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.

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.

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.

Snow cute {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends! There’s a brand new release from Lili of the Valley right around the corner, and it’s a good one. It’s a beautiful Christmas collection of six different photopolymer stamp sets. There are penguins, polar bears, reindeer, a santa, some gnomes, snowflakes and a separate sentiment set. You know I can’t resist a cute penguin, and I thought I’d share a peek today.

This cute image with the penguin, reindeer and bear peeking up from behind something stole my heart. It’s from the Snow Cute set, which includes another one of these peeking images and six individual penguins. I colored a winter sunset behind them before coloring the critters, used a black Glaze pen to make their eyes extra black and shiny and also put a dash of Glossy Accents to Rudolph’s nose. Once the layer of Glaze was dry, I added white dots using a 05 Gelly Roll pen.

I fussy cut the image at the bottom and added my narrow panel to a white cardstock panel. At the bottom of the panel I stamped the word Christmas from the sentiment set using Ocean Tides ink from Papertrey Ink. I adhered the white panel to a top fold landscape card base I created from Ocean Tides cardstock, also from Papertrey Ink.

I white heat embossed a sub sentiment from the sentiment set onto Ocean Tides cardstock, cut it down to a strip and adhered it to the card with a few extra layers of cardstock behind it for dimension.

I decided to keep the card very simple and added a few snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards to finish.

The sprinkles add a little bit of dimension to the card. So does the sub sentiment. In this photo you can even see that Rudolph’s nose sticks out a little because of the Glossy Accents.

I used a lot of Copic colors for this image.

These stamps (and the other four sets in this release) will be launched on Create and Craft at 12 noon (UK time) on Tuesday 2nd August – You can watch in the UK on Sky 683, Freeview 85 or watch online anywhere at https://createandcraft.com/. You can even watch later online if you miss it! They will launch on the Lili of the Valley website a week later on Tuesday 9th August – as polymer stamps only – so if you want them you need to get them as A5 stamp sets.

Get Cracking on Christmas – July

Hi, crafty friends. We’ve reached the third Thursday of the month, which means it’s time to get cracking on Christmas. This is a series Jenn Shurkus created a few years back. The intention is to use the supplies you bought the last holiday season and didn’t get around to using AND to make you less stressed come November, because you’ve already got a bunch of holiday cards made. I enjoy making Christmas cards all year, so Get Cracking on Christmas is PERFECT for me.

For today’s card, I no line colored this selfie with the penguin and snowman from the Selfies with Santa stamp set, designed by Stacey Yacula for My Favorite Things. I love this stamp set and went with a pink to yellow winter sunset in the background, and a grayish green and brownish orange for the rest. Somehow it works. Onto a card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink, I stamped snowflakes from the Flurry of Love stamp set from My Favorite Things using Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide ink. I didn’t have an ink in the same tone as my coloring, but the yellow works.

I mounted my the selfie at an angle using foam tape, die cut the Merry Script die from Mama Elephant several times from Ocean Tides cardstock from Papertrey Ink and stacked them together for dimension. I stamped and white heat embossed the word CHRISTMAS from the Itty Bitty Holiday stamp set from My Favorite Things, and adhered that below the die cut word with 6 additional strips of cardstock behind it for dimension. To finish off the card I adhered a few sequins from the White Orchid sequin mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

Lots of colors for this one.

Thanks {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m sharing a sweet card today, featuring a real cutie from Lili of The Valley. Isn’t this bunny sooo sweet? My heart melted as soon as I saw it.

I used the Little Friends Rabbit with daisy stamp, printed it near the bottom left corner of a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2″ panel of X-Press It blending card, which is hands down my favorite for Copic coloring. I’ve used this cardstock for the past 10 years, it’s just the best for Copic coloring!!

Once my coloring was done, I adhered it to a top fold A2 card base I created from white cardstock. Using the Snow Drifts Cover-Up die from My Favorite Things, I die cut three wavy pieces from solid colors Of cardstock to go towards the top of my card. I used Limeade Ice, Lovely Lady and Harvest Gold, all from Papertrey Ink. I butted them right up against each other, added them to a backer so I could handle one piece instead of three and mounted them on foam tape. I then die cut the Thanks from the Twice the Thanks die set from My Favorite Things four times from white cardstock from PTI. I love the cardstock from Papertrey Ink, it’s my favorite!! Onto a strip of Lovely Lady cardstock, I white heat embossed a sub sentiment from the Itty Bitty Basics stamp set from My Favorite Things and mounted it below my stacked Thanks die cut. To finish I added a few Sparkling Clear Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

Soft, simple color palette for this one.

