Mari Clarke Creations

Hey everyone, thanks for stopping by my blog today!  It is a great day to be indoors here in Saskatchewan since we are getting yet another winter storm this weekend.  Hopefully spring will soon be here for real.

I have a layout to share with you today, emphasizing a few tips to help keep scrapbooking simple.  One thing I always do when I need to save time is to use a design that I love and am comfortable with.  The design I am using today is one you will see me used often.  I find that starting with a white background takes a lot of the guesswork out of creating a page.  I love patterned paper, don’t get me wrong, and I use lots of it; however, I find that sometimes if I need to put something together quickly, I will go with a white background.

I also find using a black and white photo helps uncomplicate the process as well.  There are no competing colors with the photo and if it is a good photo, the lack of color won’t make a huge difference.

I like to create my photo mat and layers as one unit so that I can move the entire mat around the layout for easy placement.

These are just a few tips and tricks for simple scrapbooking!

Here is a link to the process video:

Thanks so much for stopping at my blog!

xxMari

The color challenge 88 over at MFT Stamps includes Tickled Pink, Wild Cherry, Summer Splash and Black Licorice.  These colors are some of my faves, and I had so much fun creating this little “love” card using a bunch of products from MFT Stamps.

These little love raccoons are just adorable!!

 

Here is a list of MFT products used on this project:

Raving Raccoons stamp and die set

From the Heart sentiment stamps

Cloud stencil

Black and White Stripes 6×6 pad

Cloud 9 dies

Essential Speech Bubbles dies

Extreme Black ink pad

I love all things MFT…a favorite company for me!!

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!!

xxMari

 

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today!  I have had a rough week, battling this nasty flu bug that’s been going around…my students told me on Thursday they were worried that I was going to pass out in class while I was talking in front of them…thankfully that didn’t happen 🙂  Could have been a little awkward.  I am happy to say that I am on the mend…and had some time today to make some fun stuff.

I created this fun little Valentine’s card using mostly My Favorite Things products.  I love everything that MFT does!  They are definitely one of my faves in the industry.  For this card, I used the Marble Background stamp, Hexagon Shaker Pouch, Stitched Sentiment Dies, Raving Raccoons Stamps and Dies, Extreme Black Hybrid Ink, and Hearts in a Row Dies.

I also used SSS Doll Pink ink, Newton’s Nook Frames and Flags Dies, Nuvo Gold Gilding Flakes, Wow Opaque White embossing powder, Sakura Gelly Roll white gel pen, clear Wink of Stella, Copics (C3, C5, C7, RV00, RV04, R20, E0000), Little Things From Lucy’s Cards sequins (Chunky Gold Glitter, Ice Cube Mix and Kiss Me mixe), Pretty Pink Posh Marshmallow Seed Beads, vellum, and Strathmore Bristol Smooth card stock.

 

Here is a link to the process video:

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!!

xxMari

Alcohol Ink has been around for a while and it seems to be making a comeback.  I had so much fun playing today with the inks I have.  I used some Ranger Yupo paper to create this fun little, colorful Valentine’s card.

The first photo shows the Yupo paper before I die cut it with a Neat and Tangled scalloped die.  I used a variety of colors of ink including raspberry, pool and  sunshine yellow.  I also used the Alcohol Blending Solution and some plain rubbing alcohol to help move the ink on the paper.  I used a straw to blow the inks around.  I added some silver Mixative as well to add some extra depth.

The MFT Mesmerizing Mandela die and some silver glitter paper are perfect accents for the front of the card.  My sentiment inside is stamped using a stamp from the Hero Arts You Are Loved Messages stamp set.  I love that stamp set!

There are so many supplies for projects using alcohol inks over in the Scrapbook Nerd online shop.  Be sure to check the store out!

Here is a link to the process video where you can watch me create this card:

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

xxMari

I had so much fun making this sweet little Valentine’s card for my son and his gf.  The kitty is supposed to look like their little calico, Katie.  I stamped out the MFT images from the “You Melt My Heart” stamp set using Versafine Onyx Black ink.  Then I colored the images using Faber Castell Polychromos.

Once I had the images colored, I used Distress Oxide inks in Cracked Pistachio and Salty Ocean to create the ground and sky. I added some drops of water to create the water droplet effect on the inked areas. I die cut the images using the MFT matching dies. I also used the Newton’s Nook Frames and Flags die to create the scallped edge on my front panel.  Sadly, when I pulled up my micropore tape from the die, it took some of the paper with it.  I attempted to camouflage that with more Salty Ocean and some water.  I stamped my sentiment onto some white card stock and then die cut the sentiment using the MFT Essential Speech Bubbles die.

I stamped the squiggly heart at the top with some Versamark clear ink, and then added some Wow Pearl Gold Sparkle embossing powder.

I added some Gold Stickles, Glossy Accents and Perfect Pearls for a little extra pizazz!

Here is a link to the process video:

Thanks so much for stopping by!

