Category Archives: Helen Gullett

Watercolored Lunar New Year’s Card

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By Helen Gullett

Hello crafty friends… Helen is here today. Today, I would like to share an idea to make a Lunar New Year card. Lunar New Year marks the new month for the new year in oriental calendar and it is also the beginning of Spring. Today we are going to do some watercoloring with Fireworks! Shimmery Craft Sprays and layer stamping technique.

Skill: Beginner
Time: 15 minutes

Direction:

Step 1

First, cut out a piece of watercolor paper (I used 140 lb watercolor paper) into 4.25 inch x 5.5 inch.

Spray the Fireworks! Summer Sky and Bahama Blue on the craft mat, and lightly spray with water to create the watercolor ink blends on the craft mat.

Smoosh the watercolor paper to the ink and repeat it until the watercolor inks cover the paper. You can dry the ink in between smooshing for extra texture and more layers of colors. Dry the whole panel with a craft heat gun.

Step 2

Put the watercolored background panel on the stamping tool.

Stamp the fish images on it with the VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink pad. Repeat it if needed.

Dry the stamped images well with a craft heat gun and put it back on the stamping tool.

Step 3

Stamp the bottom layer of the lily pad leaf with the VersaFine Clair Grass Green ink pad.

Move the position of the stamp to a different spot and stamp again.

Repeat it until you like the pond scene on the card.

Dry the stamped images well with a craft heat gun and put it back on the stamping tool.

Step 4

Next is to stamp the second layer of the lily pad leaf. Position the stamp on top of the first stamped image and then stamp it with the VersaFine Clair Green Oasis ink pad.

Repeat it until you stamp on all the first layer stamped images.

Dry the stamped images well with a craft heat gun and put it back on the stamping tool.

Step 5

Next is to stamp the third layer of the lily pad leaf which means it is the top layer of the layer stamps. Usually it would be the darkest color of the color combo.

Position the stamp on top of the previous stamped image and then stamp it with the VersaFine Clair Rain Forest ink pad.

Repeat it until you stamp on all the stamped images.

Dry the stamped images well with a craft heat gun.

Step 6

This is the fun part: watercoloring with the Fireworks! Shimmer Craft Spray.

Spray a little bit of each color of the Lady Bug, Dandelion, and Tangelo directly on the craft mat. I only sprayed it once and no water was added.

Pick up the ink color and start watercoloring the koi fishes. Each color will blend well.

For a lighter pigment color, you spray a little bit of water and mix it together.

Step 7

DO NOT WIPE OFF the left over of the Fireworks! Shimmer Craft Sprays on the mat.

Spray more water on it and smoosh a piece of watercolor paper on it to get another watercolored background panel.

Dry it well with a craft heat gun and set side so you can use for your next project.

Step 8

Stamp the water ripple stamps all over the panel with a stamping block using the VersaMagic Cloud White Dew Drop ink.

This will give the water ripple effect that those koi fishes swimming under the water.

One more time dry the whole panel with a craft heat gun to make sure all the inks are set well on the watercolor paper.

Step 9

Cut a piece of heavyweight heat-resistant vellum paper into 1 inch x 4.75 inch.

Put it on the stamping tool and secure it with the magnets.

Stamp the sentiment in the middle of the vellum paper with Brilliance Galaxy Gold Dew Drop ink.

Carefully remove it from the stamping tool and dry the ink with a craft heat gun.

Step 10

Add the sentiment vellum strip on the background panel and fold the extra flap to the behind of the panel and secure it with some of the On Point Glue.

Add the whole finished panel to the card base with On Point Glue. Hold it down for a couple minutes until the glue dries well.

The card is done.

This watercolored Lunar New Year card is flat enough to send it in regular mail for sure. I hope you will give this tutorial a try to create your own flat card yet has some layers effect on it.

Thank you so much for stopping by our blog today. Have a wonderful day!

Craft Supplies

Imagine Crafts:

Others:

  • Koi Pond stamp set (Ink On 3)
  • Bunting stamp set (Avery Elle)
  • Watercolor paper (heavyweight, about 140 lbs / 300 gr)
  • Vellum paper (heavyweight and heat-resistant)
  • White Cardstocks
  • Stamping Tool
  • Acrylic stamping block
  • Waterbrush
  • Bonefolder
  • Paper trimmer
  • Craft heat gun

Create Quick Snowflake Card Sets for the Season

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By Helen Gullett

Hello crafty friends… ‘Tis the season when I like to mass-produce handmade holiday cards. So, today we will make a set of five snowflake cards using some cardmaking techniques such as stamping, die cutting, and heat embossing.

