Thanks so matcha!

Hey there!

There is an awesome giveaway going on to celebrate the fact that I hit 5K followers on instagram! Check it out!

Thanks so matcha for all of your encouragement and kind words!



I couldn't help but create a card to say it with style! I used the super cute So Matcha stamp set and matching dies to create this card.

I colored them in non-traditional, bubblegum colors instead of in traditionally-colored kimonos.

I used a patterned paper by Lawn Fawn as a ground for them to stand on, and stamped the greeting onto a banner flag by Avery Elle. The wonky stitches rectangle die is part of the same die collection as the banner flag.



Before you go, I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to all of my teams. Ellen Hutson, Lawn Fawn, Neat and Tangled, Pinkfresh Studio, and Avery Elle all very generously donated gift cards for me to offer as prizes for my instagram giveaway.

I hope you'll check it out!

♥.

Pinkfresh Studio spring release blog hop

Hi there!

I'm joining the rest of the Pinkfresh team to celebrate the new spring release. I'm showing off Constellation, a starry set with some gorgeous sentiments:

I did some ink layering to bring dimension to that starry circle:

I popped the circle stamp into the MISTI tool, to be sure that as I inked it up numerous times, it would not shift around. I inked it up once with a medium blue ink color, and then for the second and third inkings, I tapped darker and darker blues around the edges.



I then added little dark blue dots around the edges for added texture, and also used white Nuvo drops to add extra stars in the sky.

The constellation die set includes that amazing connecting stars die. I cut it out of gold cardstock and used the tiniest foam adhesive to pop it over the night sky.



I love this encouraging sentiment!

Now, for the fun stuff:

There is a new release promotion! A free Party Animal stamp set with a $50 purchase, using the code FREEPARTYWITH50. It's valid as of now, until April 29th at 11:59pm. Fine print: for the code to be valid, your cart must total at least $50, then you would add the Party Animal stamp set. It will add 15$ to your total, which will disappear when you use the code upon checkout.

There are also prizes to be won! The grand prize is the entire new release! A winner will be picked from comments on the Pinkfresh Studio blog post. Also up for grabs: a $25 gift certificate - from among comments left on this post! Each one of the designers is giving away a $25 gift card to the Pinkfresh store - woo hoo! You have until Friday (April 27th) at 5:00pm CST to leave comments on all of the participating blogs.

The winners will be announced on Saturday morning!

Here is a full blog hop list:

Pinkfresh Studio Blog

Erum Tasneem

Zsoka Marko

Rebecca Luminarias

Julia Stainton

May Sukyong Park

Elena Roussakis

Amy Tsuruta

Isha Gupta

Lea Lawson

Evelin Tee

Speech bubbles (Lawn Fawn inspiration week)

Hay there!

I have a farm-themed birthday card to share with you today, for the last day of this month's Lawn Fawn inspiration week:

We're showing off the Speech Bubbles dies today, and I've used it with images from Hay There.

Instead of laying the speech bubbles over the gingham sky, I opted to die cut into the gingham layer and reveal a punch of black underneath. I white-heat-embossed the greetings on the black layer and framed out my scene into 2 sections.



I don't know what happened to my sad little chick in the corner. Somewhere between making the card and photographing it, the adhesive loosened and he keeled over a bit. ha. I never noticed until I was editing the photos.

I hope you like my card, and check out the LF blog this morning for even more speech bubble inspiration - click!

♥.

Color challenge (for Ellen Hutson)

Hi there!

I have a pretty card to share today, made with goodies from the Ellen Hutson store.  I created a card using this color palette as my inspiration:

I just want to say, I am terrible with colors. I had to keep asking my daughter if the colors I was choosing were a match. At the end of it, she threw her hands up and said "good enough." ha.

You'll let me know what you think:




I used Neat and Tangled's Friendly Florals set, and fit together not only the flower clusters but some of the extra blooms to create a fullness around the cut-out (especially at the top.)

I used the new Avery Elle watercolors to paint a background on the base layer, and then used Neat and Tangled's Hello Winter to heat-emboss the greeting in the middle.



I flecked lighter and darker inks over the purple/blue watercolored background, and added white gel pen highlights to the flowers.

