Just One More Card

Discovering the world of card making. One Project at a time.

VIDEO: I’m joining Purple Onion Designs + A Polychromos Coloring Video

The month of September is filled with awesome news for me and today I have not only the honor but also the pleasure to announce I’m joining another Design Team I have been dreaming about for quite some time now: Purple Onion Designs.

I actually went back on my blog to find out when I started falling in love with them, and it turns out that my crafty friend Sonja Kerkhoffs is single-handedly responsible for that. She crafted with some of the gorgeous stamps, I ordered from POD and the service and experience was excellent: super fast shipping to Europe, reasonable shipping prices – and the love story began.

Today, I want to delight you with a card combining two different stamps and my passion for colored pencils: the Cups of Joy are normally a christmas stamp, but I masked off the holly to pretend it’s not. And Birch, the Winter Bunny, can also be used year round.

I apologize for the abysmal video quality 🙁 I actually returned my camcorder after seeing this footage and I’m back to using my trusty OMD EM5 photo camera. Sorry!

Through some masking, I was able to create the effect of the bunny almost jumping out of the cups. As always, when using my rubber stamps, I like to use my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to make sure the placement is correct on the card. As many of you have let me know in video comments, the Misti tool can also be used with rubber stamps, so there you go! You might already have a tool you can use.

Surprise out of a Tea Cup!

One of the most important aspects to coloring with colored pencils, like my Polychromos here, is the type of paper you are using. Paper which is very smooth will not hold as much pigment, and therefore you cannot work in many layers. Paper which has some texture, like the Torchon watercolor paper I’m using today, can hold a lot of pigment because the surface is larger (all those bumps and hills in watercolor paper increase the surface area).

Surprise out of a Tea Cup!

And, as I’ve pointed out in my coloring tutorial recently, working in layers does magic for the results you’ll get. Yes, you can apply only one or two layers and then use Gamsol, Baby Oil, or Zest It! to blend the colors out. That’s completely fine and there’s no reason not to do that. I personally went for pencil-only blending and here it’s even more important to start with a light hand, build up your color, and then intensify it layer after layer.

Surprise out of a Tea Cup!

I’ve also been asked if I prefer the Polychromos to the Prismacolor. I started out with the Prismacolor (cheaper) and didn’t experience the quality issues many others have complained about. My problems were two fold: the pencils were used up very quickly, and because they are wax based, coloring over printed or stamped lines muted those outlines into oblivion and the wax buildup gave my images an unpleasant shine. For those two reasons I switched to Polychromos, which are a bit harder to blend than Prismacolor. Either one of the them is fine for this technique, and you can absolutely mix the two brands, no problem at all.

Here’s a list of the colors I used (all Polychromos):

  • Bottom cup: 188, 115, 111, 109
  • Checkered cup: 184
  • Dotted cup:264, 168, 171
  • Top cup: 158,153,156,154
  • Bunny fur: 274,232,230 and ears: 132, 189
  • Hat: same as corresponding cups

Surprise out of a Tea Cup!

To finish up the project, I added a few sequins by Pretty Pink Posh. I originally had wanted to use sequins representing all the colors I had used on this card, but as it turns out, it got overwhelmingly colorful so I settled for the elegant Marshmallow and the subtle Sand color.

If you want to learn more about coloring with colored pencils, and maybe take a class, check out my previous post on online coloring classes, which has a coupon code at the end!

Thanks for stopping by today – I’ll have more projects with POD products coming up soon! If you don’t want to miss out on more tutorials, subscribe to my blog and my YouTube channel – I promise I’ll make it worth you time 🙂

Oh, and I’m also submitting this card to the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp “No Designer Paper” and The Card Concept #40 “Forest Friends” where I was inspired by the inspiration photo and the project by Laura Jane where she also used Purple Onion Designs stamps.


VIDEO: Tippsy Monster and How to Mask a Scene

Hi guys! Today I’m introducing you to the newest clear stamp set by Gerda Steiner Designs which features monsters. I think when it comes to coloring images and working with them, monsters are my all-time favorite. It’s especially interesting since I discovered Gerda Steiner Designs about a year ago because of the beautiful digital monster images that she offered. Now we have 3 new monsters that come as clear stamps, complete with a few fantastic sentiments that allow you sheer endless combinations.

When I first saw the monster that I’m using on my cards today I immediately pictured him being a little sappy from having consumed one or two drinks too many. And since I recently received a few new rubberstamps by Purple Onion Designs which are cocktail images, I couldn’t resist putting these two sets together.

Create A Scene with Masking

Of course, rubber stamps are a little harder to position than clear stamps because you cannot see through them. Therefore, I’m using a tool called a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig which allows you to position those rubberstamps perfectly where you need them.

