Watercolor Painted Poppies Video Tutorial

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Blooming-Garden---Ingrid-Blackburn-Sneak-2

Have you every just had a crazy amount of fun making a card before? Well, that was me with this project! I’m guest blogging over at my friend Catherine Pooler’s blog today and have a written and video tutorial for you – be sure to hop on over there to check it out!

A few weeks ago over at StampNation, we had a fun challenge CASEing one of our members – Gail Hislop. I used one of her creations to get inspired and created this field of poppies – I have to say, I think it’s the prettiest watercolored card I’ve EVER made! To see it, you need to be on StampNation, so if you’re a member – here’s a direct link…Field of Poppies Card

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The last time I was with Catherine – in real life – was last fall. We hung out one morning over coffee. I did what any good crafter would do…I brought cards with me! She fell in love with one of my tutorials for my Just Cards class, and wanted me to show how to watercolor stamp and paint it. So we hopped onto periscope and I did a quick live tutorial.

When she asked me to do a guest post on her blog…I immediately went to this technique. I knew she’d love an in depth tutorial, so what are you waiting for – hop on over to Catherine’s blog and check it out! Be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!! 🙂

See you VERY soon!

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PS – and if you’re a StampNation member…be sure to see my in depth tutorials on Embossing Powders & some fun techniques for the summer event – Heat it Up!


Filed Under: Distress Ink, Techniques, Uncategorized, Videos Tagged: , , , ,

Adding a Simple Metal Look to Your Cards

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Mixed-Media-Metal---Ingrid-Blackburn-001

I love adding metal to cards. It’s an unexpected look and it’s always fun playing with textures that I don’t use in my day to day crafting. Metal is something that’s quite easy to add.

It’s time for yet another Mixed Media challenge over at Happy Little Stampers….first up – I have something totally easy that you can immediately implement in your crafting – tin foil and metallic embossing powders – and be sure to read on – I didn’t add them the traditional way!

HLS Mixed Media challenge August 2016

When you think of metal, you may go to the chunky pieces that you can add, but I wanted to keep my mixed media piece a little flatter. So to get a natural look, I used two everyday items we all have in our homes – aluminum foil and water.

Simple ways to add Metal to your Projects:

To get a nicely watercolored look in the project on the right, you’ll want to use a stencil with a solid negative space (the space that doesn’t get used). I chose the Mini Specimens stencil by The Crafters Workshop – I LOVE their stencils.

First, stencil through your positive image onto a project. The excess ink will collect on the negative space of the stencil. The watercolored look in our project today comes from the ink that was left over from the project on the left. I added Hickory Smoke and then some Soot Black on top of some embossing paste in this watercolor mixed media piece – there’s a video for that project (link below):

Mixed-Media-Metal---Ingrid-Blackburn-010

Click Here for the Left Project’s Tutorial & Video

Once you’re done adding color to your positive image (the colorful one on the left), grab a second piece of watercolor paper, spritz your stencil with all the left over ink on it with a mini mister and press into your paper. You’ll then get a watercolored negative space look for your card stock. You basically turned your stencil into a stamp!

Since we’re using the negative of the image – note that when you stamp it – it’s reversed from the positive one (colorful left project above)!

It’s a little hard to see in the photos, but this project has a sparkly sheen to it. To get that look, use pearlized water by adding a little Perfect Pearl (Perfect Pearl shade by Ranger) into my water filled mini mister rather than regular water.

Mixed-Media-Metal---Ingrid-Blackburn-004

Now that we have our mixed media base – stenciling & watercolor, next up is adding some metallic accents. The coolest part is that for the splotches you don’t even use ink – what? Yup….spritz a little water into to palm of your hand and flick it at your project. Keep this a little at a time so you don’t add huge splotches.

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Add embossing powder – I used Pewter Powder and emboss. Pretty cool, huh? That’s how you get that realistic splotch look.

TIP – when you heat your powder, since there’s no ink to really grab onto it – first heat from underneath. That way your powder will start the melting process, finish from above, but keep your heat tool a little further away so you don’t blow all the powder away.

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To get that great look to the sides – use water or versamark in a direct to paper manner. Once you have the look you’re going for, grab some heavy duty tin foil. stamp a sentiment in versamark, and emboss in Black. I used a new stamp set Hand painted Thanks by Neat & Tangled.

