Category: Distress Oxide Inks

Whimsy Stamps May Release

5/1/2020

Hello friends and happy Friday! I can't believe May is here already, but then again March and April were kind of a coronavirus blur! Today I am happy to be celebrating with my fellow Creative Team members a fun new release of products from Whimsy Stamps! This slimline card features the new "Beach Hippos" stamp set and these cuties are ready for some summer fun.

Card details:

*A full supply list is located at the end of this post.

This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2" inches. 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 Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Wavy Edgers die set, the sand is cut from Basic Gray cardsock and the ocean waves are cut from Coastal Cabana cardstock. I added a thin layer of Lawn Fawn's Chunky Glitter on the sand for added sparkle. The background was made from sponging Tim Holtz Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide ink through the Whimsy Stamps Sun Rays stencil. I stamped the sentiment in the upper left corner in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I stamped all three hippos and the starfish from the Beach Hippos stamp set on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock and colored them with Copic markers. I added highlights to the images with a Uniball white gel pen. I added the hippos and starfish to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the hippos for added sparkle.

Please check out the Whimsy Stamps website to see what other fun new release products are available.
Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

XO, Crystal

List of supplies:

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Inky Paws Challenge #121

4/20/2020

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Hello readers and welcome back from the weekend! I hope you found a little time to do something crafty. Today I am sharing another card that I made for the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge #121. This week we have a theme challenge to inspire you. Our challenges run for two weeks, thereby giving you more time to create, so I have designed a second card to share with you this week that was still inspired by the same image seen below:

Here is the card I created inspired by the birthday theme challenge:

Card details:

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Crest cardstock. I diecut a semi-circle in a sheet of 5 1/4" x 4" piece of white cardstock to adhere on top of the card base. I stamped the sentiment "Have a pawsome birthday" in Blueberry Bushel blue ink in the lower left corner of the card. Behind the semi circle, I created a stenciled background. First I layered Peacock Feathers Distress oxide on a sheet of Bristol Smooth white cardstock. Then I used a glitter shimmer paste over the Balloon stencil and let that dry before adhering it behind the semi circle. I stamped the cat and multiple balloons in Memento Tuxedo black and colored them with Copic markers. I cut the images out with the coordinating dies and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a few highlights to the images using a Uniball white gel pen.

Will this theme inspire YOU to create? Are you ready to get your paws inky with us and play along for a chance to win?! We will randomly select one linked entry to receive a $20 store credit to the Newton's Nook Designs online shop!
We will also highlight our favorites from each challenge the following Monday, so that all entries have a chance to be featured on the Newton's Nook Designs blog.

Please make sure you review the challenge rules page before you link up your project!
The deadline to enter is Friday, April 24th, at midnight CST.

XO, Crystal

List of supplies:

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Sending Happy Snail Mail

4/15/2020

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Last week I sent out 40 cards to friends and family all over the US, Canada, Germany and Sweden, just to let them know I was thinking about them. I am hoping to get a few more cards made and sent out this week. Since we are all SAFE at home (not STUCK at home), snail mail has been a great way to spread joy and positivity to others. Over the course of the next few weeks, I'll be sharing more of these happy snail mail cards (when I know people have received them in the mail), but, here are two cards that were sent using the new Cow Friends stamp set by Whimsy Stamps:

Are YOU on my card mailing list? Would you like to receive a handmade card? Please just send me an email at ckomara@comcast.net and I'll be sure to do my best to send you some happy snail mail too!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

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Somewhere Over the Rainbow

4/9/2020

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Who says sunflowers have to be all yellow and gold?! Well, until I saw two cards created by my fellow Creative Team Members at Whimsy Stamps, I did! Knowing nothing about sunflowers, or any flowers really for that matter, I had it set in my mind that sunflowers must be traditional. B-O-R-I-N-G!
Life is infinitely better in a rainbow of colors!

