Lawn Fawn Magic Picture Changer | Be a Little Shellfish Birthday

Hi everyone, thank you for stopping by!

I just wanted to start out by saying how grateful I am to all of you that have been reaching out. Not only is it encouraging to know that I have been able to bring some inspiration to your card making, it's incredibly comforting to know that behind the screens are real people that care and miss me. Loneliness is a terrible feeling, especially when you're surrounded by people. It means a lot that people I've never met have taken the time to reach out and just check in. It really can make all the difference in the world on a bad day. Thank you.

Today, I want to share a card I created using the Lawn Fawn Magic Picture Changer Dies. This is fast becoming my favourite interactive die set, and if you've been following along, you know I have most of them. I love how you can tell a little story without taking up additional space, this set is brilliant.

I began by stamping all the images on the front with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock, colouring them with Copic markers and fussy cutting them out.

I cut the pieces for the Magic Picture changer out of the same 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock and used my Dollar Store ink blending brushes with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink to shade the outsides and the closed position of the changer, Salty Ocean and Mermaid Lagoon for the waves, which were cut down using the stitched wave dies.

When you pull up the little tab to get the second image, this super sweet little Shellfish appears, he was coloured with Copic markers, masked off and the same blue was used to blend around him.

Once the mechanism was together, I used the light blue from the Really Rainbow Scallops 6x6 paper pack along with the largest of the Large Stitched Rectangles for my background. Then adhered the mechanism with foam tape - this gives the recipient an easier time when trying to pull the tab.

Next I added the greeting to the front-most wave and adhered them in place, then added all my little party-going sea creatures.

To finish off the card I added some iridescent bubbles from Studio Katia, and Spectrum Noir clear glitter pen over the shell.

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.

Missing You | ft. Studio Katia "Floral Trimmings"

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

Today started out not awesome. It wasn't as bad as Monday, but it definitely wasn't spectacular. Then my honey sent flowers to my office and it turned my day right around. Not only was it the first time he has ever sent me flowers, it absolutely made my day to know that he was thinking about me and the hard time I've been going through the last couple of days.

I think a lot of our motivations in crafting comes from these very things. Just letting someone know you are thinking about them, especially when they are having a difficult time can make all the difference in the world. You never know how you can turn a day around just by sending a card to let them know they are in your thoughts. I highly recommend it.

Today, I want to share a card featuring Studio Katia stamps and embellishments. This card wasn't made for anyone in particular, but it's always good to have one on hand for those times when someone just happens to pop into your head out of the blue.

To begin, I stamped the "Floral Trimmings" stamp from Studio Katia with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock. I coloured the images in with Copic markers. Like I talked about in my video "You are so Loved", I generally like to go big and bold with my floral colouring. Just throwing sunshine off the page, so to speak. That's what I was going for in this image.

To add some detail, I used a white gel pen to add highlights to the petals and leaves as well as dots in the middle of the larger flowers. I then stamped the greeting from Simon Says Stamp with Memento ink over top of the image.

I adhered the panel to a piece of coordinating pink cardstock then mounted the entire piece to the front of an A2 sized card base. Then, because I'm me and I just can't resist, I added a scattering of crystals from Studio Katia across the panel.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own, and maybe let someone know you're thinking of them. 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.

Deepest Thanks | ft. Lawn Fawn "Double Slider Surprise" Dies and Stamps

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

Sooo, the kids are all back at school now. Three kids, three different schools, an average of about 600 kids per school means there are 1800 kids worth of germs in my house right now, and I got them all. I don't get sick very often, but when I do... holy crap it hits me like a truck. I'll spare you the "juicy" details of what I can only describe as the great head cold of 2018, but that's the reason I haven't managed to do a voice over. I have a couple videos all edited and waiting for the voice over, but I'm sure you will appreciate not having to hear me breathe as though I had just run a marathon, and sniffle every two seconds. Trust me, I'm doing you all a favour.

For today's card I thought I would share my first attempt using the "Double Slider Surprise" die set. We all knew this was coming, I mean, when have I EVER been able to resist a Lawn Fawn item? I thought for my first attempt I would keep it relatively basic, using the "You are Sublime" and "Duh-Nuh" stamp sets.

