Background Technique using the Quietfire Design Crackle Background Stamp.

Hello! Kim here with a card share on the Quietfire Creations blog today. This is not my first share on the blog, but it is my first time as part of the Quietfire Design Team! Thanks Suzanne for inviting me to play in “your” playground on a regular basis!

Today I want to share a fun background technique using the Quietfire Crackle Background stamp and Nuance Powders by Magenta. I knew right away that this stamp has so much potential for fun! Check this out!

1]  I stamped my image twice side by side to cover my card front with clear embossing ink, it was pretty easy to match and I wasn’t concerned if it overlapped a bit. Sprinkle on clear embossing powder and heat set.

2]  Sprinkle the Nuance powders over embossed image, a little goes a long way! Don’t overdo it!

3]  Spritz with water and move your card in all directions to move the pigment around. At this point you can add more water or use a wet brush to guide the colour. I LOVE how it flows around the embossed image! 

4]  With a roll of paper towel, roll over your wet card to pick up the excess water and pigment. Set this aside so it dries completely.

5]  Using Ranger’s black Archival Ink, I stamped my sentiment, from the Quietfire Every Day is a Journey set, onto deli paper [tissue paper would work as well].

6]  Using a wet brush, saturate where you want to tear your sentiment off. This makes it easy to tear away a rough, but precise edge. 

7]  This quote was stuck to my card front using a matte gel medium underneath and on top of the deli paper. As you will see in my final project, using the deli paper with gel medium makes the paper “disappear” revealing the quote! It’s important not to use a water-based ink with the quote or the gel medium would make it “bleed” where a crisp image is desired.

8]   Next, I cut one of Suzanne’s fabulous Silhouette files, a moose! It was perfect for the vibe I was wanting for my card. Thoughtful and masculine.

9]  I embossed the moose with several layers of Emerald Creek embossing powder [Java]. It instantly became a sturdy, handsome embellishment for my card! I edged my card front with some narrow washi tape before adhering to my card.

10]  I LOVED so much how my card turned out, I made another. This one used all the same steps as noted above, but I added a Dina Wakley collage image as the focal point as well as a pop of colour using the Dina Wakley Scribble Sticks!

11]   These stamps and techniques can be used in so many ways. I hope you give them a try!

QUIETFIRE DESIGN Supply List:

Crackle Background
Every Day is a Journey
Birds and Animals Dingbat Font

Thanks for stopping by, I look forward to sharing with you again in August! For more Quietfire Design inspiration, scroll down through the blog or join Suzanne’s Fan Group on Facebook, we’d LOVE to see you there as well!

Cozy Christmas

It's Suzanne here today! Over on the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog, there are a whole bunch of us posting Christmas projects to inspire you.  Make sure you visit to see all the goodness!

Here is my contribution.  Supplies are listed at the bottom!



Instructions:

1. Form a 6x6” tent-fold card base from off-white cardstock.
2. Die cut the leafy wreath from the Rosebud Wreath and Elements set, once from pale green and once from medium green.
3. Diecut Cozy from patterned paper.  
4. Cut a 6x6” panel from patterned paper and die cut second largest circle from the Fitted Circles in the middle of this panel.
   
5. Die cut Christmas from red cardstock and the mittens from the Flourished Christmas Minis.  Also cut 3 sets of the leaves in Calligraphic Elements 3 from red cardstock.  We will form little poinsettias with them!
   
6. Die cut six snowflakes from the Brrrrrrr die set as well as the cuffs of the flourished mittens.
7. Sponge the edges of all the diecuts with Distress Ink. 
8. Use foam squares to place the 6x6” panel to the card front.
9. Intertwine leafy wreaths and adhere them in the center of the circle.
10. Position your words as you’d like them and then adhere them one at a time to the card base inside the leafy wreath.
    
11. Loop the flourished mittens through the flourish in Christmas and adhere them to the panel.
12. Form little poinsettias with the leaves you’ve cut from red cardstock.  Add a little pearl to the middle of each one.  Attach them to the card front as desired.
13. Add the snowflakes to the cardfront as desired.
14. Pat yourself on the back! It's beautiful!

