Monday, August 16, 2021

Can't Stop, Won't Stop - Pinkfresh August 2021 Challenge

The stripes just keep on coming!  With the abundance of pre-cut strips from my last card, how could I not?  I stuck to an A2-sized card this time, thus reducing the thickness of my cardstock strips to better match the scale.  Such a card is easy to assemble.  I did take the extra time to stamp the embossing ink multiple times on the striped background using my stamping platform for added assurance.  Added a gold frame and a sparkly sentiment and called it done!



The link for the Pinkfresh August 2021 challenge:

Thanks for stopping by!


Wednesday, August 11, 2021

It's All About the Stripes - Pinkfresh August 2021 Challenge

Hello! Stripes were calling me when I pulled out the Pinkfresh Heartfelt Thanks Stamp Set.  That means I don't have to color...YAY!(I'm definitely in a coloring slump)!  I rummaged through my hefty cardstock collection and matched up a bunch of colors (next time I'll just check the suggested colors to save me some time, *sigh*) to cut a bunch of 1/2" strips for my slimline card.  There were no dies for the fancy schmancy sentiment, but luckily I just replaced my fussy cutting scissors.  Man do sharp scissors help the process!  Here she is:




Pinkfresh August 2021 Challenge Link:

https://www.pinkfreshstudio.com/blogs/card-making-challenges/august-2021-challenge

This card is for a special person.  Thank you for visiting and checking out my blog!

Thursday, July 29, 2021

Pinkfresh Studios Layering Floral Stencils

Hello all! Back again, getting all of my posts done at once.  I tried out the Pinkfresh layering stencils and wanted to share my final card.  I've never used them before, so I did my typical research (aka watched the crafters on YouTube) and gave 'er a go.

It took me a bit to seek out my favorite color combos for florals (I dug through my dye ink pad stash of many brands) and determine the blender brush pressure to get the result I wanted.  Of note, the ink blending brushes were helpful getting into the smaller nooks and crannies.  I did a few panels and determined that Jennifer McGuire was correct.  It's way easier to blend the stencil images first and then apply the stamp over the image at the end with a stamping platform.  I didn't use the stamp on this particular card, but there are some sitting on my desk for future cards!

I recently saw a post by Yana Smakula (another expert cardmaker), and she was showcasing methods of adding sparkle to her cards.  That inspired me to break out the Nuvo Glimmer Paste (Moonstone) and my fave Lavinia Stencil and create a simple, glittery background.  The not-so-simple part was cleaning the stencil.  I think having a bin of warm water nearby is a better idea than scrambling to peel the stencil off and run to the sink in a panic to wash it before the paste permanently adheres in place.  Well...now my stencil has a permanent glittery souvenir LOL.

The final card design usually consists of humming and hawing, and eventually the adhesive comes out to make it final.  How I roll every time.  A slow process, but it works!


Supplies:  Pinkfresh Be Strong Layering Stencil & Die, MFT Stamps Little Hello Die-Namics, Tonic Studios Nuvo Glitter Paste, Lavinia Stamps Stencil, Mama Elephant Oval Deco Frame Die Set, Sentiment Strip Stamp.



Thanks for stopping by!

Celebration of Crafts - Spellbinders Christmas in July Release 2021

Hello!  Still spotty on my blog posts, but hey, you can find me on IG at @averbrug (shameless self-promotion!).  I wanted to share a bunch of cards I was fortunate to create under the Scrapshotz.com banner.  There was a retailers event in which Scrapshotz graciously let me participate in 3 days of classes and info videos on new card-making products coming onto the market (like, right now).  This was my first time participating, and wow! It was so much fun.  Even though Covid has cramped my crafty yet social style,  I was still able to craft in a small group of 3 to make it much more fun than a group of 1 (shout out Rosie and Genny!), and it definitely makes me realize how much I miss in-person crafting events and crops.

