Here is the card I created inspired by this week's sketch:

​The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock.  I cut a piece of Lawn Fawn Watercolor Wishes paper to 5 1/4" x 4" and matted it onto a piece of Calypso Coral cardstock before adhering both to the white card base.  I cut two waves using the Sea Borders Die set from both a Pool Party and Bermuda Bay cardstock.  Using the Lawn Fawn Sunrise backdrop die, I cut the sun rays from Calypso Coral cardtock and adhere it directly over the peach watercolor paper.  I stamped the images from the Newton's Perfect Wave stamp set in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock.  I colored the images with Copic markers and die cut them using the coordinating Newton's Perfect Wave dies.  I adhered the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  I stamped the sentiment in the lower left corner in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder.  Lastly, using the Lawn Fawn glue tube, I put a small line of glue on the bottom of the card and sprinkled Lawn Fawn Chunky Glitter across the bottom for added sparkle.  

Raise your hand if you are SOoooo ready for vacation!  Heck, I'll even take visiting the next town over right now if it means a break from the four walls of my own house!  Today I am sharing another fun and colorful card featuring the Hippo Beach Fun stamp set that was a May release from Whimsy Stamps.  If you missed the first slimline card using these same hippos, please click here.  

*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.  I die cut a large circle from rainbow scalloped paper (sorry, I am unsure where that paper came from!).  I adhered the rainbow circle to the base of the card.  I stamped the sentiment "Cheers" in the upper right corner in Memento Tuxedo black ink.  Then using the Wavy Edgers die set, I created a layer of sand from kraft cardstock.  Using the Kinetic Waves die set, I die cut the waves from blue sparkle paper and adhered this in front of the sand line  I stamped the hippo on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock in Memento Tuxedo black ink.  I colored the image with Copic markers and fussy cut the hippo with craft scissors.  I adhered the hippo on top of the sand using 3M foam adhesive.  I added a couple of clear rhinestones in the sky for added sparkle.  Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the hippo for even more sparkle.  

I hope you have enjoyed today's fun beach card!  Thanks for visiting.

Hello friends and happy Friday!  I can't believe May is here already, but then again March and April were kind of a coronavirus blur!  Today I am happy to be celebrating with my fellow Creative Team members a fun new release of products from Whimsy Stamps!   This slimline card features the new "Beach Hippos" stamp set and these cuties are ready for some summer fun.  

*A full supply list is located at the end of this post.

This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2" inches.  Slimline cards are designed to fit inside a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage.  The base of this slimline card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  Using the Wavy Edgers die set, the sand is cut from Basic Gray cardsock and the ocean waves are cut from Coastal Cabana cardstock.  I added a thin layer of Lawn Fawn's Chunky Glitter on the sand for added sparkle.  The background was made from sponging Tim Holtz Squeezed Lemonade Distress Oxide ink through the Whimsy Stamps Sun Rays stencil. I stamped the sentiment in the upper left corner in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I stamped all three hippos and the starfish from the Beach Hippos stamp set on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock and colored them with Copic markers.  I added highlights to the images with a Uniball white gel pen.  I added the hippos and starfish to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the hippos for added sparkle.  

Please check out the Whimsy Stamps website to see what other fun new release products are available. 
​Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

Happy Saturday, friends!  I hope your weekend is off to a great start!  It is a very exciting day today for a variety of reasons, 1) I'm home packing right now as we leave tomorrow for our annual craft retreat on the Cape, and, 2)  I'm excited to share with you the new February release from Whimsy Stamps!  Today I will be focusing on the "Best Fishes" stamp set and Rainbows paper pack.  But, if you would like to see more of the new release products, please click here for the Whimsy Stamps website.

I have three very different cards to share with you today that were all created using the same "Best Fishes" stamp set and Rainbows paper pack.  You NEED this paper!  It is so full of fun patterns and vibrant colors and they will add so much color and WOW to your projects.  

The base of this card is made from Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock.  I mounted a piece of black cardstock to the top half of the card and a piece of the Rainbow Paper Pack to the bottom.  I then added a small piece of white cardstock to the top again.  I stamped the sentiment "Seas the Day" in Memento Black ink on the center of this cardstock.  I stamped each of the fish in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock and colored them using Copic markers.  I added a few highlights to each fish with a white gel pen.  I cut the fish out using my Scan and Cut 2 e-cutting machine.  I adhered the fish to the center of the card in a rainbow array using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the fish for added sparkle and a couple clear rhinestones to resemble bubbles.  

