Anniversary Card - "Still Got It"

Here is another card that I made last year. Two birthdays together in one card ;-) or 130 years together...

I found this hilarious "Art Impressions" stamp set that I thought fitted perfectly. I designed my card base in three parts.

I used a strip of 12" x 5 1/2" and scored it at
4 1/4" and 8 1/2" leaving the last panel a bit shorter than the first two. I folded them so the right panel folds to the left and the left panel closes the card to the right.

For the front I used a few parts of the stamped images as a teaser....LOL...I stamped and colored the pieces before I punched them with an 1" circle punch.

I stamped my "Happy Birthday" phrase as seen and added the circles with foam dots to the front...done!

On the inside I added two white panels about 1/4" smaller than the base. I used both for some personal messaging...well on the right side I added a few more of the circles and my writing was about "....we are getting ready...almost there...at our age getting ready takes a little longer..." and on the left side we left a personal message. 


Now the recipients were ready to open the final part of the card to reveal the true inside...I stamped the image on white cardstock and added the "Still got it!" phrase that came with the set. I backed it with some silver mirri cardstock and adhered it to the middle panel of my base.

Here are some more close up pictures of the image and the coloring I did. I love to use my watercolor pencils for this technique. They give me a lot of control of light and dark and shadow areas without a lot of fuzz. Meaning, I used regular white cardstock with a smooth surface like our Close to My Heart "Daisy White" cardstock (Neenah or similar works too). I stamped the image in StazOn black ink, but if you are very careful with water and the lines, you can use Memento or any black archival ink as well.

I used just a few pencil colors and in some pictures you can see how I have one side of the body a bit darker and getting lighter to the other side, indicating where my light comes from. This way you create a more dimensional image instead of a flat one. I left the middle part of the faces uncolored, again to give it dimension. Ones you ad some water to those colors, they blend nicely together. 

Make sure to use almost no water on your brush. This technique requires only a tiny little bit. This is why you get away with using regular black ink and cardstock!!!!

I usually wet my brush and pinch it between my fingers to get most of the water out. If you never worked with pencils like this, try on a piece of scrap paper to see how the colors react and how fare a little water goes. 

Make sure to clean the brush in between switching colors or if you feel you pick up too much color. I will have classes for water coloring techniques available this year. Please contact me for more information. You can also leave me a comment here if you like to learn more about watercolors, certain techniques or if you have a question about it.

Tip: If you practiced your coloring skills on an image and only part of it turned out to your liking's, think about using parts like I did here with the circles!

My Favorite Golfer - Side Step Card

Ok, by now you might have figured out that this guy is one of my favorite characters to use ....LOL

Not only is it so much fun to color him, but he is so versatile too. In the original set, he holds the club, but I had to do something different with him this time!


This card is the last card I created for this months blog hop. 


Instead of having the steps on the left or right side, I made them go along both sides. Now came the hard part. How do I decorate them? I alternated the stamp just a little. I stamped my friend and colored him with watercolor pencils. 

Next I cut him out, but cutting the club off. I used a piece of white cardstock and colored the sky and a little green on it. The golfer then was placed with foam dots to the card. I make sure he was not floating in midair, I used a fine brush and added some grass around his feet. Voila, the middle part was done!

Now to the sides. I make the card appear more like a golf course, I added the two panels to the back step. I found a street sign stamp that I inked up only partial and stamped it on the right panel. I colored the hole around its base and added the number, the green and the sky. For the other side I decided to simply add the green and sky. I added the tall grass with my brush and some watercolor.

The middle steps were cut shorter than the back once. I stamped the club part again and since the club was a bit short, I added a little extra to the shaft (free style). I cut the club out, added some grass and adhered the club with a foam dot to the background. On the other side I  created the same background. Can you see how the ball was made?  I stamped the club again and cut the shaft off....golf ball is done. On it went with another foam dot and this card is done....

.... almost! The was stamped on white and added to a piece of green cardstock. I cut the sides and curved it over my bone-folder. I make sure it stays curved, I added one foam dot on one side and doubled them on the other side.

Interested in making a card like this yourself? Would you like to learn how to watercolor simple and easy? Contact me for more information... 

I'm not deaf...I'm ignoring you - "Birthday Card" Golden Oldies

I am a huge fan of Art Impressions stamps especially the funny ladies and the golden oldies. Naturally I couldn't resist to buy a few new ones during the MegaMeet Craft Show in May.

Here is one of the newbies ;-) Love this grumpy old guy. Sitting in his camping chair I thought why not place him on the beach? 

I found some great papers from Close to My Heart to create some water, sand and boardwalk. 
My cardbase is cut at 8 1/5" x 5 1/2", scored and top folded at 4 1/4". The wood grain paper came in the May special paper pack. The water paper is from the "Regatta" paper pack and for the sand I used some cashmere cardstock all papers from Close to My Heart.


I cut three strips and sprinkled some cashmere ink onto the cardstock to give it more texture and make the cardstock look more like sand. I also ripped a small piece off along the edge which exposed the white core of the cardstock. 

I first adhered the water paper, then the sand and a thin strip of dark grey cardstock to the cardbase. The boardwalk paper is raised just a little with some thin foam adhesive strips. I stamped the phrase in black on the cardstock piece.

Now the the young gentleman in the chair. I stamped him twice in StazOn black ink. The first image, I colored in just the chair. The second image, I colored in just the guy. Using watercolor pencils is the easiest and quickest way to bring color to your stamped images. You have to make sure to stamp your image in a permanent ink, otherwise it will dissolve with your watercolors. If you prefer to use alcohol markers, stamp your images with Memento ink or archival ink, NOT StazOn! 


I then cut out the first image completely (chair and guy) and from the second image I only cut the guy out. I placed the gentleman with some thin foam adhesive onto the chair image. This layering will give you a wonderful 3-D effect and a lot of dimension to your card. If you don't want to do the double up, just simply stamp the image once, color it in and cut it out.


Place the chair on the front of your card so it looks like he is sitting right on the edge of the boardwalk.

For the inside we stamped a "Happy Birthday" on some cashmere cardstock, ripped the edges just a little and placed it on the inside. I used my black pen to draw a few strings so it looks like a hanging sign....

Let me know what you think of this card and leave a comment below. I would love to hear from you. You can also email me with questions or if you like to know more about classes and learning new techniques in small groups. Click HERE for my email!