The black is a nice contrast to the shiny Tin Foil. Tear around it  leaving a longer strip to one side to overlap when you attach. Use glue to attach it to your watercolor paper. If you wrinkle it a bit more than you want – just flatten it out with your finger – or leave them in – it’s texture!

Mixed-Media-Metal---Ingrid-Blackburn-005

I love the shiny mixed with the Pewter – it’s a new/old look. That’s it! Adding a simple metal look to your cards is really that easy! I’m curious…have you ever embossed with water?

So now it’s your turn to add a metal look to your mixed media projects! I can’t wait to see what you come up with, head on over the Mixed Media Challenge and check out everyone’s creations.

Till next time –

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Filed Under: Challenges, Distress Ink, Mixed Media, Techniques, Uncategorized, Watercolor Tagged: , , ,

Gold Snowflakes

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Gold-Snowflakes---001

Snowflakes don’t always have to be white. Today’s project features the best in embossed snowflakes. This mixed media piece utilizes the best of emboss resist and sponging for a unique textured look with a flurry of gold snowflakes. Yup, the Christmas Challenge over at Happy Little Stampers is all about Snowflakes this month – so join us in all the fun!

HLS Christmas Challenge August 2016

To get started, stamp and emboss several snowflakes from Bring on the Snowflakes and Snowy Sayings by CAS-ual Fridays. Emboss in gold. I love all the little pieces in the Snowy Sayings set – those little dots and snowflakes are invaluable stamps to have!

Randomly swipe your versamark pad lightly over a few spots and sprinkle some Ulta Thick Embossing Enamel onto your project. Try not to add too much or get it too heavy in spots. Brush away if too thick in areas.  Heat from underneath to get it to start melting and heat set. This will trap the white color of the card base for some light in your project as you darken your project. The UTEE will also give you a little thicker and rough texture giving it a real mixed media feel.

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Add distress colors directly to your project and sponge them as well. Start with your lightest shade and darken on the perimeter always leaving some color exposed. I used Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs and Ground Espresso.

Matte it onto a white 1/16th wider base and onto your Espresso card base. A 3/4″ strip of espresso with one of the Snowy Sayings greetings in Gold is perfect.

For a cool effect, I used the Funky Flakes coordinating dies and embossed both snowflakes – one in gold, the other clear on espresso and attached them with a mini brad. TIP – To get your brad to coordinate, heat it with your heat tool, dip it into your embossing powder while hot and heat again.

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See, snowflakes don’t have to be the traditional white! Now it’s your turn – I can’t wait to see what you come up with…Christmas is only 4 1/2 months away – time to get going on those cards!! Every year I put out a free 12 days of Christmas series for the Creative Tips e-letter subscribers…be sure to see that when it begins later this fall – subscribe here for free.

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Till next time –

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Filed Under: Christmas, Distress Ink, Mixed Media Tagged: , ,

CAS – Masked Vines

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How much do you love the masking technique? I love masking – it’s one of my two go to basic techniques that I use over and over again. There are so many ways to mask and I always love the end result.

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This month over at the Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge, masking is the hot topic. So I created a fun project utilizing some great new stamps from Create a Smile.

CAS-Vines-Masking-Technique-Ingrid-Blackburn-001

As you can see, I embossed the Clustered Vines stamp which created not only a fun interesting look – they’re embossed in Mowed Lawn and Peeled Paint Distress Inks with clear embossing powder. They provided a great protective mask for the Color Your Polka background stamp which here is only partially stamped in areas over a torn masked edge, ensuring a clean and simple look.

To help accentuate that area, lightly sponge a little tumbled glass to color the background, fading out as you near the white edge.

A fun die cut from Stamplorations paired up with my absolutely favorite little Birthday stamp from Everyday Sentiments by Happy Little Stampers and you’re all set!

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Simple Sparkling clear sequins and a white on white card completes the look. I love this card – it’s clean, it’s simple and makes an impact. Now it’s your turn! Create a fun masked clean and simple card for the challenge – you have till the end of the month!

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But before you go, I’m totally curious – what’s YOUR favorite way to use the masking technique? Tell me below in the comment section!

Till next time!

