Hark the Herald Angels Sing

I thought I'd celebrate Halloween with a Christmas card.  Ha!  The truth is I really don't do much crafting for Halloween, but I definitely need Christmas cards, so I've been trying to squeeze a few in every now and then so I'll have a sufficient stash to send.  

I had the pleasure of tagging along with Ellie on a playdate last week.  My former CTMH upline's daughter and Ellie are thick as thieves, so while the girls were playing who knows what upstairs, we did some crafting downstairs.

This was such an easy card to make.  I just used some watercolors to create a simple background, and then stamped the sentiment with pigment ink.  You could definitely mass produce these in a hurry!

You might have noticed that my normal background paper is missing.  Well, I knew it would happen eventually and it did.  The perpetually messy state of my craft area resulted in a bent/warped paper, so I'm going to be searching for a replacement, until then, white works, right?

I'm looking forward to taking the girls out trick or treating tonight.  Ellie is going as Ariel and Carina is going to be Leonardo (the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, her new obsession).

Have a safe and fun Halloween and don't forget it's Daylight Savings Time this weekend!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Canson - Watercolor Paper; PTI - True Black Cardstock
Stamps:  CTMH - Sing Glory
Ink:  CTMH - Black Pigment Ink
Other:  Kuretake - Gansai watercolors; Tombow - Aqua Mono

Publication Share

Hey everyone!

I'm busy working on some assignments and publication projects, but I thought I would pop in quickly today to share a card that was published in the Cool Tools issue of Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Magazine.



I used a paper crimper to create the panels on the card, and stamps and dies from WPlus9.

Halfway through the week!  I can't believe that Halloween is Friday!

Thankful

Hey everyone!  Hope you had a great weekend!  Ours was blissfully free from any major plans, lots of family time, great weather, and some time with friends too.  Way too short!

Anyway, I thought I would share a card I made a while back, but haven't gotten around to posting.

This is one of those cards that looks more time consuming than it really is.  Sometimes you just need a few great products and you can whip something amazing up in no time.

I used Paper Smooches' Retro Arrow Die with some Studio Calico woodgrain cardstock to make the front piece.  This was popped up over a gorgeous print from Webster's Pages Strawberry Fields collection.  It's got a wheat field (or I guess strawberry field) that transitions to sky and has some bokeh effects in it too.  I chose a portion that included that transition.



The sentiment was die cut from that same paper, a little further down on the sheet so that the yellows are a little bit brighter and more intense.  To ground the sentiment I added another small strip of that same paper.

That's all for today!  Hope you have a great start to your week!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Studio Calico - Woodgrain paper; Webster's Pages - Strawberry Fields Field of Gold paper; Avery Elle - Silver Fox cardstock
Other:  Paper Smooches - Retro Arrow Die; Papertrey Ink - Phrase Play #7 Die; Scotch - Foam Adhesive; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Neat & Tangled Winner

Hey everyone!  Thanks so much for all your kind comments about my new set and all the new releases this week!

Just popping in this weekend to share the winner of my new Winter Trees set.  Random.org has spoken, and the winner is......

ALANNA!

Congratulations Alanna, please shoot me an email with your address I'll have this sent out to you.

October Neat & Tangled Release Week - Day 5

Hey everyone!  It's the last day of Release Week, and all the new products are now available in the Neat & Tangled Store.

My final card for this week showcases the new Very Merry stamp set and Tiny Triangles die.

First I cut a piece of black punchinella and then rubbed a few areas with Inka Gold and adhered it to the card base.

For the die cut panel, I used some watercolors as well as Heidi Swapp Gold Lame mist to paint a piece of watercolor paper and then die cut it.  I also used the die on some gold cardstock.  Using the watercolor piece as a guide, I randomly adhered some of the gold triangles to the card base.  The watercolor panel was then attached with some foam adhesive.



