Enjoy your day {Kort & Godt}

Hi, crafty friends! I’m back today with a clean and simple birthday card featuring some Kort & Godt goodies.

I used a banner die with faux stitching to create a shaped card. This banner die is about 4″ wide, making it the perfect size for a decent size card. I used partial die cutting to create the card base, but die cut a separate piece that I used for my ink blending, which I then adhered to the card base once finished.

I used the Big Balloon stencil set from My Favorite Things to create my balloons, and used Distress Inks for my ink blending. Faded Jeans, Mermaid Lagoon and Salty Ocean for the blue balloon, Picked Raspberry for the pink balloon and Mustard Seed and Squeezed Lemonade for the yellow balloon. Where they overlap, they create new colors, which is half the fun of ink blending, right? With the balloon stencil still in place, I added the Falling Stars stencil from Simon Says Stamp on top and ink blended white stars onto the balloons using Fresh Snow hybrid ink from Papertrey Ink.

I stamped a sentiment onto the front using Obsidian ink from Altenew and added a stacked die cut HURRA above it. I layered six black die cuts, before adding this glitter one on top and finished off the card with a few black pearls.

Hooray {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, crafty friends. It’s time for another release from Rachelle Anne Miller, and this month’s release has a safari theme.

Aren’t these guys cute? The image is called Wild Side, and the cute little mouse with big ears has won my heart. I colored the image with Copics, created a nice double stitched border around it using the A2 Double Stitched Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things and adhered it to a card base I created from Autumn Rose cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

Using the Hooray Script die from Mama Elephant, I die cut the main sentiment from the same color cardstock. I stacked four layers for a dimensional look and stamped a sub sentiment from the Itty Bitty Birthday stamp set from My Favorite Things onto Bright Buttercup cardstock from Papertrey Ink using Obsidian ink from Altenew. To finish off the card I added a few sequins from the Seaglass mix from Simon Says Stamp, as well as a dot of black glaze pen to their eyes.

A bit of a different color palette for me. Years and years ago, I used the RV90 family a lot, I rarely do anymore. It’s a nice one, though, so I don’t know why I stopped using it. Maybe I should use it more often again.

Clean and simple hello {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. There’s a new release coming from Lili of the Valley later this week (June 2nd), and I’ve made a suuuper simple card with one of the stamps in the Vases of Flowers set. You can actually place advanced orders on the Lili of the Valley website if you want one or more of these sets. That way, you’re sure to get them before they sell out.

I actually made a 4 Bar card this time, which is a smaller size than my regular A2 cards. It’s 3 1/2 x 4 7/8″ and it’s basically a one layer card. I admit I added my panel to a card base, but I don’t like working directly on my card base, and Copics bleed through most cardstocks. I don’t want my coloring to be visible from the inside of the card, and adhering the full size panel to the card keeps that from happening.

I colored the image with Copics and added a watercolor circle around it to fill in some of the white space on the card. There’s still plenty of white space left. I added a sentiment from the stamp set and finished off with a couple of sequins from the Seaglass mix of sequins from Simon Says Stamp.

Super simple color palette to go with this super simple card.

Good as gold {Kort & Godt}

Hi, crafty friends. Today’s card is the result of me channeling my inner Laura Bassen. “Have a leaf? Make a wreath!” Her catchphrases get me every time, and for this card, I took one leaf die that I die cut a bijillion times from solid colors of cardstock.

Kort & Godt Die 335 is a die set with two leaves. One is an open outline, the other closed, and I actually used both for this card. I die cut the open one a few times from Heavyweight Translucent vellum from My Favorite Things, and nestled them in between the solid colored ones, which are (in order from the top going clockwise) Papertrey Ink (PTI) Simply Chartreuse, PTI Aqua Mist, PTI Hawaiian Shores, Simon Says Stamp Island Blue, PTI Amethyst Allure, PTI Raspberry Fizz, PTI Hibiscus Burst, Concord & 9th Poppy, PTI Orange Zest, PTI Summer Sunrise, PTI Harvest Gold, PTI Limeade Ice.

I lightly traced a circle die onto a white cardstock panel that I needed to adhere my wreath to. I only glued down the end of the stem for each of the leaf die cuts and did my best to arrange them evenly around the circle, with the vellum pieces after every third colored leaf.

