What Am I Spraying on Metallic Cardstock?

I never iron with spray starch but after seeing a technique with it, I rushed out to the Dollar Store and bought some. Below is the card front I created with spray starch in my newest video here. 

My favorite cardstock is CutCardStock's Stardream Metallic Cardstock. I used the Fairway Green for the cardbase and the card front started with Onyx Black. 

As I show in the video, I sprayed the black metallic cardstock with spray starch and added Ranger's Perfect Pearls before cutting out the Googly Eyes die cut with a die from Brass & Bliss. For the "Boo" and on the inside of the card I used CutCardStock's 6x6 Halloween Paper Pad.

I also show in the video how to easily make a second piece of the spray starch and Perfect Pearls on black metallic cardstock, and I used that to cut many Halloween dies. It is hard to see in still photos, but I put an acetate interactive spiral pop up in the inside of this card with floating bats and spiders and a ghost. That spiral pop up was created with a die from Creek Bank Creations. You will want to watch the video to see the spiral pop up in motion and how easy this card was to create. Here is another look at the card with the metallic multi-colored cardfront:

Cardmaking Joy & Hugs, Karen 

March Mica Spray Class Cards

My students at Harts n Scraps in Rothschild WI had fun this month playing with Ranger Distress Mica Sprays and then making four cards with what we made. We did many techniques on 7 pieces of different watercolor cardstocks and thick regular cardstocks and cut the pieces up to make our cards. I just can't take a completed piece and plop it on a card base and call it a card, so I taught several fun folds and the book card above. 

Leaves of all Kinds on Cards Before The Snow Flies

Our fall color here in central Wisconsin has come and gone but we did have brilliant color for a few short weeks. I love the leaves in fall and had some new products sitting here so I quickly designed a few cards with them before winter comes. Brutus Monroe shared some gorgeous skeleton leaves in a kit for a weekend of classes and I used three of the rub-on transfers for this card. The background was created in a class I took at Let's Create in Wisconsin Rapids with Ranger Mica Sprays. I added some texture with spattered black paint to complete the card. 

The rub-on transfers are no longer available, but the stamps, stencils, dies and new vellum leaves are still available here at Brutus Monroe. The background of this card was again created with Mica Sprays and IRL is more navy than purple as the photo looks. I stamped the leaves and cut them out and added some texture with a fun stencil from Hero Arts.

I also had a new leaves stencil set from Lawn Fawn I needed to use before the snow flies so I created the background here with red and yellow inks. The leaves and sentiment were stamped and die cut with the Skeleton Leaves from Brutus Monroe. 

Of course leaves are green for a longer time that the fall colors are, so I used  two shades of green on this background with the Lawn Fawn Fall Leaves Background layered stencils. The leaves were punched out of another Distress Mica Spray piece. 

Simon Hurley's Ranger Astro Paste Perfect Backgrounds for Die Cuts!

I love die cuts such as this Glorious Peacock from Spellbinders but often wonder what to do with them once they are die cut. I think it is boring just to plop them on a card base and call them a finished card. I solved that problem after playing with my new Simon Hurley Ranger Astro glitter pastes and she is indeed glorious in the center of this glittery circle. I created the background by adding Slippery When Wet gold and Tropical Tango teal Astro Pastes through a stencil from A Colorful Life Designs called Striped Spiral. This is just one of many cards I share in my new video here which features the new Astro Paste glitter pastes from Simon Hurley and Ranger. 

This is the card I show how to make in the new video here. I love fall colors and fall leaves and I added red and gold Astro Pastes through a fun fall stencil from CartaBella. I also added the leftover mixed paste to a piece of black cardstock so there was no waste and when it was dry, I die cut a maple leaf. The foiled and die cut leaves were created with a set from Spellbinders called Autumn Leaves. Here is a picture of another similar card made with the same stencils, dies and layout but with black and gold cardstock:

The card bases are 5 1/2" square with 1 1/2 inches cut off of both sides leaving the 2 1/2 inch center to open up. The stenciled leaves stripes are 5 1/2" tall and 1 1/4, 2 1/4 and 1 1/4 inches wide. Both cards have foiled and die cut leaves from Spellbinders as the focal point. 

I had a set of Concord & 9th sunglasses and stamps sitting here and I knew I wanted to make some cards with it before summer was over, but didn't know what kind of background I wanted. Problem solved with Simon's Astro Paste and stencils like this one from Alex Syberia Designs. Here is another card I made with heart sunglasses and stamps and a sun stencil from Gina K Designs:

Wow- right? So pretty and Simon says these pastes should not dry out like other glitter pastes I have used because of the formula used by Ranger which is similar to his other pastes. 

I am loving how all these cards turned out and hope they inspire you to give some of the ideas and products a try!

May Class Cards With Ranger/Distress Products

I have been having great fun teaching monthly classes at a local stamp shop called Hart n Scraps, and I wanted to share the cards here too. This month's cards feature Ranger and Distress products sold at the store. I am super busy right now so can't go into too much detail, but the first card above was created with Ranger's Distress Texture Paste and several colors of Tim Holtz's Embossing Glazes through a Visible Image stencil. The card below features Ranger Distress Oxide sprays through a dragonfly stencil from A Colorful Life Designs. The owner of ACLD kindly sent two of her awesome stencils for our class so we were able to use them and then give away as door prizes.

The following card and tag were made with Ranger Foundry Wax and more Distress Oxide sprays and Distress Texture Paste. 

I am entering the 2nd card in the Add A Sentiment challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday. 

