Sweet Birthday | ft. Lawn Fawn's "Sweet Friends"

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

Today I want to share a simply sweet birthday card featuring - you guessed it! - Lawn Fawn's "Sweet Friends" stamp set and Copic colouring. I wanted to create a clean but fun birthday card, and while digging through my stash, looking for inspiration, it occurred to me that I haven't used this set very often. So here we are.

To begin, I cut down a piece of 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock and stamped the doughnut image with Memento Tuxedo black ink randomly about the panel, taking care not to stamp in the middle where I wanted my greeting to go.

I stamped the first and last part of the greeting with Lawn Fawn's Black Licorice ink then stamped the "sweet" in three different shades of Lawn Fawn ink.

I coloured the images in with Copic markers. I wanted to create an assortment of doughnuts but not get too out of hand, after all, I wanted this to be a simple card. Next I used some warm grey markers to create a drop shadow at the bottom leftish of each one and in the top right of the hole, so it would appear as though my light source were coming from the top right of the panel.

I trimmed a piece of the Really Rainbow paper to just smaller than my standard A2 sized card base and adhered that down using my tape runner. I popped my panel up on foam tape.

To finish off the card I added a couple layers of Clear Wink of Stella glitter pen to the icing parts then covered each of them with glossy accents.

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.

CAS Father's Day Card | ft. The Sassy Club "Sassy Wars"

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

So this is really late, or maybe really early depending on how you look at it. Either way I don't know how I missed posting this way back in June and it was too sweet to not get put up.

Last weekend I had the entire house to myself. The girls were with my mom and the hubby took our son out of town for a soccer tournament, so I made tons of cards. More than I had made in a really long time. And that's SUPER news.... expect I forgot to take pictures of them. I didn't take a single picture for the blog before getting them out to the shop. So this week, as I was searching for something to write about today, I came across this one. And like I said I have no idea how I could possibly have missed it.

To begin, I stamped the image and greeting from "Sassy Wars" with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock. I then coloured the image with cool grey Copic markers. I used warm grays for the shadows.

I adhered the panel to a piece of red cardstock cut slightly larger, then mounted the entire thing to the front of a standard A2 sized card base. To finish it off, I covered his entire suit with Clear Wink of Stella, because why WOULDN'T he sparkle?

And that's about it. I'm kinda sad I didn't get this up in time for actual Father's Day, and I'm even more sad that I didn't really even notice that I had missed posting it. But the good news is, it's up now and I have one stored away for next year!

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.

Clean and Simple Reveal Wheel Birthday Card | ft. Lawn Fawn Stamps and Dies

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

Today I'm back to share with you a CAS Birthday card using the new interactive Reveal Wheel die set from Lawn Fawn along with their new Critters in Concert stamp set.

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube!

Watch the video to see how this card came together!

This die set makes creating a reveal card so incredibly easy. There really isn't a whole lot more work to take your card to the next level.

To see this card come together and see the list of Copic markers I used, check out the video! As well as my thoughts on animals playing instruments, LOL.

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:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Anything Goes

Shadowed Birthday | ft. Distress Ink and Heat Embossing

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

Today I wanted to share a CAS birthday card featuring Distress Oxide Inks and heat embossing with some translucent embossing powder. I felt the contrast between the colours lent a striking yet delicate look to this birthday card.

As with all cards, if I were to redo it, there would be some things that I do differently, but as it stands I'm rather pleased with how the card turned out.

To begin, I cut down a piece of 110lb cardstock to just smaller than the standard A2 size, and smooshed the Worn Lipstick and Dried Marigold Distress Oxide pads directly to the paper. I used my heat tool to speed up the drying. I choose to use the Oxide inks as they are more opaque and in this technique will not blend so much as lay down on top of each other.

Once that was completely dry, I prepped the whole page with my powder tool and stamped the floral shadow image with VersaMark ink and heat embossed it with some translucent teal powder by recollections. I repeated the process with the greeting from Recollections.

Generally if you use contrasting colours or complimentary colours (the teal and the orange) you will get a muddied brown. Contrasting colours look great next to each other but they aren't awesome for blending.

I was pleased to find that this didn't happen. I think that this would also be lovely in shades of green or blue with different embossed images.

I then used a piece of coordinating twine and wrapped it about the bottom of the panel and tied it off in a bow. I used foam tape to mount the panel to the front of my A2 size 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, over on Facebook and on YouTube! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

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.

Happy Holidays Series | ft Alcohol Ink Accent Panel and Lawn Fawn

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

I got my first bottles of alcohol ink years ago when I first started out. My mom and I went in together and bought a bunch of stuff a lady was getting rid of. We had no idea what we were doing, this was before I knew about the community and the bloggers and the tutorials. Those bottles sat untouched forever. I didn't know what to do with them, and I didn't even know where to start.

