Doodle This cards

I needed to make a thank you card and a birthday card. So I figured I'd play around with the SU Doodle This set using an old design standby I've used many times before. The old standbys are just more comfortable to fall back on sometimes.









Basically, the directions are the same for both except for a slight difference in colors. So I'll do a generic description keeping both in mind.

Things are pretty self-explanatory for these cards. The only things I might need to explain are the order I did the main scenes in and how to cut out this flower without losing your mind. ;)

The main section was stamped randomly so that no images would touch and that there would be a comfortable amount of space between them. I stamped, then colored, then cuttlebugged. Don't cuttlebug first or you will not get the whole images when you go to stamp. Maybe that's obvious, but I'll say it anyway. I used a water brush and a few drops of ink on the lids of the stamp pads to color things. It gave a more intense color than just wiping the brush on the pads or mashing the lid against the pad to pick up ink, although that's a good second choice. Also, markers leave more streaks, which is why I use a waterbrush. It just depends on the size of the image you're going to color.

The scene was okay, but not WOW until I cuttlebugged it with the Tiny Bubbles embossing folder. Then it really had zing! It made the white CS almost watercolor paper-like in texture.

For the flower accent, I recommend using an X-Acto knife to cut slits between the petals close to the center of the flower first. Otherwise, you might cut too much off when trying to round the bends between each petal and lose a petal in the process. Ask me how I know this! lol It just simplified the process to do that prep work first.

I colored the flower pretty much the same way I colored everything else. I cut it out after coloring, but I recommend letting it dry thoroughly before cutting. Otherwise, you might rip the flower. In fact, it might be better to cut out the flower first, and then color it. Either way, be careful! This flower image is a bit tough to work with.

I glued the gems on with Diamond Glaze. I used the Stamp-a-ma-jig to keep the sentiment just right. Love that tool! That's pretty much it!

Recipes:

Stamps: Doodle This, Paisley Print, Many Thanks, Birthday Greetings
CS: Apricot Appeal, Pixie Pink, Sage Shadow, Black, White
Inks: Apricot Appeal (pad and re-inker), Pixie Pink (pad and re-inker), Basic Black, Sage Shadow re-inker, Summer Sun re-inker, Pumpkin Pie re-inker, Positively Pink
Other: Cuttlebug embossing folder "Tiny Bubbles", Polka dot ribbon, Dimensionals, Gems, Stamp-a-ma-jig, Diamond Glaze, Water brush

Yukon birthday card

Recipe:

Stamps: Paisley Print, Yukon, CTMH Spunky Greetings

Paper: Black, Bravo Burgundy, glossy white

Ink: Versamark, Basic Black

Accessories: Markers: Baroque Burgundy, Really Rust, Creamy Caramel, Summer Sun, Close to Cocoa, Old Olive; Other: Cuttlebug "Tiny Bubbles" embossing folder, black grosgrain ribbon, silver buckle charm, Dimensionals, Diamond Glaze, silver mini brads, 1/16" hole punch, 1/4" circle punch

I really do have other Cuttlebug embossing folders! I just keep reaching for the Tiny Bubbles one, though, don't I? ;) I like its versatility. The ones Provocraft makes with only words on them are cute and all, but they're so limiting on what you can do with them. The non-word patterned ones are able to be used on any card. Maybe even every card as I demonstrating. hehe

This card is for my young nephew who likes nature. It's a simple design with a few extras that make for some WOW. Of course, I used the Tiny Bubbles folder! Am I getting obnoxious about using that thing yet? :D

I stamped Bravo Burgundy cs with the retired Paisley Print background stamp using Versamark ink. Then I ran part of the front through the Tiny Bubbles folder and Cuttlebugged it. When using the embossing folders with heavy patterns, you need to consider that the cardstock will shrink a bit due to the pulling up of the cardstock into the textured pattern. I generally allow for some extra length and then trim off what I don't need after running it through the Cuttlebug. Some cutters are terrible at hacking at the Cuttlebugged cardstock. Be careful if yours is like that or you'll have a not-so-nice mess on your hands. My Cricut cutter was like that, but my new (& improved, it says) Fiskars 12" cutter smoothly cuts it.

I stamped the CTMH "Happy Birthday" word stamp on the lower front (don't you just love the clear acrylic stamps? So easy to position!). Then I added the black grosgrain ribbon and adhered the silver buckle charm thingy onto the ribbon. I'm hoping it stays put! I used a Dimensional and some Diamond Glaze, so there's hope.

