Encre, papier, ciseaux

Easter Treats

I wanted to make Easter treat packages for the office but I wasn't sure if time would allow. I finally decided to go for it this weekend and I picked a simple container that wouldn't takke too long to embellish. I realized that if I made pillow boxes, I could use my Hello Easter 6" x 6" paper stack. You only need a 5-1/4" x 4-3/4" piece of paper to create a box. There are many pillow boxes available - mine is the retired Bigz from Sizzix by Stampin' Up!

I pulled out the Easter Party stamp set that Lawn Fawn released last year. I had barely had the time to use it before Easter was over, and the cute characters are easy to color and die-cut. I looked for options on what I could place them on and finally decided to use the rectangle frame from the Mini Picture Frames dies. Since I was using double-sided patterned papers, I was able to simple turn the center upside down and get two different colours for the frame and the inside rectangle with only one cut. I had also grabbed the Say What? Gift Tags dies as another possible option, but the speech bubble caught my eye and I decided to have the characters say "For You." Because the duck is facing the other way, I had to improvise and die-cut those speech bubbles from the backside of the paper so that I could turn it around and the speech bubble facing right. The sentiment was embossed with clear embossing powder for a bit of shine.

I initially used pink and turquoise ribbon on all boxes depending on what created the most contrast with the paper but I found the turquoise ribbon was clashing with the turquoise frames, so I switched a few of them to chocolate ribbon. A dab of Fairy Wings Drean Drops were added to the top of the speech bubbles to fill them out a little bit and I was done.

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Easter Party (Lawn Fawn); Voeux mignons (Teeny Tiny Wishes - Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Paper: Hello Easter (Echo Park)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Early Espresso (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Easter Party, Say What? Gift Tags, Mini Picture Frames (Lawn Fawn);
Pillow Box Bigz (Sizzix by Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Fayr Wings Dream Drops (Nuvo); Markers (Copic); Pretty in Pink Taffeta Ribbon,
Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon, Baja Breeze Striped Grosgrain Ribbon (Stampin' Up!)

 

Guest Designer for Lasting Memories - Now Four

Inspiration: Lasting Memories challenge #439

I don't naturally gravitate towards flowers (and lord knows there are a ton of flowery stuff when it comes to paper crafts). While I don't dislike flowers and will add some to my projects once in a while, I just like to shoot for variety and I can get bored very quickly with them. So I had to stop and think for a minute about what I would make for challenge #439. What helped me find inspiration was the gorgeous new paper collection from Carta Bella called Flower Market. They had a similar collection last year, which I used all the way down to my very last scrap, and I was happy to see this follow-up collection in gorgeous colours amd lovely watercolored patterns. More than the flowers, I think it's the watercolored look and the fun images like the gorgeous aqua pick-up truck that gets me excited about this line. That being said, coming back to the challenge, I pretty much knew it was a good occasion to use the paper flowers I've had in my stash for over a decaode and frame my picture with a wreath. The colors I had on hand happened to fit the paper collection quite nicely. I picked a picture taken at the hospital when my sister welcomed her second baby girl.

The page is fairly simple: lots of flowers, topped with various buttons, pearls and enamel dots, a bit of cotton twine at the bottom, a few die-cut pieces from the patterned papers... The ruler is actually a leftover piece from a Distress class I took at my local store last week. The ruler was too long for the project and we had to cut the end off. I figured I could reuse the leftover on something, and it was fitting with the colors and the big number nicely. I also used my Distress Oxide sprays to color the vanilla paper leaves I had. I used Peeled Paint, Cracked Pistachio and Iced Spruce, and I dabbed the leaves in the sprays leftover at the bottom of the box to get splotches and create more realistic leaves.

