Handmade Christmas Series 2018: Day 1 Watercolors and EH Mondo Holly 2 ways

Here's an exciting sale for everyone!  ellenhutson.com is having a 20% off sale on all dies with the code above.  I've made a list of some "must have" dies when it comes to card making and these are basic shapes that don't necessarily coordinate with stamps.  These are ones I use nearly every time I craft.

My Favorite Things Wonky Stitched dies

My Favorite Things Rounded Stitched dies

Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies

Neat and Tangled Scalloped Border dies

Lawn Fawn Banner Dies

My Favorite Things Circle dies

Ellen Hutson Parcel box dies

Lawn Fawn Heart Stackables dies

Ellens sale happens to coincide with my latest project which uses EH products, the Mondo Holly stamp and dies.  I love their Mondo line; it has gorgeous floral images are they're perfect for watercolors.  With this project, I used Arteza watercolors, as I was invited by the company to play with and review.  If you'd like to see that video, click here.  This project was already complete when EH invited me to share their upcoming sale with my viewers, I thought the project and sale made the perfect couple to combine into one post.  Through Nov 10, 2018, I have a 10% off coupon code for Arteza as well, which is  JasmineBurgess1.  Lets see what I used in the card and here is the video.

Supplies:
Ellen Huston Mondo Holly stamps
Ellen Hutson Mondo Holly dies
Arteza Watercolors  
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper
Ink on 3 Blackout
Kuretake gold watercolor
Versamark
Brutus Monroe Raven embossing powder
Brutus Monroe Gilded EP
Be Creative Tape
Gold Foil Embossed paper
Charcoal/ Dark Gray cardstock
Neenah Classic Cream cardstock
MISTI

Silver Black Velvet brushes: https://www.ellenhutson.com/black-velvet-watercolor-brushes-short-round-8/#_a_186

I've shown 2 different versions of the same card using different, yet simple watercolor techniques.  The reasoning was two-fold.  The first is that I was testing these to see how they performed in comparison to other brands of similar quality.  The other was to show the viewer simple and easy, yet lovely results they can employ in their own cardmaking.  I also like to add versatility to a stamp set if I can.  I think I was successful with each of my objectives and I love how each card turn out.  

Wishing you and yours a joyous Christmas,

Jasmine

Puppy Birthday Shaker with Custom Patterned Paper and Copics

Todays project is this adorable shaker.  I had a lot of fun designing and creating this one.  I love animals.  In another life I may have become a Zoologist, just so I could hang out and play with the animals at the Zoo all day.  My husband always laughs because every time I see someone with their dog in their car, I always say "Puppy!", no matter how old the dog may be.  My brother has a black lab and I bring her pig ears every time we visit and she knows I'm hers.  My cat, Onyx, is my fur baby, and the first animal my husband and I have had together, as well as the first cat Howard has had experience with.  Onyx knows we are his.  The shaker card is a technique I love, as use often, which you know if you hang out here with any regularity.  They are easy and so versatile.  For this one, I used the main image stamps on the background to create custom patterned paper and tie the background in with the focal panel on the front.  To add interest to the kraft frame, I skewed the smaller interior die so that it was crooked; this creates something unexpected.  If you struggle with placing embellishments on the front of your card use odd numbers.  Your brain wants to match even numbers, making even numbers of elements unpleasant to look at (you wont necessarily notice this), but when looking at odd numbers it doesn't need to match anything; it just is, making odd numbers more pleasing.  If you look at the picture, I have 3 woofs and 4 bones.  Because they are die cut from the same paper, it's an odd number and your brain isn't playing matchy-matchy (yes, that's a highly technical term). 
Here is the video on my YouTube channel and my supplies are listed below.

