Sunshine and Flutterbys

Is this a gorgeous card or what!?!  I am quite pleased with how this card turned out and couldn't wait to share it with you.  It's got ink blending, in-laid die cut, a shaker and lots of texture.  I challenged myself with this one as yellow is not a color I use, but I love the bright and sunny look of these colors together.  If you saw my last post, I used the butterfly negatives from this piece in that card.  It's such a cool thing when you can get two or three cards from one die! Lets get started on making this baby.

Supplies:
Neenah 110 lb Solar While cardstock
DCWV Foiled Gold cardstock
Doodlebug Daydream Sugarcoated White cardstock

Simon Says Stamp Butterfly Drift die
Simon Says Stamp smile die
WeRMemoryKeepers Next Gen 3D Embossing Folder "Gemstone"
Distress Inks in Squeezed Lemonade, Cracked Pistachio, and Lucky Clover
Delicata Golden Glitz Ink
WRMK Fuse Tool
Avery Elle Stamp Pockets
Design Creative Bling Sequin Mix in Jewel Box
3M Foam tape
Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue
Stick It adhesive sheets

Step 1.  Starting with a 4.25 by 5.5 piece of Neenah cardstock, I start with Squeezed Lemonade and blend the ink across the top third, followed by Cracked Pistachio over the middle third and ending with Lucky Clover on the bottom third.  I like to overlap my colors a bit where they meet; this smooths out the transition between the colors and creates a new shade.  Distress Inks are designed to stay wet a bit longer so that they are easy to blend.  It may take a few minutes for it to dry, but set it aside to air dry.  I don't heat dry it because it can warp, and that can lead to problems with the die cuts later on.  While that's drying, we can do our other die cutting. 

Step 2.  Using the butterfly die, run it through your die cutting machine with the gold foil cardstock and separate the outline.  Set aside the other peices to use for other projects.  Also run the smile die with the gold cardstock through and separate it out. 

Step 3.  Add a 3x4.5 inch strip of Stick-It adhesive to the back of the inked panel where you are going to die cut the butterflies and trim off any excess.  Place the inked panel in the embossing folder and run it through the machine.  Blend a bit of gold ink over the texture we added with the embossing folder.  You want to rub lightly so that you're only hitting the high points.  This will bring out the texture and add gorgeous shine.  Place the butterfly die towards the left edge, leaving enough of an edge to attach the shaker pouch, at least 1/2 inch.  Run it through and set aside the pieces for other projects.

Step 4.  Plug in your Fuse tool so that it has time to heat up.  That will take about 15 minutes.  Using the back side of the inked panel, lay the shaker pouch over it to measure how wide and long it needs to be.  Be sure to leave enough excess to add adhesive to so you can attach the pouch.  I made one long, narrow pouch.  Fit the gold butterfly outline into the inked panel and turn it over so that the white side is up.  When adding shaker bits to the pouch, be careful of adding too much.  You want to leave enough room for the bits to move around and catch the light.  Adding too much prevents them from moving as well as can make the finished card too thick.  Add a bit of the sequin mix to the pouch and put in place over the panel.  Add a seam along the top edge of the largest middle butterfly.  I ran my tool right along the line of the wings, tracing them.  When you're looking at the correct side of the finished card, the gold cardstock will hide the seam.  Adding the extra seam prevents all the shaker bits from sinking to the bottom, leaving the top of the shaker pouch empty.  Add a bit more of the sequin mix to the top pouch and seal the top edge.  When you're ready to attach the shaker pouch, remove the backing paper from the panel.  I leave at least 1/4 inch overhang along the seams of my pouch to add adhesive to.  Add Scor-tape along the edges and adhere to the panel.  Add liquid glue to the gold butterfly outline and fit into the panel, just like a puzzle.  I lay something heavy over the top for 5 to 10 minutes to give the flue time to dry.

Step 5.  Add foam tape to the edges of the panel and in the middle of the panel so that it's fairly level when complete.  For my card base, I use a 8.5 by 5.5 inch piece of Neenah, scored and folded at 4.25 inches so that I have a side folding card base.  I attach a 4.25 by 5.5 inch piece of Doodlebug white to the front of my card base to serve as a background for the shaker pouch.  I remove the foam backing paper on one corner and line it up to attach it to the card base.  Once that it stuck down, I remove the rest.  Attach smile die cut with liquid glue and the card is complete.

Once you get the hang of the fuse tool, shakers are really easy and so much fun.  You can literally make any shape or size you want.  So much fun!

Thanks for stopping by and hanging out with me today!  I'm happy to answer any questions and I'd love to know what you think.

