The inside counts!

 It just occurred to me that I should share the inside of the card from yesterday's post!!  One of my favorite cards, I just love stamping on pressed leaves.  

Because I thought it would be a display worthy card I decided it would be fun to do something unique on the inside!! I kept getting new ideas as I went so it ended up with a separate note card inserted into a corner bracket (so it could easily be re-gifted) and highlight my "Hi!" Notes label at the same time!  

I had a pretty oval die cut I wanted to use and luckily found a couple of great sentiments (from Unity Stamp Co.) that fit inside - with a little modification.  (I snipped out a couple of the leaves and relocated them.)  

Also, a second plain oval was attached to the very back of the card so it looks 'finished' from the back and also leaves (Ha! Ha! leaves!!!) another spot to wright a note :)

Many Blessings to you in this season of Blessing!  Happy Crafting

#Autumn #Leaves #UnityStampCo #EmbossingonLeaves

Summer on my Mind

Ahhh, long days of Summer.  When I look at this stamped image I can almost feel the heat of the sand seeping into my bones, both from the sun above and the sand below.  As I made this card I had my 19 year old daughter on my mind.  Out on her own for the first time, living her dream, I miss her!  So my big plan was to make a gift card holder on the inside, check that out!

The beach bag image is fussy cut 

with an extra 1/4 inch of length

 folded under on each side 

to make a pocket space for

gift cards, money, etc !!!

All of the stamps I used are from the Unity Stamp Co Kit of the Month & are stamped on watercolor paper, colored with Zig watercolors. I love the beachy feeling of the shabby layers, distressed edges & cloud shaped, stitched edge.   I also accented the sand with Nuvo Crystal drops in antique rose and copper penny -&- the tassels on the beach blanket deep teal Liquid Pearls

The large matt is actually the inside of the card, hinged with an additional piece of designer paper on the inside!  There are glossy accents on the camera, sparkles on the seashells, gold washi down one side and pearl accents in taupe near the bottom.

Hope your Summer is going well, blessings ~ Wendy

#papercraft #scrapbooking #fussycutting #watercolor #rubberstamping #stamping #embossing #heatembossing #pressureembossing #distressink #oilpastel 
 #unitystampco 

Beautiful Birds

I just can't get enough of these Beautiful Birds from

Unity Stamp Co's KOM Dec 2016!!

On this oversized card I first embossed them on vellum and layered it on a stamped background.  Ribbons & lace border the vellum. 

Adhesive is hidden on the back of the stamped panel as vellum & all are wrapped around it and adhered in the back.

I punched an edge on it and folded it over the dark cardstock (Island Indigo/Stampin' Up!) to help decorate the back. 

3D flowers energize the front, with centers of glossy accents over raspberry ink & sprinkled with glitter. 

So that there would be somewhere to add a note or stamp a sentiment, white embossed paper was added & rubbed with matching ink.  The single little bird was a fun for me accent!  

Thanks for stopping by to take a peek!  The following is a list of fun challenges where I've entered this card.   

https://takeaword.blogspot.com/2020/01/fowl.html

Floating Easel Snow Ornament

        I love a great challenge!! This week I found a fun one blogged on Mississippi McGyver: Mixed Media Floating Easel cards using stencils.  You can find the Challenge link up at  STAMPlorations' January Mixed Media Challenge!
            
This is the first time I've tried this style of card and it was a lot of fun. I found it is best to use very sturdy paper so that there is no drooping or stretching when the easel is open!!  I would  also advise you to start with the window frame you plan to use. Then you can determine the size of the card to go around it and also if your subject is going to look proportionate to the opening!

For mine I layered up several snowflakes descending in size on both sides using dimensional tape & lots of glitter!!  Don't forget to put your thread or string through the inside of the project so you can suspend it from the frame opening. 

                 

Sponged with Tim Holtz's Oxide ink, the beautiful snowflake stencil is a great find from Newton's Nook Designs.  I used several gems to tie it aesthetically to the 3D ornament as well as 3 colors of Nuvo Crystal drops here & there.

                                                                         
Happy Winter!!  Hope you find time to craft.  I'll watch for your projects at the STAMPlorations Challenges!!  