Slim happy birthday {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends. It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for another Mo Manning creation. This time I made a simple slimline card, featuring Carry the Cake, which is a cute image of a little girl holding a BIG cake with lots of candles above her head.

I colored the image with Copics and used the largest die in the Slimline Double Stitched Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things to cut it down to the perfect size panel to go onto a slimline card. I adhered it directly onto a card base I created from Enchanted Evening cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

From Berry Sorbet cardstock from Papertrey Ink, I die cut the Happy Birthday Brush Script die from Simon Says Stamp three times and stacked the diecuts for a dimensional look, before adhering them below the image on my card. I added a layer of Frosted Lace Stickles to the star on top of the cake and scattered a few chosen sequins from the Seaglass mix of sequins from Simon Says Stamp to finish the card.

Lots of Copics for this one.

Hello friend {Lee Holland Designs}

Hi, crafty friends. I have a clean and simple, yet dimensional card to share today, featuring the Peony Dragon 1 digi stamp from Lee Holland. This was one of the first of Lee’s images I colored up a couple of years ago, and this tiny dragon hugging these peonies is just sooo adorable.

I printed the image onto X-Press It blending card and colored it with my Copics, before trimming it down. I mounted it on foam tape to a top fold white card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

I felt the need to add a design element that would break the rigidity of the rectangular panels, and decided to add some twine going across. I wrapped Green Apple Divine Twine around the card front three times and tied a knot. The green goes well with the green in the image.

Onto a piece of Eiffel Tower cardstock from My Favorite Things, I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Mini messages stamp set from Mama Elephant, before using a 1″ circle punch from EK Success to create a quick circle from it. I added strategically placed pieces of foam tape on the back of it and adhered it directly onto the knot I had tied on the front of the card.

To finish off the card, I added sequins and gems from the Urban Chic mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards. They’re kind of scattered in a trail going from the bottom left to the top right of the image.

The card is simple, but has lots of dimension, and that dragon hugging his peonies will always steal the show.

Mostly analogous color palette, with a little bit of pink and yellow (!) for the peonies.

Party time {Lili of the Valley}

Hi! I have a super simple card to share today, featuring the Party Frame image from the latest release from Lili of the Valley, which came out earlier this week.

This was a BIG image. It came into Photoshop as a full A4, and it’s kind of perfect for the front of a party invitation (which is what it’s actually intended for), but I wanted to create a regular size card from it. The tag tied to the a in Party actually says RSVP, but I erased that digitally before printing my image.

I was worried this would take a long time to color, but it wasn’t that bad, actually. I used a fairly limited color palette, I think that helped.

I colored the entire panel using my Copics, before using my scissors to cut around the edge. I usually use a trimmer or a steel ruler and a craft knife for this, but the frame has a fun, uneven line, and I wanted my cutting to be uneven too, so scissors were the way to go.

I adhered my panel onto a card base I created from Sorbet cardstock from Concord & 9th, stamped and white heat embossed part of a sentiment from the Bitty Birthday Wishes stamp set from My Favorite Things onto a strip of Sorbet cardstock and glued a few additional cardstock strips behind it for dimension before adhering it to the card.

To finish off I added a layer of Glossy Accents to the letters. I didn’t want to add any embellishments to this card, it had enough going on already with the busy scene, but a little bit of shine is never a bad idea.

See? Not that many Copics considering how busy this scene is.

Merry & Bright {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, crafty friends! There’s a brand new release out from Rachelle Anne Miller, and it’s all about our new bunny and guinea pig friends – they’re getting ready for the holidays. July is right around the corner, and we all love Christmas in July, right?

The image is called Bunny & Guinea: Snowman, and you’ll find it over in Rachelle’s shop here. I decided to go for a winter sunset look with my sky for this card and used fairly soft colors throughout.

I used the Mega Snowflakes Cover die from Mama Elephant to die cut my frame. I stacked three for dimension and adhered it to my colored image, then adhered the whole thing to a top fold card base I created from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

Using the Merry Script die from Mama Elephant, I die cut three from Hawaiian Shores cardstock from Papertrey Ink, and another three from the same white cardstock that I used elsewhere on the card. I stacked the colored die cuts and the white ones separately so that I could put the white ones behind the parts of the colored ones that aren’t on top of the white stacked die cut frame at the bottom.

Onto a strip of Hawaiian Shores cardstock, I white heat embossed part of a sentiment from Purple Onion Designs and cut it down to fit my card, adding two more strips behind it so that the stamped part of the sentiment would be flush with the die cut part.

I added a few snowdrift sprinkles from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards to finish the card.

Simple color palette.