August New Release Hop

Hey Divas welcome to my little corner of the world! Today I am participating in Day One of Craftin Desert Divas Designing August New Release Two Day Blog Hop.

This is such an exciting time! I've had the pleasure of seeing what all the lovely Divas on the Digi Design Team have been working on and I'm excited for you all to see what they have in store. Before I continue I am just going to tell you now that you are going to want ALL of the Digi Stamps in this month's release. You want to know how I know this? Because I had to have them all as well. I can't wait to play with all of them soon.

Since you're here I thought I would share a couple of my creations using the Tribal Bear and Tribal Lion in this month's Digi Release.

For my first card I am using Craftin Desert Divas Tribal Bear Digi Stamp and images from their Outdoor Camping Digi Stamp Set.

Tribal Bear Digi Stamp Set

Outdoor Camping Digi Stamp Set

I was inspired by this painting I found in a Pinterest search. I thought this would make a great backdrop to an "outdoorsy" card.

{Photo Credit: Noelle Lewis}

I started by using some Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock cut down to 4" x 5.25". Next I pulled out my Distress Oxide Inks and starting at the bottom I sponged on some Evergreen Bough, then blended in my next color Faded Jeans, and finished it by adding Black Soot at the top of the panel and down some of the edges. I added "stars" by splattering some white gouache paint and some Dr. Ph. Martin's Iridescent Silver.  While my back panel was drying, I pulled out my Cricut and cut out my little tent and trees from a free file I found online and stuck that sucker on my card panel. I colored in the flashlight, sleeping bag, log, and binoculars from the Outdoor Camping set and the Tribal Bear and added them to my card. In hindsight if I had it to do over again, I would have cut out the tent from the Outdoor Camping set, other than that I am so pleased with the way this came out.

Supplies
Stamps: Craftin Desert Divas: Tribal Bear Digi Stamp, Outdoor Stamping Set
Paper: Strathmore Bristol Smooth, Black Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest 100 lb.
Inks: Spectrum Noir and Distress Oxide Inks in Evergreen Bough, Faded Jeans, and Black Soot
Accessories: Dr. Ph. Martin's Iridescent Silver, White Gouache

For my next card I used the Tribal Lion Digi Stamp Set.

Tribal Lion Digi Stamp Set

Outdoor Camping Digi Stamp Set

I fell in love with and wanted to use some Doodlebug Milk and Cookies patterned paper. I thought it had a "woodsy" feel and knew it would work great with the Tribal Lion. So I started by cutting a sheet of 8.5"x11" brown cardstock in half vertically so I could make a 4.25" x 5.5" top folding card base. I cut my Doodlebug paper to 4" x 5.25" so some of the card base would still show. Next I cut a piece of kraft cardstock to 3.5" x 4.75" and ran it through my Cuttlebug using Darice's Woodgrain Embossing Folder. I then went over the embossed image with some Distress Oxide Ink in Evergreen Bough. I moved onto coloring this super cute Tribal Lion Digi Stamp, along with a couple of the marshmallow on a stick, and a lantern from the Outdoor Camping Digi Stamp Set. I glued my patterned paper to my card base and then used 3M Foam Tape to pop up the woodgrain background. I cut a strip of my patterned paper 3.5" x 1" and glued it down with the alternate pattern facing up to ground my lion. I glued my digi images down and finished it off with some Wink of Stella and a white gel pen. Unfortunately this picture does not do the card justice. I loved the way it turned out!

Supplies
Stamps: Craftin Desert Divas: Tribal Lion and Outdoor Camping Digi Stamps, Sentiment is from Hero Arts
Paper: Brown Cardstock, Kraft Cardstock, Doodlebug Cookies and Milk Patterened Paper
Inks: Distress Oxide Ink in Evergreen Bough
Accessories: Wink of Stella and White Gel Pen

Don't forget to check out what's going on at the Craftin Desert Divas Blog and check out my other fellow Design Team Diva's works of art! I mean seriously these ladies did such a great job I am so excited for you to see. Next on the Hop is:

Angela
Claire
Anna
Joy
Caren
Janni
Ashley
Samantha
Natalie

Don't forget if you're like me and want all the Digis then you may want to sign up for Craftin Desert Divas Digi Stamp Club, which includes: Monthly $14 coupon code, Digital stamping tutorials, Digital Inspiration, Coloring tips for digital stamping!

Alright Divas, that wraps things up for me today. Until next time, keep on crating!

