Baby Card Featuring Lawn Fawn Stamps

I created this baby card tonight using Lawn Fawn Plus One, copics, stickles, and my cuttlebug. As much as I love trying new techniques, I love having staples like some of these to fall back on. There's a reason they've stayed popular!

I trimmed scrap from my stash to 3.75" x 2" in peach, mint, and light yellow. I ran them through the Cuttlebug using my first and trusty-dusty Swiss Dots folder. I punched the bottom of each layer using the EK Success border punch "Bumpy Road", and adhered each one with a strip of ATG adhesive only at the very top. Once there were adhered down, I sort of flipped the bottom of each layer outward to give it some depth.

On a white scalloped circle, I stamped my image in London Fog ink and colored it using R22, G00 and Y21. No shading this time. I adhered it with a large, thick foam square and over the top I used Bundled Sage and Mustard Seed Distress Stickles.

Finally, on the topmost (yellow) layer, I stamped a sentiment from Grand Greetings in New Sprout ink and tied a bow using yellow Doodletwine. Voila!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I so appreciate your comments, questions, and subscriptions! ;)

xoxo,

Emily

Lawnscaping Challenge - Bling It!

Hello! I'm thrilled to be involved in my second Lawnscaping Challenge, and to be sharing it with you! The theme of this challenge is "Bling It" -- to add sparkle via Stickles, Glitter, Shimmer, or whatever type of sparkle you want. You can view the challenge here.

Though I love Stickles and use them on many projects, I use them in pretty small doses, and usually 'clear' colors like Diamond or Crystal. I decided this Challenge would be a great opportunity for me to think outside of my own little box! For the Sparkle elements, I used sequins, rhinestones, and 3 different Stickles. Here is what I came up with:

This was such a fun card for me to make because I know the recipient, my sweet mama, will appreciate every inch of it. Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate all comments + subscriptions! Happy crafting! :)

xoxo,
Emily

Materials used:
- ivory panel from scrap stash, cut to 3.75" x 5.25"
- kraft a2 size card + envelope
- juli's garden cuttlebug folder
- flutter by stamp set
- bazzill coconut swirl cardstock
- memento tuxedo black and lilac posies inks
- memento lilac posies marker
- stickles (thistle, icicle, golden rod)
- copics (R20, R22, R29, RV04, RV17, 0, Y17, Y21, Y38, YR07, YG 03, YG25, YG63)
- liquid + foam adhesives
- martha stewart sequins
-hero arts rhinestones

Hello Crafty Friend card

Hello. :) I was really lousy at being productive this evening, but I did manage to get this card done. I picked up this Paper Smooches stamp set a couple weekends ago at Happy Paper Pusher when I was taking my Lawn Fawn Class - more on that later.. :) I have desperately delayed buying my first Paper Smooches stamp set for quite some time, because I love Lawn Fawn so much, and definitely DO NOT need to get hooked on another adorable series of images. However, I couldn't resist this set. I have a feeling I'll be experiencing more Paper Smooches in the future. :)

I began by stamping the easel and sentiment in versamark and embossing with black powder using my heat tool. Once it cooled, I fussy-cut out the easel. I colored the wood in with Copics and gave the "canvas" area some shading. I set it aside.

Next, I stamped the easel again, lightly, in the middle of a piece of white cardstock. I stamped the paint splat in rainbow colors all around the easel image until I was satisfied with the mess. :) I adhered the embossed + colored easel down with rolled Glue Dots, directly on top of the second stamped easel. I adhered the white cardstock to some blue scrap to create a card, and finished with some baker's twine secured by notched I punched.

I love love love how colorful and cheerful this card turned out! Thanks so much for reading along with me... Happy crafting. :)

Emily

Materials used:

- I Heart Art stamp set (Paper Smooches)

- Coconut Swirl cardstock (Bazzill)

- Versamark pad, black embossing powder, and heat tool

- Dew Drop Inks: Tangelo, Grape Jelly, Bahama Blue, Pear Tart, Ladybug, Dandelion, Lilac Posies (Memento)

- E15, E37, C1 (Copics)

- Glue Dots

- Blue scrap paper

- Yellow baker's twine (Doodlebug)

Everyday Card using Watercolor Technique

Hey there! Tonight I was inspired to pull out some products/techniques I haven't used in awhile. Here is a card I made this evening using some oldies but goodies!

