Season's tweetings by Noga Shefer

Hi crafty friends,  Noga  here and I am so happy to share with you another project for Gerda Steiner Designs today.

My card featuring the adorable Seasons Tweetings - 4x6 Clear Stamp Set and Seasons Tweetings Die Set.

To make this card I took an A2 panel of plaid cardstock. 

For the background, I die cut the postage stamp frame die out of white cardstock. 

Behind it, I ink blended a background using Distress Oxide in shaded lilac, splashed it with water and  and glued it behind this frame.

Next I colored the sweet image using copic markers:BG45, BG10, BG000, BG0000, Y13,Y18, RV02, RV00, BV01, BV20  and glued it inside this cute envelope.

Next I stamped a greeting from this stamp set using black ink.

For a final touch, I added some snowflakes sequins.

I hope you enjoy the card I created and feel inspired to create!

Thanks for stopping by,

Noga

Happy Holidays Santa Tag

 Hello Gerda Steiner Fans! Christi here from Scrapping For Tranquility. Hope everyone is staying warm.  We here in the northern part of USA had quite a bit of snow this weekend.   Besides the cold, I like it it gives me an excuse to stay in and craft.  

I want to share today this Gerda Steiner Design cute tag I made out of the new Happy Holidays Stamp Set.  I used the Santa and the Merry Christmas to stamp on his sign he is holding.

If you might recall a couple weeks ago I made a tag out of the bear for I am making all my tags by hand this year.  This was real simple to color with my pencils, add a ribbon and a piece of garland and I was done.

Enjoy your Holiday Season!

Digital Stamp Tutorial for a Silent Night!

Greetings on this wonderful Black Friday! 

It's me again, Jessie Scott (@chevy.scott on IG) . Today I am collaborating with Pear Blossom Press for this super cute light up card using Pear Blossom Press's Halo Light and the adorable Digital Stamp from Gerda Steiner Designs:  Penguin with Candle.  

Note: This adorable Digital Stamp was made available for free last month to the folks in the private Facebook Group fan page. Not in the group? Comment/Contact Gerda Steiner Designs here on Facebook for the link to join for contests and more freebies!

This is a DOUBLE blog collaboration today:

1. Gerda Steiner Designs for how to use Digital Stamps available in their store: Tutorial below

2. Pear Blossom Press for lighting up the card!  (visit their blog here for Part 2, live now!)

What is a Digital Stamp?

A Digital Stamp is literally a digital version of what you use at home made of photopolymer or rubber. Instead of stamping it with ink onto paper, you print it out and color it.

How to use a Digital Stamp

Have a printer? Want to try and see if digital stamps are an option for you? 

Give it a go with one of Gerda Steiner Designs free stamps!  Follow along below!

What you will need:

1. Printer (see additional details below on recommendations if you don't already have one to try)

2. Digital Stamp

3. Application that imports images and sends them to your printer

Here's a quick video to get you coloring a digital stamp in no time!

Good to go? Hop on over to Pear Blossom Press for Part 2: making this Digital Stamp Image into a light up card!

Need more details? Can't watch the video right now? Keep reading!

Additional Details:

1. Printer - try what you have first! 

     A. Non-printer options:  Don't have one? Try your local print shop!

 

• Office supply stores can usually take a file from a USB drive or upload to their website and print for you to pick up. These are 99% of the time a high quality Laser Printer.
• Check with Walmart or other stores that print photos on their services as well
• Some work places do not mind if you bring your own paper to your job and print after hours on rare occasions. Check with your employer if this could be an option to just try it out and see if you want to invest in a printer at home.

     B. Printer Paper

• Your printer must be able to print on your preferred coloring paper or you might need to adjust to a different paper when you're printing images. A friend of mine has hers print on the best quality copy paper it can use and then adheres it to a piece of cardstock with glue and a roller tool to ensure a smooth paper to color on. You might have to figure out what works best for what you have and your preferred coloring medium. 
• If you feel the need to buy a new printer, be sure you read the specifications and check for "heavy cardstock" and the GSM it can handle. Only buy from a place allowing returns just in case you can't get it to work for what you need. 
• I shopped a bit and decided on an HP Laser Printer (M182nw). When I checked the specs it was able to load heavy paper from the tray. Most printers you want to have a manual feed option because the thicker 80lb Neenah and similar will get stuck. I got lucky and my printer can use a tray feed for my 80lb Neenah with no manual feed required. I do still have a manual option if needed.

