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Hello crafty readers! I'm excited to be sharing the first two cards I created using the new String Art Frame Hot Foil plate from Birch Press Design. Now, if I'm being completely honest, these are actually the first two cards I have ever made using hot foil!! Heat foiling is very on-trend right now in the craft industry, so I succumbed to the peer pressure and bought the Gemini Foil Press (because it works with my Gemini, Jr. die cutting machine). Heat foiling is a magical process where heat and pressure are applied to a special foil to imprint on paper. Unlike heat embossing where the image is raised when Versamark ink and embossing powder are heated with an embossing gun, in heat foiling, the image is imprinted or pressed into the paper when heat and pressure are applied.   I created two cards that are nearly identical, I simply swapped out the color combination and sentiment to achieve two unique looks. Keep reading for all the details:  Card details:The base of this A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of purple cardstock from the 6" x 6" Twilight cardstock pack. On a 5" x 3 3/4" sheet of white cardstock, I heat foiled the String Art Frame hot foil plate on my Gemini Foilpress machine with purple Foilpress foil.  On a separate sheet of watercolor cardstock, I stamped the large floral image from the Memory Box (a sister company to BPD) All the Happiness stamp set in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I colored the image using Zig Real Color Watercolor Brush markers. Once the image dried, I used the coordinating All the Happiness dies to cut the image out. I adhered the flowers to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. This sentiment is from the Kind Hearts clear stamp set. I adhered the sentiment to the card also using 3M foam adhesive tape. Lastly, I added a light coat of clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for added sparkle. *Be careful with Wink of Stella on watercolor though, because it will bleed as it is water-on-water based.  For this second card, I used identical products as the first card, I simply swapped out the purple foil for a teal foil and I colored the flowers with teal or turquoise hued Zig Real Color Brush markers.   Alright, so since I admitted this was my first go-round with hot foiling, I'll also admit that I did my initial foiling wrong and ended up heat foiling the plate itself and not the paper. Note to self, read the instructions first! They do exist for a reason!! : ) But, all-in-all I was quite pleased with how my first heat foiled cards turned out and I look forward to experimenting more! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalYou might also enjoy:
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Hello crafty friends! Today I am on the Joy Clair Design blog sharing this beautiful card. I know you've been seeing a lot of cards in honor, support and solidarity with Ukraine, and I'm here to share another variation featuring the blue and yellow colors we've all come to recognize from the Ukrainian national flag. I have also used the beautiful sunflower image from Joy Clair Designs called Thankful for You. If you would like to see more cards like this, simply follow the #cardsforukraine hashtag on social media and you will be amazed by the outpouring of love for an entire country shown in the form of handmade cards.  Card details:The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using a lattice die, I cut the background from white cardstock. I stamped the sunflower from the Thankful for You stamp set twice in Versamark ink on watercolor paper and heat embossed the image with gold embossing powder. I colored in the sunflowers using Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. I fussy cut the sunflowers and adhered them to the card using foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the word "sending" in navy ink on a strip of thin white cardstock. I used a two-layer die to cut the word "love." I cut the bottom shadow portion from navy cardstock and the top thinner outline portion from white cardstock. Using a fine-tip glue, I adhered the two layers together and then used foam adhesive to adhere both layers to the card.    To the people of Ukraine, know that the world stands with you in support of unity, of love and of peace.
