Tuesday, April 30, 2019

{Simon Hurley create} Happy Birthday to the Bestest Person Ever!


Hello, friends! This adorable set, Bestest Friends, from the Simon Hurley create line didn't get enough love here during the Cutest Video Hop Ever so I decided to make this fun birthday card using four of the images from that set. I also threw in wood flooring using Splinter and that little rug they're sitting on is the trampoline from Trampoline Friends!


The big bears are my favourite part of Bestest Friends but the little secondary sentiments are pretty awesome, too. I love that the phrases are unique, unexpected and funny. I used two of the same bear but there's another bear with one of his arms outstretched and he could be hugging this particular bear or giving any number of items to one of the other characters in the set.


Once again, I used all 12 ink pads from the Simon Hurley create line to watercolour the images, stamp the floor and blend the background. To create the floor, I used masking paper to mask off the wall and half the floor so I could angle the Splinter background stamp and create a simple chevron pattern.


I was so excited that I thought about making a rug with the trampoline because it shows even more versatility, especially since my son used it as a portal/vacuum. I originally stamped it with Clear Skies but it was too dark so I second-generation stamped it and sponged around the edges with the same colour.

My husband thought this card was quite funny because it literally represents our son's alternate universe where stuffies rule the world and we're their toys. LOL

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies:

{Two Many Cards Video Series} featuring Concord & 9th + Giveaways!


Hi, everyone! Kalyn and I are back with our video series, Two Many Cards. If you missed our other videos in this series, check out the original post HERE, which explains how and why we're sharing our own unique take on the same products. 


Today, we're thrilled to be partnering with Concord & 9th to feature the stunning Fine Line Florals Bundle and (surprise!) the brilliant, upcoming Filled In Florals Bundle, available May 9th.


I'm a huge fan of Concord & 9th so I was so excited to work with both of these amazing products. I love what you can do with the Fine Line Florals Bundle alone, and to pair it up with a companion set is a dream!



All of the flower stamps I used are from the original Fine Line Florals stamp set and the gold leaf layers are from the Fine Line Florals die set. I used the soon-to-be-released Filled In Florals dies to partially die cut the large bloom and daisy so I could tuck the leaves behind them.



I also used the soon-to-be-released Filled In Florals dies to cut solid vellum leaves to go behind the gold die cuts to make it easier to layer over stamped flowers and also each other. The vellum adds a softness to the bold and bright glitter gold cardstock, which I also used to layer under the incredible sentiment, also from the soon-to-be-released Filled In Florals stamp set.



The partially die cut leaves were lifted with foam tape for permanent dimension. The sentiments were stamped with four ink colours each to create an ombre look. To finish, I added a few matching gold enamel dots.


While these cards may look complicated, they were so simple to make and would be easy to mass-produce for end-of-year teacher gifts. I'll probably add a few of the sentiments from the original Fine Line Florals stamp set underneath the 'darling' sentiment to customize the cards for specific occasions, like birthdays and thank yous.


GIVEAWAY

Concord & 9th is giving away one $25 gift certificate to TWO lucky winners, chosen randomly from each of our videos. You must be a subscriber to both our channels!

Be sure to leave some love for both of us to increase your chances of winning! Comments will close at 11:59pm EST on May 7, 2019 and the winner will be announced in the YouTube description for today's video before the next video goes live. Be sure to check back to see if you're the lucky winner!


Please head over to Kalyn's YouTube channel to see her stunning take on the Fine Line Florals Bundle and soon-to-be-released Filled In Florals Bundle.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies:

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

2nd Annual Cutest Video Hop Ever 🥳 Winners!

 

I'm here to post all of the winners for the 2nd Annual Cutest Video Hop Ever! First of all, let me thank you all so much for making this event a huge success. An event as big as this requires so much planning and a lot of support. None of this would've been possible without my wonderful crafty friends, their talented children, Simon's mom, and all of the incredibly generous sponsors! I hope to outdo this event next year. Do you think it's possible? Let's give this year's participants one more round of applause!