     C. Printer Type and Coloring Medium

• For most coloring mediums Laser Printers are your best bet, BUT you CAN usually make it work with Ink Jet. 
• Treat Ink Jet Printers as you would a new dye-based ink pad. You will need to test if it can be used with your coloring medium without smearing your image right away or try heat setting or curing overnight. 
• If you're using alcohol ink markers I highly recommend a LASER printer. If you're thinking of getting a new printer, Laser Printers are worth the investment because 

1. They don't dry out like ink printers(I live in the desert so this is a big decision point for me) and 
2. Laser Printers use TONER... so you can also do custom toner foiling using these printers. Black only are very affordable - just make sure you're using OEM toner (yes it's more expensive) as this adheres best to thicker cardstock and is also the best quality for toner foiling. Do NOT use off brand toner as it can be mixed with "stuff" and you will have smearing for coloring and issues with foiling.

• You CAN use an Ink Jet Printer but it's recommended to let the ink dry overnight. Some printer ink can be heat set and used right away, but you will need to see what works for you with your printer.
• Check the different coloring mediums you use with your sample. Colored pencils make it so you can use either kind of printer until you start using gamsol or oils. It can smear inks. 
• Same with water coloring, you will need to be sure you can print on your preferred paper or just use the thickest paper you can print on and try to use less water and then run the finished panel through a laminator to flatten it. 

2. Digital Stamp

You can purchase this Penguin with Candle or, just to try this tutorial, Gerda Steiner Designs is so generous, they have a few free digital stamps available to help you kick start your collection and start participating in challenges to win prizes. Try one out with this tutorial! (look for Digital Stamps marked "FREE")

Digital stamps are also really affordable and INSTANTLY available. Don't have the perfect stamp for that project you need done tomorrow? Can't wait for something to ship? Check out the digital stamps! You can be coloring that image in 5 minutes 😉. 

3. Application that imports images and sends them to your printer 

• I have a Windows machine but you can do this using any word processing program that allows you to import images on Macs. If you don't have a suitable program already, a great one that works on either system for free is Open Office.
• I teach online courses and use this free program for all my students so they don't have to pay for services to participate in the online class. This program comes with a free version of the main Office programs like Word, Power Point and Excel for your desktop or laptop. https://www.openoffice.org/download/
• I recommend always starting with a new file since MS Word and other programs might save the file compressing the image (losing image quality when you print next time after you save your project since it compressed the image to save it). 
• If you get an image just right and you want to save for later to reuse, I suggest saving as a PDF to print later. 
• If you wish to use MS Word or your other program's file over and over, check for a setting about image compression and turn it off so you have the best version of the image to print again. You also might want to consider using an image editing program like Photoshop if you want to keep editing the card layout.

I personally don't get too fancy haha. I just open a new file, drag and drop my images, resize as needed, and copy and paste to fill my page and print it. I don't save the file. 

NOTE: What about using Dies

Because digital stamps can be a variety of sizes, you can't use dies. I strongly advise purchasing a Brother Scan N Cut to cut your images if you do not want to do a lot of fussy cutting! :)

Want to learn how I finished this card after printing out my Digital Stamp? Hop on over to the Pear Blossom Press blog today and see how to use their fun and easy light up supplies!

Hope to see you again soon for more cards with Gerda Steiner Designs!

Holiday Bear!

Hello Gerda Steiner Designs Fans!  Christi here from Scrapping For Tranquility, Guest Designing once again.  I loved it so much the first time thought I would do it again!  

When I volunteered to Guest Design, I was told about the new release coming up for the holidays and they sent me this wonderful stamp set called Happy Holidays.