For the deer feature I stamped in Basic Black on glossy white cs and let it dry. Then I did the watercoloring with markers and a water brush. I recommend that if you try this, you have a scratch piece of the same cs you're using and test the markers to see how fast they set by rubbing them on the scratch piece and then wiping over them with the water brush. Then you can figure out how soon you need to hit the ink with the water brush. Some set REALLY fast. Some give you time to blend. For those that set fast, I usually just take the water brush and rub the bristles on the marker tip and then apply it, rather than putting the marker tip directly onto the cs. I used Baroque Burgundy (don't have the marker for Bravo Burgundy yet), Really Rust, Creamy Caramel, Summer Sun, Close to Cocoa, and even some Old Olive to achieve the colors you see. I did lots of blending. Using just Baroque Burgundy would've given it a pinkish appearance. So I just kept adding colors until I got the look I wanted. After it was done drying, I used Really Rust and Close to Cocoa markers and the Inkworx air art gun to give the background a splattered appearance. I let that dry.

Then once that dried I punched 1/16" holes in the corners. I punched the same-sized holes in black cs and then flipped my 1/4" circle punch over and positioned it with the 1/16" inch holes in the center and punched out. That gave me circles with holes in the middles. I used those under the silver mini brads in the corners of the deer scene. They look like rivets. Pretty cool. And they accent the buckle very nicely, I think. I adhered that to black cs and mounted it onto the card with Dimensionals. And then it was done.

It was nice to do a simple design for a change, although I like being stretched by Amy's and SCS's challenges. It's just what I needed to help my floundering creativity along.

Cosmobella birthday girl card

Recipe:

Stamps: Paisley Print, Cosmobella, purse from Shopabellas, word stamp from I Like Your Style

Paper: Tempting Turquoise, black, Green Galore, white

Ink: VersaMark, Basic Black, Creamy Caramel

Accessories: Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles embossing folder, Prismacolor pencils, Gamsol, blending sticks, Inkworx air art gun, Basic Black marker, oval template, aqua-blue grosgrain ribbon, sponge, Dimensionals, mini Pop Dots, copper mini-brads, 2" circle punch, 1/16&q

Techniques: Gamsol Magic, Cuttlebug

I was fortunate enough to do an image swap with a fellow SCSer and finally got around to using one of the images she sent me.

This card was tons easier to do than the last few! I was tired of complicated and decided simple was a good thing. Not that this card wasn't work. The Bella was a bit, but it was fun coloring her.

All I did for the biggest piece of cs (Tempting Turquoise) was stamp it in VersaMark ink with the Paisley Print background stamp. Easy. Then for the Green Galore piece I did the same thing, stamped it in VersaMark with Paisley Print. Then I ran 2/3 of it through the Cuttlebug with the Tiny Bubbles embossing folder. I mounted the Green Galore onto black cs. Then I covered the line between the two areas on the Green Galore with some lovely aqua-blue ribbon that has lime green stitching on both edges. It was actually the inspiration for the colors in this card. I set that aside.

On the Bella, I used Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol to color her. Did you know you can just dip the pencil tip right in the Gamsol and color? I used a blending stick (looks like a gray newspaper stick with pointed ends) here and there, as needed. After coloring her I cut her out (no easy task with those stick arms!), cutting the martini glass from her hand, and touched her up here and there with my Basic Black marker (thus the thicker arms). Her hat is actually a purse from another Bella stamp. I was going to use it as a purse hanging from her arm, but couldn't get the purse strap cut out without ruining it. So I cut off the strap and turned the purse into a hat! lol

The oval under her feet was created using a plastic template I bought when I first started stamping years ago. It was just right, so I laid it where I wanted it and sponged Creamy Caramel over it. I also spritzed the background behind her with my Inkworx air art gun (I love that thing!) using the Basic Black marker.

I adhered her to the background with mini Pop Dots and glued her feet to the background using my mono adhesive so she wouldn't look like she was hovering. ;)

I stamped a word phrase from I Like Your Style on Tempting Turquoise and punched it where I wanted the phrase to be with a 2-in. circle punch. Then I stamped it with the Paisley Print stamp to give it more interest, and adhered it behind the Bella piece.

I mounted the Bella/word phrase piece to the Green Galore with Dimensionals (another product I couldn't live without) and glued the circle down on the GG with mono (a bit tricky).

I punched 3 holes in the Green Galore with a 1/16" hole punch and then punched 3 holes in a scrap of black cs. Then I punched 1/4-in. squares in the black scrap over the 1/16" holes (turning the punch upside down to see where to punch) and applied those to the card with copper mini brads. The mini brads went well with the oval feature under the Bella.

I mounted the whole black/Green Galore piece to the Tempting Turquoise and was done! This card will go to my niece who is turning 20 on April 2nd. Seems like she was just 3!