The title reads, "Now Four," since their family grew with the arrival of baby Arielle.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Cardstock and Stickers: Flower Market (Carta Bella)
Flowers and Leaves: Prima, Making Memories
Buttons: Autumn Leaves
Dies: Alisha Lowercase Alphabet (Echo Park); Large Numbers Framelits (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Galvanized Buttons, Home for Christmas Enamel Dots, True Gentleman Buttons,
Metal-Rimmed Pearls, Tropical Elements, Vintage Faceted Buttons, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals.
Festive Farmhouse Cotton Twine, Sivler Metal Buttons, Mini Stapler (Stampin' Up!);
Iced Spruce, Peeled Paint, Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide Sprays, Mini Ruler (Ranger)

 

Fairy Garden

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Monday (Miniature/Tiny Things) + Hand Stamped Sentiments #309 + Inspired By #64

The starting point of this card was the robin's egg door on a yellow house in the inspiration picture from Hand Stamped Sentiments. It was so cute! I initially was planning on using the Shut the Front Door die from Lawn Fawn, but then I realized I could use the new Mushroom House dies instead and still have my blue door. I paper pieced Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper into the mushroom dot holes for a little touch of glitz and whimsy. I also added a piece of acetate between the window and the cardstock to create glass.

So I picked soft Spring shades and started putting together a cute house. There's a new gnome stamp set that is perfect to go with it, but I kept being drawn to turning it into a fairy house instead, so I pulled out the Fairy Friends stamp set.

Speaking of the mushroom dot holes, I was leftover with Calypso Coral pieces and I noticed they would make great cobblestones, so I used a dark brown Copic marker to color them and added them in front of the doorstep.

The door in the inspiration picture has basket of flowers on it, so I decided to use the tiny tulips from the Mushroom House die set and create a flower box beneath the window. I made the box myself with a thin strip of cardstock and edges cut at an angle.I decied to add lilac flowers like in the Inspired By challenge picture.

I went looking for a sentiment to add at the bottom of the card and found one that says something like, "May your garden be filled with happiness flowers." It was not filling the space exactly like what I envisioned, but it was so perfect and the font was matching the little fairy scene so nicely that I still went with it. As I was stamping three more flowers from the Fairy Friends set to embellish the inside of the card and the envelope, I actually found that the purple tulip could be added to the card front right by the sentiment, and then it didn't look too narrow anymore, so that worked out nicely.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Fairy Friends (Lawn Fawn); Ravissant Bouquet (Beautiful Bouquet - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla, Calypso Coral, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip,
Opulent Orchid, Almost Amethyst (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Spiffy Speckles, Really Rainbow Scallops (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Chocolate Chip Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: A2 Metallic Blonde Envelope (envelopes.com); Markers (Copic);
Window Sheets, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, Gold Foil Paper, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo); Mushroom House Dies, Mushroom Border Dies,
Fairy Friends Dies (Lawn Fawn)

 

A Wish Upon a Star

Inspiration: Fab Friday #159 + Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Cute) + Little Red Wagon #488 (Space-related)

how sweet is this new stamp set from Mama Elephant? I couldn't resist. I also have this star-themed patterned paper from Stampin' Up! called Twinkle Twinkle that has this awesome navy starry sky patterned that was perfect to create my sky. I had heard people rave about the Dream Drops from Nuvo, and I used Gold Luxe and Cloud 9 to add additional stars to my sky. I can see why people like them - they have this opalescent finish that changes color depending on the angle you look at the project, so they are just luscious.

For the sentiment, I used one from the same stamp set, since I liked the saying and the font. I happened to have thick baker's twine in three colours matching the papers, so I tied three knots, and I added an enamel star on the other end, after punching the corner with a ticket corner punch. As you can see, it's great to have the dies for this stamp set since it takes out the middle part between the cloud and the fishing rod (and handcutting around that tiny start would be pretty tricky).

