Ahoy!

Good morning! I've got a birthday greeting card for a young man here today. Cards for boys are on the harder side, but I love this image. It's cute, but boyish.

 

Isn't he cute?! I used the sentiment on a wooden speech bubble for some fun.

 

The embossed pebble background adds some fun interest to the card.

 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed my card today. I've listed and linked the supplies below if you'd like to check out the adorable boyish items Crafter's Companion has to offer.

SUPPLIES USED:

Scruffy Little Kitten, Archie 

Embossing Folder, Textures - Pebbles
Memento, Tuxedo Black
Versafine, Onyx Black
Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers: FS5, FS9, PP1, CT1, CT4, GB3, IG2, IG5, DG2, DG4, TN3, TN8, EB6, EB7, TB4, TB8, BG10, GG1, BGR1, BGR5, CR9, DR2, BT5

What Lies Beneath

There's a brand new release by none other than Sheena Douglass. She's seriously amazing. This set I chose is called What Lies Beneath. It's another "right-up-my-alley" set!!! SKULLS. I told you, I love my skulls.

This would be a great card for my boys since they think skulls are cool. Well, so do I! :)

I wish you could see the sparkle on the skulls. I used the Crystal Clear Spectrum Sparkle Pen, so it's very slightly shimmery. I used a very simple and basic color palette for this card. The pop of orange on the sentiment piece adds just enough color without overpowering it.

Here are a couple more photos showing some detail:

Thanks for joining me today for the release. Be sure to check out the Crafter's Companion website and Facebook page where they will be sharing other inspiration from the other stamp sets in this collection by the design team! Happy shopping. You'll want to get these right away!


PRODUCTS USED:

• Sheena A Little Bit Sketchy, What Lies Beneath
  
• Sheena A Little Bit Sketchy, Falling Feathers
  
• Downton Abbey Embossing Folder, Fleur De Lis
  
• Spectrum Sparkle Pens: Crystal Clear
  
• Spectrum Aqua Markers: Slate, Charcoal, Black, Desert, Boulder, Sepia
• Versafine, Onyx Black
  
• Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock

Lawnscaping Challenge #122: Watercolor Sponsored by Lawn Fawn

My favorite of challenges - WATERCOLORING!! I adore this technique. Head on over the Lawnscaping Challenge blog to see the rules for entering your project as well as all the amazing design team inspiration.

We are sponsored by the always amazing Lawn Fawn! They are sponsoring this challenge with a free stamp set of the winner's choice! 

On to my project!

I wanted to make a birthday card since my stash is getting a little low on them, so I pulled out some watercolor cardstock, embossing folder and my Distress Inks and went to work. I rubbed on three different Distress ink colors (all supplies are listed below) over my embossed watercolor cardstock panel. I then flicked on water to give it that splotchy look you see. I love how it came out! 

For the sentiment of this card, I simply used the Make a Wish and the balloon, which I popped up with some foam adhesive and added a black and white twine string to for some interest. 

I diecut three tags and left the sentiment tag simply white with some purple ink and a little rhinestone to dot the "i" for some sparkle.

I chose a strip of dark purple patterned paper behind my watercolored panel and glued everything down. Simple and really punchy card!

It's hard to capture, but the balloon and the center of the hearts on the second tag are colored in with my Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen. They give a nice shimmer to these elements. 

I hope you have fun with this challenge!

SUPPLIES USED:

• 6x6 Let's Polka Paper Pack
• Tag You're It
• Party Animal
• 6x6 Project Life, Confetti Edition Paper Pad
• Versafine, Onyx Black
• Memento Luxe, Sweet Plum (sentiment)
• Darcie Embossing Folder, Tribal Chevron
• Distress Inks: Scattered Straw, Tumbled Glass, Dusty Concord
• Spectrum Noir Aqua Marker (Gold; balloon)
• Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens, Crystal Clear

Lawnscaping Challenge #121: Winter Wonderland Sponsored by Ellen Hutson

We're back with another inspiring challenge this time with a winter wonderland theme! Check out the details on how to enter at the Lawnscaping Challenge blog and play along.

The wonderful, fabulous Ellen Hutson! is sponsoring this challenge!!! Certainly you are familiar with her and her store, but if not, a little bit about the store in her own words:

Ellen Hutson, LLC began their adventure in November 2006 as an online web store committed to bringing you the finest paper crafting products and related product education. They are always looking to provide their customers with quality products, excellent customer service, and education and inspiration for the products they carry. You can shop with Ellen by clicking HERE. As well please join them to be inspired and learn some fun techniques in the CLASSroom, or stay up-to-date on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and/orPinterest.

Ellen Hutson is sponsoring our first challenge of each. The prize? A $25 gift certificate to the online store! Thank you Ellen!

And now on to my project I created for this challenge. (The products used are linked at the end of this blog post.)

