You Light Me Up, Piggie!

 Greetings everyone! It's me again, Jessie Scott (@chevy.scott on IG), Guest Designing for Gerda Steiner Designs!

Today I have another fun collaboration with Pear Blossom Press products to share. What's better than a Flying Pig? One coming to bring you the best birthday wishes! Check out this fun birthday card using You Lift Me Up.  

I colored this fun piggie with my Olo Markers and used some black and white baker's twine to add some texture to the string look wrapped around his middle and attaching to the balloon. (I also want him to actually swing in the air!) The stars are actually a small punch I used to make holes for my light up part.

I made a fun pastel cloud background with stencils and Distress Ink. Gold splatter was added for more interest. 

So, with the magic of the internet haha I printed out the sentiment I needed for a fun birthday card. (I had forgotten to print it first before cutting the panel and ink blending so the background above actually ended up getting used on another card haha and I made a new one.)

To learn how I lit up this card so easily, venture over to my blog today for the companion post with Pear Blossom Press!

Even without the light effect, this baby swings! I adhered the balloon to the card and left the piggie to swing freely on the card.

 

Here's the finished project!

See you again soon!

A little birdy told me...

 Greetings everyone! It's me again, Jessie Scott (@chevy.scott on IG), Guest Designing for Gerda Steiner Designs!

Today I am playing with this super versatile new digi stamp, Happy Birthday Birds - Print & Color Greeting Card. Don't let the name fool you, the digi also comes with a blank sign image so you can do what I did and make your own messages!

The beauty of digital stamps is you can do the same or even more than using a real stamp! This digital stamp set comes with a "PNG" version that has transparency that allows you to layer it onto other images. For this card, I layered on itself to create a scene of a group of birds in the trees.

   

Have you ever used a mirror technique to "flip" a stamp? It's so much easier with digital stamps! I used two original images and then flipped the image horizontally twice as well to make this scene.

You can use an advanced editing program if that's what works for you, but I use just simple MS Word.

I like to use the "insert - shape" option to make a card front shape to size my images before printing. This one was sized for a minislim 5.25"x3.5". I then added some heart shapes in the empty spots and my text in the signs.

Now for the fun part! Coloring! Yes... I blended the ENTIRE background! It took a few layers to get it to this point, but worth it. Then I colored the trees.

 

I keep seeing the fun pastel colors for the birds and couldn't resist using them as well. I took some glitter paper and used a starburst punch to make a sun rising on my adorable morning birds. I coated the hearts with glue and covered them in glitter for a final touch.

I hope you enjoy the card and maybe have a little more understanding of how to use digi stamps and join in on the fun!

  

Here's the finished project!

See you again soon!

And all the little birdies went "tweet, tweet, tweet!"

Back again for another outing with the sweet little bird quartet in the latest GSD digital stamp-Happy Birthday Birds.  These little cuties are so much fun to play with and they are really quick to color up, which is great, if you need a card in a hurry.

This time I used the full-size digital image with the blank signs, cutting off a bit of the top and bottom, so I could add a splash of color with a little bit of border.  And once again they insisted on going outside to have their picture taken!!

The birdies can be any color, but I stuck with my favorite birds.  And of course you can color in the background, but I didn't want to take anything away from these sweet little birds and the message they were sending, so I chose to just outline the tree, birds and musical notes with light blue.

Bluebird:  FB2, B24, B32

Cardinal:  R29, R27, R35

Robin:  E74, E71, E70, glossy accents used on the spectacles

Goldfinch:  Y08, Y15, Y06

Beaks:  Y17, Y15

Tree trunk:  E29, E59, E27

Outlining:  B00

These little birds are sure to delight everyone.  They really are just "so tweet." 

Have fun and happy crafting~Debbie

YOU ALWAYS MAKE ME SMILE

Hello all you creative minds, 

Nicole here again from Hamburg/Germany.

Today we're going underwater and meeting some friends from the stamp set "A Whale of a Time".

For an underwater shaker card I used a great design paper from Whimsy Stamps "Under the Sea".

