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November 10, 2017
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Tanya Fox, editor, and Brooke Smith, managing editor, are the editorial team behind CardMaker magazine. When not reviewing design submissions and planning future issues of the magazine and pattern books, they can often be found exploring websites for inspiration and visiting their favorite local coffee shop.
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They hope you’ll visit the blog often as they share card-making tips, designer features, paper-crafting techniques, project inspiration and a peek at life inside the CardMaker office.
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November 9, 2017
Paper-Craft Books
Niki’s CardMaker Tip: Frame Dies
Projects Quick & Easy Cards Reader Spotlight Readers Reach Out
Happy Weekend-eve, friends! Niki here and today I have a quick card-making tip for you. I always find that the edges of cards need a little something extra to look finished. A few of the things I do is add some faux stitching with a pen, or strategically tear the edges, or my personal favorite—frame dies!
Scrap Treasures
If you don’t have any of these babies in your stash, the holidays are around the corner and now’s the time to grab some (or put them on your wish list)! It’s so much faster than distressing or pen work, and your cards will turn out with a polished, professional look.
U Inspire Me
Sean Fetterman Stamping Tips & Techniques Uncategorized Video Projects Videos
CardMaker Blog Team Clare Prezzia Diana Carr Gaylynn Martling Jen Shults Nicole Coursey Savannah O'Gwynn Teresa Kline Designer Blogroll AJ Otto Alice Golden Anita Mulcahey Bonnie Garby Carisa Zglobicki Catherine Scanlon Chitra Nair Christine Okken Clare Buswell Clare Prezzia There’s a bunch of different designs available from several manufacturers, so it’s easy to find something that matches the mood of your card. My favorites are wonky stitching or cross-stitching for fun critter cards, straight stitching for everyday designs, and pierced edges for something a little more formal.
Colleen Schaan Connie McCotter Daniela Dobson Dawn Lusk Deborah Nolan Diana Carr Elizabeth Allan Gaylynn Martling Gini Williams Cagle Heather Hoffman Heather Pulvirenti Heidi Bishop Isha Gupta Ivanka Lentle Jeanne Jachna Jeanne Streiff Jen Shults Jennie Harper Juliana Michaels Karin Akesdotter Kat Benjamin Kathy Martin Katie Gehring Kelly Gettelfinger Kim Klinkovsky Kimber McGray Kristie Hartfeil Latisha Yoast
To show you the difference a frame die makes on finished projects, I put together two similar thank you cards. This first one has plain trimmed edges.
Linda Beeson Lisa Lahiff Lisa Silver Lois Bak Mae Nazareth Melanie Muenchinger Melissa Bickford Mendi Yoshikawa Michelle Woerner Nancy Damiano Nicole Coursey Pamela Haskin Patti Gilliam Penny Ward Piali Biswas Rebecca Keppel Rosemary Dennis Sabrina Alery Sandee Setliff Sara Naumann Sarah Ashley Posch Savannah O'Gwynn Sean Fetterman Sharon M. Reinhart Stacy Morgan
I ran this one through my die-cutting machine twice with two stitched rectangle frame dies.
Stephanie Gold Tami Mayberry Teresa Kline Theresa Momber Vera Yates Popular Posts Impression Obsession & CardMaker Blog Hop Christmastime is here and we're kicking the season off... The Difference Between Distress & Distress Oxide Inks: Part 1 Editor's Note: We're happy to have designer Deborah Nol... The Project Bin & CardMaker Blog Hop Happy December, everyone! Today, we're teaming up with...
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Isn’t it neat how the die-cut stitched edges add a ton more interest? I love the look so much that nowadays I die-cut nearly all my card panels. Shown above is a side-by-side comparison. I hope you found my card-making tip helpful and you’ll try trimming your next card with some fancy edges! Thank you so much for stopping in today, Niki Supplies: Card Shoppe cardstock (citrus slice, marshmallow) from Bazzill Basics Paper Inc.; Giving Thanks stamp set from Studio Katia; Copic® markers (E97, E99, G46, Y13, Y17, YR18, YR30) from Imagination International Inc.; Large Cross-Stitched Rectangle dies (#LF1178) and Large Stitched Rectangle dies (#LF767) from Lawn Fawn; Stitched Mini Scallop Rectangle dies and Wonky Stitched Rectangle dies from My Favorite Things; Double Pierced Rectangles dies (#D-04-05) from Avery Elle. Leave a comment
November 8, 2017
Guest Post: Kim’s Glitter Coloring Technique
Hi everyone! Kim here from My Kraft Kloset as a guest designer this week sharing an oldie but a goodie that’s worth repeating. I’m not sure of the exact title for this technique, but I call it “glitter coloring.” That’s right! I’m going to show you how you can change the color of your glitter paper.
