EBE favorites blog hop

Hi there!

Ellen Hutson is celebrating 12 years! The design team has gotten together to celebrate, by creating cards with our favorite Essentials by Ellen stamp sets. It was too hard to choose one, so I chose 2:



I used Plaid Maker to create my background. I stamped the solid block image in black ink onto red cardstock. To create the lighter squares, I first stamped off onto scrap paper before pressing down onto my red card. I usually take more time to make sure the plaid is perfect, but I eyeballed everything here. I wanted it to look homespun and hand-painted. To finish off the plaid, I inked up some stripes in white ink. It looks so cozy!

The focal image snowman is from my other favorite set, Snow Buds. I colored his scarf, hat and mittens to match the background. I dangled his mittens again like I did in *this card.* I love the look!

The only sentiment I needed was from the Neat and Tangled set, Stay Cool. I overlapped the mittens onto the sentiment and adhered them to a kraft-colored circle. I used a white paint pen to color the outside edge of the circle, and dotted little snow flakes to the inside.

I hope you like it!  If you're shopping today, check out Ellen Hutson's Black Friday sale:

♥.

A sweatered llama

Hi there!

I posted this card to my instagram yesterday, but I thought it would be fun to show you how I made the little sweater for the Neat and Tangled Fa La Llama llama:



I started out by inking the llama image, but I wiped off all of the ink for his scarf and saddle detailing. Is it a saddle? dude, I have no idea. But you can see what got stamped on the right. I used a pencil to doodle a sweater design, and then traced over my doodle with a copic-friendly pen (like this one!)



I then colored him in using copic markers. I think he is just so sweet! The next step was to use him on a card:

I could help but stamp the Santa from Elfs And Their Shelf, and have him ride on the llama's back. I also stamped out the little snowman from Snow Fun, and tucked him behind a gift.



The sentiment, from Snow Days, was heat embossed, and I used a white gel pen to add little snowflakes to the background. The whole thing was set against a cozy knit patterned paper (by Lawn Fawn.)

I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

25 days of Christmas Tags (Lawn Fawn)

Hi there!

I'm thrilled to be participating in Tracey Mcneely's 25 Days of Christmas Tags again this year!

There are sponsors for every day of the event, and today's sponsor is Lawn Fawn.



I used a Stitched Circle Tag for my tag base, and created a penguin using Woodland Critter Hugger Dies and the Woodland Critter Hugger Winter Add-Ons dies.

I used the belly die from the Woodland Critter die set to create the body of my penguin, and again the tip of that same belly die to create his belly. The rest is more straightforward! The Santa hat fits perfectly onto his head and the holly-and-berry accent at the top of the tag adds a cute final touch.

I scattered white enamel dots all around to look like falling snow.

I hope you like it! Be sure to visit Tracey's blog this morning for a list of participating designers - click!

♥.

Snowman party (for Lawn Fawn )

Hi there!

I'm here and on the Lawn Fawn blog this morning, with some fun ideas for a Christmas snowman party.

It just started snowing here last week, so I am definitely in the mood for all the holiday things!



I went with a red and green color scheme - it is so bright and cheerful!



The banner was created using the String of Lights dies, and I added glossy accents to each one so they really shine! I strung them up onto some Peppermint Cord. To keep the lights facing forward, I added a loop of twine to each light, securing it in the back with some tape.



I created little favor gifts using the Tiny Gift Box die and topped them with red bows using the dies from Gift Box.



The green argyle patterned paper is so cozy! And they looks so pretty, all in a row.

It's really hard to tell from the photos, but I iced the cake in rows of vertical waves and then threw some clear sanding sugar onto the entire cake. It looks like freshly-fallen snow. It really sparkles!

To create the snowmen, I used 2 circle dies and accessories from both Woodland Critter Huggers and Woodland Critter Hugger Winter Add-Ons.

I just think they are adorable! I got the idea from Yainea, who inspired me with her card last week.



To dress up the milk bottles, I cut some snowflake patterned paper and wrapped it to cover the bottom half of the bottles. Then, I dangled little mittens from more Peppermint Cord.

I used a white gel pen to trace the snowflake pattern on the front of each mitten. It looks like a stitched snowflake!

I hope this starts your wheels turning for your own holiday parties! Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

25 Days of Christmas Tags (Neat and Tangled)

Hi there!

I'm thrilled to be participating in Tracey Mcneely's 25 Days of Christmas Tags again this year!

There are sponsors for every day of the event, and today's sponsor is Neat and Tangled.

I am loving a red, black and white combo for Christmas this year. The snowman, from Snow Fun, is so cute looking down at his little friend. The little speech bubble with the heart in it is from Oh Deer, and the sentiment is from Christmas Sentiments. I used the Build A Tag die set to create the tag.



I hope you like it! Be sure to visit Tracey's blog this morning for a list of participating designers - click!

♥.

Lawn Fawn holiday week

Hi there!

Lawn Fawn is hosting "a very fawny holiday week" to give you inspiration for holiday cards and projects. If you missed the first few days, you should definitely check it out on their blog. I'm up today, with a card that pulls from a few different sets:

I used the Peekaboo Backdrop to frame out little wintery scenes.  I used different holiday sets for the critters, including Toboggan Together, Sealed With A Kiss, and Beary Happy Holidays.



