Sunday 11 August 2019

Stencil Card -- A Colorful Life Designs

Hi everyone!

I having been playing with stencils lately and it has reignited a love for them. You can just do so much with them as a creative tool!


I was introduced to A Colorful Life Designs in June, while away at a retreat and the owner was offering a make and take. Of course, I jumped right in and tried, and fell in love.


For the first card, I used the Adorned Frame stencil, to create a Congrats card.




I ink blended using Distress Ink in Victorian Velvet and Distress Oxide in Shaded Lilac, and finished off with a subtle brushing of perfect pearls to add shimmer.

Since the stencil already had the heart shape in the middle, it gave me the idea to remove it to create a shaker card. I had a die almost the same size, so it made for easy work.


Once it was cut out, I trimmed the card base down to size and added my acetate and foam all around. I had the little "love' sentiment laying on my desk from a previous card, and thought it matched well. I filled the center with sequins from Studio Katia, then assembled the pieces. 



I finished off with a die cut sentiment. The 'Congrats' is from Brutus Monroe, it is actually a full Congratulations I just cut down.

For this second card, I used the Layered Fluffy Flowers to create the card base.




This card uses the same ink colours as the first one, but I just used a very light touch. I absolutely love the effect. The centers are Distress Oxide in Hickory Smoke.

I kept the front pretty simple to keep the focus on the flowers. So all it received was a stamp and emboss Happy Birthday sentiment from Hero Arts.


I really like this stencil, as it is actually is a layered one. Three stencils create flowers so the possibilities are endless then!  This set has seen a lot of use in my studio lately!!




I have several more cards to share at a later date, but hope these two inspired you a bit.
Go check out a colorful life designs, you won't be disappointed. They have a huge selection for all different styles of creating.

( affiliate links included, do not add any extra cost to you)


Remember...be creative, think of others and kindness always matters.

 Kim

Tuesday 7 May 2019

Simon Says Stamp Delicate Flowers Anniversary Card


Hi crafty friends, welcome back!

Today I am hoping on to share an anniversary card I just finished up using the new card kit from Simon Says Stamp - Delicate Flowers.  I don't often buy kits, but this kit just kept calling to me, so into my shopping cart it went!

The kits actually comes with a pink themed paper pad (which I love) , however, I had purchased  the yellow one from ModaScrap,The Spring Blossom, as well, so that is where I drew my inspiration from, for the flowers.

I started by stamping all the images with Gina K. amalgam ink. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with the floral arrangement yet, so I stamped everything once onto my Neenah solar white cardstock.

Then I set out to colour with my Copics.


For the flowers, I used Y11, Y13, Y21 and Y23 for the leaves, I used G24 and G29

Once I was happy with having enough flowers, I fussy cut them all out. Ugggg......I hate that part!

I matted the card with paper from the paper pad, cut a circle to anchor the chipboard 50 and the sentiment. The Love sentiment is from the stamp set as well.


I arranged the flowers and added a touch of foam tape to raise up the flowers, and completed the card front with a couple gold sequins from Hero Arts.

I have created several cards so far using the papers and stamps and I will create many more, I am sure. Hopefully this gives you some inspiration to dig into your kit, if it has arrived.



Remember...be creative, think of others and kindness always matters.

 Kim

Saturday 27 April 2019

The Power Pack by Pear Blossom Press




Hi Everyone! 

I am so excited to be a part of today’s blog hop featuring the new Power Packs from Pear Blossom Press. These little packs make light up cards so easy!
Since I had so many ideas floating in my head for things that could light up on the card front, settling on one and just getting it done took much more time than working with the simplicity of the power pack! That was by far the short and sweet of the card!


I started out with a piece of Artist Choice 110 lbs cardstock from Gina K. Designs, and cut it down to a 5” x 7” card size, and a layer piece for blending on. I ink blended the night sky with Faded Jeans and Mermaid Lagoon Distress Oxide inks and sprinkled a little water on it to create a starry background. The ground was created using Aged Mahogany and Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide inks. I left the center a little free of ink and colour to allow a glowing effect of the fire light.

