Hooray {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. Today I’m sharing a simple mini slimline card, featuring this adorable Little Bear Cupcake image from Lili of the Valley.

I actually made this card for my dad, whose birthday was last week. He loves his cakes and desserts, and has a stationary bike that he works on on almost daily (while watching police car chases on YouTube; no joke), and I thought this image would be perfect for him, with the little bear on his bike and the cupcake trailing behind. I colored the image with my Copics and used the Stitched Mini Slimline STAX die set from My Favorite Things to turn it into a panel that would fit nicely on a mini slimline card. I then die cut the letters to spell HURRA three times from Jalapeño Popper cardstock from My Favorite Things and stacked them for a dimensional look, before deciding that the green was too dark. I didn’t want to start over, so I using the same dies (the Connected die set from My Favorite Things), I cut an additional layer from Parsley cardstock from Concord & 9th and glued that on top of the dark green. I like the lighter green better.

I adhered my panel to a card base I created from Blueberry cardstock from My Favorite Things. I added Glossy Accents to the hearts in the image, stamped a sentiment from the A06 stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Jalapeño Popper ink from My Favorite Things and added a few more strips of cardstock behind it for dimension. I finished off the card with a couple of enamel dots from Papirdesign.

I probably used way more colors than I really needed for this card. Three colors for that cherry is kind of ridiculous, it’s not that big, but that’s kind of what I do – I really love my Copics.

Sweet hello {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, crafty friends. Today I’m sharing a card featuring the sweet Junie image from Purple Onion Designs. I love this little bunny with her bouquet of flowers.

I stamped the image using Extreme Black ink from My Favorite Things, before coloring with my Copics. I love love love the way rubber stamps stamp even the thinnest lines. It’s great for details, and Stacey Yacula’s illustration style gets to shine. Her line work is very delicate, which pairs so well with rubber stamping, because you’re able to easily stamp all the little details.

I used a die in the Slim Card Basics die set from Mama Elephant to create a cloud border above my stamped and colored image, and used the same die on a separate piece of cardstock. I found a scrap piece of patterned paper from Scenic Route that I added to my card base, then added my cloud pieces on top using foam tape.

I used two sentiments from the Sunshiny Sentiment set to create my staggered sentiment. I didn’t have the right color purple ink I wanted, so I stamped once with Grapesicle ink from My Favorite Things and then right on top with Iceberg ink from Altenew to create a new color for my sentiment.

Using the lower case Parker alphabet die set from Memory Box, I die cut each letter three times from Harvest Gold cardstock from Papertrey Ink to spell the word hello. I stacked my die cuts and adhered them to the right of Junie using liquid glue.

To finish the card I added a few yellow sequins from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. These are actually from the Candy Corn mix; a Halloween mix with orange, yellow and clear sequins and gems which even has a few tiny ghosts made from acetate thrown in. It’s a fun mix.

Simple color palette for this one.

New Home {Sweet November Stamps}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m back with another card made with the brand new release from Sweet November Stamps. This time I used the Forest Abode stamp set, which is a 4×8″ set that comes with the tree house I’ve used here, a sentiment and another smaller tree house. The one I’ve used is sized perfectly to fit the front of an A2 card, the smaller one is perfect as a backdrop behind the fairies and other cuties from the release.

I colored the scene in using Copics. A couple of my browns went sticky during my coloring, and refilling them (which usually does the trick, markers tend to go sticky when they’re low on ink) didn’t work, so I replaced the nibs and they’re behaving a little bit better now.

Confession time: I actually had to color this whole panel a second time. In the process of cutting down the kraft cardstock I used for my frame from a lettersize piece to something that would fit in my die cutting machine, I accidentally placed my finished, colored piece behind the kraft cardstock I was cutting. I realized what I’d done as soon as it happened, but by then it was too late. I had a cut going down the center of my panel and one going straight left from the center. I hadn’t cut through (I did cut through the cardstock that was on on top that I meant to cut through), but I had two very visible cut lines on my colored piece. I’ve done some weird things in my craft room, but have never made this particular kind of a blunder before. Can I blame Covid-19? I tested positive two days before this happened, and I think it’s made my brain foggy. Anyway, long story short, I had to recolor my image.