First I punched out the design paper with the punching template.

Then colored the stamp impressions with the markers from Ohuhu.

Color combination:

Waale: MG020, MG030, MG060, MG100

Octopus: GY7, G260, G270, G470, G080

Cheeks: R120, R188

And then cut out.

Before you glue the windows of the card, you should consider positioning the cut-out backgrounds on the base card. I tend to forget that from time to time!😉

Then you can fill the shaker elements into the squares and apply the front card with 3D tape.

I embossed the stamp text with WOW embossing powder/white and then attached it to the card with the cute friends.

In the beginning I always thought shaker cards were too much work, but once you understand the system, you can turn all the punching templates into a great and effective shaker.

For more inspiration, come and visit me on Instagram under "Stempelfiziert".

I would be delighted to help you.

 I hope you enjoyed my post and that it has inspired you a little.

See you soon 

Nicole aka Stempelfiziert

Have a mice day

Hi everyone!

I'm thrilled to be back, sharing another card using the new release "In your corner".  I stamped the image from this set on a piece of watercolor paper and colored in using Derwent Inktense pencils and a water brush.  Once this dried, I used the smaller 'rectangle' from AALL & Create Splodazzlers to cut out the image. 

 I used the larger 'rectangle' from the same die set to cut a backing from black cardstock.  The set also comes with several dies in the shape of splotches, which I used to cut some pieces from black cardstock.  I attached the watercolor piece to the black background, attaching this whole piece to an A7 ivory card base.  Finally I stamped the sentiment from 'In your corner' in the lower right corner and glued the two circle cutouts in the upper left.

This was really an easy card to put together.  Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a mice day!

We're here to "chirp" you up. . .

I'm here today to take the latest Gerda creation out for a "test flight" - Happy Birthday Birds.  This is a digital stamp collection packed full of possibilities.  You can simply print, cut, color and give, or you can add an extra touch of creativity.

For my first outing I have these sweet little birdies serenading bunny and friend*, as they lounge beneath the birdies' tree.   

I resized and rotated the digital image with the blank signs, to create a portrait card.  With the addition of a hillside for the bunny to rest on, I only had to extend the lines of the tree trunk a bit, creating some distance between the branch and the ground.  To minimize background coloring, I outlined the tree, birds and notes in light blue and cut the hillside from patterned paper.  I used a copic multiliner to add my sentiment to the signs.

And yes, I also took my birdies outside to have their picture taken.  They insisted!!

The birdies are colored with copic markers in the hues of my favorite birds.

Bluebird:  FB2, B24, B32

Cardinal:  R29, R27, R35

Robin:  E74, E71, E70, glossy accents used on the spectacles

Goldfinch:  Y08, Y15, Y06

Beaks:  Y17, Y15

Tree trunk:  E29, E59, E27

Bunny:  E34, E33, E31

Outlining:  B00

*Bunny and birdie are from the GSD "How Are Ewe" stamp set.  Additional sentiments are from the GSD "Cup of Love" stamp set.

Have fun and happy crafting~Debbie

So Grateful

Hi everyone!

Today I'm sharing a card using the newly released "Best Mom Best Dad" and one of my favorite sets "Grow Happiness".  I wanted a cleaner look for this card and also decided to stay with more neutral colors.

I started this card by choosing three of the plants from the "Grow Happiness" set and stamping them on Tim Holtz distress watercolor paper (this watercolor paper is closer to a bright white than some others I've used).  Next, I used Derwent Inktense pencils and a water brush to color the plants.  Hint, for plants and flowers it's more realistic to use several different colors or shades on the leaves.  In this case I pulled some browns in with a couple greens.  After coloring the pots, I added a neutral grey to the edges to add some dimension (this is the same grey I used for the shadows underneath and on some of the leaves, pulling everything together).  Once this dried, I used Gina K Designs master layout one to cut the image out and cut a black mat for the background.

