A Very Simple Get Well Card Using Impression Obsession’s Tulip Stamp

Posted in Cards by My Empty Nest Creations

I haven’t posted in a while because I just seemed to have lost my creative mojo again. I decided to make a simple card hoping that would inspire me to create some more.

My Empty Nest Creations simple Get Well Card using Impression Obsession's Tulip stamp

I have always loved cards with bases made from kraft card stock, so I started there. I just eyeballed where I wanted the simple greeting (Hero Arts Classic Messages stamp set…I use this one all the time 🙂

Using Bristol paper, I stamped the image with Versafine Onyx Black ink because I knew that I was going to use my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. After “painting” the image, I added a few simple additions with a white gel pen after it had dried.

This image is a piece of cake to fussy cut 🙂 I adhered it to the card base with some foam tape and called it done. Like always, I walked away and came back to it a few hours later. I decided it just needed a bit more, so I added the black dots above and below the flowers.

See, I told you it was a simple card. The design is pretty generic, too, so it would be great for many types of cards.

Thanks for stopping by!

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21Mar2018

Letting Go of My Fear of White Space

Posted in Cards by My Empty Nest Creations

I have learned and been inspired by so many card makers out there in blog land. I came across a card challenge blog that got me thinking. I really need to work on my use (or lack of use) of white space in my card making. It’s so difficult for me to leave a large blank space on any card that I make. I’m not exactly sure why that is, so I decided to give it a try on my latest card.

My Empty Nest Creations W Plus 9 Doodle Buds and white space I started by masking of a line a little more than a third from the bottom edge of a piece of 4 1/4″x5 1/2″ Bristol paper. W Plus 9 Doodle Buds is one of my favorite whimsical flower stamp sets, so I stamped a few of the flowers along with the stems on this bottom portion. Me being just a bit lazy, I decided not to bother masking the flowers and stems. Using a small sponge dauber, I ink blended the background using Twisted Citron, Peeled Paint and Broken China Distress Oxides.

For the flowers, I used my trusty waterbrush and more Distress Oxides–Squeezed Lemonade, Wilted Violet, Seedless Preserves and Abandoned Coral. Once the watercoloring was dry, I went over the stamped images with a black marker to help them stand out a bit more.

To give the masked edge a better look, I cut a very small strip of paper from My Favorite Things Black & White Stripe paper pad. Here’s where I struggled with my fear of white space…where was I going to put the sentiment? My initial thought was above the black & white strip, but that is exactly what I would always do, so I decided to cut it out of white card stock and place it very near the bottom of the card. I just love how Simon Says Stamp Happy Birthday Script die cut fits perfectly and shows up nicely over the colored portion. To complete the card, I glued this card front to a A2 top folding card base.

Thanks for visiting!

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5Feb2018

Inspired by Stamping’s Summer Bouquet

Posted in Cards by My Empty Nest Creations

I’ve had this stamp set for quite a while now, and I thought that it was time to actually use it. It has such a lovely cluster of magnolia blossoms and some wonderful sentiments, too!

My Empty Nest Creations Magnolia Blossoms Hugs Card

I started by gold heat embossing the flower image onto a 4×5.25″ piece of Distress Watercolor Card Stock (using my Tim Holtz Stamp Positioner made it very easy to get a good impression). Using Distress Oxides and a waterbrush, I painted the flowers and buds (Fossilized Amber, Frayed Burlap), leaves (Iced Spruce, Peeled Paint) and the background (Broken China). As you can see, all of the coloring is very, very soft. I really wanted the outlined images to be the highlight.

The greeting, from the same stamp set, was gold heat embossed on velum and folded under the watercolor piece so I could attach it. I chose a pearlized, textured green cardstock (I think it’s from Die Cuts With a View) as the card mat because I wanted the light blue watercolored background to stand out a bit. My last step is usually to add a few little sequins or Nuvo drops, but I really wanted the card to have a very, very soft, pastel feel, so I chose not to add anything else. All that was left was to adhere it to a Bazzill Alpaca top folding card base.

Thanks for visiting!

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