Shimmer Splash Background Thanksgiving Cards

Shimmery, splashy backgrounds! That's what I'm talking about!! These backgrounds (which were hard to photograph because of their shimmeriness but trust me - are really cool in real life *wink*) were made with a combination of papaya, poppy and blackberry splash and Peerless metallic transparent watercolor in copper. How awesome is that?!!!!

I spritzed some splash onto a craft sheet and drizzled some copper into it and then spritzed it with water. I blended it a little with the waterbrush and then smushed some Bristol watercolor paper into the shimmery puddles. I kept going until I ran out of that lovely, shimmery mix. :) I let the pieces dry and then stamped leaves in poppy, blackberry and currant. I made the background pretty dark so the leaves are subtle and just add to the visual interest of the background. I flicked some blackberry splash on the background to give some cool dotted texture too. Isn't that pretty?! I was inspired to create this background by Lyn who made a lovely shimmery background for our fall swap.

Since the outside had a lot going on, I kept the inside simple with a few leaves in blackberry.

The sentiment on the outside of the card is from our retired Essential Sentiments stamp set and is edged with latte pearls on fern cardstock. The watercolor paper is layered on nutmeg which is layered on a fern base.

I highly recommend playing around with splash and shimmers. It's fun! It's messy! It's beautiful! Each piece is a unique piece of art. So cool!

Splash and Peerless (and all the other supplies) are available in my webstore which is open 24-7: www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Have a wonderfully creative day!

A Splashy, Sparkly Hello - Quick and Simple

A Muse Studio has these wonderful new word dies and here's one I used in my March card class. I cut the word out of clear cardstock (acetate/transparency) and spread Tombow Mono Multi glue on the back. I let it dry and it became an instant repositionable mask. Yep. It's one of the great things about Mono Multi. It works as glue normally works. But, if you let it dry without adhering it to anything, it become a repositionable item which is perfect for masking. And, I learned recently to make my masks out of clear cardstock and then you can use them over and over and over. But, if you don't have any acetate on hand, use cardstock and just know that it has a limited lifespan. ;)

I put the hello mask on the sugar cardstock layer (5 1/4" X 4") and spritzed over it with lime splash. Peeled up the mask and voila - a pretty hello floating in the splashy background.  A side strip from the new paper pack, Everything's Rosy, and some bubblegum organdy polka dot ribbon added some oomph to the design. The final step was to add a little lime glitter. I used the quickie glue pen and dotted randomly on the background and then poured on some lime glitter. This was the result. A bright, cheery, splashy and glittery hello card that would be perfect to pop in the mail. ;)

Here's the inside. Lime ink and more of that pretty 6X6 paper pack!

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Stamps:            Hand-scripted, $25.99

Cardstock:       Sugar (20), p. 114, $7.50

Paper:               Everything’s Rosy 6X6 Pattern, S, $5.99

Splash:              Lime, p. 115, $5.95

Dies:                  Hello, S, $5.99

Ribbon:            Bubblegum Organdy Polka Dot, p. 122, $5.25

Other:               Lime Glitter, p. 121, $4.70

                          Quickie Glue Pen: p.136, $2.95

Ink:                    Lime, p. 115, $5.95

Have a wonderfully creative day!!

Make a Wish - Neon Pink Birthday

Splashing up a simple birthday card with some neon ink. :) Neon pink splash gives a fun splattery background and neon pink ink adds to the pink fun. Do you have someone who loves pink? If so, this card is for that special person! And, it's a fast card. It will only take a couple of minutes to put together. :)

The polka dots from lots of dots and the cake and sentiment from itty bitty birthday stamp sets make a fast and fun card. The cupcake toppers die set was used for the flower and a 1 1/2" clear circle sticker adds a fun glossy element to the top of the 1 1/2" punches graph paper circle.

Here's a close-up of the circle sticker. It would be great to use on a spotlight project too. I'll have to play with that option.

Here's the inside! Don't you love all the neon pink?! It makes me happy! I repeated the circle sentiment on the inside but you could also leave it plain or you could add a happy birthday or other sentiment inside.

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Products used:
Cardstock: Vanilla, Graph and Bubblegum
Stamps: Itty Bitty Birthday, Lots of Dots
Ink: neon pink
Other: splash, 1 1/2" circle punch, 1 1/2" clear circle sticker, cupcake topper die set, neon pink splash

Have a wonderfully creative day!!