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Filed Under: Challenges, Clean and Simple, Distress Ink, Uncategorized

Lovely Flowers – Little Touches

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Polka Dot Floral Cards

It’s the little touches in cardmaking that make the biggest statements. Today’s project is the perfect case in point. I’m in love with the Lovely Flowers stamp set and matching dies from the Stamp of Approval Lovely Notes Collection.

I thought it would be fun to stamp a few simple flowers in bright colors (Distress Picked Raspberry &  Mermaid Lagoon) accent them with some sprigs in Twisted Citron and a little heart in Wild Honey. I LOVE that little heart.

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To really make your embellishments pop – try embossing them in clear and then popping them on black like this card! A simple white greeting the opposite corner for balance is all you need.

But that alone isn’t enough. The card was falling a little flat – enter the little touches. Add some polka dots with the dotted stamp from this stamp set (see what I did with it yesterday is a video here) for the top and bottom – or just one. To finish the card off completely – I left off sequins or anything that would clutter it up, and instead try adding a simple white line to the top and bottom. All around would have been too much – remember, little touches.

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So what do you think? I think Bria likes it…lol! Here’s our gorgeous younger cat – she loves my craft studio…I find her hair everywhere! Do you have a little someone who loves your corner too?

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Lovely Notes SOA Now

If you’ve been hopping along the past few days, the winners were just announce! Head over to Catherine’s Blog to see if you won. 🙂

And if you missed the 18 designers that showcased two-three projects each…here are the links to those Blog Hop days. Have fun!

Day 1               Day 2               Day 3

SO….did you treat yourself to the current Stamp of Approval? Ordering is officially open to the public…don’t wait! It will sell out, and it’s a great collection. To find out more – check out the Stamp of Approval site here.

Those that were on the early notice wait list already are set to ship – check out all this goodness headed all over the world!

Stamp of Approval

I can’t wait to see what you all create with this amazing collection – Till next time!

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Lovely Lattice Butterflies – SOA is live!

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Lovely Lattice Background - Catherine Pooler Designs

I’ve been creating a lot with the kissing technique lately. I have to say, this simple technique always amazed me!  It’s been a cram packed few days of inspiration here and on the design team blogs. If you’ve missed any of the fun, I have links at the end for you.

Lovely Notes SOA Now

Today the Stamp of Approval Lovely Notes Collection goes live – yup…if you’re on the wait list you’ve received a link to head on over and grab a box. It’s the first release of these six stamp and two dies sets. You’ll also get a loaded PDF with projects and step by step instructions – how’s that for a place to start! Not on the list – no worries – get on it right here and get a head start on the public release tomorrow (if it hasn’t sold out!).

If you’ve seen any of my past three posts, you know I still have more projects for you – yup…today I even have another video! Over at StampNation, there’s a challenge going live today – Meadow Daydreams. I have to say, this challenge is made for me – I LOVE this kind of a color palette and theme. I’m actually shocked that I didn’t do a scenic card! Here’s a sneak peek into the project I created…to see it, you have to be a member of StampNation though.

Meadow-Daydreams-Sneak Peek

New Inspiration for you

So to piggy back on the challenge – I created a few cards with the same color palette, theme and then I loaded them up with techniques – after all, that’s kind of my thing, isn’t it?I have a video tutorial for you here and a written one below.And if you aren’t already – I’d love for you to subscribe to my YouTube channel too – click here.

Click Here to see the video in HD

Lattice Butterfly Tutorial – the Kissing Technique + others

  • Ink up your Lovely Lattice Background stamp by Catherine Pooler Designs in Versamark
  • Transfer your image to a piece of 140# Cold Pressed Watercolor Paper (5 1/2 x 4 3/4″) & clean your stamp
  • Sponge your colors over your image blending the colors Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers and Blueprint Sketch

Kissing Technique - Stamp of Approval

  • Allow your Distress Ink to fully dry while working on your butterflies
  • Ink up the large butterfly from Butterfly Notes by Catherine Pooler Designs in Squeezed Lemonade & Edge in Barn Door.
  • Ink up your Lovely Lattice Background stamp in Spiced Marmalade (you only need an area as large as your stamp)
  • Kiss your inked up butterfly to your inked up background stamp; thus transferring your image to it – or kissing

