Doodlebugs – Ink Smooshing and Two-for-One Backgrounds

Happy Monday everyone! Mix it up Monday is extra inky fun on the Doodlebugs blog today. We’re ink smooshing and getting two-for-one backgrounds from our efforts. So fun, easy to do and there is no messing up.

Start with a piece of white cardstock and water based markers like Tombow Dual Brush Pens. Scribble a color on an acrylic block or glass mat and spritz it with water. If you use an acrylic block you can stamp the block all over your paper creating splotches of color. If you’re using your glass mat, do that same thing with your paper on the mat to mop up the watery ink. I suggest using a heat gun or letting the panel dry between colors. This layers the colors and gives more interest, instead of colors blending together if the panel is still wet.

Once the panel is ink smooshed to your liking and dry, run it through your die cutter with the Mama Elephant Heart Grid cover plate die. Mine happened to keep all of the hearts in the die which made the next step easier but it’s not game over if they come out.

I chose the melon color from my inking to be the background for both of my cards. So I cut two pieces and adhered them to white card bases. I popped the first one up with foam strips.

For the next one, I place a foam square on the back of each heart while they were stuck in the die, removed the release paper and carefully placed my paper centered over the hearts. They stuck to the paper and made it easy to have them equally spaced.

Then I cut some balloons from the Pretty Pink Posh Party Balloons die set in coordinating colors and stamped this sweet Mama Elephant bear, coloring it in coordinating colors as well.

After adding the extra balloons and image to the design with foam squares, I stamped and heat embossed sentiments on sentiment strips, that are added with liquid glue and foam strips. For finishing touches I added black glaze pen to each bear’s eye and glossy accents to his nose and the balloons.

Two birthday cards in almost the same amount of time to make one. I love that kind of crafting!

Products used:
Mama Elephant Beary Good Day stamps and dies
Mama Elephant Heart Grid die
Pretty Pink Posh Party Balloons dies
Pretty Pink Posh Sentiment Strip dies
Pretty Pink Posh Sentiment Strips | Birthday stamps
Embossing ink
Embossing powder
Glossy accents
Liquid glue
Foam squares and strips
Tombow Dual Brush Markers – pastel set

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

Twiddler’s Nook Spooktacular IG Hop

Happy 31st of the month everyone! We’re over on Instagram having another Spooktacular Hop to celebrate our love for all things spooky! I have been dying to share my card today. I had SO MUCH FUN creating it and couldn’t love the outcome more.

I’ll give you the deets on my card here but remember to comment on the IG hop for your chance to win!

I started by stamping and coloring the super cute critters and clouds from MFT Stamps Delightful Halloween. I used the coordinating dies to cut them out and set them aside while I got super inky!

Next I grabbed distress oxide inks and inked up the front of my card base. I chose ripe persimmon, carved pumpkin and wild honey for an ombre up the panel. Then I spritzed the panel with water and blotted it dry, followed by black paint splatter for good measure.

Then I cut the MFT Stamps Trick or Treat sentiment out of a piece of light gray cardstock and glued it to my card base. I popped up my images with foam squares around the sentiment and finished things off with clay stars from the Twiddler’s Nook Sailor Moon embellishment mix.

Last, I tied twine around the top of the card and finished the images off with bits of glossy accents on the critter noses and pumpkin faces.

Products used:
Twiddler’s Nook Pressure Pal
Twiddler’s Nook Blending Brushes
Twiddler’s Nook Sailor Moon embellishment mix
Twiddler’s Nook Cloud Embellishment Tray
MFT Stamps Delightful Halloween stamps and dies
MFT Stamps Trick or Treat die
Liquid glue
Glossy accents
Foam squares
Distress Oxide Ink – ripe persimmon, carved pumpkin, wild honey

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

Pretty Pink Posh – Easter Greetings

Hello everyone! I wanted to pop in one more time this week with cards that I created for the Pretty Pink Posh March release. It was packed with sweet Easter goodness and since Easter is almost here I wanted to give you some last minute inspiration.

This card was created with the adorable Easter Cupcakes stamps and an incredibly designed layering stencil set called Layered Butterfly Florals. My sentiment came from the Easter Train set because the cupcakes have none.

By this time of the year I’m so happy to switch gears into all things soft and pastel. The colors are happy which helps when it’s endlessly raining outside.

Next, I used the same stencil set but added tulips from the Spring Mug Additions die set. I went with gold glitter butterfly bodies on the stenciling and my sentiment came from the Easter Train set again.

I hope you enjoyed this little burst of Easter and spring inspiration using the Pretty Pink Posh March release.

