Welcome Back to Paper & Ink with Mulberry Mindy

Welcome friends, back to the Paper and Ink blog after a long hot and humid summer.  As many of you noticed, I took a little time off from the blog to relax and refresh my mind.  The summer heat just seems to zap my strength and creativity, but now I am back and ready-to-go!

Today's feature is a mixed-media stamping on one of Ken Oliver's craft panels, using one of Unity Crafts stamps entitled Summer Girl by Angie Blom. I also used some of the Ken Oliver Color Burst to color the background before coloring the stamp with watercolors. I also added a little twinkle and a few 3-D flowers for texture.

I hope you all have a wonderful summer, and are ready for a wonderful August before school starts.
See you again soon.
Mindy

You're the Icing on my Cupcake

 

 We will be celebrating Mother's Day this Sunday, and I want to wish a happy day to all the Mother's out in bloggy land. This Unity Stamp from Angie Blom, titled Cari girl, is included with birthday messages.  But, being the cupcake fan I am, decided this card could be used for Mother's Day.

The main body of the stamp was colored with the Zig Clean Color brush markers. These have such lovely colors that are so bright and cheerful.  I added the message, "you're the icing on my Cupcake" and then used my Wink of Stella clear marker to add sparkle and shine around the sentiment. (sorry it doesn't show well on this picture)

I piled up the icing on the cupcake using a dimensional Pearl Pen, so the icing would look real on the front of the card. The stamped image was then adhered over a scrap of purple card stock run through the Cuttlebug machine and my Fans embossing folder from Crafts Too! I then centered it on my card base and added a bit more sparkle here and there with the Wink of Stella clear glitter pen.

I hope everyone enjoys their day with their Mom's and remembers all the wonderful times spent with this "Special Lady."

April Showers bring May Flowers

Happy May friends!  It has been an entire month since I have made a blog entry.  The month of April was a very trying one to say the least.  Not only was it time to send in the taxes, but the weather has not been kind to Texas.  Our "April showers" were welcome, but the enormous amount and size of hail we received has been off the charts for South Texas.  Hopefully now the "May flowers" will show our beauty, both in our landscape and on our handmade cards.

 

Today's feature is from one of the stamp sets included in Catherine Pooler's Stamp of Approval box sets.  Her collection of stamps and dies for this set are centered around flowers, the word "You", and Catherine's Geobuilders Stamp Set.  The collection is called, Beautiful World Collection.

I began by using the large You die and centering it on the white panel before running it through my die cut machine. I then stamped the rest of the sentiment, "thinking of " along with the leaf spray and many single flowers. The pink flowers were die cut then colored, before attaching with foam tape to give dimension to the design.  Pearl Stickles were dotted for flower centers and accents around the card before the white panel was attached to the teal card front.

I hope you have a wonderful day, and I am glad to be back on the Web with new blog posts.  See you soon.

Chocolate Bunny

Greetings friends,  I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend.  I only made a few cards for Easter this year, and I used a few new supplies I have never used before.  One being the Clear Card Stock from Heartfelt Creations.  I received a package of it as a gift, and had to go online to see how to use it.  It is similar to clear acetate, yet folds nicely and holds the fold like card stock. I made my base card from the clear stock.

I then cut three printed stock pieces to decorate.  The front piece was decorated with the Thicket 

Wreath die by Poppystamps, and the Chocolate Bunny die.  A small flower peg stamp was stamped around the wreath to add a little contrasting color.  I also stamped a few of the tiny flowers on a separate scrap of card stock for later use.  After adding a few dots of Pearl Stickles for flower centers, I set the panel aside to dry.

The second sheet of printed stock papers was used to back the first, and the last piece was used to write my message on.  I adhered the message sheet to the back of the card base, then centered the image panel on top of the message one, and glue doted it to the under side of the clear card base.

To cover the Zot dots that showed through the clear card, I adhered the separate tiny flowers with a few leaves on the outside of the card.  It also helped to give dimension to the card design.

This card was really a fun design to do, and I can't wait to try a few more designs using the clear card stock.

I also wanted to showcase a Spring/Easter card I received in the mail from one of my talented card making friends, Joan C.

 

Her stamped image was nicely colored on a beautiful oval die cut, then mounted on several layers of beautiful spring colored patterned papers. She added some ribbon and lace along with pearls, rhinestones, and a cute butterfly die cut to complete the card. The beautiful solid green layer was even embossed with a favorite greenery embossing folder she has used before.  

I was so delighted in receiving this card, I almost cried.  It really means a lot to me when I receive handmade cards from my friends and family.  I hope you will all try to make handmade cards when you can, I know they make me feel so much better!  Have a wonderful day!