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! For more inspiration, you can follow me on my website, Instagram, Facebook and on my YouTube channel. Hello readers and happy Fri-YAY! I thought we'd take a break from the traditional holiday cards this time of year and enjoy this fun mermaid slimline card as we head into the weekend. This sweet image is a new digital release called Mermaid Hair from 88 and Clear. The package deal (seen at the end of this post) offers both the digital stamp and the coordinating digital paper.  Card details:This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2." Slimline cards are designed to fit inside a regular #10 business sized mailing envelope and require no additional postage. The base of this card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 8" x 3" piece of Mermaid Hair Print #2 and placed it beneath a circular slimline frame. I printed out the mermaid images from the Mermaid Hair digital stamp set and colored the images with Copic markers. I fussy cut the images and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I added a couple colored beads to the card for more dimension. Lastly, I add a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the mermaids for added sparkle. You can never have enough sparkle on a mermaid!    Here is the Mermaid Hair digi-NEXT collection from 88 and Clear. This digital package includes both the stamp set and coordinating papers.  What a fun and magical card and it was equally fun to make! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalYou might also enjoy:
Hello friends and happy Monday! Welcome September and the refreshing beauty (tastes and smells) of fall. It truly is my favorite time of the year, especially since I live in New England! Today I am on the Joy Clair Designs blog sharing one of my first fall themed cards of the season. These watercolored jewel toned sunflowers feature the Thankful For You stamp set by Joy Clair Designs.  Card details:The base of this A2 sized card is made with 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Scalloped Stitched Rectangle Border dies from Gina Marie Designs, I die cut the frame from white cardstock. I stamped the sentiment "thankful for you" in the lower right corner of the scalloped frame in Versamark Ink. I heat embossed the sentiment with gold embossing powder. On a separate piece of Tim Holtz Distress White Heavystock I stamped three sunflowers in Versamark Ink. I heat embossed all three sunflowers with gold embossing powder. I colored each of the sunflowers using Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. I fussy cut the flowers and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive.    Happy fall friends! I look forward to sharing many more cards with you that are inspired by my favorite time of the year over the new few weeks! XO, CrystalYou might also enjoy:
Today's card was inspired by the August mood board at 88 and Clear. I have been on the Design Team for this company for a couple years now and recently began creating a mood board to help spark creativity. Using these colors as my inspiration, I have already created four very different cards this month! Be sure to follow along on Instagram and my IG stories for all the latest behind-the-scenes fun!  Here is the August mood board with fresh and bright summer-y colors:   Card details:The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Whimsy Stamps Lattice A2 die, I created the background from white cardstock. I stamped the two butterflies from the Boho Wings stamp set by 88 and Clear in Versamark ink and heat embossed each with gold embossing powder. I watercolored the butterflies with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. I fussy cut the butterflies and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive. I stamped the sentiment "always smile" in Versamark ink and heat embossed it also with gold embossing powder. I used a 2" circle punch to punch the sentiment out and adhered it to the card also using 3M foam adhesive.   Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalYou might also enjoy:
Hello friends and happy Monday! Welcome back from the weekend. Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog and I'm excited to be sharing STAMPED projects with you today and not the usual beautiful layering dies that Birch Press Design is most known for. Do you even know that Birch Press Design also sells stamps?! Surprise, they do!   Card details:The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. This is my go-to white cardstock for everything. Using the Delfina Layer A die, I die cut the lattice background from white cardstock. I adhered this directly to the card base. I stamped the flowers from the All the Happiness stamp set in Versamark ink on Distress Watercolor cardstock and heat embossed the image with gold embossing powder. I then watercolored the flowers using Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers in Scarlett Red, Bright Yellow, Persian Blue, Pale Green and Light Green.  Once the watercolor was dry, I die cut the image using the coordinating All the Happiness dies. I adhered the flowers in the lower right corner of the card using 3M foam adhesive. I stamped the sentiment "celebrate today" from the Classic Sentimental Wreath stamp set. I punched the sentiment out using a label punch and adhered it to the card with 3M foam adhesive.  Today's second card is also made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using Layer A from the Delfina Layering Dies, I die cut the lattice background from white cardstock. I adhered the lattice background directly to the card. I stamped the flowers from the All the Happiness stamp set in Versamark ink on Distress Watercolor cardstock. I heat embossed the image with gold embossing powder and then I watercolored the image using Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers (the same colors are listed above).  I die cut the flowers using the coordinating die and adhered the flowers to the card using 3M foam adhesive. I stamped the sentiment "celebrate today" from the Classic Sentimental Wreath stamp set in blue ink on white cardstock. I punched the sentiment out with a 2" circle punch. I also adhered the punch to the card using 3M foam adhesive. I am so in love with this beautiful flower stamp set and I'll be using more stamps from Birch Press Design in the future! Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalHello readers! Last week I shared with you that I began teaching classes at the Butterfly Reflections Ink store in Kingston, New Hampshire. Today I am sharing one of the cards we made at the "Watercolor Wonder" class. For this class I taught a couple different ways that you can watercolor because I have found that with any new technique you learn, you have to find what works for you. Maybe you don't like the freedom of watercolor palettes, but you like more precise watercolor pens instead. Or maybe, you find that you don't even like to watercolor at all, which is perfectly okay too! At least by investing a little money in a class then you will save yourself money in the long run by not investing in products that won't be used! That's the great thing about taking a class in person, you can try a variety of different techniques and see what you like and even what you don't! In this class we experimented with Distress Oxide Inks, Zig Clean Real Color Brush Markers, Kuretaki Ganzai Tambei watercolor palettes and Spectrum Noir Sparkle Brushes.  Card details:The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Altenew Watercolor Stripes Card Panel die, I created the striped frame also from white cardstock. Underneath the frame I placed a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Orange Woodgrain paper from Lawn Fawn. I die cut a diamond from gold glitter paper. I stamped the orange blossoms from the Reverse Confetti Orange Blossoms stamp set in Versamark ink and heat embossed the orange blossoms outline with gold embossing powder. I colored the oranges and leaves with watercolor using the Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. I die cut the orange blossoms using the coordinating die and adhered the image to the card. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment "hi friend" in Memento Tuxedo black ink on a thin strip of white cardstock and added it to the card.    Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalYou might also enjoy:
Hello and happy Friday! Friday's always make me smile. I hope today's card will make you smile too with it's fun sherbet-like colors and cheerful spring peonies!  Card details:The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. On a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Distress Heavystock paper, I watercolored the background using a small paintbrush and Distress Oxide Inks in Picked Raspberry, Carved Pumpkin and Squeezed Lemonade . I set this piece aside to dry. Using the digital Rich Peonies stamp set from 88 and Clear, I printed these digital stamps out on Neenah white cardstock and colored them using Copic markers. I used my Brother Scan and Cut 2 e-cutting machine to cut the images out in lieu of fussy cutting. I adhered the flowers to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I added a little bit of linen thread in the middle of the flowers and placed the sentiment stamped in pink ink on white cardstock over the thread. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for added sparkle.    I hope you have a great weekend and that you find the time to do something crafty! Thanks for visiting, XO, CrystalList of supplies:
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It's unofficially official - pumpkin spice season is practically here. . . Don't shush me! I know it's only August, but let's be real, the pharmacies and groceries stores have had Halloween candy on display since the 4th of July! So. . . if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! This past weekend, I pulled out my fall and Halloween stamps and I'm ready for rust hues and spooky boos. Today's card features the "Darling Mum" stamp set by Richard Garay Designs. This is a retiring stamp from the company, but it's so beautiful that I wanted to use it one last time before it goes into the retirement vault.  Card details:The base of this A2 sized card is made from Crumb Cake cardstock. Using the Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle dies from Gina Marie Designs, I cut the background from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I stamped the Darling Mum stamp set three times in Versamark ink on watercolor paper. I heat embossed the image with gold embossing powder and then I colored the image using Spectrum Noir Sparkle Brush markers. After the images dried, I fussy cut each flower out. I stamped the sentiment in rust ink on white cardstock and used an oval punch to punch it out. I adhered the three mums to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.     Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, Crystal List of supplies:
Please don't be all confused by the title of today's post. . .Yes, I am very aware that it is the middle of July, which qualifies it as summer, and thus, the title should be "summer mail." But, the name of this stamp set from Richard Garay Designs is called "Spring Mail." And, in my traditional habit of always being behind, today we get spring mail, in the form of a peony filled envelope, in the summer!  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 Smooth cardstock. I matted a random scrap piece of black and gold foil paper with Melon Mambo cardstock and adhered both to the center of the card. I stamped the Spring Mail image in Versamark ink onto a piece of watercolor paper and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I colored the image using Zig Watercolor Brush pens. Once the image dried, I fussy cut the image and adhered it to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I punched out a few extra leaves with a leaf punch and gold glitter paper. I stamped the sentiment "Hello Lovely" in Versamark ink and heat embossed it also in gold embossing powder. I fussy cut the sentiment and adhered it below the envelope and to the right of the card. Lastly, I added a few pink rhinestones for extra sparkle.    Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
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I, Crystal Komara, am solely responsible for this blog and all of its content, including, but not limited to designs, concepts, text, images and photographs. This website is for your personal enjoyment, inspiration and to help stimulate your own creativity.
If you use one of my posts, images, classes or designs please be sure to give credit where it is due. Thank you! 2019 © Disclosure:Whether gifted, or from my own supply, all of my recommendations are based on items that I use and truly love, and I think you will too. |
