Wednesday, April 30, 2014

a really small gang

so, i made another card for the mama elephant challenge!
honestly, it's the best colors, and the winner gets a spot on the challenge design team...um...HELLO! so i know it's a long shot, but i had to play along...again! :)


and without further ado, here's my card:


i heat embossed the triangles in the background from the today was stamp set. i made my own pattern with the triangles by selectively inking up part of the stamp with versamark ink. then i watercolored the background with my distress inks, peacock feathers, tumbled glass and shabby shutters.


the little fish are from the cosmic stars stamp set. LOVE them! they're so cute!! i even added some perfect pearls as shadowing. who doesn't love a little gold, right?! :) and then i chose the sentiment from the good times stamp set; one of my favorite sets! love the sayings!! so FUN!! and totally mama elephant!

lastly, i just added a few circle wood veneers (read: bubbles) and popped up the whole panel on the card base! so FUN! i just love this card! 
enjoy!

a whale of a card

hello there, friends!

today i have a card to share that's also on the newton's nook blog

i had a ton of fun making this card, mostly because it involved watercoloring, and i'm totally into that right now! ha ha! 

so here it is:


love it! i used the sweet whale image from sea-son's greetings (not just for christmas cards, people!) and popped him up over that super fun 'ocean'! :) all of the images were watercolored and fussy cut over the watercolored 'ocean'! 

i used three different blue-y shades for the ocean, i have not yet mastered 'shading' with watercolors yet! but i like the ocean, nonetheless! :) 


for the sentiment, i just sewed on some tiny type letters (another of my OBSESSIONS! lol!), and then i added a strip of washi to the side of the card, popping up the whole watercolor panel! 

so fun!
don't forget about the current inky paws challenge over on the newton's nook blog! you can find it here, and guess what? there's a NEW and FREE digitial image you can use, too!
hello!
enjoy!

Friday, April 25, 2014

stitched and stacked salutation

**this is my 2nd post for today! to see my card for the latest Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge, click here, or scroll down**
thank you! :D

hello friends!!
today i'm also over on the butterfly reflections ink blog!

i LOVE my card! i channelled my inner Amy Tangerine and tried a technique that is new to me!
here are the supplies i used, all of which can be found in the butterfly reflections ink store, of course! and a sneak of the card!



head on over and check it out! :)

enjoy!

inky paws challenge - color challenge

good morning and happy friday to everyone!

i'm super excited to share my card for the current inky paws challenge for newton's nook! 
this time it's a color challenge, and the colors are so pretty and springy!!!


i had a hard time making this card, despite the beautiful colors! just one of those days i guess! i was attempting to try a new techinique, and it fell flat...boo!

oh well! here it is!


i used distress inks to add the challenge colors in the background. and then i stamped the 'thanks' banner from winged wishes over top! i added some wink of stella glitter and glossy accents to the banner to make it stand out a little! 

the sweet little bird is from snow day! i fussy cut him out of patterned paper and then added a hint of color to his cheeks and beak! he's popped up for dimension!


the main panel of the card is also popped up over strips of washi tape on the sides of the card! add a few splatters of mist and the card is done! 

i hope you can play along in this inky paws challenge! it's so pretty! i know i'll be playing along again, too!! 
enjoy!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

nothing but blue skies

hello there!
just poppin in real quick to share a card i made for the current AEI♥U Challenge

i mean look at the colors...how could i resist? 
the answer: i couldn't! ha ha! i just LOVE those colors too much!

so here's my card!


i painted the entire card base in gesso...i don't know why...ha! but i did!
then when it was dry, i watercolored on some distress inks (broken china, peacock feathers, and shabby shutters) onto it. LOVE that look! :)

then i heat embossed the sentiment from the avery elle happy camper stamp set! LOVE that sentiment! 

i added some vellum chevron accents that i created from the chevron bits elle-ments die! LOVE that die set! they were sewn on with my sewing machine! i LOVE sewing on vellum, there's something about the mix of textures that call to me! ha!

so that's my card! 
thanks for stopping by!
enjoy!

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

distress paints and newton's nook!

hey there!

today i'm over on the newton's nook blog! and i have this super fun card to share!

ooooo, ahhhhh!



ha ha!
i think i may have mentioned during release week that i LOOOOOVE the new love grows stamp set! LOVE IT!!

for this card, i heat embossed in white, all over a card sized sheet of vellum. 
then i thought...how in the WORLD am i going to add color? 



there are a bunch of options to color on vellum, but this time, i decided to layer the vellum over some distress paint splatters! so i splattered three distress inks onto a cardsized white panel (squeezed lemonade, picked raspberries and dried marigold) into the approximate areas my little flowers were on the vellum sheet!

then i attached the vellum! then came my next problem - HOW DO I ADD A SENTIMENT?! lol!!

alas, i decided to go with NO sentiment - something i NEVER do! but this dang set i just SO versitle that it could literally be used for almost any occassion! so i added a bow and some pinks and boom! beautiful card, ready to be used for anything! :)

what was your favorite stamp set from the newton's nook release?
it's so hard to choose!
enjoy!

