Wednesday, November 26, 2014

For You



Sharing another gelli plate card today.

It is just so much fun!

For this one I created the gelli plate background using The Crafter's Workshop ___ 6x6 stencil.

I then added some stamped circles to the pattern using Ellen Hutson's Bokeh Dots stamps set.  I used both black and gold Delicata ink and stamped both circle outlines as well as some solid circle images.

The sentiment was created using Little B's Block Out Line Art and Lawn Fawn's Louie's ABCs dies.  I added some vellum beneath the negative cut of the 'for' as well as some gold foil cardstock at the bottom of the black sentiment strip.



That's all for today.  For all those stateside, have a safe and tasty Thanksgiving!!!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - White Cardstock; PTI - True Black Cardstock; Recollections - Vellum and Gold Foil Cardstock
Stamps:  Ellen Hutson - Bokeh Dots
Ink:  Versafine; Delicata
Other:  Gelli Plate; Little B -  Block Out Line Art Dies; Lawn Fawn - Louie's ABCs Dies; Acrylic Paints; Tombow - mono Adhesive; 3L - Foam Adheisve





Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Hello squares




Sharing a soft pretty hello card today.

I have to admit I do have a fondness for basic punches.  There are so many ways you can use squares and circles to make interesting patterns, or just basic cards.  This one falls into the latter, and extremely simple and easy to boot.

I just chose three papers from the MME Now & Then Mildred 6x6 pad and punched 1/2" squares from it.  These were tacked to another really neutral pattern from the pad.

Then I went in and added some stitching.  That's another way to really add interesting detail to a card.  Here I kept things really simple, but you could add so much detail to a pattern by stitching diagonally across the squares or vertically and horizontally across the middle of the squares to create a more quilted look.




The hello die is from Paper Smooches.  It was die cut in white and I colored it with a Copic to get the right shade of gray.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  MME - Now & Then Mildred 6x6 pad; Avery Elle - Silver Fox and White Cardstock
other:  Paper Smooches - Hello Words Dies; Copic Marker; Tombow - Mono Adhesive; Sewing Machine

Monday, November 24, 2014

Fun with Alcohol Inks



I have to give my friend May credit for today's card.  After I created this card for the recent Neat & Tangled release, she asked if alcohol inks would work on photo paper.  Since I have a Canon Selphy, I have convenient 4x6 sheets of printer paper, so I thought I would do a little experimenting.

The verdict is that photo paper works AMAZINGLY well with alcohol inks, I actually think even better for many techniques than glossy cardstock.

For this card I wanted to see how well the alcohol ink would drip.  I applied both butterscotch and wild plum ink to the top of one side of the paper and then streamed some of the blending solution over it to create the streaks.  I continued to add the ink and blending solution until I got the amount of streaking and color I wanted.

I stamped the sentiment using Versafine.  The photo paper is a little slippery, so the stamped image isn't quite as precise as it normally is, and it's also not a really dark black either.  For a true black, I'd use Stazon, but I hate that stuff and try to never use it.  I wanted to be sure that the sentiment was totally set, so I embossed it in clear.

This was so fun and easy.  I'm definitely going to be trying it some more.  If you try it, please let me know, I'd love to see what you make!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock - Avery Elle - White Cardstock; PTI - True Black Cardstock; Canon - Selphy Photo Paper
Stamps:  My Favorite
Ink:  Versafine; Ranger - Butterscotch and Wild Plum Alcohol Ink
Other:  CTMH - Clear Embossing Powder

Friday, November 21, 2014

Do You Gelli?



I have been dreaming of owning a Gelli plate for many many moons.  I got the sweetest package from my GI12 buddy Cheiron

a couple weeks ago, and inside, my very own Gelli plate!

I broke it out pretty quickly for a test drive, making a bunch of prints.  This one uses The Crafter's Workshop Web Doily stencil.  Once I had created my print I trimmed it down to create the center panel which is floated above a black mat adhered directly to the card base.

The print kind of reminded me of an explosion, and I thought this Mama Elephant sentiment paired really nicely with it.

I had a great time creating with the Gelli plate.  In fact, it was so much fun that I 'had' to run out and get some more paint colors.  You will definitely be seeing many more Gelli projects.  It's very kid friendly too!  Both girls have tried it out and been asking me when we can do the 'rolling thing' again.

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - White cardstock; PTI - True Black cardstock
Stamps:  Mama Elephant - Lights Out
Ink:  Verafine
Other:  Gelli Plate; Acrylic Paints; The Crafter's Workshop - Web Doily 6x6 stencil; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Stand for Something



I was so excited to get these new MFT sneaker dies the other day.  They are a ton of fun, and I love that there is so much detail down to the little shoelace holes (because I cannot think of the real word for those) and the details on the soles.

