No One Measures Up To You

Good morning! The blog has been a bit quiet lately, in case you hadn't noticed! But I have been super busy behind the scenes - crafting, crafting, crafting - and getting ready for new releases and guest design posts, a new design team (eek! can't wait to tell!), and regular scheduled design team work. So, even thought you will start seeing all that stuff soon, it hasn't left me much time to work on stuff to share sooner! So here is a card from last year on the Splitcoast Stampers Dirty Dozen that I haven't shared here yet - a fun Father's Day inspired card!

I used Avocado Arts Just Fore You stamp set, some distress ink, jute twine, and embossing with my Cuttlebug. Pattern paper is from my Mind's Eye, with a bit of distressing on the edges of that as well. Finished off with a few Eyelet Outlet Enamel dots.

Thanks for dropping by! Hope you are having a great day! 

Guest Designing at Virginia's View Challenge - Embossing!

Good morning! I’m super excited and honored to be guest designing today over at Virginia’s View Challenge! Virginia is always inspiring, kind, and ever so encouraging to everyone that plays along! 

I made 3 cards today using this month’s technique – embossing! There are SOOOO many different ways to incorporate this on your cards, so I decided to hit on several! :)

First up, one fun technique I came up with – embossing on vellum in black, then coloring with Copic Markers to give a stained glass effect:

I used a Unity Stamp Company image from the February Kit of the Month – images with dark solid lines work best for this. Color quickly with your Copics for this technique, or the color will show lines – I think this is because the ink dries so quickly on the vellum! Here is a close up of the butterfly:

I also used one of my other favorite techniques combined with embossing – watercolors! I heat embossed my sentiment from the same kit on watercolor paper, then used watercolor paints to color around it. Finally, I also debossed the solid cardstock with a couple of Papertrey Ink Impression Plates

Linking this first one up with the current Simon Says Monday Challenge - B is for...(butterfly):

Next up, I started thinking about different ways to incorporate embossing, and it hit me – Embossing Paste! Since embossing is all about adding dimension and texture, embossing paste is a perfect medium!

For this one, I used distress ink to blend a roughly shaped square on the front of my white cardstock, then used white embossing paste and a Hero Arts stencil. I also love heat embossing my sentiments on black cardstock – makes them pop so well, and adds a great grounding to the cute little Lawn Fawn image from Let's Play that I colored with Copics and fussy cut out before adhering with foam adhesive.

Finally, I thought I would try one with good old fashioned dry embossing!

I used an older embossing folder from my stash that is just so classic. Polka dots go with EVERYTHING! Matted it with a pinked edge die from Avery Elle, added another adorable Lawn Fawn image with a bit of vellum at the bottom to ground it, then again, heat embossed my sentiment on black cardstock and hand trimmed a banner.

Also linking up this last one to the current Lawnscaping Challenge - Dots and Stripes:

Thanks for stopping by – and thanks SOOOO much Virginia for inviting me! I am truly honored! And I hope you will join along and play this month with whatever form of embossing is your favorite – or stretch yourself and try something new! :) 

Fox Christmas Pillow Box

Good morning! Just popping in with a fun project for Unity Friends with Flair this morning:

It is a simple pillow box to give a little something special for Christmas. Haven't even decided what I am going to use it for yet! I cut the kraft pillow box with my Silhouette Cameo, then I used Unity's Foxy Christmas stamp set, stamped it on a frame cut with a Paper Smooches die, and added some embossed vellum. Finished off with some May Arts ribbon, some jute twine, and an October Afternoon button.

Thanks for stopping by this morning! Have a great weekend! :-)

Unicorn Birthday Wishes

Good morning! I'm up on the My Craft Spot Blog sharing a fun little birthday card I made recently for a local friend for her grandaughter's birthday:

I LOVE how I can always find the perfect birthday sentiment in my stash of stamps from My Craft Spot! For this card I used Birthday Wishes:

I used some nice and bright American Crafts pattern paper from an older 6x6 paper pad, and my Silhouette Cameo to cut a round shape card, and that fun unicorn silhouette.

Added some embossing to the front, a circle cut with my Lil' Inker's stitched circles dies, and a bit of machine stitching to one of the layers. Attached each layer with foam adhesive for lots of fun dimension.

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day!!!

MCS Challenge - Purple Watercolor

{If you are looking for my Growing in Unity Day 1 Post, click HERE or scroll down to the last post!}

Good morning! Time for a new challenge at My Craft Spot, and I think this is such a fun challenge! Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with - the challenge is to use black, white, and one more color of your choice. I decided to use purple, and do a little watercoloring:

I started off with some watercolor paper, and added a wash of purple. I helped that dry quickly (forget being patient!) with my heat gun - which also helps the paper flatten out a little if you time it right. Then I stamped my sentiment using Big Sentiments, and Big Sentiments 2 stamp sets.

Next, I used some Heidi Swapp Color Shine to flick a few drops of black on the there, and added some Perfectly Purple Sequins. Wrapped some Black Jute string around it, then embossed some black cardstock with my Cuttlebug, mounted that on my card base, and added my front panel with foam adhesive.

Also linking this up with a couple challenges:

First up - Iron Craft Challenge Week - Difficult Colors (I purposely picked purple, because I realized that is a color I don't use very often - not sure why, but I figured I would go ahead and tackle it!):

Next up - Simon Says Stamp: Clean and Simple:

And finally - the Moxie Fab World Hip on Handwriting Challenge - since I used a handwritten font stamp.

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you will join our fun challenge - can't wait to see what you make!!!

Avocado Arts April Cards

Good morning! I'm up on the Avocado Arts blog this morning with a few cards using the new April stamp sets. First up, I have a couple cards with this set - full of so many amazing options for the beautiful women in your life! With Mother's Day right around the corner - this is the perfect time to make use of these:

For this first card, I heat embossed the flower on vellum with some pink Zing embossing powder, then heat embossed the sentiment in black. 

