Sending hugs {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

August 22, 2021August 22, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi! I have a super simple card to share today, featuring this adorable Sisters image from Rachelle Anne Miller.

I printed the image onto X-Press It blending card, which is my go to paper for Copic coloring. It’s bright white and can handle a lot of layers without bleeding.

Once my image was colored, I used a die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 set from My Favorite Things to turn it into a finished panel of 2 7/8 x 4 1/8″. I’d printed the image a little too big for my die, so I did some fussy cutting on the side of the big sister’s head before die cutting.

I created a card base from Summer Splash Prestige cardstock from My Favorite Things and used an impression plate from Papertrey Ink to create some subtle texture in the background. I mounted my colored, die cut panel to the center of the card front using lots of foam tape.

Onto a piece of Cotton Candy Heavyweight cardstock from My Favorite Things, I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Monster Hugs stamp set from Simon Says Stamp and Concord & 9th, which is a collaboration set from 2018. It has a cute monster image and lots of great sentiments. I die cut my sentiment using the smallest of the dies in the Fishtail Flag Frames set from My Favorite Things and added it to the card using foam tape and 1 mm foam squares, to make it pop up slightly from the image.

I finished off the card by adding three pink enamel dots from Papirdesign.

Fairly simple color palette. I even experimented a little with a new teal/green combo on the little sister, and I kind of like the color combination, so I might use it again one day soon!

Happy summer! {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

August 18, 2021August 18, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi! Part of me is struggling to believe it’s been a week since my last post, but it totally has been. I was so good and efficient in my craft room before going on vacation, getting lots of stuff done and scheduling everything for when I was away, and let me tell you, getting back into the swing of things is not easy, I feel like I’m still in vacation mode. I’ll get there, though, it just takes a little while.

Technically, I should have made this card at the beginning of the summer, but it’s a recent image from Mo and I couldn’t NOT make a summer card using it. The air is definitely getting cooler here, and I’m very well aware of the fact that summer officially ends in two weeks. I kind of want to go back to June and warmer temps, I don’t like the cold.

Onto the card. I colored the image with Copics and used a double stitch rectangle die from My Favorite Things to turn it into a nice panel, before adhering it to a top fold card base I made out of Enchanted Evening cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I love their cardstocks.

When I don’t have a clear idea for a card, I turn to embellishment clusters of patterned paper scraps. These are so easy to put together and a great way to add SOMETHING when I’m out of ideas and my mojo’s low.

I’ve sorted my die cut patterned paper scraps by color, so I pull out colors that will match my card and just start playing. I used patterned paper from 3ndypapir, Papirdesign, Kaisercraft and Imaginisce for this card, and the dies I used to cut them out are from XCut and My Favorite Things.

I white heat embossed a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto a scrap piece of Enchanted Evening cardstock and used one of the Itty Bitty Strips dies from My Favorite Things to diecut it, before using 1 mm foam squares to mount it onto my cluster. I added a few enamel dots from Papirdesign to finish my card.

Fairly limited color palette for this one.

You can actually get the image I used for FREE if you spend $20 or more during Mo’s summer sale, which ends today, so you’d better be quick.

You’re the best! {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

August 11, 2021July 23, 2021 Elin1 Comment

Hi! I’m back with another creation using one of Mo’s adorable images. This is Best of the Bunch, and it’s one of many favorites I have from her.

I colored the image with my Copics and used the largest of the A2 Double Stitched Rectangles dies from My Favorite Things to turn my colored piece into a panel with the faux stitch edges I love so much.

I adhered my panel onto a top fold A2 card base I made from Blue Yonder cardstock from My Favorite Things. It’s such a pretty blue color, I love it.

I decided to add one of my signature clusters to this card. A scrap piece of a paper doily from Doodlebug Design lays the foundation for all the other bits on top. I keep a bin on my desk with lots of die cut patterned paper scraps that are perfect for clusters like this.

For this particular card, the scraps are from Papirdesign, Fancy Pants and Sunny Studio, and they’re all die cut using one of two die sets: the Happy Days Ticket Stubs die from XCut (one die which cuts out nine different tickets, it’s kind of awesome) and the Fishtail Flag Frames die set from My Favorite Things.

On top of the cluster I added a sentiment. I heat embossed a sentiment from the Itty Bitty Basics stamp set from My Favorite Things onto Blue Yonder cardstock, and die cut it using one of the dies in the Itty Bitty Strips die set. I added a few blue enamel dots from Papirdesign to finish, and my card was complete.

Lots of colors for this one.

Have a great day {Purple Onion Designs}

August 8, 2021July 23, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi! Today, I’m sharing another simple card. As usual, it does involve something fiddly and somewhat time consuming, even though you can’t really tell from the end result.

