Hurricane is a comin!

 So my crafty store on Etsy is still open and full of cards for purchase! Every once in a while an order comes through and I'm pleasantly surprised! Except this time the card purchased was not in my stash so I needed to get one done quickly, exactly the same as the one on Etsy that a customer out of state purchased! Oh yeah and a HURRICANE is knocking at the door! 

Luckily I had everything needed to get this little guy completed and out the door quickly! Unity Stamp Co. Sweet Elle is my favorite go to for baby cards! Colored with Tombow ABT Markers, die cut using Unity Stamp Co. scallops & rectangles nesting dies. Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Love that I have everything handy and ready to go!

All in all, everything worked out fine and the card was received with rave reviews! Whew!

{BYSHC} Sketch 26 Challenge (card 2)

 Hello again! My second card for the {BYSHC} Sketch 26 challenge turned out better than what I had in my head! 

The stamp set for the wreath is by Unity Stamp Co. Graciellie Designs Cheery Christmas. First I ink smooshed a watercolor panel with some distress inks (evergreen bough, shabby shutters and forest moss....see my previous post). I stamped the wreath with versafine clair in Nocturne and embossed with clear embossing powder.  Fussy cut it out (so satisfying and somewhat therapeutic to fussy cut)! To add some depth to the leaves, I added some darker shades throughout with my Tombow Art Markers (which I also used to color the bow). I used the Nuvo Vintage Drops in Postbox Red to make the berries. The sentiment was leftover from a digital page I printed....it's from Angie Blom Digital Designs, called Hey Santa. I never throw anything away! Started with a kraft card panel, added the red and polka dot papers (from MME I believe collection circa 2010) cut per the sketch and then popped the wreath and sentiment up with foam tape.

my ink smooshed panel!

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Happy Birthday!

 I'm on somewhat of a roll here! I always need birthday cards, whether for my daughter's friends, my family, my friends....anybody! I created this by ink smooshing over an embossed image! The results are always amazing!

I started with a white cardstock panel, just plain ole 65 lb. I stamped the background stamp (from Unity Stamp Co., called Inked Florals) using VersaMark ink. Applied Gina K. Designs Embossing Powder in white over the top. Let the embossing powder do it's thing! Now the smooshing magic happens! I added some distress inks...one at a time....to an acrylic/plastic sheet, spritzed with water and applied it where I wanted the colors. Drying in between colors helps to keep them from running together. Watercolor paper may have been a better choice, but alas I'm out!  I used four different colors until I got the results I liked. After it was dry, I die cut it using the largest scallop die from Unity Stamp Co., scallops and rectangles nesting die set. This is easily my most used die set! I die cut the "birthday" background from a piece of scrap that matched using Unity Stamp Co., say it big die set. I cut 2 white and one glitter of the letters. It makes the sentiment pop off the page! Stamped "happy" from another set, blocked off the birthday part and only used the happy. VersaMark and white embossing powder again. I was considering adding jewels, but I think the background speaks for itself and didn't need anything extra!

These are the four colors I used.....started with lightest, then moved on from there.

Ink smooshing is one of my favorite techniques! It's so impactful and wow! Makes the backgrounds more of a focal piece rather than just a background! :)

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Make a WISH!

Today's card was inspired by a post on Pinterest! I purchased this stamp and die set combo some time ago, but this is the first time using it! The set is from Altenew called Balloon Bunch and it also has a matching die set.

I started with a plain white panel of cardstock and ink blended over a stencil. Die cut that panel using the largest scalloped die from the Unity Stamp Co. Scallops and Rectangles nesting die set. I stamped the heart balloon images in coordinating colors, then die cut with the heart balloon die. Added the strings, adhered the balloons and then stamped the sentiment on a scrap piece of black using versamark and Gina K. white embossing powder. I added jewels from pinkfresh studio to give it some sparkle!

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Sweet BOHO 16!

 One of my daughter's friends turned 16 and her birthday party theme was BOHO. Seriously, what does that even mean!? I had saved a post from IG that I thought would be perfect! 

I first took a piece of kraft cardstock and distressed it and ink blended it and added some word and mixed media stamping to give it lots of depth. The papers I used were literally scraps laying around, not sure of brand or names, just thought they looked "boho" and went together! LOL The red strip I crumpled and distress a little bit. The squares are cut at random sizes based on the scrap sizes. "16" was stamped using a super old stamp set and distress ink in tea dye. The white panel was cut using the smallest rectangle from the Unity Stamp Co. Scallops and Rectangles nesting die set. I laid them all down, added the twine bow (may arts jute burlap). "Happy Birthday!" is from a Unity Stamp Co. set called extended celebration was stamped using VersaFine Clair in Nocturne and popped up with foam tape. Added some clear bubbles and some roses to complete the boho vibe!