Monday, April 21, 2014

rainbows and sunshine for all

**this is my 2nd post for today! to see the new lawnscaping challenge post, click here, or scroll down**
thank you! :D

hello again!!

today i'm also over on the butterfly reflections ink blog!

i have a super fun, super girly and super pink card!

here are the supplies i used, all of which can be found in the butterfly reflections ink store, of course! and a sneak of the card!



head on over and check it out! :)

enjoy!

lawnscaping challenge - skinny minis

good morning - it's my favorite day of the week - monday!!
and today is a brand new challenge over at the lawnscaping blog!!

this is my first challenge as a member of the challenge team (not the facebook inspiration team), and i'm SOOOOOO excited and honored!! 
it's a good thing the challenge this week is to make a mini set of mini cards, so i could make make make!! lol!!


i really had a BLAST making these cards! and i used one of my favorite lawn fawn images of all time - the little yeti guy!!





my cards are 3.5 by 3.5, and i mostly focused on the backgrounds of these cards - let's take a closer look and see all of the texure and distressing!


ok, let's get down to the nitty gritty! 
i covered the entire card bases of the cards in gesso and then stamped in various images to create some texture (the stars and rainbows are from starry backdrops, the clouds are from hello sunshine! once the images are stamped they leave an impression in the gesso! 


i let that dry and then added color with some distress paints!! 
the distress paints are neat bacause they wipe right of off of the gesso and really settle into the impressed areas! so fun!


a few pearls and wood veneers, and the cards are done!! i was sure to choose lots of encouraging and hug related sentiments to i could give this set as a pick me up to someone, who could then send pick me ups to other people too!! win-win! :)


all of the sentiments were stamped onto banner images from bannerific. :)

i colored all of the yeti images, from yeti set go, in different shades of copic colors and then popped them all up for dimension! 

so that's it! 

for even more inspiration (if you can stand it!), check out the lawnscaping facebook page! we're dedicated to keeping your creative juices flowing! :)

this week we're sponsored by lawn fawn! so get your card making on, and you could win a stamp set of your choice! :)


Thursday, April 17, 2014

sweet stamp shop color pops

**this is my 2nd post of the day! for my newton's nook release of wild thing, click here or scroll down**


hello there, sweet fans! 
i'm over on the sweet stamp shop blog today!
i have two cards that i created after seeing this INCREDIBLE card on pinterest!

it's amazing, i know! 

i just LOVE the b&w background and the pop of color! it's awesome!!!
so that's what i ran with for my two cards!

both cards use the adorably cute yummy love stamp set from sweet stamp shop!

for my first card, i kept the colors similar to the pinterest card, but i did not even attempt to make my own background! ha ha! 


paper piecing all the way! ha ha!
the pears were colored and popped up for dimension! 



the sentiment was created with some thickers that i sewed on over a strip of vellem! (i LOVE adding sewing to my card!).
a few enamel dots, and some llime green splatters and the card was done! 

love the color pop and the bright, crispness of the greens! 

my 2nd card also has the color pop thing going on! but this time i DID make my own background!


i used watercolor paper, lots of water, and some spray mists to create my backgound! grey and black spray mists, to be exact! 



the cute little orange was popped up on a vellum tag and the tabbed sentiment was sewn, too! 

so those are my cards! what do you think?
ready to head on over to the sweet stamp shop pinterest page and get inspired?
enjoy!

Newton's Nook Designs April Release - Wild Child

it's the middle of the month! that means - release time for newton's nook!! and it's an AMAZING release!! i can't wait for you to see everything!



today's set is called Wild Child, and it's so sweet, and so FUN!! this is an AMAZING set! perfect for tags, layouts, cards, anything! and the best news is, all of the sets will be available for purchase april 18th here! :)

i am SOOOOO excited about this set!!
the little animals with their parents, or big siblings...so so so so sweet!!! LOOOOVE them!!

first, i made a baby card! how could i resist!?


i colored the giraffe images and then decided to 'spotlight' part of the image! 
i stamped the image onto a separate piece of cardstock, and then die cut it out with a star. 
then i colored that with copics as well, and colored in the rest of the star with very light blues, and also my wink of stella pen!


add a cloud background and vellum sentiment and i think it's just a pretty, sweet little scene for a baby card! :)


my 2nd card is so fun, too!!

i paper pieced the cute as can be litle bear images and then popped up the baby one for some extra dimension. 


the background was created with some green tinted embossing paste (that i tinted with my mr heuy mist!). then i splattered some blue mist onto the background too (i couldn't stop!!).


the clouds are from the adorably versitle winged wishes stamp set! and i stamped the sentiment with stazon onto the wood venneer banner! :)


Would you like to win Wild Child? This set will be given away to Two lucky winners
Here's how to win: 
Comment on the NND blog and Design Team and Guest blogs (see list below)! Two winners will be chosen at random from the collective blogs release posts. Make sure to check out each of their blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Thursday, April 17th at 9 pm Central Standard Time to comment  -- winners will be announced on the blog post on Friday, April 18th. 

