Merry Christmas from me to you {Lili of the Valley}

May 28, 2021May 28, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi, there! You may think I’ve lost my mind making Christmas cards in May, but I actually enjoy making them all year. It saves me from having to scramble last minute in November to get them all done. It’s also been really wet and cold here lately, so it’s felt like we’re closer to Christmas than to summer. It’s sunny today, though, and tomorrow, the temperature’s supposed to creep over 20! Feels like spring is finally on its way now that it’s actually almost over.

I colored Winter Fun with my Copics, trimmed off a little on the sides and adhered my panel onto a top fold white card base.

I don’t normally use red on my Christmas card, but when I can pair it with blue or grey, I can tolerate it. The coloring on this card is pretty busy (it’s all those stripes), so I needed my sentiment to stand out. I used a god jul die from Papirdesign, and in the sleeve with the die were 7 white die cuts that were apparently scrapped from a previous project. I glued them together for a stacked look, die cutting one more to put on top from Electric Red card stock from My Favorite Things. Sadly, they’ve discontinued this color. I’m super picky about my reds, and this one is nice and rich and dark. I heat embossed a sub sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto a strip of more of that red card stock, and mounted it on foam tape below my die cut. To finish off the card and add a little more dimension and interest, I sprinkled some snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards here and there. I love these little clay snowflakes.

Not a massive amount of colors for this. Everything left of E13 on the top row is used for the snow.

You deserve flowers {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

May 23, 2021May 24, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi, there! I have a super simple card to share today, featuring the Little Fairy image from Rachelle Anne Miller.

I colored my image with Copics and die cut it using a die from My Favorite Things and adhered it to a top fold card base I made from Bright Buttercup cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

Using VersaMark ink, I stamped a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto a scrap piece of Raspberry Fizz cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I turned it into a strip using one of the dies in the Fishtail Flag Frames die set from My Favorite Things, mounted it on foam tape and adhered it to the card.

I finished off the card with some white sequins from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

As usual, a graphic of the Copics I used.

Welcome to the world {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

May 10, 2021May 10, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi, there! Today I’m sharing a super simple card (I feel like I always say that), featuring an image (Dinosaur Friends) from Rachelle Anne Miller from the release that’s coming later this week.

I colored the image with my Copics, using the largest of the A2 Stitched rectangles dies from My Favorite Things to turn it into a panel with a nice faux stitch edge. I adhered it to a card base made from Lush Lagoon card stock from My Favorite Things and wanted to keep everything simple and the focus on the image. I did that by adding just a sentiment strip (white heat embossed sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS) and a sparkling clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

Simple coloring, simple color palette.

Surprise {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

May 5, 2021May 4, 2021 Elin4 Comments

Hi, there! I can’t believe it’s May and the last month of spring already. It doesn’t really feel like spring, though, it’s still really cold with snow in the forecast for today. What do I do when it’s cold? I escape by coloring summery images, like this I like you image from Mo’s Digital Pencil.

For someone who claims that her favorite color is blue, I haven’t really used a lot of blue lately. It might have something to do with the fact that I associate blue with Christmas, but it might also be that I’ve found myself a new favorite. A double favorite, even. I’ve used the combination of teal and peach on so many of my cards lately, I might have to put away those markers for a bit and try some other colors. 😉

I changed up my teal combo a little bit for this girl and even introduced a green in my combo, making her shirt super light in the highlight areas. I even tried a new combo for her hair, which matched surprisingly well with those yellow flowers she’s holding. Once I was done coloring, I used the largest of the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX dies from My Favorite Things to turn my colored piece into a panel with nice faux stitch edges.

On my desk I keep a tub of die cut paper scraps that I use for my embellishment clusters. I dug through it and found various pieces that I thought would fit this card well. They’re from a mix of companies: Maja Design, Studio Light, P13 and Sunny Studio. I love creating these clusters, they’re so fun to put together, and a great way to make use of scraps (not that my pile of scraps shrinks too much with each card). At the bottom is part of a mini paper doily from Doodlebug, and I added some enamel dots from the Warm and Cozy set from Altenew to finish.

