Category Archives: Jessica Lin

 DIY One-of-a-kind Patterned Paper with Stamping 

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By Jessica Lin

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. Have you tried creating your own patterned paper before? It’s truly quite simple and kind of addicting once you get the hang of it! Keep reading to find out a trick using stamp positioning tools.

Step 1:
I decided to stamp on a piece of 6×6’’ cardstock using the We R Precision Press. This method helps fill up the page quickly with repeated patterns, but you could stamp the images free-hand using an acrylic block as well. With the Precision Press, I placed stamps on the 3×3’’ top-right quadrant and rotated the cardstock 90 degrees each time. This vibrant green color is VersaFine Clair Grass Green ink pad and it really captures the lush, lively green from plants.

Step 2:
I repeated Step 1 with two other succulent stamps. This time, I chose the VersaFine Clair Verdant ink pad.

Step 3:
Let’s stamp the plant pots next. I picked a few pastel colors – VersaFine Clair Baby Pink, Lilac Bloom, Arctic and Very Peri. These colors complement each other so well, I think they are becoming one of my favorite color combos.

Step 4:
Once you are done with creating your own patterned paper, you can trim it however you’d like to decorate cards or scrapbook pages. I want to use it to create a small treat box, so I am cutting it to 4.5 x 6’’. Then, on the short side, score at the 1’’, 2’’, 3’’, and 4’’ marks. On the long side, score at the 1’’ mark. These will be the crease lines for us to fold the box.

Step 5:
After that, cut along the top four squares to make the bottom flaps of the box. I also cut away a small corner so that it’ll be easier to assemble the box later.

Step 6:
Apply Tear It Tape to the 0.5’’ overhang on the right like pictured, and fold along the creased lines to form a box. Fold the square flap on the right downwards and apply Tear It Tape at the bottom edge. Now you can assemble the box by sticking the sides and bottom shut.

Step 7:
To create the box opening, gently press on the sides to make a “X” shape.

Step 8:
For each pinched flap, punch a hole near the corner.

Step 9:
This would create holes to thread the ribbon. Once you filled the treat box with goodies, lace the ribbon around the holes and tie a bow to keep the box closed.

I hope this tutorial inspired you to stamp your own patterned paper! It is a fun way to create custom prints and use your stamps creatively. Thanks so much for stopping by, and I’ll see you next time!

Imagine Supplies: 

● VersaFine Clair – Grass Green, Verdant, Baby Pink, Lilac Bloom, Arctic, Very Peri
● StazOn Cleaner
● Tear-It! Tape
● Craft Mat

Other Supplies:

● iCrafter – Stamps – Positively Plants 
● We R – Tool – Precision Press 
● ⅛’’ Hole Punch 

 Create a Coffee Themed Birthday Card 

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By Jessica Lin –

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 45 minutes

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. Today I wanted to share a coffee themed birthday card that would be perfect for any coffee lover. This card is easy to put together but I really love how it turned out. I hope you’ll enjoy today’s tutorial!

Directions:

Step 1: Let’s start by die cutting the coffee pots. I used Classic Crest Epic Black cardstock to die cut the pot lid and holder. This is my go-to black cardstock because it’s ultra smooth and super easy to work with.

Step 2: For the french press, I decided to use Bright Foil Silver cardstock to mimic the look of stainless steel. This is actually my first time using silver foil cardstock and I am impressed by the final look. The silver foil really adds a metal-like finish to the die cut.

Step 3: For the actual coffee die cuts, I chose Lessebo Colors Coffee Bean cardstock from CutCardstock. It’s the perfect shade for coffee – I have other brown cardstock in my stash but they are either too dark or too light, so I am really glad I picked up this cardstock to add to my stash.

Step 4: Now let’s die cut the glass containers. You could use white cardstock, but I opted for Curious Translucent vellum today instead to create a softer tone. The Curious Translucent vellum I used is 65lb cover weight. It’s a lot thicker than the vellum I typically use so it’s the perfect base layer for our coffee pot die cuts. The heavier weight also feels luxurious and I am sure it would look nice for wedding invitations as well.

