stampin up Archives - Cricketleg Creative

“Thinking of You” Challenge

November 10, 2020 Challenge Cards, Handcrafted Cards

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge last week is the theme of Thinking of You.

Well, hi!

Here’s a new batch of challenge cards from the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog. The theme from the most recent posting is “Thinking of You.”

I don’t have a ton of stamps that imply that sentiment. In fact, I believe you are seeing all of them in the image above. The one on the truck is printed from my computer.

All of this challenge’s cards are pretty simple, and that was by design. I wanted to focus more on the sentiment so I kept everything else pretty clean.

I’ll list a close up image of each of the cards below, going from least to most favorite.

Thinking of You at Christmas

Using a greenery stamp from Sunny Studio and an ornament stamp from Stampin’ Up!, I created a simple layout. However, there was so much white space that seemed very empty. So I used an ink blending tool to create shading around the edges of the card. The sentiment stamp is also from Stampin’ Up!

Fall Tree

Four stamps make up this design and are all from the same Stampin’ Up! set (I have lots of Stampin’ Up! as I used to be a demonstrator). Patterned paper and metallic tape complete the design.

Fall Tree with Baker’s Twine

Same tree, stamped with darker leaves. And I added more patterned paper behind. The very simple design is completed with brown and white baker’s twine.

Pick Up Truck

This stamp comes from an inexpensive stamp set I bought on Amazon. It comes with various items that can go in the back. I figured the class blue truck with pumpkins would look nice. I used ink blending to create a ground of grass, and also added light blue shading for a hint of sky.

As stated previously, I printed this sentiment from my computer.

Watercolor Flowers

Another Stampin’ Up! stamp set and the sentiment is from them as well (although from a different set). I stamped the flowers using Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto watercolor paper. I then used a very loose watercolor technique to color in the flowers and leaves.

This is my favorite of all the cards because the technique itself is so liberating. I love painting outside the lines and allowing the paintbrush to go…just….wherever. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable process for me!

Okay, there you go! A few more cards to add to my collection, ready to be sent to a friend or loved one who needs a little boost!

Make sure you check out my other challenge cards. I try to post entries twice a week on the blog, so keep checking back.

Y’all take care!

Quick & Simple Christmas Cards: Masked Trees

October 29, 2020 Handcrafted Cards, Holiday Cards

This quick and simple Christmas card technique of masked trees might be just the ticket for your holiday cards this year!

quick simple christmas cards masked trees

Well, hi!

Welcome back to the blog, and welcome to an idea that has literally been years in the making.

Okay, maybe that’s too dramatic. But I really have been itching to try this technique. Well, my version of it anyway.

The Idea

I saw someone on social media mask off some watercolor paper in a triangle tree shape and make cool droplets of color inside the mask. Once the water/paint droplets had dried, there was this cool effect! I figured I’d try it with stamping.

When I started to look through my stamps I realized that the stamp I was envisioning was not in my possession. Dang it! Oh well, regroup and recalculate.

What I Ended Up Doing Instead

What I ended up on turned out great! I used ink blending and a single, repeated stamp with tone on tone colors. The idea and technique is so simple I figured why not try it with more than one color scheme.

Once I chose the tone on tone color, I knew I wanted to keep the rest of it simple too. There are only three stamps total used. One sentiment, one tree topper bow, and the border stamp that gets repeated on the tree.

These cards went together so fast I’m actually rethinking my original 2020 Christmas card design idea.

Watch for yourself in the video below. Leave a comment and let me know which color scheme you like best. Personally, I was surprised by my preferences!

If simple is not your style, check out a more detailed Christmas card here.

Y’all take care!

Winter Camper Slimline Card

October 26, 2020 Handcrafted Cards, Holiday Cards

This Winter Camper Slimline Card will make you a happy camper!

Well, hi!

I’ve only recently begun experimenting with slimline cards. If you don’t know what slimline cards are, they are simply cards that will fit into a legal size envelope. That’s the basic shape.

You can make them horizontal/landscape orientation, like the one above. Or you can make a really tall card by orienting it vertically/portrait.

