Tips, Tricks and Techniques Tuesday - In My Heart

 For today's card using the In My Heart stamp set, I have gone blue. Afternoon Azure blue to be precise. It is such a vibrant blue, I love it. I added a piece of the blue card to the front of a white card base and then cut off the corners of a sheet of Designer Series Paper. I used the lovely Brights DSP and only 2 pieces of the Afternoon Azure. I place the corners in different directions and adhered them onto the blue card then having cut up several white strips of 0.5cm card, I added them to the edges of the shapes. I believe that this is called a fractured card as it  is in lots of pieces. Though I may well be wrong!!

I measured the centre that was left and found a square die from the Stylish Shapes dies and die cut one out. I then cut it down along one side to make it into a rectangle. It's very easy as you just add the die over the shape and trim off the part you don't need. Once that was done I repeated the same with a piece of white card for the image to be stamped onto. I stamped the little boy reading and then using my Stampin' Blends, coloured him in. I attached them both together using Dimensionals and placed them onto the card base. I then went on to adding some 0.5cm strips of the Azure Afternoon card next to the white strips to complete it. 

Tips, Tricks and Techniques Tuesday - Poised Peony

Hello and thank you for stopping by. Today, using the Poised Peony stamp set I have once again co-ordinated it with the Frames and Flowers Designer Series Papers. Using a basic white card base, I added some mats in the rich green of Shaded Spruce. I had a piece of DSP left over from another card and it was too small for a card mat so I sliced it up equally and added the strips down the page. I stamped 2 of each of the medium and small flowers and fussy cut them out. 

My theory is that you don't have to just emboss a whole sheet, even little circles like I have used can be embossed too. I used one of the new embossing folders called Dotted Circles and added the circle to the centre each time. It just adds a certain something, I stamped the flowers and coloured them in using my Stampin' Blends pens.

 I rather like the effect it gives. What do you think?

  Frames and Flowers DSP

Make it Simple Monday and Tips Tricks and Techniques Tuesday - ON STAGE

Hello and thank you for joining us. Firstly, as you possibly remember Cary and I went to Rotterdam last week for a Stampin' Up event called ON STAGE. Well, we are home, exhausted and way behind on everything! Consequently, I sincerely apologise for my tardiness in getting my post ready for Monday. 😒😞😪 I am really sorry.

Here are a few samples of the swaps that I made 1 or 2 of for swapping in Rotterdam! They are based around Susan Campfields Flying Seagull card. Her cards are amazing! She is a very clever lady.

These ones are some of the ones for our team mates. I used a few different embossing Folders and stamp sets for for the sentiments for all of the different colourways. The images were from several  different DSP's including... Simply Zinnia, Stippled Roses, Painted Lavender and Perennial Postage. The images were from several different DSP's which coordinate with the stamp sets and I fussy cut all of them!!! I know, I am definitely crazy!! 

 

 

 

Tips, Tricks and Techniques Tuesday Be Jolly

 Twinkle,  twinkle little star 🌟 .... and that is what inspired today's card 😅 My 2 year old niece is a real performer singing, dancing, making everyone laugh. She's  a real cutie pie! She loves to sing baa baa 'heep and winkle, winkle  and for some reason her singing jumped into my mind as I looked at the Be Jolly stamp set and inspired today's card.

As it's  Tips,  Tricks and Techniques Tuesday  here at 2 Big Girls Crafting I have used a very popular technique called embossed resist.  This technique is where you stamp your image in versamark and use embossing powder which you heat set to create a resistant image. You then apply colour over the top with waterbased ink which colours the cardstock but rubs off the stamped image.

Well usually I do the embossed resist technique onto white or vanilla cardstock and then add colour by blending or watercolouring over it.  But my tip today is for speed you can create your resist onto coloured cardstock!

I started with a vibrant blue coloured cardstock mat called Pacific Point. I stamped the star image in versamark all over the mat and then heat embossed them with silver embossing powder.  I then took a darker shade of blue ink called Night of Navy and blended from the edges inwards. 

Make sure you have a soft tissue to hand to gently buff the colour off the embossed parts. I also find that a little gentle huffing over the embossed areas before buffing helps 

Once I was happy with the ink blending I decided to splater Wink of stella which sadly doesn't show up too well in my photos but in real life adds a real sparkle to the project.

I then I stamped, coloured and fussy cut out one of the Santa's from the stamp set. Added a simple sentiment and mat and layered my blended background and the front of the card was complete.

The inside of the card has a sentiment from another fun stamp set called Holly Jolly Wishes

I also did a little blending on a corner in the lovely night of navy ink. I  then stamped, coloured and fussy cut out 3 of the stars and adhered them to add a little something to the inside of my card.

With thw inside mat adhered to the bright blue card base I then adhered the front piece to the card base and was happy with the end result. 

I love the combination of a slightly more grown up background with a cute image it will be pefect to send to my niece Rya for Christmas this year.

Have you started your Christmas cards yet? I have now 😉