Winner–November Blog Hop “Masking Magic”

I’m sorry for the delay in posting the winner of last month’s blog hop.  Time is going by way too fast and I can’t keep up!  I can’t believe that Christmas is only 3 weeks away.  I’m so not ready! Anyhow, it’s time to announce the name of our winner from the A Year Of Card Techniques “Masking Magic” hop. If you would like to hop through too (just know the prize is no longer up for grabs), you can find it here.

And the winner is:

Congratulations, Darlene!  You have won the CTMH Christmas Stampset from Jodie Park at Close to My Heart.  Please contact her at stampinjodie@gmail.com with your mailing address and so she can send you your awesome prize!

A Year Of Card Techniques–Masking Magic

Welcome To

Welcome to A Year of Card Techniques Blog Hop where each month we feature a different card technique. We’ve assembled a team of card makers who range from new to advanced, so you’ll see a great variety of cards and ideas.

This month we’re going to explore masking techniques.  There are so many variations of masking, it would be difficult to list them all here.  But, since pictures speak louder than words, we’ll let our team show you the masking techniques they opted to try.  Hopefully, we’ll inspire you to try one yourself.  If you would like to check out our past technique hops, you can do that here:

• January-Shaving Cream Marbleizing

• February-So Sketchy

• March-no hop this month

• April-Stamp Set Showdown

• May-World of Watercolor

• June-Basic Card Folds

• July-Bleaching Your Card

• August-World of Watercolor

• September-Inlaid & Lifted Die Cuts

• October-Waterfall Cards

Our amazing sponsor this month is Jodie Park of Close to My Heart

Please take a moment to check out her store here.

And the awesome prize this month is a CTMH Christmas Stampset.  Isn’t it the cutest:

We really appreciate feedback, so please leave a comment on each of the blogs in the hop today.  The winner will be announced on Sunday, November 26, 2017, on A Piece of (my) Heart’s blog, so be sure to check her blog on Sunday.  If you would like to be contacted by email, please leave your email address in the comments.  The winner will have until December 14, 2017 to claim their prize.

Since I am first on the list, let’s get started.

I chose to do a very simple masking technique for my first card.  I was super stoked to use my new Gerda Steiner Clear Stamps – Playful Kittens on this card.  To start, I lined up my masking paper along the bottom of a piece of cardstock that I cut out with my stitched rectangle die and used a sponge dauber to create a “floor” for my cat in the suitcase to sit on.  As you can see in the picture, it leaves a very crisp line.  I stamped my image just above the sponged area and colored it in with Spectrum Noir markers TN3, TN4, & TN5.  The cat was colored using Spectrum Noir markers IG1, IG2, & a little CR3 for the inside of the ears.  I stamped a sentiment from the same Gerda Steiner set in the blank white space.  I mounted this onto some Kraft paper to complete this very clean & simple card.

The second card is pretty easy as well.  I cut a digital sentiment out of some post-it-note paper.  I then laid that post-it-note piece where I wanted it to be on my cardstock and pressed it down firmly to make sure that none of the edges were lifted.  With my Clarity Stencil Brushes, I used 4 different colors of Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tattered Rose, Broken China, Mustard Seed, and Peeled Paint) and brushed them across my cardstock on an angle blending each color into the other.  Using these brushes produces a very soft look.  

When I was finished, I peeled the post-it-note off the card stock to reveal a very crisp, clean sentiment.   I added a ribbon and adhered it to some blue cardstock to complete another clean & simple card.

For my last card, I used a more difficult (but not too difficult) technique.  I punched a circle out of some white cardstock.  I used my masking paper to mask off the top portion of the circle and sponged some Broken China Tim Holtz Distress Ink onto the bottom part of the circle.  Then I moved my mask down so that it masked off the blue ink.

I punched a smaller circle out of some post-it-note and added it just above the masked off piece.  Once everything was in place, I sponged some Tattered Rose Tim Holtz Distress Ink across the top of the circle.  I pulled the mask off to reveal a beautiful moonlit sky over the water. 

I used the large stamp from Inkadinkado Meadow and stamped portions of it onto the finished piece in some VersaFine Onyx black ink.  I adhered the finished circle to a piece of white cardstock that I had cut out with my new stitched rectangle die. I stamped an Avery Elle sentiment onto the cardstock under the circle and then adhered that piece to another piece of white cardstock just slightly larger.  Then I popped that up with some dimensional dots onto a 4.25-inch  wide X 5.5-inch high white card base to complete the card.  I would still consider this a clean & simple card with several layers.

Now you’re off to visit with the amazing and talented Kim over on Katydid Cards.  Hope you had fun and thanks for stopping by.  See you next month with another great technique!

