Floating by to say hi! {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, crafty friends! I’m back with another card from the new release at Purple Onion Designs, this time featuring stamps from the Lakewood collection from Holly Mabutas. This collection consists of 24 stamps that give off the perfect, relaxing summer vibes.

I fit a lot of images into this scene. Riley, Oliver & Boo go float tubing, Morris floats, Max chilling & floating, Pier and Boat House. I was a little strategic and stamped most of these images far enough apart that I didn’t need to do a ton of masking. I really only needed masks for the guys walking on the pier.

I colored in my scene with Copics, opting for very vibrant colors for all the floating elements and the details on the boat house, while keeping the rest fairly muted. The lake is lighter the further back you get, and the sky is a bit moody off in the distance. I added a bit of black glaze pen to the eyes of the gang on the pier for a little bit of dimension and shine.

I stamped a sentiment from the Summer Days sentiment set (which is also new, btw) using Cornflower ink from My Favorite Things.

I adhered the panel to a card base that measures 6 1/8″ x 4 1/4″. This is an irregular size for a card, but when I create scenes like this, I let the scene dictate the size of the card. I can always make a custom envelope to fit.

I used lots of Copics for this one.

For a limited time, this entire collection is available as a bundle. This bundled set is discounted over 30% off the regular prices and is available for a limited time.  The bundled promotion ends on Thursday, July 10, 2025.

This calls for a hangover {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, crafty friends! Have you checked out the new release from Purple Onion Designs? There are two new collections from a couple of our favorite illustrators: Pei and Holly Mabutas. Holly’s collection is massive, with 24 stamps, including some really versatile backgrounds that I’ve had a blast playing with (I’ll share more in a future blog post), and Pei’s collection consists of 12 stamps in her sweet and fun signature style. My favorite character of hers, Mousy, makes an appearance, but today, I’m focusing on Mr. Corgi’s Margarita.

I knew I had to color up this image as soon as I saw it. This is so adorable with the corgi hanging off the top of the glass. And so funny, and very typical of Pei’s illustration style. I love it!

I colored the image with Copics, fussy cut him, then added VersaMarker pen to the rim of the glass and used white puff embossing powder from Wow! to mimic a salt rim. The embossing also adds some fun texture to the glass. I also used a black glaze pen to add a little bit of shine and dimension to his eyes.

I ink blended Parsley and Starfruit inks from Concord & 9th onto a white cardstock panel for an ombré effect, then used the Geometric embossing folder from WRMK to create some subtle dimension. I added the panel to a card base I’d covered with Parsley cardstock from Concord & 9th, before mounting the image using foam tape.

In this release there are also a few sentiment sets, and this one from the Good Libations set was the perfect one to pair with the corgi. I stamped it in Parsley ink onto white cardstock, then ink blended with Starfruit ink and fussy cut, before mounting it onto the card with more foam tape. I used a couple of different embellishment mixes from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards to finish off. The sequins are from the Beach Dreams mix, while the gems are from the Seashore mix.

Simple color palette for this one. This was so fun to color!!!

For a limited time, you can purchase a bundle with all 12 stamps in the Spring is in the air collection. This bundled set is discounted over 30% off the regular prices and is available for a limited time.  The bundled promotion ends on Thursday, July 10, 2025 on the Purple Onion designs website.

Gratulerer – I dag feirer vi deg {Papiria}

Hi, crafty friends! I’m back today with a card I created for the Papiria blog, featuring the Sweet Stems bundle from Concord & 9th. There’s a die set, a stamp set and a stencil set that all coordinate. I’ve made a card previously where I focused on the dies, but today’s card is all about those stencils (though I did use both the die set and the stamp set as well).

I started with a panel of white cardstock. I put down the first stencil, which is for the background, and used Harbor and Powder inks. The second stencil does the stems and leaves, and I used Sprout with a bit of Parsley at the base for those. For the large part of the flowers, I used Ballet Slipper and for the fourth and final stencil, which is for the smaller part of the flower, I used Honeysuckle. I also used the small circle burst stamp in the stamp set to add a little more detail. I stuck to Honeysuckle ink, and I just love the way these flowers turned out.

I used the cover die to create a frame from white cardstock that I glued on top of my ink blending. I mounted sentiment sticker strips from Kort & Godt using foam tape and adhered the sentiment in the top third of the card. I rarely add my sentiments to the top right, but I think it works. I finished off very simple with a few iridescent dew drops from Pinkfresh Studio.