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 30 minutes

Direction:

Step 1
Make two card bases out of one 8.5 inch x 11 inch kraft cardstocks by cutting it in half. You can cut two or more cardstocks to make more card bases all at once. Score in the middle of the cardstock and fold it into an A2 card base.

Put the card on the stamping tool and start stamping it with the large snowflake background using VersaFine Clair Sand Dune ink pad.

Set them aside and let the ink to dry.

Step 2
Cut out a bunch of snowflakes with the small snowflakes die set out of the white cardstock.

On each of the snowflakes, add the WaterMark Dazzle Frost ink, then add some of the clear embossing powder, and heat it up with a craft heat gun.

Step 3
Add 3 snowflakes on each of the card fronts using the On Point Glue.

Set them aside until the glue dries well.

Step 4
Die cut the banners for the sentiment with one of the Banners dies. Do not throw away the negative cut out, you can use it as a holder when stamping the sentiment.

Place a banner back inside the negative cut out, hold it with the magnet, and stamp it with the sentiment using the VersaMark Original ink pad. After the stamping, add some of the gold embossing powder, then heat it up with a craft heat gun.

Repeat the step for all the banners.

Step 5
Add some of the Tear It! Tape on both sides of a piece of white fun foam to make your own foam tape.

Add some of the foam tape on the back of a banner and add it to the front card.

Step 6
Add some shimmer to the card by adding some splatters of the Sheer Shimmer Spray – Sparkle using a small flat or round brush.

Step 7
To add extra snowy effect to the card, a mix of Memento Luxe Wedding Dress ink and Sheer Shimmer Sparkle spray on the craft mat. Add some more splatters of the white sparkly ink using a small flat brush to the card front.

Use a craft heat gun to dry the whole front card.

All done.

I hope you like this mass-produced snowflake card idea. You can make a bunch of cards with only one design in a short crafting time.

Thank you for stopping by our blog today. Have a wonderful day!

Craft Supplies

Imagine Crafts:

Others:

Stamping on Fabric: Muslin Bags with Ink and Stencils

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By Helen Gullett

Hello crafty friends! Today’s projects are about how you can personalize any muslin bags or canvas bags by adding patterns, words, or anything you can think of with Fabrico Markers, Memento Luxe ink pads, and stencils. It will be fun projects to make for any occasion gift ideas or even for yourself to use. So, let’s make some together!

Skill: Easy
Time: 15-20 minutes

Direction:

Step 1
If your muslin or canvas bag has some wrinkles or folded lines on it, you can iron it before stenciling on it. I ironed my mini muslin bags that I used on these projects today.
Cut out a piece of a thick cardboard or cardstock as an insert mat to put inside the bag to prevent the ink from bleeding through the other side of the bag.
Tape the stencil on the bag with masking tape or washi tape.
Use Fabrico Markers to color through the leafy stencil. To do the ink blending, start with dark color first, then medium color, then lighter color after to blend the color together.
The ink from the bag will transfer to the marker, but do not worry because you can clean the other ink color from the marker tip by scribbling it off on a piece of paper.

Remove the stencil from the bag.

Step 2
Repeat the same step to add more pattern or word to the bag.
On this one, I decided to add the word Be Still on the bag using stencil and Fabrico Marker.
Remove the stencil and set aside for the ink to dry, or iron the bag to dry the inks permanently and quickly.
I love how versatile these Fabrico Markers are when it comes to coloring solid images. The colors blend well together.
The second technique to personalize a muslin bag you can try is by adding ink directly to the bag with ink pads, sponge daubers, and stencil.

Step 3
Add the insert mat inside the mini muslin bag.
Tape the stencil on the mini muslin bag with masking tape or washi tape.
Using a sponge dauber,  pick up the ink from the Memento Luxe Rich Cocoa ink pad by tapping on the ink pad a couple times.
Dab the ink on the sponge dauber on the stencil firmly through the stencil to make sure the ink transfers to the bag.
Repeat the steps until the bag is covered with the pattern.

Step 4
Remove the stencil from the bag.
Iron the bag to dry the ink permanently on the bag.

I love how they look after removing the stencils off the bags. I personally like both techniques, how about you? Which technique do you prefer better to do to personalize your own bags?

Hopefully you also will have fun personalizing your own bags by trying one of both techniques. Thank you for stopping by our blog today. Have a wonderful day!