Wonderful Summer

The last few days have felt like summer. Temperatures have been in the 90's and the sun is shining brightly.  Here is a fun tag celebrating the AngieGirl stamps from the Unity Stamp Company.

 

The stamp I used was the Summer Girl by Angie Blom. I stamped her on one of Prima's decorative tags and colored with my Copic markers in shades of blue and green.  I added a bit of wide black cluny lace to the top and bottom of the tag, and then die cut several of the Wonderful Butterflies by Impression Obsession.  I always keep extra butterflies die cut, to use when I need just a touch of something on a card or tag. 

The sentiment was included in the stamp set, and a ribbon was added at the top of the tag.  I hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day, and celebrate responsibly.  See you soon.

Mindy

Succeed

Hello friends. Thanks for joining me today,  I have an inspirational card for you combining a great AngieGirl stamp along with Copic coloring.

 

As I mentioned earlier, I have just recently ordered my first stamps from Unity Stamp Company.  I have been a fan of the AngieGirl stamps by Angie Blom for quite awhile. I am a visitor of the blog at Unity, and have loved these girl stamps for ages, yet hadn't broken down and ordered any until recently. The stamp used today is Bernadette Girl  .

I colored the image with Copic markers and then edged the image with  chalk ink around the outside.  I then mounted it to the front of my card using foam mounting tape and tied a twine bow at the top for some interest. I forgot to mention that the wonderful saying was also included with the beautiful image.

This card was very easy to color and assemble, and can be done in a very short amount of time.  Thank you for joining me today for this quick card.

Hello . . . and Thank You!

First of all, I want to thank all my followers for supporting Classy Cards 'n Such and the wonderful design team I worked with during the online store closing sale. I am happy to announce that the closing sale has been extended.

Store closing sale extended to March 5th! 53% off all items!!

We have had a fantastic response on our store closing sale!   However, we still have many great items that need a new home.   We are extending the sale to Sunday, March 5th!  

I hope you can pick up a few supplies at a really terrific price!

 And now on to today's post:

 

I recently ordered and received a few of the Angie Girls stamps from Unity Stamp Company.  I have viewed many of them over the years, but have never purchased any of them.  Now, I have three to play with, and they are so much fun to work with.

I started by stamping the Julie Girl stamp then coloring her with my Copic and Clean Color Real Brush markers.  After attaching the panel to the right side of the base card, I added a strip of crystals and lace from Prima called Say It With Crystals. A banner with the sentiment included was stamped and attached to the card front using Glue dots to give the card some dimension.

Thanks for joining me today, have a good one!

Mindy

* I entered this card in the Unity Girl {show&tell} challenge

Thanks A Bunch

This is the last card posting for my time on the Classy Cards 'n Such Design Team. Mindy here, and I thought a Thank You card would be appropriate for my final card.

 

I started by stamping the Coneflowers from Impression Obsession on a piece of watercolor paper and coloring with watercolor markers.  When it was dry, I ran it through my embossing machine with the Daisy Flourish Embossing Folder from Crafts Too!  I layered it on my card front, and then die cut the sentiment, Thanks by Elizabeth Crafts Designs along with a layer of thin craft foam to give the card some dimension.

I have really enjoyed my time with Beverly and the design team, working with the products she carried in the Classy Cards 'n Such Online Store.  The store is closing on February 29, 2016 so click on the link to see the wonderful sale prices available on the remaining product, and thank you for your comments and support during our many challenges.

I hope you will continue to visit my blog. I will continue sharing cards, tags, my art journal, and other mixed-media projects I work on.  If you have any questions on techniques or products used, please ask.   I will be happy to answer any questions I can.  Until tomorrow. . . . . .

 

A Rose is A Rose

Welcome friends, Mindy with you to share my sample card for our Weekly Challenge # 125- Aqua and Coral, make a card or project using the colors aqua and coral.  I started with a background patterned paper from the pad Time to Flourish by Graphic 45. The pad is broken down by months so that you can make your own calendar or celebrate an occasion by-the-month.

 

It just so happens that the paper for June, my birth month, is aqua with coral and pink roses on it. My favorite flower has always been the rose, so I featured one of the Framed Floral Stamps by Stacy Stamps, Rose to be the focal image of my card.  I stamped it on watercolor paper and colored it with watercolor markers. I was able to shade the roses to give them depth and dimension using the watercolor markers and a water pen. I also die cut a party bow and shaded it with the coral color.

To complete my card, I added a tiny tag with the sentiment, Hello, stamped from the Floral Vintage Labels Two by Just Rite Stamps and a few Poinsettia Dew Drops from The Robin's Nest.  I hope you will join in with your submission to make this final card challenge one of the best!