Now, if you haven't watched Lawn Fawn's "Intro to Double Slider Surprise" video, I highly recommend that you do so before attempting this card. A couple of times. I'm a HUGE fan of their interactive dies, and while this one is no different, it's going to take a bit of practice, at least for me. Lemme tell ya.

The dies themselves are straightforward, the only one that I had issues with was the tab cutter, which makes the little indent on the sleeve. I wasn't sure what to line it up with, and as you can see in the photo above I did not line it up properly.

All the images are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock and coloured with Copic markers. I used the Brother 2 Scan N Cut to cut them all out.

To create all my background I used Distress Inks with my blending tool in various shades of blue for the water and Scattered Straw with Gathered Twigs for the sand.

Another mistake I made, was deciding at the end to add the little pull tabs, I totally should have added them before my layers - but that's on me. And let's be honest, any difficulties I had with this set are totally on me. And that's okay with me. I love a challenge and having a set that is more for the art of it, than for mass production is A-OKAY. So if you've received a card like this from a loved one, think twice before tossing it. More than a little bit of work went into creating it.

To adhere all the pieces down, I ran them through my Xyron mini X sticker maker, I've found that I can move them around a bit as a long as I haven't pushed them down completely.

I cut a piece of the Really Rainbow patterned paper to the front of my card - and then die cut my pull tabs from the piece I trimmed. This is when I discovered I should have done that waaay before this point.

To make the slider stick to the front, I covered the back with Scor Tape - which is a super sticky two way tape that I would recommend in all sizes for all things. I never have to worry about this stuff coming off.

To finish off the inside of the card, I used third generation stamping of the little submarine from the "You are Sublime" set, and first generation for the sentiment. I added a couple of the extra pieces I had coloured just for some added interest and so they got to fulfill their paper destinies.

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.

Make the Card Fit Your Scene - Deepest Thanks | ft. Lawn Fawn "You are Sublime" and "Jawsome"

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

Today I'm going to share a fun way to get all the images you want on to a single card. Just make the card bigger!! Sometimes the hardest thing (especially with Lawn Fawn) is getting all the images we want to use on a standard A2 sized card base. These images are so stinkin' cute and their sets coordinate so well that we just don't always have the space we want to make the scene in our heads come to life. So why not make a bigger card? Who says all our cards have to be the standard A2 size?

Today's card is a whopping 9x4" and even then I had to remove a couple from my vision. But hey, it happens. Don't limit yourself, do what makes you happy.

To begin, I cut a piece of 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock to just slightly smaller than my 9x4" card base. I stamped all of my images using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, then masked them off.

Once the masks were all in place, I used Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean and Blue Print Sketch Distress Inks to create my background, working from top to bottom to get a smooth blend and adding more ink as I went so it would be darker at the bottom.

Once that was completely dry, I removed the masks and coloured all the images using Copic Markers. If I were to go back and do this card again, I think I would have used some of the solid image stamps to create more in the background to give the card some extra depth.

I mounted my panel the front of my card base using my tape runner. Then to finish off the card I used some "Ocean Wave" crystals from Studio Katia to be the bubbles and applied Glossy Accents by Ranger over the windows of the submarine and the visor of the diver.

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.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Anything Goes

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.

Floral Birthday | ft Simon Says Stamp "Flower Explosion"

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

Today I want to share a card using the Simon Says Stamp "Flower Explosion" stamp. This stamp is a huge 6x6 cling that came in the 2018 Mother's Day Card kit, and if you watched my unboxing video, you'll know that I had some pretty specific plans for this stamp.

To begin, I prepped a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock with my powder tool and stamped the giant cling stamp with VersaMark ink, then heat embossed with white detail embossing powder.

Once that had cooled, I used the Tombow Dual Brush markers to add a bit of colour to the area where I wanted it the darkest and used a water-brush to pull the pigment out into the rest of the space. I wanted this background to be very soft, but still have a lot of pop and the Tombow markers did not fail me.

While the background was drying, I used a scalloped circle die from Spellbinders to cut a piece of vellum down, I then prepped that with my powder tool and heat embossed this greeting from Clearly Besotted in gold embossing powder.

