Doodlebugs – Dino Wishes, Mixing Die Cuts and Embossing Folders

Hey friends! Mix it up Monday is here in a big way today! Prehistoric big!!! Lol. I finally played with the Spellbinders Birthday Dinosaur and couldn’t stop after one so I have three cards to share with you today.

The whole thing started with me just wanting to play around with the adorable dinosaurs and escalated quickly. These dinos come together very quickly and are the simplest to put together. I recommend liquid glue so you have a second to fiddle with placement if you need to but other than that they are very self explanatory.

Once I had the dinosaurs created I went digging for bits and pieces to go with them and since I happened to have this new Mama Elephant Simple Friends Bubbles stamps and die set on my desk, I thought I would see how they went together.

Absolutely perfect, is how they went together! This sentiment set stamps and die cuts six sentiments at once which is awesome! This batch was stamped with Lawn Fawn peach fuzz ink three times to make sure I had good coverage and darken the color a little.

For my background I cut three Mama Elephant Sweet Shoppe Frames, keeping the center piece that cuts out. I glued each one to a white card base. Then used the Spellbinders In the Pines embossing folder on the center piece for each one. I chose contrasting colors to each dinosaur and ink blended those panels before gluing them back in the middle of the frames.

Last I just added my speech bubbles and dinosaurs to each card front with foam squares. They are so cute just how they are that I decided to skip shiny and sparkly for this set of cards. But by all means friends, go ahead and bling away if that’s what your heart desires. I will never stop you! 🙂

Products used:
Spellbinders Birthday Dinosaur dies
Spellbinders In the Pines embossing folder
Mama Elephant Simple Friends Bubbles stamps and dies
Mama Elephant Sweet Shoppe Frames dies
Lawn Fawn inks – lemonade, mermaid, peach fuzz
Liquid glue
Foam squares

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

Twiddler’s Nook Keeping it Crafty Retreat – Registration OPEN

Hey friends! I’m over the moon with excitement to share that I’m hosting a one-day, in-person retreat in Salem, OR.

The day will consist of creating four awesome projects, a Twiddler’s Nook pop-up shop, lunch provided with registration, the best swag bags and SO MUCH FUN!!!

And we’ve already got amazing sponsors too!

If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll consider joining us!

Click HERE to get to the registration page.

Doodlebugs – Dancing Monster Celebration Wishes with a Shaped Card and Gift Card Holder

Welcome to a monstrous mix-it-up Monday everyone!!! I’m super excited to share my creations today. They were so fun to make! Words don’t really express how much I think everyone should try making one of these dancing creations from Spellbinders. They are really easy and so fun, almost as much fun to give as to get!

I started these projects by die cutting pieces from the Spellbinders Dancin’ Birthday Monster set. I mixed and matched them, creating two monsters for the heck of it. That’s when I decided it would be great to make a card and gift card holder set! I cut card layers with the Spellbinders Make a Wish Arch Labels dies – two of the largest and one of the next-to-smallest.

I ink blended the Pretty Pink Posh Trellis stencil with Lawn Fawn jalapeno ink, then popped up the orange arch and also the monster. I die cut the word “celebrate” from the Pretty Pink Posh Gift Card Bag die set three times from black cardstock and glued it underneath the arch.

For the card, I finished things off with a scattering of Pretty Pink Posh pistachio pearls and a little glossy accents on the top of the birthday hat.

Next, I created my gift card holder using the Pretty Pink Posh Gift Card Bag die set.

After cutting the front and back of the bag from white cardstock, I inked both sides with the Trellis stencil just like the card front. Then I popped up the monster with foam squares and glued my sentiment underneath him. The sentiment is also part of the Gift Card Bag dies.

Dancin’ Character Tip: You’ll see with the Spellbinders dancing characters, the legs have a tab at the top with a hole in it. To attach them to anything, add a foam circle to your base (card front or gift card bag), slide the hole over the foam circle, remove the foam release paper and adhere your character body on top. Be sure that the foam squares on your character don’t impede the movement of the legs though. I just added them to the top half to make sure I was safe.

Please leave me a comment or send an email if this isn’t clear and you’d like a step-by-step photo tutorial.

Products used:
Spellbinders Dancin’ Birthday Monster dies
Spellbinders Make a Wish Arch Labels dies
Pretty Pink Posh Trellis stencil
Pretty Pink Posh Gift Card Bag dies
Pretty Pink Posh pistachio pearls
Liquid glue
Foam circles, squares and tape
Blending brush
Lawn Fawn jalapeno ink
Glossy accents
Tear tape – 1/8 inch

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

Pink & Main – I’m Stuck On You

Happy Valentine’s Day friends!!! I love making and giving valentines every year! This year I made some cards for people and some treat boxes for others. This card was for a very special someone that I’m very excited to give!

I started by choosing this sweet image from Pink & Main Prickly Hugs to stamp and color. I die cut it and set it aside to work on my background.

