Diana here! I made this card for a special little 5 year old boy at his birthday. His favorite color is blue and he and his siblings have been asking for a puppy so I thought I would help out! Lol!
Kids love it when their name is on there!
I started with a 5″x7″ white card base. From there, I started with a vivid blue background sized 4.5″ x 6.5″. I found a lighter blue card stock and cut out the Big Balloon with it – sponging the edges with blue ink just a bit to make the balloon not so flat.
I covered a sheet with Silver Sands Silk Microfine Glitter and from that, cut the Happy Birthday 3. I initially planned for it to go on the balloon by itself but it didn’t stand out as I had hoped so I added a black layer on top. I love the peak of silver behind it. I also added Daniel’s name using the Retro Alphabet Trio set using the smallest of the alphabet dies.
I couldn’t help but add the puppy to the front and used twine to give the impression he was holding the balloon with his mouth. The little G is stands for Daniel’s last name –– major hinting there.
Hi! Diana here with one of my favorite dies to work with –– anything with butterflies! I love the color scheme I ended up with but purple is hard to photograph –– and glitter even more so! But this one is very pretty in real life so I hope you give it a try.
I started with a light green sheet of cardstock measuring 4.5″ x 6.5″. I used Distress Oxides Lucky Clover and Cracked Pistachio to sponge around the edges and Squeezed Lemonade in the center to give it a sort of glow. I splattered with water and pat dry.
Die cut the Butterfly Spray out of the top half of the colored cardstock and stamp the You were born with greatness in the bottom left corner of the sheet.
Make sure the area overs the butterfly spray.
3. With a bigger sheet of purple cardstock, I marked the approximate area behind the butterfly spray and covered that part with double sided adhesive.
Looks like a mess but will be so pretty once you overlay the negative of the butterfly die cut over it.
4. I then added a mix of Silk Microfine Glitter over the area. I initially wanted just the Amethyst but then lightened it with the Bright Cranberry and Silver Sands glitter. Rub in the glitter and use a Swiffer sheet to wipe off any excess.
The glitter is much brighter and more vibrant in real life.
5. Adhere the front to the purple sheet and trim if necessary. I then placed it all on a white card base.
Thanks so much for looking! I hope this card signals spring to come –– or 3 feet of snow. Nothing in between, thank you. 🙂
Diana
Other products used:
Distress Oxide inks, purple, and light green cardstock
What’s your favorite part of the day? Mine is probably the morning –– peaceful or productive, the day hold more possibility in the morning!
I knew I wanted to make a peaceful scene from the Asian-themed dies and decided I needed some sort of background to tie it all in together. I played with my watercolors a bit and came up with a very soft background. I knew I would end up covering much of my background with dies so I didn’t let the lack of watercolor skills bother me (too much.) Lol!
Step one: Paint a background with some water, sky, and a tree on a watercolor sheet. Add some land and grass to the forefront of the cardbase.
A very elementary painting but it’ll work!
Step 2: Die cut the bridge out of light blue cardstock and all others out of white cardstock. Use Distress Inks to color the cattails, stone pagoda and rocks. Use Copic markers to add some shade and dimension to the bridge.
Step 3: Adhere all dies as seen in completed picture above.
Step 4: Stamp and die cut with a circle the quote from A bit of Fragrance clear stamp set. I also matted the circle out of dark blue cardstock – the same one I use for the card base.
All done!
Thanks for looking and hope you have a wonderful day.
Diana
Other products used: Copic markers, Distress Inks, Light blue and dark blue cardstock
Diana here! My youngest son loves all things panda. He could say the name of his panda lovey before he could say his own name. Inevitably, he will get something panda related for his birthday and Christmas. Being a prepared momma, I made this card for him to use as a thank you card once Christmas is over.
Els has a great video on how to put the panda together so I won’t go through it here. The only thing I added was to sponge some pink on the paws and cheeks.
Can you see the Symbol background is on a sheet of Press and Seal?
I started with a white background and then sponged some yellow and green on the bottom. This softens the background and makes the background not so stark because I knew I wanted to add the Symbol background to it. In the picture above, you can see that the negative of the Symbol background is all aligned because before I took it off the cutting mat, I pressed a sheet of Press and Seal on it. Then I could just add glue and place it directly onto the background. So easy and quick!
Add some grass with some quick upstrokes of Copic markers
I almost did not add grass to the background but when I did my layout with the panda and bamboo, it looked as if the panda was floating. Adding the grass anchored him a bit. And the good news is that it does not have to be perfect as most of it will be covered by the panda.
All done!
I die cut the bamboo and the A Way With Words “for you” out of green cardstock and added shading by coloring with a darker shade of green Copic. I’ve found this keeps my die cuts some dimension.
This little guy is so cute!
Thanks for looking and hope it gives you ideas on how to personalize your thank you cards!
Hi, Diana here! Today I’m sharing how to make a card you might have seen as part of Suzanne Cannon’s holiday release. Elizabeth Craft Designs’ Silk Microfine Glitter is the ONLY glitter I will use in my craft room because it’s the only one containable! And it’s so fun to watch it turn glossy – very satisfying like the way heating up gilding or embossing powders.
