Every Day I'm Sparklin' - A World Cardmaking Day Post

I am a little late to the party since World Cardmkaing Day was last Saturday, but you know what they say about better late than never right?!

In actual fact, the day itself slipped away from me before I even had time to catch my breath and think about making a card (one of those days!), but I followed along with the celebrations on social media, especially all the posts from Simon Says Stamp!, and as soon as I had a chance I ran to my craft room and whipped up this set of simple but cute cards.

I say simple, because I had already coloured all these fun images from the 'Castle Times' stamp set by Ink Blot Shop on another occasion, so I only had to make a background for them and assemble the cards together. But that still counts doesn't it?! LOL!

I chose to pair the images with some sentiments from the 'Everyday Magic' stamp set from Studio Calico - embossing them with gold glitter to fit with the magical fairy tale kind of theme I've got going on here.

Did you manage to play along with any challenges for World Cardmaking Day? I'd love to see. Link me up!!

Jot Magazine October Mood Board

I'm in love with the images Mardi curated for the October Mood Board at Jot Magazine. It totally makes me think of Spring, and creating this card had me feeling very happy!

Here's a look at the Mood Board. It's so soft and bright and airy isn't it? 

I was immediately drawn to the illustration of the little bird amongst the giant flowers and thought that recreating something similar on a card could be quite fun. 

But instead of just keeping the flowers flat, and having painted colours behind them, I took my inspiration from all the natural textures represented in the mood board and used wool felt instead. It was easy to cut the felt into these tiny little shapes with the help of my hole punch and some metal dies!

Which image inspires you the most? Come and join us for the October challenge at Jot Magazine and have a chance to win a voucher to the Jot shop! You can find all the details HERE.

Neat & Tangled October Release | Day 5 Recap

YAY! The new release October products from Neat and Tangled are now available to purchase in the shop! I've been having a tonne of fun with them this week, and if you haven't seen all my recent posts, feel free to track back on my blog to see everything I've made.

But today I still have one more card to share!

This card features a combination of different products from the release, but the main images and sentiment all come from the 'Get Yeti' stamp set. The only images that don't are the presents, they're from the 'Fa La Llama' stamp set.

And in the background I've used the 'Falling Circles' coverplate die to create my own stencil (just from scrap cardstock) and sponged some light blue/aqua ink through it to make it look like a bit like it's snowing.

If you would like to see ALL the new release products up close and in 'real life', I've put together a video that walks you through everything. I had Moriah and Judah help me.. which made it really.... fun! You can see that on the Neat and Tangled YouTube channel HERE.

Neat & Tangled October Release | Day 4 "Fa La Llama"

Hi and welcome to Day 4 of the October release from Neat and Tangled. Today we're shining the spotlight on the "Fa La Llama" stamp set and it's matching dies. Here's the card I made with this super-cute set!

For a 3x4" stamp set, this one really packs a punch. It's got so many fun elements in it apart from just the main image of the llama, and I've used all of them for my card.

I love that the scarf ends come separately so you can place them where you'd like! And the squiggly little stars for background details are perfect.

And of course, don't get me started on how cute the sentiment is!

I used the Jewel Tones sequins from this months' relase to add the finishing touch to my festive card. I strung them onto some gold thread and hung them across the top, a bit like fairy lights or a garland. So fun!

BUY!

All the new release products will be available in the Neat and Tangled shop at 8am EDT (that's 11pm Australian Daylight Savings Time!) on Friday 6th. In the meantime feel free to browse the 'older' products, since you might want to pick up some of them as well ;-)

WIN!!!

Now head over to the Neat and Tangled Blog and leave a comment on today's post to be in with a chance to win the Get Yeti stamp and die set!!
And don't forget to leave a comment here to be in the running for a $25 store voucher!!

Neat & Tangled October Release | Day 3 "Winter" and "Backdrop" and "Jewel Tones" sequins

Welcome to Day 3 of the October release from Neat and Tangled. Today we're showcasing four different products, and I used three of them on this card...

So what we're focusing on today is the "Winter" stamp set, it's matching dies, "Jewel Tones" sequins and the "Backdrop" stamp.

I especially love the "Winter" stamp set because of that big sentiment. Those 5 lines are in one block, and although you could always cut it up or mask off different segments if you prefer, I really like the idea of being able to stamp it as a big bold statement!

I think this would make the perfect stamp for when you need to mass produce some holiday cards - one image stamped and you're practically done!

I finished my card by using the "Winter" dies to cut out the title. Multiple layers of white cardstock stuck together for the word, and reflective silver card for the shadow effect. 

Now, if you were wondering about the value of the 3x4" Backdrop stamp then I can assure you there are so many ways you can use this. I've used it in probably the most simplest of ways for this card - I really did use it as a backdrop! LOL!