ECD Supplies with links to Quietfire and Elizabeth Craft Designs:
AWW Cozy   Quietfire | ECD

AWW Brrrrrrr  Quietfire | ECD

AWW Merry Christmas 2  Quietfire | ECD

AWW Calligraphic Elements 3  Quietfire |  ECD

AWW Rosebud Wreath and Elements  Quietfire | ECD

AWW Flourished Christmas Minis   Quietfire | ECD

Fitted Circles  ECD

ModaScrap  Xmas Vintage Collection  ECD
ModaScrap Christmas Holidays Collection  ECD

Others:

Pale and medium green cardstock
Off-white or ivory cardstock

Ranger Distress Ink: Peeled Paint, Brushed Corduroy, Red Brick

Ink blending tool

Glue Dots

Foam Squares

pearls

Recycled Playing Cards

Hello, Connie Nichol here today with two cards I made using old playing cards and Quietfire Design dies.  Most of us have playing cards laying around, sometimes missing a few cards from the deck.  The fronts and the backs can be repurposed to create unique greeting cards.  For the good luck card, I just glued together a flush, put them on a pretty background and added the die cut 'Good Luck'. 

The background is a silver mirror cardstock that I dry embossed with an embossing folder.  It is very hard to photograph because it reflects everything!  You could also feature four aces or any other great poker hand.

You can also use the back of playing cards to create your card.  For the happy birthday card, I simply punched squares and adhered them to a cardstock base.  I dabbed the squares with embossing ink and added a coat of clear embossing powder, but you don't need to do this step. Easy and quick!

If you'd like more ideas about recycling playing cards, check out my article in the upcoming fall 2019 issue of Creative Scrapbooker magazine.  It should start arriving in mailboxes mid to late August and on newstands September 1.

Quietfire Design Supplies Used:  Good Luck metal cutting die, Happy Birthday - small metal cutting die

Other Supplies:  Clearsnap embossing ink and clear embossing powder, Close to My Heart cardstock and embossing folder, Crafter's Companion silver mirror cardstock.

Shoot for the moon

I haven't done a galaxy background in a while.  Sometimes it's nice to go back and use an old technique on  a card with some new stuff.

For this card, I actually started with blue card stock and sponged darker blues, purple and even black.  I have found it a lot easier to do that than to cover a sheet of white card stock - faster too!  This time I used a Tim Holtz Swirling Star dies with a silver card stock to peak in the negative spaces.  I added a moon die from Love Nicole to go with this quote from Quietfire Design. The quote is stamped and embossed in white.

Soar Collection Clear Stamps

Magic Art Journal Page

Hey Quietfire Fans! I was busy playing in my art journal this past weekend to create my Magic Art Journal Page. By combining a variety of stamps as well as stencils and dies from A Way With Words, they were the perfect addition for my page. You'll want to grab a cup of your favourite beverage and learn how to recreate my art journal page at home.

To start, choose a piece of the Collage Paper - Backgrounds. Tear the paper into nine pieces. Apply matte medium to the top left side of the left page and adhere three of the strips. Apply matte medium to the bottom right side of the right page and adhere the rest of the strips.

Sprinkle Magenta Nuance powder in Raspberry, Hot Pink and Cerulean Blue where the paper strips were adhered. Use a paint brush with water to activate the powder. Allow the now ink to dry.

Apply Jet Black Archival Ink to the Grid Background stamp and stamp randomly around the collage paper on both the top left of the left page and the bottom right of the right page. Reapply Jet Black Archival Ink to the grid background stamp as desired. Apply Jet Black Archival Ink to the Crackle Background stamp and stamp randomly around the collage paper on both the top left of the left page and the bottom right of the right page. Reapply Jet Black Archival Ink to the crackle background stamp as desired. 

Place the dotty stencil randomly on each collage paper area and using a blending tool with foam to blend Wilted Violet and Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink through the stencil as desired. Move the stencil around the collage paper as desired.

To finish off the collage paper areas, apply Wilted Violet Distress Ink to the Grid Background and randomly stamp in the areas as desired. Reapply the ink to the stamp as needed. Apply Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink to the Grid Background and randomly stamp in the areas as desired. Reapply the ink to the stamp as needed.