XX Mari

Hey everyone, thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I love to make cards with scene stamps and some of my favorites are the Penny Black stamps.  I have used one of the wintery scene stamps to create this thank you card.  I started with some Ranger water color paper and using my MISTI, I stamped out the images with Ranger Archival Ink.  I love the different techniques used on this card!!  I have a detailed process video linked below, as well as a list of all of the supplies.

Supplies:

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by my channel today!!

xxMari

 

It has been an eventful weekend in the news…great time to escape to my craft space and make some cards 🙂  I love the Heart Cards cut file over at JustNick Studio.  This cut file makes quick work of creating some fun cards for Valentine’s Day.  That is the beauty of an electronic cutting machine…things come together very quickly.  I like that!

I cut the card fronts to fit on A2 card bases (5 1/4 x 4 1/2) which is super easy to do using the grid lines in the Silhouette software.  I used Simon Says Stamp Cotton Candy cardstock to cut the card fronts.

I simply backed one card with patterned paper and added a couple of stickers from Crate Paper Main Squeeze to complete the card.  I created a shaker card from the other cut by adding acetate to the back and creating my shaker well with foam adhesive. To see all of the details and process, click the video link below!  Don’t forget to check out the JustNick shop for all of the gorgeous cut files!

 

Supplies:

 

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

xx Mari

I was hoping to start doing more art journaling again in 2018 and decided last weekend to just do it…I love this process so much…it is like a good therapy session, except it’s free, lol.

I started my process with a reference photo as inspiration.  When we were in Ontario last summer, I was struck by the number of homes in Kingston that had a wild flower garden.  I love that so much;  these cone flowers were just growing wild in a garden in front of a home and I snapped this photo.

I started my layout by sketching the flowers into the foreground of the page and then went in with clear water to the top half of the layout where the sky area was going to be painted using some Mijello Mission Gold Prussian Blue.  Once that area was dry, I repeated the process, laying down water, then color for all of the other areas.

I finished the project with some white paint splatters, Gold Color Shine splatters, messy outlining and some alphas for the title (a quote from Hamlet).

Here is a link to the process video:

 

Supplies:

If you don’t have the Mission Gold paints, a great option are the Kuretake paints.  Here is a link:

 

Hey everyone, I am finally back on my blog today and I am sharing a project I created for a Christmas card series over on my YouTube channel.  Today is project #9 and I created this project using the Dashing Deer stamp and die set from My Favorite Things (one of my favorite companies).  I love the images in this little set so much!  This was purchased from Scrapbook Nerd online store.

To create this card, I added some Distress Oxide ink in Antique Linen to the A2 card base which is Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock.  I love this paper so much and the ink just blends so nicely.  I stamped out my images using my Misti tool and some Versafine ink in Onyx Black onto some Neenah Desert Storm cardstock.  Then I colored my images using some Faber Castell Polychromos.  I chose these colored pencils because I just recently purchased them and was really excited to take them for a spin.  Prismacolors would work just fine as well.

Once I finished the coloring, I die cut my little critters and added them to my card base, which I had previously embellished with a snow drift, some birch trees and a silver glittery frame.  Then I just added some details with Wink of Stella, Nuvo drops and a sentiment.  I have inlcuded a link to the process video and a list of supplies.

 

Here is a list of the supplies I used:

• Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock (Neenah is great too Neenah Paper – Classic Crest Solar White 80 lbs – 20 pack)
• MFT Dashing Deer stamp and die set (Scrapbooknerd.com)
• Distress Oxide Ink Anitque Linen (Scrapbooknerd.com)
• Clear Wink of Stella (Scrapbooknerd.com)
• White glossy Nuvo Crystal Drops (Scrapbooknerd.com)
• MFT Stitched Sentiment Strips Dienamics
• MFT Rectangle Scalloped Frame Dienamics
• Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders dies (Scrapbooknerd.com)
• Stickles: Diamond and Christmas Red (Nuvo glitter drops are great too http://scrapbooknerd.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=5984)
• colored pencils (I used Polychromos, but Prismacolor are great too)
• Mama Elephant Birch Trees dies
• white gel pen (Uni-ball – Signo – Gel Pen – White)

Thanks for stopping by!!

XX Mari

I am always trying to come up with fun ideas for stocking stuffers for my family at Christmas.  I usually try to put something in that either I have made or my husband has made.  He is a woodworker and has made some really cool things in the past like personalized cutting boards, clocks, etc.  I can’t compete with that…or can I?? Lol…I think these cool little lip balm favors are pretty awesome and I think my kids will really love them.  You might wonder if I am concerned they will see this blog and find out what they will have in their stocking…ummmmm, sadly I don’t think they read my blog 😉

I used the MFT Tall Tag Duo, Sending Smooches and Lip Balm dies/replenishments to create my fun little project today.

Supplies:

Process Video:

To see all of the details for this project, just click the link for the process video below 🙂

 

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today!!

 

XX Mari