Doodlebugs – Distress Sprays for Holiday Color

Happy Mix it up Monday again! Today I have a card to share that I worked on intermittently for a few days. Spritzing and spraying with distress oxide sprays, water and watercolor to get fun textures before die cutting my pieces. It was really low stress and fun to pop in the craft room play a little and leave to see what it looked like after it had dried.

I did this with red, green and yellow panels to create my poinsettias. Then I added some white paint splatter to my kraft background for texture as well. There are quite a few layers to the Lawn Fawn Stitched Poinsettias so I didn’t used foam on them at all, just liquid glue and reverse tweezers to hold pieces while they dried.

I chose the Pretty Pink Posh Pierced Scallop cover die for my background, so when I went to choose which Banner Greetings die to use, I chose the one with the same piercing detail on it. I stamped and heat embossed sentiments on the banners and did add foam strips to the back so they laid nicely with the poinsettia layers.

After gluing everything down and to a white card base, I did trim off any excess from the foliage so it fits in an envelope nicely.

Products used:
Lawn Fawn Stitched Poinsettias dies
Pretty Pink Posh Pierced Scallop cover die
Pretty Pink Posh Banner Greetings dies
Pretty Pink Posh Christmas Banner Greetings stamps
Embossing and watermark ink
Embossing powder – white
Magic anti-static bag
Foam strips
Liquid glue
Reverse tweezers
Distress Oxide Spray and Spritz – squeezed lemonade, wild honey, rustic wilderness, forest moss, lumberjack plaid, tarnished brass

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

Doodlebugs – Crafting is a Labor of Love

Hello everyone! For today’s mix it up Monday, I’m sharing a fun holiday card with you using Lawn Fawn stamps, dies and stencil; paired with Pretty Pink Posh sentiment dies. But what I want to focus on in the design is being willing to take the extra time to make a simple stenciled background extra. Crafting is a labor of love and sometimes it’s not about the fastest version but one that makes you happy in the end.

I started this card by wanting to create the fun sweater-style background you see using the Lawn Fawn Cozy Sweater stencil. In order to accomplish this, I taped off one section at a time ink blending each line individually. Sure, it would have been quicker to go at the whole thing with one color but it wouldn’t have had the same look or impact on my card design.

Pulling from the colors of my background, I stamped and colored two of the kitties in the Lawn Fawn Cozy Cats stamp set. I used the coordinating dies to cut them out and set them aside.

Then I cut the Pretty Pink Posh Merry sentiment from white cardstock 4 times and glued the layers together with liquid glue. Then I cut the shadow from vellum and adhered the two together. I glued this to my stenciled panel and popped the kitties up on either side with foam squares.

Then I stamped and heat embossed “Christmas” from the Lawn Fawn Cozy Cats add on and trimmed it into a rectangle. I popped this up with foam strips so it laid nicely on top of the “Merry” sentiment.

To finish off the design I added glossy accents to both kitty noses and stardust Stickles to the scarf, mittens and earmuffs.

Products used today:
Lawn Fawn Cozy Cats stamps and dies
Lawn Fawn Cozy Cats Add On stamps and dies
Lawn Fawn Cozy Sweater stencil
Pretty Pink Posh Merry dies
Lawn Fawn inks – ballet slippers, jalapeno, mermaid, lobster
Foam squares
Liquid glue
Glossy accents
Stickles – stardust

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

Newton’s Nook – Let it Snow

Hi friends! This is my last Newton’s Nook post for 2025. The year sure flew by, didn’t it?!? I think so but don’t they all. I’m here today to share a fun winter themed card with you. This is typically my sentiment because we don’t get snow often where I live but I can understand those that get so much might not agree.

To create my card, I started with a piece of white paper and lots of strips of teal and blue cardstocks in varying widths. I didn’t measure any of the strips, just chopped away. I glued them down in a random order and trimmed the panel down to just smaller than the scalloped panel from the Frames & Flags die set.

Once the striped panel was complete, I took the white scalloped panel and cut three of the Snowfall snowflake shadows from it. Then I used those pieces to cut the snowflakes from them. I splattered some distress oxide spray and pearl watercolor across the panel and left it to dry.

Next I used just the sentiment die and cut Let it Snow from three colors of blue and teal cardstocks gluing them together shifted just a bit to show all the colors. Once the cover panel was dry, I added foam squares to the back and attached it to the strip panel from the beginning. Then I used liquid glue to add my snowflakes in their spots and the sentiment in the area between them.

Last, I just glued the whole panel to a white card base and my card is finished. How are you doing with your holiday card stash? Are you finished and have them mailed out or still creating until the last minute?

A small tip, as it gets closer to the holiday and I might not need as many actual Christmas cards, I try to keep the sentiments generic so that they might be used for thank you cards after the holidays as well.

