Super Smooth Gel Blending

I found a faster way to ink blend perfectly smooth panels - only one of these panels was ink blended - the other two were 'gel-blended' - can you tell which is which? 

Blue Butterfly Birthday

Welcome to this week's LIMES inspiration post!

I chose this card as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper!

LIST: Colours (aqua, black, white), Techniques (stamping), Elements (geometric background, butterfly, layered mats, stamped sentiment)

INCLUDE: butterfly, stamped sentiment

MODIFY: layout, stenciled background dots, die cut butterfly, matted panel rather than matted focal image, more blue than aqua, black stamped sentiment

I love the monochrome feel of this inspiration card, especially that tone on tone geometric background.  I changed my layout, and used a gel plate to create a blended blue panel, that I then stencilled  some confetti dots over top. I trimmed it down and added it to a white panel that I had trimmed with a rectangle stitching die to create holes around the edge. 

I die cut a layered butterfly with black on the base, some of the leftover blue gel plate panel for the middle layer and white on top. I glued it down only in the centre so the wings add some dimension. 

I stamped a bold sentiment underneath the butterfly in bold black and added some gems.

Happy Birthday

 

Welcome to this week's LIMES inspiration post!

I chose this card as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper!

LIST: Colours (pastel aqua, pink, yellow, blue, white), Techniques (inkblending, stamping, die cutting), Elements (pastel/white background, white die cut sentiment, stamped sentiment, large white frame, silver pearls)

INCLUDE:pastel colours, die cutting, 

MODIFY: technique (gel plate, stencil 'removal' of ink with water)

white die cut with gray die cut sentiment over top, clear gems instead of pearls, portrait instead of landscape orientation

Look how dreamy this inspiration card is! I think it's colours inkblended and then white stamping over top and it's absolutely gorgeous!

I tried a different technique to get a similar feel - I used my Catherine Pooler inks and my gel press to create a background, and then I spritzed water over a stencil to kind of bleach out the colours in the pattern. 

Happy Birthdays with Leftovers

 

In order to create all the multi-coloured diamonds I needed for this card, I ended up with some rainbow leftovers. I made two same-but-different cards with these, by popping up the rainbow die cuts and then adding a layer of white panels cut with another cover plate die. 

I finished with die cut sentiments, and then put gems in each of the little 'holes'. This is a great way to use up those larger gems that might tear an envelope in the mail - this way they are directly on the card base, and protected by the popped up layers.

Which one do you like better?

Diamond Thank You

 Welcome to this week's LIMES inspiration post!

I chose this card as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper!

LIST: Colours (pink, yellow, blue, white, gold), Techniques (stencil, inkblend, splatter, die cut, stamp), Elements (diamonds, fishtail banner with letters, hearts embellishments, rounded corners, love theme)

INCLUDE: pink, yellow, blue, white, gold, diamonds, heart embellishments

MODIFY: technique - gel plate/die cuts instead of stencils, thank you instead of love, 

EXCLUDE: twine, fish tail rounded corners

I am always amazed at what happens when you blend primary colours and this card with its blended diamonds really caught my eye!

I created striped panels with my gel press and some shimmer plates, then cut them with the Catherine Pooler Cross your X's cover plate. I used the negative pieces to create the centre panel on this card, and made sure to mix up the colours for added interest.

I finished with a stacked up die cut from Avery Elle, and added small hearts cut from Inca gold cardstock, and some gems.

FASTER Layered Gel Prints

 

Do you get bored when you have to watch paint dry? In today's video, I'm sharing a much faster way to get the same look as my layering print video from last month. (Remember these?)

9 Clever (and EASY!) ideas for using Backgrounds or Patterned Paper

Today I'm sharing 9 quick and easy ideas for using up those backgrounds you have on hand. And if you're a person who doesn't make backgrounds, these ideas work with patterned paper, too!

PERFECT Layered Prints (with or without a Gel Plate!)

 

Today I'm sharing how I get perfectly layered prints, using lots of my new stencils, to create artistic, mixed-media cards! And if you don't have a gel plate, I've got you covered with an ink-blended alternative!

(DISCOUNT CODE: Use ARDYTH10 for 10% off at A Colorful Life Designs)! When you're finished watching my video, Amy has a video showing how she's using some of her new goodies to make a birthday card for her husband! This is our second collaboration and I'm hoping it will become an annual tradition!

