Pattern Stamping...

Hi! One of my favourite techniques is creating my own 'pattern paper' by stamping. I recently taught this technique and wanted to share it on my blog. 

I started with a piece of white cardstock. I used the Freehand Florals stamp set by Wplus9 and Memento dewdrop inks to create a lovely background. Once the stamping was done, I used three of the largest Stitched Rectangle dies by DCAM to cut my panel. I adhered the pieces back on a thin sheet of scrap paper cut slightly smaller than my panel. I just love the gorgeous texture that the die-cutting adds to the background. I adhered the panel to a bright blue card base.

The sentiment is from Lil' Inker. I cut it out of both dark and light blue papers and adhered the two slightly off-set. Here is a closer look at the sentiment.

Initially, I had planned to add a companion sentiment or some sequins to the card. But I really liked the card without any more additions. Since the background is busy, I decided to keep rest of the card very simple. Here is another look at the card.

I hope you liked my card and I look forward to hearing from you.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

ModSquad Challenge - One or More Metal Die:
Smile Word die by Lil' Inkers - https://www.lilinkerdesigns.com/smile-word-die/
Stitched Rectangle dies by Die Cuts And More 

Aud Sentiments Challenge #223 - Any Sentiment Except Happy Birthday:

Craft Rocket Challenge #57 - Flowers:

Sparkles Monthly Challenge #114 - Stamped Background:

Cute Card Thursday Challenge #574 - Spring Fever:

Cut It Up Challenge #170 - Flowers:

HLS March Anything Goes With Dies:

Virginia Lu's March Show & Share

Love,
Nandini

Special Card Set...

Hi! December is halfway through and we are almost at the end of the year! My DT obligations for the month are done. I have been playing with my supplies just for fun and really enjoying it. One of my friends requested a set of general cards. I decided to ink up some of my NBUS stamps. I pulled out the Everything Together by Simon Says Stamp and Happy Wishes by Wplus9 to create a set of 11 cards. I was actually aiming for 12 cards. But one got spoiled. 

Here are two more of my favourites.

I started by die cutting a bunch of white panels with a stitched rectangle die. I placed the sentiment from the Everything Together stamp set by Simon Says Stamp in my stamp positioner. I inked the stamp with three shades of the same colour. To make things easier, I used all the Altenew mini sets I have. Since these inks are arranged for layering, it is very easy to get ombre effects. Once all the sentiments were stamped, I arranged the stamps from the Happy Wishes set by Wplus9 at the top left corner and stamped. I just turned the card upside down to stamp on the other side. This set has lots of tiny stamps which make creating clusters very easy. Once all the stamping was done, I adhered the panels to matching card bases.

Here is another pair of cards.

And here are the rest of the cards.

 

   

I love the way these cards turned out. 

The Flower Challenge #27:

I used the Wplus9 Happy Wishes set which has been with me for a year or more.

Love,

Nandini

Altenew Academy Level 1 Final Project...

Hi! I am here today with a very special card. I made this based on the things I learnt from the classes that I took at the Altenew Academy. It has been a lot of fun and loads of learning during these 10 classes. I really think I am a better crafter now than I was when I started. 


For my final project I was asked to combine any 3 components from the Level 1 classes. I have based my card on the following classes:

• All About Layering 2 by Nicole Picadura
• Easy Die Cutting Techniques by Yana Smakula
• Let It Shine by Carissa Wiley 

I started with some orange paper that I adhered to a white card base as it was a bit thin. I have found using a glue stick works best for this as it gives a very smooth finish and good coverage.

The very first class that I took was the All About Layering 2 by Nicole Picadura. Altenew has some of the best floral layering stamps. Peony Bouquet is probably my favorite. But it is a difficult set to layer. After taking this class though I have no problems. I also used a technique by May Sukyong Park for stamping on colored card stock. You can find the post here along with a detailed video. 

I mounted the stamp on my stamp positioner, stamped with white pigment ink and then simply rotated the panel 180° and stamped again. I used the Sea Shore mini ink cubes set to stamp the layers. After stamping I masked off the flowers and stamped only the outline images. For the buds I also stamped one detail layer. Here is a closer look at the stamped panel.

