Monochromatic Sketch Inspired Card

 

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful holiday celebration. We have new sketch challenges at Stick It Down Scrapbook and Card Making Challenge in FB. It is very easy to join having three sketch options to choose from. I hope you join.

I went all gray on my card. I also used Altenew products on my card. 

I did several techniques on this card which includes foiling, embossing, die cutting and fussy cutting. Among these techniques, I spent most of my time on foiling using the Spellbinders Glimmer Machine. Like any technique, if you are not constantly doing it, you lose the skill of doing it. I don't usually do foiling with the Glimmer machine that's why each time I use it, it takes me a lot of of time and resources before I get satisfied with my foiling. 

I had a hard time matching the foiled image with the die. I used the Altenew Scalloped Circles Die set and Hot Foil Plate set. I tried foiling then die cutting but I lost some of the foiled edge with the die cutting. I tried a different technique of die cutting in which I used the negative cut to help me with placement of the die. The result was about the same, die cutting a part of the foiled scallop edge. 

I tried the reverse of this step, and the result was about the same. So I resorted to fussy cutting the foiled scallop, leaving a small border around it. In this way, I was able to preserve the foiling. I die cut the next size down scallop and inlaid it for added details. I cut this in half to extend it to follow the sketch.

For the rectangular elements, I embossed both pieces using the Altenew Beautiful Bergenia 3D embossing folder. I strategically embossed it so the design is continuous on both rectangle pieces. 

I embossed a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" dark gray cardstock with the Altenew Raised Sentiment 3D embossing folder. 

I created a banner and die cut the word hello on this. The hello die is from the Altenew Calming Cluster die set. I used the negative cut of the banner for this card. I adhered a dark gray banner on the back. I extended the fish tail of the banner a little bit. I adhered the center piece of the letter o. 

I adhered the elements to the embossed panel following the sketch above. I flicked white paint over the panel.

I did not add any more matting on the back since I felt that trimming the edges off will make the design elements too crowded on the dark panel. I could have cut a larger matte but I just want to keep this as an A2 card. I could also have added some staples for bit of interest. Maybe next time.

Thank you for visiting my blog. Have a blessed, brilliant and creative year! I hope you join the first SID challenge for the year. 

Maria Giselle B.

I shared this project at

Challenge #96~Anything Goes

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

 

Doodlebug World Card Making Day 2025

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. One of the things I look forward to on WCMD is the Doodlebug Design Challenges. I love their challenges so I try to play along if I can using my Doodlebug stash which is not a lot. I used a lot of Doodlebug products in creating classroom giveaways for my sons when they are still young. The Doodlebug images are so playful and the colors are so vibrant making it fit for kids. When my boys grew up, classroom giveaways are not a thing anymore. The local store that sold Doodlebug Designs closed up which lessened my access to it. 

I was not getting a creative spark as I was looking through my Doodlebug craft stash. I am trying to make it work but I feel that I overused the limited Doodlebug stash I have over the years. So I made a trip to the last standing craft store in my area, the Checkered Cottage. It has a re-sell spot and guess what I found? Thanks to Christine, Checkered Cottage's Re-Create Go To Person, who helped me with the Doodlebug stamp set. I also found a Doodlebug die set. If it was not meant to be.

So this is what I came up for the One Color Challenge as inspired by the Doodlebug Design's new collection Oh What Fun specifically the trees. I hope you like it. 

 

Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I shared this project at

#DoodlebugWCMD2025

Simon Says Stamp Blog

Monochromatic Mandala Pattern Panel, a Blank Page Muse Post

Hello! I am at the Blank Page Muse with this project. Head on to the BPM blog for details. Thank you! 

Have a blessed, brilliant and creative day!

Maria Giselle B.

I am sharing this project at

Simon Says Stamp IG Challenge

Monochromatic Card

 

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. Have you had those moments when you think you can re-make a stamp design using whatever craft supply you have? This card is a product of such moment. Just another way to stretch those supplies. 

The leaf stamp is from the Blank Page Muse You Make Me Happy stamp set. I used the leaf in a cascading design to mimic vines. I used a midnight blue cardstock for the card panel. After prepping the area with an anti-static powder tool, I stamped the leaf one branch at a time using Versamark ink. 

I poured silver embossing ink over the sticky ink. 

Despite the use of an anti-static tool, I end up having stray powders. I gently removed these stray, melted powder with an electric eraser. You can use a craft knife too if you don't have this kind of eraser.

I colored the leaves with a light blue acrylic marker. This marker gives a bold matte color. Despite coloring over the leaf spine with the acrylic marker, the embossing retained its shiny property.

I blended ink on the blank area of the panel with a dark blue ink. I splattered some gray mica water over the blended portion of the panel. Once this has dried, I adhered letter die cuts to create the sentiment. 

These letter die cuts were doubled up for some dimension. I also colored it with a blue acrylic marker to tie in with the color of the leaves.

This card is very easy to pull together. I encouraged you to give it a try. 

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!

Dye Ink Colored Shaped Card

Hello! Welcome back to my blog. Today's post is a continuation of my journey in AECP 2. I am featuring the technique of painting with dye inks on this card. This is my first time to use dye inks for painting. I always use Distress Inks for painting since they are easily activated by water and blending has not been a problem. Had a bit of struggle with the dye ink but I think with practice, I should be able to find my comfort level in using these inks.

