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Today I am on the Whimsy Stamps blog for day/night 21 of their annual "31 Nights of Halloween" celebration. This annual event features gory (but good) giveaways, BOO-tiful projects and frightful fun for everyone! Please refer to this post to see how you can enter to win some of these spooktacular prizes. We also hope that YOU will share your Halloween themed creations with us  I have created a spooky slimline graveyard scene card for you today using a variety of fun new release products. This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2". Slimline cards are designed to fit into a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. The base of my slimline card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. This is my go-to white cardstock for everything from card bases to die cutting and Copic coloring.  Using the Slimline Marquee die, I cut the frame from black cardstock. Behind the windows of the frame I used a piece of patterned paper from the Haunted paper pack. This paper is perfect for creating spooky background scenes - without doing all the hard work of coloring or stamping!! : ) Using the Grass and Cloud Edger Die set, I cut the grass from lime green cardstock and placed it in front of the entire frame. I use a Tombow Permanent Dot runner for my main adhesive.   I then used the Build A Graveyard Die set to die cut tombstones from black and dark grey cardstock. I cut out many more gravestones than I knew I would need so I would have them on reserve for future projects. I also used this same set of dies to die cut the fence, skulls and cat. I used the coordinating Grave Epitaphs stamp set to stamp some of the funny names and spooky slogans on the gravestones. I also love that this stamp includes a stamp that will make the gravestones look cracked, a look that I was wondering how I would achieve on my own!   I hope you have enjoyed this card and that you have been inspired by ALL the amazing projects created by the very talented and innovative Creative Team and special guests for "31 Nights of Halloween." Thank you for visiting and have a wonderful day! XO, Crystal
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WOW! Today I am thrilled beyond belief to share with you that my work has been featured for the very first time in the latest edition of “Making Cards and PaperCraft” magazine! I have had many goals since I began my cardmaking adventure more than 15 years ago from teaching classes to designing for companies and ultimately being published one day. This year saw the last of those personal goals come true! And now I rest. . . ; ) I owe this amazing achievement to Whimsy Stamps for allowing me the opportunity to represent their company with these shaker cards. I am also humbled and grateful to all those friends and family who have supported me by attending classes throughout the years and encouraging me along the way. MY victories are YOUR victories and I celebrate them with you. Thank you!    Making Cards & Papercraft magazine is a magazine published in the UK and can sometimes be difficult to purchase in the US. I have been to Michaels, JoAnn's and Barnes & Noble and I was not able to procure a print magazine. However, if you would like to purchase (or subscribe) to this wonderful paper arts magazine, you can purchase the digital magazine online or order a paper print copy here. In case you aren't able to see the magazine in person, here is a closer look at all three of the slimline shaker cards that I created that are featured in the magazine:  
   Thank you for allowing to share my achievements with you! I shall now go eat a Boston creme donut to celebrate! Have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalWhimsy Stamps products used:
Hello friends and happy Friday! I hope you have fun things planned for the weekend ahead! Yesterday I shared this gnome themed Christmas card using the new Gnome for Christmas stamp set and Gilded Holiday paper pack from Whimsy Stamps and I promised that today I would be sharing another way to use this beautiful new black and gold paper pack.  Card details:*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post. This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2". Slimline cards are designed to fit into a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. The base of this slimline card is made from black cardstock. Using the Whimsy Stamps Slimline Card Builder die, I cut the frame from white cardstock. Using the Slimline Bunting Borders die set, I cut the top banner of stars from gold glitter cardstock. I die cut a variety of presents from both black and white cardstock and papers from the Gilded Holiday paper pack. Then I assembled the presents in a mix-match pattern to create visual interest. I stamped sentiments on some of the white presents and I stamped the greeting in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.     Thank you for visiting. I hope you have enjoyed today's card and that you leave here feeling inspired to create. Have a wonderful weekend! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
When it comes to holiday traditions, I say pfoooey. Who says that Santa's suit has to be red or that elves have pointy ears and green shoes? I mean, who made all these "rules" anyway!? Today I'm throwing out the rulebook on all things Christmas because today's slimline card is all about the elegance of black and white at Christmas and gnomes wearing colors typically reserved for bees! Does it make this card look any less Christmas-sy because it's not red and green? I don't think so.
Card details:
*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.
This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2". Slimline cards are designed to fit into a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. The base of this slimline card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Whimsy Stamps Scenic Window Die, I cut the frame from black cardstock. I lined the back of the frame with pieces from the new Whimsy Stamps Gilded Holiday paper pack. I stamped the gnomes from the new Gnome for Christmas stamp set in Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored them using Copic markers. I fussy cut each gnome and adhered it to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. I stamped the word "merry" in Tuxedo Black ink on a thin strip of white cardstock and adhered it in the middle window. I heat embossed the word "Christmas" in white embossing powder on black cardstock and then fussy cut the word with small scissors before adhering it to the center window box below the word "merry." 
