Ellen Hutson – Good Luck Bear

Happy Friday everyone! It’s a big weekend at our house. Our daughter has state championships for dance today and tomorrow. Which brings us to a two-day #tagtimesaturdays starting today and then another one tomorrow. Then I’ll take a break and be back again in the fall with more fun inspiration.

State works differently than regular competitions so there is no gift table and nothing to be sent back to her. So, instead I made this fun bear and coordinating tag for good luck and popped it in her suitcase before she left last night.

Ellen Hutson has this adorable line of stamps and dies that originated with All Inside. It’s a sweet bear, some small images and wonderful sentiments. Then they created a stitching die of bear because he’s just so perfect! I have made so many of these bears in a variety of color schemes, holding different things over the years. They never get old and are so fun to give.

Today I went with a white bear, brown nose and green accents for good luck! The die set comes with one to cut eyes but I really prefer using the flat back beads instead. These are from Trinity Stamps.

For my tags, I cut the square version in the Farmhouse Tags die set from green and white cardstock, then the banner tag in the same set from darker green cardstock. I cut the hole reinforcer for the top tag and glued it in place before stamping my sentiments and bear. I simply drew the ampersand with a black pen and we will write our message on the white tag hidden behind.

For added fun, I glued a mini green heart on his bum too! This was the smallest heart included in the All Inside die set. It makes me giggle but I do this most of the time when I create these fun bears.

Products used today:
All Inside stamps and dies
Farmhouse Tags dies
Bear Hugs dies
Felt – winter white and espresso, green was scrap from my stash
Liquid glue
Trinity Stamps Essential Embellishments Bundle

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

Newton’s Nook – Meow’s it going? Slimline

Hi again! Today I’m over on the Newton’s Nook blog playing with Captivated Kittens and creating a sweet slimline card.

I started my card but stamping all of the kitties in this set and colored them with my copic markers. At first I thought I might create a card with a coordinating tag for fun but once they were colored and die cut I thought mini scenes on a slimline card would be so cute!

With the kitties colored and cut out, I pulled out the Slimline Frames & Windows die set and cut the frame from white cardstock. This gives the frame and stitched squares to fit in your windows at the same time. Next, I inked up the squares with the hills & grass stencil first, adding two layers of grass for dimension. Then I used the clouds stencil to fill in the sky.

I arranged my frame and scene panels to decide what order I wanted the kittens in. This ended up leaving the perfect spot for a sentiment and I thought putting it in a speech bubble would make it extra cute! So, I die cut the bubble and stamped on that.

Finally, I knew I wanted contrast between my frame and the card front so I cut a piece of kraft cardstock and inked it up using the basketweave stencil. It gives a subtle amount of interest without distracting from the cute kitten scenes in the frames.

Now, it’s time to assemble all the pieces. I started by adding the kraft panel to a white card base measuring 3×8.5 inches. Then I popped the frame up with foam strips and used liquid glue to adhere the scene panels in each opening. Last, I added the kittens and speech bubble with foam squares to bring them out to the same level as the frame.

For finishing touches I added glossy accents to kitten noses and toe beans, plus flower stamen. Then I came in with black glaze pen on the eyes of all the critters. This makes them a bit raised and shiny. Finally, I added stardust Stickles to the bug wings so they’re all shimmery and sparkly.

Products used:
Captivated Kittens stamps and dies
Slimline Frames & Windows dies
Basketweave stencil
Hills & Grass stencil
Clouds stencil
Speech Bubbles dies
Foam strips and squares
Liquid glue
Stickles – stardust
Glossy accents

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

Pink & Main – New Release Birthday Sneak Peek

Hi everyone! It’s release week for Pink & Main and I’ve got a fun sneak peek to share with you. So much birthday fun to be had this time, it was hard to choose what products to play with first. You’re going to love it all!

I used glossy gel by itself to create a subtle textured background with the awesome upcoming Celebrate stencil. This is only half of the fun! Then I created a super cool party hat with a new stand alone die set.

But I’m not done yet. The sweet little party snail and sentiment are included in the All About You stamps and dies. All of my cardstock colors are from Pink & Main too which lends to a bright and happy card anyone is sure to smile receiving!

For finishing touches I added some glitter enamel dots to the party hats and Touch of Gloss to the snail and his bowtie, plus the gift he’s carrying too.

Stay tuned for more sneak peeks from the rest of the design team until release on Friday! Then you can shop ’til you drop!

Products used today:
All About You stamps and dies
Dotted Cover dies
Party Hat dies
Celebrate Stencil
Glitter enamel dots
Touch of Gloss
Glossy Gel
Ergonomic Blending Brush
Foam tape
Cardstock – construction, lakeside and dress shop
Ink – dress shop

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

Spellbinders – Flea Market Finds Card

Welcome everyone! I’m so glad you’re here. I’m back with another creation using more of those fun products from the Spellbinders Flea Market Finds Collection. This time I went a little brighter and lighter, channeling the sunshine and spring I wish was happening at home.