The coloring was done with Copic markers and I referred to the hex chart by Sandy Allnock to find colors which would work together well. If you have Copic markers and you wonder sometimes which color combinations you could try, I really suggest you give this hex chart a look because it’s absolutely worth the investment (it just costs a few dollars).

Create A Scene with Masking

The background of my card base has some foil, by the way. I wanted to try it out because it seems to be all the rage in the crafting world right now, but I was disappointed by the results that I got with a cheap laminator that I bought on Amazon (Olympus A230). The foil didn’t stick entirely and left some black marks open. I tried it with two different printers, different heat settings, different papers — nothing really worked perfectly. So I returned the laminator and I will try to get my hands on a Minc mini once they are available in Europe and see if that gives me better results.

And since I wanted the sparkle in the background to be reflected in the foreground as well, I grabbed a few sequins by Pretty Pink Posh and adhered them with tiny drops of Glossy Accents. I have to admit, since I started to use the Fineline Applicator, using Glossy Accents has become fun again and adding sequins is easier than it has ever been!

Thanks so much for stopping by today and leaving a comment, you brighten up my day!

I’m also sending this card off to the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp “Anything Goes”; Cupcake Inspirations Challenge 325 “Layers” (and a nice purple color scheme!).


Create Scenes with Masks using Purple Onion Designs

Today’s card for my last (sniff) guest stint at Purple Onion Designs, I think, is a prime example of why a stamp positioning tool is one of the best investments you can make when you like rubber stamps. This scene I am creating requires me to know exactly where my image will go, which is quite difficult since you cannot see through the rubber stamps. And usually the rubber stamps are not cut exactly, or you are even cutting them yourself, so the edges of the stamp (what you see from the back) are not the same as the edges of the image. As you will see in the video, a stamp positioning tool is a lifesaver in such a situation:

Even though I’m a huge fan of dies that match my stamped images, I’m more than willing to go through all the fuzzy cutting to create masks for my images. They are an essential part of creating scenes, or some images are in the front, and some are in the back. You stamped the image that is in front 1st, then mask it off, and then stamp the other images. The way they overlap will create the look of depth. It can be a little difficult to cut out precise details, but as you can see on my card, the effort is well worth it.

Magical Mushrooms with Purple Onion Designs

I was pretty happy with my distressed background, but then remembered how Kristina Werner is just amazing at adding extra detail by simply splattering some water across the colored background. Since the distress ink reacts with water, you only need to leave it on the background for a few seconds and you can then dab it off immediately with a paper towel or a dry baby wipe. That’s exactly what I did and I was immensely pleased how it turned out. You can see my super scientific approach in the video 🙂

Magical Mushrooms with Purple Onion Designs

As for the coloring with the Inktense pencils, I had mentioned previously that you need to work in layers. It’s no different here. I usually start out by putting down my lightest color and only a tiny bit of it. I also put it down where the shading would be.By using a damp brush, I have a lot of control over how far the color spreads. And if I find that I have too much pigment on my brush, I clean it off with clean water and then come back with a clean brush. That’s another method that will help you to make sure that you have brighter areas for your highlights.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you enjoyed the card. Don’t forget to check out the current sale going on over at Purple Onion Designs – it ends this Friday 28 Aug, 2015!


Positioning Rubber Stamps Perfectly with Purple Onion Designs

I love Christmas stamps, but sometimes I’m a bit sad that they sit in a box for most of the year, receiving no love from me. So, I looked at my Christmas stamps by Purple Onion Designs and wondered how I could incorporate them into a non-christmas card. With a bit of a shock I realized that I hadn’t even used the beautiful Hot Cocoa stand stamp yet, so that one had to go onto this card. I simply wiped off parts of the stamp, so I could turn hot winter drink into a cool summer ice tea.

In the video, I’ll be focusing on masking off images to create a scene and once more, I’ll show you how to perfectly position your rubber stamps on cards:

For masking off images, you want to be using either dedicated masking paper or you can use wide masking tape – it just needs to be something that will pull off your card without tearing the paper and it should be resistant enough so that regular dye ink won’t seep through.

I’m also using my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to position my rubber stamps. You can’t see through them, so this little tool is literally priceless when it comes to placing your images exactly where you want them to go.

Use Winter Stamps in the Summer with Purple Onion Designs

As you can see in the video, I’m having a super accident towards the end after I had done all my coloring: I had masked off the bottom and sides of my cards before using my Distress Tool, but I had forgotten to mask off the colored images!! Since I’ve just had a birthday, I’m declaring this a senior moment, but you can imagine the screeching and wailing that ensued when I realized my mistake!

