See How to Create a Mixed Media Master Board with Mboss

by Roni Johnson

See How to Create a Mixed Media Master Board with Mboss

Master Boards are a quick and easy way to create a large supply of beautiful backgrounds in a single session. There are no rules, no limits and they are so much fun to make! Today, I’ll show you how to create a mixed media master board using inks, embossing powders and more.

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 2+ hour

Directions


Step 1

Select a piece of paper for the foundation of the master board. It could be mixed media paper, watercolor, cardstock or something else. I have chosen a sheet from a vintage atlas for this project.


Step 2

Scrape the smooth side of the Squeegee across the Cheerful VersaFine Clair inkpad. Drag the inked Squeegee across the paper. Repeat 2-3 more times.


Step 3

Continue to pick up ink on the Squeegee using Golden Meadow and Morning Mist VersaFine Clair inks.


Step 4

Apply Verdant VersaFine Clair ink through a harlequin stencil and Green Oasis VersaFine Clair ink over a square stencil using a stipple brush.


Step 5

Pounce VersaMark ink over a leaf stencil in several places over the page.


Step 6

Sprinkle Mboss Lucky Stars embossing powder over the ink; shake off the excess and return it to the handy space-saving pouch. Heat the embossing powder to melt.


Step 7

Stamp flower several times over the paper using VersaMark ink; cover with Yellow embossing powder, shake off excess and return it to the pouch. Heat the embossing powder to melt.


Step 8

Stamp various collage images over the paper using VersaFine Clair inks.


Step 9

Spritz Dandelion irRESISTible Texture Spray over the entire sheet and let dry. You now have a lovely master board ready to use for all sorts of projects. Below are just a few examples made using this single master board.

Card #1 When Life Gives You Lemons – Squeeze the Day!

Card #2 Have a Bee-utiful Day!

Card #3 Perfection is Overrated

Card #4 Mason Jar

Card #5 How’s It Hanging?

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • Vintage Atlas Page
  • Deco Art – Harlequin Stencil
  • Dylusions – Squares Stencil (retired)
  • Stamplorations – Leaf Stencil
  • Unity Stamp Co – Flower, Collage Images
  • Heat Tool
  • Craft Consortium – Fresh Cut Stamp
  • Sunny Studio – Slice of Summer Stamp, Silly Sloths Stamp
  • Rubber Stamp Tapestry – Sentiment; Vintage Milk Bottle/Lemonade Cap, Bee-utiful Day stamp
  • Finnabair – Sentiment Sticker, Sentiment & Vintage Photobooth Stickers

See How to Create a Beautiful Autumn Nature ATC Card Set

by Elina Stromberg

See How to Create a Beautiful Autumn Nature ATC Card Set

Artist Trading Cards aka ATC’s are wonderful little pieces of art. Their small 3.5” x 2.5” size doesn’t require too many materials nor too much time. Using just one single sheet of mixed media or watercolor paper you can create a pile of cards on one go. This set of ATC’s was inspired by the beautiful autumn nature. Bright, bold colors, and wilted garden flowers getting ready for winter. Simple but elegant, and so fun to create!

Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour

Directions


Step 1

Apply purple, pink, and orange Memento DewDrops on a white mixed media paper with Jumbo Daubers. Sprinkle water on the inked paper, letting the colors to mix. Let dry or dry with a heat gun.


Step 2

Decorate paper by stamping random text patterns on the paper. Use only one pattern stamp, but two ink colors (orange Memento Tangelo and dark purple VersaFine Clair Fantasia). Cut several cards from the inked and stamped sheet. The standard size of ATC is 2.3” x 3.5”. If you want to mat the cards on a solid color cardstock, trim these foreground cards slightly smaller than ATC. Mix white acrylic paint with water, and sprinkle paint drops on the cards. Let dry.


Step 3

Cut ATC backgrounds from dark red cardstock. Attach card fronts on the backgrounds with two-sided tape. Stamp flower shapes on the cards using black VersaFine Clair. Decorate ATC’s with word stickers that express sentiments such as “friends,” “treasure,” and “inspiration.”