I had a lot of fun with this challenge. As you can see, it's a little winter wonderland!! I love it. I do love using embossing folders to add some texture and fun element to my cards. And for the snowman circle, I used some watercolor cardstock since it makes a nice texture reminiscent of snow to me. Used some pop adhesive to make the hat and scarf stand out as well on this little guy. 

Best part of clear stamps? Being able to bend them how you want! I love that I can do that with the sentiment and curve it along my diecut circle to match the shape. 

I used my Spectrum Noir Aqua Markers to color in the hat, scarf, and snowman. It's a nice soft look that matches well with the softness of snow.

I hope you create something wintery and fun and enter this challenge. GREAT prize up for the winner!

SUPPLIES USED:

• Making Frosty Friends
• 6x6 Let's Polka Paper Pack
• Memento Dew Drop, Summer Sky (snowflakes)
• StazOn Midi, Ganache (arms)
• Versafine, Onyx Black
• Spectrum Noir Aqua Markers
• Crafter's Companion Festive Wonder, Snow Flurry Embossing Folder
• Crafter's Companion Shimmering Cardstock (blue)
• Die'Sire Essentials Dies, Circles

Greetings, Relax!

I love the sentiment on this card today. It's perfect to send to someone who needs a little rest and relaxation in their life ;)

The colors are just bright and fun for this card - perfect for a Midwest winter. And how cute is that image?! 

I used some fun layers behind the main image. Colored with bright colors. And topped it off with a cute little sentiment perfect for anyone. 

Here's a close up of the coloring. I wish you could see the sparkle in the sky that I created with the Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen!! Hop on over to the Crafter's Companion website to see all the amazing colors available.

SUPPLIES USED

• Mulberry Wood, Relax
• Embossing Folder, Woodgrain
• Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens: Moonstone
• Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
• Memento, Tuxedo Black
• Versafine, Onyx Black
• Spectrum Noir Markers: TN2, TN5, TN7, GT1, GT3, EB2, EB7, GB2, GB7, GB10, GB9, DR1, DR6, OR1, IG1, IG4, JG1, JG3, PP2, PP5, IG2, CG3, Blender

Nordic Snowman Card

The holidays are fast approaching, so I'm trying to get a good stash of Christmas cards created so that I can be ready to just pick them out for the recipient off my holiday card list, include a family photo of us and mail them. On time! I'm determined :) 

On to my card...

I think that the Nordic Christmas line is my favorite set right now. I love all the images, and the embossing folders are amazing!!! This one reminds me of a warm sweater. 

Check out all the Nordic Christmas products (and the other holiday items) over at Crafter's Companion today and get your start on making your holiday projects!

SUPPLIES USED: 

• Nordic Christmas, Cool Christmas
• Nordic Christmas, A Little Bit Nordic Embossing Folder
• Memento, Tuxedo Black
• Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
• Tape Runner
• Spectrum Noir Blendable Colored Pencils: 044, 022, 020, 113, 002, 094, 088, 090, 009, 063, 047, 026, 120, 108, 107
• Spectrum Noir Blending Solution & Paper Stumps

Lawnscaping Challenge #115: Sentiments Sponsored by Ellen Hutson

Good morning! Today is another fun challenge day with Lawnscaping. Today's challenge is Sentiments. Make sentiments the focal point of your creation.

The wonderful, fabulous Ellen Hutson! is sponsoring this challenge!!! Certainly you are familiar with her and her store, but if not, a little bit about the store in her own words:

Ellen Hutson, LLC began their adventure in November 2006 as an online web store committed to bringing you the finest paper crafting products and related product education. They are always looking to provide their customers with quality products, excellent customer service, and education and inspiration for the products they carry. You can shop with Ellen by clicking HERE. As well please join them to be inspired and learn some fun techniques in the CLASSroom, or stay up-to-date on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and/orPinterest.

Ellen Hutson will be sponsoring our first challenge of each month in 2015! The prize? A $25 gift certificate to the online store! Thank you Ellen!

Here is what I had created for this challenge:

I decided to use a really simple approach to this challenge and make sure that the sentiment stood out from the other elements on the card, so that's why I used them sparingly. I have a list of supplies below that I used to create this card.

For the fall leaves, I just glued them down, overlapping them and then took some brown twine I had. I wanted it to be reminiscent of twigs with the fall leaves. Then, I took my sentiment and used some foam adhesive and glued that down to where I felt it looked best. It's not exactly centered and I liked that! 

For some interest and movement, I added 3 little pearls to the card. In our family, we have quite a few fall birthdays, so this is the perfect card to give to a family member that says celebrate your birthday with a little fall flair :) 

I hope you're inspired to have a fun time creating for this challenge! Make sure you check the Lawnscaping Challenge blog for full details on entering to win. 

SUPPLIES USED:

• Lawn Fawn Small Stitched Leaves
• Lawn Fawn Stitched Labels
• Lawn Fawn Holiday Party Animal
• Lawn Fawn 12x12 Into the Woods Cardstock
• Spectrum Aqua Markers
• Woodgrain Embossing Folder
• Memento, Tuxedo Black
• Watercolor Cardstock

Sledding Snowman

The holidays are approaching (only 3 months away)! So that means getting some holiday cards ready to mail out in time this year. I'm determined!

