Treat yourself {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m sharing another birthday card today. Somehow I seem to be able to create birthday cards from pretty much every image I color. Birthday cards and holiday cards are my favorite cards to make, though, so I really don’t mind.

I colored up The Sweetest from Mo Manning for this card. It’s one of her newer images, and it’s so cool. I went for a bit of an unusual color combination for me, starting with the BG90s which were already out on my desk after my previous project. Less markers to clean once done, that way – I always try to clean my markers after each image.

Once the coloring was complete, I used the largest die in the A2 Double Stitched Rectangles STAX die set from My Favorite Things to turn my panel into a rectangle with a nice faux stitch around the edges. I then added a thick layer of Glossy Accents to the heart and let that dry.

Using the Geometric Landscape stencil from Altenew, I ink blended a bit of yellow in the top right corner using Distress Inks in the colors Mustard Seed and Squeezed Lemonade, letting the lighter shade of the two fade to white. I then adhered my panel onto a top fold card base I created from Stormy Sea cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

I die cut the word wishes four times from the same color cardstock using a die from Mama Elephant. I stacked the die cuts for a dimensional look and adhered them on top of my ink blended section.

Using two stamp sets from My Favorite Things (Bitty Birthday Wishes and Itty Bitty Gifting), I heat embossed sub sentiments onto strips of Canyon Clay cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I die cut those using the Itty Bitty Strips dies, also from My Favorite Things, before finishing off the card with a few yellow enamel dots from the Pocketful of Sunshine pack of enamel dots from Altenew.

This was a fun color palette to work with, and I think the finished card echoes that. I’d say it’s my usual style of card, just not my usual color palette. I need to branch out more often, I had a blast using these colors.

Grateful for friends like you {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, crafty friends! I’m sharing a sneak peek today at one of the new images coming from Rachelle Anne Miller. This is Autumn Friends. Personally, I’d like to hang on to summer for as long as humanly possible, but even though I’m not a fan of the cold, I love the vibe in this particular image.

The sentiment comes with the image. You can omit it if you want to, but I really like both the placement and the mix of the handwritten style with the playful print style. I decided to also add a few additional leaves above their heads. Aside from the green leaf to the left of the bird and the one leaf that’s landed on the hat, all the leaves above their heads are ones I added. I did that by copying the leaves already in the image and placing them where I wanted them; it’s one of the many advantages of working with digital stamps.

I colored everything with my Copics and went for a much warmer color palette than I usually choose. Their clothes are cool tones, but everything else is in warm tones.

I used one of the dies in the Stitched Borders set from Lawn Fawn to create the faux stitching on the sides of my colored piece, before I adhered it to a top fold card base I created from Jalapeño Popper cardstock from My Favorite Things. I did add a few additional layers of cardstock behind the panel for dimension, though.

I wanted to keep the focus on this cute image, and scattered a few iridescent gems from the Glass Crystal collection from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards to finish it off.

The gems catch the light and add to the warm feel of the card.

I used quite a bit of Copics for this card, even though my coloring is pretty simple.

Gift tag trio {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m usually pretty good at making Christmas cards all year. What I’m not usually so good at is creating Christmas tags to go on presents. It’s often one of those things I do last minute, even after the gifts are wrapped. I’m trying to be better, though, and today I have three tags to share featuring the Snow Cute stamp set from Lili of the Valley, I just can’t get enough of this set.

These penguins are about 4 cm tall, which makes them the perfect size to create gift tags from. By stamping them on a sheet of X-Press It blending card (or your cardstock of choice) with a little bit of space between them, you can die cut some and fussy cut the remaining ones. I decided to fussy cut the one in the center, while using dies for the other two.

I colored all the penguins with Copics and used a black glaze pen to create a little bit of shine and dimension to their eyes. Once the black was dry, which didn’t take long, I used a white Gelly Roll 05 on top of the black to put the white back into their eyes.