Designing with SVGs

Hey guys welcome to my little corner of the world! Today I am participating in Craftin Desert Divas Designing with Dies/SVGs Designer Creative Challenge.

I don't know about you, but I love me some Dies and SVGs! Today I am going to chat a little about SVGs, why I love them, and share my project using Craftin Desert divas Trat Bag Add Ons: Hippty Hoppity and Birthday Critters.

What are SVGs? SVGs or Scalable Vector Graphics are an XML-based vector image format for two-dimensional graphics with support for interactivity. When it comes to crafting this interactivity means it is turned into a cut file for use with machines like the Cricut Explore, which is what I own. My understanding is that SVGs can be used with other machines such as the Silhouette. There are several companies out there that offer SVGs for sale that can be imported to your machine, I got mine from Craftin Desert Divas.

While these files were meant as an add on to the Treat Bag Dies, it doesn't mean you can't use them for other purposes.

I saw these cuties and knew I wanted to make some mini note cards that I could pop in with a gift or into a loved one's lunch so I downloaded my files from Craftin Desert Divas and imported them into my Cricut.

I started a new projected and clicked on the upload icon to the left of my canvas.

This will take you to the next screen where you can upload your image or file.

And this takes you to yet another page where you can browse your computer or tablet for the file you will be uploading. 

The SVGs from Craftin Desert Divas all come in one easy to upload file. So all of the Hippity Hoppity critters are in one file and all of the Birthday Critters are in one file which is uploaded to your device.

I haven't made all the Critters into cards yet, I just started with my favorites. I opted to  leave off the birthday hats as I wanted to these to be all occasion, just because mini cards.

I added both sets to my canvas and then chose which Critters I wanted to cut out and sent them to my Cricut Mat. From there it was all about inking the edges, gluing my pieces together, and finishing them off with some patterned paper, white gel pen, and Wink of Stella!

For my Panda card I cut the image out of Neenah Classic Crest 80lb cardstock and black cardstock. I glued my images together with Ranger Matte Mutli Medium. I accented the Panda with a white gel pen some Wink of Stella, and did some light shading with Antique Linen Distress Oxide Ink. I made a 3.5" top folding note card and added some Doodlebug Cookies and Milk paper before adding the Panda with some 3M foam tape. 

For my Fox card I cut the image out of Neenah Classic Crest 80lb cardstock and some old rust cardstock from Stampin' Up!. I glued my images together with Ranger Matte Mutli Medium. I accented the Fox with a white gel pen some Wink of Stella, and did some light shading with Antique Linen Distress Oxide Ink. I made a 3.5" top folding note card and added some Doodlebug Cookies and Milk paper before adding the Panda with some 3M foam tape.

For my Bunny card I cut the image out of Neenah Classic Crest 80lb cardstock, black cardstock,  and some pink cardstock. I glued my images together with Ranger Matte Mutli Medium. I accented the Panda with a white gel pen some Wink of Stella, and did some light shading with Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide Ink. I made a 3.5" top folding note card and added some Doodlebug Cookies and Milk paper before adding the Panda with some 3M foam tape. 

If you have any questions about how I made these or about the SVGs feel free to comment below. Now it's your turn, go forth and make some adorable creations with these critters. Thanks for stopping by, until next time keep on crafting!

BIRTHDAY CARD STASH - DESIGNER CREATIVE CHALLENGE

Hey guys! Welcome to my little corner of the world. Today I decided to join in on Craftin Desert Divas Birthday Card Stash Creative Challenge.

Even with as much crafting as I do, I always find I’m in need of birthday cards. Let’s be honest, you can never have too many. This time of year I have a slew of birthdays coming up for various family members so this was the perfect opportunity to add to my stash!

I thought I would share what I do to streamline my card making process when I’m making multiple cards. I am all about putting cards together assembly line style. I like to do everything in groups. For example I will color all my images, then cut them all out, work on all my backgrounds, add my images, and finally add my sentiments.

For today’s project I printed out all my images from Craftin Desert Divas Space Cadet digital set, grabbed a lap tray, and spent a little time multi-tasking, in which I mean I was watching a movie with the family while I colored away. I’ve had quite a busy week, so to save some time I started up my Brother Scan N Cut and let it cut out the images. I threw all my images in a little container then set to cutting up a couple sheets of black cardstock. I knew I wanted to do a Galaxy background for these cuties but that can be time consuming, so I opted for the quick and easy galaxy background. I used my black cardstock and added some Distress Oxide Ink for some color and splattered some white gouache and some Dr. Ph. Martin's Iridescent Silver Calligraphy Color for “stars”. Next I added the images that were going to be flat on the cards with some Multi Medium Matte and added the images that were going to be popped up with foam tape; then added my sentiments. Last but not least I finished off my cards with some Fairy Dust and Lollipop sequins.

