Coast2CoastCards

Springtime Slimline It's finally spring and the flowers are starting to bloom outside and in my craft room! Today, I made this spring-themed birthday card for my niece. I was inspired by Jennifer McGuire. She made a video two years ago who where she made a card similar to this. If you don't know who she is, her channel is a must watch!  These floral framed tiles look like stained glass. Like my post a week ago, I used Distress Oxides to get the watercolor effect of their backgrounds. Products needed for this card are Distress Oxides or other water-reactive ink, blending brushes or other blending tool, a slimline card base, pieces of white cardstock, a piece of halographic cardstock, square frame dies (I used these from Pinkfresh Studios), and a sentiment die (I used a border die from Lawn Fawn). I started by randomlly ink blending with green and blue oxides. By blending ink first, the completed look is more striking. If you want a more subtle background,

Koi Fish In an Ink Smooshed Pond Wamt to make a background that looks like it took hours? Ink smooshing gives you that effect and it's really fun! I love this. I used Distress Oxides today, but any water reactive ink will work. The final product looks like a tranquil pond. A perfect background for fish and botanicals.  I also want to talk about this koi. He is so elegant and detailed. He's made from one die, which is pretty amazing. The items I used for this background and card base are a piece of watercolor paper or heavyweight cardstock. a piece of green cardstock, two pieces of white cardstock, two colors of distress oxides or other ink for smooshing, blending brushes or other blending tools, a water sprayer, and an orage crayon or other coloring medium. I started by randomly ink blending Twisted Citron and Peacock Feathers oxides. The inks blend like butter on the watercolor paper! I then put some of the ink onto my media mat and spritzed

Mixing and Matching Techniques  Today, I'm going to create a different type of floral design for my cards. I will be stamping and coloring the flowers, however, these leaves will be made with a distress ink technique. Adding a spritz of water to distress ink gives a watercolor effect, adding interest. I feel is an unexpected pairing which compliment each other in an unique way. The items you need for these cards are: a floral stamp, heavyweight cardstock or watercolor paper, Copic markers or other coloring medium, colored cardstock, leaf stamps(s), distress inks or oxides, black ink, a spray bottle, a card base, and gems (optional). I also recommend a MISTI. Today, I began by stamping my floral image in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. Since I am coloring with Copics, it's important to use a Copic-friendly ink. If you don't, you risk the ink bleeding. Other Copic-friendly inks I use are Lawn Fawn Jet Black Ink, and Gina K Amalgam Ink. I colored

Learning To Watercolor Last week I talked about how fun alcohol inks can be. This week, I want to show you how simple watercolor is, too. Like alcohol inks, so many are afraid of delving into watercolor. Yes, watercolor is a medium which you kind of have to let go and let the paint do it's thing. I am no expert. I have only watercolored a handful of times. This definitely is not an advanced tutorial...just me being vulnerable showing you that watercolors are fun, even for a beginner! What you need to start to recreate this card is a simple stamp, a piece of watercolor paper, watercolor or any dye based ink, water, paint brushes, paper towels, a piece of cardstock, and a card base. I started with this stamp by Penny Black. I picked this stamp because it's adorable and something easy to watercolor. Using the right ink is very important. You want one that is waterproof otherwise, it will bleed. I used Versafine Tuxedo Black which is great for this media.

Fun With Alcohol inks! Many people are intimidated by alcohol inks. Maybe it's the fear of "messing up", or the lack of control one has over the media. Regardless of which, I'm certain with a little practice, you'll enjoy it. If a piece doesn't turn out as you wish, simply set it aside and start from the beginning.  There's many times I have salvaged my work. I'll either manipulate it more, trim it down, or die cut from it. Sometimes, you may end up throwing it, but that's ok. You have to walk before you can run! Alcohol inks are usually very forgiving. Most of the time, you may add some more blending solution or rubbing alcohol to it. With regards to lack of control, it's much like watercolor. You must let go and watch the ink do its own thing. Its rather hypnotic. You will most likely be surprised at how fun (and addicting) working with alcohol inks can be. Today, I will walk you step by step through my process and finish by creating a card.

Springtime Thinking of You It's just been a couple of days since Easter,  which means spring is officially here. For today's blog post, I want to share one of my favorite spring cards. It is quick enough to mass produce if you wish, but will look like you took hours to create. This card is appropriate for many occasions, not just Thinking of You. Finally, it's fun to color. I used Copics and a Stampin' Up marker on my panels, but you may use any coloring medium you choose. I started with a landscape folded card base  made with Neenah Solar White 110 lb, two pieces of Lawn Fawn Cilantro cardstock,  and two pieces of Neenah Solar White 80 lb. I embossed the Cilantro cardstock with a Stampin' Up Petal Burst embossing folder. I used Memento ink to stamp one of the Neenah  panels twice with a Stampin' Up stamp from  the Painted Poppies stamp set. I used vibrant spring colored Copics for the flowers.  I used