Blog

Doodlebugs – When Life Gives you Lemons…

Hi friends! It’s getting juicy around here! There are lemons for days and I’m here for it. The original idea was for one card but I ended up with so many lemons and lemon slices that I just couldn’t let them spoil, so we’ve got two cards today!

They are the same design but I put the sentiment in different places so you could see the options; maybe you like one place better than the other. Personally, I couldn’t choose.

To get these started I took yellow cardstock and splattered it with white paint. Then I took watercolor paper and did some ink smooshing with different yellow inks. When the papers were dry, I cut bunches of lemons and lemon slices using the Lawn Fawn Zesty Lemon dies.

Next, I cut the center piece from white cardstock. This is the clincher right here. This step ended up giving me twice as many slices as planned because I loved the combo both ways so I made them all!

I cut two notched squares using the new Pretty Pink Posh dies from teal cardstock and used them as a guide for the size of my lemon wreaths. I used liquid glue to adhere the lemons together and an acrylic block to hold them in place while they dried.

While those were drying I got messy with distress oxide spray and spritz on my teal squares. I also added some watered down white paint to these for more texture.

While all that was drying, I cut pink panels for my card fronts and glued them to bases. I inked the edges a little with a blending brush and ballet slippers ink but I think the colors were too close because it didn’t show up a lot. Next, I cut Pretty Pink Posh sentiment strips and stamped my sentiments on them. This one came from the Pretty Pink Posh Citrus stamp set.

Then everything was assembled with foam tape and squares so there is a bundle of dimension and visual interest on both cards. For finishing touches I added stardust Stickles to the centers of the flowers on both cards.

Products used:
Lawn Fawn Zesty Lemon dies
Pretty Pink Posh Citrus stamps
Pretty Pink Posh Notched Squares dies
Distress Oxide Spray and Spritz – salvaged patina and cracked pistachio
Liquid glue
Foam tape and squares
White paint
Blending brush
Lawn Fawn ink – bubblegum, ballet slippers, sunflower, carrot
Stardust Stickles

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

Doodlebugs – Sunshine Thank You Tags

Hello again everyone! I’m on the Doodlebugs blog with a bundle of thank you tags I created for the end of the school year. The design is really versatile, easy to do it batches and cuter than cute!

To create these cards I did them in a few different sessions. First, I ink smooshed some watercolor paper with dark yellow and orange inks. Then I took yellow cardstock and spritzed it with Distress Oxide ink so it had some texture. Then I let all of that dry. Next, I die cut the yellow with a 2″ circle and the ink smooshed panels with the Lawn Fawn Stitched Sun Frame. I used liquid glue to adhere them together and an acrylic block to hold them flat while they dried.

Next session, I stamped and colored the same cute Mama Elephant Little Agenda Hedgehog and used the coordinating die to cut him out. I also die cut a banner from the Mama Elephant Banner Greetings die set and glued the layers together.

In my last session, I added the banners and hedgehogs to the sunshines with foam strips and squares. I finished each one off with some blue twine to tie on the gift bags I have set aside and stardust Stickles on the little flower he is holding.

I don’t want to ruin any surprises but these are going on gift packages with a “don’t grow up, enjoy summer” vibe and I’m really excited about them!

Products used today:
Mama Elephant Banner Greetings dies
Mama Elephant Little Agenda Hedgehogs stamps and dies
Lawn Fawn Stitched Sun Frame dies
Waffle Flower Nesting Circles dies
Foam squares and strips
Liquid glue
Lawn Fawn sunflower and carrot inks (ink smooshing)
Distress Oxide Spray – mustard seed
Stickles – stardust

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

Coffee Loving Cardmakers – Spring | Summer Hop

Hi friends! I’m excited to revive my love of creating caffeinated cards for today’s hop! And, as always, proud to be a super sponsor for the Coffee Lovers Blog Hops. Today you have a chance to win $20 to the Twiddler’s Nook shop.

I took a moment earlier this week to create a fun shaker card using a number of our products to do so and I wanted to share it with you today!

