I recently had a question about a card I used with a similar sketch and after looking back at my Splitcoaststampers Gallery found that I’ve used this numerous times. It is, in fact, one of my favorite ways to feature some rich and lovely designer series papers (DSP) that I’m afraid would overwhelm a card.
I often also use vellum with it since it gives a nice, ethereal look under a richly colored frame.
This card features the recently retired Perennial Lavender DSP along with the Extraordinary Flora Bundle. If you are familiar with my work, this is a lot of DSP for me though most of it is the neutral Crumb Cake gingham. As I said earlier, I prefer to use the richer colors is smaller amounts.
I used the floral stamp with white craft ink on the vellum. I don’t remember that it took too much time to dry. The greeting and floral stamp were also stamped with white and embossed with white on Crumb Cake. Coloring was done with a bit of Blender Pen and finished up with Watercolor Pencils.
It was fun to roll back one corner of the check to give another peek at the back.
The nested arch dies are perfect for making a nice skinny frame though I’ve used rectangles to make other versions of this sketch. I’ll have to collect the other cards I’ve done with this into another gallery.
I bet you have some papers in your stash that would work with this sketch! Go ahead and give it a try!
For Splitcoaststampers Color Challenge; Blending Brush, Exposed Brick Embossing Folder, Sanding Block, Gears & Textures Dies, Lifetime of Love Bundle, Silver Embossing Powder; Pecan Pie Night of Navy, Very Vanilla, Silver Metallic papers, True Blue Florals DSP
Today the artists from the Around the World on Wednesday crew are enjoying a little sand!
We are left to our own devices to decide how and I didn’t have too much trouble deciding that I would get out my sanding block.
Awhile back I experimented with using sanding blocks to roughen up some metallic paper when I was using the Gears & Textures bundle and wanting the gears to look worn instead of shiny and new. This week I went back down that road to try some other ideas I’ve had rumbling around in my head. One idea was mixing the feminine scallops from the Scalloped Blooms Bundle with the more masculine Gears & Textures.
I had trouble getting the Barely Blush and Gray Granite in the card to come through right in this photo but I love the way they worked together with the Earthen Toned Metallic – in real life!
I lightly brushed Gray Granite ink onto the Gray Granite layer (3 7/8″ x 5 1/8″)before embossing it with the Floral Spray Embossing Folder. That piece is layered onto a 4″ x 5 1/4″ piece of Barely Blush before I roughened up the blush with my fingernail. I gave the edges another quick brushing of Gray Granite ink before rolling one corner and attaching it to a A2 (4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″) Barely Blush card.
The scallops/flowers are die cut from Barely Blush with the Scalloped Blooms dies and brushed ever so slightly with the same color of ink.
Most of the gear pieces were sanded as loose pieces but the chain was done in the negative piece that was left after making the die cuts. If you look closely you can see that the edges of the chain are more defined with the original Earthen Toned color. The others are more worn appearing at the edges.
Here is one that started with a piece of shiny gold metallic paper.
I didn’t know what this would look like until I created the background piece but once I saw the way the pattern and colors work together I thought I would turn it into a card that was a little sophisticated and celebratory, like for a older couples wedding or maybe a retirement. You can see in the close-up at the top of the post that the piece shows gold that is roughened but not sanded off, a silver-ish color beneath it and then Basic Gray which is where I sanded down to white, uncoated paper that didn’t resist the ink like the gold and silver did.
I think it is good to vary the width of your layers if you use more than 2. The Basic Gray border is 1/8″ while the unhanded gold metallic border is 1/16″. Actual Measurements: 2 1/2″ x 3 7/8 of embossed pattern, 2 3/4″ x 4 1/8″ of Basic Gray; 2 7/8″ x 4 1/4″ of unsanded Gold Metallic Paper
When I have a design that won’t have an even border around the card I usually try to line it up so that the distance from the top and the sides of the card is the same with more space on the bottom. This time, since I knew that the words would extend towards the right edge, I made sure the left, top and bottom were equal distance and there was a little more room on the right.
