Today I am a) late as I was supposed to blog on Friday b) breaking the rules of my "one stamp, five ways" concept yet again c) but this time it's not in # of creations, it's in # of stamps used d) I'll be making it up to you all by making five MORE creations with these two sets for my next post e) so ultimately that means I will be using two stamp sets for two posts with ten creations which if you divide all by two is really two "one stamp, five ways" posts! See we are all good! Carry on ....
Today's stamp set(s) are Cuddly Critters and Cuddly Critters Accessories:
See my dilemma? These two just go together like peanut butter and jelly! How can you use one without the other? I actually COULD use the accessories set by itself and I did on one of my cards below. You can purchase both sets with the dies all together HERE or you could buy the cuddly critters set with the dies HERE or you could buy the accessories set with the dies HERE. Or click on the sets above to buy just the stamp sets by themselves! Or just read on for ideas and buy nothing - completely your choice - haha.
I have five cards to share with you today and I am happy to announce that I tried some new background ideas that I can't wait to tell you about! Maybe that's why I am late - because I had to dig deep to come up with new techniques! I feel like I have worn out the watercolor stripes anyway!
Now this card isn't going all out on the background as I just used patterned paper. But WHO can resist this adorable plaid by Lawn Fawn?!?!?! It came in the SSS June Card Kit OR you can buy the pad as I did HERE where you get two sheets of all of the designs. I started by die-cutting a stitched rectangle from the plaid paper using my MFT Blueprints 13 rectangle die. I die-cut a circle from the top center using the SSS Stitched Circle Dies. I die cut another circle from white cardstock using the same dies that leave stitching on both the inside and outside! I attached both of these as the background on a white card base. I stamped the sentiment (had to cut it so it could run horizontal) on a SSS Sketchy Banner die which I attached to the bottom of the card.
I stamped a little dog critter on white cardstock and colored him/her with Copic markers. I did the same with the party hat, the bow tie, and the balloon. I added dots to the party hat and a mark on the balloon with a white Uniball marker. I stamped the package on watercolor paper and painted it with pink paints. I stamped the bow on the top of it and outlined that with a white Uniball. I attached all of these to the card background. I added some Pretty Pink Posh clear droplets around the images. I used pop dots behind the balloon so it sticks up (I'm all 'bout the dimension!).
This card uses only the accessories stamp set and it uses some new background techniques for me. I started by die-cutting the SSS Frames die from Ranger white watercolor paper. I set the frame aside and worked with the inside piece. I die-cut a rounded stitched rectangle die by MFT from the left bottom corner. I then die-cut a second one from white cardstock. I took the outside piece and I rubbed Ranger inks on it in three colors (Lucky Clover, Twisted Citron, and Mermaid Lagoon). I covered it very liberally so the colors were really intense. Then I spritzed it with water and also dropped some drops of water on it by removing the spritzer and shaking it over it. After the water sat on it for about 30 seconds, I blotted it up with a paper towel which left this nice texture on it. It also removed some of the color softening it. I tried this technique first on white cardstock and I found that it didn't hold up well with the water spritzed on it. The colors were also much more intense on the cardstock - too intense for my taste. So I definitely preferred this technique on watercolor paper and the Ranger is white and also very thick, so it was perfect. Next, I took out my white cardstock center and I used my SSS Medium Dot stencil to rub Tumbled Glass Distress ink on it (I actually had this piece leftover from my last post - have to be honest here!). I then took the large circle dot stamp in the set and and stamped it over the blue dots with Twisted Citron Distress ink.
I layered the three background pieces on an aqua card base. I then stamped all of the elements on white cardstock and colored them with Copic markers. I used a darker teal color to add stripes on the package and then used a white Uniball to add shadows below the stamped ribbon. I added yellow dots to the hat and used the Uniball for white centers. Actually looking closer, it looks like the balloon was watercolored on watercolor paper. I make all my elements first, some out of cardstock with Copics and some out of watercolor paper with watercolors. And then when I make my cards, sometimes I am FORCED to mix them because the colors just work. Shame on me - not my initial plan and so breaking the rules of card making! I stamped the little bitty words on the flag and the gift - aren't they so cute? I attached some blue and green Pretty Pink Posh sequins to the sides.
I've used this technique for a background before, but I still consider it quite cool and worthy of taking note! ha I die-cut a stitched rectangle from watercolor paper and then I stamped all the little confetti type elements with Versamark Ink and embossed with white embossing powder. Then came the fun part (as that part was a bit tedious as you have to fit them all on like a puzzle, so I put three at a time on my stamp block and then stamped those three here and there and here and there until it was finally full). I watercolored it with several colors. When doing this, make sure that complimentary colors never touch - such as yellow and purple. Or you get ugly mud and you have to start over! So I use colors that blend nicely together next to each other.