First, gather all of your supplies. For my project, I chose a silver foil sticker sheet that had a mix of flowers, but some looked like snowflakes. Mix and match other seasons and stretch your supplies for many projects. These stickers work well because they have a nice outline and lots of inside space to color.
Also, choose a fine glitter paper that has glitter that won’t flick off if you rub it. Otherwise, you won’t be able to color on it. I used a white iridescent glitter paper to get the best coloring results. I used Copic® markers since they are permanent and dry quickly, but any alcohol-based marker will work. I chose three markers in the same color family because they blend together nicely.
To begin, flick color from the bottom of the sticker to the center with the lightest color and then color the inside. Add a little medium color around the edges and toward the middle. Next, color with the darkest shade along the ends. To finish, coloring back over the whole area with the lightest-color marker to blend it all together.
Next, cut out each snowflake.
Add a sentiment. Put your card together as shown above and adhere your newly colored snowflake embellishments to your card. You could leave this card as is but with just a few more supplies you can enhance your card even more.
Add a couple gemstones, a silver scalloped sticker border, a green ribbon and you’ve stepped this card up a notch. I hope I’ve inspired you to try coloring your glitter paper and using your stickers. Let’s see what you can create. Feel free to share photos of your creations with us over on the CardMaker Facebook page. We’d love to hear from you! Thanks for stopping by the blog today! Kim Supplies: Cardstock and Sincere Salutations stamp from Stampin’ Up!; glitter paper and ribbon from American Crafts; Merry & Bright patterned paper from My Favorite Things; Memento tuxedo black ink pad from Imagine; Copic® markers (B18, B24, B28) from Imagination International Inc.; Dazzles Sticker Flowers from Hot Off The Press. Leave a comment
November 7, 2017
The Difference Between Distress & Distress Oxide Inks: Part 1
Editor’s Note: We’re happy to have designer Deborah Nolan as our guest on the CardMaker blog today! It’s a pleasure to be a guest designer sharing a project that utilizes Ranger Distress Oxide inks. If you’ve missed a chance to play with these inks or don’t understand the difference between the original Distress inks and their Oxide version, I’ve written a brief overview of this innovative blend of dye and pigment inks. The Difference Between Distress & Distress Oxide Inks The original Distress ink is a water-based dye that is primarily used as a technique medium and is not suitable for stamping images. Like watercolor paint, this product is translucent and is quickly absorbed and disappears on dark paper. Building up layers of color is not an option as each layer will bleed into the next. 1. Distress Oxide ink is a unique marriage of dye and pigment. The addition of pigment is the game-changer here. First, the ink reacts to water to produce a beautiful oxide finish: a rich color that looks and feels like a chalk ink but which doesn’t require heat-setting. 2. Oxide ink is opaque and sits on top of the paper, making it visible on dark cardstock. It also stays wet longer—allowing for embossing—and has a thicker, creamier consistency for an easier, smoother blending experience than the original Distress ink formula. 3. Oxide inks can be layered an infinite number of times because each layer is distinct: colors can be increased and intensified. In contrast, layers of Distress ink bleed into one another and can quickly produce a brown puddle. 4. Like pigment ink, Oxides will produce a crisp, clear stamped image. Mist with water, and the oxidation pops the image off the page. 5. Oxides work on watercolor paper, Tim Holtz Distress Mixed Media Heavystock, and glossy and regular cardstock. Available Colors & Products There are 24 Oxide colors. Although they share the names of existing Distress inks, the hues are slightly different. They’re packaged in 2 x 2-inch gray plastic to differentiate them from the Distress inks’ black packaging. Don’t hold out for a mini version because, according to Tim Holtz, the complex formulation of dye and pigment need a surface area greater than one square inch to properly interact. Re-inkers are available, however! Create A Layered Background Card Because Oxide ink behaves like a pigment ink, there are a variety of ways it can be manipulated or used. The simplest technique is layering inks to create a stunning background. This can be done with or without water. Adding water activates the “oxidation” which results in a chalk-like finish that increases the colors’ depth and vibrancy.