Two More Cards with the new Divinity Designs Shining Light Lantern Die Set and Foil

Here is another card I share in my newest video here which features 5 ways to use the new Divinity Designs Shining Light Lantern. This one has a background and the blue patterned inside of the lantern created with a new product from Gina K Designs called Poly-Glaze Foiling Diamonds Sheets and her Lovely Notes foiled sentiments. I created the texture on this lantern with some embossed black cardstock and Sterling Foundry Wax from Ranger and Distress. I also created the brass texture on the lantern below with the Foundry Wax in the coppery Mined color:

Isn't that embossed copper lantern gorgeous? I show how easy it is to create that look in the new video too. I was reminded of how much I love to create backgrounds with foil from the last card, so pulled out my foilable toner pattern sheets from Brutus Monroe and Deco Foil and made this background. The scenery inside the lantern was created with the Lantern Add-ons die set also from Divinity Designs. 

Five Different Ways to Use The New Divinity Designs Lantern Dies

I knew the new Shining Light Lantern die set along with its Add-ons Scenery dies from Divinity Designs just had to come home to me the minute I saw them! As soon as I received it, I started playing and in no time I had four cards designed and a great idea for another, and you can see all five of them in my newest video here.

To see how I made the fifth card and to really see the other cards, you should watch the new video, but here are some pictures of that one:

I put the Divinity Designs Shining Light Lantern on the Crealies new Triple Fun Folds Card with Octagons die set for a fun z-fold look. I also showed how to make the lantern embossed with that gorgeous brass shine too by adding Ranger/Distress Mined Foundry Wax after embossing it with a Stampin' up embossing folder. The "thinking of you" die is from Karen Burniston and the birds die is from Sizzix. Here is another of my favorites of the cards I made with this great die set:

One of my favorite products to design with are Clear Views transparencies from The Mark-It Place and available at Let's Create here. I put it in a lantern embossed with a new Stampin' up embossing folder and attached it over a Pinpoint Burst background created with a die from Memory Box.

This card was so easy to create with the Shining Light Lantern and Lantern Add-ons from Divinity Designs as well as their Landscape scenery designer paper. I simply added a sentiment die from Crealies and a bird die from Sizzix. 

I had great fun creating five different cards with these great die sets and show them all in the new video here. I hope my cards encourage you to give some of these ideas and products a try!

Crop and Create Delivered Cardmaking Amazing Weekend

I just finished my 5th Crop and Create Delivered Cardmaking weekend and once again, Scrapbook and Cards Today has done a fantastic job. I highly recommend this virtual event that happens twice a year- it is worth every penny! 4 days of world class instruction and a box of dies, stamps, stencils and many more goodies worth 4 times what we paid! I am going to share the cards I completed so far from each of the classes today and Thursday here on my blog, but I have many more stamp sets, dies and stencils I have to find time to play with soon. 

These are two of my favorite cards I created this weekend with some amazing dies from Spellbinders that will be available for purchase on April 10. The Infinity Punch and Pierce Plate has three gorgeous pieces, and the Stylish Oval Hello You Floral is just beautiful. I know I will be using these dies (and the matching stamp) again and again.

Oh my- the 3D floral embossing folder with matching stencil from Altenew is so beautiful and I learned so much from their class on how to use this set!

I thought the stamp and stencil set from Concord & 9th was so imaginative and unique and I love how these cards turned out as taught by Cathy Zielske. I added my own sentiment dies and die cut instead of stamped the flowers, but otherwise I made my cards as I watched her class.

Honey Bee Stamps gave us this amazing owl die set as well as the gorgeous paper you see and a sentiment stamp set with a mix of fonts which I love! I was a bit intimidated by this set but in the class, Kelley Kohout explained it so well I was able to make these three cards easily and will be making some more owls soon! And I have a perfect birthday card for my twin brother whose birthday is Friday. I love that we are another year wiser, not older:)

I also needed a birthday card for my brother-in-law who lives in Arizona and the cards I created with Simon Hurley's Sedona Scene Maker stencil set from Ranger will be perfect for him! We got so much in our package from Ranger! Matching dies, stamps, Lunar paste and other tools! 

I was overwhelmed with all the product and instruction from this unbelievable virtual cardmaking weekend presented by Scrapbook and Cards Today, and will share more cards on Thursday here on my blog. 

Debossed Inking Technique Beauty and Video

The minute I watched Erum Tasneed's tutorial on what she called Adding Inking Effects to Embossed Panels I knew I would have to take some time to play with this awesome technique! It is so easy to learn how to make these gorgeous debossed backgrounds as I show in my new video here. 

Isn't this pretty? The embossing folder is from Stampin' Up and I used Wilted Violet, Mermaid Lagoon and Black Soot Distress Oxide inks, then added some Glitter Silver Embossing Powder from Tonic Studios. 

One of my favorite of the cards I made with this technique features the new Acorn 3D Embossing Folder from Tim Holtz and Sizzix. The sentiment die is from Sue Wilson and Creative Expressions. In the new video I show how to make a panel just like this one with Candied Apple and Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide inks and Ground Expresso Distress Ink, but decided to teach how to make a fall gift card wallet with the pretty fall colors. I learned how to make the wallet from Sam of Mixed Up Crafts here.

The wallet opens up to show places for money and/or gift card gifts or secret notes:

I share step by step how to make this gift card wallet and how to use the debossed side of an inked piece of cardstock to make these beautiful colorful cards and card pieces, so be sure to watch the new video here.