Neenah

Color-On-Color Butterflies

Posted on by Lynn Hill

I love the use of butterflies as a symbol of Christ during Easter season. These brilliant insects have very short lives filled with a beauty they share with the world. As a caterpillar, the main purpose is to prepare for the transformation into a butterfly. And that’s what Jesus’ work involved. He spent his life preparing us for his transformation and for ours too. Just like the butterfly, when Christ was in the tomb he wasn’t dead, he was preparing for his metamorphosis. I have never seen a butterfly emerge from its chrysalis but what a wonderful symbol to compare to Christ’s resurrection from the tomb, a beautiful butterfly! He is risen, indeed.

It is still Easter season and since the bunny thing has filled my blog the last two weeks I thought it would be nice to experiment with some of the other symbols Easter has to offer. I love the Brilliant Butterflies stamp set by My Favorite Things and have had a card idea in my head for a while. What better time than Easter to bring my idea to the table.

Easter cards are in high demand around my house so, again this week, I wanted to make a design that I could create in multiples. I started with six pieces of A2 cardstock and set up my Misti to do all of the stamping at once. I wanted the butterflies to hang off the side of the card which meant I couldn’t just use the corner of my Misti as a guide. Instead, I cut a piece of cardstock to 2×5 1/2 inches. I placed the strip of cardstock against the edge of the Misti and then butted my cardstock next to it and arranged the stamps in the pattern I wanted.

I used five colors of Ranger Distress Ink on the butterflies (rainbow order – pink, orange, green, blue, and purple). I made one card using one color at a time but decided the ink would stay wet enough to transfer if I inked all of the butterflies at once. After I inked one card I removed it, placed another one in the Misti, and stamped it the same way.

Not really sure how I wanted to do the background, I attempted a pattern-stamped card and then I made one with a blue sky. The blue sky seemed to create more of a sympathy card. I really like it a lot I was going for a spring/Easter feel and thought it would be fun to try the cloudy sky using the same colors I had used for each butterfly.

I generally use distress inks for straight stamping and oxide inks when I want to blend them on the page. I have found that oxide inks are generally easier to blend, especially when you goof and smack a blob of ink on the paper. However, the distress inks will blend too and for this project I had already started working with distress ink before I decided any blending would be done. I was super happy with the results.

The images I stamped were very concentrated and the cloudy skies were made using the My Favorite Things Mini Cloud Edges with just a light touch on my Taylored Expressions blender brushes. (Speaking of blender brushes, the Taylored Expressions brushes come in a pack of ten brushes and are excellent. I have had mine for about three years and they are still good as new. I love to run my thumb across the face of the brush. They feel soft as butter!) I didn’t mask my butterflies because the color that would cover the butterfly was the same I had stamped them with and I wanted the color to blend across each butterfly. After creating the blue sky and then switching to rainbow, I could feel Easter popping out.

You can see in the picture above that I had the card taped to my work surface so that it wouldn’t move around. This did leave a small white tip on each card where I had placed the tape but I wasn’t too concerned because I was going to cut the card down anyway and knew the white space wouldn’t show. However, as I continued, I decided the project was going quickly enough to just hold the cardstock in place with my hand as I worked my way down the card with each color.

I pulled my Misti out again. I kept the 2×5 1/2 guide in place and slipped my first card back in the Misti. It was easy to align the card by matching the edges of the butterflies I had stamped earlier. With the first card in place I arranged the butterfly bodies and antennas so that they fit properly on each butterfly. I then applied black Versafine pigment ink and stamped the images all at once. When I was ready to stamp the second card I lined up the butterfly edges, reapplied ink, and closed the Misti door – It was a perfect match!

I used My Favorite Things Blueprint #27 to trim the card with a scalloped edge and then applied five colored droplets (one in each of the colors used for the clouds and butterflies). I chose several sentiments from Taylored Expressions Be Joyful stamp set and after I applied the scalloped piece to an A2 card base the project was complete.