Using foam tape, I adhered the white panel with my wreath onto a card base I created from Soft Stone cardstock from Papertrey Ink for a neutral on neutral look.

Using Kort & Godt DIE 244, I die cut the word klem (translation: hug) from gold cardstock (Gold Shine cardstock from My Favorite Things), as well as four additional ones from white cardstock to stack behind the gold for added strength and dimension.

I added a sentiment strip sticker (Kort & Godt ST1002; translation: you are good as gold) on top of the die cut and finished off the card with a little bit of bling (Kort & Godt BE106).

Treat yourself {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends! I haven’t shared one of my “signature cluster” cards in a while, so I thought it was about time. I thought the Cupcake Thief image from Mo’s Digital Pencil would be perfect for the occasion, and by opting for a black dress, I could pair the image with a recently acquired black and white patterned paper pad that I’ve wanted to use for a while.

This is Cupcake Thief. I’ve used the image once before. This time, I flipped it so she’s facing right, it’s one of the many advantages of using digital stamps. I colored her with Copics and cut my panel down to a width of 3 1/2″. I put it aside, covered a white card base with the black and white plaid patterned paper from My Favorite Things, then mounted the colored panel on foam tape, leaving a little bit of the patterned paper showing on one side, and more showing on the other.

On my desk, I keep storage pockets of die cut patterned paper scraps that I use on my cards. I keep them organized by color family, and pulled out the pink, orange and yellow ones for this, as well as a grey/white/neutral one. The great thing about this system is that everything’s already die cut (using the Happy Days Ticket Stubs die from XCut [which cuts 9 different tickets with one die] and the Fishtail Flag Frames die set from My Favorite Things), so I just play with sizes, colors and composition of the different pieces until I’m happy with the result. For this particular card I used a combo of patterned papers from Sunny Studio, P13 and Bo Bunny. Onto one of the die cut banners I stamped a sentiment from the Little Birthday Notes stamp set from My Favorite Things using Obsidian ink from Altenew. I finished off the card with a few sequins from the Sweet Shop mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards and some Stardust Stickles to the dress.

Quite a few Copics for this one. I also used B90, which is a color I’ve made myself, for a subtle hint of a sky.

It’s your birthday! {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m sharing a fun birthday card today, featuring a few images from Purple Onion Designs. Dotty is as adorable as all of Stacey Yacula’s other critters, I just love her illustration style so much. This particular mouse has her arms out, making her the perfect choice if you want her holding something. I chose the balloons from the Balloon Trio & Streamer set, making sure the knot holding all the balloons together is in her hands. I stamped both the balloons and the cute little mouse using Extreme Black ink from My Favorite Things, and stamped The Perfect Spot behind them using Fadeout ink from Inkon3.

I colored the scene with Copics, then used The Perfect Spot again to stamp on white cardstock (Stamper’s Select White from Papertrey Ink, my favorite white cardstock), this time using Memento Espresso Truffle ink. I wanted this to be more visible than the background without being stark black, and this color is perfect. I then die cut the white panel using two dies: a rectangle die from Waffle Flower to make it smaller and the Watercolor Wash Free Form die from My Favorite Things to create a window.

I added foam tape on the back of my white panel for dimension and lined up the stamped lines on the two panels as best as I could, before adding my double panel to a card base I created from Soft Stone cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I then stamped a sentiment from the Everyday Blurbs stamp set using Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide ink, fussy cut around it leaving a thin white border and mounted it on foam tape. To finish off the card I used a Gelly Roll 05 to create white dots on the pink balloon.

Fairly simple color palette for this one. I also used B90, which is a color I’ve made myself.

Hello – you’re the best {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m back with another one of the elephants from the Cute Elephants stamp set from Lili of the Valley. Unfortunately, the photopolymer stamps have sold out, but there’s also good news: these guys are also available as digital stamps. There’s even a bundle with 6 different elephant stamps, and the photopolymer set only had 4, so you can actually get an additional 2 cuties in your stash if you choose digital.

