Making the Bee Pop Card!

This is a fun card to make with the tree trunk popping out as you open the card. Additional bees and flowers are the finishing touch.

1. Cut card from ivory cardstock so that the finished card is 4″ x 4″. Cut your yellow pattern paper to the same size.
2. Fold ivory cardstock in half. Fold yellow pattern paper in half with the pattern on the outside.
3. Decorate the outside of your card as desired.
4. Cut from the woodgrain paper a 2″ width that is 4″ long. Fold this paper in half the long way with the wood grain to the outside.
5. Place the woodgrain on the fold of the yellow pattern paper. Fold the yellow pattern paper back over the woodgrain paper on both sides. This creates the pop-out section of your card.
6. Glue the yellow patter paper in place on the inside of your card. Do not apply adhesive to the fold out in the center.
7. Cut a branch from brown cardstock. Cut a slit in the fold of the wood grain paper and insert the end of the branch. On the back of the paper secure the branch with a piece of tape.
8. Glue the wood grain paper to the yellow pattern paper where it folds out.
9. Using the Mini Bee clear rubber stamps, stamp a couple of bees inside your card. Stamp a few flowers onto cardstock, cut them out and adhere to the branch on the tree. Add a few leaves made the same as the flowers and adhere as desired.

Deer Vista – Rubber Stamping Tutorial

It would seem that nature cards can be used for any occasion. With the seasons constantly changing around us, our paper crafts and creations often reflect what we see. Today, we will learn how to create this card making craft with nature rubber stamps, ink, paper and a sponge – and of course the clear stamps that make it all come together - ‘Winter Trees’

To make this beautiful nature card begin by cutting your scrap paper to the same size as you want your nature scene to be.  Next tear off the bottom left hand corner to create the hill that the deer will stand on as illustrated in the next photo.

With the torn scrap paper held in place over your scene sponge your ink along the torn edge to create the hill in your landscape.

Next, using the straight edge of your scrap paper, create the lake edge with the sponging technique. As you sponge draw the ink upwards a little so that it fades out as you move upwards.

Once your horizon is created it is time to work on the sky. I chose to add a distant mountain. To do this tear your scrap paper again to create the jagged peakes of a mountain. Very lightly spong along the edges of your mountain as shown below.

Next add a little ink in the sky above the mountain to balance the color in your picture.

Now you are ready to add the trees that are visible across the lake. To do this ink only the top portion of the tree rubber stamp found in the Winter Trees set of clear hobby rubber stamps. Before stamping it into your nature scene dab the ink on the lower part of the trees with your sponge. This will blend the color from thick to thin giving the effect of the bottom portion of the trees disappearing into the mist over the lake. Stamp the image so the tops of your trees are visible above the mist as illustrated in the next photo.

Stamp the image a second time before reinking to create more distant trees in the background.

Choose an accent tree to stand alone on the hill over the lake. There are several featured in the Winter Trees set of clear stamps. Stamp your tree in place as desired.

Stamp the deer on a separate piece of paper (the same color as you used for your nature scene) and cut them out closely. Adhere to the hill so they stand and look over the lake as illustrated below.

With the nature scene complete choose a card making template that will work with it and design your own stunning hand made greeting card. You may wish to embellish with ribbon, brads, wire or glitter for the finished look you desire.

Happy Stamping!

My Twist on Rubber Stamps and Tea Bag Folding

A couple of weeks ago I was looking through some crafty sites and found a technique called tea bag folding that I thought would be fun to try. Here is a photo of the finished result.

To use this technique:

Cit eight squares measuring 2″ x 2″. You can make them all the same color or use a variation of colors like I did.

Fold each square diagonally from corner to corner. This will locate the center of the square for rubber stamping and accurately placing the design.

Using the Mini corners clear stamps, stamp 4 corner designs into the center of the square. I used the second longer corner design to stamp on the outside corners so that the square was covered in rubber stamping patterns.

Once you are finished rubber stamping on your paper follow the remaining folding instructions . Step 2 – Fold the Square from side to side in both directions. Step 3 – press the folded edge up in between the two sides to give you an angled fold as pictured in (4). Do both sides and you will end up with a folded shape like (5). You will have two decorated triangles back to back. Be sure that your rubber stamping design is showing on the outside and is not folded up inside the triangle.

Follow this prodecure for each of the 8 pieces. Assemble the flower by placing the next triangle in between the two folded together. Your flower will look the same on both sides of the project. Use glue to adhere the pieces together.

Embellish the finished design as desired and you have a very unique and eye catching rubber stamped, hand made greeting card. You might also have fun stamping any other symetrical design on the squares for varying looks as you explore your own creativity.

Happy stamping!

Rubber Stamping on Smeared Ink

WOW! I can’t believe I am finally ready to write this tutorial. I have had 6 appointments between 9:00 last night and 1:00 this afternoon with at least 3 more before the day is out! I am so excited about this technique, though that I can’t wait to share it with you. It is soooo easy! If you can smear ink you can do this!

Here are the step by step techniques that you can use to make a smeared ink card of your own!  I used a lot of colors. Starting with the dark green for the hill, use your small ink pads to rub in the shape of a hill.

Next add the light green below the dark green. The lighter you rub the ink pad on the paper the lighter the color you will get.

Fill in the bottom left hand corner with a rust or dark orange ink. This is the brush or plants that you see in the picture. (You may substitute any other color that you wish to use at any time in the process.)

Next I added a little depth to the brush (rust orange color) by smearing a little pink on top.

Next it is time to fill in the sky. I actually used two colors of blue but it is not necessary for the final outcome.

For the colors of the sunset add some pink in the center of the picture above the horizon.

I actually added a little purple around the pink and down in the brush which you can see in the next photo.

Now it is time to define the horizon a little more.  You can do this quite easily with the edge of your regular stamp pads as they are rigid – not foam. Begin making short random horizontal lines at the base of the hill. Turn the paper the other way if you desire and make short vertical lines to imitate fence posts in the distance.

Your background is now complete! It is time to stamp the foreground images into your picture.

Using the Leafy Silhouettes Clear Rubber Stamp Set begin stamping leaves across the sky so that it appears you are standing under a tree and the branches are stretching toward the sunset within your view.

Use a combination of stamps if you like as you build your tree.

Add twigs and branches between the leaves for a more complete tree. Once you are happy with your tree, use a black pen or marker and outline the bottom half of each leaf or branch. This adds depth and interest to the project.

On my picture I decided I wanted the look of a path coming down toward the trunk of the tree. To do this I used the edge of the dark ink pad.

Next I began creating the brush in the bottom corner. Using the Leafy Silhouettes clear stamps and the same ink that the tree was stamped in, I created the brush. Remember that these stamps are so versatile that you can bend them into the shape that you need to create your card.

With this done you may choose to ink the edges in the dark ink or use it as it is. Create it into a card design and enjoy the finished results! It is as simple as that!

Hopefully you will have fun just smearing ink for your rubber stamping projects. For the above card I designed a card insert that was perfect to finish the card.

Happy Stamping!!!

Moonlit Palm – Rubber Stamped Card Making Tutorial

This is a fun tropical themed card making craft that is designed primarily with one clear rubber stamp – Tropical. The steps to this design are simple and easy and with a little practice, anyone can do them. I love the limitlessness to stamping creativity that this techniques provides in my card making hobby. Here is how I did it.

STEP ONE – The Moon and Sky

Simply cut a small circle and lightly adhere it to the top portion of a piece of white cardstock. I inked the edges of the circle only so that it would show up in the picture. Now with a medium to dark blue begin sponging ink onto the top of the page above and around the circle.

STEP TWO – The Horizon and water

Next turn your page over so the sky is on the bottom. Cover it with a straight edged scrap paper and begin inking in the water. This will create your horizon. Remember as you do this to ink around where the reflection of the moon in the water will be in an arc spreading color to the sides of the paper.

Remove the circle from the sky leaving a white moon over the water.

STEP THREE – The Island and the Palm Tree

Place a paper with a straight edge under the area where you want your island. Sticky notes work great for this as they will not move while you sponge color onto the paper.

Using a dark color begin sponging in your island. With a medium green ink sponge in a lighter patch to create the look of light hitting the foliage.

Using the trunk from the Tropical Clear Hobby Rubber Stamp Set, place it on your acrylic block with a slight bend in it. Be sure to turn it over and check that you don’t have too much or too little of a curve. Ink the trunk and stamp it onto the island.

Ink the top part of the palm tree with the same color you used for the trunk. Before stamping ink the edges of foliage with the lighter green to create the illusion of light hitting the palm fronds. Stamp in some dark foliage at the bottom of the tree if you desire.

STEP FOUR – The Reflection & Finishing

Stamp a second generation image of the trunk in the water below the island. Be sure to bend it in the other direction to give you a true reflection. Using your sponge drag some really dry ink below the island to create a shadow in the water as well.

This picture is finished with a leafy border using the same color of ink as the trunk of the tree. The Tropical Clear Stamps will create a border that surrounds your picture if you like. For my project I just put it down one side. Next I inked the edges in the same dark color and made it into the Moonlit Palm Card idea that is pictured at the top.

For the actual card I used the hibiscus flower design to pattern the card stock. Then after matting my inked art design I placed it on the card and embellished with ribbon and an embossed sentiment on a metal tag.

If you love nature you will find yourself delighted with the results of sponged ink backgrounds and rubber stamping natures details. Use your imagination to create your own unique stamped art ideas. You may even adapt them to some of your scrapbook pages…

Mountain Mist -Rubber Stamped Card Tutorial

I absolutely love the idea of creating landscapes with a single clear rubber stamp and background techniques. This card making idea uses a single tree clear rubber stamp, a piece of torn paper, two colors of pigment ink and embossing powder. I love the versatility of this technique in my card making hobby.  Here is how I did it.

STEP ONE – The Sky and Water

I used nothing more than a wadded up paper towel to apply color to this card just to see how it would turn out. To do this, wad up a paper towel, pinching a portion of it together so you can ink an area no larger than 3/4 of an inch in diameter. To create the sky and water, blot your paper towel on your ink pad picking up ink, then blot it against the top and bottom portions of your paper. Once you have blotted the darkest ink along the top edge just drag your paper towel a little ways downward to draw more color toward the center of the picture.

STEP TWO – The Mountains and their Reflection

Tear a piece of paper. I tore mine kind of jagged and I would probably make it a little more uniform next time. Place the torn edge over the top of your picture to cover the sky you just inked. Now using a dark green or grey ink, blot a clean area of your paper towel in the ink and dab it across the torn edge. Be sure to build up enough ink to give you a good edge. You may choose to drag the color toward the center of your picture again if you wish.

Next take the same piece of torn paper and turn it over. Place it over the water you inked in step one.  At this point you are creating a reflection – it it needs to be backward from the mountains you just created. Check to be sure your mountain peaks line up so you will have a true reflection – then ink off the edges of the torn paper with the same color of ink – in my case dark green to create your mountain ridge.

STEP THREE – The Horizon

The horizon is a very important part of the overall picture. Place a straight edge to cover the water in your picture then simply ink using the dark green pigment ink to create a horizon. In the above photo you will be able to see the horizon, but I did not make it dark enough right at the waters edge and had to go back later and add more ink which you can see in the photo of the finished card. Be sure you horizon is going to stand out.

To complete the horizon with evergreen trees (this part is optional) ink the trees from the Winter Trees Clear Stamp set in your dark green ink. Stamp one impression on scrap paper then stamp the second lighter impression into your horizon. Turn the card over and stamp the reflection with the third impression which will be lighter yet. Add as many trees as you wish making sure that they are stamped from 2nd and 3rd impressions to keep the feel of the card misty. I actually added my trees after doing step 4 as you can see in the next photo.

STEP FOUR – The Focal Point

It gets a little bit tricky here as you need to create a reverse image of your tree from the Winter Trees Clear Rubber Stamps. If you have a rubber stamp that will do this that is perfect but I decided to try it without. I used a nonporous surface which consisted of clear plastic so I could see where I would be putting my reflection. The ink beaded up a little on the surface so the image didn’t come out as clear as I would have hoped, however, it did the trick.

To reverse an image: Ink you stamp then stamp it onto a nonporous surface of stamp reversal tool. Next stamp it onto your paper in the place of the reflection.

Next stamp your tree as usual with the trunk of the reflection and the actual tree meeting. Once again I used the dark green pigment ink. You may wish to use black ink instead. Your project should look much like the above photo.

STEP SIX – The Island and its reflection

Using a straight edge you are going to ink in an island much the same as you did the horizon. Be sure to apply enough ink that you cannot see the edges of your tree trunk as you want them to blend in for a true silhouette.

To create the islands reflection simply rub a tiny bit of ink from you paper  towel below the island.

STEP SEVEN – Optional Embossing

I chose to emboss my tree in black embossing powder to draw the eye even more strongly to my focal point. This is a little tricky as you are embossing the reflection as well. I got around this by using my embossing pen to color over the reflection and then emboss. Be sure that when you emboss the actual tree (not the reflection) that you do not bring the black below the foliage on your island. You do not want it to look like the tree is growing out of the water.

With that done I inked the edges and added a ribbon down the side.

Using the Rose Sympathy Clear Rubber Stamps I added the ‘Thinking of You’ Saying to complete the project.

Make Your Own Rubber Stamped Cheerful Mist Card

I saw this rubber stamping and inking technique and absolutely loved it! It is easy to do and only takes a few minutes  to design your stamped eye catcher. Completed with a corner rounder, embellishments  and the Basic Card Making Layout, making this card is a delightful and refreshing take on rubber stamping.

You will only need one stamp – a tree such as one found in Winter Trees. This set of clear stamps hosts four different tree designs ranging in size and fullness giving you lots of choices for your desired effects. You will also need some pigment ink, clear embossing powder, a heat gun, and an array of regular inks used for rubber stamping. You will also need a dry makeup sponge or a brayer to apply color.

STEP ONE – The Tree

Stamp your Tree in a dark color such as brown. Be sure to position the tree slightly to one side of your paper. Clean your stamp and then stamp a second time – directly over the first impression – with embossing ink. Clear rubber stamps are ideas for this as you can see exactly where you are placing your embossing ink. Emboss your tree with clear embossing powder.

STEP TWO – The Sky

Choose a tool to apply ink – either a dry sponge or a brayer – and load it with your pigment stamping ink. Start at the top of the design using blue and draw the ink across the paper so that it begins to fade the closer you come to your horizon. If you are using a sponge simply sponge the top first and work you way downward so the color fades away.

STEP THREE – The Hills

Tear a piece of scrap paper unevenly to create your hills. (Scrap paper used in the photo’s is green)  Place over your design so the area just above your horizon shows. Begin with a dark color of ink such as a gray blue or gray green. Using your dry sponge (be sure to use a clean corner or a new sponge) press color onto the design starting from the edge of the torn paper and upward toward the sky. This will give the appearance of a mist in the background. Do not go all the way across the design. Do three layers of hills using consecutively lighter colors the closer you come to the foreground.

STEP FOUR – The Golden Path

Create the path using a honey yellow or light brown and ink – using the sponge – along the base of the card. Finish the path using a darker color of ink to fill in the bottom corner.

STEP FIVE – Finishing the card

Embellish your design as you desire. You may wish to stamp a saying in an open area of your newly created misty landscape or embellish with ribbons, tags or even buttons. Mat the design and mount onto your card using the Basic Card Making Template.

With 5 easy steps you have designed the eye catching design for one of your most fabulous rubber stamping project – a Cheerful Mist Card Making Craft!

For more tips on constructing this card click ‘Cheerful Mist‘