Category Archives: Artistic

Watercolor, colored pencil, and markers can really add depth and texture to your creations!

Handcolored Succulents on Vellum Cards

November 24, 2021 R'Chel Leave a comment

A couple of weeks ago was Stampin’ Up!s Onstage at Home event. This yearly conference was tons of fun and we always get to see new projects, new supplies, and interact with other demonstrators. For the Stamp and Share project this year I grabbed supplies I already had on hand. I was working at my store that day and knew I wasn’t going to have as much focus as I wanted to have, and that I wouldn’t have long concentrated periods of time. With that in mind I grabbed some vellum and markers. I can color in short spans of time between customers right? It worked!

Any time you want to turn the ordinary into extraordinary just reach for the vellum. Vellum is a media that I absolutely adore working with. If you have a paper that is too bold then layer vellum over it. Super bold? Add dimensionals and move the vellum farther away from the paper to diffuse the image or color even more.

These cards were done with the layouts shown to all of us. It’s always intriguing to watch a room full of people use the same cut sheet and watch them create vastly different projects. That’s what happened this time as well. As I watched the images for cards created I admired the diversity and beauty. I was far from being the only one who wasn’t using the stamp set demonstrated.

The vellum die cuts were colored with Stampin’ Blend markers. Stampin’ Write markers could also be used, though I’d have colored on the back side of the vellum to diffuse the image a little more with them. I realized when I was assembling the cards that I had forgotten embellishments so I grabbed the little stash of random embellishments that I keep in my office desk drawer. These cards really created a warm spot in my heart. I know it’s not the season to create with summer succulents…or maybe it’s exactly the right season to do so!

This card fits in an A2 sized envelope with standard postage.

For more cards and Live demos, stop by My Inky Paws Facebook page The Supplies list for this card is here. Thanks for hanging out with me! Happy Crafting to You and see you next time with a new project!!

Artistic, Card Tutorial, Fun Techniques, Quick & Easy

I’m With You – Polar Bear Card

November 16, 2021 R'Chel Leave a comment

As soon as I saw the Arctic Bears Bundle this card was in my head. I knew this combination of stamps and dies would lend itself perfectly to the highlighting blending brush technique I used for the Winter Storm and Watching You Watching Me cards last year.

I love the look of whisper white used with a blending brush to lighten up a focal area of a design. It really elevates the card to art status for me and provides some added drama to create depth. The center area of this Pacific Point cardstock base was lightened to several shades paler using Whisper White Ink. Blend out from the center carefully to avoid any lines of demarcation.

Using Basic White cardstock for the foreground pieces adds more depth. I chose to use Memento Black for the contrast and starkness that echoes in the landscape.

The stamp set and dies are rich in imagery. This is the largest bear. There are cubs, and a smaller bear in the die cuts. There are a couple more detailed background images in the stamp set, a sun/moon die, and a variety of landform dies to stage your bears on. I can’t wait to play with this set some more. I will probably combine the bears into some holiday cuteness as well. This card is a little somber in sentiment, though I needed to make this card for personal use. I hope you enjoy the technique and post me pics of anything you create, too!

This card fits in an A2 sized envelope with standard postage.

Watching You Watching Me Spanner Peekaboo Card

Artistic, Card Tutorial, Fun Techniques

Spotlight on Spotlight Technique!

September 20, 2021 R'Chel Leave a comment

Spotlight Technique is one of those that every papercrafter should have in their arsenal. It’s beautiful, memorable, and simple – Trifecta!!

I love big stamps for Spotlight. Alternately, several smaller images stamped together, butterflies for example, make stunning Spotlight cards. When working with large stamps (Daisy Garden is about 5 inches x 6 inches) I use my Stamparatus for this one so I can line up the images perfectly. In case I have to reink and go back over the image in places it makes it a snap and turns out perfectly. For a Spotlight card you’ll need 2 identically stamped card fronts. Stamp with a dye ink (Memento Tuxedo Black) if you’ll be using alcohol ink markers, and stamp with a solvent ink (like Stazon) if you’ll be using dye inks for coloring.

I don’t like to waste my images so I’ll usually color one entire front. I like using the Stampin’ Blends as they do blend well together, both within the Light/Dark set for each color as well as with other colors. Once one stamped card front panel is colored then choose where you wish to cut it. There are many ways to do this. The example I have here is a sunbeam cut. You might choose to cut a section horizontally, vertically, or create multiple sunbeams on the diagonal.

Mount your black and white image to your card base. Apply dimensionals liberally to the back of your colored and cut section and then line it up with the background image. The results are always stunning, and take very little time to create. I can’t wait to see your Spotlight cards too!

Have fun with this technique. You can find the supplies I used for this card here (I used Stazon & Stampin’ Write Markers for this card): https://s.tamp.in/BesF8j You can catch my Live teach and watch it done in Memento with Stampin’ Blends, too: https://fb.watch/88LbNi-B18/

Come on over to the My Inky Paws FB page and give me a Like and Follow for more Cards & Coffee Live Tutorials.

Artistic, Card Tutorial, Fun Techniques

Just Breathe

September 3, 2021 R'Chel Leave a comment

A Sunday Cards & Coffee Live tutorial from Stampin’ Stuff with My Inky Paws Facebook Page.