Card details:

*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Crest carsdtock. Using the Altenew Watercolor Stripes Cover die, I cut the frame from white cardstock. I lined the back of the frame with a piece of rainbow paper from the Whimsy Stamps Rainbow paper pack. I stamped the large Sunflower background stamp on Bristol Smooth cardstock and heat embossed the sunflower with white embossing powder. Then I sponged Distress Oxides inks in a rainbow of color over the embossing. I fussy cut the sunflower out and adhere it to the card using 3M foam adhesive. I added a couple die cut leaves in white cardstock and stamped the sentiment (from the Happy Sky stamp set by Whimsy Stamps) in Memento Tuxedo black ink.

Here are two cards created by Bev and Michelle that inspired ME to think outside of the box:

Created by Bev Rochester

Created by Michelle Bala

I hope today's rainbow sunflower brings you a sunshine-y smile. Thank you for visiting!

XO, Crystal

List of supplies:

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RG Avenue Sweet Celebration

12/23/2019

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Hello friends and happy Monday! Can you believe that we are only TWO days away from Christmas!? Today I am taking a break from Christmas themed cards to share with you this fun stamp set from RG Avenue called "Sweet Celebration." This digital stamp is part of the December Designer Release. After seeing all of the sweets included in this stamp set there was no way I was going to pick between them! So, I decided to make a slimline card fitting as many yummy treats on this one card as I possibly could!
Yes, this is what I call a happy balance. And by balance, I mean ALL the treats! : )

Card details:

The base of this slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2". The base cardstock is made from Berry Burst cardstock. I cut a 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Bristol Smooth cardtock and ink blended two colors of Distress Oxide inks in Antique Linen and Pickled Raspberry. I then ink splattered Berry Burst all over the card before adhering it to the base. Because the Sweet Celebrations stamp set was a digital stamp set, I printed out the entire sheet of stamps and colored in all the images with Copic markers. I then fed the colored sheet through my Scan and Cut to cut all the images for me. Yay for no fussy cutting! I then began to adhered the images to the card in a layout that was pleasing to the eye using foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly I added a coat of Dazzling Pat to all of the sweets for added sparkle!

I hope you have enjoyed today's super sweet card! As always, thank you for taking the time to visit.

XO, Crystal

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Conquering Your Creative Fears

9/18/2019

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Hello friends! Cheers to Wednesday, you've made it halfway through the week! Today I am sharing over on the Butterfly Reflections Ink website. Would you believe that I own ALL the Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks, but am too afraid to use them!? It's true! I see the beautiful backgrounds and unique watercolor designs that other artists create with these water reactive inks, but when I try to do it, the end result looks like I let an unattended 5-year-old loose in my craft room! I struggle with uniform blending, too much/too little water and the root of all evil - comparison. Theodore Roosevelt said, "Comparison is the thief of joy" and I remind myself of this every time I'm scrolling Instagram and Pinterest. Today, I'm here to conquer one of my own creative fears and hopefully I can encourage you to do the same!

Today's card uses the new Fall Fox stamp set by Sugar Pea Designs. This is a "slimline" card that measures 8 1/2" long by 3 1/2" inches high. You've probably been seeing a lot of these similar style cards on social media and they are growing in popularity. The great thing about these slimline cards is that they will fit into a #10 business sized envelope without having to pay additional postage.

The base of my card is Cajun Craze cardstock. I was asking all of my crafty friends what paper to use when I want to blend the Distress Oxide inks and the universal answer was Bristol Smooth! So, I cut a sheet of Bristol Smooth paper to 8 1/4" by 3 1/4". I grabbed my Picket Fences Blender Brushes and began to rub the ink along the paper in a circular motion. The top color is Fossilized Amber, the middle color is Spiced Marmalade and the darkest (bottom) color is Aged Mahogony. I kept rubbing the blender brush through the colors until the lines faded and the colors seemed to blend more seamlessly. Honestly, this was a lot less scary than I though it would be! I also die cut the grass from the same blended cardstock using the Tucked In Turf die and adhere it to the bottom of the scene.

