card design

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RELAX & CREATE - RAINBOW DIE CUT GREETING

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I collect “hellos”. Hello stamps, hello dies. I don’t think you can ever have too many because you need small ones, big ones, scripty and block styles, skinny and chunky styles, etc. I’m totally serious. “Hello” is a staple word.

Anyway, the DIY Sticky Mat shown in the video has really saved my sanity sooooo many times when working with die cuts!

I’ve been working on a magnetic cutting mat by Heidi Swapp lately. It comes with 4 little magnets and a magnetic ruler. These have come in handy for lining die cut letters, etc. or holding things down and preventing them from scooching (is that a word?) away from me as I work. I made a little custom washi tape “cross-hair” to remind me to keep my project in that spot for the camera when I’m filming, which I REALLY like because I could position that mark closer to me, rather than dead-center on the mat.

Hope you find the video below relaxing and that it inspires you in some way. ↓ There is an “enbiggan” button in the lower right corner, of the video player if you want to watch in full screen.

Thanks for stopping by!

Keep stayin’ safe, healthy and crafty! (wink)

SUPPLIES:


Disclosure: Just so you know, this post contains affiliate links; if you see something you like, want or need, and purchase via my links, I receive a small commission, which I can use to buy coffee, which fuels my creativity and provides energy to make more card ideas.

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MODIFYING A DIE CUT WORD

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I love, loVE LOVE the Mondo OMG die—it is proving to be even more versatile than I imagined—YAY!!! (fist pump)

Flowers are usually the standby for my mama for her Mother’s Day card; she is an avid gardener (among her many other talents). But this year, I wanted to try something different and unexpected . . .

FYI: there’s a little “enbiggan” button on the video player, lower right corner; if you click on that, you can watch in full screen. Just sayin’ . . .

 

A short cut would have been to use patterned paper, but I didn’t have any in exactly the colors I was wanting, so I DIY’d it. Paper crafters gotta do what paper crafters gotta do, eh?! It turned out pretty slick, if I do say so m’self! (monkey clapping)

SIDEBAR/TIP???: I’ve noticed that Glossy Accents works pretty well for gluing little bitty things onto vellum card stock, meaning it holds well. Also, when I first got the needle nose applicator tip and installed it on the bottle, it clogged up within short order. Annoyed, I quit using that particular bottle for, like, a whole year +. (insert bulging eyeballs)

A few weeks ago, I had a brawny handy man (a.k.a. The Mister) use his brute strength to twist that applicator tip off the bottle (I have tendinitis and didn’t have the strength to grasp and twist it myself). I then plunged the whole tip thing into a bowl of almost-boiling hot water, and put something on top to weight it down and keep it submerged under the hot water for a while. This dissolved a lot of the clogged material, but not all of it. It did soften it, however, so I removed the needle nose from the main plastic housing (using some pliers) and then took a pin and essentially "pushed” the remaining clogged/dried material inside, out the end of the needle nose. This took a little patience and persistence, but eventually I got all of it out and have been able to use it once again without issue—I was surprised at how much had gotten stuck inside there (!). But, I may have to do the whole soaking thing every now and then to really keep it clear/unclogged.

What themes do you do typically gravitate towards for Mother’s Day cards?

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SPREAD JOY NOT GERMS BLOG HOP

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We’re doin’ our part, staying home to stay safe and keep others safe and so that others on the front lines, my younger sister among them, can fight the good fight.

But, we CAN stay connected—a bunch (understatement) of us have joined together for a massive creative hop, designed to spread a lotta JOY, no germs. (wink)

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Typically I reach for watercolors, colored pencils or alcohol markers to color in my images but this time I wanted to try ink blending over the top of some white embossed images. This is more of a “resist” effect/way of doing things.

In hindsight, I think I probably should have grabbed even smaller brushes, but I think it still turned out OK—smaller brushes just would have better enabled me to achieve the shading I was going for in specific areas. Note to self: Keep practicing. (wink)

SPONSORS AND PRIZES!


THIRTY ONE companies are offering more than FIFTY prizes on this hop! Comment on the blogs on the hop to be entered. No minimum number of comments required, but the more blogs you comment on, the greater the chances of winning.

Deadline to enter is April 24 and winners will be announced on Monday, April 27 on the Catherine Pooler Designs and Hedgehog Hollow blogs. Please check there on that date to see if you won!

Full details and hop list are available here:

Catherine Pooler Blog

Hedgehog Hollow Blog

If you get lost along the way, please visit the Catherine Pooler or Hedgehog Hollow links above to see the full roster.

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Thank you for commenting, and may the odds be ever in your favour! (wink)

Your next stop along the hop is Vicki Ditcher’s blog, All I Do is Stamp

Stay safe and healthy, folks

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SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES

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Two amazing women and small business owners, Jamie Gracz and Ellen Hutson, are supporting each other in a very unique way during this extremely challenging time and I wanted to share. Now through April 24th, you can save 20% using code ELLENHUTSON at Avery Elle.

I’ve also got a quick share of one of my favoritest (so not a word, but should be) Avery Elle Stamp Sets:

I LOVE pho —and yes, it is one of my all time favorite meals and one of the best comfort foods evvvah! This set was illustrated by the talented Caryn Davies, of Glitter Me Silly. Caryn has a crazy good sense of humor—if you ever have the good fortune to meet her, she’ll make you laugh sooo soooooo hard!

All the images were stamped with Gina K’s Amalgam Jet Black Ink and colored in with Copic Markers. Used a mini score board to make the background—I wanted it to look like all the yummy goodies were raining down into the bowl. Mission accomplished! (fist pump)

This card is making me hungry—I could just swim in a good bowl of pho, I love it so muchly . . .

Hope this card sparked an idea or two for you!

Stay safe and stay healthy!

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CREATE FOR YOURSELF

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Crafting, just for me—for the fun of it—is a rare and elusive event. Nowadays, working as a creative within the industry involves a hellalot more than just “making a card”. Truth.

But, when you get the chance to make, just for the sake of making, for yourself—without restriction or parameters, without a million other things and deadlines looming over you or interruptions . . . oh my, how refreshing that is for the creative soul and your inner well-being. Ask me how I know . . .

I filmed myself making the above card and gave myself permission to NOT spend an hour in the master bedroom closet and possibly 25 gazillion takes on a voice over (pollen + allergies have been driving me nuts)—just me making a card from start-to-finish, with some relaxing music. Uploaded to my IGTV channel so you can see it there or here. ↓



Thanks for stopping by and hangin’ with me for a few minutes out of your day.

Stay safe, stay healthy!