Using Classic Kraft cardstock from Papertrey Ink, I die cut the largest of the Wood frame infinity dies from Hero Arts and put two additional layers behind it for dimension. The die actually cuts a frame that is slightly larger than the size of an A2 card, so I created a custom sized card to fit the frame. I glued the frame to my scene, stamped a sentiment from the Småtekster stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto Cornflower cardstock from My Favorite Things and heat embossed it in white, before using a die from the Tag Builder Blueprints 6 die set from My Favorite Things to turn it into a nice strip with a flag end. I adhered it to the frame and added 3 sequins from the White Orchid sequin mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards to finish.

Very simple color palette. Since I had to color it twice I’m glad it wasn’t more involved 🙂

Hugs {Sweet November Stamps}

Hi, crafty friends. Today is a very exciting day, because there’s a new release out from Sweet November Stamps, and Amy asked med to guest design. We have a blog hop happening over on Instagram, but I thought I’d share my first card here, as well.

The images I’ve chosen for my card are actually from the Sweet Easter stamp set, but I think they work well for other occasions too. I colored them in using my Copics, and diecut my panel into a circle using a die from the Stitched Circle STAX set from My Favorite Things.

I wanted a little bit of subtle interest to my background, and used the Garden Lattice dies from Honey Bee and die cut both the base and the top die (these are sold separately) twice from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. By doubling up on each of the die cuts, I get lots of dimension.

I also die cut the word hugs from the Sending Big Hugs die from My Favorite Things. I die cut two layers from white cardstock and three layers from purple (Winter Wisteria from Papertrey Ink). The purple didn’t match my coloring, so I added BV02 to the top layer, that did the trick. I stamped my sub sentiment from the Bitty Thanks & Gratitude stamp set from My Favorite Things using Grapesicle ink, also from My Favorite Things, and adhered the strip directly to the diecut HUGS word.

I finished off the card by adding a few veneer butterflies, I thought they paired well with the butterfly on the bunny’s nose. The butterflies are from Wycinanka, and I added two Kort & Godt pearls to the center of each of the butterflies to form the body, and that finishes the card.

Simple, yet happy color palette for this card.

With lots of love {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends. This Best of the Bunch image from Mo’s Digital Pencil is one I’ve used a couple of times in the past (you’ll find the cards here and here), and it’s an image with such a positive vibe I wanted to use it again, the world needs every grain of positivity we can find these days.

I couldn’t choose any other colors for this card, it simply had to be blue and yellow. I colored the image with Copics, then used the largest die in the Wonky Stitched Rectangles STAX set from My Favorite Things to create a little bit of interest to the edges of the panel, before adhering it to a card base created from Cornflower cardstock from My Favorite Things.

In the top right corner, I adhered part of a mini doily from Doodlebug using liquid glue. To the top of the card, I tied a piece of Divine Twine from Whisker Graphics in the color Lemon. I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Mini Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant on a scrap piece of blue cardstock and die cut it into a tag using a die from the Everyday Gift Box die set from My Favorite Things. I tied the ends of the twine to the tag, added a bow and put foam tape behind the tag for a little bit of dimension to my card.

I put a small piece of Stick-it adhesive behind a scrap of Bright Buttercup cardstock from Papertrey Ink and die cut lots of tiny hearts from it using a die from the Say What? Gift Tags die set from Lawn Fawn. I adhered the hearts in three little groupings of three. They form a nice visual triangle and add more yellow goodness to the card. There’s no such thing as too many hearts!