Butterfly Notes - Stamp of Approval - Catherine Pooler

  • Stamp on a piece of regular white card stock and heat emboss immediately in clear embossing powder. If your image has dried before your powder sticks, just stamp over your butterfly in versamark. Repeat for a second butterfly.
  • Fussy cut out your images
  • Cut your background in half (5 1/2 x 4 3/8″) and rub a de-static bag onto the bottom half. Stamp (Versamark) the greeting Thanks – Handpainted Thanks by Neat & Tangled & You’re Lovely by Catherine Pooler Designs – Lovely Flowers. Emboss in Black.
  • Trace the edges of your strip lightly for a guide where you plan to adhere it to your card base.
  • Stamp the polka dots from Lovely Flowers (landscape so you have the alternating ends) down the side using the line to keep your pattern straight. You’ll need to overlap the bottom dot with the top for an even pattern. I stamped one in Memento Tuxedo Black and the other I embossed with Versamark and white embossing powder.

The Kissing Technique - Versamark - Ingrid Blackburn

  • Matte your background onto black (5 1/2 x 4 1/2″) so that it just has a sliver of black – this will cover your line.
  • Adhere your butterfly with two mini glue dots in the center and place a foam dot under each wing toward the top to help with the illusion of flight.
  • Add Sparkling Clear Sequins by Pretty Pink Posh.

I love how the background stamp just magically appears. This technique has the biggest wow on glossy card stock & with darker inks, but the subtle effect here is lovely and the perfect accent.

Stamp of Approval

Lovely Notes SOA Banner

Thanks for joining me today! I have two more projects headed your way in the days to come, so be sure to stop back by! In the meantime, if you missed any of the six projects I posted this week, or the blog hops for all 18 designers – yup…there were that many – click on the links below for the starting point of each hop:

Day 1               Day 2               Day 3

And don’t forget to check out the Stamp of Approval – Lovely Notes Collection – it’s live right now – but just for those on the wait list!

Now that we’ve given you a ton of inspiration, it’s your turn – take what you learned here today or over the past three days and create your own cards – go get your fingers inky!!!

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Filed Under: Clean and Simple, Distress Ink, Stamp of Approval, Techniques, Uncategorized, Videos Tagged: , , , , ,

SOA Lovely Notes Blog Hop

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Lovely Notes SOA Blog Hop

Welcome to the Lovely Notes Collection Blog Hop – Day 3! What do you think so far…pretty amazing, right? Well I hope to add a little creative inspiration for you today with a few projects. I’ve been sharing a few projects over the past few days – this collection is so easy to create with, and I have so much more to keep sharing with you this week.

The Stamp of Approval Lovely Notes Collection is a curated collection of stamps and dies that work fabulously together or alone. Not only do you get a box FULL of amazing stamps and dies, but you’ll get a downloadable PDF Project Guide (for free!) with tons of project tutorials using them!

The stamps and dies in the Stamp of Approval Collections are brand new on the market and won’t be released for individual sale for several months. To find out how to get a box, you have to be on the wait list! Yes, these boxes sell out so fast – the last one was gone in 33 hours….so don’t wait. The wait list will find out before the public will. Click Here to sign up for the wait list and find out more.

Today I’m going to inspire you with several of the components of this collection. Specifically the Lovely Flowers, Lovely Flowers & Banners Dies, Lovely Lattice Background, Butterfly Notes, Wonderful Wreath – all by Catherine Pooler Designs, and Handpainted Thanks by Neat & Tangled. So let’s get right to it with a little Christmas in July, here are your tutorials!

Lovely Notes Project Tutorials

Wonderful Wreath

I was in love with this wreath the moment I saw it. It reminds me of olive branches – delicate and whimsical. To get this clean and simple look, stamp your wreath on white in Stampin Up Pear Pizzazz, the berries in Primrose Petals, hang some ornaments in Baja Breeze and tie it all up with an Early Espresso bow. It was that simple. This is a GREAT mass produced card.

Lovely-Notes-SOA-Project-2---Ingrid-Blackburn-001

 

For an elegant touch, emboss your greeting in Gilded Gold by Brutus Monroe – my new favorite gold. Add a few sparkling clear sequins by Pretty Pink Posh and a little simple paper piecing in the corners finishes it off.

