Danny's Cards Blog

This week I took a look at the website The House That Stamps Built . For their Wednesday challenge, they gave out this sketch design: Link to Sketch Challenge It's a pretty popular silhouette, so it was easy to get inspiration with this design. I recently received my brand new  United as One Stamp set from Hero Arts . I wanted to make sure that diversity was embodied through my card, so I used paper from Capitol Chic Designs which is a stationary and planner company that celebrates diversity (and is run by a Black entrepreneur).  So with that in mind, here was my entry for this challenge: I used 3D adhesive dots to make the heart pop a little. I'm really happy with the results. And I never make cards in one, so I made a second version with a different stamp from the same Hero Arts collection. What I love about the stamp set is the versatility of the hands. It's the first time that I've seen Black representation explicitly on a stamp set. I settled on the Are you OK? ph...

One of my favorite releases from Anna Griffin are her Border Cut and Emboss Folders . These folders, which don't necessarily work with your average Cuttlebug, but will with your Empress or Gemini, are some of the best tools in my card crafting arsenal. In one simple press, you can create a gorgeous border that's embossed.  This week, Sketch Saturday Blog released the perfect sketch for these dies. Sketch Saturday's challenge this week was as follows: The strips that Anna Griffin's folder makes are quite large. Perfect for vertical 5 x 7 cards. Horizontal meant a lot more trimming on my part. Anyway, here's the result: What I ended up doing was cutting five different pieces. Four of the five pieces were the same purpler, and the fifth was a lighter purpler. I also used a different emboss folder for that fifth lighter color piece. Check back later this week for more card contest and a review of Anna Griffin's Fantastic Flip die. Related posts: Fab Friday #194 Ent...

This week, I finally used my Fantastic Flip Dies from Anna Griffin. I decided to make the card using the color palette designated by Fab Friday Challenge Blog . The colors were as follows: The color palette gave me a beach vibe; that said, I wanted to kind of flip the colors on their head. After much searching, I found a beautiful wallpaper print, and decided that would be the basis of the card. The trickiest color to implement was the Bermuda Bay color. In order to create a surprise, you only see hints of the bay while it's close, and the color doesn't truly shine until you see the card fully open. The card didn't exactly come out the way I planned originally. I expected the background to be uniform (since the directions indicated that double sided paper was suggested). It means the emboss didn't really shine the way it would on monochromatic paper, but I chose this paper specifically for the challenge. Still, after it sat for a while, I became fond of the two sided pa...

Here on DannysCards.com, we've talked about the love of my favorite paper scrap card: The Pinwheel Card. This easy to make card was perfect for TGIF Card Challenge #274 . Link to Challenge To me, the great marker of a good Paper Scraps card is that it doesn't look like Paper Scraps. As you can see from their blog, the ideas here are bursting with creativity, and their cards too, don't look like scraps, but seamless integration. If you don't know how to make a Pinwheel card, check out my tutorial here .  So here's my final product: The Happy Day with the flower was designed using my Colop E-Mark Create printer , which might be the best use of scraps in recent memory.  What I love is how the adhesive foam and the button really give this card the extra dimension it needs. I'm super happy with the results. Check back later this week as I'm working on another card contest entry using Anna Griffin's Fantastic Flip Die Cut. In o...

This week I took a chance with Global Design Project . You know in your head when you think something is going to work out, and then it doesn't? That was how this challenge went. Anyhoo, this week, the GDP gave out this sketch layout. What I loved was the two layers of paper, but really, what caught my eye, was that swirl behind the greeting. In my head, I planned on doing a whole llama thing. The short, I couldn't figure it out. I didn't own the right llamas, nor the right embossed folder. It just didn't work. After scrapping that, I decided to go with a much more simple floral look. Unfortunately, the back embossed paper doesn't really show, which felt a bit wasteful. Nevertheless, here's my two very similar results: It's all just a bit simple. The die cut comes from  Shapeabilities Woodland Wreath Etched Dies by Spellbinders. The left embossed folder is from Spellbinders as well, while the embossed folder from the right is from Anna Griffin. ...