I loved everything about this set but that adorable bear really stood out to me so that is where I began.

I have decided to hand make all my gift tags this year since it seems  I never can get my Christmas Cards done.  LOL  Anyone else out there like me???  LOL  This way they have a little taste of my card making but not a full fledged card.  It still comes from my heart but also fits into my busy schedule.

I used Prismacolor Pencils to color him and Wink of Stella, Silver  for my silver stars and fuzzy around his hat.  I then used Brushed Pewter Distress Spray Stain to spray on my blank tag and let it dry while cutting out a star for the background to match my bear.  Once it was dry, I put it together, added some dots in blue sparkle and silver .  Pulling some ribbon through to match, I then added a sentiment ,I had in my stash, that I felt went well with my tag, I called it done.

  I hope you enjoyed my project as much as I enjoyed making it.  Until next time......

Dear Santa Claus, it's the dogs fault.

Hello everyone.

 

Today I may show you another card.

 

I stamped a little scene, using the "Furry and Bright", "Puppy Mail" and "Reindeer and a tree" stamp sets.

 

Who does not know it? You want to decorate the christmas tree and the christmas lights are completely messed up. This also happened to the little cat. But of course a cat would never admit something like that. She prefers to say: "Dear Santa Claus, it's the dog's fault." And as dogs are, the little puppy doesn't notice anything, because he's looking for treats under the christmas tree. 

What would Christmas be without our favorite furry friends?

I colored the images with Copics.

  The snow in the window I made with a Sakura Gelly Roll Gel Pen White.

I wish you a wonderful day and a peaceful christmas season.

 

Creative greetings from Germany, your Nicole


Feel free to visit me on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/kimbaslydog/

 

Merry Christmas by Noga Shefer

 Hi crafty friends,  Noga  here and I am so happy to share with you another project for Gerda Steiner Designs today.

My card featuring the adorable Seasons Tweetings - 4x6 Clear Stamp Set and Seasons Tweetings Die Set.

To make this card I took a mini slimline panel of plaid cardstock and die cut a white rectangle and glued on it.

The background was created by blending kitscn flamingo ans spun sugar distress oxide inks and some splattering of white paint.

Than I colored the sweet images using copic markers: Owl - T5, T3, T1, T0, RV00, RV0000, Y18, Y13; Hat - R29, R27, E40; Branch - E74, E71.

To add some fun to this card I glued the sweet critter to my panel using mini action wobbler.

Next I stamped a greeting from Happy Holidays - 4x6 Clear Stamp Set using black ink.

I hope you enjoy the card I created and feel inspired to create!

Thanks for stopping by,

Noga

Playing in the Snow!

 Hello Crafty Peeps!

It’s Maureen back with another sneak peek at the adorable “Seasons Tweetings” stamp set.  I want to thank Gerda, Mace and everyone at Gerda Steiner , LLC for having me as a guest designer, it has been such a dream come true and a heck of a lot of fun as well.

Onto the card. . .

These adorable birdies are so fun to create with.  For this card I wanted the “whole gang” together.

I started by drawing lightly with my pencil a snowdrift and then I stamped each of my cute birdie friends out on some masking paper.  Then I stamped each bird on the card where I wanted them and put the mask over them.  I also masked the bottom of the card.  I used Tim Holtz Salty Ocean to ink blend in the horizon/ice line.  Then I removed the masks and got coloring!

After I finished my coloring, I cut my panel using a scalloped die frame and matted it on a Michael’s red shimmer card stock panel.  I decided I wanted to play with more elements from the kit, so I drew a “wire” line from the “Seasons Tweetings” sentiment and stamped the ornament and star included in the set hanging down from the wire.  After those were colored, I added in some sequins for a “snow effect” and finally I used my white gel pen to clean up a few places, add highlights and some texture to the Santa hats on the birds.  Finally, I added glossy accents to the birds eyeglasses (I mean how adorable is he!) and to the Christmas ornaments and stars, just to make them pop a little more.

Here’s another look at the finished card:




I hope you enjoyed looking at what I have created with this adorable set and that it will inspire you to create your cards and projects with it.