I stamped and embossed the 'merry' with Judikins Egyptian Gold embossing powder.  I love the lighter gold and the extra sparkle from that powder.  I also added some really subtle shading with a gold Wink of Stella pen, and then fussy cut it and adhered it to the panel.  A couple gold thickers finished off the sentiment and card.

And that wraps up the October Neat & Tangled release!  You will definitely want to head over to the Neat & Tangled blog to see what the Design Team created.

Don't forget to check out all my release week posts.  One random commenter will win my new Winter Trees set.  Comments close tonight and I'll announce a winner over the weekend.

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  PTI - True Black Cardstock; Canson - Watercolor paper; Recollections - Gold Cardstock
Stamps:  Neat & Tangled - Be Merry
Ink:  Versamark
Other:  Neat & Tangled - Tiny Triangles Die and Black Punchinella; Kuretake - Gansai watercolors; Heidi Swapp - Gold Lame Color Mist; AC - Dear Lizzy Primrose Thickers; Judikins - Egyptian Gold Embossing Powder; Viva Decor - Inka Gold; Tombow - Mono and Mono Aqua Adhesives; CTMH - Dimensional Foam Tape; Gold Wink of Stella Pen

October Neat & Tangled Release Week - Day 4

Yay for Thursdays and new stamp sets!

I'm really excited to introduce you to Winter Trees, my latest stamp set for Neat & Tangled.



I confess to having to attend a lot of meetings at my day job, and I often survive via doodle.  These trees are the results of some of those meetings.

The tree is pretty large, I wanted it to really be the focal point of the card, but size it to work with both vertical and horizontal cards.  I paired it with a few of my favorite Christmas hymns, and while the theme is definitely Christmas, the trees will last you all winter long.

For my card today:  watercoloring with emboss resist.  I can't help it, I'm addicted, and the fact is, it's just so forgiving.  It's easy to correct mistakes, lighten or darken things, and it really doesn't take long either.  I used a combination of distress markers and distress inks and a waterbrush to create this look.



The card base is woodgrain cardstock, adding a great rustic feel to the card, and the twine is Lawn Fawn.

Be sure to head over to the Neat & Tangled blog.  Danielle is giving a set away over there, and I'll be picking a winner from comments on all my Release Week points to win a set too.  Comments close tomorrow night and I'll announce a winner over the weekend.

All release week projects will be available in the Neat & Tangled store tomorrow, and I'll have one more project/reveal to share.  See you then!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - Maple Woodgrain cardstock; Canson - Watercolor paper
Stamps:  Neat & Tangled - Winter Trees
Ink:  Versamark
Other:  Ranger - Distress Markers and Waterbrush; Lawn Fawn - Lawn Trimmings; CTMH - Clear Embossing Powder; Scotch - Foam Adhesive

October Neat & Tangled Release Week - Day 3

We're officially halfway through Release Week!  Today's set is one that many of you will be familiar with.  Danielle released it a while ago as a digi, but now it's in photopolymer form.

It's a great size, perfect for journaling cards, in fact that's the size of my center panel.  I kept this pretty simple, but I wanted to add a little texture/interest to the image.  Some stitching was just the thing.  It's amazing what an impact a little stitching adds.




Another little detail that you don't see in the above photo is that I added a panel of Vino cardstock directly under the stamped panel.  From the side, and in person I think it adds some extra depth/shadow to the card.

Be sure to stop by the Neat & Tangled Blog.  Danielle is giving away a Warm Wishes set over there, and be sure to leave comments on my release week posts too.  Someone is going to win my new stamp set....come back tomorrow to check that out!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Echo Park - Seasons Greetings Collection; Avery Elle - Vino and Speckled Cardstock
Stamps:  Neat & Tangled - Warm Wishes
Ink:  CTMH - Chocolate
Other:  DMC - Embroidery Floss; AC - Dimensional Adhesive; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Peace on Earth for Jane's Doodles

I'm over on the Jane's Doodles blog today sharing this card.

