Hello readers and happy Friday!  I hope you have fun things planned for the weekend ahead.  Tonight I am hosting a Potluck Stamp BINGO at my house and I will be giving away over $400 in craft related prizes!  This nearly annual event is my simple way of being able to give back to the community for those who have supported me by attending my classes.  It's always a fun night.  My favorite memory about hosting this event is the year someone ate a BINGO ball!  She mistakenly thought it was a gumball!  People kept asking why O61 was never called and this poor woman had to admit, upon realizing her error, that she had bitten into the ball mistakenly and put it off to the side of her dessert tray.  The BINGO ball was disinfected in and the game played on!  Good times. 

Today I have another fun pop-up box card to share with you featuring the Frosty Wishes stamp set from Whimsy Stamps. 

*A full supply list (with shopping links) is located at the end of this post.

The base of this box card was made from Stone Gray cardstock.  I used the Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box Card Pop Up die to create the box card.  Whenever I make an interactive card, I always assemble it using thin line tear tape.  This tape is much stronger that Tombow adhesive.  The box base flaps were lined with Passionate Pink cardstock and then paper from the Whimsy Stamps Cozy Winter paper pack.  The top layer flaps were lined with Neenah White Solar Smooth cardstock and then lined with more paper from the Cozy Winter paper pack.  I lined the back flap with white cardstock.  I stamped the sentiment from the Whimsy Stamps Frosty Wishes set in Passionate Pink.  I also stamped a few snowflakes in Passionate Pink on the back flap.  I stamped all of the images from the Frosty Wishes stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. 

I stamped all of the images from the Frosty Wishes stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  I colored in all the images with Copic markers and then cut them using my Scan & Cut 2 electronic cutting machine. I add some highlights to the colored images with a Uniball white gel pel.  I adhered the colored images to the card with foam adhesive in a scene that was appealing to my eye. 

Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a wonderfully creative weekend!

Hello friends and happy Monday!  I am excited to be joining the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge Team with my first challenge of this decade!  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 #114 by Newton's Nook is a sketch challenge.  Let the sketch below be your inspiration for creating a card (or scrapbook page) and see where this challenge takes you!  

Here is what I created inspired by this challenge sketch:

*Full supply list at end of 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 red plaid paper (from a retired Echo Park paper series) and adhered it directly to the card base.  Using the Hello Bluebird Gallery Frame #2 die, I cut the frame from red cardstock.  I lined the back of the frame with a piece of Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  On this lining, I stamped the sentiment in red ink and a couple hearts in craft ink.  I then made a small shaker card component out of the small bottom piece of the frame.  I filled the shaker with small 1/2" hearts punched out from red and kraft colored cardstock.  I stamped the cats from the Newton's Sweetheart stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and then die cut the cats using the coordinating Newton's Sweetheart dies.  I colored the cats with Copic markers and added a few small highlights using a Uniball white gel pen.  I added the cats to the card using foam adhesive for added dimension.  Lastly, I add a small bow to the left side of the frame made from linen thread. 

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, January 17th, at midnight CST.

Thanks for visiting and I hope to see your creations there!

Hello and happy New Year readers!  I'm starting off the New Year with some exciting news!  Last November I was invited to join the Creative Team at Whimsy Stamps and today is my official debut!  I am delighted and honored to work in this industry with such talented, creative and kind women.  I'm humbled that my work has caught the eye of some of these amazing stamp companies and owners.  And, I feel lucky to be able to help represent and promote these small, independently owned businesses with my creations.

Today Whimsy Stamps is debuting some of the new products available from the January release!  You can see all of the new release products here on the Whimsy website.  My slimline card features the new Giraffe Hello stamp set and I just loved the sentiments available with this stamp set.

The base of this card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth carsdtock. For the first layer, I cut a sheet of banana yellow cardstock measuring 8 1/4" x 3 1/4".  Using the Slimline Scallop Die, I cut the frame from kraft cardstock.  Behind each oval circle in the slimline die, I placed a small piece of a vintage map designer series paper.  I stamped all of the giraffes in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and cut them using my Scan &  Cut.  I colored the images in with Copic markers.  I added some highlights to each image with a Uniball white gel pen. 

I adhered the images to the card using foam adhesive for added dimension.  I stamped the sentiment in Versafine Clair Pinecone ink on white cardstock.  I notched the right end of the sentiment strip before adhering it to the card with foam adhesive. 

I hope you have enjoyed today's card.  Tomorrow I'll be sharing another January release product from Whimsy Stamps!  Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

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 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 readers!  Welcome back from the weekend.  I hope you all had a great one.   Mine was equal parts crafting, relaxing and baking.  I have been starting to design cards and classes for 2020 and would you believe that I'm already thinking about Valentine's Day!?  I know, I know!  Christmas isn't even here yet, and yup, Lawn Fawn is already enticing us with their Stud Puffin release!  But, I've still got a few more Christmas themed cards to share with you just yet. . .

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  I die cut the mountains from Neenah White Solar Smooth cardstock using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Mountain Border dies.  I created an alcohol ink backround for behind the mountains.  (See highlight below on alcohol ink backgrounds). I die cut the mountain tops from Smoky Slate cardstock.  Using the Stitched Slopey Joe Borders, I cut one snowbank from white cardstock.  I put a thin layer of Lawn Fawn Chunky Glitter on the top of that snowbank.  I created the trees from white cardstock using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Tree Borders.  I cut the "leaves" of the trees out from Silver Glimmer paper.  I stamped the sentiment in salmon ink in the lower right corner of the card.  I stamped the yeti's and trees in Memento Tuxedo black ink on Neenah White Solar Smooth cardstock.  I colored the images with Copic markers and adhered them to the card using foam adhesive for added dimension. 

*Because I am not currently creating video technique content on my website, I highly recommend checking out this Easy Alcohol Ink Background Tutorial on YouTube by the amazing Jennifer McGuire.  She has created a very simple introduction to working with alcohol inks to create background pieces.  This was the first video I watched after purchasing my alcohol inks and then I just spent time playing with them!

Here is the Yeti or Not stamp set from Hello Bluebird that I used to create today's card:

Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

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 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.

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!