Love Is In The Air - Week 1: Die Cutting (Card 3 of 3)

A whole month to share all the love that is in the air!  

During January, I will be featuring posts celebrating hugs, kisses, and Valentine wishes.

This week's focus is on die cuts. 

For this card, I wanted to use Penny Black's new "Love Buds" die cut in a different orientation.  Instead of positioning the stem vertically, I rotated it horizontally.  They were also sent through the die cutting machine a second time with a rubber mat to give them an embossed design.  I colored them with the same approach as the card posted on Monday, which first added a soft hue of Copic color to the white cardstock and then were highlighted with Faber-Castell Pitt Pastel Pencils.

To create the flower head, the heart (From the Heart - Penny Black) was stamped in Onyx Black VersaFine and heat embossed with clear powder. After trimming the element, Love Letter Memento was sponged around the outer edges leaving a bit of white in the center for a soft glow.

The shading in Peanut Brittle Memento was done first before the sentiment (From the Heart - Penny Black) was stamped in black.  I like to stamp the sentiments last so they are nice and crisp and to eliminate the possibility of smearing when I am adding highlighting.

I will be back on Monday with the start of Week 2 of Love Is In The Air.

Have a great weekend,

Elizabeth

Supplies:

Penny Black Creative Dies: Love Buds 51-024

Penny Black Stamps: From the Heart 30-207
Penny Black Mix & Match Cardstock: Blue Lagoon 09-001
3M Scotch Dimensional Foam Tape
Copics
Faber-Castell: Pitt Pastel Pencils
Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko: Onyx Black VersaFine, Love Letter Memento, Peanut Brittle Memento, Jumbo Sponge Dauber, Clear Embossing Powder
Other: Pearl Beads

Love Is In The Air - Week 1: Die Cutting (Card 2 of 3)

A whole month to share all the love that is in the air!  

During January, I will be featuring posts celebrating hugs, kisses, and Valentine wishes.

This week's focus is on die cuts. 

One thing that I enjoy about working with sentiment die cuts is that they can be "puzzle pieced" into a design.

After this circular die cut had "hugs" (Penny Black) die cut from the center, it was "puzzle pieced" with another die cut of "hugs" from a different color of cardstock.

The balance of this card occurs from the top down. To add more design weight as the eye travels down the vertical elements, a small set of xo's (Ooh La La - Penny Black) were stamped in black under the die cut and then a larger section of stamping (Heart Swatches - Penny Black) in Rhubarb Stalk Memento was added to the base of the red cardstock.  Small white gel pen accents help the eye transition from sections of red and white cardstock that occur throughout the design.

Thank you for stopping by,

Elizabeth

Supplies:

Penny Black Creative Dies: Love Expressions 51-025

Penny Black Stamps: Ooh la la 30-210 (xoxo), Heart Swatches 30-204 (pattern design)

Penny Black Mix & Match Cardstock: Purple Mountain 12-002, Fuchsia Fantasies 13-001, Fall Festival 16-003

3M Scotch Dimensional Foam Tape

Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko: Onxy Black VersaFine, Rhubarb Stalk Memento, Lilac Posies, Sponge Dauber

Sakura: White Gel Pen

Spellbinders: Standard Circles, Scalloped Circles

Love Is In The Air - Week 1: Die Cutting (Card 1 of 3)

A whole month to share all the love that is in the air!  

During January, I will be featuring posts celebrating hugs, kisses, and Valentine wishes.

This week's focus is on die cuts. 

This rose die cut (Penny Black) was colored with two different mediums: Copic Markers and Faber-Castell Pitt Pastel Pencils. Soft hues of Copic color were added to the white die cut first to infuse the cardstock with color and then the pastel pencils were used for the shading and highlights.  

A bit of chalking behind the elevated rose adds to the shadowing. The accent strip of green cardstock was stamped with Decadence (Penny Black) in Bamboo Leaves Memento.

The sentiment "A Valentine Wish" (Penny Black) was stamped in Onyx Black VersaFine.  What I liked about this particular design is that by simply changing the greeting I could use it for a variety of other occasions.  

Have a great day,
Elizabeth

Supplies:
Penny Black Creative Dies: Rose 51-023

Penny Black Stamps: Decadence 40-254, From the Heart 30-207

Penny Black Mix & Match Cardstock: Fern Green 05-002

3M Scotch Dimensional Foam Tape

Copic Markers

Faber-Castell: Pitt-Pastel Pencils

Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko: Onyx Black VersaFine, Bamboo Leaves Memento

MERRY CHRISTMAS

A holiday wish created with Penny Black's Creative Die "Dancing Leaves".

I am looking forward to more artful happiness in my studio and will return in the new year.