An InLinkz Link-up

Respect

 

 Mindy with you today to share an inspirational card that is quick and easy to make for many occasions.  I started by dry embossing the background with the Lattice Embossing Folder by Crafts Too!  I then die cut several layers of oval dies, Oval Regalia and Fleur de Elegance both by Spellbinders, and layered them to make a background and sentiment spot.  An angel die was also added, along with the sentiment stamped using the Just the Right Words Stamp by Just Rite Stamps.  A few Water Dew Drops   from The Robin's Nest were added for the finishing touch.

Cards need not be extensive and expensive to look elegant and classy.  With just a few die cuts and embellishment you can create a lovely card. 

Puppies Galore

There is nothing cuter than a load of puppies. Hi friends, Mindy here to share with you my sample card for this week's challenge #124 Colors, Stitching, and Pattern.  The inspiration photo for this
challenge is so cute, I was inspired to use the colors and pattern of the puppies to create my own passel of pups.

 

 I decided to try and use up some leftover paper scraps I had on my work desk for this card. I started by cutting two of the Distressed Addington Collage Dies by Memory Box and anchoring them to opposite corners of my card.  From the same paper, I cut a label die from the Label Eighteen Dies by Spellbinders and adhered it to the card front.  From watercolor paper, I die cut the Wheelbarrow by Impression Obsession and used watercolor markers to color it. While it was drying, I used a weenie dog die, to cut lots of pups from various papers inspired by the color photo.  I then inserted them into the wheelbarrow and adhered it to the label die.

To complete this card, I added a pre-printed sentiment label from the Say Aloha paper pad by Kaisercraft and a few decorative pearls. I hope you can join us for this challenge, there are so many possibilities for inspiration in the wonderful photo.

An InLinkz Link-up

Poppy Fence

Greetings, friends. Mindy with you today to share a card I really love. I have always loved poppy flowers, and when I saw this framed Poppy by Stacy Stamps, I knew I had to purchase it.

 

 To start my card, I stamped the design on watercolor paper and colored and shaded the design with watercolor markers.  While it was drying, I embossed a rectangle of metallic bronze card stock with the Daisy and Swirl Embossing Folder by Crafts Too! for the background. I then adhered a doily die before adhering the framed poppy picture on top, raised up with foam adhesive to give dimension.

To complete my card, I stamped a sentiment from the Hope and Love Vintage Labels Eight and Nine by Just Rite Stamps, a Medium Butterfly by Impression Obsession and a few sequins cut from the Sequins Die-Namics die from My Favorite Things.

Enjoy your week, and be sure to join us for our weekly card challenge on our blog.

Blossoms Birthday

Our challenge this week at Classy Cards 'n Such is Lilacs and Lace.  Mindy here, with my interpretation of the inspirational photos from our blog.  I die cut a few tiny flowers and formed them into what I think a lilac blossom would look like, I have never seen one in person.  They don't grow well here where I live in Texas.

 

 I found an intricate lace doily that I had die cut previously, and adhered it to a background paper that fit my card base.  Then using the Hummingbird by Stacy Stamps, I stamped the bird and flower bunch on some watercolor paper and colored in with watercolor markers. While the watercolor was drying, I die cut two passes of the Tiny Flowers die cut by Impression Obsession and cupped them on my Paper Blossoms Craft Molding Mat available in the Classy Cards Online Store.  I hand-cut three shapes that look like a cluster of lilac, and then used my Art Institute Dries Clear Adhesive to adhere each flower. While the clusters were drying, I die cut around my stamping with a Labels Eighteen by Spellbinders then attached the three lilac blossoms.

Some lace, pearls, and rhinestones were added for bling, and the sentiment from Hope and Love Vintage Labels Eight and Nine from Just Rite Stamps were added to complete the card.  I hope you have enjoyed my card, and will visit with us again for more card inspiration.

February Birthday

Good afternoon, and welcome to another sample card from Classy Cards 'n Such. Mindy with you to share a birthday card suitable for a February Birthday. I hope you will enjoy it, and leave me a note. I enjoy comments from everyone.

 

 My card background started with a sheet of watercolor paper that I lightly misted with water then embossed with the Smitten Embossing Folder by Anna Griffin. I then misted it again so it was wet all over, and tapped some of the Alizarin Crimson Color Burst and Merlot Color Burst from Ken Oliver Crafts.  When the card was dry, I accented the hearts on it with the Pearl Pen- Glitter Pink by Viva Decor and let it dry before adhering it to my card front.

