Lucky Four Leaf Clover Easel Card on Blog Tonic USA Today

I am proud to share that my Four Leaf Clover Easel card is live today on the Tonic Studios USA Blog here. I share how I made it and some tips so be sure to pop over to see the whole blogpost. 

And if you like Tonic Studios and Nuvo inspiration, as well as ideas you can use no matter what dies or cardmaking supplies you have, come check out our Tonic Fanatics Facebook Group here. We would love to have you join us as we share our love of die cuts and Nuvo products.

Bugs and Hugs Pop Up Card with Die-Versions Dies

Happy Monday everyone! It's my turn to post a card on Die-Version's blog and mine, and I am sharing  a birthday card I made with the brand new Bug Friends die set from Die-Versions. I love to make cards for kids and when I saw this cute set of bugs in the newest release, I knew I had to play with it. I created a top folding A2 card base and attached the Happy Birthday Corner to the top. I die cut the Momma and baby snail out of green, plaid and black scraps and paper pieced them together. I die cut “BUGS &” out of Die-Versions alphabet die. The best part of this card is what pops up when it is opened:

Four panels of cute bugs and hugs twist and pop up to surprise and delight the recipient. There are many ways to make this twist and pop element, but I did a tutorial on the easiest way I have tried here if you would like to try one. I die cut three more bugs from the new Bug Friends set for three of the panels and added Die-Version’s “hugs” too. I think my grandson will like this “bugs and hugs” pop up card. Here is a close up of those cute bugs:

**Remember you can get a 15% discount on any of Die-Version’s great dies by simply using my discount code karen15 when you check out at the Die Versions website unless the dies are already on sale.

Stencils and Foil Masculine Card

I hope you are not tired of seeing cards with stencils and Deco Foil because I am having so much fun playing with both. I shared yesterday that I recently was taught how to use to the Dreamweaver Embossing Pastes that many of us have gathering dust with our old brass stencils to achieve this gorgeous look with Therm-o-web's Deco Foil. We applied the embossing paste through the brass Dreamweaver buck stencil with a stencil knife and then dried it on an electric griddle. If you don't have an electric griddle just for crafts (like me and my crazy friends), you could let it dry overnight or for several hours at least. I cut a piece of Amber Watercolor Deco Foil just large enough to cover the buck and ran it through a hot laminator  in a folded parchment piece. I love how he turned out!

**Edited to add: I had a request for a tutorial to explain the technique a bit better. I found one here on the Therm-o-Web blog: 
http://thermoweb.com/blog/embossing-paste-and-deco-foil-together/

The background was created with two Prima stencils - one sponged with Distress Oxide ink and the second layer created with Nuvo Black Diamond Glimmer Paste through a cracked stencil. I layered the card front on a black card base and added "Thinking Of You" from Die-Versions.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

Thinking of You Foiled Card

At a recent play date with some friends, I learned that gorgeous foils like those from Deco Foil by Therm-o-web can be attached with traditional embossing pastes many of us have from Dreamweaver that we used with our brass stencils! I have several colors of Dreamweaver Embossing Paste that I haven't used in a very long time. We applied the embossing paste through a raindrop stencil from Dreamweavers and then let it dry. We placed the piece on an electric griddle set at 250 degrees to help that drying process go faster. When it was dry, we put a piece of Deco Foil Lapis Watercolor foil on top of the piece and ran it through a heated laminator. I like all the colors of Deco Foil, but especially love the new mixed colors of the watercolor choices that just were released! Here is a close up look of the texture and shine of those foiled raindrops:

I also added texture to the die cut umbrella (from My Favorite Things Die-namics) by embossing tiny flowers with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and attaching the umbrella with mounting tape to raise it. I die cut a small stitched label from My Creative Time and stamped "Thinking of You" from Endless Creations. Last week I needed three "thinking of you" cards and am finding it is the type of card I use the most.