Enjoy the love, joy and peace of the season.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Elizabeth

Supplies:

Penny Black Stamps: City Lights 40-270 (sentiment)

Penny Black Creative Dies: Dancing Leaves 51-016

Penny Black Mix & Match Cardstock: Fuchsia Fantasies 13-002
3M Scotch Dimensional Foam Tape
American Crafts: Ribbon
Copic Markers
Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko: Onyx Black VersaFine

Happy Holidays

Go ahead, tuck some snowy wishes in an envelope.  They're guaranteed not to melt!

Envelope seals always catch my eye.  I love how the little decal sits so proudly on the pointy flap as it beckons you to "Open Me, Open Me".  That happy thought was the inspiration for this little card.

Two pieces of cardstock were fashioned to resemble an envelope and were mounted to a card prepared with embossed dots.  All shading was done in Bahama Blue Memento to coordinate with the card base.

A snowflake (Penny Black) die cut from white cardstock, colored with Memento Luxe Rhubarb Stalk and embellished with a small pearl represents the envelope seal.

Have a wonderful day,
Elizabeth

Supplies:

Penny Black Stamps: City Lights 40-270 (sentiment)

Penny Black Creative Dies:  Snowflake Trio 51-015

Penny Black Mix & Match Cardstock: Blue Lagoon 09-003

3M Scotch Dimensional Foam Tape

Cuttlebug: Swiss Dots Embossing Folder

Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko: Onyx Black VersaFine, Bahama Blue Memento, Luxe Memento Rhubarb Stalk, Jumbo Sponge Dauber

Studio Sessions: Memento Luxe Ink, 4 of 4

Imagine Crafts / Tsukineko Memento Luxe Ink
Additional Imagine Crafts / Tsukineko Inspiration on their FACEBOOK PAGE

Memento Luxe inks are fabulous for both mixed media and wood projects.  In today's Studio Session, I converted a plain wood carton into a keepsake box.

First the sides of the box were covered with painter's tape and then Gesso was applied to the top.  A jumbo sponge dauber was used to randomly apply Memento Luxe: Cantaloupe, Rose Bud, Pistachio and Lilac Posies.

Using the same colors of Memento Luxe inks, a small budded branch (Penny Black - Tweet Tweet) was randomly stamped across the mottled background.  I started with the lightest color, Cantaloupe, then increased the darkness by moving to Rose Bud, then Pistachio and finally Lilac Posies.  Even though it is hard to see at first glance, it is a great way to build depth in a design.  The last stamping was done in Memento Luxe Wedding Dress.  

Here the blonde wood sides were colored/sponged with Peanut Brittle Memento Luxe.  Looks just like wood varnish.     

Copper Psst Sheer Shimmer Spritz was lightly sprayed on top of the box.  It's perfect for adding a glint of sparkle.

Have you seen all the colorful projects Jill has been creating?  She has another Luxe-rious project today for our Friday finale.

If you are just stopping by, here is our "Luxe" week in review:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Thank you for visiting.

Happy stamping,

Elizabeth

Supplies:

Penny Black Stamps: Tweet Tweet 30-156

Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko:

  Memento Luxe Inks:  Peanut Brittle, Rose Bud, Pistachio, Cantaloupe, Lilac Posies, Wedding Dress
  Psst Sheer Shimmer Spritz (Copper)

  Jumbo Sponge Daubers

Other: Wood Box, Painter’s Tape

Studio Sessions: Memento Luxe Ink, 3 of 4

Welcome to another day of inky fun with me and Jill!

Imagine Crafts / Tsukineko Memento Luxe Ink
Additional Imagine Crafts / Tsukineko Inspiration on their FACEBOOK PAGE

For Day 3, I am using the Memento Luxe inks to color die cuts. The pigment ink is easy to blend and allows you to build color depth quickly.

Several components of the tag were die cut in multiples so elements could be elevated.  Two tags (Penny Black - Tagged) and two butterflies (Penny Black - Flutters) were die cut from white cardstock.

The main tag was left as is and had a festive ribbon attached and was stamped with a sentiment (Penny Black - Gratitude) in Onyx Black Versafine which was heat embossed with clear powder.  The second tag was trimmed and the lower portion was distressed with Pear Tart Memento Luxe and stamped with dots (Penny Black - Pointille) in Pistachio Memento Luxe.  Jumbo sponge daubers were used as ink applicators.

Both butterflies were colored/sponged with Memento Luxe in Dandelion, Love Letter and Lilac Posies.

Before the dimensional butterfly was attached to the tag, it was sprayed with sparkle Psst Sheer Shimmer Spritz. 

I don't want to ruin Jill's surprise, but a little birdie told me that she has another ATC to share today.  

See you tomorrow with our inky finale.
Elizabeth

Supplies:

Penny Black Stamps: Gratitude 30-105, Pointille 3860J

Penny Black Creative Dies:  Flutters 51-006, Tagged 51-007

Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko:

  Memento Luxe Inks:  Dandelion, Love Letter, Lilac Posies, Pear Tart, Pistachio

  Onyx Black VersaFine

  Psst Shimmer Spritz – Sparkle

  Clear Embossing Powder

  Jumbo Sponge Daubers