I used my envelope punch board to make an envelope out of matching paper to finish the set.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Wish Upon a Star (Mama Elephant)
Cardstock: Petal Pink, Soft Seafoam, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Designer Series Paper: Twinkle Twinkle
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Night of Navy Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Dotted Scallop Rectangles Dies (Elizabeth Craft Designs);
Wish Upon a Star Dies (Mama Elephant); Gold Luxe and Cloud 9 Dream Drops (Nuvo);
Stampin' Dimensionals, Thick Baker's Twine, Subtles Enamel Shapes, Ticket Corner Punch,
Envelope Punch Board (Stampin' Up!); Markers (Copic)

 

Guest Designer for Lasting Memories - I'm So Lucky to Have You

Inspiration: Lasting Memories challenge #438

I was excited to get the Lots o' Luck collection from Doodlebug in time to make my challenge layouts, as it was perfect for the St. Patty's inspiration! I wanted to find a picture of my nieces because I feel very lucky to have them in my life. I ended up finding a sweet picture of the both of them together sharing a cuddle (along with their stuffed bear). The title then took a second meaning as well. My older niece had been looking forward to getting a sibling and when her mom was pregnant, we had her make a wish and throw a coin in a well. She wished for a baby sister. She was over the moon when it was confirmed that my sister was expecting a girl. We were hoping Megan's enthusiasm wouldn't fade when the baby was born and the reality of not being queen of the house set in, but fortunately, her love and excitement for her little sister never wavered. The title speaks of how lucky Megan feels to have her sister and also to how I feel lucky to have them both in my life.

Most of the papers and stickers came from the paper pack, Icons sticker sheet and Odds & Ends pack. I added the black polka dot paper from a Petite Print paper pack and made a bow using a punch. The title scalloped circle was embellished with rainbow hearts shape sprinkles, and I added bright glitter sprinkles randomly as well. I just had to include the adorable redheaded girl, since Megan is a redhead herself. The Odds & Ends girl was too big, but the Icon sticker was perfect and because her feet are uneven, it looks like she's stepping on the corner of the paper, which is sheer coincidence but works perfectly. I tried a few images at the bottom and finally settled on the unicorn, which my niece is all about these days. The adorable leprechaun image was actually a leftover stamped image left on my desk. Last time my niece came over to my house to craft, I stamped a few images to color while she was working on her own project. I punched the image and left it on my desk to try and work into a project down the road.

The gold journaling was added using a calligraphy pen which I filled with diluted Cosmic Shimmer iridescent shimmering watercolour paints. I had shared this tip recently: I add water to my shimmering watercolor and then I use a waterbrush to transfer the pigment inside the calligraphy metal tip. I make sure it's watery enough to flow and then I can write or doodle in the metallic color of my choice. I load up some more paint using the brush when needed until my journaling is done. This allows me to add journaling in the colour of my choice without having to invest in a ton of calligraphy inks and to make the most out of my existing supplies. Here, I journaled in gold. The journaling can be hard to read, but when the light hits the gold paint at the right angle, it can be read nicely. (Maybe next time, I will avoid journaling directly on patterned paper, but for this layout, it'll do.) I also added gold to the coins in my stamped image and around the centers of the flowers while my calligraphy pen was loaded.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Gift Givers (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers, Icons Stickers and Odds & Ends: Lots O' Luck,
Booville Petite Print Paper Pack (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories: Rainbow Heart Shape Sprinkles, Bright Glitter Sprinkles Assortment (Doodlebug Design);
Circle Punch, Bow Punch. Stampin' Dimensionals, 1/8" Gold Ribbon (Stampin' Up!); Buttons (Autumn Leaves);
Pencils (Prismacolor); Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo)

 

Congrats!

Inspiration: Tuesday Morning Sketches #494 + Color Throwndown #534 + Just Add Ink #448 (J is for Jumping for Joy)

I had the You Did It stamp set put aside to make a graduation card before this time of year rolls around. The Stitched Photo Frames dies caught my eye and I thought a polaroid would look nice as the middle piece for the Tuesday Morning sketch. It becamse the starting point for this card. I was looking for patterned papers that would pair well with the stamp set and found some leftover papers from My Mind's Eye Mischievous line. This is supposed to be a Halloween collection (the typewriter print paper has some Halloween words all over it like October 31, treat, spooky, etc.) but really, you would never guess when you pair it with other stuff. It's one of my personal favorite collection. The blue and orange combo also worked with the Color Throwdown challenge from this week. Since the Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide spray matches the paper's color, I decided to black-emboss the graduate image and spray the pigment over it. I wiped the embossed image clean with a tissue before the sprayed ink dried. I spritzed some grey with a marker and my old spritzer tool, and I glued a few mini iridescent stars around the image. I was initially planning to simply put the square back in the polaroid die-cut, but then I decided it would look better added at an angle and backed with patterned paper underneath instead.