Sending Good Wishes with Stencils

I am still playing with new stencils and this one is a two part stencil from Die Cuts and More. I sponged the inside tear drop shape first and then the outer curved lines in a different shade of purple Distress Ink. I then applied Nuvo Moonstone Glimmer Paste over the inside tear drop shape through the first stencil and let it dry. I die cut Impression Obsession's Sending Good Wishes Frame die out of purple cardstock and black fun foam. I glued them together and attached to the completed card front. Here is a look at the dimension on this card: 

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

Fabulous CASED Stencil Card

Once in awhile I see a card on line and have to order the product the designer used immediately because I think the card is so fabulous! That happened when I saw this card and because of Cornelia, I also found iStencils, a new place to find unique stencils that are very reasonably priced. I used three colors of Distress Ink to sponge the stencil so it looks dimensional even though it is totally flat. I rounded the corners and layered on a navy blue cardbase. I die cut and attached "fabulous" which is a die from Essentials by Ellen.

I am entering this in the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

Think Spring Happy Easter Card

The weather this week in Wisconsin has been beautiful and Spring like, so I am definitely "thinking Spring!" Never mind the 10 inches of snow expected Thursday-Friday...I started this card with a sparkly blue glitter paper that is part of our March club challenge- I chose to use it as the background behind a piece of vellum. I die cut the gorgeous Daffodils Stained Glass window die from Frantic Stamper out of black and attached it to the vellum. Then I colored the flowers and window with pastel markers from the back. I stamped an older Easter greeting (from Stampin' Up) and attached the vellum piece with floral brads. 

I am entering this card in the "Think Spring" challenge at Dies R Us and the Anything Goes Challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

Club Challenge Foil Card

Our challenge this month was to create a card with this sketch and to use scraps. I had been playing with my Gina K Foil-Mates and my Deco Foil so I had these pieces laying on my bed. Who doesn't love butterflies? I used my laminator and Therm-o-Web's Lapis Watercolor Foil on Gina K's beautiful butterfly Foil-Mate sheet for the bottom layer. Then I used the foil that was left and a toner sheet to get the negative image square in the center. I cut a butterfly off another scrap of the negative image and attached that to a gold mirror card strip on the side. I also foiled the Happy Birthday circle using another one of Gina K's Foil-Mates. Here is another view: 

It is so hard to photograph mirror card and shiny foil, but IRL it is really pretty. Some birthday girl who likes butterflies and sparkle- and who doesn't?-is going to love receiving this card.

Grandsons Nuvo Love Frame

This Grandma loves her adorable grandsons and I had so much fun creating this personalized picture frame with my Nuvo and Tonic Studio products. I am proud to share it is being featured today on the Tonic USA blog here. For all the details and all the Nuvo fun, please visit Blog Tonic USA.

Easter or Spring Cards 4 Kids at Send a Smile 4 Kids

It’s Saturday and time for another fun challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids! This time our challenge is: Easter or Spring Cards 4 Kids! Create and link any spring or Easter card appropriate for a child and you could win one of our great prizes.

We have two very generous sponsors for this challenge: Bugaboo is giving their winner 4 digis of their choice! And the winner from Tonic Studios receives a collection of eight Nuvo Crystal Drops! TEAM S.A.S will also be choosing their favorite cards for our top three and the winners will receive a blog badge and an opportunity to be a guest design team member on a future challenge.

I featured Bugaboo's colored digi "Hey Chickie" on my Easter card. I added some Easter egg brads and a Happy Easter stamp to complete my CAS square card.

Celebrate Your Birthday Pop Up Card

I am continuing on my quest to design with all the new dies, stencils and stamps on my craft room bed before putting them away. The front of this card was created with two part stencils from Die Cuts & More. I sponged Victorian Velvet Distress Ink through one layer and Fired Brick through the second giving the illusion of depth and squares. I rounded the edges and attached to two layers of red Core'dinations Shattered Kraft-Core cardstock. I attached a beautiful "Celebrate" die cut from Tonic Studios to complete the front.

Once again, the best part of the card is the inside where Happy Birthday pops up. It was so easy to make this fun pop up using Karen Burniston's Happy Birthday Pop Up Die. I love how the Happy Birthday has a perfect shadow behind it. I added a few stars and a white layer to write my Happy Birthday message on. Here is a close-up of the HB pop up:

I am entering this card in the "Favorite Tool" challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. I use my Tonic Studios Tangerine die cutting machine everyday and my plates are perfectly flat and cut beautifully.

