Wendy Vecchi: Time for Cake!

Few things say, "Happy Birthday" better than flowers and cake; for most of my childhood birthdays that meant 

tiger lillies and chocolate cake! I'd love for you to visit the Ranger Project Page and follow along as I use Wendy Vecchi's beautiful MAKE ART Birthday Bash and A Million Thanks Stamp, Die and Stencil sets plus lots of her gorgeous Designer Series Archival Inks and the Wreaths Chippies set to add both to this yummy birthday card.

Wendy Vecchi Colorful Cake Cards

Head on over to the Ranger Blog and follow along as I use Wendy Vecchi's "Birthday Bash" and "Merci and More" Stamp, Die and Stencil sets with coordinated shades of Archival Inks and Liquid Pearls to add as much color as possible to a pair of mini slimline birthday cards. I'm kinda proud to have thought of another way to use coordinating dies, as well... for making the perfect aperture to hold fussycut stamped elements! Check out this post for all the details.

Make a Wish

If you wished for some brand new Eyelet Outlet Brads in the next couple of weeks, then you're in luck because we have some beauties coming out, including these gorgeous Rose Brads!

Rose Brads would be a beautiful addition to just about any card, tag or journal page; they'd be lovely in a vase, climbing up a fence or pretty much ANYWHERE you'd care to place them, but I have to say that I'm pretty pleased with how they look on top of the cake from Wendy Vecchi's Doodle Celebration Stamp Set! I've also used the "Make a Wish" sentiment from Wendy's Birthday Bash Stamp, Die and Stencil Set, and four gorgeous Eyelet Outlet Washi Tape Styles: Pink Checked, Green Pattern Tape, Wood Washi and Heart Tape from our Valentine Washi Set. I've also framed up my little tableau with some Green Pearl Strips and added a Candle Brad to boot. 

Stay tuned to the Eyelet Outlet Blog to see how our amazing Design Team are using all of the fabulous new brads, coming mid-month to the Eyelet Outlet Store!

Birthday Bash in Blue

Birthday cards are always fun to make and send; which is just as well, since I'm pretty sure most cardmakers create more individual birthday cards than any other style throughout the year. I made this fun, inky version using Wendy Vecchi's Birthday Bash Stamp, Die and Stencil Set with Archival Inks and Statements Chippies. I'd love for you to hop over to the Ranger Projects Page to see the tutorial that goes with it!

Bright Butterflies

I’m still entirely smitten with Wendy Vecchi’s brand new Signature Archival inks, Rosey Posey, Morning Glory, and Peachy Keen, the newest release from Ranger Ink. Here’s a card that features custom pattern paper I made, using stamps from Wendy’s Country Flowers Stamp, Die and Stencil Set.

I stamped the solid butterfly in Peachy Keen, the butterfly outline and tiny blossom in Rosey Posey, and the berry branch and dots in Morning Glory; then diecut using a set of nested diamond dies,  and matted on a piece of soft blue cardstock. The sentiment is from Wendy’s Birthday Bash Stamp, Die and Stencil Set. Accents of Rosey Posey Liquid Pearls add a little extra shimmer and texture.

Be sure to check out the INK... STAMP and MAKE ART with Wendy Vecchi Facebook Group for lots more ideas, tips and techniques using these gorgeous inks!

It's an Inky Birthday Bash

I'm so happy to be back on the Ranger Blog with a brand new, super-colorful project featuring Wendy Vecchi's MAKE ART Birthday Bash Stamp, Die and Stencil Set and Chippies embellishments. See how I made this vibrant inky background with Wendy's signature series Archival Inks in analogous shades of pink, yellow and orange; topped off with my all-time favorite cake... Red Velvet! On the Ranger Blog today... just click this link!

Step 1: Gather your supplies, including Wendy Vecchi MAKE ART Birthday Bash Stamp, Die and Stencil Set; Wendy Vecchi MAKE ART Bases and Frames Chippies; plus assorted Archival Inks in analogous shades of pink, yellow and orange; rubbing alcohol and white Yupo Cardstock; plus your favorite coloring media.

Step 2: Working on a Ranger Silicone Mat or other non-absorbent surface, "smoosh" one shade of Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink onto the mat by turning the ink pad upside down and randomly applying a bit of color directly to the work surface. Lightly mist the area with Isopropyl Alcohol (91% is ideal but 70% also works fine) then place your cardstock face down on the mat and "grab" some of the color. It's best to apply shades individually, to avoid staining your ink pads. To use multiple colors at a time, dispense a few drops from several Archival Reinkers, remembering that the pigment is much more concentrated, and you might want a bit more alcohol to dilute it.

Step 3: Wipe the mat, apply another color, mist with alcohol, and dip your paper into the diluted ink. Change directions with the paper a few times for better coverage. Repeat this step as many times as you'd like, or until the entire paper is covered. This card features shades of yellow (Buttercup and Chrome) and orange (Tea Rose and Bright Tangelo) at the edges, with a patch of pink (Pink Peony and Vibrant Fuchsia) towards the center. 

Step 4: Using the two solid stars in Wendy's Birthday Bash set, stamp them randomly, over and over, in Magenta Hue Archival, concentrating on the diagonal area of pink towards the center of the paper.

Step 5: Using the confetti stencil from the Birthday Bash set, apply Sunflower Archival, starting towards the center of the inky panel and working outwards. Move the stencil several times and change position as needed to achieve a pleasing arrangement of confetti.

Step 6: Stamp the Cake, Candle and "Make a Wish" sentiment in Potting Soil Archival. Color the cake and candle with markers and/or pencils in a style that represents your favorite type of cake (the sample is Red Velvet, with Cream Cheese Frosting) and diecut or fussy-cut. Stamp the two solid stars multiple times in Vibrant Fuchsia, and use the coordinating dies to cut them out. Mount the images and sentiment on foam adhesive and set aside.

Step 7: On a scrap of Wendy Vecchi Perfect Cardstock, apply Pink Peony Archival Ink through the striped portion of the coordinating stencil in the Birthday Bash set. Add darker stripes with a fine-tipped pink pen, if desired. Trim the strip to 5.5 x 1" and adhere to a skinny mat of Magenta cardstock.

Step 8: Using a Ranger Domed Ink Blending Foam, apply Sunflower Archival to the Heart from Wendy Vecchi's MAKE ART Chippies Bases and Frames set. Trace the heart on a piece of coordinating Sunflower cardstock and cut out. Adhere the cardstock heart to the Chippie, slightly offset, using  Perfect Card Adhesive.

Step 9: Assemble the card: Trim the inky panel to 5" square and ink the edges lightly with Magenta Hue. Add a few scattered dots and doodles with a white paint pen, if desired. Affix the stripey stenciled strip to the base with Perfect Card Adhesive, approximately 1.5" from the bottom of the panel. Add the Chippie Heart to the strip using double stick tape and add the cake, candle, sentiment and stars in a cluster. Affix the finished panel to a 5.5" square card and machine stitch around the edges, if desired. 

Step 10: Decorate an envelope to match, using the stamps in the Birthday Bash set and coordinating colors. This way you'll be ready to mail the finished card to your favorite Birthday Girl or Guy!