TWO STENCILLED CARDS

STENCILLED AND STAMPED BUTTERFLY CARDS

Stencilling is very much the "in" thing at the moment, and Lee has used a stencil from Fabscraps to make these elegant cards.

On the pink one she has used two different Distress Inks to produce an ombre effect.  The background has been overstamped with a butterfly from a Kaiser stamp and die set, using black Versafine ink.  Subtle accent dots were made with Nuvo Drops, although you could also use Liquid Pearls.

The lavender card only uses one colour of Distress Ink, with the graduated colour effect being produced by using different amounts of ink and pressure through the stencil.  Both greetings are from Darkroom Door's "Simple Sayings" set.

Both these cards are of a simple, but very effective design.  If you haven't tried stencilling before perhaps this is the inspiration you need.  Regal Craft has a large range in store, as well as a huge selection of base cards

THANK YOU CARD USING QUATREFOIL LAYERED DIES

CLOSE-UP OF LAYERED DIES

QUATREFOIL LAYERED DIE

Lee has used two quatrefoil dies from Paper Roses (and available from Regal Craft Cards) to make this elegant "thank you" card.  The white on white detail is not shown to best advantage in the photograph, but you can see from the additional die cuts in white (layer 1) and gold (layer 2) how one die fits on top of the other for a layered/textured effect.  Of course each can be used separately and thus they are very versatile.

The flowers are layered too!  Kaisercraft's "Thank You" die and stamp set, come with both solid and outline stamps to save having to colour the image plus the die so you don't even have to worry about fussy cutting!  Even the greeting has a matching die.

CARDS FEAT. BBQ AND PICNIC TABLE DIES

Well, here's something a little bit different...............Its a bit on the cold side to be contemplating barbies and sun umbrellas, but it doesn't stop me dreaming...............

I've used a couple of bases from Regal Craft Cards as well as a couple of Paper Roses dies (purchased from Regal as well) to make some very straightforward cards.  Basically I've just cut out the shapes in a few colours and re assembled the pieces, added a greeting stamp and, in the case of the BBQ a triangular background, and that's it.

These dies are different to most of the other ones that are out there, and they can be used for a number of different occasions, plus they're great for the "blokey" cards that a lot of crafters seem to find difficult.  What I really love though, is that the shapes can be used in so many other ways.  Look at the umbrella for instance, turn it upside down and cut it in woodgrain as a fruit bowl, add some chain border stickers for a hanging basket, turn it on the side for fairy or butterfly wings, or add a head and legs for a tortoise etc etc etc.  I've lots of other ideas for all the other bits in both die sets, but would ruin your fun if I listed them all......what do you see when you look at the parts separately?

SUMMER CARDS 

PRETTY FLORAL CARD

PRETTY STAMPED FLOWERS

Tania has featured a stamp from Paper Roses on her pretty floral card.

The image is has been heat embossed in black, and coloured with blended pencils.  By using colours more or less opposite on the colour wheel, Tania has made the image almost leap of the page.

A selection of greet decorative papers, a plain green backing and a die-cut bow complete the picture, with inked edges helping to blend the layers.

A single fold Regal card has been used as the base.

STAMPED LEAVES AND GRASSES CARD

OFFSET STAMPING

Hmmm.....must have been leaning to the side when I made this one!  Anyway, I'm sure you can see how its supposed to be, and make a far better version yourself!

There are a couple of stamping techniques you might want to try (or use again) worth mentioning.  The first is using a small to medium sized stamp to create a backing paper.  I used a leaf stamp with black ink to mirror the stamping in this case, but you can use Versamark if you want a more subtle effect, or mix and match colours if you prefer brighter!

The main image has been stamped twice - once with green and once, slightly offset with black.  If I was re-doing the card I would search out a more olive green, as the lime doesn't quite go with the backing paper, I'd probably use dark grey instead of black and I'd be positioning the stamps a little closer together.
Anyway, as I said, hopefully this effort will inspire you to seek out some stamps and have a go yourself and make a better card!  If you do, I'd love to see it!

I have, of course, used Regal products throughout.