I just love the new Mr. and Mrs. Claus set, and have been anxious to ink up Mr. Claus.

This is a really simple card, but so fun to make.  I just stamped him on my card base and colored him, and then used PTI skinny alpha dies to create the second part of the sentiment/ground for him to stand on.

I also used one tiny little snowflake stamp from the new Warm Wishes set to decorate Mr. Claus' mug.

Hope your week is going well!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - White and Black Cardstock
Stamps:  Jane's Doodles - Mr. and Mrs. Claus and Warm Wishes
Ink:  MFT - Hybrid Black Ink
Other:  PTI - Skinny Alphas Dies; Copics; Tombow - Mono Aqua adhesive

October Neat & Tangled Release Week - Day 2

Welcome back to Release Week at Neat & Tangled!  Today is an exciting day because Danielle is introducing a new designer, Cynthia.  She illustrates the sweetest images of people and this Little Santa Girl is her debut image.

I decided to mix things up a bit and make a tag.  This is a Tim Holtz Bigz tag die.  I colored her with a mixture of Inktense Pencils (clothes/gift/hair) and Copics (skin).  That little banner, part of the set, is fussy cut and popped up with foam adhesive.  Some scraps and a little stitching and twine and this one was done.

Be sure to head over to the Neat & Tangled Blog.  Danielle is giving away a set and you'll get to check out some more great samples.

Don't forget to leave a comment.  One random commenter front his week will win my new set!  Comments will remain open through Friday and I'll announce a winner over the weekend.

Supplies Used

Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - Speckled Cardstock:  AC - Magical 6x6 paper pad; SC - Woodgrain paper

Stamps:  Neat & Tangled - Little Santa Girl

Ink:  Versafine

Other:  Derwent Inktense Pencils; Copics; Neat & Tangled - Gold Sequins; May Arts - Burlap String; Tombow - Mono Adhesive; Scotch - Foam Tape

October Neat & Tangled Release Week - Day 1 & Giveaways this week

Hey everyone!

I know we just had a release last month, but we're at it again.  This will be the last Neat & Tangled release of the year.  There's lots of holiday/winter goodness and I'm happy to be both releasing another set this week and helping out with the release week festivities.

Today we're revealing Winter Wishes and Falling Flakes.

I created that blue background using alcohol inks on glossy cardstock.  The houses and trees are a single stamp and were embossed in black.  Then I stamped the Falling Flakes on each sides of the central image and clear embossed the flakes.

At that point I decided I wanted a little more texture/richer color in the background so I went back over the entire thing with a little more of the alcohol inks.  To get the embossed images to shine again, I just reheated.

The Falling Flakes add a great texture/shine, but it's hard to see in the photo above, so here's a close up.



The card base is black and I added a little Versamark/clear embossing along the bottom edge for some extra shine.  The main panel is adhered directly to the card base and then the two white panels are popped up with foam tape.

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to head over to the Neat & Tangled blog to check out how the Design Team showcased these sets and to enter to win them.

In addition, be sure to leave comments here all week.  I'll pick one lucky commenter to win my new set, which will be revealed on Thursday.  Comments will close Friday and I'll announce a wine over the weekend.

See you back here tomorrow!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Ranger - Glossy Cardstock; Avery Elle - White Cardstock; PTI - True Black cardstock
Stamps:  Neat & Tangled - Winter Wishes and Falling Flakes; MFT - Hybrid Black Ink
Ink:  Ranger - Alcohol Inks; Versamark
Other:  CTMH - Black and Clear Embossing Powder and Dimensional Foam Tape; Hydrangea Hippo - Black Sequin trim; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Publication Share - Piecing

Thought I would pop in to share with you a card that was published in the November issue of Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Magazine.

Normally, I share a full card pic, but for this card I thought I would give you a close up so that you can see my piecing process a bit.

For this card I used a combination of piecing and coloring.

I try and plan it out a bit before I get started.  I want the piecing to make sense, so things that are in the front should be pieced on top of the others as opposed to all in one layer.

