Background Techniques...

Hi! This was my final post as DT for the Create Something Catchy blog. I never got around to posting it. The challenge was to create our own backgrounds.

I made two cards demonstrating two different techniques.

I love the white on white look. I die cut several pieces of white cardstock with the Spellbinder Medallion 4 and then arranged them on a card base cut from the same white cardstock. Once I had glued the die cuts, the card front looked deeply embossed. The sentiment is my own design which I got my local stationery guy to make up into a stamp. I heat embossed it in gold EP on a scrap of red paper. I also used the gold EP on a couple of white half pearls and adhered them to the sentiment strip to look like studs.

For the second card, I went back to my trusty acrylic paints.

I first took a piece of handmade paper and smooshed it with different shades of pink, orange and yellow. Once it was fairly dry, I used white acrylic paint and different sponge daubers to make circles. 

I trimmed it to size, rounded the corners and mounted on a bright pink handmade paper card base. The sentiment is die cut from gold foil board and mounted over a piece of vellum. Some gold sequins in different sizes finished this card.

I hope you liked these two different techniques for creating your own backgrounds.

Love,
Nandini

Multi-step Stamping...

Hi! I am here today with a set of cards that I made sometime ago. I wanted to try multi-step stamping and also my new Memento dew drop ink pads.

I ended up making five cards with the same layout but different color combinations. The stamp set is Painted Flowers by Altenew and the sentiment is from the A Tree for All Seasons set by Winnie & Walter. I also used my Stampaholic for all the stamping, which went very fast and effortless thanks to this wonderful tool! The sequins are from my stash. Here are the individual cards with the combination of inks I used.

Memento inks Angel Pink, Lulu Lavender, Tuxedo Black and Artistry ink Dry Weed.

Memento inks Lulu Lavender, Rose Bud, Pear Tart and Tuxedo Black.

Memento inks Angel Pink, Lilac Posies, Pear Tart and Tuxedo Black.

This is my favorite combo. I used Memento inks Pear Tart, Bamboo Leaves, London Fog and Tuxedo Black.

After I had finished stamping, I realized I had stained this one with black. Luckily I could fix it with a few splatters of black acrylic paint. I used Artistry distress inks for stamping this card and they worked beautifully! The shades are Golden Turmeric, Cinnamon Tea, Dry Weed and Memento Tuxedo Black.

I hope you liked these cards as much as I did.

Love,
Nandini

Layered Embossing Resist...

Hi! I am back today with a card that I made keeping in mind a couple of challenges and also a new technique that I have been really keen on trying. It also gave me an opportunity to ink up one of my favorite stamp by Mudra Stamps, a new, Indian company. I love their quality and the designs are really, really gorgeous!

I started with a plain piece of white cardstock and stamped the bloom from the Floral Fantasy stamp set several times with Versamark ink. I used the layered embossing technique by Svitlana from the Altenew DT. You can check out her awesome video here. I used the Red Cosmos inks by Altenew. Here is a close up of the panel.

Rest of the card was super easy. I used the X stitch Rectangle die by Gina Marie Designs to cut my stamped panel. I used the Square Grid die by Simon Says Stamp to emboss the grey card base and mounted the stamped panel with some black fun foam. The sentiment is from a Studio G stamp set and heat embossed with Ranger's Silver EP.

Entering the card in the following challenges:

Color Throwdown #393
I was very inspired by this week's colors.

CAS Mix Up May Challenge
I used Stamping, Heat Embossing, Sponging, Die-cutting, Resist and Dry Embossing.

Stamplorations May CAS Challenge

Addicted To Stamps & More Challenge #194 - CAS

Stamplorations May Theme Challenge

Love,

Nandini

New stencil...

Hi! I have always loved using stencils. When I was in college, we used to design and cut our own stencils and use them on fabrics. So I am very excited by all the gorgeous stencils available now. I especially love the designs offered by Stamplorations.

I made a card using one of my favourites, Leaf Prints.

I started with a piece of plain white card stock and applied distress inks through the stencil. I used two shades - Twisted Citroen and Squeezed Lemonade. I shifted the stencil a bit and traced the inside with a gold glitter pen.

