Christmas Series 2016 | Card 3 ft. MFT Stamps

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

For the challenge today, I had thought about creating a card that was covered in presents with bows and wrapping and glitter and toys, but then I thought I would do something a little bit different. Christmas, generally, is for the kids, and what greater gift is there than the children? I know some of you can think of many. There are days when I can also think of many other things, but the picture of their faces when they wake up to the lights and the stockings and the feeling in the air on Christmas morning really is the best gift ever.

My youngest is four and all she says she wants on Christmas morning is to be the one to hand out the gifts. We're just learning the letters so this will certainly be an experience.

To begin, I stamped this girl from MFT on Copic-friendly paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I coloured her in with copics to look like a little Santa, fussy cut her out and set her aside.

Next I used a couple of the Stitched Snowflake dies from Lawn Fawn and die cut some glittery snowflakes.

I used a snowflake embossing folder on my white panel piece and then adhered down the glittery snowflakes.

I then mounted this panel on a piece of red cardstock to pull the card together and then adhered both to a standard A2 sided card base. I then attached my little Santa girl.

Finally I used my black gel pen to go over her eyes and the buttons on her coat to make them stand out.

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 side bar so you don't miss out any future posts. Toss me a line in the comments section below, I love to hear from you.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Gift It

Flashback Friday | Hello Teacher

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

I know I said I was all done the Back to School series, but I have just one more. I created this card some time ago, and had prepared to give it to my daughter's teacher last year, but then her teacher turned out to be a Mr. and not a Ms, so it didn't really work.

I held on to the card and was able to give it to her teacher this year and just wanted to include it because I love the techniques and it worked for this time of year. So today will be a #flashbackfriday card.

Is that a thing? Posting a card that was created a long time ago? If not, it is now!

The image is coloured with Copics and fussy cut out. I popped her up on foam tape and used glossy accents on her glasses to make them look like glasses.

The background is tinted embossing paste through a stencil. My daughter goes to a French Immersion school, so the greeting was appropriate.

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

Back to School Mini Series | Part 6

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

Today is the last day of the 2016 Back to School mini series. It has been so much fun working on these cards. Not surprisingly, I was quite the school nerd. Books and studying and school supplies, oh the school supplies!! Now that I have my own kids, I was really looking forward to taking them to buy school supplies, all shiny and new in the packages. So imagine my disappointment when I didn't get supply lists! The school just gives them stuff. Just hands it right to them, ripping the joy of back to school shopping away from me!

Anyway, here is the last card for this year's series, showcasing school supplies!

To begin, I stamped the pencil and the books from MFT's "Class Act" stamp set on 110lb Copic friendly paper using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I then coloured them in with copics.

The panel with the books is raised up on foam tape, and I used clear Wink of Stella on the metal part of the pencil.

I then mounted the whole piece on a standard A2 sized card base.

I hope you like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own. Please take a moment to follow me over on the right sidebar and toss me line in the comments section below to let me know what you think. I love to hear from you.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Anything Goes

Back to School Mini Series | Part 5

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

Well, we're winding down the Back to School series, check through the older posts if you missed out on the other cards. I think I only have one more to go, then I'll be moving on to the next theme.

This card is actually made up of the first background panel I created and the last focus piece. Funny how that stuff works out. I had in mind what I wanted to do when I created the panel, but then it just didn't seem to fit together, so I set it aside until this came together today.

To begin, I stamped the stacked books and the pencil image on to Copic friendly paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, then coloured them in with Copics.

I used the largest oval die to cut out the focus piece and stamped the little girl and coloured her in the same way. I then popped her up on foam tape and placed her on the panel.

I used a piece of yellow cardstock as my bordering layer and adhered the whole lot on to a standard A2 sized card base.

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 so you don't miss out on anything. Toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think. I love to hear from you!

Back to School Mini Series | Part 4

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

As you may have noticed I'm in love with the Class Act stamp set from MFT, and to be perfectly honest the vast majority of my Back to School cards are made with it. But today, I wanted to step away from that one for a quick minute and use a couple sets from CTMH.

I love the simplicity of this card while still being visually appealing. Clean and simple at it's finest. This card was so super fun to make, and it turned out better than I even imagined it would.

To begin, I cut down a piece of cardstock to 4x5 1/4". Using the MISTI I stamped the page lines from CTMH's "Teacher Appreciation" stamp set using Lawn Fawn's Mermaid ink. I then used the Cranberry ink to create the vertical margin lines for the paper.

