NEW Create-A-Card Card Base Dies

Happy Friday everyone! Crafter's Companion just launched a brand new line of dies. Die'sire Create-A-Card Card Base Dies! They are FANTASTIC! You gotta check 'em out. 6 new sets of dies that cut a perfect shaped card base! YAY!

Here's a fun card I made using the Ruth Create-A-Card Card Base Die.

I LOVE this shape! It can be used for so many crafting styles. As you can see, it worked perfectly for a "dude" card.

I die-cut the base card using Crafter's Companion Kraft Cardstock.  I used the Just For Men 6" x 6" Checkerplate embossing folder to add texture to the bottom of the card. To finish the top edge of the textured area, I cut super thin strip of paper from the Just For Men 6" x 6" Paper Pad Urban Collection paper pad and adhered. I also added a thin strip at the top of the card edge. Don't you just love how small bits of detail like that really add to the design?!

I went to town using a bunch of goodies from the Just for Men Colletion by Sara Davies. What a fun card for that special "dude" ;) All the cogs and gears are die-cut and embossed with the best silver mirror cardstock on the planet! (shhhhh! It's from Crafter's Companion...and is coming soon! But you didn't hear that from me.) Some fun stamping and distressing. "Happy" is actually die-cut through the card front with a piece of designer paper from the Urban Collection Pad adhered on the inside of card -- to the back of the card front. Then I die-cut a single panel of the same size die from kraft cardstock and adhered the back of the card font... to give the inside a professional finish.

I die-cut 1 layer of the smaller size "Ruth" die, from a piece of Just for Men designer paper by placing the "non-cutting edge" of the die at the edge of the paper. After die-cutting, I lightly sponged distress ink before adhering to the inside of the card. We don't see a lot of crafters posting the inside of a card...so I wanted to make sure YOU know that the inside does matter. Bringing in some elements of the card front to the inside of the card really makes it "Epic" ;)

I'm loving all the new goodies from Crafter's Companion. And...there's more to come...just sayin ;)

Keep up to date with all the latest news on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,  Instagram, YouTube, Blog, and sign up for the emailed newsletter on the blog!.

Later dude! lol

Crafter's Companion Die'sire Create-A-Card Card Base Die - Ruth
Crafter's Companion Just For Men 6" x 6" Embossing Folder - Checkerplate
Crafter's Companion Just For Men Special Birthday Metal Dies
Crafter's Companion Just For Men Cogs and Gears Metal Dies
Crafter's Companion  Just For Men Urban Graffiti Stamp Set
Crafter's Companion Just For Men Street Wise Stamp Set
Crafter's Companion Just For Men Rock Star Stamp Set 
Crafter's Companion Just For Men 6" x 6" Paper Pad Urban Collection
Crafter's Companion Together Forever Luxury Matt Mirror Card (coming soon!)
Crafter's Companion Kraft Cardstock
Die-cutting & Embossing Machine
Distress Inks Chipped Sapphire, Walnut Stain
Distress Archival Ink Ground Espresso, Hickory Smoke
Ranger Archival Ink Plum
Ink Blending Tool
Adhesive
Dimensional Foam Adhesive

Gift Card Holder Tutorial

Hey hey my crafty friends! I've got a fun and EASY tutorial for this cool gift card holder over on the Crafter's Companion USA Blog.

Sometimes we struggle with making cards for the dudes, so I designed this project to work for them too!

BONUS IDEA!
Slip some cash or kids pictures in the pocket, instead of a gift card.


I love that "coffee cup stain" image! Head on over to the Crafter's Companion Blog to see the tutorial and give it a go!

Scruffy Little Kitten Sneak Peek

A fun NEW collection is coming! Scruffy Little Kitten from Crafter's Companion USA. These images are so cute and fun to color! Here's a card I designed using the new Billie set:

Isn't he the best?!!! This new collection is from the creator of the highly-popular Scruffy Little Cat range. There will be 12 new lovable stamp sets - 6 boys and 6 girls -- along with a NEW Papercrafting CD-ROM Collection.

I colored with Spectrum Noir Markers:

• Skin - TN3, FS4, FS2, CR2
• Hair - TN3, TN7
• Pants - EB6, EB2
• Shoes, Hat, Belt and Horse Mane - IG8, IG6, IG4, IG1
• Shirt - IG4, IG1, EB1, Blender
• Horse - EB6, EB2, EB5
• Reds - DR6, CR11, CR5, IG6
• Ground - EB1, EB2
• Cactus - DG3, DG2
• Image Outlining - IG1, IG2

The black and white gingham paper is from the Scruffy Little Cat 6" x 6" Premium Darks Paper Pad. I also used the Starry Eyed Embossing Folder with some red paper, and die-cut & embossed Die'sire Essentials Stars from the same paper. The sentiment is stamped and adhered on a die-cut from Die'sire Scalloped Tags die set.