I’m sending lots of love to the people in Ukraine. It’s heartbreaking that certain people haven’t yet learned the lesson that war’s never the answer. Love always is. 💙💛

Lots of Copics used for this. Thankfully, they were already out on my desk from previous projects, so I didn’t add to the pile of markers I have to clean before I put them back where they belong in my block stands.

Get Cracking on Christmas – February

Hi, crafty friends. It’s the third Thursday of the month, which means it’s time for Get Cracking on Christmas. Jenn Shurkus started the Get Cracking on Christmas series years ago, and it’s an awesome way to get started on holiday cards early and not be swamped come November. It’s also a great opportunity to use stamps and dies that you may have purchased for last year’s holiday season, and never got around to using, because time simply ran out. That’s what I’m doing today, keeping the focus entirely on a stack of critters from the No One Stacks Up stamp set illustrated by Stacey Yacula for My Favorite Things.

I stamped my critters onto a piece of X-Press It blending card, which is the paper I prefer for all my Copic coloring. I colored the image, then restamped it using VersaFine Onyx Black to get super crisp black lines in the image. This needs to be done after coloring, Copics and VersaFine don’t play well together.

I used a die from Kort & Godt to create the torn page edge at the top of my panel, before trimming the rest of it down to fit on the front of a mini slimline card. I stamped a sentiment from the Scripty Xmas stamp set from Mama Elephant using Jalapeño Popper ink from My Favorite Things, added another three layers of cardstock behind my panel and adhered it to a card base I created from Jalapeño Popper cardstock from My Favorite Things.

To finish the card I scattered a few snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things From Lucy’s Cards around the image and sentiment.

I love this little stack of critters, and the tall, narrow design is the perfect kind of image for a mini slimline card.

You’d think my color palette wouldn’t have this many colors in it, but I tend to go overboard on the snow. I do the same with the green, I love this green combo.

Celebrate {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, crafty friends. There’s a brand new release out today from Rachelle Anne Miller, and this adorable Party Girl is among the new images. She’s got a couple of cards spread out on the floor and some colored pencils floating in the air around her, this is the perfect image to use for a crafty friend’s birthday.

I colored my image with Copics and put it aside while I worked on the rest of the card, which I kept fairly simple. I used the largest die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 set from My Favorite Things in combination with the Watercolor Wash Free Form die, also from MFT, to die cut a window from Bright Buttercup cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I adhered the image to the back of this window and adhered it to my card base, which I made from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

I die cut the Celebrate die from My Favorite Things twice from white cardstock and once from a silver sparkle cardstock and adhered them together for dimension. I also stamped a sub sentiment from the Itty Bitty Birthday stamp set from My Favorite Things onto Hibiscus Burst cardstock from Papertrey Ink and heat embossed it, before using a banner die from the Everyday Gift Box die set from My Favorite Things. I put a couple of additional layers of pink cardstock behind it, adhered it on top of the stacked Celebrate die cut and embellished the card very simply by putting two star enamel dots in spots that have stars in the stamp. Simple, right?

Quick and easy coloring with a fun, summery color palette (it’s been snowing and sleeting and freezing here, which makes me long for summer even more than usual).

Hello friend {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends. I have a simple card to share today, featuring this I like you image from Mo Manning. It’s an image that is quick and easy to color. I wasn’t sure what colors to use for her clothing, I thought about teal, but then I googled the image and remembered I’d already used a teal(ish) color on a previous card I made with the same image (blog post here), so I was kind of stuck for color ideas. My color buddy Lisabeth came to my rescue, suggesting green and white, so that’s what I wound up with. Thanks, Liz!!

I printed the image near the bottom left corner of a panel of X-Press It blending card, before coloring it with Copics and using the largest die in the A2 Double Stitched Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things to create a finished look with the nice faux stitching details that I love to add to my cards. I adhered it to a cardbase I created from Jalapeño Popper cardstock, also from MFT, and I had my base ready for some play with scraps.

