Floral Scene String Art Card

Hello! Welcome back to my blog! I am so glad to be back as well. I've been sick but I am very thankful that I am slowly recovering. Best of all, I am able to create a card again.

This is my 6th AECP creation. The assignment is on creating a scene. When I think about scene cards, I think more of critters and places. I don't have products with such in my Altenew stash but after watching the class videos, I realized that I don't have to limit myself to critters and places to create a scene card. That I can also use flowers and food to create a scene card. 

I am using the Altenew Wild Hibiscus stamp set and the Altenew String Art Rectangles die set for this project. I laid the flowers and the dies that I am planning to use to build my scene on a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" scrap piece of cardstock. In this process, I will be able to visualize how my scene looks and also plan the order of stamping my flowers, since one of the flowers will be overlapping another flower. I created a mask for the floral image that will be on the front. 

Also, in laying out the stamps and the dies I am also assured that I won't be die cutting into the flower except for the middle flower. 

I stamped the flowers on the left and the right on watercolor paper using Versafine Onyx Black ink. I used the second generation ink to stamp the flower on the left on masking paper. I fussy cut this flower right on the stamped line. I heat set the inked images to speed dry it.

I adhered the floral mask on top of the stamped flower making sure I aligned the mask to the flower really well. I stamped the middle flower using the same ink. I dried this using a heat tool.

I colored the images using Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers and a water brush. I zapped the images with the heat tool in between coloring of the flowers. 

I positioned the String Art Rectangles dies next, temporarily securing it with a non-tacky tape to prevent it from shifting when I run this through my die cut machine. I used a T-ruler to make sure the dies are straight and aligned with each other. 

I threaded a DMC Variegated embroidery floss through the holes created by the String Art Rectangle dies.

To add some foliage, I die cut a green cardstock using the Altenew Leaf Clusters die set. I did a bit of die cut surgery so the leaves will not cover a large part of the flowers. The green cardstock was too bold in color that I was afraid it was taking the attention away from the flowers. To mute it down, I die cut vellum using the same leaf clusters die. I used the Xyron Sticker maker to apply adhesive to the right side of the leaf clusters. I adhered this to the back of the vellum leaf cluster die cut. I snipped off the excess leaves following the modified green leaf cluster die cut.

I tucked the leaf clusters underneath the embroidery floss. I applied small amounts of liquid glue behind the leaves.

For the sentiment, I prepped the area with an anti-static powder tool. I stamped the sentiment from Altenew Adore You stamp set with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I re-stamped this about two more times to get a good impression since I used a textured watercolor paper. I poured clear embossing powder to the sentiment, then heat set it. I stamped a supplemental sentiment on the bottom which is also from the same stamp set.

To center the panel, I trimmed off a 4th of an inch from the top. I trimmed a light gray cardstock into a strip. I adhered the gray cardstock strips to the top and bottom of top folding note card measuring 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". I adhered the watercolored panel after, centering it between the cardstock strips. I used liquid glue on the areas where I stitched, and a roller adhesive on the areas without stitching. Since the paper got warped from frequent heat setting, I applied something heavy on top of it while the liquid glue is drying to regain its flat shape.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you create your own floral scene using whatever supplies you have. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I am sharing this creation at:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge~Anything Goes

Music Inspired Birthday Card

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. I have several reasons in coming up with this card. 

1. It is my 3rd son's 16th birthday next week. He is a musically gifted person, thus, the music theme of the card.
2. This is my 5th AECP creation. I am inspired to create a card using embossing powder.
3. I would like to participate in Altenew's latest blog challenge. Although the theme is Folk-inspired, which my card's music theme might not be aligned with, I really like the colors included with the theme. You can see the inspiration photo at the end of this post.

I started with die cutting the heart clef on heavy weight cardstock. This die is from the Altenew Treble Love die set. I die cut three pieces of the heart clef. I embossed different colored embossing powders on each heart clef following the colors of the Altenew challenge. I did that by applying Versamark ink on a portion of the heart clef, starting at the topmost part of the heart clef. I poured Wow! Fluorescent Blue embossing powder to the sticky ink. I heat set this until the powder is melted.

I repeated this process on the middle part of the heart clef, making sure I applied ink to a part of the already embossed area. I poured Wow! Fluorescent Yellow embossing powder to this area. To finish it off, I applied Versamark ink on the bottom portion, then poured Wow! Fluorescent Green embossing powder to it. I made sure that the embossing powders blended as it is heated.

I applied embossing fluid to some parts of the heart clef with the Wow! Mixed Media Embossing Brush. I poured Wow! Midas Touch embossing powder to the fluid and heat set it, making sure that this glittered embossing powder melts into the fluorescent embossing powder. 

I die cut three more heart clefs on heavy weight white cardstock. I adhered this to the back of the embossed heart clef for some dimension.