Next, I created all my trees using a tree stamp and die from a Recollections Christmas set. I used Gina K. Jelly Bean Green and Grass Green. Since it is a night scene, the trees did not need a ton of detail, so I ink blended them fairly solid to take away the sharpness.


The tent and lantern, I can take not take credit for, it was already in my stash and is from an older Jolee’s  sticker embellishment. It would be easy enough to paper piece though, as I have done it in the past. This one just happened to be perfect and already made, so on it went!




Now, on to the fun part….the light up campfire!! 


The actual fire was made using scraps on my desk. I cut a bunch of grey circular pebbles out using scissors and just touched the edges with a C5 copic marker to add a bit of depth. The fire wood is actually a flower I cut out of brown cardstock and cut in half. The flames are vellum pieces coloured with Y38, YR04 and R24 copics and a touch of glitter. Right behind the flames, I cut a small hole from the card layer base. I then cut another scrap of vellum and scribbled the orange Copic marker all over it. This little piece then got attached to "cover up" the hole and to let the light shine through. You can see in the picture below, the two pieces of the card are opened up, and how it would it would be put together. My on/off switch is a little button behind the tent. Using conductive copper tape, I connected the Pear Blossom Press Power Pack to the light from Chibitronics. The Power Pack will come with directions, as well there are great resources at https://pearblossompress.com/power-pack/ .



After the front of the card was complete, and I had the light circuit complete, I covered the perimeter of the card base in foam tape to add depth for the Power Pack.

Last, but not least, I stamped a quick happy birthday sentiment by Savvystamps, and this fun card was complete!

Thank you so much for stopping by on your hop. Please head over to Pear Blossom Press to check everything out and to get all the details of how to purchase the Power Packs.

Customers in Canada will be able to order kits from my Etsy shop, The Creative Cardshortly 

Pear Blossom Press  will be giving away Power Pack Kits to 5 randomly selected winners that comment on each blog post by 11:59pm PST on May 4th, 2019.

Keep on hopping and commenting! 
Koren Wiskman
Lynda Kanase
Jessica Shier
Lynnea Hollendonner
Kim Brown-Blyleven ------you are here
Niccole Kulig
Annalisa Gibson
Marie Heiderscheit
Beth Duff  Mary Polanco
Rachel Winn
Marcia Caradinta
Katrina Bertelsen
Daisie HansonJessica Francisco
Samantha Klaebe
Jessica McAfee
Lesley Oman
Tania Cordie

Remember...be creative, think of others and kindness always matters.

 Kim




Friday 28 December 2018

Kitchen Sink Stamps -Winter Cardinals

Kitchen Sink Stamps -Winter Cardinals



Welcome back everyone! I have been taking a bit of a break for a few reasons, but slowly moving back into work mode.

Today, I am going to feature a great company out of California, called Kitchen Sink Stamps.  I came to know of them this past summer while attending a stamping convention, called Junkie 
Fest, which was hosted by the Stamp Junkies, an amazing online Facebook group. Kitchen Sink Stamps has hundreds of designs and specialize in multi step clear stamps, where the images look very real. If you haven't checked them out....get on it!

Anyways, I have created several of these cardinal cards to use as Thank You notes that I am sending out this week. I had surgery one week before Christmas, and many, many people did wonderful and kind things to help my family and I out this last while, and I certainly wanted to create cards to share my gratitude. 

I kept all the cards similar as I wanted to get about 25 done in a short time while I was able to sit up (on bed rest...flat) and created them over 3 times in just over an hour. So not bad!

I started with an A2 white card base, then matted with olive green cardstock and a wood grain, snowflake patterned paper, all from Recollections. Then using Neenah white cardstock, I cut a bunch of mats at 4" x 2 3/4" and matted them again on the green. 