The greeting is stamped using CTMH's Classroom Alphabet stamp set, I started with the "to" and found that when the stamps were put on the block together it left too much space between the letters, so the remaining works are stamped one letter at a time. Which really isn't as bad as it sounds. It really gives a new appreciation for those old fashioned typeset machines where they would create entire books by placing the metal stamps. If you haven't even seen one of these, you should Google it. They are crazy.

I used a boarder punch to add the notebook edge along the left of the paper, I love how it makes it look as though it were torn right from a book. I'm not really one for punches (anymore...) but this one certainly comes in handy. I didn't add any adhesive behind the little tabs and roughly lifted them with my fingers so it would look a bit more shabby.

I was going to leave it there. But I'm me. And I can't do stuff like that. I can't just stop when it would be reasonable to do so. Soooo, I stamped an apple from the MFT "Class Act" set and coloured it with Copics, fussy cut it out, and glued it in the corner. Just for a pop of colour. There is an apple in the "Teacher Appreciation" set, but it is solid and I like to colour things.

I then adhered the panel at an angle on to a standard A2 sized card base made from Kraft paper.

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 future posts. Toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think. Always love to hear from you.

Back to School Mini Series | Part 3

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

I must be super excited about this whole back to school thing (both the mini series and the fact that my kids are going soon) because I just can't stop making these cards. Every time I finish one, a little light goes on over my head because I have a new idea!

Moreover, I cannot even believe how many fabulous ideas and layouts I can do with just this one stamp set! Yay MFT!

To start off, I stamped the apple and girl image from MFT's "Class Act" stamp set with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on two pieces of Copic-friendly paper. I stamped the apple in a random array so I could make my own accent paper.

I coloured the images in with Copic markers. I added clear Wink of Stella over her boots and over the apples on the side bar, but as usual my camera fails to pick that up. 

I adhered the apple side bar strip down on to a standard A2 sized card, and then adhered the panel with the girl using some foam tape to give it a bit of dimension. There are a few really great greetings that come with this set, but I thought the image spoke for itself.

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 so you don't miss out on any future posts. Also toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think. I always love to hear from you.

This card is for:

TGIF Challenges!

Back to School

#TGIF69

Back to School Mini Series | Part 2

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

As promised, today I have the second card in the Back to School Mini Series. I cannot believe how fast this summer is flying by. Having three kids, it sometimes feels like time is not moving at all, but then I turn around and here we are moving into the third week of August! How crazy is that??

To begin, I used both the pencil stamps from MFT's "Class Act" stamp set to create my own background using Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Copic friendly paper. I then stamped the pile of books and the greeting from the same set onto a separate piece of the same paper and cut that down to a fishtail banner.

I coloured all the images with Copic markers. The banner is popped up on foam tape. I used a deep teal cardstock as a boarder layer to match the one book and pull the card together. I then adhered the whole lot to a standard A2 sized card base.

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 so you don't miss out! Toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think. I love to hear from you!

Summer Fun | ft. MFT Stamps "Every Day is a Picnic"

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

This morning I was all ready with a second Back to School card for you, then I saw the SSS Monday challenge and my brain just leaped into creative mode overdrive (I assure you, that's a thing), resulting in this card.

You'll get a new Back to School card tomorrow. Probably.

To begin, I stamped the girl from MFT's "Every day is a Picnic" stamp set, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink on copic friendly paper. I stamped the sunshine from the same set in a repeating pattern on my panel and coloured all the images in with my Copics.

I used clear Wink of Stella and Glossy Accents on her sandles to give them that sparkly plastic look that I remember from when I was little. I never had a pair, but my friends did and I thought they were the best thing ever.

I covered the background panel with a scrap of vellum to mute out the sunshines because they were super vibrant. The greeting banner was cut from a piece of teal cardstock that matches the boarder layer and a pretty close match to her outfit. The greeting is heat embossed with white.

To finish off the piece I added a scattering of sequins and enamel dots, then adhered the whole lot onto a standard A2 sized card base.

As a special bonus I even did the INSIDE of the card. Wh-aa-tt? Actually, it happens more often than not. I just usually forget to include it in the post.

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 so you don't miss out! Toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you.

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge:

Summer Fun

Back to School Mini Series | Part 1

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

Wow! It has been a crazy long time since I posted. Like a whole month, and while I'm sorry I haven't put up anything new, I'm not sorry about how I have been spending my time. Summer is one of those times in my house when all plans and scheduling just go straight out the window.