Die cut a 3 1/4" Stitched Circle out of white cardstock. Apply Emboss It Ink to the Magic stamp from the A Rustle In The Wind stamp set and stamp in the middle of the circle. Sprinkle Midnight Black Embossing Powder over the circle. Tap off the excess powder and emboss with a heat tool. Ink the edges of the circle using Black Soot Distress Ink and a blending tool with foam.

Apply Jet Black Archival Ink to the small butterfly stamp from the Butterflies/Dragonflies stamp set and stamp onto a piece of watercolour cardstock. Reapply the Jet Black Archival Ink to the small butterfly and stamp onto the same piece of watercolour cardstock. Using a waterbrush, colour one butterfly with Wilted Violet Distress Ink and colour the other butterfly with Blueprint Sketch. Allow the butterflies to dry. Once the butterflies are dry, fussy cut each butterfly out. Ink the edges of the butterflies using Black Soot Distress Ink and a blending tool with foam. Shape butterflies as desired.

Apply Emboss It Ink to the dandelion stamp from the A Rustle in the Wind stamp set and stamp onto a piece of white cardstock. Repeat the previous step two more times. Sprinkle Molten Dimensions - White Wonder Embossing Powder over the dandelions. Tap off the excess powder and emboss with a heat tool. Fussy cut the dandelions out.

Die cut two Flourish Oval Frames out of black cardstock. Cut most of the frame off, leaving the flourish portion of the frame remaining.

Adhere a flourish oval frame to the bottom side of the circle and the top side of the circle. Foam square the circle to the bottom right hand side of the right page. Foam square the three dandelions as desired around the circle.

Take black thread and randomly place it on top of the collage paper on the left hand page. Foam square the two butterflies, one on top of another over top of the black thread.

Here are a few closeup photos of the finished art journal page.

Here is the finished Magic Art Journal page.

Quietfire Design Supplies Used:

- Crackle Background

- Grid Background

- A Rustle in the Wind

- Butterflies/Dragonflies

- Flourished Oval Frame

- Dotty Stencil

Other Supplies Used:

- Tim Holtz for Ranger Ink: Distress Ink - Wilted Violet, Blueprint Sketch & Black Soot, Blending Tool with Foam and Distress Collage Medium - Matte

- Dina Wakley for Ranger Ink: 6x6 Journal and Collage Paper - Backgrounds

- Ranger Ink: Jet Black Archival Ink and Emboss It Dabber

- Emerald Creek Craft Supplies: Eileen Hull Molten Dimensions - White Wonder Embossing Powder and Midnight Black Embossing Powder

- Elizabeth Craft Designs: Stitched Circles

- Magenta Nuance: Raspberry, Hot Pink and Cerulean Blue

- Misc: White Cardstock, Black Cardstock, Watercolour Cardstock and Black Thread

- Katelyn

Upcycled Retro "You are inspiring" sewing pattern card

Hello Crafty Friends!

If you are a part of the Suzanne Cannon Fan Group on Facebook then you would have seen this project in process on my Show Me Sunday post.  I was in the midst of a project using an old sewing pattern and the You are stamp set:

Would you like to make an upcycled project using the lovely stamp set and an old sewing pattern?  Excellent!  You have come to the right blog post.  :)  Grab a cup of tea and enjoy the instructions...

Aside from the stamp set, you will also need:

• An old/vintage sewing pattern in the original envelope
• Glue stick or double sided adhesive sheet
• Card stock for your mats and card base
• Double sided adhesive tape roll
• Foam tape
• Kraft card stock to mount your sewing pattern
• Black archival ink
• Dye or water reactive ink that coordinates with your sewing pattern image
• Circle or flower shape dies
• Embellishments- such as stamen for the flowers and half pearls

Card Instructions:

1. Cut the image from the front of a sewing pattern envelope.  Mat onto desired card stock.
2. Cut Kraft card stock to desired size.  For my project, I made it slightly smaller than the card base.  Apply a large sheet of double sided adhesive tape or use a glue stick to mount a piece of the sewing pattern to the Kraft card stock.  Trim.  Optional:  Apply either a die cut, or wide ribbon or rectangular card stock to center of card front.  (In my case I foiled a wide ribbon in gold.) 
3. Create a tent fold card using black card stock.  Mount Kraft/sewing pattern (from prior step) onto card front.
4. Find two areas of your sewing pattern that is free from printing.  Stamp "You are" and "inspiring" onto the open areas.  Cut to size and mount onto black card stock.
5. Mount the image onto the card front using foam tape.  Mount "You are" as shown or as desired.
   
