Happy haunting {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, crafty friends. I have a simple card to share today featuring the ghosts from the Ghostly Greetings digi stamp from Rachelle Anne Miller.

I admit, I don’t make many Halloween cards. Halloween’s not really my thing. I think it might be the costumes that freak me out. I was scared of Santa as a kid (to be honest, Santa still creeps me out) and I never liked dressing up for carnival in kindergarten either. I don’t know what it is, I’m just not a fan. I am, however, a fan of these ghosts, they’re so adorable. In the stamp, the ghosts are holding a banner, but I wanted the ghosts alone, so I removed the banner, did a little bit of stamp surgery in Photoshop to complete their arms (since they’re holding the banner, you don’t see the entire arm on either of these ghosts). I created mirror images of each of the ghosts so I had four different ghosts to work with, and made a few copies of each.

I scattered the ghost around on my paper, turning some on their side and a few upside down to create a fun background.

I did very simple coloring of the ghosts, I just wanted a hint of color and actually only used four markers. I cut down my panel, added foam tape to the back and adhered it to a white card base I’d covered with Caribbean Sea cardstock from My Favorite Things.

I die cut the letters to spell happy using an alphabet die set from Papirdesign. I die cut each of the letters three times from white cardstock and once from Gravel Gray cardstock from My Favorite Things that I adhered on top of the three white ones for a stacked, dimensional look.

I white heat embossed a sub sentiment from the Itty Bitty Boos stamp set from My Favorite Things onto a scrap piece of Caribbean Sea cardstock that I cut down to a small strip. I adhered a couple of additional layers of cardstock behind it before I adhered it to my die cut letters. I added a few pink sequins from the Heaven Sent mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards, and my card was complete.

As I mentioned, I only used four markers for the coloring of these ghosts.

Må ikke åpnes før julaften {Kort & Godt}

Hi, crafty friends. I shared this gift tag on the Kort & Godt galleri blog last week, but decided to share it here, as well.

Die 302 Julestjerne creates an awesome poinsettia. I’m not usually one to use flowers on anything holiday related, but this die set has won me over. There’s three dies in the set – one creates a leaf (which I didn’t use on this tag), and then there are two dies that creates two sizes of petals for the actual flower. If you cut both twice you get a nice looking poinsettia. I cut both four times for this very full poinsettia. I used patterned paper from Craft Consortium, and there’s instant variety to the petals, I love it. The dies create indentations for the veiny lines, which I quickly enhanced with a Zig clean color real brush marker in a color that matched (230 Pale Rose).

I added the flower to a tag I created from cream cardstock. I used Die 211 to create the tag, and stamped a sentiment from M-466 using Scarlet Jewel ink from Papertrey Ink. I adhered snowflakes from ST105 and ST102, before adding a white gem from ST208 to the center of each. I tied string through the loop at the top of the tag and added a KN567 button to the center of the flower, tying a bow behind the button using the same string that I used for the top of the tag (TR-104).

For the coolest guy

Hi, crafty friends! I’m sharing a confirmation card today, featuring Noah from Mo Manning.

It’s confirmation season, and my nephew’s confirmation was September 10th. I made several cards for him, and this is one of them. I thought this image was the perfect one to use, nothing says fifteen year old boy like a guy with his phone in his hand, school books hidden away and a bowl of snacks on the armrest. The controller tucked away is a nice touch too. We don’t wear shoes indoors in Norway, but the rest is pretty spot on.

I created a background for my colored image using a variety of stamps, inks and even a stencil. I started with the Abstract Triangle Background stamp from My Favorite Things that I stamped in Orange Peel ink from Simon Says Stamp. I didn’t want the stamp to cover the entire background and made sure to stamp it in the lower left corner and have it fade as it went up and to the right. I then took a confirmation stamp from the A05 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS and repeatedly stamped it on top of the stamping I’d already done using VersaMark ink, before sprinkling on super fine detail embossing powder from Ranger and melting the powder with my heat gun. I then used the Watercolor Wash Free Form stencil from My Favorite Things and ink blended using Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed distress inks.

I fussy cut my image leaving a white trim and mounted it on foam tape on top of the stamping and ink blending I’d done. I die cut the Hullmønster die from Papirdesign twice; once from Cornflower cardstock and once from Sour Apple cardstock, both from My Favorite Things. I tore them both up, tucking a couple of pieces behind the image for a little bit of added interest.

