Paper Crafter's Library

Today on the Paper Crafter’s Library blog, we’re continuing our weekly featured artist spotlight whereby each week we spotlight a different artist/designer in the paper crafting & mixed media world and introduce you to their fabulous work.

Today we’re thrilled to welcome – Jean Martin

Before we show you her fabulous projects, let’s get to know her a little bit more…

Hi! My name is Jean Martin and I live in New York with my husband Ren and our 3 cats. I tried my hand at Scrapbooking in 2009 but did not keep at it for long. In 2010, I discovered card making and blogging. I fell in love with the craft as well as the wonderful people in blogland. I haven’t looked back since and have been very fortunate to be a part of a few amazing design teams. My style is a combination of different styles. In fact, I don’t think there’s a category for it. Lol. It’s been evolving on me ever since I started card making. Lately though, I’ve been calling my style Clean and Simple Shabby Chic. I love to stamp and make my own background papers. I also love to make layered cards. Recently, I’ve been trying out 3D projects. I’m learning and growing in this craft every single day and I hope my readers enjoy what I put out there. I was thrilled to be invited as a Featured Guest Designer here in Paper Crafters Library. I have a card and a tutorial for you today. I hope you’ll enjoy it! 

Blog: http://stampin-scrapper.blogspot.com/

Card Project

I have a card for you today and I would like to take you through a small tutorial on how I create my cards. I love cards with a lot of layers and soft pretty colors. This one has a whole lot of those in store. So sit back and I hope you enjoy this.

Here’s a close up of my card to give you a sense of how many layers I used and what basic steps I took to create it.

{1} Stamp floral image from PTI’s Mini Blooms Stamp Set with Versamark Ink.

{2} Heat emboss with pink embossing powder.

{3} Ink edges with Hero Arts Soft Pool Ink.

{4} Stamp the clock face image from PTI’s Hands of Time Stamp Set in Melon Berry.

{5} Stamp the numbers in Hero Arts Soft Granite. Dab some white acrylic paint around the clock face.

{6} Die cut the clock face with PTI’s Clock Face Die and attach with foam tape.

{7} Die cut the clock hands from PTI’s Hands of Time Die and the belly band from PTI’s Photofinish Strips Die Collection

{8} Stamp the sentiment Make a Wish from PTI’s Everyday Photofinishers Stamp Set in Versamark Ink and heat emboss with white embossing powder.

{9} Adhere the clock hands with some foam tape and the belly band with a strip of adhesive.

{10} Adhere the decorated panel onto main card base.

Here’s a close up of my card and all the little details in it. I know there are a lot of steps that went into making it. But in the end, I think that a card that has a lot of details and was lovingly put together will really be appreciated by its recipient.

I hope this has inspired you to try making more “layered” cards. All the effort is totally worth it in the end. Besides, it allows you to spend more crafty time in your craft room!

Supplies (All supplies are from PTI unless otherwise noted)

Cardstock – Kraft, Vintage Cream
Stamps – Mini Blooms, Hands of Time, Everyday Photofinishers
Dies – Hands of Time, Everyday Photofinishers
Inks – Berry Sorbet, Soft Pool, Soft Granite (Hero Arts Shadow Inks), Versamark
Others – pink, white embossing powder (Stampendous), white acrylic paint dabber (Ranger)

We hope you have enjoyed today’s projects courtesy of Jean Martin.  Also, be sure to stop by Jean’s blog to see even more of her beautiful work (and let her know we sent you).

Today on the Paper Crafter’s Library blog, we’re continuing our weekly featured artist spotlight whereby each week we spotlight a different artist/designer in the paper crafting & mixed media world and introduce you to their fabulous work.

Today we’re thrilled to welcome – Amy Wanford

Before we show you her fabulous projects, let’s get to know her a little bit more…

Hey! I’m Amy Wanford, also known as Aimes. I’m a tea, toast and  paper-crafting addict from England and currently live in Sheffield with  my fiancé. I’ve always loved getting my craft on with various mediums and I discovered the joys of stamps and ink in 2008 and started my blog, Crafting Confessions in 2009.  I’ve been lucky enough to have my projects published in magazines such as Paper Crafts and CARDS and serve on design teams. I currently design for Clearly Besotted Stamps, Uniko Studio and the challenge site, CASE Study. The highlight of my crafting adventures so far has been designing stamp sets and seeing them being manufactured for purchase.

When it comes to creating, I’m a card maker and one that gravitates  towards a clean and simple style (CAS). CAS and graphic designs make my  heart skip a beat. I love to think outside of the box and use a product  for a purpose it maybe wasn’t intended for, or use items around the house and incorporate them into my designs. I also  get a real kick out of creating interactive cards: it’s like creating  magic before the recipient’s very eyes!

I’m delighted to be featured here on Paper Crafter’s Library and hope you’ll like my projects.

So, let’s get straight to it!

Card Projects

First up is a card that we as card-makers all struggle to create at one  point or another: sympathy cards. If I know the recipient well, then  I’ll brave a bit of colour in my design – otherwise I tend to stick with neutrals.

I find that vellum is a fantastic material to work with (and not just for sympathy cards), I honestly don’t use it enough! On this project I’ve emphasised the calming nature of that beautiful water lily stamp by embossing it on to vellum and using pencil crayons on the reverse to add colour. The result of shading on the reverse is a more muted, subtle splash of colour. Vellum is also used to mat and layer my focal panel onto an aqua card base. Using vellum means it will coordinate perfectly; acting as a lighter shade of whatever card I use as my card base.

Supplies

Card 1
Stamps: Water Lily and Sentiment from the set ‘With Love’ (Clearly Besotted Stamps)
Ink: London Fog (Memento)/Versarmark (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Vellum, White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Detail White Embossing Powder (Stampendous)/Canvas and  Linen Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Pencil Crayons (Craft Supply)

Next is a bolder project that hits two trends on the scene right now: feathers and gold!

My feathers were cut using my Cricut Mini from white cardstock. I like  to bulk cut embellishments from white cardstock as I can add  coordinating colour to them later for future projects using alcohol ink  markers. So these feathers were originally white, but I coloured them with a black marker before dabbing my Versamark pad over the tips of them. I then sprinkled gold embossing powder over the inked tips and melted the powder with a heat gun to create this fun, trendy  embellishments. Tip: Make sure the alcohol ink is dry before sprinkling your embossing powder over the clear ink, otherwise it will stick all over the feather!

Supplies
Card 2
Stamps: Sentiment from the set, ‘Label Love: Thank You’ (Uniko Studio)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)/Versamark (Tsukineko)
Cardstock: White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Black Alcohol Promarker (Letraset)/Gold Embossing Powder  (Stampendous)/Canvas and Linen Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Feather  from Southwest Cartridge, Cricut Mini (Cricut)

We hope you have enjoyed today’s projects courtesy of Amy Wanford. Also, be sure to stop by Amy’s blog to see even more of her beautiful work (and let her know we sent you).