I adhered my background to the front of a standard A2 sized card base using Skor tape. There is some warping that happens with heat embossing and adding water and I wanted to make sure the panel wouldn't lift. To adhere my vellum down, I used Ranger's Multi Media Matte behind the lettering and in a couple places where I knew I would be adding some crystals to hide the liquid glue.

To finish off the card, I used the same liquid glue to add a scattering of the iridescent crystals by Studio Katia. I could have used coordinating crystals, but I just love how these ones pick up the colour of what is under them.

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.

Super Fun Bokeh Birthday | ft. Lawn Fawn "Let's Bokeh"

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

Today I'm showing you two cards, created with Lawn Fawn's "Let's Bokeh" stamp set and some Distress Oxide ink. The Mermaid Lagoon and Squeezed Lemonade are my absolute favourite summer colours; they're so bright and happy and when they come together, they make the prettiest green ever.

I recommend watching in HD on YouTube!

Check out the video above to see how these cards came together, and the one little thing I would do differently if (*when) I make them again.

The crystals from Pretty Pink Posh coordinated so perfectly with the Distress Inks. I'm not gonna lie; I was pretty please with myself over this. 

I hope you like the cards (and video) for today 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.

A New Baby to Love | ft. Lawn Fawn "Rub-a-Dub-Dub"

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

Today, I have a sweet baby card, created with the "Rub-a-Dub-Dub" stamp set by Lawn Fawn. This card came together with my little dish of bits from the dish on my desk. I tend to cut and colour more than I need so they end up in the dish. Every now and then the dish gets a little too full (or so I like to think) so I create mainly with what is in there, until it is down to a more respectable level.

They have to fulfill their paper destinies, after all.

To begin, I used the stamped images from Rub-a-Dub-Dub set and put them together in a little scene. The bubbles had been stamped on vellum, to attach them to the tub, I used just a small piece of scotch tape on the back, ensuring that it didn't come over the edge of the tub. It wouldn't do to have the tape showing.

All of the images had been coloured previously with Copic markers. As such, they were stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock.

For the background, I used a couple scraps of patterned paper - this is another thing I can't seem to be able to get rid of. Even the tiniest of scraps end up back in the package.

I adhered the tub flat to the front of the card and popped the mama duck and the banner up with some foam tape.

To finish off the card, I added some iridescent bubbles from Studio Katia, just to give it some extra shimmer.

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.

Embossed Vellum Overlay for Mother's Day | ft. Lawn Fawn "Flutter By"

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

Today I have a card (and video!) featuring a gold embossed vellum overlay on top of a brightly watercoloured background. This is pretty much how I imagined it in my head when it came to me.

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube!

There are a few things I would do differently if I were to redo this card; chances are I will make another of these, it was just fun to play around with the watercolours.

I think with a different colour palette, this technique could be used for pretty much any type of card. I'm looking forward to trying this in more earthy tones for a masculine card.

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

Sparkle and Shine

Floral Thoughts Thank You Shaker

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

Today I have a super fun shaker using a new die, let me tell y'all: I had my doubts about this die. I haven't had the best luck with dies from Recollections, but this one impressed me. It's definitely the most intricate die that I have and it worked pretty well.

I recommend watching in HD over on YouTube!

If I had to remake this card, I think I would do something to make the text in the middle stand out a bit more, but live and learn, right? Don't get me wrong, I still like it, but just one of those things that I would do differently. Hindsight and all that.

I hope you like today's card (and video) and are inspired to create something of your own. If you have'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.

Sunset Hello | ft. Hello Bluebird Stamps "Silly Birds"

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

Today I have a card using a very new stamp company; Hello Bluebird! (maybe it's just new to me, but based on my order number, I'm thinking they're pretty new all round)

I decided to just play around before work so there's no video for this one, but so far I'm pretty impressed with the quality and they have some super cute stuff, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what they come out with next.

To begin, I stamped the flamingo and the leaves from the "Silly Birds" stamp set with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock, then coloured them in with Copic markers.

I die cut the panel and the background panel with some of Lawn Fawn's "Stitched Rectangles". The patterned paper is from one of my Coastal Village paper packs that I had show in a previous haul video.

