Hello readers!  Welcome back to a more regular posting schedule here now that the holidays are over and things are slowly returning to normal again as we usher in the start of new year.   I always look forward to a fresh start each January and I hope you are too!  Today I am sharing a llama themed box card made from the Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box Card Pop-Up.  This is my go-to die for creating box cards.  You can see this Halloween card in a box I made with it here, or my Grandpa's special 90th birthday pop-up card. This die really allows for lots of elements to be added in order to achieve the ultimate WOW factor.  

The base of this box card was made using Sweet Cane sugar stock.  I lined the backside of the card with white cardstock.  I stamped the sentiment in Black Taffy sugar cube on the backside of the box card.  The side layers were cut from Rich Cactus sugar stock which was mounted behind a yellow polka dot cardstock.  Because this is a digital stamp set, I printed all of the images from my computer onto Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. *To learn more about digital stamping, please read here. I colored in all of the printed images using Copic markers and added highlights to some of the images using a white Uniball gel pen.  I added some grass to the card using the Whimsy Stamps Grass and Cloud Edger dies.  I cut the grass from Rich Cactus sugar stock.  Then I began to adhere the images to the card using foam adhesive for added dimension.  Lastly, I added a coat of Dazzling Pat to some of the images for added sparkle. 

Here is the Llamazing You stamp set from RG Avenue that I used to create today's card: 

I hope you have enjoyed this llamazing box card!  Thanks for visiting and Happy New Year's Eve!

Hello friends and happy Sunday!  Christmas is now officially over and we're not going to talk about the Christmas cards that I failed to send out this year!  It's true. . .   Things got terribly busy at work for me this month and I knew that I needed to send them, but on December 19th (the day I dedicated to actually addressing the envelopes) I decided, "ah, what the heck, it's too late now anyway!"  And there you have it!  I did not send Christmas cards this year.  Not a one.  
But, here's looking up to a brighter future for my Valentine's Day cards. . .

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Rich Cherry cardstock.  Using the Stitched Nesting Rectangle Dies from Gina Marie Designs, I die cut the second largest rectangle from Neenah White Solar Smooth cardstock.  I also used this same rectangle to cut a piece of love themed designer series paper (source unknown).  I used about 2/3 of the white cardstock on the top and 1/3 of the red love themed paper on the bottom.  I splattered Black Taffy sugar cubes on the top half of the white cardstock.  I printed the digital copy of the Barely Awake stamp set on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and then I colored in the images with Copic markers.  *Note - you will see the bear on the left was actually holding a mug in the original digital image, but I simply colored in another heart and added it over the mug.  I used my Scan and Cut to cut out the images.  I adhered both bears to the card with foam adhesive.  I die cut a small red heart for the upper right corner and added the sentiment to the middle of the heart.  Lastly, I added a coat of Dazzling Pat (which is like Wink of Stella) to both bears for added sparkle. 

Here is the Barely Awake stamp set from RG Avenue that I used to create today's card:

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Hello crafty readers and happy Friday!  I hope you all had a wonderful holiday spent with family and friends, and I hope you are now beginning to look forward to the start of a new year.   Today I'm delighted to be a guest designer again with the Coffee Loving Cardmakers.  I'm also sharing my first ever creations using some of the beautiful digital stamps from Graciellie Designs, and, my-oh-my these stamps are simply stunning!  I initially purchased just four digital stamps (two of which I'm sharing with you today), but after working with these two, I know I'll be ordering more!

The base of this A2 sized card is made from kraft cardstock.  Using the Scalloped Stitched Nesting dies from Gina Marie Designs, I cut the first layer from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.   I printed out the coffee mug from the Fresh Start digital stamp set on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and colored it with my Copic markers (colors seen below). I fussy cut the image and adhered the mug to the card using foam adhesive.  I placed some linen thread around the mug before adhering the white scalloped layer to the kraft card base.  The sentiment is from the "Words to Live By: Kindness" stamp set from Papertrey Ink.  I stamped the sentiment in indigo ink in the upper right corner.  I added a layer of Clear Wink of Stella to the flowers and mug for added sparkle.  Lastly, I added a few turquoise rhinestones around the card for more dimension.

Here is the second card I created using the Christmas Cheer digital stamp set by Graciellie Designs:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  Using the Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle dies by Gina Marie Designs, I cut a piece of indigo cardstock. I then cut a 5" x 3 3/4" piece of white cardstock to layer over the indigo scalloped piece.  Using the Kindness Counts stamp set by Papertrey Ink, I stamped the sentiment in indigo ink in the upper right corner. I printed the image from the Christmas Cheer stamp set onto Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and colored it using my Copic markers (see colors below).  I then fussy cut the image and added it to the card using foam adhesive.  I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for added sparkle.  Lastly, I added a couple turquoise rhinestones randomly on the card for added dimension.

