Hi everyone! I’m back with more tips on how to make cards in minutes — that only look like they took much longer.  I have a very special guest today to share her tips, too: the super talented Dawn McVey!  Welcome, Dawn!

Dawn says:  “I was so excited when Lisa asked me to make a few cards for the Hero Arts blog that were easy to make in about 5 minutes.  Everyone is so busy at this time of the year so any little time savers come in handy!  Having a few go-to quick cards in your line-up will make it so easy to whip one up just in time to run out the door to an event.”

If you’re not already familiar with Dawn’s work, you are in for a real treat!  Check out this merry + bright card:

Wow, I just LOVE it!  Especially that color combination — gotta love the look of Lagoon, Crimson and Apple Green together.  Here’s my take using the same DesignBlock Big Holiday Words stamp:

And here’s the inside:

Featured Supplies For Both Cards:

• Sparkle Clear Holiday Messages (for Merry Christmas)
• DesignBlock Big Holiday Words
• Three Trees
• Pocketful o’ Holiday Trees
• Clear Design Christmas Owls
• Clear, gold, and white embossing powder

Dawn’s tip: Using large background stamps with a shimmery ink or embossing powder is a quick way to make a card look like it took way more time to make than it did!  Here, Dawn embossed the Design Block Big Holiday Words with clear embossing powder, and the Merry Christmas message with gold.  So yummy!

Lisa’s tip: Use a punch to draw attention to an image! For this card I punched a circle out of the card front so that the owl could peek through.  Then I punched another circle out of a Crimson scrap.  Then I punched a larger circle out of the Crimson scrap to create a donut shape and adhered it to the card front.

Next, feast your eyes on this beautiful, elegant card featuring the DesignBlock Stunning Snowflakes by Dawn — WOW!  No one would believe that this card only took five minutes!

Here’s my take using the same DesignBlock Stunning Snowflakes stamp:

Featured Supplies For Both Cards:

• DesignBlock Stunning Snowflakes
• Clear Design Jolly Christmas (for the frog and Peace & Love message)
• Sparkle Clear Holiday Messages (for Season’s Greetings)
• Silver, clear sparkle embossing powder
• VersaColor pigment inks in Petal Pink, Celadon, Lime and Silver
• Smooth Clear Gemstones
• Sparkle Gem Hearts
• Other:  pool polka dot ribbon (American Crafts), teal permanent marker (Bic)

Dawn’s Tip: Add a little glitter or other bling to your card! And speaking of glitter, a touch of glitter on your cards is a very affordable and fun way to give them that extra little sparkle when you’re in a hurry!

Lisa’s Tip: Emboss pigment inks with clear sparkle embossing powder so that you don’t have to wait for them to dry!

Dawn and I have one more card each to share with you, using one of her favorite stamps — and mine too — Collage Merry and Bright!  Here’s Dawn’s:

Notice the glitter around the edge — love it!  I just love her pink, cream and brown color  combo too — it’s so “in” right now!  I decided to pump up the pink a little by using a strawberry notecard for mine:

Featured Supplies For Both Cards:

• Collage Merry & Bright
• Clear Design Fancy Scrolls
• Felt Poinsettias
• Clear Mixed Gemstones
• Other: Swiss Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug), ribbon, green permanent marker (Bic)

Dawn’s Tip: Using larger focal point images such as the Santa Collage stamp (a favorite of mine!), are ideal for quick cards because you can stamp them one time in a solid color of ink, and it’s ready to go on your card front!  Fast and easy!

Lisa’s Tip:  Use permanent markers to color clear gems — no more wasting time searching for matching embellishments!  And one more tip: let your ink do the coloring!  I used red and brown VersaColor pigment ink cubes here.

Now, how about a giveaway?

One lucky winner will receive Dawn’s + my favorite Collage Merry & Bright stamp, a package of Strawberry notecards, and a package of Clear Mixed Gems! To enter, just leave a comment on this post.  The random winner will be announced on Monday.

Thanks so much for being my special guest, Dawn!  That was super fun.  Want to see MORE of Dawn’s fabulous work + enter a fun giveaway that includes another of her favorite Hero Arts stamps?  Click on over HERE to her blog!

If you make a card this weekend that only takes a few minutes, why not enter it in the “make-it-in-minutes” challenge?  There are lots of great prizes, including the new Fresh Face category for someone who has never won before!  Come on and join the fun — all the details are HERE.

But wait, there’s MORE!  We have another 2009  Catalog sneak peek for you HERE!

May your day be merry + bright,

PS.  The  Collage Merry + Bright Stamp is HERE in the store…!

Filed under: minute-cards

This entry was posted on Friday, December 5th, 2008 at 3:03 am and is filed under Fun Fridays. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.