You can see from the photo that the arm is in front of the overalls as well as the pocket, which is pieced over top of the overalls like it would be in real life, same thing with the patch and heart on the knee.  Since the basket is in front of the arms, it's piece over top of the hands.

Now I'm not suggesting you have to do this with all your pieced images.  I've pieced tons of cards all in one layer, but if you're looking to add a special touch or make it a little more dimensional/realistic, this is one way to add it.

TGIF!  Have a great weekend!

You Add Color to My Life

Sharing another card from my crafty card bonanza last weekend.  I've been wanting to try out this Paper Smooches camera die for a while, but I just haven't gotten around to getting it, so I was excited to use it at JJ's.

I wanted the majority of the card, with the exception of the 'photo' to be black and white, so I pieced the camera together from black, white, and two shades of gray cardstock.  Then I created a 'photo' using the splotch stamp from Paper Smooches I Heart Art set.  The sentiment is from that set too.



I wanted it to look like the photo was shooting out of the camera towards you, so while I added to layers of foam adhesive at the top of the photo, there are six at the bottom.



My apologies, I don't have a full supply list since this was one of those 'just playing' cards that I put together, so I wasn't keeping track of everything I used in terms of papers/ink colors.

Waffle Flower Crafts October/November Challenge

Hey everyone!  

I'm really excited about the new Waffle Flower Challenge.  As you know, every two months there are two challenges.  You can play along with one or the other or even combine them.

This month there is an inspiration photo:

And also a technique challenge:



I chose to play along with the inspiration photo challenge this month and this is what I came up with:



I am in love with the new Flower Circle dies and knew I wanted to use one as the focal point of my card.  The sentiment was embossed in gold on some woodgrain SC paper which is popped up above some May Arts burlap string as well as MME gold foil vellum.  



I also added some gold splatter using Heidi Swapp Gold Lame Color Shine.  

OK, now it's your turn!  There are THREE chances to win, a winner in each category will be picked as well as a random winner from all entries.  Here are the details:

• Use at least one of Waffle Flower Crafts products on each entry. List the product name in your blog post. If you use an online gallery (Flickr for example), list the name in the description. This is especially important when you used a product in a clever way that might not be obvious to people. Our team will be looking for them but please help make it easier for them.

• Enter as many times as you want. If you have a blog, please include the graphic of the category you are entering in and link to the challenge post. This is to help your readers and crafty friends to find us and join the fun!

• Combine up to 3 other challenges if you want.

Looking forward to checking out your projects!

Supplies Used

Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - Speckled Cardstock; Studio Calico - Woodgrain paper; MME - Necessities Vellum with Gold Foil Accents - Triangles

Stamps:  Waffle Flower Crafts - Holiday Labels Give Thanks Set

Ink:  Versa mark

Other:  Waffle Flower Crafts - Flower Circles Dies; May Arts - Burlap String; Heidi Swapp - Gold Lame Color Shine

Happy Winter for Waltzingmouse Pajama Party

I was so excited to see that JJ had some of the new Waltzingmouse stamps at her house over the weekend, and decided to create a card for this month's Pajama Party.

Super simple.  I just stamped the deer from the Little Deer set on some watercolor paper and then proceeded to color this simple scene with my Kuretake watercolors.

For the snow, I used the Simon Says Stamp Falling Snow stencil, with some Liquitex paste.  I actually went back and added a light dusting of glitter, but it doesn't show in the photo.

The sentiment was stamped and embossed on some vellum.  I added a bit of red burlap string, and then adhered that to the panel with CoolTak adhesive.

OK, that's all for today!

Come back tomorrow to check out my new Waffle Flower Crafts Challenge card.

