Make a wish {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi! I’m sharing a card today that is near and dear to my heart. I shared the coloring of this Wishing mouse from Stacey Yacula and Purple Onion Designs back in July last year. It was the first Purple Onion Designs image that I ever colored.  A little over a year later, and I’m lucky enough to be on the Purple Onion design team, all because of this one image.

I colored the image using a very soft color palette with my Copics. I didn’t write the colors down, so unfortunately, I have no fancy graphic to show you at the end of this post. I wish I did, though, because I really like the colors I used for this.

I used the largest of the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 2 dies to turn my colored piece into a nice panel with the faux stitch edge I love so much. I decided to adhere it directly to my top fold card base, that I made from Berry Sorbet cardstock from Papertrey Ink. The color matches the darkest parts of her dress very well.

Onto a separate piece of Berry Sorbet, I stamped and white heat embossed part of a sentiment in the A Beautiful Day Sentiment Set from Purple Onion Designs, before cutting it down to a super small sentiment strip using a steel ruler and a craft knife. To me, it’s the best way to create sentiment strips, die cutting is more risky to me, this way, I know it’s straight.

I die cut part the word wish using a die from Mama Elephant. The die actually die cuts the word wishes, but I cut off the tail end of the word so I was left with just wish. I die cut four more from Grapefruit cardstock from Concord & 9th, and added them behind the top die cut for dimension. This makes the word lighter (and it makes it match the lighter parts of the dress) from the sides. I did the same with the sentiment strips above, making the strip and the stacked die cut flush.

I finished off the card by adding a few sparkling clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh. I used my scissors to cut the largest sequin in half to tuck it behind the sentiment strip.

Sending hugs {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi! I have a super simple card to share today, featuring this adorable Sisters image from Rachelle Anne Miller.

I printed the image onto X-Press It blending card, which is my go to paper for Copic coloring. It’s bright white and can handle a lot of layers without bleeding.

Once my image was colored, I used a die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 set from My Favorite Things to turn it into a finished panel of 2 7/8 x 4 1/8″. I’d printed the image a little too big for my die, so I did some fussy cutting on the side of the big sister’s head before die cutting.

I created a card base from Summer Splash Prestige cardstock from My Favorite Things and used an impression plate from Papertrey Ink to create some subtle texture in the background. I mounted my colored, die cut panel to the center of the card front using lots of foam tape.

Onto a piece of Cotton Candy Heavyweight cardstock from My Favorite Things, I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Monster Hugs stamp set from Simon Says Stamp and Concord & 9th, which is a collaboration set from 2018. It has a cute monster image and lots of great sentiments. I die cut my sentiment using the smallest of the dies in the Fishtail Flag Frames set from My Favorite Things and added it to the card using foam tape and 1 mm foam squares, to make it pop up slightly from the image.

I finished off the card by adding three pink enamel dots from Papirdesign.

Fairly simple color palette. I even experimented a little with a new teal/green combo on the little sister, and I kind of like the color combination, so I might use it again one day soon!

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

Hi! I haven’t shared a Christmas card in a while, and with a brand new HUGE Christmas release from Lili of the Valley, I thought I was overdue for a new one.

This Penguin Parade is one of many different images in this release. There are penguins, badgers, people, snowmen and angels, even a polar bear or two, so there’s something for everyone, no matter what kind of card you prefer to create. As you may know, I have a soft spot for penguins, and just had to create a card with this little parade.

I colored my penguins with Copics, added glitter to parts of the ground, sprinkled on chunky white embossing enamel all over the image and melted the granules from the back of the paper. I die cut a piece of Autumn Rose card stock from Papertrey Ink using a die from Mama Elephant and adhered my colored piece directly on top, and then mounted that on foam tape onto a slimline card base I made from Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I stamped and white heat embossed a Norsk Stempelblad AS sentiment onto more of that Autumn Rose cardstock, die cut that using a die from My Favorite Things and adhered it using 1 mm foam squares. I added a few veneer snowflakes from Crafty Moly to finish off the card.

Last, but not least, the Copics I used for my image.

Happy summer! {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi! Part of me is struggling to believe it’s been a week since my last post, but it totally has been. I was so good and efficient in my craft room before going on vacation, getting lots of stuff done and scheduling everything for when I was away, and let me tell you, getting back into the swing of things is not easy, I feel like I’m still in vacation mode. I’ll get there, though, it just takes a little while.

Technically, I should have made this card at the beginning of the summer, but it’s a recent image from Mo and I couldn’t NOT make a summer card using it. The air is definitely getting cooler here, and I’m very well aware of the fact that summer officially ends in two weeks. I kind of want to go back to June and warmer temps, I don’t like the cold.

Onto the card. I colored the image with Copics and used a double stitch rectangle die from My Favorite Things to turn it into a nice panel, before adhering it to a top fold card base I made out of Enchanted Evening cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I love their cardstocks.

When I don’t have a clear idea for a card, I turn to embellishment clusters of patterned paper scraps. These are so easy to put together and a great way to add SOMETHING when I’m out of ideas and my mojo’s low.