COMPLETE WINNERS LIST

Ranger Ink, 2 Simon Hurley create goodie bags*
  1. Annalisa Young (from Marie-Pierre's video)
  2. Donna Rasmussen (from Samantha's video)

Jennifer McGuire Ink, 3 Share Handmade Kindness goodie bags*

  1. Tracy Moloney (from Laurel's video)
  2. Denise Ward (from Jill's video)
  3. Gabrielle McCann (from Ashlea's video)
Catherine Pooler Designs, 2 ink pads per video*

  1. Shona Chambers (from Emily's video)
  2. Patricia Delany (from Simon's video)
  3. Shelly P (from Catherine's video)
  4. Kristen Ozinga (from Laurel's video)
  5. Karen Page (from Ardyth's video)
  6. Cindyellen Robinson (from Jill's video)
  7. Mary Polanco (from Laura's video)
  8. Tricia Podmore (from Marie-Pierre's video)
  9. Fiona Langlois (from Samantha's video)
  10. Rose Mary Smalley (from Evelin's video)
  11. KonaSitkaRose (from Ujjwal's video)
  12. Linnea S (from Ashlea's video)
  13. Karen Letchworth (from Jenny's video)
  14. Joy Meadows (from Natalie's video)

Scrapbook.com, $75 gift certificate + ColorCase 2-pack*


Simon Says Stamp, $50 gift certificate


Avery Elle, $50 gift certificate

Studio Katia, Two $25 gift certificates

  1. HandmadeByMirella (from Ujjwal's video)
  2. Ann Eslinger (from Catherine's video)
Winnie & Walter, $50 gift certificate

Pretty Pink Posh, $30 gift certificate

Ellen Hutson, $25 gift certificate

Hero Arts, $25 gift certificate

My Favorite Things, $25 gift certificate

Newton’s Nook Designs, $25 gift certificate

Paper Smooches, $25 gift certificate

The Stamp Market, $25 gift certificate

Waffle Flower, $25 gift certificate


Winners have been chosen randomly from all of the videos. Please email me using the email address found in my blog profile. Click under my photo on the sidebar to find my contact information. If you are receiving physical product (as indicated by the asterisks), please include your full name, mailing address and phone number.

Thanks so much for all of the wonderful comments and support of this event! We're so happy that you enjoyed this video hop and we can't wait to see you again next year.

Saturday, April 20, 2019

{Technique Tuesday} featuring Monkey Business, Sassy Days + more


You know it! I look forward to Technique Tuesday's Animal House Collection reveal every.single.month. This month's Monkey Business is no exception. It's so cheeky! I only used one of the three monkeys included in this fun set so there's so much more you can do with it.


What I love most about this particular monkey is that one hand shows the palm and the other the back of the hand so you can make them hold things in front on one hand and behind with the other! If you look in the close-up photos, you can see that I cut out parts of the white border left by the die to make it look more realistic, whether the monkey is holding the sign or holding another monkey's hand.


The Monday sentiment is from Sassy Days, one of the funniest mini sentiment sets to ever exist. I think everyone needs this in their stash. ;) The second sentiment is from Monkey Business. The ticket-style frames are from Things Change and the coordinating dies are from Captions and Labels.


When I posted the monkeys with their signs on Instagram, I was still trying to figure out how to anchor all five images on a card and have it make sense. I decided to use Cherry Blossoms in the corners so it would look like the signs were attached to a tree. I think it looks fairly realistic.


All of the images were coloured with Copic markers and I've listed the colours in the supply links below for your reference. I love all these pale neutrals together. What else can you imagine these monkeys doing? Do you have any crazy ideas for me to try?


Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies:

Thursday, April 18, 2019

{Two Many Cards Video Series} featuring Altenew + Giveaway!


Hi, everyone! Kalyn and I are back with our video series, Two Many Cards. If you missed our other videos in this series, check out the original post HERE, which explains how and why we're sharing our own unique take on the same products. 


Today, we're featuring the Trendy Circles bundle and Reason to Smile stamp set from Altenew. As much as I love cute and pretty cards, I also love bold and graphic cards. I thought Trendy Circles would work perfectly with the April 2019 Inspiration Challenge colours.


I stamped all of the circles in Rubellite, Turquoise and Warm Sunshine inks, with some heat embossed gold tinsel. The gold is fairly close to the Warm Sunshine so the gold also works nicely with the challenge colours, plus who doesn't love a bit of bling on their cards? ;)


I also used the Floral Drape Stencil to dry emboss texture into the panels before adhering the circles. I attached some of the circles flat with glue dots and popped up a few with foam tape for dimension and visual interest.


To finish, I added a few glittery gold enamel dots. Both sentiment combinations were created using phrases from Reason to Smile and I can't wait to surprise friends with these uplifting cards.


GIVEAWAY

Altenew is giving away one $15 gift certificate to one lucky winner, chosen randomly from my video or Kalyn’s video. You must be a subscriber to both our channels!

Be sure to leave some love for both of us to increase your chances of winning! Comments will close at 11:59pm EST on April 25, 2019 and the winner will be announced in the YouTube description for today's video before the next video goes live. Be sure to check back to see if you're the lucky winner!