I've created this little card today:

I LOVE this little snowman. He's just too cute. And I decided to color this today with my pencils over my markers. They are perfect for images with smaller details, like the scarf, sled, and such. 

Embossing folder and layers with foam adhesive give great dimension and texture to your cards. 

PRODUCTS:

• Mulberry Wood, Sledging By
• Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
• Memento, Tuxedo Black
• Memento Luxe, Wedding Dress
• White Embossing Powder
• Sheena, Evergreen 5x7 Embossing Folder
• Spectrum Noir Blendable Colored Pencils: 018, 058, 060, 114, 102, 100, 105, 046, 049, 034, 027, 022, 119, 120, 107, 108, 106, 117, 064
• Spectrum Noir Blending Solution
• Spectrum Noir Paper Stumps

Check out all the adorable and new items Crafter's Companion has to offer for their holiday items. So much fun stuff to choose from!

Thanks a Bundle

I have another clean and simple card today for a cute thank you note. I can never have too many thank you notes on hand. I use them for so many things and I really think a handwritten note inside a handmade card is very heartfelt!

Today, I've used the Sentimentals, Knit and Stitch set as my main focus. I love the little sewing elements in this set, and nope, I don't sew at all. My mom didn't pass that talent down to me. Ha! I wish I could, but I have other talents that have served me well and that's why I'm here sharing these projects with you, my dear readers.

The embossed piece of cardstock behind the sentiment was created with the Blooming Wonderful Vintage Embossing Folder. It's just so pretty. It's a great way to add a touch of texture to your projects in a simple way!

Here are all the products I've used to create this card:

• Sentimentals, Knit and Stitch
• Blooming Wonderful Vintage Embossing Folder
• Memento, Tuxedo Black
• Spectrum Noir Markers: PP1, PP5, TN3, TN7, GT1, GT3
• Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock

Visit Crafter's Companion today!

Friendship Card

I think having just anything cards in your card stash is so important. You never know when you'll need to send a little note of encouragement or just to say hi message to your friend. There's something about getting a handwritten note in the mail when you really need a pick me up.

Let's get to the card, shall we?

This is a cute way to "send flowers" to someone special! I love his sweet little face. :) I've linked the products I've used to create this card below. 

Here are a couple more photos so you can see the detail.

PRODUCTS:

• Mulberry Wood, Friend
• Die'Sire Essentials, Scalloped Squares
• Spectrum Noir Markers: EB3, EB5, EB7, EB2, FS5, Blender, CG3, JG1, OR1, OR2, GB5, LY1, BP1, PP4, CR1, CR3, BP4, HB1, HB2, IB1
• Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
• Sheena Fabulous Florals Embossing Folder
• Memento, Tuxedo Black
• Versafine, Onyx Black

Check out Crafter's Companion for more by Mulberry Wood and much, much more. 

Lawnscaping Challenge 112: Embossing

Good morning! I'm back with another fun challenge. This challenge is EMBOSSING. You can use a variety of different embossing methods including heat, dry, texture paste, etc.!

We are sponsored by the always amazing Lawn Fawn! They just rock and they are sponsoring this challenge with a free stamp set of the winner's choice! It's a tough decision :)

And now on to my challenge card I created...

I used a kraft card base to start with. I then picked an orangish color cardstock for a punch of color and used my Sizzix large dots embossing folder to add some texture. The orangish color matches the color I used in the center of the ice cream container!

I created my own stencil with die cutting a piece of plain white cardstock using the Lawn Fawn Heart Lawn Cuts. It took me a little while to cut this out, but I think it's well worth it! I encourage you to use your dies in the same way. It's really a fun way to create your own stencil. 

Then, I laid my stencil down and secured it with painters tape (you can use washi as well) to my craft mat. I applied the texture paste with a piece of scrap cardstock. You can use a knife or palette tool to spread the paste onto your stencil. It dries really quickly, so you have to work a bit fast and clean up right away. It's like cement! 

I set my piece aside to dry before I used a water brush pen with my Spectrum Aqua Markers on an acrylic block. I just scribbled on a small section of color from the marker and pick it up with the water brush pen. This helps to really showcase the texture of the paste. I like to leave my paste layer a bit thicker and not as smooth to really make it fun to look at and feel. 

For the little image, I used a simple circle diecut with a piece of purple and white striped cardstock and curved the sentiment from the Lawn Fawn Treat Yourself set and inked it up with Memento in Tuxedo Black. That's the beauty of clear stamps! You can bend and curve them just how you want 

to in order to fit your project.

The ice cream container, lid and spoon were colored in on some watercolor cardstock with my Spectrum Aqua Markers and my water brush pen. I wanted it to have a softer feel this time, and the watercolor markers are a perfect way to do that. These images are also from the Treat Yourself set. It's a must-have little set!

I hope you're inspired to get to embossing and enter our challenge!! Have fun!