I wanted to make a card for my daughter that moved out of state. In AZ one thing people seem to miss is the Cactus and the sunsets. So I added both to a little card for her. I am working on the let’s get tutorial with this adorable set from My Favorite Things (JB-006 Stick Together Stamp & Die set). And the Out of the Box Level Up Card Kit (MFT-1874), Out of the Box City Scape (MFT-2370), and Out of the Box Snow Drifts (MFT-1833).
I will be also entering it into the MFT Superstar Contest. Why not. I did a fun technique coloring the cacti. I’ll add it to this post once I have the tutorial up!
Let me know if you’d like a PDF of this. Also tell me what you’d be willing to pay for some PDF instructions to make cards. I’m thinking $3-$5 for the PDF. After seeing the Make and Takes at Expo I felt that would be fair. How about a class kit with all the items cut and stamped. I don’t want to wholesale the products but is be willing to kit a class with the paper products and the PDF class instructions. $15-$35 depending on the amount of items in a kit? Share in the comments.
It is HOT in Arizona! (as I write this post it is 9:41 am and 103 degrees outside), When it is HOT what can you do but stay inside and craft! That’s just want I am doing.
Now, let’s talk about less is more.
When I was creating this card, I was really happy with how it came out and then I started adding cute little jungle animals to it from one of my favorite Lawn Fawn releases. This is from the Toucan Do It stamp set. (Toucan Do It) I had a little toucan on the ending loop of the “o” and a jaguar on the bottom edge and oh I added a cute lizard to the “H” loop to complete that visual triangle. It was cute. Then I took it off and said you know sometimes less is more. While those elements were cute, the truth is the sentiment shines (literally) better without the cute animals. It’s got lots of power so let it be the star.
I don’t know about you, but there are times when we need to just enjoy the simplicity of our work. Over detailing can lead to a clutter of items that look good together btu compete too much with each other and leave a piece overdone.
Remember, if you are struggling with placement of an embellishment or even a stamped image, Stop, take a look– even walk away or ask a trusted friend do I really need to add this? While you may be anxious to get to use that cute stamp set or embellishment it is okay to wait and use it on the next one.
Don’t forget you can shop here at The Craft Dash and at our Etsy store where I have a lot of retired stamp sets that I have decided need destash.
Here I was with a brand-new kit from My Favorite Things, and it is so beautiful, I decided to take a page out of Jennifer McGuire’s playbook and die cut the heck out of it. I grabbed some color cardstock and got to it. I wasn’t sure what colors I would use for the card, and I remember seeing a video in which Jennifer had cut like all the rainbows. She then keeps them for when it hits her fancy to use those dies. I of course decided that I should do that too because the card had not yet revealed its design or colors to me. — yes, my cards speak to me kind of… LOL
Here you can see my cuts. I think Jennifer McGuire must get completely overwhelmed with fans of her work tagging her. I did, and she saw it — I must admit, my inner fangirl came out even more. I had to make her proud.
I discovered that (if you look to the side of the buckets of flowers and greenery (AGAIN MFT Stamps made me giddy with these dies BOLD BLOOMS and BOLD GREENERY ), you will see the sheets I cut from in the above photo next to the dies in the containers. At the same time, my daughter posted a reel about Ukeleles (hopping fleas) making me return to my island days. When I pulled a Poppy paper it landed on the warm yellow and made me think of Hawaiian Quilts, this, of course, took me to the Hero Arts ALOHA cover plate and Vintage Paradise sets. Which is where my INNER INNER McGuire took off.
I was able to use what most people would consider “scraps” into cards. Check them out
Oh yeah, I love both cards. I was feeling it so much I made two with the “scrap” background. I even managed to pop an adorable beachy dino on the mahalo (thank you) card.
All cred goes to Jennifer McGuire for always encouraging creators to use what they have, to stretch those supplies. She rocks. YES, I love her, and want to be a fly on the wall when she creates. She’s amazing. Trust me when I say, her blog, (jennifermcguireink) should be on your list of MUST if you are a card maker.
I did make a video for the making of these cards, but it is far from complete. I was also excited to share my Hero Arts for the blog challenge this month. I will add some project sheets soon. I am still learning and finding that I need to video much closer than I originally thought. The video for this project will most likely not make it to the blog because I have learned A LOT in the filming of this one and will move forward.
Thanks for looking today, here are the two bonus cards in close-up for you.