Image from Kitchen Sink Stamp

Then it was time to load my MISTI and get stamping! I started with the branches. I stamped the first layer using Versafine 'New Sprout', second layer is 'Olympia Green', followed by 'Vintage Sepia' for the pine cone layer.


For the cardinal, I used Rangers 'Antique Linen' first, followed by Lawn Fawn 'Lobster', then Hero Arts 'Red Midtone'. Last layer for the beak and a touch of detail is Versafine 'black onyx'

The cards received  different sentiments on the outside, yet all read Thank you on the inside. 
This "Peace" stamp shown here, is by Hero Arts.

After the cardinal was done, I added a very slight shadow under his belly with a C3 Copic marker. 

For just a bit more depth and keeping it easy, I went around the edges with a foam piece and a bit more antique linen ink. 

Finishing touch was the random snow using Nuvo drops in 'white'

I hope you enjoyed today's quick card and please do head over to Maria's wonderful company Kitchen Sink Stamps. She has great designs, and a sale on many sets right now!


Remember...be creative, think of others and kindness always matters.


 Kim

(please note, this is an affiliated post)


Friday 7 December 2018

Love From Lizi December 18 Card Kit

Love From Lizi December 18 Card Kit 10 Cards One Kit

Hello Everyone!

Today I am sharing 10 cards 1 Kit from the December Card Kit by Love From Lizi.



Earlier, I shared the unboxing of my kit when it arrived. You can check that out here.
 https://thecreativecarddesign.blogspot.com/2018/11/lfl-december-18-card-kit.html and see all the goodies that came in this months kit.


There was tons of great product in the box, and it made it easy for me to create a huge batch of cards....31 in fact! I won't share them all, but certainly enough to get you inspired and digging into your kit.

Card One:
For the first card, I kept it nice and simple. I absolutely loved this plaid paper, so I knew I wanted it to be the focal point of this card.

I started with an A2 size card base in cream, and matted the next two layers 1/8 inch smaller than the next. I then cut a 1 inch strip of green and matted the light purple on top and wrapped a little bit of the twine around it, before adhering to the card. Next came the 2 inch circle for the sentiment. I used the 'thank you' die that was included in the set, and cut it out of a scrap of white to make it pop.



Card Two:
The second card, is an A2 sized card and once again, simple in design. I used the dark grey cardstock from the kit and matted with a piece of white paper I had in my stash already. I wanted to draw out the brightness in the polka dots of the next paper. For the embellishment, I used five of the little triangles from the kit, to create a sweet little banner across the corner and tied them off with twine bows.To finish off, I used the Thank You sticker in the opposite corner.



Card Three:
For this card, I used the gorgeous butterfly paper. I so often gravitate to butterflies on sympathy cards, not sure why, just one of my things!


 I started with an A2 size card and matted with the purple linen paper from the pack, then the butterfly one. Before adhering to the card base, I added a piece of sheer ribbon from my stash around it. Next layer is 3x4 and matted the same, but raised up with foam squares to add detail. I felt a little bow would add a touch of elegance, so I slipped it to the side. Lastly, I stamped a simple sentiment, using a Hero Arts stamp, and attached it across the front. Even with the foam and bow, it is still low profile enough to go through the post no problem.


Card Four:
For this card, I kept it simple and great for any occasion really. I started with this lovely little floral print paper as my base, and wanted to draw out the green a bit more, so I grabbed a leftover Christmas paper that match perfectly and matted them into a 5x7 card. Next was the banner down the side with a pink from the kit, matted onto more green. I had a little remnant of the twine leftover and just the perfect size to add on. I used one of the awesome sentiment stamps from the kit and stamped in black, cut it down to a 2 inch square and matted once again with green. The bird sticker and few drops of Nuvo in Plum Pudding, rounds out card 4.



