Easter Parade Part 2 (Projects 32-34)

I'm just a few weeks late with getting these posted.  I've been in a bit of a funk lately and haven't felt like posting.  But here are a few more Easter cards involving one of my newest crafty obsessions - little dies.  These cards are inspired by the wonder scene created by Kittie.  I've been lurking on her blog: kittiekraft


This one is the first card I made creating a scene with dies.

 

The base is watercolor paper that I colored with Distress Inks.  All the pieces were colored with chalk, except the eggs. The chalk has a shimmer to it.  The eggs were stamped with brilliance ink and colored with Spica glitter pens.  The egg stamp is by Studio G.  To create the frame, I used a Nesties oval die.  I actually cut the frame before I started creating the scene so I could use it to make sure everything was in the frame.  I stamped the images (by My Favorite Things) in the corners with Versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder.  Then I inked it up with Distress Ink in Dried Marigold.

Here are some close-ups:

Yep, I put a single micro bead in the center of the flowers. 

Here is the next one.

For this one, I colored the sky, grass, and flowers with Distress Ink - Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass, Mowed Lawn, Pine Needles, Dried Marigold, Spun Sugar, and Worn Lipstick.  The eggs were stamped with Brillance Ink and embossed with clear embossing powder.  I then colored them with chalk.  The basket, bunny and chick were colored with chalk too.  The frame was down with a Nesties label die and the stamp is by My Favorite Things. 
Here are some close-ups:

 

 
And here is the last one:

Yep, that's a squirrel with the Easter basket.  I gave this one to my mom's friend that got her involved in wild life rehab.  I used Distress Inks on the sky, grass and flowers: Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass, Pine Needles, Mowed Lawn, Shaded Lilac, Ripe Persimmon, and Peacock Feather (I think).  The eggs were done the same as on the last one.

Here are the close-ups:

Dies:
Flowers & stems (card 1) - Cheery-Lynn Designs
Leaves (card 1) - Poppy Stamps
Basket - Poppy Stamps
Bunnies - Impression Obsession
Chicks - Memory Box
Grass - My Favorite Things
Stems & leaves (cards 2 & 3) - Poppy Stamps
Flowers (cards 2 & 3) - Impression Obsession
Squirrel - Impression Obsession

Since I used snippets for all the dies, I'm entering this one over at the Playground - Pixies Snippets Playground Week 174

Thanks for stopping by and please come again.

Swinging Tire Swing (Project 15)

I interrupting my Winterfest recap to post an Easter Card.  Mainly because I used my March received kit and I want to be able to link up to the detailed directions here when I post the card over at Artsy Inkers.  Don't worry, I share the rest of the new techniques I picked up during Winterfest in the next couple of post.  And before I start with today's project, I want to put in another plug for Artsy Inkers, Jan/ Far North (here's her blog Far North Designs) is hosting a 3 week Alcohol Inks technique challenge at Artsy Inkers.  We just started week 2 and I've learned a ton. 

Now on to the card.  When I got the kit from my swap partner and saw the tree image with the tire swing, I knew I wanted to make the swing move.

 

What I ended up doing is a variation on a spinner card.  But instead of creating a channel across the card, you just make a slightly larger hole.  Don't worry.  I'll explain.

 

First, you will need a round pop dot and 2 pennies to do this. 

 

Step 1

I colored the background with Distress Inks.  I used Salty Ocean and Tumbled Glass for the sky and Mowed Lawn for the grass.

 

In this picture, you can see where I traced the pop dot on the paper.  I had also traced the tree so I would know where my hole was going to go.  You can see in the picture that I started cutting out the circle by cutting a line down the middle.  I wish I had a circle die that was the right size, but the smallest circle die I have cuts a whole bigger than the penny, which won't work.

Step 2

Make sure the hole is a bit bigger than the pop dot, but not bigger than a penny.

See, the pop dot fits in the hole. 

Step 3

Attach a penny to either side of the pop dot. 

You can kinda see the penny through the whole in this one.

And here is a side view once both pennies are attached.  I actually had to pull on of the pennies off and make the hole a little bigger because it wasn't rocking well enough.


Step 4

Attached the piece you want to swing to the penny.

Step 5

Use pop dots or foam squares to attach the image that is going to hide you rocking mechanism.  I actually cut pieces from the pop dot sheet.  You know the pieces left behind when you remove the pop dot from the sheet.  Oh, and before I added the tree, I stenciled some clouds.  I made the stencil using a Purple Onion Design stamp (it is actually a speech bubble) and dabbed on Hero Art's Unicorn white.

Actually, I may have done the stenciling after attaching the tree.  I also added the squirrel to the tire.

And I decided that the tire was too high up.  So I pulled it off the penny and added an extension to the "rope."  The added bit of paper is a bit messy but I suspect that I'm the only one who will notice.

I also die cut grass, which I colored with Distress Ink in Mowed Lawn and Pine Needles.  I wet the paper well and added some salt for even more texture. The die is by My Favorite Things.  I kinda wish I had put the layer closest to the tree on before the tree and done it flush to the page.  Oh well. I also added the second squirrel and the Easter basket.  The basket is a Studio G stamp.  I colored it with Spica glitter pens and Copic markers and added Distress Ink in the sky colors so I wouldn't have to fussy cut the inside area of the basket.  You can see in the last photo that the tire swing is in a different position than in the first picture.  If you shake the card, the tire swing moves back and forth.

I actually had to trim the grass under the swing because it was too high.  The tree, squirrels and acorns were from my received kit, are Fawn Lawn stamps and were colored with Copics.  And they were fussy cut.  Those squirrels and acorns were a pain.

The kit also included another of the trees and some bunnies, so I think I will be making another swinging tire swing card with bunnies.

I am going to enter this over at the Mixed Media Challenge.



Thanks for stopping by and please come again.