Splitcoast Tutorial: Slimline Mini Book

This week's tutorial over on Splitcoast is a really cool Slimline Mini Book! I had so much fun with mine.

I started by searching the Google for paintings of mothers with children, and cropped them to about 3" x 8" so I could print 3 to a page. 

Once they were trimmed out, I brushed the edges with ink, then every panel got a little stenciling, a little stamping, and a little bit of brayering or gel printed white paint. 

I layered each panel onto a book page (not to worry - this is a homeschool history book with a broken binding and missing pages - not resalable, and my kids were happy to donate it to art) and then onto the pages of my mini book.

These sentiments are from my Mom Life clear set from Impression Obsession - there were just enough sentiments for all the pages!

It was really fun to look through all the paintings! There are some beautiful ones... Mary Cassatt has always been one of my favorite artists, and I included a few of hers.

These sentiments... so relatable! This book is made with 80# cardstock which is mostly doubled, so it's very sturdy.

These are the back and front covers (book laying open flat) - a couple of favorites.

Before I adhered the covers, I used a little washi tape to bind the edges of the pages together. They're glued back to back, which leaves all the folds exposed at the spine. It's a little stronger this way.

Here's that sweet back page affirmation for whoever needs it today!

Cheers!

Cloud Edger Stencil set - Sun and Moonscape video!

Everyone's talking about cloud stencils! I received the Cloud Edger stencil set from A Colorful Life Designs a couple of weeks ago and sat down with it for a long play session... I got a lot of questions so I put a video together of some basic tips, and the technique I used to make these cards! 

Here is the video - hope you enjoy this overview of the basics, and a fun technique to try!

You can find the cloud stencils here, and please use my coupon code DinaFan10 if you order - you'll receive a 10% discount on your entire cart: 

Cloud Edger stencil set

I mentioned the Big Rays stencil in the video, but there are actually quite a few different Ray stencils to choose from - you can see them all HERE!

These are the cards I made in the video for a closer look, as well as some other samples. I'll link the products down below.

The other cards I made were more sunny, so this moonscape was fun and different. I used the Big Rays stencil, and the circles from the Marvelous Masks - Ornaments set to make the moon.

Here's another moon, in different colors... this one was done with the embossing folder, but not embossed, and I'm not sure what I did exactly. It may be a print from the inked up folder, or it may be a water print on an inked background...? It's been tucked away for a while!

You saw this one being made in the video - I was going to do magenta, but I could not find the brush on my desk! Purple and orange have an interesting transition, and I love it this way too.

This was another inked and misted print, but this base went through the die cutting machine to be embossed. I love the contrast of the uninked rays.

The ink I used on all of these cards is the white All-Purpose Ink from Imagine, which is a permanent ink - it has a little bit of a pearly finish to it, and it's very convenient for highlights and splatter effects. A white acrylic paint or gesso would work fine as well.

Here are the other supplies I used:

Taylored Expressions: Walking on Sunshine Embossing Folder Blender Brushes

Impression Obsession cling stamps: Be The Light

Darkness Stars The Light

Broken World See the Light

Impression Obsession Hybrid inks

It has been amazing to see the response to this set - if you have it, please share a link to a project you've made, I'd love to see! Better yet, join us and share in the ACLD Fans Facebook group! 

Impression Obsession - Die Cut Obsession

There are so many amazing dies at Impression Obsession - this special Monday feature lets them have the spotlight! We hope you're inspired!

I chose a simple card for today - I have a floral background that is watercolored on Canva-Paper. The frame I used is from this set: 

All-in-One Frames - Rectangles 2

The Joy word die is triple layered, which allowed me to hang it over the edge of the frame for a little more depth.

Joy

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for die cutting inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details! Have a great week!

Impression Obsession - Old is New

With such a huge collection of wonderful stamps from so many artists, sometimes the older stamps in the Impression Obsession catalog find their way out of the spotlight. We don't want them to be forgotten, so we like to feature them regularly. We hope you're inspired! 

I've got a beach theme on the brain this weekend - it's probably a sign that I need a vacation! I picked out an older catalog sample from 2017 - this Sea Horse is one of Tara Caldwell's designs, but there are a few to choose from in our catalog HERE. 

Here's a closer look at the image - it is colored with Copics and dye inks on Canva-Paper - the surface of this paper is so great for mixing mediums - see there in the background where I lifted out the dye ink after splattering in a little water? Love that. My background panel is a gel print and I used a variety of circle dies to create those bubbles.

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details!

 

Splitcoast Tutorial: Kissing with a Twist

I had a couple of tutorial slots this month that I wasn't able to fill, so guess who gets to fill them! I have a list of tutorials from our archives that need video updates, so I chose one from 2008 - it's called Kissing with a Twist, and it's a classic kissing technique where you twist a secondary stamp on a solid background for a unique texture.

I was able to get 3 cards from a single inking, so that's my addition to Beate's tutorial. I used a solid stamp from Impression Obsession (D6144 Solid Rectangle), a small floral stamp from Penny Black, silhouettes by Dina Wakley, and sentiments from Unity Stamp Co. 

Check the tutorial page for the video - you'll see me make all 3 of these backgrounds in just about 2 minutes! This second one was a bonus using the leftover ink on the stamp and an uninked floral stamp.

For this background I misted the stamp to lift the leftover ink. I love this silhouette - but I kind of want to put a clown hat on it.

Hope you're having a good week! I had some big changes of plans that have got my head very full, but we'll muddle through! Cheers!

Impression Obsession - Die Cut Obsession

There are so many amazing dies at Impression Obsession - this special Monday feature lets them have the spotlight! We hope you're inspired!

This was a summer catalog card I hadn't shared - the focal panel is one of our Stitched Pinked Circles, which is a great nesting set for layering with regular circles or showing off an image like this Spring Bicycle! I love this sentiment... it's not true today, but I love it anyway!

Stitched Pinked Circles

My background is just made up of strips of scrap paper - my favorite way to build a background!

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for die cutting inspiration - see the I.O. blog for all the details! Have a great week!

Impression Obsession Fall Winter Release Hop Day 3!

The Impression Obsession team is showcasing new Fall and Winter images that are available NOW! 

I hope you've enjoyed our previews this week - what's been your favorite?

CC412 Cover-a-Card Mulled
C13924 Season Each Day
DIE868-Z Plaid Tag

One more collection in my release - I did a little word play on "season's greetings" and included several stamps with spices! Many of these can be used year round as well, like the background and sentiment above.

H13920 Mulled Cider
C13944 Stay Strong
3225-LG Tracks

I used a splashy faux watercolor technique for the card above where you ink up a stamp in your stamp positioner, mist with water and then drop the lid down onto the card so the ink splats... in case it's unclear, it's a cup of mulled cider! It is a fun technique.

I thought the 'strong' sentiment was a clever pairing... maybe...? I love how this image turned out, and the top view of the teacup. And the heart at the end of the cinnamon stick, of course.

H13920 Mulled Cider

The Anise stamp has 2 of the stars on it, and I stamped them several times to fill the space. I love how the colored shadows make them pop off the card!

D13919 Anise
C13929 Simple Joys
3225-LG Tracks
DIE343-T Hill Landscape Layers

Be sure to check out the other designers' blogs for inspiration - you'll find a full list of their names on the I.O. Blog! You're not required to comment on every post, but the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win - each one of us has a $25 gift certificate to give away! Winners will be drawn Sunday July 19th at midnight central time and will be announced on Tuesday July 21st on the IO blog, so be sure to check back for your name!