Step 1. Firmly press and/or drag ink pads onto a craft sheet to create swatches of three (or more) colors. Alternatively, apply ink directly to the paper or to an acrylic block and drag across the paper.
Step 2. Generously spritz the ink swatches, paper or acrylic blocks with water.
Step 3: Tap/push the paper into the swatches to pick up ink.
Step 4: Dry with heat tool.
Optional: Spritz/mist water onto the paper as it’s drying and/or blot excess water with a paper towel or fingers to manipulate the color as desired.
Step 5: Repeat steps 1 and 2 if needed; use the same ink colors or add new ones. Step 6: Repeat steps 3 and 4 as desired. Step 7: Make card base from white cardstock.
Step 8: Die cut sentiment and adhere to background panel.
Step 9: Trim border panel sides and adhere to card.
Step 10: Adhere gems and enamel dots. Deborah Supplies: Tim Holtz Distress Mixed Media Heavystock, Distress Oxide inks (peacock feathers, salty ocean, twisted citron) and Tim Holtz Distress sprayer from Ranger Industries Inc.; enamel dots from My Mind’s Eye; gems from Prima Marketing Inc.; Thanks on a Line die from Simon Says Stamp!; Stick It adhesive from Stick It Adhesive. 1 Comment
November 6, 2017
Creative Space: Diana Carr
Hi Everyone. Diana here with a tour of my creative space.
This is a view of my crafting space as you walk in the door. This room measures approximately 10’ x 10’ and at one time was a bedroom, then a homeschool room and now my craft retreat. The dresser under the window is the perfect place to take photos of my cards. There is plenty of room for staging and lots of natural light coming in the window.
The drawers hold lots of supplies—stamp sets, punches, tools and small paper pads. Here’s a peek inside.
This is the view of my craft room from the corner opposite the door. In the center of the room is my craft desk which I made with two inexpensive bookshelves from Walmart and a table top which I ordered from Staples. The entire thing cost about $75 to make and I love it! I designed it to be counter height because I usually craft standing up and it has lots of storage on the sides.
My computer desk is also counter height so that I can use the same chair whether I’m crafting or working on the computer. I purchased the legs and table top from IKEA and added an ALEX drawer unit underneath which holds my office supplies.
On the wall to the left of the door, I have an IKEA Kallax unit. The top holds my Big Shot and rotating craft tool caddy. I purchased the bins and baskets from Target and they hold extra cardstock, craft kits, and some larger dies and Sizzix accessories. My thin metal dies are stored in a photo box directly under my die-cutting machine. On the shelf next to that, I keep my Copic® markers and paper towels. Next to that, the top drawer holds my Distress inks and Copic® refills; the bottom drawer is the perfect size for holding A2-size envelopes.
On the wall above the Kallax, I have an old cassette holder that I found on Ebay. I painted it black and it is perfect for holding my ink pads.
In the little nook just inside and to the right of the door is a bookshelf which holds my 12” x 12” paper, planner supplies, photo albums, and completed cards that I am selling on Etsy.
To the right of the little nook is the closet. On the top shelf are shipping supplies and seasonal craft supplies. Wrapping paper is kept in a small wastepaper bin in the corner. I keep my printer on top of the file cabinet that is home to most of my 8 1/2” x 11” cardstock. On top of the printer are some props and backgrounds I use when taking card photos. On the wall above the printer, I hang some of the beautiful art work family members have made for me. I also keep my ribbon, cello bags and other miscellaneous craft supplies in the closet. I recently completed a major purge, so I have a lot of empty storage space just waiting to be filled. So that’s it! We’ve come full circle around my craft room. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the tour! Diana 4 Comments
November 3, 2017
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L® & CardMaker Blog Hop
We’re partnering with Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L® for a one-day blog hop! We have a great lineup of designers from both teams to show you AWESOME projects with tips and techniques along the way. Find giveaway details at the end of the post. “Wear Your Adhesives on the Outside” is the feature of today’s blog hop. What does that mean? It’s using different mediums such as foil, glitter, embossing powder, microbeads, etc. on your adhesive surfaces to customize your project. We’ll show you how to go above and beyond the usual uses of Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L® products. View How to Use 3D Foam Hearts and Other Shapes video below for a quick tutorial:
Visit other designers to see their “Wear Your Adhesives on the Outside” creative ideas: CardMaker® Magazine Latrice Murphy Diana Carr Dana Tatar Clare Prezzia Nicole Coursey Vicki Chrisman Savannah O’Gwynn Jen Shults Margie Higuchi Gaylynn Martling Tracy McLennon Teresa Kline Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L® BLOG HOP PRIZE DETAILS
For details on how you can enter for a chance to win Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L® giveaway, click here. International entries are welcome. 27 Comments
October 31, 2017
Autumn Blessings Hero Arts Card Tutorial by Sean Fetterman
Thank you for stopping by. I am pleased to be showing you a quick tutorial with a stamp set from one of my favorite stamping companies and one that I will be using a lot! My natural tendency when making cards is clean and simple. Hero Arts products are a gold mine when it comes to providing the best products for this style! That’s why they have quickly become a “must have” in my collection!