I used the Konfirmant 2 die from Papirdesign to die cut five times from cardstock for a stacked look, placing a layer die cut from True Black cardstock from Papertrey Ink on top of the stack. I adhered it to the card using liquid glue, placing the beginning of the word on top of Noah’s pant leg to make it all fit.

I added some sentiment stickers from Kort & Godt to fill the space at the bottom of the card a little. They’re originally a bit bigger than this and white with black letters, but I used a Copic marker to color them blue to make them stand out against the white background a little and also cut them down slightly. The banners with the stars are also Kort & Godt stickers.

In the top right corner, I created a little cluster with die cut pieces and those stickers, before finishing off the card with a few Papirdesign enamel dots. Onto a Limelight envelope from My Favorite Things, I adhered white die cut letters (dies from Papirdesign) to spell his name and stamped Konfirmant from the Konf. 02 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Limelight ink from My Favorite Things.

On the inside, I stamped a sentiment from the Konf. 02 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Orange Peel ink from Simon Says Stamp. I also adhered number stickers from Papirdesign to get the date on there. The right hand side has plenty of space for a personal message.

Fun, bright color palette for this one.

Merry Christmas {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. Today I’m sharing with you a mini slimline card for the holidays. I love the Penguins and Reindeer stamp set from Lili of the Valley, and this reindeer in the set was the perfect amount of festive for my card.

I colored my reindeer with Copics and fussy cut him leaving a thin white border. I added Glossy Accents to the string of lights and his nose for shine, and used a black Glaze pen and a white Gelly Roll 05 for his eyes.

I stamped and white heat embossed the Christmas Background stamp from My Favorite Things on a piece of white cardstock, before using Hunter Green, Forest Glades and Frayed Leaf inks from Altenew, as well as Squeezed Lemonade Distress ink, to ink blend on top. I ten used a die in the Stitched Mini Slimline STAX die set from My Favorite Things to turn it into a nice panel that would fit my card. I used the Country Landscape die from Memory Box to die cut the landscape in the background, and used the same stitching die on the hilly die cuts for a continuous stitching border across the card. I die cut the windows from Buttercup cardstock from Concord & 9th and the doors from white cardstock from Papertrey Ink that I ink blended with the same colors I used for the ink blending in the background.

I used the Snow Globe Accessories die set from My Favorite Things to die cut the string of lights from a dark gray cardstock and the individual bulbs from Buttercup cardstock once again. I added Glossy Accents on top of the bulbs for extra shine and dimension.

I die cut the word merry from the Merry Christmas die set from My Favorite Things five times from white cardstock, and once from Gold shine cardstock from My Favorite Things. I stacked them, adding the gold on top, and adhered my chunky die cut to the card. I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from Lili of the Valley onto a strip of Parsley cardstock (I used the same cardstock for the card base) from Concord & 9th and adhered it to my card with a few extra strips behind for strength and dimension, before finishing off the card with a few gold pearls from the Vanilla Kiss mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

I tried using a somewhat limited color palette for this.

Just for you {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. I thought I’d share a gift tag today, featuring this adorable penguin from Lili of the Valley. If you know me, you know I can’t resist a penguin, and the Lili of the Valley penguins are soooo darn cute!!

I colored him with Copics and fussy cut him leaving a white trim around the edges. This particular image would be easy to cut up against the lines, but the wispy lines so characteristic of Lili of the Valley images would be lost, so I opted for the white border. I put black glaze pen in his eyes for shine, and then a dot of white using a 05 Gelly Roll, and put him aside while I worked on the rest of my tag.

I used a die from the Stitched Traditional Tag STAX die set from My Favorite Things to die cut from Classic Kraft cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I sprinkled Chunky White embossing enamel from Stampendous on top and melted it from behind for a snowy background look.

I used the Silhouette Snow Trees die set from Mama Elephant to die cut trees from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, before I added some snowy texture to them using a Snow Pen from Rayher.