I used a number of fun Pretty Pink Posh products, paired with Twiddler’s Nook embellishments and tools to create my sweet teacup shaker card. Starting with the shaker teacup, I filled it with primrose confetti bits and the spring fling mix too.

Moving on to the background, I used our blending brushes with the Pretty Pink Posh Layered Sunflowers stencil set. After inking all the layers, I thought it would be more fun to add texture to the flower center layer so I mixed paint with texture paste to make the perfect yellow paste to spread through the stencil.

I had so much fun creating this sweet card and hope you enjoyed the bit of inspiration too!

Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win $20 to the Twiddler’s Nook shop. Winner will be chosen from the comments on this post only. Commenting closes Friday, May 30, at 11:59 p.m. Winner will be announced Friday, June 6, on the Coffee Lovers Blog.

If you’ve gotten lost along the way or need to get back to the main post to see where you’ve been, click HERE.

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

Newton’s Nook – Beekeeper Newton

Hey friends! I’m back on the Newton’s Nook blog today with a sweet little card featuring Beekeeper Newton and he’s got honey to share! Also, over on Instagram today I’ve got a coloring reel to share if you’re feeling like zoning out for a few minutes.

After stamping and coloring all of my images, I used the coordinating dies to cut them all out. I snagged the smallest die from the Basic Frames die set to stamp and heat emboss my sentiment on.

My background was premade from a batch I created when the A2 Card Layout 2 die was released. I made 4 backgrounds then and only used 2 so I still had 2 waiting for the proper inspiration to hit. Today was just such a day.

This background uses the A2 Card Layout 2 die for the white frame and the Natural Basics paper pad for the stitched inserts. The whole thing is popped up with foam tape on a white card base.

I used liquid glue to adhere bits together like the honey jars and the honey pot to the apiary. Then added foam squares to the back of everything and popped it all in place.

For finishing touches I added glossy accents to the jars, Newton’s nose, the apiary and honey pot. Then I added stardust Stickles to the bee’s wings for some sparkle too.

Products used today:
Beekeeper Newton stamps and dies
A2 Card Layout 2 die
Basic Frames dies
Natural Basics paper pad

Liquid glue
Foam squares
Embossing & watermark ink
Magic anti-static brush
Embossing powder

Glossy accents
Stickles – stardust

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

Doodlebugs – Faux Notebook Paper and a Congrats Card

Hi friends! Today’s card came about in a funny way. I had a scrap of copic paper left over months ago. Randomly I stamped 2 Mama Elephant critters on it because they fit perfectly. Then that piece of paper has moved all around my craft desk and the clipboard I use to color on since then. Randomly, I came across them again while looking for fresh copic paper to stamp on and today’s idea just hit me! So I switched gears and went to work…

After coloring and die cutting the first two critters, I realized that I needed a third. So I remedied that and set them aside to work on my fun background idea…faux notebook paper with the Lawn Fawn Simple Stripes Portrait die! I cut the backdrop from white cardstock and glued it to a card base. Then I used a ruler to keep my lines straight and BG11 and R20 copic markers to add the notebook lines.

Next, I added foam squares to the back of my critters and set them in place while I stamped some of the fun designs from the Mama Elephant Write With Me stamp set. I used colored ink for some a black ink for the text. After those were stamped I felt good about the critter placement and actually removed the release paper from the foam squares and stuck them down.

Next I pulled sentiments from the Mama Elephant Way To Go stamp set and added them around the critters. For finishing touches I added glossy accents to critter noses, glasses and parts of the pens.

It’s end of school year/graduation time so I thought this card would be perfect to share now! It could go to a kiddo or a teacher celebrating the end of the year.

Products used:
Lawn Fawn Simple Striped Portrait die
Mama Elephant Way to Go stamps
Mama Elephant Write With Me stamps and dies
Foam squares
Liquid glue
Glossy accents
Lawn Fawn ink – apricot, no. 2 pencil, juice box, jet black

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

Doodlebugs – Thank You Berry Much Slider Card

Happy Mix it up Monday again everyone! I’m excited to be playing with the new interactive dies from Lawn Fawn! I love this style of interactive card. They are honestly easy to create and really fun to decorate with any theme of products!

