SLMPetersen

The inspiration for these cards came from the archives of Kelly Taylor's videos -  Layering Balloon Stencil 5 Ways: Birthday Parties .  Knowing I had these stencils in my stash I dug them out and set out to ink blend a few panels.  I wanted to try a couple of the ideas I saw in her videos.   I ink-blended my balloons using Distress Ink in Villainous Potion, Peacock Feathers, and Cracked Pistachio onto my first panel.  I wanted to add more interest, so I pulled out another stencil and layered it over the second layer of balloons, while the balloon stencil was still in place, and added some tone-on-tone details.  Once I had a completed panel I wanted a bold sentiment, but instead of adding the sentiment over top of the panel, I opted for a die-cut inlay.  Which left me with the reverse, which I could have tossed or used later.  Instead, I made two cards for the price of one.   Rense and repeat.  This go round I used Mustard Seed,...

I've drawn my own sketches off and on over the years, very often to get an idea out of my head when I'm not in the studio to create.  I've never sought out card sketches, nor have I actually used them to build my cards, other than my own of course. Then a few weeks ago my Bestie over at By Grace Everett and I were talking about patterned paper and getting more than one or two designs from some of our patterned paper.  Which got my wheels turning.  I was trying to think of where we could get more inspiration to use our patterned paper, then it hit me.  We needed to watch a few of Kristie Marcotte's videos .   Fast forward to a couple of days ago when I was sipping my morning coffee and seeking inspiration.  I clicked on one of Kristie's older videos where she showed how to use one 6x6 paper pad to make 34 cards .  This is exactly what we needed to jump-start our patterned paper use.  She took one double-sided paper pad and eight card sketches...

I'm sure you've guessed by now that the abstract technique has taken up permanent residence in my card-making repertoire.  Because I use stencils to build my abstracts and I love ink blending, the possibilities are endless and the options infinite.   If you like the abstract look you want to check out my posts Inspired by Mindy Egan - Abstract Card , More Abstract Card Ideas , and Drawing Inspiration from Outside the Card Making Realm .  Today's card is a modern wedding card. I started this card by ink-blending my abstract composition.  I started with Dried Marigold and the largest shape then added the next largest shape with Saltwater Taffy, and finished with the small shape in Speckled Egg.  As I built the composition I wanted to retain a large white space in the middle.  Once I completed the ink blending, I trimmed the panel with the retired Sizzix Dotted Rectangles largest die. I added the dress and the stacked sentiment using VersaFine Black....

Today I have two more teacher cards for you.  I used Teacher from Waffle Flower and Color My World from WPlus9 to build these.  I kept the design simple with some Copic coloring, using a limited palette.  Limiting your color palette can be a great way to challenge your creative skills. Each card was stamped, colored, and then cut with the Simon Says Stamp Wonky Rectangles dies.  In order to get the "teacher" to line up the way I wanted I stamped the "you color my world" portion first, then removed that stamp from my platform.  Then I lined the "teacher" sentiment up and stamped it.  After I had my sentiment in place I added to brush, paint tube, and puddles of paint to the panel.  With my layout complete, I opted to Copic color these images, with my limited color palette selection and I gotta say the results are so fun!  I love these colors together.  To complete the simplicity of these cards I adhered them to a black card base.  

When I'm in the making groove I make dozens of cards a week.  Yes, I said dozens.  Since I only write five posts a week I have photos of dozens of cards that have yet to make it to the blog.  Today's cards are from the teacher cards I made a few weeks ago. The layout for both cards is the same, with the exception of the card above having a few green heart embellishments.  These cards pull together several brands.  I used the Teacher from Waffle Flower, Kindness Matters from Neat and Tangled and one of the past Stamptember sets from Simon Says Stamps. To add variation I colored the puppies in different colors, but the green combo is the same on both cards.  I had only intended for the difference to be the color of the puppy and the color of the card bases, that this until I dropped a green marker on one panel.  How better to hide a mark than with a green heart, but one heart looked very out of balance.  I gravitate toward odd numbers when using emb...

This post is a little later than my regular scheduled posting, but I've got a lot going on in my life and the blog seems to always get put in the back seat when things get crazy.  Today's post is a short one, let's jump in. This is not nor will it be the last post with these fabulous furniture stamps from Altenew.  I've had my eye on these stamps for a while and finally put them in my cart a month ago.  I've been playing with them off and on since.  Today's cards are the first two cards I made using these.  The technique I used to create these simple cards was simply stamping on patterned paper and fussy cutting.  I pulled my scraps out and stamped each chair onto a small pattern that seemed fitting for upholstery. For the first card, I stamped the chair onto a scrap of striped patterned paper and a small piece of blue that matched the stripes.  Then I stamped the chair on the white panel I would be building my card on and colored only the legs.  ...

