God jul {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, crafty friends! I’m back today with another card I created with one of the brand new stamps from Purple Onion Designs. Three collections all in one release has given me plenty to play with, and today’s card features Felicia & Snowcat from the It’s Snowing Cats & Dogs collection illustrated by Shari Bresciani.

This image is so quirky and playful, and the look of that cat just puts a smile on my face! This card actually came together pretty quickly and easily. I’d colored all my images for this release over a couple of days, and I spent a couple of hours fussy cutting all the images I wanted to have fussy cut, so when it was time for assembly, this one was a cinch.

Onto a top fold white card base I added a panel of white cardstock that I die cut using the Snowflake Confetti Fancy die from Hero Arts. I love this die, I’ve had it for years, and it’s great for die cutting lots of tiny snowflakes to put on cards, which is what I usually use for. I do, however, keep the bigger die cut pieces in the packaging with the die, and for this card I just pulled one out and adhered it to the card base. Super simple when the die cutting job is done in advance. I like the subtle texture the tone on tone die cut gives. It adds a little bit of interest, but doesn’t steal the show from the focal point of the card.

Seriously, look at that cat. He’s so funny and quirky and awesome!! As I’m writing this blog post, I’m realizing that I’ve kind of colored him to look like Garfield. Totally unintentional, but I’ll just run with it! Now that I think about it, it’s not a him, it’s a her, her name’s Felicia.

I put foam tape on the back of Felicia and the snowcat and adhered them to the bottom center of my card. I love all the white space above their heads, they have room to breathe.

I die cut the words god jul (Merry Christmas in Norwegian) twice from Jalapeño Popper cardstock from My Favorite Things using a die from Papirdesign. I glued the two layers together and adhered them on top of my colored image, and my card was complete.

Very limited amount of colors for this one.

The entire It’s Raining Cats & Dogs collection can be purchased as a bundle at a 30% reduction in price until November 12, 2021 (which happens to be tomorrow). If you’re a cat person and don’t want the dog images, there’s also a cat bundle with 6 different cat images and a Christmas Tree, and if you’re a dog lover, you can get the dog bundle with 8 dogs, a dog house AND the Christmas tree. If you get the bundle of the entire collection, there’s also a sentiment set included. If you purchase either the cat bundle or the dog bundle, you’ll have to purchase the sentiment separately if you want to grab it. All bundles are available at a 30% price reduction over on the Purple Onion Designs store.

Hugs {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, crafty friends! I’m sharing a fairly simple card today with a little bit of stacked die cut inlay and some Copic coloring of this adorable Dinosaur Friends image from Rachelle Anne Miller.

I started by creating a watercolor background in Photoshop using a png from Lili of the Valley, before I added the Dinosaur Friends on top. No fuss and no masking, I love how easy it is to work with digital files. I printed my critters and background onto X-Press It blending card before I did Copic coloring. I wanted to match my coloring to the colors in the background.

I used the largest die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 set from My Favorite Things to create a nice finished edge around my coloring, before I did partial die cutting using the Sending Big Hugs die, also from My Favorite Things. I made sure to only die cut the word HUGS from my colored panel, and die cut 3 more from white cardstock. I layered my white die cuts together, adhering the colored piece on top of each letter. I adhered my scene to a side fold cardbase I created from Amethyst Allure cardstock from Papertrey Ink, and puzzled each of the letters into their place.

The letters are a bit chameleon like. You can’t see them very well from head on, but if you look at them from an angle, they pop into view a lot better. I added a layer of Glossy Accents to the letters so they would shine and stand out a bit more.

Stacked die cut inlay is a great technique when you want to add a big sentiment without distracting too much from the focal point of the card. This HUGS word is pretty big, but because of the inlay, what you really notice are the colored critters.

I added some Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh to finish off the card. These are my favorite sequins; they go with everything, and my stash is running low, so I need to buy a new bag soon. They also last forever, I’ve had mine for years, used them a ton and am only now running low.

Simple color palette for this one. Those BGs blend effortlessly!

Let it snow {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends! Today I’m sharing another one of those cards where I colored the image a long time ago, but only just turned it into a card. I actually colored up these cute reindeer from Lili of the Valley back in October last year, they were part of last year’s Christmas release.

I often wind up running out of time to create cards from my colored images in a timely manner, but better late than never? I colored most of this image in very neutral tones, I wanted the red nose to really stand out, and it does. It helps that I added Glossy Accents to it, but it’s a very red nose!

Once I’d colored my image, I used the largest die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 2 set from My Favorite Things to give it that nice finished edge that I’m so fond of.

I sprinkled on lots of Chunky White embossing enamel from Stampendous and heated the panel from the back, before adhering it to the front of a top fold white card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

From the same white cardstock I die cut the sentiment three times using a die from Mama Elephant and stacked them for a dimensional look, before gluing them to my sky.

I added some shimmer to the die cut words using a Wink of Stella brush marker from Kuretake. It doesn’t really show up in photos, but it gives a nice effect in real life.

Last but not least – lots of Copics. 6 markers for that tiny red nose might have been overkill…

On our way {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, crafty friends! I’m sharing a small, super simple card today, featuring this On Our Way image from the I’ll Be Home For The Holidays collection illustrated by Stacey Yacula for Purple Onion Designs. This is a brand new collection that was released last week, and in it there are lots of images with a running theme: spending time with family & friends while enjoying the festivities and traditions of the holiday season with one another. This On Our Way image is perfect for that, and it reminds me of being a kid going to my grandparents’ for Christmas. It was a long drive, and the car was always packed full with presents.

The shape of the car actually dictated the shape of the card. I love shaped cards, and aside from the side mirrors, this one was pretty easy to fussy cut.

I colored in the car with the critters using my Copics, fussy cut right up against the black lines and added the car onto a top fold white cardbase. I then fussy cut that, making sure to temporarily glue the card shut for the cutting to be a little bit easier. Those side mirrors are fussy, but the rest was a cinch.

To create a truly one layer card would have been easier than having to fussy cut the car, adhere it to the card base and then fussy cutting again, but I didn’t think of it when I stamped my image, so I did it the hard way. Simon Says Stamp has a 120 lb cardstock that’s great for one layer cards with Copic coloring. Copics bleed through on most cardstocks, but the 120 lb from Simon doesn’t and would have been perfect for this card if I’d only thought of it before I was finished. Onto the headlights I put a thick layer of Glossy Accents for shine, and my tiny car card was finished.

Not a whole lot of colors used for this one. I’m loving the green combo I used for this, it’s giving me life. The entire collection can be purchased as a discounted bundle for a limited time, the offer is available until Friday, November 12th, and you can read all about it on the Purple Onion Designs blog here.

Christmas Hug {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends! I’m sharing a quick, very clean and simple card today featuring the Bird Tree from Mo’s Digital Pencil. I colored this image nearly three years ago right before it was released, but things have a habit of taking their sweet time making it onto finished cards. I’m trying to shrink my pile of colored images, but it’s a slow process.

This is a tall, narrow tree, so it’s perfect for a slimline card. Using the largest die in the Slimline Double Stitched Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things, I quickly turned it into a panel perfect for a slimline card. I adhered it to a cardbase I created from Blue Breeze cardstock from My Favorite Things.

I used a die from Papirdesign for my sentiment and die cut that in Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink before matting it with a small piece of that same blue cardstock that I used for the cardbase. I pulled out a matching slimline envelope and white heat embossed an image from the Santa Stationery stamp set from Papertrey Ink on the flap of the envelope. I love this stamp!! No graphic today for the Copics I used. I colored this three years ago, and there were no scribbled notes on the back of it, nor a post-it to tell me what colors I used.