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

March 31, 2023March 31, 2023 ElinLeave a comment

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.

Hello friend {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

July 6, 2022June 24, 2022 Elin1 Comment

Hi, crafty friends! I have one of my “clean and simple cluster” cards to share today, featuring Tweetie from Mo Manning. I think this image is so sweet, and not only is it the perfect friendship image, it’s also perfect for the summer season.

I colored the image with Copics and die cut the panel using the largest die in the A2 Stitched Rectangles STAX 1 die set from My Favorite Things, before adhering it to a card base I created from Sour Apple cardstock, also from My Favorite Things.

On my cluster cards, I usually choose two to three colors from the image to create scraps from. This time I chose green and yellow with a little bit of gray. Neutrals are always a good thing to add. I keep die cut scraps in stamp storage pockets on my desk, sorted by color. Whenever I want to create a cluster, I choose the storage pockets with the colors I want, dump the contents on my desk and start PLAYING.

For this card I wound up using scraps from 3ndypapir, Karen Foster, Sunny Studio, P13, Magnolia and Papirdesign. By limiting the size and colors of my clusters, the design stays harmonious and you can’t tell that I’ve used patterned paper from 6 different companies. I adhere some directly to the layer below, some using foam squares. As a base, I used half a doily from Doodlebug Design that I had in a drawer. I love these tiny paper doilies, they’re perfect for this.

Using VersaFine Onyx Black ink, I stamped a sentiment from the Sweet Summer Sentiment Set from Purple Onion Designs onto a strip of patterned paper from Papirdesign. I finished off the card by adding a few enamel dots from the Pocketful of Sunshine pack of enamel dots from Altenew.

These cluster cards are so fun to make. They make my piles of scraps shrink EVER so slightly, but anything’s better than nothing, and I love the dimension they add to the card.

I used quite a few colors for this one.

Hi there {Lili of the Valley}

April 17, 2022April 8, 2022 ElinLeave a comment

Hi, crafty friends. Today I’m sharing a card featuring this Dragon Letter image from Lili of the Valley. I love dragons!!

The dragon has a little friend handing him a note, and it’s just so cute. I colored the image with Copics, fussy cut it leaving a thin white border and put it aside while I worked on the rest of the card.

I really like the stars scattered around in the image, and decided to die cut a piece of patterned paper from the Subtle Grey Tones 6×6 pack of patterned paper from Sunny Studio using a die from the Wonky Stitched Rectangle STAX die set from My Favorite Things. I mounted it on foam tape on a card base I created from Harvest Gold cardstock from Papertrey Ink.

I mounted the colored image on foam tape and added it to the top center of the card. I die cut and folded and envelope from the Mini Mail die set from My Favorite Things and glued it below the colored image.

Inside the envelope, I die cut another piece from Harvest Gold cardstock using the same die set. I love the little scalloped edge at the top. I stamped a sentiment from the Monster Hugs stamp set from the Concord & 9th/Simon Says Stamp collaboration stamp set from Stamptember 2018 using VersaFine Onyx Black ink and slid it into the envelope. I didn’t glue it down, it can be a nice little interactive element on the card, it fits perfectly inside the envelope on the front. To finish I added a couple of enamel stars from the Pocketful of Sunshine enamel dots pack from Altenew.

Lots of dimension on this card, but it’s still simple. The envelope with the message inside is a nice nod to the image with the dragon and the bird.

Aside from the colors I used for the background, this is a very warm color palette.

Christmas wishes {Lili of the Valley}

November 18, 2021November 17, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi! I’m sharing a wintry Christmas card today featuring this Wrapped Up Warm image from Lili of the Valley. I opted for an unusual color combination of blue and bright pink, which I thought was fun.

I cut down my panel of X-Press It blending card significantly when my coloring was done, and mounted it on foam tape onto the cardbase, which I’d covered with a scrap piece of patterned paper from the Hjem til jul collection from Papirdesign.

I added a small cluster towards the top right corner of the card, using a mini doily from Doodlebug, as well as some die cut scraps of patterned paper from Maja Design and Sunny Studio. I stamped a sentiment from Norsk Stempelblad AS using Dark Chocolate ink from Papertrey Ink onto Classic Kraft cardstock, also from Papertrey Ink. The dies I used in my cluster are a combination of My Favorite Things (Fishtail Flag Frames and Itty Bitty Strips) and X-Cut (Happy Days Ticket Stubs). I also used the Hero Arts Snowflake Confetti fancy die to die cut snowflakes that I scattered across the card, and I put a white pearl from Kort & Godt in the center of each snowflake to finish the card.

This color combination of blue and bright pink sure was fun, and these are brighter blues than the ones I normally use. I also used a ton of colors for the snow in this little scene. I just can’t help myself.

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

August 11, 2021July 23, 2021 Elin1 Comment

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Lots of colors for this one.

Happy birthday

June 16, 2021June 16, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi again! My second post for today, if you’re looking for some Mo Manning inspiration, you’ll find this morning’s post here. This one is a fairly clean and simple birthday card, featuring a cat from the Pawty Time stamp set from My Favorite Things.

I colored up this cute cat with my Copics back in September last year, so it’s definitely taken me a while to turn my colored piece into a card. I’d stamped the cat in My Favorite Things Extreme Black ink in the center of a 1/4 sheet of X-Press It blending card and colored it with Copics. I may have had plans for fussy cutting, but I took out one of my faux stitch rectangle dies from My Favorite Things and turned it into a rectangular panel instead.

I cut down a 6×6″ sheet of patterned paper from the Dots & Stripes Pastels paper pack from Sunny Studio and adhered it onto a top fold card base I made out of Summer Splash card stock from My Favorite Things. The colors match very nicely, and the polka dot paper goes really well with the dots on the balloon.

I adhered my colored panel in the center of the card using foam tape for a little bit of lift and dimension.

In the top left corner of my colored panel, I decided to put my remaining elements. I like putting things close together instead of spreading them out, I think the cards look cleaner and less cluttered this way. I adhered a mini paper doily from Doodlebug in the corner, and used that as a base for my other elements.

I’ve had this happy wood veneer from Studio Calico for years, and decided that it was time to use it. Using liquid glue (Gina K. connect, which is the only liquid glue I like), I added it directly onto the paper doily, with just a little bit of the h hanging off the edge for added visual interest. I stamped and white heat embossed the word birthday from the Birthday Wishes stamp set from Mama Elephant onto piece of Gravel Gray cardstock from My Favorite Things and used one of the Itty Bitty Strips dies from MFT to die cut it. I added a few more layers of gray cardstock behind it for dimension, so the strip sits flush with the veneer. To finish off the card I added three enamel dots from the Sea Shore pack from Altenew.

Very limited color palette for this one.

A little hello {Mo’s Digital Pencil}

June 16, 2021June 15, 2021 Elin1 Comment

Hi there! I love lily of the valley, and as soon as I saw Lily Fairy from Mo Manning, I knew it was an image I needed. They’re at their peak right now, and they smell so divine. I’ve picket two bouquets, I just wish they lasted longer than a couple of days in a vase. Hopefully, my card will last longer than the actual flowers.

I colored up my image with Copics. I chose a very light, bright combo for the green. The leaves on a lily of the valley are much darker than this, but I really like this combo, and with the fairy hanging out between the leaves, I didn’t really care too much about realism anyway. I chose to color her dress pink for a pop of a different color, and you can actually get real lilies of the valley that are pink, so I thought it was the perfect fit.

After using a die from My Favorite Things to add the faux stitch lines around the edge of my colored panel, I added Frosted Lace Stickles from Ranger to her wings for a little bit of sparkle. I adhered my panel onto a top fold card base I made from Sour Apple card stock from My Favorite Things.

Embellishment clusters have become a signature of mine, and I have five things that I pretty much always use to create them:

White mini paper doily from Doodlebug Design.
The Fishtail Flag Frames die set from My Favorite Things.
The Happy Days Ticket Stubs die from XCut.
Scraps of patterned paper.
Enamel dots or sequins.

I keep a tub on my desk with die cut patterned paper scraps where I’ve used the two die sets I mentioned. The other day I even took the time to sort through them and divide them by color, which will make it easier to pull the ones I need for future cards. For this one I used two additional dies: a hole pattern die from Papirdesign and a die from the Itty Bitty Strips die set from My Favorite Things for the sentiment.

The sentiment is from a stamp set from InkyWings, heat embossed in white onto Sour Apple cardstock from My Favorite Things. I’ve added 1 mm foam squares between some of the layers in my cluster for a little bit of dimension, and I even put a mini cluster in the opposite corner, using scraps from the bigger cluster. I really like using as much of my cardstock and patterned paper as I possibly can, and by doing it this way, very little goes to waste. The patterned paper I used for these clusters is a mix of 3ndypapir, P13 and Sunny Studio, and I found the perfect color of enamel dots from Papirdesign as a finishing touch.

Very limited color palette for this one.

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.

Thanks a bunch {Purple Onion Designs}

May 4, 2021May 1, 2021 ElinLeave a comment

Hi, there! I have another card to share today featuring new goodies from the latest release over at Purple Onion Designs.

Isn’t this bunny with her bouquet of flowers adorable? Look at that sweet smile. I love Stacey Yacula’s illustration style, she really brings her characters to life. This is Junie. I colored her with my Copics and decided to fussy cut her.

I pulled out a piece of patterned paper from the Dots & Stripes Pastels pack from Sunny Studio and cut it down to a strip, using one of the Stitched Borders dies from Lawn Fawn on both sides for a nice finished look. I die cut a white card stock circle using a die from My Favorite Things, and mounted it on foam tape.

I stamped and white heat embossed one of the sentiments in the “Around the Town” sentiment set on a piece of Melon Berry card stock and mounted it on foam tape, before adding my bunny with some 1 mm foam squares on top of the white circle.

I finished my card by adding some Pretty Pink Posh sparkling clear sequins in a visual triangle around the circle and bunny.

Small image equals a limited color palette.

Easter treat

April 1, 2021April 1, 2021 Elin2 Comments

Hi, there! I’ve got an Easter card to share today, with a little bit of a treat inside.

I actually made this card last year, for an Easter card swap. Easter cards aren’t really a thing in Norway, but because of lockdown last year, I figured what the heck. Easter to me is ten glorious days spent in the mountains. Skiing and playing in the snow all day, card and board games at night. Reading crime novels (a uniquely Norwegian Easter tradition), eating oranges and chocolate; it all belongs. Obviously there was no trip to the mountains last year, and I knew that it wouldn’t really feel like Easter for me at all, but I wanted to try to make someone else feel like it was still Easter.

I colored up this bunny from Lee Holland using the no line technique, and made an oval frame around him using a die set from Neat & Tangled. Using the same die with some patterned paper from Sunny Studio, I created a window for my oval frame to sit in. I also used a faux stitch rectangle die from My Favorite Things to get the nice detail on the edge that I love so much.

I stamped a sentiment from Papirdesign onto a piece of yellow cardstock from Papertrey Ink using Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide ink, and die cut it using another die from that same set of dies from Neat & Tangled as the ovals. I added the die cut banner on foam tape and adhered a few sequins from Little Things from Lucy’s Cards to draw attention to the sentiment.

The inside of the card is where the magic is. It hides chocolate! Not just any chocolate, either, this is as official of an Easter chocolate as you get in Norway. This particular chocolate is a symbol of Norwegian culture. The average Norwegian eats 9 Kvikk Lunsj bars a year, 3 of them at Easter. You don’t mess with a Norwegian and his/her kvikk lunsj! 😉 I blurred and smudged the personal message in this photo. I don’t have a Copic color palette to share for this card, it’s been a year since I made it, after all.