Yesterday I showcased my Black and Gold Anniversary card . I'm really obsessed with this layout. It's clean and easy, and it allows for so much variety. As mentioned yesterday, this CAS entry is courtesy of Colours & Sketches .  Again, here was the sketch layout: One of my favorite card designs comes from this blog: Cards, Kids and Coffee .  This is a card that I've made a couple of times, but it is quite time consuming: photo credit Keeping this in mind, I thought it would be great if the butterfly circled around the open circle. This meant double the punching and double the rhinestones. So here's my end result: In the center, I just used an embossed nature background. Where the card really stands out is from an angle: And because I can never make one of anything, I made two. If you're wondering what butterfly hole punch I used, I found this one from EK Tools at Michael's on Clearance forever ago. But,...

So here on my blog, I'm running my own card contest until July 27th with the theme Christmas in July.  In order to get some craftsperation myself, I've tried out an assortment of different contests this month. Today's challenge is courtesy of CAS . This week's sketch challenge definitely got my cogs going: Immediately, I knew what I wanted to do, which was to use my Anna Griffin Anniversary Dies . These cutouts always look gorgeous. But you know how these things go. Ideas and then putting it into practice are two separate entities.  In my head, that circle in the center was a cut out. Unfortunately, I struggled with each cutout I did, and ended up going in a completely different direction which was to make the circle pop out. Going for elegant and shimmery, I used a wholly different color scheme for anniversary cards than I've ever used before. So here's the result: This was definitely a great sketch to get the ideas flowing. I'm sure this won't be the ...

Today is a 24 hours of crafts on HSN! We know how these days go. A host of craft items are showcased throughout the day, along with numerous deals. Today's big craft item is We R Keeper's all new Colop E-Mark Create Craft Printer . Normally retailing for $349.99, the price today on HSN is $299.99. To me, it looks amazing. If you haven't seen it in action, take a look: I love the idea of it, especially as a replacement for all those times where I'm looking for that perfect stamp. That said, I do have some big questions. Most importantly, how long does the ink last? Does it run for a 100 prints? 50 prints? 1,000 prints? There's no way of knowing, and no specification clarifies this.  Additionally, extra ink cartridges cost a startling $49.99. That's steep, even by ink cartridges standards.  This is rife with potential, but until a bigger bundle comes out with extra inks and those first reviews clarify some of my concerns, this item is getting a hard pass. Anna Gri...

This week I spent time working on Dutch Fold cards. While I saw many techniques, I didn't see any technique explicitly for the Cricut or Design Space, so I went to work and explored. Ultimately, I found a way to make them quite easily. Watch the video below to see how to make your cards. For further pictures and inspiration, scroll below. If you're thinking about making Dutch Fold cards, here's what the results look like. This is them lying flat: And here is what they look like propped up: And here's what they look like when they're opened up: Related posts: How to Design a Cricut Joy Card from Beginning to End Tutorial: Pinwheel Cards Card Designing with Maps and Ledgers Unboxing and Using Cardmaking  and Papercraft Magazine 204

For this month, I wanted to run my first card competition and contest. The winner will receive a $10 Michael's Gift Card. The theme for this month is Christmas in July. You can be as interpretive and open-ended as you want for this contest. Any size card. Any materials you have. You might choose to stamp, create 3D shapes, or mix any mediums. I spent the morning working on four cards that will hopefully inspire you. These two llamas came from Stampednous . I colored them in using Copic Markers. The brown llama, I followed as closely as possible to the design given, but I wanted to make sure I put my own spin on the llama - hence the blue one. For my second set of cards, I used Lawn Fawn dies. The main die cut is the portrait stitched hillside backdrop . I also had these trees and house hillside cuts. This was my first time using these die cuts, but the effect is striking, and I can't wait to do again with different backgrounds. Those cards are just some ideas ...