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - Kraft cardstock; Canson - Watercolor Paper; PTI - Vellum
Stamps:  Waltzingmouse - Little Deer and Warm Fuzzies
Ink;  Versamark
Other:  Simon Says Stamp - Falling Snow Stencil; Liquitex - Paste; Kuretake - Gansai Watercolors; Stampin' Up - Glitter; May Arts - Red Burlap String; Cool Tak Adhesive; Scotch - Foam Adhesive

Peace on Earth

Hey everyone!  Hope you had a great weekend!  I was lucky enough to be able to get together with some of my GI12 buddies (JJ, Tessa, Jocelyn, and Wida).  It was so much fun and I was able to get a lot done to boot!

This is the first card I made this weekend.  I was playing with Paper Smooches' Power Rays die.  I started by die cutting it from watercolor cardstock.  I adhered both pieces of the die cut to some printer paper, and then die cut the cityscape from the bottom of it.

The cityscape was colored with Kuretake watercolors.  Once it was dry, I went back with a wet brush and removed some of the color from the smaller rays.

I die cut the Power Rays again with some scrap cardstock and used removable adhesive to adhere it to the card base.  Then I used a sponge dauber to add color to the rays.



A thin strip of black cardstock that was clear embossed was adhered to the bottom of the cityscape and the entire piece was adhered with foam adhesive so that the rays of the cityscape lined up with the inked rays.

OK, that's all for today.  Thanks for visiting!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - White and Black cardstock; Canson - Watercolor Paper
Stamps:  Paper Smooches - A Blessed Christmas
Ink:  Versafine; Versamark; Distress Inks - Scattered Straw, Squeezed Lemonade, and Mustard Seed
Other:  Paper Smooches - Cityscape 1 and Power Rays Dies; Hero Arts - Clear Embossing Powder; Kuretake - Gansai Watercolors - Scotch - Foam Adhesive

Ellen Hutson Winner!!!

Hey everyone!

Just stopping in to announce the winner of the Bokeh Dots stamp from Ellen Hutson.

Random.org has spoken and the winner is.......

KIM HEGGINS!!!!

Congratulations Kim!

Kim, please email me your address and Ellen will get this out to you in a jiffy.

The full list of winners will be up over at EH shortly, good luck everyone!

Last two SC WCMD Projects

Just a couple more WCMD projects to share for the Studio Calico challenges.  This first card is based on this pin from Shanna Noel.



I loved the look of it with all the brushstrokes, the symmetry of the horns, the flowers, so I pulled out my Kuretake watercolors and just played a little.

This was such a fun card to put together, I loved the painting process and wanted to keep that image the focus, so I opted for a very simple little banner and sentiment.

Last project a quick journaling card I whipped up.



This is 4x6 and uses my Origami Map set.  I wanted a little white space at the bottom where someone could write, and for balance I added a little bit of washi up top.

There are a few other WCMD challenges I want to try and play along with, but I think I'm done with the SC challenges.

Thanks for visiting!

Supplies Used
Card
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - Speckled Cardstock; Canson - Watercolor paper
Stamps:  Paper Smooches - Many Thanks
Ink:  Versa fine
Other:  Kuretake - Gansai watercolors; Recollections - Foam Adhesive
Journaling Card
Paper/Cardstock:  PTI - Kraft cardstock; Canson - Watercolor Paper
Stamps:  Neat & Tangled - Origami Map
Ink:  WPlus9 - White Pigment Ink; Versafine
Other:  Misc Washi; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

WCMD Thanks

I was able to get another WCMD challenge card done last night.

I knew I wanted to create my own patterned paper based on this mood board from SC using Paper Smooches' Botanicals 2 set.



I used a combination of first and second generation stamping for this, the blue and gray branches are both second generation.

Once I had filled up the panel, I went back with a variation on rock and roll stamping, except in this case I only did the rolling on a clean stamp.  I used that to add some black accents to the edges/tips of the yellow and blue branches.

I then repeated this process on the other side of the yellow branches, but this time I used Versamark and embossed using some Egyptian Gold powder from Judikins.  It's less puffy, but more sparkly.  You can see that glimmer/gleam a little better in this photo:



I used some parchment paper for the mats, as well as to soften the background behind the sentiment.  Note:  parchment paper is slippery, so you need to sand it a little before you adhere things to it.

I'm also going to link this up over at Winnie & Walter for their WCMD Pattern Play challenge.

That's all for today!  Thanks for coming by!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  PTI - Kraft and True Black cardstock; CTMH - White Daisy Cardstock; Wilton - Parchment Paper
Stamps:  Paper Smooches - Botanicals 2
Ink:  CTMH - Sunkiss Yellow, Sweet Leaf, Grey Wool, and Lagoon; MFT - Hybrid Black Ink; Versamark
Other:  Paper Smooches - Thanks Die; Judikins - Egyptian Gold Embossing Powder; Tombow - Mono and Mono Aqua adhesive

Happy Holidays for WCMD

I finished up another card for some of the WCMD challenges out there.  One of the challenges at Studio Calico was to make a Christmas card, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to ink up a couple of the Ellen Hutson stamps that I didn't showcase during the hop the other day.  Speaking of which, you still have time to hop and win, here's my EH post.

This card uses the Christmas Scribbles and Tis the Season stamp sets, and I used the WCMD sketch at Moxie Fab World for inspiration.

I colored the image with Copics, added a little washi for the road, and finished it off with some Lawn Trimmings.

Short and sweet today, there are more stamps calling my name!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - White an Cherry cardstock; PTI - Kraft cardstock
Stamps:  Ellen Hutson - Christmas Scribbles, Tis the Season
Ink:  MFT - Black Hybrid Ink
Other:  Queen & Co - Washi Tape; Copics; Lawn Fawn - Lawn Trimmings; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Happy Fall

So I have once again been unable to fully take advantage of World Card Making Day.  I was only able to get this one card done yesterday.  Just too much other running around/chauffering of kids to be done.  Thankfully there are a bunch of different challenges open over the course of the next week, so I'm hoping to be able to get some more cards done for those.

I got a happy little package from Dreamweaver's Stencils in the mail yesterday, including this Tree Line die.  I have the Tree Line stencil, it's one of my favorites from Dreamweaver's so I was thrilled that they came out with a die and I wanted to use it right away.

I die cut a piece of watercolor paper and then proceeded to paint the die with watercolors.  I did this one section at a time, dividing the panel into roughly three sections.  I first wet the area I wanted to work with and then proceeded to add color by just dabbing dots/splotches starting with yellow, moving to golds, oranges, and then red.  It's extremely unscientific, but you get a great variegated result.  Then I painted the tree limbs with a mixture of two shades of brown.  

The back sky panel is another piece of watercolor paper that I wet and added a wash to using several blues.

Once everything was dry, I stamped a sentiment from the Ellen Hutson Autumn Acorns set, and then adhered everything to the card.  I added a woodgrain cardstock panel for some extra texture and to really make that die cut pop.  The sky panel was adhered directly to the woodgrain piece and then the die cut itself was popped up with foam adhesive.  

I'm going to link this up over at Studio Calico for the watercolors/stamps challenge and at Butterfly Reflections for their WCMD challenges.  This is also getting linked up at Dreamweaver's for their monthly challenge. 

Hope you guys had a great WCMD and were able to get more than just one card done.  And don't forget that there is still plenty of time to complete the Ellen Hutsons Exclusive hop - just scroll down for that.

Supplies Used

Paper/Cardstock:  Canson - Watercolor paper; Avery Elle - White and Woodgrain cardstock

Stamps:  Ellen Hutson - Autumn Acorns

Ink:  CTMH - Chocolate

Other:  Dreamweavers - Tree Line Die; Kuretake - Gansai Watercolors; Recollections - Foam Adhesive; CTMH - Bonding Memories Adhesive; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Essentials by Ellen Blog Hop

Welcome to the Essentials by Ellen Blog Hop!  I am so excited to help unveil a brand new line of high quality Clear Stamp Sets and Designer Dies, designed by Julie Ebersole exclusively for Ellen Hutson LLC.

This collection reflects an eclectic mix of images, sentiments and art styles that are sure to appeal to a wide range of tastes! Just in time for holiday crafting, the entire release is available now at Ellen Hutson LLC.

All Essentials by Ellen Stamp Sets and Dies arrive in signature packaging with a durable clear envelope (you guys, the storage is fantastic, no flimsy plastic bag!) and a labeled card stock backer for convenient storage and organization.  The die packaging also features an attached magnetic sheet, to ensure that even the smallest of your dies is stored securely!

For the hop I was asked to showcase three stamp sets and three dies.  I know it's a long hop, so let's get to it.

First a very CAS card featuring the Autumn Acorns stamp set.  I love the shape of the leaf from this set and that there is both a solid and outline image.




The solid image was perfect for some rock and roll stamping.  To add some texture an interest to the card, I added some hand stitching to the inside of the outline images.  I also added a linen mat behind the stamped panel.



My second card features the Cozy Christmas stamps set and Home & Heath and Laurel Wreath dies.



I wanted to showcase a different use for the Laurel wreath die, so I used it to create the bottom edge of that top panel.  It's a little tricky, but in a nutshell, die cut a scrap wreath, cut it in half and then placed the halves on the patterned paper (cut to 4" x 5 1/4" to determine how you want the boughs to line up.  Tack those in place with some removable adhesive, then place the wreath die on top of one, securing it on one side (so you can still lift it up) with some post it note tape.  Lift the die up slightly to remove the scrap/guide piece and die cut.

Once I had the negative portion complete, I die cut the wreath from green cardstock and pieced it together with the negative cut using some printer paper as a base.

For the bottom portion of the card, I used the partial die cutting technique to die cut the top of two of the houses from the Home & Hearth die set.




The sentiment was stamped and embossed on some more of that woodgrain patterned paper and adhered to the partial die cut piece.  I added some Lawn Fawn Lawn Trimmings and then adhered both the top and bottom pieces with foam adhesive.  A little red die heart die cut from Home & Hearth finished it off.

My first two card are more controlled and planned out.  My last card came together a little more organically.  I used the Bokeh Dots stamp set, the Stag Die, and then used the Brushstroke Joy die for a sentiment.



I first stamped the doodled circles on some watercolor paper and the painted them in with Kuretake watercolors.  I thought it would be fun to add some stitching around that large circle and stitched on some gold sequins while I was at it.  I also added some stamped black accents using that fun cluster of black dots stamp.

I wanted some gold 'gilding' on the stag's horns, so I pressed some Versamark onto them and embossed them in gold.  I felt like that made the black cardstock too boring so, I went ahead and embossed the rest of it in clear and the popped it up with some foam adhesive.



The sentiment was cut from some gold cardstock and adhered directly to the panel.  I wanted a bit of a frame, and debated whether to doodle it or stitch it and decided to go with stitching.  

Ok, that is all for me today, and now I have some giveaway fun for you!  The VERY generous Ellen and Julie are sponsoring giveaways at each stop along the hop.  We were each allowed to choose one of our showcase sets to giveaway.  I picked Bokeh Dots.



It's such a versatile set, I have a feeling I'll be reaching for it a lot to add that perfect finishing tough to my projects.  This new stamp set will go to one lucky winner! Please leave a comment to be entered to win.

If you're just getting started, the fun all starts at the CLASSroom, where there is a GIANT prize package being given away—be sure to leave a comment there and at each stop along the way, I have the full hop list below for you, by October 8th; winners will be announced October 9th!

HOPPERS:
The CLASSroom - http://ellenhutson.typepad.com/the_classroom_new/
Teri Anderson - terisplace.wordpress.com
Laurel Beard - www.laurelbeard.org
JJ Bolton - www.jjbolton.org
Heather Campbell - http://parkermolly.blogspot.com
Kittie Caracciolo - http://kittiekraft.typepad.com/kittiekraft/
Darlene DeVries - http://www.darlenedesign.com
Julie Ebersole – http://papertrufflez.com
Sharon Harnist - http://paperfections.typepad.com/
Amber Kemp-Gerstel - www.damasklove.com
Cristina Kowalczyk - http://mypapersecret.blogspot.com/
Karolyn Loncon - karolyns-paperkraft.blogspot.com
Nichol Magouirk - http://nicholmagouirk.typepad.com
Jean Manis - www.jeanmanis.com
Jennifer McGuire - http://www.jennifermcguireink.com/
Chari Moss - www.mossymade.com
Paulina Nakamura - http://www.prettypinkposh.com/blog
Jocelyn Olson - http://redballooncards.blogspot.com
Catherine Pooler - www.catherinepooler.com
Miriam Prantner - http://mprantner.blogspot.com (you are here...and almost done!)
Julia Stainton - http://juliastainton.com/blog

Enjoy and happy World Card-making Day! 

Miss You for Jane's Doodles

Hey everyone!

I'm sharing a card over on the Jane's Doodles blog this week.

I love mixing and matching my sets, and I've got a little bit of Wise Owl, Doodle Flowers II, Read All About it, and Spring on this one.

I knew I wanted to piece the owl, and I used a couple of patterns from MME's Now & Then Milo 6x6 pad.  I also added some extra shading with Spectrum Noir markers.  The chest feathers were done in four layers and adhered directly on top of one another.  The wings and base of the head were popped up with foam tape, and the very top of the head (with the eyes) has a layer of Power Tabs in there.  I like that those give you some dimension, but not a ton.



I wanted to warm up the background a bit, so I stamped a few of the vine/leaf images in soft yellow, but then I thought it was a little too subtle, so I went back in with a very thin journaling pen and added some doodles around them for emphasis.

A few strips of cardstock, a little stitching and a fussy cut speech bubble sentiment finished it off.

Hope you have a great end to your week.  Tomorrow is World Card Making Day, and you definitely want to stop by because there are some big goings on here!  Can't wait!  See you tomorrow!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  MME - Now & Then Milo 6x6 pad; Avery Elle - Silver Fox cardstock
Stamps:  Jane's Doodles - Wise Owl, Doodle Flowers II, Read All About It, Spring
Ink:  Versafine Smokey Gray; Hero Arts Soft Yellow Shadow Ink
Other:  Tombow - Mono Adhesive and Power Tabs; Recollections - Foam Adhesive

You Joined the (Work)Force

I pulled my A Long Time Ago stamp set the other day.  Thought I would play around some more with the galaxy technique that Jen Rzasa taught in Online Card Classes' Watercolor for Cardmakers.

The last time I made one of these cards I omitted the salt portion of the technique because I was worried that the texture would make it hard to emboss on.

Well, there's more than one way to skin a cat, so this time I just did the embossing first and it resisted the watercolor.  Duh.  I don't know why I didn't think of that last time.

I also went a little less colorful on this one, I was aiming this at a guy, so instead of using a whole bunch of colors in the background/base coat, I stuck with blues.  I also wanted to try using my Derwent Inktense pencils rather than the Kuretake watercolors.  They worked just as well, so it's nice to know I have lots of options.

I like both techniques, salted and unsalted, and will definitely continue to utilize both.

Hope that you are having a great week, and Happy October!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  PTI - True Black; CTMH - White Daisy; Avery Elle - Silver Fox; Recollections - Silver cardstock; Canson - Watercolor Paper
Stamps:  Neat & Tangled - A Long Time Ago
Ink:  Versamark
Other:  Derwent - Inktense Pencils; Stampendous - White Detail Embossing Powder; American Crafts - Dimensional Adhesive; Tombow - Mono Adhesive