Thank You Cards Featuring Ranger Speckled Egg Ink

Have you tried the new Speckled Egg Ink by Ranger and Tim Holtz? Oh my goodness, I am totally crushing on this color. With a name like Speckled Egg, I mean, you really can't go wrong can you?  I'm still working on handmade thank you cards for my Senior to send out for his graduation gifts and it was the perfect time to test this delicious ink.

(FTC Disclosure: as an affiliate for various companies in the craft industry, I will receive a small commission for purchases made through my convenient affiliate links.  This does not affect your purchase price.)

To begin, I used a Stampers Anonymous stamp set called Mini Flutter which was a freebie for a time over at Scrapbook.com. For my gold butterfly, I used Premium Clear Embossing Ink, stamping on watercolor paper, then heat embossing with Ranger's Gold Tinsel embossing powder.  This stuff really shines!  I highly recommend that you prepare your surface for embossing, prior to stamping, with an anti-static pouch. Just rub across your surface and blow any excess powder away. This will help keep away loose powder and provide a much cleaner emboss when you heat with your craft heat tool.

Instead of leaving the exposed image white, I pressed a little Speckled Egg ink onto my craft mat, grabbed a water brush to pick up the color and watercolored the white portion. I think it turned out beautifully.

My blue butterfly was stamped a little differently. First, I masked my wings and stamped the body and antennas of the butterfly with black hybrid ink.  You'll want to use a stamp positioner for the best results. Next, I removed the washi tape masking and carefully inked just the wings. Because the distress oxide ink is slower to dry, I stamped directly with Speckled Egg Oxide Ink, then sprinkled on some clear embossing powder, tapping off the excess and heating with a craft heat tool. I left the exposed white portion alone and love how soft and subtle it looks.

For my backgrounds, I trimmed watercolor paper that would accommodate my layered A2 sized cards. Next, I pressed my Speckled Egg ink onto a craft mat, spritz with a little bit of water, and randomly (and carefully) dabbed my paper into the mix. Go heavy or light, whatever is your pleasure but use your craft heat tool to dry or allow time to dry completely before embellishing.

Once dried, I splattered some black paint onto my card. (I failed to link the Dylusions Black Marble paint at the end of this post. You can find it here.) The easiest way to do this is grab two paintbrushes. Squeeze a very small amount of paint onto your craft mat and spritz a tiny bit of water onto your paint. Using a small tipped paintbrush, dip it into the paint, covering your brush generously.  Now, take your second paint brush and tap the middle of your wet brush, almost like your playing drums, haha! Place random splatters wherever you like and tap, tap, tap that brush.

For the larger paint drops, I simply took the opposite end of my paintbrush and dipped it into the paint mixture, dabbing spots here and there.  I know this is a lot of information but I want you to know exactly how to achieve these effects. Of course, when you're smooshing, no two cards are exactly alike and that's ok.

For my sentiment, I used a Wendy Vecchi stamp set and stamped onto black cardstock with clear embossing ink, sprinkling on white embossing powder and heating with my heat tool.  I also popped the sentiment up with foam circles for added dimension, as well as my butterflies.

To finish everything off, I embellished with gold sequins, dotting on some Mercury Glass Stickles glitter glue. For my blue butterfly card, I used flat back pearls from a shaker mix. Both cards have additional clear gemstones from one of my Sparkletz packets from 28 Lilac Lane. I love these little packs because they have so many different gemstones, bubbles and tiny sequins that you can mix and match.  These are adhered to my card using my favorite Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L micro dots.  These are a staple in my craft space and if you don't have them, you need them!

I know this blog post was a little lengthier than usual but I think the more tips you know, the better. And since I also work a full time job, I simply do not have the time to invest in doing YouTube videos lately, although I do have a YouTube channel with many videos. Life is crazy right now and sometimes you just have to know your limits.

Thanks so much for popping in. I've got affiliate shopping links below if you find something you like. Some items are currently out of stock at Ranger Ink and some items are currently out of stock at Scrapbook.com, which is why I've listed both. Hopefully you'll find what you need! Also, both shops have special offers right now. If you purchase the Speckled Egg bundle from Ranger Ink, you'll get a free distress enamel pin. You can also buy now and pay later with AfterPay at Ranger Ink.  If you're shopping at Scrapbook.com, be sure and check out the coupon section as there is a free gift offer right now, while supplies last.

See you next time and happy crafting!  Terri

Affiliate product links are listed throughout this post. Click on the link to go directly to the product.  I do receive a small commission at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase.

Ranger Inkssentials Craft Mat 15x18 Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Ranger US HEAT IT CRAFT TOOL Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Ranger Ink Inkssentials 2 oz mister spray bottle Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L EZ Grand Ultra Refill - Clear Shop at: Scrapbook.com
Lawn Fawn Black Licorice 8.5x11 in 100 lb cardstock Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Foam Circles Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L E-Z Grand Runner Shop at: Simon Says Stamp	Neenah Solar White Cardstock 25 pk A2 Card/Env. Set Shop at: Scrapbook.com
Buttons Galore Aquamarine Sparkletz Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Exclusive Scrapbook.com Premium Clear Embossing Ink Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Exlusive Scrapbook.com Premium Clear Embossing Reinker Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Exclusive Scrapbook.com Hybrid Ink - Black Shop at: Scrapbook.com
Scrapbook.com Round Tip Water Brush Set 3 pk Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Ranger Speckled Egg Distress Oxide Ink Shop at: Scrapbook.com | Ranger Ink	Ranger Speckled Egg Distress Ink Bundle Shop at: Scrapbook.com | Ranger Ink	Ranger Watercolor Paper 8.5x11 inch 10 pk Shop at: Ranger Ink
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Micro Adhesive Dots Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Ranger Super Fine White Embossing Powder Shop at: Scrapbook.com | Ranger Ink	Ranger Super Fine Clear Embossing Powder Shop at: Scrapbook.com | Ranger Ink	Ranger Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder Shop at: Scrapbook.com | Ranger Ink
28 Lilac Lane Fairy Dust Shaker Mix Shop at: Scrapbook.com	28 Liilac Lane Golden Sequins Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Ranger Mercury Glass Stickles Glitter Glue Shop at: Scrapbook.com | Ranger Ink	Ranger Anti-Static Pouch Shop at: Scrapbook.com | Ranger Ink