I’ve sorted my die cut patterned paper scraps by color, so I pull out colors that will match my card and just start playing. I used patterned paper from 3ndypapir, Papirdesign, Kaisercraft and Imaginisce for this card, and the dies I used to cut them out are from XCut and My Favorite Things.

I white heat embossed a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto a scrap piece of Enchanted Evening cardstock and used one of the Itty Bitty Strips dies from My Favorite Things to diecut it, before using 1 mm foam squares to mount it onto my cluster. I added a few enamel dots from Papirdesign to finish my card.

Fairly limited color palette for this one.

You can actually get the image I used for FREE if you spend $20 or more during Mo’s summer sale, which ends today, so you’d better be quick.

You’re the best! {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi! I’m back with another creation using one of Mo’s adorable images. This is Best of the Bunch, and it’s one of many favorites I have from her.

Mo Manning Best of the Bunch front rett

I colored the image with my Copics and used the largest of the A2 Double Stitched Rectangles dies from My Favorite Things to turn my colored piece into a panel with the faux stitch edges I love so much.

Mo Manning Best of the Bunch front skrått

I adhered my panel onto a top fold A2 card base I made from Blue Yonder cardstock from My Favorite Things. It’s such a pretty blue color, I love it.

Mo Manning Best of the Bunch flatlay rett

I decided to add one of my signature clusters to this card. A scrap piece of a paper doily from Doodlebug Design lays the foundation for all the other bits on top. I keep a bin on my desk with lots of die cut patterned paper scraps that are perfect for clusters like this.

Mo Manning Best of the Bunch flatlay skrått

For this particular card, the scraps are from Papirdesign, Fancy Pants and Sunny Studio, and they’re all die cut using one of two die sets: the Happy Days Ticket Stubs die from XCut (one die which cuts out nine different tickets, it’s kind of awesome) and the Fishtail Flag Frames die set from My Favorite Things.

Mo Manning Best of the Bunch flatlay høyre

On top of the cluster I added a sentiment. I heat embossed a sentiment from the Itty Bitty Basics stamp set from My Favorite Things onto Blue Yonder cardstock, and die cut it using one of the dies in the Itty Bitty Strips die set. I added a few blue enamel dots from Papirdesign to finish, and my card was complete.

Mo Manning Best of the Bunch Copics

Lots of colors for this one.

Just for you {Streamside Studios}

Hi, there! I’m sharing a super sparkly card today, featuring an adorable Uni-rex from Streamside Studios.

Streamside Studios Uni-rex front rett

I colored up the uni-rex in a very vibrant green combo, paired with a fairy dull pink. I wasn’t sure what to do with him (or her), but I opted for some fussy cutting.

Streamside Studios Uni-rex front skrått

Onto a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2″ piece of Stamper’s Select White cardstock, I ink blended some Poppin’ Pink ink using the Rectangle Extraordinaire stencil from My Favorite Things. While the stencil was still in place, I added the Wavy Lines stencil on top and used it with some Pearly glitter paint from Aladine, which is super sparkly.

Streamside Studios Uni-rex flatlay rett

I added the uni-rex to the center of the card using 1 mm foam squares and decided to put the sparkly glitter paint on the lollipop he (or she) is holding.

Streamside Studios Uni-rex flatlay skrått

I needed a sentiment, and the Itty Bitty Basics stamp set from My Favorite Things is quickly becoming my new favorite, I use it a ton. I heat embossed one of the sentiments in the stamp set onto True Black cardstock from Papertrey Ink and die cut it using the Itty Bitty Strips die set. I added a couple of extra layers of cardstock for a little bit of dimension, and glued the sentiment strip onto the uni-rex.

Streamside Studios Uni-Rex flatlay høyre

Lots of glitter and dimension, and it’s still a fairly clean card. I love when I can make that happen.

Streamside Studios Uni-Rex Copics

I essentially only colored pink and green for this uni-rex, so it goes without saying that the color palette is limited.

Hello friend! {Purple Onion Designs}

Hi, there! I have a fun slimline card to share today, featuring the Up and Away stamp from Purple Onion Designs. Photographing slimline cards is still something I find very tricky, but this image was begging for a slimline design, and if I don’t practice taking photos of slimline cards, I’ll never get better at it, right?

Purple Onion Designs - Elin Venge - Up and Away + Sweet SUMMER Sentiment Set

I stamped the image using Extreme Black ink from My Favorite Things onto X-Press It blending card and colored it with my Copics before fussy cutting right up against the black lines. I even cut off the strings of the image, but I made little marks on the back of where they were, so I could add some black sewing thread as strings instead.

Purple Onion Designs - Elin Venge - Up and Away + Sweet SUMMER Sentiment Set angled

I used the Slim Film City die set from Mama Elephant to create my background. I die cut the sky from Blue Breeze cardstock and used the Slimline Cloud Edges stencil and the Rolling Clouds stencil, both from MFT, along with some Lazy Day ink, also from MFT, to create my clouds. I even splattered a little bit of the ink on top for added interest. For the skyline I die cut three layers from Gravel Gray cardstock from My Favorite Things. I heat embossed a sentiment from the Sweet SUMMER Sentiment Set from Purple Onion onto the top layer of my skyline and added a few sparkling clear sequins around it.

Purple Onion Designs - Elin Venge - Up and Away + Sweet SUMMER Sentiment Set angled2

I used 1 mm foam squares behind my hot air balloon, and decided I wanted even more dimension and interest, so I die cut a couple of clouds from vellum, using a set of dies from Papertrey Ink. I glued the vellum clouds onto my card in very strategic spots, and used more sequins to cover up the glue. Little trick of the trade.

Purple Onion Designs Up and Away Copics

I used a lot of colors for this balloon!

Wishing you a happy day {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, there! I have a very simple card to share today, featuring the Camper Van image from Lili of the Valley. How cute are these bears having a picnic?

Lili of the Valley Camper Van front

I printed the image onto X-Press It blending card and colored the whole thing in with my Copics. I trimmed it down a little and adhered it directly to a top fold card base I made from Cornflower Blue cardstock from My Favorite Things. It’s the blue cardstock I have that most closely resembles the darkest of the blue Copics I used on the image.

Lili of the Valley Camper Van front skrått

I wanted to keep the card pretty simple and not cover up too much of the image, so I decided to white heat emboss a sentiment from the Statement Flowers stamp set from Altenew onto a scrap piece of that same blue color cardstock. I added a few layers of cardstock behind it for dimension and put in in the bottom right corner of the card, with just enough space around it to add a few sequins from the White Orchid sequin mix from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards.

Lili of the Valley Camper Van flatlay rett

The size of the card wound up being an odd one, it measures 5 1/4 x 3 5/8″. I probably could have cut down my colored piece in a way that would fit an A2 sized card better, but I don’t mind the odd size. As long as I can create an envelope that will fit, I’m good.

Lili of the Valley Camper Van flatlay skrått

I feel that simplicity is the key when using full colored panels on my cards. By not adding a whole lot to it, there’s nothing to distract and the image gets most of the attention.

Lili of the Valley Camper Van flatlay høyre

Here you can see the tiny bit of dimension behind the sentiment. Three additional layers of cardstock strips gives the sentiment a little bit of lift, and it also makes tucking sequins in behind the sentiment a little bit easier.

Lili of the Valley Camper Van Copics

Quite a few Copics for this one.

It’s a mice day {Streamside Studios}

… to celebrate! I have some cute mice from Streamside Studios to share today. One of these is eating a cheese, which inspired the yellow and the circles. Sometimes it doesn’t take much.

Streamside Studios A Mice Day flatlay rett

I colored the mice with Copics and adhered them behind a panel of Lemon Drop card stock from My Favorite Things, which I die cut using a die from the Slimline Starter die set and also the Slimline Stitched Circle Trio set. I thought the plain yellow cardstock looked a little plain, and stamped some streamers from the Mice Day to Celebrate stamp set from My Favorite Things using Distress Oxide ink in the color Fossilized Amber.

Streamside Studios A Mice Day flatlay skrått

I created my sentiment by heat embossing parts of sentiments from two different stamp sets from My Favorite Things (Always Bring a Smile and Pawty Time) on Gravel Gray cardstock, and added three extra strips of cardstock behind them for dimension. I die cut the word mice using the In Stitches Lowercase alphabet set from My Favorite Things. I initially planned on doing it in yellow, so I die cut four layers of Pineapple cardstock and stacked together. The yellow word kind of got lost, so I die cut an additional layer in gray and added that on top, which makes it stand out more. I finished off the card with some pearl white crystals from Pretty Pink Posh.

Streamside Studios A Mice Day Copics

Lots of gray and hardly anything else for the coloring on this card.

Hello there {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi there! Today’s card actually features an image called Hi there. This is a very simple image, and I should have been able to color it super quickly, but coloring the mint green around the white of the paper to leave the flowers white took a while. It might have something to do with the fact that I was watching the semi-final, then the first two parts of the finale of MasterChef Australia while coloring, but I won’t mention that.

Mo Manning Hi there front rett

I used mostly light colors for my coloring on this card, and die cut the colored panel using a die from the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 set from My Favorite Things and adhered it onto a top fold card base made from Mint Julep card stock from Papertrey Ink. It’s a pretty small card measuring in just shy of 4 Bar dimensions at 3 1/2 x 4 3/4″. I added my “typical Elin cluster” in the top right corner using scraps of paper doilies from Doodlebug Design and scraps of patterned paper from various companies (Maja Design, Papirdesign, Diecuts with a view and Making Memories are represented here) die cut using dies from My Favorite Things and XCut.

Mo Manning Hi there front skrått

I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Itty Bitty Basics stamp set from My Favorite Things onto Smokey Shadow card stock from Papertrey Ink, before using one of the Itty Bitty Strips dies from MFT to die cut it. I added it on top of my cluster with a little bit of dimension behind it, before finishing off with a few enamel dots from Altenew. I added an even smaller cluster using similar elements in the opposite corner.

Mo Manning Hi there Copics

Not a lot of Copics, that’s bound to happen with a pale color palette.