For today’s card, I wanted to focus on the many beautiful colors all around us. It is fall so you know what that means—autumn/fall cards. Let’s look at this wonderful card that I made using the Color Layering Autumn Trees stamp set from Hero Arts. This set is so much fun because it is so versatile!
The supplies I used for this card project are: Sunshine Mix Layering Papers Color Layering Autumn Trees stamp set Ink pads: ombré, Autumn Blessings Layering mix (red royal, just rust, cocoa, tangerine) Stamping blocks Bone folder Adhesive
1. Form a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2-inch card from darkest color of cardstock in Sunshine Mix.
2. Attach tree trunk stamp to stamping block. Apply cocoa ink to stamp and stamp image onto white cardstock.
3. There are three different stamps with different variations of leaves. One has a large amount of leaves, one has a moderate amount and the last has the least amount of leaves. For this step, use the stamp with largest amount of leaves. Attach stamp to stamping block. Apply ombré ink to stamp either vertically or horizontally based on the three ink pad strips contained in the ink pad. Stamp image onto cardstock as shown.
4. For this step, use stamp with moderate amount of leaves. Attach stamp to stamping block. Apply red royal ink to stamp. Stamp image on cardstock on top of first stamped leaves image to create a second dimension of colored leaves.
5. For this step, use stamp with least amount of leaves. Attach stamp to stamping block. Apply just rust and tangerine ink to stamp. Stamp image on cardstock on top of stamped leaves image to create a third dimension of colored leaves.
6. Attach “Autumn Blessings” stamp onto a stamping block. Apply red royal ink to stamp. Cut a small strip of cardstock slightly larger in width than cardstock used for focal image and approximately 1/2 inch in height. Stamp sentiment to center of small strip of cardstock.
7. Cut a piece of cardstock that is a shade lighter than base. This layer can be as wide as you like on all sides as long as it makes a proportionate layer and displays the color of the cardstock. Adhere focal image to colored layered cardstock. I am using the new Glue Dots adhesive tape runner. Adhere sentiment strip to bottom of focal image cardstock.
8. Using iCraft 3D Foam Squares by Therm O Web, adhere layered cardstock to card base. Now you are done! Thank you for stopping by today! Don’t forget to stop by Hero Arts, Glue Dots and Therm O Web for these awesome products! Have an amazing day! Sean Fetterman Paper, Stamp & Ink Chat 2 Comments
October 30, 2017
Guest Post: Raise the Roof Card with KellyJean Gettelfinger
What a fun pleasure it is to be a guest designer for CardMaker magazine! I’m so grateful to be invited and I am just as excited to share this fun little card with you!
My “Raise the Roof Card” on the right uses all supplies from Stampin’ Up!
My “Raise the Roof Card” on the left uses all supplies from ADORNit. Just think of all the fun little images that can explode “through the roof” of these sweet little house cards! Christmas cards can have little starts coming from the folded roof. Valentine cards can have hearts popping up as the roof is lifted from the inside of the card. The possibilities are endless! I bet you would like to create your very own “Raise the Roof Card,” wouldn’t you?! That is why I have a video ready and waiting just for you on my Always Stampin’ Video YouTube channel. Note: If you’re viewing this in email format, click here to view video.
Thank you, CardMaker for such a fun opportunity to share creativity with some really amazing folks!
