I love Crafter’s Companion cardmaking collections, and I selected the Watercolor Christmas for crafting my cards this year. The paper color palette has such a soft feeling, with winter foliage, snowflakes, and woodland critters – all celebrating the Christmas season. The stamps have different scene builders like a little tree to decorate, a banner, presents, and a sled. But the kicker for me is the idea of watercoloring the stamps. It’s really kind of a “faux” watercoloring, using the Crafters’ Companion Aqua Markers. I just love how easy they are to use and…
I broke out this beautiful collection on a cool sunny day and really got that “fall feeling”. Fall is definitely my favorite season – I’m a cool weather gal. Plus it’s craft festival season in Ohio, and I love gathering inspiration and treating myself to a warm funnel cake! The paper in this collection is what sold me, but all the elements are so usable. In a couple days I crafted about a dozen inspirational cards to send to people who could use a hug in the mail. I created a faux watercolor look…
While crafting all these pretty cards, I have been learning new techniques as I go, and the latest is inking up a background to create a colorful base for stamping and collage. I’m usually a more of a precise crafter, so I had a lot of fun trying this freeform technique. You can also check out my last post on cardmaking techniques – edge dies. One way to ink up a background is to use water based ink pads and a blending tool to rub on the color. Some examples are Spectrum Noir Harmony Water Reactive Ink Pads…
I “picked” these new 2-sided rose and dahlia flower dies by Crafters Companion and had some fun crafting these cute cards for late summer. These dies create layered flowers and leaves, and have a nifty trick of cutting on both sides, so all four layers can be cut in my die cutting machine all at once. They have such a cool paint-by-numbers, dimensional look! I inherited a big stack of Close to My Heart cardstock years ago, and this project was the perfect chance to use all the fabulous colors! I also found the weight of the…