I white heat embossed the sentiment from the Hilsninger stamp set from Norsk Stempelblad AS and die cut that using the smallest of the fishtail flag frames dies from My Favorite Things. After chopping off the overhang, I had a little piece of that doily left and the end of the sentiment banner, which I adhered in the bottom left corner of the card. I like not wasting my scraps, and this is a great way to use them.

Most of the pieces in my embellishment cluster are mounted on 1 mm foam squares for dimension. Foam without a ton of dimension is key for this, otherwise the card gets super thick from all the layers.

Quite a few Copics for such a simple image.

Are you sure you’re a year older? {Mo’s Dream Team}

April 28, 2021April 25, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi, there! It’s Wednesday again, and you know what that means. Time for another Mo Manning creation around here. This time, I’ve kind of gone back to my roots, but not really. It’s a layered card, which used to be the norm for me, but the image is fussy cut, which most certainly has never been my signature.

I received an order for a 50th birthday card for an electrician. The card needed to be “messy”, which is kind of difficult for me. My usual style is pared back and very simple, I just don’t have enough elements on my cards to be able to make a mess of any kind. Thus going back to my roots of using lots of patterned paper. I colored up Mr. Fixit in my favorite colors and fussy cut him.

I had to go looking for inspiration online. The last “old style” card I made was in June of last year, which means I’m rusty. I found a card I liked and used it as a guide to create this one, which is actually an A7 card (5×7″). I dug through my patterned papers, both 12×12″ sheets and scraps, and found a few from Papirdesign, Maja Design and a small scrap from My Mind’s Eye that I used to die cut the gears and numbers. I arranged all the elements on my card, some using foam tape and others adhered straight down, and wound up with this. I used old dies from Sizzix for the gears, forcing me to pull my BigShot out of retirement for a few minutes. Those dies are too thick for my Gemini Jr., which is the machine I use for nearly all my die cutting. The last time I used my BigShot was over two years ago, so there’s a reason it’s retired in the closet. I added a piece of Snip Art chipboard and a film strip piece from Tim Holtz for a little bit of added interest and something that wasn’t just made of paper.

On the inside, I adhered left over pieces of the gears, just to use it all, and stamped a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Dark Indigo ink from Papertrey Ink. There’s plenty of room on the right for a personal message, this is a side fold card (another anomaly from me, I prefer top fold).

On the back of the card, I repeated a lot of the elements that I used on the front. The tag dies I used are from My Favorite Things, and I used my recently acquired personal stamp from Create a Smile on one of the die cut tags, stamped in Dark Indigo ink.

Not a lot of Copics used for this one, I mostly stuck to blues.

Precious baby boy {Lili of the Valley}

April 18, 2021April 3, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi, there! I have a baby card to share today, featuring the Baby Swing image from Lili of the Valley.

I colored in the image with Copics and put it aside while I worked on the rest of the card. I had an old discarded panel of Aqua Mist card stock from Papertrey Ink that I’d already dry embossed using the Quilted Backdrop die from Lawn Fawn, and decided it would be perfect for this card. I used the largest of the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX dies from My Favorite Things to turn it into a panel with a nice edge, and I used the Selfie Square die, also from My Favorite Things, to create my window.

Using a craft knife, I cut into my colored panel so I could get the legs of the bunny on the outside of my window panel, which I added to my card base using lots and lots and lots of foam tape. Dimension is life!

I die cut a few clouds from white card stock using a die set from Papertrey Ink, and stamped a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto one of the clouds in Hawaiian Shores ink, also from Papertrey Ink.

I added the clouds using foam squares, and embellished ever so slightly with sequins and confetti stars from the Sea Glass mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards to finish my card.

Simple color palette for this one.

Christmas greeting

April 7, 2021April 6, 2021 Elin2 Comments

Hi, there! You probably aren’t thinking of Christmas cards yet. We’re still in early April and Easter just ended, but I looooove making Christmas cards all year and have one to share today. Not very traditional with a sheepdog on the front, but I know just who to send this to.

I colored up Christmas Sheepdog (with hat) very quickly using my Copics. There’s also a version without the hat. I colored the fur uneven and streaky on purpose. I didn’t want to take the time to do real fur, but I also didn’t want it completely flat.

After die cutting my colored piece to a rectangle with faux stitching around the edge using a die from My Favorite Things, I adhered it directly to a top fold card base made out of Soft Stone card stock from Papertrey Ink. Initially, I wanted green, but none of my green card stock colors were a good match (green is tricky), and this grey from Papertrey Ink is beautiful!