For this card, I’m using the Together stamp set from Purple Onion Designs, illustrated by Stacey Yacula. The stamp set comes with this cute image and five sentiments you can pair with it, and $10 from each set sold is donated to raise money for Covid-10 relief across the world.

I stamped the critters in Extreme Black ink from My Favorite Things onto X-Press It blending card and colored in the image with my Copics. I kept the background white, but stamped and fussy cut a mask and ink blended clouds in the background using three stencils from My Favorite Things (Cloud, Rolling Clouds and Slimline Cloud Edges) and Lazy Day ink, also from MFT.

I die cut the largest of the dies in the Stitched Rectangle Scallop Edge Frames die set from My Favorite Things 4 times from Cement Gray cardstock from MFT, stacked them for dimension and adhered my frame to my colored piece, and then adhered all of it to an A2 landscape top fold card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

I tried several different things for my sentiment. First I die cut a banner with a fishtail shape at the end, but it kind of didn’t fit the card. I cut that down using a smaller fish frame die from MFT, but I wasn’t happy with how that looked either. In the end I used my craft knife to cut it down to a strip, which worked heaps better. I added a couple more layers of cardstock behind it for stability and dimension.

I finished off the card very simply by adding three sequins from the Sparkling Clear sequins mix from Pretty Pink Posh. My baggie of these particular sequins is getting towards the end, they’re my most used sequins, they go with everything.

Last, but not least, the Copics I used for the cute little critters.

Just for you {Lili of the Valley}

August 4, 2021July 22, 2021 Elin1 Comment

Hi! I feel like it’s been ages since my last blue card, and it’s time to remedy that. James from Lili of the Valley gets to help me with that, and this particular image is called James looking up. There’s another sentiment in the banner, but I really wanted to stamp a sentiment in a colored ink, so I erased the original sentiment before I printed the image.

I colored my image with Copics and turned it into a panel with faux stitch edges using the second largest of the dies in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 set from My Favorite Things. I put lots of foam tape on the back and mounted it to a top fold card base I made from Lazy day cardstock from My Favorite Things.

The aforementioned banner was just the right size for one of the sentiments in the Itty Bitty Basics stamp set from My Favorite Things, and I stamped that using Lazy Day ink.

I didn’t want to embellish too much, but at the same time I didn’t want the card not to have any embellishments at all. I put a few diamonds from Kort & Godt around the floral bouquet and added microbeads to the center of each of the flowers.

A little bit of dimension, a little bit of interest, and a really cute bear – just for you.

You’d think I hardly used any colors at all for this, but that wasn’t the case.

Just for you {Streamside Studios}

August 1, 2021July 22, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi, there! I’m sharing a super sparkly card today, featuring an adorable Uni-rex from Streamside Studios.

I colored up the uni-rex in a very vibrant green combo, paired with a fairy dull pink. I wasn’t sure what to do with him (or her), but I opted for some fussy cutting.

Onto a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2″ piece of Stamper’s Select White cardstock, I ink blended some Poppin’ Pink ink using the Rectangle Extraordinaire stencil from My Favorite Things. While the stencil was still in place, I added the Wavy Lines stencil on top and used it with some Pearly glitter paint from Aladine, which is super sparkly.

I added the uni-rex to the center of the card using 1 mm foam squares and decided to put the sparkly glitter paint on the lollipop he (or she) is holding.

I needed a sentiment, and the Itty Bitty Basics stamp set from My Favorite Things is quickly becoming my new favorite, I use it a ton. I heat embossed one of the sentiments in the stamp set onto True Black cardstock from Papertrey Ink and die cut it using the Itty Bitty Strips die set. I added a couple of extra layers of cardstock for a little bit of dimension, and glued the sentiment strip onto the uni-rex.

Lots of glitter and dimension, and it’s still a fairly clean card. I love when I can make that happen.

I essentially only colored pink and green for this uni-rex, so it goes without saying that the color palette is limited.

Hello friend! {Purple Onion Designs}

July 25, 2021July 22, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi, there! I have a fun slimline card to share today, featuring the Up and Away stamp from Purple Onion Designs. Photographing slimline cards is still something I find very tricky, but this image was begging for a slimline design, and if I don’t practice taking photos of slimline cards, I’ll never get better at it, right?

I stamped the image using Extreme Black ink from My Favorite Things onto X-Press It blending card and colored it with my Copics before fussy cutting right up against the black lines. I even cut off the strings of the image, but I made little marks on the back of where they were, so I could add some black sewing thread as strings instead.

I used the Slim Film City die set from Mama Elephant to create my background. I die cut the sky from Blue Breeze cardstock and used the Slimline Cloud Edges stencil and the Rolling Clouds stencil, both from MFT, along with some Lazy Day ink, also from MFT, to create my clouds. I even splattered a little bit of the ink on top for added interest. For the skyline I die cut three layers from Gravel Gray cardstock from My Favorite Things. I heat embossed a sentiment from the Sweet SUMMER Sentiment Set from Purple Onion onto the top layer of my skyline and added a few sparkling clear sequins around it.