I began by choosing some nice solid image rubber stamps - in this case, Three Silhouettes by Hero Arts. I mixed some inks (wild honey, milled lavender and victorian velvet) with some water from a mini mister. I stamped all three stamps in a random pattern onto smooth white cardstock cut to 3.75 x 5.25". Once I covered the entire paper, I used a paintbrush to splatter the  three ink mixtures from my craft mat. When I was finished, it looked like this:

I used an ink blending tool to cover the entire paper with antique linen distress ink. I LOVE the look of this ink blended over the light lavender color!

Next, to add the dramatic flair I wanted to acheive, I pulled some HUGE Heidi Swapp flowers out of my stash. I've had them for awhile - checked the copyright date to find 2002. :) About time I put them to use! Though I was seeking drama, the flower was actually TOO large to fit, so I trimmed it in have with some precision scissors. I adhered it down smoothly using my ATG. The flower was the perfect addition to my feminine card...it's so fun pulling out older products and putting them to use! I added some Rock Candy distress stickles to the petals for a muted sparkle.

On top of the flower I wanted a sentiment. I chose "lovely" from Hero Arts' Heyday Sentiments. I stamped it  on white cardstock using Jenni Bowlin's Malted Milk ink. I trimmed it into a half banner and blended some more antique linen ink on top. Finally, I used some Buttercup Liquid Pearls to make random and various sized pearls around the sentiment and center of the flower.

I had a lot of fun working with the watercolor technique I hadn't tried in awhile, and some products that had gotten dusty. Thank you so much for reading along with me!

Happy crafting! I hope you create something beautiful today.
xoxo
Emily

I'm back - with a Halloween card!

I'm back!!! I have missed my crafting and blogging so dearly, as wedding planning has taken over my free time. Not that I'm complaining. :)

I recently started a new and somewhat quick scrapbook, but have really been working more on cards when I do get time to craft. Fall is my favorite season, and I always find myself very inspired when the leaves start to fall. Here's a card for a friend:

Since I last blogged, I have begun working with Copics, and my cartridge library has grown considerably. BUT, this is the first project I've done in ages that did not involve the cricut. Here's the recipe:

- A2 cream card, edges inked in Vintage Photo

- Patterned paper, both from Cosmo Cricket, inked in Vintage Photo:

- polka dots: Odds and Ends, 1.75"

- plaid: Matilda, 2.25"

- 3 characters (My Mind's Eye) stamped in Archival Jet Black on Bazzill Coconut Swirl. Colored and blended with various Copics. Hand cut, inked with Antique Linen, edged with Colorbox black, and adhered with pop dots.

- Sew Easy original head run along all 4 card edges; stitched with American Crafts black twine.

Thanks for reading!!

xoxo

Emily

Matryoshka Thinking of You

I made this card last night for my Grandma. I had a finished product in mind, and I am really happy with the results. It turned out just how I had hoped. :)

Started with A2 size white card/envelope; 3.75" x 5.25" white mat, distressed.

* I began by stamping 3 matryoshkas (basic grey) and 'thinking of you' (hero arts) in varying sizes onto smooth white cardstock. I stamped them with versamark dazzle champagne, and clear embossed them.

* I blended ink (dusty concord, spiced marmalade, broken china, and worn lipstick) over eat embossed image.

* With a 1.25" square punch, I punched each image out, so that each doll/sentiment would be placed in a different corner (think brady bunch credits). Gasp...Emily working with asymmetry (but still lots of symmetry, too).
* I rounded these with my corner chomper on the 1/4" setting.

* I knew I wanted them to lay perfectly flat, which can be tricky, so I ran them through my xyron create-a-sticker (old faithful!). This worked wonderfully, and they are still adhered wonderfully. (I've learned that it really pays to not only have a large, varying collection of adhesive, but also to take a moment to think about what will work best. With glue dots, or even ATG, I still would have had loose edges. The create-a-sticker was the best choice here.)

* After these were adhered, I cut the size ribbon I would need (american crafts, boutique bleu), and adhered with with ATG to the mat. Then I adhered the entire mat to the card using ATG.

* Finally, I used white enamel accents free-handedly to create a raised texture backgroud. I love how these add a soft, bubbly backdrop to the main image.

Voila!

Thanks for reading. :)

Emily

I was inspired by "Pumpkin Give Thanks Card" from p. 13 of the Winter 2011 Stamp It! magazine.

Top o' the Mornin'!

In my family, Saint Patrick's Day is a fun, peaceful celebration. It's one of my favorite holidays. My family has strong Irish blood on both sides, and it's something I'm very proud of. While some people celebrate only on March 17th, I prefer to take the time leading up to Saint Patrick's Day to reflect on my family's history, and fill my ears with beautiful Irish music, and my well-loved Irish movies. My favorite? Evelyn. I have a mondo crush on Pierce Brosnan, especially in this role.