I "heart" U - Valentine - Splash Technique

A gingerbread man on a Valentine? You betcha! Here's a fun splash card. You splash the top sugar layer with blush splash and then put three of the big hearts cut out from the heart trio die set and spritz with grapefruit splash. Take off the heart masks and voila! - a pretty background that's ready for a sweet message!

The pennant banner is straight so with a little curve added, you get a pennant across the card in grapefruit petite polka dot and some heart twinkle stickers to cover the bends in the paper.

A gingerbread man in grapefruit holds an "I *heart* U" banner stamped in grapefruit from the Sending My Love stamp set. It's tied to the gingerbread man with blush baker's cording and held in place with a pop dot. Isn't that little man adorable on a Valentine!!  :)

Here's the inside. Simple and sweet!

Take some time and looks at your stamps and dies and see what you have that could be used for other holidays and birthdays and baby cards. You might be surprised at the versatility in your collection!

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* = items on sale through Feb. 14th

Stamps:            Sending my love

Cardstock:       Sugar

                          Petite polka dot grapefruit

                          Grapefruit

Dies:                  *Heart trio die set

                          Gingerbread man die

                          Banner die

Cording:           Baker’s cording - blush

Splash:             Blush

                         Grapefruit

Glitter:              Diamond

Ink:                   *Grapefruit

Other:               3D Foam

                         Crop-a-dile

                         *Heart twinkle stickers

Have a wonderfully creative day!!

Tutorial: A "SPLASH" Holly Jolly Christmas Card with Gift Card Insert

Spoiler alert! If you participate in my monthly card class, only read this post if you want to see all the details for one of the cards we'll be making in October. :)

Now, let's dive in! I haven't done a tutorial in a while but thought it was time to share a fun way to add the SPLASH ink spray to a project. SPLASH is one of the new products from A Muse Studio and it's SUPER FUN! It's a permanent ink so can be used on fabric as well as on paper. LOVE IT!

Here's the tutorial. The steps will follow each photo and the project will feature the a│s Santa Claus is Comin' To Town stamp set.

1. Stamp image with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 3 ¾” X 3 ½” on Twas the Night cardstock. (my 4-1/2" X 4 1/2" a muse studio acrylic block was in use in another project so I had to use one of my old blocks. As you can see, it works but the square a│s block would have been ideal!)

2. Create a Tombow mono/multi glue mask. Here's the back of it - see the glue? So, how do you make the mask? Stamp the Holly Jolly santa image on a piece of cardstock. Put Tombow Multi glue all over the back in a thin layer and let dry (yep, I got a little carried away on the feet and hands. oops!). When the glue dries completely, it turns the image into a "post-it". Yep, it's removeable. But, if you glue two pieces of cardstock together with the same glue, it's permanently adhered when the glue is dry.  How cool is that?

3. Place the Tombow mono-multi masking image over stamped image to protect from spray. As you can see from the splattered Santa, you can re-use the mask.

4. Spray cherry splash with gentle pressure on the nozzle and across a cardboard box (spray inside a cardboard box to protect your clothing and floors since it's permanent ink) on cardstock. If you spray closer, you'll get more of a full coverage look. If you spray across the length of a rectangle cardboard box, you'll get more of a splatter effect which works best for this project.

5. Here's what it looks like after you've sprayed. Remove the mask. Hopefully there aren't any splatters where your image is.

6.  Color the image using cherry and onyx Tombow markers for the clothes, hat, belts and boots. Use an E00 copic marker for the face and hands and the Signo silver gel pen for the belt buckle.

7. Use the quickie glue pen to highlight the “fur” on Santa’s outfit by adding Diamond glitter. Glue and glitter the fur on the hat, pour off.  Glue and glitter the cuffs, pour off. Glue and glitter the fur band on the belly. Drag the ink pad on the edge to create a thin black border.

8. Add a strip of silver metallic washi tape to a piece of candy cane stripe cardstock and adhere to a cherry cardstock base. Then, pop up the image on top. Add some some cherry petite polka dot stars from the star die trio to finish off the outside.

9. Add a gift card insert cut from the a│s die and add to the inside of the card. Finish off with a sentiment and you're done.

A fun way to use SPLASH, washi and patterned cardstock! I hope you enjoyed the tutorial! www.amusestudio.com/seleise

Have a wonderfully creative day!!