Sunny Studio Party Pups stamp set
Sunny Studio Rainbow Dots and Stripes paper
Neenah Solar White 110 lb cardstock
Neenah Classic Cream cardstock
MISTI
Ink on 3 Blackout 
Avery Elle Wonky Stitches dies
Neenah Desert Storm Cardstock
Versamark
Brutus Monroe Icicle EP
Hero Arts Acetate panel
3M Foam tape
Catherine Pooler Inks
-Coral Cabana
-Tiara
Copic Markers:
Gray dog: C0, 2, 4, 8; R20 RV14
Brown dog: E37, 49; R20 RV14
Crop-a-dile Corner Chomper
Scor-tape
Tombow
Nuvo Glitter Gloss pen
Rounded Square die, 2.5"

Thanks for stopping by and I'll catch you next time!

Much love,
Jasmine

Soft Encouragement Card with Ink Blending and a Stencil

 Hello!!  I know it's been a minute since I've posted a project or video.  Sometimes life gets in the way of art and you have to prioritize.  My husband is in Stage 5 Kidney Failure and is on the transplant list.  As you can imagine, that has taken all of my focus over the past several weeks and I've needed to get back to my studio to restore myself a bit.  Todays project was inspired by two elements in my life; my faith in Jesus and my friends and family that have rallied around my husband and I to support us.  God is amazing. 

The sentiment stamp is from The Ink Road and it's a favorite expression of mine.  I love the size and different fonts Lara used in it's design.  I started by stamping it in the middle of my panel and heat embossing with Rose Gold embossing powder.  Next, I used the Radiating Star stencil by Neat and Tangled off center to the upper left of the sentiment with a pale blue ink by Catherine Pooler Designs.  Side note: if you haven't tried Catherines inks, you are missing out.  They are fantastic and rival any ink I've ever used (including Distress).  I followed the stenciling with a brighter toned blue ink around the edges, keeping it soft.  It still needed something so I looked through all my floral stamps and decided on the Mondo Sakura, which is a Cherry Blossom, by Ellen Hutson and stamped that twice using a medium lilac shade.  To tie everything together and add a bit of shine, I finished it off with some flat-back pearls in Thistle by Little Things.  Those pearls are teeny-tiny and so pretty, so they add just a bit of flair without going overboard.  Perfection.

Here is the link to my Youtube channel where I have the video tutorial if you're interested in watching.  Below is my supply list with links if you're interested in getting any of the products I use and love.

Supplies:
Neenah Solar White Classic Crest
Ink Road Stamps: Chin Up Buttercup
Wow Rose Gold embossing powder
Versamark
MISTI
Neat and Tangled Radiating Star stencil
Catherine Pooler Designs inks: It's a Boy, Something Borrowed and Sweet Sixteen
Ellen Hutson Mondo Sakura stamp
Little Things Pearls: Glossy Thistle Mix


Thanks so much for stopping by!  It's good to get back into my studio and creating again!  Be sure to let know what you think here or over on my YouTube channel.  It's so much fun getting to interact with you! 

10 cards using Foils, Transfer Gel and a Laminator

Hello!  Todays video has 10 cards in it with a simple foiling technique that is quite versatile and will help you get more out of the dies you already have in your stash.  I didn't new any of my newer dies for this; they're all a few years old.  My goal with this card design was to think outside the typical and find new uses for my stuff.  I used transfer gel and heat-transfer foils for these cards, so you'll need a laminator.  However, you don't need one that is uber expensive.  Mine was $18.  A cool thing about these foils is that you can usually get at least 2 cards out of a sheet of foil and I'll show you how to use the negative.  I had so much fun designing and creating these cards, so lets get started.  Using older products in videos, sometimes things have been discontinued and I came across that issue with this video.  I've done my best to find similar products to serve the same purpose although they may not be identical.  Here's the link to the video on my YouTube channel and my supplies are listed and linked below.