I decided to keep this card on the generic side since I didn't know what I was going to use it for yet.  I used the row of hearts and 'so grateful for you' from "Best Mom Best Dad" in a Misti to stamp the sentiment below the plants.  When working with watercolor paper, it's best to use a Misti or similar stamping device since the rougher paper usually requires you to stamp several times for a better image.  After layering the two pieces together and attaching to a kraft card base, this card was finished for me for the moment.  Any of the other sentiments (listed below) in the "Best Mom Best Dad" set will work great stamped inside of the card once I know who it's for.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Mother's Day

Thank you for all you do

You are the best

So grateful to all of you for taking the time to read about this card, happy crafting!

 

In Your Corner

 Hi everyone!

Stacey with you today sharing a really sweet encouragement card created with a new stamp called, In Your Corner.

Here is a look at the card that I created:

That little mouse is too cute!

To create my card, I started by folding a piece of white cardstock in half to create my A2 card base. I used a stitched die to cut out a piece of patterned paper to layer on top and added a bit of doodling around the perimeter. I stamped my In Your Corner image onto a piece of white cardstock and colored it in with my Copic markers. I stamped the image once again onto a piece of floral patterned paper and fussy cut it out to give the card a bit of a wallpaper vibe. When I paper pieced the patterned paper onto the wall, I raised it ever so slightly to give the illusion of a baseboard. At least that is what I was hoping for lol! I added a little scallop frame on top and adhered my image to my card front. I stamped my sentiment and used a banner die to cut it out, adding it underneath my image to complete my card.

What a sweet and thoughtful stamp set!

Copic Colors Used:

--Wall: C00, C1, C3, C4, C5, C6, C7

--Floor: G40, G21

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

--Heart: R81, R83, R85

Thank you so much for stopping by!

I hope you have a great crafty day!

Stacey

You can find Stacey on Instagram: @staceyscreativecorner

Have a Happy Easter

 

Hello dear creative friends,

I am sending you lovely Easter greetings from Germany with this Easter card in a clean and simple style. 

I used the stamp set "Peeking Easter Friends" 

The images are so cute as they peek around the corner. 

For the card I punched out 2 times the same base card with a stitched rectangle cutting die. In one of them I punched out 3 more holes  and the other one I wiped with Distress Oxides as a gradient with the colors Moved Lawn, Bundled Sage, Twisted Citron, Tumbled Glass and Broken China.

I simply cut the cute saying from the "Peeking Easter Friends" set into thirds by always covering the parts I didn't want to stamp with masking tape.

As always, I colored with Copics and added a few white accents with the Gelly Roll 10 from Sakura.

I hope you like my simple little card and wish you all a happy Easter and lots of fun with the egg hunt. 

Yours, Nicole

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

In your corner

 

Hi everyone!

This little guy, from the new release 'In Your Corner', is too cute not to share.  The sentiment is also extra special.

I started this card by stamping the image from 'In Your Corner' on a piece of watercolor paper.  Then I used Derwent Inktense pencils, graphitint paints and a water brush to color in the image.  I used circle dies from Gina K Designs master layouts to cut out the mouse image and a piece of grey cardstock for the backing, attaching these to each other.

For the background, I used the two larger dies from AALL and Create's 'Frayed Frames' dies to cut a piece of white card stock (smaller piece) and black cardstock (bigger piece).  I attached these two to each other, then loosely laid the circle on the rectangle piece to estimate where the sentiment should go, stamping the sentiment using a Misti.

I used a blending brush and a dark grey ink to darken the edges of a grey A7 card base.  Next I attached the rectangle piece to the card base.  Finally I used foam squares to pop up the circle in the middle.

Thank you for reading and I hope you have someone in your corner!

Let's Go Wild On a Night Safari!

 Greetings everyone! It's me again, Jessie Scott (@chevy.scott on IG), Guest Designing for Gerda Steiner Designs!

Today I have another fun collaboration with Pear Blossom Press products to share. I wanted to try a night safari with the super cute (and back on the site to order) Go Wild! stamp set. 

 

The critters were easy to color with my Ws for the elephant, Ys for the giraffe and OR/Cs for the bird. The Jeep was the hardest for me to color but I settled on this combo. I used my OLO Markers, then cut out the headlights and window for some fun detail with vellum headlight covers and acetate for the windshield. 