#1 – Neenah Solar White 80 lb * #2 – Ken Oliver Watercolor Paper with wet paintbrush on wings and clouds * #3 – Ken Oliver Watercolor Paper with water spritz

Each card has its own feature to give it a unique appearance but the basic card was very quick and easy. Two of the cards were created on watercolor paper. I enhanced the butterflies on one of them by wetting a paintbrush and stroking across some areas of each butterfly’s wings. I misted water on the second watercolor card but it didn’t make a lot of difference (in my opinion). However, I did stamp and cut a butterfly and add it to the sentiment and I thought that added a nice touch.

I love this stamp set and noticed that My Favorite Things has just released another set of More Brilliant Butterflies that would be good to add to these or could be used as a stand-alone set if you don’t already have butterfly stamps.

Supplies:

I do not receive compensation for listing the items I have used in this post; however, I like for you to be able to easily click links to order any items you might find interesting. When Possible I have included two links in case items are out of stock on one site.

I am visible on Instagram (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess) and Facebook (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess) and I hope that you will scroll to the bottom of the page and click to subscribe.

Did you know that a butterfly lives only one week to one month? Doesn’t it make you wonder how they know where to migrate to…or even to migrate at all? I have read that the last “crop” of butterflies each season can live eight to nine months because they aren’t using all of their energy to mate. They also lose the ability to fly when they become cold. I guess that means it’s possible some of them are still around when the weather starts to warm again and they can lead the pack to their summer homes. I know there’s a lot more science that goes into it but it is fascinating that butterflies and birds seem to always show up at the same places year after year. And, when I see a butterfly during the spring and summer months it brings a smile to my face. Thanks for stopping by today. Next week I will have one more Easter project to share with you. Please come back to see what I have to offer.

Quick and Easy Die Cut Duplicates

Posted on by Lynn Hill

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! As an Irish-blooded lassie I couldn’t welcome you to my blog post any other way today. My mother’s maiden name was O’Neil and her mother’s maiden name was McStravick. A few years back my brother and I were looking through some old pictures and papers of Mama’s and we found my great-great grandfather’s naturalization papers from 1916 and the U.S. Passport he received six years later. He was born in 1855 in Ireland and arrived in America via Ellis Island. The O’Neil side came to America by way of Belfast and Ellis Island as well. Yep, official Irish here – and family proud.

I pray the luck of the Irish is with you today!

For my project this week I thought it would be fun to make cards for several of my mini friends for the Easter season. While doing so, I realized I should share my easy way to cut multiple pennants (from Taylored Expressions Pennant Parade) without having to line up and tape each die before cutting over and over again. We’ll get to that as we come to it.

I wanted these cards to be in primary colors so I chose card bases and scalloped backgrounds using the TE Bold paper pack. I selected coordinating Buffalo Plaid Brights 6×6 paper from My Favorite Things to provide the visual background for each card.

Each child’s name was cut from bold colors using the Taylored Expressions Cap It Off Alpha set. They were cut a second time using white cardstock to provide the outlines. I selected one letter in each name to be replaced with a Bunch O’ Bunnies silhouette and a puffy pom-pom tail. 

I am constantly writing notes to myself so I am always searching for a great paper desk pad. I generally use My Favorite Things’s grid pads but they have recently discontinued them. I ordered both Simon Says Stamp and Taylored Expressions grid paper pads to test them out. The Taylored Expressions pad is officially my favorite now because it not only has a grid for measuring and aligning, but it also has alignment windows to help line up and center A2 cards (horizontally and vertically) and a 6-inch square alignment window, too.

I cut each buffalo plaid sheet with a stitched rectangle die then aligned them on the grid paper using the A2 lines. I used a piece of vellum folded in half to help create a straight line for my lettering. The vellum was aligned and taped across the plaid paper ¼ inch from the bottom. I didn’t have to measure it, I lined it up with one of the grid lines that just happened to be ¼ inch from the bottom of the paper. 

Each letter was assembled with a white outline and then fed them through the Xyron Create-a-Sticker 150 machine. I actually used glue on two of the cards but decided the mess was more than I was interested in dealing with so I thought I would give the Xyron a try. Whew! That made my job ten times easier and much quicker too. I didn’t have any trouble with the letters coming apart after the adhesive was applied. 