Project Supplies
Stamps: Space Cadet Digital Set
Inks: Distress Oxide Inks in Twisted Citron, Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet, Mermaid Lagoon for the background. For the “moon” that the cadets are standing on Antique Linen and Hickory Smoke.

Paint: White Gouache and Dr. Ph. Martin's Iridescent Silver Calligraphy Color

Adhesive: Multi Media Matte and Foam Tape

Accessories: Fairy Dust and Lollipop
I have to say that this was such a fun challenge and I got some much needed birthday cards out of it. Don't forget you can join Craftin Desert Divas Digi Stamp Club and get $14 worth of Digi Stamps for $7.

Until next time, keep on crafting!

Oh Deer, I C.C. what you did there

Who doesn't love a three day weekend? I did some crafty shopping, saw a movie, saw family, and put together a few cards. On Sunday afternoon I grabbed some of my newest C.C. Designs sets and got to coloring. I have to say I was surprised by how much time I spent coloring. I had thrown in an old movie for background noise, 2 hours later my movie was over and I was still coloring away. I threw on another flick and kept at it. Once I was done I set up my Scan n Cut while I grabbed my card bases, patterned paper, and accessories.

The first card I made was one that I have had in my head since I saw the set. I made a shaker card using C.C. Designs Fawned clear stamp set. I took some white cardstock and blended Candied Apple, Worn Lipstick, and Tattered Rose Distress Oxide Inks to make a gradient Ombre style back ground. Next I mixed up some Work Lipstick Distress Oxide Ink and a little of my Dr. Ph. Martin's Iridescent Calligraphy Color in Silver and flicked it across the front of the card. The picture doesn't do it justice, it's quite shimmery. I cut out the heart using Lawn Fawn's Outside In Stitched Heart dies. I cut a second heart out of some more cardstock and used Lawn Fawn's Grassy Border die on it. I used my Lucky Clover and Forest Moss Distress Oxide Inks to create the grass these adorable deer are on. I filled my shaker with sequins from Neat & Tangled and some mini hearts that I die cut out of some Guava cardstock by Lawn Fawn. I finished it off by embossing the sentiment onto some black cardstock using Hero Art white embossing powder.

Supplies Used
Stamps: C.C. Designs Fawned

Paper: Neenah Classic Crest cardstock, Lawn Fawn's Guava and Black Licorice cardstock, 

Inks: Distress Oxide Ink in Tattered Rose, Worn Lipstick, Candied Apple, Lucky Clover, and Forest Moss. Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. Versa Mark. Spectrum Noir Markers. Dr. Ph. Martin's Iridescent Calligraphy Color in Silver

Accessories: Neat & Tangled's Like Magic and Clear Sequins Mix, Lawn Fawn's Outside In Stitched Hearts and Grassy Border Dies, Hero Arts White Embossing Powder. 3M Foam

My next card I used C.C. Designs new Spring Pinkies clear stamp set and paired it with Honey Bee Stamps Hello 2x3 set. 

Ok story time... You see that super adorable patterned paper used to make the scalloped frame? I accidentally bought that. I have been an Amazon Prime customer for several years now, when you log on they usually have recommendations based on previous purchases. Amazon recommended Echo Park's Imagine That paper pack. I mean they weren't wrong to do it because I love it. What I failed to realize as I was scrolling through the product page on my tablet is just how easy it is to buy something using their One Click button. I actually didn't even realize I had done it, until two days later the package showed up and my husband asked what I bought. So yea, try explaining to your husband how you accidentally ordered adorable paper. He got a good chuckle out of it. 

Back to the card.. I stamped this cutie onto some Neenah Classic Crest with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored her in with my Spectrum Noir markers. I used Peacock cardstock as the card base. I used Lawn Fawn's Outside In Scalloped Rectangle dies to cut a sheet of that Echo Park paper and cut the middle out using my X-Acto knife. I used some foam tape to add some dimension to the frame and then I layered a piece of Mermaid cardstock that cut out with my Outside In Stitched Rectangle dies, in the middle. I stamped Honey Bee Stamp's Hello onto some Black Licorice cardstock using white embossing powder and then cut it out. I adhered both the sentiment and this cutie with foam tape and finished off the card by adding a few of my left over die cut hearts. 