I started my card by stamping the image on watercolor paper. The image is from Altenew Up & Away stamp set. Since this is a large image, I used the Misti Stamping Tool to help me achieve a good impression of the image. It took me twice to stamp the whole image but I had to fix some missed spots by re-inking and re-stamping that particular area of the stamp image. I used Versafine Onyx Black ink since I will be painting. 

I taped the stamped watercolor panel to a board for some warp control while I paint. I applied a bit of the ink from the ink pad to a palette. I am using Altenew dye inks, Vineyard Berry, Heart Beat, Pink Pearl and Pink Sand. I applied a light wash of the colors over the hot air balloon using a waterbrush. Then I switched to a small brush to add details using the darker ink. 

This image is not within my forte of images that I usually color. That's what great about taking the AECP courses. It challenged me to go beyond my comfort level. Try other things. 

I die cut the image using the matching die. To create this into a shaped card, I trimmed a heavy weight cardstock at 11" x 5 1/4". I scored this on the long end at 5 1/2". Using the die I used to die cut the hot air balloon, I positioned this die close to the folded edge, making sure the die has an overhang on the folded edge. This prevents the die from cutting that side of the card, thus preserved the fold.

I also made sure that I like the orientation of the hot air balloon. I did this by re-positioning the hot air balloon die cut over the note card, then I matched the die over it. I temporarily taped the metal die then removed the die cut. I passed this through the die cut machine. Took me at least four times to get the note card cut on both the front and back sides.

I used the negative cut created above as a holding piece for the painted die cut as I stamp the sentiment. I positioned this on the Misti Stamping Tool. Using the holding piece helped in positioning the sentiment in relation to the fold of the card. I prepped the area for embossing with a powder tool. I stamped the sentiment, which is from the same stamp set, onto the painted die cut using Versafine Onyx Black ink. I poured clear embossing powder to this then heat set it. I repeated this process for the sub-sentiment. 

The sentiment somehow is unreadable because of the black outlines of the hot air balloon. To make the sentiment pop, I outlined it with a Zebra Mild gray Highlighter Midliner. This did not have the same effect on the sub-sentiment. I painted a white paint marker over the grayed sub-sentiment. I wiped the paint off the embossed letters. 

I have some residual inks on my palette. Instead of putting this into waste, I picked some of these inks with a water brush and flicked it on the hot air balloon.

I adhered this to the shaped card, matching the die cut with the shaped card. I embellished this with some pink sequins.

Whew! I thought I won't able to pull this course together. My first attempt didn't turn out the way I wanted it to be. I am so glad I have a back-up plan.

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

6/2024: Altenew decided to change its affiliate program starting this month. Below is my affiliate link to the website. I don't think I can directly link the products I used with this new program. Please feel free to do a product search. I will update as I figure this out. The good thing about this new affiliate program is that I get to earn on each Altenew product you purchase and not only on the product/s I used on this project. As before, there will be no additional cost to you if you make a purchase. 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!

https://altenew.com/6358517

Maria Giselle B.

I am sharing this creation at

Color Hues Challenge Blog

Inspired By Challenge Blog~Inspired by the color pink.

Monochromatic Father's Day Card

Simon Says Stamps Monday Challenge is Monochrome and their Wednesday Challenge which will be ending in a few hours is Anything Goes featuring Technique Tuesday. When Archiver's was still open, I bought stamps by TT because of Ali Edwards. I rarely use their stamps nowadays with all the stamp companies coming out with their releases. So with both challenges in mind, I challenged myself to create one card. I didn't have a special occasion in mind when I was creating this card but it eventually turn out to become a Father's Day card which is very timely.

I am using the TT Ali Edwards All My Heart stamp set. At first, I was planning to stamp all the squared sentiments to create the background but it didn't have the same sizes. The clear stamps kept sticking together making it hard to lay out the stamps. I just picked one stamp and repeatedly stamp this on Strathmore Bristol paper using the Misti tool. The paper is cut at 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. I prepared the surface with an anti-static tool before I stamped the sentiment. I used Versafine Onyx Black for ink and embossed this using clear powder.

After the panel is filled, I blended various shades of grey inside the squares. I used a sponge dauber to do the job. I am not really being careful blending it. I would rather achieve different shades and am not particular if I go out of the lines. I used 5 shades of gray from 3 different companies (Close To My Heart, Hero Arts and Memento.) I applied white Wink of Stella to the spaces in between the squares. I don't think it is noticeable but I am having a hard time appreciating the effect of this particular Wink of Stella anyway.

I die cut a window on this panel using SSS This Is The Life Frames Cut die. I positioned the window slightly to the lower left of the panel. I also cut a black cardstock using this die. This metal die cuts 2 pieces, an outline piece and a solid piece. I used the black outline as an accent to the window.

For the sentiment, I die cut a dark gray and a white cardstock using the TT Say It Happy DIY Steel die. I stamped the rest of the sentiment from the TT Say It Happy stamp set on a black cardstock strip using Versamark ink. I embossed this using WOW! Silver Pearl Embossing powder.

I adhered a light gray cardstock to the back of the window panel. I adhered the black outline to the window. I adhered the gray happy sentiment on top of the white sentiment slightly off setting this to create a shadow effect. I adhered this to the window area and adhered the sentiment strip on the bottom. I ended with an empty space on the right upper corner of the window. To fill this, I adhered some sequences. For the final touch, I applied clear Wink of Stella to the die cut sentiment. I adhered this panel to a top folding A2 card.

Thanks for viewing my blog. Have a brilliant day!

Maria Giselle B.

I am submitting this creation to:

http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/simon-says-anything-goes-27/

http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/?p=4800