a sweet shaker card with trinity stamps

My friends at Trinity Stamps have been celebrating their 4th birthday with a sweet summer release and I'm delighted that they have invited me to create a card with some of the cutest new dies. I'm sharing this shaker card on their YT channel and I would be so happy if you stopped by to watch!

Hugs!

Carly

mft sketch challenge 600

It's sketch challenge day over on the MFT Stamps blog and I had extra fun with this one because you guessed it, I made a shaker! LOL!

Here's this week's sketch...

And here's the shaker I made...

I placed an ink blended panel into a shaker pouch and filled it with clay sprinkles. 

Then to make the cover panel to go on top (and match the sketch) I used a rectangle die from the A2 Stitched Rectangle STAX Set 2 Die-namics set to cut a rectangle from the top & bottom. It ended up looking like a big white H.

After adhering the "H" panel to the shaker pouch, I added a cute little popsicle and sentiment with MSTN Pair of Popsicles Die-namics and Every Flavor of Happy stamps.

For the popsicle I covered the "fudge" layer in Glossy Accents and added clay sprinkles while it was wet.

Now don't forget that when you join in the sketch challenge (and I hope you do), you might win $50 to the MFT shop! You can find all the info about the challenge HERE on the blog.

Hugs!

Carly

stretch your dies with ebe essential arches

Do you ever stretch your cardmaking supplies by making DIY stencils? It's one of my favorite things! 

Recently I wanted to make a stencil with the Essentials by Ellen Sentiment Strips die but then I realized that it would just be a giant rectangle and not strips, LOL! So instead of making a stencil, I actually just used the die itself. I taped the die down and used blending brushes to blend right through it. 

After my success with ink blending through the Sentiment Strips, I decided to do it again the Essential Arches and check out what I made...

I used two sizes of the arch dies to ink blend arches on the card front. Then I topped it with the die cut frames.

I thought I was done after I stamped a sentiment directly on the card but I hated it so I added another die cut arch in the top corner to cover it up (see more about that on my IG feed).

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Carly

P.S. You can see that sentiment strip card HERE.

supplies:

affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. thank you!

Essentials by Ellen Essential Arches dies

Essentials by Ellen Casual Greetings stamps

Distress Oxide Inks Salvaged Patina, Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron, Picked Raspberry & Kitsch Flamingo

Black Star Sequins

mft color challenge 192

There's a new color challenge over on the MFT Stamps blog and this one was a huge challenge for me but I love how it turned out!

Check out the color palette...

When I saw there was no pink in sight I wasn't sure if I could do it. I'm kidding about the pink but I was pretty nervous about two shades of brown. But after getting out my MFT Kraft, Milk Chocolate, Lazy Day & Prickly Pear inks, look what I made...

I'm not sure if poppies are ever blue in nature but I love how these one turned out! And as a side note, why am I not using these gorgeous Perfect Poppies all the time!!!

For the poppies I die cut them from white cardstock and ink blended to add color.

I tried a few different adhesive when assembling and found my favorite way was to run the insides, middle & top layers through my little sticker maker and then stick them to the base layer. Just a tip...maybe sure to wait until the ink blending is dry for maximum stick factor!

After creating all the blue poppies, I adhered them to a white card with a kraft panel. I trimmed off any flowers that hung over the edges.

The sentiment is a combo of Modern Serif Alphabet dies and Itty Bitty Love stamps.

I hope you are inspired to join in this color challenge! Pop over to the MFT blog to learn more and thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs!

Carly

masking with glossy accents

Glossy Accents is one of my favorite cardmaking supplies and I even love using it for masking! I'm sharing a little more about it on the Ellen Hutson blog today and I'd love it if you stopped by!

Hugs!

Carly

a rainbow beach house card with mft

Are you craving a beach vacation? Me too! And while I can't really help you with the actual trip to the beach, I've got a cute rainbow beach house card to share with you!

I created this card with the MFT Stamps Beach Day card kit and a few other dies like the Sand and Surf and Cutest Clouds Ever.

I struggled at first to find a way to make precise rainbow stripes on the beach house. I tried masking (which is normally my go to) and then I tried Copic markers but I'm not steady enough to color a straight line, LOL!

I finally settled on making a stencil. I used the little porch die from the Beach Bungalow and cut it from a scrap of acetate. The opening was a perfect match for the "siding" on the beach house. I just moved the stencil down the house, ink blending the rainbow.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you have time to pop over to the MFT blog to check out more Beach Day cards (and maybe treat yourself to the kit)!

Hugs!

Carly

beach day card kit

Here in the PNW we're still waiting on summer so making beachy cards with the new MFT Beach Day card kit has been the best way to spend time!

The kit is available tomorrow but here's a little peek...

I love creating small-ish scenes so I die cut a circle from an A2 panel and layered the elements behind.

Make sure to mark your calendars for the kit release tomorrow and head over to the MFT blog today to see more about the kit!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Carly

mft's slimline challenge - rainbow

Calling all cardmakers!!! Did you know that MFT has a monthly slimline challenge and you can enter for a chance to win $50 to the MFT shop? June's challenge starts today and you are going to love the theme...rainbows!!!

I LOVE using rainbows on my cards so for this challenge I had so many ideas that I didn't know where to start, LOL! I decided it was a good time to use one of the latest MFT dies that I hadn't had a chance to play with yet, Chevron Stripes. Here's how it turned out...

