Bokeh and Eclipse - Revisiting Older Techniques Video

Older techniques become new and easier to do with today's products, and in my new video here I show how to combine the Bokeh and Eclipse techniques to make many unique cards. Years ago I played with the Bokeh technique and even wrote an article with card samples for a nationally published magazine. 

Bokeh is a photography term that describes the blurry, out of focus points of light in a photograph, but has been used in card making backgrounds with stamps and stencils. I recently purchased a couple bokeh layering stencil sets that do all the design and placement so much easier than the handmade stencil I made years ago. And the Eclipse technique can be expanded to include shadow word dies rather than just the alphabet dies as in the past.

This is the card I show how to make step by step in the new video with both those techniques and how to create the colorful background with Brusho Crystal Colours watercolor powders. The alphabet dies are a favorite of mine from Kat Scrappiness and the layered Bokeh stencil set I used in all these cards is also from Kat Scrappiness. "Thinking of" is part of a sentiment die from Karen Burniston.

Of course you don't need to use white pigment ink to make the stenciled bokeh circles as I show in this card which features all dies from Kat Scappiness. Below are two more cards I feature in the new video both made with a mix of dye ink and white pigment ink for the Bokeh circles, a double layer of stenciling with a Gina K Designs floral stencil and the Eclipse technique for the sentiments: 

The purple one above is a sneak peek of one of the cards I am teaching on February 19th at Harts N Scraps in Cedar Creek in Rothschild WI on stencil techniques and inspiration. If you are in Wisconsin and want to learn more stencil techniques, call 715-298-2055 for more details and to reserve your spot.

To see many more cards and how do combine these techniques for unique easy cards, watch the new video here. I hope my cards inspire you to give some of techniques and products a try and you find time to play this week!

Video - Cardmaking with a Salad Spinner and Watercolor Powders

I am spinning with delight after discovering a new way to make fun colorful backgrounds on my cards! I have never spun lettuce or spinach in a salad spinner, but now own two salad spinners dedicated to only crafty spinning as I share in my newest video here.

This is one of the many cards I share in the video and I show exactly how easy and fun it is to spin the colors onto the background of this card. I started with a smaller salad spinner but explain why I highly recommend a larger one like the one from Farberware I show in the video. I was inspired to try this technique by Karen Dunbrook but on her spun cards she used alcohol inks. I did not have much success with my limited supply of alcohol inks, but pulled out my Brusho Water Colors and made the three cards I am showing in this blog post. However, be sure to watch the video and check back here because I have many more cards to share with you using other watercolor powders and various products. The card above features the super cute Whittle Fish Trio and Whittle Sealife Sentiment Stamps from Poppystamps as well as the shaped stitched die from Whimsy Stamps. I show in the video how I spritzed watercolor paper with water, sprinkled on three colors of blue Brushos, sprayed again with Technique Junkies Shimmering Bliss Dolphin Cove spray and then spun the salad shaker for the magical results. I also sprayed this and many of my cards with Glitter Dust from Therm O Web for extra sparkle. 

Here is another of my favorite cards created with Brusho Crystal Colors watercolor powders and water in my salad spinner. It is so pretty and I simply added some birds cut with an Impression Obsession die set and a favorite sentiment die from Sue Wilson. The stitched squares are dies from Crealies.

Here is another card I share in the new video created with Brushos and the salad spinner. I framed the background with a beautiful die from Hero Arts, added a couple of punched butterflies and another lovely sentiment from Sue Wilson. 

I had so much fun creating cards in my salad spinner for this video! I have many more cards to share with you here and in the video, so be sure to stop back and watch here.

I am entering the first card in the Animal Antics challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday.

A Drunken Watercolor Misadventure

I absolutely love finding new techniques to try and also love designing with watercolor powders such as Brushos, so when I saw a new technique called Drunken Watercolors I was sure I was going to love it. Instead of spraying the Brushos with water, this technique uses rubbing alcohol and the look is very different. I am not sure I like it? It is a unique look for sure...The top card was created that way on glossy paper and the next one on Yupo paper. Both cards feature a beautiful new die from Gina Marie Designs called Duck Scene and the sentiments are from Tonic Studios. I was trying to create a sunset scene with blue, yellow, orange and red Brushos.