Products used today:
Snowfall dies
Frames & Flags dies
Let it Snow dies
Foam squares
Liquid glue
Distress Oxide Spray – mermaid lagoon
Pearl watercolor

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

Ranger Ink – Postage Fun plus Stenciling

Hello everyone! I’m here today with another card featuring some of the holiday releases from Ranger Ink and Simon Hurley Create! I love these fun vintage postage images in the Christmas Postage stamp set. I have had a few colored and cut out on my desk for a while but creating a card with them was eluding me every time I tried. Then, everything came together. It’s funny how that works sometimes.

My images are stamped and watercolored on watercolor paper and then fussy cut out. I added foam squares to the smaller ones and popped them up on the larger image.

For my background, I layered the stars from the Sparkling Stars stencil set over a piece of light teal cardstock and blended loch ness Stellar Ink over the top. I removed that and placed the sparkle layer over the panel and spread fool’s gold Astro Paste through that layer.

When that was dry, I used a corner rounder punch on the panel and wrapped jute twine around the left side, tying it in a bow toward the top. Then I added foam tape to the back, avoiding the twine so it lays flat. Next, I ink blended the edges of a kraft panel with weeping willow Stellar Ink and glued that to a card base.

Finally, I removed the release paper on the foam tape and popped my teal panel on the kraft card front. Isn’t this such a fun and whimsical design?!? I’m so happy I waited it out and didn’t force the previous designs I tried.

Products used:
Christmas Postage stamps
Sparkling Stars stencil set
Astro Paste – fool’s gold
Stellar Ink – loch ness and weeping willow
Blending brushes
Foam tape and squares
Liquid glue

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

Doodlebugs – Sending Joy & Cheer

Welcome to another Mix it Up Monday for Doodlebugs! Today we’re playing with lots of dies and creating a fun, shaped card for the holidays.

I picked up the new Lawn Fawn Build a Fox and some of the holiday dress add ons a bit ago and was just itching to play. So I set some time aside with no intention other than to build a cute fox for the holidays.

After I built him, I knew he had to be the star of the show. So I dug through my Spellbinders dies to find the perfect scene, landing on the one of my favorites – Make a Wish Arch Labels. I cut the base twice, once from green and once from white cardstock. I scored the white about 1/2″ from the top and glued the two together at the flap so I have a shaped card base now. Then I cut the next size down from white cardstock ink blending the center with green and splattering some water and distress oxide spray on the panel as well.

Next I cut two Pretty Pink Posh Banner Greetings shapes from black and red cardstocks. I heat embossed one of the Christmas Banner Greetings sentiments on the black one. I glued the layers together and then added foam strips to the back, along with foam squares to the back of my fox.

I removed the release paper, adhering both to the white panel before adding more foam tape to the back of that, adding it to the shaped card base. I finished the design off with glossy accents on the fox’s cheeks and stardust Stickles to the pompom on his hat.

Products used:
Lawn Fawn Build a Fox dies
Spellbinders Make a Wish Arch Labels dies
Pretty Pink Posh Christmas Banner Greetings stamps
Pretty Pink Posh Banner Greetings dies
Foam strips and squares
Liquid glue
Reverse tweezers
Embossing and watermark ink
Embossing powder – white
Magic anti-static bag
Blending brush
Lawn Fawn artichoke ink
Distress Oxide Spray – rustic wilderness
Glossy accents
Stickles – stardust

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

Ranger Ink – Watercolor with Ink and Reinkers

Happy Tuesday everyone! I’m here with simple, festive card to share using Ranger Ink and Simon Hurley Create products. Just simple stamping and watercolor with the same inks I stamped in. It’s really as simple as that to add color to your images.

I chose my image from the Christmas Borders stamp set and stamped it on watercolor paper with tropical tango stellar ink. Next, I took a clear acrylic block and smooshed my ink pad on the corner. I spritzed that with water and proceeded to use a paint brush to color in my leaves. The light leaves are one layer and the darker ones are two and three layers of ink.

Next, I smooshed love bomb Stellar Ink on another acrylic block and painted the berries in the same way. Gathering your ink from the ink pad gives you a more diluted color which works great when you’re painting with the same color you’re stamping in. If you want a deeper, richer color, I suggest dropping one or two drops of re-inker on the block and painting with that.

I used my heat gun to help the watercolor dry and then went back in to add more layers on various leaves and berries. After hitting that layer with the heat gun as well, I splattered the panel with tarnished brass Distress Spray Stain.

Once that dried, I stamped and heat embossed a sentiment from Skating By on the lower right corner. Finally, I glued the panel to a card base and wrapped some green organza ribbon around the top.

Have you tried this technique before? How do you feel about it? I think it’s refreshing to throw something different in from time to time.

Products used:
Christmas Borders stamps
Skating By stamps
Stellar ink – love bomb and tropical tango
Distress Spray Stain – tarnished brass
Liquid glue
Heat gun
Embossing and watermark ink
Embossing powder – black
Anti-static bag

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

Doodlebugs – Christmas Tags Have Begun

Happy Mix it up Monday everyone! If you’ve been around for a minute, you know I love making tags for all occasions. I rarely give a gift without a tag attached and sometimes I make tags for fun and go hunting for a gift to give it with. Yes, I’m serious I’ve done that more than once.

