Mama Elephant first look: believe in magic dies

Hi! I'm here with a pair of projects to show off the new Mama Elephant dies for Believe in Magic. I have loved this set since it was released last year, and now I love it even more! The dies will be available for purchase as of September 15th.

My first card features a snowglobe-santa-baby. hee. I love that he's wearing Christmas pjs, and a Santa hat (borrowed from Santa himself, from the Cozy Christmas set.) I stamped the little boy, masked him, and swirled a light blue ink all around. Keeping the mask on, I used white embossing paste and a snowfall stencil to create the snowglobe blizzard.

Once the inside of the snowglobe was all set, I grabbed some candy-cane striped patterned paper and used the globe's die to create an opening through which to peek my santa-baby.  On the back of the patterned paper, I taped down some clear packaging (ok, really just a piece of a ziploc sandwich bag. i'm so fancy.) and propped it all up onto a white card base.

The base of the snowglobe was adhered to the front of the card, as was the cozy greeting.

My second project uses the Believe in Magic stamp set and die set in a more straightforward way:

I love everything about this tag.  The night sky, the dark reindeer (that requires no cutting, thank you new dies) and the twinkle of stars overhead.

I colored the sky with dark blue and black copic markers, and then used the colorless blender to remove dots of color. I also used a white gel pen to add brighter dots of stars.



I stamped the reindeer in black and colored the die-cut outline to match the sky.  I then used a wink of stella glitter pen to make him stand out a bit more.  Before placing the reindeer onto the globe, I brushed on a thin layer of glossy accents.  It shines in real life!

I hope you like both of my projects today, and thank for stopping by!

♥.

be protected {mama elephant designer series}

Hi there, I'm back with my second post of the day! I'd love if you scrolled down to see my Avery Elle guest post.

I'm showing off a card I made with Mama Elephant's in my heart and the new starburst creative cut.

I always thought the little boy looked like he was praying, and I love the sentiment from the same set.  I die-cut the starburst cover plate and nestled the sentiment into the space between the stars.

I connected the sentiment to the boy below by way of a hanging star (from the set Splendid.)

To make the sky look a little hazy, (after sponging and rubbing on the distress inks for the sky color,) I took an eraser and started to lightly remove some of the color. I love the effect that it gave!

I mounted the coverplate on foam squares to the card base, so that the yellow paper I adhered to the base would show through the starry peepholes. For a last touch, I added some of the cut-out stars - starry confetti is my new fave.

Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

i'll be here {mama elephant designer series}

Hi there! I'm sharing a card I made with the new Mama Elephant set, bloomsies.

The banner is so fantastic, I couldn't help but combine it with my other favorite new release, in my heart.

I stamped the banner onto a piece of white cardstock and colored it in.  I wanted to make sure that it would stand out on the card.  Next, I planned out my sentiment. There is a lot of selective inking going on, but I'm happy to report no smudges. On this version. There were a few that came before. ha.

I colored the little girl (she's so cute, it looks like she's really coming for a hug) and popped her up in the space between the words.

The banner makes the whole thing pop, don't you think? It will get so much use at my house!

Thanks for stopping by!

♥.

ME + Operation Write Home blog hop

The Mama Elephant team is so excited to be partnering this summer with Operation Write Home - they are a nonprofit organization that sends beautiful handmade cards to American service members so that they can write home to their families. Isn't that wonderful?  There's no Hallmark in the desert, so this is a meaningful gift we can give them as crafters.

Mama Elephant's In My Heart set was inspired by the OWH mission, as many of  those serving overseas have little kiddos at home that they write to.  So they designed cute little kids images and sentiments to express just how much those little ones are missed. The drawings are done in such a way that they can be adapted to different ethnicities, making it a very flexible set.  Mama Elephant will be donating 20% of the proceeds from the sale of this set from now until July 31st when purchased through their store.

We know you'll want to support these efforts!  Visit the OWH website and read all of the guidelines carefully. You'll learn about why glitter is dangerous to send, and much more information on their welcome page, including answers to various questions you may have.  They also have a fun YouTube show each weekday, with project info, tutorials, and more - click!



I kept my card fairly simple, and flat for mailing, but added subtle interest by masking all of my images to be able to cluster them in closely together and sponge some soft brown ink around them.

I also added a touch of thread - less bulky than twine or ribbon, but it adds a bit of soft texture.

It's time for you to hop over to Emily's blog!

If you are just starting the hop on my blog, here is the complete hop list:

Mama Elephant ♥ Sandy Allnock ♥ Nichol Magouirk ♥ Lisa Spangler ♥ Elena (that's me!) ♥ Emily Leiphart ♥ Julie Ebersole ♥ Pamela Ho ♥ Joni Andaya ♥ Kathy Racoosin ♥ Laura Bassen ♥ Ashley Marcu ♥ Heather Campbell ♥ Operation Write Home

my sunshine {mama elephant stamp highlight}

It's the last day of the Mama Elephant June stamp highlights. We're showing off polka dot sunrays today, with my sunshine.



I popped the girl from in my heart in the center of the sunburst and grounded the image with the sentiment.



Then, I just kept layering... maybe a little too much? The verdict is still out.

Either way, I hope she brings a little sunshine to your day!

♥.

In my heart {mama elephant stamp highlight}

Hi, and welcome to the first day of Mama Elephant's June release stamp highlights. Today, we're highlighting what is hands down, the cutest set of the bunch, in my heart.

Did you happen to see that this set was inspired by Operation Write Home? And that until July 31st, 20% of the profits will be donated there?  What a great cause, and what an amazing company.

I used the images to create a soft "miss you" card.  The little girl is thinking of someone and miss them... but with a smile. ha. I used my 0.3 copic multiliner to add a little mouth to the image.  I think she looks super sweet either way, but it's fun to get different looks out of your stamps!

I grounded her with some grass and a snail couple, and then tangled the sentiment with the butterfly trail to lead your eye up to the clouds.



I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by.

♥.

Mama Elephant June Stampede!

Hey there!  It's time for the Mama Elephant June Stampede... are you ready? The new release is live and available for purchase in the store.

This month's crop of new stamps are must-haves, especially the sweet faces of in my heart.  I have used them on almost every card this month!  I can't help myself. 

Today, I paired in my heart with images from nursery deco:

I created a frame for the card by cutting a 4.25x5.5 inch piece of kraft cardstock with the rectangular die from femme frames. Inside, the little boy with the sleeper pyjamas (my favorite kind of pjs for toddlers, by the way. I can't ever get enough) is surrounded by his stuffed animals, a turtle and a bear, and standing in front of his room's decor.



I paper-pieced his pyjamas, and added some wooden star veneers to fill in some of the white space at the top.

As always, there's a giveaway!  To celebrate the new release, Mama Elephant is giving away one of each of the new stamp sets released.  Winners will be chosen at random from the Stampeding blogs and will be announced on the last day of the stamp highlights. You have 3 chances to win, just leave a separate comment for each:

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Now get to stampeding!  Here's the complete list:

Mama Elephant ♥ Sandy ♥ Laura ♥ Emily ♥ Pamela ♥ Joni ♥ Nichol ♥ Elena (me!)