PATTERNED (DOUBLE) STAMPING WITH DIECUT FOAM

DOUBLE STAMPING

There is space underneath the main motif to add whatever greeting you want to this card - birthday. best wishes, "just a note" etc.  but the main point of it, as far as the blog goes, is to illustrate a couple of useful stamping techniques.

The large shape was cut from a foam sheet (which you can buy from Regal craft cards) using a nesting die and secured to an acrylic block with a little bit of double sided tape so that it could be used as a stamp.

You can just stamp in the ordinary way, in which case the result is a solid image of the diecut, but in this instance, for the bottom layer, the flower was inked up, and then an uninked (Darkroom Door) background stamp was pressed onto it. Instead of stamping the leaf pattern, it removed the pink ink from the diecut, which was then stamped onto the white background circle - patterned stamping!

The image of the inked diecut remains on the background stamp, so if you work quickly you can stamp a "negative" patterned image too!

I've made it sound a lot more complicated than it is.  You can use any solid stamp coupled with a relatively densely patterned one.  This technique appears under many different headings - often Kiss-stamping if you want to search for more info.

The base card is one of Regal Craft Cards newer cards -  Stonewash (PL27), which despite its name is a very on-trend shade of grey.

COLOURED CHALKBOARD EFFECT WITH STAMPS

WHITE STAMPING WITH PENCILS

I've used a blue cardbase from Regal Craft Cards, nesting dies and a stamp from Kaiser to make this card which illustrates a simple technique you might like to try next time you want to stamp on a dark background.

Select a fairly solid stamp, and stamp the image using white ink.  When the ink has dried (if you want to be sure, just whizz over it with a craft heat gun for a few seconds), colour on top with coloured pencils.

As you can see - super simple, but quite effective.  You end up with a gentle chalk-boardy effect.

I deliberately haven't added a greeting as you could use this card for many occasions.

3d BUTTERFLY CARD

3D STAMPED BUTTERFLY

I like to think that this card looks better in reality than on screen, however, its more the technique, I wanted to show.

If you'd like to add a bit of dimension to your card you use the same method as I have shown here, which is.........

Stamp an image (from Kaiser) three times  - once onto the card front and the other two onto medium weight paper.
The image on the card is the background.  Decide which parts you want to use as the middle - (I've used the wings but not the body) and the front (Just the top two wings in this case.

Colour all the pieces (I've used Copics - you don't have to shade!), gently shape the cut out pieces so that they have a soft curve, and assemble them on top of each other, using foam dots to add height.  That's it - I hope I haven't made it sound harder than it is.

I've added a stamped greeting, also attached with foam dots, and edged the card (a single fold from Regal of course) and greeting with a little sepia ink.

PAPER ROSES STAMP BON VOYAGE CARD

BON VOYAGE

Sometimes "less is more" and this card has a very simple colour scheme - just blue and white.  The sailor boy stamp is one of the lovely new cling rubber stamps made by Paper Roses, and the "Bon Voyage" is from a Kaiser set.  I've used Versafine ink so that all the tiny textured detail on the jacket etc comes out clearly.

I've subtitled this my "Nervous Stampers Card" because each of the elements is done separately and then assembled.  The boy is stamped onto smooth white card and then placed in a textured white rectangle cut out card from Regal Craft Cards. The greeting has been stamped onto smooth card, fussy cut and attached to the front with foam tape to raise it slightly off the surface.  There is an insert fixed inside with double sided tape that has an additional greeting.  In other words you don't have to commit anything to the overall card until you're happy with the result....................Not that this should be a problem as I have found that all the Paper Roses stamps I have used have stamped a perfect image first time!

For everyone who is enjoying a break over the next few days, may it be happy and fun, and for those of you still working, thankyou - obviously you are doing something very worthwhile and your efforts are appreciated!  Best Wishes to all.

PAPER PIECED STAMPED CARD

I'm doing a stamping demo for Regal on March 20th, so I probably should leave this card until then but I couldn't wait to play with my lovely set of Darkroom Door stamps.