Supplies: 

Papertrey Ink Peony Coverplate die 

Memory Box Snowflake die (discontinued) 

Impression Obsession Butterfly die

Lapis Watercolor Deco Foil  

Amethyst Watercolor Deco Foil

Gina K Brilliant Blue Deco Foil

Champagne Deco Foil 

Deco Foil Transfer Gel

Stick-It Sheet Adhesive

Be Creative Tape

Alexandra Renke I beleive in You die

Christmas Sentiment dies

Penny Black Inspire die

Ellen Hutson BeYou-tiful die

Tombow Mono Multi glue 

Little Things Clear Opal Cherry Blossoms 

Little Things Forget Me Not Garden Flowers 

Little Things Snowdrop Garden Flowers

Distress Oxide Ink Black Soot

Distress Oxide Ink Hickory Smoke

American Crafts Glitter Paper 

DCWV Foil paper 

White Cardstock

Black Cardstock

The formatting on todays post is a bit wonky, and I apologize, but Blogger doesn't want to cooperate with me, so it is what it is.  Regardless, I do hope you enjoyed the post, video and design ideas and encourage you to delve into your stash and see what new ideas you come up with.  Happy crafting!

Love and grace,

Jasmine

One Layer Watercolor Peony

 There's tons of tutorials available with the Distress Oxides and I was curious to see how they worked with the original Distress inks, so I combined Distress Oxide reinkers with original Distress reinker using the ink dipping technique.  I loved the results.  I loved the blend of colors, the textural differences between the ink finishes, the soft watercolor look and the mix of hard and soft edges that are hallmarks of watercolor.  Wanting the watercolor to shine, I kept the rest of the card simple with some flowers and a clean sentiment and mounted to a white cardbase.  Here's the link to the video tutorial on my YouTube channel and my supply list is below.

Supply list:
Distress Oxide reinker

• Seedless Preserves
• Picked Raspberry

Distress Original reinker

• Mermaid Lagoon

Ellen Hutson Mondo Peony
VersaMark
White embossing powder
Funny Bones stamp # RWD123
Imagine Crafts Shimmer Spritz
Scor-tape
White cardbase
Memento Tuxedo Black
MISTI

Thanks for joining me today.  Catch you next time!

For His glory and much love,
Jasmine

Easter Triple Play

Todays post and video are done in a bit of a different style than usual.  I have 3 cards, all of an Easter theme celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, utilizing experiments.  When I get new products, I like to play with them and experiment so I have a bin in my studio with several random bits.  These cards were created using a few of those panels.  I chose to do it this way because Easter has devolved into chicks, bunnies, toys and candy.  I wanted to convey it's true purpose and true meaning and I hope you enjoy.

Oh Happy Day Supplies:
Nuvo Glimmer Paste
Tanzanite Lavender
Peridot Green
Neat & Tangled Scalloped stencil
Bristol Smooth cardstock
Simon Says Stamp Cross die
Simon Says Stamp Oh Happy Day die
DCWV Gold Foil cardstock
Stick-It Sheet Adhesive
Neenah 110 lb Solar White cardstock base
Scor-tape

Start with a Bristol Smooth panel cut to 4"x 5.25" and tape the stencil down on the corners.  Smooth the lavender Nuvo paste over the top half and the green over the bottom half, blending the two colors in the middle.  Remove stencil while paste is still wet.  Set aside the panel to dry and immediately wash the stencil and palette knife.  The panel will take an hour or so to dry completely, but I let mine sit for several hours.  Once dry, center the cross die in the middle of the panel so that the pattern is even in the die and run it through your die cutting machine.  Give it a few passes; you may have to use your craft knife to help complete the cuts in a few places.  Cut the gold cardstock to 4.25" x 5.5" and adhere to the card base using Scor-tape.  Center the glitter paste panel and center it over the gold.  Apply Stick-It to the back of some gold cardstock and run the Oh Happy Day die with the gold cardstock through the die cutting machine.  Remove the die cut from the rest and remove all the little bits and pieces.  Arrange the die cuts over the glitter panel, remove backing paper and press down.  I started with Day because it was at the bottom and wanted to make sure it didn't hang off the edge of the glitter panel.  The card is complete.