I’m starting with this fussy cut penguin. In a drawer, I had a scrap of a snowy background that I created last fall using Rustic Cream cardstock from Papertrey Ink, the Falling Snow stencil from Simon Says Stamp, modeling paste from The Crafter’s Workshop and Rock Candy distress glitter from Ranger. I decided to put it to use and die cut it using the 210 die from Kort & Godt, I really like the heart shaped hole it creates at the top. I mounted the penguin using foam tape and added a sentiment strip below. The sentiment is from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from Lili of the Valley, it’s got heaps of great sentiments for the holidays. I used a bit of red lace ribbon, a couple of bells and a piece of thread to the top of the tag to embellish it a little.

On the back, I added die cut letters to spell the words to and from. The words are from the Tag Builder Blueprints 6 die set from My Favorite Things, die cut from Amarena Cherry cardstock, also from MFT.

Simple color palette for this one.

Next up is the circular tag. I used the Tag Builder Blueprints 6 die set for this one as well, as well as another sentiment from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from LOTV. I added Divine Twine in the color Cherry to the top, a bell charm and a few red enamel dots from Papirdesign to finish it off.

On the back, I used the to/from circle die that I used for the first tag, but for this one, I used the negative of the die cut, popping in the centers of the o’s to complete the look. I figured it would be easier to see the writing on white cardstock instead of the red in the dim light on Christmas Eve when we open our presents, so this is meant to be practical too.

A few additional colors for this one, I wanted to ground my penguin and also needed some color on that candy cane.

For the blue one, I used the Fold-Up Tags die set from My Favorite Things to create my tag. I made sure not to cut off his scarf by fussy cutting that and putting it behind the die as I ran it through my die cutting machine. I used a piece of Blue Breeze cardstock from My Favorite Things to create the reinforcing element near the top, added some Divine Twine in the color Blueberry, a couple of white bells from UiT Hobby and some thread that’s actually meant to use with a loom (it’s super strong). Once again, I used the Christmas Greetings stamp set for the sentiment, and scattered a few snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards to finish.

On the back, I used that same die from the Tag Builder Blueprints 6 die set from My Favorite Things that I used for the other two tags, this time die cut from Enchanted Evening cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

Once again, simple color palette. These were such fun to make. I want to make more, and have a bunch on hand when it’s time to wrap Christmas presents, so I’m not rushing last minute to get the tags done.

Believe in the magic of Christmas {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, crafty friends! Another day, another Christmas card. As you may have guessed, I love creating holiday cards all year, and this card might be the quickest one I’ve made this year.

I colored up A Special Gift using Copics on a quarter piece of X-Press It blending card, using colors that you probably don’t associate with the holidays. I don’t like red and green, so I avoid the combination like the plague, but I’m all in for a peachy pink with green.

The ribbon on the present went through a few changes as I was coloring. I started with the peachy pinks, but it didn’t really work, I had so many small things already with these colors, so I went over the pink with green. That didn’t really work either, it turned into mud (which I kind of knew upfront, but somehow I did it anyway), so to finish, I added the browns I used for the hair, which turned out okay. I didn’t have time to start over, so I worked the problem until I found a solution. The greenish brown or brownish green works. 

I decided to lean into the brown by softly ink blending Classic Kraft ink from Papertrey Ink onto the panel using the Watercolor Wash Free Form stencil from My Favorite Things. I then stamped a sentiment from the Holiday Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant using the same ink.

I trimmed my panel down slightly before adhering it to a card base I created from Classic Kraft cardstock from Papertrey Ink, added a few sequins and confetti stars from the Icicle sequin mix from Hero Arts, and my card was complete.

All in all, this card only took me a little over an hour to make, including the coloring. That’s warp speed for me, I rarely create cards this quickly.

Not a whole heap of colors for this one, even if the ribbon went through three iterations (I used the same colors for the different elements in this image as I did for by all those ribbon layers).

Snow Cute hugs {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. Another day, another card. I keep going back to the Snow Cute stamp set from Lili of the Valley. The stamp set is part of their newly released Christmas collection, but this time, my card’s not actually a Christmas card.

There’s a stamp in the stamp set with a penguin holding a present. I thought it was perfect for a simple birthday card. I colored the penguin with Copics and added a layer of black glaze pen to the eyes for shine. Once the black was dry (this stuff dries fast), I went back in with a 05 Gelly Roll to add the white dots back in. I fussy cut the penguin and started working on the rest of the card.

