Sherbet… Yummmmmm!

Posted on May 22, 2013 in Hero Arts, Mama Elephant

Hello!

So today I am giddy to be over on the Mama Elephant blog. (If you have never been there, I highly encourage you to do so. Kryssi and her design team always have fabulous card ideas!) I am talking about my love of summery sherbet colors and used them to create a couple cards with new Mama Elephant stamps. (For more info on these cards, head HERE.)

Yummy sherbet colors with a bit of shine? Yes, please! I used Hero Arts Shadow Inks along with a bit of Wink of Stella glitter brush marker. (LOVE this marker! The subtle shine smoothly brushes on your paper and blends perfectly.)

I also added shine to my second card with Glossy Accents, a Wink of Stella marker and sequins.

I find tiny images like these hearts and circles so very useful. They are great for tiny accents or for building a background.

I also toned the colors down a bit on this card with the use of grey.

So I am loving these sherbet colors. What colors are you drawn to these days?

See you soon.

 

Posted in Hero Arts, Mama Elephant | 19 Comments

Spoil Those Kids…

Posted on May 19, 2013 in Go To Gal, Hero Arts, Lawn Fawn, Paper Smooches

Sometimes you just need to surprise your kids and make them smile.

And that is what I was going for when I put this into my son’s lunch. (He never has a treat in there, so I am sure he was thrilled.)

The best part? This was so easy to make. (For more information on it, you can head over the the Paper Crafts Connections blog. There are some other kids ideas there, too.)

Start with a 10 ¼” x 4” piece of cardstock (I used Bazzill) and add score lines at 2”, 2 ¼”, 6 ¼”, and 6 ½”. That is it! Just fold it up and you have a cookie holder. I also added a die cut window with the new Lawn Fawn Puffy Star die to the front panel so you could see the cookie inside. Here is what it looks like unfolded…

After I put a cookie in, I used an old Thicker letter sticker to hold it closed.

I had to add some stamping, of course… with a repeated Hero Arts circle (a great image!) and a Paper Smooches pencil. And I stretched a die cut banner (with a computer-generated greeting using the Ever After free font) across the star opening.

Here is a look at the awesome Lawn Fawn Puffy Star nesting dies set I used for the window. Adorable, huh?

And the repeated circles? It is from this Hero Arts set. Lots of good images here for building backgrounds on many styles of cards.

Colin loved this treat. I bet your little one would, too. Do you ever do any lunch surprises? Would love to hear ideas.

Take care!


Below are the supplies used for this card. To find them at Simon Says Stamp, click on the SSS below the thumbnails. For Ellen Hutson, click on EH…

Lawn Fawn Puffy Star Dies (SSS|EH)

 
Hero Arts Not Perfect Stamp Set (SSS|EH)

 
Paper Smooches Smarty Pants Stamp Set (SSS|EH)

 

 
Vagabond Die Cutting Machine (SSS|EH)

 
Sizzix Vagabond Solo Thin Die Adapter (SSS|EH)

 

 

 
Corner Chomper (SSS|EH)

 
Hero Arts Pool Shadow Ink (SSS|EH)

 
Copic Markers (SSS|EH)

 

 
Neenah White Cardstock 250 Sheets (SSS|EH)

 
Neenah White Cardstock 25 Sheets (SSS|EH)

 

 

Posted in Go To Gal, Hero Arts, Lawn Fawn, Paper Smooches | 27 Comments

Sequins! Sequins! Sequins! Giveaway…

Posted on May 16, 2013 in Cards

Sequins are all the rage right now, aren’t they?

I was hesitant to really give them a try… until I saw the lovelies that Neat and Tangled carries. And if you know me, I can’t just use them in a simple manner – I instead have to go all out…

I started with the gorgeous My Favorite Things Steel Grey cardstock and stamped the Neat and Tangled Party Dots border image repeatedly with black ink. I then stuck down a boatload of sequins – each with a mini glue dot. And to add to the shine, I put a tiny gem in the center of each sequin. Bling bling!


Sweet Danielle of Neat and Tangled said I could do a giveaway of a TEN sequin packs and the Party Dots stamp set to a lucky winner! For your chance, leave a comment here by 5/21/13 at 11:59pmEST. Good luck!


 

Posted in Cards | 423 Comments

New!

Posted on May 16, 2013 in Cool links, Enabling

New crafty goodies make me happy. And I think they may make you happy, too.

Check out Simon Says Stamp’s newest release of dies and stamps.

Such. Good. Stuff.


That’s all. Just wanted to share. :)

See you soon.

Posted in Cool links, Enabling | 20 Comments

Mama Elephant May Stampede Blog Hop with Giveaways!

Posted on May 15, 2013 in Blog Hop, Cards

I have mentioned here before my love of the new Mama Elephant stamp line… and my admiration for their owner, Kryssi. So I was honored when they asked me to join them in celebrating this month’s release (which is available today HERE). Today I am part of their blog hop!

I love how dainty the images are in the new Filigree set. So pretty! I decided to make some layers of bold-colored lace…

I used Copic Markers to color the lace in, and added highlights with a white pen. The greeting is from the Mama Elephant Smitten set. (Which is a must-have!)