We are also having a giveaway this week on our Facebook Page so make sure to head over there to enter that too! 

Valerie Ward
Tessa Wise
Jamie Greene  - Guest Designer
Elena Joldersma - Guest Designer

thanks so much for visiting, and don't forget to comment for your chance to win! :)
enjoy!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Newton's Nook Designs April Release - Versatile Vases

it's the middle of the month! that means - release time for newton's nook!! and it's an AMAZING release!! i can't wait for you to see everything!



today's set is called Versatile Vases, and it's brilliant!! this is an AMAZING set! perfect for tags, layouts, cards, anything! and the best news is, all of the sets will be available for purchase april 18th here! :)

this set is so cool!


for my first card, i decided to go masculine...can you do masculine with vases?! lol!! i think so, and i'm almost there, i think! ha ha! sigh.


i paper pieved the flowers and vase and popped them all up for dimension. 
then i added a few kraft sequins!


the sentiment was stamped onto some 'aged' vellum that aged with distress inks. :)
easy peasy!


my next card is totally different, and i LOVE it! :)


i heat embossed everything in gold! then i watercolored the images really messy, and loosly! if that makes sense! i was just added pops of color to the images!


after a touch of glossy accents to the mason jar (LOOOOOVE that mason jar!!) and a few pearls, this card was complete! i LOVE this look!!


Would you like to win Versatile VasesThis set will be given away to Two lucky winners
Here's how to win: 
Comment on the NND blog and Design Team and Guest blogs (see list below)! Two winners will be chosen at random from the collective blogs release posts. Make sure to check out each of their blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Thursday, April 17th at 9 pm Central Standard Time to comment  -- winners will be announced on the blog post on Friday, April 18th. 

We are also having a giveaway this week on our Facebook Page so make sure to head over there to enter that too! 

Valerie Ward
Tessa Wise
Jamie Greene  - Guest Designer
Elena Joldersma - Guest Designer

thanks so much for visiting, and don't forget to comment for your chance to win! :)
enjoy!

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

sweet stamp shop april release!

**this is my 2nd release post of the day!! to see the Newton's Nook Love Grow's release post - click here, or scroll down**


oh wow!! it's here - the 2nd release of the month for sweet stamp shop!
and it's SO DANG CUTE! you're going to love ALL of the sets!!




i was lucky enough to work with 3 of the new sets, and i LOVED them all!
the first one up, is owl be genius!


hello cutest owl ever! 

i made two thank you cards for my little mann's teachers at the end of the year! this set is pefect for that - as well tons of any other occassions! 

my first and second cards use the owl and chalkboard images! 

i used a school lined pocket style card for the base and then the outline lower alpha letters - since it seemed like a perfect fit! 



the owl was colored with copics and popped up with dimension, and the chalkboard and apple were paper pieced! 



my other owl card was all colored with copics and then the sentiment is a wood veneer that i also distressed with distress ink to make it darker!





my third card used the cookie sprinkles stamp set and popped it up along with the cute little light bulb from the new set!



this card is so CAS and happy! i LOVE the alpha stickers for the sentiment, too!



the light bulb was also coated in glossy accents. 

next up is the hedgehog kiss stamp set...hold on to your butts, people - cuteness is coming your way!!



see? adorable!!

my first card is the two little cuties all paper pieced up and popped up over the vellum circle! :)


i just think they're adorable!! eek!



the sentiment was added over the vellum and then i added a few burst-like wood veneers because hey, kaboom! lol! :)

then i made this little card! ha ha!! 


*squeal*
i love that the boy is running over as fast as he can to get a kiss!! 



i just think it's adorable! 
i colored all of the images with copics and popped up the hedgies (and the bow and the sentiment) for some added interest.

last, but certainly not least is the super busy, multitasking mr octopus stamp set! 



you love it, i just know it! :)

my first card uses the too hip and chalkboard sign stamp sets, too!


i made the octopus into a pirate and popped him up over some sideways woodgrain paper that i splattered with white paint (bubbles!!). 



i made the sentiment 'pirate-y' with some alpha stickers, ha ha!! 

this just makes me laugh!!

the background for my next card was SUPER fun!! i used some distress paints and lots of water to create the swirly, marbled look! loooooove my distress paints!! 



the images were all colored with copics and then popped up for dimension! and then i used the alpha tabs stamp set to create a unique sentiment! :)



i love that the little octopus is talking with his friend on the computer! ha ha!

lastly, is perhaps my favortie card!



i colored the images with copics and then popped up the animals! 
i tinted my white embossing paste with some mr heuy's spray and then used my chevron mask, and i love how it looks like waves! 



who doesn't love a little frustrated, dark pink octopus?! ha ha!!
(i think we've all had those days!)

so that's it!! check out the sweet stamp shop blog for more AMAZING and incredible creations by the rest of the design team! 
and then head over to the sweet store and snatch these babies up before they're sold out!! 
enjoy!