We had some crazy vacation time, with my youngest going all the way to Thunder Bay with the Grandparents for 12 days. Her first time on the plane, first time on a boat, first time fishing (she caught four!), first time eating what she caught -- she thought that was just about the best thing ever.
My oldest daughter went with her Dad to Regina for a memorial and camping for 10 days.
I went to Kelowna to spend some time with my Aunt and then that got extended because my hubby and son decided to come out for the August long weekend so I got some extra days in the sun. I gotta say, coming back to Calgary and having to deal with the rain and crappy weather was the least fun ever.

Then my Mom and sister and I headed out to Revelstoke to take on the new Pipe coaster on the mountain for Mom's birthday. So it has been super non-stop.

Anyway! Let's just jump right into the first card in my newest mini series; Back to School! It really is the most wonderful time of year. I love all the new shiny stuff you get to have. Everything just feels so fresh.

That being said I wanted to do something that was clean and simple but just *screamed* back to school.

To begin, I stamped the apple and pencil images from MFT's "Class Act" stamp set around the boarder of the card. I then stamped the Teacher from CTMH's "Teacher Appreciation D1612".

I coloured the images in with Copics and used clear Wink of Stella on the silver part of the pencils. It occurs to me that it may be helpful if I listed the Copics I used in the image. If that is the case, pop me a comment below so I can start including them, but if no one is interested I won't take the time to do that. Just let me know!

I die cut the "hello" using Lawn Fawn's scripty hello die. I chose a green cardstock that matched the apple leaf as closely as possible just to tie the card together a bit more. I then used that same cardstock as a boarder piece and then mounted the lot on a standard A2 sized greeting card.

I was so pleased with how much it looked like the old school (get it?) bulletin boards that the teachers used to decorate when I was in elementary. Do they still do that? I'll have to look at my daughter's school when she goes back (IN ABOUT TWO WEEKS!!!).

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 so you won't miss future posts! Toss me a line in the comments section below and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear from you!

This card is for:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge:

Make for the Boarder

Thanks a Daisy

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

Generally I like to use my MISTI to create batches of thank you cards, because they are ideal for box sets (which are ideal for gifting). Today, however I really wanted to use a focus pop technique, to make the daisies stand out.

To create this card, I stamped the image on Copic friendly paper using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured it with Copics. I then used the two smallest dies of the stitched squares and cut three squares, and set them aside.

For the background, I masked off the top third of the card and used CTMH ink to sponge through a stencil. I stamped the image a second time and did not colour it in.

I adhered the squares with foam tape over top of the image on the card base to create three focus squares. I then stamped the greeting using Lawn Fawn Black Licorice ink, (my favourite for stamping greetings and sentiments).

I hope you all like today's card and are inspired to create something of your own.


Today's card is for:

The Muse Challenge #154. 

This challenge is inspired by Jenni's beautiful card:

Valentine's Day 2016 Series - Card 16

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

As it turns out, I was far more inspired by the sketch challenge than I expected. So here is a second sketch card and the sixteenth in the 2016 Valentine's Day series!

To create this card I die cut two tags out of regular layering weight cardstock. I then adhered them together to give them a bit more stability. I wanted to make sure that this tag would hold up when I added layers of ink. 

I used three shades of distress ink to create an ombre look. After the tag was completely dried I stamped the little "I love you" greeting.

I stamped the elephant on heavy weight cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and coloured him with copics. I don't have coordinating dies for this set, (are there coordinating dies for these guys?) so I fussy cut him out, and popped him up on foam tape.

The heart is from a previous project, I covered it with clear Wink of Stella and then with glossy accents. The string is a bit of sparkly thread that I tied around the bottom part of the balloon and wound loosely behind the elephant.

I hope you all like the card for today, and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for:

MFT Sketch Challenge #267

Little Birthday Shaker

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

When I began this card, I had originally planned to make a Valentine's Day card. However, things don't always work out the way we planned. Which is one of the things I like best about art and card making. I enjoy when a project seems to take on a life of its own.

It doesn't mean that the original plan was a bad one, it just means that the creative gears took it in a different direction. The plan is still there in the back of my head and perhaps I will still make a Valentine's Day card that is similar, but for now I have this lovely birthday card.

To create this card, I began by using the stitched cloud boarder as a mask and sponging upward to create the clouds. I worked from the top of the panel downward. I then used the grassy boarder die to create another mask, and sponging with green to create a grassy area. 