Here are the Copic markers I used to color both of these images:

I am still in awe of how gorgeous the stamps by Graciellie Designs are and I hope you will try them too!
Thanks again to Amy and Chaitali for having me guest design these past two weeks with the Coffee Loving Cardmakers.  I'm happy to have some new coffee loving friends!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative weekend!

Hello friends and Merry Christmas (though surely you are all enjoying the magic of being with your friends and families right now and hopefully not spending the day reading here)!  But, in spite of Christmas, the rest of the world goes on and today is my last day sharing as a member of the Butterfly Reflections, Ink Design Team.  A new team is currently being selected and will be announced soon to kick off the new year.  I am so grateful to Vanessa for selecting me to be a part of her team.  I have discovered many new creative friends along the way and I have even been offered some amazing new opportunities that I will be announcing soon!

Today I am sharing a pop-up card featuring the Do Re Me Ow stamp set from Trinity Stamps.  It's a perfect set for me because of my love of cats and these punny sentiments are over the top!  I purchased this stamp set (and many others!) when I was fortunate enough to visit the Butterfly Reflections Ink store on Black Friday this year. 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Kraft cardstock.  I lined the base of the card with a piece of light blue watercolor paper from the Lawn Fawn Watercolor Wishes paper pack.  I die cut the mountains from Balmy Blue cardstock using the Mama Elephant Snow Capped Mountain dies.  The tops of the mountains were cut from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. Along the bottom of the card, I created a curvy snowbank that I lined with a thin coat of Lawn Fawn Chunky Glitter.   I stamped the images (cats, lampost, box) from the Do Re Me Ow stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock and then I colored the images with Copic Markers.  I used the coordinating Do Re Me Ow dies from Trinity Stamps to die cut the images after coloring.  I adhered the images to the card using foam adhesive for added dimension.  Lastly, I stamped the sentiment in the lower left corner and a few music notes all in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

The bottom of the inside of the card is a piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I stamped the inside sentiment and music notes in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  The top of the inside of the card is another light blue piece of watercolor paper from the Lawn Fawn Watercolor Wishes paper pack.  I heat embossed some white snowflakes over the paper.  To create the pop-up component, I used the Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Pop-Up die and cut it out from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  I added a layer of Lawn Fawn Chunky Glitter to each of the "snowbanks."  I stamped all of the cat images, fences and lamposts in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock and colored the images with Copic markers.  I used the coordinating Do Re Me Ow dies to cut out the colored images and adhered them to the inside of the card to create a scene. Lastly, I added some more music notes stamped in Memento Tuxedo black ink. 

Merry Christmas, friends!  May you be blessed with the spirit of the season which is PEACE, the gladness of the season which is HOPE, and the heart of the season which is LOVE.

Hello friends and happy Monday!  Can you believe that we are only TWO days away from Christmas!?  Today I am taking a break from Christmas themed cards to share with you this fun stamp set from RG Avenue called "Sweet Celebration." This digital stamp is part of the December Designer Release.  After seeing all of the sweets included in this stamp set there was no way I was going to pick between them!  So, I decided to make a slimline card fitting as many yummy treats on this one card as I possibly could!
Yes, this is what I call a happy balance. And by balance, I mean ALL the treats! : )

The base of this slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2".  The base cardstock is made from Berry Burst cardstock.  I cut a 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Bristol Smooth cardtock and ink blended two colors of Distress Oxide inks in Antique Linen and Pickled Raspberry.  I then ink splattered Berry Burst all over the card before adhering it to the base.  Because the Sweet Celebrations stamp set was a digital stamp set, I printed out the entire sheet of stamps and colored in all the images with Copic markers.  I then fed the colored sheet through my Scan and Cut to cut all the images for me.  Yay for no fussy cutting!  I then began to adhered the images to the card in a layout that was pleasing to the eye using foam adhesive for added dimension.  Lastly I added a coat of Dazzling Pat to all of the sweets for added sparkle!

I hope you have enjoyed today's super sweet card!  As always, thank you for taking the time to visit. 

Hi friends and TGIF!  Today I would like to share some very exciting news with you!  Yesterday on my blog, I shared this fun gingerbread card featuring products from Whimsy Stamps, but, what I wasn't able to tell you is that back in late November I was invited to join the Creative Team at Whimsy Stamps.  Yesterday was the official company announcement and new design team release!  I'm delighted to be on a list among those I have long admired and respected in the crafting industry and I look forward to sharing some new products with you.