SO, I have decided to make a few mini cards for the upcoming holiday. I made two identicals of this one, for me mum'n'dad. :)

- These measure approx. 2.5 x 3.25 on a forest green base. I was really at a roadblock as far as color inspiration until I paired the peach and mint. LOVE 'EM!

- The images were cut at 3", I believe (I had to play around to get it right).

- I spritzed the peach with copper pearl mist; yellow stickles on the rays. Copper paint dabber around the edging.

- The peach was pop-dotted onto the mint mat, which is edged with lettuce paint dabber.

- White mat on interior with negative of cricut scraps; sentiment (studio g) is stamped in crushed olive.

Hope this gets you in the springy, Saint Patrick mood. Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Emily

Birthday Chihuahua

Made this card for my aunt for her birthday. She loves Chihuahuas (they have 2), so I really wanted to feature one. I ran into a problem when NONE of my cartridges or embellishments had any. Then I took a closer look at the terrier in Create a Critter… I decided with minimal alteration and the right color choices, I could turn that terrier into a Chihuahua. Ah, Create a Critter, you came through again. There’s a reason it’s my favorite!

I wanted to tie in a 'princess' theme, so I used as much pink as possible.

Recipe:

Create a Critter cartridge
stamps: Stampendous; Hero Arts
stickles
punch: Martha Stewart
cuttlebug/pop culture
tattered rose ink
colored pencils

Thanks for reading! :)

Emily

Piece of Cake!

I wanted to get a craft fix in this evening, so I made this card for my mom to give to a friend of hers. The recipient is a cake maker - so I immediately got busy thinking of what cake images I have on my cartridges. I was able to use Simply Charmed, which my mom got me for Christmas. Perfect!

So often, I use more monotone color combo's, so this was fun to do. I like that it has a variety of colors that I wouldn't ordinarily combine.

Recipe:

- White 4.25"x5.5" (A2) card

- Cake and all layers from Simply Charmed p. 74, cut at 3"

- Cake accents embossed with Tim Holtz Swirls

- Cake accented with Stickles (Crystal, Yellow, and Orange Peel)

*please note the vivid orange color on the flames. This is due entirely to the Orange Peel Stickles; the actual color of the paper was pale yellow (see base of cake). I am quite familiar with Orange Peel, as it was my first and much-used Stickles, but this is a perfect example of why you should test things out before you slap them on a final project - it's brighter and more pigmented than most Stickles!

- Pink mats embossed with Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder

- Pink mat punched with Martha Stewart Lacy Doily Lace Border Punch

- Sentiment by Hero Arts, stamped in crushed olive

- glossy accents

This was a pretty quick card - unusually quick for me. I think the main reason it flew by is because I had pre-sketched what I wanted to accomplish. I've written about this before, but I find this to be a really time-saving technique, especially for a Miss Busy such as myself.

- - -

I'm thinking Etsy shop. I am being urged by several loved ones. We'll see. :)

Hope you're keeping warm! Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Emily

Back in business!

After begrudgingly dropping some cash on a replacement camera charger, I am back in business. At the end of the day I decided the pictures I missed out on taking (including CHRISTMAS! Grr..) were worth more than the charger costs.

- - -

Since my family members aren't craft-obsessed like I am, some of them decided to give me gift cards and so on to purchase my own craft gifts this Christmas. They know how happy it makes me - so sweet. I used them to get supplies for my next project: December Daily. Woo hoo!

I'm currently working on Christmas thank-you notes. So fun! I began by making a batch of identicals for the students in my class - they presented me with such sweet things the day before break. The excitement in children that young, about giving a gift to someone else, really shows the spirit of Christmas. What a gift in itself. I wanted to make them some really cute thank-you's that would be appropriate for both the little ones as well as their parents! I've had a lot of fun! In doing these, I was able to utilize the cartridges I got for Christmas. :-D

* kraft, pink, black cardstocks by the paper studio

* stickles
* border punch (Sorry, I do not know the name!)

* Mary Engelbreit snowflake stamps, white embossed.
* Simple Sentiments by Hero Arts, Archival Ink

This one is for someone else:

* kraft, brown, red, and cream cardstocks by the paper studio

* ric rac stamp by stampendous, white embossed

* glossy accents

* seeing spots embossing folder

* Simple Sentiments by Hero Arts
* scrap from my stash

* Inkssentials white opaque pen (this did not show up well on the cream CS - not sure what I was thinking)

- - -

And also..