I hope you like my take on the color board inspiration! Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

Butterflies for mom (Lawn Fawn inspiration week)

Hi there!

Welcome back to another day of this month's Lawn Fawn inspiration week. Today, we're showing off the Mini Pop-Up Butterflies and the Happy Happy Happy Add-On: Family stamp set. I've used both on this card:

I already gave this card to my mama for her birthday last week, but it would make a stunner of a mother's day card too!

I colored all of the butterflies in the same shades of purple, but altered the designs on each one just a bit. I love the dimension you get from the dies! I stamped the word "mom" into the opening of one of the butterflies and added a purple heart next to it.



For the background, I created a wash of color with copic markers. I used BG23, BG11 and BG10 to color around the butterflies, and then faded out the color with a colorless marker (0). I added some white enamel drops all around to fill the space and add more texture.

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

♥.

hoppy birthday (Lawn Fawn inspiration week)

Hi there!

Welcome back to another day of Lawn Fawn inspiration! Today, we're showing off the super happy Really Rainbow paper collection, and Happy Birthday Line Border die.

I made a little birthday scene for the birthday frog to jump into! The frog from Toadally Awesome and his birthday cake are framed out in Really Rainbow paper. It almost looks like a giant polaroid! I used a Outside In Stitched Square Stackable die to cut out the area for my scene.



I finished off the card by adding the Happy Birthday Line Border strip to the bottom.

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

♥.

Out of this world (Lawn Fawn inspiration week)

Hi there!

Welcome back to another day of this month's Lawn Fawn inspiration week. Today, we're showing off the Outside In Stitched Star Stackables, and the Stitched Star Frames. I've used both sets of dies on this card:

The aliens from Beam Me Up met up in outer space with the Astronaut from Out Of This World from one crazy birthday party!

I used the star dies to cut star shapes out of my black cardstock layer. I then flecked white paint over the entire area and colored the area behind the stars in a light yellow.



All of the party peeps are standing on a kraft-colored sentiment strip that was white-heat-embossed.

To finish off, I added some small stars to fill in areas that I thought looked empty.

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

♥.

Slow down and enjoy (Lawn Fawn inspiration week)

Hi there!

Welcome back to day 2 of this month's Lawn Fawn inspiration week. Today, we're showing off Slow Down and Enjoy:

I paired the smaller sloth from Slow Down and Enjoy with the hanging one from Hang In There - I love them together!

I set them into a Mini Picture Frame and backed that with a blue gingham patterned paper.

The blue was echoed again in edges of the Bannertastic banner.



I kept the background neutral, with the woodgrain paper (I sponged its edges with a soft brown ink for more depth and interest) as well as the quilted base.

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

♥.

In the clouds (Lawn Fawn inspiration week)

Hi there!

Welcome to Lawn Fawn's April inspiration week. Today, we're taking a closer look at the Cloudy Hillside Pop-up Add On dies. They are perfect for adding a fun element to the inside of a card, or for doing a little something like this:



I started out with a piece of gingham patterned paper, and framed out the top and bottom with cloudy layers.

The images, from Plane and Simple, were a perfect match. I colored both the plane and the balloons in a buttery yellow.



The one little smiley-faced cloud is the cutest!

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

Party Pals (for Avery Elle)

Hi there!

I'm here and on the Avery Elle blog this morning with a different take on those cute pandas from Party Pals:

The lines around the eyes are meant to be colored in so that he looks like a panda, but I added some lines using a copic-friendly pen and voila! glasses. After everything was colored, I added glossy accents to those glasses, which is so fun in real life.

Since it was already going a quirky route, I also added a few extra lines to give the bears some sweaters. I know that some of you are experiencing springtime weather, but it just snowed the other day in Montreal. The bears looked cold.

I gave them balloons to hold (from Toucan Party) and set them against a bright yellow background. To make that bright yellow really pop, but also not be super overwhelming, I confined it to the inside of the circle (from the Horizontal Stripes Ellements.) 

I opted to not stamp a greeting, but cut the word celebrate (from Sentimental Ellements) in a fun mint color. 

I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

Daddy and me (Neat and Tangled)

Hi there!

I'm here and on the Neat and Tangled blog this morning, with a card featuring our new Mommy Daddy and Me stamp set:

I used the image with the big bear and cub. I think it's sweet, how the cub's face is smushed in there a bit.

I started out by sponging a sky background for the bears to sit in front on, and gave them a ground to lay on using our Stitched Slopes die.

Once the bears were colored and cut out, I placed them onto their background and adhered everything to a cream-colored card base. I stamped the greeting directly onto the cream base and added a tiny heart to finish things off.



I like the simplicity of this card, especially to gift to dad. If it was for mom, I would probably add more, but this seemed like just enough for a "guy card."

I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

Just Because (Pinkfresh Studio)

Hi there!

I have a one-layer floral number to share with you today:



I used images from Pinkfresh Studio to create the card: the flowers from Always Flowers, and the sentiment from Bird With Flowers in the middle.

I started out by stamping the corner floral cluster into each corner of my card-front. Then, I tediously created masks (tip: I cut layers of masking paper at once to speed up the process) and stamped in the straight-lined flower arrangement to fill in the gap at the top and bottom.

At first, I thought about stamping more flowers to the left and right to create a true frame, but I thought that would look too busy.



Once the flowers were colored, I used a light blue copic marker to trace around their outlines. I lightened and softened that blue line by coloring over it with a colorless copic marker (0).

To create more interest, I flecked one some light brown ink before stamping in my greeting.

I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

Neat and Tangled release day!

Hi there!

All of the new Neat and Tangled products shown this week are now available for sale - click!

I illustrated 2 stamp sets this month.

Mommy Daddy and Me:

Making Magic:

Happy shopping! I can't wait to see what you create using these images!

♥.

Making magic (Neat and Tangled release week)

Hi there!

On this last day of Neat and Tangled's April release week, I'm thrilled to introduce you to this magical couple:

Making Magic is a 3x4 stamp set which features the magician (honestly, his hair kills me - he looks like a magician/used car salesman) and his gravity-defying volunteer. The little white rabbit is borrowed from Ride With Me..I love how he's checking out the magician.

The card design was inspired by *this card* from Kristina Werner. I loved all of the pops of color and thought it would be the perfect layout to show off this magical scene.



The whole set was inspired by vintage magic illustrations. Guys, she is living her best life right now. That huge smile is my fave.

I hope you like it! The rest of the design team has samples with Making Magic on the NT blog this morning - click!

As always, don't forget to leave me a comment before you go! Tomorrow morning, Danielle will pick a winner from among from design team blog posts this week to win a $25 gift card to the NT store.

♥.

Happiness (Neat and Tangled release week)

Hi there!

We're onto day 3 of this month's Neat and Tangled release week. Today, we're showing off a new set designed by Danielle, called Happiness. I paired it with the elephant and butterfly images from Mommy Daddy and Me to create this sweet card:

I illustrated the elephants to be looking at something together - the butterflies, the bubbles, the stars - you can create a fun scene with this two!

Happiness comes with a die that cuts out the word - you can use the oval with the letters cut out, or you could just use the letters, which is what I opted to do. I didn't want the bulk of the big oval die-cut on my card.



I love the butterflies fluttering all around the main sentiment!

There's more to see on the NT blog this morning - click! And don't forget to leave a comment before you go! At the end of the week, a winner is chosen from among all of the design team blog comments for a $25 gift certificate to the NT store.

♥.

mommy daddy and me (Neat and Tangled release week)

Hi there!

Welcome to day 2 of this month's Neat and Tangled release week. My first set of the month is being introduced today, and I am so excited for you to see it! Mommy Daddy And Me is a sweet collection of animals and their babies, and lends itself to creating Mother's and Father's day cards.

I decided to create a baby card for now, to show you a little something different:

I used the image of the baby mouse in his walnut bed, being tucked in under a canopy of leaves. I doubled up the branch image so they could be layered and wrapped around the focal image.



I placed the images onto a circle die-cut and layered that onto a sheet of baby blue gingham paper. I love that by just changing up the color of the baby mouse's blanket and the background paper, you could have a baby girl card instead.

The acorn mobile adds a sweet touch, hanging overhead, and the sentiment is from Itty Bitty Welcoming Committee.

I hope you like what you see so far! The rest of the images are on display on the Neat and Tangled blog this morning - click!

And don't forget to leave a comment on every post this week - there's a $25 gift card to the NT store up for grabs, which is picked randomly from all design team posts this week.

♥.

you can do hard things - autism awareness blog hop

This is my 3rd post today. Looking for Pinkfresh Studio's 4th birthday bash blog hop? click HERE

Or for Neat and Tangled release week post, day 1? click HERE

My friend Veronica Zalis organized a fantastic hop for Autism Awareness day. The cause is near and dear to her heart, as it touches her family personally, and I am happy to be a part of this hop. To learn more about autism, I suggest you visit autismspeaks.org

There are prizes up for grabs from a ton of crafty sponsors, and you have the opportunity to link up a card to help increase autism awareness. For all of the details, be sure to check out Veroica's blog - click!

In honor of Veronica's son Cameron, I used the little boy from Neat and Tangled's Better Together and stamped an uplifting sentiment from So Many Sentiments.

I hope you like it! Here is a complete list of blog participants:

Veronica Zalis 

Erica A-B

Sandy Allnock

Amanda Bodine

Kimberly Crawford 

Joscelyne Cutchens (Instagram)

Dana Joy

Wanda Guess

Jill Dewey Hawkins

Jennifer Ingle (Instagram)

Emily Midgett

Kay Miller

Carly Tee Minner

Miriam Prantner

Elena Roussakis

Heather Ruwe

Amy Tsuruta

Marcie Sharp

Alice Wertz

Vera Yates

Tenia Nelson

Katherine Cosimano

Rachel Parys

Pocono Pam

Terri Burson

Becca Dawn Cruger

Have courage (Neat and Tangled release week)

*** if you're looking for my Pinkfresh Studio blog post, click HERE or scroll down ***

Hi there!

It's time for this month's Neat and Tangled release week. Today, we're showing off a beautiful set designed by Miriam, called Have Courage. The rest of the team has beautiful cards that feature the gorgeous ginko leaves, but I when I spotted this sentiment in the set I couldn't help but do something a little different:

I paired the sentiment from Have Courage with an image from a set you'll get to know on Thursday. I gave the magician his own spotlight and shaded the rest of the card with different grey tones.



The sentiment is a perfect match!

I hope you like it! Check out all of the beautiful ginko leaves on the NT blog today - click!

♥.

Pinkfresh Studio 4th Birthday Bash Blog hop

Hi there!

I'm thrilled to be celebrating Pinkfresh Studio's 4th birthday! Pinkfresh is such a great company, with a kind and generous owner, and I love being on this team!

There are so many prizes to be won! Each stop along the blog hop is hosting their own giveaway! Keep reading to find out more...



I created a birthday scene in honor of Pinkfresh Studio's 4th birthday. The sweet elephants from Don't Forget are having a party! I brought in the cake, balloon and party hat from Pause For Applause.

The elephant hiding behind the cake actually has no body. I kind of drew in a few missing lines to make it make sense, but he still has no legs. I think it's ok, lol.



I framed the scene on either side with my favorite pattern from the A Case Of The Blahs collection, and drew in a bit of a twirl to make the balloon look like it's wrapped around the elephant's trunk on the right. This scene looks like something out of a children's book to me!

GIVEAWAY:

the fun part! There is a 40$ gift certificate up for grabs to the Pinkfresh Studio store. All you have to do is leave me a comment before Monday, April 9th at 6AM PST. The winners will all be posted on the Pinkfresh blog on April 9th at 12:30PM PST.

Additionally, there is a 100$ gift card in the running, for leaving a comment on the Pinkfresh Studio birthday hop blog post.

Here is a list of blogs you'll want to visit today:

Pinkfresh Blog

Adrienne Alvis

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Vicky Papaioannou

Amanda Baldwin

Amy Tsuruta

Ashley Horton

Crystal Thompson

Melissa Bickford

Erum Tasneem

Flora Farkas

Lea Lawson

Heather Hoffman

Kathleen Gramuller

Lorilei Murphy

Laura Bassen

Nina-Marie Tripanni

Veera Saarivuo

Zsoka Marko

Isha Gupta

Elsie Robinson

Elena Roussakis