Products used:
Spring Mug Additions dies
Easter Train stamps and dies
Easter Cupcakes stamps and dies
Layered Butterfly Florals stencils
Blending brushes
Stencil pal
Glitz gel – gold
Foam tape
Liquid glue
Embossing powder
Anti-static brush
Embossing & Watermark Ink
Lawn Fawn dye inks – lemonade, peach fuzz, forget me not, jalapeno, ballet slippers, juice box
Touch of gloss
Stickles – stardust

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

Newton’s Nook – Puppy Friends plus New and Old Frames Mixed

Hey friends! I’m happy to be on the Newton’s Nook blog today. I love the new release and was very excited to mix and match the new dies with the old. They are sized perfectly just for that so it expands their use by at least a billion times! It’s so great.

I was feeling springy so I pulled out the sweet Puppy Friends stamps and chose a few to stamp and color for my card. After using the coordinating dies to cut them out, I set them aside to make my messy background.

I cut the largest Framework die from kraft cardstock and taped off the stitched edging with Thermoweb Pixie Tape. I placed the Petite Paws stencil and spread Ranger Texture Paste through it. While that was drying I cut one of the small tags from Frames & Tags from black cardstock and heat embossed my sentiment on it.

Next, I popped the kraft panel up with foam tape on a white card base. Then I added a teal frame with foam strips, along with the images and sentiment tag. Then I added Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze pen to the puppies eyes. This makes them raised and shiny. Last, I added glossy accents to the noses, turtle shell, flower center and collar tags.

I love creating cards with grid frames like these. This new Frames & Tags set might be my favorite of all! It’s going to be so fun!

Products used:
Puppy Friends stamps and dies
Frames & Tags dies
Framework dies
Petite Paws stencil
Foam tape, squares and strips
Texture paste
Stencil pal
Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze Pen – black
Touch of gloss
Embossing & Watermark ink
Magic Anti-static brush
Embossing powder – frosting

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

Doodlebugs – Embossing Your Ink Blending

Happy Monday friends! I have a pretty floral card to share with you today featuring some of the March Pretty Pink Posh release plus some previously released goodies from Pretty Pink Posh and Spellbinders.

I started by stamping and coloring images from Pretty Pink Posh Daisies with copic markers. I chose a gray copic-friendly ink to soften the look of everything too. Once they were colored, I used the coordinating dies to cut them out and liquid glue to adhere the bow in place.

Next I ink blended a white cardstock panel with distress oxide inks, fading from milled lavender to victorian velvet. I spritzed the panel with water and flicked pearl water color on it for interest. While that was drying I cut the next-to-largest Spellbinders Make a Wish Arch Labels from iridescent vellum. Using the florals as a guide, I stamped and heat embossed my sentiment at the bottom. This came from the Pretty Pink Posh Sentiment Strips | Valentine stamp set.

When I started layering things together, my inked background felt too plain, so I ran the panel through my die cutter in the Spellbinders Candy Stripe embossing folder. This gives a little texture to the background without taking away from the florals in the foreground.

To assemble everything, I added foam squares to the florals and attached it to the vellum panel. Then I hid tape runner behind that to adhere the vellum to the embossed panel. The edges started to curl so I smeared a layer of liquid glue on the corners and a few places around the arch and held it down while the glue dried. If you use your finger or a dauber to spread the glue really thin on vellum, it doesn’t show through.

For finishing touches, I added a scattering of white pearls across the design. They’re soft and elegant, which I thought was perfect for the feel of this card.

Products used:
Spellbinders Make a Wish Arch Labels dies
Spellbinders Candy Stripe embossing folder
Pretty Pink Posh Daisies stamps and dies
Pretty Pink Posh Sentiment Strips | Valentine stamps
Pretty Pink Posh pearls – ivory
Anti-static pouch
Embossing ink
Embossing powder – white
Distress Oxide Ink – victorian velvet and milled lavender
Distress sprayer
Lawn Fawn ink – river rock
Liquid glue
Tape runner
Foam squares
LH Colors watercolor – pearl

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

Newton’s Nook – Back to Basics Release Instagram Hop

Hey friends! The Newton’s Nook Back to Basics release is available in the shop and we’re having an Instagram Hop to celebrate! I hope you’ll head over and join us. It’ll be packed with inspiration!

I always have fun finding medium size dies to create this type of layout with so when I found that the cool notched corner rectangle in this new die set was perfect, I had to test it out.

I started by choosing colors and patterns from the Pastel Basics paper pad and cut one notched rectangle from each one. Then I chose a coordinating but different color to ink my background panel up with. I think the soft pink rounds everything out pretty well. I inked the edges of that panel with pink and splattered it with white paint for texture.

Next, I stamped images from Newton’s Blooms and colored them all with copic markers. I used the coordinating dies to cut it all out and then a little liquid glue to adhere the grass and ladybug to the pot. After arranging everything, I went digging for a shape to stamp my sentiment and ground the images. I found this rounded rectangle in the A7 Frames die set.

After adhering everything in place with foam tape and squares, I finished the design with glossy accents and stardust Stickles in various places.

Remember, Instagram Hop! Lots of inspiration. Lots of fun. Come join us!