I stamped and white heat embossed Just for you from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from Lili of the Valley onto a piece of Amarena Cherry cardstock from My Favorite Things, before using a banner die in the Everyday Gift Box die set from My Favorite Things to turn it into a nice strip. I added a couple of layers of cardstock behind it for dimension and adhered it to the top right of my tag.

I used some ribbon and twine from my stash, as well as a charm, to finish off the front of this tag. The ribbon, banner and the penguin’s earmuffs create a visual triangle of red elements on this otherwise very neutral tag.

I die cut the same tag from white cardstock to use on the back. I added a couple of kraft colored branches that I die cut with the Pine Branches die set from Craft Emotions, as well as a to/from from the Tag Builder Blueprints 6 die set from My Favorite Things.

Lots of colors for this little penguin.

Sweet birthday wishes {Streamside Studios}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m here with a sweet birthday card, featuring a couple of strawberries from the Strawberry Delights digi stamp set from Streamside Studios.

I colored the strawberries and fussy cut them right up against the black lines. I put them aside while I worked on the rest of my card. I created a top fold landscape A2 card from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, used the Number Jumble background stamp from My Favorite Things to stamp on the front with VersaMark ink, then heat embossed using Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder from Judikins. I ink blended on top of the embossing in the center using Grass Field and Limeade inks from Altenew, as well as Squeezed Lemonade Distress Ink from Ranger.

Into a separate panel of white cardstock, I die cut the letters SWEET using the Impact Alphabet dies from My Favorite Things. I stamped a sentiment from the Scripty Bday stamp set from Mama Elephant below using Wild Cherry ink from My Favorite Things. I cut the panel down slightly, added two more layers of cardstock behind it for dimension and adhered it to the card front. I adhered one of the strawberries using liquid glue, popping the other one up using foam tape for dimension, before finishing off the card with a few bubbles from the Festivities mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

You wouldn’t think I’d use this many colors on images this small, but that’s kind of what I do.

Ho ho ho {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends. I have a holiday card to share with you today featuring Mrs. Claus from Mo Manning, and even using a somewhat untraditional color palette.

I knew I wanted lots of green on this card, and as soon I was done coloring skin, hair and the ground, I grabbed a few green combos and colored in all the elves. I hit a bit of a snag when I got to Mrs. Claus’ dress, because I felt like there were no good color options. Grey would have been boring, brown would have been sad, red wouldn’t work with the amount of green I had and I felt a little lost, to be honest. Color buddy Liz to the rescue. She suggested the RV90s, and they worked beautifully. I’ve combined RV90s with green plenty of times in the past, but usually for florals, and I have to admit it’s been a while, so it was fun to use an old classic again.

Once the coloring was complete, I used the largest die in the A2 Double Stitched Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things to create a nice detailed edge around my panel and adhered it to a top fold card base I created from Autumn Rose cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I used most of a mini doily from Doodlebug in the top right corner of the card for a little bit of soft texture, and added a small scrap of the same doily in the lower left corner for a little bit of balance. I used a tag die from the Everyday Gift Box die set from My Favorite Things to create my tag, and stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Mini messages stamp set from Mama Elephant in the center of it. I tied some Green Apple Divine twine into a bow and mounted the tag using a couple of foam squares before finishing off the card with a few gems from Crafty Meraki. These are the Green Illusion Sparkle and they change color when you tilt them in the light. They appear green and somehow shift to a pink/purple tone, they’re really cool, and the colors worked perfectly for this card.

Lots of green for this one. I used four different green combos to color in the elves so they wouldn’t all look the same. I also used RV97, a color I’ve created myself, for the dress on Mrs. Claus.

Let’s Be Jolly! {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. I have a slimline card to share today, featuring the Advent Characters stamp set from Lili of the Valley. There are 12 characters in this stamp set, and I chose 3 for my card today. The penguin was a given, so was the reindeer, and I added the elf because I wanted something human like in there as well.

I colored the characters with Copics, fussy cut them leaving a white border, then added black glaze to their eyes and then a white dot on top with a Gelly Roll 05. Rudolph got special treatment with a little bit of Glossy Accents on his nose for additional shine.

I used the Slim Card Basics die set from Mama Elephant to create my window panel. I die cut one from Blueberry Sky cardstock from Papertrey Ink and four white ones that I adhered behind it for dimension. I die cut the bigger scalloped rectangle in the Slim Card Basics set from Spring Rain cardstock, also from Papertrey Ink, and adhered it to a white card base.

I used the Silhouette Snow Trees die set from Mama Elephant to create white trees to go into the window openings behind my characters.

I stamped a sentiment from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from Lili of the Valley using Blueberry Sky ink from Papertrey Ink, cut it down to a strip, adhered a couple of additional layers behind it and glued it to the frame between two of the characters.

I finished off the card with a few pearls from the Glossy Porcelain mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

I love dimension on my cards, and this one certainly has that.

Between the shine on Rudolph’s nose, all the blue and all the dimension, this card makes me happy. I just wish it was easier to photograph slimline cards.

I used way too many Copics for these three.

Happy Halloween {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, crafty friends. There’s a brand new Halloween release out today from Rachelle Anne Miller. Four different images in Rachelle’s adorable signature style. I wanted to create a card with the Trick or Treat Mouse, but I managed to sneak in one of the ghosts from Ghost Greetings too. I really wanted to add something extra to my scene, and vellum ghosts seemed like the natural choice.

I colored the trick or treat mouse with Copics, and adhered my panel of X-Press It blending card to a top fold white card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I used the Boo! stamp from the Itty Bitty Boos stamp set from My Favorite Things to stamp here and there around the scene, with Limelight ink from My Favorite Things, using second generation stamping for a couple of them for a softer look.

I added a couple of pieces of orange dotted patterned paper from Waffle Flower above and below the image. I put foam tape on the back for dimension.

I printed the ghosts on Heavyweight Translucent vellum from My Favorite Things and colored softly with Copics on the back of each of them. Colors don’t really blend on vellum, so you don’t need to be precise. You also need darker colors than you want to end up with, because the colors don’t show through all that well. I fussy cut the ghosts leaving a border around the edge and adhered two of the ghosts directly onto the orange patterned paper, using a little bit of liquid glue, before strategically placing enamel dots from Papirdesign on top, so the glue wouldn’t show through.

I used the Happy die from the Hand-Lettered Happy Birthday dies from My Favorite Things to create my sentiment. I stacked four white die cuts, adhered the last ghost to the y and added a fifth die cut on top. The top layer sparkles in the right light. I used a sheer shimmer craft spray from Imagine, but it doesn’t really show up in photos. It’s subtle in real life too. To finish off my sentiment I white heat embossed another sentiment from the Itty Bitty Boos stamp set from My Favorite Things, this time onto Gravel Gray cardstock from My Favorite Things. I cut it down to a strip, added a few layers behind it for strength and dimension and adhered it to the die cut word, and my card was finished.

I used quite a few Copics for this card.

Gledelig jul {Kort & Godt}

Hi, crafty friends. I have a Christmas card I made for the Kort & Godt gallery blog to share today. No coloring on this, but I’ve made up for it with lots of die cutting, don’t worry.

I knew I wanted to do something fun with the poinsettia die set from Kort & Godt. The die set comes with three dies in three different sizes. If you die cut two of each, you get a poinsettia. There’s also a leaf die in the set. I die cut three leaves and created four of each size of the petals for a very full poinsettia. I used a patterned paper from the Ink Drops – Vivid paper pad from Craft Consortium for everything paper on this card except for the white cardstock. Before assembling my poinsettia, I curled all the leaves back a little so they wouldn’t appear flat. I just used a paint brush handle, anything that you can use to create that curve will work. I put foam squares on the back of the petals at the very back, but adhered the center of the poinsettia directly to the white die cut panel. I also put foam squares on the back of the leaves.

I die cut the word gledelig four times; once from the patterned paper, three times from white cardstock. I stacked them for dimension, adhering the patterned paper one on top of the others. I stamped and white heat embossed jul to complete the sentiment (the die set with gledelig also has the word jul in it, but it was too big for my card). I used a glue gun to add berries to the center of the flower and embellished with a few white pearls.

The curved leaves and the berries add a lot of dimension to this card. I love that the dies impress the veins of the leaves and petals into the die cuts.

Kort & Godt products used31

DIE 182 – Rektangel med søm

DIE 302 – Julestjerne

DIE 226 – Gledelig jul

M-442

PB201

2 mm, 3mm and 4 mm white pearls