Tonic Studios | Home card using Patterned Panels dies

Today, just a simple card I made using the Budding Vine and the Floral Blooms Patterned Panels from Tonic Studios.

I used the Floral Blooms outside die - a tiny scalloped rectangle - to create the base. Die cut two identical pieces and then i took one and score on the short side about 1cm or 1/2" from the top.

On the second panel, I die cut the bottom to create an inverted V shape using the same die.

I used Distress ink to colour the background and the Budding Vine and then i trimmed it a bit to be more like an organic shape of vine detail. The heart is die cut out of vellum paper twice and layers together with bakers twine, and the sentiment die cut out of black card using the Home Together set.

Those patterned panels are so versatile!

Paperartsy | Guest post

You know I love Paperartsy products so its always a joy to be asked to do a Guest Blog Post for them. This time the them was resists!

Click here to see the full post at their blog with detailed instructions.

I hope you like it.

Well Done card

At the minute I am really enjoying three crafting products: the new Tim Holtz Bigz dies from Sizzix, the distress stains and, of course, my stamps. All of which can be found in this card. The heart is one of the Movers and shapers dies that has been stained using the Peeled Paint distress stain. The large message is from Big Sentiments and the little one from Punchable labels.

Anyone going to Ally Pally this weekend? I am still unsure whether I will be able to go cause we are having our bathroom renovated, and if it is finished by the weekend some spring cleaning will be needed on the weekend. Of course I would rather go to a lovely craft show - in my opinion, the best craft show in the uk - rather than be cleaning, but, you know how it goes!

Products I am loving right now

Honestly, I did not expect to love them so much. But I do. they are part of my essential tools now, so easy, quick to add colour to chipboard, card... You can find them here.

The Sizzix Tim Holtz tag die. Fabulous!

Movers and shapers. They are a great addition to the Bigz family. Butterflies and Hearts alike. Hopefully i will take some photos of the tags i did recently to share here.

In other news, we are having our bathroom renovated. I am a bit stressed out and so is Wasabi, but it seems that he seeks comfort by sitting and sleeping on my lap. I can't complain then.

More distress cards

This one card I made last year for an article on Cardmaking and Papercraft. I love the look of this clean distress strongly influenced by Jennifer McGuire.  Love her!


Anyway, there is a good reason why I haven't posted often and it is not so simple. I have decided not to be so involved in the craft the industry meaning that I wont be anymore a full time freelance crafter. For those who like my stamps, do not worry. I will keep those coming. For those who enjoy my articles, do not worry either, I will still do them.


However, I am going to reduce drastically the demos that I will do this year. I will only do couple that were booked last year and I plan to do those. But I wont do any workshops for the foreseeable future. Both this decisions were not that easy to make but I feel I have the need to explore other professional possibilities outside the craft industry and workshops specially require too much of my energy and creativity.


I honestly don't know how often I am going to post cards in this blog as I have no fix plans about it. I may post cards daily for a week and then nothing for the following, something that suits me at the moment. I do plan, however, to keep the Crafty Storage posting regular.


My professional future? Well, I just have an enormous desire to have a go at portrait photography, even though I have strong suspicions on how hard and overcrowded the market is, I just have the need to give it a go. I may fail, but I wont know if I don't try, and right know, I don't feel like I have another option but to try it.

Bon Voyage distress

Another distress card that I did for Cardmaking and Papercraft. I rather like this one. The tag is done by crumpling and inking and spraying a bit and the stamping with a very light colour ink.

The message is one of my Mix and Match sentiments and the Circle is from the Circle tags.

Feeling sick again

More distressing cards that were feature a few issues backs in Cardmaking and Papercraft. I am feeling a bit under the weather today, so I am not feeling very chatty.

By the way, today is Craft TSV over at QVC, so tune in. I am not sure what is in the hours but I am sure it will be packed with products.

Trifold card

For some reason I can't get enough of the distressing inks.

This card was my small contribution to Janey Pye lovely present for her grandma, 90 birthday cards for her 90th birthday.

I am not sure if Grandma will like it, but I really had fun doing this card!

Stamps: Dots, Hero Art Cling; Flowers, Elusive Images; Negative dots on flowers, PaperArtsy; Message, Wording Stamps by Paula Pascual for Personal Impressions.

Even more distressing

This card was one of the cards we did last Thursday at Craftability.

I wanted to show how using one of the circle tags that is a very clean and graphic design, you can in fact achieve a distress look.

Quick and easy

Sometimes there is this idea that quick and easy cards are indeed quick and easy to make. The truth about them, I find, is that they may be quick to make them but not necessarily that easy. Yes, they are not elaborate cards and usually they are not time consuming but a simple card can have elements that are very elaborate, technique and time wise.
But more importantly, for a simple card to work needs a strong design which is much harder to acquire than any technique, yes even the hardest ones, while techniques you can learn by practice, learning design is much harder as is more intuitive and paying attention to design elements around. Basically, it is not something that you can learn in a two hour workshop. You can learn it but it takes a bit longer.

For this card I used one shipping tag, embossed it using one of Tim Holtz embossing folders and then I colored it using distress inks. The square is one from my Square Essentials and the message is from my Double Sayings set.