I like mixing the die cut words with stamped words from the Words & Wishes Bundle.
I often just barely snip off the corners when I have a hand trimmed greeting such as “wishes”, just to slightly soften the edges. This time I also used my sanding block to smooth all the edges of this piece down. I’ll be using that trick again!
I hope you try sanding some of your metallic paper scraps at your craft desk! Here are some ideas to keep in mind as you experiment:
There are lots of tools you can use to sand, even emory boards, I found a nice sized, very slightly cushioned, block at the hardware store for just a few dollars.
Try different types of metallic or coated paper. You may find multiple layers and can experiment with how many layers you actually want to go through.
Think about what colors of ink you might like to apply. Something darker to emphasize the metal color or maybe something complimentary? Always brush loose paper/dust off your sanded piece so that you don’t transfer the paper dust to your ink pad. You may not realize it at first but your sanding block may accumulate dust too so it a good idea to brush that off a bit if you can.
Vary the way you swipe the sanding block across the paper or die cut. You will get different looks with straight swipes compared to using a circular motion.
You can apply ink with blending brushes, daubers, or even directly from the ink pad.
Save the negative from making die cuts and place the cut pieces back into the negative before sanding to get a different look. This preserves the metallic look at the edges, sanding more on the top surface. Without the negative you usually get the most of the metallic coating off of the edge.
For variety, use both sanded and unsanded metallics in your final card design.
Now it’s time to check out what kind of sand the rest of our time got into. Next up is Bree Renwick:
Thanks so much for stopping by today. Please note that there is a gallery page index linked at the top of my blog. You can find samples from various Stampin’ Up sets and sometimes even techniques by checking the index. Chris
Peaceful Days Hybrid Embossing Folder, Starstruck Embossing Folder, Night of Navy Gingham Ribbon, Sweet Bugs Dies (tiny butterfly), Label Framelit dies, Fragrant Layers Bundle
I cut the framed flowers die three times for this card: once in Basic Black, once in blended Basic Gray and once in blended Cherry Cobbler. The take a pick tool was really appreciated as I put the pieces together.
The designer paper and embossed Cloud Cover metallic paper are since retired though they really show off this 2025-27 In Color.
I just had to try this bundle with a favorite Soft Seafoam/ Granny Apple Green color combination.
This used one of the biggest stencils I could die cut and it would make a great, easy graduation card. This one uses my high school colors: Red & Gray (Actually I think I just cleaned off my black blending brush.)for the Duluth East Greyhounds. It’s only been 50 years!!! The waves are for the waterfront, near where our graduation ceremony was held. Of course any embossing folder or even none at all would work.
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I wasn’t sure I would make use of the really big balloon dies but they are turning out to be some of my favorites. This simple Highland Heather balloon was lightly shaded with ink and embossed with a celebration message – I was thinking graduation or something. I chose silver to accentuate the iridescence in the background paper but I also think gold embossing would have worked well with the Crushed Curry in the design.
.I did the card above for an Inspiration Challenge over on Splitcoaststampers. I was inspired by this dress on the Anthropologie site. It reminded me so much of the Beautiful Gallery designer series paper. You know. One of those pieces you can’t cut into until you really know what you are going to do with it. I used the other side for the main part of the card with just a bit of the print on the side. The white space – or in this case blue – makes the border and the single flower, fussy cut from the rest, stand out. The die cut words are subtle.
The bright one: Blends with a bit of pencil.
The subtle one…Blends.
The slightly less subtle one. Blends with a bit of white pencil.
A favorite color combination that goes back decades for me: Red, white and bright greens on Crumb Cake. The greetings for these last four cards are from Lovely Arrangements. The scallop is from the retired Hand Penned Petals Bundle.
These are reposted from my old Typepad blog. Can you tell I had a lot of fun playing with my first set of nested framelits and Big Shot? These label dies are much like Stampin’ Up!’s current Beautifully Celebrated Dies so you may find the ideas to be interchangeable. The Typepad blog noted on my watermark no longer exists.