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Thank Ewe Cards

Hello friends. My son recently graduated from high school and you know what that means; lots of thank you cards to make. I love this adorable set from Reverse Confetti called Spring Pals and thought it would be perfect for what I had in mind. You'll find most of the products that I used at the end of this post, if you feel inspired to do some shopping!

(FTC Disclosure: as an affiliate for various companies in the craft industry, I will receive a small commission for purchases made through my convenient affiliate links.  This does not affect your purchase price.)

I started by using my Misti stamp positioner to stamp multiple images on Neenah cardstock. There's a coordinating set of die cuts for these stamps, however, I used my Brother Crafts Scan N Cut to make quick work of scanning and cutting my images.

I also heat embossed the sentiment, popping it up on 3L crafty foam tape for dimension, as well as the lamb.  My flowers were colored with Copic Markers and that cute little grass stamp was inked up with green dye ink.  By the way, I failed to mention the grass stamp is from another stamp set by Ink Blot Spot called, Get Grounded. It's currently out of stock (as of this writing) at Simon Says Stamp, but you can also purchase it directly from Ink Blot Shop.

I have so many people to send thank you cards to, so you'll be seeing more card sets from me soon. I hope I've inspired you to get crafty! Thanks so much for popping in today!

Terri

Affiliate product links are listed throughout this post. Click on the link to go directly to the product.  I do receive a small commission at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase.

Ranger Inkssentials Craft Mat 15x18 Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Lawn Fawn Black Licorice 8.5x11 in 100 lb cardstock Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Foam Circles Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L E-Z Grand Runner Shop at: Simon Says Stamp
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Crafty Foam Tape Shop at: Simon Says Stamp	Neenah Solar White Cardstock 25 pk A2 Card/Env. Set Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Neenah Solar White 80 lb Cardstock Shop at: Simon Says Stamp	Versamark Clear Watermark Ink pad Shop at: Simon Says Stamp
Brutus Monroe Alabaster Super Fine Embossing Powder Shop at: Simon Says Stamp	Copic Sketch Marker C1 Cool Gray / Grey Shop at: Simon Says Stamp	Copic Sketch Marker C3 Cool Gray / Grey Shop at: Simon Says Stamp	Copic Sketch Marker R20 Blush Shop at: Simon Says Stamp
Gina K Designs Amalgam Ink Jet Black Shop at: Simon Says Stamp	Exclusive Scrapbook.com Hybrid Ink - Black Shop at: Scrapbook.com	Reverse Confetti Spring Pals Stamp Set Shop at: Simon Says Stamp	Reverse Confetti Spring Pals Die Set Shop at: Simon Says Stamp
Hero Arts Mini Misti Stamp Positioner Shop at: Scrapbook.com | Simon Says Stamp	New 2020 Wagner Precision Heat Tool Shop at: Simon Says Stamp	Gemini Die Cut & Emboss Machine Shop at: Simon Says Stamp	Echo Park Easter Wishes 12x12 Solids Shop at: Simon Says Stamp

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Remembering Mom

It's been awhile since I've blogged and I thought it was time that I shared why. Mom has been in bad health for awhile and two months ago, she had a stroke. I made the decision to step down from a couple design teams, to spend time helping my dad take care of her.  Of course, the whole pandemic thing took place and life got even crazier. A couple weeks ago, Mom came home with hospice, from a rehab nursing home and passed away peacefully last week.

This will be my first mother's day without her and it's going to be hard for all of us. I'm so thankful to have another very special "second mama" in my life. It's my mom's best friend, June. When we first moved to Alabama, over 40 years ago, and being a military family, as kids, we met what would become our best family friends in the world.  Just down the street, my siblings and I met Cindy, Mike and Jennifer. We hit it off immediately and they were also a military family. Both of our families retired in the same town and lived close by and before long, my parents met their parents and well....the rest is history. 

(FTC Disclosure: as an affiliate for various companies in the craft industry, I will receive a small commission for purchases made through my convenient affiliate links.  This does not affect your purchase price.)

All these years later, both of our families are still best friends. Wedding, babies, holidays.... they're our family. It was especially hard on June to say goodbye to my mom as she lost her husband just a few short years ago, as well. Since I can't send my mom a card this week, this Mothers' Day card will go to my second mama who I love just as much.

For my cardmaking friends, let me share some details. This tulip stamp set is one of my favorites, from Crackerbox & Suzy Stamps. That company holds a special place in my heart.  A few years ago I guest designed for them. I went on to join their design team and eventually designed my first stamps with that company. It means so much that they took a chance on me and allowed me to fulfill a dream.  So, I hope you'll hop over and look around and maybe send a little business their way.

They're having a 20% off sale right now and their flower stamps are included in that sale so that's an added bonus!

Shop, here.

I also used my Misti and a masking technique to get that "field" of flowers, water coloring with my Altenew pan watercolors with a water brush, on watercolor paper. Some paint splatters and Sparkletz gemstones from Buttons Galore, round out the card.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and Happy Mother's Day. Cherish your loved ones!