I highly recommend watching Lawn Fawn intro videos for any and all interactive dies. Kelly Marie does a fantastic job explaining the parts and how to assemble it all. Here is the link to this one specifically – Intro to Pull ‘n Slide Surprise.

To create my card, I pulled out the Pretty Pink Posh Fresh Berries stamps and dies. I stamped a ton of berries, the basket and extra leaves. I colored everything with copic markers and used the coordinating dies to cut it all out. Next, I followed the video to create my interactive mechanism using patterned papers for fun visual interest.

With the interactive portion done, I adhered my berries and basket with liquid glue to the bottom half of the sliding part so my box of berries pops up instead of folding in half. Remember to be mindful of where you’re gluing things on this style of card.

I carefully used an acrylic block to stamp the smaller portion of my sentiment on the berry basket and then stamped and die cut the other portion to pop up at the bottom of the scene. Finally, I added white gel pen highlights all over the images.

Do you like making interactive cards? It’s been a while but I really do enjoy it and hope this was my intro to getting back into the swing of things.

Products used:
Lawn Fawn Pull n’ Slide Surprise dies
Lawn Fawn patterned papers
Pretty Pink Posh Fresh Berries stamps and dies
Foam squares
Liquid glue
Tear tape – 1/4 inch
Lawn Fawn raspberry ink
Sakura gelly roll pen – white

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

Doodlebugs – Bookmark Tag

Welcome everyone! I’m on the Doodlebugs blog for Mix-it-up Monday. There have been a number of companies coming out with fun, book themed goodies and I’m here for it! Today I created a bookmark tag mixing Mama Elephant and Lawn Fawn goodies together.

Using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Bookmark dies as a guide, I placed my adorable Mama Elephant Book Worm stamps in each opening to decide what would fit and which ones to stamp. Then I stamped and colored everything with copic markers, using the coordinating dies to cut them all out.

Then I cut a solid stitched bookmark from teal cardstock and inked the bottom of each window section with peacock ink. I splattered it with water and blotted it dry. Then I cut the stitched bookmark again from Lawn Fawn patterned paper, also cutting the windows from this panel. I used liquid glue to adhere them together and also all of my critters in their spaces.

Finally, I stamped and heat embossed a sentiment from Lawn Fawn Little Woodland Library and cut it out with a banner die. I glued this in place before adding ribbon and twine through the hole in the top. For finishing touches I added white gel pen highlights and glossy accents to critter glasses.

This is an adorable bookmark but I think it would be even more fun as a gift tag that can be a bookmark for the recipient after they open the gift!

Products used:
Lawn Fawn Stitched Bookmark dies
Lawn Fawn Little Woodland Library stamps
banner die
Lawn Fawn Bitty Blooms (substitute for what I used)
Lawn Fawn Peacock ink
Liquid glue
Glossy accents
Sakura gelly roll pen

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

Spellbinders – Sky’s the Limit Collection

Hey friends! We’re half way through the week and I wanted to pop in with a few cards featuring 2 die sets from the Spellbinders Sky’s the Limit Collection. This one was designed by Simon Hurley and is really fun to create with!

I created 3 cards with the 2 die sets I was given to use. Originally I wasn’t thinking and created all 5 of the large kites for one card but quickly realized after assembling them that it wasn’t going to happen. Although it was a great excuse to make another card!

For this card I used the Loops embossing folder for the background and the Mirror Arches dies to create the frame. The sentiment comes from the Simon Hurley Space Greetings die set.

For the rest of the kites, I used a sentiment from the same die set but added everything to a shaped card created with the Make a Wish Arch Labels die set. I used an A2 panel as a guide and was able to position my images off the panel in a way that this card with still fit in a regular envelope.

Last I have a card using the Up and Away dies paired with Tiny Dots embossing and a Modern Essential Oval for the mini scene. The clouds and sun come from Up in the Air View dies and my simple sentiment is a stamp and die combo called I’ve Got You Covered.