Use Winter Stamps in the Summer with Purple Onion Designs

But, as I show in the video: there’s no reason to throw out the card. I was able to fix it, since the color was only on the tail and not the face, so don’t (completely) despair if something like this happens to you. In most cases, there’s a way to salvage the card. If I had extended the distress color further up into the critter, I’d have stamped it separately and then foam mounted it onto the card and no-one would have been the wiser 😉

The background got some additional interest by splattering some water on it, then dabbing it off – that gives you those interesting splotches. And of course a few sequins by Pretty Pink Posh are just perfect to finish the card with appropriate sparkle.

I’m sending this card off to The Friday Mashup which is asking us to use any kind of technique: well, I have masking, background distressing, water splats and fixing my own mistakes 😀

Thanks for stopping by today! Let me know what you think about the card or video. Have a great day!


Video: Clean and Simple Inktense Card with Purple Onion Designs

Today I wanted to keep it clean and simple with my guest project for Purple Onion Designs. Don’t forget that there is a sale going on until August 28 and you can get 25% off the entire store!

You know that I always struggle with leaving enough whitespace, mainly because to me the cards usually looks bland and boring if there’s too much white. For that reason, I selected to go with an orange card base to give my front panel some additional contrast. Also, I made sure to have strong shadows in my coloring that would pop against the white of the water color card stock.

You can see once more how helpful as stamp positioning tool is. Without it, it’s very hard to know where your image will actually go and on a clean and simple design it’s important to be very precise with your stamping. Of course, to contradict my own words, for the sentiment I did just wing it and was lucky that it turned out great. One of my main problems with sentiments on the rubber stamps is that I can’t check if they are upside down or not. I usually only see that after I have stamped it 🙂

A Clean and Simple Card with Purple Onion Designs

The images I am using today highlight one of the reasons why I love Purple Onion Designs so much: They can be used to create scenes with many different motives. You can combine stamps from different releases quite easily, and they will still work together in terms of size and design. Of course, I’m a huge fan of the Stacey Yakula line, so these go together perfectly naturally.

A Clean and Simple Card with Purple Onion Designs

The coloring was done using my Inktense pencils and I worked in multiple layers, as I explained in the video. I hope you enjoyed the card and the video. Leave me a comment if you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer you.


VIDEO: One Layer Watercolor Card with Purple Onion Designs

Hi crafty friends! I’m excited, scared, and hovering three inches above the ground today because I have some super-duper exciting news to share with you: A few weeks ago, Michele of Purple Onion Designs asked me if I wanted to guest for her this month! Duh. That’s a question that can only have one possible answer, which is a slightly hysterical “YES!”.

And to make this exciting for you: Purple Onion Designs is having a SALE from Aug 14-Aug 28. All stamps will be 25% off including the stamps in the clearance section. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to finally grab all the incredible images you’ve always wanted!

As you might know, POD is one of my favorite stamp shops. My favorite line is by designer Stacey Yakula, but there are also other brands in the store that appeal to me. The stamps are red rubber stamps which come unmounted (which is great for postage) and shipping overseas is super fast and affordable (for all my peeps here in Europe, this is great news!).

I love wine. I live in the vicinity of Stuttgart, Germany, and even inside the city, you can see vineyards almost from everywhere. Where I live, it only takes a 10 minute walk to be right inside the vineyards. It’s autumn here, so in a few more weeks, the grapes are going to be ripe enough to … cough sample cough. And of course I love wine in its bottled form … oh, and the wine festivals here, they are heavenly!

So, it’s no surprise that I just had to have the Wine Shop set from Purple Onion Designs. It’s a huge set, with multiple images and oh so many sentiments, some of them a little tongue-in-cheek, which appeals to me.

In this video, I’m showing you how to stamp with red rubber stamps and position them perfectly on a card and how to color with Inktense pencils:

The challenge with rubber stamps is: you can’t see through them, like you can with clear stamps. That can make it a bit tricky to position them on a card – you can usually wing it, but if you’re doing a CAS card, positioning the stamps properly becomes super important. That’s where a Stamp-A-Ma-Jig comes in handy. You can probably rig something up yourself, but this tool cost me around €10, and it’s helped me so much I consider it a great investment.

A Glass Held High with Purple Onion Designs

As you can see from the coloring, Inktense pencils require you to work in layers, so using watercolor friendly paper is paramount – even if you are not using a lot of water (my brush is usually damp, not wet). But regular paper like Neenah or even SSS heavy card stock might not do the trick for you here. Also, you can just create a panel from watercolor card stock; I just wanted a one layer card, so that’s why my entire card base it made out of watercolor paper.

A Glass Held High with Purple Onion Designs

I hope you enjoyed this project for Purple Onion Designs. Remember that this particular set comes with more images and a ton of sentiments, so if you are a wine lover, give it a closer look!

I’ll be back throughout the duration of the sale to lead you into temptation again and again. I’ll be merciless, but considering the deal you get, I have no bad conscience at all 😉

Off goes this card to the following challenges as well: Addicted to Stamps and More, which is asking that we “Make Our Mark”.