Mother's Day Inspiration

Mother's day is this weekend, if you are like me it kind of crept up and now you might be scrambling to get a card of two made well never fear I have a couple of cards for inspiration over the next few days.

 This card is a copy of one I made for my MIL's birthday back in April but forgot to post. It is stamped with a layered set made by Impression Obsession. I found it easy to use, and although I own a Misti, stamped it without using it.

I used 6 different colors of yellow ink and it worked out well. The inks I used for the roses from the bottom up  the were

Archival Buttercup, Memento Dandelion, Distress Mustard Seed, Memento Cantaloupe (stamped twice on top of each other with the same stamp). Leaf colors were Memento Bamboo Leaves and Distress Peeled Paint. I must say I was not 100% happy with how the Distress inks stamped I found them kind of blotchy and I tried a few techniques to eliminate this but nothing helped. Memento and Archival stamped much better. Distress worked just not as good as the others.

The sentiment is by Penny Black and stamped with Versafine Deep Lagoon ink.

Did you know Crafty Capers now has an online store. I have added a link to the stamp set I used if you wish to purchase it.

Hope this card provided some inspiration!

New Penny Black stamps are here!

Our Penny Black CHA order arrived today just in time for the CHA Open House tomorrow. Here are some of the new images!

This stamp is called Bejeweled.

Butterfly Charmer stam

Butterfly circles die

A cling stamp set

Poppy Gems stamp

A wood stamp called Spring Parade

Tree trio die

This sassy stamp is called Va Voom!

New product is on our shelves now but quantities are limited so stop by soon for best selection.

My leaping deer

This leaping deer stamp by Penny Black has been a favourite of mine for years. I think I have had it for 10 or 11 years and cannot bear to part with it I absolutely love it! I figure enough time has gone by that I can reuse on my cards this year without anyone noticing. This image was glittered using Stampendous' Stamp and Bond embossing powder, Memento Luxe Peanut Brittle and Glitter Ritz (microfine) Champagne glitter. You may have noticed that I seem to be using the Memento Luxe Peanut Brittle ink for lots of stamping this week the primary reason for that is a nice gold color that matches Glitter Ritz Champagne glitter very well and also it was on my desk and I was a bit rushed last week and did not want to take the time to root through my inks for another color! I will give you a couple of quick tips on using Stamp and Bond power - 1. use an ink color similar to your glitter color so if some of the glitter does not stick you are not missing any noticable parts of your image and 2. don't overcook your powder - once it turns clear it is done - stop! (really, stop!). I hand cut out the deer however Penny Black has released a leaping deer die I have the die on order and I am first in line for it when it arrives at the store! I finished up this card with a Darice snowflake fram embossing folder, May Arts ribbon and some Quickie Glue pen and more Champagne glitter around the edge of the card. I have given you a close up of the deer so you can see all it's sparkly goodness! Happy Friday everyone!

Sympathy

I have had to do some sympathy cards this summer (hate doing these ones) however took the time to play with my seldom used Distress Paints to make a background. I used Tim Holtz watercolor paper for the flower panel and put Mowed Lawn, Scattered straw and Tumbled Glass on my craft sheet then sprayed them with water. I dragged the paper through the watery paint until I was happy with the results. Then I decided I was not happy with the results so I took a Memory Box damask stencil and stenciled some designs on the background! LOL

 I stamped the flower image by Penny Black and colored it with Prisma pencils. The sentiment, from Impression Obsession, was heat embossed on a strip of vellum. I made another Distress Paint background on my main cardstock and used a TCW Art Is stencil for that background. Thanks everyone for stopping by and here is hoping I don't have to make any more sympathy cards for a good long while.

Dance

Here is another sample from my demo on Saturday. I call this technique the watercolor technique because you stamp your image on watercolor paper with die ink then spray it with water to make the colors run a bit to give a soft look. I used my much used Stampendous agapanthus stamp for about the 1 millionth time! I used Distress Inks for the background and Mementolux for the sentiment (sentiment is by Penny Black). I matted the watercolor paper with some glitter paper and punched my butterfly out of the watercolor paper to show just a bit more of the glitter paper! 

