Holiday Cards 2018 - Pastel Penguins 14/50

Good morning!  How's this Monday treating you so far?  This is Thanksgiving week for us in the US, but instead of getting ready for Thanksgiving like I should be, I'm still working on my holiday cards:)  For today's card, I used two newish sets from My Favorite Things, Sweet Holiday Penguins and Hand-lettered Holiday Greetings.  Love, love, love the penguin stamps designed by Stacey Yacula! 

I couldn't choose a favorite penguin, so I used them all in my card and colored them with Copics in fun pastels colors.  I used the MFT Stitched Circle Frames to make a quick shaker for the sentiment.  

This card is number 14 towards my goal of 50 by December 1!   I got a few more done this weekend, so I'll post them soon.  I'm approaching 20 now!  Woohoo!

Hope you all have a wonderful week!
JJ

Holiday Cards 2018 - Falala Fun 12/50

Hi guys!  Another CAS Christmas Card today using the new Falala coverplate from Neat & Tangled and a silly dog from Mama Elephant's Yappy Woofmas.  Using a coverplate in one color is a good way to add a little something without it being too busy.  I love this coverplate!

This card is number 12 towards my goal of 50 by December 1!  (I'm such a slowpoke!)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
JJ

Holiday Cards 2018 - Snow Much Fun 11/50

Hey guys!  These 4 cards came from my very productive weekend!  I have 4 coordinating snowflake cards using the awesome Concord & 9th Snow Flurry dies and Snow Flurry stamps.  I absolutely love the oversized snowflake die!   I used it to make 2 shaker cards and 2 inlaid die cut cards.  All of four of them have a fun stamped buffalo plaid too.  These first 2 are the red versions.  

And here are the blue versions!  Which ones do you prefer?

These 4 cards make 8, 9, 10, and 11 towards my goal of 50 by December 1!  Half the month gone, yikes!  I'm behind but not still keeping on:) 

Hope you are having a fun week! 
JJ

Holiday Cards 2018 - Painted Nativity - 7/50

Hi there!  Just stopping in with two more Christmas cards!  These two were pretty quick because it's all about the dies.  Both of these pretty Nativity dies are from Taylored Expressions.  The card above has a simple watercolor wash background.  The sentiment is from Avery Elle.  

And this next card, I used a combination of blended Distress Inks and some liquid watercolors.  

These cards make a total of 7 towards my goal of 50 by the end of this month.  Still moving slower than molasses, but a gal's gotta have goals;)

Thanks for stopping by!

JJ

Holiday Cards 2018 - Watercolor Cabin 5/50

Sometimes it's the little things that can make you happy!  This is so true of this little stamp from Altenew.  Using my watercolors, I painted in some background trees and a bit of light in the cabin.  The sweet sentiment is from Mama Elephant.  

This card is number 5 in my goal of 50 holiday cards by the end of November.  I'm still running behind, but I really have enjoyed all my crafty time.  

Have a great weekend!

JJ

Holiday Cards 2018 - Sweet Nativity 4/50

Just sharing another card for my Christmas stash!  This card uses the nativity set called Away in a Manger from Hello Bluebird.  Such sweet images in that set!  For the background, I wanted something soft, so I used the Cityscape 1 die from Paper Smooches to create a mask.  I blended some Antique Linen Distress Ink over the mask to create the silhouette background. 

Still working my way to my goal of 50 cards by the end of November.  This one is 4 of 50:)  

JJ

Holiday Cards 2018 - Plaid Gift Boxes 3/50

Happy Monday!

Got a few more cards to share from this weekend.  This one uses the Avery Elle Gift Box Card Holder die, Concord & 9th Plaid Background stamp, and Mama Elephant Little Snowmen Agenda and Little Reindeer Agenda.  

Still working my way to my goal of 50 cards by the end of the month.  These 2 make 3 total.  

Have a great week!

JJ

Holiday Cards 2018 - Mama Elephant Yappy Joy - 1/50

Hi guys!

I've finally got the craftroom in the new house set up enough to do some serious crafting!  Now that I have a good place to spread out the mess, I can start working towards my holiday goal of 50 cards by mid December.   I'm a really slow cardmaker, so 50 is a lot for me.  

Let's start off my quest for 50 with an easy clean and simple card using some Mama Elephant stamps and dies (Yappy Woofmas stamps and Joy Ornaments dies).  Using dies with image stamps is an oldie but a goodie:)

I will keep posting my progress as I work through my cards and, hopefully, I'll get to 50!  Thanks for stopping by!

JJ

P.S.  I just got a new kind of ink to use with my coloring from Gina K Designs.  It is the new GinaK amalgam ink.  I really like it!  It's a deep rich black and it doesn't smear at all.  And it works with alcohol markers, watercolors, and colored pencils.  If you've been curious about it, don't hesitate to try it out!  JJ

Waffleflower October Release Blog Hop

Hi guys!

