essentials by ellen: mix it up with waffle flower crafts

Hello there!  I'm playing along with a couple of challenges today.  The first is the Essentials by Ellen Mix It Up Challenge, where we are combining Essentials by Ellen and Waffle Flower Crafts products.

The second challenge is CAS(E) this Sketch, where we are using the following layout.

Putting together the two challenges, I made this...

For my card, I used the Wild Garden dies for the flowers. The sentiment comes from Balloon Messages.

Thanks for taking a look!

essentials by ellen: march pin-sights challenge

Oh my goodness, I am so excited to be a guest designer for the Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights Challenge!!!  I have adored the line of Essentials by Ellen products since their first release, so this really is an honor.

The Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights challenge is a monthly challenge inspired by Pinterest photos.  Here is the Pinterest board to serve as our inspiration:

I was inspired by the lighter greens and golden accents in the Pinterest board, and put together this card:

To make this card, first I die-cut, stamped, and colored the bear (in that order).  Then I stamped, colored and die cut all the accessories (again, in that order).  I wanted the bear to have a picnic basket full of green apples, so I colored some ice cream cones green.  They will later be positioned to look like apples.

Next, I played around with the placement of each element.  In this arrangement, I thought about making the bear a little shy by having him hide behind the flowers...

I then decided on this placement below.  Note, the ice cream cones were glued behind the basket so that they look like apples.

To bring the light green and gold together, I masked off part of the card and then blended in green ink.  Then I removed the masking tape and put it over the green ink that I had just applied.  I then lightly blended some yellow/gold to look like a little sunshiny glow.  I stamped and colored in the sentiment and finally adhered the bear and accessories with a combo of glue and foam tape.

And there you have it.  A little bear with apples and honey, ready to go on a picnic!  

I hope you get inspired by the Pinterest board, too, and play along with us.  A random challenge participant will receive a $50 gift certificate to the Ellen Hutson store (woo hoo!!!).  To be eligible, you MUST use Essentials by Ellen products and the Pinterest photo board as inspiration.   And you have to link up your creation using the inlinkz button on the challenge post.

Have fun!  And, thank you for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps: Essentials by Ellen All Inside and Bear Ware

Dies: Essentials by Ellen All Inside and Bear Ware

Inks: Copic markers in assorted colors; Mama Elephant Mojito and Buttercup; Memento Tuxedo Black

Other: Tombo glue; Scotch foam tape

essentials by ellen: mix it up challenge with paper smooches

It's been a loooong time since I crafted and entered a challenge, but I'm really hoping to get my groove back.  Here's a card I put together for the Essentials by Ellen Mix It Up Challenge.  This challenge has us mixing Essentials by Ellen and Paper Smooches products.

Thank you for taking a look!

Supplies:

Dies: Essentials by Ellen Wild Garden; Paper Smooches Get Well Phrase

essentials by ellen: take 3

Hey there!  I’m submitting my third and final card for the Ellen Hutson’s call for artists.  Here it is:

For this card, I used a sentiment from Mama Elephant’s GoodTimes stamp set.  I paired up the little critter from Mama Elephant’s Rowdy Raccoons with the sun from Essential byEllen’s All Inside.  I loved the way the raccoon and sun have the same smug expression, kind of like they’re besties sharing an inside joke or something.

First, I stamped the images on cardstock and colored them in with Copic markers.

Next, I die-cut the images using the corresponding dies: Mama Elephant’s Rowdy Raccoons creative cuts and Essential by Ellen’s AllInside dies.

For the watercolor background, I used a combination of Derwent Inktense pencils and Tim Holtz distress inks.  I also painted in some hearts using the Inktense pencils.  Lastly, after the background was dry, I stamped the sentiment and adhered the images on the card with foam adhesive.

Thank you so much for taking a look!

essentials by ellen: all inside

Hello, hello!  I'm here submitting another entry into Essential by Ellen's call for guest artists.  Here's my entry.

I used Essential by Ellen's All Inside stamps and dies...I really love the bear!  I also used Mama Elephant's So Breezy stamp set (just for the "wishing you" part of sentiment).

Since I wanted to play around more with the All Inside set, I grabbed a couple of my other Mama Elephant stamp sets and made a couple more.   They both use Mama Elephant's In My Heart and Many Thanks stamp sets.

All of the cards together...

Thanks for taking a look!

Other supplies used:
Inks: Copic markers; Mama Elephant (buttercup, lemongrass); Memento (tuxedo black); Tim Holtz distress (peacock feathers); Versafine (onyx black)

essentials by ellen: pin-sights challenge

Hi there!  I'm sharing a card that I made using the Wild Garden dies by Essentials by Ellen. The sentiment comes from Mama Elephant's Many Thanks, which I know I've said before, is my most frequently used stamp set ever.

To make this card, I die cut the flowers and leaves from scraps of colored cardstock samples that I've had for over 2 years (hoard much?).  I stamped and cut out the sentiment.  Then I adhered everything down to the card base using glue and foam tape.  Lastly, I glued on a few black sequins to match the banner.  With minimal stamping and basic techniques, this card could be mass produced quite easily.

I'm submitting this to the Essentials by Ellen's pin-sights challenge, or rather call for guest designers. Fingers crossed my card will catch someone's eye!