To make the card, I die cut the A Way With Words Peace on Earth die 4 times out of white card stock. I also cut out one out of white card stock that was covered in a sheet of Elizabeth Craft Designs double sided tape as well as a set of extra star dies that come with the die set.
Cover the stars with the release paper from the star die cuts.
After peeling off the release sheet from the Peace on Earth die cut, cover the starts with the release paper from the star die cuts. In this way, you can cover the sticky die cut with Silver Sand Microfine Glitter and rub in the glitter. Remove the star release paper and then add Sand Dunes Microfine Glitter on the stars. I also went ahead and did one of the stars with Sand Dunes and 2 others in Silver Sand.
Making the stars a different color makes the words pop more.
I then adhered the other 4 layers to the die. The background is sponged using Distress Inks (Broken China, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire) – the keeping the center a lighter blue. I adhered the layer onto an A2 white card base, finishing the front with a white gel pen for stars/snow.
The layered die cuts add a lot of strength and dimension to the card while still laying flat.Loving the glitter against the dark blue background.
Thanks for looking! I wish you could see how shiny the lettering is and how deep the blue looks in real life. I liked this so much I made a very similar card but using the new Flourished Deer die set. I did not use glitter but added a wreath around his neck using tiny leaves I trimmed from the Leafy Branch Die and tiny dots of the pearl rose Craft drops.
Thanks for stopping by –– I hope you enjoyed my tutorial!
Have you started on your Christmas cards yet? It’s my favorite time of the year and I love making Christmas cards. Here’s one I made this week with a sneak peek of new dies from A Way With Words that will be available later this month.
How do you decorate your halls for Christmas?
I don’t know about you but in the years of cardmaking under my belt, I never once thought to alter designer paper. I used it as is or hoarded it. I will sponge the edges sometimes but it depends on the paper – the glossy ones don’t take to sponging very well. But I had a bit of an epiphany making this card.
The white die cut shows up better on the darker paper.
I knew I wanted to use this beautiful wood grain paper from Through the Lens paper stack but the white die cut got kind of lost in it. Normally, I would add a black drop shadow to it to help but then I decided to use a couple of Copic Markers in the tan/beige hue to darken it up just a bit while retaining all the lovely woodgrain. I simply colored the entire sheet with the markers. Aaah – now the (coming soon) Falalala die cut show up so much better.
I used 2 rectangle dies to trim down the paper – nesting the smaller die inside and then adding a black 1/16th inch matting to it. I popped that back in with the larger (now open) wood frame onto an A2 base card layer.
As you can see, I still went with a black die cut of Falalalala to add a drop shadow. The new Flourished Holly dies conveniently come in layers so I was able to do a Forest Green silk microfine glitter on the outline, Soft Green on the leaves, and Bright Cranberry for the berries.
I also added a white embossed “Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly” on black card stock in the upper left corner. Having all the words in white tied the card together nicely. Now tell me you didn’t look at that card and automatically sang the lyrics to yourself. 🙂 Thanks for looking and have fun making those Christmas cards!
Diana
The lyrics in white just pop!
Elizabeth Craft Design products used:
Falalala die set – Coming soon!
Flourished Holly die set – Coming soon!
Let Your Heart Be Light Collection stamp set – Coming soon!
Hello! Diana here today, sharing how I made 3 different backgrounds to go with one stamp. I do this when I can’t decide what would be a good background, or when I just want to make more than one card when I’ve already got the stamp inked up.
My first card uses the die cuts as a mask for a soft background.
For my first card, I stamped and used a circle die to cut out my stamped quote in the A Bit of Fragrance clear stamp set by Suzanne Cannon. I knew I wanted to frame it with some greenery but it looked a little bare. So I used the same die cuts and just used it as a mask to make a muted background.
Using the fern as a mask with distress inks.Completed sponged background
For my second card, I made a wreath using the Pair of Leaves die. This would work with any leaf die set. I first used Color Bursts to make some fall colored paper. After I die cut the leaves out, I used Copic markers to add more color to the die cuts. I love the organic dots and swirls from the Color Bursts; coloring with Copics give the color control I wanted and still keep the details.
The left side are the die cuts before the Copic coloring and the right side is after they are colored.
I then arranged the leaves in a wreath shape on a 4.75 x 4.75 white card base. Once I was happy with the arrangement, I glued them down.
My second card
I used a black 5″x5″ card base and a brown ribbon to finish the card for a modern look.
For my last and final card, I used a watercolor sheet I was practicing on painting leaves. I made sure there was enough to fill a 4″ x 5.25″ base layer.
My feeble attempt at watercoloring leaves
I’ve found a trick to making watercoloring attempts look better. After die-cutting the layer out, I splattered with some paint and sponged the edges. You won’t believe how much a bit of colored splatter will add to your practice sheets. You can also strategically place your stamped layer over the worst of the practice. Lol!
Sponged and splattered.
To finish my card, I popped up the stamped layer and added a couple of ribbons near the bottom half.
My last card using the same stamp.
Thank you for reading this long post but I hope it gave you some ideas on how to make different backgrounds to suit your needs!
Diana Nguyen
Other products used: olive green and black card stock
I’ve been seeing a lot of my friends post pictures of their first kid getting their driving permit or actually driving off to school. I’m sure they are as thrilled as this puppy, ears flying back as he takes to the road with his fishing rod. I’m still safe for another year…
Big moments deserve big cards.
To make this card:
I found that with the jeep die and the word dies, a 5″x7″ card base works a lot easier than my usual A2 base. I used a dark gray stock as my base – the same as my bit of road showing on the bottom. In fact, that bit is from trimming down my 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of card stock after folding in half to make my card base. Use your scraps as soon as possible! Lol!
How happy is this puppy?!
Die cut all the pieces you need: My jeep uses black, white, and blue cardstock. The “happy” is the same blue as the jeep and the “Day” is also cut from the scrap in step 1. I used a Molotov Chrome maker for my grill and headlights but you can use silver card stock if you don’t have that. The fishing rod is out of white cardstock and colored with Copic markers. The dog is cut out of Soft Finish card stock and sponged with Distress Oxide Tea Dye ink. I put the jeep together first and added some shine by drawing in with a white gel pen.
Little details like the shine on a card or even the road can really anchor your pieces together.
Create your background by lightly sponging clouds and adding some greenery with the bushes from Adventure Edges. Adhere the strip for the road. My background piece was 4.5″ x 6.5″. I matted it with a 1/16″ border with a light grey cardstock.
Adhere all the pieces as you see on the card. I found it easier to stick the puppy behind the steering wheel of the jeep, then the fishing rod, and then the entire thing onto the card.
As you can see, I chose “happy Day” as my sentiment but in hindsight, or maybe foresight, I should do a “Good Luck” card for the teenager testing or the mom letting go. Heehee!
Other Products used:
White, light gray, dark gray, black, blue, and mottled green cardstock
I’m actually not big on camping overnight –– it has always poured buckets –– but I love everything else, especially the campfire. So my card today showcases a little fire on a starry night. As you can see, you don’t need much to make a great focal point.
What’s your favorite thing about summer?
Make a standing card base by folding a 4.25″ x 11 in half.
Die cut a white circle approximately 3.25″ in diameter. Also cut out the fire, logs, sticks, and marshmallows from the Camping Accessories in white card stock.
Die cut the A Way With Words Summer in blue card stock.
To make the starry night, I sponged Distress Ink Blueprint Sketch around most of the circle, leaving the center and bottom for the yellow and brown inks. I went back and sponged Chipped Sapphire around the edges to make the sky very dark. Splatter some white or silver paint for the stars and set aside to dry.
To give the Summer die cut also a nighttime feel, I used Chipped Sapphire on the top half of the die cut also. In this way, the word will perfectly match the focal piece.
This is what my background looked like before I splattered with silver pearl Finetec paint.
6. I used my Copics to color the logs, marshmallows, twigs and fire. To insert the stick through the marshmallow, use an Xacto knife to cut a tiny slit into the top of the marshmallow.
7. Arrange and glue all the die cuts as shown in the card.
Everything glued downAll done!
I hope you’ve been inspired to take part of a set and focus on your favorite pieces to make a card. I love this one as it’s perfect for a masculine card and the focal point can easily be changed to anything else in the Camping accessories set.
Hi everyone, Diana here. I am loving these new Adventure Animals dies by Joset –– they are so cute! They come together very easily –– Joset has some great videos on how to put them together and I think the best part about them is that you can arrange them in different ways. I decided to make my elephant “float” in the air. I found the perfect quote to go with it in Suzanne Cannon’s Soar Collection.
Tall and Skinny is the way to go with this design
In order to have all my elements fit, I went with a tall and skinny design that would fit inside a business envelope.
Cut a piece of cardstock to 3.5″ x 8.25″.
I die cut out the elephant and 4 of the right legs since I was doing a side view of the elephant out of white soft cardstock.
I also cut out the balloons and grass from Balloons and Tree die set.
Distress Oxides were used to color all the different pieces. Hickory Smoke and Tattered Rose for the elephant; Frayed Burlap and Bundled Sage for the grass; Candied Apple and Salty Ocean for the balloons.
To make the background, I used the clouds from the Rainbow Sky die set to make a cloud mask. Die cut several clouds and adhere to a strip to make a quick cloud border. Scoot the mask back and forth so the clouds don’t look the same on every layer.
Easy cloud background
6. Stamp “Let your dreams soar” along the top edge first. I then went down the left and right side. The strip of grass is a great “fudge factor” so that you don’t have to worry about ending at just the right place.
The script lettering frames the image really well.
7. Tie a piece of gray twine to the balloons and loop the other end around the elephants trunk. I adhere the balloons first and then stretch the elephant down until the twine was straight. Pop up the heart and the elephant on foam tape to give the card a bit more dimension.
8. I added a 1/16″ matting to the piece before adhering it to the card base.
So cute!
I hope this inspires you to think outside of the usual A2 size card base. I’m not super fond of making my own envelopes but we all usually have some business envelopes lying around. Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Diana Nguyen
Other products used:
Blue cardstock, twine, Distress Oxide inks, foam tape
