Blog Archives - Crystal Komara

Sending Cards. . . Just Because

6/23/2021

What could be more wonderful than receiving a beautiful handmade card with an uplifting sentiment like "to one of the loveliest people I know? In fact, that reminds me to send cards more often. . . just because. I am great at sending sympathy and get well cards or cards for birthdays and calendar holidays, but I don't send nearly enough cards just because. So, let today's card serve as a reminder that we could all use a little more happy mail in our lives, and in our mailboxes!

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using a l attice die, I also die cut the lattice background from white cardstock and adhered it directly to the card base. Using a camera frame die, I cut the frame from raspberry cardstock. I printed the camera image from the Pamper Yourself digital stamp set. I colored the image with Copic markers and fussy cut it out. I adhered the camera to the card, at an angle, using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I printed out the sentiment "to one of the loveliest people I know" from the You Make Me Proud digital stamp set. I die cut the sentiment using an oval die and I adhered the sentiment above the camera. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the camera and flowers for added sparkle.

I hope you have enjoyed today's card. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! For more inspiration, you can visit me on Instagram, Facebook and on my YouTube channel.

XO, Crystal

Pink Spring Rose

6/18/2021

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to visit my website today. If this is your first time here, welcome! You can check out my card gallery for lots of crafty inspiration. If you are a regular visitor, then thank you for continuing to come back. I hope each visit brings something new and inspiring!

Today I am sharing a card I designed for Joy Clair Designs using the beautiful Spring Rose digital stamp set. If you are interested in learning more about working with digital stamps, please read this post. Over the past two years, I have really enjoyed working with digital stamps mostly for the simple ability to resize them, as I did for this card.

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Waffle Flower Angled Strips background die, I die cut the background from white cardstock. I printed the sentiment from the Joy Clair Designs Spring Stamp set onto 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and die cut it using a 2 1/2" Scalloped Circle Die from Lawn Fawn. I printed the flowers in two different sizes and colored them using Copic markers.

I adhered the sentiment circle to the upper right corner of the card using 3M foam adhesive. I added the two roses to the card also using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for added sparkle.

I love how this card turned out, simple and elegant. I might even make the same card in a few other colors! This card would work well for a variety of occasions from birthday and get well soon, to sympathy and thinking of you.

Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

List of supplies:

Positively Peach

6/16/2021

Hello, today I am on the Joy Clair Designs blog sharing a monochromatic peach card featuring the beautiful Spring Rose digital stamp set and an alcohol ink background. I LOVE working with alcohol inks because they offer such depth and texture to the backgrounds, despite the occasional mess and unpredictable end result you get each time!

Card details:

For the base of this A2 sized card I use 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Yupo paper, I created the alcohol ink background by "ink blowing" Ranger Adirondack alcohol inks in Peach Bellini and Gold Mixative. When I say "ink blowing," I essentially dropped small amounts of the ink onto Yupo paper, added a bit of 80% isopropyl rubbing alcohol and used the Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink Air Blower to move the ink around. Once the ink dried, I splattered the background with white acrylic paint. Once the acrylic paint dried I then adhered the background to the card.

I printed the Spring Rose digital stamp set onto 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. This is my go-to white cardstock for everything from die cutting and card bases to Copic coloring and distress oxides. I printed one of the roses at 60% and the other at 80%. I colored each rose with Copic markers and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive. I printed the sentiment on the same white cardstock and used an oval die to die cut the sentiment out. I adhered the sentiment to the left of the card also using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, using a Uniball white gel pen, I made small white dots, in groups of threes, on the flowers to add a little more texture.

I hope you have enjoyed this card. Thank you for visiting and happy creating!

XO, Crystal

Eloquent Glittering Butterflies

6/14/2021

Hello friends! Happy Monday! Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog sharing another way to use the beautiful Eloquent Butterfly dies. I am SOOOoo in love with this latest release from Birch Press Design featuring a variety of unique layering butterflies because the options are truly endless when you combine layers and colors. Today I chose to use a monochromatic blue and a monochromatic purple color scheme for my cards, but you could choose yellows, reds, oranges or the list goes on for an entirely different look.