Products used today:
Newton’s Bright Blooms stamps and dies
Basic Frames dies
A7 Frames dies
Embossing & Watermark ink
Magic anti-static brush
Embossing powder – frosting
Foam tape
Touch of Gloss
Stickles – stardust

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

Twiddler’s Nook Keeping it Crafty Mini Retreat – Registration Still Open

Hey friends! I wanted to let you know that the Keeping it Craft mini retreat is right around the corner and there are still spots available if you’ve been thinking about joining us.

Here is a sneak peek at the four projects we’ll be creating that day. It’s going to be so much fun. You’ll try lots of techniques and come home with a bag packed full of new products and fun swag, plus your lovely creations!

Click HERE to get to the registration form.

I hope to see you there!

Newton’s Nook – Back to Basics Release Day 3

Moving along with the new products from the Newton’s Nook March release, I have a card to share using the new A2 Card Layout die. This is going to be a super fun staple in your crafting back pocket for sure!

Today I cut the A2 Card Layout three times – white cardstock and two patterns from the Pastel Basics paper pad. I kept the pieces from each that I didn’t use so I have them for later on. I love that about dies like these. Those pieces always come in handy.

I stamped and colored the tulips and butterfly with copic markers before using the coordinating dies to cut them out. Then I cut a banner from the A7 Frames die set to stamp and heat emboss my sentiment on.

I used liquid glue to adhere the frame and four inserts to my white card base. Then I popped everything up with foam squares on that. For finishing touches I added stardust Stickles to the butterfly wings and white gel pen accents to the florals.

Enter to Win a $25 Prize!

We will be choosing one lucky winner to win a $25 store credit for Newton’s Nook Designs online shop! The winner will be chosen at random from the collective blog posts featuring our new products this week. For a chance to win, leave comments on the Design Team Member Blog Posts (see list below) from Tuesday March 19 through Thursday March 21. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Thursday, March 21st at 9 pm ET to comment — winners will be announced on the NND blog on Friday, March 22nd.

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton’s Nook Designs
Donna Idlet
Ellen Haxelmans
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Zsofia Molnar
Diane Morales
Tatiana Trafimovich
Amanda Wilcox

Miss Ink Stamps – Oh Capy Day!

How cute is this capybara craze that’s going on? You know me…another critter? Add it on the pile! I love them all!

Hey friends! I’m popping in with another card featuring the Miss Ink Stamps March release. Today it’s Oh Capy Day in a little shaker scene.

I started by stamping and coloring the sweet images with copic markers. Then I cut them out, along with a sentiment strip to go with them. When playing with my arrangement I thought they would be cute around the big “hi” from the Hi Swirl Frame die set.

I did this a little backwards because of poor planning but it really worked out pretty cool. I cut the shadow for “hi” from the front of a 4×5.25 inch white panel, then cut the letters from the shadow that I cut out. Almost no waste this way. Then I lined the window with acetate and adhered my letters on the window. This is when I decided to add grass and sky so I just ink blended over the panel and wiped the acetate off with a clean rag when I was done. Worked beautifully.

I added foam tape the back of the panel and sealed in some dazzle butterflies for my shaker bits. I tied twine around the top of the card and popped all my images and sentiment strip up with foam squares.

For finishing touches I added black glaze pen to capy eyes, glossy accents to noses and stardust stickles to butterfly wings. Isn’t this so fun?!? I think so. It’s a really versatile card too if you needed something for your stash for later on.

Products used:
Oh Capy Day stamps and dies
Hi Swirl Frame dies
Blending brushes
Lawn Fawn ink – cilantro and forget me not
Foam squares and tape
Dazzle butterflies embellishments
EZ tear tape – 1/8 inch (for hi letters)
Glossy accents
Sakura gelly roll glaze pen – black

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

Newton’s Nook – Back to Basics Release Day 2

Yesterday I shared a recap of the release and one project using some of the new goodies. Today I’m back with another project. This time I’m using the Basic Frames die set and Pastel Basics paper pad.

I created a fun card featuring the new Basic Frames dies and Newton’s Bright Birthday stamp set. Aren’t they fun together?!? I love banner shapes so I was itching to use it right away.

I chose a color palette with a little help from my board on Pinterest and colored my image. Then I used the Confetti stencil on a white card base using some of the same colors. I popped the image up on foam tape then tied twine around the top of the banner before adding foam below that to adhere it to my card base.

With part of my sentiment fitting perfectly on the front, I decided to bring the fun to the inside of this card too. I love it when this works out!

Back to the front for finishing touches. I added glossy accents to kitty noses, toe beans and the fire extinguisher. Then I wanted sparkle on the candles so I added stardust Stickles to all of those. Isn’t it so fun!?!

Enter to Win a $25 Prize!

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton’s Nook Designs
Donna Idlet
Ellen Haxelmans
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Zsofia Molnar
Diane Morales
Tatiana Trafimovich
Amanda Wilcox