I hope all of you guys out there enjoyed your Fathers Day. Mine was very eventful and full of the wonderful men in my life. I’d love to show you the cards I made for them! Let’s take a look, shall we?
The Card Front
The first card I will be showing you was for my father-in-law. He has a Frenchie, so the Frenchie from the Playful pups stamp set fit the bill perfectly! I stamped it and the bowl and ball on some Copic friendly paper and got to coloring.
French Bulldog colors:
0
E00
W1
B12
R24
Ball Colors:
YG01
Y06
Bowl Colors:
C1
R24
R27
E31
E35
E37
I fussy cut out all of the little objects, including the dog and went around the edges with a Copic Multi-liner small brush pen so the images looked a little more finished.
Using the Grassy Trio die from Mama Elephant, I die cut the grass that this cutie was sitting on out of some green patterned paper scraps that I had in my stash.
I also die cut a scalloped square for his frame. On the frame I stamped “Everyone Has a Father” to go along with the sentiment I was adding the inside which says “I Have the Best” from the Bella Letters. I think a letter stamp set like this is so versatile because you can use it to make so many different sentiments that fit pretty much everywhere.
I added the frame and the little cut outs on the card front with some foam tape.
For the finishing touches, I added some glossy accents to the letter the Frenchie is holding and the bone on the bowl. I also added some silver gel pen to the spikes on his collar.
The Card Base
I used some Simon Says Stamp navy colored card stock for my base which was perfect because it doubled as my blue sky. I love this card stock because it’s so sturdy!
As always, I added my “handmade by cindy” stamp to the back of the card, since it was being given as a personal card.
Hindsight is 20/20
I used some Hero Arts Unicorn white pigment ink on the inside of the card base, which ended up being a fail. I had never stamped with it before, so I didn’t know how it would behave. It turns out that my ink pad has very thick ink and got in-between the small letters and make the sentiment look less than desirable. I ended up covering it with the white scalloped square that was cut from the front and stamping it with the same red to match the front.
Overall, I was very happy with this card. I hope you enjoyed seeing it and have a wonderful rest of your day!
Some of the supplies I used are listed below and as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
Hey guys! Today I’m going to not only be showing you this adorable card, but I’m going to talk to you about the most important thing about crafting. I’m going to share the secret of the number one most important thing about crafting right now. Are you ready?
Craft what you love.
Seems simple, right? Wrong. And I will tell you why.
Crafting within Your Means
This is topic we often overlook. We see a project and we NEED those products right now to make that specific project. Trust me. I’ve felt that feeling. I do all of the time. But you know, I’m a lady on a budget. Crafting is my hobby, and it’s just that. Running out and getting the latest and greatest isn’t alway a reality for all of us, including me. I’m so happy that I get to share what I can when I have the time and I hope you enjoy it too!
Never feel like you must have every tool and product that you see online. Some of the ladies you see crafting on blogs or on YouTube are paid designers. This means they get paid in money or product to produce cards and projects for customers to see (Isn’t that the dream?). For us hobbyists, that can be daunting.
Personally, I only purchase the craft products I really plan on using. I work a full-time job, I’m a part-time independent consultant for Jamberry, and keeping up with a blog/YouTube channel. And you know what? Sometimes it’s hard work keeping up with all of it and family life. My husband and I are currently saving up for a house and sometimes the money needs to be saved instead of spent. I completely understand that.
That’s where the other options come in. As well my part-time status as Independent Consultant for Jamberry, I also participate in rewards sites, such as Swagbucks, InboxDollars, and Ebates. (I will provide more information on them in future posts). If you find one that works for you, that’s wonderful. I never recommend sweepstakes sites because I never ever seem to win anything. Guess I’m not that lucky!
When I do save up some of my hard-earned money for crafting supplies, I want to be sure that I get the most for my money. I’m sure you do too!
One of my favorite online shops is Amazon. I find great prices on there. Sometimes they’re in the form of the Amazon Warehouse deals, but if you read the fine print, you can see what to expect with those purchases. Another thing I love it coupons. One of my local craft store usually does a 40% off one item weekly coupon, so if I’m only looking for one particular item, this saves a significant amount. I also check out sales at Joanns. They sometimes have their entire paper crafting section on sale (Win!), except for select items.
Let’s face it, the less financial stress you have about your hobby, the more you will enjoy it!
Crafting with a Purpose
I am all about trying new techniques. So much to the point where I will start a project just to try the technique and then become bored with it. And you know, that’s a waste of time and supplies (and therefore money, well!). I also find myself sometimes making projects that I have no idea what to do with when I’m done with them, and that’s also a waste.
My newest mission lately has been to craft with a purpose. If I look at a project or products that I am thinking of purchasing, and I can’t come up with some ideas of what I can use them for right off the bat, I don’t need them. And it’s as simple as that.
If you all are looking to make cards, but really have no one to send them to, I would encourage you to do a google search for some charities that accept cards. There are quite a few out there. Make sure your cards match their requirements and get crafting! They’re a good purpose as well.
What You Can Expect
So what does this all mean about my craft blog and YouTube channel?
Well, it means that you can expect me to be honest with you. If you have any questions about if I earn money from my blog, you can read more about it here: Disclaimer. It means I am a craft hobbyist like you, so anything I show, you can definitely do. Sometimes you may see some crafty fails because if I can save some of your supplies from my mistakes, I will sure try.
But most importantly, we will be doing what we love together. If you’d like to link you blog or channel in the comments, I would love to check to them out. If you have an tips or tricks that you use, I would love to hear them. I would love to be your crafty friend!
The Card Front
Now onto this card! I started this card off by stamping one of the Mama Elephant Playful Pups holding a super cute envelope with a heart on it with one of his bones with some Memento Tuxedo Black ink. He looks like a little French Bulldog. So adorable!
I colored him in with Copics. For his body, I used:
E35
E37
E39
R20
I kept the colors very simple for the Copic coloring and for a little added texture, I added small dots with the tip of my nib.
For the envelope and bone images, I used:
W1
W3
R20 (for the little heart)
I masked him and the bone off with some rubber cement (which is currently my masking fluid of choice).
I die cut one of the Grassy Trios from Mama Elephant to use as a stencil. I held it down with some wash tape and used distress inks to create the sky and the grass.
Sky Color:
Tumbled Glass
Grass Colors:
Peel Paint
Mowed Lawn
Finally I stamped a “Thank You” in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I die cut the white card stock I used with the second largest Peek A Frame Creative Cuts die from Mama Elephant. I added this piece on a piece of patterned paper from my stash with I die cut with the largest rectangle from the Peek A Frame Creative Cuts die from Mama Elephant.
For a touch of shimmer, I added some Wink of Stella to the envelope and some glossy accents to the envelope and bone. I also added some Silver Uniball Signo Broad gel pen to the spikes on his collar.
My matching envelope is a plain white envelope with paw prints from the same Playful Pups stamp set. I covered the solid paw prints with some Wink of Stella and I filled in the open paw prints with some clear Stickles.
Hindsight is 20/20
Looking back at every project, I find something that I wish I would have done a little differently. In this project, I would have die cut the grass for the background from a thicker card stock. I had some problems when using the mini-blending tool with the distress inks on the very thin card stock. It kept lifting.
Most of the products I used are listed below along with links to some shops you can find them at. I definitely encourage you to shop around and find the best prices on the products you plan on using for your future projects! Happy crafting, friends!
P.S-Don’t forget, you can check out what I’m wearing on my nails here: Click Here
Love, Cindy ADH 