Supplies Used
Stamps: C.C. Designs - Spring Pinkies, Honey Bee Stamps - Hello

Paper: Neenah Classic Crest cardstock, Lawn Fawn's Guava, Peacock, Mermaid, and Black Licorice cardstock, 

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. Versa Mark. Spectrum Noir Markers.

Accessories: Lawn Fawn's Outside In Stitched Scalloped Rectangles, Outside In Stitched Rectangles, Hero Arts White Embossing Powder. 3M Foam

And now for my favorite card I made this weekend...

This card was pretty simple to make, but I love, love, love how it turned out. I used a piece of Mermaid cardstock for the card base, stenciled on the heart background using Peacock Feathers Distress Oxide Ink, and then used my Dr. Ph. Martin's Iridescent Calligraphy Color in Silver to add some sparkly splatters. I cut a piece of Black Licorice cardstock and stamped this sweet sentiment from C.C. Designs Happy Sentiments set and embossed it using white embossing powder. I stamped out one of the Spring Pinkies onto some Neenah Classic Crest with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored her using my Spectrum Noir markers. I put it all together and finished off the card with some matching sequins. 

Supplies Used
Stamps: C.C. Designs - Spring Pinkies, C.C. Designs - Happy Sentiments

Paper: Neenah Classic Crest cardstock, Lawn Fawn's Mermaid and Black Licorice cardstock. 

Inks: Distress Oxide Ink Peacock Feathers. Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. Versa Mark. Spectrum Noir Markers. Dr. Ph. Martin's Iridescent Calligraphy Color in Silver

Accessories: Neat & Tangled's Clear Sequins Mix, Craft Medley's Rhythm 'N Blues Sequins Mix,  Lawn Fawn's Outside In Stitched  Scalloped Rectangles, Hero Arts White Embossing Powder. 3M Foam

That wraps up this post, until next time Keep On Crafting!

 

Spring Color Palette Challenge

I recently discovered that Honey Bee Stamps has a Facebook Group called  Honey Bee Stamps Buzzworthy Challenges. I adore Honey Bee Stamps and so I decided to give it a go. The challenge that just ended yesterday was the Spring Color Palette Challenge.

Just look at those colors, they scream spring! I saw this color combo and had an idea pop into my head. I used the  Blah, Blah, Blah stamp set and stamped various phrases in Distress Oxide Inks matching the colors above. I then stamped a couple of images from Coffee Break onto some Canson watercolor paper and water colored them using my Distress Oxide Inks. 

I finished off the card by embossing that absolutely adorable phrase from Blah, Blah, Blah onto black card stock and adding some sequins. 

It was a blast getting back to crafting. 

Until next time, Keep on Crafting!

Whale, hello there...

Good morning! Did you all craft your hearts out this weekend for World Card Making Day? If you did, I am jealous. I 100% spaced it. I made other plans that day not remembering what it was. I was curious as to why my Facebook feed was filled with extra cards made by lovely people in groups I follow. Then it hit me.... BAM! How can I not be crafting on World Card Making Day? Don't get me wrong I got to spend time with my family, but I am still kicking myself.

I did eventually get around to making a couple of cards to share.

I love this card because it was super quick and easy. The only bummer is that I did not use my MISTI or Tim Holtz Platform and ended up with a little uneven coverage. She's still a beauty!

Stamps: Whale Wishes Mini Stamp Set
Inks: Memento Paris Dusk, Memento Rhubarb Stalk
Paper: Kraft Cardstock, Neenah Crest Solar White (80#), Patterned paper of unknown origin (makes it sound mystical, no?)
Accessories: Red Grosgrain Ribbon,  Whale Wishes die

 My second card I made took a bit longer than I anticipated. The first one I made did not turn out the way I wanted it to. I felt like something was missing. This is when I decided to stamp several images in Distress Oxide Ink (Worn Lipstick) and put a piece of vellum over that. That pulled it together for me.

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Baked With Love
Inks: Archival Black, Distress Oxide Ink (Worn Lipstick), Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens
Paper: Kraft Cardstock, We R Memory Keepers Clearly Bold Acetate, Vellum, Bristol Smooth
Accessories: Die-namics Stitched Square STAX, Lawn Fawn Baked With Love dies

I would love to see what you all worked on for World Card Making Day. If you are willing to share, leave a link in the comment section!

Until next time, Keep on Craftin'!