Assorted Birthday Cards for Janice

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. I was commissioned by a friend, Janice, to create cards for her grown up children. I have created cards for her husband and her daughter before but never for her sons. Time to put on my creating cap!

One of Janice's sons loves to travel so I thought of this design. I used a Hero Arts cover plate die on this card.

To create this look, I embossed the die on watercolor paper. To do this technique, I substituted the bottom cutting plate with an embossing mat. I added a cardstock as an additional shim to put more pressure on the paper. I painted the watercolor paper using the embossing as a guide where to paint.

I tried a paint that I recently bought, the Boku-Undo E-Sumi Shadow Black Watercolor Palette, on this card. It is a paint used for monotone paintings. The black stands out although I noticed difference in shades between the colors on the palette. With this being a birthday card, it needs more happy colors but I don't want to go away from the monotone since this is a masculine card. So what I did is add Tim Holtz Distress Sprays on a mixing palette. I muted this with water then mixed a small amount of Boku-Undo. I mixed the colors accordingly. 

I die cut the cover plate on holographic paper. I adhered this to the watercolored panel. I trimmed off the excess.

For the sentiment, I selectively die cut the sky portion of the cover plate on blue vellum. I treated the vellum with anti-static powder. I stamped the sentiment using Versaefine Onyx Black ink. I poured clear embossing powder over it then heat set it. I used a Sticker Maker to add adhesive to the back of the vellum then pieced this in to the die cut. 

I adhered this to a side folding note card.

For the second card, Janice mentioned her other son loves cars. I was going to create a truck card only to find out that her son has a car, not a truck. Good thing, I have this Spellbinders die set which I recently bought at Checkered Cottage. 

Like any die that I am not familiar with and since the packaging does not say much, I searched the internet on how to use this die set. There is a video on what this die set cuts and how to assemble it but after using this die set myself, I think there should be recommendations on what color of paper to use for each die so as to achieve the 3D look. I plan to create another card using this die. I want to see if I can recreate this car more easily being my second time to use it. I plan to write notes this time and share it here.

To create this into a card, I die cut a large diamond on black cardstock. I embossed this using a chevron embossing folder. I lightly swiped a white pigment ink over the embossing to make the dotted details pop out. 

I die cut the letters using a Lawn Fawn die set. I die cut this on black and white glitter papers. I adhered the black alphabet die cuts to the back of the glittered alphabet die cuts slightly offsetting it to achieve a shadow effect. I adhered the letters to the embossed diamond.

I die cut a glossy light blue paper with a Mama Elephant stitched rectangle die. The blue paper has some diamond design on it giving it a retro look. I adhered the elements of the card to this panel. It took a lot of adhesive to make the die cuts adhere to the shiny blue paper. Somehow, the blue paper repels the glue.

The last card is for Janice's daughter. It might look familiar to you if you follow my blog. This is not a new card. I created this last June for BPM. Janice showed a photo of this card to her daughter. Her daughter liked it so I saved this card for her.

When I created this card, it did not have a sentiment on it. To customize it, I added a sentiment by die cutting the word happy using a die from Hero Arts. I swiped a Lisa Horton Interference Ink on a white cardstock. I heat set this to dry. I die cut this twice, the second one being on black cardstock. I adhered the black sentiment die cut behind the other die cut slightly offsetting it for a shadow effect.

For the second part of the sentiment, I treated a black cardstock with an anti-static powder. I stamped the Altenew sentiment on the black cardstock with Versamark ink. I poured white embossing powder to it then heat set it. I die cut this using a sentiment strip die from Avery Elle. 

I adhered the sentiment strip to the sentiment die cut. I adhered the sentiments to the flower panel. I adhered this to a side folding A2 notecard. I was tempted to add a gem to the flower center but went against it to keep the card simple. 

I hope you like today's cards. Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day.

Maria Giselle B.

I shared one of the cards at

Simon Says: Add Some Text

 

Another Card & Envelope Set Using Digital Printed Paper Plus a Bonus Card

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. Today's card features a digital download printable by Blank Page Muse. 

A Cozy Fall Harvest

This set includes 9 Fall themed full printable sheets and 2 sheets of ephemera that are very suitable for the season. The great thing about digital print outs is that you can resize it the way you plan to use it. You can also crop a portion of a full sheet to suit your crafting needs. 

I created a similar project, Card & Envelope Set Using Digital Printed Paper, using a different Blank Page Muse digital download printable. Click the link if you are interested to see it.

For the card, I cropped the plaid digital paper with the gnome. I only need the bottom part of the digital paper which has the word 'fall' on it. After cropping it, I re-sized it to 5 1/4" x 4".

I stamped the word 'happy' above the word 'fall' using Versafine Onyx Black ink. The paper I used has a shiny finish so I made sure to prep the area with an anti-static powder tool first before stamping the sentiment. I poured clear embossing to the sentiment, then heat embossed it. I inked the edges of this panel with a black dye ink. 

I re-sized the orange digital paper to 5 1/2" x 4 1/4". I used this to mat the gnome paper. 

I die cut a label on the same orange digital paper. I heat embossed the words 'you all' to this label strip using the same ink and embossing powder. I punched a small hole on the ends of this label die cut. I threaded a metallic embroidery floss through the holes. I cut the thread long so I it covers the width of the card front.