The die-cut word is from the Well Written Framelits set in the current Occasions catalogue. I picked "Hooray" and die-cut it out of blue cardstock. I pulled out matching blue organza ribbon from the SAB ribbon pack, and two silver stars from the Twinkle adhesive-backed sequins pack.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: You Did It (Impression Obsession)
Cardstock: Grey Granite, Very Vanilla (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Mischievous (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Basic Black Archival Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Organza Ribbon, Twinkle Adhesive-Backed Sequins, Very Vanilla Medium Envelope,
Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Les bons mots Framelits (Stampin' Up!);
Spiced Marmalade Distress Oxide Spray (Ranger); Stitched Photo Frames Dies (Pretty Pink Posh);
Outside In Stitched Rectangle Dies (Lawn Fawn)

 

From All of Us

Inspiration: In[k]spire Me #388 + As You See It #196

I love the adorable Be Hap-pea stamp set from Lawn Fawn. There's lot of punny sentiments included in the set, but I was wondering how I could make this stamp set make sense in French. I decided to pair it wth a die I have that says "From All of Us." This could make a great group card.

I wanted texture on my various pieces so I used the Stitched Woodgrain Backdrop die on the card front, and the Subtle 3D embossing folder on my white cardstock. It still was a little too stark white so I put some Distress Oxide inks in two green shades on my craft mat, spritzed the ink with water and put my cardstock in the puddles to create a watercolored background. Initially, I had used some Thick Whisper White cardstock and since it's not meant to take water, I was unhappy with the result, so I went back and recreated the same oval out of watercolor paper, which worked out much better. (I was able to salvage my other piece for the envelope. Because the embossing had faded due to the water on the cardstock, I ran it through again once the cardstock was dried and it made the texture more crisp.)

I played with various green shades from my Stampin' Blends marker collection (Soft Seafoam, Old Olive, Granny Apple Green and Shaded Spruce) to give the main image depth and interest. Even after putting everything together and adding the tendrils, the scene still looked a little bare, so I added the glimmery green heart and then I spotted the speech bubbles in the stamp set and decided to work those in as well. There's only one speech bubble and the tip faces left. This made it difficult to incorporate the second speech bubble since the point wasn't facing the pea's mouth (here's a sentence I never thought I was going to write!) so I flipped the die-cut on the table face down and hand traced a bubble following the indent around the die-cut. It's not perfect, but it's good enough. (I might have been better served using the mirror stamping technique using a transparency, but there's always next time.) Little clear and green gems were added as well to fill in the space a bit.

The fun banner at the bottom was done using a die from the new Fancy Wavy Banners dies from Lawn Fawn. I really like the fun shape of this one. I used Gold Foil Paper to die-cut the sentiment going over it. It was a good way to break away from all the greens a bit.

Because this card is A2-sized and I want it to be a group card, I added a folded insert inside (sort of a card within a card). This is a trick I use whenever we circulate cards at the office which will be signed by many people.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Be Hap-pea (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Shaded Spruce, Granny Apple Green, Soft Suede, Thick Whisper White (Stampin' Up!);
Watercolor Paper (Fabriano)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint (Distress Oxide from Ranger)
Dies: De nous tous (Lime citron); Layering Oval Framelits (Stampin' Up!);
Fancy Wavy Banners Dies, Be Hap-Pea Dies, Stitched Woodgrain Backdrop Die (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Stampin' Blends Markers, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Organza Ribbon,
Myths & Magic Glimmer Paper, Heart Punch, Gold Foil Paper, Subtle 3D Embossing Folder (Stampin' Up!);
A2 Oak Woodgrain Envelope (envelopes.com); August Crystals (Studio Katia)