One of the sessions was put on by Spellbinders and it was amazing!  The online classes (as usual) go way too fast for my crafty skillsets, but the finished cards were so spectacular, I had to share.  Behold!!! (LOL).


I honestly was blown away by all of the products.  I've been more on a coloring images, cardmaking path but boy did these die sets alter my thinking!  Lots of little pieces, so patience is required, but the impact...just WOW!



Spellbinders Dancin' Gnome Die Set.  So fun and if you use a My Favorite Things Disc Slider.  Those legs are designed to MOVE!!



Spellbinders Heart Swans Die Set.  This die set comes with mirroring swan dies.  I didn't think this would be my style, but the card design nailed it for me (and yes I ordered the Elliptical Ovals Die Set after the class!).


Spellbinders Kaleidescope Argyle Die Set.  Again, not usually my style, but apparently it is now!!


Spellbinders Holiday Decorations Die Set and Forevergreen Embossing Folder.  Die cutting small pieces make me cringe, but it's worth the end result! 


Spellbinders Create A Christmas Sentiment Die Set, Christmas Blooms Die Set, and Kaleidescope Argyle Die Set.  Lots of combining die sets, but c'mon! AND this is a MINI SLIMLINE CARD!!!

Props to the card designers for this class as they did the hard work for me and I just had to follow the instructions.  

Pro Tip: If you haven't seen the Spellbinders Brushed Gold Cardstock....it is incredible.  For a specialty cardstock, it comes in a large package of 10 sheets.  Remember that when you price it out.

(PLEASE NOTE:  Zero affiliations with Spellbinders.  I just had a great time and wanted to share and support my local paper crafting store here in Calgary, Alberta, Canada).


Monday, June 28, 2021

Stay Crafty With Hero Challenge #24: For The Guys

 I often struggle with making cards for the men in my life.  I've definitely turned to collecting cute stamps as I grow older, neglecting the fact that they don't really work for masculine cards LOL!  Except for my super squishy nephew who still is a kid at heart (because he's a kid!).  The Hero Arts Barrel Wave stamp set was ideal for this situation.  

Change up the colors and no matter what, they fit the manly category.  Easy to use and assemble into a fantastic card for anyone!





You can find a link to this challenge here:

https://heroarts.com/blogs/hero-arts-blog/stay-crafty-with-hero-challenge-24

We are 'enjoying' the Omega heat wave here in Calgary 😰😰😰.  Stay cool friends!


Thursday, April 8, 2021

Sending Hugs

 Happy Monday! I just wanted to send hugs out to all of my crafty friends.  It's been over a year since the COVID lockdowns began, and it's wearing on all of us.



Supplies:  My Favorite Things, Creative Expressions, Copic Markers.

Monday, April 5, 2021

Happy Birthday To My Friend

If you're like me, I live for moments when a friend says, "I need a birthday card for our friend tomorrow!" It's the moment when time doesn't matter because your superstar cardmaking skills have been pushed into the limelight in a time of need.  This was that time (YAY!!).  We were planning to celebrate a colleague's birthday at work and it was a special moment because it was the first birthday celebration since COVID lockdown one year ago.

I had one evening and one morning to pull this card together from scratch.  For what I envisioned, timing was tight!  The requirements I put on this card was (1) gnomes and (2) galaxy background.  There were no time for mistakes so my cardmaking skills were put to the test.  Luckily I came through!  I envisioned an aurora rather than a galaxy (SMH) but I feel it still turned out lovely:



Supplies:  My Favorite Things, Mama Elephant, Distress Oxides, Copic Markers, White Gel Pen, Neenah 80 lb cardstock.

Friday, March 19, 2021

Shaking It Up With DecoFoil

The sequins and beads came out once again as I assembled my latest card featuring Therm O Web's toner transfer A2 card fronts along with some Enchanted Rose DecoFoil.  I realized as I made this card into a shaker, that my sequin stash was mostly limited to blue mixes and I wanted pinks, LOL.  By handpicking out select sequins from a couple of the more colourful mixes and blending them with silver sequins, I managed to get the look I wanted.

