Where are all of my kitty followers at?  Today's Christmas card is perfect for those feline friends in your life. This card features the adorable Santa Paws stamp set from Newton's Nook Designs.  I have long been a fan of NND due to the company's namesake, Newton, being a beloved orange tabby cat.  My first cat, as an adult, was also an orange tabby.  Unfortunately, this past fall Jennifer and Jeff (the owners of NND) suffered a loss when 18-year-old Newton passed away.  His memory will live on through the company name and the kitty images that everyone uses on their cards.  This Santa Paws stamp set is one of my favorite NND Christmas sets for all it's punny cat themed holiday sentiments.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah White Solar Smooth cardstock.  I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of red snowflake patterned paper (source unknown) and adhered it directly to the card base.  Using the Lawn Fawn Stiched Hillside Landscape Backdrop die, I cut the background also from Neenah White cardstock.  I added Lawn Fawn Chunky Glitter to the two sloping snowbanks of the background die. I stamped the images in Memento Tuxedo black ink on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock and colored the images with Copic markers.  I added a few highlights to the images using a white Uniball gel pen.  I used the coordinating Santa Paws die to cut out the images and adhered them to the card using foam adhesive.

Here is the Santa Paws Newton stamp set from Newton's Nook Designs that I used to create today's card:

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Hello crafty friends and readers!  Today I am sharing these two cards featuring vivid alcohol ink backgrounds and adorable snowmen over on the Butterfly Reflections, Ink blog.  Creating alcohol ink pieces of art to use on cards has such a WOW effect.  While I love the look of Distress Oxide inks, I still don't feel entirely comfortable using them, so when I want to create eye-catching backgrounds, Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Inks are my go-to.

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 White Yupo paper on which to create my background.  I dropped a couple drops each of Aqua, Pool and Patina inks onto the Yupo paper and blew the ink around with a straw until I achieved a desired look.  No, there is no rhyme or reason to my madness when creating with alcohol! Just keep at it until you have a look that YOU are happy with!  I let this ink dry before splattering some white acrylic paint over the background to resemble snow.  Then I cut two Lawn Fawn Birch Trees from white cardstock.  I handcut a snowbank out of white cardstock for the bottom of the card and adhered a layer of Lawn Fawn Chunky Glitter over the top of the snowbank.  I stamped the images in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and die cut them using the coordinating Snow Buddies Honey Cuts dies. I colored in the images with Copic markers and adhered them to the card with foam adhesive to create a little scene.  Lastly I die cut the "let it snow" sentiment from the Lawn Fawn Big Scripty Words Lawn Cuts in turquoise cardstock and glitter cardstock, layering the two together for a shadowed effect, before adhering these to the bottom of the card with foam adhesive.

Here is the Snow Buddies stamp set from Honey Bee Stamps that I used to create these cards:

Now for the second card:

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 White Yupo paper on which to create my background.  I dropped dropped three colored alcohol inks (salmon, raspberry and villainous) on the right side of the paper and "swiped left!" ; )  Haha, did anyone catch that?!  I let this ink dry before splattering some white acrylic paint over the background to resemble snow.  Then I cut three Lawn Fawn Birch Trees from white cardstock.  I handcut a snowbank out of white cardstock for the bottom of the card and adhered a layer of Lawn Fawn Chunky Glitter over the top of the snowbank.  I stamped the images in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and die cut them using the coordinating Snow Buddies Honey Cuts dies. I colored in the images with Copic markers and adhered them to the card to create a little scene. 

I hope you have enjoyed these whimsical snowmen surrounded by an alcohol inked winter wonderland.  Thanks for visiting and happy creating!