Much love,
Jasmine

Flutterby Hello

Hello there! Today's project has me looking forward to spring; warmth, sunshine and butterflies.  I used a few techniques that may be new, but are all easy to do.  We have in-laid die cutting in the butterflies, alcohol ink on the hello, an embossing folder used in 2 elements and ink blending.  Lets get started.

Supplies:
Neenah 110 lb Solar While cardstock
DCWV glitter cardstock
DCWV foiled cardstock
Ranger Glossy cardstock
Doodlebug black velvet cardstock
Simon Says Stamp Butterfly Drift die
Simon Says Stamp hello die
Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die
Lawn Fawn Puffy Cloud die
WeRMemoryKeepers Next Gen 3D Embossing Folder "Gemstone"
Distress Inks in Squeezed Lemonade, Cracked Pistachio, and Lucky Clover
Delicata Golden Glitz Ink
Alcohol inks
Alcohol Blending Solution
Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue
Scor-tape, 1/2 and 1/8 inch

Step 1.  Take 2 or 3 colors of alcohol ink.  I used purple, blue and green for the hello.  Tim has a great tutorial for the technique on his blog here.  It may seem intimidating, but once you try it, you'll get the hang of it.  It really is simple and quick!  Once it's dry, pick an area you like to die your hello from and run it through your die cut machine.

Step 2. Starting with a 4.25 by 5.5 piece of Neenah cardstock, I start with Squeezed Lemonade and blend the ink across the top third, followed by Cracked Pistachio over the middle third and ending with Lucky Clover on the bottom third.  I like to overlap my colors a bit where they meet; this smooths out the transition between the colors and creates a new shade.  Distress Inks are designed to stay wet a bit longer so that they are easy to blend.  It may take a few minutes for it to dry, but set it aside to air dry.  I don't heat dry it because it can warp, and that can lead to problems with the die cuts later on.  While that's drying, we can do our other die cutting.

Step 3.  Die cut the silver foiled cardstock using the largest of the Stitched Rectangle dies.  It will measure 4.25 by 5.5 inches.  Place the rectangle into the embossing folder and run it through your die cutting machine.  With the glitter cardstock, I used the same rectangle die to die cut it so that the stitching detail would match the silver piece.  Then I used the puffy cloud die to give it that cute edge, roughly 1.5 inches in on the long edge.

Step 4.  Using the same gemstone embossing folder, run the colored piece through the die cutting machine.  Using an ink blending tool and the Delicata gold ink, lightly blend the gold ink over the colored piece, taking care to only touch the raised points on the embossing.  This will bring out the texture of the embossing and give it gorgeous sparkle.  

Step 5.  Using the black velvet cardstock and butterfly drift die, I ran those through the machine.  I got my outline and set the negative butterflies aside for another use.  With the colored piece, I lined up my die towards the right edge so that I could get 2 cards out of the same piece of cardstock.  In this card I only used the negative butterfly cuts.  Assemblage: I attached the black outline with Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue and let it dry for a couple minutes.  Then, I added a bit of glue to the back of each butterfly and fit it into the black outline, just like a puzzle.

Step 6.  Using a white card base, I adhered the silver foil cardstock the the front of my card base with 1/2 inch Scor-tape.  Lining the glitter piece up the the left edge of the card base, I adhered the glitter piece with 1/2 inch Scor-tape as well.

Step 7.  Adhere the hello die cut with Tombow liquid glue and our card is complete!

Thanks for hanging out with me today!  I hope you had fun and learned something new!  Feel free to ask questions and let me know what you think.

Much love,
Jasmine

Love is in the Air

Hello! Today's project is a shaker card.  I was inspired by the Rose Gold embossing powder on the heart banner die cut.  The pinky gold tone against background had such a vintage vibe and the card began to come together almost on it's own! I love it when that happens!

Supplies:
Neenah Solar White 110 lb carstock
Tim Holtz Postale Tissue Wrap
DCWV Foiled Vellum
Doodlebug Black Velvet cardstock
Avery Elle Stamp Pocket
WRMK Fuse Tool
WRMK Next Generation 3D "Woven" Embossing Folder
Simon Says Stamp "Heart Banner" and "love" dies
Ranger Matte Medium
Distress Ink in Spun Sugar, Tattered Rose and Picked Raspberry
Tombow Mono Multi glue
VersaMark Ink
Stampendous Rose Gold Embossing Powder
Scor-tape- 1/8" and 1/4" wide
Recollections "Bling on a Roll"
Design Creative Bling Sequin Mix in Raspberry Crush
Little Things sequin mix in Warm Golden Glow
3M Foam tape