These don't have an exact location yet, but my boyfriend got me a scoring tool for Christmas - sooo excited - and I have been popping these out like crazy. Love their pretty, sophisticated finished look!

I'd love to go on, now that I'm back with all my photos - but it's REALLY late! Thanks for sticking with me through the absence of my camera! :) Hope you're all having a lovely Thursday!

xoxo

Bon Voyage cards

As this school semester comes to an end, our school will say "see you soon" to 2 sweetheart students and their mom - they will be living in another country next term. They are special to me, and I'm making them cards before they go.

* This is a white 4x4 (fits A2 envelope!), with a grey 3 3/4" x 3 3/4" mat.

* The grey mat is stamped with Hero Arts Friend Definition in Milled Lavender, and the edges are ink blended with the same.

* The pearls in the upper corners are self-adhesive & lavender, from Recollections.

* The ribbon was sheer white, but I inked it with Dusty Concord. I hadn't yet done this with ribbon - love it!

* And last but not least, this chandelier, which I am in love with, is cut at 3" from the Summer in Paris cartridge. Cut out of DCWV paper from Pocket full of Posies stack.

^ Close-up of ribbon detail. I love this - I bet I will rarely use ribbon now, without inking it!

- - -

2 of these -- one for each girl:

* This is a white 4x4. The bottom is punched with a fiskars border punch (sorry, I don't know the name).

* The rainbow heart and all its layers are cut from the Create a Critter cartridge, at 2.5" (+ shadow). Glitter paper is DCWV.

* Coordinating eyelets are The Paper Studio and I love them.

* Purple scrap inside card to emphasize border punch, and edges are blended with Tumbled Glass.

- - -

I'd like to take a sec to talk about the cartridges I used for these cards, because they're 2 of my favorites.

First, Summer in Paris is one I bought back before I really got into using my Cricut. I think it was my third cart. ever - found it on sale at Archiver's. This cartridge is SO GORGEOUS, and semi- hard to find. All of the images are VERY intricate (so I wouldn't advise very small cuts). There are options for several 3d projects as well - this chandelier is one of them. The images are actually pretty versatile - there is a phone, hot air balloon, male & female silhouettes, bike, car, perfume, phrases, several Parisian landmarks, and more. It's not everyone's style, but if it's yours, I'd get it while you can. I love mine! You can read more and see the images here.

Second, how about that Create a Critter? This is BY FAR my favorite cart of my collection. It is filled with adorable animals, phrases, accesories and more. The card I've made here shows that there is a lot more than just critter layers on it. In fact, I love this cartridge so much, I'm tempted to write Provo Craft and suggest/ask if they have thought of coming out with a second one. I'm just sayin', if they can make a second Paper Dolls, there are tons more critters they could give us to create...You know it would sell like hot cakes.

- - -

I want to give a big friendly THANK YOU to Sammye Jo at 62 Cards. She put a link of my blog on hers to get some followers for me. :) She does the most beautiful work - and right now she's doing 12 Days of Giveaways! You've gotta see her. :)

Gotta get to work now. Many thanks for reading!!

xoxo

mini!

Hello!

I made this mini card last night for Josh. :) His semester is winding up - finals next week - and who can't use a little encouragement during finals week?! Sheesh.

My favorite thing about this, strangely enough, is the envelope. I was SO excited to find these mini envelopes! Not sure why. Probably because they're small, which gives me a whole new excuse to make small cards...I love all things mini. :)

Create a Critter Cricut Cartridge - my fave (provo craft)

Kraft & assorted colors cardstock (paper studio)

Stickles (ranger)

Sharpies

Seeing Spots Embossing Folder (provo craft)

. . .

Time for me to get back to reading Breaking Dawn. Yes, that's right. I, too, have been sucked into the Twilight world for awhile now (no pun intended). G'night. :)

Love.

Here is a card I made last night. A close family friend is struggling with a terminal illness and some very hard times. At times like this it seems that there are no words or actions that you can say or do that will make a difference, but I try to believe that’s not true. I try to believe that just letting someone know that you care, makes at least one happy moment.

I cut this card base with Archiver’s CS in their crop room. I then used the cuttlebug, tea dye ink, tacky glue and flower soft to embellish the front. My favorite mini alphas on the inside for a simple but powerful message. Pretty simple, really, but I wanted to focus more on what I was writing than a crafter’s bells and whistles.

<3

Thank You & My Favorite Cartidge!

I have been so busy, and therefore neglectful of this blog. =p
Wanted to quickly post this card. I made this for a friend who was considerate enough to come and support me at my first craft show! I made this using my latest, and possibly favorite-ever cartridge, Create a Critter. All die cuts shown are from this cartridge. I love it!

