Christilyn's Creations

Creative papercrafting with occasional side trips

Blog

  • Wishing you a lovely day

    It’s spring, and flowers are everywhere! While the flowers on this card might not be found in nature, it’s cheery hues make it the perfect way to say, “I’m thinking of you.”

    This intermediate card is made using Altenew’s Bold Bouquet embossing folder and stencils. The ink colors are LDRS Design’s Soft Kisses, Gina K.’s Sunkissed Coral, Simon Hurley’s Fake Plant and Lawn Fawn’s Noble Fir. The two lightest shades of pink are both Soft Kisses, applied first lightly and then more heavily. Noble Fir was used at the base of the leaves for shading. The stamens were colored with gold gel pen. The panel was trimmed down and mounted on coral cardstock from my stash. The interior reads, “Wishing you a lovely day.”

  • I love you a howl lot

    Wolves live in tightly bonded packs where every member has a role, working together to hunt, protect, and raise their young. Their haunting howls echo across the landscape, serving as a way to communicate, gather the pack, or warn others to stay away. This mix of teamwork and vocal connections showcases wolves’ behavior as deeply social animals.

    This card was made using Lawn Fawn’s Magic Picture Changer and Magic Picture Changer Add-On dies and their Wolf Before ‘n After and Wild Wolves stamp sets. The smiling and howling wolves were masked off with Gina K.’s Masking Magic before using Distress Ink in Chipped Sapphire to create the sky. I then added some white watercolor spatter for stars. I colored all the images with Copic markers. The sentiment on the inside of the card reads, “I love you a howl lot.” To see how this card was made, visit my YouTube channel, ChristilynCreations.

  • Why handmade cards?

    Why send a handmade card? You can go to most retailers and buy a cheap generic card. But you can’t let your recipient know just how much you think of them by personalizing their card with their favorite color, or including their special interests. A handmade card is more personal and shows the recipient how much you value them by spending the time to make them something special and unique to them.

    Handmade cards are also fun to make! There’s always new techniques to learn, and new designs to try. The craft is not static-it’s always changing as designers and crafters share their ideas.

    This card made me think of the person I made it for. The organic elements, implied movement, and colors are all her style. I wouldn’t have been able to find something that fit so perfectly in a store. Handmade cards send a piece of you to your recipient.

  • Sparkly birthday

    Blowing out birthday candles turns a simple moment into a ritual of hope, carrying a secret wish into the air. The flames dance just long enough to make the moment seem magical before disappearing all at once. For a second, time seems to pause before the room fills with applause and the promise of another year ahead.

    Using Gina K.’s Fuse foiling machine, I added Radiant Red foil to a Super Star Poly-Glaze panel and Sterling foil to a Layered Candles Poly-Glaze panel. I like Poly-Glaze panels because they don’t have the problem of black showing through if the foil doesn’t stick to part of the image. I then used the Layered Candles stencil to color the image with Blue Denim, Wild Dandelion, and Sweet Mango inks. The sentiment was also foiled with Sterling foil and attached to the inside of the card. All listed products are by Gina. K.

  • It’s celebration season

    Table number and placecard

    Spring brings a round of celebrations, it seems. From garden parties to baby showers, graduation to weddings, it seems to be a time people gather together. And for a more formal party, place cards and table numbers set the tone.

    I envisioned this as a bridal shower set, using Lawn Fawn’s Platform Pop-Up and Henry’s ABCs and 123s. A circle from the Large Stitched Circle Stackables and the heart from 4 Square Backdrop-Landscape provide a resting place for for the table number, and a square from Large Stitched Square Stackables folded in half makes a great place card. Lavender and Vanilla Malt cardstocks were chosen for their dainty feel, and the trim is from my stash.

  • Birthday constellations

    Constellations are patterns of stars that people have imagined into shapes for thousands of years, often telling stories about gods, heroes, and creatures. Ancient civilizations used them as maps in the sky. Even today, constellations help astronomers organize the night sky, connecting us to both science and human imagination.

    This belated birthday card was made by coloring a standard A2 card panel with Distress Oxide inks in Black Soot, Chipped Sapphire, and Villainous Potion and spattering it with Brutus Monroe Aqua Pigment in Gilded. It was then embossed with the constellation pattern using a Darice embossing folder. The Lawn Fawn Year 11 planet and sentiment were perfect fits for this card. The planet was colored with Copic markers and metallic gel pens, and the sentiment was stamped using Tsukineko ink on a panel ink blended to match the background.

  • Cats & Books

    Cats are wonderfully independent yet affectionate companions, bringing quiet comfort with their soft purrs and curious personalities. Books open entire worlds, offering knowledge, escape, and imagination with every page turned. Together, cats and books create the perfect peaceful moment-curling up with a good story while a content cat rests nearby is a simple kind of magic.

    This card is an entry into the Newton’s Nook Inky Paws Challenge. It was a color challenge this time, with the requirement being to use magenta, yellow, purple, and turquoise. I used the Card Layout 3 and papers from the Springtime, Happy Easter, and A Cat’s Life paper pads for the background. The image and sentiment are from Newton’s Book Club, colored with Copic markers and accented with gold gel pen. A few gold baubles round out the card.

  • He is Risen!

    Happy Easter! This card is made with The Stamps of Life He is Risen die, Lawn Fawn Woodgrain cardstock in Lt. Brown, and Simon Says Stamp Matte Gold cardstock. The die cut panel was then mounted on a base panel colored with Distress Ink in Tumbled Glass.

  • Happy Birthday

    Happy birthday to Lawn Fawn and me! Lawn Fawn is turning sixteen, and well, let’s just say I’m considerably older. This card uses the Giant Birthday Messages stamp & die set, as well as the birthday incentives from 2022-2025, Party Pig, Party Deer, Party Beaver, and Party Cat(Party Fox arrived too late to join in this year.) The images were colored with a mix of Copic markers and Pigma Micron pens, as well as a Pentel Sunburst Metallic Gel for the gold. The center message was mounted on gold cardstock on thin foam squares, and the animals on standard foam squares. Happy birthday to everyone who celebrated in March!

  • Fantasical Fun

    This card is in honor of my nephew, who loves fantasy. I used the Waffle Flower Open Book die, Dragon Castle coloring stencil, and Open Book Sentiments stamp set. I used Gina K. inks in Blue Denim, Red Hot, and Sweet Corn for the dragon and book. The gold accents are done with Simon Hurley’s Lunar Paste in Slippery When Wet and the background is Hero Arts Bold Script. All the black ink is Tsukineko VersaFine Onyx Black.