 

We All Live in a Yellow Submarine

inspiration: Lawn Fawnatics #48 + Little Red Wagon #488 + ColourQ #31

The current Lawn Fawnatics challenge is a good one: create something based off a book, song or movie. I encourage you to check out the projects posted on the blog, they are incredibly clever and inspired! I went with something that had been on my mind ever since the You Are Sublime stamp set came out: to do a... yellow submarine! I decided to pair it with the Magic Picture changer die so that I could try out the new stuff as well. This is arguably one of the easiest interactive card dies Lawn Fawn has come out with so far. But there is an important detail to remember: the hidden image has to be stamped on the moving part. I'm sure it's mentioned somewhere online or in the Lawn Fawn videos, but I got lazy and just winged it and well... my yellow sub became the hidden image instead of the diver with the sentiment. Not a huge deal in this case, but noted for next time.

I used the Ruffled 3D embossing folder fpr the turquoise background to mimick waves and added torn Champagne glimmer paper at the bottom to ground my scene. I added a few fish and plants to make the card more interesting and colorful. I was initially unsure if I really needed the Magic Picture Changer Add-On dies, but I think they're going to be useful it getting a nicer finish on the overall project.

Because the song says "We all live in a yellow submarine," I wanted to incorporate faces in the sub's windows. I had the perfect selection of faces in the Be Hap-pea stamp set - a wide variety of faces and just the right size.

This is a fun one. I bet my niece will be loving this new type of interactive card (since she always ask when seeing a new card if it "does anything"!).

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: You Are Sublime (Lawn Fawn); Souhaits et voeux (Sunshine Sayings - Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Crushed Curry, Brilliant Blue, Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise, Champagne Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Brilliant Blue, Night of Navy Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: You Are Sublime Dies, Magic Picture Changer Dies,
Magic Picture Changer Add-On Dies (Lawn Fawn); Markers (Copic);
Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo); Whisper White Medium Envelope (Stampin' Up!)

 

It's a Girl!

Inspiration: Simon Says Monday (Girly/Feminine) + Mojo Monday #511 + ColourQ #81

I wanted to make a baby card with shades of pink to add to my card stash. I looked at past ColourQ combos for inspiration and found something soft and beautiful from challenge #81, which I adapted to current colours. I wanted to use the Doily Builder Thinlits dies for the main circle and add the baby in a blanket over it. I can't get over using that blanket die with the folds - I think it's just adorable! Because we have the full doily die in the set, I was able to back my Vanilla doily with a layer of vellum, which tamed the patterns in the back and made the details not compete as much. I repeated the sentiments "It's a Girl" on the Blushing Bride cardstock to create a pattern. This allowed me to use the sentiment I wanted and still use the space since it would have felt a little bared stamped only once on the pink rectangle.

For the background, I used a piece of textured cardstock from many years ago, but now that we carry the Subtle 3D embossing folder, you could create your own textured cardstock with it. I stamped the safety pink randomly in So Saffron ink over the background. The little girl image was colored with Stampin' Blends markers. I used the dies to die-cut the baby, but handcut the hairband to avoid having a large border on it that would cover some of the hair.

Because I was trying out various design ideas, I had die-cut two bows, one in vanilla and one in green. I ended up layering them, slightly offset, to create a colored shadow and make the vanilla bow stand out more.

 

 

  

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Bébé mignon (Sweet Baby)
Cardstock: Old Olive, So Saffron, Blushing Bride, Mint Macaron, Very Vanilla, Vellum
Designer Series Paper Stack: Subtles
Ink: So Saffron, Blushing Bride, Tuxedo Black Memento
Accessories: Doily Builder Thinlits Dies, Bouncing Baby Framelits Dies,
Stitched Shapes Framelits Dies, Stampin' Blends Markers, Neutrals Candy Dots,
Very Vanilla Medium Envelope, Pearl Basic Jewels, Old Olive Mini Chevron Ribbon

 

Guest Designer for Lasting Memories - Chasing Butterflies

Inspiration: Lasting Memories #437

The stars lined up so perfectly for this layout. The new Lawn Fawn release just came out and as I was looking at the new stamps, I realized that I had some pictures of my niece from our 2017 vacation where she was chasing butterflies on the beach, which went perfectly with the Butterfly Kisses stamp set. It went perfectly with the theme of the Lasting Memories challenge #437 as well. I wanted to make a border with half-circles around the page and I was hesitating between two of the new paper lines from the release, but when I noticed that the LM challenge called for flowers, it became obvious that Spring Fling would be the right choice.

The release had some butterflies dies, which were perfect to embellish the page, and I used the Fancy Lattice Backdrop to ground my pictures on the page and add interest to the center. (On a side note, those backdrop dies from Lawn Fawn are gorgeous, but taking out the little pieces is a drag. This one had a lot of them, but because the pieces are big, they came out easily. The Quilted Backdrop, on the other hand - sheesh!)

Another set from the release, called Simply Celebrate Spring, includes an adorable plane with a banner flying behind, which was perfect to add a title on the page. The additional word was die-cut with the Alphanumeric Script dies from Sizzix. I love how the pink pops on the blue sky!

For my circle border, I used my Circle Layering Dies from Tonic. I initially purchased this set online because I wanted larger circles than the one found in most layering circle sets. I discovered something very cool about those dies when I received them: they have little notches on the sides to indicate where the center of the circle is! It's a little detail that makes all of the difference when using the dies, especially in this case as I was able to line up the notches with the edge of the paper and get half-circles that were exactly the same size in all of my patterns. I saved a lot of paper that way and didn't have to figure out cutting with my paper cutter either.

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Butterfly Kisses, Simply Celebrate Spring, Riley's ABC (Lawn Fawn); Project Life Une date (Stampin' Up!)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Champagne Glimmer Paper (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Spring Fling (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Tempting Turquoise Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Dies: Butterfly Kisses, Simply Celebrate Spring, Layered Butterflies, Reveal Wheel Butterfly Add-On,
Fancy Lattice Backdrop (Laqwn Fawn); Alphanumeric Script (Tim Holtz for Sizzix)
Accessories: Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Candy Dots, Petal Pink Rhinestone Embellishments (Stampin' Up!); Markers (Copic);
Glitter Gloss Aqua Shimmer Brush (Nuvo)

 

Growing Older and Wiser

Inspiration: Color Throwdown #532 + Tuesday Morning Sketch #492 + Festive Friday #29 (Green)

We have this expression in French that says "you're gaining in wisdom and beauty as you get older." I figured it would pair nicely with the So Owlsome stamps. Because I didn't have this specific sentiment, I used my typewriter to type it myself. I matted the sentiment strip with two pieces of glimmer washi tapem and added the apple from the stamp set as a little decoration. For the backgrounds, I picked papers from the Let's Bokeh in the Snow, Perfectly Plaid Christmas and Really Rainbow 6" x 6" petit paper packs.

Because I kept it simple and added adding too much froufrou, I think this could make a great masculine card.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: So Owlsome (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Buckaroo Blue, Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
6" x 6" Petite Paper Packs: Really Rainbow, Knock on Wood, Perfectly Plaid Christmas,
Let's Bokeh in the Snow (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Cool Cucumber Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Stapler, Stitched Shapes Framelits (Stampin' Up!); Markers (Copic);
Typewriter (We R Memory Makers); Coin Envelope (envelopes.com); Glimmer Washi Tape (unknown source);
So Owlsome Dies (Lawn Fawn)

 

Spring Chickies

Inspiration: Stamp Ink Paper #189 (Designer's Choice) + Little Red Wagon #487 (non-pet animals)

How cute are those chicks from Mama Elephabt? They're just full of personality and I couldn't resist them. As with most tiny images, nesting them in repeating openings seemed like the easiest way to use them, so I pulled out the Repeating Circles die from Simon Says Stamp and a mix of old and new papers. While looking for something else, I found the Hello Easter papers from Echo Park (last year's collection) and decided they would pair well with the Little Chickie Agenda set.Having a different pattern in each circle reminds me of the quilt in the inspiration picture of the Inspired By challenge.

For the front part of the card (with the circle frame), I decided to use the new Spiffy Speckles papers from Lawn Fawn, so have something monochromatic, but with a bit of texture. Plus, the speckles look like the texture of an eggshell, so bonus points for that. I was initially planning to use the pink side of the paper, but when I turned it around to add adhesive, I decided I really liked the white side, so that's what I went with.

For the sentiment, I used one of the Simple Wavy Banners die from the new Lawn Fawn release (I predict those will be useful to have) and found the perfect sentiment in the Simply Celebrate Spring stamp set - Have a Happy Spring. I had made sure to color to extra chicks to decorate the inside of my card and the envelope, and I was able to use the leftover circles from the windows to create a backdrop for them.

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Little Chickie Agenda (Mama Elephant); Simply Celebrate Spring (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Thick White Cardstock (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Hello Easter (Echo Park); Spiffy Speckles (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Early Espresso Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Repeating Circles Die (Simon Says Stamp); Markers (Copic);
Little Chickie Agenda Dies (Mama Elephant); A2 Seafoam Envelope (envelopes.com);
Pool Party Satin Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!);
Simple Wavy Banners Dies (Lawn Fawn)

 

Basket Full of Joy... and Chocolate

Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Create a Scene) + Global Design Project #179 + Tuesday Morning Sketch #493

This card changed format quite a few times before it was finished. Mainly because I started working on it over a week ago, based on some challenges that were online at that time. I had to leave it aside and when I came back to it, the challenges were over. I had only stamped and colored the images, so I was able to go back to current challenges and find another sketch to design around. This sweet set is called Eggstra Amazing Easter and is part of the latest Lawn Fawn release. The little chocolate bunny is just so cute! I colored the inside of its ears with a pale taupe to mimick white chocolate. 

The colorful papers are from Doodlebug's Spring Things line, which was relesased during a previous year. I was reminded while creating this card why the Spring lines are rarely the ones I gravitate towards. (I'm all over fall and Holidays stuff - the Spring stuff, not so much.) It's all the flowers and the pastel shades. Not what I'm naturally inclined towards. Because the sketch was leaving blank space on the left of the card, I used that space to stamp my sentiment. I usually switch to something in French, but the "May your basket be full of joy (and chocolate)" was so perfect and funny, I decided to use it. This reminds me of my mom, who's a choco-aholic (a trait which I inherited from her). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Eggstra Amazing Easter (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Thick Whisper White (Stampin' Up!)
Patterned Papers: Spring Things (Doodlebug Design)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Chocolate Chip Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: Eggstra Amazing Easter Dies, Stitched Oval Stackables Dies, Mushroom Border Die,
Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies (Lawn Fawn); Daffodil Delight Satin Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals,
It's Your Birthday Enamel Dots, Certainly Celery Grosgrain Ribbon (Stampin' Up!);
A2 Oak Woodgrain Envelope (envelopes.com)

 

Guest Designer for Lasting Memories - Flamingos

Inspiration: Lasting Memories challenge #436

I'm very excited to be joining the Lasting Memories challenge team as a Guest Designer for the month of March. They have some very fun challenges coming up and I hope you will play along if you are a scrapbooker yourself. Challenge #436 had a lot of great elements to draw from - colors, shapes, theme... I mainly focused on the triangles, but I did include the green and pink in there and focused on something summer-y for the theme. The tropical theme reminded me of the Tropical Life papers I have. I was looking at various summer pictures to use with them, but when I spotted the sheet with the flamingos, I realized I had some flamingo pictures from our trip to the zoo two years ago, so I selected those.

My first idea for the triangles was to pull out a square die, cut a bunch of squares out of patterned paper and turn them into triangles, but I quickly realized I would be wasting a log of paper by doing it that way. So I switched gears and cut strips of paper instead. The paper pack is 6" x 6", so I cut strips measuring 2-1/2" x 6". On one side of the paper, I drew pencil marks at 1-1/2" and 4-1/2" and on the second side, at 3". Then I draw lines between the tick marks and ended up with three triangles out of each pattern, plus two half-triangle at each end. I thought I would be discarding those, but when I started putting my border together, I realized I could fill in the ends with those half-triangles. I was able to make the top and bottom borders with only one strip of five patterned papers. I then glued a piece of 1/8" gold ribbon on both sides, as an embellishment, but also to hide the seams and make everything look more perfect than it might have been underneath...!

The rest was pretty simple, as the paper pack had some cut-apart sheets to make smaller embellishments, and I had matching puffy stickers as well from the same collection. I used a full 6" x 6" sheet to create a mat, added a title created with Thickers and alphabet stickers, and handwrote my journaling beneath. The triangle border was the most time-consuming part of building this layout.

 

 

Supplies
Stamps: Une date Project Life (Project Life Date It - Stampin' Up!); Alphabet (Studio G)
Patterned Papers and Puffy Shaker Stickers: Tropical Life (Recollections)
Cardstock: Bazzill
Ink: Lost Lagoon, Pear Pizzazz Classic Ink (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: 1/8" Gold Ribbon, Stampin' Dimensionals, Black Journaling Pen (Stampin' Up!);
Cecily Thickers (American Crafts); Alphabet Stickers (Prima)

 

Everything is Just Rosy

Inspiration: Paper Craft Crew Card Challenge #528 (#simplestamping) + Fab Friday challenge #158

I knew the color combo from Fab Friday would be perfect with the Fabulous Flamingo stamp set. I realize I haven't used that stamp set a whole lot since it came out, and there's a few reason for that. There's not matching die and it's not a image that's easy to fussy cut, so having to stamp it directly on the project is a bit limiting. There's also three layering pieces to the flamingo, and I wish there was a fourth with details for the face. See the black for the eyes and beak? I added that myself with a black pen. It immediately made it better, otherwise its eye is pink and pretty much disappears. I also used my Stampin' Write markers in matching colors to add lines to the stamped image to add shading under the belly and give the flamingo more dimension. I love the idea of this stamp set and the design, but I'm really struggling to create something to my liking with it.

Because the stamp set includes water waves, I used a mask before stamping the legs so that he would seem to be standing in water. I wanted a complementary color for the water, so I pulled out Soft Seafoam. I don't think I had used that one yet, and it pairs gorgeously with the other colours. Even after adding the foliage and leaves, the bottom seems a little bare, so I decided to try a watercolor wash. Because I was working on Very Vanilla cardstock and not watercolor paper, I avoided using an Aqua Painter brush and instead, I pushed my Soft Seafoam ink pad on a clear block, spritzed it with water and placed the block face down on my casrdstock. It gave a mottled effect, but the color was more intense than I expected and finished off a little square, so without washing my block, and use the rest of the ink on the block to stamp upwards a little bit, hoping to get an ombre look. I got a second, incompleted line and it was enough to break the geometry of my water edge a bit.

For the sentiment, I took advantage of my stamping tool to get a two-colored phrase. I inked the whole thing in Petal Pink, stamped it at the top of my cardstock, then I cleaned the stamp and inked the last two words using my Calypso Coral Stampin' Write marker and overstamped it a couple of times. The card was already looking pretty cool, so I only added two Basic adhesive-backed sequins and decided I was done. This fits nicely into Stampin' Up!'s #simplestamping trend, which calls for creations using minimal supplies (mainly cardstock, stamps and inks). This also happens to be the Paper Craft Crew challenge this week.

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Fabuleux flamant (Fabulous Flamingo)
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Pink Petal, Calypso Coral
Ink: Pink Petal, Calypso Coral, Soft Seafoam, Mossy Meadow
Accessories: Basic Adhesive-Backed Sequins, Very Vanilla Medium Envelope,
Stampin' Write Markers