I painted on some accents of the Brushed Pewter Distress Stain, and added some straw speckles to the ground. I had a few scraps left over, so I decorated the inside of the card. 

Stay tuned! The Scruffy Little Kitten Collection is set to be released at Crafter's Companion USA very very soon!

Supplies:
(Finished card is 6" x 6")
Scruffy Little Kitten Billie Stamp Set
Scruffy Little Cat 6" x 6" Premium Dark Paper Pad
Spectrum Noir Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
Crafter's Companion Kraft Cardstock
Die'sire Essentials Stars Die Set
Die'sire Decorative Dies - Scalloped Tags
Angelica & Adams Embossing Folder - Starry Eyed
Spectrum Noir Markers
Memento Ink
Red and Black Cardstock
Foam Adhesive
Liquid Adhesive
Die-cutting/Embossing Machine
Twine & Button
Eyelets
Ranger Distress Stain - Brushed Pewter (used to paint on the star badge and a couple other little areas)
Judi Kins Speckles - Straw
Glue Pen

Faux Watercolor Background

Hello crafty friends. Do you have any Refills Inks for your Spectrum Noir Markers? Well if you do...you have GOT get 'em out and use 'em for more than just re-inking your markers. There as sooooo many ways to use them. Like this faux watercolor background. Watercolor "anything" is super popular with stampers and paper crafters right now. I've caught the watercolor bug...in a big way! How about you?

This card was so easy! And I only used 2 refill colors: EB6 and BT5

 

The faux watercolor background technique is done on Spectrum Noir High Gloss Cardstock. The stamping is done with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink. Stamps are from Crafter's Companion Sheena A Little Bit Sketchy Falling Feathers set and Ageing Beautifully set. What great sets..and great for guy cards. 

On the cardbase, I stamped the larger feather with Versamark Ink. The sentiment is stamped and heat embossed in white. Just a reminder...Father's Day is just around the corner. Change the sentiment to say Happy Father's Day. Just sayin'

Check out the Spectrum Noir Blog for loads of ideas using the Spectrum Noir Refill Inks. Have fun!

Supplies:
Spectrum Noir Refill Inks EB6, BT5
Spectrum Noir High Gloss Cardstock
Rubbing Alcohol
Ranger Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool
Crafter's Companion - Sheena's A Little Bit Sketchy Falling Feathers and Aged Beautifully
White Embossing Powder
VersaMark Ink Pad
Die-cutting/Embossing Machine
Heat Embossing Gun
Kraft Mat
Painters Tape
Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink Pad
White, Kraft and blues Cardstock
Pierced Rectangle Die
Twine
Dimensional Foam Adhesive

Totally Dude!

Goooood morning crafty peeps! Today we have a new challenge over at Fresh Brewed Designs.

The Theme:  By the Sea/Summer

You can get all the challenge and prize details over at the Fresh Brewed Designs Blog HERE. Check out this "like totally awesome" surfer dude!

He's a digi stamp from Fresh Brewed Designs -- called Tommy Surfing. The sentiment is also a digi stamp from Fresh Brewed Designs -- called Totally Dude.

Tommy is one cool cat!!! LOL I added some glaze pen to his shades and some Distress Stickles & Dry Rock Candy Glitter on the sand and around the sun.

I really had fun creating this one! I actually used some great designer cardstock that matched the design theme. Yep...I dove into my pile of "special" papers that I've been hoarding. Saved all these years just for this card :) OH...and check this out!!! The yellow cardstock sun layer...I cut that out using my pinking scissors! They worked perfect!!!

Hope you have time to play the challenge with us.

Sunset for Father's Day

Hey bloggers! Have you played our "Masculine" challenge yet this month over at Crafter's Companion? You still have time!

Click HERE  to go directly to the USA Entry Form for the May Challenge. Click HERE to go directly to the UK Entry Form for the May Challenge. Also, at the top of both the USA and UK Facebook Pages, where the Twitter and Pinterest feeds are, there's a tab that says 'Monthly Challenge'. You can click on that to enter as well.

I have another card to share using the Silhouette Highlands set from the Crafter's Companion.

This card has a pocket on the inside for a gift card/movie tickets/picture/etc. I stamped the lattice image with Versamark ink - then did 2nd generation stamping over that, with black ink, using the pine branch image.

The "Happy Father's Day" stamp is from one of my favorite Crafter's Companion Sentimentals Set - Friends and Family. I stamped the trees image with Versamark -- and then stamped the sentiment in black.

To create that beautiful sunset - stamp the mountains image on a piece of plain white printer paper - then trim. This will be used to mask off the mountains when sponging inks for the sunset.

Stamp the mountains image as desired on a piece of cardstock. Place the mask on top of the stamped image and sponge inks to create the sunset. I used a circular motion when sponging. These inks blend soooooo good!

I just held the mask in place to keep it from shifting -- but you could used a couple pieces of washi tape - or even some temporary adhesive on the back of the mask.

Trim the panel  to the desired size and finish stamping all the other images to complete the scene.


Thanks for stopping by!



Supplies:
Stamps - Crafter's Companion Sheena's A Little Bit Scenic - Silhouette Highlands set;
Crafter's Companion Sentimentals - Family and Friends set
Inks - Radiant Neons Electric Yellow, Orange and Coral; Ranger Distress Pumice Stone, Forest Moss and Walnut Stain; Black
Papers - StampinUP! Naturals Ivory Cardstock; Bazzill Black and Green Cardstocks
Misc. - Black Hemp Twine; Large Sponge Daubers; 3D Foam Adhesive

Sunset on the Highlands

I love a good challenge....and this month our challenge at Crafter's Companion is to make a Masculine card (or project). YAY! I love creating guy cards!

Click HERE  to go directly to the USA Entry Form for the May Challenge. Click HERE to go directly to the UK Entry Form for the May Challenge. Also, at the top of both the USA and UK Facebook Pages, where the Twitter and Pinterest feeds are, there's a tab that says 'Monthly Challenge'. You can click on that to enter as well. 

For my "guy" card I used a stamp from Crafter's Companion called Silhouette Highlands. It's from the Sheena's A Little Bit Scenic collection.

To create the sun -- I made a stencil by punching a circle from a piece of scrap paper. Then I cut out a mask of the mountains stamp. Next -- put the mask down on the mountains you have stamped on your cardstock...and then place the circle stencil on top. Then I inked and shaded the sun using 3 colors of Radiant Neon Inks with large sponges. The best part is next...lifting off the stencil and mask to reveal the sun setting behind the mountains! Sooooo cool!

Making a faux wood cardstock base was quick and easy! Here's the before and after pics:

All I did was take the Distress Ink pad directly to the paper (Naturals Ivory CS from StampinUP!)and swipe it down. Do that across the entire card front.

Did you see the other card I made using this same stamp set? You can see it HERE. Oh...and stay tuned...I have 2 more that I made with this set! Yup...I was havin' sooo much fun that day!

I hope you have time to make a few "man or boy" cards this month. They can be for any age ;)


Have a great week!

Supplies:
Stamps - Crafter's Companion Sheena's A Little Bit Scenic - Silhouette Highlands
Ink - Radiant Neons Electric Yellow, Orange and Coral Inks; Ranger Distress Pumice Stone, Forest Moss and Walnut Stain Inks; Archival Black Ink
Paper - StampinUP! Naturals Ivory Cardstock; A Muse Studio Eucalyptus Cardstock; large sponge daubers; 3D Foam Adhesive

Look Deeply Into Nature

Friday...YAY! What are your plans for the weekend? Maybe something creative?

Have you seen the new Radiant Neon Inks that are now available at Crafter's Companion? DA'BOMB! They're soooo cool! Yep...I have 'em all...thank you very much :) I used 3 of the colors to sponge the sun on my card - Electric Yellow, Electric Orange and Electric Coral. I think it turned out beautiful!

I stamped the deer silhouette from the Crafter's Companion Sheena's A Little Bit Scenic Silhouette Highlands set. I just recently added this set to my growing collection. Love it! There are so many images in this set that they barely fit on the index sheet! I kid you not!

The Crafter's Companion 6" X 6" Embossalicious Embossing Folder - Spring Morning worked beautifully for my design. I did cut down by card base a bit to 5 1/2" x 5 1/2". I used Spectrum Noir Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock. This cardstock has an ultra smooth ...almost silky feeling to the touch. The embossed card base feels so rich and luxurious! I love that you can order it in small or large quantities and different sizes.

The sentiment is from Sheena's A Little Bit Sketchy - Poppies and Daisies set and stamped with Delicata Gold Glitz ink. Gorgeous! That's not embossed...but it almost look like it...huh?!!

I have a few more cards designed using these stamps and inks...so stay tuned! Don't forget to check out all the great project our fabulous design team has to share with you on our Crafter's Companion USA Facebook Page and UK Facebook Page. Oh...and our Monthly Challenge page too! Get busy and join in on the fun!


See ya later folks!

Supplies
Stamps: Crafter's Companion Sheena's A Little Bit Scenic Silhouette Highlands; Sheena's A Little Bit Sketchy Poppies and Daisies
Inks: Radiant Neon Electric Yellow, Orange and Coral; Delicata Golden Glitz; Black Archival
Cardstock: Spectrum Noir Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock; Bazzill Black
Other:  6" X 6" Embossalicious Embossing Folder - Spring Morning; Sponge Daubers; gold ribbon from stash