I’m a little extra into this pink and green combo right now so I knew my background would be pink while I was coloring the green cacti. First I die cut the Heart Spotlight cover die from white cardstock. Then I inked up the heart that comes from that with distress oxide ink in picked raspberry and kitsch flamingo.

Then I took a panel and inked it up with worn lipstick and spun sugar distress oxide and like that combo better so I went over the heart with those colors toning down the brightness. I spritzed the panel and heart with water and flicked them with black acrylic paint.

While those were drying I stamped and heat embossed my sentiment on a Large Sentiment Strip die cut. Next, I used a combination of liquid glue and foam squares to adhere everything to a card base.

For finishing touches I just added stardust Stickles to the cheek on both cacti.

Products used today:
Prickly Hugs stamps and dies
Spotlight Heart cover die
Large Sentiment Strips dies
Distress Oxide Ink – worn lipstick, spun sugar, kitsch flamingo, picked raspberry
Liquid glue
Foam squares
Embossing & Watermark ink
Magic anti-static brush
Embossing powder – frosting
Stickles – stardust

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

Doodlebugs – Hot Foiling, Stenciling and Shaking All Make a Great Birthday Card

Hey friends! Let’s mix things up with a fun birthday shaker card on the Doodlebugs blog today! I pulled out some fabulous hot foil plates from Spellbinders and combined them with Pretty Pink Posh stencils for my background and the combo couldn’t be more perfect!

I started by hot foiling the Spellbinders Giant Party Balloon and the sentiment in the set. The balloon pieces are silver and the sentiment is moondust hot foil. To accentuate the moondust foil I went around the edge with a blending brush and Lawn Fawn mermaid ink after die cutting it out.

I wanted to make a shaker and this Giant Party Balloon set comes with the inner circle die to make that a reality. How fun is that! So I cut another large circle from white cardstock and inked the center with mermaid ink like the sentiment. Plus I cut an acetate circle and threw all my elements together with liquid glue and foam strips, inserting Spellbinders silver smooth discs as my shaker bits.

Next, I pulled out the Pretty Pink Posh Layered Candles stencil set. I inked the bottom of each candle row with mermaid and the top with peach fuzz. I replaced the candle layer with the detail layer and did the same thing again. Then for the flames, I spread Brutus Monroe yellow Chroma Glaze. It gives a shiny finish which is fun for the background of our blingy shaker balloon.

Finally, I took the mermaid ink pad and drug it across all four sides of my card base. I popped the stenciled panel up with foam tape and glued the balloon directly to that with liquid glue. Then I glued the sentiment to the front of my balloon as well.

To finish my card off, I tied some orange bakers twine around the top into a bow.

Products used:
Spellbinders Giant Party Balloon hot foil plates and dies
Spellbinders smooth discs – silver
Spellbinders hot foil – moondust and silver
Pretty Pink Posh – Layered Candles stencils
Foam tape
Liquid glue
Blending brushes
Lawn Fawn Ink – mermaid and peach fuzz
Brutus Monroe Chroma Glaze – yellow

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

Newton’s Nook – Rainbows and Clovers Hot Foiling

Happy Sunday friends! I’m popping in to remind you of the Newton’s Nook release that went live on Friday and share another fun card for inspiration! I have been hoping and wishing for more St. Patrick’s Day goodies from Newton for a while and I’m so happy that it’s finally here!

I started with hot foiling the new Shamrocks plate twice across a piece of white cardstock. Then I masked off sections and ink blended a rainbow with blending brushes and dye inks covering the whole panel. Next, I splattered the panel with gold watercolor and set it aside to dry.

I die cut the ticket shape from the Framework die set twice, one black and one white. Then I heat embossed the sentiment from Newton’s Lucky Clover in gold on the black one. I used liquid glue to adhere the tickets together and popped them up on the foiled panel with foam squares.

I glued the panel to a card base and finished the design off with a few red clay hearts.

I don’t have a lick of Irish in me but my heart has got to be part green as much as I love St. Patrick’s Day and all things related!

Products used:
Shamrocks hot foil plate
Newton’s Lucky Clover stamps and dies
Framework dies
Twiddler’s Nook Blending brushes
Lawn Fawn dye inks (any rainbow)
Twiddler’s Nook Sweethearts embellishments
Liquid glue
Magic anti-static brush
Embossing and watermark ink
Embossing Powder – golden palace
Foam squares

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

Newton’s Nook – February Release Day

Hey friends! We’ve got a super adorable mini-release from Newton’s Nook today! Let’s take a look at all the products and then a few inspiration projects too!

Newton’s Lucky Clover stamps and dies

Lucky Dog stamps and dies

Shamrocks hot foil plate

Aren’t these new goodies so much fun!?! I have a few projects to share with you so let’s dive right in! We’re starting with Newton’s Lucky Clover with a side of the Shamrocks hot foil plate.

When I received these release products, I heated up my glimmer machine and started playing with the Shamrocks hot foil plate first. I foiled some scraps and some full size card front pieces as well.

For this card, I took a scrap and perfectly die cut it with the Fancy Edges Tag die. After inking up my foiled tag with green dye ink and a blending brush, I cut a second tag from white and a hole reinforcer from gold glitter, then used liquid glue to adhere them all together.