I splurged on Stampin’ Up!’s Occasions Mini pre-order, even express shipped it so I could play with it during my recent 3-day weekend. Needless to say I was impressed with what I saw in the catalog, but I’ve had even more fun than I expected playing with the new Big Shot “toys” and coordinating stamps.
Paper Player’s challenge this week is to make a Christmas card out of non-Christmas stamps and colors. That challenge combined with my new box of goodies led to this:
Apothecary Art is a new set of 6 stamps that I thought might be a little more coloring than even I enjoy, but it really does color up quickly. I had a whole page stamped on So Saffron, colored and ready to cut up with the new Framelit Labels Collection in no time. I used the same framelit to cut the label as I did to cut the opening into the front of the card. This gave me a sort of dry embossed frame on the card in which to set my colored label.The roses were colored with Regal Rose and Blushing Bride; the leaves with Pear Pizazz and Lucky Limeade. The picture may not have caught it but Dazzling Details adds shimmer to the roses and border on the ribbon.
The Pear Pizazz label cut out of the first card ended up as a background layer for my next label image, after running it through the Snow Burst embossing folder. Once again the label is stamped on So Saffron. Coloring is with the white gel pen and Pear Pizazz with Dazzling Details. Several of the Petite Pairs greetings will work on these labels if you offset them.
White Christmas Flowers with Pear Pizzazz and So Saffron.
With tiny, tiny pearls…
Take it to Heart stamp set(SU)
Pursuit of Happiness stamp set (SU)
Also uses Tiny Tags w/punch(SU) and Finial Press embossing folder(SU).
Wisteria Sympathy. Also uses Loving Thoughts (SU).
This also uses a 2012 designer paper, Twitterpated.
This features white craft ink stamped on Night of Navy cardstock. Accent is a die cut (and embossed) butterfly.
So Saffron with a little Pear Pizzazz. Lightly sanded the DSP after embossing. I loved this paper as it reminded me a bit of the wallpaper in my room while I was in high school.
A little bit more current look using a recent embossing folder plus flowers and a greeting from Fragrant Layers. I was using the sketch from the Wisteria Sympathy card above. There is sanding on both embossed layers. Sanding the Night of Navy DSP shows the white core of the paper and works best on monochromatic patterns. Lightly sanding the Silver Metallic papers gives a softer, aged patina.
Today I’m celebrating the Turtle-y Cute Collection and Designer Series Paper(DSP) with ideas and card making tips you can make work for many different kinds of characters.
This cute and kind of silly collection of turtles came out a little over a year ago and went on Stampin’ Up!’s Last Chance list this past April. I was first introduced to them at Onstage last March, when I attended an evening stamp party.
I did a post last year before the Typepad blogs ended and I am incorporated those cards plus a few more here to show a little of what you can do with this suite, particularly the DSP. As I write this the paper is discounted at $7.50 (US) for 12 sheets and the stamp and die bundle is also significantly discounted. The DSP pack alone will make many cards!
I suspect the paper will be gone by the time many read this but I hope you will find ideas that you can use for other character based papers and craft supplies that you might have or come across.
First off, a classic birthday card using one of my favorite DSP card sketches and techniques.
I love to create these cards with corner borders, especially when I have diagonal stripe or plaid. I’e also started keeping a stash of quarter front or slightly smaller pieces of card stock brushed slightly with a bit of blue, purple or green ink, whatever is ready to be cleaned from my brush. This simple little bit of background color can really make a fussy cut image seem a little more at home on the background.
This beachy turtle gets a background treated with a coordinating embossing folder.
Here’s how to get some extra mileage out of your DSP when making corners:
I start with a 12″ square piece of DSP but feel free to try this with another size.
Choose a width for your border. I’m using 3/4″ here but sometimes I use a half inch. Start your cut 3/4″ down from the top edge and 3/4″ in from the right edge. Cut until you reach 3/4″ in from the bottom edge of your DSP.
Lift up your ruler/cutting blade and turn your paper 1 quarter turn to the right so that the placed you finished the cut is now at the top.
Repeat until you have cut out a square with a frame. This works wonderfully with the Turtle-y cute DSP because you will have pieces to trim your card and lots of turtles and their accessories for your cards.