Erika Hayes
Crafter her entire life Erika spends hours creating every day. She loves the crafting community and all the humans that are a part of expressing themselves in creative ways. She has been lucky enough to work in the industry as a concept designer and is a multiple-time published artist. Encouraging crafters to take part in education to better their craft is her passion.
“Practice makes progress, perfection is unattainable.”
Dies: Concord & 9th, Ink: Simon Says Stamps Cardstock: I used scraps for the entire card.
I have been working on getting my plan together. It’s taking longer than expected, but such is life.
This blog has a new name! The Craft Dash. Long story short, this blog has always been a dream. I want a place to share ideas and education on crafting. I also know that I can make into a smaller business. I am (and have been) working hard to get some inventory for my Etsy shop which I hope to have uploaded soon and actually make this little dream a reality.
I often struggle with my “hobby” I invest HOURS and HOURS into creating and learning and just suffer I guess from feeling like I need a little more to be able to offer something to the world in this area. I’m no Jennifer McGuire but I do love not just the creating but the community of crafters drawn to paper arts. So, I started doing some real planning and will be adding much more content to my new blog — since I paid for the domain, I will for sure be working hard at making it a success.
I am still learning (there is a lot of reading going into how to do this right), but I am open to any suggestions! I hope you will keep checking in on this little venture, pray for it, send good vibes, share with others and if you have something you want to know more about, shoot me an email. You can contact me at ErikaHayes@thecraftdash.com or TheCraftDash@gmail.com.
Soon, I will have a monthly newsletter to email if anyone is interested, just again send me an email. I really appreciate my crafty family helping me to take The Craft Dash from a dream to a reality. LOOK for more coming soon
Yep, it’s another holiday card class for this girl. I really love that K Werner and J McGuire take so much time and work to prepare such high-quality classes for crafters. I have taken many! This year I really did have a blast. (I have one more project to complete but, I finished the others. The final is on my desk.) It may take me a few days to finish the final assignment as I a preparing to teach a fun craft class at my church.
There were several assignments and here are my attempts. I have a few that I really like and some not as much. I did, however, try each technique taught and the ones that I don’t like, I am sure I can play with the technique a bit more and land on something I like. Without further delay, here they are.
I know you can still sign up for the class so I don’t want to reveal the content so I will just add the Class Title and the Project I completed.
Day One: Die Cutting. At first, I wanted to try the techniques with something, but it turned out to be not so Christmasy. Which is fine, it just shows that you can use the techniques all year round!
Day Two: Plaid. THIS class was so much fun. I really love the final card. I added a twist to mine, I used Easter colors on a holiday card, and loved it.
Day Three: Fast Backgrounds
This was an exciting one. I used a product that I really wanted to use. It was a struggle though. It’s proof that you must use the supplies to master them. I am pleased with the result and so happy I busted out a product I don’t use nearly enough.
Day Four: Ink Blend
Well, when my Simon Says Stamp Kit (First Night) came in, it was perfect timing. I was also trying to play with some color combos from my Color Cube and this fun happened.
Day Five: Using Scraps!
Yeah, we all have them. We all need ways to use them. Leave it to Jennifer McGuire to step up our scraps!
BONUS Day!! Using Leftovers!
Well, that worked out! I had this sitting in my garbage can, can you believe it? Yeah, this class saved this card’s life! Whew!
DAY SIX: Tiny Stamps… I have a lot of these. When the topic popped up in my inbox, I was very happy to watch the class AND use some of the techniques to create a fun little card.
DAY SEVEN: Embossing Folders – This is one that I will use again. Not my favorite final project from the class, but it is fun and I am excited to make more with the techniques taught.
DAY EIGHT: Foiling. It’s such a cool looking hot trend! (See what I did there haha) ANYWAY, this class kicked butt! Oh, with so so so many ideas and tips. The cost of this class is covered right here in this one day!
DAY NINE: Snowflakes – Well, here is the card that made me so happy I teared up a little. To say I had a rough day (few days) would be an understatement! Then I watched this class and had a moment of clarity. We need cardmaking. It is truly therapeutic. Card making (and this class) saves not only card lives (see Bonus day) but it saves our mental health. Also one of my favorite cardist (card making artist) taught this day.
DAY TEN: Interactive This is the final day of class. I have my project on my desk in progress. I just am so excited to get this done!!! I will post the final, but I wanted to be sure to get this post done before the class expires — the live version. It does continue live until the 18th. You can get in and join the fun and be in the running for the giveaways. After the 18th it will still be available, but the forum is closed. If you have a chance, DO sign up you can get 10 no 11 card ideas and techniques for 2022.
