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Hello and happy Friday! The weekend is finally here and that means I'm on vacation next week! YAHOOOooo! It's been a little while since I have shared some cards featuring alcohol ink backgrounds, so I pulled out some of these pre-made backgrounds to create a couple quick and simple "congrats" cards. I kept the sentiment basic enough so that these cards could be used for a wide variety of occasions from retirement parties and promotions to birthdays, babies and more.
I highly recommend checking out this Easy Alcohol Ink Background Tutorial by Jennifer McGuire. She has created a very simple introduction to working with alcohol inks to create some basic backgrounds. This was the first video I watched after purchasing my alcohol inks and then I just spent time playing around with them! The great thing is there is no right or wrong when it comes to art. You just have fun (and usually make a mess) with it! *My only tip would be that you don't need to spend your money purchasing polysynthetic Yupo Paper at nearly $1.00 per sheet. You can use the reverse side of any high quality photo paper (like this one by Kirkland) and achieve the same results!
I will usually set aside a crafting day and make about 50 alcohol ink background pieces and store them for later use. I find alcohol inks to be very messy, so this technique works well for me. 
Card details:
*All three cards were created the same way, just using different colors.
The base of each of these A2 sized cards is made from 80 lb Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Gina Marie Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle Dies, I cut a piece of cardstock (Blueberry Bushel, Granny Apple Green or Melon Mambo) and adhered it directly to the card base. I then cut down a pre-made alcohol ink background to 5" x 3 1/2" and adhered it directly to the center of the scalloped frame. I then cut the word "congrats" from either blue, pink or green glitter paper and matted that onto a white "congrats" sentiment for a slightly shadowed look. I trimmed pieces of 3M foam adhesive to fit behind the "congrats" and adhered it to the center of the card. Lastly I stamped "sending, your way" onto cardstock in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I fussy cut the sentiment strips and also adhered them to the card using strips of 3M foam adhesive. 
These vibrant and cheerful cards are sure to brighten anyone's day, regardless of what they might be celebrating. Thanks for visiting and be sure to come back tomorrow as I begin to share products from the Whimsy Stamps February release!
XO, CrystalYou might also enjoy:
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Hello and happy Wednesday friends! Today I am sharing another new January release from Whimsy Stamps with you called Polka Dot Pals: Syeda. The Polka Dot Pals collection is illustrated by Barbara Sproatmeyer for Whimsy Stamps. The Polka Dots Pals Collection are clear stamp sets with characters and various elements including scenery, facial expressions, animals, and more. Each is designed to coordinate as well as interchange pieces from one set to another. You can create your own characters by changing out faces or adding glasses. Pair characters together with cute animals or create different scenes each time you use these fun sets. You can see more of this collection here. Perhaps you are already thinking, "Wow, this really isn't her style" and I'll be completely honest, you are correct! This is not the type of stamp I would choose to purchase, as it is not my particular personal style. This stamp set was gifted to me as part of being a Whimsy Stamps DT member. Per the DT contract I signed (more about that next week!), it is required that I use and promote all gifted items. I have always believed we can look at life two ways - the good or the bad. How lucky am I that I was given this stamp set? And, more importantly, what can I learn from using this product? I will learn how to color. . . better!  Many of you have been commenting that my coloring is "so good" and "amazing", but I'm here to tell you that it's a daily struggle! I'm also very critical of my own work. I was doing good . . . at first. I saved her hair (the scary part!) for last! I've watched all the YouTube hair coloring tutorials, I've taken online classes with Kit and Clowder, I've done ALL the things. But, coloring is an art form and I am not an artist. No amount of training is going to change this. But, in time, I am slowly learning the tips and tricks. As for hair, we're still working on that part!   Here is the Polka Dot Pals Syeda stamp set that I used to create today's card:   I look forward to continue practicing my coloring skills, especially hair and skin, which I feel is one of the most difficult techniques to learn. This Polka Dot Pals stamp set has been great to practice with. I'm learning to embrace the scary things (like coloring) and hope you will try to do the same too! Thanks for visiting and happy creating! XO, Crystal You might also enjoy:
Hello! Thank you for stopping by and visiting my website! If you are a first time reader, welcome! I hope you will find creativity and inspiration as you look around. If you are a regular follower, thank you for your continued support and returning day after day to see what's new! Today I am sharing four Valentine's Day themed cards using the fun "Beep Bots" and "Beep Notes" stamp sets from RG Avenue. I am loving the robot trend right now and these robots are extra large which makes them the focal point on each card. I'm actually on the ball this year and have completed ALL of my Valentine's Day cards. Now, to get them addressed and mailed out (which seems to be where it all goes south for me!)
Here are the Beep Bots and Beep Notes stamp sets that I used to create these cards:
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!