Loved You Supplies:
MISTI
Bristol Smooth cardstock
Nuvo Moonstone Glimmer Paste
Neat & Tangles Scalloped stencil
Lawn Fawn inks

• Minty Fresh
• Moonstone
• Fresh Lavender 
• Ballet Slippers
• Peachy Keen

My Favorite Things Wonky Stitches dies
Penny Black Faith stamp set
Mama Elephant His Love stamp set
Wplus9 Oatmeal cardbase
Vellum
Stick-It sheet adhesive
Sizzix rectangle frame die
Versamark
Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder
Scor-tape

In order listed above, I used the ink blending technique to add color to my panel.  Next, I applied the glimmer paste using the stencil and let that dry.  Once the paste was dry, I ran in through my die cut machine with the largest of the MFT Wonky Stitches dies.  Using vellum with Stick-It on the back, I stamped and heat embossed my images followed by die cutting them.  To finish up, I adhered the colored panel to the cardbase with Scor-Tape and layered the vellum images on the front.  Card completed.

His Love Never Fails Supplies:
MISTI
Glossy cardstock
Alcohol Inks

• Pearl
• Flamingo
• Patina

Alcohol Ink Blending Solution
My Favorite Things Wonky Stitches die
Mama Elephant His Love stamp set
Versamark
Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder
Die cut Cross from the first card
Ellen Hutson Natural White cardbase
Scor-tape
3M Foam tape
Here is the link to a previous video demonstrating the alcohol ink technique on my YouTube channel so you can see how I created the background. 

Here is the link to the video tutorial with these three cards on my YouTube channel.  It was a joy creating these cards to share my faith and I sincerely hope you can share in the joy and promise of Easter as well. 

To His glory and much love,
Jasmine

Glitter, Vellum, and Die Cuts, Oh My!

 Hey there! Todays post was created for the PIN-Sights Challenge over at Ellen Hutsons blog.  Their challenges make it easy; all they require is using Essentials by Ellen products and the inspiration board.  So I chose to use two of the colors from the mood board, purple and yellow and the Bohemian Flowers stamp and die set.  Lets get started!

Supplies:
Neenah Solar White 110 lb cardstock
Essentials by Ellen 40 lb Vellum
Stick-It Adhesive sheets
Crafters Companion Spectrum Noir cardstock
Doodlebug Daydream white cardstock, cut to 4.25" by 5.5" 
Essentials by Ellen Bohemian Flowers stamp and die sets
Momento Tuxedo Black
Copic Markers: Y00, 02, 06; V04, 09, 12; YG 03, 06, G05; C-1, C-5
Doodlebug Enamel dots
TH Sizzix Thinlit die (Flourish)
Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle die set
Hello die
Wink of Stella Clear Glitter brush pen
3M foam tape
Scrapbook Adhesives foam squares
Tombow Mono Multi glue

I started by stamping my flowers and leaves in Momento Tuxedo Black ink and color with Copic markers.  For the purple, I used V04, V09 and V12; Yellow: Y00, Y02, and Y06; Green: YG03, YG06 and G05; Gray: C-1 and C-5.  After I finished coloring, I die cut each shape using the coordinating dies.
For the Vellum panel, I adhered the vellum to a peice of Stick-It adhesive, then ran it through my Big Shot with the largest of the Stitched Rectangle dies.  I lined up the flourish die with the bottom right corner of the vellum panel and ran it through my Big Shot.  I removed the paper liner from the bottom right corner of the vellum piece and lined it up with the same corner of the glitter cardstock.  Once I had it lined up properly, I removed the rest of the paper liner and then ran it through the big shot back and forth a few times, just to make sure it was really stuck down.
I liked the look of the dandelion pod by itself laying across the bottom and adhered the flower to the stem with tape runner, then added foam squares to attach it to the card.  I used foam tape and foam squares to attach the other two flowers and leaves as well.  I used Tombow liquid glue to attach the hello die cut and put a few acrylic blocks over it to weight down while it dried.  To finish off the card, I added Wink of Stella to the purple flower and hello die cut as well as enamel dots to the center of the yellow and purple flowers, and finally, mounted the panel to a top-folding card base.

