you're my brightest star

hello there!

it's been quiet on my blog this week...weird!
well that's about to change! 
today i have a card that i created for the current Runway Inspired Challenge! 

so FUN! and totally a challenge for me! these aren't my usual colors, and i was up for the challenge! 
i also thought to myself...hey...i'm already challenging myself, why not use some acrylic paints?! also new to me!

so i took my inspiration from the panels in the top of the shirt, and that's what i did:

i used some navy paint and quickly brushed it on to my card front. once that was dry, i used some orange and red acrylic paint to create loose 'stars'! i really like how it came out! 

i colored that little lion from Mama Elephant's Carnival Cupcakes with copics, and then popped him up over that lovely, so sweet, sentiment from Shooting Star.

what do you think? have you ever used acrylic paint? it was FUN!! 
thanks for stopping by!
enjoy!

xoxo for you

today i'm sharing a card i made for the current Runway Inspired Challenge! i just LOVE the photo - i just can't resist using pinks and yellows! 

see? awesome - and look how VIBRANT that pink is!! LOVE!

ok, so for my card, i used some Mama Elephant stamps! i was inspired by the bright pop of pink of the dress (obviously! ha!), the yellow dress walking back on the right and the white dress walking back on the top right of the photo! 

yes. you love it, i can tell already (ha!!)! 
the background was created by watercoloring with pinks a piece of white cardstock. then i took my Triangle Background Hero Arts die and then on a separate card base, i re-attached (most) of the pink triangles. i'm not explaining it completely, but hopefully it's easy to see what i did!

then i stamped the cute as can be puppy (he's a british bulldog in my mind! lol!) and speech bubble heart from the Origami stamp set onto some vellum (to represent the white dress walking away). but the vellum was TOO see through, so i took some white ink and lightly colored the back of the vellum pieces. PERFECT! it was still see through but not completely! 

i used some old thickers for the sentiment and stitched them on, and added a stripe of yellow washi, to represent the yellow dress walking away! LOVE it!

thank you for stopping by!
enjoy!

kiss kiss, i love you!

happy new year's eve! :)
today i am sharing a card i made for one of my favorite challenges, and the sentiment just so happens to be PERFECT for today! :)

i saw this inspiration photo on the Runway Inspired Challenge blog, and dude - it SPOKE to me! ha! i LOVE the yellow, and the strip of red and even the warm grey color of the purse! such a beautiful ensemble! 

don't you agree?
so, how could i NOT play along, right?
here's my interpretation:

i sprayed some Heidi Swapp Mustard spray onto a piece of recycled packaging, and then smooshed it onto the background of my card to create the 'watercolor' look. my absolute FAVORITE way to make a watercolor background!

then i heat embossed the sentiment from Mama Elephant's Pandamonium in red. the feathers are from the Smitten stamp set (LOVE that set!), and i also had heat embossed those in white onto vellum. i cut them out and stitched them in place. LOVE stitching on my cards, as you know!

lastly, i popped the card base with some foal tape over a wonky placed strip of warm grey washi tape and done! :)

hope it made you happy! i LOVE this card, and i can't wait to give it to the Mann of my dreams on valentine's day! ha! :)
enjoy!

better late than never...?

so today i'm sharing a bunch of Christmas cards i made this year for super special and lovely friends!
i know it's after Christmas, but, perhaps like you, i was just caught up in the festive and fun of the holiday season! so i'm just getting around to sharing them! :)

first up, a card using some Lawn Fawn stamp sets! :)

i stamped the ornaments and string from the Joy to the Woods stamp set. then i used some distress markers to add watercolor to them! i actually used a lot of shading (hard to see!) and then added glossy accents, because, well...ornaments! lol!

the sentiment was heat embossed in red onto some vellum, and then layered onto a subtle polka dotted banner! :)

ok, next is another Lawn Fawn card:

i used some non-christmas sets to make this one!
i LOVE how it turned out! 
the camper, car and tree are from Happy Trails of course!  i colored all of the images with copics and then popped up the images with some foam tape. clearly i stuck with the traditional, festive colors! 

the postcard from You've Got Mail was stamped onto some vellum, and then adhered to the card base! 
oh! and the card base has some falling snow on it! i used translucent embossing paste and mixed it with perfect pearls to create my own "pearlescent" embossing paste! LOVE it!


ok, onto another card! this one uses Paper Smooches:

i stamped and colored the Santa image with copics from Santa Paws, then set it aside...
then i drew a 'loose' beard shape onto some white cardstock and then stamped the snowflakes from Gently Seasoned to fill in that beard shape! you can't tell, but i also went over each snowflake with some wink of stella! :)

on top of that i stitched on a layer of vellum and then heat embossed the sentiment in red. then i added the santa face onto of the vellum with some foam tape! LOVE how this turned out! :)

(almost done, are you still with me?! lol!)
ok, this card is a Mama Elephant card...and it has a sad story as it never made it to the recipient...instead the big, bad, mean USPS destroyed and lost it...*tears!!* sigh.