The whole Sky’s the Limit Collection is really fun and has lots of different styles of products. Be sure to check it out!

Products used:
Sky’s the Limit dies
Modern Essential Ovals dies
Up in the Air View dies
Tiny Dots embossing folder
Loops embossing folder
Mirrored Arches dies
Make a Wish Arch Labels dies
Liquid glue
Foam squares and tape
Pearl watercolor
Enamel dots
Pearl embellshments

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

Doodlebugs – Ink Blending and Die Cutting

Happy Mix it up Monday everyone! Today we are creating a fun card using nothing but ink blending and die cutting techniques. It was really fun to pull this card together and when I was finished I realized that I didn’t stamp or color a single thing. It was a woah moment.

First off, I recently ordered a couple of die and stencil sets from Waffle Flower which is what started this whole journey…just playing with new goodies, having no plan in mind. That’s how I ended up with my sentiment and those beautiful little butterflies – Waffle Flower’s Multiple Butterflies Combo and Overlapping Birthday Combo.

This is kind of funny but in that same order was the Mama Elephant Classic Card Quads. I immediately thought it would be a perfect background for the fun stenciling I had just done. So I chose 1 style and cut it 4 times from white cardstock. Then I layered the Pretty Pink Posh Deco Leaves stencil over the top of 2 at a time. I inked one blue and one green to go with my sentiment since the butterflies were already pink.

After removing the stencil, I didn’t like how white the panels still were so I added a light layer of the same color over top and thought it flowed much better. Then I added foam tape and squares to the back of everything.

After adding everything to a white card base, I came in with some Wink of Stella glitter brush pen on the butterfly wings for just a little sparkle.

Products used today:
Waffle Flower Multiple Butterflied Combo – stencil and dies
Waffle Flower Overlapped Birthday Combo – stencil and die
Mama Elephant Classic Card Quads dies
Pretty Pink Posh Deco Leaves stencil
Blending brushes
Lawn Fawn dye inks – ballet slippers, mermaid, jalapeno
Foam squares and tape
Liquid glue
Reverse tweezers
Wink of Stella glitter brush pen – clear

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

Doodlebugs – Strawberry Shaped Cards for Spring

Happy Mix it up Monday everyone! This week I have a couple of sweet little strawberry shaped cards using Lawn Fawn and Mama Elephant goodies together. This is a fun way to use your larger shape dies in a different way so be sure to dig through your stash and see what you’ve got!

The base of my cards are created with the Lawn Fawn Outside In Stitched Strawberry and a couple of accents from the Stitched Strawberry Frame die set too. Although you absolutely could create this without the frame die set. The only thing I borrowed from it was another layer on my topper leaves and the extra leaf attached to the stem.

I cut the layers from yellow, pink and green cardstocks and then did some ink blending on all of them to add deeper color before using liquid glue to adhere them together. Then I cut another full strawberry from pink cardstock, scored it about 3/8″ from the top and glued that flap to the back of my strawberry to create my card.

Next, I went digging for a fun critter to add and a sentiment of some sort. At first I was going the punny route but didn’t find anything that spoke to me, so I landed on sweet Mama Elephant Little Agenda bunnies and Spring Banner Greetings. I also had commitment issues on my sentiment banner color so I did one of each for fun. I still don’t know which I like better.

After the bunny and sentiment banner were added with foam squares and strips, I finished things off with black glaze pen on the bunnies’ eyes and glossy accents on their strawberry and the center of the flower on the big strawberry too.

I have no plans for these at the moment but I think pulling out my envelope punch board to make a custom sized envelope would be super cute or tying them to the handle of a gift bag would be adorable as well. Maybe even lunchbox notes!

Products used:
Lawn Fawn Outside In Stitched Strawberry dies
Lawn Fawn Stitched Strawberry Frame dies
Mama Elephant Little Agenda Bunny stamps and dies
Mama Elephant Spring Banner Greetings dies
Blending brushes
Lawn Fawn ink – guava and jalapeno
Liquid glue
Reverse tweezers
Foam squares and strips
Glossy accents
Sakura gelly roll glaze pen – black

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