I am hoping now the shop painting is completed - yeah! I will have a bit more time to "play" stay tuned for more crafty projects!

Dragonfly Happy

It's been a very busy few weeks. I've been doing renos around the shop however I have found a few minutes here and there to make some cards. This card I made for a friend who had a big birthday recently. :)
I used a variation on a reflection technique I saw on this blog. I used a Penny Black background stamp to do my reflection then added an Impression Obsession dragonfly stamp and a Cheery Lynn Happy Birthday die. The dragonfly stamp was stamped and then embossed with a new Lindy's Stamp Gang teal embossing powder.
Pretty happy with how this card turned out.
Thanks everyone for stopping by!

Moments

Here is another card from my stenciling demo last weekend. The white flowered panel was done with a Crafters Workship stencil, Dreamweaver white stencil paste and Glitter Ritz Warm Highlight glitter. The sentiment is by Penny Black stamped with Adirondack Red Pepper die ink and the ladybugs are a die by Memory Box. The color is a bit wonky in this photo but quite happy with how this card turned out.

A little Merry

I had a few minutes over the weekend to do some Christmas card playing. This is a glittery card and as usual looks better in person.
This card was done with a Penny Black stamp called Starlite. I used clear drying glue with a metal glue tip to apply tiny drops of glue over the image then used Glitter Ritz champagne and fire red glitter over the glue. I added a Memory Box star of wonder die to the top of the tree and a Memory Box Merry die to the bottom, matted the image with American Craft red glitter cardstock then mounted everything to my main card. Yeah, a fairly quick card provided you have time to wait for the glue to dry! Who knew I would have job where I watch glue dry?? LOL
Have a great day everyone!

Coffee and a Card - Back to school style

I have been put in charge of the Crafty Capers Coffee and a Card for tomorrow I have given Kathy a rare Monday off to spend time with her sister.
I thought I would give the very popular chalkboard technique a try for the card tomorrow since most students and teachers seem to be back at it by now.
We will be using Brillance Moonlight White ink, white Gelatos and a white pencil crayon plus some, always fabulous, Penny Black stamps.
Coffee and a Card runs 10:30 am - 1:00 pm at Crafty Capers on Monday. Cost is $2.00 and if you can't get enough classes on Monday there is a Summer Stampscapes class as well in the afternoon beginning at 2 pm. Cost for that class is $25.50.
Hope to see you Monday!

Party Penguins

An English cousin (baby Grace) turns 1 shortly and I was a bit stumped about what sort of card is suitable for a 1 year old. I was thinking about something "House Mouse" but then remembered Grace loves the otters and penguins at the zoo and since I do not own any otter stamps, and don't believe I have EVER seen one, a penguin card it was!
I used the Jumbo Penguins (again) from Stampendous and did some paper piecing for a super quick and easy card. I used Doodlebug Fruitstand pattern paper for a fun partyish color scheme. The lacy border around the penguins is called Fancy Weave by Spellbinders and the sentiment is by Penny Black.
Just as an FYI the store is open today (Sunday Aug 18) 10 am - 4 pm due to our Mixed Media classes going on today shoppers are welcome! :)

Just Playing!

I bought a couple of Dylusions spray inks last week. The store has been carrying Dylusions for a few months or so now and I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. I bought 4 colors (Black Marble, Cut Grass, Fresh Lime & Lemon Zest) for this card I used Black Marble, Lemon Zest & Cut Grass.
I began this card by stamping my Penny Black "Letter Background" stamp with Black Archival ink on watercolor cardstock. I sprayed  my cardstock with water then sprayed Black Marble an Cut Grass inks. I blotted off the excess ink and let the cardstock dry. I then stamped Penny Black stamp "sundial"  I removed some of the ink spray by using my Niji waterbrush inside the Sundial areas to create a faux bleach look. I dropped a couple of drops of the Lemon Zest ink onto my Ranger Craft Sheet and colored the flowers with the yellow ink to give it a bit more pop. I stamped a Memory Box stamp (Fern Print) with my Brillance Moonlight white ink. I finished the card by stamping a Penny Black sentiment matted onto a piece of Bazzill cardstock. REALLY happy with how this first attempt at Dylusions inks turned out!
Thanks everyone for stopping by!