Copic colors used:

R22, R24, R29, R39
G24, G28
Y11, Y19, Y35
E25, E27, E31, E33
C00, C1, C2

Thanks again for stopping by, please leave a comment and a like and make sure to pick up this set as soon as it becomes available!

Maureen

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. - Philo of Alexandria

Sending his crush with a Christmas Card. Oh no! His crushes mailbox is already quite full!

 Hello everyone.

 

today I have the honor of publishing my very first blog post for Gerda Steiner Design.

I'm from Germany, so I apologize in advance if there are any mistakes in my English.

 

So I was very happy to get this cute stamp set called „Seasons Tweetings“ from the new release by GSD.

I had a story in my mind.  The sweet little bird flow all the way jus to put personally  his Christmas mail in his loved one's mailbox. As a little surprisefor her.. Hmm....but there are already quite a few letters in there. Seems to be popular, the little bird lady.

How I have made this card….

I covered the bird's beak with masking paper so I could stamp a letter into the bird's beak.

 

Then I wiped the sky with Distres Oxides ( Salty Ocean and Tumbled Glass) and put some w white sprinkles with acrylic paint on it. Later, wenn the card was finished, I put also some clear Nuvo crystal drops on it.

 

I colored the images with Copics.

 

Santa hat: R39, R29, R27, R24

Bird: BG96, BG93, BG90

Mailbox: T5, T3, T1, T0, E49, E47, E57, YG67

 

Finally, I applied a bit of Glossy Accents to the letter and the mailbox., cut it out (when it has dried) and glued it  all together onto the card.

 

 

Have a crafty day!

If you like, feel free to visit me on Instagram: Nicole Feldenkirchen / kimbaslydog

Mini Slimline Meowy Christmas Card!

Hey Crafty Friends! 

Sharing a mini slimline today using the seriously adorable Christmas kitties from the Christmas Kitten Clear Stamp Set from Gerda Steiner Designs

This was such a fun card to make. I started with a white mini slimline card base and added a mini deckle slimline die cut in a teal colour. Next on white card stock I die cut a smaller deckle layer and inked up the edges in tumbled glass oxide ink. I stencilled on some Christmas candies with the colour saltwater taffy oxide ink just towards the bottom of the panel. I stamped a few branches and ornaments in black ink then went over top with copics in various shades of green for the branches.

I then wrapped some red and white twine around the top of the white panel and hot glued a wooden button off to the side.

I coloured the kitten with copics and attached to my panel with dimensional tape. I then added that panel on top of the teal one with dimensional tape.

I finished the card by adding red glitter glue to all the ornaments and gluing on some candy cane slices.

Crafty Hugs,

Allie

Joy!

 Hi everyone!

Stacey with you today sharing a super cute Christmas card that I made using the adorable Balancing Mouse stamp set. 

Here is a look at the card that I created:

I created an A2 cardbase and layered some fun & bright patterned papers from Doodlebug Designs on top. I masked off the largest ornament and stamped it a few times onto a piece of white cardstock so that I could create a row of ornaments. I stamped my little mouse on top of one of the ornaments and then colored my images with Copic markers. I decided to add the smaller ornament that is in the stamp set as well. I stamped a few onto some scrap cardstock, colored them & then fussy cut them out. I placed them in front of the large ornaments before trimming down my image panel. I die cut a red scalloped rectangle and adhered my image to the center. I added some red and white crochet thread to my card before popping up my image with foam tape. I die cut the "JOY" from red glitter cardstock and added that as well as some red enamel dots to finish off my card. So super cute!

Copic Colors Used:

--Mouse: E40, E41, E42, E43, E44, R00, R20

--Hat: R24, R27, R29, R39, C00, C0

--Red Ornaments: R24, R27, R29

--Yellow Ornament: Y11, Y13, Y15

--Green Ornaments: YG01, YG03, YG05

--Blue Ornaments: BG53, BG57

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

I appreciate it so much!
I hope you have a great crafty day!

Stacey

Find Stacey on Instagram: @staceyscreativecorner