I love creating these clusters of die cut scraps on my cards, and I have stamp storage pockets with little die cut patterned paper scraps sorted by color. That way I can rummage through these when I create my cards instead of having to find lots of patterned paper to match my card, then die cut it. It usually takes several different patterned papers of one color to create the dynamic look I want for my cards, but for this one, I actually kept it simple with one yellow (P13), one white and gray (Sunny Studio) and only two green ones (Basic Grey and Karen Foster Design). They’re all different shapes, which still keeps it interesting. Some are glued directly to the card, some with foam tape for a little bit of dimension. Using VersaMark ink, I stamped a sentiment from the Mini Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant onto one of these die cut pieces (it happened to be a tag) and heat embossed it using Super Fine Detail embossing powder from Ranger. I used part of a mini paper doily from Doodlebug Design behind my main cluster, and added a few enamel dots (green from Papirdesign, yellow from Altenew) to embellish.

Lots of green for this color palette.

Enjoy the traditions of the season {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, crafty friends! Guess what? I have another holiday card to share, this time featuring the train and train tracks from the I’ll Be Home for Christmas collection illustrated by Stacey Yacula for Purple Onion Designs.

As soon as I saw this train, I immediately thought of the movie The Polar Express, which happens to be my favorite animated Christmas movie. I colored my train in similar colors to the one in the movie, and I put a mask on top when my coloring was done and airbrushed the sky, moon and glow coming from the headlight.

My best friend and I have a tradition where we sit down and watch this movie every year, and I thought the sentiment from the Home for the Holidays sentiment set was the perfect one to add to this card.

The sentiment is actually one long line, but I did some masking to create a staggered one, which I thought fit my card better. I stamped the sentiment in VersaMark ink and heat embossed it in white using Super fine detail embossing powder from Ranger.

I created the moon by first masking off a circle as I airbrushed the sky, then I used the moon mask that was part of the Tim Holtz/Simon Says Stamp collaboration set for Stamptember 2021 to create my moon.

Once I’d created my moon I covered the circle opening again with VersaMark ink and sprinkled on Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder from Judikins, which I then melted. It gives the moon a nice sparkly glow. I thought that would be a nice detail to add to what is otherwise a very simple card. I adhered the colored scene to a white top fold card base and decided not to embellish, I wanted the image to be the focal point on this card.

Lots of Copics for this one. The ones after the white gap are the ones I used to airbrush the sky, moon and the glow from the headlight.

Celebrate big {Streamside Studios}

Hi, crafty friends. Today I have a very simple, very sweet mini slimline card to share, featuring one of the bears from the Love You Beary Much digi stamp set from Streamside Studios.

I colored the bear quickly with Copics, fussy cut and put the image aside while I worked on the rest of my card.

I haven’t made a mini slimline card in a while, and I haven’t made any at all since I purchased the Stitched Mini Slimline STAX die set from My Favorite Things back in November, and thought it was about time I break them in. I used the largest die in the set for this card, once on a piece of patterned paper from the Watercolor Wishes 6×6″ paper pad from Lawn Fawn, and once from white cardstock at an angle that I’d stamped a background stamp onto (the Paint Splatter background from MFT) and heat embossed.

I used one of the dies in the Precious Polaroids die set from MFT to die cut three times from white cardstock and once from a gold cardstock from Rayher. It has a brushed finish, which adds a little interest in texture instead of being flat gold. I put a thin strip of this cardstock above and below my heat embossed white cardstock piece as well, for a bit of definition to the top and bottom of the panel. I stamped a sentiment from the Birthday Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant onto a scrap piece of the pink patterned paper and poured on Gilded embossing powder from Brutus Monroe (the same embossing powder that I used for the paint splatter background), before melting the powder. I die cut it into a small strip with an angled end using one of the dies in the Everyday Gift Box die set from My Favorite Things and adhered it to the top of the polaroid using some 1 mm foam squares. I finished off the card with a few sequins from the Heaven Sent mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

The Copic palette couldn’t possibly get any simpler.