It's incredibly intimidating to try something new when you have no idea where to even begin. I'll be honest I still have those bottles of ink. So definite points for shelf-life. Every now and then I'll pull them out just to play around.

To begin, I used a couple blue alcohol inks on some Ranger Glossy paper, I just add drops to my felt blending tool and bounce them randomly on the paper. I then added the Silver Mixative and blending solution. For me, they always look like a hot mess until suddenly they don't.

I let the panel dry, I didn't even know until last week that there is something you can use to seal it, but I've never had a problem with it wearing or peeling or smudging so I've never used it.

Once the ink was completely dry I trimmed it down to fit the top third of my standard A2 sized card base. I stamped the front of the deer from "For You, Deer" by Lawn Fawn and coloured him in with Copics. I do happen to have the coordinating dies for this set (but only because it has the add-ons to make those super cute tags).

I adhered my ink panel down, then used a piece of shimmering tape to edge the border, and tucked the reindeer in behind the edge. I love the way he just hangs over the edge.

I stamped the greeting from Lawn Fawn's "Toboggan Together" in Memento Tuxedo Black 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.

Technique Tip: Raised Focus Panel | ft. Stampin' Up "Birthday Blossoms"

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

Today I wanted to share a fun technique that gives you a raised focus panel while keeping the whole image fluid through the card. If you have a stamping tool like the MISTI this technique is incredibly easy to do; you can still do this if you don't have a stamping tool by using an acrylic block with clear stamps or a stamp-a-ma-jig stamp positioner.

To begin, I placed my folded A2 sized card base in the corner of my MISTI and positioned the large floral image from Stampin' Up's "Birthday Blossoms" where I wanted it to be. I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, as the focus is going to be coloured with Copic markers, I wanted the black to be consistent through both levels.

I then used the small torn paper die to cut my focus panel and placed that right over top of the card base in the MISTI. I used a piece of washi tape and the magnets to hold that in place so that there would be no slipping, and stamped the image again.

I coloured the image on the smaller panel with Copic markers and added the greeting from CTMH's "Sending Smiles" set in the top right corner.

I raised the small panel up on foam tape and lined it up so that the image looked continuous. To finish off the card, I added clear Wink of Stella over the coloured petals and the centre of the flower.

If you don't have a MISTI or a stamping positioner, you can also stamp the image on your panel, then run it through you die cut machine to get the smaller panel from the centre. You'll only have to stamp the image one time. I recommend that you make sure your card base is the same paper as what will be your bottom panel, in case someone tries to peak.

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.

This card is for:

The Flower Challenge

#14 CAS

Clean and Simple Masculine Birthday

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

Today I wanted to share a masculine birthday card I created using a bit of masking and some simple Distress ink sponging. I have found that the simplest of designs can pack a big punch, and this is no different. If you know your recipient prefers blues or greens or browns or any other colour, you can always switch it up.

Gotta love it when a design can be changed a bit to make a big difference.

To cut the front panel, I used the positive space from a torn paper die that I had cut for another card. I popped that up on some foam tape.

On the front of the standard A2 sized card base, I used 1" Post-It tape to mask off some vertical stripes. I used Forest Moss for the large green, Gathered Twigs for the one on the right and Vintage Photo for the one on the left.

I then stamped the "Happy Birthday" greeting from Recollects with CTMH Archival ink. Any time I stamp over Distress ink, I prefer to use Archival to avoid any bleeding that may occur.

I then added the frame to the front of the card.

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.

This card is for:

CAS(E) This Sketch

Challenge #247

Hammy Birthday | ft. MFT's "The Whole Herd"

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

If you've followed me for any length of time, you know that I love doing shaker cards. I literally have dozens, for all occasions. Well not really for Sympathy cards because that would probably be a bit inappropriate - but then again, maybe not. Depends on the personality of the family. But I don't have any for that. Yet.

Today I thought I would do a simple CAS Shaker that works for any celebration. This one happens to be a birthday, but it could be swapped out for something else. Just depends on what you put inside.

To begin, I stamped this sweet little pig from MFT's "The Whole Herd" with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on a piece of 110lb Copic friendly cardstock. I then coloured and fussy-cut him out.

Next, I cut the window for the front of my shaker. Normally I would toss that inside piece, but this time I saved it and stamped the gift, hat and cake from Lawn Fawn's "Party Animal" stamp set and coloured those with Copics. I also adhered a few sequins to the back part of my shaker area, so that it would still look a little festive when the card was just sitting upright.

I doubled up my foam tape to get a good shake and adhered the front panel to a standard A2 sized card base.

For the greeting banner, I prepped a piece of black cardstock with my powder tool and created my own phrase using CTMH's "Etched Alphabet" and heat embossed that with white detail powder.

Finally I added a few sequins across the front of the panel and that was that. Easy-peasy!! If I were to re-create this card, I think I would add waaaay more shaker bits and probably glue a few more sequins to the inside of the shaker area. But live and learn, right?

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; you can also follow me over on Facebook, so you don't miss any future posts. Toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp

Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps and More

Challenge #261

Window Daisy | Paper Punches!

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

Today, I thought I would step away from the stamping and colouring (I know, right??!?!) and do something that I haven't done in a while.

Paper punching!! While the greeting is clearly stamped from Clearly Besotted, the rest of the card was made with punches. I cannot remember the last time I did this.

To begin, I punched the small daisy from some plain white cardstock, I punched the centre from a scrap of yellow patterned paper.

I punched the larger square 4 times, then punched a smaller square out of the middle of each to create some frames. I could totally have done this with my dies, but then I couldn't say I did all of this card with punches, right?

I used the larger square punch to get the green patterned background and built my frames up on that one. Had I done this with dies, the frames would have been even and not wonky on the bottom. But that's part of the joy. At least it was wonky for all of them.

I'm nothing, if not consistent.

I then adhered my frame to the front of a standard A2 sized card base, then stamped the greeting from Clearly Besotted. I added my little daisy to the centre.

To finish it off, I used a scattering of enamel dots from my own Spring Daisy mix.

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 on Facebook. Toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think.

CAS Poppies | ft. Stampin' Up "Birthday Blossoms"

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

Ever dig through your stash and find something that you were so excited to get, then completely forgot you had? I know I've mentioned this before, but honestly it never ceases to surprise me. A set that I saw and wanted so badly, then finally got my hands on, then it made its way to the stamp pile just to be lost and forlorn.

I guess we all just get so excited with our new stuff. I mean we can't just order one thing at a time, we'd spend all our lives waiting. Then there it is, sitting there, all shiny and new and just begging to be used.

To begin, I stamped the single poppy and the greeting from Stampin' Up's "Birthday Blossoms" set with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock. (Is that even a poppy?)

I then coloured them in with Copic markers, and created a tiny drop shadow with the warm grays.

I mounted the panel on a standard A2 sized card base, and that about wraps this one up. Super fast, super easy, and quite delicate IMO.

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, if you are viewing this via mobile device, scroll to the bottom and click "View web version" first. 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:

CAS on Sunday Challenge #115

One Layer Wonder

Addicted to Stamps and More
Challenge #257 - Make Your Mark

Coloured on Kraft Series | ft. Clearly Besotted "Fresh Flowers"

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

If today's card looks a little bit familiar, you aren't mistaken. After I created the Orchids in my Floral On Kraft post, I could not stop thinking about doing more like it. I just love the way the pencils look on the Kraft cardstock and since I have several of the floral sets from Clearly Besotted, it was only a matter of sitting down to colour.

And then I thought, why not make a mini series?!?!?! So while the other one still counts towards this, I'm way to lazy to go back and change the post to indicate that. Anyway, welcome to the Coloured on Kraft Series! YAY!!

To begin, I stamped the large flower from Clearly Besotted's "Fresh Flowers" stamp set on 65lb Kraft cardstock using VersaMark ink. I chose this ink because I didn't want the harsh lines of the black, the VersaMark ink creates a soft tone on tone effect that is brilliant for colouring with pencils.

I then coloured the flowers in with Lyra Rembrandt oil based pencils. (I'll have a review for these in the future. Spoiler: They're great!) I then stamped the greeting in black as I wanted the contrast to really stand out against the softness flowers.

Finally, I took a very light twine and tied a bow (Tie One On, get it?) I then mounted that on a piece of light purple cardstock for a border and adhered that to 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 all ready, please follow me over on the right side bar, if you are viewing this via mobile device, scroll to the bottom and click "View web version" first. 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:

Daisy Chain Challenge

Anything Goes

and

Seize the Birthday Challenge

Tie One On

These are both brand new to me challenges and I'm super excited to be taking part in them both!

Hello Halloween 2016 | card 3 Sweet Treats

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

Today's card is for the Card Concept, it is this new challenge that I have recently come across and I really like the way they lay it out. Now this is my first time there so hopefully I've got it figured out.

My understanding is that they give a concept (this week is Sweet Treats), and you draw your inspiration from that, but you have to use one or more of the styles they have listed. I think this is an excellent thing for someone who may be new to challenges or (like me) gets so many ideas in their head that they get all jumbled up. It kind of helps keep it on track.

For my style I chose Clean and Simple.

I don't have much of a put-it-together explanation, I think this one really just speaks for itself. The panel with the greeting is raised on foam tape, and I used some sparkling ribbon to cut the line between the panel and the accent strip.

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!

This card is for:

The Card Concept:

#59 Sweet Treats