After attaching the letters and bunny I tied a bow at both ends of a piece of 1mm burlap string. I used trial and error to decide my string length. I tied the bow on the loose end and then tied the second bow on the spool end of the string…retying until the length was not too long or too short to create a banner for my pennants.

I needed at least 25 pennant pieces because I wanted to make five cards with five pennants each. I almost dreaded the repetition until I realized I could make a template to make my project much easier.

I will explain the process I used to stamp and cut the templates but if you want to scroll down to the video you can actually see the process and maybe understand it a little better.

I used the Misti stamping platform to align five pennant stamps in a row. Using similar bold colors as those used for the names, I applied ink to the stamps in one color, adjusted the cardstock in the Misti, and repeated the process with another color until I had six rows of pennants in six different colors (Catherine Pooler Premium Dye Ink – Rockin Red, Orange Twist, Limoncello, Grass Skirt, Fiesta Blue, and Queen For A Day).

I then stamped one more row of the pennants on a separate card to create my cutting template. The Pennant Parade pennant dies come in a set of three so I aligned the three dies on the first three pennant stamps, cut them out, and then aligned two dies on the remaining pennants and cut them. 

Having a template really sped my cutting process. I was able to align the template on a stamped row of images and tape it in place. I then slid the dies on top of the template where they locked in place once they were in proper alignment. I cut three of the pennants at a time in each color and then repeated the process with the final two pennants in each color.

Sometimes a visual makes things easier so I have attached a video I made while stamping the pennants, making the template, and then cutting the pennants from cardstock.

Before I took the stamps from the Misti door I stamped a few more rows of various colors of pennants and placed them in an envelope with my template. Once you have removed the stamps from the Misti door it would be nearly impossible to replace the stamps in the same pattern. By going ahead and inking the extra stamps makes it possible for me to reuse my cutting template in the future.

Once the pennants were cut I was able to adhere them to the card using 3D Foam squares. I tucked the string behind the pennants and assembled the cards. My mini friends always enjoy getting mail and I know they will love these bright and cheerful cards when they arrive.

Supplies:

I do not receive compensation for listing the items I have used in this post; however, I like for you to be able to easily click links to order any items you might find interesting. When Possible I have included two links in case items are out of stock on one site.

As usual, I would love for you to share this post with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. If you liked what you saw today and would like to be sure to catch all of my posts, scroll to the bottom of this page and subscribe to my blog via email. I also try to post regularly to Instagram (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess) and occasionally on Facebook (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess). 

Last week I was lamenting about not being able to find any purple tape in the “old” style. I asked around this week and hear that the new style is not currently available either. I hope that means they are reformulating it back to the original style!! Today’s question has to do with the Pennant Parade dies. Does anyone else wonder why the dies don’t come in a five pack since all of the Pennant Parade stamps come in sets of five? I guess I’ll just have to order a second set of the dies to that I can get the best use out of the templates I make. Thanks for stopping by today, and Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to you!

Hello Spring – Hop To It!

Posted on by Lynn Hill

Spring has sprung! I know some people still have snow, but since spring begins March 1, I guess that makes my comment accurate. That and the fact that little green things are popping up in my flowerbed and all over town.

Wait, did I say spring begins March 1? Where in the world did I get that idea? Well, before you click the comment button to correct me, I want to clarify that the meteorological start to spring is March 1. The astronomical start is the date we are most familiar with and that is March 20.

I read that we are in for a slow start to severe weather season this year. That’s a positive for me because I love spring but truly dislike the tornadic events that come through Oklahoma this time of year. The negative part of that good news is that forecasters are also saying we could have an above-normal season of wicked weather in April and May.

In last week’s post I promised to bring a little spring to life. So, we are going to put the ideas of anything more than pleasant weather and bunnies on the back burner for now.

Speaking of bunnies, I have the  cutest new stencil from Taylored Expressions. The 6×6 Oh Hoppy Day stencil comes ready to put little bunny silhouettes all over your paper. Or, as in my case, they are ready to line up in a row across my card.

I don’t know if you’re like me, but I have tried about every brand of white ink pad and have never been happy with the coverage I get. The ink is always blobby and blotchy and I end up using embossing powder instead. Truth be told, I usually end up ditching the white idea and just stamp with black ink.

That all changed when I purchased the Taylored Expressions Sugar Cube white pigment ink pad. This white ink stamps just as clearly and smoothly as any other color ink pad. I love it. To test it out, I stamped the Playful Plaid Background stamp onto several sheets of pastel green cardstock with the Sugar Cube ink. 

To get repeated and even coverage, I took the black foam sheet from my Misti and placed the red rubber stamp face up on the base of the stamping platform. I laid the first piece of cardstock on top of the clean stamp. Once I was confident I had the paper straight and aligned, I rolled a piece of purple tape and placed it on top of the cardstock then closed the Misti door (This held my paper in place so that I could ink, lift the paper, and reink my rubber stamp if I didn’t get good coverage the first time. (I am almost out of purple tape in the old style and I really don’t like the new style with the white pinwheels on it. It’s just not sticky enough. What do you use? Have you found the old style of purple tape available anywhere?)

I lifted the Misti door, added ink to the background stamp, then closed the door and rubbed a clean cloth over the top of the platform door to transfer the ink to my cardstock. Luckily the first application of ink gave me a uniform pattern. However, if I had needed to, I could have reinked the stamp, closed the door, and applied pressure to the lid again to transfer the ink to my perfectly aligned paper.

Before I removed the inked card, I made a note of the placement of the cardstock so that I could place my second, third, and fourth pieces of paper on the window in the same location and get uniform placement of the stamped image on each piece of paper. Every stamp I did turned out just as perfectly as the previous one.

Since my experiment had produced several sheets of beautifully stamped cardstock I decided it would provide the perfect base for my bunny card. I guess I should have made a plan in advance because once I looked at the stamped background I wasn’t sure how hard it would be to color over the white ink. 

That wasn’t actually a problem because I recalled a technique I had seen Taylor (of Taylored Expressions) demonstrate during February when she was coloring her shamrock cards. This was the perfect project to give it a try.

I placed a blob (a very technical term) of Nuvo Glimmer Paste on my palette and then placed a single drop of coral Copic ink refill (YR14 – Caramel) on top of the blob. I mixed the Nuvo Glimmer Paste with my spatula to create a very pale coral color. This was a perfect mix since I wanted to use greens and corals on my bunny card!

To spread the glimmer paste, I first taped the green cardstock to my work surface and then laid the stencil on top. I had a wooden bunny to add to my card so I aligned the stencil with four bunnies on the right, leaving enough space for the wooden bunny to be added later on the left side of the card.

If you are a very careful and slow worker you might go ahead and start applying the glimmer paste. However, I often (make that always) think I am going to be neat but later find that I have smeared ink or glue or some other application all over an otherwise perfect card. To keep this from happening I tore a strip of Post-It Removable Labeling Tape and placed it over the row of bunnies just above the set that I wished to apply to my card.

I then scooped the hand-colored Nuvo paste onto my spatula and scraped it across my stencil. I was very careful to rub the paste in only one direction and to smooth it level with the top of the stencil. After I had a smooth and even coat of the glimmer paste applied I gently removed the stencil. The cutest line of four bunnies was lined up and ready to dry.

While the bunnies dried I quickly headed to the kitchen sink where I rinsed my stencil, spatula, and palette. I will warn you not to let the glimmer paste dry on your stencil or tools because once it dries it’s solid. And, I mean solid. You can add liquid soap and run water over the stencil gently rubbing it with your fingers, but I found that my efficient kitchen spray nozzle was strong enough to remove all of the paste and glitter. I then used a paper towel to dry the stencil, palette, and my spatula.

Once my stencil and tools were clean and dry I returned to my work table and created a sentiment strip. I stamped several sentiments on coral cardstock using a VersaMark stamp pad. I used white embossing powder to make the sentiments stand out. I thought something “hoppy” would work well but after trying several options on my card I chose Hello, Spring.

By this time the glimmer paste had dried. I don’t know about you, but I love making mini slimline cards. They have a certain look I love and most of the cards I have made lately are this size (3 1/2 x 6). I thought the bunnies in a row would fit the mini slim format perfectly so I used the largest Taylored Expressions Stitched Mini Slim Stacklet to cut a slim rectangle. I then glued the wooden bunny to the face of my card, added a little pom pom bunny tail, and affixed the sentiment.

I chose a candy corn cardstock base but decided the color was a bit harsh for the pastel green and coral I had already used. Rather than use another color, I cut the largest Taylored Expressions Petite Scallop Mini Slim Stacklet to create a white border and I was really happy with the look I was getting. 

I used 3D foam strips to add the scalloped edges to the card base and my card was ready to be placed in the mailbox to spread a little Easter cheer.

This card was quick and really pretty simple. Not only does the wooden bunny stand out, I love the glittery row of bunnies I created with the self-colored glimmer paste. 

Next week I plan to stick with the Easter theme but want to move away from pastel colors and try something more on the bold side. If you want to make several similar cards you won’t want to miss next week’s post because I will be creating something that is easily duplicated. I hope you’ll click in to see it.

Supplies:

I do not receive compensation for listing the items I have used in this post; however, I like for you to be able to easily click links to order any items you might find interesting. When Possible I have included two links in case items are out of stock on one site.

As usual, I would love for you to share this post with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. If you liked what you saw today and would like to be sure to catch all of my posts, scroll to the bottom of this page and subscribe to my blog via email. I also try to post regularly to Instagram (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess) and occasionally on Facebook (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess). 

If you have any suggestions for a replacement for my “old” style purple tape I would love to hear from you in the comments. Thanks for stopping by!

Jump Into Spring

Posted on by Lynn Hill

Last week I promised I would be inviting Spring to be sprung with my post but I think the weather actually jumped right in and got to work without me! It is so nice to have a little bit of warmer weather and I am actually seeing some green things peeking from beneath my mulch in the flowerbed. What a welcome site.

I recently made a card using the Puddle Jumper stamp set from My Favorite Things and decided that I would see if I could improve my technique and create a blog post of my work.

When I saw the Puddle Jumper stamp and die set I “jumped” on it because the frequency of boy images in stamp sets is a little low for my liking. The set was just adorable and I could see this colored in the traditional yellow or any number of other color combinations/patterns.

Supplies Used to Make Puddle Jumper Card

For the card I created today I decided to stick with the traditional yellow rain slicker with matching umbrella and rain boots.

To create the variegated coloring on the boy’s clothing I used the lightest color over the whole area to be colored then added each of the other colors beginning with the darkest and ending with the lightest. I used a quick layer of the lightest color over the whole image I was coloring to help blend the colors a bit further.

I used the same techniques with the pants and shirt.

Learning to color skin and hair is a bit of a challenge for me. I can see that I am getting better but it is definitely a work in progress. If you also have difficulty with hair and skin you might want to check out Sandy Allnock’s Coloring the Human Rainbow tutorial or Taylored Expressions’ YouTube post with great skin and hair tutorials. Both artists also have free charts that you can download and practice with. Visit their website (Sandy Allnock) for those very helpful tools. You have have an account at Taylored Expressions to get the free download but it doesn’t cost and is worth the link up for the freebie (Taylored Expressions, click register. After registering, click the Get Inspired Link and click Free Downloads).

I decided to create a bit of weather for my little boy to be jumping around in so I used the die that accompanies the Puddle Jumpers stamp set to create a mask. When I am making a mask I expect to use more than once I like to use Gina K. Designs Masking Magic sheets. Once I have finished using the mask I simply adhere it to the die storage envelope and it is there and waiting for the next time I need it.

I have also recently discovered Post-It Removable Labeling Tape. It is 2 inches wide and makes great masks too. However, be prepared to spend a small fortune if you are going to buy some because it comes in a 36-yard roll. The Post-It tape would probably only be good for one use and, as you can see, my mask has been well used (at least six times) so the Gina K. Designs Masking Magic is an excellent.

Once I adhered my mask I chose three blue Distress Oxide Inks. I began with the lightest color then progressed to the darker colors and finally finished with a quick rub over the entire image with the lightest color to be sure the colors were well blended. I did not remove the mask until the very end of the project.

What fun is a raincoat without rain to accompany it? I used My Favorite Things Rainy Circle die to create another mask using a clear transparency sheet. When the first card was created with this technique I simply cut the mask out of white cardstock, laid it on the card, and used a Taylored Expressions Blender Brush to add the raindrops.

That technique worked fine the first time I did it. However, I wanted to make several identical cards and when I attempted to speed the process up I ended up going off the mask and smeared ink on the face of the card. In thinking of a way to remedy this and to make the process quicker, I remembered that I had a box of transparency sheets and decided to try to create my mask using the clear sheet. Voila! I was able to see directly where I wanted the mask/stencil to be placed. I taped the template down and since the entire card was protected, my raindrops fell exactly where I wanted them with no smears. After removing the homemade stencil I cleaned it with a wet baby wipe and placed it the die envelope and it will be available for use on future cards. This was a valuable experiment and I can see myself using up by transparencies in the future. Add a little Pixie Spray and I think this will revolutionize my stencil and mask-making process.

I added just a few more misty raindrops when I rubbed the Blueprint Sketch Distress Oxide Ink onto my palate, spritzed it with water, and then flicked it onto the card front with a paintbrush.

With all fo the rain on the front of the card I decided that a puddle wasn’t absolutely necessary for my little jumper to stomp but I created a very light shadow using a C2 Copic marker. I then removed the Masking Magic mask and adhered it to my die envelope for future use.

I wanted the sentiment to be stamped directly on the card and to eliminate the possibility of an error, I used the Misti Stamping Tool. The Misti allows you to stamp an image once and if the ink isn’t dark enough or even you can simply rein the stamp and press it onto your card a second time for a perfectly aligned second try.

I positioned the next-to-largest A2 Layering die on the card and arranged it to create pleasing borders. Finally, I adhered a few Waffle Flower Clearly Enough dots and adhered the work to a yellow A2 card base using Scrapbook Adhesives 3D Foam Strips.

I originally stamped my image a few weeks ago in preparation for this blog but somehow got a smudge of ink on the card before I started coloring. I figured it wouldn’t hurt and wouldn’t show up but it just kept bothering me so I added an arrow element to hide the smudge. I think it actually added an interesting feature to the card. Mistakes are sometimes friendly like that!

I really love red envelopes for some reason and figured this little Puddle Jumper needed one. I added the ducklings from My Favorite Things Purrfect Friends and put this card in my “ready to send” pile.

I have been trying to post several times throughout the week on my Instagram page and would love for you to stop by to see them (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess) and my Facebook (@LynnHillIsACraftyMess).

Supplies:

I do not receive compensation for listing the items I have used in this post; however, I like for you to be able to easily click links to order any items you might find interesting. When Possible I have included two links in case items are out of stock on one site.

** The MFT stamps and dies used to create this card are currently not available on MFT Stamps but they are available at other retailers.

Copic Color Combinations:

  • Raincoat/Umbrella/Boots – Y00, Y11, Y13, Y15, Y17
  • Pants – B00, B12, B14, B16, B18
  • Shirt – R32, R35, R37
  • Umbrella Handle – C2, C5
  • Boot soles – W4, W6
  • Skin – E11, E21, E51
  • Hair – Y000, Y21, YG 91, E31, E33

I am working on getting the nerve to create a video tutorial to go along with my weekly post. Maybe sometime before summer gets here I will feel confident enough to post one. In the meantime, I think Spring will be in full force next week so I am thinking it’s time for the Easter Bunny to make an appearance on the blog. I would love for you to share this post with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest and hope you will travel to the bottom of this page to subscribe to my blog via email so that you don’t have to miss a single entry. Thanks for stopping by!