 Hello readers! I'm so happy to be joining the Whimsy Stamps and WOW! Embossing Powders 2020 blog hop! We have lots of talented designers from across the world here to share lots of inspiration with you using a variety of products from both companies. Be sure to read to the end of this post for details on how you can win some great prizes!  I have created three similar cards to share with you today using the "Flight of the Butterflies" stamp set by Whimsy Stamps and WOW! Embossing Powders in Blue Tang, Purple Orchid and Pink Robin. If I'm being completely honest, this is my first time using colored embossing powders. I tend to stick with the more traditional colors of gold, black, silver and white. But, I'm changed! Using these vibrant embossing powders really adds and element of shine and color to these cards.  Card details:*A full supply list is located at the end of this post. The base of this A2 sized card is made from Blueberry Bushel cardstock. I cut the first scalloped layer from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock using the Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle. I created an alcohol ink background using a variety of blue and green alcohol inks. I stamped the butterflies from the "Flight of the Butterflies" stamp set in Versamark ink and heat embossed them in Wow! Blue Tang embossing powder. On a separate sheet of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock, I stamped the sentiment from the "Flight of the Butterflies" stamp set in Versamark ink and also heat embossed it in Wow! Blue Tang embossing powder. I used a scalloped circle die to cut the sentiment out and I adhered it to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped two small butterflies in Blueberry Bushel ink, fussy cut them and adhered them around the scalloped circle for more visual interest.   Details:The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut the first scalloped layer from Gorgeous Grape cardstock using the Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle. I created an alcohol ink background using a variety of purple inks. I stamped the butterflies from the "Flight of the Butterflies" stamp set in Versamark ink and heat embossed them in Wow! Purple Orchid embossing powder. On a separate sheet of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock, I stamped the sentiment from the "Flight of the Butterflies" stamp set in Versamark ink and also heat embossed it in Wow! Purple Orchid embossing powder. I used a scalloped circle die to cut the sentiment out and I adhered it to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped two small butterflies in Gorgeous Grape ink, fussy cut them and adhered them around the scalloped circle for more visual interest.    The blog hop starts right today and will run until the 5th of April. As we have so many talented designers wanting to play along we decided to celebrate by split the blog hop up over two days. The winners will be chosen at random in the week of the of 8th of April from the comments left on THE POSTS. There are two prizes which means two winners!!!! WOW! Embossing Powders has 6 powders of your choosing along with a WOW carry case to store your powders safely in. Whimsy Stamps is giving away a $25 gift certificate to their store! To join this GIVEAWAY you must leave a comment on the designer's blog post and each comment you leave is an entry for a chance at getting your hands on these prizes. This hop is open internationally. You should be arriving from the amazing Laura Volpes website and next you can visit the creatively talented Carisa Zglobicki, but if you get lost along the way, here is a list of all the artists involved in this hop: Whimsy Stamps Jo Herbert Michelle Bala Laura Volpes Crystal Komara (You are here!) Carisa Zglobicki Tricia Barber Amber Rain Davis Alanna Moses Karen Reategui Bev Rochester WOW! Embossing Powder List of supplies:
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Hello friends and happy Monday! I hope you all had a nice weekend. 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 #120 by Newton's Nook is a sketch 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 this week's sketch. I used the beautiful new Easter Lily stamp set by Newton's Nook as the focal point:
Card details:
*A full supply list is located at the end of this post.
The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Stitched Rectangle frames from Gina Marie Designs I cut the first layer from kraft cardstock. I found a miscellaneous piece of orange and pink floral cardstock to adhere to the krat mat and placed two piece of linen thread around before adhering directly to the card base. On a separate sheet of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock, I stamped the Easter Lily in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. After this cooled, I die cut the carsdstock using the Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitched Nesting Circles. I adhered the scalloped circle to the card using 3M foam adhesive. I added a little bit of peach watercolor from a Zig Clean Brush to the center of the lilies for a little hint of color. Lastly, on a separate piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock, I stamped the sentiment in Orange Cream ink and punch it out with a circle punch. I adhered the circle to the card using 3M foam adhesive. I tied a small bow with the linen thread and adhered the bow using a mini glue dot. 