I first stamped the solid image in blue Distress Oxide ink, and then swiped my green Distress Oxide ink pad over the stamp in sections and stamped it again. It gives a subtle two-toned effect which is a bit fun.

I finished the background with silver embossed snowflakes from the "Winter" stamp set, and sprinkled on the Jewel Tones sequins too. The snowman and sentiment come from the "Get Yeti" stamp set that we featured on Day 1.

BUY!

All the new release products will be available in the Neat and Tangled shop at 8am EDT (that's 11pm Australian Daylight Savings Time!) on Friday 6th. In the meantime feel free to browse the 'older' products, since you might want to pick up some of them as well ;-)

WIN!!!

Now head over to the Neat and Tangled Blog and leave a comment on today's post to be in with a chance to win the Get Yeti stamp and die set!!
And don't forget to leave a comment here to be in the running for a $25 store voucher!!

Neat & Tangled October Release | Day 1 "Get Yeti"

Hello and welcome to day 1 of the October releases from Neat and Tangled.
Today we're showcasing the adorable "Get Yeti" stamp set and matching dies! Here's the card I made...

Now obviously I had to let the Yeti take centre-stage, but with so many other images in this stamp set to choose from, I had a hard time narrowing down who his friends should be! I actually stamped and coloured all of them and then played around until I settled on the little penguin and the snowman.

I used black embossing powder on watercolour paper to create all the images, and then used a combination of different inks to colour them in - that included Zig Clean Colour Brush pens, Distress Oxide inks, and my Color Theory dye inks from Studio Calico. All those mediums but I stuck to this fairly minimal colour scheme!! LOL!

There are a couple of sentiment options in this set, and I heat embossed one of them with white to complete this little snowy/frosty scene.

BUY!

All the new release products will be available in the Neat and Tangled shop at 8am EDT (that's 11pm Australian Daylight Savings Time!) on Friday 6th. In the meantime feel free to browse the 'older' products, since you might want to pick up some of them as well ;-)

WIN!!!

Now head over to the Neat and Tangled Blog and leave a comment on today's post to be in with a chance to win the Get Yeti stamp and die set!!
And don't forget to leave a comment here to be in the running for a $25 store voucher!!

Coffee is Love, Love is Coffee

I've been meaning to make something for the Coffee Lovers Bloghop pretty much every time they come around. After all.... I do love coffee! But I haven't found the opportunity before now.

Yay! Yesterday I coordinated a 2 year old and a 2 month old's naps and I got some time to craft!!

The theme (apart from coffee... or tea... or cocoa) is Fall and so I started by deciding on an appropriate colour scheme and then went from there.

I recently bought a new 6x6" stencil which I wanted to try out. It's called Buffalo Plaid by Carta Bella and I got mine HERE. I can see lots of possibilities with this and it was really fun to use! So that became the background for my card.

And then I used a combination of Neat and Tangled's Perfect Blend stamp set for the coffee cups, and Krumspring's Coffee is Love stamp set for the sentiment.

I filmed a very impromptu timelapse video of my process if you care to check it out! I'm not sure if it'll work very well here in Blogger, but I'll upload it to my Instagram account as well!

You can find all the details for the Coffee Lovers Fall Bloghop HERE. 

Bunches of Country Florals

I used to think I didn't really 'do' floral cards. But that was before I received a big box full of the latest Sizzix Lifestyle releases! I actually let the Trophy Husband do a comeback unboxing video to see his spin on all the new dies, and you can catch that on my YouTube channel HERE.

It's always fun to then see which of the die sets I end up playing with first because usually these are the ones that become long term favourites. One of the sets that caught my eye was the Country Florals set.

I love that it includes dies for a bunch of different flowers as well as leaves..... and it also includes those antlers too! I just adore this funky addition and I used them to frame this bouquet for a thankyou card.

I was so inspired I ended up doing another version of the same card design a couple of weeks after the first. This time I opted to tone down the colour palette even more, omit the antlers and layer in a few more flowers instead. That's because I wanted to focus on the florals so that it matched the sentiment I chose.

I stamped the 6" long "thank you" and masked a small section so I could add in the "bunches" as well. These are from the Stretched Sentiments stamp set from Ink Blot Shop (another new favourite aquisition!)

So it turns out I really do love making flowery cards after all! ;-)

Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember!

I'm so excited to have been asked to contribute to the STAMPtember celebrations at Simon Says Stamp!

As part of the Neat and Tangled team I was sent the exclusive stamp set the two companies have released in collaboration. It's called 'Hello Pumpkin' and it is SUPER cute!! There are matching dies for this as well in case you don't like the fussy cutting involved ;-)

 

And here's what I've made with it...