I've been so busy this summer moving to a new house, but I'm so glad that I got my craft room together in time to join in the Waffle Flower October Release Blog Hop!   

This release has a fun mix of Fall and Winter sets and some really cool 3D card dies.  Speaking of which, for my first card I used the Pull Tab Tree Die.  This die creates a 3D tree that lays flat for mailing, but can be popped up with a pull tab.  It's like magic I tell ya.  Here's a look at the tree laying flat.  I love all the Kamo kid stamps, so I couldn't resist adding a little one to my card.  

See that little pull tab to the right?  If you pull that tab, the tree pops out and you can anchor the tag to keep it popped up.  How cute is that?  

Speaking of cute, this release has another kid stamp set illustrated by Kamo called Yippee!  These stamps are irresistibly cute.  And so much fun to color with Copics!   They just make me smile:)  I used all the kid stamps in this set to create this fun card for my niece.

There's lots of other great products in the release, so go on over to Waffle Flower to see them all!  And check out the other release projects from these amazing folks!
Waffle Flower (Nina)
Amy Rysavy
Channin Pelletier
Rebecca Keppel
Nichol Spohr
Laura Bassen
Yoosun Hur

Did I mention the giveaway and bonus gifts?  To celebrate the blog hop, Waffle Flower is giving away $25 gift certificates to THREE lucky winners.  You can leave a comment on my blog and along the hop by 11:59 ET on 10/8/2018 for chances to win.  Winners will be chosen at random from the comments left on any of the posts on this blog hop and will be announced on the Waffle Flower blog on 10/10/2018.

Plus, to celebrate the new release, all orders placed by 11:59 ET on 10/5/2018 will receive a mystery gift (limited one per customer while supplies last).

Thanks for stopping by today!  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

JJ

Watercolored Aloha

Hi guys,

I want to share a card that I made for a friend of mine recently.  You know I'm originally from Hawaii and it's like a state requirement that you must embrace all things pineapple (and rainbows;).  Lucky for me, I have this super cute set called Stay Golden that was designed by Julie Ebersole for Ellen Hutson.  The hand-drawn pineapples in this set are super cute and are perfect for watercoloring.  

I started by stamping the outline pineapple stamp with a tan ink (used non-waterbased ink from MFT I think).  I painted it in with some yellow and orange watercolors.  Then I stamped the solid pineapple crown but used Distress Inks (Peeled Paint) this time.  I painted over the stamped crown first with water and then with green and yellow watercolors.   Makes the crown look like it was painted freehand, right?  

For the aloha sentiment, I die cut the painted piece with some alpha dies.  Instead of inlaying the letters, I adhered them with foam tape.  It makes them stand out just a little bit more, but doesn't take away from the overall stamped background.  

Now I gotta get this baby in the mail:)  Thanks for stopping in!  Enjoy the rest of the week!

JJ

Gingko Leaves Galore with Neat & Tangled

Hi guys,

Today, I'm on the Neat & Tangled blog today with a card using the Have Courage stamps and Happiness dies from the April release.  

First I stamped the background in a light neutral color.  When I stamp a full background, I like to stamp larger than the A2 card size and then trim down.  That way I can capture the frame I like best.  The great thing about the Have Courage stamps is that I was able to stamp a pretty tight background without any masking whatsoever:)

Next I watercolored the leaves in green and yellow.  I am a watercolor novice, but I have 2 tips that have helped me have more fun with watercolors.  My first tip would be to buy an assortment of paint brushes including the small/thin ones.  The second tip is to get watercolor paper (I get mine from Hobby Lobby).  I know that I'll never be a great watercolorist, but I really do enjoy it!  

I used the Happiness die for the sentiment on the front.  I wanted to keep the card from CAS, so I stamped the rest of the sentiment inside the card.  

Here's the finished card put together.   

Thanks for stopping in today!  Have an awesome week!

JJ

Neat & Tangled April Release Day 4: Inlaid Square Coverplate

Hi everyone,

Today is my last post for the Neat & Tangled April release.  It's been a lot of fun being able to work with all the amazing new N&T goodies.  Danielle and the folks over at Neat & Tangled are so sweet and talented, and it's been a blast!  For today's post, I'm highlighting the Inlaid Square Coverplate.  You saw me using this yesterday, and here is another way of using a coverplate.  I started by watercoloring a simple image of the gingko leaves from Have Courage.   

Then I used the coverplate to cut the image.  The key to making this technique work best is to 1) use a simple, bold image and 2) choose a die that contrasts with the image (the leaves have a natural, organic line which is a good contrast to the straight lines of the die).  This is one of my favorite types of cards to make.  

If you go over to the Neat & Tangled blog you'll see more coverplate action!  

Thanks for dropping by this week!  I do appreciate all of your kind  words:)

JJ

Neat & Tangled April Release Day 3: Happiness

Hi there,

For Day 3 of the Neat & Tangled April release, I'm highlighting the Happiness set.  These sets have a stamp set and coordinating die set.  For my card, I used the die set to create an inlaid die cut plaque.  You can also see a couple other new release items, the bears from Mommy, Daddy, and Me and the Inlaid Square Coverplate.   

This card actually started with the background.  I wanted to use the coverplate in a different way, so I used different patterned papers.  The resulting pattern reminded a bit of a lodge quilt, so I used more kraft and added the die cut plaque and bears.  I love that little bear lounging on his poppa's back!  So cute.

Click on over to the Neat & Tangled blog for more Happiness!    

JJ

Neat & Tangled April Release Day 2: Mommy, Daddy, and Me

Hi guys,

It's Day 2 of the Neat & Tangled April release and I have another set to reveal.  This one is called Mommy, Daddy, and Me.  This set has the sweetest mommy/daddy and baby pairs.  I made a little shaker card with the shaker being inside the conversation bubble.  

The background was done with three of my faves: Distress Oxides, star glitter, and mirror sequins.  How cute are those elephant stamps?  

Click on over to the Neat & Tangled blog to see the other cards done with this set!  (P.S.  There are some giveaways too)

Thanks for stopping by!

JJ

Neat & Tangled April Release Day 1: Have Courage

Hi everyone,

I'm so excited to be playing along with the April release over at Neat & Tangled.  The set being highlighted today is Have Courage stamps and coordinating dies.  The main stamps are gingko leaves, but I did a floral twist on the watercoloring. 

First I embossed the image with gold powder.  To get the gold highlights on the "flower", I used an embossing pen.  Then I cut it out with the coordinating die.  The circle cut out is backed with vellum for a softer look.  

Head on over to the Neat & Tangled blog to check out more ideas with this set!

Have a great week guys!

JJ

Floating Dim Sum

Hi everyone,

I'm back again this week with another dim sum card:)  I wanted to share this one because I used a technique using my heat laminator to create a floating die cut and glitter effect.  This one was a little hard to photograph because of the clear plastic.  

I started off by cutting a bunch of the dim sum with my Brother ScanNCut.  I love dies (obviously), but for cutting multiples, the ScanNCut is the best!

After coloring the die cuts, I put them through my heat laminator with a variety of glitter and stars sprinkled in.  This is a good way to add glitter to a project without the hassle or mess.  Here's the finished product after I die cut a circle out of the full laminated page.  

I attached the floating circle to the card base using foam tape (hidden behind the dim sum) and added a sentiment.  This is such a fun technique and I love how you never know what you're going to get;)

The stamps are from Mama Elephant and  Warm Fuzzies (Essentials by Ellen).  

Thanks for stopping by!

JJ

A Beautiful Mess

Hi guys!  

I'm calling this card a beautiful mess, because with die-cutting, 2 shakers, distress inking, and misting, this card sounds like a hot mess:)  Sometimes more is more, right?

I used one of my new coverplate dies from Neat & Tangled for this card.  I wanted to do a bold combination, so I used black and white as the base colors.  Then I added color with the distress ink/misted pieces.  I inlaid all the pieces except for the shaker openings and the sentiment opening.  

The die is Square and Chevrons Cover Plate (Neat & Tangled) and the sentiment is from Warm Fuzzies (Essentials by Ellen).  

Have a great week guys!

JJ

Just Stay Cool

Hi guys!  I've got another card to share today and it's interactive;)  Can you find the surprise in this card?  Here's a clue, one of these things is not like the other.   Did you find it?  

This card was surprisingly easy to do.  I stamped the cat first and then masked it to stamp the dogs which is one large stamp.  I had to use a pen to fill in a couple empty spots, but that's it!  It was so much fun to color all the critters.  You can definitely lose yourself in the coloring:)  The stamps are The Dog's Woof and Lunar Animals from (Mama Elephant) and the sentiment is from Warm Fuzzies (Essentials by Ellen).

Hope all is well in your part of the world and that you're getting some fun crafty time too!

JJ

Dim Sum Cuteness

Hi everyone!  I'm in a great mood these days because I've been able to get back in the craft room.  I didn't realize how much I've missed making cards:)  

So recently, I got some new stamps (not new-new, but new to me) and I couldn't wait to play around with them.  This first card was super quick and easy.  Just simple stamping with some colorful circles added with Distress Oxides and a stencil.  Couldn't be easier.  

I also made a mini card using the same stamps.  The background was done by blending ink over the card and then going over it again with the same color and a stencil.  Aren't those dim sum stamps adorable?  

The stamps are Dim Sum Fun and Sketchy Letters from (Mama Elephant) and the sentiment is from Warm Fuzzies (Essentials by Ellen).

I will be posting more cards later this week, and I hope you stop by again!  

JJ