The Daily Marker 10 Day Coloring Challenge Finished Cards, Day 2

Hi all, I've got a couple more finished cards to share today.  These two came together pretty quickly because they are stamped scene images by Anita Jeram for Colorado Craft Company.

I mentioned yesterday that I needed to step up the Christmas card making, so although these could have been winter or birthday cards, I went ahead and made them holiday cards.

This first card features the main image from the Snow Happy set.  I started by adding a sentiment from my Scandinavian Prints Christmas set for Neat & Tangled.  

Then I trimmed my panel down a bit, and adhered it to a light blue card base.

The frame is kraft cardstock that was first die cut using a rectangular die from My Favorite Things, and then cut a second time to add the oval opening using the Card Front Dies from Neat & Tangled.

The frame was then popped up over the image with foam tape.  Super simple, but you really don't need a lot with a large image that carries the day.

The second card features one of the images from the Christmas Presents set.  I love this image, but had ben kind of avoiding it because there are so many things to color in it and sometimes I get overwhelmed by having to find all the different color/shading combinations.  Solution?  Go with a monochromatic color scheme.  In this case, I went with sepia tones.

I thought about making this just a birthday card since the colors aren't really Christmassy, but decided to go ahead and go with a Christmas theme.  The sentiment is from Neat & Tangled's Santa's Wonderland set.

Papertrey Ink's Honey Nut cardstock was the perfect match for the color scheme, so I went with that for the base, but trimmed the panel down a bit more than I normally do so you can see more of it.

I'll have a couple more finished cards to share with you tomorrow!

*This post contains affiliate links to Simon Says Stamp

More Oldies but Goodies

As promised, I've got a couple more Oldies but Goodies Christmas cards to share today.  This time I'm mixing and matching products from a bunch of different companies, but I've again stuck with the same basic formula for each of the cards.

I started by stamping my images on Neenah Solar White cardstock and coloring them with Copics.  Then I fussy cut around the top of the images, but left the bottom of the stamped image attached to the panel, kind of like faux partial die cutting.  Once that was done, I was ready to put together cards.

This first card features the Walter image from Purple Onion Designs.  He was colored with Cool Grays, and I used my trusty red combination (R22, R24, R29, and R39).  

I cut an arched frame from a piece of patterned paper using an MFT STAX die for the front of the card, and stamped/embossed some snowflakes on a panel of light blue cardstock using a stamp from Ellen Hutson's Abstract Paint Strokes stamp set.

The sentiment, from Neat & Tangled's Scandinavian Prints Christmas set was embossed on a banner from the Scalloped dies set.

The snowflake piece was adhered directly to my card base as was the little penguin, and the patterned paper frame and sentiment strip were popped up with foam tape.

The second card follows the same formula, but this one features an owl, Flora, also from Purple Onion Designs.  The owl was colored with Warm Grays and I used B32, B34, and B37 for the scarf, and E70, E74, E77, and E79 for the tree stump.

The snowflake were embossed on a piece of grout gray cardstock and instead of using patterned paper, I stamped a panel of kraft cardstock with The Stamp Market's Jumbo Plaid background using white pigment ink.

The sentiment for this one is from Neat & Tangled's Nativity Play set, and I used another of the banners from the Scalloped die set for it.

I still need a few more cards for the season, but I'm getting close to being done.  Still have lots of goodies in that stack of Christmas products that I pulled to work with and am looking forward to getting some more stamping done this weekend!

Oldies but Goodies, WPlus9 Holiday Hugs

Happy Wednesday!  Today I've got a couple cards featuring WPlus9's Holiday Hugs set.  This is one of my favorite WPlus9 images, and it's pretty easy to color.

These cards are basically the same design, but to keep things interesting, I switched up the color schemes  between them.

For my first card, I colored the bear with warm grays (W0, W1, W3), and the scarf/girl's outfit with R22, R24, R29, and R39.  I used E000, E53, and BV00 for the skin tone, and C5, C7, and C9 for her hair, and then die cut my image.

Embossing paste was spread through Simon Says Stamp's Falling Snow stencil on a piece of Cement Gray cardstock, and set aside to dry.

Meanwhile, I freehand cut a snowdrift, and stamped the sentiment on it.  

The dry stenciled piece and snowdrift were cut down to fit within a scalloped die cut panel, and adhered to the card base, and the colored image was popped up with foam tape.

For the second card, I went with cooler colors.  Instead of fully coloring the bear, I just added a thin line of color (N1) next to each of the stamped lines.  I used the same series of reds to color the bear's scarf, but the little girl's outfit was colored with B00, B12, B14, B06, and B18.  The skind was colored with E00, E21, and E95 and the hair with E13, E15, and E18.

The rest of the card was put together in the same manner as the first, but this time I used a light blue for the sky piece and a white scalloped panel.

The sentiment is from Neat & Tangled's Scandinavian Prints Christmas set.

That's all for today, but I have one more Oldies but Goodies post to share this week, see you tomorrow!

Wintry Window Card

We had our first major snowfall this weekend as well as our first snow day, so I had some time to do some crafting.  The weather inspired me to pull out the Ellen Hutson dies I recently ordered.  

This card uses the Alpine Window and Alpine Snowfall dies.

I started by die cutting the house layer from my card base.  This is a window layer in that it cuts a window into a piece.  The tree layers is also a window layer, but for this layer I first die cut a circle that was just slightly larger than the diameter of the tree layer, and then placed the tree layer die within it and die cut.  This created a very thin frame around the top of the opening which allowed me to adhered that layer to the back of the opening created by the house layer.

The next two layers are on the inside of my card.  I cut a panel of dark blue cardstock and created the snowy sky using the Alpine Snowfall die.  Over that, I added the mountain layer from the Alpine Window die set - this die cuts the actual mountain piece out.

When you close the card you get the full scene.

To finish things off, I added a mat of patterned paper and then popped up the top layer of white cardstock.

I thought long and hard about making this a Christmas card, but decided to go with a winter themed card.  I used two sentiments from my Scandinavian Prints Christmas set, one on the outside and one on the inside.

Thanks for visiting!  

*Affiliate Links Below to Ellen Hutson and in text to Neat & Tangled

Alpine Window by Julie Ebersole, Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies

Alpine Snowfall by Julie Ebersole, Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies

25 Days of Christmas Tags

Hey all!  I'm participating in Tracey's McNeeley's 25 Days of Christmas Tags event today.  Not coincidentally, today's featured sponsor is Neat & Tangled.

I wanted to try something a little different this year - creating a tag from felt.

I used the Build A Tag dies as well as the Gift Card Box Additions dies, and felt from Benzie Design.  The tree is from the Scandinavian Prints Christmas dies, and the leaf shape is actually one of the smallest leaves from one of Benzie's Felt-Fetti Magnolia Leaf sets.

I started by die cutting all the pieces.  I wasn't sure how the rectangle with the diagonal cuts would look in the felt, but I really like the texture it adds.  

The tree was first hand stitched to the leaf and diamond.  Then I machine stitched the diamond to the smaller light green rectangle.  

  

The sequin/sparkle was added to the corners of the diamond, and also tacked to the larger red rectangle at the same time.  I used a regular sized red sequin, a small gold sequin, and a gold seed bead.

The entire red piece was then stitched to the tag base, as was the tag topper.

I didn't stitch the top of the red rectangle shut so that I could slip a gift card in.

This was really pretty easy to make.  The nice thing about felt is that it kind of naturally sticks to itself, so there's really no pinning required.

Be sure to head over to Tracey's blog to check out the rest of today's tags and find out how you can play along and win a prize from one of the event's many sponsors:

*Affiliate Links below to Ellen Hutson and in text to Neat & Tangled

Neat & Tangled Dies, Build A Tag

Neat & Tangled Dies, Gift Card Box Additions

Neat & Tangled November Release and Giveaways - Day 3

Welcome back for Day 3 of the Neat & Tangled November release!

Today we're showing off Elena's new set, So Cool.

You saw a few of the images from the set on my stenciled card yesterday, and today I'm showing off the little ice fishing kid.

I've really been into one layer(ish) cards lately.  I say ish because while I'd like to just make one layer cards right off the bat, I'm not that good.  First of all I hate masking, and second of all my stamping tends to be a little suspect and I know if I tried to do everything in one layer I'd mess up a hundred times before I got it right.

However, I can stamp and color and die cut an image and then move it around on my card front until I'm happy with it's position....much easier than masking/trying to get it right the first time!

So that's what I did here.  Once my colored images were done, I played around with placement and once I was happy with where the ice fishing was going to happen, I put down a strip of post-it tape to create a ground line and then stamped the little ice fishing hole, added a teeny bit of coloring to that and the water droplets, and adhered my other pieces in place.

The sentiment is from my Scandinavian Prints Christmas set, but I thought it went perfectly with the image.

Alright, time to head over to the Neat & Tangled blog to see everyone else's projects and to enter to win a set for yourself.  Don't forget to leave a comment here also as I'll be picking some winners for my new release goodies on Friday.

Monochromatic Christmas Trees and Sale

I am in the thick of Christmas card making.  The big event is just over two months away and my pile needs to grow substantially before then.  

I thought I would pull out an old favorite, my Scandinavian Prints Christmas set.  

There are so many possibilities with this set, and I've found for cards like this, one of the easiest and quickest ways to work is to settle on an ink family and just mix and match the tones.  

For this card, I'm using Altenew's Sea Shore inks.  

I penciled in a ground line, and then stamped the trees varying the shades and combinations.  I did mock this up on some scrap paper to find the combination I liked best.

I usually stamp my sentiments in black, but decided to stay with the color scheme and stamp with the darkest shade in the set.

To add a little bit of sparkle and texture, I added a thin line of liquid adhesive and then dropped glitter over top.

Once you figure out the combination of trees you want to use, this is really a quick and easy card, perfect for mass producing and nice and flat for mailing.

I also wanted to let you guys know in case you haven't heard, but there's a great sale going on over at Ellen Hutson through tomorrow.  20% off all in-stock dies.  As always, be sure to check the clearance section - most of the items in there are already 40% off and you get the sale on top of that.  Hope you're able to find something good!

Thanks for stopping by!

Neat & Tangled September Release Week & Giveaways - Day 3

It's Day 3 of Neat & Tangled Release week and today we're showing off one of Elena's new sets, Oh Deer.  There are four adorable deer images in the set, but this one makes me the happiest.  I really love the smile on the deer's face and his pose.

This is also the time of year where anything than can be made into a Christmas card gets made into a Christmas card because I need more Christmas cards!

The deer was stamped, colored with Copics, and die cut.  He's popped up over a couple of patterned paper pieces cut using the Gift Card Box Additions dies. 

The sentiment is from the Scandinavian Prints Christmas set and then cut using one of the banners from the Scalloped die set.

Some clear sequins finish things off.

I just love this set and I think you guys will too.  Head over to the Neat & Tangled blog for the full reveal and to check out the rest of the DT projects.

See you back here tomorrow for the last day of reveals!

N&T November Release Week Day 1 - Giveaways

Hey everyone!  It's a little crazy to think that we're in November and this is the last N&T release for the year!  I've got a bunch of new designs in this week's release and I can't wait for you to see them all.

Today we're showcasing a new sentiment set from Danielle as well as a new stencil set from me, Tree Duo.  Just like the Balloon Duo stencil we released in August, these are designed to work together, but you can certainly use them apart as well.  As an added bonus, they coordinate with my Scandinavian Prints Christmas set, which adds a whole other level of possibilities.

For my first project, I created some gift wrap.  I used some kraft paper (I have a big roll) and simply stenciled my trees on using a variety of Altenew green inks.  I forgot to take a good photo of the finished paper, but here's a shot I shared on IG as a sneak when I was working one evening.



I also added some stamped accents using Scandinavian Prints Christmas, but you could definitely skip that set.



To finish off the wrapping, I created a couple of thin tags using the Classic Tag 2 set and a sentiment from today's featured stamp set, Wishing You Love.



The stencil duo also creates easy CAS cards too.  This design is definitely mass producible, and nice and flat for easy mailing:



I used a combination of Altenew and Distress Inks on this one, and I was going to leave it more plain, but I couldn't resist some of those accent stamps in Scandinavian Prints Christmas.



The sentiment is from tomorrow's featured set from Elena.

Last but not least, a card featuring the main sentiment from Wishing You Love.  Danielle does such a great job constructing these large handwritten sentiments and I love how this one just commands the whole card.




For my card I added a bit of stenciling from something you'll see later in the week.  The sentiment was stamped over top with Versafine and then clear embossed.  I then added a few star and sequin accents and stitching as well as some patterned paper mats.

OK, that's all I have to share today, but you'll definitely want to head over to the Neat & Tangled blog.  Danielle is giving away all of today's featured products.

I also have some giveaways this week.  To be entered to win one of my new release products, be a follower and leave a comment.  For additional chances to win, head over to my Instagram (@mprantner) and follow the directions there.  I'll announce winners on Friday.

See you back here tomorrow for more Release Week goodness!

Advent Calendar Extravaganza with Taheerah Atchia

Hey everyone!  I'm excited to be part of my friend Taheerah's Advent Calendar Extravaganza once again this year.

Advent Calendar Extravaganza is -the- festive event of the season! This ‘hop with a twist’ was dreamed up by Taheerah Atchia and features surprise destinations each day! Joining in the fun with Taheerah are ONE HUNDRED special guests - each serving up some fantastic Christmas inspiration! Just like an Advent Calendar, you’ll never know where you’re going to be visiting next until you ‘open the door’!

And that’s not all! With 25 *amazing* sponsors taking part as guests as well, your crafty wish list is bound to get a boost with a chance to win a prize EVERY SINGLE DAY!!

Join in the fun every day at taheerah-atchia.com to see what special surprises await behind the door!



I was excited to learn that today's sponsor is Ellen Hutson.  I'm a big fan of the company, and pulled out one of my favorite EH Christmas sets, Tis the Season.

I love this little car image.  It's stamped with Memento and colored with Copics.  There are coordinating dies for the set, but I don't actually own them, so I did some 'faux diecutting' with my scissors.  

That tree patterned paper was actually created with two of the images from my Scandinavian Prints Christmas set. 

The sentiment is from another EH set, Christmas Scribbles.

When I get into my Christmas card making mode, I'm looking for designs that aren't particularly bulky or complicated, things that can be created in quantity, and this fits the bill.  You could easily stamp a full sheet of cardstock with the trees for patterned paper and have a set of four cards.  There's a bit of foam tape, but not much, and you could certainly omit it if desired.

Hope that this gives you some ideas if you're madly trying to finish up your cards!

It’s not a party without a prize - and with prizes every day there are several chances to win! As I mentioned, today’s prize is generously supplied by Ellen Hutson so you’ll definitely want to win! Simply leave a comment on this post - then head back to taheerah-atchia.com and leave a comment there too! You must leave a comment on Taheerah’s blog as well as mine in order to be eligible to win! Don’t forget to grab the other surprise destinations from Taheerah’s blog and head over to them to leave comments there as well to improve your odds even more! You have until 23:59 EST on 31st December 2016 to enter.

Don’t forget Advent Calendar Extravaganza runs from 1st-25th December inclusive so make sure you visit taheerah-atchia.com every day for fabulous inspiration and amazing prizes every single time! Merry Christmas!

Also, just a reminder, today is the last day of the Overstock sale over at Ellen Hutson.



There is still lots of stuff in the overstock category as well as in the Clearance section.  This link will take you directly to the Overstock category.  Happy browsing!

*Affiliate Links Below

VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black

Neat & Tangled Clear Stamps, Scandinavian Prints Christmas

Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Tis the Season by Julie Ebersole

Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Christmas Scribbles by Julie Ebersole

Memento Ink Pad, Tuxedo Black

Ranger Super Fine Embossing Powder, White

VersaMark Ink Pad

Lawn Fawn Hemp Cord, Peppermint

Scotch Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape