Happy Birthday {Mo’s Dream Team}

Hi, everyone! I hope you’re having a great week.

We’ve reached the last Wednesday of 2020, and it’s once again time to start making something that isn’t holiday related. I have a fun birthday card to share today, featuring Tall Cake, which is such an awesome image from Mo Manning. Super quick to color, too, even for me.

I colored the image with Copics before fussy cutting right up to the black lines. I contemplated leaving a white border, but opted for this look in the end. I feel it’s cleaner, somehow.

For the background I used the Detail Ringlet Plate from Simon Says Stamp on a piece of Sweet Blush card stock from Papertrey Ink, and glued it onto a cardbase made from Stamper’s Select White card stock, also from Papertrey Ink. It’s my favorite white cardstock, and whiter than anything else I’ve tried, which ticks of a huge box for me! I used Gina K. Connect liquid glue on the back of my image to adhere it to the textured background.

I die cut the Happy Birthday Brush Script die from Simon Says Stamp five times from Spring Rain card stock from Papertrey Ink, glued them together for a stacked look and adhered the layered die cut directly on top of the cake and the textured pink background. I stamped and white heat embossed part of a sentiment from the Bitty Bears stamp set from My Favorite Things onto a scrap piece of Spring Rain cardstock, cut it down to a strip and added four more behind it, making it flush with the die cut above. I finished the card by adding a few Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

Those stacked die cuts add a lot of dimension to an otherwise very simple card. I pulled out an envelope from My Favorite Things in the color Blue Breeze to match the card, it’s uncanny how well the Blue Breeze color from MFT matches the Spring Rain color from PTI.

Simple images don’t require a lot of colors. However, in addition to these, I did use B90, which is a color I’ve made myself.

Santa hug {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, everyone, and Merry Christmas! I have another gift tag to share today, the last for 2020. It features the adorable Koala Christmas image from Rachelle Anne Miller and was attached to a present for one of my nieces. I thought these koalas decorating a tree of their own was such a cute one.

I stamped a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS below the image using Scarlet Jewel ink from Papertrey Ink. Using a faux stitch tag die from My Favorite Things, I die cut four tags, one from the panel with the image and three from scraps of patterned paper from the Fröjdefull Jul collection from Maja Design. I glued two and two back to back, before gluing the two double tags together, offset quite a bit.

On the back, I used another stamp from Norsk Stempelblad AS and the same color ink as I used for the front.

I punched a hole through the top of the tag, added a red eyelet for strength, pulled some twine through and also added a snowflake charm to finish.

Simple image means I didn’t use a lot of colors for this one.

Simple gift tag {Mo’s Dream Team}

Hi, everyone! I’m ready for Christmas tomorrow. There, I said it, no backsies. This little Shop Tot gift tag is also ready for Christmas tomorrow, and it’s attached to a present going to one of my nieces.

I colored the image with Copics, die cut it using a large faux stitch tag die from My Favorite Things and stamped a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS on the bottom using Scarlet Jewel ink from Papertrey Ink. I created three more tag die cuts from the Fröjdefull Jul collection from Maja Design and glued one of them to the back of my colored panel. I glued the other two back to back and glued my two double tags together, slightly offset. I cut a hole at the top of the tag, used a red eyelet for strength and threaded some red twine through, adding a charm with mittens for that little bit extra.

On the back of the tag I stamped a To/From stamp from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Smokey Shadow ink from Papertrey Ink, which is a nice dark gray. I attached a couple of loops I made from one of the patterned papers and was able to thread a candy cane through, I just hope the dog doesn’t get into the presents and eats the candy cane.

Very limited color palette for this one, not a whole lot to color.

Oh so merry

Hi, everyone! I have a Christmas card to share today, and I think it’ll be the last one for 2020. Ironically, this was the first card I mailed this year. Back in October, I shared my coloring of this Penguin’s Waddle image from Mama Elephant, which prompted one of my Instagram followers to jokingly say that I needed her address. I say that to some of the card makers I follow, as well, but I also like to shake things up a bit, so I actually got her address and this card is on its way to her now, if it hasn’t already arrived.

I colored the penguins with Copics and used the coordinating die to die cut this cute little waddle for the front of my card.

The waddle of penguins actually opens up so you can write a personal message on the inside, and there’s a few more die cuts under there for dimension and a little bit of stability.

I glued my penguins to a panel made from Aqua Mist card stock from Papertrey Ink. I used the Paint Splatter background stamp from My Favorite Things with VersaMark ink, poured White Satin Pearl embossing powder from Hero Arts on top and heat embossed it. I know the stamp is supposed to be paint splatter, but I think it looks like snow, which makes the stamp even more versatile, and it’s a great way to add some subtle interest to a background. I added the Aqua Mist panel onto a slightly larger panel of Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

The Penguin’s Waddle die set comes with a big word die “Oh so merry”. I die cut it several times from white cardstock, cut the “oh so” away to use just merry on my card and spritzed some sparkly sheer shimmer spray on top, which you can kind of see in this photo if you look closely. I stamped and white heat embossed the word Christmas from the Christmas Cheer stamp set from My Favorite Things onto Berry Sorbet cardstock from Papertrey Ink, then used my Cut-align ruler from Misti to make sure I’d cut the little strip straight. In this photo you can also see the shine in the penguins’ eyes. I added a little bit of black glaze pen to the eyes, and also a little bit of clear Wink of Stella to certain elements.

I‘ve misplaced (or more likely, accidentally thrown out) the post-it with the list of Copics I used, but I do know that I used N9, 7, 5, 3, 1, 0 and the blender for the penguins, that I used Y38 (along with some other yellows) for the beaks, fish and the rest of the yellows, and that I used BG13 for one of the colors in my teal combo.

Edited to add: I found the post-it with the list of the Copics I used while tidying up in my craft room. In addition to these colors, I also used B30, which is a color I’ve made myself.

Large gift tag {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, everyone! Are you on track for everything that needs to get done before Christmas? I kind of feel like I am, I have three more gifts to wrap and create gift tags for, and I need to do some grocery shopping, but everything else is finished, so I’m ready for Christmas Eve to come around and the festivities to begin.

I created this gift tag for my niece. It’s quite a big tag, its diameter is about 5″. The white circle panel isn’t just a panel, it’s dry embossed using an embossing folder from We R Memory Keepers. Unfortunately, dry embossing doesn’t show up very well in photos, and even less so when you’ve used white cardstock. It’s there in real life, though, and it provides a little bit of texture. I colored and die the Christmas Baking image from Rachelle Anne Miller, and popped it up on foam tape in the center of the white panel, before creating a hole at the top, adding an eyelet for strength. Through the hole I thread some cherry red divine twine and a tiny little cookie cutter embellishment, I thought it fit the image well.

On the back I added another diecut circle that I’d already added a To/From stamp to, using Scarlet Jewel ink from Papertrey Ink. I cut a slit above and below that to feed the candy cane to, and double up on the foam tape when I glued it to the larger circle.

Quite a few Copics for this one, and I used B90, which is a color I’ve created myself, on the background.

Green Christmas {Mo’s Dream Team}

I’ve got another gift tag to share, this time featuring Stocking Elf from Mo Manning. Christmas is only eight days away, and it feels good to get the last of the gift tags done.

I decided to go for a version in gray and green, and used a die from Papirdesign to create a scallop heart for the front of my gift tag. I stamped a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Ripe Avocado ink from Papertrey Ink.

I diecut a regular tag shape from patterned paper from Maja Design using a die from My Favorite Things and glued the scalloped heart to the regular tag.

For the back of the tag I die cut the regular tag shape again from that same patterned paper as the one for the front, as well as a second scalloped heart from white cardstock. I used the same green ink as I did on the front to stamp the To/From stamp from Norsk Stempelblad AS.

Not a lot of Copics used for this one, but it’s a small image.

Penguin gift tag {Mo’s Dream Team}

Hi, everyone! I’ve got a simple Christmas gift tag to share today, I still have a few I need to make.

This is a simple one. I colored a penguin chick from Mo Manning, die cut it using a tag die from My Favorite Things and added a die cut God jul sentiment below the penguin.

On the back of the tag I die cut an additional two tags from patterned paper from Maja Design and stamped a To/From stamp from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Olive Twist ink from Papertrey Ink. I used a couple of strips of patterned paper to get a candy cane in there, as well.