Card 5:
This card might be my favourite of all!  I just loved the colour and texture, so much.  For this one,I knew I wanted the lace to be the feature, so I decided go big or go home, and cover the front in it!. I took a 3x4 inch scrap of cardstock and chose two different lace patterns from the kit, and just cut a bunch of strips a tad wider than the paper and put them in a pile. From there, I simply adhered them to the 3x4 piece, by alternating the white and ivory until it was covered. I used 11 pieces in total.


I knew I was going to use the purple flowers, so I found a purple scrap on my desk that matched really well and mounted it to that. From there, I glued it to an A2 card base and made my floral focal. I pulled the leaves off of another flower just to fill the cluster up a bit more, and stuck it all down with sticky dots. I used the Thinking of You sticker and two leaf stickers as well. To finish, I tucked in a couple pearls.



Card 6:
Another simple card, where all the product comes from the kit. A2 card base cut from the white cardstock, followed by two pieces of patterned paper for matting. I tucked a strip of lace around the paper before adhering to the base. I really loved this glossy pink striped paper, so just left it as it was and matted on a white back. Loved the Happy Birthday sticker to finish off. Like I said....quick and easy!



Card 7:
So this card started out with one idea, yet ended with another! Anyone else ever have that?



I began with a square base of 5.5 x 5.5 inches for my card base, in white cardstock. Next I grabbed the grey cardstock from the kit for stenciling the butterflies.


 I used the butterfly stencil, and inked over the top with versamark ink, then added the LFL ivory embossing powder and heat set. Once this was cooled, I added their little bodies using the stamp set. I love this stamp and stencil duo, as there are so many combinations to make from them. I initially was going to mat in the silver cardstock that came in the kit, but I found on the grey paper the ivory read more as a gold, so went with that instead. Added some foam tape behind and another layer of grey. To finish off add brightness, I  added many drops of white gel pen all over.



Card 8:
This beauty has lots of detail and one of my favourites as well. 


I choose two patterned papers from the kit, and went about distressing the sides by sanding and addding ink. From there, I used a dollie and touched it in a few spots with gold ink splatter, and cut in half. To balance the gold, I ran a strip along the side, as well as a strip of lace. From the kit, I used the paper flower and On Your Special Day sticker, and pearls. I wanted to add a bit more, so I cut few leaves out and wrinkled them up before gluing in. Last but not least, I cut two filigrees from the same matting paper, and tucked them in. Both the leaf and swirls are from Gina K Designs



Card 9:
When you have a Love from Lizi kit, you always have to make a shaker card, because the sequins included are so beautiful! They really do capture all the colours of the kit so well.


I loved this dainty yellow and blue floral paper, so much, I wish I had more of it! I started with the two mats attached to a 5x7 card front, then set about making a shaker piece. I stamped the image from the set on white cardstock, long with a few small butterflies. Since the paper was alcohol ink friendly,I  added a touch of yellow to each with a Y23 Copic marker. I had already cut a frame out of the blue cardstock before adhering , so just added some acetate for the window. Sequins next, then foam, then all sandwiched together on the card front. Trimmed up the frame using the LFL Peel offs (love those) as they match so well, and add more sparkle. I stamped and heat set one more butterfly from the kit, used Y11 and Y23 Copic to color, then fussy cut him out for the corner. 



Card 10:
 For card 10, we finish off with another simple design using kit contents. A2 card base, mattd with two layers of pattern paper. Before adhering, I added a matching lace piece. I die cut an oval from another pattern, and pulled it all together with the two little stickers. Great card to have on hand for many different occasions.


I made several more cards, I haven't shown individual , but here is a snippet of the sets. I created two box sets, 6 cards in each box. One is all Thank you cards and the other is an assortment.




I hope you found some inspiration within my blog today, and are able to dig into your LFL kit when it arrives at your door!

I also want to take a moment and send a huge Thank You out to Love from Lizi, for inviting me to be a guest designer this month. I always love working with your product Lizi, and all the great stash building staples that are in there!