Step 1.  Starting with a panel of Neenah white cardstock cut to 4.25 by 5.5, cut a piece of tissue wrap big enough to cover the panel and tear a few edges to add to the vintage feel.  Adhere with matte medium and let dry completely.  I gave mine about an hour.  You'll also need a top folding card base.  I use the same Neenah, cut to 4.25 by 11, then folded at 5.5. 
Step 2.  Once dry, position the heart banner die to the middle left of the panel,  being careful to leave enough of an edge to add foam tape.  We'll be adding the shaker pouch and will need room for the foam tape.  Run it through the die cutting machine.  Separate the pieces from the die cut; we want the outline.  Using scratch paper, press the VersaMark pad over the die cut so that you have good coverage of ink.  (It's a clear, sticky ink so you wont really see it, but it will look wet in the light.)  Over a clean piece of paper, cover with embossing powder.  Pour the excess powder back into the jar and put the lid on.  Heat set the powder; you'll know when it's melted because it turned from powdery to shiny and metallic.  Set aside.  Run the love die with a piece of black velvet cardstock through the die cut machine.  Set aside.
Step 3.  Place the panel in the embossing folder and run it through the die cutting machine.   It's now time to get inky! Using the Distress inks and an ink blending tool, start with Spun Sugar and blend over the entire panel.  Using Tattered Rose, add ink to a few spots and Picked Raspberry to others.  You want variation in color and you want to be able to see each shade when it's finished.  As you blend, the embossed texture will come out as well as any torn edges on the tissue wrap we adhered.  Use light pressure and you'll avoid any blotchy or dark spots.
Step 4.  Make your shaker pouch.  Plug in the Fuse tool and let it heat up for 15 minutes or so.  Take the stamp pocket and lay it down over the back side if the panel.  I use a sharpie to mark where I need to make my seals.  You want to leave yourself enough of an edge to adhere the shaker pouch to the back of the panel.  I like to leave 1/4" border around so I have enough to adhere and you don't see any seams through the front.  Once you've measured where to put your seams, add them, making sure you leave an opening to add the shaker bits.  Be careful about adding too much; I like to have my pouch no more than 1/4" thick, but I try to keep it to 1/8".  I used Design Creative Bling "Raspberry Crush" and Little Things "Warm Golden Glow".  Add last seam to close the pouch.  I add foam tape around the shaker pouch to support the panel and make the top of the card even.  This also allows for the shaker bits to have room to move.  If it's too tight, they won't move much, which kind of defeats the purpose!
Step. 5.  I like to add a background paper.  I used DCWV Foiled Vellum in a tiny gold heart pattern, which I adhered with 1/8" scor-tape around the edges.  Time to assemble and finish off our masterpiece!
Step. 6  Attach the shaker pouch to the back of the panel so that all the seams are hidden from the front view.  I remove one short middle piece of backing paper from the foam tape and attach to my card base.  Once it's straight, I can remove the rest of the backing paper.  Add a few dots of liquid glue to the back of the rose gold heart and fit into the heart on the panel.  It should fit back in just life a puzzle piece.  Add glue to the back of the love die cut and arrange it over the banner on the heart.  I added Recollections "Bling on a Roll" in an antique golden shade to the top right and bottom left corners of the heart die cut and a few sequins from both packs to finish it off.

I had a lot of fun designing and creating this card, it's just soooo pretty!  I hope you give it a shot and put your own spin on it! Thanks for hanging out with me today and hope to see you again soon!

Feel free to ask questions and let me know what you think!

Much love,
Jasmine

Laura's Loft Challenge - RESIST

Resist is the technique for Laura's Loft January Challenge.  It's not only one of my favorites, it's also one of the first techniques I've ever learned.  This tag was made for my youngest niece.  At 15 months, she's a bit young to appreciate it, but oh well.  Her mom loves it and I had a lot of fun with it.  Challenge entry details, dates and prize info will be at the bottom of this post.

Supplies:

• #8 Ranger Manila Tag
• Altenew Henna Elements stamp set
• Wplus9 Unforgettable stamp set
• Ranger Silver Pearl embossing powder
• VersaMark pad
• Lawn Fawn inks in Wild Rose and Cranberry
• Distress Inks in Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry and Wilted Violet
• Spectrum Noir markers
• DCWV Foiled cardstock in Dark Blue
• Lawn Fawn Quinns alphabet dies

I started with stamping the flowers and leaves in Wild Rose, then Cranberry over it, layering the images.  I was careful not to allow it to get busy or crowded.  I set it aside to dry for a few hours to avoid the embossing powder sticking where it wasn't supposed to.

