Pure magic {avery elle}

Hi there!

I have a fun little card to share using the Avery Elle mini set, Pure Magic.

I stamped, colored and die-cut the bunny and put him against a starry background. The burst die is my favorite for highlighting focal images.

Nothing super fancy, but I hope you like it!

♥.

Let's party! {lawn fawn}

Hi there, and welcome back to the last day of Lawn Fawn's March inspiration week.

We're featuring the Stripey Background die. I love it for creating a quick graphic background that covers the entire card base.

I couldn't help but use the Big Foot again, from Lovable Legends. I paired him with party accessories from Party Animal.



I usually hate die-cutting all of the little pieces separately (like the hat, cake and flag here) because, with the white die-cut outlines, they never look like they fit together seamlessly. Here, before cutting out the party hat, cake and flag, I stamped the Big Foot's hands and head, and I do like how that looks much better.

What do you think? Worth the tiny bit of extra effort?

I could have also done the same thing for the balloon string and the present, but since they were more in the background, I left them alone.

I hope you like it!  There's more to see on the Lawn Fawn blog this morning - click!

Itty Bitty, 2 ways

Hi there!

I'm here and on the Neat and Tangled blog this morning, to show off a few cards made with the new set, Itty Bitty Welcoming Committee.



The first card uses it in a pretty straightforward way. I did some masking so that I could scatter some birds around the scene, and I gave everyone party hats. The party hats weren't masked - I stamped those separately, colored and cut them out (just the triangle of the hat, not the pom pom.) I then plunked them onto the stamped hats (the ones that showed the yucky intersecting lines.)

For some extra interest, I cut apart my panel and stamped the secondary greeting in the space between.

My next card uses the set a little differently:

It requires a bit of masking, but it was fun to experiment with a completely different look! I first inked up the bunny side of the large image, but then wiped off everything to the left before stamping down (and even part of his hand.)  I then masked the bunny and did the same thing for the lamb.  I did have to re-draw some minor parts (what was removed of the hands) and the heart was cut out and placed in between to hide some extra lines.

Once the main image was done, I hid everything below the waist (which is what I always tell my husband when he takes my picture,) with a banner and sentiment from Scandinavian Prints - doesn't it work so well here? I really love the sentiments in that set.

I hope you like my cards for today! Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

strange and wonderful {lawn fawn}

Hi there!

Welcome back to another day of Lawn Fawn inspiration. Today, we're showing off my favorite set of the moment, Lovable Legends.


I couldn't decide which creature to put on my card, so I used all of them, and threw in a fairy too. Don't you love the Kraken with his teeny tiny ship? Cracks me right up.

I masked the Big Foot to be able to stamp the Kraken and Loch Ness Monster in behind.  If you hate masking, you could always pop up the Big Foot by cutting him out or using the matching dies.

I colored the entire scene in bright, happy colors. Perfect for an unbelievable birthday!

There's more to see on the LF blog this morning - click!

and ps, I somehow missed to blog my tags yesterday:

You may have seen them on the Lawn Fawn blog yesterday, but in case you missed that too - click!

♥.

Little bundle of blue {lawn fawn}

Hi there!

We're kicking off Lawn Fawn's March inspiration week with the sweetest set, Little Bundle.

It's filled with little baby clothes, and so perfect for making baby announcements or shower cards.



A family in our church recently had a baby boy and I wanted to create something for them.  When I think of onesies, I always love the cute little images you can find on them. I reached for the new planner set, Plan On It, and stamped a few of them into a trio of onesies.

Some soft brown grass and blue and beige plaid finish off this little baby boy card.

I hope you like it!  There's more to see on the Lawn Fawn blog this morning - click!

Special delivery {avery elle}

Hi there!

I have a quirky little Avery Elle card to share this morning. I was inspired by some of the Rifle Paper Co. cards out there, because the outstretched hands in Hats Off give me that same vibe (especially this one, this one and this one.)

I started out with a pierced square die-cut, and stamped the hands at the bottom. Then, I stamped the arm that is meant to hold something at the side (I did have to make the sleeve longer by way of a copic multiliner pen.)

To make the images pop a bit more, I masked everything and rubbed a soft brown ink around the images.

I then stamped, colored and die-cut the baby bundle and propped it up onto foam squares.

The entire family is reaching out for that baby! haha.

Hope you like it, and thanks for stopping by.

♥.

National craft month celebration blog hop!

Hi there!

I am thrilled to be part of a lineup that includes a dozen-ish designers, to celebrate National Craft Month. Nicole, from Right at Home, has put together a fun hop with prizes at different stops:

I love what I do, card-making and crafting. All of us celebrating in this blog hop are sharing our favorite things to craft with at the moment.

I am crushing on this set that I designed for Neat and Tangled: Better Together. It's hard to find cute boy stamps, so I drew my own. ha.

I also can't create a card without the basic rectangle stitched dies from Lawn Fawn, and I am loving their current Let's Polka in the Meadow paper line.

My favorite black ink is still Memento's Tuxedo black, and I love to use it with copic markers.

There you have it!

GIVEAWAY: I'm happy to offer a little giveaway to someone here today. Leave a comment on this blog post and I'll choose someone to win 2 digis of their choice from my etsy shop, Just ME digital stamps.

Nicole is also running giveaways on her blog (including another free digi from the Just ME shop!)- and it's simple! Link up a creation using your own favorite things! Crafters gotta craft, right?

Thanks for stopping by! The next person on the list is the lovely Paulina, of Pretty Pink Posh. If you get lost along the way, visit the Right at Home blog - click!

♥.

easter treat bags

Hi there!

I'm here and on the Lawn Fawn blog today, with little treat bags that can decorate your Easter table, or even work as little place-card favors.

I used the basket image from Eggstra Special Easter, and the egg and bunny hat from Chirpy Chirp Chirp to decorate the tote bag.



Hanging from each, I attached a banner flag that reads happy easter, but you could always attach a name instead.



For a quick tutorial, and to find out which teeny tiny stamps I used to make the bunny's face, click over to the Lawn Fawn blog today!

♥.

you are my favorite

Hi there!

I have one last card to share with you before the new Neat and Tangled release goes live at 8am EST.

I used Better Together, masking the sentiment before stamping the girl over-top. It made for a tighter focal image, and fit better into the circle that way!

I'm amazed how different the little girl looks here, with darker hair and skin. I had colored her more blond earlier this week, and I love them both.

In case you struggle with copics for skin color, I colored the darker skin with E11, E13, E15 and E19 markers. I used R22 for the cheeks. The light skin color was colored with E00 and E02, with R20 for the cheeks. 

Once again, I used the largest solid flower from Scandinavian Prints to create a polka dot background, this time with white pigment ink from Lawn Fawn (my favorite white ink!) onto kraft cardstock.

I hope you like it!

Check out the NT blog around 7:30 this morning, where Danielle will be announcing this week's winners, and happy shopping at 8am!

♥.

more party animals

This is my second post of the day! If you're looking for new Neat and Tangled, click HERE or scroll down.

I have a fun card to share using Avery Elle's More Party Animals.

I made a fun shaker card, using the largest balloon die from the Balloon Ellements set. Then, I used our AE inks to stamp and heat-set the butterfly and dog balloon animals (it's a dog, right?)

Because AE inks are pigment inks, there is time to thrown on some clear embossing powder and heat-set them. So fun! I then used copic markers to color them in.  Here's a closer look:



Once the balloons were heat-set and colored, I mounted them onto a Stitched Rectangle die. I colored the area outside the wonky stitches with a soft pink copic marker to frame out the area.

I did the opposite with the wavy banner die - I colored inside the stitching lines.

I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

purrrfect friends

Hi there!

It's Neat and Tangled release week, with all new sets and dies available for purchase as of tomorrow morning, March 11th, at 8am EST. woot!

Today is our showcase of the March You're So Neat incentive set, Purrrfect Friends. (The incentive set is yours for free with any purchase of 50$ or more in the Neat and Tangled store. You can read more about it HERE.)

When I first got this set in the mail, I wasn't sure about these hugging cats. But as soon as I colored them, I changed my mind. Aren't they adorable? I love that the one giving the hugs looks more girly, with her sweet eyelashes. I colored them both with grey copic markers (T4, T6 and T8.) I wanted them dark, but not so dark that they're features would disappear. I did go over their eyes with a copic multiliner pen, to make them stand out more.

I used the new Hexastar Cover plate on the card base, keeping all of the pieces intact. I love how it looks so soft and quilted. I love the range of looks you can get with this die!

I hope you like it! There's more to see on the NT blog this morning - click!

♥.

itty bitty welcoming committee!

Hi there!

I'm so thrilled to be showing off the 2nd set that I illustrated for Neat and Tangled this month.  Itty Bitty Welcoming Committee is a mouthful, haha.



I designed the main image to be large, and everything connected together. I love making and gifting card sets, and this large image is all you need to make a quick focal point. Also, when you keep the bunny and lamb white, the coloring is a snap!

For this card, I masked the entire main image, and rubbed a soft brown ink around the outside. Since I was keeping the animals mostly white, I needed to darken the area around them to make them pop. I also splattered some white ink to soften the brown and make everything look more hazy and dreamy. I stamped the bow onto the lamb's head, and the crown onto the bunny's head - both accessories are included in the set. The soft blue blanket and subtle pink grass finish off this simple card.

I hope you like it! Before you go, don't forget to leave me a comment! You could win a 25$ gift certificate to the Neat and Tangled store.

There's more to see on the NT blog this morning - click!

Scandinavian Prints

Hi there, and welcome back to this month's Neat and Tangled release week!

This is my last pre-scheduled post. I'm due to be back in snowy Montreal by tonight....

Today, we're showing off the new set, Scandinavian Prints, designed by my friend Miriam Prantner.

I know what you're thinking. There are no florals to be seen here! Can you guess how I incorporated the set into this card?

The largest solid flower base makes for the cutest polka dot backgrounds. I love that it is slightly irregular, and not a perfect circle. Makes it feel more trendy! Also, you could rock a watercolor look with it too! I'll try that when I get back and see how it goes.



I love the sentiments in Miriam's set. Some of them work so well with the Better Together images and larger sentiments! I used the girl with her dog and "hugs" from Better Together, and complimented them with "I'm here for you" from Scandinavian Prints.

I hope you like it! There's more to see on the NT blog today - click!

♥.

Better together

Hiya! It's release week for Neat and Tangled!

I'm still on the beach, which is great, but I'm sad I won't be around for a few more days to see what the reaction is to this set. I illustrated Better Together for Neat and Tangled, and I am so excited, along with the entire design team, to be showing it off today.



There are 3 little kids in the set, each one holding their favorite stuffed animals. Honestly, I just think they are the cutest. I know I'm biased, but that's what it is.

I stamped the middle girl, holding her dog over her head, and then masked her before stamping the others.  After coloring all 3 kids, I masked them and rubbed a light blue ink over everything. I didn't love how it lightened my black stamped outline in places, but I do love the way it makes the images pop.

I hope you like it! Visit the NT blog this morning to see more - click!

♥.

cute chicks! {SSS/NT collaboration}

Hi there!

I am still on a beach in the Dominican, soaking up the sun for spring break, feet all grainy from the sand, but I wanted to schedule a few important posts so you can have something fun to look at while I am sipping all of Pina Coladas.

This one is the most exciting for me! I've illustrated a set for Simon Says Stamp! Heidi asked if I would draw something featuring little spring chicks, and I was thrilled to oblige. The set called Cute Chicks, and is a collaboration between SSS and Neat and Tangled.

I just love the big drumming chicken!  The chickadee perching on top of the drum makes me smile. I colored the scene and mounted my favorite Avery Elle die overtop to frame it out.

My next card features chicks on parade. I love the unhatched egg image, trying desperately to keep up! I used the "happy easter" greeting, but I also love the one that reads "hope this puts a spring in your step." Perfect for use beyond Easter, since it's coming so early this year.

I hope you like the cards, and the set! You can find it in the SSS store starting today!

Skating by to say hi!

Hi there,

I am on a Dominican beach this week, for spring break, but I wanted to share a fun card I prepared for Avery Elle, using their new set Skating By.



I love a large image that fills up the front of a card! I stamped the girl, and gave her 2 dogs to pull by roller skate. Her big puffy hair is my fave.

There isn't a very long supply list for this card. But this is what I love. Stamp images, create a little story between the images and the sentiment, color everything and be done.

I used a light blue copic marker (B000) to color around the images, and the colorless blender (0) to feather the blue and leave some white space around the sentiment.

I hope you like it!

♥.