Thanks for stopping by.

essentials by ellen july mix it up challenge: paper smooches

I had a lot of fun with this card, which I made for the Essentials by Ellen July Mix it Up Challenge with Paper Smooches.  This card is so me...It's so old school:)

For some inspiration, I was actually listening to 80s music while painting these cassette tapes.  Here are some other layouts I tried out.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Paper Smooches Beboppin'
Dies: Essentials by Ellen Zipper Panel Die
Inks: Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors; Ranger Archival (jet black)
Other: sequins

essentials by ellen: may mix it up challenge

I know that its graduation season when folks start asking me for congrats cards.  Here’s one of them.

This card is being entered into the Essentials by Ellen Mix it Up Challenge, where we paired up EBE products with Avery Elle, a stamp line that I really dig.  I had the opportunity to be on the AEI♥U Challenge team a little while ago and I must say, not only is Jamie a sweetheart, but her products are made with great detail and heart.  I was so happy to play along with this challenge.

My congrats card was made for a proud mother to give to her son on his graduation day.  She ordered a “money lei” from my Etsy shop and requested everything be in her son’s school colors: blue, silver, and black.

The money lei, inspired by Hawaiian flower leis, was made out of 100 one-dollar bills…some floral wire, ribbon, and a whole bunch of Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher staples.  I LOVE that thing!

Congrats to all the graduates out there! Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps: Avery Elle Fabulous Florals

Dies: Essential by Ellen -  Home and Hearth, Zipper Panel

Inks: Mama Elephant (ocean); Memento (tuxedo black); Wink of Stella glitter brush (silver)

Other: black glitter paper

essentials by ellen: april pin-sights challenge

Howdy!  I'm submitting this super last-minute card to the Pin-sights Challenge hosted by Essentials by Ellen.  Here's my card...

...which was inspired by this pretty mood board.

I was inspired by the color palette and the polka dots mostly.

I used the Congrats die that came with the Essential by Ellen zipper panel as well as the star dies from the Home and Hearth die set.

Fingers crossed that my card will be picked for the $50 gift card to Ellen Hutson.  I just saw the Essentials by Ellen spring release and I want everything!  Every darn thing! Ha!

Thanks for looking:)

Supplies:
Dies: Essentials by Ellen - Zipper Panel, Home and Hearth
Other: patterned paper

treat yoself

I used one of my current favorite dies, the Treat Yoself die by Essentials by Ellen, to make this card...

The little heart embellishments are from Heart and Hearth, also from Essentials by Ellen.  And, the triangles are from a Kelly Purkey craft die I purchased from Simon Says Stamp.  I think that craft die is no longer available.

I made this card using a bunch of paper scraps that I've seemed to accumulate over time.  My goal is to use my paper in different kinds of creative projects (cards, gift wrapping, tags), not necessarily to make room for more, but rather to share what I enjoy with other people.  Pretty paper brings me lots of joy, and I'm sure it'll bring other folks joy, too.

I'm submitting this card to both the Essentials by Ellen Pin-sights Challenge and CAS(E) this Sketch Challenge.  Here is my photo inspiration and sketch.

  

Thanks for stopping by!

essentials by ellen: mix it up!

I just got back from the most wonderful vacation in the the Philippines with my family, and was delighted to find out that Essentials by Ellen just launched a new challenge.  So cool!  I love the new products so much and use them so much.  So, I fought off my jet lag and put this together for the first challenge: Mix It Up (mixing Essentials by Ellen and Hero Arts products). 

 I mixed up the Zipper Panel die by Essentials by Ellen along with one of my favorite alphabet sets, Sketchbook Letters by Hero Arts.

This birthday card was made by one of my closest friends, Zawadi.  We were co-workers at an performing arts-based afterschool program back in the day, and became close friends and even housemates after that.  He's one of the most talented and kind people I know, and I'm fortunate to have him as a friend.

Happy birthday, Zuzu!  And, congrats Ellen Hutson's Essentials by Ellen on the launch of this challenge!!!  Can't wait to play along in future challenges.

Thanks for stopping by:)

ric #70: sparkle and shine

Just like a lot of other crafters out there, I was blown away by Julie Ebersole's new stamps that were released at the beginning of the month.  The new Essentials by Ellen stamps and dies have the quirkiness and humor that I really enjoy working with.  Here's the first of what I'm sure will be many projects using the EBE products.

The deer is from Essential by Ellen's Prize Stag.  I die cut it three times -- twice on scrap pieces of card stock and once on some glittery black card stock.  Stacked and glued them to each other for a sparkly embellishment.

This card easily came together with a small piece of patterned paper I made using Basic Grey's Tiny Triangles, a scrap piece of black card stock, a pinch of sequins, enamel accents, and a sentiment using Mama Elephant's Winter Wonderland stamp set.  I'm thinking it'll be a great card to mass produce for the holidays...plus it'll help me to cut down on my paper scraps (and make room for more in 2015!!!).

A close-up of the sparkly deer.  Oh, how I love him so:)

I'm entering this card into the Runway Inspired Challenge, where we used this pic as inspiration.

Pics like this make me miss having TV...Project Runway was one of my fave shows, especially the last part before the runway when the designers would bring their models down to the hair and makeup artists, who would often completely transform the look.  Pretty amazing, if you ask me.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps: Mama Elephant Winter Wonderland, Basic Grey Tiny Triangles
Dies: Essentials by Ellen Prize Stag
Other: sequins, enamel accents (black)