Christmas in July 2016

I couldn't let July go by without one Christmas card! After all, Christmas in July is a thing in some places. And why not?! When it's hot out, any thought to help cool off here is great :)

I made the sentiment the main focus, but I added in the holly leaves around the edges to dress it up and draw attention inward. I added some fun sequins in coordinating colors for sparkle, too.

Check out all the holiday themed stamps and more at Crafter's Companion!

SUPPLIES USED:

Sheena Merry Christmas Deer
Stamp-It Australia Christmas Happiness
Memento Tuxedo Black
Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
Spectrum Sparkle Pens: Crystal Clear, Holly Leaf, Red Berry
Spectrum Alcohol Markers: GB7, GB10, GB1, LG5, DG3, JG3

Lawnscaping Challenge 133 Sponsored by Ellen Hutson

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

 

I love the color palette in this mood board! It's so bright and cheerful. Coming from someone who has a wardrobe of mostly neutral colors, I like to craft with brighter colors!! Especially in the summertime. Here's what I came up with:

 

I think skunks are adorable. Smelly, of course! But they're still cute. So I grabbed the latest set I acquired from Lawn Fawn - Stinkin' Cute. I mean, come on. How can you resist? It's also perfect for this mood board - grey/black/white. I added pops of yellow and teal as well to pull those colors in from the board. I love how it came out.

 

This is almost like a one layer card. I did have to pop up my watercolored panel so that I could use the twine around it. I hope you visit the rest of the design team's blogs to see their creations for this mood board and get inspired to participate. GREAT prize up for grabs! Visit them at the Lawnscaping Challenge blog and read on how to enter to win! 

SUPPLIES USED:

• Lawn Fawn Stinkin' Cute
• Versafine Ink, Onyx Black
• Spectrum Noir Watercolor Cardstock
• Spectrum Aqua Markers
• Memento Luxe Ink, Gray Flannel
• Radiant Neon Inks, Electric Blue & Electric Green

 

 

Lawnscaping Challenge #131 Sponsored by Ellen Hutson

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

This challenge is a bit different. Use at least one element on an angle. Sounds simple enough, right? I had fun with this one. Anyone who's watched Ren and Stimpy will get a little laugh out of this.

 

The good ole' HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY song from the show always made me laugh. Yup. Still does at 30-something years old! 

I masked the stripes with some blue tape (I use the stuff you typically use for masking off things for house painting; it's not expensive and has multiple uses and also comes in varying widths) and used my Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens and my water brush pen. Once I used the heat gun on them to speed up the drying time, I removed the tape and started stamping the happy and smily faces with brown ink and then I used 2 diecuts from the Scripty Joy die and adhered those down. For some sparkle, I added 2 little flowery silver sequins as the dots of the letter "j". I rounded all four corners and used a simple orange speckled paper behind it. 

Here's another look at the card!

 

I hope you smiled seeing this card today! Please join us over at the Lawnscaping Challenges blog and enter your project for a fab prize from Ellen Hutson. Thanks for stopping by.

PRODUCTS USED:

• Lawn Fawn Winter Penguin
• Lawn Fawn Love You S'More
• Lawn Fawn Scripty Joy die
• Memento, Rich Cocoa
• Spectrum Noir Watercolor Cardstock
• Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens: Pink Champagne, Soft Jade and Olive Jade

 

Lawnscaping Challenges #129 Sponsored by Ellen Hutson LLC

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 offering up a $25 gift certificate to the online store!

Today's challenge is calling all critters. We all know Lawn Fawn has a TON of cute critters to choose from. I pulled a set I have had and I have never used! GASP!! Let's get right to it...

 

I just love this otter!! He's adorable. I created a little scene with some bright sunny skies, a friendly little bird ready to party, and the otter floating on by to a party with a festive hat and a gift, of course!

 

I used some watercolor cardstock and a turquoise blue Spectrum Aqua Marker and a lot of water to give the "water" a soft feel. I tucked the otter behind the first wave to make it appear like he's floating on by. 

 

I took this shot so you could see the dimension you can achieve with some foam adhesive and a little creativity! Very simple take on this challenge, but I'm digging it. 

I hope you play along with us this challenge over at the Lawnscaping Challenges blog. Check out all the other awesome design team projects. I'm telling you, I'm rubbing elbows with a group of very talented ladies!! Be sure to check out our sponsor, Ellen Hutson LLC, as well for a variety of amazing products including our beloved Lawn Fawn. Happy crafting.

PRODUCTS USED:

• Lawn Fawn Year Five
• Lawn Fawn Party Animal
• 7x7 Sheena Burst Decorative Stencil
• Versafine, Onyx Black
• Versamagic, Thatched Straw
• Memento Luxe, Dandelion
• Memento, Tuxedo Black
• Spectrum Aqua Markers: Kingfisher
• Spectrum Noir Markers: IB2, BT8, GB6, DR4, BP5, CT1, TN5, TN9, TN2, PP4, GB4, JG1, OR2, OR3, JG3, and JG5

 

All Wrapped Up

Good morning! I had made this adorable little gem for the holidays. It's simple, and I adore it. These are perfect cards to send to someone to cheer up their day during the holiday season!