The process couldn't have been easier! I die cut multiple chevrons...the set has one intended for A2 portrait cards and one for A2 horizontal cards but I just used both. And I used the thin chevron that was cut in the middle because I left my two dies attached.

I colored the chevrons with a little ink blending. The sentiment is from Itty Bitty Celebrations and I finished with a few star sequins.

Wanna learn more about the MFT Slimline Challenge? I hope you do ;) Pop over to their blog!

Have a great day!

Carly

a piñata card with essentials by ellen

I'm over on the Ellen Hutson blog today sharing a quick process video on how I made this piñata-style card. I hope you can stop by and check it out!

Hugs,

Carly

mft sketch challenge 598

There's a new sketch challenge over at MFT Stamps today and I'm going to sound like a broken record but I love the way these sketches prompt my creativity! They are perfect for when your cardmaking mojo is missing AND you have a chance to win $50 to the MFT shop! (Just so you know, I play along but don't enter because MFT already spoils me as a member of their design team.)

Here's this week's sketch...

And here's my card...

You know that this sketch was just begging me to make it into a shaker right?! Haha!

I ended up making my card a little bit simpler then the sketch...I guess I was feeling minimalistic, LOL!

I started by cutting the Balloon Builder die from the corner of white cardstock. I stamped "happy birthday" from the All-Occasion Scripted Greetings as the balloon string.

I blended Poppin' Pink and Orange Zest on a piece of glitter cardstock.

When the ink blending was dry, I put the glitter cardstock into a shaker pocket with sequins and sealed it. Then the balloon panel was adhered on top.

Then the whole covered pocket went on to a card.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are inspired to join the sketch challenge! You can find all the info HERE on their blog.

Hugs!

Carly

mft color challenge 191

Are you good with color? I have to say that choosing colors for my cards is not always my strong suit. I tend to use the same ones over and over, so having someone else choose the color palette for me is fun!

MFT has a new color challenge starting today and I couldn't resist joining in! Check out the palette...

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

Summer Splash is such a fab color for water but would you believe I don't have a wave stencil? Instead I decided to DIY one with the Mini Slimline Outside the Box Waves Die-namics. 

I stamped the sentiment and a few fish from the Ride or Dive set directly on the background. 

Scuba Cat was stamped, die cut and colored before I foam mounted it to the card.

I hope you are inspired to join in this color challenge! Pop over to the MFT blog to learn more and thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs!

Carly

essentials by ellen oval hoops

There is only one more day until the fab new Essentials by Ellen release is available in the EH shop and today we are revealing the new Oval Hoops dies!

Now I'm not a very skilled stitcher but the Oval Hoop cut from wood veneer paper makes my simple heart look pretty cute!

The hoops are also perfect for turning a simple sentiment into a focal point. Especially when paired with the EBE Piercing Plate!

Thanks for stopping by and pop over to the Ellen Hutson blog to see more and set your alarm for Friday's release at 9am!

Hugs!

Carly

mft sketch challenge 597

Does your week need a little crafty break? A little creativity jumpstart? Well then I highly recommend joining in the MFT sketch challenge! I love these challenges!

Here's this week's sketch...

And here's my take...

I love creating a scene for critters that is simple and graphic. To create my background I ink blended the bottom half of a piece of Sno Cone cardstock with Distress Oxide Salvaged Patina. 

Then I added a few stamped clouds with Salvaged Patina.

I added a few white stamped & die cut clouds on top, along with the sweet parachuting pair from the Parachute Pals set.

To create two sentiment strips with one long stamp, I stamped it twice on white cardstock in Sno Cone ink. Having two sentiments allowed me to have the space at the beginning of both lines so the sentiment looks natural when divided into two.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are inspired to join the sketch challenge! You can find all the info HERE on their blog.

Hugs!

Carly

2 ways to use the essentials by ellen sentiment strips die

Oh sentiment strips! A little strip of cardstock with a sweet sentiment stamped on it is one of my favorite ways to add a message to a card! So I'm obviously thrilled that Essentials by Ellen has added a stamp and die combo that make it impossibly easy to stamp & cut a bunch of sentiment strips.

And as I was playing with these new goodies, I found a couple of different ways to use the strips too!

You can use the strips to create a fun & dimensional look...

For this card I die cut white cardstock with the Sentiment Strips die and then swiped them with various ink pads to add color. For some I adhered layers together to get various heights. Then I adhered them all to a card. 

Or you can even use the actual metal die as a stencil and do a little ink blending...

I actually used some low-tack tape to hold the metal die down while I ink blended. After I just wiped the excess ink off the die, easey peasy! And of course I topped it with a sentiment strip!

Thanks for stopping by and pop over to the Ellen Hutson blog to see more and mark your calendar for Friday's release!

Hugs!

Carly

sending rainbows with mft stamps

Don't you love the idea of sending sunshine & rainbows to a friend? I'm hoping to do just that with my latest card...

This simple shaker card has a little extra sparkle! After ink blending the background, I topped it with glimmer paste.

The shaker window is the rainbow from the Rainbow Critters set (from the new June release). After adhering acetate behind the window, I stamped the coordinating rainbow image on the acetate with StazOn solvent ink.

To finish I added little clouds, a few star sequins and a little black splatter.

Thanks for stopping by!

Carly

P.S. See more cardmaking goodies and inspiration on the MFT blog!