I've kept the colours very simple, but stamped the hammer and saw with black ink onto both grey and yellow paper, the tape measure just onto yellow, and the other things just onto grey.  I'v then cut out the handles of the saw and hammer from the yellow and stuck them onto the grey, before fussy cutting around the whole lot.  I've added a little bit of detail with a silver pen, and assembled the lot on embossed card stuck to a black Regal base.

I didn't have a suitable stamp at hand, so I added a peel off sticker as a greeting - I'm fairly sure the stamp would have looked a lot better in this context.

QUICK STAMPED CHRISTMAS CARD

QUICK CARD FOR CHRISTMAS

I made this card very quickly with the help of a pre-cut bauble shapeand a red base card from Regal Craft Cards.

I stamped some snowflakes in two corners, leaving a space for the silver and white ribbon (which I attached using double sided tape).  A stamped greeting was added to the bauble, and then it was just a matter of adding a pre-made red bow and a few rhinestones!

Its not quite a five minute card but it comes close, and is quite a good style to reproduce if you're making your cards in e.g. lots of 10 at a time!

PAPER CLAY SHELL CARD

BEACH-THEMED CARD

Paper Clay (Magic Clay) is a great material for cards as you can make some quite substantial embellishments without adding excess weight.

In this example I've used some paper from the Ultimate Crafts Australiana collection and added some shells made by stamping some inked Darkroom Door stamps into paper clay that has been rolled flat.  I cut around the images for this card whilst the clay was still wet, but have done a bit of experimenting since then and find that its probably easier to stamp then allow the clay to air dry and simply cut out the images with scissors!

I'v left the space under "Post Card" which you could also do, but if you wanted to add additional words or a greeting there is plenty of room to do so here.

ORIENTAL-STYLE COLLAGE CARD

ORIGAMI COLLAGE CARD

A little oriental collage on a Royale (gold-foiled) card from Regal Craft Cards.  The Royale cards are a little larger than standard so there is more room for decoration.

The origami bird is just folded from a square of white copy paper stamped with a bamboo stamp and silver ink, and mounted on gold and red die-cut circles.

The noshi is made from lightweight red and white papers glued back to back, with gold shimmer strip in the middle and a pieces of white ribbon and gold braid around the bottom(apologies in advance to those who know how to make these properly....I just winged it ).

The square at the top is a piece of washi mounted on gold, and the card is finished with a Sparklelight sticker (also available from Regal).

SIMPLE SYMPATHY CARD

SIMPLE SYMPATHY CARD

Sympathy cards are often made at a difficult time and a simple approach can be useful.

In this case, I've dabbed some distress inks onto an acrylic stamping block, lightly spritzed it with water, then put the card face down on the block and gently run over the surface so the colours transfer to the card and merge together.  (Any water-based ink will do, just make sure you use colours that aren't on opposite sides of the colour wheel unless you want a grey/brown effect).

You can either wait until the ink has dried or use a craft heat gun to speed up the process.

Choose a narrow high stamp and stamp it with black ink in the corner.

Write the message at the bottom, then hand-draw a frame.  If you mess up a corner (as I did) just make it into a feature!!

I think sometimes we are so focussed on getting the right stamp or die that we forget that we can always just write the greeting ourselves!  I also know that just about everyone (myself included)  had issues about their handwriting, but bear in mind that it is one way to ensure that you have made a truly unique and personal card.

SHABBY CHIC

SHABBY CHIC

Clearly this card is a bit of "too much is not enough", but I made this card for a recent demo to illustrate some of the things that characterize Shabby Chic style.

I started with square white Regal base card (the easy bit) then added lots more white - the flower the doiley, the flourishes (all fairly typical of the style), but also to my papers.

The background was a vibrant flamingo pink before I calmed it down with a thin coat of gesso.  Similarly the top pink panel began life as a normal pink before I painted over it with some white paint, embossed it (when it was dry) and then sanded the top layer back to reveal the darker colour beneath.

Add in various die cut bits and pieces, a greeting sticker, some pearls and some stamped bird cages and hopefully you'll be getting the shabby chic idea.........not that you have to (or indeed should) use ALL of these ideas on one card!!