The pops of green and red and against the all white background make it stand it out!

I did use the Crystal Clear Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen on the snow under and around the envelope. It's so glittery!!

I'd be happy to get this little guy in the envelope! He's too darn cute. I hope you had a wonderful holiday this year and have a fun filled (and safe) new year! Check out Crafter's Companion to shop for your supplies for the New Year. Make a resolution to create all your own handmade cards, or just something fun for yourself!

SUPPLIES USED

• Mulberry Wood, All Wrapped Up
• Memento, Tuxedo Black
• Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
• Spectrum Noir Blendable Colored Pencils: 025, 032, 015, 094, 096, 047, 027, 085, 090, 104, 053
• Spectrum Noir Markers: IG1 (shadowing in the envelope)
• Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens: Crystal Clear and Red Berry
• Die'Sire Essentials, Scalloped Squares

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

Dear Santa, Define Good!

Another Christmas card up on the blog today! I ADORE this image and had such fun coloring it, so I hope whoever is the recipient is! :)

How much fun is that?? And the sentiment is perfect especially for little ones. Haha! 

I hope you enjoyed my colorful card today! Check out Crafter's Companion's line of Nordic Christmas items. They're perfect for all projects!!

PRODUCTS USED:

• Nordic Christmas-Santa's Helper
• Die'Sire Essentials, Scalloped Squares
• Spectrum Noir Blending Solution
• Spectrum Noir Paper Stumps
• Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
• Memento, Tuxedo Black
• Spectrum Noir Blendable Colored Pencils: 024, 027, 017, 107, 064, 007, 009, 078, 044, 041, 046, 048, 022, 055, 052, 118, 120, 013, 043, 044, 084, 086, 100, 103

Best Witches for Halloween

It's finally October! It's my favorite month of the year with my favorite holiday of the year - Halloween!! Fall is just such a pretty time of year with all the colors all around. So I was inspired to make a fun Halloween card today.

Here is what I created:

 

This stamp is so much fun to color, and because it has small details you will want to shade, I used my Spectrum Noir Blendable Colored Pencils. The pencils are perfect for getting into smaller places where your markers won't. 

For the image, I actually stamped the witches feet in the cauldron from the Halloween EZ Mount Stamp Set, Best Witches, onto the Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock panel I had cut out and used a mask to sponge on the yellow/purple background around it. It is a more intricate stamp to mask out, but it's so worth it! I love the way the sponging looks. I flicked on some white spray mist as well for a little added touch. 

I hope you are inspired to create some spooky greetings for this Halloween! Check out the fun items Crafter's Companion has to offer just for this holiday!! 

SUPPLIES USED:

• Halloween EZMount Stamp Set, Best Witches
• Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
• Memento, Tuxedo Black
• Memento Luxe, Dandelion
• Radiant Neon, Electric Purple
• Spectrum Noir Blendable Colored Pencils: 097, 092, 102, 118, 014, 025, 022, 015, 043, 045, 038, 039, 078, 021, 115, 084, 119, 063, 120
• 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!

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. 

Christmas in July

Ho ho ho...wait...Christmas in July everyone! Don't worry, we have 169 more days until then. Sounds far away, right?? Well I like to sneak in holiday cards here and there so it's not so overwhelming when the actual holiday time rolls around. This way, you can do fun things like bake cookies and make gifts, or watch holiday movies! And when you need a card, just grab and go. :)

Here is my Christmas card I have created for today:

 

It's no secret Bebunni is one of my favorite images to color, so naturally, I grabbed him when I thought of making a holiday card. I used the Bebunni, Rudolph set. I inked him up with my Memento, Tuxedo Black and stamped onto a piece of the Ultra Smooth White Premium Cardstock. I grabbed my Spectrum Noir Blendable Colored Pencils this time to color. I haven't colored with them in a while, so it was nice to get back to using them. I missed them! I used 092, 094, 035, 034, 009, 114, 116, 084, 089, 119, 065, 067, 044, 043, 061 and 063. I blended the colors with the Blending Solution and Paper Stumps. For the shadow under his feet, I did use my Spectrum Noir Markers in BGR1 and the Blender. I also went over that with my Wink of Stella brush pen to give it a bit of shimmer (hard to pick up in the photograph) to mimic snow. 

For the snowflakes around him, I used the snowflake stamps in the Rudolph set and used Memento in Summer Sky to add them in. They're nice a soft and subtle. 

The sentiment is also from the same set and I used Memento in Nautical Blue on a piece of blue cardstock. I cut that out with the Die'Sire Essentials, Circles dies. I added a fun pearl to the dot of the "i" in Jingle. 

It's hard to see in the photo because the cardstock is really dark blue, but I did use the Christmas Patchwork embossing folder on the darkest piece behind the colored image. I love how embossing adds a nice textural element to your projects.

I hope you are inspired to at least sneak in a project here and there this summer to have on hand for the holiday season. It will be here before we know it! Check out all the amazing holiday products you can use at Crafter's Companion.