Since I had all my Brushos out and that gorgeous Duck Scene die, I pulled out some watercolor paper and good old fashioned water and here are two cards I made with those:

I like these much better and will stick with water the next time. But it is fun to experiment with new techniques, so will keep playing. 

Watercolor Powders Comparison on YouTube Brusho Samples

All week long here on my blog I am sharing the cards I made with all my watercolor powders for the Watercolor Comparison video with LOTs of sample cards (and a card from start to finish with Brushos and a touch of sparkle from embossing powder.) Please click on the link to watch the video- I appreciate your support there.

The card I made from beginning to end in the video and the ones I am sharing today were made with my favorite of the watercolor powders I own- Brusho Crystal Colours. They have 32 gorgeous colors and I like the control I get sprinkling them out of the container with a hole punched in the top. I chose my favorite colors of Brushos for this card and added some gold embossing powder for some extra sparkle. I die cut the dried piece with my Jaded Blossom Card Layer Die and also punched and die cut some butterflies. I added a "wishing you a" diecut from Memory Box and continued the thought on the inside of the card:

I didn't want to waste any of the Brusho beauty so I used some on the inside of the card too.

On my last Brusho sample, I once again used fall colors, then stamped and die cut a leaf from Stampendous. I punched a couple other leaves and die cut "Best Wishes" from Tonic Studios out of the same Brusho and gold embossed piece of watercolor paper. 

I am entering the second card in the Anything Goes challenge at Scrapy Land.

I hope you enjoyed all the samples I have shared this week using the different watercolor powders I own and will watch, share and comment on the YouTube video I posted here.  Thanks for helping me share the joy of creativity!

Watercolor Powder Comparison and Many Many Card Samples on YouTube Monday

It's YouTube Monday and today I posted a new video where I show all the different watercolor powders I own explaining how they are different, and showing card samples for each one. I have Brusho Crystal Colours, Bister Powders, Lindy's Magicals, Magenta Nuance and Color Burst and I had so much fun playing with each to create sample cards for this video. You are going to want to check out the new video here to see all the colorful sample cards and how to make this card from start to finish:

I used Brushos to make this "be-you-tiful" butterfly card. The lovely picture in the butterfly frame is a Clearviews Transparency from The Mark-It Place. (If you want to order any Clearviews, email the owner at jill@themark-itplace.com with your phone number and she will contact you to finalize order.)

There is just a couple more weeks left in my Grand Opening Grand Prize contest and you can find out how to enter by clicking on the picture on the side of the blog. Or you can watch the new video here, and then click SHOW MORE to see all the videos I have posted including the Grand Opening Grand Prize video.

So come on over to my YouTube channel and thanks for helping me #share the joy of creativity!

I am entering this card in the CAS challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday and the Anything Goes challenge at Scrapy Land (butterfly is Penny Black die.)

Rainbow Brushos Thinking of You Card

Recently I hosted a play date at my house where we played with my Brusho Coloured Crystals again. I hadn't pulled out any of my watercolor powders for awhile and it was fun to get messy with them again. I created a rainbow background with ROY G BIV colors of Brushos and it was sitting in a pile in my craft room when I decided to play with a new die from Tim Holtz and Sizzix called Paper Cut Bird. I simply cut it out of white cardstock, attached it to the rainbow background and the card was almost complete. I have been in need of "Thinking of You" cards recently so I added that sentiment from Tonic Studios on a strip of vellum so it stands out from the busy background.

I am sharing this card in the Anything Goes challenges at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday and at Scrapy Land.

Thanks for helping me #spread the joy of creativity!