For the card panel, I am creating an A6 card which measures 6 1/4" x 4 1/2'. I trimmed a light gray cardstock to this size. I created a background by repeatedly stamping the music staff included in the Altenew Happy Birthday To You stamp set. I used the Misti Stamping Tool for this repeated stamping technique. I wanted a muted impression of the music staff. To achieve this, I did second generation stamping in which I stamped the image on a scrap paper first before stamping the image to the cardstock. I had to repeat this process to make the impression slightly darker than the second generation stamping. 

Inspired by the window on the photo, I die cut rectangle frames on blue cardstock. The dies I used are from the Waffle Flower A2 Layers dies. Using the same colored cardstock, I die cut the staff from the Altenew Treble Love die set and adhered this to the back of the frame. Once the glue has dried, I cut off the excess. 

To create contrast for the staff windows, I created a sentiment background on a dark gray cardstock. I repeatedly stamped the sentiment on this using Hero Arts White Unicorn ink and Hero Arts Soft Granite ink. I adhered the staff window on this panel. I trimmed off the excess after the glue has dried.

I adhered the heart clef to the staff on this framed panels and set this aside to dry. 

I heat embossed the sentiment on the bottom portion of the panel using Versafine Onyx Black ink and a glittered black embossing powder. 

I adhered the staff panels to the card base. To add more sparkle, I heat embossed a smaller heart die cut with the Wow! Midas Touch embossing powder. Although the clef die cuts a heart, I wanted to embellish the heart clef with a smaller heart. I apologize because I don't know which die I used for this heart. I just found these hearts in my stash of small heart die cuts which just happened to be the perfect size of heart I am looking for to complete my card lay-out. 

I trimmed a sliver off the bottom edge and matted this panel with a light blue cardstock.

Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I am sharing this creation at

Inspiration Challenge #20

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge~Make Your Own Background

Hero Arts Blog Challenge

Pop-Up Vase Card and Mini Note Card

 

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. I got busy this week creating this paper gift for a special person to my son who is celebrating her birthday today. I created a similar project before (Pop-Up Vase Card), but I used a different flower die and I only had 3 flowers in the vase since I created more than one Pop-Up Vase.  This time, I created a Pop-Up Vase with 12 flowers in the vase.

I am using the HoneyBee Stamps Tulips Lovely Layers Honey Cuts. There are 3 flowers that can be created using this set. I am using the Closed Tulip. The recipient's favorite color is light blue. I die cut the layers on light blue cardstock. I inked some of the layers to add more depth to the tulip when layered. I die cut an extra piece of the base/solid layer.

I die cut the leaf base and detailed leaf on green cardstock, die cutting the detailed leaf on a darker green cardstock. I die cut three pieces of the leaf base for each flower. Yes, 36 pieces, that's  a lot but you will find out why in a minute. I adhered two leaf base die cuts on top of each other. 

Putting the tulip layers together, I followed the layering guide sent by HoneyBee. I am using a strong liquid adhesive for this project. I adhered the leaf base to the back of the layered tulip. I thought two layers of the leaf base will be sturdy enough for the layered tulip but I felt that the leaf base is flimsy, so I adhered another leaf base layer. This is when extra die cuts come in handy. 

To cover the stem, I adhered another tulip base layer to the back. I repeated this process until I came up with 12 tulips. I spritz some shimmer spray on the tulips. I set this aside to dry.

For the vase, there is a die set available in the market that cuts the vase base and the holding tabs. The die set also includes dies to decorate the vase. I don't have that die set so I created my own vase. I am using a heavy weight white cardstock for the vase base and the holding tabs. For the vase base, I cut the cardstock at 5 1/2" x 3", and scored it at 1 1/4", 2 1/2", 3 3/4" and 5". I cut 2 pieces of this. For the holding tab, I cut the cardstock at 3 1/2" x 1", and scored it at 1/2", 1 3/4" and 3". I cut 4 pieces of this. 

To assemble this, I added a strong double sided adhesive to the tabs of the vase base. I adhered the tab to the other base, and adhered the other tab to the other end. Now, we have a sort of an octagon closed vase base.

For the holding tabs, I switched to my strong liquid adhesive so I can have a bit of wiggle time while positioning these tabs. With the tabs folded inward, I added liquid adhesive to the side of the tab facing the vase base. I adhered one tab making sure that the fold is aligned to the fold of the octagonal vase base. Skipping one vase fold, I adhered the other tab aligning again the tab fold with the vase fold. If my explanation sounds confusing, I highly recommend Jennifer McGuire's video tutorial for a more visual explanation.

Flatten the vase to train the folds of the pop-up vase since this vase is intended to be placed inside an envelope.

Now, it's time to adhere the flowers. I added liquid glue to the tip of the stems and adhered the flowers to the holding tab. I flatten the vase each time I added a flower. The flowers should be facing one way to be able to flatten the vase. Once, all the flowers are adhered, I flattened this again and applied something heavy over it while the glue dries.