Using the Snow Drifts Cover-Up die from My Favorite Things, I decided to create some waves on the front of my card. I die cut four layers from white cardstock and used various shades of aqua tones for the top layer. From bottom to top they are: Tropical Teal from My Favorite Things (bottom two waves), Caribbean Sea from MFT, Hawaiian Shores from Papertrey Ink, Summer Splash from MFT, Sno Cone from MFT and Stamper’s Select White from PTI (top two waves).

On the Hawaiian Shores wave, I used one of the big words in the Christmas Greetings stamp set from Lili of the Valley. The wave was just big enough for the word to fit. I adhered my penguin onto my waves, right next to the stamped word. In hindsight, I wish I’d popped him up using foam tape, but he doesn’t look too bad adhered straight onto the waves either.

I used the Sea Glass mix of embellishments from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards for a finishing touch. This mix was the perfect color for my card, and it’s sometimes fun to add something besides JUST sequins. There are a couple of gems and even confetti stars on this card, too, all from the same mix.

I love the dimension of those waves, it’s very impactful, and the reason I wish I’d added dimension behind my penguin, as well, I feel he’s a little flat compared to the rest. Oh well, next time.

Simple color palette for this one.

Get Cracking on Christmas – August

Hi, crafty friends. It’s the third Thursday of the month, and that means it’s time to Get Cracking on Christmas. This is a series Jenn Shurkus created a few years back, aimed at creating holiday cards all year to make you less stressed come November and to also use those supplies you bought, but didn’t have to use last year. We all do that, right? It’s not just me? It’s also a great opportunity to play with techniques and different card designs. I love creating Christmas cards all year, so this is right up my alley.

For this card, I’m once again focusing on the Snow Cute stamp set Lili of the Valley released earlier this month. It’s such a cute stamp set (aptly named), and I just can’t resist when there’s a penguin to color. I colored the penguin with Copics, cut my panel down to a strip and put it aside while I worked on the rest of my card.

I created a top fold card base from Enchanted Evening cardstock from Papertrey Ink. This is one of my all time favorite cardstock colors, and I hoard it, always afraid I’m going to run out even though I have several packs of it. I die cut the lighter blue panel from Blue Breeze cardstock from My Favorite Things using the Stitched Snowflake Backdrop die from Lawn Fawn. The die cuts a full size panel for an A2 card, I trimmed mine down slightly to have the darker blue border showing around the edges.

I added a few extra white pieces of cardstock behind my colored panel to make it stand out a little more against the background. I like the dimension it adds.

I used a few words from the Christmas Greetings stamp set from Lili of the Valley, cut them down to strips and added a few more cardstock layers behind them for additional dimension.

To finish the card I added a few sequins from the White Orchid sequin mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. I also added a bit of black glaze pen to the penguin’s eyes, and then a white dot of Gelly Roll 05 on top once the black had dried. This makes the eyes stand out a little against the rest, and the shine looks great in real life. It’s hard to photograph, though, so you’ll just have to trust me.

Simple color palette for this one, these penguins don’t require a lot.

Have a magical bday {Lee Holland Designs}

Hi, crafty friends! Lee Holland’s dragons are one of my favorite things to color, and when I can color a dragon holding a balloon, I almost do a little happy dance.

This is Dragon with big balloon. Isn’t he adorable with his big balloon and party hat? I couldn’t resist, and colored a warm yellow dragon this time, with bright green details.

I stamped a sentiment from the Scripty Bday stamp set from Mama Elephant using Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide ink, then trimmed my panel down slightly and mounted it using foam tape onto a top fold card base I created from Green Parakeet cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

Using a die from the Tag Builder Blueprints 6 die set from My Favorite Things, I die cut a piece of patterned paper from the Party Patterns 6×6″ paper pad, also from MFT. I did partial die cutting to make the tag smaller than the die will cut in one pass, then used a heart die from the same die set to cut a heart shaped hole in one end. I adhered this strip onto the colored panel using clear foam tape from The Rabbit Hole Designs. This tape is great, because you don’t really see it from the sides, and it’s also very thick, giving lots of dimension.

I finished the card by adhering some sequins and a gem from the Seashore mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

Similar color palette to yesterday’s card, but I colored this dragon weeks ago and had forgotten him when I colored yesterday’s balloon image.