6. Mount "inspiring" as shown or as desired.
7. To create the sewing pattern flowers:  Cut two strips of the sewing pattern that is as wide as your circle or flower die.  You will want it long enough for several flowers to be cut.  Fold several times to create two stacks.  Die cut one folded stack using a larger circle or flower die.  Set aside.  Use a smaller circle or flower die to cut the other folded pattern.  Dye your flowers as desired.  In may case I used a yellow and red dye.  Use a heat tool to help dry the pattern.  (It takes a long time to dry otherwise!)  Create your flowers.
8. Mount the flowers to the card front.  I decided to mount mine around "inspiring" to really put emphasis on the word.
   
9. Add embellishments.

Isn't it a cool card?  The tres chic woman looks quite inspiring in her retro dress!

Quietfire Design Stamp set used:  You are

Thank you for stopping by!  I do hope you enjoyed the Inspiring retro card!
Big Hugs,
Kathy Jo

Fill Your Paper Tag Book - Nancy Nickel, Guest Designer

It’s Nancy back with you today. I’m here to share my second Guest Designer post.

When I saw this gorgeous “Fill Your Paper” sentiment stamp in the store, a project immediately came to mind. It was just a matter of finding a cut file in the shop that would work with the image I had in my head. Then I saw the Library Pocket Tag Book cut file, and knew that it was just the right one. Every once in a while, I come across a cut file that becomes a fast favorite. This file is one of those for me. In fact, I have already cut out a couple more, in different themes and colours, that are all ready to put together. The one I’m sharing with you today is done in a vintage style, and made to actually fill with writings and favorite quotes.

 I cut out the album, adding a second cut of the front and back cover, of black cardstock. I also added a second cut of the reinforcements because I liked them so much, and I wanted to add them everywhere! I assembled the pockets. I then inked all the edges of all the pieces with Black Soot Distress Ink, including the inside of the pockets. I adhered all the reinforcements in place.

I stamped the tags with the Grid Background Stamp, using a light ink. That way it won’t interfere with any writing that will be added. The grid adds interest while offering some straight lines to write on. I used a black pen to frame the stamping, then I inked around the tag with Black Soot Distress ink. I added the reinforcements. Finally, I looped a piece of cream coloured seam binding through the hole at the top of the tag.

For the front cover, I adhered the piece of black cardstock to the back. I inked around the edges with Black Soot Distress ink. I stamped the Fill Your Page sentiment in place with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I cut the Flourished Oval Frame out of black cardstock, and fit it in place around the sentiment.

Finally, I cut the hanging heart from the Calligraphic Elements 3 set out of black cardstock. I didn’t want a black heart, so I cut a second one out of red cardstock. I trimmed out just the heart, and adhered it in place on the black cut. I added that to the cover.

Then all that was left to do was decorate the pages. I did this using more of the die-cut elements. 

The Library Pocket Tag Book included several butterflies. I have added these to the tags and the pockets. I also added some more of the Oval Frames, cut from the designer paper, to the inside covers. 

This offers a place to write something with a white marker or gel pen. Please refer to the photos to see how I decorated it all.

This was a really fun project to put together, and I’m really looking forward to filling it up with the “…breathings of my heart.”

Thanks very much for stopping by today! I’ve enjoyed sharing my project with you!

Nancy :o)

Library Pocket Tag Book

Quietfire Designs Products Used:

Fill Your Paper

Grid Background

Calligraphic Elements 3

Flourished Oval Frame

Library Pocket Tag Book

Other Products Used:

Prima Finnabair Vintage Vanity Collection;
Cardstock: Black, Manila, Scrap of Red;
  Distress Inks: Black Soot, Antique Linen,
Memento Ink: Tuxedo Black;
Tim Holtz Mini Book Rings – 2;
Black Micron Pigma Pen;
Seam Binding - Cream