KellyJean Coffee Card Supplies: Cardstock (early espresso, garden green, pear pizazz, peekaboo peach, whisper white), Coffee Break Designer Series Paper, Merry Café and Coffee Break stamp sets, early espresso ink pad, 2 3/8-inch scallop circle punch, 1 3/4-inch and 2-inch circle punches, and lace border punch from Stampin’ Up! Fox Card Supplies: Fox Talk papers and stickers and color coordinating decorative papers from ADORNit. Leave a comment
October 27, 2017
Savannah’s Quick & Easy Card
Hello, friends! Savannah O’Gwynn here today, and I’m sharing how I create a quick and easy card in 10 minutes or less.
Quick and easy cards are a challenge for me. I accepted this challenge though and I successfully created a card in less than 10 minutes! HOORAY!
I’ve created a process video (with a timer) so you can see everything I did to create this super fun card! Note: I did add a bit of twine and a bow after recording but it only took 30 seconds. So, I still made it under the 10-minute mark!
Note: Be sure to change your settings to HD before watching! If you’re viewing this in email format, click here to view video. Since I had some extra supplies on my desktop, I created another card with a bit more detail. This card only took 16 minutes!
If you are a bit nervous to try to create a card in less than 10 minutes, here are a few tips that I share in my video: Pull out your 12 x 12-inch paper pads. They have coordinating papers, journaling cards, boxes, and tags making it easy to layer and embellish. Be sure to have a design in mind before you start! Pull out all of your supplies so you are ready to create and you won’t have to waste time trying to find what you need. It might be a quick and easy card, but don’t forget to add YOU in your design! Your style is important so don’t change it just to make a quick card! I hope that are inspired by my 10-minute (and 10-ish/16-minute) quick and easy set of cards today! Remember to look at your 12 x 12-inch paper pads for coordinating tags, boxes, journaling cards, and patterned papers to use on your next creation! Thanks so much for stopping by! Be blessed. Savannah Supplies: Llama Love 12×12 paper pad from Michaels Stores Inc.; Courteous Cuties stamp set, Courteous Cuties Icons dies (#J1D-17-361), Hello Sampler stamp set, Hearts dies (#DED-13-106) and Hello Love die (#DED-15-291) from Paper Smooches; VersaFine onyx black ink pad from Imagine; green twine from Whisker Graphics. 4 Comments
October 26, 2017
Diana’s Technique of the Week: Embossed Backgrounds
Hi everyone! Diana here with a technique that uses dies to create a gorgeous embossed background.
For this technique I used the following: 5 x 3 3/4-inch piece of white cardstock Distress ink Foam blending tool Snowflake dies Silicone rubber embossing mat Sizzix Big Shot die-cutting machine, Multipurpose Platform (opened to Tab 1) and 2 cutting plates
Begin by stacking your sandwich in this order from bottom to top: Multipurpose Platform (opened to Tab 1), cutting plate, silicone rubber mat, cardstock, dies, cutting plate. Run it through the die-cutting machine and the impression of the dies will be embossed into the cardstock.
I did this process twice so that the embossing would cover my entire piece of cardstock.
You could stop at this point and have a beautifully embossed background but I wanted to bring out the embossing even more, so I decided to add some ink.
I applied purple and blue ink to the embossed cardstock with a foam blending tool. In this sample, I applied the ink to the side of the cardstock that had the raised impression of the snowflakes. The ink is darkest on the raised outlines of the snowflakes.
In this sample, I applied ink to the other side of the cardstock with the depressed snowflake image. The ink stays on the surface, leaving the outline of the snowflake white.
I couldn?t decide which look I liked best so I made a card out of each of them.
I mounted the backgrounds on purple cardstock and attached each of them to an A2 (4 1/4 x 5 1/2-inch) card base. Then I inked the sentiment stamp using both colors of distress ink, stamped it on white cardstock and cut it out with a stitched square die. I attached the sentiment to the background with foam adhesive for more dimension. To finish it off, I added snowflake embellishments which I cut from white glitter cardstock with the same dies I used to create the background. Diana Supplies: White glitter cardstock from DCWV; grape jelly and smooth white cardstock, Hand-Lettered Christmas stamp set and Stitched Square dies from My Favorite Things; faded jeans and wilted violet Distress Inks and Mini Blending tool from Ranger; Stitched Snowflake Dies from Lawn Fawn; diecutting machine and accessories from Sizzix. 5 Comments
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