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Crumb Cake cardstock.  Using the Whimsy Stamps Peekaboo 1 die, I cut the frame from white cardstock.  I then adhered a piece of the Rainbow Paper Pack paper behind the window frame to let the rainbow colors shine through.  I stamped the sentiment in the lower right corner in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I stamped three of the fish from the Best Fishes stamp set in Memento Tuxedo black ink on white cardstock and colored them using Copic Markers.  I cut the fish out using my Scan and Cut 2 e-cutting machine.  I added a few highlights to each fish using a white gel pen.  I adhered the fish to the card using 3M foam adhesive.  Lastly, I added a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to the fish for added sparkle and a couple clear rhinestones to resemble bubbles.  

And finally, here is the last card I created using these same products.  Look at that beautiful rainbow bokeh background and it was all created with just a simple piece of paper!  

I hope you have enjoyed this first look at the February release from Whimsy Stamps.  I'll be taking next week off to fully enjoy my vacation, but, I will see you back here on Tuesday, February 11th, with MORE of this month's release from Whimsy Stamps!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative weekend!

Hello friends, I'm back sharing another slimline card today featuring the same Hippos on Holiday that I used in yesterday's card!  While today's card features the same stamp set and layout, I opted for a different color scheme in pink and aqua hues.  Do you have a favorite?

The base of this card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  For the background I used a 8 1/2" x 2 1/2" piece of Lawn Fawn Really Rainbow Scalloped paper in blue for the sky.   I die cut the sun from Daffodil Delight cardstock.  I die cut a sheet of Pool Party cardstock using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Wave Border dies and adhered it just below the yellow sky.  I die cut a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock using the Heffy Doodle Stitched Slopey Joes border dies and adhered it just below the water line.  I stamped the sentiment in the lower right corner using Memento Tuxedo black ink.  On the very bottom of the card, I placed a thin line of glue and added Lawn Fawn Chunky Glitter for some added sparkle.  I stamped all of the images on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and die cut them using the coordinating Hippos on Holiday dies.  I colored the images with Spectrum Noir Alcohol ink markers and added a few highlights to the images with a Uniball white gel pen.  Lastly I added the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

Here is the Hippos on Holiday stamp set from Hello Bluebird that I used to create today's card:

And now that I've shared not one, but two cards, of these hippos on holiday, I'm feeling quite jealous because they've seen the beach more than I have this summer!

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Hello readers and happy Monday!  I hope you all had a great weekend.  I am really excited to share with you today's card because it is my first ever "slimline" card!  I have been seeing a lot of slimline cards on Instagram and Pinterest lately and the extra-long size makes it ideal to create detailed stamped scenes.  This card measures 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" and is designed to fit inside a #10 business mailing envelope.  I'm not gonna lie, this card took about 3 hours in total to make!  I probably spent about two hours one evening just coloring all of the images and then another hour or so to create the background and overall beach scene.   But, I am so happy with how it turned out that I can't wait to make more!

The base of this card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  For the background I used a 8 1/2" x 2 1/2" piece of Lawn Fawn Really Rainbow Scalloped paper in yellow for the sky.  I stamped the sentiment in the upper left corner using Memento Tuxedo black ink.  I die cut the sun from Daffodil Delight cardstock.  I die cut a sheet of Pool Party cardstock using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Wave Border dies and adhered it just below the yellow sky.  I die cut a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock using the Heffy Doodle Stitched Slopey Joes border dies and adhered it just below the water line.  I did stamp a splatter on the sand in Crumb Cake ink to make it look more like speckled sand.  On the very bottom of the card, I placed a thin line of glue and added Lawn Fawn Chunky Glitter for some added sparkle.  I stamped all of the images on Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock and die cut them using the coordinating Hippos on Holiday dies.  I colored the images with Spectrum Noir Alcohol ink markers and added a few highlights to the images with a Uniball white gel pen.  Lastly I added the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

Here is the Hippos on Holiday stamp set from Hello Bluebird that I used to create this card:

I hope you enjoyed these beach going hippos!  I loved creating this card and felt as though as I had significantly more space to create a scene with by having the longer dimensions.  Try it and let me know what you think!

Tomorrow I'll be sharing a very similar card using these same hippos, but incorporating a different color scheme.  I hope you will come back to see it! 

Hello readers and happy Monday!  Welcome back from a very H-O-T weekend!  It was WAAAAAAYYyyy too hot and humid for me, so I was happily crafting away in my craft room creating some fun shark cards for you!  This coming Sunday, July 28th, kicks off the official 2019 Discovery Channel shark week.  Unlike all the 4th of July cards, Easter cards and St. Patrick's Day cards I failed to inspire you with, this year I'm actually ahead of the ball for sharing ideas for shark week!

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Coastal Cabana cardstock.  I cut a  5 1/4" x 4" sheet of a cloud patterned background paper (not sure who made this!) for the bottom layer.  I die cut a piece of a previously made alcohol ink background using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Waves Borders die and used the Lawn Fawn Slide On over wave dies to create a slider component for the shark in the water.  I die cut the sun from Lawn Fawn Rainbow Scallop paper and adhered it to the top of the card.  I stamped the sharks and surfboards in Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored them with Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers.  Using a Uniball white gel pen I added highlights to the images.  I cut a circle and dry embossed it with a polka dot folder to create an island in the background.  I die cut two Lawn Fawn Palm Trees to add to the island from Crumb Cake cardstock and Early Espresso cardstock for the coconuts. I used the white gel pen to add a few more highlight to the palm trees.  I adhered all the images to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.

Here is the Hello Chum stamp set by Avery Elle that I used to create this card:

Thanks for visiting and happy creating!

Hi readers and thanks for taking the time to visit today!  I hope you find inspiration and creativity as you look around.  Today I am sharing two new-to-me stamp sets by Hero Arts called "Color Layering Waves" and "Color Layering Sea and Sky."  I think you will agree how beautifully these two sets pair together when creating a stamped scene.  These stamps were part of Hero Arts "My Monthly Hero" cardmaking kits last summer and they were so popular that they sold out!  I was so happy when Hero Arts brought them back for individual purchase after high demand.  I really enjoy color layering stamp sets because they offer so much depth and dimension.  You can see a variety of other cards I have made featuring other color layering stamp sets here, here and here. 

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  I cut a piece of Pacific Point cardstock measuring 5 1/2" x 3 3/4" as my mat.  On a sheet of white cardstock I began to stamp my scene starting with the waves.  The first base layer was stamped in Soft Sky blue.  The second layer was in Marina Mist ink (sorry, both retired from Stampin' UP!) and the third was in Pacific point ink.  I added a touch of watercolor in pale pinks and blues to the sky above the water.  Next I stamped the seagulls in Tuxedo Memento Black ink.  I stamped two sailboats in Soft Sky ink and Mango Medley ink on scrap white cardstock and cut them out using the coordinating dies.  I adhered the sailboats to the ocean using 3M foam adhesive.  I stamped the color layering clouds on white cardstock first using Soft Sky ink and then the second layer was in Pacific Point ink.  I die cut the clouds and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.  Lastly I created the sand by cutting a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock and heat embossing the word 'Hello" in gold embossing powder.  Using a distressed dot stamp, I added dots to the paper as though to resemble sand in Crumb Cake ink.  I added footprints in Early Espresso ink.  I ran this sheet of Crumb Cake cardstock through my Big Shot using the Heffy Doodle Stitched Slopey Joes border dies.  Lastly I stamped the Adirondack chair in Pacific Point ink on white cardstock, die cut it and adhered it to the card using 3M foam adhesive.

Here are the two Hero Arts color layering stamp sets I used to create this card:

Tomorrow I will be sharing another way of using those beautiful color layering clouds to achieve an entirely different look for a sympathy card.  I hope you will come back to see other ways this set can be used.

Thanks again for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!

Yes! Yes! Yes!  Amen to Taylored Expressions for creating this beautiful Be A Mermaid stamp set with a killer empowering, "strong women make waves" sentiment!  Yes! Yes! Yes!  Also because it's Friday!  Who's ready for the weekend!?  My parents are coming down from Maine for a visit and I look forward to seeing them.  I also have a full class on Saturday in my home studio with 14 people attending and I can't wait for my mom to participate and meet many new crafty friends.   Live in Western Mass and want to come to a class?  See my class calendar here.

Because I am not currently creating technique video content on my website, 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 used this same Kirkland photo paper to create today's alcohol ink backgrounds.

I am, however, s-l-o-w-l-y beginning to dabble in some video content.  Essentially still photos with animated displays and music.  I haven't attempted audio voiceover or video while creating cards yet, but it's a slow work in progress.  I hope you enjoy this short 1-minute clips of the mermaid cards I have created this week:

The base of this A2 sized card is made from Tempting Turquoise cardstock (sorry, it's retired Stampin' UP!) Using the Gina Marie Designs Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangles, I die cut the scalloped background on Kirkland photo paper.  To create the background I used Ranger Alcohol inks in Sailboat Blue, Turquoise and Pool.  I stamped the sentiment in the upper left corner in Versamark ink and heat embossed it in silver embossing powder.  I stamped one mermaid tail in Tempting Turquoise ink (retired) on Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock and one in Granny Apple Green ink on the same paper.  I stamped the third mermaid tail in Versamark ink on Tempting Turquoise paper and heat embossed it in white embossing powder.  I die cut the tails and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive. 

Here is the Be A Mermaid stamp set and coordinating die from Taylored Expressions:

The base of this second A2 sized card is also made from Tempting Turquoise cardstock (retired, Stampin' UP!).  I used a scrap sheet of 5 1/4 x 4" paper with tiny light clouds on it for the background.  Sorry, I do not recall who made this paper!  I cut two pieces of a previously colored alcohol ink background with the Lawn Fawn Stitched Waves Border Die and adhered those to the center of the card.  On a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock, I stamped "Let's Shellebrate" in Versamark ink and heat embossed it in white embossing powder.  Then I used a Heffy Doodle Stitched Slopey Joes die to create a stitched border on the "sand."  I tapped a small eraser into Crumb Cake ink and stamped the background of this Crumb Cake border.  I stamped one Mermaid Tail on Temping Turquoise cardstock and heat embossed it in white embossing powder.  I die cut another mermaid tail from Granny Apple Green cardstock and backed it with a piece of Turquoise Glitter paper.  Lastly I stamped the seashells on Neenah Solar white cardstock, Granny Apple Green cardstock and Tempting Turqoise cardstock and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive. 

I hope you have enjoyed these vibrant cards and, even more, their powerful message. 
Strong women make waves!

Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend!

Hello friends and thanks for taking the time to visit my website!  If this is your first time, welcome!  I hope to inspire you with a little creativity.  Want to learn a little bit more about me?  Please click here.  Or, you can visit my craft room too, simply by clicking here.   

So, yesterday I really did ask Google, "what do you call a group of mermaid's" when I was attempting to title today's post.  Fun fact, a group of jellyfish is called a "smack" and a group of squid is called a "squad."  But, it turns out, there is no collective noun for a group of mermaids.  According to The Fish Vet, if mermaids were fish, a group of them would be called a school.  If they were classified as humans, they’d be called a tribe.
And, if they’re sea mammals, similar to dolphins, a group of them are called pods.  So, whatever they are called, enjoy today's rainbow of mermaid tails! 

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 Basic black cardstock.  I cut a 5" x 3 3/4" sheet of white cardstock and stamped "Hello Beautiful" in Memento Tuxedo Black ink directly in the center before adhering this piece to the card base.  On small scraps of Melon Mambo, Mango Medley, Pineapple Punch, Granny Apple Green, Tempting Turqouise (retired) and Gorgeous Grape cardstock, I stamped the mermaid tail in Versamark ink and heat embossed each in white embossing powder.  I die cut each tail individually and adhered them to the card in a rainbow pattern using 3M foam adhesive.  Lastly, I put a coat of Clear Wink of Stella over each mermaid tail for added sparkle.

Below is the Be A Mermaid stamp set and die from Taylored Expressions that I used to create this card:

Thanks for visiting and happy crafting!