Written In Ink

Tag: mice

  • Autumn Card Design Tips with A Colorful Life Stencils

    Autumn Card Design Tips with A Colorful Life Stencils

    Snuggling up and getting cozy when autumn bring chilly winds … bliss!

    Would you like to experiment with a design like this? You’ll find a supply list below, including a link to the stencils I used from A Colorful Life Designs.  Follow the link and use discount code ChrisFan10 to save 10% on your entire order! (Master Creator Bundles are excluded as they already have a 20% discount built in.)

    Let’s get Started:

    Card Base: 5.5 x 8.5, scored and folded at 4.25

    Card Face:  5.5 x 4.25

    Card Face:

    • I laid this piece on the Grip Mat and then positioned the stencil. 
    •  Using a soft hand, I applied a mixture of brown, yellow and green inks across the open areas.  
    •    Tip: Adding just a touch of extra colour to the edges created the look of a shadow and provided additional dimension.
    • I decided to add the Windy Day stencil to represent the chilly winds of autumn: I positioned this stencil so that it would extend from the left-hand side of the focal image, and applied light blue ink to create the pattern.
    • I selected a different portion of the stencil and added the pattern after positioning it to be added to the bottom right-hand corner of the card.
    • I added spatter to the card face using both plain water and metallic copper watercolour paint.

    Other:

    • I stamped the image using Memento ink, and coloured it with alcohol markers.
    • Once the colouring was complete, I fussy cut the image with my snips.
    • I stamped the sentiment using brown ink, and cut it out with a small oblong die.

    Assembly

    • I glued the card face to the card base.
    • I glued the focal image into the center of the card face.
    • I added the sentiment as shown.

    Final Thoughts:

    I love House Mouse stamps –  they are so deliciously whimsical.   I loved spending time colouring this one and then using it on a card. I decided to colour the leaf in the bright colours of autumn, despite the fact that this  kind of leaf would not actually have those colours in real life.  Artistic licence!

    Supplies: (and links where possible)

       I have listed which products I have used, and where they may be purchased. It’s a huge marketplace and in most instances, there are multiple sources and many alternatives to choose from.

    Stencils:

        Windy Day,  A Colorful Life Designs

        Fall Leaves, A Colorful Life Designs

    Waffle Flower Grip Mat, 8.5 x 6.5, Scrapbook.com

    Stamps:   Snuggle Up- House Mouse, Spellbinders, Frantic Stamper

    Dies: Ornate Labels, Sizzix, Amazon

    Metallic Watercolour:  Amazon

    Ink: Stampin’ Up!

    Blending Brushes: Stampin’ Up! 

    Memento Ink: Stampin’ Up!

    Alcohol Markers:

         Stampin’ Blends: Stampin’ Up!

         Copics:  Wallacks

    Adhesive: Tombow Aqua, Michaels

    Card Base & Card Face: Accent 100 lb., Amazon

    Do you have comments or thoughts to share on this design?  Drop me a line in the Comments Section below –  I’d love to hear from you!

    You can also use the Comments Section  to be notified when I release new work

    Fall Leaves by A Colorful Life Designs

    Windy Day by A Colorful Life Designs

  • An easy creative solution to a BIG cardmaking Blunder

    An easy creative solution to a BIG cardmaking Blunder

    What to do when you’ve invested time and materials, but then it all goes sideways? When that happens to me I hate having to scrap the time and materials invested in the piece.

    Errors are opportunities for creativity! Read on to learn more ….

    Let’s get Started:

    Card Base: 5.5 x 8.5, scored and folded at 4.25

    Border Layer: 5.5 x 4.25

    Card Face:  5.5 x 4

    Card Face:

    I stamped the images in black Memento ink and colored them with alcohol markers. I was happy with the result, as coloring isn’t my strong suit.

      Then I put this aside for a period of time,  trying to decide how to finish the piece. When I picked it back up again I was dismayed to see that it had been sitting too close to something messy –  there was a fine blue spatter in the upper right.  (Probably from cleaning a stencil, and simple carelessness with my work!). How to salvage the time and materials…. ???