Will this sketch 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! The deadline to enter is Friday, April 10th, at midnight CST. Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your creations there! XO, CrystalList of supplies:Hello readers and happy Sunday! I hope you are all having a nice weekend. It's a very rainy day here so I think there will be lots of chill time and catching up on movies, rather than crafting today! But, I have next week off from work, so there will be plenty of time to play over the next seven days. . . Today I am excited to share with you another new stamp from the "Spring Fling" release at RG Avenue. In all honesty, this new stamp set called "Succulent Terrarium" is just about the only plant that I am ever going to keep alive!   Card details:The base of this A2 sized card is made from gray cardstock. I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock for the first mat. I stamped "thank you" in gray ink on the lower right corner of the white cardstock. I had a previously created piece of alcohol ink background in my scraps pile (made with orange and gold alcohol inks) that I cut to a 1 1/2" x 4 " strip and adhered to the center of the card. I printed the images from the "Succulent Terrarium" digital stamp set onto Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I colored the images with Copic markers and cut them out using my Scan & Cut 2 electronic cutting machine. I adhered the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added height.   Card details:The base of this A2 sized card is made from gray carsdtock. I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Neenah Solar white smooth cardstock for the mat. I had a previuosly made alcohol art piece in my "scraps" bin (made using gold and orange alcohol inks) and I die cut it with a hexagon die. I adhered the hexagon to the left side of the card. I stamped hello in the upper righthand corner in gray ink. I printed out all of the images from the "Succulent Terrarium" digital stamp set onto Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and colored the images with Copic markers. I used my Scan & Cut 2 electronic cutting machine to cut the images out. I adhered the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added height. Lastly, I added a coat of Dazzling Pat to the images for added sparkle.   Enjoy the rest of your weekend, friends! XO, CrystalYou might also enjoy:
Hello readers and happy Friday! I'm excited to be sharing an adorable new stamp set from the Spring Fling release at RG Avenue. Unfortunately, the large weekend "Spring Fling" stamping event in Arizona had to be canceled last weekend, but this new "Oh La La" stamp set is now available online and it just might be my favorite set from this new release!
Card details:
*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.
The base of this slimline card is cut from gray cardstock. This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x x 3 1/2" wide. I adhered a piece of 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock directly to the card base. Using the Whimsy Stamps Slimline Postage Stamp Die, I cut the frame from Pink Glitter paper. Because the "Oh La La" stamp set I had was the digital stamp set, I printed out all the images from my computer on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I colored the images with Copic markers and add a few highlights to some of the images using a Uniball White gel pen. I used my Scan & Cut 2 machine to cut out all of the images electronically and then I adhered the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the bunnies, swan and cat for added sparkle. 
I hope you have enjoyed this sweet card! Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!
Please say healthy and remember, "By staying home, you just might be saving the life of someone you may never meet." XO, CrystalList of supplies:Hello friends and readers, I am happy to debut the third post of my newer series 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 edition of my Crafty Finds series, I'll be focusing on Easter. *Given that we are currently facing uncertain times during this worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, I can't stress enough the importance of "living within your means." Crafting products are certainly a non-essential item when some are facing the extremely stressful challenges of illness, job losses and financial instability in the economy. Please shop responsibly today and always. -Stamps-
-Paper-
-Dies-
-Accessories/Embellishments-
I hope you are enjoying 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 my next board for Mother's Day. XO, CrystalI honestly cannot remember the last wedding I attended, it's been that long. . . But, I always try and keep a few extra wedding cards on hand, you know, just in case someone opts for Elvis and Vegas on a Friday night whim! I also do not even remember the last wedding card I actually made, so clearly that has been a while too! Recently, as I was organizing and re-labeling my shoe boxes of cards, I realized that I am out of wedding cards. So, today I have used the "Pretty Pavilion" stamp set from Stampin' UP! to create a few wedding themed cards to have on hand.  Card details:*A full supply list is located at the end of this post. The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle dies from Gina Marie Designs, I cut the scalloped background from Melon Mambo paper. I cut a 3" x 2" piece of floral patterned paper and adhered it to the bottom of the scalloped rectangle. I cut a 3" x 3" piece of white cardstock to place above the floral paper. I stamped "always and forever" in the upper left corner in Melon Mambo ink. I stamped the pavilion in Versamark ink on Crumb Cake cardstock. i heat embossed the pavilion with white embossing powder and then die cut it using the coordinating die.  I stamped the pavilion banner in Versamark ink on Melon Mambo cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I used the coordinating die to cut the banner out. I stamped the two trees and the presents in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock and colored them with Copic markers. I then adhered the entire scene to the card using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I tied a piece of green twine around the card before adhering it all together.   Here is the second card I created also using the Pretty Pavilion stamp set:  Card details:The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I placed a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of mint plaid paper directly on the card base. Using the Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle dies by Gina Marie Designs, I cut a piece of Mint Macaron cardstock. I lined the Mint Macaron cardstock with a piece of white cardstock. On this white cardstock, I stamped the sentiment "Always and Forever" in Blushing Bride ink. I stamped the pavilion in Early Espresso ink and die cut it using the coordinating dies. I stamped the trees in Tuxedo Memento Black ink and colored them using Copic markers. I stamped the pavilion banner in Versamark ink on Blushing Bride cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I die cut it using the coordinating dies. I stamped the pavilion greenery in Versamark ink on Mint Macaron cardstock and heat embossed in with white embossing powder. I die cut the greenery using the coordinating dies. I assembled the entire scene together using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.    I hope these cards will inspire you to create some wedding cards to have on hand too. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
Hello crafty readers! I hope you are doing well, staying healthy and being as positive as possible right now. Today I am on the Birch Press Design blog for their Blog Blitz celebration! All week long the Creative Team is inspiring you with their amazing designs, but also giving YOU a chance to win some of these fun NEW products! I am sharing two vividly detailed cards using the new String Art Frame. Be sure to read all the way to the end of today’s post to see how you can win this die and watch the video of how to create these cards.  Card details:For this second card, I used an alcohol ink background filled with blues and greens that resembled the ocean. When I die cut the String Art frame in silver, I realized it kind of looked like a fishing net! So, I went with it and created an “Ocean Fantasy” scene.  I stamped many of the images from the Ocean Fantasy stamp set in Versamark ink on a variety of blue and green colored cardstock. I heat embossed the images with white embossing powder and then fussy cut each image (there is no coordinating die set). I adhered the images to the card with 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I even added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the images for even more sparkle!   Here is the second card I created using the same String Art Frame:  Card details:For this A2 sized card, I used a base of Neenah Solar White Smooth 80 lb. cardstock. I created a background from alcohol inks in the colors of Raspberry, Salmon and Valencia. I die cut the new String Art frame from gold glitter cardstock and adhered it directly over the alcohol ink background.   Using the Lovely Butterflies stamp set, I stamped three of the smaller butterflies in similar ink colors (Raspberry, Salmon and Yellow). I die cut the butterflies and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I also added a couple gold rhinestones to the bodies of each butterfly for added sparkle. Using the Garden Bloom stamp set, I stamped the “butterflies” sentiment in Raspberry ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and the “remind us of how good change can be” in salmon ink just below it. I trimmed the sentiment strip to 4 1/4″ x 1 3/4″ to fit the card just below the butterflies.  I have created a video for you showing how I made each of today’s cards. I hope you will enjoy it seeing the step-by-step process: Birch Press Design will be having giveaways on their Instagram account from March 21-29, 2020. For a chance to win this String Art Frame die and MORE great prizes: 1.) Follow Birch Press Design on Instagram 2.) Double Tap (LIKE) the post with this giveaway 3.) Tag A Friend in the comments Good luck! And thanks for joining us! XO, Crystal
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 #119. This week we have a color 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:
Here is the card I created inspired by the challenge colors:
Card details:
*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.
The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of turquoise cardstock and adhered it directly to the card base. To create the shaker frame, I cut a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of white cardstock and die cut a semi circle in the center middle. I lined the back of the frame with a solid piece of 3" x 3" white cardstock that I stamped "cheers" on in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I lined the back of the frame with acetate and lined the edges with foam adhesive to keep the sequins in. I stamped the sentiment in the upper right corner using a turquoise ink. I stamped all of the drink images from the Newton's Nook "Cocktail Mixer" stamp set in Memento Tuxedo black on white cardstock. I colored the images with Copic markers and used the coordinating "Cocktail Mixer" dies to cut them out. I placed a thin strip of silver glimmer paper at the bottom of the card to "ground" the drinks and then I adhered the drinks using foam adhesive for added dimension. 
Will these colors 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, March 27th, at midnight CST. Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your creations there! List of supplies:
Hello and TGIF, friends! We've made it through the week (I'm one of the unfortunate ones still working) and I'm soooooo ready for the weekend! Today I am excited to share a brand new stamp from the March Special Release at Whimsy Stamps. This beautiful, large sunflower is a perfect addition to my collection and I couldn't be more pleased with how these two cards came out using alcohol inks, vellum and gold glitter accents.
Card details:
*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.
This first A2 sized card was made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I created the background using Valencia orange and Daffodil yellow alcohol inks on Kirkland glossy photo paper. Once this alcohol ink dried, I adhered the background to the white card base. I stamped the large sunflower in Versamark ink on vellum cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I fussy cut the sunflower and cut it in half. I adhered both halves of the sunflower to the card (so it appears larger than the stamp really is). On a 4 1/4" x 2" piece of white cardstock, I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I adhered this sentiment to the middle of the card. I punched out two leaves from gold glitter paper and tucked them behind the sunflower for added sparkle and dimension. 
Here is the second card I created using the new Sunflower stamp:
Card details:
The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I created the background using Valencia orange and Daffodil yellow alcohol inks on Kirkland glossy photo paper. Once this alcohol ink dried, I adhered the background to the white card base. I stamped the sunflower in Versamark ink on yellow cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I fussy cut the sunflower with scissors. I also stamped the sunflower in Versamark ink on brown cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I fussy cut the center of the brown sunflower and adhered it to the center of the yellow sunflower for added dimension. On a 4 1/4" x 2" piece of vellum, I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder.
I hope you have enjoyed today's cards. I feel as though these are a bit out of my comfort zone, but I'm really liking them and want to embrace stepping outside of the box more often!
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative weekend. XO, CrystalList of supplies:Hello friends, today I have a whole array of birthday cards to share with you that were all created using the same "free" Happy Birthday to You stamp set by Stampin' UP! I say "free" because technically, you only receive this stamp set free with a $50 order! So no, free it is not! I make a lot of birthday cards and I didn't have a simple large birthday cake stamp set that didn't involve layering stamps or detailed dies, so this set really appealed to me. The only downside was it had no coordinating die, so I did all the fussy cutting for each of these cards!  Card details:*All of these cards were made using the same layout, I simply alternated patterns of paper and color choices. Each A2 sized card was made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. I then cut a 5 1/4" x 4' piece of designer patterned paper to line the card base. Using the Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle Dies from Gina Marie Designs, I cut a scalloped piece of cardstock. I lined the scalloped piece of cardstock with a 3 1/4" x 2 1/4" piece of white cardstock. I stamped the sentiment at the bottom of this white cardstock in Memento Tuxedo black ink. On a separate sheet of white cardstock, I stamped the large cake in Memento Tuxedo black ink and then colored the cake with Copic markers. I fussy cut each cake and adhered it to the card using foram adhesive for added dimension. I die cut a silver leaf and green leaf to tuck in behind the cake for more detail and interest. Lastly, I added a couple randomly placed clear rhinestones for more sparkle.        Here is the "Happy Birthday to You" stamp set from Stampin' UP! that I used to create these cards:   I hope you have enjoyed seeing a wide array of cards in various colors all made using the same stamp set. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalYou might also enjoy:
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