I’m addicted to the tilt for the matte in the background (thanks Maureen!) – a little Early Espresso on a Pear Pizzazz card base. It’s that simple.

Thanks Friend

This awesome handpainted Thanks stamp by Neat & Tangled is my new favorite greeting – I love bold scripty greetings. I used this stamp just one way – did you know there are two others that layer for a multi tone effect! How cool is that?

You’ll want to stamp some of the Lowely Flowers and cut them using the coordinating Dies. I used the Stampin Up colors – Marina Mist, Wisteria Wonder, Rose Red & Garden Green. On a large piece of white scrap paper – at least card front size, stamp the thanks towards the bottom center/right. Repeatedly stamp thanks in a light neutral tone, I used River Rock. TIP – alter where the word starts on each line so that it flows.

Lovely Notes SOA Collection - Ingrid Blackburn

 

Stamp the dots from Lovely Flowers in the middle 2/3 of the Soft Suede card base. I stamped it completely across so that the left and right side were even.

Cut your tag out using the large banner die from the Lovely Flowers & Banners Dies set. Try to place the Rose Red Thanks a bit off centered to the right at the bottom. You definitely want some neutral below as well. Stamp the word Friend from the Lovely Flowers Stamp set in Soft Suede on a piece of scrap and attach to your tag.

Pop the tag up using Foam Tape or Fun Foam and adhere your embellishments. TIP – The leaf branch has three sprigs – I cut mine apart to get it just right – sometimes just one or two.

That’s it – it’s a cute card – I had way too much fun with the Lovely Flowers stamps & dies as you’ll see tomorrow!

Bold Watercolor Greetings

If you’ve followed me for a while here, on YouTube or in an online class – you know I love to watercolor! This project takes some of the various greetings in this collection and puts them to good use. I wanted greetings that would stand out, so I used two from Lovely Flowers, one from Butterfly Notes and one of my new favorite Thanks from Handpainted Thanks. Here’s a video tutorial for you:

Click Here to watch video in HD on YouTube

To get this outline look, first stamp your images in versamark. Go back over them with a de-static tool and stamp again in Versafine Onyx Black Ink. Emboss in Black and heat set. Once cool, secure your project down with low tack painters tape on the upper and lower edges.

Smoosh some Distress Ink onto your craft mat or acrylic block – I used Rusty Hinge, Ground Espresso, Gathered Twigs and Vintage Photo. Grab some ink with a large wet brush and start painting onto your dry watercolor paper. You want your watercolor to flow together without getting out of control.

Handpainted Thanks - Lovely Notes Collection - Ingrid Blackburn

TIP – if your paper accumulates too many puddles or your colors blend out of control, gently dip the edge of a dry paper towel into a puddle to sop it up without removing color. Or use a thirsty brush (Not dripping wet). Water will naturally be attracted to a dry surface.

Once you have the look you want, heat set or allow to dry on it’s own. TIP – keep some lighter areas along with dark for a balance.

Stamp the Lovely Lattice Background stamp in Ground Espresso onto a folded Espresso card base. I just inked up the top and bottom. Quickly dip into clear embossing powder and heat set for a tone on tone look. If using a vanilla or white background, use Versamark ink for a watermark look. The key is not to compete with your watercolor, but rather support it.

It’s a pretty quick and easy project. I made four as I wasn’t sure of the look I wanted. Here’s a rainbow one too:

Lovely Notes Stamp of Approval Ingrid Blackburn

 

I added a little dry embossed line to the top and bottom for a simple embellishment. No matter what color combination you choose, you’ll love this technique.

Now that you have some inspiration…time to find out just how you can win a free box!

Lovely Notes SOA Win

It’s your turn to hop along and check out what the uber talented Amy Tsutura has in store for you next! Here’s the blog hop list:

Catherine Pooler

Neat and Tangled

Kristie Goulet

Yoonsun Hur

Ingrid Blackburn – That’s Me * You are here*

Amy Tsuruta – You’re next stop!

Justine Hovey

Be sure to leave a comment on each designers blog for a chance to win a Lovely Notes Collection of your own! There’s a giveaway for all three days of the hop! If you missed out on any of the Blog Hops – start at the beginning with Catherine’s Blog and Day 1.