Let the Christmas tag create commence! Today I’m using Mama Elephant tags, Lawn Fawn stencils and Pretty Pink Posh stamps and dies. Dig in your stash and see what strikes you! Tags are a fun, smaller canvas and can serve as a quick bit of crafting to scratch the itch or possibly pull you out of a creative slump.

Mix and match different colors and textures. Remember you can write on the back of the tag or cut a second one so you have another layer to write on. This also gives you more area to write if you’re adding a little message along with it.

I’m curious today too. How do you attach your tags to gifts? Do you tie them on with a longer string? Attach them with tape or glue? I usually create my tags like they’re shown in the photo and depending on the gift, add double-sided tape to the back of the last layer or thread a thinner string through the knot at the top to tie them on a bag.

Products used:
Pretty Pink Posh Holiday Word Scenes stamps and dies
Mama Elephant Sweet Shoppe Frame dies
Lawn Fawn Woodgrain stencil
Blending brush
Lawn Fawn walnut ink
Foam squares
Distress Spray Stain
Gelly Roll white pen

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

Spellbinders – November Clubs Inspiration

Hi everyone! I’m popping in with another card using different pieces of the November Spellbinders Clubs. Today I’ve got the Die and Embossing Folder of the Month together. This brunch theme is just the cutest and these characters were ridiculously fun to create!

I really had no plan at first. I just wanted to make some cute food with faces so I dove in and started die cutting pieces and gluing them together. Aren’t these so much fun!?! I’m personally dying over that waffle with his coffee cup!

Using an A2 card base as a guide, I realized these guys fit perfectly together so I started building my background. For that I cut a Mirrored Arch Label and embossed it with the embossing folder of the month. Then I inked the embossing up with a blending brush and pink ink. To create a ground for my images I cut part of another label and trimmed it to a strip.

Next, I cut an A2 piece of pink cardstock and glued it to my card base. I splattered pearl watercolor on the panel and let it dry. Then I added the mirrored arch panel with foam tape to that and my breakfast bunch on top with foam squares.

The Die of the Month set comes with a banner and a few sentiments to die cut in it which I love! They are versatile for different occasions and perfectly punny in every way! I went with the thank you sentiment and layered two banners together for dimension. This is popped up with a foam strip to finish the design off.

Products used:
Spellbinders Die of the Month
Spellbinders Embossing Folder of the Month
Spellbinders Mirrored Arch Labels dies
Foam tape
Blending brush
Lawn Fawn ballet slippers ink
Liquid glue
Reverse tweezers

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

Doodlebugs – Christmas Mice Duo

Happy Mix it up Monday everyone! I’m here today with a pair of cards featuring the same products in two colorways to help stock my stash for Christmas cards before it’s here.

I started by cutting the Mama Elephant All Tied Up cover from pink and teal cardstocks. Then I cut the string and bow from white and rose gold cardstocks to see how the different colors looked. They’re both good but I think I like the flashy better.

I cut white card bases next and inked up the front with the Pretty Pink Posh deco leaves stencil coordinating with both panels I had ready to go. I used Lawn Fawn peacock and ballet slippers inks here.

I pulled out the Mama Elephant Holiday Happiness dies and cut both sentiments from red and pink cardstock, using liquid glue to adhere the layers. I always have a hard time choosing which to use so I love making double cards for these to use one of each.

Next, I stamped two sets of the cute mice from the Lawn Fawn Sweet Christmas Mice and colored one set gray and the other brown. I used the coordinating dies to cut them out and now we can start assembling everything together.

The gift panels are glued directly to the card bases, along with the ribbons strings. Then I popped the sentiments and mice up with foam tape and squares. I finished the designs off with glossy accents on mouse noses and stardust Stickles on bits of each image.

Products used:
Lawn Fawn Sweet Christmas Mice stamps and dies
Mama Elephant Holiday Happiness dies
Mama Elephant All Tied Up dies
Pretty Pink Posh Deco Leaves stencil
Blending brushes
Lawn Fawn ink – ballet slippers and mermaid
Glossy accents
Stickles – stardust
Liquid glue
Foam tape and squares

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

Newton’s Nook – November Release Instagram Hop

It’s release day for Newton’s Nook and, therefore, Instagram Hop day as well! Before you head over and fill your carts up. Head to Instagram and hop with us for a chance to win and more inspiration too!

I created this card to share for the hop which uses the new Snowfall dies to make gingerbread cookies! I cut the shadow from brown cardstock and the snowflakes from white glitter foam! Perfect combo for almost edible looking cookies!

I inked up the Holiday Foliage stencil on green cardstock for my background and used the Circle Frames dies to create my cookie plate. I glued a piece of kraft cardstock to a card base and then added my foliage panel directly to that with liquid glue as well. The cookies are quite tall stacked up like that so I didn’t want to risk too much dimension.

I glued the cookie plate down and trimmed the excess off before adding my sentiment (from the October release) with foam squares to help it lay nicely with the cookies.

Like I said before, head to Instagram and comment on the hop for a chance to win plus so much fun inspiration! Then head to the Newton’s Nook shop to fill your carts and start crafting!

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