I cut rainbow strips of cardstock and glued them to a white panel before die cutting it with the largest Framework die. I stamped my sentiment across the bottom of that and set it aside to stamp and color my Newton’s Lucky Clover images. I colored those with copic markers and used the coordinating dies to cut them out.

I added foam tape and squares to the back of everything. But before assembling it all, I took a green ink pad and drug it across the front of my card base. It gives a cool texture while quickly adding color to my background.

After assembling all the layers, I added glossy accents to Newton’s nose, toe beans and the buckle on his hat. Then I couldn’t resist a little stardust Stickles on the horseshoe and floating heart too.

Now, let’s get a little Lucky Dog action going on!!!

For this card, I took a panel I had hot foiled with the new Shamrocks plate and ink blended distress oxide inks across part of it. I faded from mowed lawn to twisted citron and then splattered it with water. I die cut the panel with the rounded rectangle in the Frames & Flags die set. To break up the line where I masked the panel, I added a strip of gold glitter cardstock next.

After stamping and coloring my puppy with copic markers, I used the coordinating die to cut him out. Then stamped and heat embossed my sentiment on a speech bubble. Now we can assemble this card too.

I cut a piece of light gray cardstock and glued it to a card base, then popped the foiled panel up with foam tape. Next, I added the puppy and speech bubble to that with foam squares.

To finish things off I tied twine around the top of the card and added glossy accents to the puppy’s nose. Last, I added black glaze pen to the puppy’s eyes, let it dry and added a white highlight back in.

Remember, these new products are all available in the Newton’s Nook shop right now! Treat yourself to a bit of luck and get them while they’re hot!

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

Miss Ink Stamps – Poke Today in the Face

Hahaha! I’m still rolling over the sentiments in this new Stuck On You stamp set. It’s got my favorite little hedgie, plus a few fabulous cacti that work great with her but also on their own or setting a scene for something else.

After stamping and coloring the images, I used the scan-n-cut to cut them all out. I die cut two tags, stamping my sentiment on the white one and adhered the images with a combination of liquid glue and foam squares. I glued the tags together, offset and then went ahead and added a hole reinforcer before threading jute twine through the hole.

I had a really hard time choosing a stencil for my background but eventually landed on the Fancy Shells stencil with a combination of distress oxide inks from milled lavender to picked raspberry, down to seedless preserves. I removed the stencil and lightly went over the whole panel with the same colors again. Next, I added a strip of washi tape to the edge of my card base and then popped the stenciled panel up with foam tape.

Then I added the tags to that with foam tape as well. For finishing touches I went over the hedgie’s eyes with black glaze pen and glossy accents to the flowers of the cacti.

Seriously, this sentiment cracks me up every single time I read it. It will never get old and I will probably make a billion cards with it.

Products used:
Stuck On You stamps
Tags dies
Fancy Shells stencil
Distress Oxide Ink – milled lavender, picked raspberry, seedless preserves
Blending brushes
Foam tape
Touch of gloss
Sakura glaze pen – black
Washi tape (from Ikea of all places)

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

My Favorite Things – Sending Paper Hugs

Oh my word! I absolutely fell in love with these sweet pups from MFT Stamps the moment I saw them! It’s not often that I jump on the moment a release is live and snag something for fear of not getting it. These were one of those things. I love them so much!

So this weekend I carved out a little time to ink them up and play just a little bit. Isn’t he so serene just floating through the air!?! Adorable!

So, I stamped and colored everything with copic markers, then used coordinating dies to cut them out. I think technically my pup is flying the opposite way he should for the heart clouds but I still like it.

I cut a piece of 3.75×5 inch cardstock and stamped it with a retired MFT Stamps background stamp using a light teal ink. I also stamped my sentiment in the center bottom of the panel and then added my images with foam squares.

I took my Distress Oxide Lost Shadow ink pad direct to paper to create a gray card front before popping my decorated panel up with foam tape. Then I finished things off with glossy accents on the puppy’s nose and stardust Stickles on all the clouds.

I can’t wait to color all of the images in this set! I think they should be attached to paperclips to use at my desk. Don’t you? How happy would that be?!

Products used:
MFT Stamps Paper Planes stamps and dies
MFT Stamps All Lined Up Diagonally background stamp (retired)
Distress Oxide Ink – lost shadow
Lawn Fawn Ink – mermaid
Stickles – stardust
Glossy accents
Foam tape and squares

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

Newton’s Nook – Designer’s Nook

Hey friends! It’s been a while since I reminded you about the Newton’s Nook Designer’s Nook Newsletter.

It’s an email newsletter that goes out every Tuesday with a special project from one Newton’s Nook design team member to you. It’s got extra info, how to, tips and tricks, and always more inspiration!

Here’s a little sneak peek of my project tomorrow! Oh my word am I excited to share it with everyone!

If you’re not signed up yet, click HERE and do it before you miss out on any more ideas and inspiration!

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!