I added the sentiment and speech bubble from Say What? Christmas Critters.



After the entire card was assembled, I decided that it was missing something, so I grabbed a snowfall stencil and some texture paste and tried my best to work around the images and frames. Not my best move, haha. I was sweating a bit, but I think it worked out ok.

Thanks for stopping by! Check out the LF blog this morning for more projects - click!

♥.

Stay cool!

Hi there!

I'm here and on the Neat and Tangled blog this morning, with a card that features a set from our newest release, Stay Cool.

I started out by coloring the images that I wanted to feature: the little kid on the polar bear, and the ice-fishing kid. I colored their parkas and mittens in a neutral light brown (using copic markers E30, E31, and E33.)

I added warmth to the polar bear using light grey markers (W3, W1 and W00,) but I was very light-handed with the coloring. I left most of his body uncolored and just gave shadows where I thought they would be.

The ice-fisher found a present instead of a fish, and I also added a tiny snowman from Snow Fun as an extra cold-weather friend. I die-cut the COOL sentiment and colored it using a few light blue markers (B0000 and B00.)

For the background, I used a piece of Altenew's Nebula washi tape, and also grounded the image using a piece of their Golden Edge washi tape. I added some white enamel snow dots to the night-sky background to finish things off.

I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

Neat and Tangled release week wrap-up!

Hi there!

Just a note to say that all new products shown this week are available for purchase right now!

Including my designs: Stay Cool, Snow Fun, and the Penguin Treat Holder die!

As well, Neat and Tangled has collaborate with Benzie Design to bring you some fun dies, just in time for holiday crafting: an ugly sweater stitching die set, and a snowflake stitching die set. There are some gorgeous inspiration projects on the NT blog this morning - click!

Happy shopping!

♥.

Party foxes (Avery Elle winter release blog hop)

Hi there!

If you're looking for my Neat and Tangled post, just scroll down.

It's time for Avery Elle's winter release blog hop, and I am so excited to show off the super cute Party Fox stamp set:



They are so quirky and cute, and I think it's the little one's birthday. I colored them both using my favorite "foxy" copic marker trio: E11, E13 and E17, and set them against a confetti patterned paper background.



I then framed out the images using a kraft-colored Oval Burst die.  I used a warm grey copic marker to add a bit of shadowing under the foxes feet, and added a die-cut sentiment to the top of the oval. I curved the Hooray sentiment slightly, to fit the curve of the oval, and layered a dark brown die-cut over a white one. I thought this complemented the cartoon-y foxes very well.

I hope you like it! I hope you'll check out all of the blog hop stops today:

Avery Elle / Jamie  

Caryn Davies

Heather Campbell

Yainea

Melania Deasy

Katie Gehring 

Amy Kolling 

Ashley Marcu

Elena Roussakis

Nicky Meek

To celebrate their Winter 2018 release blog hop, Avery Elle is giving away a $25 gift certificate to one random winner. To enter, comment on Avery Elle blog's official post for today. For more chances at winning, you can also:

1. Comment on any of the design team's posts
2. Follow AE on Twitter and tweet the contest (@averyellestamps)
3. Follow AE on Facebook (www.facebook.com/AveryElle)
4. Follow AE on Pinterest
5. Become a blog follower through email
6. Join the AE flickr group

The contest is open until November 11th, at midnight. Good luck!

All of the new products are already in the shop right now!

♥.

Snow fun! (Neat and Tangled release week)

Hi there!

On this last day of Neat and Tangled's November release week, we're showing off a 3x4 set that I designed, called Snow Fun.

The set features a snowman with an outstretched twig arm - a perfect spot for the sweet bird to perch!

I colored the snowman and the bird, with their matching Santa hats, and set them against a night sky. I used Lawn Fawn dies for the sky and the white circle frame, and set everything onto a Fa La La coverplate background. No sentiment needed!



Snow Fun also features a tiny snowman and a present, if you'd like to vary what gets perched onto the twiggy arm.

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

GIVEAWAY: as usual, leave comments on all of the participating design team's blog posts all week long - Danielle will choose one comment at random to win a $25 store gift card. The winner will be announced on Friday morning, just before all of these new products hit the store!

♥.

Stay cool (Neat and Tangled release week)

Hi there!

Welcome to day 3 of this month's Neat and Tangled release week. Today, we're showing off a stamp set I designed, called Stay Cool. It features a few cold-weather critters, and some heavily-dressed little kids. I have 2 cards to share with you today, because this set is so much fun to color!



My first card features 2 of the kids in a little winter scene. The one on the left can ice-fish either the fish or a gift, and I love how the penguin is looking on.

For the background, I used an amazing washi tape by Altenew (click!) I love how it looks like dancing northern lights - perfect for this wintery scene!

I colored the kids' parkas a fun burgundy and gave them some shading under their feet.

My second card shows off the last little girl. She comes pulling the sled, and I've added a riding penguin. The little BRRR! sign was borrowed from a set you'll see tomorrow, and the sentiment comes courtesy of the Merry Kisses stamp set.