I knew I wanted to use this denim paper for the main shoe, and I have a soft spot for red, white and blue, so it was an easy choice for the accent colors.  

The coordinating stamp set has some really wonderful sentiments that you can mix and match as well as some great details.  For example, the little circle on the side of the shoe....there are actually three different stamp choices there, and it stamps the star too, but I opted to glue a red die cut over top for contrast.

I used Maraschino twine from the Twinery for the laces.  A little trick to make threading easier:  just add a little bit of glue to the end, twisting it in to make a point.  When the glue dries it gives the twine some stiffness/body that make threading it through the holes a breeze, no need to fiddle with a needle.

This really is such a cute set of dies.  There is a fair amount of piecing and gluing, but it's totally worth it.  You could easily make multiples by die cutting in several cardstock colors and then mixing and matching the pieces from shoe to shoe.

That's all for today, thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  MME - On the Bright Side 6x6 pad; Avery Elle - White and Cherry cardstock
Stamps:  MFT - Be Original
Ink:  CTMH - Outdoor Denim
Other:  MFT - All Star High Top Die-namics; The Twinery - Maraschino Twine; Tombow Mono and Multi Adhesive

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

From Our Home to Yours




It's my turn over at the Jane's Doodles blog today.

I used Mr. Claus a few weeks ago, but I wanted to ink up Mrs. Claus too.

I decided they should be in a little Christmas snapshot together.

Mrs. Claus was stamped first and I created a mask using a post it note before Stamping Mr. Claus next to her.  Then it was just a matter of coloring and creating a polaroid top for it.

I love seeing pictures on pinterest of how people display their Christmas cards/photos.  I've always wanted to do a garland like this, pinning them up as they arrive.  I haven't quite gotten that together yet, so I'm living vicariously through this card.

Hope you like it!  Can you believe that Thanksgiving is next week??!!!

Supplie Used
Paper/Cardstock:  AC - Magical 6x6 pad; Avery Elle - White Cardstock; PTI - True Black Cardstock
Stamps:  Jane's Doodles - Mr. & Mrs. Claus
Ink:  Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versamark
Other:  Copic Markers; Stampendous - White Detail Embossing Powder; Misc Twine; Studio Calico - Mini Clothespin

25 Days of Christmas Tags



Hey everyone!  I'm excited to be participating in Tracey McNeely's 25 Days of Christmas Tags event.

I'm generally pretty traditional when it comes to Christmas colors, but for whatever reason, I went a little off road with this one.



I'm blaming it on my friend JJ since I was at her house and commandeered her Wonderland paper pad to create this.

I started by cutting a piece of watercolor paper.  I knew I was going to piece the trees, but I wanted to see where they were going to be for the watercolor wash, so I stamped the trees in Versafine and then added the wash around that.

Then I stamped the trees on three of the patterned papers from the Wonderland pack and fussy cut them. I also used the woodgrain paper for the tree trunks and a neutral pattern for the ground.  Everything was adhered directly to the tag with the exception of the middle tree which was popped up with foam adhesive.



I added a couple thing strips of paper (also from Wonderland) to the top and bottom of the tag and then punched a hole and added some burlap string.

As an aside, for all of your folks without tag dies, I have a bunch of tag dies, but I'm also really lazy.  For I'd say 85% of the tags that I make these days (especially since I often mass produce when it comes to tags and I don't feel like getting out one of my die cutting machines (I mentioned that I'm lazy right?)), I just cut a piece of paper like I did here.  All you need is a hole and you have a tag!

OK, be sure to leave a comment here for a change to win a prize from one of these sponsors:

  • Reverse Confetti
  • Clearly Besotted
  • CAS-ual Fridays
  • Neat and Tangled
  • Paper Smooches
  • Lawn Fawn

You will want to heat to Tracey's to check out the rest of the 25 Tags posts too.  Each comment on the 'taggers' posts earns you an entry to the draw.  You have until November 27th to comment on all the tag posts.

Oh, and shameless personal plug.  If you've been waiting for my Winter Trees set, it's back in stock over at Neat & Tangled, along with the rest of the recent October release.

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Studio Calico - Wonderland 6x6 paper pad; Watercolor paper
Stamps:  Neat & Tangled - Winter Trees
Ink:  Versafine; Ranger - Distress Ink
Other:  May Arts - Burlap String; Kuretake - Glue Pen; Tombow - Mono Adhesive; Scotch - Foam Adhesive

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Warm & Cozy Day



I don't know about where you guys are, but the temperature dropped at least 20 degrees between yesterday and today!  It's chilly and windy, although no snow here, so we're a little better off than some I suppose.

Anyway, a big package of My Favorite Things fun landed in my mailbox over the weekend, and I've been itching to try out the new stuff!

I actually used four items from their recent release on this card!

Obviously the Comfy sweater dies are highlighted.  My siblings and I joke around about my mom's ugly holiday sweaters all the time, but this one doesn't seem as bad, I mean, it has an adorable Birdie Brown polar bear on it.  Plus it doesn't jingle, light up, or play music, which I deem the mark of truly unacceptable sweaters.  The bear, and the rest of the sweater were colored with copics and I added just the tiniest inking to the sweater accents to make the texture stand out a little bit.

I needed a little something to anchor the bottom of the panel, so I added the cross stitched border from Nordic Knits and a sentiment from Cozy Mittens.

Hope you are staying warm where you are!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  American Crafts - Magical 6x6 pad; Avery Elle - White Cardstock
Stamps:  MFT - Birdie Brown Cool Day, Cozy Mittens, Nordic Knits
Ink:  Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versamark
Other:  MFT - Dienamics Comfy Sweater Dies, Copic Markers, Stampendous - White Detail Embossing Powder; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Monday, November 17, 2014

So excited!



In case you hadn't seen the news here last Friday, I'm thrilled to announce that I've been invited to join Ronda Palazzari's Design Team!

I'm a huge fan of Ronda's work, and so excited to be working more closely with her in showcasing her products.

Thought I would share a few of my favorite projects using her stencils.









Stay tuned there will be lots more coming!

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Waffle Flower October/November Challenge Take 2



Hey everyone!  I'm here to share my second card for the current Waffle Flower Crafts challenge.

For this bi-monthly challenge there are actually two challenges to choose from.  This time around we have an inspiration photo:



And a technique challenge:



Since I tackled the inspiration photo last month, I'm tackling white space this month.

White space is definitely a challenge for me, and to be honest after I made this card I think I kind of cheated.  Since although there's lots of white, I'm not sure this qualifies as white space, since I technically used something in the white space. 



Anyway, my love affair with the Flower Circle Dies continues.  For this one I used the die to dry emboss the pattern in a piece of cardstock, and then die cut it from another piece.  I used the negative cut from that as the front panel, embossing a sentiment from Holiday Labels - Give Thanks.



This was really pretty easy to put together, very few steps, but I think it makes a big impact.

OK, now it's your turn to play along!  You have until November 25th to play along.  Here are the details:

  • Use at least one Waffle Flower Crafts product 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.
Thanks for stopping by!  
Supplies UsedPaper/Cardstock - Avery Elle - Cream CardstockStamps:  Waffle Flower Crafts - Holiday Labels - Give ThanksInk:  VersamarkOther:  Waffle Flower Crafts - Flower Circles Dies; Judikins - Gold Embossing Powder; Scotch - Foam Adhesive; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Friday, November 14, 2014

Batter Up! - For the Crafter's Workshop



Happy Friday!

I'm sharing this layout over at The Crafter's Workshop today for their One Stencil Four Ways series.

This month we're showcasing the Pinwheel stencil.

For my layout I used just half the stencil.

I traced the openings on one side with a pencil and then used a craft knife to cut those portions out to create windows.



Then I placed the pinwheel stencil back over the cut piece and used a sponge dauber to add black ink to the portions of the stencil with the circles.



I then pulled out another sheet of cardstock to use as a foundation, again tracing the openings and then covering them with cardstock and washi.



The cut out sheet was then adhered over the top of the base page.



After that it was just a matter of adding some photos, a title, and some journaling.

Please head over to the Crafter's Workshop and check out what the other ladies created with this stencil!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  CTMH - White Daisy cardstock; AC - Sketchbook 6x6 pad
Ink:  CTMH - Black
Other;  The Crafter's Workshop - Pinwheel 12x12 stencil; AC - Thickers; Tombow - Mono Adhesive; Misc Washi

Thursday, November 13, 2014

O Holy Night


Just popping in to share another Christmas card.  I really love Paper Smooches' A Blessed Christmas set.  This one was really quite simple and I love that it's so nice and flat for holiday mailing.

I first stamped the little city image on a scrap piece of paper that was 4" wide.  I traced and cut out the ground line using the city as a guide to create a mask for blending.  That was adhered to my actual cardstock panel with some post it tape, and the sky was blended in.

Once I was happy with the sky/glow, I removed the mask.  It was a little too stark, so I added some very subtle shading with what was left on the blending pads.  

I stamped the city and the sentiment, and then embossed the star in gold.

Short and sweet today, but some fun news coming tomorrow ;)

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock - Avery Elle - White and Kraft cardstock
Stamps:  Paper Smooches - A Blessed Christmas
Ink:  Versafine and Versamark; Ranger - Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire, Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord, and Scattered Straw Distress Ink
Other:  Judikins - Gold Embossing Powder; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Monday, November 10, 2014

Welcome to our family



I love the new release from Paper Smooches.  This card includes my two favorite things - that snowman couple and the welcome word die.

The expression on the snow couple is just so sweet.  After coloring them with Copics they were inlaid, along with the word die, in a trimmed down Studio Calico journaling card.



I used the curved die from Avery Elle's Custom Panel Ellements to create the little hill.

Wedding cards tend to be pretty one note, and I love the unconventional nature of this one.

Hope you had a good weekend!  I spent a great deal of mine tearing apart my craft area.  I got a new shelf and I'm trying to reorganize and purge a little too....it's still kind of a disaster, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel....

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - Cherry and White cardstock
Stamps:  Paper Smooches - Cool Dudes, The Welcome Wagon
Ink:  Memento - Tuxedo Black
Other:  Paper Smooches - Cool Dudes Icons and Welcome Word Dies; Avery Elle - Custom Panels Dies; Copics; SC - Journaling Card; Scotch - Foam Adhesive; Tombow - Mono Adhesive


Friday, November 7, 2014

Peace on Earth (and a confession)


I have a confession.  I am horrible about details, and it's getting worse as I go.  I will read something once, and get a fact stuck in my head, for example, Ellie's hockey class starts at the beginning of November, on November 1st to be exact....wrong.  It actually starts this week, November 8th to be exact.  Oops.  Thankfully they were really cool and let her participate with the previous group last week.

Anyway, you are probably wondering what this has to do with crafting right?  Well I am also really bad about reading publication calls.  So I made this card for the Stamp & Ink call at PC&S.  Guess what?  They are NOT, I repeat NOT looking for Christmas cards.  Oops again.

So, somewhat by accident I have a Christmas card to share today.

I'm using some Essentials by Ellen products:  The Christmas Scribbles and Brushstroke Christmas stamp sets and the Brushstroke Peace Die.

I started with a 3x4 piece of watercolor paper which I added a wash of blue to, with a little touch of yellow in the center for some brightness/light.

I knew I was going to use the pine stamps at the top and bottom border, so after the paper was mostly, but not totally dry, I added green in the general areas/where the pine sprigs would be.  Since the blue wasn't totally dry, it blends in nicely, and adds some extra depth.



Then I actually stamped the sprigs with Versafine.  I actually stamped it once, and then again in second generation slightly offset to add some extra dimension.  I also went in and added some additional green paint in the stamped areas to punch up the color too.

Once the panel was totally dry, I embossed the secondary sentiment in gold.  The peace was die cut from gold foil cardstock and popped up, and the entire panel was popped up over a dark blue mat.

That's all for today.  Glad to be home, and looking forward to some fun with the family this weekend!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  Avery Elle - Cream and Sapphire cardstock; Canson - Watercolor Paper; Recollections - Gold Foil Cardstock
Stamps:  Ellen Hutson - Christmas Scribbles and Brushstroke Christmas
Ink:  Versafine and Versamark
Other:  Ellen Hutson - Brushstroke Peace Die; Kuretake - Gansai watercolors; CTMH - Gold Embossing Powder; Scrapbook Adhesives - Foam Adhesive; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

I love you so


Hey everyone!  It's my turn over at the Jane's Doodles blog today.  I've been itching to ink up the new Hello Friend set.

I was a little pressed for time, so wanted to do something pretty simple and straight forward.

I stamped this little fox using CTMH's Autumn Terracotta ink.  Then I added shading with Copic markers.  It's a great little cheat to get a faux no line coloring effect.



The ground was also colored with Copics as was the little heart.

I chose some Basic Grey Carte Postale papers to go with him, but it looked a little too plain, so I added a few photo corners from Scrapbook Adhesives.

Hope your week is going well!  I'm actually traveling a bit for work this week, but looking forward to heading home to see the family tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  CTMH - White Daisy cardstock; Avery Elle - Cream cardstock; BasicGrey - Carte Postale 6x6 pad
Stamps:  Jane's Doodles - Hello Friend
Ink:  CTMH - Autumn Terracotta; MFT - Black Hybrid Ink
Other:  Copic markers; Scrapbook Adhesives - Kraft Photo Corners; Tombow - Mono Adhesive

Monday, November 3, 2014

love us


Hey everyone!  Just popping in quickly to share a simple card.  I'd say quick, but nothing is quick when you stitch.  Still, this isn't rocket science.

I took a journaling card from Bella Blvd, trimmed it down to 4" x 5 1/4", and added stitching where you would add highlights.  

For a little extra interest I rounded off the top corner on both the journaling card and card base.

Have a happy Monday!

Supplies Used
Paper/Cardstock:  PTI - True Black cardstock
Other:  Bella Blvd - Family Forever Candid Cards; DMC - Black Embroider Floss; CM - Corner Rounder; CTMH - Dimensional Foam Tape