Craft Supplies

Imagine Crafts:

Others:

Make a Fall Floral Coffee Cup Card

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By Helen Gullett

Hello crafty friends! Today, we are going to do some watercoloring with Memento markers, stenciling with Memento ink, and stamping with VersaFine ink to make this Fall floral coffee mug card. Let’s gather your supplies, grab a cup of coffee, and get crafting together!

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 15-20 minutes

Direction:

Step 1

Cut out a piece white cardstock into 4″ x 5 1/4″

Put the stencil on top of the cardstock and secure it with some washi tape or removable tape.

Use a blending brush to add the Memento London Fog ink to the cardstock.

Remove the stencil and set aside for the ink to dry.

Step 2

On a piece of watercolor cardstock, stamp all the floral and cup images with the VersaFine Onyx Black ink.

Cut them with their matching die set or you can simply fussy cut them with scissors.

Step 3

There are two ways of watercoloring. The first option is you can do wet on wet technique by lightly wet the area where you want to add the watercolor paint, and then pick up the ink with a water brush and color on the wet watercolor paper. And the second option is called wet on dry technique where you add the watercolor paint directly on the dry watercolor paper. Both ways work well with these Memento Markers.

On this project, I used the wet on wet technique. First, scribble each color of the Memento Marker on the craft mat. Wet the stamped image, pick up the ink with a wet water brush, and then add the color to the image. Dry the watercolored image with a craft heat gun.

Step 4

Cut out a piece of copy paper with the doily die to make paper doily. Add it to the stenciled panel with On Point Glue.

Cut a piece of black cardstock into 4 1/8″ x 5 3/8″ mat, add the stenciled panel to it with On Point Glue.

Add the whole background panel to the card base with On Point Glue.

Put together the watercolored coffee mug and flower bouquet cluster with On Point Glue.

Step 5

Stamp the sentiment and faux stitch pattern on a piece of white cardstock with VersaFine Onyx Black, and then trim it into a sentiment banner.

Add the floral coffee mug in the middle of the card, on top of the doily with On Point Glue.

Add the sentiment banner on the left top of the card with On Point Glue.

Memento Markers are not only for coloring, but also watercoloring. I had fun making this card with a watercoloring technique using these markers. And I hope this Fall Floral Coffee mug card can perk you up!

Thank you for stopping by our blog today. Have a wonderful day!

Craft Supplies

Imagine Crafts:

Others:

Batik Cards Using is Heat-Embossing Resist Technique

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By Helen Gullett

Hello crafty friends! One of my favorite cardmaking techniques is heat-embossing resist. Today, I want to share with you how to make these Batik cards using this technique. It is a technique you can use to create fun and colorful backgrounds with heat embossing and ink blending.

Let’s get crafting!

Skill: Beginner
Time: 20 minutes

Direction:

Step 1
Cut out a piece of 8.5 inch x 11 inch white cardstock into 4 panels of 4.25 inch x 5.5 inch.

Using a blending brush, add some of the VersaFine Clair Avocado ink to one of the white cardstock panels.

Dry the ink on the cardstock with a craft heat gun.

Step 2
Add some of the anti-static powder all over the inked panel.

Stamp the images with VersaMark ink and add some of the clear embossing powder. Heat the embossing powder with a craft heat gun.

Using a blending brush, add some of the VersaFine Clair Grass Green ink on the panel.

Carefully dry the ink on it, not to make the embossed images melt too much. Let it cool down before touching it. Gently wipe off the extra ink with paper towel.

Step 3
Add again the anti-static powder on the panel.

Stamp the next images with VersaMark ink and add some of the clear embossing powder. Heat the embossing powder with a craft heat gun.

Step 4
After heating up the embossing powder, crumble the cardstock. Depending on the cardstock you use, you can spray the back of the cardstock lightly with water and then crumble it.

Flat it back on the craft mat and use the bone folder to smooth it down. You won’t get perfectly smooth cardstock back but the crumble lines are the one that will give the texture that we need for the batik look.

Step 5
The next step is adding more color to the panel!

Use the blending brush, add some of the VersaFine Clair Spruce ink on the panel.

You will start to see the pattern. Add more ink if needed to get more contrast between 3 colors.

Use a paper towel to wipe off the extra ink off the embossed images.

Step 6
On a piece of white cardstock, stamp the sentiment with VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink.

Dry the inked sentiment with a craft heat gun.

Step 7
Use a paper trimmer to trim the sentiment into a label size and punch a hole on one of the side.

Use a paper distress tool or a knife to distress all the edges of the background panel.

Step 8
Add the background panel on the card base using On Point Glue.