Please head over to Kalyn's blog and YouTube channel to see her stunning take on Trendy Circles and Reason to Smile!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies:

Sunday, April 14, 2019

{Technique Tuesday} Celebrating Women & Moms + Free Shipping Offer


Welcome! Technique Tuesday is Celebrating Women & Moms with a promotion and you can get a free shipping coupon just by signing up for their newsletter. Current subscribers will automatically receive the coupon by email. Who doesn't want free shipping? I know it's always a huge savings for me and I'd rather spend that money on stamps. ;) 


This is the perfect time to grab some wonderful stamp sets that are perfect for Mother's Day cards and all of the fabulous women in your life! I made this for my mother-in-law using the new Meadow Flowers with the previously-released Lovely Lavender, both from the Greenhouse Society Collection.


I coloured the flowers with Copic markers, all of which are listed in the supply links below. They were so easy and relaxing to colour, plus I used purple, which I rarely do. Purple is my mother-in-law's favourite colour.


I used the Essential Stitched Labels to create the window, which I blended with distress inks on watercolour cardstock, splattering with shimmer mist when done. The sentiment is a combination of words from Flowers for Her and Lilac Flower. To finish, I popped up the frame and flowers with foam tape and added a few sparkling clear sequins.


Be sure to sign up for Technique Tuesday's newsletter HERE to receive your free shipping coupon! The coupon is valid on all purchases over $25 and is not limited to Mother's Day products. This offer runs through Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at midnight PST. Happy shopping!


Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies:

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

2nd Annual Cutest Video Hop Ever + Giveaways!


Hello and welcome to the 2nd Annual Cutest Video Hop Ever! I'm excited to be crafting with my son for this event and inspiring the next generation of crafters. So many of your favourite companies have generously donated over 30 prizes for this video hop and the full list of prizes can be found at the bottom of this post. All of the artists' YouTube links are below. Please remember that comments here on the blog, while greatly appreciated, are not eligible for the giveaways below. You must leave your comments on YouTube. The more you comment, the higher your chances of winning.




We had the pleasure of playing with the Simon Hurley create line from Ranger Ink and had a blast with these beautiful inks and adorable stamps! My card features the Space Training stamp set and all 12 of the Simon Hurley create inks.


I stamped and watercolored the boy, dog, cat and bear with archival ink and watercolored them with Simon Hurley create inks. After fussy cutting the images, I set them aside and heat embossed the sentiment and moon.


After watercoloring and masking the moon, I sponged the background with Simon Hurley create inks and a blending tool. To finish, I attached the elements to panel with glue dots and foam tape.


Damian used images from Trampoline Friends and a sentiment from Bestest Friends for his card. That's no surprise, since one of us was expected to use the squirrel, right? ;) If you're a sci-fi fan, you'll really love Damian's hilarious scene! It's quite clever and not something I would've thought of myself.


After Damian saw how hard it was for me to fussy cut my images from watercolour cardstock, he asked if there was a way to make his card completely flat so I helped him mask the three squirrels and bird. Then he stamped the tree and trampoline, which he transformed into a portal, sucking the squirrels right out of the tree. LOL!


I was really impressed with Damian's watercoloring on the trampoline with Simon Hurley create inks. The portal looks so three-dimensional and realistic! The contrast between the frantic bird and the smiling squirrels makes me laugh every time I look at this card.


SPONSORS + PRIZES

We're incredibly grateful to Ranger Ink and Simon Hurley for sending Simon Hurley create products to several of our designers, and also to Catherine Pooler Designs for sending her inks to several of our designers.



Thank you so much to all of the wonderful individuals and companies who have donated over 30 prizes for this fun event! The winners will be chosen randomly from all comments left on each of our videos. The more you comment, the better your chances of winning! Comments will close at 11:59 p.m. EST on April 17, 2019 and winners will be announced on my blog on April 24, 2019.

Ranger Ink, 2 Simon Hurley create goodie bags
Jennifer McGuire Ink, 3 Share Handmade Kindness goodie bags
Catherine Pooler Designs, 2 ink pads per video
Scrapbook.com, $75 gift certificate + ColorCase 2-pack*
Simon Says Stamp, $50 gift certificate
Avery Elle, $50 gift certificate
Studio Katia, Two $25 gift certificates
Winnie & Walter, $50 gift certificate
Pretty Pink Posh, $30 gift certificate
Ellen Hutson, $25 gift certificate
Hero Arts, $25 gift certificate
My Favorite Things, $25 gift certificate
Newton’s Nook Designs, $25 gift certificate
Paper Smooches, $25 gift certificate
The Stamp Market, $25 gift certificate
Waffle Flower, $25 gift certificate
*Instagram giveaway

Thanks so much for hopping with us!

Supplies: