Card Front as Wall Decor

Happy Sunday!

Have you ever worked on a card or with an image thinking it is too cute or too pretty to give away? :-) :-)  That's the thought I had after coloring and fussy cutting this cute cute stamp!!! My first thought was to make an ornament using this cute image, but I've been dealing with this cough for so long, that I was just too exhausted to create something out of the ordinary, so I just made a card instead. But I decided to just make a card front and frame it, and use as wall decor in Winter :-)

I stamped a snowy winter's night (evening) background for the cute penguin family. The tree stamps I used for the background are from a Whimsy stamp set from last year (link in product list below). I first used a hand cut mask for the snow hill. Then I flicked some masking fluid onto the background. When it was dry (about 5 minutes later) I inked the background using distress inks. With the hill mask in place I randomly stamped the trees onto the background using the faded jeans distress ink, the lighter trees were done by not re-inking the stamp in between.

I matted the scene onto white card stock, then onto designer paper. The whole thing was then matted onto white card stock to fit the frame I used here. Finished off with diecut snowflake borders (also from Whimsy).

 Sentiment is from the set "Holiday Notable 2" and I cut it out using the matching die. Glitter was added to the hat and scarfs, in the corners and the snow hills. It's hard to see, but I added a little bit of ink for "footprints".

 

Here it is framed. The frame is from a cheap but pretty floral art print I found at Walmart. Maybe I'll find a nicer frame at Goodwill, but if not, I might decorate this one with some felt snowflakes or snowy sprigs from the craft store...

  Product used:

Penguins Carry the Tree,  Christmas Scene Builder

Holiday Notables 2 , Notables 2 die 

snowflake border die

(all of the above are from Whimsy Stamps)

distress inks (weathered wood, faded jeans)

liquitex masking fluid & old brush 

designer paper (the paper studio)

recollection 110lb card stock

xpress it blending card, copics

stickles glitter, MS snowflake punch

I am playing along here:

Hiding in my Craft Room - any holiday
Brown Sugar –  - Anything Goes
Crafting-With-Friends -  Always Anything Goes
 Crafting By Designs -   Get Ready For Christmas 
A Snowflakes Promise  - Anything Goes /Winter or Christmas

Thanks so much for visiting! 

Happy Stamping :-)

More Autumn Colors for Penny Black and More

Time for our midmonth reminder at Penny Black and More. Our theme this month is Warm Autumn Colors, very fitting for this time of the year. Still some time to join us and we have several wonderful prizes to give away. 

I used a cute stamp from the set "Critter Party". This set is available in my Etsy Stamp Shop, along with the sentiment set I used here. There are lots of other cute little sentiments included in that set, and some butterflies too :-)

Image has been colored using copic markers on xpress it blending card. The red heart button on the bottom is actually a tangerine shade, just a bit darker than the orange card stock. Not sure why it shows up as red in the photo. 

Here is a closeup. 

Products used:

Critter Party, Snippets

Button Die set (Whimsy Stamps), MS butterfly punch

SU card stock, DCWV and Basic Grey Designer Papers

xpress it blending card for image

sheer ribbon,  hemp twine, glitter

distressing tool

I am also playing along here:

A Gem of a Challenge - spots and /or stripes
My Time to Craft -autumnal colours
Alphabet Challenge -  R is for Ribbon 

Crafting-With-Friends -Always Anything Goes 
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Kitty Bee Designs -  Animals

 

I also wanted to share this card again, that I made and posted yesterday, but late in the day :-)

You can find all the details about it by clicking here - Inspired by Heather - if you are interested :-)

 

 

 Happy stamping!!

Inspired by Heather

Happy Weekend!!

I  haven't done much papercrafting this week because this nasty cough is keeping me up every night since Tuesday, and I've just been too tired to do much of anything, besides the daily chores. But I looked thru my pinterest boards yesterday and came across this gorgeous card by Penny Black designer Heather,  and decided that today I'd recreate the card. I wish I had half the talent Heather has...