I used more paper from the Floral 2 Palette paper pad for my background. The daisy pattern is 4.25×4.5 inches and the blue is a 2 inch strip so there is a bit of overlap for ease of lining things up. I made sure to use a side folding card base so I could wrap my twine around the left side.

Then I die cut both envelope shapes included in the Mini Envelopes 2 die set. I glued one shut and added a die cut wax seal to the flap and glued one with the top flap open so I could stuff it with more of the fabulous preprinted die cuts in the Coat Check Miscellany pack.

I inked edges and flicked watered down ink across everything for fun texture, then stamped some images on the wax seals and envelope to add interest and texture.

The ticket shape is a die in the envelope die set which I cut from the red paper left over from my last card. Those are glued down with liquid glue and then I popped the envelopes up with foam squares again. I really like the lift and shadow it creates when there is so much going on. I sets them apart just a bit.

Products used:
Mini Envelopes 2 dies
Coat Check Miscellany printed die cuts
Florals 2 Palette paper pad
Reading Matter stamps
Foam squares
Distress Ink – ground espresso
Liquid glue

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

Spellbinders – Flea Market Finds Release

Happy Friday friends! It’s time for another Spellbinders release. This time I’m creating with a very different collection of products for me and it’s been really fun! It’s called Flea Market Finds and was curated by Cathe Holden. These products scream “inky messy” to me so that’s where I started today.

I’ve used the bold red paper from the Floral 2 Palette paper pad, torn in half and inked the edge. Then I needed to distress my base layer to match so I inked it with ground espresso distress oxide ink. I stamped random images on the panel using the Reading Matter stamp set. I sprayed the panel and flicked ground espresso ink on it for more texture. Then I glued the red paper down with tape runner.

I die cut an envelope from the Mini Envelope 2 die set and distressed it with the same ink. I glued it together and stuffed it with fun things from the Coat Check Miscellany printed die cuts. I popped the envelop up with foam squares and rolled the edge of the red paper out a bit for extra texture too.

I thought the red paper was lacking with the texture everywhere else so I stamped an image from the stamp set and heat embossed it with platinum embossing powder. Then I splattered the panel with a few more flicks of watered down ink to finish it all off.

This type of cardmaking is very out of my typical style and it was so fun to just dive in and play. These products are awesome for a variety of crafting styles!

Products used:
Mini Envelopes 2 dies
Coat Check Miscellany printed die cuts
Florals 2 Palette paper pad
Reading Matter stamps
Foam squares
Distress Ink – ground espresso
Liquid glue

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

Spellbinders – Hello Sunshine

Hi again! I’m back with another card featuring more of the Spellbinders Four Petal Collection. I am in love with these dies. It’s really fun to cut all the different layers from various colors and build your flower displays. They’re so pretty and you can’t mess it up no matter what colors you choose.

For this card, I went simple but elegant. The greenery is more of a teal than green and my accents are all cut from gold foil cardstock for the flowers too. The flower layers are white which I felt gave me license to have a bolder background color.

After cutting and gluing the floral pieces together, I cut and embossed an orange panel with the Dazzling Dots embossing folder. Once that was embossed, I inked the edges with a darker orange distress oxide ink and splattered the panel with gold watercolor. I glued the florals down and placed and acrylic block on top for a while to help keep things flat on the bumpy background.

While that was drying, I cut the “hello” sentiment using the Thanks Enclosed sentiments die set. The shadow is black cardstock and the top layer of hello is matching gold foil with 3 layers of white cardstock underneath it for dimension. I stamped a sub sentiment from I’ve Got You Covered stamp set and cut it into a strip. The die cut sentiment is attached with liquid glue and the stamped one is popped up with foam strips.

Do you have this amazing die set yet? What color combos have you tried or would you like to try? I’d love to know!

Products used:
Four Petal Reflection dies
Thanks Enclosed Sentiments dies
I’ve Got You Covered stamps
Dazzling Dots embossing folder
Bearly Art liquid glue
Foam strips

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

Pink & Main – Welcome Spring Wreath

Happy Wednesday everyone! I’m over on the Pink & Main blog welcoming spring with some sweet little bunnies!

To create my card, I cut a mod stitched rectangle from dress shop cardstock and ran it through my die cutter with the new Cobblestone embossing folder. Then I used a blending brush and the coordinating ink to add depth to the edges and also splattered some watered down ink on the panel for extra texture.

I stamped and die cut the bunnies and sentiment from Welcome Spring using construction and lakeside inks. Then I cut both Wreath Base die sets – one from the park cardstock and the other from vellum. The the Wreath Base 2 die set I used the spring die to cut 5 sprigs using pebble cardstock. The sprigs are strategically adhering themselves and the vellum wreath to the leafy wreath and then that is glued to the embossed panel using EZ Squeeze glue.