Screaming tigers

Hi, crafty friends. I’m sharing a simple birthday card today that I created for the Kort & Godt gallery blog. I focused on one product: a pack of stickers that include tigers, a bunch of sentiment strips and some larger sentiments. These stickers are 200 gsm, making them nice and sturdy.

I started by running a panel of white cardstock through my die cut machine with an embossing folder. I chose the Crystal Distortion embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp, which leaves some fun texture in the background without being too distracting.

I added the tigers to the panel with some foam squares. The texture on the dry embossed panel makes it uneven, and the foam squares help – I also love the dimension it adds. I cut off the parts of the tigers hanging off the edge, trimmed the panel down and mounted it on foam tape to a card base I created from Canyon Clay cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

The large sentiment is from the same sheet of stickers as the tigers, which means the colors fit perfectly. I added some foam squares to the back and adhered it above the bottom tiger.

I added some black bling in a couple of different sizes to finish the card. This is actually the third card I’ve shared in a row without any stamping. I’m sure I’ll use some stamping soon, but it’s fun to use other products and techniques.

Products used:

ST1006 (tiger and sentiment)

BE107 (small bling)

ST208 (large bling)

Just because {Kort & Godt}

Hi, crafty friends! Today’s card is one that I shared a while back on the Kort & Godt gallery blog. It’s pretty simple, but then again, that’s kind of my thing.

The bunny is from an image sheet (MA1011) from Kort & Godt. I did some fussy cutting on the left side and then used partial die cutting to turn it into a tag.

I used the Twist pattern press plate from Pinkfresh Studio with Nectar ink from Concord & 9th on a piece of Nectar cardstock from Concord & 9th to create a subtle background. I adhered the panel to a top fold card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

I mounted the tag in the center using foam tape and added a bow with white cotton thread from Kort & Godt. I adhered a couple of sentiment sticker strips with foam tape.

To finish off the card I adhered a few faceted pearls. This card is so simple, and the soft colors really are perfect for spring.

Kort & Godt products used:

MA1011 (image)

Die-211

TR-104 (white cotton thread)

ST1013 (sentiment sticker strips)

ST178 (faceted pearls)

Happy holidays {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m still in somewhat in a holiday making mode, and this time, I have Carlie & Vincent from Purple Onion Designs getting ready for Christmas.

I colored these cuties with my Copics and did the same with Home Sweet Home that I used in the background. I stamped a sentiment from the Merriest City sentiment set using Autumn Rose ink from Papertrey ink. It fits well nestled into the scene.

I used the Additional A2 Layers die set from Waffle Flower to cut my panel down slightly, then adhered it to a card base I created from Autumn Rose cardstock from Papertrey Ink, before I added a few snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

Lots of Copics for this one. I even created a new combo for the fox which requires less markers than the one I used to use.

Balancing act {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends! It’s no secret that I love the elves from Mo Manning. For this card, I let Little Elf Kippa leave a trail of baubles on her way through the living room. Those baubles are big and probably tough to balance.

I separated out the baubles from the image and did some copy paste work to create my scene. It’s one of the advantages of using digital stamps, and it makes them super versatile. I drew in a base board at the back with a black Copic multiliner and colored my scene.

I fussy cut around the back bauble and base board and adhered my colored piece onto a piece of patterned paper from ModaScrap that acts as a wall paper for my background. To make it even more obvious that it’s supposed to be a wall, I stamped part of the Window Signs image from Purple Onion Designs using Altenew Obsidian ink onto a scrap piece of X-Press It blending card that I’d colored with one of the neutral colors (E81) I used for my baubles. I then die cut that using the Postage Collage Die set from Waffle Flower and adhered it to my wall, drawing in strings and a nail on the wall for it to hang from.

I stamped a sentiment from the Merry Greetings stamp set from Mama Elephant using Melon Berry ink from Papertrey Ink. It matches really well with the coloring. I adhered my scene to a card base covered with a quarter sheet of Grapefruit cardstock from Concord & 9th to create a matching frame and my card was finished.

Limited Copic color palette for this one. I also used W3, W1 and W0, but I see now that I cut my graphic off too short, so they’re missing here.

You have a heart of gold {Kort & Godt}

Hi, crafty friends! I’m constantly cold, so I look forward to spring and summer all year because it means that I get to feel less cold. The warmer seasons also bring out happy colors in my cards, and today’s card is an example of that.