I kept rest of the card simple since I didn't want to take the focus away from the stamping. I used some textured handmade paper as the card base instead of a regular card stock. I created an inlaid sentiment panel using the techniques I learnt from the Easy Die Cutting Techniques by Yana Smakula. I used some orange glitter paper for the sentiment to add some extra oomph to my card. I also added a few sequins around the sentiment panel for extra emphasis. Carissa Wiley talks about adding glitter and sequins in her class Let It Shine. This class teaches you how to add touches of sparkle and shine to your card and make them look classy. 

Here is a closer look at the sentiment panel.

I hope you like my card. I would love to hear from you. And I would highly encourage you to check out the classes at the Altenew Academy.

I am looking forward now to doing my Level 2 classes. See you again soon.

Love,
Nandini

Product Review For Itsy Bitsy...

Hi! Sometime back I received a call from Itsy Bitsy asking me to do a product review for them. I was, of course, more than happy to do it! I received three shades of Fairy Sparkle, Texture Tack and a pack of Fleece White card stock.

I made several cards using these products and I am very, very happy and impressed with the quality.


I used simple stamping for the first card.

I used the Mini Modern Blooms stamp set by My Favorite Things and Memento dew drop inks to create an all over design. I then dipped the broad end of my brush into the texture tack and dotted it at the center of the flowers. I sprinkled the Fairy Dust over it and let it dry for some time. The sentiment is from the Recollections You Are Lovely stamp set. 

I really love the crisp and bright images I got with the Fleece White paper and the little bit of bling that the Fairy Sparkle added.

Here are two more cards I made with Fleece White card stock and simple stamping.

A blue and white card made using the Folk Sentiments set by Docrafts with Bahama Blue ink by Memento. You can find more details here.

Made with the Peony Bouquet and the Painted Greetings stamp sets by Altenew. You can find more details here.


For my second card I decided to use stenciling.

I took a piece of paper that my kids has colored with distress inks from my scrap pile. I used a stencil that I had hand cut ages ago and applied some Indian Jamun distress ink by Artistry. I shifted the stencil slightly and applied Texture Tack through it. I then sprinkled the Fairy Sparkle and left it to dry. To match the card base I trimmed the Texture White paper to size and applied the ink directly.

I love the artsy look of this card. It is very easy to use the Texture Tack with a stencil and I love that it washes off very well.


For the third card I decided to combine the Fairy Sparkle with die cuts.

I first created my panel with the Leafy Pattern stencil by Mudra. The word die is by STAMPlorations. I cut it and then covered it with Texture Tack. I pressed the whole thing in a pool of Fairy Sparkle and left it to dry. To finish, I popped up the panel on a matching card base and adhered the sentiment to it.


For my final card I wanted to try something different. I decided to try stamping with texture tack.

I took a piece of Texture White card stock and stamped several flowers and leaves from the Freehand Florals stamp set by Wplus9 and die cut it with the matching dies. This is a beautiful layering set and I stamped one layer with texture tack. I added some Fairy Sparkle and allowed it to dry. The Sentiment is from Geometrical Patterns stamp set that I designed for Craftyscrappers. To finish I added some pretty sequins by Mudra Craft Stamps.

Really love the bit of sparkle that the Fairy Sparkle adds. Here is a closeup of the card.

Here are the Itsy Bitsy products I used. I have included links to the products as well.

Fleece White

Texture Tack

Fairy Sparkle - Lilac

Fairy Sparkle - Sterling Silver

I hope you enjoyed this post and will try these wonderful products. 

Love,
Nandini

ATSM Challenge #211...

Hi! The theme for the Addicted To Stamps and More Challenge #211 is one of my favorites

You can create anything you wish for this challenge - sky and your creativity is the only limit! 