Here’s the full line-up in case you get lost along the way:

Sharon
Kim
Wilma
Amanda
Jodie
Debbie
Claudia

Blog Hop Winner for October…

It’s time, once again, to post the name of the winner from the A Year Of Card Techniques Waterfall Cards blog hop!  If you are just reading this now and haven’t had a chance to jump through the hop, you can still do that by going HERE.

Our winner for this hop is

Congratulations Ronda!   You have won a Gift Code for $12.00 from Bugaboo Stamps.  Please contact Kim at kvenezia@comcast.net with your email address and she will assist you with getting your Gift Code.

Thanks for playing along, everyone! Don’t forget to check back with us on November 18th for our “Masking Magic” hop! You won’t want to miss your chance to win another fantastic prize!

A Year Of Card Techniques–Waterfall Cards

Welcome to A Year of Card Techniques Blog Hop where each month we feature a different card technique. We’ve assembled a team of card makers who range from new to advanced, so you’ll see a great variety of cards and ideas.

There’s just something about interactive cards and Waterfall Cards are among the best interactive card techniques!  They do look intricate, though, so we’ll let you in on any hints we uncover along the way.   Hopefully, we’ll inspire you to try one for yourself.

If you would like to check out our past technique hops, you can do that here:

• January-Shaving Cream Marbleizing

• February-So Sketchy

• March-no hop this month

• April-Stamp Set Showdown

• May-World of Watercolor

• June-Basic Card Folds

• July-Bleaching Your Card

• August-World of Watercolor

• September-Inlaid & Lifted Die Cuts

This month our amazing sponsor is none other than  Bugaboo Stamps

Please take a moment to check out their store here, their blog here and their Facebook page here.

And the awesome prize this month is $12.00 gift code to the store (about four digi images).

We really appreciate feedback, so please leave a comment on each of the blogs in the hop today.  The winner will be announced on Sunday, October 29, 2017, on A Piece of (my) Heart’s blog, so be sure to check her blog on Sunday.  If you would prefer to be notified if you win, please leave your email address in the comments and someone will contact you.  The winner will have until November 16, 2017, to claim their prize.

Since I’m the first blog on this hop, let’s get straight to hopping.

I had some really cute Santa images so I decided to make my first card a Christmas card.  Yay, now I can say I’ve started making my cards.  Only 59 more to go! 

Here are the Santa images I am using for the waterfall:

And here is my card:

I decided to do a landscape waterfall card first.  I found some free digital paper online and printed it off to use as my background layer.    Once I had all my images printed, I backed them with a “Ho, Ho, Ho” sentiment and started to assemble the card.  After the last Santa image was adhered, I ended with a Merry Christmas message.

My vision for this card was to have each Santa appear as if he were peaking out of a window in different positions so that when I flipped through the waterfall, it looked like he was moving from position to position.  It didn’t really work as well on paper as it did in my head, lol.

I finished this card off by decorating the inside with more free digital paper and a cute reindeer image.

The next card used some gorgeous, Gorjuss images.  This time I created a portrait card.  Once again, I found some great digital paper online and printed it out to use as my background.  After I printed each image, I backed them with a striped paper to match the color scheme.  I cut a rounded rectangle out of the bottom of the polkadot paper and then layered over the top of a piece of cardstock that had been stamped with a “Hello” sentiment and some hearts.

Click on the video below to see my card in action:

Now you’re off to visit with Claudia.  I’m sure she’s created something super special for us this month. Hope you had fun and thanks for stopping by. See you next month with another technique!

Here’s the full line-up in case you get lost:

Sharon
Claudia
Wilma
Jearise
Lisa
Jodie
Card A Day Challenge Team
Debbie
Amanda

Blog Hop Winner for September…

I’m sorry for the delay in posting the winner of this month’s blog hop.  I had a death in my family on Thursday of last week and my weekend was spent at the Visitation and then yesterday the Celebration Of Life.  It’s been a rough few days so I appreciate your understanding.  But now, it’s time to announce the name of our winner from the A Year Of Card Techniques “Inlaid & Lifted Die Cut Cards” hop picked by Random Name Picker!

And the winner is…

Congratulations, Judy!  Please contact me at apieceofheart.blog@gmail.com with your mailing address and I will pass this info on to Kim so she can send you your awesome prize!

Thanks for playing along, everyone! Don’t forget to check back with us on October 21st for our “Waterfall Cards” hop!  You won’t want to miss your chance to win another fantastic prize!!