I used 1 mm foam squares behind my hot air balloon, and decided I wanted even more dimension and interest, so I die cut a couple of clouds from vellum, using a set of dies from Papertrey Ink. I glued the vellum clouds onto my card in very strategic spots, and used more sequins to cover up the glue. Little trick of the trade.

I used a lot of colors for this balloon!

Your friendship is the cherry on top {Streamside Studios}

July 23, 2021July 21, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi! I’m sharing a fun card today, featuring the Cherry-ific mouse from Streamside Studios. I colored up this image last year, but sometimes, images simply take their sweet time making it onto cards.

I rarely use my red Copics (and most of the Rs aren’t really red, they lean either pink or orange, making red super tricky with Copics), but with these cherries I really didn’t have much of an alternative. Maybe I should have even made them darker, if you look at the cherries I used for props, they’re darker than the ones I colored.

I used an impression plate from Papertrey Ink to create some texture on a piece of Stampers Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I adhered it directly onto my cardbase, which is made from the same white cardstock.

Using a die from the Scallop Frames die set from Pretty Pink Posh, I die cut four frames from Amarena Cherry cardstock from Papertrey Ink and stacked them for a dimensional look. I adhered the stacked frame to my colored piece and then centered that on my card front.

I stamped a sentiment from the Mice Day to Celebrate stamp set from My Favorite Things using Amarena Cherry ink, and die cut that using the largest of the dies in the Fishtail Flag Frames die set, also from My Favorite Things. It’s adhered directly to the red frame, and popped up using foam tape on both sides for even dimension.

Simple color palette.

Wishing you a happy day {Lili of the Valley}

July 19, 2021July 18, 2021 Elin2 Comments

Hi, there! I have a very simple card to share today, featuring the Camper Van image from Lili of the Valley. How cute are these bears having a picnic?

I printed the image onto X-Press It blending card and colored the whole thing in with my Copics. I trimmed it down a little and adhered it directly to a top fold card base I made from Cornflower Blue cardstock from My Favorite Things. It’s the blue cardstock I have that most closely resembles the darkest of the blue Copics I used on the image.

I wanted to keep the card pretty simple and not cover up too much of the image, so I decided to white heat emboss a sentiment from the Statement Flowers stamp set from Altenew onto a scrap piece of that same blue color cardstock. I added a few layers of cardstock behind it for dimension and put in in the bottom right corner of the card, with just enough space around it to add a few sequins from the White Orchid sequin mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

The size of the card wound up being an odd one, it measures 5 1/4 x 3 5/8″. I probably could have cut down my colored piece in a way that would fit an A2 sized card better, but I don’t mind the odd size. As long as I can create an envelope that will fit, I’m good.

I feel that simplicity is the key when using full colored panels on my cards. By not adding a whole lot to it, there’s nothing to distract and the image gets most of the attention.

Here you can see the tiny bit of dimension behind the sentiment. Three additional layers of cardstock strips gives the sentiment a little bit of lift, and it also makes tucking sequins in behind the sentiment a little bit easier.

Quite a few Copics for this one.

Let the good times roll {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

July 17, 2021July 17, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi! I’m sharing a new card with another image from the July release from Rachelle Anne Miller. This is Animal Train. I love those cute little critters hitching a ride behind the locomotive.

I feel like I’ve been doing pretty good lately about using lots of different colors, and not stick to the same ones each time. This, however, has made me neglect my favorite blues. I haven’t used them since early May(!) and desperately needed to change that.

I paired my blue with a pinky peach and a soft, pale yellow, and once I added the blue (which was the last thing I colored), I realized that the colors kind of look like the UniSA colors. Not intentional at all; maybe I miss Australia even more than I thought I did.

I was going to use Fire Coral cardstock from My Favorite Things for my base and also have some peeking out behind the image, but I put a panel of Coral Crush cardstock on top, which fit most of my coloring better. I decided to use Fire Coral for the banner.

The banner itself is die cut using the Elegant Folded Banner die from My Favorite Things. Onto that I white heat embossed a sentiment from the Pawty Time stamp set, also from MFT. It’s fairly easy to curve clear stamps to fit whatever shape you’re stamping on, and this was a breeze. I used the largest die in the Double Stitched Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things, which was a brand new die set in their July release. I love the STAX dies from MFT, so I was very excited about this set. I finished off the card by adding three sparkling clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

Pinks, yellows and blues. And a few neutrals thrown in for good measure. I also used B90, which is a color I’ve made myself. And believe it or not, but I used four different color families for the peach – R, RV, E and YR. Who says you have to stick to one color?