Butterfly Encouragement Card

I haven't played with my Brusho Coloured Crystals in a very long time and finally had a chance recently to create this card with a Brusho background and a new set of butterfly stamps and dies from Hampton Arts. I sprinkled several colors of Brushos on a piece of watercolor paper and spritzed them with Tattered Angels gold spray to activate the colors and leave a touch of sparkle. When the piece was dry, I embossed it with a new 3D embossing folder from Stampin' Up. Then I cut it into inchies and attached them to a blue piece of cardstock. (This is the sketch we were challenged to use for my monthly card club.) I stamped the butterfly on a piece of watercolor dp and cut it out with the matching die. The beautiful sentiment is from the same set from Hampton Arts. I added some jewels and Nuvo Shocking Pink Glow Drops to the butterfly and popped her up on pop dots to attach.

The first piece of Brusho beauty I tried to emboss ended up de-bossed because I put it in the embossing folder wrong. But I decided it was still pretty and put it in the inside of this card along with a stitched sentiment piece cut with a die from Lil' Inker. 

Thanks for helping me #spread the joy of creativity!

Glitter and Sparkles Guest DT at Quietfire Creations

I was so happy to meet Suzanne Cannon of Quietfire Designs at this year's Creativation (CHA) and when she asked me to be a guest design team member this month, I jumped at the chance. To see all the details of how I made this sparkly and glittery card, click on this link to the Quietfire Creations blog.

Thanks for helping me #spread the joy of creativity!

Metallic Tissue Butterfly Love Card

I love the metallic tissue background I learned about on a Facebook group I belong to and have made many great cards with this technique. If you would like to try it, I shared a tutorial on the technique here on my blog. I think the background is so beautiful, all I need to do is mount it on a card and add a couple diecuts and the result is a gorgeous card every time. This time I chose a lovely new butterfly die from Concord & 9th and a sentiment die from Impression Obsession. I cut both out of white and purple scraps, glued them on offsetting them just a bit and added some pearls to the butterfly. Here is a close up of the gorgeous background and butterfly:

Masculine Birthday with Metallic Tissue and Tonic Studios Dies

I am teaching the metallic tissue technique this month in my classes and found this sample that had not been blogged. I shared a tutorial in this blogpost on how to make this super cool background. It is not hard except the waiting for the colorful tissue paper to dry. I simply die cut and attached Tonic Studio's antique car and Happy Birthday sentiment and the guy's birthday card is complete.

I am entering this card in the Birthday celebrations at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and at Aud Sentiments.

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.

Spring Rose with Metallic Tissue Background

Are you ready for some pretty Spring inspiration? I am sooo tired of all the snow and bitter cold! 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 beautiful new Rose and Leaves die. This lovely die is just one of many fantastic new dies just released by Die-Versions. I die cut the rose and leaves out of dark pink, light pink and green cardstock. I wanted to keep all the pieces together to be able to easily paper piece them so I put a piece of Glad  Press and Seal under the cardstock when I cut the three colors. The Press and Seal kept all the pieces together right where they belonged as the rose was assembled. I die cut the rose shape out of  the front of a piece of tissue paper I had colored with Brusho Coloured Crystals and embossed with gold embossing powder. Here is a link to the Metallic Tissue tutorial I did on my blog. This background is flatter than the others I did because I ran it through my Tangerine die cutting machine to die cut the rose shape. Then I inlaid the rose outline, inside petals and green leaves.  

Metallic Tissue Paper Butterfly Love with Tutorial

I have been having so much fun with a new technique I learned how to do recently and promised a tutorial so you could easily try it if you want. I made this one with some brand new dies from Tonic Studios called Layering Butterflies and my favorite sentiment from the Miniature Moments line also at Tonic Studios. I die cut two butterflies and applied the fun new Strawberry Coulis Jewel Drops to the top vellum layer. Here is a close-up look at the butterfly and the awesome golden texture created with tissue paper, Brusho Coloured Crystals and embossing powder: 

How is this background created? It is not hard, but does take some patience especially to let the tissue paper dry which takes a minimum of two hours and often more. Here are the steps: 

Choose several colors of watercolor powders, sprinkle them on white tissue paper on a craft sheet or something that can handle water soaking, and spritz with water. I tried several brands of water color powders and found the brighter colors such as the Brusho Coloured Crystals worked best for the color to show after applying gold embossing powders. Move the tissue paper on the craft mat somewhere it can dry thoroughly. 