I loved everything about her card, colors, design and all! I used similar colors, but left off the moon she added and instead stamped the sentiment in that area. For the white "snowflakes" I used masking fluid, as Heather did. I also didn't create the snowbanks on my card, maybe next time :-)

I accidentally picked up my memento ink when inking the stamp, instead of my versafine onyx. And I didn't notice until after stamping it, and didn't want to start over again. (The background was already done and it was my second try for that already :-)) I find versafine onyx works much better with solid type of stamps, as these branches are. I tried to color the fruits of the branch white, but it didn't show up as well as I hoped it would using a white pitt marker. Maybe I'll go over them again with white acrylic paint. 

The background was made by first masking off the bottom portion using torn paper. I then flicked some masking fluid onto the background using a paint brush. Then inked using distress ink and an ink applicator. Rubbed off the dried masking fluid using a paper towel, removed the mask and then stamped the image. 

By the way, this stamp along with the sentiment set I used here are both available in my Stamp shop brand new, in case you're interested. They are from the recent Holiday release. 

Product direct links:

Berry Bevy

Season's Gifts

I am going to play along here:

Crafting-With-Friends -  Always Anything Goes 
Creative Fingers -    Always Anything Goes
Jo's Scrap Shack -   Anything Goes
QKR Stampede –  Make Your Own Background
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Simply Papercraft - Always Anything Goes 

C.R.A.F.T. -Christmas
Crafty Girls Creations  - Always Anything Goes
Digital Delights by Louby Loo-Anything Goes
ABC Christmas Challenge -   'U' is for Unusual Christmas Colors

Hope you're enjoying your weekend! It's gotten chilly over here, but at least the sun is shining, which makes the beautiful Fall colors even more beautiful. Maybe I'll get my family to take a walk by the lake later today (once hubby comes home from work), to see the beautiful Fall reflections in the water. 

Whimsy Stamps - October Rubber Stamp Release Day 2

Welcome to Day 2 of the Whimsy Stamps

October Rubber Stamp and Die Release!

Whimsy Stamps has just released brand new products for October. Today is our second day of the 3-day blog hop, and the Design Team has some wonderful creations made with these new goodies to share! I  hope you'll hop along with us a for another chance at a fabulous Whimsy prize.

 All of these new products are available to buy from the Whimsy Stamps store and from selected Whimsy Stamps retailers. 

For today's hop I used the fun stamp set Holly Sugar Bells along with the new Brick Background.

She's been colored using Faber Castell Polychromos pencils on Bristol Vellum card stock. The fun sentiment on the front is part of the set. 

A little peek inside...

I used an older stamp set, also from Whimsy, and the matching postage die to cut out the postage stamp. 

You can find all Whimsy products here:

Holly Sugar Bells

Brick Background

Holiday Postage Sentiments

Postage Stamp Die

PRIZE ALERT ... We have hidden a fabulous prize of a $15 GIFT CERTIFICATE at one of the stops on today’s hop! We will draw the lucky winner from the comments left here and on today’s design team posts (listed below), so be sure to visit everyone and leave a comment at every stop to be entered into the draw. 

Michelle

Iris

Ellie- you are here

Becky

Bridget

Debbie

Shannah

Alanna

Shelby

Kristie

Faye

 Good luck everyone and happy hopping!!

Whimsy Stamps - October Rubber & Clear Stamp Release Blog Hop Day 1

Hello and happy Wednesday!

 It's time for the monthly Rubber stamp release at Whimsy Stamps and the Design Team is ready to show you some wonderful creations made with these new stamps!!

Over the next 3 days we will showcase 18*BRAND NEW* red rubber stamps/stamp sets, 3 new Clearly Whimsy clear sets, and 2 Shapeology Die Sets. All of these new products are now available to buy from the Whimsy Stamps store and from selected Whimsy Stamps retailers. 

Each day, for the next 3 days, we will have a new blog hop, showcasing more of the new release items along with a new chance to win.

Here is what I created for today. 

I stamped it onto Bristol Vellum card stock and colored using my Faber Castell Polychromos pencils, bended with baby oil. The actual stamp has some swirls around it too, but I fussy cut the tree, so they aren't shown here. The sentiment is from an older sentiment set by Whimsy Stamps. I inked the edges of my image circle using distress ink. The snow was made using Whimsy's stitched border trio die set. Simply embellished with some glitter and twine.

You can find the Whimsy products here:

Woodland Tree

Holiday Cheer

Stitched Border trio die set

PRIZE ALERT ... We have hidden a fabulous prize of a $15 GIFT CERTIFICATE at one of the stops on today’s hop, so be sure to visit everyone and leave a comment at every stop to be entered into the draw. 

Here is your hopping list:

Vicki 

Alanna

Faye

Iris

Ellie - you are here

Kristie

Cindy

Debbie

Shannah

Becky 

Thanks for visiting!

Good Luck and Happy Hopping :-)

See you again tomorrow for our second day of new release festivities!

I Just Love You

Good Morning and Happy Saturday! 

Hope you're all doing good and are enjoying some nice Fall weather. It appears to be a perfect Fall day here today, perfect day to take the kids to the pumpkin patch in the afternoon :-)

Today I am sharing a cute card I made for someone very special in my life.

The image was stamped onto xpress it blending card and colored with copic markers. The dark card stock looks black, but it's actually early espresso from SU. The hearts on the right side were diecut using an old cuttlebug die. Embellishments are a tiny clear button with some twine and glitter.

The cute stamp is part of the set Share a Hug , available brand new in my Etsy Stamp Shop. 

I am playing along here:

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Animals
Crafting-With-Friends -  Always Anything Goes
Creative Fingers - Always Anything Goes
Polkadoodles - Use a Die Cut
Crafting with an Attitude -Anything Goes
Crafty Girls Creations -Always Anything Goes

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Bokeh Technique and a Whimsy Die

Good Morning and Happy Wednesday :-)

I recently played with some watercolors for the dailymarker30day3 challenge, and created two "bokeh technique" backgrounds. I already knew I was going to use them with the new Funky Christmas Tree die from Whimsy Stamps. 

For the first card I ended up using only a strip from the bokeh background. 

The white card stock was embossed using a Christmas embossing folder. (Sorry, I have no idea what the actual name of the embossing folder is.) I simply added the bokeh strip and tree to the card, used a brad and some sequins for embellishments and then matted it with moss card stock. The sentiment from the Whimsy Set "Christmas Scene Builder" from last year's release was stamped onto a white strip of card stock and attached to the card front. 

And here is the second card.

I used shades of purple for this background, and almost didn't use it, because the colors don't look very Christmas-y. Then I decided to just make a non-traditional colored Christmas card. And instead of a gold die cut tree, I used silver card stock for the tree. Here I used the complete piece I created for my background, adhered it onto a white card front and stamped the sentiment directly onto the white. The tree was embellished with a silver brad (which also helps keeping the tree on the paper), and silver sequins. I used plum card stock for my card base.

If you are unfamiliar with the bokeh technique, be sure to check out youtube for some great videos. It's super easy (but messy) to create. You can use different inks for the background - I used watercolor paints and then white craft ink for the bokeh.

Today I'd like to play along here:

Crafting from the Heart - Always Anything Goes
Crafty Boots -  Gold Or Silver
Not Just Cards - M, F - Always Anything Goes

  

Have a great day! 

Penny Black and More - October Challenge

Good Morning and Happy Sunday! 

First Sunday of the new month already, and that means we're having a new challenge for you at Penny Black and More. This month we'd like to see Colors of Fall/Autumn. I hope you'll come join us for a chance to win one of the fun prizes up for grabs from several amazing sponsors. You can see the prizes and beautiful Design Team inspiration by clicking HERE.

 For my card today I used the beautiful stamp "Gathering Together", which is one of my newest Penny Black stamps. I also have it available in my shop brand new for US shipping. 

The card was super easy to make. I just created a watercolor wash background using about 3 different colors of watercolor paints. When I was done watercoloring the background, I simply flicked some more colors onto the background with a paint brush. I don't do videos, but you can find many how-to videos on youtube. 

I stamped the image again (mostly only the butterflies) and heat embossed them. They were inked with distress inks using 3 different colors again, then fussy cut. To complete the card I matted the watercolor background onto green card stock and then a white card base. I didn't use a sentiment on the outside, but stamped a verse on the inside.

I've seen my DT leader Brenda use this stamp many times and loved the verse and font, so I finally decided to add it to my stamps. I also have one available in my shop HERE.

I am also playing along here:

A Gem of a Challenge - autumn
Catch The Bug - anything goes
Little Claire's - sept - autumnal theme
Penny Black Saturday Challenge  Oct - embossing  (heat embossed butterflies)
Scrappers Delights  -  Always Anything Goes
Crafting-With-Friends - Always Anything Goes
Creative Fingers -   -   Always Anything Goes
Fussy and Fancy - Autumn Colours
Pattie's Creations -  October - Fall or Halloween
QKR Stampede –  No. 159 - Anything Goes
Simply Create Too -  Autumn Splendour

 The Stamping Boutique -  No Design Paper
Crafting for all Seasons -  Autumnal Hues

Mod Squad Challenge - W, F - Anything With Wings
Deep Ocean Challenge- Autumn

Thanks for visiting!

Have a great day!! 

PS: I just created a FB page Ellibelle's Cards and Stamps. Click link if you'd like to follow or "like" my page :-)

Christmas Kitty

Happy Friday :-)

I'm playing along again in Kathy's 30day-coloring challenge on instagram, where we are to color something - anything -

daily for 30 days. I don't know how well I'll be able to keep up with daily coloring, but I will surely try coloring something each day. If you'd like to play along, simply tag your coloring with #thedailymarker30day3 on instagram or you can link up on her blog (see link above).

I colored this cute kitty yesterday for day 1 of the challenge, and had time today to make a card. 

The image has been colored using copic markers on xpress it blending card. I used papers from Bo Bunny (I think) and card stock from SU and Recollection 110lb for the card base. 

The cute little sentiment is part of the set "Holiday Snippets", which is a fun set of many little sentiments like this one and some snowflakes too. 

Here is what the inside looks like (sorry for the bad photo, for some reason my camera doesn't take good pictures of the insides of cards.). The sentiment is part of a new Christmas sentiment set from Penny Black. I have it available in my Etsy *stamp* shop along with the cute critter stamp set I used. 

Products used:

Deck the Halls

Holiday Snippets

Season's Gifts

(all the above are available in my Stamp Shop)

Jingle Bells Die (Whimsy Stamps)

SU, recollections CS, Bo Bunny designer papers

glitter, ribbon, copics for coloring

The card is listed for sale in my Etsy *card* shop. 

I am playing along here:

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Animals
Crafting-With-Friends - Always Anything Goes
Simply Papercraft - Always Anything Goes
 Aud Sentiments Challenge- 141 Christmas (+ a sentiment)
Fab 'n' Funky - Anything Christmas
A Snowflakes Promise - Winter or Christmas Themed  

 

Thanks for visiting! I hope to be back tomorrow with a card made with the image I colored up today. If you'd like to see which image it is, click on my instagram logo on my sidebar to see :-)

Candy Cane Bear

Happy Thursday! Hope you're all doing good and are enjoying some nice Fall weather. Beautiful sunny  but windy day here today. Definitely Fall!

Yesterday I had some time to ink up and color a new Christmas stamp from Whimsy stamps, and I even had time to create this card :-) Always happy when that happens as usually I do my coloring on one day and then make the card another day.  

The image has been colored with copic markers on xpress it blending card. Then fussy cut. The hill was cut using Whimsy's stitched border trio die. I stamped the image again onto the card front before adhering the image. The cute sentiment is from an older Whimsy set "mini holiday postmarks". I used the matching mini postage die to cut it out. Embellished with glitter and gold cord. And I used a white Faber Castell Pitt marker to make snowflakes on the blue paper. 

Products used:

Candy Cane Bear

Mini Holiday Postage sentiments

Mini Postage die

Stitched Border Trio die set

Contest Ribbon die set 

(the above are all from Whimsy Stamps)

I also used

SU cardstock and designer paper,

 xpress it blending card, neenah

 gold cord, stickles glitter 

I am playing along here:

Aud Sentiments Challenge -Christmas (+ a sentiment)

Crafting with an Attitude - Anything Goes
Southern Girls -Whimsical, Cute & or Fun
Addicted to Stamps and More -  CAS
Fab 'n' Funky -  Anything Christmas
Inspiration Destination - Always Anything Goes  A Snowflakes Promise - Winter or Christmas Themed

Thanks for stopping by!