I did a video on You Tube (several years ago that allowed me to get 13-14 corner borders from one 12×12 sheet.
Some time ago I did a video for the frame cut out technique . For some reason I can’t link it here but it’s not hard to find on my little YouTube channel. It’s got a little snowman with another corner border.
And, those partial images on the edge of your DSP? There are lots of uses for them.
I did a trio of the Nature themed turtles along the side of this card. You could punch or die cut them or create windows for them to peek through as I did here.
There was a little more image available for this banjo picking turtle so I put him on a circle with the same blending brush background.
Sometimes a simple border is enough.
Or play around with word banners. This card makes use of the stamp set for the turtle and dies for the hat and banjo.
I colored this turtle with my travel coloring kit: some pale green and yellow Blends Markers plus the watercolor pencils (without using any water. I find using pencils quite relaxing and I have so much more control over the shading.
I also like to pull out other products I have. This card incorporates some dies from Charming Duck Pond, a retired product. Maybe you have something similar that you can use to build a unique setting for your characters.
Arch Trifold: Maybe you can recognize die cuts from Sweet Bug? I tried a few of the greens found in the DSP for this and them figured out that I liked the way the new 2026-2027 In Color, Peaceful Pine, brings the different greens of the turtles together. I inked the (coordinating but since retired) embossing folder with Peaceful Pine before embossing the card stock in order to emphasize the texture.
One more that I made with one of the turtles that I colored while on Onstage 2025.
Here are a few more turtles in one of my favorite fun fold cards. Some call it a tunnel card, others refer to it as a theater card. Regardless, I think it’s a great way to use the roughly 4″x6″ background scenes that you find in some DSP packs.
Often when I do these tunnel cards I keep the card front very simple like I did with just a little paper and a greeting from Banner Sayings:
Here’s another with the grilling turtle using greetings from Relaxing Waterside.
Basically, a tunnel card is two cards, one layered inside of the other. Cutting the inside layer smaller to leave a border is optional. The inside layer is scored to divide it into 4ths and a shape is die cut into the middle two sections. Any scene that you want to appear inside the tunnel is stamped or adhered before attaching the inside card to the outside card. It’s always a fun card to try anytime you have characters. More details than this probably requires another post.
Can you believe it? I’m back hopping with the wonderfully talented Around the World on Wednesday Blog Hop group.
You’ve probably come here from our fearless leader, Angie MacKenzie’s blog. I’m Chris Smith and if you are relatively new to following this hop I haven’t been around much recently. I’ve had to rebuild my blog at the same time that I am re-envisioning my stamping as that of more of a hobby/”sort of but not exactly retired” demonstrator. From my view it’s kind of the best of both worlds. I still get to preview all the yummy new stuff but the old favorites are out of storage and back on my craft room shelves too!
Anyway, I really wanted to get in on this hop because the theme is Let’s Celebrate and one of my favorite things in the new catalog the Balloon Festoon Bundle. In particular, the dies! I actually shopped around before ordering to make sure I couldn’t find balloon dies I liked better. I wanted classic balloons, not gimmicks, and in many sizes and boy do these deliver!
I’ve been having so much fun playing and I want to share my favorite way – so far – of using the Balloon Festoon Dies, and bundle: creating masks or stencils and using them with the blending brushes.
My initial masks were just card from sized pieces of vellum each with one balloon cut out of each of them. I had a couple of problems. First, I quickly bent the area where the balloon tie is so I started adding a piece of regular or wash tape right under the tie part of the die cut so that this held up to my brush a little better. Second, I made each mask a full 6″x6″. My brush had strayed beyond the edge of the mask a few times and I needed to sure fire way to prevent that. Now they look like this:
As you can see they do get inky! Between colors I usually wipe off any excess ink with a tissue, just until the tissue doesn’t pick much up any more. Here is the card that I made with blue/green mask:
These balloons get along with SO many other sets! I used the little Birds from and Cutest Crew Bundle along with the new Words & Wishes. I used Azure Afternoon and Lemon Lime Twist on these balloons and the “Happy” die cut.