Head on over to Love From Lizi, to check out her shop 

Here is a video as well showing the production of the cards



Remember...be creative, think of others and kindness always matters.

 Kim

(please note, this is an affiliated post)




Tuesday 20 November 2018

LFL December 18 Card Kit Unboxing

LFL December 18 Card Kit



Hi everyone,

Today, I get to share the unboxing of the awesome new card kit from Love From Lizi, also know as LFL December 18 Card Kit


I am super excited to be guest designing with her kit this month, and I look forward to sharing all the neat things I am making with it.



So lets dig in!

This box of excitement landed at my doorstep yesterday, and I was immediately in love with it!  Purple and butterflies are two of my favourite things, and they were both in a kit.....together!  Also, as makers, we have been looking at and working with holiday paper crafting for months already, so not seeing Christmas in a box, is a breath of fresh air and a nice break by this point.





First off, I take out the large bag to see what it holds. Inside, I find 5 pieces of cardstock, two of which are white Copic marker friendly, which is awesome to work with for stamping and colouring. Lizi's kits always include the 5 pieces of cardstock so you can just cut in half right away and have your ten card bases if you so choose, or use them for matting like I often do. There are also two metallic pieces of cardstock included , in silver and gold, both with a matte mirrored finish. I LOVE these two pieces!

Look how pretty they all are?




Next in the bag, is 16 sheets of 8X8 patterned paper. What a selection of gorgeous prints!  Some are double sided, others have a touch of glitter, or spot gloss, and one of my favs is the canvas textured paper. Paper that has texture just adds one more layer of oomph to a card......we not only look at cards, we feel them, and canvas paper does a great job of grabbing our attention. Of course, all these patterns coordinate with each other beautifully.

Also in this bag was a matching set of puffy stickers for lots of different occasions, such as birthday, thinking of you and thank you, perfect for card making. As well, there was a sheet of Peel Offs in Sky Blue. Lizi's kits always have fun Peel Off colours included. Did I mention I am addicted to Peel Offs.....they are such a great finishing touch to so many projects!



Now, can we talk about my favourite part of the kit??  The stamp and stencil butterfly set!! Stunning, and such a great combo to keep in your day to day stash. These are going to get a ton of use in my studio for sure!! So many combinations to use the two together or separate. The stencil could be used alone to create a background, or they align with the stamp set to add even more detail. Did I mention this is my favourite.......just love them!


Now, onto the embellishment bag which is packed tight with amazing, crafty goodies also. 

The Nuvo Crystal drops bottle included in this kit, is called Plum Pudding, and could be used for all seasons really, as it is that pretty in tone. Another awesome stash builder in the kit that you could use over and over, is the Love From Lizi embossing powder, in ivory pearl. Such a gorgeous sheen to it. 

The embellishment bag also has 5 white paper dollies, a sheet of pearl stickers, a bag of adorable purple heart shaped buttons, beautiful paper flowers in two shades of purple, the beloved sequins mixes, and lace. I love that the lace is super soft and white. This means you can custom colour it how ever you want. You could add ink, or stains, or may favourite tea dying! So pretty and so perfect for this kit theme. Another fun addition to the embellishments, was a bag of little paper triangles and twine to make a banner or bunting with. 

Last, but not least, are the two adorable dies that are included with the kit. One is a script font that reads "thank you" and the other is a little heart, that says "with love" in the middle of it. I really appreciate the size of these for card making. Lots of sentiment dies are large scale, but these are nice and delicate.

So crafty friends, I look forward to creating cards and more with this months kit and to share with you soon via video where I will make 10 cards with one kit and of course the matching blog post.

This kit was just released in limited quantity, and if it is like the last few kits, it will sell out fast. So, hop on over to her website to pick up this kit and much more! There are some wonderful add-ons to this month's kit as well.


 You can find the kit at Love From Lizi

**Affiliate links are used at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support -Kim




Remember...be creative, think of others and kindness always matters.


 Kim