Distressed Tags

Although it looks like three color inks, I actually used six different ink pads for this card. The white lines are actually the same splatter stamp as I used for background in the "Time for a man's card". The difference is that I stamp with VersaMark and then embossed with clear embossing powder over a white tag, then once embossed I applied the inks, making the contrast bigger.

The butterfly is from a Martha Stewart punch.

Baby distressing card

You see? You can make cards for babies using distressing techniques. I love this little elephant from Martha Stewart. And the sentiment, one of my Square essentials. Talking about Martha Stewart, today there are two hours of Martha Stewart Crafts on QVC, at 2pm and at 6pm.

And this weekend is the June Extravaganza at The Craft Barn, Lingfield Surrey. I will be demonstrating die cutting.

Time for a man's card

Distressing is a favorite technique of mine when it comes to make cards for men. I used a Judikins stamp called splatter and distress it using Frayed Burlap.

The message is just one of my stamps that I stamped using Vintage Sepia ink repeated times, I wished I had been more careful and got them in a straighter line, but i think that if i had used one of this acrylic blocks that have guidelines, like this ones, would be easier.

Distressing a patchwork panel

I am happy to admit that when I get a technique that I enjoy I will keep repeating it until I get tired of it, which accounts for the series of postings on a similar note. For instance, the patchwork embossing technique using scraps of card and paper and the distressing ones. And for this card I used both. By the way this embossing pattern is one of my new favourites. It is a Cuttlebug folder that is 5 x 7 so can emboss much larger panels than the original ones.

Fanciful flight

This card has a big focal point, the Tim Holtz Fanciful Flight. By the way, I see this one as a dragonfly, but it is actually a butterfly! Whatever it is, it is absolutely beautiful, although all the elements are individual cuts and the wings are only one side so you have to cut them twice and assemble them, check Tim's video in which he explains the concept behind here.

The card was made using another of Tim's dies, the Baroque one part of the Movers and Shapers range. I have to admit that when I ordered it, I wasn't to sure about it.

A close up just because I wanted to show the intricate detail of the overlay, the alcohol inked golden background and the glossy accented body.

I stamped the messages on to the back of an alcohol inked acetate. First, I inked it with my alcohol gold ink and then added some browns, turn it over after it was dry (a few seconds!) and then stamp the message with StazOn. Just to remind every one, you can use StazOn with clear stamps, just do not use the traditional StazOn remover, just use immediately after stamping a baby wipe, that will remove most of the ink on the stamp although it may still leave behind a stain, if that bothers you try the new StazOn All Purpose cleaner which is safe for acrylic clear stamps.

By the way, the Dotty border stamp that was featured the other day matches the 4mm crystals and the 3mm pearls, or vice versa, which are the most standard sizes for self adhesive or hot fix crystals or pearls.

Creating a dotty background

This card was really fun to make. You know using some distressing inks, die cutting and my own stamps. The technique is the same as the card I put in a couple of days ago, in this case I stamped using Versamark several times the Dotty Border, lining it up over the solid lines of dots and then colored in with the distressing inks.

This dotty border was designed as a guide to place self adhesive crystals and pearls.

The large scallop circle die and the flower are dies from Sizzix. The stamp is part of the Essentials Circle set.

Marvy Blending boxes + Acrylic Dabbers

This background was done using the Marvy Blending boxes which feature several shades of the same color in one inkpad. They are ideal for direct to paper and direct to craft sheet techniques.

The main image was stamp and emboss using clear embossing powder. Then I applied acrylic paint using Ranger acrylic dabbers, in several colors including a silver one.

Edited: By the way, tomorrow I will be demonstrating at the Glitter Pot using die cutting products and some of my stamps. Among those products I will be using the Tim Holtz dies and embossing folders. So come along to say hi!

More distressing

I told you that I love distressing. Well, the reason behind so many cards lately featuring distressing inks and stamping is because I demonstrated them last Saturday. I really got carried away making more samples than i really needed and therefore have loads to share.

It is so much fun, and you still can preserve your own style, you don't need to imitate Tim Holtz vintage, rusty look. You can just keep your pretty, simple, elegant style. Me? I keep it simple.

Love Distress Inks

Really, I do. I know my usual cards don't often are very inky, but give some distress inks and stamps and I am happy. Of course, die cutting machines pop here and there, like to emboss the swiss dots!

Regarding Rukhshana question about yesterday card, the ink was Versafine Vintage Sepia, as explained in this post, Versafine is one of my recommended inks for solid stamps specially if they are clear stamps.

I love stamping

Stamping and punching were my first two loves when I started cardmaking in this country back in 2002. And even though many consider me as a die cutting specialist, I love stamping and punching just as much.

That is why I am really excited when I am asked to do demos or classes that involve stamping, like the demo at Stamp Addicts on Saturday in which I demoed Ranger products, distress inks and crackle paint among them featured in this card.

I enjoyed the demo so much, not only because of the products I was using, but more importantly because of the people I got to meet in real life. From Sarah and Vicky to Janey Pye, Dawn Inskip, Julie and Jo and everyone else whose name I have -I am afraid- already forgotten. I do have the worst memory for names, big apologies!

In other news, wasnt this the most glorious weekend weather? I mean, it was perfectly hot and sunny and... perfect, not too hot. We had a barbeque yesterday in our garden which was great until we tried to play twister and let me tell you late thirties bodies are not meant for twister!