Wishing happiness

I am still playing with the new Sizzix Susan's Garden flower dies. I made another wedding card using the rose die for the store's new window display.
As previously mentioned I used the Sizzix Rose die and I added some shading using a Spun Sugar Distress marker and a water brush. The white frame was cut out using a Spellbinder Radiant Rectangle die.
I stamped a Penny Black Happiness sentiment and embossed it with gold embossing powder then layered the white panel onto a pale green cardstock. I used a strip of gold mirror cardstock, embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder, along the bottom of the card to finish it off.
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

A happy gram!

I made this pink and yellow panel during my heat embossing demo a few weeks back and still liked enough to make it into a card a few weeks later.
The panel started out as a piece of yellow Bazzill cardstock. I stamped the script (Penny Black) in Memento Bamboo Leaves ink then stamped the solid Impression Obsession butterfly over top of the script randomly with my rather grubby Versamark ink pad (those who come to demos know what I am talking about LOL) then heat embossed the butterflies with clear embossing powder. I then used a Colorbox stylus handle and foam tip to apply Memento Rose Bud ink over most of the panel but I paid particular attention to applying ink over the butterflies. The embossing powder will resist the ink and the yellow butterflies will really pop! I added some Yellow Liquid Pearl dots to the panel then matted the piece as shown. I stamped the Happy Gram saying by Hero Arts, used a Sizzix chevron embossing folder to emboss a strip of white cardstock to hide my ribbon ends then added some May Arts chevron ribbon. Pretty simple card but very striking!
BTW next Saturday Demo is Saturday April 13 between 10:30 - 12:30 (free, drop in) topic will be Peel Off stickers.
Thanks everyone for stopping by!

More Tombow Marker samples!

Don't forget the free Tombow marker demo is tomorrow (Saturday Feb 9 between 10:30 and 12:30). This card demos a resist technique with Tombow markers.
The main image (Penny Black) was colored on watercolor cardstock with Tombow markers.
The background papers are by Hero Arts and Bazzill. Sentiment by Hero Arts (and stamped with a Tombow marker).
Really like how this card turned out so bright and cheery! Love it! I've wanted to color this Mimi image for quite a while now...
Hope to see you tomorrow at the demo!

Tombow Marker demo next Saturday!

Just a quick reminder that the monthly FREE Crafty Capers demo is running next Saturday (Feb 9) between 10:30 am - 12:20 pm. Stop by anytime to see a bunch of neat techniques you can do with Tombow markers, they are not just for coloring!
Here is a card I did with Tombow markers and the "faux bleach" technique using clear embossing powder, Tombow markers and a Penny Black stamp on watercolor cardstock. This is just one of the easy techniques you can do with these markers.


The sentiment on this card is by Flourishes and was stamped on a Tim Holtz fragment, ribbon and twine by May Arts. Hope to see you at the demo!   Just a quick "heads up" all the Crafty Capers February classes are now full however we are taking a wait list for the Distress Ink class on Saturday Feb 16 please contact the store if you would like to be put on the list and we will try to get another class added if there is sufficient demand.

Merry Monday Challenge!

The gals over at the Merry Monday Challenge have bird theme going on this week and I found a few minutes to get a quick Christmas card done to play along!

