10 Minute Card // CardMaker Magazine

This is a little late, but I have a post on the CardMaker blog up, showing how to make a cute little card in less than ten minutes...

Check out the blog for more details!

Birthday Ewe // Lawn Fawn

Hello! I'm over on the MarkerPOP blog today with a birthday card that uses a Christmas stamp set!

Check out the blog for more details! :)

Yeti Christmas // My Favorite Things

I'm on the MarkerPOP blog today, showcasing yet another irresistible Birdie Brown stamp set...

Pop on over to the blog for more details!

Cow-raccoon...? // Mama Elephant

I'm over on the MarkerPOP blog today, with a card featuring the adorabubble Mama Elephant Rowdy Raccoons stamp set.

Check out the blog for more details!

Birthday Band // Avery Elle

I'm over on the MarkerPOP blog today with a fun party night scene...

Check out the blog for all the deets!

Cutie-Patootie Purple Dragon // My Favorite Things

I'm over at the MarkerPOP blog today, with a cutie-patootie lil' dragon...

...stop by the blog for more details!

Just Keep Swimming // Hero Arts

Hello everyone! Today I'm participating in a blog celebrating the release of the July My Monthly Hero kit!

This is what the main kit looks like...

Isn't it a beaut? I had so much fun making shaker card with this kit! This kit is jammed pack - with the large stamp set (equivalent to two 4x6 clear sets), dies and an ombre ink pad, the kit value is nearly $60, but is selling for $34.99! The kit is available for a limited time only - once it's gone, it's gone.

For my card today, I used the turtles from the main kit and the beautiful ombre ink pad...

I inked my turtles first using Versamark, then the Mermaid Ombre, so that I could add a little clear embossing powder for shine. If you wanted, you could stamp first in the colored ink, and then stamp over it with Versamark for a crisper embossed image, but I'm lazy...and I don't have a MISTI to do all the work for me. ;)
I then did some partial die cutting to create the window for the shaker card...

I used the sentiment from the Color Layering Goldfish stamp set, because combined with the turtles, it remained me of Finding Nemo. ;)
Heat embossing acetate can be a little tricky, but it really is fun and easy. To start with;

• make sure you use a thicker acetate. I cut a piece from the Simon Says Stamp cd storage packets and used that. Then, completely coat your acetate on both sides with anti-static embossing powder (or cornstarch, if you don't have the "fancy" stuff ;)).
• When stamping your sentiment/image, stamp as straight down as possible, and be firm. Don't crush the acetate, as that will likely make your stamp slip on the acetate, but if you stamp too lightly, you won't get a crisp impression. This might sound like a hard medium to achieve, but with a little bit of practice, it's quite easy!
• Then, add your embossing powder, shake of the excess, and prepare to heat emboss! Now, an additional reason acetate is hard to heat emboss is because acetate is plastic and tends to, well, you know, melt under a lot of heat. ;) So, make sure your embossing gun is nice and hot, don't get too close to the acetate, and move the gun around a bit while heating it, making sure not to apply direct heat to one spot.

I just want to quickly point out the difference the slight clear heat embossing makes - it adds a little extra shine and texture (hard to tell in this pic), and also makes the final impress look a little darker. The card on the right had no embossing on it, just straight ink.

Once I finished off my shaker panel, I heat embossed the beautifully detailed Wave Pattern background in clear on a navy card base, adhered the panel, and oila! For more details on the making of the card and some more tips, here's a video on the process...

One more amazing note on this kit: Hero Arts is going to donate 10% of profits for our July 2016 MMH Kit to ocean preservation through the World Wildlife Foundation.

For more inspiration, and a chance to win one of these beautiful kits, follow this amazing blog hop...

The Hero Arts Blog 

Yana Smakula 

Amy Tsuruta 

Clare Prezzia

May Park 

Laura Bassen 

Lydia Fiedler 

Jessica Frost-Ballas 

Justin Krieger 

Jennifer McGuire 

Jenn Shurkus 

Veronica Zalis 

Libby Hickson 

Joan Bardee

Thanks so much for stopping in and God bless!

SUPPLIES

Cardstock: Bazzill shimmer navy cardstock, Michaels white cardstock
Stamps: Hero Arts July My Monthly Hero, Wave Pattern background and Color Layering Goldfish
Ink: Hero Arts Mermaid Ombre and Versamark
Other: Hero Arts White Satin Pearl, White and Clear embossing powder, Lucy's Little Things Tequila Sunrise Sequins and Hero Arts Neutral Mixed Accents

Tools: Hero Arts heat gun, Cuttlebug, WRMemory Keepers circle dies, My Favorite Things Pierced Rectangles die

Flying Dog // My Favorite Things

Today I'm popping in with a fun shaker card for the MFT Color Challenge #38 and the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge (Ray of Sunshine).