This Pop-Up Vase can fit in an A7 envelope so it will be helpful to use it as a guide when adhering the flowers. Try to keep it within the envelope size so it will fit the envelope. The tulips are not that long so this was not a problem for me.

To embellish the vase, I trimmed a Grafix platinum vellum at 3/4" x 3". I used a sticker maker to add adhesive to the back of the vellum. I adhered this to each fold of the vase. I chose vellum to prevent adding more bulk to the vase when folded. 

I die cut a holographic cardstock with a 3D bow die from HoneyBee Gift Card Present Box Honey Cuts.   The holographic cardstock, unlike a colored cardstock, has a brown underside. The tail of the bow is cut with the underside of the cardstock showing once assembled. Since I still want the holographic cardstock to show, I partially die cut the bow tail and adhered it to the bow tail with the brown underside showing. 

I adhered the 3D bow to the front of the vase.

For the sentiment, I die cut a white cardstock with a stitched rectangle die from Simon Says Stamp. I partially die cut the cardstock so I can extend its length making the sentiment fit. 

I heat embossed the sentiment to the rectangular die cut. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches. I am using Wow! Primary Blue Topaz Embossing Powder. I adhered this to the front of the card, underneath the 3D bow.

With the 3D Bow, there is a chance that the 3D bow will flatten if I put this in an envelope. I created an envelope that will fit the dimension of the Pop-Up Vase especially the 3D Bow. This video by Wandy's Sweets is very helpful that I used her technique in creating my envelope. After I cut the base of the envelope, I rounded the envelope tips using the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board. After I adhered the bottom part of the envelope, I cut a slit on the top and bottom edges of the envelope, on the closed side, so I can thread a ribbon through it which will be my closure mechanism for the envelope. 

Well, the Pop-Up Vase does not really give you an opportunity to write a personal message to the recipient. I created a matching mini note card for this purpose. I die cut a white cardstock using a note card die from the Tritiny Stamps Frame and Fold Slimline die set. Instead of vellum, I die cut a light gray cardstock using the stitched rectangle die included in the die set. I spritz the gray panel with shimmer spray. After determining the placement of the flower, I heat embossed a sentiment using the same supplies I used on the Pop-Up Vase. I adhered the gray panel to the note card, then adhered the tulip. I also added some blue sequins. 

Below is a video showing how the Pop-Up Vase is revealed once it is taken out of the envelope. 

I apologize for the long tutorial. As you can see, this is a big project created for a speical occasion. Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I added below a link to the Trinity stamp product I used on this project. There will be no additional cost to you should you decide to purchase this die set. While you are at the Trinity Stamps website, do check out the other amazing Trinity Stamps products including their newly released products. 

I am sharing this creation at

Hero Arts Blog #6

A Cheery Card

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. We have a new challenge at Incy Wincy Designs. For this month's challenge, the theme is Woof/Meow +/or Love, Sweet Love. Our sponsor for this challenge is All Dressed Up. The image I used on this card is linked below.

I printed the image on white cardstock. I colored the image using Faber-Castell Polychromos color pencils. I colored the cat image with Bibi, my sister's black cat, in mind. To guide me with the coloring of a black cat, I watched this video by Andrea Kirk.

I added details to the head gear of the cat using Stickles. I fussy cut the image leaving a white border around it.

For the card base, I trimmed a heavy weight yellow cardstock to 8 1/2" x 11". I scored this on the long side at 5 1/2" to create a top folding landscape card. I stamped the front with a Hero Arts Tiny Flags Woodblock stamp using a yellow dye ink. This stamp is not wide enough to cover the whole card so I used a patterned paper to cover the unstamped area. I also did not make a good impression of the stamp image. I should have used a stamp positioner but since I did not, I'll just let it be, and make it look like it is a part of the design. 

I embossed the patterned paper to create triangular impressions on it just like the design of the stamp.

For the sentiment, I die cut the letters on patterned paper using My Favorite Things Spell Anything Alphabet Die-namics. I love the playful font of this alphabet die set. I also die cut this on a white cardstock to adhere it to the back of the patterned paper alphabet die cuts for some dimension. I adhered the letters to the card panel.

For the sub-sentiment, I heat embossed the sentiment from MFT Bitty Birthday Wishes on a pink patterned paper. I embossed this using white embossing powder. I die cut this into a strip using Avery Elle Elle-ments Simple Sentiments die. I die cut two more pieces of this strip on white cardstock. I adhered this to the back of the patterned paper sentiment strip, then adhered it to the card panel. 

I adhered the cat to the panel using foam adhesive.

I rounded the bottom corners with a We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper. 

I added floral sequins to the panel.

I added shimmer to the letter die cuts using Spectrum Noir clear shimmer pen.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you join us at Incy Wincy for this month's challenge. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

Image Sponsor

I am sharing this creation at

June Challenge #129~Anything Goes

Challenge #64 - Anything Goes with a Featured Critter

July 2022 Linky Challenge~Anything Goes #3