Tomorrow is World Card Making Day and today I made a decision. Every year since 2015 (with the exception of 2017) I’ve marked the occasion with my own personal card making marathon. I set myself the challenge to design and create from scratch 24 cards in 24 hours. This year I’ve been in two minds about whether to repeat the event as I have an all day commitment on Sunday so I won’t be able to catch up on my sleep.

This morning however I decided that I’d go ahead but with a slight change. I’ll still be designing and making my 24 cards but rather than starting my 24 hours on World Card Making Day, I’d finish then instead. So my plan is to begin the marathon at 6 pm AT today, and work through to 6 pm tomorrow. Whether I get any sleep during that time will depend on how fast my creative juices are flowing. For now though here’s my warm up, a pretty 3″ x 3″ folded gift tag.

FOLDED LAYERED TAG

I began today’s project with a 3″ x 3″ folded base created from Thick Whisper White Card. Then using the oval hole option on the Detailed Trio Punch I added a hole at the back. I threaded some Whisper White Baker’s Twine through the hole, tied it in a simple knot and set it aside.

Next came the background layer, cut from another piece of Thick Whisper White Card. To create the delicate background I used a Sponge Brayer to add a thin layer of Seaside Spray ink. Then with StazOn Jet Black ink I stamped the “thanks” sentiment from the Good Morning Magnolia Stamp Set.

When I began to add the sentiment to the tag I thought it needed a mat layer but none of the card colours I tried looked right. Then I tried plain Vellum Cardstock. It was perfect, finishing off the sentiment layer but without detracting from it. So I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to attach the sentiment to the vellum, then fixed it to the front of the tag with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

MAGNOLIA IMAGE

All I needed now was a focal image for the tag and I chose the smaller magnolia image. Mounting it onto my Stamparatus I stamped the flower onto Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper using StazOn Jet Black ink. Then I reinked the stamp and stamped the image again to get a really crisp image on the textured paper.

After giving the StazOn a few minutes to dry I began to paint the image using an Aqua Painter. Having chosen my colours I pressed on the lids of the closed ink pads to transfer some of the ink from the foam to the inside of the lid. Then when opened I was able to use inside of the lid as a palette, adding water as needed.

To create the flower I first I painted a light layer of Rococo Rose ink over the petals. Then I painted the leaves with a light layer of Mint Macaron ink. Finally I painted the stalk with Gray Granite ink. I let the painted ink dry and then added more Rococo Rose and Mint Macaron to the petals and leaves. With that done, I set the image aside to dry and went off for my breakfast of porridge and coffee.

By the time I returned the magnolia image was ready and I could cut it out. This was an easy task using a die from the coordinating Magnolia Memory Dies. Once cut, all I had left to do was attach the flower to the tag with Stampin’ Dimensionals and my project was finished.

There’s not a lot of fuss on this tag but for me it’s perfect. What do you think?

FOLLOW MY CARD MAKING MARATHON

Now today’s blog is done I can get to work planning for my World Card Making Day marathon. Keeping to my rules I won’t be preparing anything in advance, except a pile of sandwiches and biscuits. And chocolate. And coffee.

As far as my craft studio is concerned, all I will do is make sure the desk is clear and everything is in its usual place. Knowing exactly where to find something when I want it is a huge time-saver. In fact, I make a habit of putting everything away between making each project, almost like a reset. Then once I’ve washed my acrylic blocks and Simply Shammy I’ll be ready.

If you want to follow my card making marathon I plan to post images of the cards over on my Facebook page as they’re completed. I’d love for you to leave comments although obviously I may not be able to respond immediately. As for details and instructions for the cards, well they’ll follow on my blog over the coming weeks.

Wish me luck!

PRODUCT LIST

UPDATE 2020: Sadly the Whisper White Solid Baker’s Twine has been retired and is no longer available from Stampin’ Up!