I pulled out my usual cluster supplies – mini paper doily from Doodlebug Design, the Happy Days Ticket Stubs die from XCut and my Fishtail Flag Frames dies from My Favorite Things. They’re staples whenever I make embellishment clusters.

Rummaging through my drawer of Christmas patterned paper scraps, I found these lovely green ones from the Christmas in Norway collection from Pion Design, and used the dies to cut out a few pieces to go on my card. I also used a die from Papirdesign to die cut a pine branch, just to add something different to the mix.

I stamped a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto one of the banners, heat embossing it in white, before assembling my cluster and adding it to the card with foam squares to build up the layers. I added a few snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards, and the card was finished.

Very limited color palette for this one.

A little princess {Lili of the Valley}

April 3, 2021April 2, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi! I have a simple baby card to share today, featuring the adorable Baby Scales image from Lili of the Valley.

I colored the image with Copics and fussy cut it, leaving a thin white border. Normally, I’d cut right up to the stamped lines, but with the baby’s strands of hair sticking out from the top of its head, that wasn’t going to happen.

I ran a piece of Lilac Grace card stock from Papertrey Ink through my Gemini Jr. with the Linen & Canvas impression plate, also from Papertrey Ink, for a little bit of subtle texture in the background. I love this particular impression plate, but it’s the first time I’ve used this side of it, I usually use the other. I cropped the panel down significantly and added it with foam tape to my card base. I used 1 mm foam squares behind the image, and adhered that to the bottom left.

I used a stamp from Norsk Stempelblad AS with Altenew Amethyst ink to create my sentiment strip. I found a scrap corner of a mini paper doily from Doodlebug Design that I adhered directly to my textured panel, before mounting the sentiment strip on top with more of those 1 mm foam squares, finishing off with a few enamel dots from Papirdesign.

Not a whole lot of Copics used for this image, it IS simple, after all. I also used V97, which is a color I’ve made myself.

A little bit of joy {Mo’s Dream Team}

March 17, 2021March 16, 2021 Elin1 Comment

Hi, everyone! Happy hump day and Merry Christmas? Christmas may be 9 months away, but you can bet those 9 months will fly by fast, so I’m sharing a Christmas card today, featuring Sing Joy from Mo Manning. Getting so close to the end of the alphabet of my previously unused Mo digis. This is another one I can’t believe I haven’t colored up before, it’s so cute with that cat singing along.

I colored the image with my Copics, cut the panel down quite a bit and put lots of foam tape on the back. I dug through my patterned paper Christmas scraps and found a blue piece from Papirdesign that was large enough to cover the card front, as well as a couple of smaller pieces from Maja Design.

I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment, before die cutting it with the mid size fishtail flag frame die from My Favorite Things. I added a few snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards, and my card was all done. Super simple, and one more card in the Christmas 2021 box. Feels good to have the pile grow!

Nothing too fancy in my coloring today. The combo I used for the cat happens to be nearly identical to the one I used for the girl’s hair, I just omitted the darkest one.

Just saying hi {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

March 12, 2021March 12, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi, eveyone! The dumping of snow we got yesterday doesn’t stop me from wanting spring and summer, and my remedy tends to be on the colorful side. This card is so bright you might actually need sunglasses.

I colored up Dinosaur from Rachelle Anne Miller, and this bright green is definitely one that you notice! The dinosaur actually reminded me of Littlefoot, and for some reason, I thought that he was green (he’s not, but Spike and Ducky are!). I die cut my colored piece down to a faux stitched rectangle using a die from My Favorite Things, before heat embossing a Norsk Stempelblad AS sentiment in white onto my colored ground.

I added two layers of cardstock behind my colored piece, so it would stand out a little from my Limelight card base (colored card stock from My Favorite Things).

I added some vellum clouds on tiny pieces of foam tape, so it looks like the dinosaur’s neck is really long, I thought that was a fun little detail to add. Placed some enamel dots from Papirdesign in strategic places to cover the foam tape, and made an envelope from Papirdesign patterned paper using the A2 V flap envelope dies from Simon Says Stamp for the card to go in.