I adhered the patterned paper to the front of a standard A2 sized card base, then added the accent strip (conveniently it was the other side of the paper).

I masked off my images and used Abandoned Coral, Dried Marigold and Mustard Seed Distress Ink to create a sunset background. I used a very light hand to add some Broken China Distress ink under the water.

For the water panel I used the same small stitched rectangle to cut a piece of blue vellum, then used the small ocean waves boarder die from Lawn Fawn to die cut the top. I prepped that with my powder tool and stamped the "Oh, Hello" from Hello Bluebird's "Spring Script" with VersaMark ink then heat embossed with detail white embossing powder.

Finally, to finish off the card I added a 4mm googly eye from Studio Katia, just to add a little something - and it's super cute.

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.

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.

Floral Thoughts Series Birthday | ft. Copic No-Line Colouring

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

Today I'd like to share a birthday card I created using Clearly Besotted stamps and the no-line colouring technique with Copic markers.

To begin, I stamped the tulips image from Clearly Besotted "Friends Forever" with CTMH Linen Ink on 110lb Copic-friendly cardstock. The Linen ink is incredibly light and nearly invisible once it has dried on the paper. It is also Copic-friendly (as long as you don't go crazy with your markers) making it the perfect ink for no-line colouring.

I used a selection of yellow markers, starting with my darkest in the areas where I wanted the deepest shadows, then pulling the colour out with the middle shade then finally the lightest. I repeated the process for each petal, then went back after the entire bloom was completed to enhance the shadows as needed.

I used the same technique for each section of the leaves and stems, I didn't want to colour all the dark areas or light areas first as I would lose the lines and it would just look like a blob. Once I was happy with the Copic colouring, I went over some of the areas with my Prismacolor Premier Pencils to add some fine detail.

I masked off the floral images and smooshed some light blue ink on an acrylic block and watered it down. I then took a small fan brush and swooshed the blue back and forth across the background to create some interest.

For my greeting, I stamped the Happy Birthday with a blue ink to really bring out the blue of the background as well as create a contrast to the flowers.

I tied a piece of baker's twine around the front to create a bow, and then adhered the panel to a coordinating piece of shimmering cardstock. I then mounted the entire lot to the front of a top fold standard A2 sized card base.

Finally, because I just can't stop myself, I adhered some iridescent crystals from Studio Katia across the front of the panel.

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.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Happy Birthday

Celebrate .... "Everyday"? | ft Distress Oxide Inks and Gansai Tambi Starry Night Watercolours

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

Today I have a card that I thought would be a lovely encouragement card. I was planning to send this card to someone I know that has been dealing with a cruddy deal for quite a while now and I just wanted to let this person know I was thinking of them, and that every day (that was a hint) is an accomplishment.

However, if you watch this video I will explain why I cannot send this card, and why this card had me so frustrated!!

I recommend watching in HD on YouTube (Seriously, it's way shinier!!)

Check out the video for the full tutorial, the list of Distress Oxide Inks I used to create this background and where the inspiration came from.

This is also the first card where I got to use my new Iridescent Crystals from Studio Katia, and let me tell you I LOOOOOVE them!!

I'm so stoked I was able to capture the shine on this card in a picture. I'm definitely going to be doing this technique again!

I hope you like today's card (and video tutorial) 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.

Mixed Haul | It's a Long One; There's So Much FUN Stuff

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

Today I have a mixed haul video with a bunch of different stuff! Let me tell you, I cannot wait to start playing with all these new and fun things. This is a scheduled post, as I'm actually at work while this is going up! YAY for technology!!

Watch in HD on YouTube!

Check out the video above to see all the fun new goodies, as well as a few "first tries" for: 

• Tombow Dual Brush Markers (there will be a review coming soon!)
• My first try and reaction to Ken Oliver Colour Burst Watercolours - OMG!! When you see the video, I think you'll be just as excited as I am!
• Opening and first try of the Nuvo Glimmer Paste

There are so many new things here, you'll just have to watch the video on YouTube, to see what's coming!!

I hope you enjoyed today's haul video! If you haven't already, please follow me on the right side bar, over on Facebook and on my YouTube Channel! Drop me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think! And don't forget to subscribe!!!