Step 5: Once all of the elements have been cut out, I adhered them together with On-Point glue. The fine tip nozzle is so handy for adhering intricate die cuts.

Step 6: Next, I trimmed a piece of Strathmore 100% Cotton Watercolor cardstock to 3 ½’’ x 4¾’’.
Then I blended VersaFine Clair Acorn ink for a soft brown background.

Step 7: Even though the coffee pots are the focal point of today’s card, it doesn’t feel complete without some stamping. I picked the coffee bean stamps from Stampin’ Up’s coordinating Latte Love set and stamped them with VersaFine Clair Acorn and Pinecone ink pads. The VersaFine Clair Acorn ink looked like a soft tan shade when blended, but you can see that it’s closer to an acorn color when stamped.

Step 8: Finally, I stamped a punny latte sentiment from iCrafter’s Latte Coffee Sentiments set with VersaFine Clair Pinecone, and the card is ready for assembly. I hope you enjoyed today’s coffee themed birthday card. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope I’ll see you soon.

Products Used:

Imagine Supplies:

Other Supplies:

  • Stampin’ Up! – Stamps & Dies – Latte Love
  • Classic Crest Epic Black cardstock
  • Bright Foil Silver cardstock
  • Lessebo Colors Coffee Bean cardstock
  • Curious Translucent vellum
  • Strathmore 100% Cotton Watercolor cardstock
  • Environment Desert Storm cardstock

Create a Wedding Card with Gender-Neutral Color Palette 

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By Jessica Lin –

Skill: Intermediate 
Time: 1 hour 

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. Wedding season is right around the corner, so I wanted to share a wedding card idea that features a gender-neutral palette. I often struggle with cards that are for male recipients, but this color combination I have in mind today is less-feminine and perfect for the groom. 

Step 1:
Trim a piece of DCS Dolphin Gray cardstock to 5 ½’’ x 8 ½’’ and score in the middle at 4 ¼’’ to create the card base. Cut CardStock offers many beautiful shades of gray cardstock; I chose DCS Dolphin Gray because it is a nice weight of cardstock that can still be easily embossed. The embossing folder I used here is called Distressed Tile by Stampin’ Up. 

Step 2:
Next, stamp the focal image with VersaFine Clair Sand Dune ink on Classic Crest Solar White cardstock. VersaFine Clair Sand Dune has been a new favorite ink of mine for outline images; I used to only stamp the outlines with VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink, but this Sand Dune color is such a great neutral alternative. This large and elegant flower is from the Good Morning Magnolia stamp set. 

Step 3:
After stamping, die cut the images with the coordinating dies. 

Step 4:
I decided to ink blend on the leaves to add some color. Since the flower petals are large, they were easy to mask off. Classic Crest Solar White cardstock is ultra smooth and ink blends beautifully with Memento New Sprout and Bamboo Leaves inks. 

Step 5:
Then, trim DCS Canvas Textured Lava Stone Gray cardstock to a ¾’’ x 5 ½’’ strip, and heat emboss on the smooth side. The darker shade of gray really makes the sentiment stand out. 

Step 6:
Finally, add a strip of DCS Indigo Blue for an additional pop of color. A dark green cardstock would actually look great, too. Adhere all of the layers to complete this gender-neutral wedding card. 

Imagine Supplies: 

● VersaFine Clair – Sand Dune 
● Memento – New Sprout, Bamboo Leaves 
● VersaMark – Dazzle Champagne 
● Mboss – White  (retired)
● StazOn Cleaner 
● Tear-It! Tape 
● Craft Mat 

Other Supplies: 

● Stampin’ Up! – Stamps – Good Morning Magnolia 
● Stampin’ Up! – Dies – Magnolia Memory 
● Stampin’ Up! – Embossing Folder – Distressed Tile 
● CutCardStock – Cardstock – DCS Dolphin Gray 
● CutCardStock – Cardstock – Classic Crest Solar White 
● CutCardStock – Cardstock – DCS Canvas Textured Lava Stone Gray 
● CutCardStock – Cardstock – DCS Indigo Blue 

Quick and Easy Father’s Day Card with Memento Ink Blending

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By Jessica Lin –

Skill: Beginner 
Time: 30 minutes 

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. Father’s Day is right around the corner. Do you have a card design in mind? I tend to struggle with masculine cards, so I decided to keep it simple this year with a geometric patterned background. Let’s take a look! 

Step 1:
Let’s start by trimming a piece of Classic Crest Solar White to 3 1/2” x 4 3/4”. This is my go-to cardstock – not only is it great for stamping, it is perfect for ink blending also. I am blending Memento Summer Sky ink with Altenew’s Styled Background stencil set. 

Step 2:
Next, turn the stencil 90 degrees, and ink blend with Memento Paris Dusk ink. I picked the light and dark blue color scheme today because it is gender-neutral, and they pair well with the DCS Blue Calico and Indigo Blue cardstock that I’ll be using later. 

Step 3:
Rotate the stencil once again, and ink blend with Memento New Sprout ink. You can see how smoothly the ink blends on the Classic Crest Solar White cardstock. There are no streaks or splotchy areas. 

Step 4:
For the last color, ink blend Memento Bamboo Leaves after you turn the stencil 90 degrees. 

Step 5:
This is what the final geometric pattern looks like after all of the ink blending. Since the Classic Crest Solar White cardstock has a really smooth surface, the end result looks like the patterns were airbrushed onto the paper. 

Step 6:
Now we are ready to add the sentiment of the card. I wanted the sentiment to match the patterned background, so I picked DCS Blue Calico and Indigo Blue cardstock. I die cut alphabet letters from these cardstock with Stampin’ Up’s Mini Alphabet die. One thing to keep in mind is that the DCS cardstock have a textured side with linear grains. Be sure to die cut letters of the same word by placing the dies in the same orientation to achieve a more cohesive result. 

Step 7:
Finally, trim a piece of DCS Blue Calico to 3 3/4” x 5” and adhere the ink blended panel on top. Then mount the layers onto an A2 sized card base with DCS Indigo Blue cardstock. Lastly, apply On-Point Glue to the back of the letter die cuts and adhere them to the card front to complete the card. 

Craft Supplies

Imagine Supplies: 

● Memento – Summer Sky, Paris Dusk, New Sprout, Bamboo Leaves 
● On-Point Glue 
● StazOn Cleaner 
● Tear-It!Tape 
● Craft Mat 

Other Supplies: 

● Altenew – Layering Stencil – Styled Backgrounds 
● Stampin’ Up! – Dies – Mini Alphabet 
● Ink Blending Brushes 
● CutCardStock – Cardstock – Classic Crest Solar White 


CutCardStock – Cardstock – Blue Calico, Indigo Blue 

Create a Cute Mermaid Card with a Heat-Embossed Ocean Background

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By Jessica Lin

– Skill: Intermediate 
– Time: 2 hours 

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. Do you like collecting certain stamp images? I am fond of mermaids and have a rather big collection. Today, I thought I would use this cute mermaid wooden stamp to create a card. 

Step 1:
When was the last time you used a wooden stamp? If I’m being honest, I bought this stamp around 10 years ago so it was nice to see that it still inked up nicely with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I stamped it on Classic Crest Solar White cardstock since I will be coloring with Copic markers today. 

Step 2:
This mermaid image is darling and easy to color. I started by drawing strands in her hair with E50 / E53 / E55. Then I colored her skin with E000 / E00 / E11. I also added blush with R20 / R24. For the seashells, I blended BV11 / V15 / V17. I used one of my favorite color combos on her tail: BG10 / BG13 / BG18. Lastly, I color her crown with Y00 / Y11 / Y06. 

Step 3:
Once I finished my coloring, I die cut the image with Spellbinders Nestabilities Floral Ovals die. 

Step 4:
I wanted to create a wavy background for today’s card. I picked out DCS Hydrangea Purple, Plum Purple, Seafoam Green, Blue Calico, and Indigo Blue to create an oceanic gradient that reminds me of an underwater palace. I hand-torn them to create wavy patterns; I just love the organic feel you get with the paper fiber edges. These cardstock pieces have texture on one side, and are smooth on the other. I like the variety of textures and ended up using both the smooth and textured sides. 

Step 5:
To add even more texture to the background, I heat embossed Plum Purple strips with Mboss Princess Party embossing powder, and Indigo Blue strips with Mboss Shimmery Night Sky embossing powder. I swiped VersaMagic ink directly onto the cardstock and the embossing looks great without having to heat emboss a second round. 

Step 6:
Then, stamp the sentiment with Brilliance Pearlescent Purple ink pad. 

Step 7:
Now it is time to put the background pieces together. I applied Tear-It Tape to the straight edge of each cardstock strip, and adhered them to the cardbase from the bottom to the top. Once you are done, cut any overhang pieces on the sides. Finally, adhere the mermaid die cut piece and the sentiment to the wavy background, and the card is complete! 

Imagine Supplies: 

● Memento – Tuxedo Black 
● VersaMark – Dazzle Champagne 
● Mboss – Princess Party, Shimmery Night Sky (Retired- use any embossing powder)
● Brilliance – Pearlescent Purple 
● StazOn Cleaner 
● Tear-It! Tape 
● Craft Mat 

Other Supplies: 
● CutCardStock – Cardstock – Classic Crest Solar White 
● CutCardStock – Cardstock – DCS Hydrangea Purple, Plum Purple, Seafoam Green, Blue Calico, Indigo Blue 
● Spellbinders – Dies – Nestabilities Floral Ovals 

Make a Mother’s Day Card with Ink Layering

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By Jessica Lin

Skill: Beginner Time: 30 minutes

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. Are you planning on making a Mother’s Day card this year? I want to share a simple sketch that you can use with any layering stencils you may have.

Let’s begin crafting!

Step 1:
I am using Altenew’s Styled Background layering stencil set for today’s card. Let’s start by trimming a piece of Classic Crest Solar White to 3 ½’’ x 4 ¾’’. After that, we can start ink blending stencil 1 with Memento Lulu Lavender ink.

Step 2:
Next, ink blend Memento Summer Sky ink with stencil 2. I really like the idea of separating the floral images into two layers; it gives us so much creative freedom and the color combination is endless!

Step 3:
Stencil 3 is the base layer for leaves. I used Memento New Sprout ink. It may be difficult to spot in this photo, but I created a color gradient by blending more ink in some areas and having a lighter hand for others.

Step 4:
Now that the base images are ink blended, we can start with the layering. Stencil 4 includes leaf stems, and I used Memento Bamboo Leaves ink. This stencil also contains floral centers. Since the stems and floral centers are quite close to each other, I had to mask some areas while ink blending. If you have smaller blending brushes, you could skip the masking step.

Step 5:
I used Memento Paris Dusk ink to ink blend the floral centers.

Step 6:
This is what the background panel looks like after ink blending all 4 layers. I love the look of soft, pastel colors and am so pleased with the final result.

Step 7:
After ink blending, we are ready to add the sentiment of the card. I chose Stampin’ Up’s Mini Alphabet die to spell out “Happy Mother’s Day”, but you could use any sentiment die you may have. I decided to die cut with CutCardStock DCS Hydrangea Purple and Plum Purple for some added contrast. These cardstock have a smooth side and a textured side; I opted for the textured side today.

Step 8:
Next, trim a piece of CutCardStock DCS Hydrangea Purple to 3 ¾’’ x 5’’ and mount the ink blended panel on top. Then adhere it to a CutCardStock DCS Plum Purple card base. Finally, apply On-Point Glue to the back of the letter die cuts and adhere them to the card panel to complete the card!

Craft Supplies:

Imagine Supplies:

Other Supplies:

  • Altenew – Layering Stencil – Styled Backgrounds
  • Stampin’ Up! – Dies – Mini Alphabet
  • Ink Blending Brushes
  • CutCardStock – Cardstock – Classic Crest Solar White
  • CutCardStock – Cardstock – Hydrangea Purple, Plum Purple