Summer is Colapsing into Fall!

I love every day!  I think the fog is amazing and beautiful.  I love the lightning & thunder.  Fresh mown grass on a sunny day - wonderful!  But my favorite time of all is Autumn.  I look forward to it every year!  The slanted light all day long, the refreshingly crisp air following a long, hot & stifling summer...  I plan for all the leaves I will press & drink in the colors like fragrant wine!  Oh I love it. 

So in anticipation of the coming Autumn days, here is a card I made with a few stamps from Unity Stamp Co. KOM August 2014 & KOM September 2016. Both are SO full of Fall!!!

I like to make sure the person receiving my cards can always regift them (the thought of the trash can is devastating to me!!!) so I figure out fun ways to add my note without compromising the card!!  On this one I cut a corner slot and stamped my favorite Autumn leaves stamp on a separate note card!! It's a fun & easy look and the note card can be switched out :)

If you have any questions about the products I've used please just leave an inquiry in the notes   

You ~ Smile :)

I am just in love with the fresh happiness of this digi from Sasayaki Glitter!  SMILE

I also love the "You" set from Unity Stamp Co and look how great they are together!! 

Welcome to the 28th week of the New Year!!! And your invitation to play along at PIP Challenges!!!This is a fairly large card as the "you" stamp is oversized, so I printed several of the digi girls and fussy cut them after coloring. Then it was just a matter of stamping the sentiment and die-cutting the top edge as well as the "thank" and gluing it all together !  

I had to play with the inside because I love the cloud edging & wanted to use it more! I love these, maybe my favorite in quite some time ;)

  

Win!!! If you're feeling inspired,  upload up to 3 of your own creations at PIP Challenges for a great chance to win a fun prize.  Go get crafty ~ the Challenge is ANYTHING GOES!!

I thought it would be fun to show a color variation which I carried through to the inside of the card too.

She's just so happy!!

Thank you for visiting!  I hope your Summer is off to a lovely start!!

Happy Mail!!

Who doesn't love getting something fun in the mail??  As a grown-up it starts to be all about the bills!  That's part of the magic of sharing notes with others via snail mail!!  It doesn't have to be a birthday or Anniversary to send something so simple that makes others feel so special.

Here's Newton doing just that!! Do you know Newton?  Head on over to Newton's Nook Designs (NND) and there you can find out all about him (true story) and the great little shop of delightfulness that includes all his friends and so much more!!

It just so happens that NND is sponsoring our PIP Challenge #1818 this week too!!  The weekly  challenge is ANYTHING GOES and the prize is $15 to spend in their store!!!

One of my favorite things at NND is the stencils!  I thought this "Starfield" stencil looked like the bokah that fills the air in the summertime!  Doesn't it look a little like the out of focus, sundrenched seed pods etc that float around in the hot air??
                I was careful as I stenciled in selectively the dots from the stencil with the blue and then I added in the dots as well as the stars with the yellow after shifting the stencil a little.

Newton is stamped and heat embossed on a white circle die-cut & colored in with a combination of gel pens and watercolor.   The little leaf sprig is from the "Beautiful Leaves" stamp set & washi wrapped all the way around helps dress up the inside too.  

2 sizes of sequins finish it of with a little sparkle factor!(I added those in along with a some extra grass after I thought I was done!!)
Let's see what your friends can anticipate finding in their mail box! (or maybe tucked inside a book, bag, or locker!)  I promise I will check out your entries at PIP Challenges and maybe even leave a comment on your blog!!  Have fun 

Clearly Beautiful ~ Anything Goes PIP Challenge!!

This image is an example of laying out all of

the pieces to see how they might work together.  

Hello & welcome to the 10th week of the new year!!  It is time for PIP Challenge #1810 and your chance to win $12 of fun stuff (you choose!!!) from this week's sponsor Di's Digis!!







     
I invite you to follow the link RIGHT NOW to check out all of her fun, digital stamps!! Lots of adorable kids & critters!  
Today's inspiration card is a result of one of my FaVoRiTe techniques!  I keep all of the rigid, clear & flat plastic from different containers and then use it for card fronts! Butterflies are on my mind as I'm longing for Spring days!  Check out my favorite Card using this technique HERE! 
Cut the clear window piece to size and leave a tab to attach the card back.  Then just have fun adding die cuts or fussy cuts covering the adhesive on the inside of the card with the same die cut !

