CardMaker--Sakura of America Blog Hop

Hello and welcome!  Thanks for joining me for my first blog hop with CardMaker. 

  A big thank you goes to Sakura for supplies us with Quickie Glue pens and White Gelly Roll pens to experiment with. 

 I'd tried some of the many knock-off brands of gel pens and been burned before.  All those colors looked so tantalizing in the store, but when I brought them home, they'd only write a few lines and then...nothing.  I gave up on gel pens...until now.

This Gelly Roll pen wrote a drew like a dream.  (And it's still working after several projects!)  For this first card, I wanted something pink and white for a little girl.  I fussy-cut these flowers, made the insides pop with some white and even used the glue pen to add some gold glitter to the center of the flowers, but that didn't show up very well in photos.

For this next card, I did my first REAL glitter card,  using the Sakura's glue pen to really highlight this zinnia stamp from Stampendous.  

Okay.  I know this one's very simple, but I like it anyway.  I'd been wanting to do these little flowers ever since I found this "Blooming Garden" stamp set from Penny Black.  I colored the flowers with the white gel pen and then used the glue pen to add gold leaf to the center of each flower.  

I love the way it sparkles!

I put this one together from some scraps that were staring up at me from my drawer, crying out to be used.  I'd used this Hero Arts cupcake stamp before, but I was never pleased with the results.  This time I decided to tint it with watercolor pencils and then add some sparkle.

With the glue pen, I touched up the candy hearts and sprinkles with pink, orange and aqua glitter.  Now it looks good enough to eat...and good enough to send to my little niece, Sierra!  I hope she'll like it, too!

I thought I was through for the day.  I'd even half-finished cleaning up, when I glanced at what I'd thought was a mistake earlier in the day.  I'd stamped this cluster of flowers with watercolors and added touches of chunky orange glitter, hoping it might look dewy.   I'd been disappointed in the results and threw it aside.  

But now...at the end of a busy day, I actually loved it.  I didn't want to spoil it with too much going on, so I just added a bit of calligraphy.  This ended up being one of my favorite cards. No wonder.  It combines my two favorite things...watercolors and calligraphy.

Thanks again, CardMaker and Sakura!

Keep on hopping with us today.  Next up is my friend and teammate Patti Gilliam, and she's sure to have created something to make you smile.

Have a great day!

Scrap Treasures

Hi!  Head on over to the CardMaker blog. 

 I'm there today, sharing a card made entirely from bits and pieces from my scrap drawer, which, as you can see, is overflowing.

Stop back in here tomorrow to see two masculine cards also made from scraps.

Have a great day!

Inspired......Wintertime Birthday Wishes

I had several birthday cards to make, and not much time.  I dug through my winter stamp box and pulled out this big snowflake that I hadn't used in a long time.

Kristie Hartfeil's design on page 82 of the Winter 2014 CardMaker magazine inspired this wintertime birthday card.  It's simple and quick to make.  What could be more perfect?

I stamped the snowflakes on pure white, using Danube Blue.  Just stamp over and over again, without re-inking, to get the varying shades of blue.   Try it in a different color...maybe purple.

Supplies:

cardstock from K & Company; cardstock, snowflake stamp from  Hobby Lobby;  blue and black dye ink from Clearsnap; "Happy Birthday" stamp from Flonz.

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a great week!

CardMaker Blog Team

I am proud...and excitied...to be a member of the new CardMaker Bog Team!

http://www.cardmakermagazine.com/blog/

No Peeking!

The UPS man delivered my complimentary copies last Thursday evening. I'm on page 49, but I won't even THINK of letting myself stroll through this magazine until I've finished a certain baptism garment and smocked dress!!

Watercolor Wishes

For those of you who love working with watercolor as much as I do, here's another card to go with my article in the latest issue of  CardMaker Magazine

inside

MATERIALS  LIST:  

Watercolor Paper:  Mixed Media stack (GCD Studio)

Stamps:  Fantasy 3880 K (Penny Black)

                A Perfect Day set (Hero Arts)

                Fall Trees set (Inkadinkado)

Dye Ink:  bamboo shoots, cocoa (Tsukineko)

Watercolor Pencils:  umber, May green, mineral green, olive green (Derwent)

Watercolor crayons:  light green, yellow (Staedtler)

Pencil with new eraser

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Come back soon!