I tried to work in as many of the stamps as I could (without going too crazy!) and I ended up with this story-book like scene. It was crying out to be watercoloured so that was the direction I took it.

Just as I was contemplating the fact I very rarely ever make one-layer cards (since I still don't consider myself a stamper and colourer) I decided that I really couldn't resist adding a touch of dimension, and those wood veneer arrows gained a place in the design ;-)

Something else that I really love about this set is that all proceeds from it's sale will be donated to support the medical bills that Danielle's father (Danielle is the founder of Neat and Tangled) is facing during his health battle. You can find more info about that on their GoFundMe page.

You can find this exclusive stamp set and dies at Simon Says Stamp! now. Remember, these are limited edition so once they're sold out they're gone forever.

And if you love this, you might also be interested in the new release products from Neat and Tangled. Some of the sets include the same characters you see here - that bear and mouse - in different scenarios. So cute!! Find them HERE.

Jot Magazine September Mood Board

It's time for another Mood Board challenge at Jot Magazine, and this is what I've made!

This is a bit of a variation on my normal go-to colour scheme of pink and aqua. This time it's mixed with navy and peach as well. I love how these challenges push me to places I wouldn't think of myself!

Here's what the Mood Board looks like:

I started my card first by pulling out some scraps of paper and a few embellishments that match the colour scheme. That's usually how I roll for these types of challenges! I then use them to dictate how the design of my card is going to go as far as focal point and sentiment are concerned.

But of course, I can't forget the mood board itself and on this occasion I draw inspiration from the vertical lines in the bottom two pictures. I line up squares of my patterned paper and then sew it all down with my sewing machine. I let the lines of thread mimic the vertical lines from the mood board.

I hope you'll join in with us for this September version of our challenge! You can find all the details for it HERE on the Jot blog!

Studio Calico Starlight - the Spetember Release

Oh man, it was totally time I dusted off my layout-making skills and put something big on a 12x12" piece of paper again! The September scrapbook kit from Studio Calico was exactly what I needed to inspire me. The colours and designs in this kit are totally me!
But thinking I might be a little rusty I decided not to go too crazy. I used a 8x12" photo to dominate the page and then just added some clusters of cute things, and highlighted the colours of the photo with some paper strips.

Everything on this page is from the Main Kit Only, with the exception of the alpha stamps I used to create the title. They're called Blocked Alpha and Numbers and are available as a separate purchase.

I love the combination of this bold graphic alpha with a handrawn feel to it because of the scribbly shadow. I stamped my title onto watercolour paper with black embossing powder, then coloured them with Color Theory Inks to match Bethany's shirt in the photo. Oh... and then I ended up adding Stickles over the top for some glitter. Couldn't help it!

But new layouts aside, it was the new release stamps Studio Calico specifically asked me to play with, and I couldn't be happier to agree to that! They asked me for 3 cards... I 'accidentally' made 6!
(Yes, I know I'm only sharing 5 here, but the last card I'm not overly happy with so I'm not sharing it! LOL!)

I first started with the Thanksgiving stamp set with it's grassy frame type of stamp, and a million options for sentiments to pop inside. I had this idea for how I wanted the finished card to look, but I wasn't sure if it would work, so I did a mock-up version first with a blue and yellow background. It seemed like it would turn out ok so I did my 'good' version in the yellow-pink-red-blue spectrum. I finished it off with some puffy asterix from the Scrapbook Kit.
But I kept looking back at my mock up version and couldn't bear to throw it away. It's not perfectly stamped but I figured I would finish the card anyway, and try to cover up the defects with buttons! LOL!
And now I have a set!

I fell in love with the Fall Plants set. I think it's my favourite! It has a great mixture of flowers and vegetables (of all things!) and my 'failed' card featured the carrots. But then I had an idea to just take one of the flowers - the layered pansy - and stamp a whole field of them in rainbow colours. I wanted it to represent reproduction and growth and fertility to match the sentiment from the same set. I'm always in need of new baby cards so this is perfect.

Another delicate and elegant stamp set from this release is the Floral Thank You set. It's got a mixture of detailed floral images and bold graphic sentiments. They work together really well, so on this card I decided just to let them shine by themselves. This is about as CAS as I can get!

And lastly I took the Everyday Magic stamp set and whipped up this final card. There are lots of great images and funky sentiments in this set, but I stuck with just a couple. I was inspired by the 'heart of gold' phrase and had this idea to stamp a grid design of the hearts in gold. Pretty obvious right?! To kick it up a notch I also took the same heart stamp, inked it up with Color Theory inks, spritz it with water and then slammed it down on the paper to create the splatters behind each one. Messy but fun!

The Studio Calico September kits are called Starlight and they're now available.
You can find all the stamp sets I've worked with as add-ons in the shop here. Which one is your favourite?