A little gift for you {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m back today with a happy card featuring the new Teddy’s balloons image from Rachelle Anne Miller. I have a soft spot for images with balloons, and this one has plenty. I asked my color buddy Liz for a color combo suggestion, and she landed on the BG00 family, the YG20 family and the Y10 family of Copics. Teal, bright green and yellow is such a classic combo, so this came together fairly quickly, even for a procrastinator like me.

I colored the image with the colors she suggested, adding different colors only to bear. I trimmed my panel down slightly and stamped a sentiment from the Mini Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant using Sour Apple ink from My Favorite Things.

I created my card base from Classic Kraft cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I trimmed a piece of patterned paper from the Party Time 6×6″ paper pad from My Favorite Things down to a strip, and it had just the right colors for my card. I put four layers of white cardstock scraps behind it for dimension, and adhered it to my card. I did the same thing with my colored piece, adhering it to the card left of center, before using the Seashore mix of embellishments from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards to finish off the card.

This color palette makes me happy!

Merry Christmas {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m back today with another card featuring the new stamp sets from Lili of the Valley, which are now available on Etsy.

I can’t resist a good penguin, and the Snow Cute stamp set has many of them, I love this little guy with reindeer antlers. I colored him with Copics and fussy cut right up against the stamped lines and put him aside while I worked on the rest of my card.

Last fall, I made a bunch of snowy backgrounds using an old Falling Snow stencil from Simon Says Stamp, some modeling paste from The Crafters Workshop and Rock Candy Distress Glitter for some sparkle. If you sprinkle on the glitter while the paste is still wet, it will adhere nicely. I didn’t use all my backgrounds last year, and dug this one out of a drawer in my craft room. The cardstock is Rustic Cream from Papertrey Ink, which is a nice cream color. It’s got the right amount of color to let the falling snow show without being too distracting. It also has these little flecks of darker color here and there, giving it a rustic feel, it’s really nice.

I adhered my snowy background to a top fold card base I created from Amarena Cherry cardstock from My Favorite Things, before die cutting the word MERRY (Stacked Merry die from My Favorite Things) four times from Classic Kraft cardstock from Papertrey Ink, which I stacked and then adhered to the snowy background using liquid glue.

I put foam tape behind the penguin and added him to the card, before using one of the words from the Christmas Greetings stamp set to complete my sentiment. This greetings stamp set has every sentiment you could possibly want for the holiday season. It includes 26 small sentiments, 6 large words with a handwritten look (Christmas, Hugs, Merry, Snow, Wishes, Winter) and 14 smaller words to create all kinds of Christmas greetings. I’ve been on the lookout for a good sentiment stamp set for Christmas, and this set has everything, I don’t need to look any further.

I used a black glaze pen to add shine and dimension to the penguin’s eyes. Once the black was dry, I added a dot of white Gelly Roll 05 over the top.

These penguins are quick and easy to color and don’t require a whole lot of markers.

Hope your b-day’s totally gnarly! {Streamside Studios}

Hi, crafty friends! I’m back today with a super clean and simple card, featuring the brand new Beach mice (digi) stamp set from Streamside Studios. I just couldn’t resist this surfing mouse and the punny sentiment that goes with it.

I printed the image in the center of a quarter piece of A4 X-Press It blending card, before coloring it with my Copics. I’ve never colored waves like this before, so I felt like I was in deep water.

I’ve found, however, that the best thing to do is to just jump in. It’s just paper and ink, and not the end of the world if it’s not perfect.

I used blues, teals and even a little bit of green to create my waves. I’d already colored the surfboard using teal colors, but once I was finished with the waves, you couldn’t really tell them apart, so I went back in with dark blues on top of the teal of the surfboard instead. The blue stands out much more against the background, and I’m never mad when I have to use blue 😉

I trimmed my panel down, adhered it to a top fold card base I created from After Midnight cardstock from My Favorite Things and printed a punny sentiment that I put an additional four layers of cardstock behind for dimension, before finishing off with a few raindrops from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. Super simple.

That little bit of dimension is everything on a simple card like this. Oh, and the raindrops too, I thought they fit well with the aquatic theme.

Lots and lots of blues for this!