I finished the card by wrapping some paper cord around the panel. I cut the circle with cross stitch detail and the ferns with dies from Gina Marie Designs. The sentiment is from the Birthday Circles set by Wild Rose Studio and I stamped it with some green pigment ink by Colorbox.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Stamplorations April CAS Challenge: Anything Goes

Stamplorations Never-ending Anything Goes Challenge
I used the Leaf Print Stencil by Artplorations.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes

Time Out Challenge #55

Addicted to Stamps & More Challenge #191: Anything Goes

Love,
Nandini

A Masculine Card...

Hi! I am a great fan of Tim Holtz. I love his distress inks. And I adore his stamp designs, especially the Blueprint series. Here is one of the cards I created with the Blueprint Assortment stamp set.

I started with a piece of watercolor paper. I stamped the image with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Wow Metallic Embossing powder. I used a flat brush and plenty of water to give a light wash of color using three shades of blue distress inks, Faded Jeans by Ranger and the other two by Artistry. I also splattered some ink and added some water droplets for added texture. Here is a close up of the image.

The tough part was adding the sentiment. I tried various combinations without success. Then I hit upon the idea of using repeat stamping. And thanks to the Stampaholic, I got the sentiment from Altenew's Persian Motifs set aligned and stamped perfectly. I used Ranger's clear powder for heat embossing and then covered the strip with Tsukineko's Copper Delicata ink to match the heat embossed party hat. Here is a closer look:

The little heart stamp is from Bo Bunny's Stitches stamp set. 

I hope you liked this card. I would love to hear from you.

Entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Happy Birthday

The Card Concept 52
The elements that really caught my eye were the hats and the rather monochromatic color scheme. So I concentrated only on them.

Mod Squad Challenge: Show Us Your Background

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Try to Resist
I used heat embossing and also used Ranger distress inks

Love,
Nandini

A Special Card...

Hi! I am back today with a card for my cousin who recently completed her PhD. I am so proud of her and happy that she achieved her dream despite many, many challenges. Here is the card I created for her.

I started with pale green handmade paper which I embossed with the WRMK Next Level Embossing Folder - Woven. I am totally in love these folders as they add such fabulous texture to any card. The cream circle die cut is from my stash and I mounted it with some foam tape. For the roses, I simply rubbed the tips of Memento Dew Drops ink pads in pink and orange on some white card stock. I then used the LJD Scribbled Roses Overlay by My Favorite Things to die cut the card stock and some gold foil paper. After popping back all the die cuts into the card stock, I laid the gold outline over and glued it down. Here is a closer look at the flowers.

The sentiment is die cut using the Sizzix Phrase: Congrats #2 from some glittery gold paper and slightly offset over some black card stock. The leaves are cut using another Sizzix die - Flower & Leaf #5, from scarps of green handmade paper.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

CAS on Sunday Challenge #80 - Flowers

Southern Girls Challenge - Anything Goes

Creative Card Crew #109 - CAS (Clean And Simple)

Simon Says: Anything Goes

Creative Friday #150 - Celebrate

Love,
Nandini

Rocking the Rainbow with the Stampaholic...

Hi! I am totally in love with the Stampaholic! It comes in so handy while stamping and there are so many things that I can do! I was actually working on another card, when a bright spark flashed. I dropped the project I was working on and started on the new card. And here is the card I created, that I can confidently claim was made possible only because of the Stampaholic!

I started with a piece of watercolor paper. The stamp is from Winnie & Walter's You've Got Love Mail set. The actual stamp is small, just two XOs. The Stampaholic made repeat stamping a breeze. I stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with different colors of EP in a rainbowish order. The orange was stamped with Memento Dewdrops ink and then heat embossed with clear EP. I drew lines with a gold glitter pen for some added interest. Here is a closer look at the stamping:

To finish, I embossed the kraft card base with the WRMK Next Level embossing folder - Woven. The sentiment die is the Hand Lettered Hello from Wplus9. I cut three layers of black and one layer of gold foil paper and mounted them slightly off set.

Entering the card in the following challenges:

Sunday Stamps - Rainbow Fun

Freshly Made Sketches #230

Addicted to CAS Challenge #84

CASEplorations April: Donna Mikasa

Winnie & Walter's Share the Love Week: Day 5
I was very inspired by Kate Capper's rainbow hued card.

Love,
Nandini