Now it was time for stamping my embossed images.  I started with the borders. I stamped them in VersaMark, added embossing powder, tapped off excess and heat to set.  I stamped and powdered each image individually so that I could see where each image was to avoid overlapping my images.

*Heat Embossing tip:  When heating embossing powder, let your heat gun run for 60 to 90 seconds before applying heat to your project.  This will allow your gun to get good and hot so that when applied, the powder starts to melt almost immediately; this will give you smoother embossing and you can avoid blowing off powder and/or overheating it.  Watch closely when heating; you'll see it change from powdery to shiny.  When it's shiny, it's done.

Time for my favorite part, ink blending!  When considering what colors I wanted to use, I had to remember not to overpower the stamped images I started with ( Rose and Cranberry).  With that in mind, I began with Spun Sugar and blended it over the entire tag.  I followed it with Wild Rose, blending it in from the edges towards the middle.  It was turning too red, so I added Picked Raspberry to give it more of a pink tone.  Finishing with Wilted Violet over the top right and bottom left edges made it perfect; it added depth, made the embossing stand out even more and added just a bit of sophistication.

I stamped the elephant from the Wplus9 set on Spectrum Noir cardstock and colored him with Spectrum Noir markers.  I fussy cut him out and adhered him with foam squares.  To finish up, I die cut the letters out of dark blue foiled cardstock and adhered them with foam squares.  I just love how this tag turned out!

Want to enter? Sweet! Here's how.  The Challenge runs from 1/16/16 to 1/29/16.  Head to our company blog to enter your project!  The required technique is RESIST.  I hope you have fun and play along with us!  If you're not ready to join the challenge and are just looking for idea's or techniques, below is a few more DT blogs for your perusal. 

Here are a few Challenge projects from our Design Team:
Laura- http://www.lauralscott.com/llc2/
Deana-http://www.designcreativelybling.com/2016/01/lauras-loft-absolutely-inspiring.html

Emma- http://heartofcraft.blogspot.com/2016/01/challenge-time-with-lauras-loft-resist.html
Debbie- http://debbielovestocraft.blogspot.com/2016/01/challenge-inspiration-jan-2016-resist.html
Noe- http://elscrapdecrisynoe.blogspot.com.es/2016/01/lauras-loft-reto-mensual-embossing.html
Lisa - http://royalpumpkinart.blogspot.com/2016/01/resist-new-challenge-with-lauras-loft.html
Dawn - http://dipndotscreations.blogspot.com/2016/01/resist-challenge-at-lauras-loft.html
Valentina - http://valentinascrap.blogspot.com/2016/01/january-challenge-dt-lauras-loft.html
Linda-  http://dabblesbylinda.blogspot.com/2016/01/lauras-loft-january-challenge-resist.html
 Robbie - http://inkedx2.blogspot.com/search/label/LLChallenge


Prize: One winner will receive a $25 gift card to Laura's Loft!

A second winner will receive a $15 gift card generously donated by AVERY ELLE!

Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to ask any questions and let me know what you think!

Much Love,
Jasmine

Love Grows Here Blog Hop with Laura's Loft

Hello! Welcome to January's blog hop at Laura's Loft.  We have lots of talent to share with you and I hope you find lots of idea's and inspiration along the hop.  You should have arrived her from Deana's blog, but if you want to start from the beginning, head to Laura's.  Don't forget to leave a comment at each hop stop to enter for the giveaway.  Entry details, sale info and a discount code are at the bottom.

My project started with glossy cardstock and alcohol inks.  While that dried, I die cut "friend" by CAS-ual Fridays from silver foil cardstock.  The stamps are from the Girlfriend set, also by CAS-ual Fridays, and I stamped them using the MISTI.  I stamped the "love ya" three times as the silver alcohol ink acted as a bit of a resist, but I loved the almost smokey effect it gave.  To add some interest, I applied Faber-Castell Glass Bead glitter gel using a heart stencil and palette knife, finishing it off with a few enamel dots once the glitter gel was dry.  To add the stitching detail, I used the largest of the Stitched Rectangle dies from Lawn Fawn.  I mounted the finished panel on a white card base and it was complete.