Thanks for hanging out with me today! I'm happy to answer any questions you might have and feel free to let me know what you think!

Much love,
Jasmine

Graphic Magnolia

Welcome back!  Today's card is using a few of the same products I used in my Clean and Simple Magnolia card, but with a few different techniques.  I really like how this turned out and I hope you give it a try!

Let's start with the background.  Using Distress watercolor cardstock, I used 3 colors of Distress Spray Stain: Abandoned Coral, Picked Raspberry and Shaded Lilac.  The tutorial post I have for how I create larger pieces is linked here.  I use fewer colors for smaller pieces; this measures 4.25 by 5.5 inches.  I start with my lightest color and end with my darkest, layering as I go.  To get the colors moving and blending, I spritz lightly with water and soak up any puddles with paper towels.  Once I like it, I set is aside to air dry.  I don't like using my heat tool to speed up drying because it tends to warp a lot more.  Air drying seems to allow the paper to relax and it usually flattens out.  If it feels cool to the touch, it's not completely dry yet.

Once my background was dry, I stamped my magnolia in Momento Tuxedo Black.  Because this is watercolor paper, the texture made my image slightly blotchy.  I stamped again, doing my best to line it up, but didn't hit it exactly on the mark.  That's ok though.  I liked the few double lines you can see.  I think it gives it more character.  I die cut the beautiful out of a strip of scrap watercolor paper that was a darker purple and adhered it with liquid glue.  The hello was stamped with VersaMark and heat embossed with Ranger Gold embossing powder.  I added the lavender pearl embellishments for a bit of elegance and whimsy, which are pieces left over from a larger embellishment I cut apart by Prima.  I mounted the finished card front on a card base and it was complete.

Thanks for spending a little time with me today! I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to ask any questions and share your thoughts.

Much love,
Jasmine

Clean and Simple Magnolia

Hey guys! Welcome!  Today's card was created by combining a few new products and techniques for me.  Coloring with alcohol markers, which means learning how to blend and layer, and stamping with a die. 

I fell in love with this Mondo Magnolia stamp and die set from ellenhutson.com.  It just begs to be colored and I love to color.

Another product I had to try out is the Ink Transfer Film and Ink Transfer Pad from Sizzix.  It allows you to use your dies as if they were stamps using your big shot. I'll link to a YouTube video demonstrating it here. 

 I don't typically make clean and simple cards, but I really enjoyed the simplicity of this one.  Each element is allowed to stand out while harmonious as a whole.

This card started out with the Magnolia.  I recently purchased a large set of Spectrum Noir markers and this was my first foray into coloring with alcohol markers.  It was easier than I expected and I really liked how it turned out.  The flower was stamped in Momento Tuxedo Black ink - use a dye ink with alcohol markers to avoid smudging/bleeding of your image.  I googled magnolia flowers to make sure I was using a palette that was botanically accurate, die cut it using my big shot and set it aside.  I don't use a lot of patterned paper and therefore have quite a bit stored up from card kits.  I challenged myself to use more of it and loved the gold dots on this sheet.  The paper is from the May 2015 Simon Says Stamp card kit.  I trimmed it down to 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 to fit a standard card base and used a gold ink transfer sheet and "beautiful" die to impress the image along the bottom edge.  I added a strip of the paper trimming across the card towards the bottom third to add more of the gold dot pattern for more interest.  The "hello" was die cut from Die Cuts With a View glitter paper and adhered with Tombow Mono Multi liquid glue.  I popped up the magnolia with foam squares for a bit of dimension and it was complete.

This is a versatile stamp set and card design.  It is suitable for birthdays, miss you, hello, encouragement and thinking of you.  If the sentiment was changed to "thinking of you" it would make a lovely sympathy/empathy card.  I hope you enjoyed spending a little time with me! Feel free to ask questions and let me know what you think.

Much love!
Jasmine