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{BEE}cause I care!

My daughter's dance team pairs up a big girl with a little girl each dance season to be big/little sisters! It's one of my favorite things that they do and the girls get soooo excited about the reveal, which happens to be tomorrow! 

I created this sweet bee card for her new little sister, Charlotte.

I started with a sheet of watercolor paper. Taped the stencil on (Heidi Swapp dated 2013) and started blending.

first scattered straw, then some mustard seed, then finished with wild honey. I then cut it using the largest scalloped die in the scallops and rectangles die set from Unity Stamp Co.  I also ink blended around the edge with the wild honey.

The bee is from another Unity Stamp Co. itty bitty set called {bee}cause I care. I stamped in grey, colored in the body with a darker grey and yellow (tombow art markers). I then fussy cut this little guy out and popped up with some foam tape. The sentiment was just typed and printed from my computer.

I hope little Charlotte loves it!

p.s. the wings are glittery! Used Nuvo Aqua Shimmer in glitter gloss!

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#alwayssaythankyou

 My son's 19th birthday was this past weekend (September 3rd) and as he was headed back to his college dorm, I asked if he had any thank you cards to send to his grandparents and his aunt. Of course I knew the answer was no. I started to make these cards with him in mind....but he left before they were finished! LOL Typical teenager! But as with any teenaged boy, they don't want anything too fluffy or soft or sweet, so grunge, distressing and brads were my solution!

To start I took a piece of 65 lb white cardstock, cut it into 4 and ran it through the big shot with a Tim Holtz embossing folder. I brushed some black ink over the raised dots to distress it some. The "hello" bubble is from Heidi Swapp (dated 2013), I've had it forever! Stamped it in Gina K. dye ink in tranquil teal, then die cut it with matching die. The thanks stamp is from paper smooches (no date, but it's old) which I've also had forever! Glad I've decided to pull out old stuff! Stamped it on black cardstock with some versamark embossing ink and sprinkled on Gina K. embossing power in fine detail white. I added some silver brads (which you guessed it....have had forever) to give it a more grunge-like look!

Well he didn't take these, but he may need them in the future, or they may go to any number of teenaged boys I know! LOL

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Ink Smooshing!!

 Ink Smooshing! Yes, that's what it's officially called! LOL The method of creating a background using water and ink/paint/markers to blend colors together for an amazing result!

This is my smooshed panel. I used a scrap piece of watercolor paper. Added some distress inks (evergreen bough, shabby shutters and forest moss) to an acrylic block (used for stamps) and added water! The ink moves around and blends as it's reacting to the water. The colors could be added one at a time and dried in between to make them less blended. But there is just about no way to mess it up!

These two cards were created by using some dies to cut smaller panels from the big sheet. I used Unity Stamp Co. Scallops and rectangles die set for this.

For the first one ^ I used the Insightful Meadows set for the floral silhouette. The sentiment came from the Cherished Holly Sentiment kit. 

For this second one, I used the holly and sentiment from the Cherished Holly Sentiment kit. I tied a bit of May Arts Twine around the sentiment for a little interest.

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{BYSHC} Sketch 26 Challenge!

 Really going to try and post more often....I've been on a bit of a roller coaster ride for a few months. My son graduated high school, grad party, family in town, my daughter had Dance Nationals for a week, college dorm shopping and moving in.....this momma needs some crafting time!!

{BYSHC} to the rescue! Sketch 26 is up and super fun!

I did get this quick card made before the moving in process started to get crazy! But as you can see, it's pretty simple. Just because it's simple doesn't mean it's not appreciated! Every card created doesn't have to be hard or involved, it just has to come from the heart!

I used an old paper pack and puffy stickers that I've had in my stash for-EVER! Date on the cover says 2010! Basic Grey Jovial.

Started with a kraft cardstock base, cut the center panel according to the measurements on the sketch. Instead of backing it with another piece of cardstock, I cut strips of the red and glued them on separately. The flower in the center and the "joy" strip were from a sheet of puffy stickers that were from the same collection. The red dots in the corner are Nuvo Vintage Drops in postbox red.

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