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • White mixed media paper
  • Cardstock – Dark Red
  • Acrylic paint
  • Stamps – Text stamp (‘Tekst’ by Wycinanka); Flower stem stamps (Artemio)
  • Word stickers
  • Double-sided tape

Use a Stencil Background to Create Artists Trading Cards

by Elina Stromberg

Use a Stencil Background to Create Artists Trading Cards

For me, crafting is my way to unwind and to relax. Sometimes I feel that I need to start crafting, but I don’t necessarily have a specific project in mind. The solution is to create background pages for later use. For making background pages, I take out a few white blank papers, my favorite inks or paints, stencils, and stamps, and I’m good to go. There are no strict rules to follow so I often start with the light colors, move towards the darker shades, and whenever I encounter issues I drop my original idea and jump over to plan B or C. If the result is a total catastrophe I throw away the page and start all over. For me, the end result is not as important as the pleasure the creative process gives me.

Skill: Beginner
Time: 1 hour

Directions


Step 1

On this background page, I started with inking the white paper with a light green color of Memento in New Sprout. I applied the ink directly from the ink pad on the paper, using the Dew Drop ink pad and a soft circular motion. If I had used a larger ink pad I would have used a brayer or a Jumbo Dauber for coloring the page.


Step 2

Then I used a darker green ink color of Memento in Bamboo Leaves and a Sponge Dauber to stencil a pattern on the page. Once finished, I splashed water on the page, letting the water-soluble ink react with the water before drying the page with my heat gun. Love those splash marks!


Step 3

Then I used another stencil and a bit darker green ink and added smaller patterns on the page. Just a hint here and there will do the trick!


Step 4

Adding a hint of both white and black is always a good idea. Those will refresh the page and make the other colors pop. I stamped some black text patterns on the page and added white color with a gel pen. I think it did the trick I was looking for!


Step 4

In the end, I had two almost identical decorated papers. I cut a few ATC card backgrounds and used a piece of the patterned paper for a background for a die-cut card.

I think that the stenciled backgrounds look good on my ATC’s!

Supplies

Imagine

Other

  • Mixed Media Paper – White
  • Cardstock – Green, Yellow, Orange
  • Card base – White
  • Pronty – Leaf Stencils
  • Carabelle Studio – Dots
  • 13Arts – Triangles
  • Heat gun
  • Katzelkraft – Dog stamps
  • Wycinanka – Text pattern stamp
  • Sizzix – Bird stencil, Oval stencil
  • Alcohol markers
  • Glue
  • Double-sided tape
  • Gel pen – White

See How To Create Mixed Media ATC’s

by Nadine Carlier

ATC cards by Nadine Carlier ic

What is an ATC? “Artist trading cards (commonly referred to as ATCs) are 2 ½” x 3 ½” miniature pieces of art that are traded around the world with other artists. Artists create, trade and collect art at organized “swap” events, either in person or online.”

I enjoy trading ATC’s with other crafters, not only is it fun I also really like to be able to see what others create. Everyone has such different styles, and they all inspire me one way or another. ATC’s don’t have to be hard to make or super elaborate just as long as they reflect you and your style. All I needed to create these ATC’s was some Creative Medium, Walnut Ink, irRESISTible, VersaColor, and VersaMagic.

Watch my video tutorial below on how I created them. Enjoy!

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 30 min.

Supplies

Imagine
Other

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Watch a Video on Heart Of Gold Valentine Trading Cards

by Nadine Carlier

valentine-trading-cards-wm

When I was a kid, trading Valentine Day cards at school was one of my favorite things to do, besides eating the candy of course. The one thing I wish I would have done as a kid was made my own cards instead of buying them and hoping no one else bought the same ones. So each year my daughter and I make her cards. They are so easy and fun to create together.

In my video below I share exactly how I created these cute little cards.

Here is the diagram of how I cut sixteen 2½” x 3½” ATC sizes from a 12″ x 12″ piece of cardstock.

atcs-from-a-12-x-12

Skill: Beginner
Time: 30 min + drying time

Supplies

Imagine
Other
  • Gesso – Clear
  • Fiskars Heart Punch
  • Cardstock – Cream
  • 3D Foam Squares

Visit our YouTube Channel for more inspirational videos and subscribe to get updates for when we post new videos.