And stop by tomorrow for more inspiration –

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Filed Under: Christmas, Clean and Simple, Distress Ink, Flowers, Masculine, Stamp of Approval, Uncategorized, Videos, Watercolor Tagged: , , , , ,

Butterfly Notes in the Garden

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The day has finally arrived – the new Stamp of Approval Blog Hops are here! While I’m not on the “official” list for today…catch that on Tuesday, I will be sharing some creative fun with you from this collection over the next week.  I have to admit, it’s been hard to sit on my hands and not share this awesome jam packed collection with you, and I’m excited that I finally get to let the stamps fly – well in this case today…here are some new Butterflies for you – Butterfly Notes by Catherine Pooler Designs.

Butterfly Notes - Catherine Pooler Designs

This card is so much prettier in person than photographed. It was really hard to capture the background – soaring skies filled with four different fluttering butterflies – all embossed in white on white. But I needed something to support the colorful tag – or banner (upside down of course).

This collection of butterflies really is a great one. What I love about it so much is that there are various orientations of the butterfly images – everything from transparent wings, to flight directions, to gorgeous details along the edges or back wings – as you see in this close up here:

Lovely-Notes-SOA-Project-3---Ingrid-Blackburn-005

 

And then of course my all time favorite thing – sentiments with images. I don’t know about you, but for me when sentiments are included with stamps, my heart sings. I love it when I can go back to a stamp set over and over again, not just for the images. I’m all about versatility in my purchases, aren’t you?

I watercolored the tag with distress inks first – my thought was garden at the bottom – greens, then sky – blues evolving darker into some purple. To create the garden metal gate, once the watercolored piece was dry, emboss the Lovely Lattice background stamp in Pewter. Pewter is such an elegant color and gives an antique look that I just love. Next, you’ll want to cut this gorgeous watercolored piece out using the large banner/tag from the Lovely Flowers & Banners Dies set.

Lovely Lattice Background

 

Watercolor stamp Spiced Marmalade using the butterfly image & once dry add a little Spectrum Sparkle Pen to it for some glitz. Place your orange butterfly over the blues – they are complimentary colors so they really support each other in harmony.

A little strip saying above the cut out embossed on vellum scripty Thank You from this set supports the card without taking away any focus. Of course, I couldn’t resist a few sparkling clear sequins as well – were you really surprised?

The card is folded white (11 x 4″) and then mounted onto a 1/4 panel of black for the base. That gives a slight black edge on the left and right – it needed it to help pop the white, and is a bit unexpected.

Lovely-Notes-SOA-Project-3---Ingrid-Blackburn-003

I love this card for it’s subtle notes and pop of bright colors. Be sure to stop by Catherine’s Blog to start the hop today – each of the three days, there’s a collection up for grabs – so leave comments along the way for all the blog hops! Catherine shared three videos over the past few days showcasing the products in the Lovely Notes Collection, so be sure you are on the wait list to be the first to get a hold of it right when it’s released July 13th – they go really fast!

Lovely Notes SOA Banner

See you tomorrow with more inspiration –

Signature

[optin_box style=”12″ alignment=”center” email_field=”email” email_default=”Enter your email address” integration_type=”aweber” double_optin=”Y” list=”3846012″ name_field=”name” name_default=”Enter your first name” name_required=”Y” opm_packages=””][optin_box_field name=”headline”]Learn more with our exclusive FREE video series:[/optin_box_field][optin_box_field name=”paragraph”]PHA+UGx1cyB5b3XigJlsbCBiZSBhZGRlZCB0byBteSBGUkVFIENyZWF0aXZlIFRpcHMgRS1sZXR0ZXIgd2hlcmUgSSBzaGFyZSBleGNsdXNpdmUgcHJvamVjdHMsIHZpZGVvcyAmYW1wOyB0aGUgMTIgRGF5cyBvZiBDaHJpc3RtYXMgUHJvamVjdCBTZXJpZXM8L3A+Cg==[/optin_box_field][optin_box_field name=”privacy”][/optin_box_field][optin_box_field name=”top_color”]undefined[/optin_box_field][optin_box_button type=”0″ button_below=”Y”]Get Instant Access![/optin_box_button] [/optin_box]

 

Filed Under: Cards, Distress Ink, Stamp of Approval, Uncategorized Tagged: , , , ,
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