XO, CrystalYou might also enjoy:
Hello readers and welcome back from the weekend! I hope you found a little time to do something crafty. Today I am sharing another card that I made for the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge #115. This week we have a theme challenge to inspire you. Our challenges run for two weeks, thereby giving you more time to create, so I have designed a second card to share with you this week that was still inspired by the same image seen below:
Many of my followers know that I am a cat lover, so I think all you dog fans will be pleasantly surprised with today's "adora-bull" card featuring the "Fabulous Frenchies" stamp set by Newton's Nook! I will admit, they are all very cute little bulldogs!
Card details:
*A full supply list (with shopping links) is located at the end of this post.
The base of this slimline card is made from red cardstock. This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2." It will fit inside a regular business sized #10 envelope. I lined the card base with a 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of black and white gingham printed paper. I die cut four heart from red carsdstock. On each heart I randomly stamped animal paw prints in red ink. I adhered all four hearts to the center of the card slightly overlapping each one to ensure they would all fit. 
I stamped all of the images (dogs and balloons) in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I colored all of the images with Copic markers and added highlights to the images using a white Uniball gel pen. I adhered the bulldogs to the card using foam adhesive. I added the balloon to the last bulldog's tail. I also punched small hearts from pink and red cardstock and adhered them to the card in another balloon shape on the second bulldog's tail. I then added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to all the bulldogs for added sparkle. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment "adora-bull" in red ink on white cardstock and notched the right side before adhering to the card with foam adhesive.
Will this theme inspire YOU to create? Are you ready to get your paws inky with us and play along for a chance to win?! We will randomly select one linked entry to receive a $20 store credit to the Newton's Nook Designs online shop!
We will also highlight our favorites from each challenge the following Monday, so that all entries have a chance to be featured on the Newton's Nook Designs blog. Please make sure you review the challenge rules page before you link up your project! Deadline to enter is Friday, January 31, at midnight CST. Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your creations there! XO, Crystal
List of supplies:
Hello readers and happy Friday! I hope you have fun things planned for the weekend ahead. Today I am sharing four cards that I created using the Heartfelt Blooms digital stamp set from RG Avenue. I loved creating multiple cards using each of the large flowers from this stamp set because I never get to use ALL the stamps in one set! We all tend to pick and choose our favorites, right?! But, also by making four different cards, I have many more cards to add to my ever decreasing supply. I also stayed with the same color palette (White, Gorgeous Grape and Granny Apple Green) for all of these cards in order to to give them a more cohesive look. You could even package them up in a little cellophane and give them away as a gift!
Below is the Heartfelt Blooms stamp set from RG Avenue. To learn more about digital stamping, please read here.
I hope you have enjoyed seeing a variety of different way to use this stamp set!
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative weekend! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
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I don't know about you, but I need a break from all things Valentine's Day! I feel as though I have been sharing a lot of ideas lately that have incorporated love, hearts, roses and more, but enough already! Today we are going to talk about another popular ailment this time of year - the dreaded flu! Knock on wood, I haven't been sick yet this winter, but it's coming, this I know! Until then, I will keep sanitizing e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g in sight and prepare some get well cards in advance.
Card details:
*A full list of supplies (with shopping links) is located at the end of this post.
This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2". The base of this card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I lined the card base with a 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of pale pink cardstock. I then lined this pale pink cardstock with a sheet of gray gingham paper from the Lawn Fawn Gotta Have Gingham paper pack. Using the Whimsy Stamps Slimline Scallop Die, I cut the frame from gray cardstock. Using gray ink, I stamped various sentiments like "germs" and "got soup" around the gray frame. These sentiments are available with the Whimsy Stamps Get Well stamp set. I stamped the three animals (pig, chicken and cat) in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth paper. I used my Scan & Cut 2 electronic cutting machine to cut the images out instead of fussy cutting them. 
I colored the images with Copic markers and added a few highlights to each image using a white Uniball gel pen. I added the images to the card using foam adhesive for added height and dimension. Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to all three images for added sparkle.
Now that I've been sharing a lot of these slimline cards, I'm curious if YOU have tried to make one yet?!
Thanks for visiting and happy creating! XO, Crystal
List of supplies:
Cats and candy! Can today get any better?! Okay, maybe if it were Friday already. . . Today I am sharing these M & M filled pillow box treats that I'll be giving to my friends at our upcoming annual craft retreat to the Cape. As our own little tradition, everyone attending (there are 8 of us in total) makes something small to give the others in the group. Sometimes it is a papercrafted item, but it doesn't have to be. In past years, there have also been small jars of homemade jelly and maple syrup, knitted hats, socks and embroidered tote bags! I'm lucky to have such talented and generous friends and family.
Project details:
*A full supply list (with shopping links) is located at the end of this post.
The base of the pillow box is made from 110# kraft cardstock. You will want to use a nice, thick cardstock as your base to ensure a sturdy box. First, I die cut a heart on one side of the pillow box and lined the inside with a piece of acetate. This will ensure nothing falls out of the hole! While the box is still flat (before assembly) I stamped the paw prints on both sides of the box in kraft ink. I also stamped the hearts in red ink. I assembled the two sides of the box using tear tape. You will want to use a good adhesive here like the tear tape (or red line tape) to ensure the box holds together well. 
I filled the boxes with both plain and peanut M & M's. To each box I added a sentiment that was stamped in red ink on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I notched the right edge of the sentiment strip. I die cut a large heart from red cardstock and a small heart from gold glimmer cardstock. I also stamped a variety of cats from the Newton's Nook Newton Loves Boxes and Newton's Antics stamp sets in Memento Tuxedo black ink. I colored the cat images with Copic markers and then adhered all of the pieces together on the outside of each pillow box with foam adhesive for added height and dimension.
I love using the Lawn Fawn Pillow Box die for small treats because of it's easy assembly. Some of those dies can be very challenging! Plus, it can be filled with so many different things from candy and gift cards to jewelry and more.
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, Crystal
List of supplies:
Hello and happy Tuesday, friends. Today I am honored and excited to be part of the RG Avenue fundraising mission to help aid Australia from the terrible fires they have been experiencing. Honestly, I can't even turn on the evening news or read a newspaper article because I see these animals that are suffering and my heart breaks. RG's team has created the "Sending Love" digital stamp featuring native animals of Australia, the koala and the kangaroo, as well as a map of Australia with it's most notable landmark, the Sydney Opera House. All proceeds from the sale of this digital stamp set will be donated to the Ellen Degeneres Go Fund Me account benefiting Australia Bushfire Relief.      Here is the Sending Love Australia digital stamp set from RG Avenue:  The Sending Love Exclusive Digital Download purchase includes files in formats; Regular PDF, Outlined PDF, SVG & JPEG. All of these file formats will work well with your electronic cutting machines. Instantly after checkout, you will receive the zip file of digital files so you can start creating projects right away. If you would like more information about using digital files, please read this article.  I hope you will help support this, and any cause, that aids the people, the animals, and the land of Australia from the devastation of these wildfires. Thank you! XO, Crystal Hello friends and readers, I am happy to debut a new series today called "Crafty Finds." This series will feature a variety of craft tools, stamps, papers, dies and accessories/embellishments that focus on a particular season or holiday relevant to the current time of year. Sometimes the most cumbersome and time consuming part of crafting is finding the right item(s) we want to use! Hopefully this series will help you find that perfect stamp set or die, as well as introduce you to products and companies you might not be familiar with. For this first edition of my Crafty Finds series, I'll be focusing on Valentine's Day. ~ Stamps ~
~ Paper ~
~ Dies ~
~ Accessories ~
I hope you have enjoyed this new series and, more importantly, that you will find it useful. I'd love to hear YOUR thoughts, so please comment below. I'm already looking forward to creating a similar board for St. Patrick's Day! XO, Crystal
Hello friends and happy Monday! I am excited to be sharing my card for the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge today. I frequently hear from friends and fellow stampers that they aren't creative enough to design something on their own, or that they don't know what colors to use. They feel frustrated before they even begin because they don't know where to begin. I understand! Yes, I've been there too! That's the concept behind a card challenge. It can help to inspire you and get the creative juices flowing by giving you a place to start. Challenge #115 by Newton's Nook is a theme challenge. Let the image below be your inspiration for creating a card (or scrapbook page) and see where this challenge takes you!
Here is the card I created inspired by the image above. I went with the theme of hearts:
Card details:
*A full list of supplies (with shopping links) is located at the end of this post.
The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. Using a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of designer paper with a red heart pattern, I adhered this patterned paper directly to the card base. Using the Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle dies, I cut a medium sized rectangle from red cardstock. I adhere this directly to the center of the card. I die cut a large heart from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and stamped small hearts in red ink around the heart. I also stamped the "thank you" sentiment in red ink. 
I stamped the flowers from the Newton's Nook Designs Peony Blooms stamp set in Memento Tuxedo black ink on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I colored in the flowers with Copic markers and used the coordinating Peony Blooms dies to cut them out. I adhered the flowers to the bottom portion of the heart with foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for added sparkle.
In this close-up photo of the peonies, you can see the sparkle from the Wink of Stella:
Will this theme inspire YOU to create? Are you ready to get your paws inky with us and play along for a chance to win?! We will randomly select one linked entry to receive a $20 store credit to the Newton's Nook Designs online shop!
We will also highlight our favorites from each challenge the following Monday, so that all entries have a chance to be featured on the Newton's Nook Designs blog. Please make sure you review the challenge rules page before you link up your project! Deadline to enter is Friday, January 31, at midnight CST. Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your creations there! XO, Crystal
List of supplies:
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