    I added both large and small drops of paint above the brush.  I used a fine liner to outline the drops and a blue alcohol marker to fill them in.  I also added small dots of blue marker here and there to bridge between the fine spatter and the larger drops.   It worked –  I was delighted with the result, I had successfully camouflaged my error!

    I carried this one step further by creating puddles of paint under the brush. (There were puddles around the paint pot,  but not under this paintbrush).

    I used a white gel pen to add accents here and there in the scene.

    I put the card face into my stamp positioner and added the sentiment.

    I cut the card face into three panels,  1 ⅓” each.

    Assembly

    I glued the border layer to the card base.

    I glued the three pieces of the card face onto this, spacing evenly.

    Final Thoughts:

    I love Anita Jeram’s work,  and was so happy with the images as placed and coloured. (I don’t pretend to be an expert with any form of colouring, so when I get something that I’m satisfied with, I’m happy!).   

    Then I was dismayed to notice the spatter,  and finally, happy again when the problem was resolved.

    Happy – dismayed – happy.  Sounds like a movie theme!   😆

    Of course if you want to avoid the need for a rescue operation, putting the card in a safe spot is definitely the way to go.

    Supplies: (and links where possible)

       I have listed which products I have used, and where they may be purchased. It’s a huge marketplace; in most instances, there are multiple sources and many alternatives.

    Stamps: Paint the Town, Colorado Craft Co., 

    Versafine Onyx, Simon Says Stamp

    Memento Ink: Stampin’ Up!

    Alcohol Markers:

         Stampin’ Blends: Stampin’ Up!

         Copics:  Wallacks

    Fineliners: Amazon

    White Gel Pen: Arteza,  Amazon

    Adhesive: Tombow Aqua, Michaels

    Card Base & Card Face: Accent 100 lb., Amazon

  • How to Rescue Your Card Designs from Mistakes

    How to Rescue Your Card Designs from Mistakes

    If you’re new, or experienced, or anything like me (!) you have run into situations where you need to rescue your card from a blunder.

    Let’s get Started:

    Card Base: 5.5 x 8.5, scored and folded at 4.25

    Border Layer: 5.5 x 4.25

    Card Face:  5.5 x 4

    Card Face:

    I stamped the images in black Momento ink and coloured them with alcohol markers.

      Then I put this aside for a period of time,  trying to decide how to finish the piece. When I picked it back up again I realized it had been sitting too close to something messy –  there was a fine blue spatter in the upper right.  (Probably from cleaning a stencil, and simple carelessness with my work!). How to salvage the time and materials…. ???

    I added both large and small drops of paint above the brush.  I used a fine liner to outline the drops and a blue alcohol marker to fill them in.  I also added small dots of blue marker here and there to bridge between the fine spatter and the larger drops.   It worked –  I had successfully camouflaged my error!

    I carried this one step further by creating puddles of paint under the brush. (There were puddles around the paint pot,  but not under this paintbrush).

    I used a white gel pen to add accents here and there in the scene.

    I put the card face into my stamp positioner and added the sentiment.

    I cut the card face into three panels,  1 ⅓” each.

    Assembly

    I glued the border layer to the card base.

    I glued the three pieces of the card face onto this, spacing evenly.

    Final Thoughts:

    I love Anita Jeram’s work,  and was so happy with the images as placed and coloured. (I don’t pretend to be an expert with any form of colouring, so when I get something that I’m satisfied with, I’m happy!).   

    Then I was dismayed to notice the spatter,  and finally, happy again when the problem was resolved.

    Happy – dismayed – happy.  Sounds like a movie theme!  

    I’m so happy that I decided to rescue this card.😆

    Supplies: (and links where possible)

       I have listed which products I have used, and where they may be purchased. It’s a huge marketplace; in most instances, there are multiple sources and many alternatives.

    Stamps: Paint the Town, Colorado Craft Co., 

    Versafine Onyx, Simon Says Stamp

    Memento Ink: Stampin’ Up!

    Alcohol Markers:

         Stampin’ Blends: Stampin’ Up!

         Copics:  Wallacks

    Fineliners: Amazon

    White Gel Pen: Arteza,  Amazon

    Adhesive: Tombow Aqua, Michaels

    Card Base & Card Face: Accent 100 lb., Amazon