A Year Of Card Techniques–Inlaid & Lifted Die Cut Cards

Welcome to

Welcome to A Year of Card Techniques Blog Hop where each month we feature a different card technique. We’ve assembled a team of card makers who range from new to advanced, so you’ll see a great variety of cards and ideas.

Die Cuts are certainly popular in the crafting world and there are so many from which to choose. But they can be expensive, so we’re looking at additional ways in which we can use them; specifically, inlaid and lifted die cuts.   Hopefully, we’ll inspire you to try an idea or two that we’ve shared with you.

If you would like to check out our past technique hops, you can do that here:  

• January-Shaving Cream Marbleizing

• February-So Sketchy

• March-no hop this month

• April-Stamp Set Showdown

• May-World of Watercolor

• June-Basic Card Folds

• July-Bleaching Your Card

• August-Stamping on Patterned Paper

We have an amazing sponsor this month, Katydid Cards.

Please take a moment to check out the Katydid Cards blog or Facebook page.

And the awesome prize this month is:

We really appreciate feedback, so please leave a comment on each of the blogs in the hop today. The winner will be announced on Sunday, September 24, 2017, right here on this blog, so be sure to check back here on Sunday to see if you are the winner.  If you would prefer to be notified if you win, please leave your email address in the comments and someone will contact you. The winner will have until October 14, 2017, to claim their prize. 

Since I am the first blog in the hop, let’s get going.

Card #1:

The first card I tried was an inlaid diecut.  I designed the teacups and used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the image out.  Then I colored the teacups and set the image aside.  Then I printed the designer cardstock and used the Cameo to cut an outline of the teacups.   I mounted the designer cardstock onto a brown mat.  Then I set the teacups into the empty space.  I adhered that to some Kraft cardstock and added my sentiment.  I adhered it all to a white card base.

Card #2:

The next card I tried was a raised and lifted diecut.  I found an image in my stash by Faith Skldra – From The Heart Stamps.  I’m not sure if this shop is still taking orders because, sadly, Faith recently passed away after a brave battle with cancer.  Her images are darling and she will definitely be missed in the creative world!

I designed this card in Silhouette Studio by adding my image and then typing the word “awesome” and placing it toward the bottom of my image.  I printed the image onto a piece of white cardstock.  I adhered my printed image to my Cameo mat and it cut the word “awesome” out.  This is called a “Print And Cut” design.   I pulled the image off the mat and set the word “awesome” aside until later.  I colored the image and used a stitched die to cut a stitched rectangle around the image.   I stamped the word “friend” below the cut-out of the word “awesome”.  The “friend” stamp comes from a Paper Smooches stamp set, Natural Beauty.  I lightly sponged around the edges of the cut-out stitched rectangle with some Tim Holtz distress ink, Abandoned Coral, and then used some washi tape to hold the piece in place on top of a white card base. I added a little glue to the back of the word “awesome” and laid it into the empty space where the word was cut from.  After I made sure the word was adhered to the card base, I removed the washi tape and lift the stamped piece off.   I used some pop dots to adhere the stamped image to the card base and made sure that it matched up with the word “awesome” so that you could see the word through the cut-out.

I hope you had fun and thanks for stopping by.  See you next month with another technique!

Here’s the full line-up in case you get lost:

• Sharon

• Claudia

• Kim

• Wilma

• Sandy

• Jodie

• Debbie

Thankful Shaker Card

Hey there crafty friends, I’m just here to share a card using Jen Evers Thankful digi stamp set which will be released soon.  The pumpkins, the leaves, and the sentiment are all part of this new release as well as lots of other great digis.  Head on over to koalatcrafts.com and register for the email list to get your special coupon code today.



Don’t forget about our monthly challenge that runs from September 1-30, 2017. We would absolutely LOVE to have you join us!  In the meantime, check out Jen’s blog for some inspiration from our talented Design Team.

If you have some time, please take a minute to visit Jen’s store and check out all her fabulous digi stamps among lots of other fun products as well.  You can also find Jen on YouTube where she posts tutorials that will teach you how to make all kinds of fun stuff.  Live Video tutorials on Thursdays from 6pm – 7pm CST and Sundays from 2pm to 3pm CST each week.

Have a great day and I’ll see you again soon with another card.

Koala T Crafts Challenge #3–Best Friends

Hi there, crafty friends!  September is here and that means it’s time for another challenge over on the Koala T Crafts blog.  This month’s challenge is Orange OR Purple OR Creatures and our Sponsor is the wonderful and talented Sherri Baldy My Besties.   You can create any project using any one, or all, of the monthly themes.  Projects are limited to 3 entries per person and must consist of NEW projects only - no back linking please.  You can find more details about the challenge HERE.

I decided to go purple and I didn’t hold back, lol.   I used this adorable image - Shy Bestie and Pup - which you can find HERE.