I love using a bit of the Blends Alcohol Markers to give a quick wash of color and then do my shading with the watercolor pencils. Did you notice how sharp the pencils are – I’m taking a colored pencil class and I’m learning how much more you can do with really sharp pencils! Here are a few more birds on the inside of the card:
One more note about using these balloon masks or stencils – because I really want you to have fun using these. I know I mentioned wiping off excess ink between colors. While this IS important when you are trying to keep your colors crisp and distinct there are always times to break the rules when you are doing art, right? So if you don’t clean them off every time you still might get something you love.
This card is made from balloons I did with the smallest balloon stencil. I was cleaning off a bunch of brushes and I didn’t wipe the stencil between colors. Once I realized I forgot to wipe off the stencil I thought I was going to end up with a bunch of muddy balloons but it was quite the opposite. The colors seemed to take on each other and they became so harmonious.
I found a piece of Beach Boardwalk Designer Series Paper that set the balloons off perfectly, drew some strings and stamped a tiny birthday greeting from Lovely Arrangements. Ribbon is the new In Color, Barely Blush.
Enough from me. Next up is the uber talented, Jan Clothier.
This month’s Around the World on Wednesday Blog hop Theme is This or That: Wrapped in Gratitude taking special inspiration from the beautiful creations of team member, Sharon Burkert.
I chose to take inspiration from this colorful Halloween card of Sharon’s that features the Party Alphabet Dies:
The dies are new to me and I thought it would be fun to use the pumpkin and vine theme with them. Since I’m going for a fall gratefulness theme I worked with the big dies and Beautiful Pumpkin Bundle. I also used the Gathering Moments fall images and even pulled in a tag and greeting from the Layers of Beauty bundle. These are big dies, big enough to actually stamp on the die cuts. There are also so big that I knew my card would be a slim line card just to get the word “THANK” on it.
I started by stamping the rather fall like botanical images from Gathering Moments along one long side of a sheet of Very Vanilla card stock. I used Old Olive, Pecan Pie, Berry Burst. I wanted to pull in a darker echo of Sharon’s Petunia Pop and I like the way this puts a little twist on the more traditional colors. There is a bit of Cajun Craze with the mushroom image too.
The next time I try this I might just die cut the letters first and then stamp as I needed to add more images to the die cuts anyway.
Once I had the stamping on the letters done I put them all into Birch Wood embossing folder to add a bit of texture.
After trying a few embossed designs on the Pecan Pie layer, I decided this would look better just plain. I used a ruler to make a straight ledge to line up the letters and stated with the “A” in the middle and work out to the edges. After the fact I decided to push this a little more in the shabby chic direction by lightly brushing the letters with just a touch of Pecan Pie and roughing up the corners.
I tried adding a Pumpkin Pie or Cajun Craze pumpkin but in the end decided to play up the Berry Burst a little more. The image is stamped in Cajun Craze on Berry Burst card stock and then it was brushed with a little more Berry Burst after die cutting it. I like the vintage velvety look this gave it and actually ordered this bundle because I thought it would be fun to do some non-traditional pumpkins. The pumpkin vines/leaves were ie cut with Beautiful Pumpkins Dies out of Old Olive card stock and them brushed with a little Pecan Pie around the edges. Before attaching the Pecan Pie layer (3 1/4″ x 8 1/2″) to Berry Burst (3 3/8″ x 8 5/8″) I brushed those edges too.
Before attaching this all to the 3 5/8″ x 8 7/8″ Old Olive card baseI tied some linen thread around the THANKS layer and added a “you” tag made with the Layered with Beauty Bundle.
Here is a close up of the pumpkin:
This was a really fun first go at these alphabet dies and I look forward to playing with them again soon.
I’m trying to prep for two back to back trips amid the uncertainty of US air travel right now so I ended up skipping my planned second card. – I was going tweak the colors for a less shabby chic look. But that means you get to move on to see what you will see with the others on this hop. I can’t wait to see what Teri West has in store for us.
From Chris Smith's Ink Pad 