Once I colored the first of these elephant stamps blue, I just couldn’t stop, so here’s another blue one for you. I chose a very similar color palette to what I’ve used for my other cards with this set, but this time, I opted for a yellow card, creating a top fold card base from Bright Buttercup cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

I colored the image with Copics, and created a large polaroid frame using a rectangle die from Waffle Flower, as well as a square die from Lifestyle Crafts. I taped the two dies together and die cut several layers of white cardstock that I stacked for a dimensional look. I love dimension on my cards. I used the Sweet hello die from My Favorite Things to die cut three layers of Periwinkle cardstock from Hero Arts, which I also stacked. I added the die cut at an angle and paired it with a sub sentiment from the Itty Bitty Basics stamp set from My Favorite Things, stamped in Blue Yonder ink, also from My Favorite Things. I finished off the card with a visual triangle of sequins from the White Orchid sequin mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

Like I said initially: similar color palette to the ones I’ve used for the previous elephant cards. I also used B90, which is a color I’ve created myself.

Warm greetings {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, crafty friends. It’s the third Thursday of the month, which means it’s time for Get Cracking on Christmas, which is a series Jenn Shurkus started years ago, with the aim of making holiday cards year round, so you’re not swamped come November. I’m a huge fan of the concept, and today I’ve combined it with my fondness for penguins.

This Penguin Hug image from Rachelle Anne Miller is one that she created years before she started designing stamps. I was a fan of Rachelle’s style even back then, and when she asked the design team what we wanted to see as stamps, I asked if it was possible for her to turn this particular image into a stamp. She did just that, and I think this might be my favorite of all her stamps, and she’s got loads of great ones to choose from, so that’s saying a lot.

I colored my image with Copics, stamped a sentiment from Mathia Design using Ocean Tides ink from Papertrey Ink, before die cutting a bunch of white snowflakes from the same cardstock (X-Press It blending card) that I use to color on, so my whites would match. I used the Snowflake Confetti fancy die from Hero Arts, along with the CR1335 die from Marianne Design to die cut all my snowflakes. Both these dies cut lots of snowflakes at once, and the snowflakes are fairly small, making them ideal for a background like this. I adhered lots of snowflakes above the penguin’s head, then used a rectangle die from Waffle Flower to die cut my panel. I mounted it on foam tape onto a card base I created from Ocean Tides cardstock from Papertrey Ink, and my card was complete. Another Christmas card done for 2023.

Fairly minimalist color palette. I also used B90 and BG71, which are colors I’ve created myself.

Sweet birthday wishes {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m back with another Mo Manning cutie, and this time I’ve chosen the kid eating the corn from the 3 on a bench set. The set includes three kids (one eating a popsicle, one eating a watermelon, and this one eating corn). There’s also a merged version of this image with all 3 kids sitting next to each other on the bench, but I tend to opt for the separated versions, like I did here.

I printed the image near the bottom left of my panel and colored it up with my Copics, before trimming off a little bit on one side. I used the Slimline Cloud Edges stencil from My Favorite Things, along with Eastern Sky ink from Altenew, to softly ink blend the clouds in the background.

I stamped a couple of sentiments from the Bitty Birthday Wishes stamp set from My Favorite Things using Obsidian ink from Altenew. I adhered my panel directly to an A2 card base I created from Periwinkle cardstock from Hero Arts. I then used a scripty die from Mama Elephant to die cut the word wishes four times from Amarena Cherry cardstock from My Favorite Things. I stacked them together and added the word to the card, nestled in between the stamped sentiments, before finishing off the card with a few sequins from the White Orchid sequin mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

Some vivid colors for this one.

The biggest cake {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. I thought I’d share a simple birthday card today, featuring The Biggest Cake from Lili of the Valley.

Lili of the Valley critters are among the cutest in the stamping world, and I just couldn’t resist these bunnies carrying a big cake. I colored the image with Copics, before die cutting it using the largest die in the A2 Stitched Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things. I adhered the panel to a card base I created from Autumn Rose cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

I used my Quickie Glue pen on the flames and sprinkled on Rock Candy distress glitter for added sparkle. Using foam tape, I popped up a sticker sentiment from Kort & Godt before finishing off the card with sequins from the White Orchid Sequin mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

Very soft color palette for this one.