After the tissue paper dried thoroughly it will look like this. For this card, I chose Rose Red, Violet and Crimson Red Brusho Crystal Colours. Wrinkle the tissue paper up several times and apply to a piece of cardstock covered with two sided tape (I chose Sookang). You could also try spray adhesive if that is what you have. You want the wrinkles to be pronounced. Trim the tissue paper to fit the cardstock.

The next step is to apply Versamark on top of all the wrinkles. On my first attempt, I rubbed it all over thinking the color would show through but I ended up with golden wrinkled card front. Pretty but not what I was going for. Rub the Versamark lightly on top of the wrinkles in the tissue paper. Then apply embossing powder- again with a very light touch trying to aim for wrinkles. For this card I used Nuvo's Gold Enchantment Glitter Embossing Powder so it is very sparkly IRL. I have also tried regular detail gold embossing powder and silver and will share cards with them soon.

Heat set the embossing powder and the textured golden metallic tissue paper background is done. I find when I have a glorious background like this, if I add some lovely dies on top, the finished product is a card I can send with love and pride. 

I am entering this card in the New Something challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and the Start Afresh challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. The layering butterflies are fresh out of their packaging and this is the first I have used them. The technique is also new to me and this is the second card I have posted with it.

Metallic Tissue Paper Good Wishes Card

I am having a blast with a new technique I learned about on the Bister, Brusho and Color Burst Facebook group I belong to. Linda L. DesGroseilliers had posted a picture of a similar background, but does not have a blog to link to. She shared how to take tissue paper and get this look back in September, but I didn't have time to play with it until now. It is not hard- except waiting for the water and Brusho pieces to dry- that takes at least two hours- sometimes more. I will do a tutorial on it, but basically I sprinkled on several colors of Brusho Crystal Colors on a piece of white tissue paper, then wet it with water. I had to do this on a craft sheet or something like that as it cannot be moved off it while it is drying. When completely dry, I crumbled it up several times as we want many wrinkles and attached it to an A2 piece of cardstock covered with Sookang two sided tape. I lightly applied Versamark trying to hit only the wrinkles and then heat embossed with gold embossing powder. I learned from my first few attempts not to put the Versamark all over and also to apply the embossing powder lightly as well so the beautiful Brusho color comes through. Other water color powders can be used as well, but I liked the brighter ones like Brusho over the lighter ones like Magenta or Lindy's Magicals. Here is a closeup of the beautiful gold and color and another angle of the lovely texture on the card:

The "good wishes" die is by Impression Obsession. I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenges at Dies R Us and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. I am also entering in the Start Afresh challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday. The technique is brand new to me and the "sending good wishes" die came right out the it's packaging never used before.

Moose Scene with Brushos and Dies

I recently won this beautiful moose scene die from the Scrapy Land challenge and played this week with a couple ways to use it. For this one, I created a sunset scene with my Brusho Colored Crystals and cut that out with a Nestabilities oval die. It does not fit exactly with the Moose Scene die by Dee's Distinctively, but is close. I die cut the serene scene in black and glued it onto the Brusho sunset. I also die cut the sentiment (from Dee's Distinctively too) out of the blue part of the Brusho watercolor piece. 

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. I know I have shared this before- SSS Wed Challenge is my favorite challenge to enter and guess what? I was the winner this week of a $50 gift certificate! Wow! It is already spent because Simon Says Stamp carries everything I want. Lots of bloggers enter their challenges, but you can't win unless you enter and next week, you could be the lucky one!

Brusho Rose Hello

I was playing with my Brushos and some dies and came up with this card recently. I deliberately aimed lighter colors in the center and darker on the edges of a piece of watercolor paper and then when it was dry, I stamped a rose from Penny Black. I framed the rose with a stitched die from Lawn Fawn and added a die cut Hello from Paper Smooches.

I am entering this card in the Anything Goes challenge at Scrapy Land and the Fabulous Florals challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wed. Challenge.