Tucked some fun pattern paper by Crate paper behind it, then added that adorable bird paper clip with a bit of jute twine tied on it. 

Finished off with some pink cardstock that I embossed with my Cuttlebug for some texture, and a generous sprinkling of bling!

Next up, I decided to stamp one of the flowers on some pattern paper from Crate paper. 

I also added a jewel bling to the center of the flower, stamped my sentiment, mounted it on a mat of cork paper, then added two colors of jute twine tied around it. 

Mounted it with foam adhesive on my pattern paper, also by Crate Paper.

And next up, I made a card with this new set - LOVE it so much! I can think of so many fun things to make with this:

For this, I stamped the triangle border several times with Versafine black ink on watercolor paper, then colored over it with watercolor paint. 

I used my paintbrush to flick some additional paint over the card, then stamped a sentiment from Wishes and Kind Thoughts (see below) and watercolored over it as well. 

I also added some Glossy Accents to a few selected triangles for some interest, before mounting it on some blue cardstock.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day!!!

Avocado Arts - Sassy Chicks for March

Good morning! I'm super excited to be sharing over on the Avocado Arts Blog this morning! I have 3 cards to share today - and lots of pictures:

This month's stamp set is such a darling and perfect set for spring...which I know many of us would love to have come soon!!!

For this first card - I cut a tag with my Paper Smooches stitched tag die, then layered lots of the fun images from this set on it. I love all the possibilities for scene building with this set! 

I tied some ribbon and twine to the top of it, then attached to all my other layers with foam adhesive.

All my pattern paper is from a MME 6x6 paper pad, I used my Lil' Inker's Stitched Circle dies for one layer, and I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on my white cardstock as well. Also tucked a doily in there - and finished off with a few enamel dots.

Next up I played with some embossing paste. For this one I started with a soft yellow cardstock, and used a stencil and some embossing paste to create a background. 

I stamped my cute little chick and sentiment onto a die cut frame that I cut with a Paper Smooches die, colored it with Copics, then added Glossy Accents to the glasses. I drew a line of Copics around the outside of my frame, using the included stitch lines as a guide, then covered it with Stickles for a bit more sparkle. Finished off by rounding off a couple of corners, then added some jute twine tied in a bow at the bottom.

Finally - I just had to play with that sunshine! 

For this card, I stamped the sunshine on pattern paper, then fussy cut it out. I added an angled panel over my pattern paper (from a Crate Paper 6x6 paper pad), then attached the sun with foam adhesive. 

I fussy cut out a flower from a little scrap of my pattern paper, then tied a bow with hemp twine and attached my flower over that. Finished off with a bit of bling on the sun to tie it all together.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a wonderful day!

Growing in Unity Day 2

Good morning! Today is the 2nd day of my week of Growing in Unity for Unity Stamp Company! In case you don't know how it works, make sure and leave a comment everyday for a chance to win 2 Unity Itty Bitty stamps of your choice at the end of the week. I will draw a winner from comments left throughout the entire week. 

Now...onto the projects! I decided it would be fun to take some of the fun Sassy Sentiments by Erin Schreiner and focus on those for the week! I will be using one sentiment two different ways for each day of this week, paired up with die cuts or other Unity stamp images. One more classy or vintage inspired, and one more CAS, retro, or modern. Something like that anyway! So, for today I chose the sentiment "SHINE BRIGHT like a diamond" from the set called Sassy Pants. Here is the first card I made with it:

I went bold and strong for this one by cutting the city skyline out of black paper with a MFT Die-namics Die. I layered it on some MME paper, and spritzed it well with Gold glimmer mist, and then heat embossed the sentiment on the bottom with Gold Zing embossing powder.

Added some black sheer ribbon, a stick pin, and a bunch of Studio Calico wood veneer stars.

The next one is all soft and pretty and girlie: 

I started off by embossing a piece of vellum with my Cuttlebug, adhering it to some Avery Elle Cardstock, and then spritzing with some Silver glimmer mist. I made the edges curl up a little, but I love the pretty effect it gave!

Once that dried, I added my sentiment stamped on a hand trimmed banner, some more wood veneer, and a few sequins to finish it off.

That's it for today! I'll see you again tomorrow for two more cards using another sentiment! Have a great day!!!

MCS - New Release Hop and GIVEAWAY!!!

Good morning! I hope you have been enjoying all the sneak peeks of the new release at My Craft Spot! And the day has officially arrived to see the entire release! If you just got here from Kate you are on the right track! If not - head on over to My Craft Spot to start at the beginning - you won't want to miss a stop - and as a bonus, there is a giveaway at each stop along the hop! More on that in a minute, but here are a couple more cards I made with the new release:

For this one, I used Cute Critters - the same sentiment I used earlier this week (I couldn't help myself! I just love it!) I also used some of the new Berries Jubilee Trendy Twine at My Craft Spot.

And here is another one with that set:

On this one, I also used some Vanilla Bean Crinkle Ribbon and some Brown Jute Twine from My Craft Spot.

For the second card, I used Postage Stamps, and the coordinating metal dies, as well as some new Lemon Tart Trendy Twine from My Craft Spot.

I don't have anything new to share with the other sets, but here they are so you can see them:

Aren't they all so much FUN?!?!?!? Now the fun part - here is the set you can win at this stop along the hop - just for leaving a comment! I'll pick a winner Monday morning and post it here:

You're almost to the end of the hop - your next stop is Sherrie. Here is the entire blog line-up in case you get lost along the way:

Kimberly
GiGi
Ally  
Gwen 
Robin
Kate
Heather (You are here)
Sherrie 

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!