Peace Begins with a Smile

Hello again!  It's Tuesday, which means it's time to share another card for The Project Bin.  For today's card, I used the stamp set called Wise Women that features a quote from Mother Teresa.

Here is my card:

The Misti really came in handy for this card and it just might be one of my most used stamping tools.  Such an ingenious invention!  I started my card by finding the center of my card panel, then stamped the sentiment in black VersaFine Onyx Black ink and then clear heat-embossed it.  Next, I continued by finding the sweet spot of how much to shimmy my card in each direction on the Misti and then stamped the sentiment repeatedly alternating with red and green inks.  Once I was finished stamping the sentiment, I thought that the center sentiment in black wasn't standing out enough, so I created a frame by masking post-it notes around it, then filled in that space using a blender brush and Antique Linen Distress Oxide.  That made a big difference.  I kind of wish that I would have used a light pink ink instead of the Antique Linen, but it's too late now! Hindsight is definitely 20/20!

I used a stitched rectangle die to trim down the panel, matted it onto red card stock, then placed it onto a kraft card base to finish my card.

Have a great week!

Supplies Used:
Wise Women - The Project Bin
Small Stitched Rectangles - Lawn Fawn
Crimson Hybrid ink - Hero Arts
Green Leaf ink - Simon Says Stamp
Antique Linen Distress Oxide
VersaFine Onyx Black ink
Red Card Stock
Kraft Card Stock

Warm Christmas Wishes

Hello again!  I have a card to share today featuring the Merriest Christmas stamp set from The Project Bin and two of my favorite dies from Simon Says Stamp.

I used some non-traditional Christmas colors for my card (although these colors are becoming more and more popular for Christmas).  I am definitely more of a traditional holiday decorator with red and green, but I really do love this color palette for cards and such.

I used one of my favorite techniques...diecut inlay, which is also a great way to use up card stock scraps.  I began by die cutting the ring wreath.  I cut 3 from black card stock and 1 from white card stock.  I stack and glued all four of them together with the white layer on top.  I like having a the stack of black at the bottom as it creates a nice shadow and really highlights the white top layer.  Next, I used the die 5 more times with the colors shown  and popped the circles into the die spaces.  This was a little bit time consuming as I had to find the right sized circle to fit the coordinating shape.  There are 5 or 6 different sizes of circles, so it was a bit of a challenge, but worth it!

I stamped the adorable snowman onto Neenah Solar White card stock and then colored him with copic markers.  I also used a white gel pen to add some polka dots to the gift he is holding.  Once he was colored, I placed the same ring wreath die over him and ran it through my Big Shot.  This allowed him to fit perfectly inside of the wreath.  I stamped the sentiment below him and then finished off the card with a pop of color using red & white striped paper and the lime green scalloped border.

Have a great week!

Supplies Used:
Merriest Wishes - The Project Bin
Ring Wreath - Simon Says Stamp
Scallop Stitches - Simon Says Stamp
Here Comes Santa Claus 6x6 Paper Pad - Doodlebug Design
Copic Markers
White Gel Pen
Misc. Card Stock
Clear Embossing Powder