I added some twine through the top of the tag and even a snowflake charm, but let the rest be very simple. I’m hoping this penguin will put a smile on my sister’s face, she loves penguins, and this one is going to her and her husband.

Lots of grays for the penguin, and also quite a few greens. I love this green combo.

Wishing you snow much fun {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, everone! I’ve got another one layer card to share today, featuring lots of cute images from Purple Onion Designs, illustrated by Stacey Yacula.

I did no line coloring of Snowballs, Wilson, Rupert, Jingle, Dash, Jolly, Snowy Fence, and Snow Day Hill, before stamping a sentiment from Warming Winter Thoughts using Papertrey Ink Enchanted Evening ink.

I love the no line look, and it’s really no more difficult than coloring with lines. In a way, it’s actually easier, because no one can tell if you went outside the lines a bit! I used a white gelly roll pen to add back in some details in the various scarves.

The holiday sale at Purple Onion Designs ends today, so this is your last chance to get lots of amazing rubber stamps (including the ones I’ve used here) at a whopping 25% off!

More than a couple of Copics used for this card, and I even used B90, which is a color I’ve made myself.

Wishing you warmth, joy & happiness {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, everyone! I’ve got another fairly simple card to share today, featuring some wonderful stamps from Purple Onion Designs. This is basically just stamping, masking and coloring.

I love creating nighttime winter scenes for my Christmas cards, but every once in a while, daytime scenes, or early sunset scenes like this are also fun to do. By using blues for the snow, you get a frosty look.

There are 7 different images in this scene. There are too many cute images to choose from, and I couldn’t decide, so I made an A7 card with a bunch instead. I stamped most of the images using Memento Espresso Truffle ink and the background using Fadeout ink from Inkon3 for a no line look.

Here are the Holly Branch, Holly the mouse, and Maggie the mouse. The snowman and bird stamp at the bottom is called Bianca & Neve.

Here’s Nora & Butter, hanging out by the mailbox. I added Birch the bunny as well, it’s just too cute and I couldn’t resist!!

I stamped a sentiment from the Snowflake Grove sentiment set using a combination of red and gray ink. I started with Memento Lady Bug ink, but it was a little too bright red for me, so I used Soft Stone ink from Papertrey Ink on top to tone it down a bit.

Lots of Copics used for this one, and I have to admit that quite a few are used for the snow.

 

Happy holidays to you and yours {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, everyone! I’m back after what I’d call sick leave for a couple of days. Don’t worry, I don’t have the virus that should not be mentioned, it was a plain old migraine that knocked me out. Once again, I’ve had a blast with some cute Purple Onion Designs critters illustrated by Stacey Yacula. Purple Onion has a sale going until the end of the week, so if you want to pick up some of these cuties for yourself, they’re 25% off right now 😉

I decided to create a woodland scene for this one, and managed to fit all my images on a regular A2 card. I started by stamping Rory and Noelle (the mouse and squirrel enjoying hot beverages), then Red (the lumberjack beaver) and masked them all before stamping Old Betsy (the truck with the bear inside). I masked that, then stamped one of the trees from the Double Pine Tree stamp in the bed of the truck by only inking up the one tree before stamping (the larger of the two). I added a mask for that as well, before stamping the Pine Tree Farm using fadeout ink from Inkon3 for that noline look that I love for my background elements.

Once all my coloring was done, I used a stitched rectangle frame from My Favorite Things to die cut my scene, before adding a little bit of liquid glue and rock candy distress glitter to portions of the trees and selected areas on the ground for some frosty, snowy effect. Lastly, I sprinkled on chunky white embossing enamel and heated the panel from the back, creating a snowy look that I really love.

I stamped one of the sentiments from the Holiday Blurbs I stamp set using Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide ink, fussy cut my sentiment leaving a thin white border and adhered it to my scene using Gina K black foam tape. All that was left was to add everything to a top fold landscape oriented card base, which I made from Stamper’s Select White card stock from Papertrey Ink, which is my favorite white card stock for card bases.

It’s back! I took the time to redo my template for my Copic colors, and this time it’s not stored in a Dropbox folder where I can accidentally delete it using my iPhone, which is what happened to the last one. Lots of colors for this one, and I even used BV27 in the sky in addition to all the other BV20s. It’s a color I’ve made myself using an empty marker and drops of RV29 various ink as well as blending solution.