One of the things I love about slimline cards is the freedom it can give you! I have alphabet dies, for example, that I love but I can only fit four letters across a landscape A2 sized card. With a slimline card, I have a lot more word options.

With my Winter Camper Slimline Card, I had the space to make a nice, wide scene. No crowding the images! Had I done an A2 sized card, I likely would have left out the snowman entirely. I really wanted space in this snow scene.

My experiment with making glowing Christmas lights worked out pretty well, I think. They look glow-y to me anyway!

Although I could stand to do more in the way of shadow and light, I’m learning! And the practicing has been really fun. You can see some earlier examples of me working on night skies here and here.

So check out the whole video below! I hope you enjoy it!

Y’all take care!

“Not a Card” Challenge

October 23, 2020 Challenge Cards, Handcrafted Cards, Uncategorized

My examples for the Simon Says Stamp Not a Card Challenge

This week’s Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is “Not a Card.”

I have to admit that I was not excited about this one because I’m super focused right now on making lots of CARDS for my Etsy shop! So “wasting” time on something not card-related seemed like a bother.

But I actually had a lot of fun working on these projects.

Candy Bag Topper

Having recently cleaned out my candy, cookie, and cake stuff I knew I had some treat bags waiting to be used. Halloween candy seemed the perfect match for these, and timely.

I grabbed a notecard just a little wider than the bag and folded it in half. I stamped the front of the card with an old stamp set from Stampin’ Up! And I mean from back in the 90s!! It’s always been a fun set to use.

I filled the bag, placed the card over top, and stapled it in place. Easy!

Recipes

Okay, technically this is a card…but it’s not a greeting card so I say it counts!

Another oldie but goodie from back in my Stampin’ Up! demo days, this recipe card stamp is pretty cute and came with all the basic recipe category stamps too.

I stamped the main card stamp onto cream cardstock. Then I used the Main Dish stamp in the bottom right corner. I just did some simple colored pencil work….it’s too detailed to do much more.

This is a great idea for when you need to take a meal to someone. Why not share the recipe, if it’s one of your best? And doing it with stamps is more fun!

Planner Embellishment

I love, love, love my planner. Took me years to find one that works for me.

I thought it might be fun to embellish it a little. Not necessarily to make it pretty because I have come to be a firm believer in kind of a messy planner. Or should I say well-filled?

I just wanted to add a little visual to my upcoming week.

So for a youth campfire I added a flame stamp. For my daughter’s bone marrow donation day I added a gift stamp (what a gift she is giving! so proud of her!). For family game night, I added a confetti stamp in multiple colors. And for my day to work on Christmas cards, I stamped a little tree.

I actually think I may do this on a regular basis. Because I block my time off with highlighters and have some repetitive items, sometimes I forget which week I’m on. Having a visual reminder–“oh yeah, this is the week with the campfire night”–will be helpful for my brain!

Gift Tags

Can I make a confession here? I don’t do gift tags.

Why? Well we have this fun tradition I started a few years ago where I don’t label the gifts to the kids. I pick a different paper to represent each person each year and my kids have to figure out who is who! It’s really fun. One year I even decoy wrapped everything–I wrapped it once in the correct paper for that person, and then again in a “decoy” wrap to confuse them.

Yes, I am looney.

But really, they were getting too good at guessing based on what people had on their lists. I add extra padding, coins, etc., to throw them off base.

Anyway, I digress.

Even though these tags will not be used for the family gifts, I will have fun using these for gifts to friends. Die cuts used for some, stamps for others.

Christmas Card Log Book

And now to my favorite result of this challenge!

I’ve had this Christmas Card Log book for YEARS!!! I think I got it free. I know I’ve always hated the cover. Just not my style at all.

It happened to be sitting out on my stamp desk, and I thought, “Hmmm…can I make it cute?”

Answer: Yes. Yes, I can.

Many of the stamps I own I have had since the early 90s. I remember thinking when I saw the stamp of a blank card, “Oh, that’ll be fun to use!”

Yeah. I never used it.