This image was colored using the following Copic Markers:

 

Don’t forget that our challenge runs from September 1-30, 2017 and we would absolutely LOVE to have you join us!  In the meantime, check out Jen’s blog for some inspiration from our talented Design Team.

Before you go, take a minute to check out Jen’s new Fall Digi Bundle.  For a limited time only, you can use discount code SHARON to receive 10% off your order.

It’s Time For Our Winner…

It’s time, once again, to post the name of the winner from the A Year Of Card Techniques Stamping On Patterned Paper blog hop!  If you are just reading this now and haven’t had a chance to jump through the hop, you can still do that by going HERE.

Our winner for this hop is

Congratulations, foleysfriend!   You have won 2 great stamp sets from our sponsor, the Card A Day Challenge Blog.  Please contact me at onecraftymrs@gmail.com with your mailing address and I will forward it to Denise so she can send you your awesome prize!

Thanks for playing along, everyone! Don’t forget to check back with us on September 16th for our “Inlaid & Lifted Die Cut Cards” hop! You won’t want to miss your chance to win another fantastic prize!

*New Release* Koala T Crafts Frightful Fall Digis

Hi there, crafty friends.  I have enjoyed my holidays this summer but now it’s time to get back to reality and head back to work on Monday.  With reality comes Fall, and with Fall, comes some fun new digis from Koala T Crafts!   Only $1.99 per digi OR a SPECIAL OFFER of only $14.00 for the whole bundle!  And just to make this great deal even better, use discount code SHARON when checking out for an extra 10% off the price.  This code is good through midnight CST today (8.27).   Just click on the image below to go grab these cute digis from the store!

Don’t forget about our challenge which runs until the end of August so you still have time to enter, but you’d better be quick!  Click HERE for more details.

A Year In Card Techniques–Stamping On Patterned Paper

Welcome to

Welcome to A Year Of Card Techniques Blog Hop where each month we feature a different card technique.  We’ve assembled a team of card makers who range from new to advanced, so you’ll see a great variety of cards and ideas.

We all love our stamp sets and we all love our patterned paper.  Well, this month we’re combining the two by stamping ON patterned paper for some unique projects.  It will be fun to see what stamps and papers our team decides to pair together.   And if you would like to check out our past technique hops, you can do that here:

• January-Shaving Cream Marbleizing

• February-So Sketchy

• March-no hop this month

• April-Stamp Set Showdown

• May-World of Watercolor

• June-Basic Card Folds

• July-Bleaching Your Card

Our amazing sponsor this month is Card a Day Challenge Blog.

Please take a moment to check out the CADC blog here.

And the awesome prize this month is:

We really appreciate feedback, so please leave a comment on each of the blogs in the hop today.   The winner will be announced on Sunday,  August 27, 2017 on my blog, so be sure to go back here to see if you are the winner!  If you would prefer to be notified if you win, please leave your email address in the comments and someone will contact you.    The winner will have until September 9, 2017 to claim their prize. 

Since I am the first blog in the hop, let’s get going.

I only made one card for this hop and I decided to try out paper piecing.  Paper piecing is when you stamp your image onto designer paper and then cut out the pieces to lay on top of the same image you’ve stamped onto a piece of white cardstock.

I stamped this cute little girl from the Penny Black Betsy Bluebell Stamp Set onto a piece of turquoise polkadot paper and some pink distressed paper.  I cut the skirt from the polkadot paper and the shirt as well as 2 balloons from the pink distressed paper.  I also stamped it onto a piece of blue distressed paper for the 3rd balloon.

Once everything was cut out, it was time to start adhering the pieces to the stamped image on the white cardstock.  I used Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue for this because it allowed me to manipulate the pieces into just the right place before drying. 

I colored the girl in with some Copic markers.
 

Hair – E25, E49 Face – E11, E13, E15 Cheeks – R20, R22 Hair Bows & Socks – BG18

To finish it off, I cut a couple of pieces of  designer cardstock into rectangles to lay behind my image as well as a cute pink ribbon.  I popped up the colored and paper pieced image with dimensionals and stamped “Happy Birthday To You” directly onto the designer paper just below the ribbon.

That’s it for me.  I hope you enjoyed my card today.  Make sure you complete the hop to increase your chances of winning by commenting on each blog.

Now you’re off to visit with the wonderful and amazing Claudia. Hope you had fun and thanks for stopping by.  See you next month with another technique!

Here’s the full line-up in case you get lost:

Sharon
Claudia
Kim
Wilma
Jearise
Sandy
Jodie
Card A Day Challenge Team
Debbie
Amanda