funky Town" ?? I have been singing it ever since I saw this sentiment. Here is a little clip of it, if you would like to sing along! I wanted my taco to be moving (like the song says) so I opted for a moving card. (Sentiment is from last months released Taco Bout It)

Next up is Petite Sweet Granny Panties! How funny is this set!?  I wanted my panties to be hot hot hot! I chose two sentiments from last months reveal and 'paired' the with Granny Panties. (Ha Ha! Pun totally intended!)

I also took the fire image from Dragon to give my card some heat. I stamped both on the white and coloured card stock and used Copics to color.

Next up is Quilt Stitch. I LOVE this set! I love the whimsy of the design but also it is very versatile. I chose to use just the quilt squares for my background and made up this holiday card. 

 I coloured them all with trio sets of Copic markers. I then used the Monogram Alpha set to stamp my 'holidays' sentiment and used a die cut for the rest. I also matted it all on a scalloped rectangle die cut.

I couldn't stop playing with this set and made up a second card making a little lighter and brighter card. I used Copics again in three colours (red, yellow and blue tones) and used them to outline the card base. 

I used a die cut heart to ground my sentiment and covered it with Glossy Accents. I also used an itty bitty die cut heart on the sewing machine. The heart is already there in the design but I wanted to change up the color. I LOVE this sewing machine! In fact I coloured it to be a lot like the Singer machine I actually own. It has turquoise accents too!

And just for your viewing enjoyment, I have this little baby... I was going to save it for another post, but I want to go out with a bang! I coloured and fuzzy cut all my panties and laid them out. I popped up my artsy panties to give it a bit more dimension.

I chose the sentiment from Artsy Fartsy and hand drew my lines to help pull in the focus onto the centre of the card. My T-ruler is the best purchase I have made in a long time!!

So, how Artsy Fartsy are you feeling today?? Have you seen the entire release? You can see it RIGHT HERE. Then, put on your big girl panties and head on over to the store and get your artsy order in!!

Thanks so much for stopping in today! I hope you have a great week!
xoxo

k

Stamps used in these projects: