Tropically Beautiful Day | ft. Altenew "Totally Tropical" and Tombow Dual Brush Markers

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I wanted to share a card with you that is a little out of my comfort box. If you've been reading or following on YouTube for any amount of time, you know that I love me some stamps to colour. I love making little scenes and doing all the cute little things that brought me to this community.

Today's card is a little different. Today, I'm working with a layering set by Altenew. I love their stamps, especially the floral ones, what I don't love is the price here in Canada. The exchange is just craziness! But I couldn't stop myself with this one!

To begin, I cut down a piece of Strathmore 140lb cold press watercolour paper and put it in my MISTI. I selected two shades for each flower, a lighter for the solid and a darker for the more detailed layer.

I positioned the solid stamp where I wanted it and closed the door to the MISTI, I then coloured directly on the stamp with the Tombow Dual Brush marker, gave it a little spritz with my Distress Sprayer and closed the lid.

At first I wasn't thrilled. But I've said, time and again, that if you keep going, you'll probably like it when it's done. I repeated this process for each of the flowers. I gave the panel a bit of time to dry, not completely, just so it wasn't really wet anymore, then positioned the more detailed stamp over top of the original solid image.

I coloured directly on with the darker shade, spritzed again and closed the lid. I then repeated the process for the other two flowers.

Once the panel was dry, I scribbled each of the darker shades on to my acrylic block, added a bit of water and used a paintbrush to splatter the colour over the panel.

I allowed the panel to dry again, then prepped it with my powder tool and stamped the greeting from Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day" stamp set with VersaMark ink, and heat embossed with detail black embossing powder.

I then mounted the panel to the front of a top folding standard A2 sized card base. The colours I used are: Blue - 452 and 443, Purple - 603 and 636, Pink - 743 and 755.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Happy Wishes | ft. Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

I know I've been sporadic in my posts lately, and I apologize. I'm trying, I really am. But I've started a second job. This one is full time. So now, I'm working full time Monday to Friday as well as part time at my other job, every other weekend. So, needless to say, I'm a little tired. It's good though. The new job is very suited to who I am and the environment is fantastic. There's a lot of transit time involved, so all in all it works out to about an 11 hour day, provided I get out on time.

Anyway, today I have a birthday card featuring the Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day" stamp set which came with the May 2018 Card Kit.

To begin, I prepped a piece of 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock with my powder tool and heat embossed three of the smaller butterflies with detail gold embossing powder. I then coloured the images with Copic markers and fussy cut them out.

I used a piece of the pink patterned paper from Lawn Fawn's Rainbow paper pack and a narrow piece of gold glitter cardstock to create an accent strip down the left side of my standard A2 sized card base. I stamped the greeting from CTMH using Lawn Fawn's Wild Rose ink. To ensure I got a good impression I stamped it twice using the MISTI.

I then adhered my butterflies down and used a scattering of sparkling clear crystals from Studio Katia to add some embellishment and interest.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Simon Says Stamp 2018 Mother's Day Card Kit

Hello everyone! Thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I have the unboxing video of the Simon Says Stamp 2018 Mother's Day Card Kit! Let me tell you guys, I am so excited for this! There are so many awesome things going on in this kit, I can't even wait to get crafty!

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube!

Check out the video to see all the pretty things that came in this kit. The colours they picked for this year's kit are AH-MAZING!!!

*note, I mention in the video that I had to email SSS about this, but it wasn't this kit. It was an order I placed before placing this order LOL, and the wonderful people over at Simon Says let me know that the order I was inquiring about had shipped that day. So we'll be seeing that one soon!

I hope you like today's video and are inspired to get crafty. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Butterfly Appreciation | ft. Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I have a super quick Thank You card. A friend of mine is Chair of the Parent's association for her daughter's school, and she asked me to create a couple Administrative Appreciation cards for the ladies in the office.

So while the video is quick, it took me a little bit to sort out the design (luckily I had some inspiration!). She wanted them in the school colours, and this was as close to teal as I could get. She likes them, so it's a win!

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube!

The video only shows one, but they are basically the same.