Card details:

For this first A2 sized card, I used 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock as my card base. This is my go-to white cardstock for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g! I use it for my card bases, distress oxide inks, Copic coloring and die cutting. It is one of the only white cardstocks you will need. For the first layer, I die cut the Butterfly Garden Layer C from white cardstock and adhered it directly to the card base. I used the Eloquent Butterfly dies and die cut Layer C, Layer B and Layer A using cardstock from the Ocean Blue 6" x 6" paper pack and the Frosted Glitter Twinkling 6" x 6" pad.

I layered the butterflies together using LineCo ph neutral bookbinding glue, which is my favorite liquid adhesive. Once the layers of the butterflies were adhered together I used 3M foam adhesive to add the butterflies to the card. Using blue ink, I stamped the sentiment from the Brush Sentiments stamp set on white cardstock and punched it out with a 2" circle punch. I adhered the sentiment circle to the card using 3M foam adhesive.

Card details:

For this second A2 sized card, I used the same 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock for my base. I also die cut the Butterfly Garden Layering Plate C from white cardstock and adhered that directly to the base of the card. I die cut the Layer A, Layer B and Layer C of the Eloquent Butterfly dies using the Berry Red 6" x 6" paper pack and the Twinkling Jewel Glitter pad.

I stamped the sentiment from the Brushed Sentiments stamp set in raspberry ink on white cardstock and punched it out with a 3" circle. I adhered the sentiment and butterfly to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

XO, Crystal

Happy Rainbows

6/11/2021

Hello readers! Today I am over on the Joy Clair Designs blog sharing some fun rainbow colored cards using both the Spring Rose and Funny Times digital stamp sets from Joy Clair Designs. I love using rainbow colors on my cards, because I think it just makes them extra cheerful and uplifting no matter what images are used.

Card details:

For this first A2 sized card, I used a piece of 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock for my base. I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of black cardstock for the first mat which I adhered directly to the card base. I placed a 2" x 5 1/4" piece of black and gold foiled patterned paper down the left side of the card. I enlarged the hot air balloon to about 60% from the Funny Times digital stamp set and printed it onto Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I colored the image with Copic markers and fussy cut the image out. I adhered the hot air balloon to the card using 3M foam adhesive. I also printed the sentiment onto white cardstock and die cut it using a 3" stitched oval circle. I adhered the sentiment to the balloon using Tombow adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the balloon for added sparkle.

For this second A2 sized card, I used the same card base of 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I heat embossed a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of black cardstock with a grunge background stamp and adhered it directly to the card base. I printed one of the roses from the beautiful Spring Rose digital stamp set and enlarged it 50%. I colored the image with Copic markers in rainbow colors and adhered it to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive. I printed out the sentiment on white cardstock and used a decorative punch to punch out the shape. I placed a little white twine on the center of the rose and the sentiment on top of the twine. I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the rose for added sparkle.

I hope you have enjoyed these cards. You can see more of my designs on Instagram, Facebook and on my YouTube channel. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Spellbinders Liberty Collection Release

6/9/2021

Hello readers! Today I am very excited to be the guest host on the Spellbinders blog! I am so grateful to be given the opportunity to share in the release of the Spellbinders Liberty Collection – a fun new patriotic accessories addition that will coordinate perfectly with the Shapeabilities Sunday Drive etched dies.

There is, or has been, a member of my family serving in every military branch since my grandfather served in WWII. Others, myself included, are proud members of U. S. law enforcement services, so suffice is to say the Liberty Collection will be used and shared throughout my family and friends for the summer holidays to come.

Card details:

For this first A2 sized card, I used a piece of 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock as my base. I cut a 5 ¼” x 4” piece of red cardstock for the first mat and a 5” x 3 ¾” piece of white linen textured cardstock for the next mat. I die cut a large circle from a piece of red, white and blue plaid paper and adhered it to the center of the card using a Tombow Dot Runner.

Using the new Liberty Sunday Drive Detailed Cutting Dies, I die cut all the pieces to create the car, driver, license plate and banners from red, white, blue and gray cardstock. I pieced the small images together layering each component with adhesive to create the car. From the Shapeabilities Sunday Drive Etched Dies, I die cut the balloon in multiples from red, white, blue and glitter cardstocks. Beside the driver, I placed the balloon bouquet in the passenger seat. I adhered the entire car and balloons to the left side of the card using 3M foam adhesive.

On a small thin strip of white cardstock, I stamped the sentiment “thank you for your service” in red ink. I notched the right side of the sentiment strip and adhered it to the left side of the card using 3M foam adhesive.

Because die cutting all of the little pieces from the Liberty Sunday Drive Detailed Cutting dies takes a LOT of time and patience, I decided to show you another way to use some of the same pieces to create a different patriotic themed card.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I used a 5 ¼” x 4” piece of plaid cardstock for the first layered mat. I die cut a scalloped rectangle frame from red cardstock and matted it with a 3 ¼” x 4” piece of white cardstock. I die cut even more balloons from the Sunday Drive Detailed Cutting dies in red, white blue and glitter cardstock and I made a large balloon bouquet.

I adhered a couple pieces of white and silver twine behind the balloons to ground them. I die cut the “happy 4th” sentiment in red cardstock from the die that should have been used for the license plate. I mounted the red license plate onto a piece of white cardstock. I tucked the few pieces of twine behind the sentiment strip before adhering the license plate sentiment with 3M foam adhesive.

I hope you have enjoyed these cards using the new Liberty Collection from Spellbinders. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Slimline Rainbow Butterfly Basics

6/7/2021

Hello readers and happy Monday! I hope you all had a nice weekend. Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog sharing this slimline card using the beautiful new Butterfly Basics dies. I am absolutely in love with this latest release from Birch Press Design featuring a variety of layering butterflies like the Eloquent Butterfly and the Glimmer Butterfly, so I envision lots of butterfly themed cards in my future!

Card details:

Today's slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2". Slimline cards are designed to fit inside a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. The base of this slimline card is made from 80 lb. black cardstock. I cut an 8 1/4" x 3 1/4'" miscellaneous piece of black and white diamond printed paper for the first layer. Using a hexagon shaped die, I die cut three 2 1/2" hexagons from white cardstock. I adhered the hexagons directly down the center of the card using a Tombow tape runner.

From a piece of rainbow cardstock, I die cut the body of the butterfly from a section of the paper that included more red and oranges, then a section of yellows and greens and a third section from blues and purples, to mimic the colors of the rainbows. I die cut the butterfly outline from black cardstock. I adhered the black outline over the rainbow bodies and adhered the three butterflies to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment "just because" from the Brush Sentiments stamp set in Memento Tuxedo black ink on a thin strip of white cardstock and adhered it to the card also using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a couple black rhinestones to the card for added texture.

I hope you have enjoyed today's card featuring the beautiful new Butterfly Basics dies. Thank you for reading and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

MFT Color Challenge #166

6/5/2021

Hello friends and happy Saturday! I hope you are all enjoying a nice weekend so far. It is 93* and insanely hot and humid here in Massachusetts today, so I'm happy to be inside crafting with my friend Donna, who is here from L.A. visiting for a long weekend.

Today I am linking up with the My Favorite Things Color Challenge #166, which is a fun blend of purples, teals and gray. I haven't played along with any card challenges in quite a while, but Donna participates in them frequently and has inspired me to begin creating again using challenges as my guide.

Card details:

This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2" inches. The base of the card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using a piece of teal houndstooth paper (source unknown) I cut an 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece for the first layered mat. I used the Whimsy Stamps Slimline Postage die for the white frame background. Using the Whimsy Stamps Slimline Bunting Border dies, I die cut the banners from teal and purple glitter cardstock. I stamped the images from MFT Stamps Sending Sweet Celebration Wishes in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock. I colored the images, using the required challenge colors, with Copic markers. I die cut the images using the coordinating MFT Stamps Sending Sweet Celebration Wishes dies. I adhered the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock and adhered it to the card using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the images for added sparkle.

Here is the color challenge from My Favorite Things that inspired today's card:

Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative weekend!

XO, Crystal