I am pretty happy with how the card turned out and it was quick card to boot! Funny how you can get a card whipped up quickly when you are under a tight deadline!
I stamped an image from the Penny Black stamp set "Cold nose warm heart" then colored it with my Prisma pencil crayons. I added some Be Creative tape over top of the image and added some Warm Highlight Glitter Ritz glitter. I cut an arrow from the Tim Holtz movers and shapers mini jalopy and arrow set and hand wrote "north pole" I added a Memory Box die called Frosty Border. The embossing folder is by Sizzix/Hero Arts and the Holiday Cheer sentiment is also by Penny Black (wood mounted).
Well that brings me to 2 Christmas cards made for 2013. I think that is an all time record for me so early in the year! I am teaching 3 classes next week so I am guessing there will be not much time for playing this week but you never know. I do have a few ideas floating around in my head. :)
Thanks everyone for stopping by!

A snowy blue scene

Just quickly stopping in to show off yet another Christmas card I got whipped up todya! I am making some progress on my Christmas cards...
This one layer card is perfect for mailing no chance of getting dinged for being over weight or too fat!
I cut out a Spellbinder square window from a piece of scrap cardstock and taped the mask to my main cardstock. Using my Colorbox stylus wand and sponge tip is sponged Hero Arts Soft Pool around the edges of the square opening then I cut out a Memory Box die (Country Landscape) and taped it within the square to act as a stencil. I used Distress inks Tumbled Glass and Broken China to define the country scene then I pulled the square window and landscape masks to reveal a gorgeous square with a little scene on it. I finished the card by stamping a Stampendous sentiment and some Penny Black snowflakes. Easy Peasy!

Happy Birthday BJ!

Today is my sister's 40th birthday! We had a nice party for her over the weekend and here is the card I made her. I colored the kitty image (Penny Black's Cat on Moon) using my Tombow markers on watercolor cardstock after I embossed the image with gold embossing powder. The pattern paper is by My Mind's Eye. I stamped the sentiment (Flourishes Taglines) on the smallest die from the Spellbinder Romantic Rectangles set. The button is from the Memory Box button die set. I finished off the card by poking some holes around the outside of the pattern paper and adding some Yellow Stickles to the stars.

Happy birthday BJ! Hope you have a great birthday and just wanted to remind you I look MUCH younger than you! Hee hee!!

Snowflake Wreath

Seems kind of strange to be posting a snowflake card today when it is beautifully sunny here on Vancouver Island but I MUST get cracking on my Christmas cards only about 55 or so more to make in the next 2 weeks - no problem! LOL
This card was really quick to make and looks much nicer in person. I used the Sizzix Snowflake frame die to cut out 2 frames one out of Silver Stardream cardstock and the second out of blue Mirrorcardstock. I layered them on a 5.75x5.75 white card. I stamped a Penny Black sentiment and embossed it with Silver Dollar embossing powder then hand cut the banner. I wanted to add some pop to the banner so edged it with Adirondack denim dye in. I popped the banner up with foam tape then added a bunch of gems on the snowflakes. Card probably took 10 minutes to complete. I should have had Ginny (who was watching me) time it!
Just a reminder that Crafty Capers will be closed on Sunday Nov 11 for Remembrance Day but we will be open on Monday Nov 12. Please take a few minutes over the weekend to remember our veterans.

Thanks everyone for stopping by. Have a great weekend.

Another brayering background

Sheree (Vancouver Island Craft Junkie) left me a second piece of brayered glossy cardstock after her quick demo last week to play with so I created this Halloween card using Penny Black stamps and a few dies.
The card is pretty straight forward. I added an extra color on Sheree's brayered background an edge of black at the bottom to represent the ground. I colored with my Tombow markers on watercolor cardstock and cut out the cat and the bat. The happy halloween stamp is from the same Penny Black set as are all the faces on the bottom of the card.
All card supplies are available from Crafty Capers as usual.
Card Recipe:
Stamps: Penny Black Spooky clear set
Dies: Memory Box fence, Spellbinder Scallop Edgeabilities
Inks for brayering: Adirondack lemonade, sunshine yellow, terra cotta & mussel black
Inks for stamping: Memento Tuxedo Black & Adirondack Terra Cotta