I supposed this would also technically fall into my monochrome series, but I haven't posted in a little while so I wanted to get this up right away, instead of waiting for Monday.

I hope you like today's card (and video!) and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

This card is for:

Muse Challenge #262

Inspired by Kim Heggins

Her CAS design with the bluebird really helped me out for my card today!

Rainbow Butterfly Thanks | ft. Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

I'm finally back with another card and video - no Lawn Fawn this time! But I am using the "Beautiful Day" stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. I gotta say I am LOVING this set!

I recommend watching in HD on YouTube!

Check out the video to see how this card came together, the types of crystals I used and a complete list of the Copic markers used for colouring those butterflies!

I opted to not put anything on the inside of this card while creating it, so that I could include a personal message for the recipient. This person is amazing, and I certainly would never have gotten through the week without her assistance.

AHH! Just look at that shine! I can't even!!

I hope you like today's card and video and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Mother's Day Wishes | ft. Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

While I know it's a little early, today I have a lovely Mother's Day card featuring Simon Says Stamp "Beautiful Day" stamp set. I got this set in the April 2018 card kit, and though the kit is sold out, you can certainly still purchase the set individually. There is so much going on in this set, it is definitely worth a look.

I had zero plan when I started out this card set, so there's no video. I kind of wish that I had filmed anyway because it turned out so wonderfully.

To begin, I stamped the butterfly and the leaves with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock and coloured them with Copic markers.

I cut two inch strips of cardstock in each of the colours that I coloured the butterflies, and used a lined stencil with the same colour ink to create a tone on tone patterned paper.

Each of the cards is a top folding standard A2 sized card base made with the same 110lb cardstock as I stamped the images on.

I stamped the greeting from Lawn Fawn's "Mom and Me" stamp set with Memento Ink. I used clear Wink of Stella over the whole of each butterfly, then used Glossy Accents by ranger over the darker dots and teardrop parts on the wings. Finally to finish off the cards I used some coordinating crystals from Studio Katia.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Alcohol Ink Window with Embossed Butterflies | ft. Simon Says Stamp April 2018 Card Kit

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

So this is the second post/video for today because I really just couldn't wait. I had planned on posting this tomorrow, but that was just soooo far away and I'm really excited about it.

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube!

There are a couple of new things that I've never before in this card. First off, I created an alcohol ink window for the front of the card, then second I used the Mother of Pearl Structure Gel by Daler Rowney on a second piece of acetate. I had no idea if either of these things would work, but I'm sure glad I turned the camera on just in case. I'm beyond happy about how this card turned out.

Check out the video above to see how this card was put together!

The structure gel dried a little more transparent than I had anticipated, but it still turned out super pretty!

I did not do anything on the inside of this card because I didn't even know what type of card it was going to be. I'm sure when the time comes I'll be inspired.

I hope you like today's card (and video) and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Opening the Simon Says Stamp April 2018 Card Kit

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I have the unboxing of the Simon Says Stamp April 2018 Card Kit. Let me tell you guys, I was soooo excited when it finally arrived. The post took forever and it was making me so sad every time I went to the box and there was nothing there.

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube

I have so many ideas for this kit and I can't wait to post them. (I already have a video lined up and ready to go) but of course the unboxing has to go up first.

The kit has been sold out, but you can certainly buy the pieces individually. The stamp set alone is worth having. It's BEE-U-TI-FUL!!

I hope you like today's video. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Love You Forever | ft. Lawn Fawn "Booyah"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I thought I would share a card I had created a long time ago, but never got around to posting. I created this card for all the horror movie watching, zombie loving crazies like me who would truly have their houses decked out in Halloween gear all year round if they didn't think their families would question their sanity. I tip my hat to the people who do it anyway.

I created this card for those people and to celebrate their love the way only they can.

To begin, I stamped both the hair pieces from the Booyah stamp set by Lawn Fawn, masked them off and then stamped the ghosts, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock. I then coloured the images with Copic markers and added a couple stitches.

I die cut them using a smaller torn paper die and sponged Dried Marigold Distress ink around the edges. I popped that up on some foam tape and set it aside.

For my background panel, I die cut one of the larger torn paper dies and used the Falling Hearts stencil by Simon Says Stamp with Black Soot Distress ink to fill in the background. I took some Hickory Smoke Distress ink and sponged along the edges so it wouldn't be such a stark contrast.

I adhered the heart panel to the front of a standard A2 sized card base in black, then adhered my panel with the ghosts.

On the inside it says "Love you Forever" in CTMH Cranberry ink.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

If anyone happens to know the name of the "torn paper" die I keep referring to, please let me know! I know that they are nesting dies and there are maybe 5 in the set, they look like Spellbinder but I can't find them anywhere. Help!!

Product Review Series | Odorless Mineral Spirits; Gamsol

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

I have received quite a few questions regarding Odorless Mineral Spirits (OMS), which I use and how to use them. So for today's review I will be discussing Gamsol.

Gamsol is an artist's grade OMS that can be purchased at your local art supply store or online for a relatively low cost. While it truly is odorless there are still vapors and you must use adequate ventilation. Do NOT inhale, taste, swallow or get in contact with eyes. Avoid contact with skin.

• Relatively inexpensive. I paid $16.40 for 16 fluid ounces (1 pint or 2 cups) at my local art store in Calgary.
• Absolutely odorless
• Clear liquid
• Locking Top

It's not really practical to keep it in it's original container for small crafty uses such as colouring with pencils. I have mine stored two ways.

• The first (left) is in a top press bottle - this allows you to press a small amount for dipping and avoids terrible spills. 
• The second (right) is in a small baby food jar. I added a craft sponge to the bottom so I can just dip my blending stub. This is how I carry it when I am travelling.

Always keep you containers tightly sealed and away from children and pets. It really does look like water so please be smart and safe whenever you work with any type of chemical.

For blending, I use very inexpensive blending stumps. The ones on the left are my preferred type; they are basically rolled up paper and can be purchased for just pennies a piece. The ones on the right are more compact and will absorb a lot more of the OMS, this is good if you are trying to blend a large area in the background or a large image, I don't typically do that - but I have a couple. Just in case.

I prefer to have one blending stump per colour so that they don't cross contaminate. There is nothing worse than going to blend a light colour and having a different colour smear over because there was pigment left over.

If having individual stumps is not practical for you, you can always clean off the stumps on a scrap of paper or by using a piece of find sanding paper.

For the purpose of this example I have stamped the dog from Simon Says Stamp's "You are Pawesome" stamp set with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb cardstock.

The top image is coloured with Prismacolor Premier coloured pencils. These are a soft core wax-based pencil.

The bottom image is coloured with Faber-Castell Polychormos coloured pencils. These are a hard core oil-based pencil.

When using Gamsol with coloured pencils, I lay the colour down where I want the shadows to be the darkest (as you can see in the picture above).

Once I have my shadows places, I dip my blending stub in the OMS and work in small circles pulling the colour towards the centre. With both of these images I applied the Gamsol, then used a lighter brown and repeated the process, pulling the colour towards the centre again.

My observations:

• The Gamsol worked far better on the wax-based colour pencil (top) than it did on the oil-based (bottom). I found I had to work harder to move the colour with the oil-based pencils with less of a result.
• While the OMS did blend out the harsh lines in the oil-based image, it did not get rid of them completely and you are still able to see pencils lines even though I went over it a few times more than I did with the wax-based image.
• The colour stayed truer with the wax pencils, while it brightened the colour of the oil pencil. Handy to know if that's what you're going for.
• Does not leave a residue or "oily" mark on paper after it has dried.

Overall, I don't typically use OMS when working with coloured pencil. I will pull it out if I can't get the blend I want, or if I'm using a paper with a lot of tooth, but for the most part I use the colours themselves to get my blend. I don't use the blending pencils at all. 

If your paper has a lot of tooth (you can see this by the little white dots that get left behind after you lay down your coloured pencil) the OMS will help to get an even coverage by "melting" the pigment and allowing it to settle in those spaces.

If you're in a hurry to get something done or you just want to play around I highly recommend using the OMS - it will "dissolve" the waxy build up and allow you to apply more layers of colour. For me, I prefer to use a light hand and layer, layer, layer the pencil to get the look I want.

If you are going to purchase an OMS - go for the good stuff. Don't mess around with cheap products that give off an odor of paint thinner. You'll just end up with a headache and be unhappy with final result. Always work in a well ventilated area and close the lid of your container when you aren't using it. 

I hope you enjoyed today's review. If you have any questions about this product or a suggestion for a future review, drop me a line in the comments section below, I love to hear from you. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts.

*disclaimer: I am not sent products to review, nor am I paid to review them. I review the products that I use and that I have paid for with my own money. I am not rewarded, paid or provided with incentive to do so. All reviews are based on my personal experience with the product and are my opinions only.

Hello Halloween Series | Stamping Mashup

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Typically when I create a card - as well as many other card makers out there - we tend to stay within a brand. Not to say we don't own many brands, but I see very few cards that are a mashup of various companies all in the same card.

It makes sense for design teams or people working for a particular company, but for the solitary card maker in his or her own craft room? Not so much. And yet, I find myself doing just that; all the time.

Today, I wanted to share my stamping mashup. This card includes images from Close To My Heart, Simon Says Stamp, My Favorite Things and Recollections.

To begin, I stamped the cloth jar lid from Recollections using CTMH Goldrush ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock, then masked that off; I stamped the larger jar using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and masked that, then stamped the smaller jar. Both the jars have a ring at the bottom of them (like under the frog) but I had done some stamp surgery long ago to take those out.

In the smaller jar, I stamped the toad from MFT's "Witch Way is the Candy?" set and used a 0.3 Staedtler pigment liner to draw the ring back in and some glass highlights.

I stamped the skulls in the larger jar from CTMH's "Frightfully Fun" set, and used the same pigment liner to draw twine around the top of the fabric lid.

I stamped the green ooze at the top from Simon Says Stamp's "Trick or Treat" set with CTMH Pear ink.

After all the stamping was done, I added the masks back to all the images and sponged on Hickory Smoke, Seedless Preserves and Dusty Concord Distress inks to the background.

Once that was dry, I removed all the masks and coloured the images with Copic marker. The greeting is from the CTMH set as well, stamped in Archival ink.

Finally I adhered the panel to a piece of black cardstock, then mounted the entire lot to the front of a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar or over on Facebook, so you don't miss out on any future posts. Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Hello Halloween Series | ft. Simon Says Stamp "Trick or Treat"

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

I hadn't intended to make today's card a Halloween card, I wanted to wait a few days, but something things just don't work out like that. Today's card was made specifically for the Muse Challenge (of which you know I am a HUGE fan). When I saw Anita's card, I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do at first, so I sat on it for a few days.

So when it came to me yesterday, I knew what I had to do. And I knew that I couldn't wait to post it.

To begin, I masked off the bottom left and the top right edges, and used a light hand to apply Dried Marigold Distress ink in the middle.

Once that was dry, I removed the masks and set them aside and prepped the panel with my powder tool. I then stamped the large greeting from Simon Says Stamp's "Trick or Treat" set with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with black detail powder. I also stamped the smaller greeting on a different sheet and heat embossed that with black as well.

I then used the large and the small bats from the same set and stamped them randomly in the light orange area and heat embossed them with clear.

I then replaced the masks and sponged on Wild Honey and Carved Pumpkin Distress inks to create an ombre look getting darker as it went down the card.

I removed the masks again, and raised the panel up on foam tape and adhered it to a standard A2 sized card base. Then I cut around the mini greeting and used a black marker to finish off the sides. I then popped that up on a piece of foam tape and placed it just below the big greeting.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. If you haven't already, please follow me over on the right side bar. You can also follow me over on Facebook. Toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

This card is for:

Muse Challenge #232

With inspiration by Anita Bowden

 Thank you all for your votes once again!

PRRROUD of You | ft. Lawn Fawn's "Slide on Over" Die and SSS "You are Pawesome" Stamps

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you're having a great day.

Today I have another interactive card for you, featuring Lawn Fawn Dies - Slide on Over, Spring Showers, and Grassy Border - and Simon Says Stamp - You are Pawesome stamp set.

I made this card for my oldest daughter who just finished grade 5. I can't even believe how fast time has gone. She is turning into such a lovely young lady and I'm so proud of her.

To begin, I used the long straight slider to die cut the slide from a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock. I also cut two edges with the Grassy Border die. I used Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress ink for the grassy areas, and Tumbled Glass for the sky.

The sun is cut from Lawn Fawn's Spring Showers die set and shaded using Squeezed Lemonade and Mustard Seed Distress Ink.

I stamped the kitty and the yarn using Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Copic-friendly 110lb cardstock, coloured them in and fussy cut them out.

Like everyone says, and you'll try it too, if you haven't all ready - the secret is to double up the foam tape. Everything slides better with two. Instead of making a penny slider (I was worried about the kitty getting caught in the grass) I used a pull tab. When you pull the tab the kitty runs across the lawn chasing his ball of yarn. Too cute!

The greeting is pieced together using a few different CTMH sets, the "PRRROUD" is put together using the Etched Alphabet stamp set, and Memento Tuxedo Black ink. This is typically my go-to stamp set for putting together a greeting or sentiment.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. Don't forget to follow me over on the right sidebar so you don't miss any future posts. Toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

Christmas Series 2016 | Card 6 ft. Simon Says and the MISTI

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

Merry Christmas everyone! It's the final day for my 2016 Christmas series, and though it wasn't as extensive as last year, I think it went quite well overall. I'm very much looking forward to 2017 and all the creative inspiration that is waiting for us.

In recent years the tradition of ugly sweaters has become popular for Christmas Day, so what better for a Christmas Day post, than an Ugly Sweater card?

Shockingly, this card required exactly zero colouring. I cannot remember the last time I did a card that didn't require colouring in some way. Instead, this card uses the MISTI (which if you haven't checked out yet, you totally need to.)

The ugly sweater boarder stamp is from Simon Says (I think it's Christmas Boarders) which I stamped using CTMH Topiary ink. The MISTI was fantastic because I was able to just reink the stamp and not worry about having to line it up perfectly to restamp. The MISTI just does it for you.

The greeting is from Hero Arts, and stamped with Lawn Fawn's Black Licorice ink, which is one of my favourite inks to stamp greetings with because it is so unbelievably crisp.

I mounted the panel on a piece of holiday red cardstock and then mounted both on a standard A2 sized card base. To finish it off I added a few red gems, just to tie it together.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. Don't forget to follow me over on the right sidebar so you don't miss out on any future posts, and toss me a line in the comments section below. I love to hear from you!

Hello Halloween 2016 | card 1 ft. Simon Says Stamp

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day.

This is by far my favourite time of year! I love fall and I love Halloween and I love everything about it. Yay SPLs!! I live in an area where we don't typically get an actual fall, though we have been lucky the past two years, and fingers crossed for this one that we get a real Autumn.

So though this is a Halloween Series, I may also include some Fall/Thanksgiving posts. I'm in Canada so our Thanksgiving happens in October before Halloween but the rest of the crafting world is going to celebrate in November. So I'm just going to mash it all together based on what I feel like posting. Deal? Deal!

Here is the first card in the Hello Halloween 2016 series.

To begin I stamped the cat image from SSS "Trick or Treat" set on to 110lb Copic friendly paper and coloured the image in with Copics.

The greeting from Lawn Fawn, is heat embossed in black to give a bit of texture and dimension. I cut that panel down at an angle, and matted it with black cut at the same angle. I used a piece of patterned paper and mounted the entire thing on a standard A2 sized card base.

I used a couple of red and black enamel dots just to add some interest to the card and pull the red together.

Originally the patterned paper was going to be orange, and while it looked cute, it just didn't really work with the black cat in the red cape. Weird, right? I know. In the end, I'm glad I switched it out for the black with white dots.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. Don't forget to follow me over on the right sidebar so you don't miss out on any future posts, and toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think, I love hearing from you!

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge:

Halloween