i used the panda's from Pandamonium, and i LOVE them! i added some color with copics and then combined with some of the accessories from Cozy Christmas! i really tried to make it look like the pandas were being sneaky the cookies from santa, and giving them to 'you'! :) ha ha!

on the card base, i used a chevron mask and then some washi tape to make a Christmas tree shape with the embossing paste! a few silver sequins, and it was done! 
...and then lost forever...

ok, my next two cards are based on the popular 'ornament' look! 
this one was created using from Neat and Tangled stamps! 

i die cut a circle shape and then stamped the world map from Origami Map (swoon - LOVE it!) and then colored the images with festive copic colors! :) i also added some grey shading to the sides of the circle to make it look rounded!

i heat embossed the sentiment with Liquid Platinum embossing powder. the sentiment is from Winter Wishes and i LOVE it! :) i also added some snow with white embossing paste and a stencil! 

lastly, i have a set of cards created with Create a Smile stamps! :)

i lightly drew a circle with pencil and then stamped  the small 'bubbles' from Comfy to fill in the ornament shape! :) i LOVE it!

then i sprayed some pink mist onto a scrap piece of clear packaging and smooshed it over the bubbles to create the water color look! i really like that messy look!! :) the sentiments were also heat embossed in the Liquid Platinum, and they're from the Smiling Snowflakes stamp set! :)

ok, you did it! that's the end of the post!
thanks for stopping by, and i hope it wasn't too labor intensive! 

enjoy!

oh hello. i heart you!

hi there!!

today i'm just popping in with a card i made for the current Mama Elephant and Me Challenge!
this time they're focusing on Valentine's Cards!!

so fun!
the only cards i like making more than Christmas cards are loooooooooove cards! ha ha! so i couldn't wait to play along! and Mama Elephant knows Love! 

here's my card:

so, i somehow went masculine-like with my card! i didn't start off thinking i would, but that's what happened! 

i stamped the grid triangles from Trifecta (LOVE that set!!) in some Peacock Feathers Distress Ink onto some watercolor paper, then i spritzed it with water! love the bleeding!! 
once that was dry, I masked off a large triangle and stamped it along with a small bold triangle over/under/around some of the distressed triangles.

i heat embossed the sentiment from Hello in gold onto some vellum! yes...gold...on vellum. sigh. so pretty! ha! (and i'm usually not a fan of gold!). i also sprinkled some water onto the base of the card and added the gold embossing powder there, too!

the bubble is popped up over some thread, and then i added some sequins and pearls (deep voice: totally masculine and rugged sequins and pearls *cough cough*)! ha ha!

so that's my card! i hope to play along again!
enjoy! 

spreading christmas cheer

hey there!

today i have a really fun card that i just LOVE to share! 

i created it for the current Mama Elephant and Me challenge, which is all about Christmas and/or tags! :)

totally LOVE this!!

i have to admit, at first i was stumped! i mean there are SO many incredible Mama Elephant Christmas stamps, and i felt like...how do i choose?! lol! do you ever feel that way too? ha ha! it's an awesome problem to have, though! ha ha!

ok, so here's what i decided:

Alpine Carolers!!! i mean, that sentiment ALONE made the choice for me! ha ha!

i colored the cute kids with copics in traditional christmas colors, and then popped them up with some foam tape! 

i used the Creative Cuts - Landscape Trio dies to create the snowy hill. i stitched that lovely vellum onto the base with my sewing machine! and then while i was at it...i decided to also stitch on my sequins!! ha ha ha! those little babies aren't going ANYWHERE! one win for sam in the long, hard fought battle of keeping sequins on!! 

(side note: i usually use glossy accents or multi matte medium, but i am still not convinced the sequins make it out of the envelope on the card! ha!)

ok, so i really like the look of the sequins stitched on! but then again, i like anything stitched! so, there's that! 

i also stitched the vellum banner at the top on. 

the background was created by covering the card base in gesso. once that dried i sprayed some mint heidi swapp color shine onto my kraft mat, and then smooshed my card base in it until it had a really blustery sort of feel. :)

so that's my card!

thanks for stopping by!

enjoy!

miss you mucho

happy saturday!
i'm hoping to get some crafty time in as soon as my littlest mann goes down for a nap...fingers crossed! lol!

today i'm sharing a card i made for the most recent Mama Elephant and Me challenge! LOOOOVE mama elephant and LOOOOOOVE the challenge! FUN!
this month the theme is anything goes - nothing easier than that!

i decided to make a 'miss you' card! 

for the background panel first i used some transluscent embossing paste that i colored with two different Heidi Swapp sprays to get the perfect cool aqua color! once that was dry, i used chipped sapphire and evergreen bough distress inks to create the night sky. and then flicked it with some water! 