I then die cut the amazing calligraphy die, Happy Birthday by Elizabeth Crafts Designs along with a thin sheet of craft foam to give the die stability and strength before adhering it to the card front. A fabric bow and small hearts, along with a butterfly die cut from Medium Butterflies by Impression Obsession were added to complete the card.

You still have time to join our weekly challenge over at the Classy Cards 'n Such blog.  I hope you will join our fun!

Love Is . . . .

Hi friends, Mindy here with a sample card of our challenge here at Classy Cards 'n Such.  The challenge is Love Makes the World Go Round,  using pink and/or red, with white and hearts. My card uses all of the above and I hope you like it.

 

 I started with a white card base and embossed it with the Dots Embossing Folder by Crafts Too!  I embossed another white stock sheet with the Roses Embossing Folder by Brenda Walton and Sizzix and fussy cut around the flowers before attaching to the card borders with foam tape. These roses were colored with the Clear Glitter Pen by Wink of Stella to give them a bit of sparkle. I then stamped and colored the large flower from Floral Vintage Labels Two by Just Rite Stampers, fussy cut around and adhered to card front with foam tape.

The sentiment was die cut along with a piece of thin craft foam to give it stability and strength before adhering it to the card front, along with heart stamping here and there.  I hope you will take the time while creating your Valentine cards to enter our weekly challenge.  There is a nice prize for the winner, and great prices on many of our supplies.

Love You, Sweet Pea

Hi friends, Mindy with you today sharing a Valentine's Day themed card using one of the NEW Stacy Stamps floral images available in the Classy Cards 'n Such Online Store, as my focal point and several leftovers from previous cards as accents.

 

 

I started with the Ornate Frame Embossing Folder by Darice as my background. I then stamped the Sweet Pea stamp from Stacy Stamps on white card stock and colored it with watercolor markers before adhering it with foam tape to give dimension to the front of my card. I then added a banner stamped with a Valentine message from my stash, and decorated the card front with the inside remaining hearts from my Heart of Hearts die from Impression Obsession that I used on my previous challenge card. I also added a few sequins here and there to give the card a little sparkle.

I usually save my negative images from the die-cuts to use in future cards. I love to use, reuse, and recycle various embellishments and use them in my card making when I can. Have a wonderful day, and be sure to check the Classy Cards 'n Such Online Store for special prices available this week.

Vintage Valentine

Good Morning, friends. Our challenge this week at Classy Cards 'n Such is using Neutrals for your card or project.  Neutral or natural colors are usually considered earth-tone colors. Using this monotone color palette is so much fun, and really makes for a classy looking card. I hope you enjoy this beautiful card suitable for weddings, birthday's and even Valentine's Day!

 

 I think my card looks vintage with the white and off white shades of card stock I used for the layers and dies. I used four different heart-shaped dies for the Valentine theme of my card.

I used:
Heart Flourish by Impression Obsession,
Heart of Hearts  by Impression Obsession,
Conversation Heart Block by Impression Obsession, and
Love You Heart by Impression Obsession.

Using the darker beige card stock I cut the Heart of Hearts die, and let the light beige stock of my card base show through.  All of the little innies pieces were saved for additional add-ons later.  I then cut the Heart Flourish and Love You Heart dies and adhered them over the top of the background to cover the front of the card.  I used my favorite clear glue, Art Institute Dries Clear Adhesive, to adhere the many layers of die-cuts and tiny heart shapes, then added foam tape to the background stock to give the card dimension. A heart shaped pearl button was attached to the center of the Heart Flourish to finish the card.

I hope you have enjoyed this card.  It shows that with just a few dies, a few different shades of card stock, and an embellishment or two, you can make a classy card look elegant and festive.

An InLinkz Link-up

Morning Glory

Welcome friends, Mindy with you sharing a watercolor card using one of the New Framed Flowers stamps by Stacy Stamps.

 

I stamped the image Morning Glory by Stacy Stamps on watercolor paper and colored the image with some Copic and some watercolor markers.  I then embossed accent lines around the image with my Scor-Buddy scoring tool and bone folder, accenting the edges of my watercolor paper. I then adhered a background paper embossed with the Mini Fans Embossing Folder by Crafts Too to my card base, then my Morning Glory image as the top layer.  A single layer bow and tag with sentiment from God's Purpose Stamp Set by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps completed the card.

I love these little watercolor images, they make great accents for classy cards and there are several to choose from.  Have a great week, and create a card to join in our weekly challenge.

Button Bouquet

 

Button, button. . . . Whose got the button? We do!  The theme for this weeks challenge at Classy Cards 'n Such is Buttons, all shapes and colors.  Mindy here, and when I saw this weeks inspiration photo on the calendar page, I wanted to make a flower arrangement from buttons.