Next, be sure to head over to the blog of the fabulously talented Jenn Biederman. (To start the hop again you can head to Kryssi’s site.) There are some amazing girls in this hop – be sure to check it out! ( Here is the hop order: Kryssi Ng / Mama Elephant, Me, Jenn Biederman, Mariana Grigsby, Iwona Palamountain, Alice Wertz, JJ Bolton, Lea Lawson, Samantha Mann, Geralyn Sy, Savannah O’Gwynn and Cheiron Brandon.)


To celebrate the new release, Mama Elephant is giving away 3 gift certificates worth $20.00 each to 3 lucky people! Winners will be chosen at random from the collective blogs in the Stampede. Winners will be announced on the blog on May 19th.

Here’s how to qualify to win (leave a separate comment for each):

1. Leave a comment on this blog post. (You can just do this if you want.)
2. Become a follower of the Mama Elephant blog.
3. Like/share Mama Elephant on Facebook.
4. Follow/tweet Mama Elephant on Twitter.

Good luck!


 

Posted in Blog Hop, Cards | 215 Comments

Birthday Girl

Posted on May 13, 2013 in My Life

And just like that, she is one.

And yes, her wild hair matches her personality.

I created a video of Lila’s first year to surprise my family tonight. I wasn’t going to share it here but decided to since many of you have been so encouraging over the last year. (More on that another day.) But I warn you – it is long so I don’t blame you if you don’t watch it. lol.

Good night!

Posted in My Life | 221 Comments

A Challenge

Posted on May 11, 2013 in Cards

Today was an awesome mail day. Why? Because I got four handmade cards from friends. It amazed me at how much it lifted my spirits… and was a good motivator for me to make and send more cards.

You don’t need a reason to send a card. I truly believe the unexpected ones are the best. This one is going in the mail Monday to a friend…

Simple. Truly simple.

Stamp. Color. Done.

I used stamps from a new-to-me company – The Craft’s Meow. They have some incredible designs! (And it turns out the owner is really kind, too.) These stitched greetings are marvelous. Simon Says Stamp just started carrying their stamps and here are my favorites:

Sometimes when stamps are designed amazingly well, you don’t need to do much with them. These stamps are perfect examples of this. Sweet and simple.

So… I challenge you to join me. Join me in sending a few cards to a loved one for absolutely no reason. It will make them (and you!) feel good. Who do you plan to surprise?

Take care.


Posted in Cards | 36 Comments

Check It Out…

Posted on May 10, 2013 in Cool links

Just popping in to let you know of some great shopping things going on. After all, it is Mother’s Day weekend. Don’t we deserve a little present? :)

  • Ellen Hutson has 20% off everything. Use code “momsday13” for the discount.
  • 25-75% of stamps? Yes, please! Just head over to Two Peas in a Bucket. (No discount code needed.)
  • I just ordered all the new goodies from Kelly Purkey. And her next kit has some amazing stuff in it. Impressed!
  • Do you love bacon as much as I do? It’s my favorite. Therefore, I just had to have this stamp set!
  • I am really happy with the Avery Elle Stamp Pockets. They are the perfect way to store your clear and cling stamps… and are back in stock.
  • I have shared in the past that I use THIS container to store my clear and cling stamps. Well, I have found it is also perfect for storing completed cards! I just put them in categories. Perfect.
  • If you use your phone’s camera as much as I do, you should join me in taking THIS class. Such good people are leading it!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I am in deep denial that Lila is turning one on Monday. So, if you are looking for me, I will be with my sorrows in a bowl of ice cream. lol :)

Take care!

Posted in Cool links | 48 Comments

Good People

Posted on May 9, 2013 in Cards, Lawn Fawn

There are lots of good people in this industry.

And one of my favorites? That would be Kelly Marie – the owner of Lawn Fawn. I was happy when she came to town to be part of a retreat with friends. Her energy is amazing.

She also brought with her some of her newest designs. When I saw her teacher set, I had to create something right away. So I have been holding on to this card for a few weeks… just waiting until she released the set…

Aren’t those images fabulous? And perfect for Colin’s teacher. She just rocks.

I heat embossed everything with white embossing powder and colored it in…

Lawn Fawn has recently released lots of great stamps and dies. Head over to their blog HERE to catch all the release party fun. (You can also get their newest products at Lawn Fawn directly or at Simon Says Stamp HERE.)

Oh… and I thought it would be fun to share this photo. Kelly and I were laughing so hard… and I have no idea why. Ha! It makes me smile.

See you soon!


 

Posted in Cards, Lawn Fawn | 34 Comments

Cheer Up

Posted on May 8, 2013 in Cards, My Favorite Things

I’m back with another card that I created for a friend… hoping to bring them a smile…

I used the same My Favorite Things Cheerful Blessings stamp set I used in my last post. This stamp set truly makes me giddy. You can now get it at My Favorite Things or Simon Says Stamp.

I also used a MFT border stamp to create the pattern on the bottom. Although there are three colors in the pattern, I only used two inks. I stamped the bottom with Butter Bar yellow ink. I then stamped above it with the same ink… and then directly on top of it with Pale Tomato light red ink. (This gives the orange color. It is easy to double stamp with clear stamps!) Then on the top I just used the Pale Tomato. This layering of ink colors is great for getting more colors out of the inks you have.

And the hearts? Just punched them and added a bit of glitter with my Wink of Stella pen. Finally, I covered if with Glossy Accents for shine. I tell ya – these are eye-catching in real life…

I am really enjoying the pink/orange/yellow combo lately. What color combo are you lovin’ these days?


 

Posted in Cards, My Favorite Things | 16 Comments

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