LOVE how the background turned out! 
i colored the little girl with copics and popped her up on top of the vellum banner (the sentiment was heat embossed). both the image and the sentiment are from the In My Heart stamp set. i just LOVE those little kiddos in the set!!

so that's my card! i'm hoping to play along again! we'll see what this weekend brings! ha ha! 
thanks for stopping by and enjoy!

you are simply wonderful

hello!
*yawn* i'm TIRED today...and it's only tuesday...i think this may be a long, sleepy week! lol! 

well, hopefully the card i'm sharing today will help perk me up, after all, i do love it! :D

i created this card for the current mama elephant and me challenge! it's about paper piecing (my first love!) and thank you cards! 

no that's a fun challenge! :) 
here's my card:

i love it! 
i paper pieced each of those origami birds with three different patterned papers! i just KNEW the origami set would be perfect for this cahllenge! :) then i used the landscape trio creative cuts to create the waves of the water in vellum. I chose three different aqua patterned papers, cut them in  the loose shape of 'rays' and then also die cut those through with the landscape trio die (i wanted to keep the stitching at the top!)

i LOVE that sentiment, it's perfect for thank you cards, and expressing appreciation, i think! it's from the smitten stamp set, one of my favorite sets! i just LOVE the sayings, and that feather on it too! the panel was popped up onto the card base, and then a few sequins sprinkled here and there for a little extra something something! :)

so that's my card!
hope you all have an awesome day! :) 
enjoy!

big boy birthday

well hello!

my big mann turned 6 on thursday! it was supposed to be an awesome day - complete with pool party, cupcakes and presents!
...however, he ended up getting the stomach bug at the party, and didn't even want to open presents!!! it was pretty heartbreaking as a mom. 

he's feeling much better now, though!
so i thought i would share the card i made for him! 

the mama elephant and me challenge this month is all about watercolors and birthdays!! so naturally, i used that as my springboard for this card! :) he he!

 

i decided to go with bold, happy colors, and i pretty much love how this turned out! perfect for my (now!) 6 year old! :)

i used distress markers to color in the dog, box and letters! 
the background was created with distress paints! (squeezed lemonade and mustard seed) i smooshed them onto my craft mat, spritzed with water and pressed down my paper! LOVE the look around the edges!! 

i LOVE watercoloring the images from the origami set! and that puppy was SO sweet looking! ha ha! i popped him up (along with the blue/red box) for dimension! i added a little strip of red woodgrain washi along the side to make it extra primary colored! lol! it needed some more color! 

the sentiment was created by combining the AWESOME sketchy letters (LOOOOOVE them!) and hustle stamp sets!! i just love the idea of it saying - hello, you're six! ha! perfect! 

so that's my card! my mann loved it! and that was so rewarding! 
enjoy!

ok, you're adora-bull!

he he he!!

ok, so i am beyond excited for the monthly mama elephant and me challenge!! and it's finally here!
wahoooo!!!
and the first challenge inspiration is awesome!!

oh yeah! fun!
so, i made a card for this challenge, and i super love how it came out! he he he!! you really can't go wrong with mama elephant stamps, right?

well, did you laugh? i just LOVE that sentiment!! ha ha ha!!
i colored the little bull with copics and then popped it up over a vellum circle! i just think he's so cute!! he he he! he's from the cosmic stars stamp set - one of my FAVORITE stamp sets ever! all of those images are so cute!

the background was created with trifecta! i heat embossed the small triangles to create a graphic pattern in the backround!
then i very carefully painted in some random triangles with distress paints (dried marigold, shabby shutters, tumbled glass and pumice stone)! i love the pops of color that are added!!

so that's my first try! :)
thanks for stopping by!
enjoy!

miles apart don't affect the heart

hey there!

i was just sitting here...thinking, why not share a card i made the other day?
it was for the awesome sketch at the CAS(E) this sketch challenge! i mean, it just BEGS you to play along!

see? it's so cute!
so, for my card, i broke out my new mama elephant stamps! and i used the uber adorable in my heart set! SO sweet!!

that little boy image with the feety pajamas...ack! so adorable! so i had to color him up first! :)
first i used some embossing paste and a US map sencil for the front panel. then i layered some washi behind it for color pops! 

i stamped the sentiment on vellum and then stitched it onto my card, over the embossing paste! texture, texture, texture! lol! 

the little image was colored with copics and then popped up and a little airplane wood veeneer finished it off! :)

so that's my card! i just love it! 
thanks for stopping by!
enjoy!

rawr means i love you

hello! 

i have a fun card to share today! and it was 100% inspired by the awesome runway inspired challenge photo!!

i saw the photo, and i just KNEW that i was going to find a way to play along! :) i LOVE it!!

and here's my card! :)

i used the sweet little lion image from the cosmic stars stamp set from mama elephant!
i colored him with copics and then popped him up over some crumpled vellum! 

the sentiment was made with the AMAZING sketchy letters set! i stamped them in some tattered rose distress ink, and then cut them out. easy!

the grey patterened paper panel reminded me of the fibers in a sweater! and so, i popped it up over a strip of washi! just a few enamel aqua dots finished off the card!

what do you think? do you see the inpsiration? 
thanks for stopping by!
enjoy!