Inspirational Pop Up Card

I have some new dies, stencils and stamps I have not used yet and I have resolved to design with each of them before moving them off my craft room bed to where I will store them. I bought the "Just Say It" background stamp from Wendy Vechi of Studio 490 last November at a stamp show and just now inked it for the first time. I love the inspirational messages I stamped in black on a kraft colored cardstock. I sponged Fossilized Amber Distress Ink through the sweet girl stencil I found here at iStencils.  The stencil is available only through the end of February and is a fund raiser for St. Jude's. I love the cute front of this card and am entering it into the "Cute" challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, 

I like the front, but my favorite part of this card is the inside. Just look what pops up when this card is opened:

I recently received some new dies from Karen Burniston who is the designer of the best pop up dies around. I used her Lots of Pops die to make the center of this card. I attached stitched stars in different sizes (die cut using Lil' Inker dies out of gold mirror card) to all the pop up surfaces. Here is a side close up view of the pop up apparatus:

Mirror card is hard to photograph, but is shiny and pretty IRL. I added a few punched stars and the perfect inspirational sentiment cut with a die cut from Tonic Studios.

I am also entering this card in the "Favorite Tool" challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. My favorite tool is my Tangerine Die-Cutting Machine and I use it almost every day.

Park Bench with Metallic Tissue Background and Die-Version's Dies

Happy Monday everyone! It's my turn to post a card on Die-Version's blog and mine, and I am sharing a card I made with the brand new Bench die from Die-Versions and a beautiful background technique I learned recently. To make the background, I sprinkled blue and green Brusho Coloured Crystals on tissue paper and spritzed them with water. The tissue paper has to dry completely which takes several hours. Then I crumbled it up several times so it was very wrinkled and applied Versamark to the top of the wrinkles. I applied silver embossing powder to the Versamark and heat set it. The result is this beautiful background. I die cut Die-Version’s bench out of black cardstock and white fun foam, glued them together and then on the card for a CAS card that can be used for any purpose. Here is a close up of the pretty background:

**Remember you can get a 15% discount on any of Die-Version’s great dies by simply using my discount code karen15 when you check out at the Die Versions website unless the dies are already on sale.

Best Friend's Valentine

Valentines don't have to be romantic and today I am sharing one I made for a dear friend. I love Core'dinations Kraft-Core Shattered cardstock and I used the deep red as the cardbase of this card. I die cut Simon Says Stamp Heart Flowers die out of the kraft card front. I created a hearts stencil by die cutting Spellbinder's little hearts background out of a piece of cardstock and sponging the little red hearts. I die cut and attached "Best Friends" from Tonic Studios and added Autumn Red Crystal Drops by Nuvo to the scallops in that diecut and the inside of the flowers.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Ninja Valentine with Easy Twist and Pop Directions

It is time to get my grandson's Valentines in the mail and this one is going to my 10 year old who loves karate and ninjas. I made the front with a digital stamp from Bugaboo. The best part of this card is in the inside:

The center of the card twists and pops and his name is on the four panels. I used Tonic Studio dies for the letters. Here is a template and some instructions in case you want to try this way of making the twist and pop center:

The top template is the four fold panel piece. It is cut to 10 inches by 3 Inches and scored at 2 ½”, 5” and 7 ½”. The twist and pop mechanism is cut to 8 ½ inches by 3 inches and scored at 2 ¾” and 5 ¾”. The middle box is scored diagonally corner to corner both ways.

After folding all scored lines on the apparatus piece, the diagonal lines in the center are popped up and the piece folds together like shown.  Adhesive is then applied to the triangle only on both sides and it is attached to the center of the top folding card base.

Next that piece is opened up and adhesive is applied to the upper right and lower left only and the four panel piece is attached forming the twist and pop piece. The outside pieces of the four panel piece are folded in to the center and the center of that piece is lined up with the center of the apparatus piece. The outer two panels are then folded out and attached to the upper right and lower left of the apparatus where the adhesive was placed. The whole piece will fold down flat and open as the card is opened. Here is a close up of the apparatus on this card:

I love interactive cards and I think kids do too. If you have any questions after trying to make one of these twist and pop cards, l would be happy to try and help.

Another Love Card

I am in the mood for love or Valentine cards and made a few more this weekend. I borrowed this pretty heart flower die (by Simon Says Stamp) from a friend and made this CAS love card before returning. I die cut the floral open heart out of a love dp and then covered the back of the various flowers with different colors of scraps of cardstock. I also covered all the round holes in the die cut with colored gems matching the cardstock floral colors. I die cut "love" (from Impression Obsession) and then attached it all to a white A2 card.

Love is Love Wedding Card

Both of my kids recently asked for some same sex wedding cards and this is one I designed for them. I started with a large square white embossed card. I die cut the Groom Die Set from Tonic Studios twice and reversed one of them when attaching. The heart die is also from Tonic and I cut off the "s" so it says Mr. and Mr. The rainbow sketch hearts were created with a die from Simon Says Stamp and Color Burst. I used another lovely die from Tonic Studios on the inside:

I am entering this card in the Dies R Us Hearts challenge.

Layered with Love

I have to be honest- the first layer of this love die by Tutti Designs was a mistake. I had an idea that totally did not work. But I hated to throw away all that pretty pink paper so I decided to die cut another hanging love and attach it to the top letting it hang loose over the white layer. I also layered the small hearts and now I kinda like it?CAS and a fun way to share the love this Valentine's month.

I am entering this card in "The Color of Love" challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, the Anything Goes Challenge at Scrapy Land and the Hearts challenge at Dies R Us.

For the Girls Challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids!

It’s Saturday and time for another fun challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids! This time our challenge is: For the Girls. Create and link any card appropriate for a girl and you could win one of our great prizes.

We have two very generous sponsors for this challenge: Paper Nest Dolls is giving their winner 3 digis of their choice! And the winner from Die-Versions receives a $15 gift certificate! TEAM S.A.S will also be choosing their favorite cards for our top three and the winners will receive a blog badge and an opportunity to be a guest design team member on a future challenge.

I am featuring a sweet girl called "Avery in a Rain Poncho" from Paper Nest Dolls on the card I made for this challenge. I printed her, did a little coloring and paper pieced her rain poncho, boots and duck. I can't wait until we can send Happy Spring wishes to the girls (or boys) we love!

Playing with New Heart Stencils and Dies

With Valentine's Day approaching, I decided it was time to play with some new romantic stencils and dies before it was too late. My favorite technique with stencils right now is to apply ombre shades of ink with a soft brush, clean off the stencil and then apply Nuvo Moonstone Glimmer Paste over the ink. The pretty heart stencil I used for this card is from iStencils, a new company to me where I found a bunch of really cool stencils at a very reasonable price. I cleaned off the stencil and stencil knife right away in soapy water and let the glimmer paste dry, then attached the piece to a pink square card. I punched the corners and added some gems. The fun love die is a new one from Impression Obsession.

Here's a closer look that shows the sparkle of the glimmer paste over the inks:

I am entering this card in "The Color of Love" challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, the Anything Goes Challenge at Scrapy Land and the Hearts challenge at Dies R Us.

Tonic Studios Stencils and Nuvo Glimmer Pastes in Purple Hues

I am trying to get back into a schedule of daily blogging and also designing, but to be honest it has been a struggle. I have been sick with bad colds since Christmas. I got better and was able to enjoy Creativation (CHA), but came home with another bug:( I am sharing this only so that you know why there has not been as many new cards posted recently. Hopefully I will get my health and designing mojo back real soon. I did find these two cards I had not blogged before that I designed with Tonic Studios stencils, dies and Nuvo Glimmer Pastes. I have to share that the stencils from Tonic Studios are really high quality sturdy stencils and they have a little circle on the bottom that is perfect for lifting up the stencil after we are done applying the glimmer paste (or stencil paste or whatever medium you chose.) For the first card above, I chose the Bevelled Diamond stencil and Amethyst Purple Glimmer Paste. I attached Tonic's Best Wishes Miniature Moments die to two layers of the Cockle Shell Layering Basics Die Set.

My second purple card features the Layered Hexagon Stencil with Tanzanite Lavender Glimmer Paste and Tonic's Birthday Wishes Miniature Moments Die. I added a strip of the stenciled glimmer paste in the inside of the card and some gold mirror card stars to the sentiment.