COLLAGE STAMPED THREE SQUARE CARD

COLLAGE STAMPED  CARD - Front View

COLLAGE STAMPED  CARD - middle

Collage stamping is a way to add the impression of dimension without adding bulk to your cards.  Anna Wilson has made an interesting example which illustrates many of the techniques that can be used.

The card base is a lime green 3 square card from Regal Craft Cards.  The panel behind the squares has been inked and stamped multiple times, ink has been spattered on the front, and the little squares have been decorated with stamps, stamped onto an inked background, and mounted on scallop edged orange backgrounds.

Inside the card, Anna has masked an area (probably using a post-it note?) and then spattered over the top which effectively highlights the greeting.  She's added a stamp to the bottom of this area, and popped on a fussy cut multi-stamped bird in a cage to highlight the opposite page.

Its easy to forget the back of the card, but do remember that even with a single fold card you have four possible panels to decorate so why just stop at the front?  Anna has spattered the back with a variety of inks and finished the card with a stamped feather and her signature!  Signing your work is a great thing to do - its a lovely personal touch.

FOLDED EASEL CARD

FOLDED EASEL CARD

SIDE VIEW

Although you can buy pre-made easel cards from Regal (they call them tilt cards), you can also make your own from their 3-panel cards.

If you want to do this, then cut off one panel, and crease and fold the back panel in half.  Add double sided tape to the front of the fold, and stick the cut-off panel onto it (the tape will go half way up the panel).  Its probably easier to add your decoration and embellishment before you stick the panels together.  There needs to be some sort of raised shape or panel at the end of the inner back (which becomes the base) so that the panel will sit up.

I've used some stamps from Darkroom door, and as they make quite a statement on their own, I've kept the colour scheme very basic - just dark green Versafine on granite card.  I've cut out a couple of the leaves and mounted them on top of the base image using foam dots to add a little more height, to echo the two leaves on the base which are also stuck on with foam tape to make the "stopper" for the front panel.  I've added a few embossed lines using my scoreboard and a line sticker, that I've coloured in with a green alcohol marker to match.

ZIGZAG CARD

ZIGZAG CARD INSIDE

This is one of the cards that Anna Wilson made for a demo she did for Regal Craft Cards last year.  She has used one of Regal's white Zig Zag cards and decorated all the panels.

In the first picture you can see how she has masked an area on the inner back and then stamped around with a leaf stamp (from Darkroom Door), co ordinating it with a set of three leaves on the adjoining panel.

The front view shows panels covered with Kaiser paper, and featuring an inked "Tasmania .  (Regal sell 3 panel cards with a cut-out Tasmania in the middle panel)

The back panel also features creative inking and Darkroom Door stamps.

Zig Zag cards are great for people who like a lot of surface to decorate. Anna has showcased her skills with stamps and ink, but you could also use more patterned papers, die-cuts, stickers etc.

FRONT OF ZIG ZAG CARD

BACK OF CARD

TASMANIA CARD

FRONT

Middle

This card was made in a recent Regal Craft Cards demo by Anna Wilson.  Its based on Regal's three panel textured white aperture card with a Tasmania cut-out.

Anna has given equal attention to the front, middle and back of the card, using some lovely Darkroom Door Stamps and lots of inks!  The right hand inner panel has been embossed and a smooth oval added for easy writing.  Notice how effective the inking is on the textured surface of the card - who says we can only use smooth cards for stamping!!!

Regal has a variety of different aperture cards ranging from straightforward shapes such as ovals and rectangles to more "exotic" offerings such as dolphins and frogs!!

Back

AUSTRALIA DAY CARD

You still have time to celebrate Australia Day on Monday with this cut card.

Marilyn has stamped the Stamp-It koala in black ink and added a little shading with coloured pens.  She's matted it on a dark card and then fixed it on top of torn layers of Core card and a little Kaiser scrapbooking paper.

You'd have to be extra speedy to finish it in 5 minutes but its quite do-able in 10!  If you love making cards and always have more than you need, why not give your friends a surprise for Australia Day!