The bunnies and sentiment are attached with foam squares. Then, for finishing touches I pulled out the Rainbow Pearls 2 collection and glued the purple color pearls to the ends of the sprig pieces. I feel like these add so much to the ending look and feel of the card.

Is anyone else done with winter and ready for sunshine and rainbows? I sure am!

Products used today:
Welcome Spring stamps and dies
Wreath Base dies
Wreath Base 2 dies
Cobblestone embossing folder
Mod Stitched Rectangles dies
Foam tape and squares
EZ Squeeze liquid glue
Ink – dress shop, lakeside and construction
Cardstock – dress shop, the park and pebble
Rainbow Pearls 2 embellishments
Ergonomic blending brush

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

Spellbinders – For You Foiled Four Petal Scroll

Hello again! I’m stopping by with a quick and eye catching card to share with you featuring Spellbinders Four Petal Scroll hot foil plates. This one simple set makes it incredibly easy to create eye catching cards quick and easy.

With hot foil plates, you can ink your paper before or after you foil, which is awesome and so helpful when you can’t decide what to do. Today I foiled my panel and trimmed it down before using distress oxide inks to blend a purple ombre, fading into the center. Then I foiled the sentiment on black and cut it out with the die that comes in the set.

I popped it up with foam squares and then added black strips to my foiled panel to tie the black in a bit more. I popped the whole panel up on a white card base with foam tape and my card is all finished!

It’s really that easy! Sometimes I can’t believe you can get such stunning results from one set of dies. And changing out the foil you use will give you completely different looks too. It’s wonderful!

Products used today:
Four Petal Scroll glimmer foil plates
Glimmer Foil – spellbound multipack
Distress Oxide Ink – wilted violet, shaded lilac and dusty concord
Foam squares and tape
Liquid glue

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

Waffle Flower – March Release Blog Hop

Hello friends! I’m very excited and honored to be guest designing with Waffle Flower for their March release! I had a blast creating with their products and am very excited to share my creations with you.

Giveaways:

For today’s hop, Waffle Flower is giving away $25 gift certificate to THREE lucky winners. You can leave a comment on this blog and along the hop by 11:59pm EST on Thursday March 9th, 2023 for your chances to win. Winners will be chosen at random from the comments left on any of the posts in this blog hop and will be announced on the Waffle Flower Blog on 03/10/2023.

Specials:

From now till March 8th, 2023, all orders placed at waffleflower.com will receive a mysterious gift (No code required!).

For those of you who are new to Waffle Flower, they have a Last Chance section on their website that lists many goodies for 25% off until they are gone! This would be a great place to start your collection! And don’t forget to check out their monthly Flash Sales!

Blog hop:

Next on the hop is Michele Ferguson! If you get lost along the way, head back to the Waffle Flower blog to get reoriented.

Spring sale:

2023 Spring Sale

25% off this collection; most items are on sale for the first time
No minimum required; while supplies last
Valid now through 3/25 for Club members (Use code in the Early Access email for the discount)
Open for everyone on 3/15, no code required.

Please note that all sales items are not eligible for returns/refunds.

Mama Elephant – Go Bananas

Hello and welcome to another #tagtimesaturday! It’s still competition season in our house until the middle of March so I’ve got more fun tags to make and share with you! Today I pulled out the Mama Elephant Zodiac Monkeys and had a little fun.

I really wanted to use the sentiment in the set so I made sure to choose my monkeys but also stamp a few bananas for them to hold. Also, how can you resist these adorable coordinating balloons in all of the zodiac sets!?! So fun! I colored everything with copic markers. The monkeys are E30s with E50s faces and the bananas are Y10s. I used the coordinating dies to cut them out and glued everything together with liquid glue.

I made my tag base out of the Combo Circle dies. The scallops are die cut from the same yellow cardstock but I ink blended one set to make it a touch darker. Then I cut the stitched circle from white cardstock but I ink blended the center of that with yellow and splattered it with gold watercolor from LH Colors too. It’s subtle but still pretty and I love the texture!

I adhered the circle pieces with liquid glue, placing black twine between the scallop layers and holding it in place with reverse tweezers until the glue dried. I did add a white stitched circle to the back of this since it’s a tag so I had somewhere to write a message.

Next, I stamped part of the sentiment in the set and heat embossed it on black cardstock. I used a banner die to cut it out and added foam to the back of all my images and banner. I removed the release paper and popped everything in place.

For finishing touches I went back to my images and added dot detail with the darkest marker – E34 – so there was subtle texture but it’s not distracting. Then I added black glaze pen to all of the eyes and set it aside to dry.

My daughter loves monkeys and yellow so I’m sure she’s going to giggle at this silly tag today.

Products used:
Mama Elephant Zodiac Monkey stamps and dies
Mama Elephant Combo Circle dies
Lawn Fawn Extra Sentiment Strip dies
Pink & Main embossing ink, powder and anti-static brush
Foam squares
LH Colors watercolor – gold
Bearly Art glue

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