Halloween Costumes - Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios

I have an adorable new Halloween card for you today featuring the digital stamp image called Halloween Costumes by Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios.     I downloaded the image and printed it on my home printer on to Copic friendly cardstock.   This panel was die cut to give the faux stitched edge and finish it at a size slightly smaller than A2.

I had fun colouring this perfectly gorgeous image using my Copic markers.  Here's my colour palette:-

Witches Hat - W9, W7, W4

Bunny - E51, W4, W5, R000

Bear - E44, E43, E42, E40

Pumpkin Costume - E01, YR00, YR61, W3

Squirrel Ghost - W7, W5

Ghost Costume -  B0000, B000

Cheeks -  R00, R20, R21

Ground - BG70, W1

As you can see I transferred a little of the orange hues on to the bunny as well as some of the blues so that it took the eye around the gathering of friends.  I then highlighted a few points using a white gel pen.   I adhered the panel to an A2 black panel of cardstock to frame it out nicely and in turn this was applied to a card base.

To create the sentiment I first used the Charlie Alpha Die by Hello Bluebird Stamps and I die cut the letters BOO three times.  Once from white cardstock and twice from black.   I glued these letters together in stacks and slightly offset the top white layer in order to get a dimensional shadow affect.   These letters were glued into position.   Underneath to finish the sentiment I stamped 'be very afraid' using Versamark Ink and heat embossed in white which nicely pops on black cardstock.  This strip was applied with foam tape for some dimension.

I can rarely resist the temptation to add some sparkle and so I glued just 4, four point star embellishments so that the card remained really quite CAS (clean and simple).  Hope you love this sweet image as much as I do!

Happy crafting!

Country Roads Scenic Background Stamp - Hello Bluebird Stamps

Hello Bluebird has an exciting new release featuring all backgrounds stamps.  This release will be available to buy at 7pm MST on March 25th.  There will be 7 brand new ones in all but also, all the previously released rubber backgrounds stamps are going to re-released as clear stamps going forwards.

To create this card I stamped the 6 x 6 inch Country Roads Scenic Background Stamp image to an A2 panel of Copic friendly cardstock using Memento Ink in Rich Cocoa.  I coloured the background image using Copic markers and accented with coloured gel pens for the tufts of grass and suggestion of flowers in the fields.

I stamped my images from Easter Egg Hunt and also Copic coloured those.   They were die cut, backed with foam tape and applied to the scene.  Points were highlighted with a white gel pen.

For the sentiment, I used the the Charlie Alpha Die and changed happy to hoppy to be a little punny.  Each letter consists of 5 die cuts with each one being glued in a stack and then using a ruler to align the letters before committing to glueing them to the card.  Underneath I just used the word Easter also found in Easter Egg Hunt.

The card panel was adhered to a sturdy white cardstock base and with that it was finished!

I'll be back tomorrow with a brand new background from the release to share with you!  I hope you join me for that.  Happy crafting!

Party Parade - Hello Bluebird Stamps

A new day and a new card for Hello Bluebird Stamps.  Once again I'm using those little cuties from Party Parade.



A panel of white cardstock was ink blended using Distress Oxides in Worn Lipstick, Squeezed Lemonade and Peacock Feathers.  I then squished a little of the Worn Lipstick onto my craft mat, added a drop of water and then using an old toothbrush I picked up some of the colour and ran my thumb over the bristles spritzing the pink colour through the yellow and blue background.



From another panel of white cardstock I die cut the frame from the Gallery Frame #3 Die.  I backed it with dimensional foam tape and applied it to the background.



The Party Parade characters were stamped on to Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock using Ranger Archival Ink in Potting Soil.  They were watercolour painted using Kuretake Zigs in Gray Brown, Light Pink, Blue Gray, Orange, Light Carmine, Light Blue, Yellow, Light Brown and Oatmeal.  Points were highlighted with a white gel pen, they were die cut and backed with either 1 or 2 layers of foam tape and applied to the scene.