I hope you like what you see so far! Be sure to check out the Neat and Tangled blog this morning for more inspiration - click!

GIVEAWAY: as usual, leave comments on all of the participating design team's blog posts all week long - Danielle will choose one comment at random to win a $25 store gift card. The winner will be announced on Friday morning, just before all of these new products hit the store!

♥.

Penguin treat holder (Neat and Tangled release week)

Hi there!

Welcome back to day 2 of this month's Neat and Tangled release week. Today, we're showing off a die that I designed, the Penguin Treat Holder die:



Isn't he cute? I see a lot of little critter dies out there, that can hug treats, but none where the arms fold up. I thought that gave him a cute little shy quality.

The die is designed so that he can long, skinny objects - a holiday pencil (or a valentine's day pencil! I'm thinking ahead!) a candy cane, or even rolled-up dollah billz.



You could add a little topper to his head and string him onto a gift, or pop him onto a larger tag shape, but I stuck him directly onto the little gift box. I think he is so sweet, and I hope you do too!

My daughter and I will be churning out a slew of these to hand out to her classmates for Christmas!

GIVEAWAY: as usual, leave comments on all of the participating design team's blog posts all week long - Danielle will choose one comment at random to win a $25 store gift card. The winner will be announced on Friday morning, just before all of these new products hit the store!

♥.

Joy from me to you (Neat and Tangled release week)

Hi there!

I am so excited to kick off this month's Neat and Tangled release week - it is my favorite of the entire year, and I know you will love it too.

We're starting out by showing off products designed by Miriam Prantner - a triangle favor box, and the Gift Card Box Christmas Sentiments stamp set. The sentiments are designed to work with the previously released Gift Card Box, but I've used it on the triangle box today:



I love all of the little dies that come with the gift box! I made a collection of boxes that work together, but that are all a little different. And I have to admit, I just love this triangle shape! I have a lot of rectangle and square favor box options, but this is something different.

I used one of the triangle dies to cut into the box, and a smaller triangle to add a little snowflake accent to one corner.

The box at the back was simply treated to a sentiment flag. The Fa-la-la sentiment is from Fa La Llama.



I kept the boxes all black and white, but the bright red jelly beans added a pop of Christmas color. I miss those jelly beans. They were very delicious.

I hope you like what you've seen here so far! There is more to see on the Neat and Tangled blog this morning - click!

GIVEAWAY: as usual, leave comments on all of the participating design team's blog posts all week long - Danielle will choose one comment at random to win a $25 store gift card. The winner will be announced on Friday morning, just before all of these new products hit the store!

♥.

So many snowmen

Hi there!

I have a just-for-fun card to share with you today, for the love of snowmen:

I rarely find the time to craft outside of my design team assignments, but I picked up the Mama Elephant Little Snowman Agenda stamp set and thought it would be a cute addition to the kid-in-snowman costume that I illustrated (from Christmas Pageant.)

I love him holding the hands of his teeny snowman friends, and they are all dressed up in their red scarves and winter hats. Can we talk about his skin color? I just think it's so striking to see a darker skin in contrast to the white of the snowman costume. Like a darker skinned bride in a glorious white dress. So beautiful! As opposed to how pasty I looked on my wedding day, haha. I need to make more of an effort to show more diversity in my coloring, and I will make a point of being more conscious of it. My husband is Indian, and my own kids have darker skin. Every single time I color an image to "look like them" they comment on how cute it is.

That being said, I do find it harder to find a good copic combination for darker skin. If you color, can you share your faves? I used E55, E57 and E59 here and I think it's perfect.



I added some green trees (from Bunny Slopes) and a few stamped snowflakes to the background, and then popped everything onto a green plaid background. It's my favorite card of the season so far!

Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

Oh what fun! (an EBE sneak peek)

Hi there!

I'm back today with another sneak peek of the new EBE collection, coming this Sunday November 4th:

I used the new Snow Days set, as well as the set from yesterday's peek, Snow Buds to create this fun card.



I used 2 of the pattern strips from Snow Days to create a pink background. It looks like a cozy knitted sweater! I then stamped the graphic sentiment in black ink right overtop.

The snowman, from Snow Buds looks like he's actually saying the sentiment out loud! I love his little open mouth. I colored his hat and scarf in blue, to keep the color scheme soft and girly.

I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

Snow Buds (an EBE sneak peek!)

Hi there!

I'm thrilled I get to share an Essentials by Ellen sneak peek - you will love this winter collection!

I used the new Snow Buds set to create this card:

Aren't they the cutest? I love them. I stamped out 3 snowmen, and gave them different faces and accessories. They take on different personalities, just by altering the faces and where you stamp them!

I set them against a navy cardstock that was die-cut using Lawn Fawn's Snowy Backdrop die. I edged the corners of the navy paper with a white ink to create a little bit of a hazy sky.

I placed their stick arms to make it look like they are throwing their arms around their friend in the middle. ha! The sentiment works so perfectly with this scene.

I hope you've enjoyed this first look at Snow Buds!  I have another card to show off tomorrow!

♥.