The color of these gnomes was actually inspired by a beautiful new pack of paper from Whimsy Stamps called "Gilded Holiday." Tomorrow I'll be sharing another card using this same beautiful paper and an entirely different theme!
XO, CrystalList of supplies:Hello crafty friends! Today I am on the Whimsy Stamps blog showing how to create an easel card for their weekly "Tuesday Tutorial" post. In my mind the easel card I have created for today light's up! Think really hard and you will see it too! (If not, kindly amuse me). I had every intention of learning how to use those cool chibitronic or EZ lights for a light-up card, but let's be honest, I'm the girl who stuck a fork in a light socket when I was 4 years old. I learned my lesson at an early age not to mess with electricity! ; )    To create the base of this easel card, cut a 4 1/4 x 11" piece of black cardstock. Fold it in half and score it at 5 1/2". Then fold the top half in half again and score (see image below).  Place a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of paper from the Haunted Paper Pack on the bottom or base of the card. Using the Arched Window die, place it over another fun patterned piece of paper from the Haunted Paper Pack.   Stamp the images from the Candle Creeps stamp set in Memento Tuxedo black on your favorite white Copic friendly cardstock. I use 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Crest. I then cut the images out using my Brother Scan and Cut 2 e-cutting machine. I used Copic Markers to color the candle images. Adhere the colored candle images to the front of the window scene using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Place the die cut window on the lower half of the folded card base.   In order to prevent the window scene from falling down flat, you need to create a little pop up element to stop the window. Here I used the Build a Graveyard dies. I cut the tomb from gray cardstock, the skull from white cardstock and the gravemarker (that reads "RIP) from black cardstock. I placed these on the card base using 3M foam adhesive. *Again, any pop up piece is the key here to block the card from sliding down. I hope you have enjoyed this easel card (and that it lights up in your imagination too)! Thanks for visiting and happy creating! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
Hello and happy Friday friends! Yay for a 3-day weekend! Hopefully you get to take advantage of this long holiday weekend too. Today I am sharing another fun new release from Whimsy Stamps called Gossip Holiday Girls. Earlier this summer, Whimsy Stamps, released an entire comic themed line of stamps that were so popular, including the original Gossip Girls stamp set. So, I was very excited to see the Christmas/winter themed version of this fun stamp set with this latest release.
Card details:
*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.
This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2". Slimline cards are designed to fit into a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. The base of this slimline card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. Using various 2 1/4" square pieces of the Whimsy Stamps Cosmic themed paper, I lined the back of the white Slimline Filmstrip die with these patterned papers. I stamped the Gossip Girl images in Memento Black ink on white cardstock and colored the images using Copic markers. I die cut the images using the coordinating dies and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive. Using the Speech Bubbles dies, I stamped the sentiments on white cardstock in purple ink and die cut the speech bubbles. I also adhered the sentiments to the card using 3M foam adhesive. 
I hope you have enjoyed this fun card. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful weekend!
XO, CrystalList of supplies:
It's the time of year when I begin bouncing around a bit with my card themes. Last week I shared some Halloween cards, yesterday was a winter themed card and today it's all about fall. So basically, ya never know what you're gonna get! Personally, I like it that way. If every day was the same, it would be a pretty boring world we live in. Variety IS the spice of life (or so they say). . .
Today's slimline card features a Distress Oxide ink background in an ombre pattern with leaves from the new Leaf Layers stamp set by Whimsy Stamps. To see another way I used this same stamp set, please click here. 
Card details:
*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.
This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2". Slimline cards are designed to fit into a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. To create the background, I cut a 8 1/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Bristol Smooth cardstock. This is the cardstock I use to do all of my ink-blending on. I ink blended Distress Oxide inks in Scattered Straw, Squeezed Lemonade, Carved Pumpkin and Barn Door. I then ink splattered the Barn Door ink over the entire card. Once this background was dry, I adhered it to the card base using a Tombow dot runner. I die cut the frame from white cardstock and also splattered it with Barn Door Distress Oxide ink. I adhered the postage frame to the center of the card. I stamped the leaves in yellow, orange and red ink and fussy cut EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM! Yikes, there was no corresponding die set for this stamp! I adhered the leaves to the card using 3M foam adhesive for added dimension. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment in Versamark ink on black cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I notched the left side of the sentiment and adhered it to the top 1/3 of the card. 
I am really enjoying creating backgrounds using Distress Oxide inks. They really make quite a statement. Initially, I was hesitant to use these inks because I thought they were too "messy." But now I think the mess is totally worth it!
XO, CrystalList of supplies:
I am only mildly afraid to post today's cards. . . About two weeks ago I posted my first Christmas card of the season and was met with multiple resounding "NOOOOO, it's too soon" messages! So, the thought of "winter wishes" is sure to send a few people over the edge! #sorrynotsorry It's the downside of designing for companies that must market holiday products months before the actual holiday season!
Today's cards feature the new Tree Assortment Die set from the October release at Whimsy Stamps. I created four cards in a variety of vibrant colors, all with alcohol ink backgrounds, to really highlight the stark white die cut trees. 
Card details:
*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post.
Please note all four cards were made the same way, just with a variation of color combinations. Each A2 sized card was made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I matted each layer with a 5 1/4" x 4" piece of colored cardstock (pink, blue, green or purple) and then cut a 5 " x 3 3/4" piece of white cardstock again. On this smaller piece of white cardstock, I die cut a 2 1/2" circle in the middle. I created four alcohol ink backgrounds in various colors on 3 x 3" pieces of Yupo paper and once they dried, I adhered the alcohol ink backgrounds behind the circular hole before adhering them to the card. I die cut the white trees and adhere them to the front of the card, tucking the bottoms of the trees down into the die cut circle. 
I stamped the sentiment "warm winter" in the corresponding ink color (pink, red, blue or purple) onto a thin strip of white cardstock. I notched the right side of the sentiment strip and adhered it under the left side of the die cut circle. I stamped the word "wishes" in Versamark ink on colored cardstock and heat embossed the word with white embossing powder. I fussy cut each word "wishes" out with a pair of scissors as there is no corresponding die for this stamp set.
I hope you have enjoyed today's cards, despite the fact that they are winter themed and it's only
October 6th! ; ) Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
 Today I am on the Whimsy Stamps blog for day/night 2 of their annual "31 Nights of Halloween" celebration. This annual event features gory (but good) giveaways, BOO-tiful projects and frightful fun for everyone! Please refer to this post to see how you can enter to win some of these spooktacular prizes. We also hope that YOU will share your Halloween themed creations with us! I have designed a slimline card today featuring one of my favorite Whimsy Stamps Halloween sets called Candy Corn Dress Up. I LOVE this brilliantly designed set featuring candy corns disguised as trick-or-treaters. *Confession - as I was setting up the photo layout for this image, I may have eaten approximately 108 pieces of my candy corn photo props! : )   Card details:This slimline card measures 8 1/2" x 3 1/2". Slimline cards are designed to fit into a regular #10 business sized envelope and require no additional postage. For the base of the card I used 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the Slimline Hill House die, I cut the frame from black cardstock. I created the background using Ranger Alcohol Inks in Lemonade and Sunset on Yupo paper. Using the Pierced and Stitched Circle Dies I die cut a large circle from Yupo paper and inked on more orange than yellow alcohol ink. I then placed the moon behind the haunted house. I splattered both backgrounds with white acrylic paint for added visual interest.  I fussy cut the alcohol ink background to fit inside the Hill House slimline frame. I also fussy cut a piece of gray cardstock to fit behind the road (in the lower half of the scene) and then adhered both layers to the white card base using a Tombow Permanent Dot Runner. I die cut the two bats from black cardstock using the Build A Graveyard Die set. I stamped the candy corn images in Memento Tuxedo Black ink on the Neenah white cardstock and colored them using Copic markers. I fussy cut the images and adhered them to the card using 3M foam adhesive. I added some extra highlights to the coloring by using a Uniball white gel pen. I also ALWAYS add a coat of Clear Wink of Stella to my projects for lots of extra sparkle! Sparkle, is like butter (or bacon), it makes everything better! I stamped the sentiment in Memento Black ink on a thin strip of pumpkin orange cardstock, notched the right edge and adhered it to the bottom of the card with 3M foam adhesive.   I hope you have enjoyed this spooky-cute slimline card. Be sure to follow along for the rest of the month to see NEW Halloween themed projects every day by Whimsy Stamps' talented Creative Team. Thanks for visiting and happy creating! XO, CrystalHello friends and happy Thursday! Today is another exciting new release day at Whimsy Stamps and I'm happy to be sharing lots of fun new products with you over the coming days and weeks. I particularly loved this new release because it was a well balanced combination of fall and Christmas themed stamp sets. Today's card feature the beautiful new "Leaf Layers" stamp set. Fall is my favorite time of the year, so I began by making a fall themed card (in oranges and browns) using this new stamp set, but, I was also inspired to create the same card in other colors too in order to show you endless possibilities with this one set.   Card details:*A full list of supplies is located at the end of this post. All of these A2 sized cards were made the same way, I simply used different color combinations on each card. The base of each card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. Using the A2 Lattice die, I die cut the lattice background from white cardstock. I adhered the lattice directly to the card base. I cut a piece of polka dotted vellum and die cut it with a 3" circle, snipping off the left hand side and adhering it to card with vellum adhesive. I stamped the leaves in a variety of ink colors and fussy cut ALL of them out. I adhered 5 leaf sets to each card. I then used the "thanks" die to die cut the sentiment. The base shadow outline layer was cut from one color cardstock and the thinner outline on the top was cut from another piece of cardstock.     Do you have a favorite color from today's cards? You can check out all the awesome new release products from Whimsy Stamps HERE and have fun creating! XO, CrystalList of supplies:
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