Enjoy your day {Kort & Godt}

Hi, crafty friends! I’m back today with a clean and simple birthday card featuring some Kort & Godt goodies.

I used a banner die with faux stitching to create a shaped card. This banner die is about 4″ wide, making it the perfect size for a decent size card. I used partial die cutting to create the card base, but die cut a separate piece that I used for my ink blending, which I then adhered to the card base once finished.

I used the Big Balloon stencil set from My Favorite Things to create my balloons, and used Distress Inks for my ink blending. Faded Jeans, Mermaid Lagoon and Salty Ocean for the blue balloon, Picked Raspberry for the pink balloon and Mustard Seed and Squeezed Lemonade for the yellow balloon. Where they overlap, they create new colors, which is half the fun of ink blending, right? With the balloon stencil still in place, I added the Falling Stars stencil from Simon Says Stamp on top and ink blended white stars onto the balloons using Fresh Snow hybrid ink from Papertrey Ink.

I stamped a sentiment onto the front using Obsidian ink from Altenew and added a stacked die cut HURRA above it. I layered six black die cuts, before adding this glitter one on top and finished off the card with a few black pearls.

Hooray {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, crafty friends. It’s time for another release from Rachelle Anne Miller, and this month’s release has a safari theme.

Aren’t these guys cute? The image is called Wild Side, and the cute little mouse with big ears has won my heart. I colored the image with Copics, created a nice double stitched border around it using the A2 Double Stitched Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things and adhered it to a card base I created from Autumn Rose cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

Using the Hooray Script die from Mama Elephant, I die cut the main sentiment from the same color cardstock. I stacked four layers for a dimensional look and stamped a sub sentiment from the Itty Bitty Birthday stamp set from My Favorite Things onto Bright Buttercup cardstock from Papertrey Ink using Obsidian ink from Altenew. To finish off the card I added a few sequins from the Seaglass mix from Simon Says Stamp, as well as a dot of black glaze pen to their eyes.

A bit of a different color palette for me. Years and years ago, I used the RV90 family a lot, I rarely do anymore. It’s a nice one, though, so I don’t know why I stopped using it. Maybe I should use it more often again.

Clean and simple hello {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. There’s a new release coming from Lili of the Valley later this week (June 2nd), and I’ve made a suuuper simple card with one of the stamps in the Vases of Flowers set. You can actually place advanced orders on the Lili of the Valley website if you want one or more of these sets. That way, you’re sure to get them before they sell out.

I actually made a 4 Bar card this time, which is a smaller size than my regular A2 cards. It’s 3 1/2 x 4 7/8″ and it’s basically a one layer card. I admit I added my panel to a card base, but I don’t like working directly on my card base, and Copics bleed through most cardstocks. I don’t want my coloring to be visible from the inside of the card, and adhering the full size panel to the card keeps that from happening.

I colored the image with Copics and added a watercolor circle around it to fill in some of the white space on the card. There’s still plenty of white space left. I added a sentiment from the stamp set and finished off with a couple of sequins from the Seaglass mix of sequins from Simon Says Stamp.

Super simple color palette to go with this super simple card.

Good as gold {Kort & Godt}

Hi, crafty friends. Today’s card is the result of me channeling my inner Laura Bassen. “Have a leaf? Make a wreath!” Her catchphrases get me every time, and for this card, I took one leaf die that I die cut a bijillion times from solid colors of cardstock.

Kort & Godt Die 335 is a die set with two leaves. One is an open outline, the other closed, and I actually used both for this card. I die cut the open one a few times from Heavyweight Translucent vellum from My Favorite Things, and nestled them in between the solid colored ones, which are (in order from the top going clockwise) Papertrey Ink (PTI) Simply Chartreuse, PTI Aqua Mist, PTI Hawaiian Shores, Simon Says Stamp Island Blue, PTI Amethyst Allure, PTI Raspberry Fizz, PTI Hibiscus Burst, Concord & 9th Poppy, PTI Orange Zest, PTI Summer Sunrise, PTI Harvest Gold, PTI Limeade Ice.

I lightly traced a circle die onto a white cardstock panel that I needed to adhere my wreath to. I only glued down the end of the stem for each of the leaf die cuts and did my best to arrange them evenly around the circle, with the vellum pieces after every third colored leaf.

Using foam tape, I adhered the white panel with my wreath onto a card base I created from Soft Stone cardstock from Papertrey Ink for a neutral on neutral look.

Using Kort & Godt DIE 244, I die cut the word klem (translation: hug) from gold cardstock (Gold Shine cardstock from My Favorite Things), as well as four additional ones from white cardstock to stack behind the gold for added strength and dimension.

I added a sentiment strip sticker (Kort & Godt ST1002; translation: you are good as gold) on top of the die cut and finished off the card with a little bit of bling (Kort & Godt BE106).

Hip hip hooray {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends. Today I’m sharing with you a card featuring one of the cuties from Mo Manning’s 3 on a bench set. The stamp set includes a bench and three kids, all eating different things – watermelon, ice cream and corn. I’ve used the watermelon one in the past, but this time I’m focusing on the ice cream, still hoping spring will arrive at some point.

I decided to cut off about half of the bench. Since I’m only using one of the kids, I didn’t need the whole thing. If you want, there’s also a merged version of this set which includes all three kids sitting on the bench, but I love the versatility of the separated versions and tend to opt for those. I chose a summery color palette, colored the image with Copics, then used a die from the Additional A2 Layers die set from Waffle Flower to turn it into a panel that would give me a nice border on an A2 card. Using the Slimline Cloud Edges stencil and the Rolling Clouds stencil, both from My Favorite Things, I ink blended a soft, cloudy background using Polar Bear ink from Altenew.

I adhered my panel directly to a card base I created from Green Parakeet cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I stamped a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS onto a strip of the same color cardstock using Green Apple ink from Simon Says Stamp and put the sentiment aside while I worked on the rest of my card.

I die cut the word hipp 8 times from Tropical Teal cardstock from Papertrey Ink using a die from Kort og Godt, and created two stacks of four each for a dimensional look. I adhered my stacked die cuts to the card and put the green cardstock strip on top of the bottom hipp.

To finish off the card I added a few enamel dots from Papirdesign. I decided to go for orange ones to pick up the color from the little boy’s ice cream.

It’s a fairly simple card, but the clouds add a little something to the white space, and the die cuts and dots add dimension.

For such a small image, I used a lot of colors.

Let it snow {Rachelle Anne Miller Creative Studios}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m back today with another winter/holiday themed card, featuring Christmas Sled from Rachelle Anne Miller. I’m hoping I don’t jinx anything with the sentiment I used. It snowed earlier in the week and I really don’t want more, so I’m crossing my fingers it won’t snow again until late fall.

My last holiday card was blue, so I needed a new color. Green to the rescue, with a little bit of “gold” and a touch of pink. Somehow, I think it works.

I printed the image twice: once onto X-Press It blending card, which is what I use for all my Copic coloring, and once onto Stamper’s Select White cardstock from Papertrey Ink. I wanted to fussy cut my colored image right up against the lines, but Rachelle’s images come with these great squiggly lines  that I didn’t want to lose, they add such a unique look. By printing twice, I could mount my colored piece onto the other one and maintain the wonderful linework.

For the background, I ran my printed white cardstock through my die cutting machine using the Magic Snow Cover die from Mama Elephant, which adds a nice faux stitch snow flurry look. I used an embossing mat to make the details stand out even more, then adhered my white panel to a white cardbase and mounted the colored image using 1 mm foam squares – I wanted a little bit of lift, but not too much dimension.

I then used the sentiment from the Let It Snow die set from Mama Elephant to die cut 5 times from Meadow cardstock from Hero Arts. Before die cutting, I colored one of the pieces with my G46 Copic marker to better match my coloring, stacked the five layers together with the colored one on top and added the stacked die cut sentiment to the card.

I finished off the card with a few sequins. These are a mix of Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh and select sequins from the Sea Glass mix from Simon Says Stamp.

I used my favorite green combo AND my favorite “holiday pink” combo for this card.  I hope they inspire you.

You are my cup of tea! {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. I’m back today with another card featuring the adorable cuties from one of the stamp sets in the spring release from Lili of the Valley. This time I’ve used the Teacup Bunnies and actually made an interactive card.

I added a bunny to the top of the teacup stack and colored the image with Copics, before fussy cutting, leaving a thin white border around the edge. I used a black glaze pen from Sakura to add shine and a tiny bit of dimension to the bunny’s eyes, then a white dot of Gelly Roll 05 on top of the black, once the black was dry. The glaze pen dries fairly quickly once applied, so I didn’t have to wait long.

I adhered a panel of Blueberry cardstock from My Favorite Things to my white card base. Using a die in the A2 Double Stitched Rectangle STAX die set, also from My Favorite Things, I die cut a piece of patterned paper from Sunny Studio to adhere on top of the blue. This patterned paper is from the Subtle Grey Tones pack, and it really is subtle.

I realized I hadn’t made any of my signature clusters in a while, and decided to pull out my die cut scraps of patterned paper and have a play. These patterned papers are from Sunny Studio (more from the subtle grey pack), Kaisercraft (light blue with dots), Papirdesign (dark blue with smaller dots) and Maja Design (pink floral), all die cut using a combination of the Happy Days Ticket Stubs die from XCut and the Fishtail Flag Frames dies from My Favorite Things. I used a mini paper doily from Doodlebug to mat my little clusters, and embellished with sequins from Pretty Pink Posh and Simon Says Stamp.

The sentiment is from the Coffee and Chocolate stamp set from hÄnglar & Wings, white heat embossed on a strip of the same color cardstock I used for the card front. I then die cut it using one of the dies in the Itty Bitty Banners die set from My Favorite Things.

The interactive element that I mentioned at the beginning of the post is actually the image. As you can see in this photo, it sits pretty high off the base. The reason for that is that it’s on an action wobble, so it’ll shake and move once you help it along a tiny bit.

Fairly simple color palette for this one.

Thank you {Lili of the Valley}

Hi! I’m back today with a fun card featuring a flower wreath from one of the stamp sets Lili of the Valley came out with in their spring release. This is one of the stamps in the Magical Florals stamp set.

I stamped the wreath on a piece of Rustic Cream cardstock from Papertrey Ink, before coloring with pencils. Yes, you read that right, I broke out my Prismacolors and did pencil coloring. I don’t use my pencils very often. Copics are my “go to” coloring medium, but every now and then, I shake things up.

I fussy cut around the finished piece, leaving a white border along the edge and cutting the open part at the top right as if my colored panel was a circle. I didn’t want to cut away the interior, and this seemed faster, easier and better. I created a 4 1/4″ square card base and used the Caleidoscope embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp to create a little bit of texture in the background, before mounting the wreath on foam tape.

I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Mini Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant onto a piece of Cornflower cardstock from My Favorite Things, before using a nested circle die to turn it into a circle. I put a few foam squares behind it and adhered it to a part of the wreath where it wouldn’t cover up too many of the flowers.

To finish the card, I added a generous amount of Papirdesign pearls for some shine.

Hello {Lili of the Valley}

Hi, crafty friends. There’s a new release coming from Lili of the Valley in a couple of weeks, and I’ve played a little bit with one of the stamp sets in the release.

Aren’t these bunnies cute? I paired the three bunnies in the Teacup Bunnies stamp set with a digital sentiment. The sentiment will be a freebie digi, along with a few others in the same style and sub sentiments to pair with it.

I colored the bunnies and letters with Copics and did some fussy cutting, leaving a thin white border to preserve the “fuzzies” that are part of the signature Lili of the Valley style. I used a black glaze pen for their eyes to make them pop and shine, and once dry, added a tiny white dot to each eye using a white Gelly Roll 05 pen.

I used the Crystal Distortion Embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp on a piece of Lemon Tart cardstock from Papertrey Ink to create a little bit of interest in the background. Below the yellow panel, I added a strip of Sprout cardstock from Concord & 9th for a little bit of extra green.

I adhered the cardstock pieces to a white top fold card base and mounted the teacup bunnies and sentiment on foam tape for dimension, before finishing off with a few enamel dots from the Tropical Forest set from Altenew.

Simple, soft color palette for this one.

Believe in the magic of Christmas {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

Hi, crafty friends! I have another Christmas card to share today, featuring Merry Little Christmas from Mo Manning. As you may know, I love creating Christmas cards all year, and this particular image is one that I’ve used a few times previously.

I colored my image with Copics, before using one of the stitched rectangle dies from My Favorite Things to create a nice faux stitching detail along the edges of the panel. I then sprinkled on a generous amount of chunky white embossing enamel from Stampendous and melted the granules from the back of the panel.

I created a card base from Vintage Timber cardstock from My Favorite Things and mounted my colored panel in the center using foam tape. Using the Believe die from Simon Says stamp, I die cut four white believe that I glued together for a stacked look and added one more on top that I colored with blue Copics (B91 and B0000) before die cutting. It gives the word a little bit of added interest. I stamped and white heat embossed a sentiment from the Holiday Messages stamp set from Mama Elephant onto Wild Cherry cardstock from My Favorite Things and cut the sentiment down to strips, adding a few extra layers of cardstock behind for dimension and strength.

I have a coloring/card making buddy in Liz Vefall and sometimes ask her for suggestions when I’m stuck and/or can’t make up my mind. I always run with her ideas and the cards usually end up looking great, but I seem to have lost the ability to turn her suggestions into a final product that I’m happy with. The black pants and the brown card base were both suggestions from her, and I’m not comfortable with the end result, somehow. Diecutting the white word with a little bit of blue at the bottom was also her suggestion, and I wound up loving that, so I ended on a positive, at least

Fairly standard Christmas color palette, with a couple of odd ones thrown in there for good measure.