I started by running a panel of Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink through my die cutting machine with the Kaleidoscope embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp for a subtle, textured background. I love white space on my cards, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be flat.

Next, I did some stripping. Cardstock stripping, that is. I cut a few colors of cardstock into different width strips. The colors I used are (top to bottom – all Concord & 9th cardstock): Ballet Slipper, Carnation, Sweet Pea, Buttercup and Clementine. I added the strips to a scrap of cardstock to keep them all together and mounted them at an angle using foam tape.

I die cut the word klem (hug) three times from white cardstock and stacked them for dimension. I usually stack four, but I was using a scrap to die cut from and there was only room for three with the piece I used. Three layers work too!

I love how this word die creates a space for a sub sentiment strip. You can put pretty much anything on the bottom of the last part of the die cut and still see the whole word. For this one I used a sentiment sticker strip and adhered a couple of layers of cardstock strips behind it for even more dimension, so it pops off the die cut a little. To finish off the card, I added a few gold heart, I thought they matched the sub sentiment (you have a heart of gold) nicely.

Kort & Godt products used:

Die 244 Klem

ST1013 (sentiment sticker strip)

ST149 (hearts)

Get happy! {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, crafty friends! I have a fun card to share today with some cuties from Purple Onion Designs. I colored this up for the rainbow theme for last month’s Coloring Club Challenge over on Instagram. Polly the hedgehog is so cute with her buckets of paint, and I had her paint a stone wall this time.

In addition to Polly and the stone wall, I also used Hazel and the countryside horizon background. I die cut a panel of X-Press It blending card using the Postage Collage die set from Waffle Flower. I then used the coordinating coloring stencil to mask off the edges, so I could stamp in the “windows” only and keep the outside white. I used a 0.03 Copic multiliner to add a very thin frame around each part of the scene to contain my coloring inside.

Once my coloring was complete I stamped a sentiment from the Journey sentiment set from Purple Onion Designs using Altenew Obsidian ink.

I stacked cardstock scraps behind each of the postage stamps for dimension and adhered everything to a card base I created from Rustic Cream cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I love this cardstock, I need to break it out more!!

To finish off the card I embellished with iridescent flowers from the Spring Leaves mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

Lots of Copics for this one.

Thank you for believing in me

Hi, crafty friends! It’s a sunny day in Oslo today, but I plan on spending the last day of Easter in my craft room. Today’s card is one I created for the Coloring Club Challenge that Alberto Gava is hosting on Instagram. I can’t believe we’re so close to the end of it! As soon as I saw the magical creatures theme for this challenge, I knew I’d be coloring a dragon. And as soon as I saw that Mama Elephant would sponsor the prize for the magical creatures challenge, I knew that Me and my dragon would be the stamp set I’d use. It’s sooo good, and back when Kathy Racoosin hosted the coloring challenges, I’d always sneak in some ME dragons, so I had to do that here, too!

I started with two panels of X-Press It blending card and stamped the flying dragon and little boy on one of the panels, and the little girl in the corner of the other. I stamped in Copic friendly ink, colored up the images, then stamped on top with Altenew Obsidian ink, which gives really crisp black lines.

Once the coloring was complete, I put masks on top of my images and ink blended around them. For the piece with the little boy and the dragon, I used Icy Water fresh dye ink from Altenew, and for the panel with the little girl, I used Evening Gray ink, also fresh dye ink from Altenew. I also used Moon Rock at the very bottom to ground the little girl. In the sky, I also added clouds with Fresh Snow hybrid ink from Papertrey Ink through the Tiny Clouds stencil from My Favorite Things. This barely showed on my very pale blue sky, so I added Perfect Pearls powder on top, which makes the clouds stand out a little more, and it gives great shine when you tilt it in the light.

Using the Slim Film City die set from Mama Elephant, I die cut the city skyline from the panel with the little girl, and I also added a second skyline silhouette behind her that I die cut from the remainder of the panel, which I’d inked with Moon Rock ink.

I stamped a sentiment from the Bitty Thanks & Gratitude stamp set from My Favorite Things using Altenew Obsidian ink, die cut the whole thing using a die from the Watercolor Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things, added an additional three layers behind it for dimension and adhered it to a white card base. I decided not to add any embellishments to this, those clouds really do add quite a bit of shine in real life, and I didn’t think the card needed any more.

I used a very basic color palette for this one.