 

I blended the beautiful safari sunset with Distress Oxides and then sealed it with the Distress Glaze (rub on with paper towel and smooth off excess) to hold that bright color. I always seal my oxide blends that I want to keep bright otherwise over time the color will go chalky since it is water reactive with the moisture in the air. 

Next up is getting all of this together as a completed light up card! Head on over to my blog today for the companion post! I even have a fun assembly video to see how easy it is to make this jeep wobble and headlights on just in time for sunset!

Here's the finished project!

See you again soon!

Dachshunds having fun

 Hello lovelies,

another week has passed and I may show you another card of mine.

I am an absolute fan of dogs ...... For me, dogs are the better people. ;o) And so I decided to use the "Dachshunds" set for today's card.  I just love the postage style and can't stop making these kinds of cards. I hope you don't get tired of it. :o)

I covered the images with masking tape, so I wiped the background with stencils and Distress Oxides in the colors broken china, bundle sage and rustic wilderness.

The images was colored with these Copics:

Dachshund: E37, E35, E33, E31, E30

Balloon: R29, R27, R08

Collars: R29, R27, BG49, BG15, YG25, YG01

Flower: YR04, Y17, N1

Tennis ball: Y25, Y01, Y17

Some accents are set with white gel pen Gelly Roll 10 from Sakura.

Thank you for stopping by and if you like, feel free to visit me on my Instgram account.

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

Have a great weekend! 

Nicole

29 AGAIN?

Hello dear creative minds, 

here is Nicole again from Germany/ Hamburg.

I am happy to be able to contribute to the blog once again and have made a birthday card.

I used the "Cupcake Mice" stamp set.

We are all 29 in the head, aren't we? That's why the colorful card doesn't reveal the correct date of birth 😉

I stamped the cute mouse on a Perfect Coloring Paper and the same on a label paper (which I used for masking). Cut out the print on the label paper and stick it on the print as protection. Then you can start working with the stencil and the distress oxides. I applied the inks from light to dark.

On the 2nd picture you can see which Distress Oxide and which Stencil I used, but I'd like to note it again here:

DistessOxide: mustard seed, carved pumpkin, festive berries and dusty concord.

The stencil is available at Memories4you.

I colored with the markers from Ohuhu Art . The combinations are:

Mice: CG2, CG1104, CG5, CG1107

The hat and the cupcake: V160, V070, V160 and Y030, Y080 and Y3

The ears: R120 and R188

If you have any questions or other suggestions, please feel free to write to me on my Instagram profile   " Stempelfiziert"

And now it's time to celebrate and, of course, to continue crafting.

See you soon and best wishes

Nicole Kayaalp

 

Somebunny Special

Hi everybody!

Easter is coming up fast and I'm happy to share this adorable bunny today.  I started this card by stamping the bunny from the set 'Easter Bunnies' on watercolor paper.  Then I used Derwent Inktense pencils and a water brush to color in the image.  Once this was dry, I fussy cut the bunny out and used a black marker along the edges to cover any white areas.

For the background, I started with a generic birch tree stencil and laid it on a piece of watercolor paper.  Then I sprayed over the stencil with some Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stains in candy apple, dried marigold, squeezed lemonade, and uncharted mariner. 

 While this dried, I embossed a piece of white cardstock with an embossing folder to add a little texture.  Next, I used an egg shaped die to cut an egg from the center of the embossed piece and trimmed it down to be slightly smaller than an A2 card base.  Once the backing was dry, I moved the stain sprayed piece around until I like the colors that were showing in the 'egg window'.  I trimmed off the extra paper and attached this piece to the embossed white cardstock.  I had an extra 'strip' of stained watercolor paper that I stamped the sentiment from the set 'Hoppy Easter' and used a banner die to cut this out.  Last, I attached the sentiment and bunny to the backing with glue and taped the whole piece to a A2 white card base.

Thank you for reading and I hope you're inspired to make some colorful Easter eggs!