My First Floral Scene Card

Posted in Cards by My Empty Nest Creations

I don’t know about you, but I struggle to create those adorable scene cards that are so popular these days. Obviously, I don’t have all of the stamps/dies that card makers use to create these complex scenes, but I certainly have enough to work with to make a simple scene. I decided to give it another try.

My Empty Nest Creations Simple Floral Scene Card

I started by making a very simple ink blended background using Broken China, Twisted Citron and Peeled Paint Distress Oxides. For the clouds and sun, I pulled out my never used Gina Marie Designs nature set. I didn’t want the clouds to disappear in the sky, so I inked the edges with the Broken China Distress Oxide ink pad. To give the clouds a bit of dimension, I adhered one of the small clouds with foam tape.

My Favorite Things Doodle Blossoms stamp/die set has been on my wishlist for a very long time. I finally bought them and knew that they’d be perfect for this card. I stamped the flowers and one set of stem/leaves and colored them with Copic markers. To give the flowers a bit more detail, I used a white gel pen. For the other two stems/leaves, I used Paper Smooches Best Buds and Simon Says Stamp Best Mom Ever stamp sets. I attached the flower blossoms with foam tape to give the scene more dimension.

All that was left was the sentiment. Inspired by Stamping’s Magnolias stamp set had the perfect greeting. I heat embossed “Live Life in Full Bloom” with black embossing powder and called it done.

I hope you like it!

Computer Signature

5Apr2018

A Very Simply Cut Out Card

Posted in Cards by My Empty Nest Creations

I’ve wanted to try this cut out technique for a while. I’m pretty sure it was Jennifer McGuire that inspired this card.

My Empty Nest Creations Cut Out window card using Paper Smooches Best Buds stamps and dies

I started with a vertical top folding A2 card base. I die cut the flower/mason jar image from Paper Smooches Best Buds dies. Using the cut out as a template, I fit the matching stamp in the cut out space and stamped it through the window using Memento Tuxedo Black ink (love my Tim Holtz Stamp Platform). I colored the image using Copic markers with very simple blending. To give the flowers a little more detail, I pulled out my white gel pen and Micron black marker. The sentiment is from Altenew’s Penned Rose stamp set.

This was such a simple card, but I really loved how it turned out. I hope you like it, too.

Computer Signature

7Jul2017

Coloring with Distress Oxides

Posted in Cards by My Empty Nest Creations

I just got my first batch of Distress Oxides in the mail, and I’ve been dying to give them a try. So many crafters have been raving about them for so long. I had to see what all the fuss was about. I’ve been using the Distress Inks for watercoloring for a while, and I wanted to see how the oxides differed from the inks.

The biggest difference is readily apparent when you first smoosh the pad onto an acrylic block. The pads are much “juicier” than the regular Distress Ink pads, and the colors seem thicker and more opaque. The color lasts a whole lot longer on my waterbrush, too. A little definitely goes a long way with these oxides. As far as coverage, I didn’t really notice a huge difference between the oxides and the regular inks.

Here’s a simple card that I made using the Paper Smooches Best Buds and Altenew Birthday Wishes stamp sets and Distress Oxides (and a couple of Distress Inks, too). Whenever I’m going to watercolor a stamped image, I like to heat emboss first. It gives me nice, safe margins to paint. (I haven’t tried the no-line watercoloring technique yet, but it’s definitely on my list.)

My Empty Nest Creations Paper Smooches Best Buds Birthday Card

I finished the card using a few strips of card stock to balance the left side. I added a few black paint splatters, too. There’s just something about bright colors coordinated with black and white stripes that gets me every time…love that combo!

After trying Distress Oxides for the first time, I’m definitely going to add the rest of the collection onto my wish list. If you haven’t given them a try, you definitely should. They are fantastic!