Hello and happy Tuesday readers!  Today I am sharing three cards that were inspired by fellow cardmaker, Ivana Camdzic.  I first discovered Ivana through Instagram and was drawn to her beautiful use of pastel colors and her stunning layout photography.  I have later come to learn she is a foodie, a traveler and also married to a wonderful man named Mark.  So, we have discovered much more in common through our social media friendship than just our shared passion for papercrafting!  What I have also realized after creating these cards is that I really like pastel colors and that even though they are considered more non-traditional for holiday cards, they are equally as stunning!  I do hope to incorporate many more of these soft colors in the future.

Here are the beautiful cards created by Ivana that inspired my cards:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Smoky Slate cardstock.  Using the Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangles, I cut a piece of silver star patterned paper (source unknown).  I adhered this scalloped patterned paper directly to the card base using a dot tape runner.  I die cut the wreath in both Mint Macaron and Pistachio cardstock.  I punched little white flowers to adorn the wreath and placed clear rhinestones in the center of the flowers.  Lastly, I die cut the sentiment "joy" from silver glimmer cardstock and adhered it to the bottom of the card.

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Crumb Cake cardstock.  I die cut a piece of music patterned paper (source unknown) and adhered it to the center of the card.  Using the Hello Winter Nice and Neat Dies from Neat And Tangled, I die cut the word in Cherry Cobbler and white cardstock. I adhered the sentiment to the middle of the card using foam adhesive.  I stamped the leaves, greenery and berries using the Spruce and Sprigs stamp set and coordinating dies from Papertrey Ink. I adhered the berries, leaves and greenery to the top left and lower right side of the frame to make the sentiment pop. 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Crumb Cake cardstock.  Using the Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangles, I cut a piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  I adhered this scalloped patterned paper directly to the card base using a dot tape runner.  I die cut the wreath in both Blushing Bride and Flirty Flamingo cardstock.  I placed pink rhinestones in the center of the wreath.  I cut a 4" x 1 1/2" sheet of birch gold foil paper, notched both ends and placed it behind the wreath.  I die cut the "believe" sentiment from gold glimmer cardstock and white cardstock.  I layered the two on top of each other and adhered the sentiment to the center of the card using foam adhesive. 

I hope you have enjoyed seeing a variety of ways to incorporate pastel colors into your holiday cards.  Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Hello friends and welcome back from the weekend!  Today I have three cards to share with you that were all created from the Cozy Christmas digital stamp set by RG Avenue.  This was an exclusive free digital stamp offered as a Black Friday special if you purchased $50 worth of products.  I wanted to show you the various ways you can use that set with today's cards.  I chose a modern color palette in pink, red, aqua and kraft to keep these cards fresh, fun and cohesive.  

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Sweet Cane sugar stock.  I heat embossed white ink splatter onto the base of the card using Versamark ink and white embossing poweder. Using the Gina Marie Designs Stitched Rectangles, I die cut a rectangle from Neenah White Solar Smooth cardstock.  I also cut a rectangle using the same dies from the "Ho, Ho, Ho" patterned paper.  I cut each rectangle in half using only the white cardstock on the top and the "Ho, Ho, Ho" paper on the bottom half of the card.  I die cut a pink circle using the Gina Marie Designs Stitched Circle Dies.  I tied a ribbon around the middle of the card before adhering the circle die cut.  I colored the deer from the Cozy Christmas digital stamp set using Copic markers and then cut it out using my Scan & Cut machine.  Lastly, I added a coat of Dazzling Pat to the deer for added sparkle. 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Sugar Cane cardstock.  Using the Gina Marie Designs Stitched Rectangle dies, I die cut a piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and a piece of chevron patterned DSP.  I only used the top half of the white paper and the bottom half of the chevron.  I die cut a wreath from Pool Party cardstock and adhered it to the center of the card.  I colored the deer and the two ornaments hanging from the antlers from the Cozy Christmas digital stamp set using Copic markers and then cut it out using my Scan & Cut machine.  Lastly, I added a coat of Dazzling Pat to the deer for added sparkle. 