I started by assembling several layers and colors of buttons suitable for my card. I die cut the Lattice background from card stock and one from craft foam, to build it up and give the card dimension. I embossed a background card with the Mini Fans Embossing Folder by Craft's Too and adhered the lattice oval to the background with Art Institute Dries Clear Adhesive. I then die-cut the Bamboo Shoots die and adhered it before adding my button flowers to the arrangement.  Two Medium Butterflies from Impression Obsessions were added with button bodies, and a birthday sentiment completed the card.  A twine bow was added for a bit of sparkle.

I hope you have been inspired by my card, and will join us in our challenge this week.

An InLinkz Link-up

Birthday Wishes

 

Love and Best Wishes to you in this New Year!  Mindy with you today, sharing a bright and cheerful card for that special birthday celebration.

I started my card by die cutting the medium balloon from the Balloons die cut set by Impression Obsession from thin craft foam, then adhering it to my clear stamping block.  I then inked it up, just like a rubber stamp, with a pale grey ink and stamped it on some white card stock. I then colored each one with my Copic markers and shaded each one with a darker color.  I then stamped the Flower Gift Boxes, also from Impression Obsession, and fussy cut the top box with bow to add beneath the balloon bouquet.

The background paper used on the card base, and Happy Birthday sentiment were both from the Say Aloha paper pad from Kaisercraft.   This card with the bright and cheerful colors of the balloons, could also be used as an entry in our weekly challenge on the Classy Cards 'n Such blog.  Our theme this week is making a card with Bright and Cheerful colors. Hope to see your entry soon.

Little Butterflies

The theme this week for our challenge at Classy Cards 'n Such is using Bright and Cheerful Colors. Mindy here with a card where the bright colors inspired me to  feature butterflies in all the cheerful colors.

 

My card started with a colorful background paper from the Say Aloha paper pad by Kaisercraft. This pad has so many beautiful papers to choose from, and also has coordinating tags and sentiment strips to use on your cards. I chose the coordinating tag for the focal image, and mounted it on a die cut from my Spellbinders stash. Then, from card stock scraps, I die cut Medium Butterflies from Impression Obsession in all the bright colors and adhered them to the card base with Art Institute Dries Clear Adhesive.  I then added a tiny bit of glitter to each butterfly body to give the card a little sparkle.

As the card suggests, Enjoy the Little Things in life, no matter how small.  Have a great week, and join our challenge with a card that celebrates all the bright colors.

An InLinkz Link-up

Best Friends

 

Best Friends bring out the best in you!  How true is that?  Mindy here to share a friendship card that is simple to do, with a few patterned papers a couple of stamps, and a die cut or two.

I started with a card base and matched one patterned paper and two solids to it.  I then trimmed down a half inch at a time or more, to make my layers that the stamped image and die cut would be adhered to.  I stamped the flower cluster with banner from the Heartfelt Creation set Majestic Morning Accents Pre-Cut Set, and colored it with my markers.  I stamped a sentiment from the Floral Vintage Labels Two by Just Rite Stamps on the banner then fussy cut out the image and mounted it to my card front with Joy! Foam Pads Small.  I also die cut a butterfly from my collection of dies, and shaded the wings to match one of my solid card stocks.

Have a wonderful week, and join us again for another beautiful classy card.

Beat the Blues

It's the beginning of a New Year 2016, and time to begin a new chapter in your book of life.  Mindy here, with a frosty look at one way to beat those wintertime blues, by keeping yourself cozy and warm.

 

 My card for this week's challenge at Classy Cards 'n Such blog is my interpretation of our theme, Winter Blues.  One way to keep warm and cozy is to wear your gloves or mittens when your hands are cold.  I knew I wanted to feature my mittens, so I started by cutting my mittens die and adding background layers to feature them prominently.

I used the following dies available in the Classy Cards 'n Such online store:
Stacked Mittens by Poppystamps
Fleur de Elegance by Spellbinders and
Oval Regalia by Spellbinders

The background of my card base was embossed with the Juliet Damask embossing folder by Anna Griffin, before adhering the die cut backgrounds with 1/2" Scor-Tape and Joy! Foam Pads Large.  I colored and decorated the details of my mittens with a glitter gel pen, and tied a simple satin bow to match my colored layers.  The sentiment was stamped on a die from the Oval Regalia set with a stamp from the Just the Right Words by Becca Feeken stamp set from Just Rite Clear Stamps.

I hope you have enjoyed my card and will consider entering our challenge with a card of your own. Hope to see you soon.

An InLinkz Link-up