I used Mowed Lawn and Bundled Sage to give the illusion of depth, unfortunately I think there was a bit too much of a difference in the colours. 

After the panel was dry, I used the heart balloon die to create the area for my shaker, I saved the cut out piece so I could put it behind the window to make the balloon look clear. I used the fuse tool to create the shaker pocket. 

I stamped the girl with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured her with copics. 

The balloon string is a piece of black baker's twine.

I hope you all like the card and are inspired to create something of your own.

This card is for:

MFT Sketch Challenge #266

Valentine's Day 2016 Series - Card 10

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

Today I have the tenth installment in my Valentine's Day 2016 Series.

When I first saw this Newton set I fell in love instantly. These two are just about the sweetest little things I have ever seen and when this week's Newton's Challenge came up it was perfect!

To create this card I stamped the two kitties on 110lb cardstock and coloured with copics. I fussy cut them out and mounted them on the red heart.

I used my black gel pen to add a stitched look around the heart to make it stand out. That wasn't part of the original plan, but after it was mounted I felt it needed a little something extra to help it stand out.

The background is a lovely heart pattern paper. Though the picture doesn't pick it up very well (unfortunately) I used clear wink of stella and glossy accents on a few of the white hearts. In real life, they really shine!

This card is for the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge: #28 Love Theme.

Birthday Critters

Hi everyone, thank you so much for stopping by, I hope you are all having a great day!

It doesn't really matter what time of year it is, there is always a need for birthday cards. I wanted to create a card that could be suitable for almost anyone!

The critters are coloured with copics on 110lb cardstock, I stamped them with memento tuxedo black ink, then masked them off. I then masked off the top and the bottom of the card so I could sponge on the background strip. After colouring the critters I used wink of stella clear on the balloons and the party hats and then used glossy accents on the balloons and the little beaks.

I just love the way the glossy accents really makes the shimmer come through. By far one of my favourite things to do!

This card is for the following challenges:

MFT Sketch Challenge 264

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Create with Critters

Hope you all like this card, and that it inspires you to create your own.

Don't forget to follow this blog using the blue button on the right sidebar!

Valentine's Day 2016 Series - Card 1

To officially kick off the 2016 Valentine's Day Card series I have this adorable little card featuring Stinkin' Cute stamp set from Lawn Fawn.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I just adore this little guy; and here he is again!

To create this card, I used a stitched circle die to create the focus that he sits on. I used copic markers to colour the flowers and the skunk, then applied glossy accents to the heart and the middle of each of the flowers.

I had considered stamping the flowers in pink but landed on black to tie in the colouring of the skunk across the card.

I'm not usually a "pink" kind of girl, but this season the colours are really speaking to me. Perhaps I do have a girly side, after all.

Raised focus over argyle stamped background with coordinating flowers and hearts.

Late Afternoon Sunshine Hello

While orange is officially my favourite colour, this rusty yellow comes in at a super close second. It reminds me of late afternoon sunshine in the fall (my favourite season, by the way).

As I was organizing my paper stash I found a single sheet of cardstock in this colour. A single sheet of late afternoon sunshine to create a card. If I had the opportunity to recreate this card, I would use more of a gradient in the shading of the flowers.

I used clear Wink of Stella on the butterfly before coating it with glossy accents to really make it shimmer.

There is a a point in the drying of glossy accents where it is still wet and therefore pliable, but not so wet that it will run if the project isn't laid flat. It was at this point that I shaped the wings slightly to make it appear as if the butterfly were in flight. I've tried shaping things once the glossy accents had dried completely, but I only managed to crack the surface. Maybe it's just me, anyone else ever do that?

Copic coloured flowers and butterfly, with glossy accents gold embossed greeting and micro diamond accents.

You Colour my World with Distress and Copics

Despite the holiday celebrations and all the Christmas cheer, I rang in the new year feeling a little down. So I needed to make a card that would cheer me up. 

I created this card using rainbow distress inks on watercolour paper. Each of the crayons are coloured with copics that best match the corresponding distress colour. 

I had to get a little creative when it came to stamping the greeting, the stamp (from Lawn Fawn) is American, and here in Canada we spell things a little differently. While it took a bit of time and more than a little bit of masking, I did manage to Canadian up this greeting. (Happy face)

The brightness of this card cheered me up somewhat, I'm not even sure what I'm going to do with it, for now it is sitting on my work table for me to look at when I'm a little blue. 

Distress ink on watercolour paper background, with raised copic coloured crayon focus and white pigment greeting, with glossy accented hearts.