To create this A2 sized shaker card, I began with a base of Blushing Bride cardstock.  I cut a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of aqua polka dotted paper for behind the shaker card.  I cut an additional 5 1/4" x 4" piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock for the shaker frame.  I used a semi circle die to cut the hole in the white cardstock and lined the back with acetate film.  I put about one tablespoon of iridescent sequins behind the shaker frame.  I colored the sweets, gingerbread house, coffee and candy canes from the Cozy Christmas digital stamp set using Copic markers and then cut it out using my Scan & Cut machine.  I adhered these images to the bottmo of the semi-circle using foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of Dazzling Pat to the images for added sparkle. 

I hope you have enjoyed seeing the variety of ways to use one stamp set.  Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

 Hi crafty friends and happy Friday!  I'm excited to share with you my first time using the gorgeous stamps from Power Poppy.  My friend, Nikki, has purchased a lot of their products and every time I'm with her, I "ooh and aah" over their beautiful designs.  These stamps are really unlike any other as you can see the heart and love poured into the artful designs by illustrator Marcella Hawley.  She is so creatively talented!  Power Poppy offers a wide variety of stamps (both physical and digital) as well as coordinating and stand alone dies, many centering around the themes of garden and home. If you missed my recent post talking about digital stamping, please read here.   I would like to point out that many of the images are designed to be colored, so be sure you enjoy coloring (whether watercolor, colored pencils or markers) before you consider if these images will work well for you.

First, here is a little bit of information about Marcella Hawley, the illustrator behind Power Poppy. . .

"I got my start illustrating plants as a teenager in my parents’ garden. My mother and muse, Susan, herself a painter and illustrator for Hallmark, was a constant encourager, teaching me about color, design, antiques, horticulture, and Motown. Smitten with skateboarding and music, I learned to skate, got caught up drawing cartoons, photographing the action, designing a skate ’zine with my best friend, soaking up California style by way of magazines, and working in a record store.I got a BFA degree in Graphic Design from University of Illinois, and went on to design and illustrate the catalogs for Klehm Nursery, a premier supplier of rare plants and specialty perennials. After my catalog landed on the desk of the Art Director of Martha Stewart Living magazine, I was offered a job as her assistant in NYC (I may or may not have fainted, as I had been a huge fan). I worked alongside Martha’s visionary team of creatives, designers, writers, gardeners, and stylists.

A Midwestern gal at heart, I later returned to my happy place in the middle of the country, and after launching a freelance design and botanical illustration business, was plucked out again to be the art director for Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion start-up in St. Louis. Ten years of passionate magazine designing/decorating/crafting/cooking/styling and working with my illustration idol, Mary Engelbreit, followed.
After the birth of my two kids, Lulu and Finn, I started my own design/branding company, Marcella Hawley Creative LLC, working on projects from local to global with equal enthusiasm. I am now married to the love of my life, Doug, step-mom to two rad step-daughters, have my own two wonderful teenagers, a Corgi named Tibbs, and Crema di Espresso the Tortie cat. There are gardens to tend, gourmet meals to cook, exercising to do, kids to drive around, trails to explore, and a home to decorate. It is from this jam-packed, already-not-enough-hours-in-the-day lifestyle that Power Poppy was born."

Here is the Snuggle Down stamp set by Power Poppy that I used to create today's card:

Here are a few of the other Power Poppy stamp sets I just recently purchased for myself and can't wait to use:

I hope you will now enjoy discovering the beautiful products of Power Poppy too.
Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

Hi friends!  I know that technically today's card says "You are llamazing," but it is actually MY birthday today! So, while you are all pretty llamazing, so am I!  Cheers, it's a fiesta!  Today I am celebrating my 21st birthday!
For the second time. . .  ; )

The base of this slimline card ( measuring 8 1/2" x 3 1/2") is made from Black Taffy cardstock.  I cut a 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and adhered it directly to the black card base.  In the upper left corner I stamped the sentiment "You are llamazing" in Black Taffy sugar cube.  Using a grassy border die, I die cut the grass from Rich Cactus cardstock.  I stamped all of the images from the RG Avenue "Stick Together" stamp set in Black Taffy sugar cube and colored the images with Copic markers.  I ran the colored images through my Scan & Cut to cut them out.  Then I began adhering the images to the card using foam adhesive for added dimension.  I arranged the cacti in a rainbow pattern from red to violet.  I added a couple randomly placed rhinestones at the top of the card filling up the white space.  Lastly, I added a coat of Dazzling Pat to all the images for added sparkle. 

Thanks for sharing in my birthday celebration here with me.  Cheers to many more!

Hello friends and happy December!  Today I am sharing this card on the Butterfly Reflections, Ink blog, but before I get to my card, I wanted to share with you all that I got to visit the Butterfly Reflections, Ink store last weekend when I was nearby traveling for Thanksgiving.  Not only did I get to check out the awesome store, but I got to meet Vanessa in person, and on her birthday!  I was amazed by the amount of inventory in the store and the space is so well organized and clean.  I didn't even get to see nearly everything I wanted and I was there for almost two hours!  I can't wait to go back again (without my husband)!  If you are ever in the Kingston, New Hampshire (or greater Portsmouth/Manchester area) you must stop by,
it's really worth the visit.

Now for today's card. . . I used a stamp set that I purchased when I was at the store last week, although it has been on my list since it was released.  This set is called "Cocoa Stand" by Avery Elle.  I did also combine it with the "Snow Buddies" stamp set from Honey Bee Stamps to create an even larger scene.  Turquoise, red and brown are one of my favorite Christmas color combinations.  It's very fresh and modern feeling.

For the base of this slimline card, I cut a piece of turquoise cardstock measuring 8 1/2" x 3 1/2" long. I cut a 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Bristol Smooth cardstock to ink blend the background.  I used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink in Peacock Feathers and covered the cardstock with the ink before adhering this distressed background to the card base.  I cut a 8 1/4" x 1 1/4" piece of white cardstock and created a snowbank along the bottom edge of the cards to ground all of my images.  Along this border, I added Lawn Fawn Chunky Glitter for added sparkle.  I stamped all of the images from the Cocoa Stand stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and colored them with Copic markers.  I then used the coordinating Cocoa Stand Elle-ment dies to cut all the images. also stamped all of the images from the Honey Bee Stamps Snow Buddies stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock and colored these images with Copic markers.  I also die cut these using the Snow Buddies Honey Cuts dies.  Then I began to form a scene just by placing the different images onto the card to where I was happy with the layout.  I adhered most of the images to the card with foam adhesive.  Lastly, I used a white gel pen and added little dots all over the card to resemble snow. 

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

Hello readers!  Today I am hoping to help spread the word about a card drive headed up by fellow cardmaker and animal lover Ricky Burton-Romero.  I am sharing a summary of the drive here, but for all the details and the backstory please head to Ricky’s blog HERE.

Ricky is collecting cards for an organization called Live Like Roo.  Live Like Roo's founder, Sarah, started this non-profit to send care packages all across the United States to dogs and their human families that have been diagnosed with cancer. Not all cases lead to death.  Sarah and her organization also assist in medical bills, as well.  With the help of card makers all around the world, we want to do a card drive for Sarah. She sends a card with every box, and our idea is to get as many handmade cards to her so that she does not have to spend quality money on cards.

Here is what the card drive is looking for:

• The cards could animal-themed (but not necessary). The cards should say things like “I hope you get well soon,” “feel better,” or any words of encouragement for anyone going through a hard time (animal sickness). If you would like you could also send in Thank You cards as she needs those as well!
• No need to write anything on the inside. Sarah will fill in the handwritten message to make it personal for each case.
• The drive will run from November 14th to December 15th, 2019.
• Send cards to Ricky Burton-Romero – 7003 N Wolcott Ave #1, Chicago IL 60626.
• Please be sure to include your contact information with the cards so that when the prize draw happens, Ricky will know where to send emails to! (More on prizes below.)
• After December 15th, Ricky will plan to make a trip to Sarah and present her with all the cards on an Instagram live! You will be able to see the happiness you bring to her life through these cards! (Follow Ricky on instagram HERE.)

After the card drive is over, anyone that donated cards to the cause will be entered to win PRIZES! The prize list is currently growing with sponsors like Jennifer McGuire, Studio Katia and many more!

I know that many cardmakers are also animals lovers, so even if it's only one card that you are able to send, both Sarah and Ricky will be grateful as it's one less card the organization needs to spend money purchasing.

If you are interested in donating cards to other worthwhile causes, you can read my post here for more information.

Happy Monday, friends!  I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family.  If you were brave enough to venture out in the madness that is Black Friday, I hope you survived and spent the weekend recovering!  That scene is most definitely not for me!  Today I am sharing a card that didn't quite go as planned, but I like how it turned out just the same.  RG Avenue released both of these beautiful sets "Boho Strings" and "Song Lyrics" last month and as usual, I'm a little late to the game. . . What I really wanted to achieve was a Christmas themed card with the guitar and flowers.  However, my flower selection (mums, I believe) and color choice completely say "FALL!"  So. . .  fall it is.  Technically winter doesn't start until December 21st, so it's all good!

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Rich Cherry sugar stock.  Using the Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle dies from Gina Marie Designs, I cut the first layer from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  I stamped four different song lyrics on the card in Rich Cherry sugar cube ink.  I heat embossed the guitar on Sweet Cane sugar stock in gold embossing powder and fussy cut it out.  I colored the flowers in Copic markers and fed it through my Scan and Cut to cut the bouquet for me.  I adhered the flowers over the guitar and adhered both to the card with 3M foam adhesive.  Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the flowers for added sparkle.

Here are the "Song Lyrics" and "Boho Strings" stamp sets I used to make today's card:

The flowers are from the Bold Bouquet digital stamp set.  If you missed my recent post talking about digital stamps, please read here. 

Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderfully creative day!

Hello friends and happy BLACK Friday!  Best of luck to you brave souls who dare to venture out on this day because I want no part of it!  Those crowds are not for me!  Today, you will find me shopping local at the Butterfly Reflections, Ink in New Hampshire for my very first time!  Be sure to follow along on Instagram to see all the behind the scenes photos from the store and more.  I'm excited because it is also the shop owner, Vanessa's birthday, so I will get to wish her a happy birthday in person.  To celebrate, a large group of current and past Design Team members, along with some special guests, will be doing a blog hop on Instagram sharing cards that were inspired by some of Vanessa's favorite things:  the color fushia, cute critters (she LOVES Hello Bluebird), coffee and pumpkin spice.  Here is the card I created for her:

This slimline card ( 8 1/2" x 3 1/2") was made from Berry Burst cardstock.  The first matted layer is a  8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock.  I die cut the mountains in Blushing Bride cardstock using the Hello Sweetums Mountains of Fun dies. I die cut the trees using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Trees dies.  I stamped all of the critters, trees and presents from the Hello Bluebird Frosty Friends stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them using Copic markers.  I added highlights to some of the images with a Uniball White Gel pen.  I also added Lawn Fawn ultrafine glitter to the snowbanks and critters' hats.  I added many of the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive.  I stamped the sentiment at the bottom of the card in Berry Burst ink.  Lastly, I added a coat of clear Wink of Stella to the images for added sparkle.

Here are the Copic colors I used for coloring:

Here is the Frosty Friends stamp set by Hello Bluebird (available through Butterfly Reflections, Ink) that I used to create today's card:

Be sure to follow along on Instagram to see what everyone else created for Vanessa's birthday!
Thanks for visiting and I hope you have a wonderfully creative weekend!