This card was actually created at the same time as Missing You at Home. As I was die cutting that card I was seeing this one come together in my head. That’s kind of a thing with me and it’s both a blessing and a curse. Oftentimes I look at a stamp set (or a die set) and a card pops into my head fully formed right down to the embellishments. That card has to get out of my head, aka become physically crafted, before I can move on to see other possibilities. Does this happen to you, too? I’d love to know it’s not just one of my (many) idiosyncrasies.

So….as did MYaH, this card started out with 3 successively smaller die cuts using Diorama contour nesting dies on 3 colors of card stock. I used Pacific Point card stock for the card base and did a front only embossing with the paint texture embossing folder. I like the paint texture as it lends itself to many different applications (and I could digress and expound on its virtues for a whole post…maybe I will, but not this one…)

The trees are punch art in two colors of card stock using the Evergreen Border punch. One of the stamps in the Evergreen Elegance Stamp Set is a small tree that is just the right size for adding some texture (I used Evening Evergreen ink) and giving it more of a tree-look rather than just plain cardstock paper-doll-type trees.

The why of this card (which maybe should have been the intro of this post) and the reason I couldn’t get it out of my head is this: I have a couple sisters, and we are ALL workaholics. We all have different careers (though 2 of us had the same for awhile) and we basically hand ourselves over completely to our careers. It’s how we’re wired. I was one of the 2 of us with same job and in a sudden moment of clarity, inhaled one day and looked around me and basically said “F this S, I’m going back to working for me,” and so here I am. I have always definitely liked my boss and working conditions better when I am self-employed but I’m no less a workaholic than when I am paychecking in my more traditional career path.

But back to my workaholic sisters. One in particular….she needs a break. She needs a real vacation. She’s not going to get it, and so when I cut out those cardstock diorama pieces I saw an island. With this card I created her an island surrounded by deep blue water with peaceful forests of trees to get caught up in. She can keep this on her desk and go there in her mind when she can’t physically get away from her work life.

As is my personal signature, the envelope and the inside of the card are stamped with a small grove of trees from this set. I never leave an envelope naked as I feel the joy of receiving a card should start the moment it touches the recipients hand with just a hint of what waits inside!

I hope this card inspires you to create and I’d love to see your cards and hear their stories, too!

Come on over to the My Inky Paws FB page and give me a Like and Follow for more Cards & Coffee Live Tutorials.

Artistic, Card Tutorial, Fun Techniques

Missing You at Home

September 2, 2021 R'Chel 1 Comment

A Sunday Cards & Coffee Live tutorial from Stampin’ Stuff with My Inky Paws Facebook Page.

While the subject matter might be a touch melancholy (for when aren’t we a little sad when our loved ones are away) this card is a fun one to create by channeling the joy they bring you into the image!

This card started out with 3 successively smaller die cuts using Diorama contour nesting dies on 3 colors of card stock. The image was stamped from the 2021 Fall Sale-a-Bration Feels Like Home stamp set (free with $50 purchase.) Sentiment is also from Feels like Home and punched with 1-1/2 inch circle punch.

I love the Diorama dies for their versatility! We’re not going to let the part we cut out go to waste either. Next time we’ll make another card using those pieces.

In coloring this card there are any number of ways to approach it. I chose a subtle colored pencil palette to just bring hints of color that tied in the cardstock diorama tones – enough color to draw the eye to the image without getting fussy over the shading.

Dyeing seam ribbon is one of my favorite “prep” things to do, and so I gently spotted damp seam ribbon with a few of the colors (use your markers for this) used in the focal image. As the ribbon dries the ink travels and blends and softens in tone. You can create the perfect ribbon for any project this way.

As is my personal signature, the envelope and the inside of the card are stamped with the coordinating pot of flowers stamp from this set. I never leave an envelope naked as I feel the joy of receiving a card should start the moment it touches the recipients hand with just a hint of what waits inside!

I hope this card inspires you to create and I’d love to see your cards, too!

Come on over to the My Inky Paws FB page and give me a Like and Follow for more Cards & Coffee Live Tutorials.

Missing You at Home Card — Missing You at Home

Artistic, Card Tutorial, Fun Techniques

Watching You Watching Me

August 12, 2021 R'Chel Leave a comment

This is a card I did last winter, and now the DSP I used is back (in the clearance section.) The Feels Like Frost DSP is beautiful so if you are going to create wintery cards this year think about picking it up.

Watching You Watching Me is a Window Card. The illusion is formed by cutting a 1-1/2 inch gap and then adding a 2 inch x 5-1/2 inch piece of clear window acetate between the cardstock and the DSP panels on the card front. The sentiment bar spans the front making it look as though it’s what is holding the card together. Cool effect and has a lot of other applications too!

Before stamping the deer on the inside I used white pigment ink on a blending brush to lighten the cardstock area and the result looks like a snowstorm in the moonlight. I added some stamping around the perimeter with a dot stamp. You could even add a few well placed “flicks” of white ink after stamping the deer to give a feeling of snow in the air, too. Vary the pressure of the blending brush and keep layering to get the brighter “snow” in the foreground.

Supply list can be found at https://s.tamp.in/zRvBeA

Artistic, Card Tutorial, Fun Techniques, Holiday

Evergreen Elegance

August 10, 2021 R'Chel Leave a comment

I have so much fun with the Evergreen Elegance cling stamp set. A few simple evergreen trees, stars, some awesome sentiments, some beautiful DSP, and some trial & error coupled with a little imagination and you have some great cards for holiday, for the guy in your life, for nature-loving friends…you get the picture! Have fun friends!!