Wrap around some of the burlap twine on the card, before tie it up, add the sentiment label on the card. Put the tail of the burlap twine through the label hole. Glue the sentiment on the card with some white foam and Tear It! Tape.

Tie up the burlap twine into a bow.

This Batik cardmaking technique works well with solid images because of the heat embossing resist effect. You can pick any 2-3 colors of inks you can use that compliment each other.

Here’s the different look of the Batik card I made using the same heat embossing technique but simpler. So, instead of multiple times heat-embossing the images and blending the inks, this one is only once. Here’s the simpler steps:

First, heat emboss the image directly to the white cardstock panel.

Second, crumble the cardstock, flat it out back using a bone folder.

Third, using blending brush add the ink on the cardstock starting with the light color, medium color, then dark color.

I hope you will give this Batik technique a try and play around with different colors. Thanks so much for stopping by our blog today.

Craft Supplies

Imagine Crafts:

Others:

  • Nature Silhouettes 3 Clear Stamp Set (Creative Worship Stamps)
  • Simple Sentiments Clear Stamp Set (Creative Worship Stamps)
  • Burlap Twines
  • Neenah Solar White Cardstock 80 lb
  • White fun foam
  • Blending brushes
  • Stamping tool
  • Acrylic stamping blocks
  • Micro-tip scissors
  • Paper trimmer
  • Hole Punch
  • Distresser Tool
  • Bone Folder
  • Bottle Sprayer / Mister Bottle
  • Paper Towel

CAS Valentine’s Day Card

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By Helen Gullett

Hello crafty friends! Valentine’s Day is around the corner and today, I have a love themed CAS card idea to share with you all. It is a fun and quick card to make to spread love with others through handmade cards.

Let’s get crafting!

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 15-20 minutes

Direction:

Step 1
Cut out a piece of Canson watercolor paper into 4.5 inch x 6 inch that you want to use as your background panel. I use 9×12 Canson watercolor paper and trim it into 2 panels.

Dab randomly the Memento inks (Love Letter & Rose Bud) on the background stamp.

Spray lightly with the Ink Potion No. 9.

Step 2
Add the watercolor panel to the inked stamp and firmly press it down to the stamp. Try to center it to the stamp.

Carefully move around your finger all over the watercolor panel to get the ink transferred well.

Lift up the paper off the stamp and you will get the first watercolor print background. There are still some inks left on the stamp, pray again with the Ink Potion No.9 to get the second print out of it.

Step 3
Repeat step 2 but instead of moving your hand all over the paper, you can try to just partially press the paper to get partially watercolor background print just like on the right panel in the picture.

Step 4
This layered stamping technique is easier done with a position stamping tool if you have it. If you do not have it, clear acrylic stamping blocks work, too. Cut out a white cardstock into 4.25 inch x 5.5 inch.

Stamp the outline flower images with a Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad.

Stamp the solid background flower images with a Rose Bud ink pad, then stamp the shadow flower images with a Rhubarb Stalk ink pad.

Stamp the leaves images with a Bamboo Leaves ink pad.

Step 5
Stamp the sentiment with a Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad at the extra space of the cardstock panel.

Step 6
Cut out all the flower pieces with the matching dies. Optional, if you don’t have the matching dies to your stamp set, you can fussy cut it with scissors.

Cut out the sentiment with one of the Label framelits dies.

Step 7
Rip the top and bottom of the watercolor background panel to give some texture to the background panel.

Optional: You can use the whole watercolor background panel as your background.

Wrap around some of the Burlap twine around the background panel and tie up a bow.

Add it to the card base with some of the Tear It! Tape.

Step 8
Add some of the Tear It Tape! to both sides of the white fun foam and cut it into a 3D foam tape strip. Add some of them to the flowers and sentiment label.

Add each of the flowers and sentiment to the card.

Step 9
Add some of the white pearl gems with some of the On Point Glue to embellish the card.

Hope this CAS card project gives you an idea to make some Valentine’s Day. Thank you for stopping by our blog today. Have a fabulous day!

Craft Supplies

Imagine Crafts:

Others:

  • Layered Rose Stamp & Die Set (Dare 2B Artzy)
  • Label framelits die set (Dare 2B Artzy, retired)
  • Hearts Background Stamp (A Jillian Vance Design, retired)
  • Burlap Twines
  • Pearl gems
  • Neenah Solar White Cardstock 80 lb
  • Canson  Watercolor paper 140 lb
  • White fun foam
  • MISTI stamping tool
  • Micro-tip scissors
  • Tweezers
  • Paper trimmer
  • Die cutting Machine