Our wonderful sponsor for this challenge is 

Sponsor

Founded in June 2013, California-based STAMPlorations™ is owned and managed by husband-and-wife team, David & Shery Russ. From just a handful of stamps, we now have 100+ stamp designs, 4 stamp designers, our exclusive line of stencils, and 20 amazing crafters spread across 3 teams who constantly produce gorgeous projects featuring our products. Our clear stamps are perfect for creating CAS, one layer, and mixed media cards, and they can be combined to create a variety of paper crafts. All of our stamps are proudly made in the USA. Our clear stamps are made from the finest, non-yellowing photopolymer resin. Through our stamp line, we hope to encourage crafters of all ages and

experience levels to "Stamp with all your ART!" 

Blog: http://stamplorations.blogspot.ca

Prize: 2 digital images

Since the challenge is anything goes, I decided to make a card that has been in my mind for some time.

I started with a piece to bright blue cardstock. I used the leaf dies from Folk Art Florals by Wplus9 and Seasonal Tree by Paper Smooches to die cut a border around the panel. Here is a closer look at the die cutting.

I stamped the sentiment from the Painted Greetings set by Altenew and heat embossed it with white EP. I added some paint splatters with white acrylic paint and then mounted the panel on foam tape on a white card base. The biggest challenge was popping up the tiny bits without the tape showing.

I hope you like my clean and simple card. Make sure you check out the awesome inspiration that my super talented teamies at ATSM have put together for you. And don't forget to enter your creations in the challenge. Looking forward to seeing you in our gallery.

Linking this card to the following challenges:

Virginia's View Challenge #23 - Spray, Mist, Splatter

Altenew's Ultimate Challenge Blog Hop

Love,

Nandini

Joseph's Coat Stamping Technique...

Hi! I am back today with my final post as Guest DT for Craftyscrappers. I have thoroughly enjoyed my term and enjoyed the great crafters that I have met through this.

Since Craftyscrappers has recently started dealing in stamps, we decided to make stamping techniques our main focus.

I chose to do the Joseph's Coat technique. It is an emboss resist technique, also called Emerging Colors technique. I have put together a small tutorial which I hope is helpful.

I started by going through my stash. I have a bunch of backgrounds that I tried some technique on. Sometimes there are extras and other times the technique didn't work. But the colors were really pretty. I tend to keep these and recycle them. The Joseph's Coat technique is really great for this. I selected three that I really liked.

I added a bit of texture on the first by stamping with the Kaisercraft Texture Script Stamp and Artistry Amazon Trail ink. For the second, I covered my Memory Box Texture Mesh stencil with gold acrylic paint and pressed it on the paper. For the third I used gold acrylic paint again with my daughter's Guides woggle.

Once the papers were dry, I went to next step which is to make the emboss resist with clear embossing EP. I used Striped Leaves stencils by Crafter's Workshop, Garden Flourish background stamp by My Favorite Things and a DIY stamp I made some fun foam.

Here is a closer look at the embossed papers.

Now comes the last step of the technique, which is most fun!

I applies several layers of the Artistry Dark Garnet ink with a blending foam. The ink blending tool is from Papericious and I love how light it is.

I cut the piece on which I had used the Garden Flourish stamp and applied Artistry Dark Garnet ink on one and Memento Tuxedo Black on the other.

I ended up making three cards with two of the backgrounds. The third one is in my stash.

Here are some closeups of the cards.

Finished with some cream ribbon and a button from my stash. The sentiment is from Altenew's Persian Motifs set and stamped with copper Delicata ink by Tsukineko.

I stamped the kraft card base with Ranger's Ground Espresso distress ink. The sentiment was die cut from gold foil paper with the Simon Says Stamp Happy Birthday die and mounted on translucent paper from my scrap bin.

This was my daughter's favorite. The sentiment is Wplus9's Hand Lettered Hello die which I die cut from some sparkly glitter paper.

I hope you liked my cards and will give this fun technique a try. Also do check out the Craftyscrapper's FB page for an amazing variety of die cuts and stamps. Their products are super high quality and very pocket friendly. And definitely check out the Craftyscrapper's blog for all the different stamping techniques that the DT have put together. I am sure you will be inspired to make something beautiful and participate in the Craftyscrappers Challenge #7 - Stamping Techniques.

Entering the cards in the following challenges:
Can You Case It - CYCI #108

Happy Little Stampers February Mixed Media Challenge: Paint

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes

Love,
Nandini