At the end of September, By Grace Everett and I were talking about all of the product we had purchased and how much stuff we had from previous hauls that we had yet to use.  Then I proposed a no spend October and my bestie was all in.  Before I continue onto what I learned so far, let me state that we've done this before, but this was the first time we had a zero tolerance for buying anything.  Let's talk about what I learned about my crafting self. Take Away #1 - You will use what you have if you stay out of the stores and stop filling shopping carts. Yes, that seems obvious, but I'm talking about the things you bought and tucked in a container and forgot about.  Those enamel dots, wood embellishments, fancy florals, washi tapes, etc.  I've been using up the impulse buys that are stashed in my studio and it feels good.  Take Away #2 - Inspiration will come from other places.  I've recently gotten hooked on using card sketches.  Yes, I'm probab...

Sometimes I see techniques and think "Nah, that's cute but not really for me", but then I hit a creative wall and pick something to challenge my creative ideal.  Fun folds and windows are two of those "Nah" techniques.   Before I go into the details of this make, I really want to encourage you to shop your stash.  Any dies and stamps will work for this technique combo.  Large shapes are great for windows and any cute stamp can peek through.  Color your image with your favorite medium.  I think flowers would be a fun window card peek through as well. This card started with the polka dot paper and inspired my color palette.  Jumping off from there, I pulled a second scrap of patterned paper and Copic colors that would fit my palette idea.  After I had a color palette I shopped my stamps and dies for further inspiration.   While shopping my stash, these cute Darcie's penguins came into view.  Bingo!  This little penguin in pi...

The envelope punch board occupies space in my studio, but it's rarely used.  I won my punch board as a giveaway ages ago and I rarely make my own envelopes.  I'd seen some cute ideas on Pinterest for using it to make file folder tabs on cards but had yet to try the idea.  Then a couple months ago I had a request for office goodbye cards.  Is there a more perfect card idea for office cards than a cute mini file folder?  I think not! I started with an A2 card base, punching a tab on one side, then trimming the opposite side of the card to build my file.  If you're looking for exact measurements for creating the tabs,  this is the tutorial  I took my inspiration from. I added a gift card pocket using my Honey Bee Stamps pocket die.  Because of the style of the card, I put the interior panel for the note on the front side of the card and the gift card pocket on the back.   I kept the design simple using patterned paper scraps, rounding...

When I get stuck creatively I will turn to building backgrounds. My go-to background technique is ink blending.  Ink-blended backgrounds create a lot of versatility in my stash.  If you've been with me a while you know I draw pen and ink trees, nearly every one of my trees is done on an ink-blended background.  I also use these backgrounds for building cards and die-cutting.   Today I'm sharing some of the color combos I've experimented with recently.  All of these blends were created on sheets of 6 x 9 inch watercolor paper, created by cutting the Canson sheets in half.  I blend on any number of paper, but when I know I'm going to use heavy water I opt for a watercolor paper or mixed media paper that can take the wet medium.   Color Combo #1: Chipped Saphire Pine Needles Cracked Pistachio I ink-blended this trio and then splattered clean water over top.  I like the dark rings around the water spots so I will splatter my water and let ...

I thought we'd start the week by talking about inspiration and where to find more ideas.  Back a couple of weeks ago I talked about being inspired by Mindy Egan and her Abstract Art for Clean & Simple Cards . I really fell in love with this technique and have made several cards with this technique.  After I'd created a few abstract designs I went down the Pinterest rabbit hole.  I dropped abstract cards in the search bar and found tons of inspiration for layout ideas and color combs.   Pulling inspiration from somewhere other than your own art niche can bring to light different color combinations, new ideas for design elements, and even new techniques.  While my main focus is on creating cards, I draw inspiration from fabrics, photography, watercolor, tile, home decor, and so many other places.   For this card, I drew color and design inspiration from a  business card design  I saw on Pinterest.  To start my design I opted for...

This is a bit of a goldilocks and the three ink pads kind of story.  When I first started using Copic markers I didn't own a Copic-safe ink pad. I needed to try a few different pads to find my favorite one.  I've tried four brands and found a fave, but there are several options on the market.  Let's talk about the ones I've tried and where I landed with my favorite. My go-to black ink before getting to Copics was VersaFine Onyx Black.  This is still my first love, but it's not great for Copic coloring.  It is however the best for stamping sentiments.  That said this was the shade of black I compared everything to.  There is nothing wrong with any of the Copic-safe inks I'm going to talk about.  They're all great options.   My first Copic safe ink was the Simon Says Intense Black.  This ink is Copic safe and worked well with my Copic coloring, but of all the black pads this was my least favorite.  For me it was not black enough...