LIMES - Gel Noel

Welcome to this week's LIMES inspiration post!

I chose this card as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper!

LIST: Colours (white, silver), Techniques (heat embossing, dry embossing), Elements (embossed background, LOVE theme, 4 letters in a grid, monochrome, square focal/sentiment, silver frames)

INCLUDE: heat embossing, dry embossing, 4 letter grid

MODIFY: used metallic rainbow colours, die cutting instead of stamp/embossing for grid (got 2 cards with the die cuts!), put heat embossing on the background and dry embossing on the grid

EXCLUDE: 

SPIN: square card

I love grids and I love squares, so elegant wedding card is right up my alley. I used an old gel print, cut into squares and then die cut my letters from the squares. Then I used an embossing folder on the square letters to add interest and dimension.

I heat embossed clear stripes onto a black square panel for my background - it's subtle but the embossing shines through the holes in the squares.

I popped up the square letters and instead of using the letter centres, I strategically placed some golden illusion gems to act as the centres and add some sparkle.

Then I used the letters themselves to make another card! Gotta love a 2-for-1!

LIMES: Autumn Thanks

Welcome to this week's LIMES inspiration post!

I chose this card as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper, Renata!

LIST: Colours (russet, gold, blue, red, white) Techniques (gel press), Elements (floral outlines on layered background, gold sentiment)

INCLUDE: Colours, gel press, gold sentiment

MODIFY: wheat instead of florals, die cut sentiment instead of sticker, wider white frame

EXCLUDE: nothing!

SPIN:

This layered up mixed-media look is a little out of my comfort zone, but I love the layered up look of Renata's gel-press background. And I love the colour. Russet. I love even saying it! lol!

I put down a layer of soft yellow paint, then I added some selective stencilling with red and blue paint. 

I laid some wheat die cuts onto the plate to act as masks. 

I don't have russet paint, so I created mine with some oranges and purple, right over the masks. I removed the masks before pulling the final print. 

Facing Crafty Fears

 
Today, I'm sharing a video talking about facing our crafty fears. I faced one of mine, and look how much fun I had! 

If you have crafty fears, try these:

• watch YouTube videos
• take a class
• borrow from a friend
• make a small investment and just play around with it

Next-level ink-smooshed backgrounds!

 

I took ink-smooshing to the next level by using watercolor powders and Distress Oxide sprays - so easy to make and so hard to stop making! 

Here's my video:

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Happy Valentine's Day! This is a very simple card I made with a new background technique using my gel plate and watercolor powders (video coming later this week!).

When the background was dry, I used the Festive Stripes stencil and some Daydream ink to add some subtle texture to it.

I inlaid my heart (made with the same technique) into the speech bubble  and added 3 little Rose Garden gems for some sparkle. Then I embossed my sentiment onto black cardstock for a pop of contrast. 

If you love learning new techniques, check out the Card Maker Success Summit. It's free to attend, includes 25 speakers (including me!) and it starts on Thursday!

Congratulations in Blue

It's graduation season and this is a card I made for my friend's daughter. She didn't want her 'ugly' school colours, just her favourite blues. 

I created this background with my gel plate, some Catherine Pooler inks and a Hero Arts stencil. I can't remember exactly how I did it, so this one is truly unique! Check out the 3D 'texture' on this flat background! 

I finished it with a square negative frame and a heat embossed Altenew sentiment.

6 Ways to Make your own Coloured Cardstock

 
Don't worry, you're not seeing double! Yes, these cards are very similar to last week's, but this time, I made my  own coloured cardstock!

Check out this video for 6 quick techniques I used to customize my white cardstock!

Masculine Birthday with Gel Plate background

 

Masculine cards are hard, aren't they? I like to focus on rich colour and simple shapes when I make masculine cards - using a gel plate to create a textured background is a great way to keep a simple card interesting!

I created my panel with Catherine Pooler inks and a 2 inch brayer that makes it easy to leave a choppy-looking texture. 

I splattered the panel with metallic gold watercolor and then trimmed the panel to a 4 inch square.

I cut a circle from the centre with an Essential Circle die (which also cuts a frame, which I left out). 

I popped up the circle and square portions of the panel on a white cardbase that I had blended Juniper Mist ink onto.