VanGoghChica Studio

  In this Clean and Simple (CAS) cardmaking tutorial, I share a fun geometric card design suitable for anyone who is a no-frills type of person. Yes, cardmaking does include many floral designs, but that is not all we can make. If you want to make your card along with me, watch my You Tube video , complete with a blooper right at the end! 👉 The blooper shows up around the 27-minute mark, so you can either craft along with me as I stamp and assemble my card or skip ahead for a laugh. I f you enjoy DIY cardmaking, stamping, or beginner-friendly handmade card tutorials, this video is for you! Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to help my channel grow—I’d love to connect with fellow crafters. Supplies Altenew's Doodled Triangles Stamp set Altenew's pigment ink in Permanent Black Fresh dye in in  Aqualicious ,  Warm Sunshine ,  Frayed Leaf , Sweet Leaf , Limestone Altenew white card stock First you are going to cut and fold your white card stock into a fold-ope...

#Ever messed up your handmade card at the very last step? 🙈 You’re not alone! In this Clean and Simple (CAS) cardmaking tutorial , I share a fun geometric card design—and yes, you’ll see my real-life crafting blooper happen right on camera. 👉 The blooper shows up around the 27-minute mark, so you can either craft along with me as I stamp and assemble my card or skip ahead for a laugh. If you enjoy DIY cardmaking, stamping, or beginner-friendly handmade card tutorials, this video is for you! Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to help my channel grow—I’d love to connect with fellow crafters. 💬 Are you a cardmaker too? Share what you’re working on in the comments—I’d love to see your creations!

It's that time of year where we bring out all that shimmers and delights. With this simple card, I used iridescent textured foil for a white to pinkish moon glow of snow. (The photo does not do the iridescent shimmer justice.) I then framed it with evergreen branches and a holiday sentiment. Supplies Altenew Festive Tree layering stamp set   Altenew fresh dye inks in Evergreen and Olive Altenew pigment ink in Permanent Black and White Cloud Altenew scissors Altenew Solar White Card Stock Altenew Black Card Stock Glue Textured iridescent foil Create two A2  (4.25"X5.5") fold-over cards from your card stock. Use the Festive Trees layering stamp set to stamp five trees framing the bottom half of the front (see the photo). Cut out and glue the textured foil to front of one of your A2 fold over cards. Cut out the frame of trees from the front of the white card stock-only card. Align and glue the frame of stamped trees to the bottom of the card with the foil front. Cut a 5...

 Have you ever received a fancy card with letterpress type? With letterpress, the paper is textured and you can literally see the printing process. It denotes an important and special feel to the card. Letterpress is officially done at a printers; but I have a trick to make a faux letterpress card.  This trick is actually multi-step, requiring agile fingers and patience. I will show you a tip to make it go smoother. It took me several tries to figure it out but I am happy to pass it along. But first:  Supplies White cardstock Altenew Butterfly Dreams layering stamp set Altenew Fancy Hello Die Altenew fresh dye ink sets in Golden Sunset  and Sweet Dreams Die cutting machine Spray adhesive Vellum The first thing you will do is die cut five fancy hellos from card stock. Then you glue each fancy hello on top of each other, making one thick fancy hello. For me, this was harder than it sounds. I have neuropathy in my non dominant hand and this creates numb fingertips and ...

  My first class in the Clean & Simple (CAS) style of card making was basic. I admit, that I had to hold myself back while creating this card. Basically, I stamped the images and colored in two spots that I felt balanced the composition and injected a little pizazz. It is pretty straight forward.  Supplies Altenew Many Thanks stamp set Altenew Healthcare Heroes stamp set Altenew fresh dye ink in crimson Altenew pigment ink in permanent black Staedtler watercolor pencil no. 124 Hangfan alcohol marker in carmine No. 6 round brush One item that I did not list in the supplies is Altenew Stampwheel 2.0. I did not list it because it is absolutely not necessary. But I am writing about it because it makes your life so much easier if you're going to be making cards regularly. I love it! If you are into making cards, put it on your gift wish list now. A birthday or celebration anytime soon? This detail shows how thorough my black ink stamped. Without the Stampwheel 2.0 , I would pro...

I made another card illustrating how repetitively stamped backgrounds can create a visual rhythm to your design. This simple layout had me stamping, blending, cutting and glueing. I felt like a school kid with my big glue stick. Now, when you look at my supply list, you're going to smack your head when you look at all the inks. Rest assured, you only need a red, a green and a black. I like to mix colors. I often use different shades of a same color to create small variations. Another tip I can give you regarding supplies is to purchase coordinating sets when you can. Especially for beginners, this actually lessens the amount of supplies you're going to need because most of the main elements will be included.  Supplies Altenew Mini Delight One in a Melon stamps and die set Altenew fresh dye inks in frayed leaf, olive, crimson, coral berry, permanent black A striped stencil Two Altenew blending brushes Altenew Glitter cardstock set 3"X6" White cardstock Altenew  Sciss...

This card is a far cry from the multilayered roses in a Victorian garden card I made two posts ago. Granted, a skeletal human spine and brain are not usual thank you card images. Does it clarify things if I tell you this is a thank you card that I plan on giving my neurosurgeon(s) at my next appointment.? Thought so. Within this last year, I had two serious spinal neurosurgeries. They were both myelopathy emergencies and I was quite ill by the time I was taken to surgery. The good news is that I have regained abilities with my hands for the most part and my doctors arrested the spinal compression that was causing me to lose my balance and that would eventually paralyze, then kill me.  I am still trying to walk and hope the end of the year will see me getting around without a wheelchair or walker. But even if I stay as I am now, I am so very, very grateful to the neurosurgery department of Cleveland Clinic Hospital in Florida for saving my life and giving me back much of my abilitie...

Clean and Simple (CAS) refers to a style of card making which utilizes minimal tools such as inks, stamps and your own hand. Often images are stamped and then colored in with watercolor, alcohol marker or some other sort of color.                                               Of all the card making styles, CAS gives the card maker much more latitude to express themselves freehand. Because CAS is so popular and easy to do, I will offer various examples in the next several posts. I made two cards for the creatives in my life. Card number one featured stamping of brushes and a few stain-like rings. I then used watercolor to do the rest. On the inside, is the sentiment. My second card featured the sentiment on the front and I stamped, painted and splattered color all over. The inside is blank. I definitely played more while making the second card. It is...