Watercolor is a technique I love, but it's a challenging technique that I'm always learning.  The only thing I know for sure is no matter how many times you work with watercolor you will never get the exact same results twice. I used the same technique for this Floral Fantasy card that I did when creating the peonies in the Technique Tried - Watercoloring Floral Focal Point post.  What I learned while watercoloring this image was that adding shading was a bit more challenging.  This image has a lot of details drawn in by the illustrator.  By heat embossing the image, I created a lot more nooks and crannies to paint.  I feel like this image will lend itself to coloring more easily without the heat embossing. The end result made for a pretty card, but I wouldn't use this technique with this image again.  In the future, I would stamp and color with watercolor or Copics, or I would heat emboss it in a metallic for a clean and simple elegant effect.  The ...

I have an unhealthy way of dealing with stress.  I shop.  I don't just shop for anything I shop for card-making supplies.  While cruising the shops as one does I came upon these fantastic balloon dies!  I had to snag them and the match stamp set.  The moment I saw them I knew exactly what would happen when they arrived in my studio, there would be a scene card filled with clouds!  I built several scenes with these balloons.   When I started the balloon card project I  really had no intention of using the grassy hill stencils.  I had a vision of clouds and balloons, nothing more.  As I blended my rainbow of clouds I decided the scene would not be complete without a bit of green.  I made backgrounds before I created my balloons.  In the end, I liked the cards with the grass better than the single background I made without.   When I talk about shopping you stash I mean it.  I know there are many makers who want...

It's good to revisit old techniques. I often get caught up in what's trendy and new and forget about old favorites.  Watercoloring with heat embossing is something I've done off and on throughout my decades of card making.   I stamped this image in VersaFine black ink, onto watercolor paper and added clear embossing powder over top.  I've found using black ink and clear embossing powder will get you the best black embossing.  Black embossing powder is much fussier and less reliable.   The heat embossing technique creates a nearly foolproof way to watercolor an image.  The heat embossing creates a resist that builds wells for color to settle into.  For these lilies, I was able to paint all the petals without waiting for areas to dry because the embossing kept the petals from bleeding into each other.   I stamped my sentiment from a combination of Simon Says Stamp and Avery Elle stamp sets.  To complete the card, I trimmed the p...

I love a good clean and simple Copic-colored card. No scene, no special techniques, just some awesome markers, and a clean stamped image.  For this card, I pulled Mae Mouse from Honey Bee Stamps out of my stash, along with the Defined Words from Mama Elephant.  The cute little pencil is from the Waffle Flower Teacher set.  Mae comes with a number of cute accessories, but no pencil so I had to do a bit of searching to find the right one to pair with her. Mae Mouse is stamped in my favorite Copic safe ink from Gina K.  I love Gina K's Amalgam ink.  I've tried a few others, but hers seems to be the blackest black in my opinion.  I also use this ink for watercoloring and colored pencils.  In order to put the pencil in Mae's hand, I had to do a bit of masking.  I created a partial mask that would cover just the area I needed.  When I create a partial mask for a small area like this I usually opt for a post-it note.  I make sure to stamp on t...

I choose this as today’s topic because sometimes it can feel like there is a bit of an unintentional message when it comes to creating and brand exclusivity.  Many makers we follow for inspiration are on design teams or create for specific brands.  Their goal is to promote new product releases.  If you’re a content creator for a brand or are on design teams you have to create cards that fit the parameters of those brands.  If your goal is to get recognized and get onto a design team, then Keep creating brand-exclusive cards that showcase your unique style.  That said, let's get into the topic at hand - mixing brands.   The above card is Picket Fence Studios , Honey Bee Stamps , and Sizzix Mixing brands on a card is a lot like cooking dinner or mixing a good cocktail.  Consider this post as your permission to mix and match all the brands in your stash.  I've been making cards for over two decades.  When I started making cards stamps were ...

I've been watching Kelly's video for somewhere around six years. Kelly is the reason I ended up in the Copic marker cult.  Yes, I said cult, all in jest of course.  I've watched her color amazing scene card after scene card.  Eventually, I drank the cool-aid and bought the markers, but I digress.  We're here to talk about the cards and the inspiration. Last week Kelly shared the video 3 Cards with 1 Stamp Set and I was inspired to play with my various coffee stamp sets.  I also pulled Copic markers in some similar fall shades.  While I used multiple stamp sets, if you check out Kelly's video you'll see the inspiration shine through.   For the first card, I opted for a horizontal layout.  I started with kraft cardstock and the Tim Holtz Quilted 3D embossing folder.  Once embossed, I lightly ink blended Vintage Photo Distress Ink over the entire panel, then took the Ground Espresso pad and swiped it over the top.  If you use a ligh...