Below is a close-up, where you can really see my OOPS - I put a piece of paper that was ever so slightly too small in the cricut for the die cut. I had to then piece together some paper to re-create the ear. I say there's no such thing as a mistake.. Or at least, I try to tell my inner neurotic self that... :)

I have had the opportunity over the past week or so to play around and create a few critters. I love this cartridge SO much! I am quite the animal lover so this comes as no surprise. :)

Well, ta-ta for now.. :)

Today my family lost a wonderful lady. My cousin Rieta passed away this afternoon. I wanted to put something here to say --

She was never without a smile

She was champion bowler in the special olympics

she loved to sing in the choir

she loved to work puzzles and eat sweets

But most of all, where her heart REALLY lied, was with cats.

Rieta loved cats, even more than I do, which is saying something. I had the chance to make her this card and give it to her on Saturday, the last time we saw her alert.

I miss her, and I hate that she couldn't spend more time here spreading her cheer. I hope she knew how much we appreciate and love her. For anyone reading...pet your cat a little longer every now and then, for her. It would make her happy.

I am in the midst of some possibly exciting news...

I may be participating in my first craft fair next month! It's coming up soon, so we'll have to see if I can get enough goodies completed in time... I have wanted to participate in this sort of thing for years, and have been encouraged - by at least one person...;) - to do so. My gosh, even if I only sold one thing, knowing that someone liked what I did well enough to want to pay money for it? That's pretty exciting stuff!

Tonight I created several things, my favorite of which is this happy, happy, happy birthday card.

- die cuts from cricut cartridge Home Accents (2 1/4 & 1 1/4 in.), white CS

- paint dabbers (lettuce & purple twilight)

- ink blended background (tumbled glass & wild honey)

- stamped images (int. and ext.) done in tumbled glass

- stickles on tips of die cuts (patina & fruit punch)

I've got loads more completed but they'll have to wait. :)

xoxo

A cricut, a cuttlebug, and tim holtz walk into a bar...

So, couple of things...

Made this card for Grandma, for her birthday which was yesterday. I was really excited to use lots of new things. I challenged myself to explore with my Cricut, because I haven't used it much since I purchased it (over 1 1/2 yrs. ago)...to be honest, the machine sort of intimidates me. At least it has up until now. I'm getting more comfortable. :) I cut out some balloons from the Stretch Your Imagination cartridge, before inking and stickling them. (Yes, I just made stickling a verb...)

I also was stoked to use the cuttlebug for some texture and my very first cuttlebug die cut. The die cut I did, is one by Tim Holtz. They're called Alterations, and I absolutely love them - however, they are intended for Sizzix machines. Through my repetitive watching of THIS Youtube video, I was convinced to spring for one, as she very efficiently proves that they are in fact compatible with the cuttlebug. So the other night I got the Baroque die cut. I cut one to add to this card, after inking it and embossing it with Swiss Dots.

Distress Inked + stickles

Swiss Dots

So when I first cut a balloon, I had it on the wrong size dial, which resulted in this teeny tiny balloon. Always trying to use it all up, I was excited when I realized I had the perfect use for the little mistake. A touch of red sharpie and voila! :)

So I'm finally getting to explore a little bit with the T.H. Compendium of Curiosities. First up, the Shabby Chic technique:

I was thrilled with how this technique turned out. This is just a plain grunge heart (mixed minis set). The paint dabbers I used were sunset orange and espresso. *TIP: rather than using the actual dabber foam top, i dabbed it on and then used my finger to spread it all around. a much smoother look.*

Next up, 2 techniques layered in one. The background coloring is the Wrinkle Free Distress, and I am actually blanking on the name of the other technique. I do know that it didn't work the best for me. It had to do with Perfect Pearls over a distress stamped image, and then misting water so that the ink would wick out from beneath the powder. Well, my ink ran. But I'm ok with the finished product:

^ prisma glitter over stamped image

Finally, I did some experimenting with my mini misters. I have only made one concoction so far, but as I was warned, I am addicted. I just mixed some bronze p.p. with a full tube of water. I spritzed it over this ornament tag, and also over this imitation grunge flower I made.

^ close-up showing mini mister detail! :)

As a P.S., that imitation flower was made using the cricut (george & basic shapes) on 'shadow blackout' at 2 1/2 inches. I used Scattered Straw distress ink, Golden Rod stickles, and a spritz of my DIY mixture. Gave it to my mom as a Get Well flower - she and I are both peuny!

xoxo