This my second project for today's hop.  The stamp sets are Beautiful Day by Altenew and the same CF Girlfriends stamp set and die as my first project.  Beautiful Day is a layering stamp set.  Using 3 shades of one color, the first stamp is the lightest shade, the second is the middle shade and the last is the darkest shade.  For the middle rose, I stamped the outline in Archival Black and the rose in Momento Angel Pink, Lulu Lavender and Lilac Posies.  The other two are Simon Says Stamp inks in Cotton Candy, Pale Pink Blush and Doll Pink.  The leaves are Simon Says Stamp Green Leaf and Midnight Green.  I stamped "friend" in Delicata Golden Glitz ink and layered the die cut "friend" over it, making the gold act as a shadow and to bring out the gold in the die cut.  To finish of my stamping, I stamped "hey there" in SSS Doll Pink.  The front panel and vellum are die cut using Lawn Fawn's Stitched Rectangles die set (I can't seem to get enough of the stitching detail!).  The front panel is popped up using foam tape and the DCWV foiled vellum panel is adhered using Scor-tape over a SSS Doll Pink card base.  To complete the card, I added a few sequins from the same mix I used on the first card, Garden Splendor.
The next stop on the hop is Robbie and I'm sure you'll love what she has to offer!

Feel free to let me know what you think and I'd be happy to answer any questions!


Here is a list of the each stop on the hop:

1. Laura  -  http://www.lauralscott.com/love-grows-here/
2. Deana Benson -http://www.designcreativelybling.com/2016/01/lauras-loft-love-grows-here-shop-and-hop.html
3. Jasmine Burgess -http://journeywithjasmine.blogspot.com/2016/01/love-grows-here-blog-hop-with-lauras.html
4. Robbie Rubala - http://inkedx2.blogspot.com/search/label/LL
5. Heart of Craft - http://heartofcraft.blogspot.com/2016/01/lauras-loft-hop-and-shop-love-grows-here.html (Emma)

6. Sue T.- http://thecre8tivestudio.blogspot.it/2016/01/blog-hop-at-lauras-loft.html
7. Kim- http://angeldreamcrafts.blogspot.com/2016/01/lauras-loft-dt-january-blog-hop.html
8. Linda Gorman-  http://dabblesbylinda.blogspot.com/2016/01/love-grows-here-with-lauras-loft.html
9. Lisa Bedigian - http://royalpumpkinart.blogspot.com/2016/01/love-grows-here-shop-hop-with-lauras.html
10. Valentina Dalmonte - http://valentinascrap.blogspot.com/2016/01/love-grows-here-dtlaurasloft.html


Giveaway Entry:
There are several ways to enter and the more comments you make in the different social media platforms, the more entries you earn! It is required that you comment on each blog in the Hop.  After that, you are encouraged to like and comment on our Facebook page, tag on our Instagram post and pin on Pinterest, as well as share on your own pages. The participant with the most entries wins the fabulous prize package! How cool is that!?!

Prize: Wait for it...

Boom! WRMK Next Level Embossing Folders, Heat Wave Pen kit, Laura's Loft Exclusive Garden Splendor Sequin Mix and a pack of Virginia Turtle Enamel Dots.  I'd say that's a killer prize pack!
Bonus: All the Christmas items are a generous 45% off (no coupon code required) and Laura always offers $10 off a purchase of $75 or more with the code: $10off75.

Thanks for hopping with us!! I hope you had fun and learned something new.  See you next time!

Much love,
Jasmine

CAS-ual Fridays New Release Blog Hop

Welcome to the CAS-ual Fridays Girlfriends product release blog hop with the design team at Laura's Loft. There are 2 stamp sets and 4 dies in this collection and it's all about the love between girlfriends.  This is the stamp set and die that I used in my project.

 

My project is a layered shaker card.  This project was inspired by the colors of the sequin mix, but also by the favorite colors of two of my best friends.  I started with the front panel.  Using glossy cardstock with 3 shades of green alcohol ink and gold alcohol ink, I made 2 of the front panel and let it dry.  Meanwhile, I stamped the text layer starting with the love ya stamp from the Girlfriends set in the middle and used my MISTI to position the other stamps around it.  I stamped each word or phrase in a different shade of pink to add variety and interest.  I used a shaped panel die by Spellbinders to cut out the window in the green piece.  I used the WRMK Fuse Tool to make the shaker pouch, which is filled with Garden Splendor sequin mix by Design Creative Bling (a Laura's Loft exclusive).  The card base is Doll Pink cardstock by Simon Says Stamp.  To give the card base some omph, I ran a VersaMark pad around the edges and used Gold Superfine Detail embossing powder by Ranger.  The gold also helps to tie in the gold on the front panel.  Using the friends die from this release, I die cut the word from the second green panel and adhered it to the lower right corner.  To finish off the card, I added a few sequins with tiny glue dots and a few green Virgina Turtle enamel dots.

Thanks for stopping by and spending some time with me! Remember to call/hug/text your girlfriends. lol! Feel free to let me know what you think and I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Much love,
Jasmine