Using the lightest piece of brown paper from the Lawn Fawn Knock on Wood paper pack, I die cut the birch trees using the Lawn Fawn Birch Tree Lawn Cuts and adhered them to the blended background with my tape runner. Then I added the background to the card base. I stamped all of the images in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I colored each image with my alcohol ink markers. I added highlights to each colored image with a White Gelly Roll Pen. Then I die cut the images out with the coordinating Sugar Pea Designs Fall Fox Sugar Cuts. I stamped the sentiment at the top of the card in a medium brown ink. I began to add the images to the card using foam adhesive for added dimension.

Woohoo! I can now say that I have actually used the over $300 worth of Distress Oxide inks sitting in my craft room. And, it wasn't nearly as scary as the image I had conjured up in my mind! I hope today's post will encourage YOU to face your own creative fears, whatever they might be. Go ahead and give it a try. After all, it IS only paper! : )
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

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Keepin' it Reel

5/20/2019

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I have a really fun card to share with you today! I borrowed this stamp set "Keepin' It Real" from my friend Margaret. It is from the Your Next Stamp company which is a company I'm not very familiar with, but you know I'll be checking it out! This stamp in particular is probably not a stamp set I would have purchased to keep in my own collection, but it was fun enough to borrow to make a great masculine themed card. Here I combined it with Sunny Studios "Froggy Friends" and the Lawn Fawn Bayou Backdrop die. I have been enjoying creating "scenes" with my stamps and I find that you can pair so many different brands together and they work seamlessly.

Card details:

*Full supply list located at the end of this post.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Lawn Fawn Bayou Backdrop die I cut the leafy background from Garden green cardstock. I brushed Squeezed Lemonade and Walnut Stain Distress Oxide inks over the white background to create a marshy/sunset background. Using the Lawn Fawn grass border cut, I cut a grass border out of Granny Apple Green cardstock. I cut the pond using the Bayou Backdrop additional pieces and some blue scrap paper. I stamped all images in Tuxedo Memento Black ink and colored them with Spectrum Noir Alcohol Ink markers. I die cut all the images and began placing them as a scene using 3M foam adhesive onto the card. Lastly I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the images for added sparkle.

Here are the two stamp sets I used to create this card:

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

XO, Crystal

Supply list:

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Hey Gullfriend

5/6/2019

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Then, as I was eating some sliced pineapple for breakfast, I knocked it over and pineapple juice went all over my desk and phone. SO STICKY!
Ugh. And, it's only 7:08 am . . . This afternoon I have to take all three cats to the vet for their annual check-up and that's always a hissing, foaming at the mouth, yowling melodic cat-astrophe. . . Wish me luck!

Today I'm sharing a card that I made back in February at our annual craft retreat on Cape Cod. I used the Pink & Main stamp set "Gullfriend" combined with a Lawn Fawn Landscape die and some Distress Oxide ink sponging to create this beachy scene. There's a lot of detail in this card, but that's what I like about it. I had the time to experiment with my Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers to create a distress wood look on that old Wagoneer and beach shack. It was also my first time using the Life Changing Blender Brushes from Picket Fence and these brushes are all that and more! If you do a lot of work with oxide inks or sponging, trust me, you want these brushes!

Card details:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Lawnfawn Landscape die, I cut the background out of this same white cardstock. I sponged Walnut Distress Oxide ink all over the back of this landscape die to create the look of sand. I sponged the background in Broken China and Twisted Citron Distress Oxide inks and the Life Changing Brushes. I stamped all of the images in Tuxedo Memento Black ink on white cardstock and die cut them using the coordinating die. I colored in all of the images using Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers and added additional detailing with a Uniball White Gel Pen. I adhered all of the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive. I stamped "hey gullfriend" in the upper left corner of the card using Staz On ink. Lastly I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to all the images for added sparkle.