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Hello friends and happy Friday! I hope you are looking forward to the weekend ahead. Forward to what exactly, I'm not sure?! Forward to being home? Forward to yet another Netflix movie? Forward to a change of pajamas!? Today starts my next shift week "off" from work, so if you're not happy, I'm happy enough for all of us!
Continuing on with the theme of sunflowers, today I have two more ways to use this beautiful large Sunflower Background stamp from Whimsy Stamps. If you missed yesterday's post, please click here to see that rainbow card. Or, last month's post when I created vibrant alcohol ink backgrounds and vellum sunflowers, pleaseclick here. There are just so many ways you can use this beautiful stamp. 
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 cardstock. Using the Gina Marie Scalloped Stitched Nesting rectangle dies, I cut a piece of bluecardstock. On top of the scalloped frame, I mounted a pre-made piece of an alcohol ink background in blues and greens. Using Versamark ink, I stamped the sentiment (from the "So Deeply Sorry" stamp set by Whimsy Stamps) in the lower left corner and heat embossed it with silver embossing powder. I stamped the large sunflower on a piece of Neenah Solar White cardstock in blue ink and then fussy cut the sunflower out. I adhered the sunflower to the card (cutting off a portion of the right side) using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I die cut two leaves from a blue glitter cardstock and adhered them to the card for added sparkle. 
Here is the second card I created for today still using the Sunflower Background stamp:
Card details:
The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar Crest cardstock. I used a pre-made alcohol ink background for the base of this card in yellows, oranges and golds. I stamped the large sunflower in amber ink on a separate piece of white cardstock and fussy cut the entire sunflower out. I adhered the sunflower to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive. I die cut two leaves from gold glitter paper and adhered those to each corner for added sparkle. Lastly, on a thin strip of white cardstock, I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I notched both ends before adhering it over the lower portion of the sunflower.
Thank you for visiting and have a wonderful weekend!
XO, CrystalList of supplies:
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 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:
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 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 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 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 #119 by Newton's Nook is a color 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 whimsical card I created using these soft alcohol ink pastel colors:   Card details:*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post. The base of this A2 sized is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Gorgeous Grape cardstock and adhered it directly to the card base. I cut a 5 " x 3 3/4" piece of Kirkland Signature Glossy Photo paper to create the alcohol ink background on. *Note - to say yourself some money, purchase a ream of this glossy photo paper (found on Amazon!) in lieu of the uber expensive Yupo polysynthetic paper. I promise you will see the same results! Using the Tim Holtz ink blower and isopropyl rubbing alcohol, I created the background using Ranger Alcohol Ink colors in Daffodil, Valencia, Raspberry and Violet. Once these inks dried, I adhered the background to the card base.  I stamped the clouds in Versmark ink on alcohol ink paper and heat embossed them in white embossing powder. I die cut the stitched cloud borders from Neenah White Smooth cardstock and adhered it to both the top and bottom of the card with foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I stamped the cat in the hot air balloon from the Newton Dreams of Paris stamp set from Newton's Nook. I colored the image with Copic markers and adhered it to the card with foam adhesive.   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! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
Hello friends and happy Tuesday! Today I am over on the Whimsy Stamps blog sharing my first "Tuesday Tutorial." These "Tuesday Tutorials" are step-by-step instructional posts by the Creative Team members offering guidance on how to do something - whether it's coloring, creating texture, die cutting, stenciling or so many other techniques. I am excited to be sharing my first video featuring alcohol ink backgrounds and the new March release stamp set called Shamrock Top Hat. You might recall that just last week, I also sharedthese two cards using this wonderful new Shamrock Top Hat stamp set. I am just so in love with this St. Patrick's Day themed set!
I hope you will enjoy this video sharing how I created both the alcohol ink backgrounds and the three cards themselves:
Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!
XO, CrystalList of supplies:
Hello readers and happy Sunday! I hope you are all enjoying a nice weekend. Happy 1st day of March! Today I am joining the rest of the Design Team celebrating a new monthly release of products from Whimsy Stamps. There is just no possible way I can introduce today's fun new Chameleon Party stamp set without actually thinking of the Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon" hit song. So now, you too will have it in YOUR head.
All. Day. Long. You're welcome! : ) 
Card details:
A list of supplies (with shopping links) is located at the end of this post.
The base of this A2 sized card is made from Jelly Bean Green cardstock. Using the Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle dies from Gina Marie Designs, I cut the frame from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I cut the stitched half circle from the Whimsy Stamps Rainbow paper pack and adhered it directly to the center of the card. I cut a thin strip of Jelly Bean green cardstock to adhere to the bottom of the card (for the chameleon to be grounded on). I heat embossed the sentiment in white embossing powder in the center of the semi-circle. On a separate sheet of white cardstock, I stamped the chameleon image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I colored the chameleon with Copic markers. I adhered the image to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the chameleon for added sparkle. 
2nd Card Details:
*A full list of supplies (with clickable 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 the Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangles, I cut the first layer from Jelly Bean Green cardstock. I created a rainbow colored alcohol ink background. I cut a 5 " x 3 3/4" piece of Kirkland Signature Glossy Photo paper to create the alcohol ink background on. *Note - to say yourself some money, purchase a ream of this glossy paper (found on Amazon!) in lieu of the uber expensive Yupo polysynthetic paper. I promise you will see the same results! Using the Tim Holtz ink blower and isopropyl rubbing alcohol, I created the background using red, orange, green, yellow and blue ink. Once the alcohol ink dried, I stamped the chameleon and the balloons on a separate sheet of white cardstock in Memento Tuxedo black ink. I colored in the images with Copic markers. Then I added the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I put a coat of clear Wink of Stella on the chameleon and balloons for added sparkle. 
I hope you have enjoyed these fun rainbow reptilian cards today. Please check out Whimsy Stamps to see more of their new March release!
Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of your weekend! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
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 #117. This week we have a sketch 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 using the sketch seen above:
Card details:
*A full supply list is located at the end of this post.
The base of this A2 sized card is made from white cardstock. I had previously created an alcohol ink background where I used pastel colors and mounted that onto a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Melon Mambo cardstock. I stamped the sentiment repeatedly in Melon Mambo ink on a strip of Melon Mambo cardstock and ran it through a stitched scalloped die before adhering it to the center bottom of the card. I also cut a 3 1/2" x 1/2" piece of silver glitter paper, notched both ends and adhered it to the center of the card. I cut a 4" x 2" piece of white cardstock to create a tag and punched the top of the tag with a scalloped tag topper punch. I stamped the sentiment in Melon Mambo ink on the top of this tag. I stamped the kitty and chicks image from the "Newton's Peeps" stamp set in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock and colored the image with Copic markers. I added a few highlights with a white gel pen. I adhered the kitty image to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added height. Lastly, I put a coat of Clear Wink of Stella on the basket for added sparkle. 
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! Deadline to enter is Friday, February 28th, at midnight CST. Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your creations there! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
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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