I adhered this panel to a top folding A2 kraft portrait note card. I added Ranger Glossy Accents to the hearts, then set it aside to dry.

For the envelope, I printed the other plaid digital paper on a full sheet of light weight 8 1/2" x 11" white cardstock. I created this paper into an envelope following the tutorial by Jenny Card Designs. There is no need for an envelope punchboard to create this envelope. 

For the envelope front, I cropped and resized the other digital paper with the gnome. I heat embossed the word 'to' on the top left corner. I inked the edges with a black dye ink. I matted this with the same orange digital paper I used to mat the card. This edges of this panel was also ink blended with black dye ink. I adhered this to the front of the envelope.

Since I printed extras and while my craft supplies are out, I created another card. For this card, I cropped the yellow paper, cropping off the gnome and the pumpkins (That part of this paper was the one I used for the label on the front of the envelope.) I resized this to 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". 

On the ephemera page, I cropped the wreath, the bow and the heart. I did not want to print the whole page of the ephemera that's why I cropped these images from the ephemera set. I printed these digital images on a light weight white cardstock.

I added details to the yellow panel using the Altenew Dotted Swirls Debossing die. 

I die cut the sentiment on the orange digital paper. I also die cut this sentiment on black cardstock. I adhered the black sentiment die cut to the back of the orange sentiment die cut offsetting it for a shadow effect. To add a bit of dimension to this die cut sentiment, I die cut the sentiment again on a a scrap piece of cardstock, then adhered it to the back of the sentiment die cut. 

I colored the top part of the sentiment die cut with an orange shimmer pen.

I fussy cut the wreath leaving a white border around it. I printed the plaid heart to use the pattern to fill the opening of the wreath. I die cut this paper with a burlap die. I added dimension between the wreath and burlap using stacked scrap cardstock. 

I fussy cut the plaid bow leaving a white border around it. I used a round stylus to add curl the bow. I added a glue dot to the back of the bow, then added a metallic embroidery floss underneath it. I adhered this on the bow on the wreath using a glue dot. 

I planned out the placement of my card elements. Once I was pleased with how it looks, I stamped the additional sentiment to the yellow panel. I adhered the wreath with adhesive foam. I adhered the sentiment with liquid glue. 

I trimmed off the edges to make this panel into a 4" x 5 1/4". I adhered this to a top folding landscape kraft A2 notecard. I added Ranger Glossy Accent to the center of the flowers. I adhered a black bauble to the bow center. I adhered cream colored gems to the panel. 

I hope you like today's cards. Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

Blank Page Muse is generously offering a 15% discount to their online store to YOU, my blog readers. Just use the code BPMMaria when you check out. Enjoy!

I also added below a link to the Altenew product I used on this card. There will be no additional cost to you should you decide to purchase this item. It is just a way to help a fellow crafter sustain her love for crafting. While in the Altenew blog, don't forget to check out their new release for this month. Thank you for your support. 

I am sharing this creation at

Thanks/Thanksgiving

November Challenge #59~Anything Goes with Optional Twist: Grateful, Thankful, Thank You

Halloween Banner

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. Today's project features a digital paper from Blank Page Muse, Creepy Cute Halloween Digital Papers. The digital papers and ephemera included in this digital set are Halloween themed but some of the images in this set can be used all year long. 

I am using the tag from the set. After I downloaded the ephemera sheet, I cropped the tag that I am using to remove the rest of the ephemera included in the sheet. I am a thrifty crafter so I try to max out the number of tags I can fit in an 8.5" x 11" light weight cardstock. After resizing the tag, I was able to fit 8 tags in a sheet. I trimmed each tag. Since the paper I used for printing is light weight, I adhered a black cardstock to the back of each tag. I placed something heavy on top of these tags while it dries so it will dry flat.

Once the tags are dry, I die cut each tag using a tag die from The Stamp Market. I added a hole reinforcer which I die cut from the excess digital paper. The reinforcer die came from the tag die set. I adhered the hole reinforcer to the top of the tag. 

For the letters, I die cut an orange cardstock using the Spellbinders Stitched Alphabet dies. I spelled out 'Happy Halloween.' I stitched black DMC embroidery floss on the stitching holes of each letter. 

To put the tag together, I added foam adhesive to the back of each letter. Before adhering the letter to the tag, I added a looped metallic floss in between the letter and the tag. I reinforced some of the foam tape with glue if they are not adhering too well to the tag.

I added halloween icon sequins for some embellishment. 

I used a Halloween themed clothespin from my stash to clip the tags to a Halloween themed twine (also from my stash). I temporarily taped this to my door for photo purposes but this banner is displayed on our living room window, on top of our pumpkin decors. As much as I love to show how my window display looks, the glare of the sun proved to be a challenge to get a good photo of it. 

I hope you like today's project. Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

Blank Page Muse is generously offering a 15% discount to their online store to YOU! Just use the code BPMMaria when you check out. Enjoy!

Update: I was able to take a photo of my living room window Halloween display. I hope you like it.

I am sharing this creation at

Simon Says Stamp IG Challenge