Next, I stamped the elements from the two sets on white cardstock with SSS Intense Black Ink (the only black ink I use anymore since it works with both Copics and watercolors). I colored them all in with Copic markers. I stamped the sentiment (had to cut it apart again shame on me!) on a banner from the MFT Tagbuilder 4 Dynamics set. I outlined it with black fine tip marker and colored the outside edges with Copics as well. I attached all these stamped elements to the background and resisted the image to add sequins. But instead I added my new favorite PPP clear droplets around the flag and hearts! Oh, and I used a pop dot behind the flag again (because dimension my friends is da' bomb!).
You may think this card looks a little boring at first glance, but I used a creative background technique, so I wanted to show it off and not cover it up too much! I started with a stitched rectangle from MFT Blueprints 13. I then painted it yellow with watercolors. Next I wanted to add white texture paste dots on top, so I pulled out my new SSS Medium Dot stencil and rubbed texture paste over it making sure the edges weren't covered all the way (tricky, huh?!?!). BUT, texture paste isn't really white as I discovered and it didn't pop off the background. It's kind of a dull light gray. Not perdy anyway. So to make it perdier, I decided to add color to it AFTER it was applied. I read on my bottle that this is possible - yay! So then I had to decide how to color these little polkadots without going to too much trouble. I decided to watercolor them, so I added some coral watercolor and then quickly dabbed off some of the color (making sure I got any color that ran off the sides into the yellow). I liked how this looked! I might have to use this technique again! But I think coloring the Texture Paste with Distress Inks before applying is much easier! And a texture paste tip - don't leave your bottle open for very long as it dries out really quickly. Going to research if I can add water to it to thin it down a little.
Next, I stamped my cute little koala bear on white cardstock and colored with Copics. I stamped the rest of the items on watercolor paper and painted with pink watercolor (opera pink to be exact/specific!). I stamped sending love on that cute little banner. To fit it behind the Koala bears paws, I cut around them and slipped it underneath. I slipped the balloon under it as well. I used a pop dot under the balloon - you know why, no need to repeat myself here! I had a hard time lining up the balloon strings with the dies, so I highly advise die-cutting them first and then stamping them. What I did is use a white Uniball to cover up the stamped lines where it went off kilter and then re-drew them with black marker. Because we all know I prefer the time consuming way of doing everything. Just call me your guinea pig!
This last card deserves a blog post all of it's own because I think it's all that! It really is kind of cool though - maybe more so in person as it's hard to see all the details in this photo. What I did is take a watercolor I had done some time ago - it started as a wash, but then I painted circles of color over the wash. I was just entertaining myself at the beach one day with this little painting not realizing it would make a really cool card background some day! I die-cut two SSS stitched rectangles from it lining up the two largest sizes to create a frame. I used the frame as the outside of my shaker and used two layers of foam tape behind it. I attached the inside piece of the watercolor die-cut to a pink card base. I then attached four balloons (stamped and die cut and watercolored) onto this background piece so the sequins in the shaker would be on top of them).
You getting a clear picture of this here card's coolness factor yet? I poured some PPP 4mm clear sequins on the top of this inside piece and then layered the frame over it - which now had a transparency attached to the inside of it. Looks like you can see my foam in this picture - yikes! I then layered four more balloons on the top of the transparency (these are stamped on white cardstock and colored with Copic markers and have nice white spots on them with a Uniball). Now the balloons are on two dimensions which is what I think is cool about this card. Last, I die-cut a banner from MFT Blueprints 2 from my same watercolor wash so it all matched and stamped Happy Birthday on it (which required stamp cutting once again). I added some sequins to the side and more to the top of the card - all these sequins were in my SSS May Card Kit. Love them! And the card of the century was done! I'll never give this baby up though just for the record. In case you were waiting for it!!!
Come back in a few days (no date commitment here notice?) and I'll post another five cards using these two lovely sets. I hope you all have a wonderful week and thanks as always for visiting and for the nice comments! Suzy
Your cards are gorgeous...I've been getting a lot of inspiration from them. I've wanted to ask this question for some time now...how come most of the card makers I've been following only make A2 size cards? I've only been making cards for about a year now. I actually like making 5x7 size cards, but there must be some explanation. I wish the stitched rectangles came in larger sizes too. Some of my embossing folders are 5x7.
Thank you,
Joyce
Posted by: Joyce Jensen | May 29, 2016 at 08:18 PM
Gorgeous as always😘
Posted by: G Evert | May 30, 2016 at 06:09 AM
Such amazing creations!! Your cards are all so wonderful and I especially like your fabulous backgrounds. Thanks for taking the time to include such detailed information.
Posted by: Kate | May 30, 2016 at 06:30 PM
Always talk about your backgrounds because they are so awesome! My favorite one is the dotted background. How do you color that paste before applying? I know you did not do that on this card, but wondered how to do it. Love the blues/greens on the birthday card. And the shaker card...that has a lot of work and it is pretty!!!! Do you ever have a hard time sending the cards you make because you have so much time and work in them? I am sure people love to get them from you! Have a great day and thanks for sharing!!
Posted by: Carol L | May 31, 2016 at 07:23 AM