I used the Charlie Alpha Die and the Charlie Numbers Die to create the HB2U sentiment.  Each number or letter was die cut 4 times to create a nice meaty stack, each being glued to the next using Ranger Multi Medium Matte.



Time for the finishing touches.  I used Nuvo Crystal Glaze to add a glossy appearance to the balloons and drum and I also adhered a selection of my favourite Sparkling Clear Sequins by Pretty Pink Posh.

Many thanks for coming by to read, I'll be back soon with another card!

Nicky x

100% ADORBS with Puddle Play - Hello Bluebird

My card today would be useful for a variety of occasions and uses the Hello Bluebird stamp set Puddle Play  together with the Charlie Alpha Die.



This card started with a panel of white cardstock that I ink blended using Distress Oxides in Peacock Feathers and then a little Chipped Sapphire to deepen the top part.  I then used the Drawn Hearts stencil by Simon Says Stamp and applied white pigment ink for the subtle heart design.  The pane was then die cut to provide the wonky stitched border using the Cloud 9 die set by Mama Elephant.

To make the word ADORBS I die cut the Charlie Alpha letters that I needed 4 times using 110lb white cardstock and glued the letters in a stack.  Using a ruler I determined a line across my panel and taped the ruler down and then abutted my letters against it and glued.



The sun die cut comes from the Rainbow Sky Die.  Once die cut I ink blended it using Distress Oxide in Squeezed Lemonade.   The '100%' is from Puddle Play, I masked off just that word from the longer sentiment and inked it up with Versamark Ink, removed the mask and stamped onto a small piece of black cardstock and then heat embossed in white.

All other elements are from Puddle Play, they were stamped with Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black, watercolour painted using Kuretake Zigs in Blue Gray, Yellow and Light Pink.  Points were highlighted with a white gel pen.  The clouds were just die cut from the stamp set and not stamped first.   All images were die cut and applied with dimensional foam tape.



The finishing touch was the application of several Sparkling Clear sequins by Pretty Pink Posh in a variety of sizes using Ranger Multi Medium Matte because it dries clear.

Have a great day and see you next time!

Nicky x

Party Parade with Charlie Alpha Die - Hello Bluebird

Before making this card I had in my mind several cards using the Charlie Alpha die by Hello Bluebird to spell out some cute and bold sentiments.  This required doing a lot of die cutting and glueing ahead of making any real cards.  To my mind it was worth the effort and preparation since I had all my letters ready to go and then I'd build scenes around the wording.  Over the coming weeks (or months) the fruits of my labours will be shared.



When I use die cut words or letters for my projects I die cut a minimum of 3 times from 110lb cardstock.  With this card I actually did 4 die cuts from 110lb white cardstock, it's chunky, it jumps out at you and that is exactly the affect that I wanted.

For the rest of the card I ink blended the panel of Bristol Smooth using Distress Oxide in Festive Berries, making sure it was deeper at one end than the other.  I then used the Confetti Stencil set by MFT and white pigment ink to create the bokeh type affect and die cut the panel with a wonky stitch die from Mama Elephant called Cloud 9.

Using low tack tape I mapped out where my letters would go so that they were nicely in alignment.  The letters were adhered with Ranger Multi Medium Matte and the tape removed.



This panel was then adhered to a sturdy 110lb white cardstock base and set to one side. 

On more Bristol Smooth cardstock I used Ranger Archival Ink in Potting Soil to stamp the images from Party Parade.  I watercolour painted those cuties using the following colours:-

Beige 072, Mid Gray 096, Brown 060, Bright Yellow 052, Yellow 050, Light Pink 026, Cobalt Blue 031, Blue Gray 092  and May Green 047.

Points were highlighted with a white gel pen and the images were die cut and adhered to the scene using dimensional foam tape.



The finishing touches were a fun mix of different sized sparkling clear sequins by Pretty Pink Posh to add to the celebratory feel and which echoed the bokeh stencilling of the background panel.

I hope you enjoyed the card and feel inspired .... I think this card would be fabulous in a boy theme with a lovely rich blue background .... I'm almost tempted ...... hmmmm

See you soon!

Nicky x