Hello there Whimsy Fans, it is with great pleasure that we get to introduce to you today, several wonderfully talented, new designers to our already amazing Creative Team and Paper Door Team. 
Each one of these lovely ladies has diverse and unique stamping styles that are sure to inspire you as much as they inspires us. 

Below is a short bio from each of our new designers, with links to their blogs. Be sure to follow each one of them so you don't miss any of their Whimsy Stamps projects. They're already fast at work on creative projects to share with you and will be kicking off the new year with our first release of 2020 on January 1st.

Please join me in giving a warm Whimsy welcome to:

Hi, I'm Lisa!  I live in the Fayettevile/Ft. Bragg area in NC with my husband, Aaron, of nearly 20 years.
We are a retired Army family who has settled into a simple life together. 
I volunteer as the secretary/ website manager for a non-profit organization, Warriors On the Water. 

I started making handmade cards back in 2010, and I've recently started creating YouTube Tutorials, regularly. I don't have a "style" when it comes to cardmaking; I want to try it all. I do enjoy other crafts, as well. Cake decorating and DIY home projects are the first things that come to mind other than papercrafting. 

When I'm not busy creating handmade cards and videos, I love binge-watching period dramas, playing video games, and going to Walt Disney World. 

I'm so excited to be joining the Whimsy Stamps Design Team. I look forward to, hopefully, getting to know you all and building more crafty friendships. 

Hello! My name is Lori U'ren and I'm from Baton Rouge, La.  I'm married and we have four grown children, four grandchildren, and four fur babies. 
​
I've enjoyed crafts since I was young, in fact I made my very first card for a friend’s birthday at eight years old on a sheet of paper with pencil colors. But I really discovered card making ten years ago and copic coloring a few years ago, and the combination had me hooked right away. I really enjoy creating scene cards. I'm very excited to be a part of the Whimsy Stamps team and I'm thankful for the opportunity.

Hello everyone!  This is Tricia Barber.  I am really excited to be a part of the Whimsy Stamps Creative Team. I have been a crafter all my life and fell into stamping and card making about 8 years ago and absolutely love it! 

I gravitate to bright and bold colors, so it is super hard for me to make clean and simple cards. I love coloring images and Copic’s are my go to coloring medium, but I also like to experiment with other things and try to stretch myself out of my comfort zone. 

When I am crafting I will either binge watch a series on Netflix or play my Spotify list. My husband tells me I have the best singing voice when I am crafting!  I look forward to sharing some inspiration with you and thank you for the opportunity

Hello there!  My name is Kimberly Wiener and I have lived in Washington State my entire life and I'm so happy to call the Pacific Northwest my home. I started my blog in '08 to celebrate getting married.  It eventually turned into my crafty outlet with crafts, mini scrapbooking albums, and then mostly cardmaking! 

I am thankful to have met so many wonderfully encouraging artists and supportive crafters here.  There are so many of you out there that I have met at challenges, on design teams, CHA, or craft companies along the way that I consider my friend!!  

I am very excited to share my creations with you as I design for Whimsy Stamps exclusive Paper Door Kits!

Hello readers!  I am so excited to be a guest designer for the Coffee Loving Cardmakers today.   A big thank you to co-hosts Amy and Chaitali for having me!  Because we are still just a few days away from Christmas, I have created a seasonal inspired coffee themed card to share with you.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Kraft 80lb cardstock.  Using the Gina Marie Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle dies, I cut the first layer from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I heat embossed the sentiment in gold embossing powder in the upper right hand corner of this scalloped piece.  Using both the pine leaves, berries and branches from the Papertrey Ink Holiday Greens and Papertrey Ink Spruce and Sprig stamp set and dies, I cut branches and berries in evergreen cardstock, rich cherry cardstock and gold glimmer paper. I adhered all of these die cuts directly to the white scalloped cardstock using a Mono tape runner.

I die cut the coffee mugs, cozies and lids using the Hero Arts Coffee Cup Tags Frame Cuts.  The lids were cut from solid cherry cardstock and the coffee cups and cozies were cut from the Echo Park Here Comes Santa Claus paper pack. I adhered the two coffee mugs to the card using foam adhesive for added height and dimension.  Lastly I added two pine cones cut from gold foil paper and a red bow die cut from red sparkle paper to the center of the coffee mugs for lots of added glitz and sparkle!

In my mind these two mugs are filled with extra chocolate-y hot cocoa or overly nutmegged chai, since I’m not a coffee drinker.  I call that my “Christmas in a cup!” 
 
I hope you have enjoyed today’s card.  And, once again, a big thank you to the Coffee Loving Cardmakers for having me as a guest designer. Thank you for visiting and happy creating! 

Hello crafty readers!  Today I am excited to be sharing the first card I made using some really fun products from Whimsy Stamps.   I credit my friend Candice for being the one who introduced me to making slimline cards, and ever since I discovered this larger canvas to work on, I have been hooked!  This is just one of the reasons I love Whimsy Stamps - because they are now offering slimline dies.  P.S.  -I'll share another reason soon! For today's card I have used the Slimline Postage Die and the fun and slightly sassy gingerbread men from the GingerSnaps stamp set.

*Full list of supplies at end of post.

The base of this 8 1/2" x 3 1/2" sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  The first
8 1/4" x 3 1/4" matted layer is a piece of kraft cardstock.  I cut the Postage Slimline Die from red cardstock.  I lined the back of the Postage Slimline die with a scrap piece of plaid designer paper.  I stamped all of the gingerbread men in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  I colored all of the images with Copic markers.  I used my Scan & Cut to cut the images out.   I adhered the gingerbread men to the card with foam adhesive for added dimension.  I stamped several of the sentiments in Versafine CLAIR Pinecone ink on white cardstock and notched both ends before adhering them to the card also with foam adhesive.  I added in a couple red candy mints (stamped in Versafine CLAIR Tulip Red ink) and candy canes to fill in the spaces between the gingerbread men.  Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the images for added sparkle.

I hope you have enjoyed today's funny holiday themed card.  Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Hello friends!  Today I am sharing this multiple interactive card on the Butterfly Reflections Ink blog.  I put off purchasing this adorable "Mice On Ice" stamp set for as long as I possibly could, but in a war between my wallet and Lawn Fawn products, my wallet loses. Nearly every single time!  I added three different interactive components all on this one A2 sized card.  The bottom left corner is a shaker, the top left mice are on Mini Action Wobbles and the mice on the top right are only visible when you lift the flap. 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  Using the Lawn Fawn Peekaboo Backdrop Lawn Cuts, I cut the frame from raspberry cardstock.  On the top upper right corner, I added a lift the flap die to the frame.  I stamped the sentiment in raspberry ink.  I stamped all of the mice images in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White cardstock.  I colored the images with Copic markers and then used the coordinating Mice on Ice Lawn Cuts to die cut the images out.  On the lower right side of the card, I lined the frame with a small piece of pink plaid cardstock from the Sunny Studios Classic Gingham 6 x 6" paper pack. I then handcut a white snowbank to fill the square and added two mice with foam adhesive.

On the upper left side of the card, I lined the frame again with a small piece of pink plaid cardstock from the Sunny Studios Classic Gingham 6 x 6" paper pack. I then handcut a white snowbank to fill the square and added two mice with this time on a Mini Action Wobble Spring, so that when you touch them they jiggle, or wobble.

In the lower left corner of the card, I created a mini shaker.  I lined the back of the rectangle with a piece of acetate film.  I placed approximately one tablespoon of Iridescent Diamond Dust behind the frame and layered the frame with foam adhesive to give the Iridescent Diamond Dust room to move when you shake it.  I added two more little skating mice on top of the shaker and the word "happy" which I stamped in raspberry ink and cut with the coordinating Mice on Ice Lawn Cuts dies. 

I hope you have enjoyed this very interactive card!  It was a lot of fun to conceptualize and create.
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Hello readers!  I am back today sharing another beautiful stamp from Power Poppy called "Flowering Santa."  We think of many things when it comes to Santa Claus, but certainly not "flowering!"  But, here the jolly ol' man himself is stunning with a full poinsettia beard!   You might recall that just recently I shared my newfound love for this company and it's designer Marcella Hawley. In this post, I shared some of the Power Poppy stamps I had recently purchased and this Flowering Santa stamp was one of those new purchases. 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Real Red cardstock.  I stamped the flowering Santa image in Memento Tuxedo black ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  I colored the image with Copic Markers and then using the Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle dies, I cut a large rectangle around the image.  I adhered this directly to the card base.  I stamped the sentiment "Merry" in Versamark ink on vellum cardstock and heat embossed it in white embossing powder.  I added the sentiment strip to the bottom half of the card with vellum tape.  Lastly, I added a few clear rhinestones to the card for added sparkle.

What do you think?  Is Santa still Santa even with a flowering beard!?