But now I have! I really enjoyed just making this up as I went along. I made lots of little Christmas cards to adorn this new log book. Then I masked them off with Post-Its and did some ink blending around them. That really made them pop!

Now I’m excited to mark off who I’ve sent cards to and who have sent cards!

So there you have it. All five of my entries into this week’s challenge. And I have to say, these ideas were fun and pretty fast! While I enjoy making a beautiful card to send, it can take a while. It was fun to make some things that were quick!

Check out the last Simon Says Stamp challenge I did.

Matching Card & Envelope Challenge

October 21, 2020 Challenge Cards, Handcrafted Cards

My examples for the Simon Says Stamp Matching Card & Envelope Challenge

Well, hi!

Simon Says Stamp runs two weekly challenges. One is on Monday. The other on Wednesday. I’m going to try to make examples for those and post them here on the blog. You can link up to five entries for each challenge, and I think that’s a great way to get creative and have some fun! Plus, winning a $25 gift card is a pretty sweet incentive.

Last Wednesday’s challenge was to make cards with matching envelopes! Since I needed to add some inventory to my Etsy shop anyway, I figured this fit my needs pretty well!

My recent post on the We Go Together Wheel Card qualifies for the challenge as well. You can go read about it here. Shoot, I guess that makes six cards! Someone is gonna get left out! Oh well.

All these cards, minus the We Go Together card and the Bunny Love card, are currently in my Etsy shop!

Bunny Love

The first card to show you is a simple one that uses some…well…some cheap stamps I found on Amazon (see note below). The bunnies are a cute little grouping and I love doing simple shading above and below just to give a hint of a scene. A coordinating bunny stamped on the envelope flap completes the challenge! The inside sentiment says, “Somebunny loves you.”

(Side note: I don’t recommend the off-brand photopolymer stamps and dies on Amazon because they are not great quality. It was an experiment purchasing a few sets…an experiment I won’t repeat. I can use these stamps, but they have ZERO stick, so they won’t stick on their own to a block or stamp tool. The dies are not super accurate either.)

Typewriter Hi

The second card to share with you is this simple but very clean Typewriter “Hi” card. I worried when coloring this image that it would be boring, but I have to say that I love the open white space around the typewriter. And the way the black cardstock behind it sets it off against the patterned letter paper. The stamps are from Stampin’ Up!…all from the same set.

It makes a nice, clean lines card.

Floral Quote

Next I’ll share this more inspirational card. One of my sisters recently requested that I stock my Etsy shop with some cards she could send people at church. So I thought I’d take a spin in that direction.

To make this encouragement quote card, I used a very intricate die from Tim Holtz. It was a bit time-consuming to punch out all the negative space, and a challenge to glue down. But I really like the effect of the white on blue cardstock. I die cut some leaves and used sponge daubers to add some shading with a dark green ink pad. The quote is just printed onto cardstock from my computer.

I used the green cardstock that I die cut the leaves from as a stencil for making the coordinating envelope back. I used the sponge dauber and that same dark green ink pad to lightly swirl over the stencil.

I’m looking forward to making more of these, incorporating quotes from spiritual leaders as well as scriptures.

Santa and Reindeer

I saved my favorite two for last. I love the bright sky behind this Santa and reindeer card. I’ve really been enjoying using my alcohol markers to work with blending color. While I’m still learning, I find that each time I work with the markers, I’m willing to be a little more daring and use more and more contrast. I just signed up to take the Copic Jumpstart class from Sandy Allnock’s Art Classes site, and can’t wait to level up my skills with all her amazing classes!

The stamps for this card are from Stampin’ Up!.

Polar Night

Night scenes seem to have become a favorite for me with my markers. This night time polar bear scene was fun to create. When I look at it, I totally get the cold, snowy mood going! Simple masking for the bear helped created some depth in the scene. And using a white gel pen for snow in the air and on the trees really makes the whole thing pop!

The Matching Card and Envelope Challenge was fun to do and helped me get some inventory into my shop!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you got some card inspiration. I’d love to hear your comments on your own favorite ways to coordinate your envelopes with your cards! Or maybe you can do your own Matching Card & Envelope Challenge.

Y’all take care!