The sentiment is from the Photoplay Say It With Stamps series of cardmaking products.  Who wouldn't want this card and a closely related gift!! :D



Friday, March 5, 2021

The Great Staycation Online Crop by Scrapshotz FB Paper Crafting Group

Saturday night was the deadline to post projects to each of the crafty challenges!  The amount of participation exceeded our expectations and the posted projects are incredibly inspiring.  I'm extremely appreciative of the time and care put into each of the projects and the crafty community is an incredible group to be a part of.  You all rock!!

I finished 2 challenges.  This card was inspired by the Shake It and Spray It challenge by Karla, and since I do not own any of the cool mixed media sprays, I decided to make a shaker card LOL.  That' was the best I could do, and I'll take it!

I inked up a cardbase with a light shade of blue and purple (using Milled Lavender and Tumbled Glass distress oxides) and then overlaid the card base with the Lavinia Stamps Feather Leaf Stencil for further inking (Wilted Violet and Peacock Feathers).  I splattered some of each of these inks along with some water and white gouache to create added texture in the background.

Of course I added a custom mix of seed beads (for shake!!) and sequins for the shaker and it covers up most of the inking.  Oh well! Keeping it simple, I popped up a copic-coloured Big Grumpy by Taylored Expressions to finish!  I love these guys so much and appreciate that TE posted several printouts with new sentiments to use with these guys.



Sunday, February 28, 2021

Get Cracking On Christmas!

It took me two months, but I've finally designed and completed a Christmas card for Jenn Shurkus' monthly Get Cracking On Christmas challenge.  Yay me!  I'm very happy!  I've had those new Therm O Web kraft A2 toner sheets sitting on my desk along with some red foil for a little while, waiting to be used.  It finally clicked and I was able to create a card using those crafty products.  I'm new to foiling, so I was a little slow on the draw creating with them.  Now that I've had one idea completed, I"m sure more will come!

This card consists of the Therm O Web A2 Lots of Dots Kraft Toner Sheet, Mama Elephant Sentiment Die, and Creative Expressions Diamond Poinsettia 3D Embossing Folder (for texture on card base).

I also posted this project to the CAS Challenge in the Great Staycation Online Crop by the Scrapshotz FB Paper Crafting Group.




Saturday, February 27, 2021

Spring is coming! Well....almost.

It's been a crafting frenzy in the craft room this week, mostly for the Scrapshotz.com 'The Great Staycation Online Crop' that occurred last weekend.  We've had a week to get our projects posted before the deadline and my goal was at least one project completed!  I exceeded my expectations and created three cards this week.  This card using the MFT Stamps Somebunny stamp set wasn't a part of the challenges, but it was fun to make!

Rainbow coloring is so in right now in the cardmaking scene, I thought I'd give it a go with these cute bunnies and my copic sketch markers.  Being slimline and my stash has only A2-sized dies and such, I expanded my Lawn Fawn grassy dies by cutting each grass layer in two segments.  It worked well enough!  Once the card base was inked and assembled, I knew which of the many sentiments I would use for this one :). This world definitely needs a lot of hugs right now!




The craft cat stayed over for a couple of days.  He was a very helpful crafter!


Wednesday, February 24, 2021

My Favorite Things: You Gnome Me

I prefer posting on Instagram due to its convenience honestly, but I'm going to try and get things rolling over here again.

Scrapshotz.com is a Calgary, Alberta - based, online scrapbooking shop, and we had our first online crop of the year in our private FB group.  My challenge was called In The Garden.  I had so much personal inspiration, it wasn't difficult to post a project.  I decided on these gnome stamps by My Favorite Things and was pleasantly surprised as to how easy they were to color.  Copic markers were my marker du jour, and I typically stamp and color a bunch of panels to test my coloring and color combos.

Slimline was the way to go to showcase the stamps while keeping the card front not crowded.  And voila!