Hello, my friends!
After a couple days of ugly weather, lots of rain and severe thunderstorms, we finally have a bit of gorgeousness peeking through. The sun is shining and starting to dry up these huge mud puddles. Soon there will be flowers blooming everywhere! I am very much looking forward to taking tons of pictures in all the wildflowers that grow around here.
But until then, I'll settle for creating my own blooms.
Today, I have a CAS (Clean and Simple) card I made for Team Xyron. This week Xyron has partnered with Derwent, makers of high-quality pencils, watercolors, and artist materials.
And combined together I created this gorgeous card...
Let me show you how I did it!
Creative Station (Xyron)
Creative Station Lite (Xyron)
Repositionable Adhesive Refill (Xyron)
5" Creative Station Permanent Refill (Xyron)
Mega Runner (Xyron)
Procolour Pencils, Metal Tin, 24 Count (Derwent)
Big Book Sketch Book, A5 (Derwent)
Colorbox Petal Points- Boardwalk (Clearsnap)
Top Boss Clear Embossing Pad (Clearsnap)
White Embossing Powder (Clearsnap)
Spectrum Noir Colorista Aqua Stamp Set - My Sunshine (Crafter's Companion)
Stitched Circle Dies (Pink and Main)
Stitched Rounded Rectangle Dies (Pink and Main)
Blender Stylus and Tips (Clearsnap)
Silver Glossy Dots (Pink and Main)
Thin Acetate (Grafix)
Blending Solution
Blending Stumps
I used the third largest circle from Pink and Main's Stitched Circle Dies to die cut a mask. I removed the circle die cut and st it to the side (I can save this to use this at another time). I peeled the acetate (with the circle cut-out) off the protective sheet, then placed over a sheet from my Derwent Big Book Sketch Book.
I love that this book has a nice "tooth" to it and is perfect for use with pencils.
I used the Dune (taupe looking color) ink pad from the Boardwalk Petal Point ink pad to stamp my flower image. Then I wiped the excess ink from the mask to avoid smearing it all over my image.
Then used the Sunset Gold (#61) pencil to trace an outline inside of the mask. Then removed the mask and stored it onto a piece of leftover Xyron Creative Station adhesive film backer. I save big sheets of this stuff and set them aside for later. They really come in handy every now and then for moments like this.
I removed the mask. Sometimes I like to take my work with me and tracing around the mask gives me a perimeter to stay within when coloring. without having the mask hanging off my page.
I colored my image using Foliage (#51), Cedar Green (#48), & Sap Green (#46) for the leaves.
Next, I placed my mask back on my page. Back into place on the traced circle. Then with a blending stylus and blender tip, I blended a halo of Dune ink around the inner perimeter of my mask. Then removed the mask and placed it back on the backer film. As long as you keep the mask on the backer sheets you can use it over and over again.
I love how my image looks so far but wanted a little more pop...
So, I used blending stumps and solution over my image. I blended each section one color at a time. Blending with separate stumps dipped in the solution.
Adding solution doesn't just break down the pigments to blend, it also makes the colors more vibrant too!
Once I was happy with the blending, I die cut my image off my page using the second biggest circle die from the Stitched Circle Dies set. Making sure to center my image so I have a clean and even border around it.
Then, I ran my die cut image through my Creative Station Lite. I could've just put my 5" refill cart in my Original CS machine. But I was feeling lazy... besides, my CS Lite was already loaded and on hand. LOL
I peeled my image off the backer (of course saving it for later use) and applied my image to the front of my circle card.
Next, I stamped the "FOR YOU" sentiment with Top Boss Clear Embossing ink onto black cardstock. Then sprinkled white embossing powder over the top, dusted off the excess, then heat set it.
Once I embossed my sentiment, I die cut the sentiment out using the smallest rectangle from the Pink and Main Stitched Rounded Rectangle Dies set.
I added a few Silver Glass dots to the center of my largest flower and around the card for additional embellishment. Then used my Mega Runner to attach my sentiment.
And here is my finished card...
Creative Station Lite (Xyron)
Repositionable Adhesive Refill (Xyron)
5" Creative Station Permanent Refill (Xyron)
Mega Runner (Xyron)
Procolour Pencils, Metal Tin, 24 Count (Derwent)
Big Book Sketch Book, A5 (Derwent)
Colorbox Petal Points- Boardwalk (Clearsnap)
Top Boss Clear Embossing Pad (Clearsnap)
White Embossing Powder (Clearsnap)
Spectrum Noir Colorista Aqua Stamp Set - My Sunshine (Crafter's Companion)
Stitched Circle Dies (Pink and Main)
Stitched Rounded Rectangle Dies (Pink and Main)
Blender Stylus and Tips (Clearsnap)
Silver Glossy Dots (Pink and Main)
Thin Acetate (Grafix)
Blending Solution
Blending Stumps
I started my card by actually creating a DIY mask. Yup, you can create your own masks and it's super easy to do too!
I cut a piece of super thin acetate. I believe this sheet is about .002" in thickness. I wanted my mask to be pretty big. Big enough to cover an entire card front. So this one measure 6"x 8.5". In the picture, I left the tissue paper backer in place just so you can see where the acetate is because it's see-thru and practically invisible. But once cut down to size, I removed it before proceeding.
Next, I took the acetate and ran it through my Xyron Creative Station using a Repositionable adhesive refill cartridge. This is important! If you don't use a "repositionable" adhesive you will pretty much ruin your acetate and it will bind to whatever you try to mak off.
Then, I trimmed off the excess backer to make it easier for this next step...
I love that this book has a nice "tooth" to it and is perfect for use with pencils.
I removed the mask. Sometimes I like to take my work with me and tracing around the mask gives me a perimeter to stay within when coloring. without having the mask hanging off my page.
I colored my image using Foliage (#51), Cedar Green (#48), & Sap Green (#46) for the leaves.
Then used Buttercup Yellow (#03), Deep Chrome (#09), Sunset Gold (#61), & Nutmeg (#65) to color the flowers and buds.
So, I used blending stumps and solution over my image. I blended each section one color at a time. Blending with separate stumps dipped in the solution.
Adding solution doesn't just break down the pigments to blend, it also makes the colors more vibrant too!
Once I was happy with the blending, I die cut my image off my page using the second biggest circle die from the Stitched Circle Dies set. Making sure to center my image so I have a clean and even border around it.
I die cut a circle shaped card using the largest circle from the same stitched circle die set. I simply took a 5.5" (folded in half) square card and positioned it so that the edge of the card is slightly inside the perimeter of the die.
I peeled my image off the backer (of course saving it for later use) and applied my image to the front of my circle card.
Next, I stamped the "FOR YOU" sentiment with Top Boss Clear Embossing ink onto black cardstock. Then sprinkled white embossing powder over the top, dusted off the excess, then heat set it.Once I embossed my sentiment, I die cut the sentiment out using the smallest rectangle from the Pink and Main Stitched Rounded Rectangle Dies set.
And here is my finished card...
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and try some of these techniques for yourself!
Thanks for stopping by!
HAPPY CRAFTING!!
~Mitsyana