To start off, I blended a background for the two pink colors in the challenge, using some Distress Inks. I made it a shaker using some Martha Stewart star confetti, and Darice sequins.
Making shaker cards with My Favorite Things stamps has definitely become a thing for me recently. I'm not exactly sure why, but I'm totally blaming Melania Deasy. ;)

The rest of the card finished simply off with an adorable colored pup, a bunch of balloons (created from the one balloon in THIS cute stamp set), string, an embossed sentiment and vellum clouds.

I colored the dog with my Zig's, and for the balloons, I only had a rather bright shade of yellow. To tone it down and get a gradient look, I used my Wink of Stella pen to blend it out, which had the added bonus of adding some nice shimmer. The Zig's actually blend really well with the Michael's brand cardstock (which is also nice and heavy, at 110 lb) - at least, their newer cardstock.

I found some cardstock I bought this past summer noticeably different from cardstock I bought in December. The older, summer cardstock was a little creamier in tone (which I prefer), but was kinda horrible when it came to coloring. The more recent cardstock is dreamy with Zig's, and more pasty white.
I'm playing along with the fun 30 Day Coloring Challenge.

Thanks so much for stopping in today and God bless!

SUPPLIES

Cardstock: Michaels
Stamps: My Favorite Things Top Dog and Birthday Bears
Ink: Distress Ink, Versafine
Other: sequins (Darice), confetti (Martha Stewart), vellum and string (stash), Zig Clean Color brushes

Tools: Cuttlebug, My Favorite Things Top Dog die, Avery Elle Double Pierced Rectangles die, Paper Smooches Quote Tag die

Neutral Birthday Card // My Favorite Stamps

Today's card is one I had a lot of fun making, and am so pleased with how it turned out, mostly because it's a birthday card (which I seem to always need) that would work for boys or girls!

This card is for the My Favorite Things Sketch 263 challenge and the Marker Pop Challenge #86 Critters.

I colored this adorable bear during the 30 day coloring challenge in November, and finally got around to using him.
I backed the bear and sentiment with several overlapping vellum circles, to balance that side of the card, but to keep it light and airy at the same time, as all the black could be overwhelming.

The stars and present ribbons have some Glossy Accents for a little extra shine.

Thanks so much for stopping in and God bless!

SUPPLIES

Cardstock: Canson
Patterned paper: Crate Paper
Stamps: My Favorite Things Birthday Bears
Ink: Versafine, Versamark
Other: Glossy Accents, vellum, embossing powder (Hero Arts), wooden stars (Studio Calico), Zig Clean Color markers.

Tools: Cuttlebug, My Favorite Things Birthday Bears dies, W. R. Memory Keepers circle dies, heat gun

Simple Fall Scene // My Favorite Things

Today I'm popping in with a card I had an absolute blast making, even if it isn't exactly seasonal. ;)

I actually made this card a couple months ago, but I forgot to share it on my blog (I posted a quick pic of it on my Instagram for Kathy Rac's coloring challenge in November)

These little Harvest Mice are ridiculously cute and fun to color. I was afraid I wouldn't really use them, cute as they are, because of my coloring handicap, but I couldn't resist after seeing all the adorable cards Melania made using them (seriously, that girl is amazing). Lucky for me, my Zig Clean Color pens came in right when the stamps did - a match made in stampy heaven.

I embossed the kraft cardstock for some more texture, and topped off the card with the gems, but it was pretty simple, and ridiculously fun to make. I can't wait to give this one out - I'm not sure I'll wait until next fall. ;)

Thanks so much for stopping in today and God bless!

SUPPLIES

Cardstock: Canson, Hero Arts kraft
Stamps: My Favorite Things Harvest Mouse
Ink: Versafine, Versamark
Other: gems (Hero Arts)

Tools: Cuttlebug, My Favorite Things Harvest Mouse dies, Papertrey Ink Woodgrain impression plate, Zig Clean Color brush pens

Shaker Birthday // My Favorite Things

I'm finished with finals, and now I have a whole four weeks to totally devote myself to making cards!!...and applying for jobs...and hanging out with my family....and baking (LOTS of baking!)

Today's card was started the evening I finished my last final, for the MFT Sketch 258 challenge...

These little pups are so adorable! And they will be perfect for making both young boy and girl cards! I've come to love these sorts of images for my cards much more since I invested in the Zig clean color brush system - it's so dang easy and fun to color with them.

To make sure the sentiment could stand out, I used the Lawn Fawn Chit Chat stamp set - this stamp set works so well with other animal and person image stamp sets. It's even super fun to use by itself! The set and die combo are a rather hefty investment, but Scrap2U (who I'm not affiliated with in anyway, I just had a good experience with) has some great deals on the dies and other stamp/die combos.

A couple things before I go:

• the sequins I used on this card are the Tequila mix from the sweet Lucy Abrams - THIS is how I organize my sequin/glitter stash.
• I'll be giving away some brand new Hero Arts stamps and dies over the break, and the first giveaway is over on my Instagram! You don't need to follow me, just leave a comment to be entered to win some fun Clearly Kelly stamps. 

Thanks so much for stopping in today and God bless!

SUPPLIES

Cardstock: Michaels

Patterned paper: Crate Paper Pretty Party

Stamps: My Favorite Things Top Dog and Birthday Bears, Lawn Fawn Chit Chat

Ink: Hero Arts (black)

Other: sequins (Lucy Abram), white and gold paint

Tools: Cuttlebug, My Favorite Things Top Dog, Birthday Bear and Boutique Windows dies, Lawn Fawn Chit Chat dies, paintbrush and water

Busy Bonjour // Throwback Thursday

I hardly ever use ribbon these days - I wonder if it's just because that "trend" has faded for me, or I just went so overboard with it those couple years that my mojo is still recovering. ;)

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Just wanted to put a bunch of random things together, and this is what I came up - an unusual color combo for me, which was fun.

Love this shade of ribbon - it looks so light and fluffy and skylike.

Thought it would be fun to stick in some vellum clouds, just because they're cute.

And then a random sticker tab, just because.

Thanks so much for dropping in - God bless!

Real, Live Coloring // My Favorite Things

MIDTERMS ARE OVER!!
Life may now move onward.
Praise be.

Today's card is something a little new for me.
It features coloring.
Real, live, non-watercoloring coloring, folks.

I know, I never thought I'd see the day either.

I decided to make two "risky" purchases - a 36 set of Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens, and the My Favorite Things Harvest Mice stamp set.
These two were practically a match made in heaven, and I don't regret one cent of my "investments" (I have to call them investments since I'm a senior in college ;))

Anywho, I colored the FREAKING ADORABLE mouse with those lovely brush pens, and I am so. excited.
It's basically my first time coloring an image without using watercolors, and boy, am I loving it. Copics were way too intimidating (and expensive!) for me to get into, but these Zig's...man, I dig 'em.

I mentioned it on Instagram, but Melania Deasy was the one who twisted my arm into buying the stamp set and the window die. THIS card is definitely in one of my top five favorite cards of all time.

Now that I'm done raving about the pens and the stamps, this card is for the My Favorite Things sketch challenge 249.

Thanks so much for stopping in and God bless!

SUPPLIES

Cardstock: Michaels, Canson
Patterned paper: Crate Paper Pretty Party
Stamps: My Favorite Things Harvest Mice and Perk Up
Ink: Versafine
Other: Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens, Glossy Accents, vellum, glitter tape (American Crafts)

Tools: Cuttlebug, My Favorite Things Harvest Mice and Boutique Window dies, Lawn Fawn Stitched Border dies

Keepin' It Real // Throwback Thursday

So today's card is just me keeping it real - I doubt there's a cardmaker alive who doesn't make hideous boo-boos like this one.
Or, at least, I hope I'm not the only one. lol

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This card is blah for me. :/
On the upside, some friends that were staying over liked it, warped and freckled as it was, so I didn't trash it out of frustration.
I will, however, be sending this out to someone who can appreciate it more ASAP.

Do notice, however, the lovely colored embossing - I splurged and got a nice set of wee bottles of colored embossing powder, and I can't seem to stop using them.

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Cardstock: Canson
Stamps: My Favorite Things Chalkboard Greetings, Papertrey Ink Mini Blooms
Ink: Versamark
Other: embossing powder (Hampton Art), pearls and vellum (Michaels)

Tool: heat gun

Scrappy Card // Throwback Thursday

Today's card was published in an old issue of Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking magazine.

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All the patterned paper on this card came from the scrap envelope, and none of them were trimmed at all to fit the card...though I guess you could tell from the overall messiness, couldn't you? ;)
Whatevs. I was in a messy mood, so this was nice to get out of my system.

This was so fun to make, and I felt very pleased with myself that I was able to use up the scraps.

Thanks for popping in today!

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Cardstock: Canson, Hobby Lobby
Patterned paper, die cut and sticker: Crate Paper "Storyteller"
Stamps: Papertrey Ink "Mini Blooms"
Ink: Stazon
Other: pearls (Queen and Co), string (stash), doily (Martha Stewart), sequins (Michaels), nail polish

Tools: heart punch, Cuttlebug, My Favorite Things "Framed Greetings" die

Watercolored Embossing // Throwback Thursday

I was just testing out a technique on some watercolor cardstock, and instead of scrapping it, I decided to use  it on a card.

Thanks for stopping in today and God bless!

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Cardstock: Canson
Stamps: Papertrey Ink "Happy Trails" and "Year of Flowers"
Ink: Stazon, Versamark
Other: gems (Michaels), vellum (Hobby Lobby), embossing powder (Hampton Art), patterned paper (stash)

Tools: Cuttlebug, My Favorite Things "Butterflies" die, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, heat gun

Layered Heat Embossing // My Favorite Things

Early morning dash to Mass, and after celebrating St. Clare's feast day with lots of sugary donuts, I'm starting to come down off my sugar high.
So hopefully this post is coherent, because everything in me is screaming for a nap (naps are the best.) But I decided to struggle on for the sake of the faithful readers out there who have probably been out of their minds with worry during my almost-one-week blogging absence.
*chuckle*
I really do need to take that nap.

This card is for the MFT Color Challenge #26 and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge Food or Drink.

I used the delectable (sorry, couldn't help myself) Piece of Cake stamp set. I LOVE the sentiments in this stamp set ("Let's celebrate your existence with cake" - *chuckle*), but for the sake of the design, I used another MFT favorite (now retired - sorry!), Framed Greetings, for the sentiment.
I plan on adding "cake is my other favorite thing" (or something of that gist) inside the card.

The background was stamped using Brilliance Moonlight White and a little present image from the freakin' adorable Birthday Bears stamp set.
This cake was so fun to heat emboss and use up some colored embossing powders! I actually heat embossed the candles on the already heat embossed pink icing - super fun, but just make sure you put lots of anti-static powder (or cornstarch) on the first embossed layer before going in for seconds. ;)

It's hard to tell in the first photo, but I added some Stickles for the candle flames and the filler icing. Adds a little zing! to the cake.

Okay, well, my mind has officially stopped cooperating with me, so I'll leave you with this strange post and bright card.
Goodnight.
I mean, goodbye!

*snore*

SUPPLIES

Cardstock: Papertrey Ink, Bazzill

Stamps: My Favorite Things "Piece of Cake", "Framed Greetings" and "Birthday Bear"

Ink: Versamark, Brilliance Moonlight White

Other: embossing powders (Hampton Arts), washi tape (Target), Stickles

Tools: heat gun, 1" circle punch

Fabric Window // Throwback Thursday

This card was published in Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking about two or three years ago.

FABRIC WINDOW

A card I quickly put together last night using a negative die cut from a previous card, and some fun fabric a friend sent me.

Some glitter tape adds some extra spice (or should I say sparkle?) to the project.

Thanks for stopping in and God bless!

Die Cut Watercolor // Throwback Thursday

Let's finish out July's Throwback Thursday feature go out with a nice bright pop of color! Some of these Throwback Thursday cards are rather painful for me to share, but I still like this card, two years later. ;)

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While this is not an outstanding example of orginiality, I still love it - it's even cooler in real life, when you can see the dimension from the negative die cut butterflies.

Thanks for stopping in and God bless! 

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Cardstock: Strathamore
Stamp: Papertrey Ink "Happy Trails"
Ink: Stazon, Papertrey Ink, Tim Holtz
Other: sequins (Michaels)

Tools: Cuttlebug, My Favorite Things "Butterflies" dies

Coloring Patterned Paper // My Favorite Stamps

Hi there! Today's card is for the My Favorite Things sketch 238 challenge, the Simon Says Stamp Monday "i" (I used ikat) challenge, and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Sparkle and Shine challenge.

Let me just start this off by saying how flipping cute Birdie Brown's Birthday Bears stamp set is. Not only is it possibly my favorite animal stamp set ever, but my younger sister Rosie, who, if you recall, is one of my biggest critics (but also supportive - she's strange that way ;)) saw it and declared it her favorite stamp set I've ever gotten.
How's that for praise? ;)

I used the cute Best Friends stamp set to transform the birthday themed bear set into a baby boy card.
The balloon has Glossy Accents on it, but it's difficult to tell in these photos...

Coloring patterned papers is actually really fun - you just need to use lighter colored papers, with more subtle or less distracting patterns. I colored the bow of my present, then heat embossed it with clear embossing powder for a "satiny" finish to the bow.
The grid background behind the bear, the present and the balloon are all patterned papers that you could easily add color to. If the patterned paper is already colored, it's best to stick with colors that are in the pattern, or the color might look a little funky. For the present, I just used a darker shade of orange.

That's it for me today! Thanks for stopping in and have a blessed Sunday!

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Cardstock: Canson, Papetrey Ink
Patterned paper: Crate Paper "Journey" and "Pretty Party"
Stamps: My Favorite Things "Birthday Bears" and "Best Friends"
Ink: Versafine, Versamark, Tim Holtz
Other: clear embossing powder, Glossy Accents

Tools: heat gun, Cuttlebug, My Favorite Things "Birthday Bears" stamp set