Vibrant Honeycombs

This is a fun and simple card that showcases the rich, vibrant colors you can achieve with PanPastels. To achieve this look, stamp the Honeycomb ATS using Clear Pigment Ink, then gently rub the pastels over the ink, blending each color into the next as you go. 

The sentiment, bee and flowers are heat embossed in black, and then painted with Sparkle Silk and Gold Silk. Then the Gold Silk is splattered around to look like honey. 

Don't forget to make the inside of your card and the matching envelope just as beautiful! Your recipient will be wowed by your attention to detail.

Supplies List

• Stamps: Hey Honey, Honeycomb ATS, Pretty Petals
• Inks: Clear Pigment Ink
• Cardstock: Whip Cream
• Coloring Tools: Gold Silk, Sparkle Silk, Black Licorice Embossing Powder, PanPastels
• Adhesives: Journey Craft Glue, Journey Foam Squares
• Tools: Journey Heat Gun, Media Tray

To purchase these supplies and so much more, visit my FSJ store front. 

Do Small Things With Great Love

I'm definitely ready for spring and I felt like creating a little slice of sunshine on this dreary, grey day. The bold pop of orange on this otherwise monochromatic card fills the bill! Both the background flowers and the butterfly are embossed in Black Licorice, and the butterfly is then colored with PanPastels. I just adore the sentiments in the Small Things stamp set. The modern font keeps it feeling fresh.

I cut out an extra forward wing for the butterfly, and curled it with my Crease Tool. I then adhered it to the body with a Mini Glue Dot, and placed a double thick layer of Journey Foam Squares behind the curve of the wing to ensure that it stays popped up even through mailing.

I diluted Sparkle Silk with a few drops of water and painted the flower petals and wings to add a pale shimmer. This really makes the colors pop! A drop shadow beneath the flower petals gives the background extra dimension.

Supplies List

• Stamps: Small Things, Pretty Petals
• Inks: Clear Pigment Ink
• Cardstock: Whip Cream, Black Licorice
• Coloring Tools: PanPastels, Sparkle Silk, Black Licorice Embossing Powder
• Adhesives: Journey Craft Glue, Journey Foam Squares, Mini Glue Dots

To purchase these supplies and so much more, visit my FSJ store front. 

Gimme Some Sugar, Sugar!

Here's a non-traditional anniversary card that I made for the special guy in my life, using his favorite colors. He has a beautiful framed mosaic piece of art that inspired me. This card features the skull images from the Gimme Sugar stamp set by Fun Stampers Journey, and background images from Viva Los Muertos. All those yummy layers sparkle with lots of rhinestones and Silks.

I also made another version with a different color scheme and layout, which would make a fabulous Valentine's Day card.

Supplies List

• Stamps: Gimme Sugar ATS, Viva Los Muertos
• Dies: Journey Rectangles, Heart-Felt
• Inks: Black Licorice True Fusion Ink, Clear Pigment Ink
• Cardstock: Whip Cream, Black Licorice, Sweet Berry, Candle Apple, River Stone, Cranberry Crisp
• Coloring Tools: Journey Color Burst Pencils, Sparkle Silk, Whip Cream Embossing Powder
• Embellishments: Black Licorice Twine, Journey Sequins Pink World, Cut Rhinestones
• Adhesives: Journey Craft Glue, Journey Foam Squares, Mini Glue Dots
  
  To purchase these supplies and so much more, visit my FSJ store front. 

Crazy Color Challenge

My Fun Stampers Journey team, Inking The Way, holds a weekly Color Sketch challenge and this particular challenge was tough! Here's our inspiration photo:

The challenge called for using five colors: Whip Cream, Oatmeal Cookie, Huckleberry Fusion, Sweet Berry, and Tangerine Tango. Beautiful as a fashion statement, but can I translate it to paper? Here's my best shot!

I embossed the flowers from the Pretty Petals hostess stamp set, and then colored them with Journey Color Splash watercolor pencils on Color Splash watercolor paper. This stamp set does have coordinating dies, but I didn't want a white border so I fussy cut each piece with my Details Pro Shears. 

I created a faux picture frame with the Journey Rectangles die set, and added some extra foliage with the Detailed Foliage die set. The brilliant blue hue of the Huckleberry Fusion cardstock adds an unexpected twist to this tropical motif. I'm sending this little piece of sunshine to a friend who's been feeling a little down.

Supplies List

• Stamps: Pretty Petals
• Dies: Journey Rectangles, Detailed Foliage
• Inks: Clear Pigment Ink
• Cardstock: Whip Cream, Black Licorice, Huckleberry Fusion, Oatmeal Cookie, Color Splash Watercolor Sheets
• Coloring Tools: Color Splash Watercolor Pencils, Sparkle Silk, Whip Cream Embossing Powder
• Adhesives: Journey Craft Glue, Journey Foam Squares, Mini Glue Dots

To purchase these supplies and so much more, visit my FSJ store front. 

Copper Trophies

Growing up in rural Idaho, my father hunted to feed our family, not for sport, but he has kept a few of the best trophies from his hunts to decorate the walls in the den. So when I saw these wonderful trophy heads in the Great Outdoors stamp set, I knew I had to make a birthday card for my favorite hunter.

I used Copper Embossing Powder on Oatmeal Cookie cardstock, and then shaded each animal using Color Burst pencils, being careful to put emphasis on the eyes and noses so they don't get lost in the unique patterns of these stamps. 

The birthday sentiment is cut from Dark Roast cardstock, using the die from the Designer Frames die set. I cut it out, then smooshed it into a Clear Pigment ink pad, then into Copper Embossing Powder and heat set the powder. I repeated this process several times until I got a thick layer of embossing that resembles beaten copper.

Supplies List

• Stamps: The Great Outdoors
• Dies: Designer Frames
• Inks: Clear Pigment Ink
• Cardstock: Whip Cream, Dark Roast
• Coloring Tools: Journey Color Burst Pencils, Copper Embossing Powder
• Adhesives: Journey Craft Glue, Journey Foam Squares, Mini Glue Dots

To purchase these supplies and so much more, visit my FSJ store front.