      I used the white die cut piece for a quick note & signature.  The inside was embossed and rubbed with ink & I layered the decorative pieces to either hide or peek out of the front panel of the card.  

Incase the sender wanted to write a note I left the back blank and used a piece trimmed from the inside and an extra butterfly!  I thought with a cute sentiment this could be a CAS card front by its self!!

Here it is completed & closed.  See how the flowers are layered and the inside sentiment is hidden!  These are simply so much fun, plus they are flat and mail just like a regular card :)

You Friend, are a HOOT!

Good morning & welcome to another fun week at the Hi Notes blog!!Remember that sample of plaid paper I was teasing you with?  Well, here it is!! There is also a second plaid project hiding in this post, can you see it??

Caption: "Chiller" font before printing

The PIP Challenge is an ANYTHING GOES week sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps! 

They are generously donating the prize  to one lucky crafter!

Bugaboo has also provided me with this fun digital from their store, "Owl Trio".  Oh I just love it & I have many fun plans for it!!   

I have to admit I did have another digi from them that I planned to use this week, but I got 80% into my project & realized I would need more water color paper!  No big deal! Right?  Not when you live between mountain ranges in the middle of no where!!  So I had to put on the brakes and think up a new project.  It was painful for me to give up on the autumn card I was so excited about!!  My plan was to use these owls in a Halloween post, but I love this digital so much that I was able to think up something fun in a jiffy!! So be watching for a completed water color Autumn card with more Bugaboo Images!!!

do you see the second plaid project? :)

Inspired by Tatiana Craft & Art with her non-traditional leaf colors I decided to make one of the cards with pinks, blues & purples!!  Thanks Tatiana!!  I really love those cards :) 


I printed off a few of these owls because I wanted to be prepared with back ups!!!  I do this a lot since once I cut my full size sheet I can not run it throught the printer again, this way I utilize the paper better, esp if I need to print off a second digi!!


                        

I thought it would be fun to lay the cards flat so you could see the backs & how they were constructed.  I think I will add a stitched edge to the back flaps. 

  

Here are the insides :) CLICK photos to view them larger

REMEMBER, LINKS ARE IN BOLD SO CLICK AWAY ;)

PIP Challenge #1734 ~ Friendship Flowers with Bugaboo Stamps

Welcome to another PIP Challenge where you can win!!

The Prize this week is BUGABOO CASH!!

That's right ~ Cash to spend in the Bugaboo Stamp Store!!  Don't you just love shopping sprees where there is no cost to you??  ME TOO!!  Follow the link and enter your card, themed:     ANYTHING GOES!!

Here is the project I made with the "I Will Accept Color Page" combined with their "Friend Definition" 

Hoping this card will offer a little inspiration to get you started on your challenge entry!!!

My method was pretty simple & straight up.  I just inserted the Friend Definition into the space where I removed the original sentiment from the color page & printed it in the card size I wanted.

I will admit; I originally planned to color in the entire thing!!  I got this far and liked it so much that I decided to leave it like it is!!  I also had planned to color in all of the background bits BLACK and will probably try that on another card ~ but I think that would really make it pop!!

Stampin' Up! markers and a few different Nuvo Drops are all I used. Plus Glossy Accents on the "Friend" sprinkled with a little glitter while still wet. 

Once again, I had a little fun with the inside and the back. That's it!!!

When I send this I will cut a white label
for either a note or sentiment, inside

I also had a moment that brang tears to my eyes!! As I was adding tiny dots to the inside of the daisies . . . . I smudged :(  I waited for it to dry and covered it with a white gel pen! Most effective!! 

For some great challenges try visiting:

The Artistic Stampers Challenge

Word Art Wednesday

HAPPY NATIONAL CARD MAKING DAY!!!

Happy National card making day!!  I hope you find time to express your creativity through card making today.  What a beautiful and special way to keep in touch.  God Bless You & Keep You <3

I thought I would share some images, if you have any questions please post and I'll answer as soon as I can :)

Thanks for stopping by