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 - 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 - 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

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

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

Mama Elephant 2nd Anniversary Stampede

I'm happy to be celebrating Mama Elephant's 2nd anniversary with a bevy of fabulous folks!  Today is day 2 of a 3-day stampede full of fun, special discounts, and giveaways!  I'm totally in holiday card mode, so of course I used the new Boutique Borders set to create a wintery holiday card:)  The wide polka dot stamp in the set is perfect for creating falling snow!

To really get the look of a snowstorm, I stamped the dots onto vellum with white ink and laid it over the card base.  On the card base, I stamped and colored three little figures from the Alpine Carolers set.  This set was designed by my dear friend, Elena of Just Me Prints, and it is beyond adorable!  Here's a closer look the carolers bathed in snow:) 

Just for the anniversary month, Mama Elephant is offering some special deals!

- 10% discount code active for the duration of the 3 day stampede blog hop (use the code HAPPY2ME)
- purchases over $100 will receive the HAPPY EVERYTHING stamp set free
- purchases over $150 will receive the HAPPY EVERYTHING stamp set and HAPPY SCRIPT die free.

AND, as promised, there are giveaways!  Mama Elephant is giving away THREE $25 gift certificates each day of the stampede blog hop, for a total of 9 winners. In addition, there will be exclusive prize giveaways on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  The winners will be chosen and announced on the Mama Elephant Blog on Monday, October 20th.

You know the drill:)  Comment on this post, comment on the Mama Elephant Blog, follow them on facebook and twitter for chances win!  

Don't forget to check out what the other stampeders are sharing today!  I can't wait to see what they have in store:)  Here's a list of the Day 2 folks:

Julie Ebersole 
Stephanie Klauck 
Ashley Marcu
JJ Bolton (that's me:) 
Kathy Racoosin  Nichol Magouirk 
Jennifer McGuire 

Thanks for stopping by!  The next stop on the hop is the amazing Kathy Racoosin!!!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Goodbye Mama Elephant!

Yesterday was my last official Mama Elephant DT post.  No drama or crisis behind this decision, just a matter of not enough hours in the day!  I'm not as young as I used to be, heehee!

I have enjoyed every single moment of my time on the Mama Elephant team:)  Kryssi and Angela are amazing and I can't thank them enough for everything!  They took a chance on me and I'll be forever thankful:)  As for my ME teamies past and present, I couldn't be prouder to be a part of such a fantastic group of people!  Not only are they super talented, but sweet and fun to boot!      

Here's one of my favorite ME cards and it pretty much sums it up!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Guesting on the Mama Elephant Blog

I'm guesting over on the Mama Elephant blog today!  I'm sharing a this card I made with the new Sweet Havana set.  Go check it out!  

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant Stamp Highlight: Splendid

Hey everyone!  I'm back today with the new Mama Elephant sentiment set Splendid!  This is another set done by the fabulous Pauline Ibarra!  Can't get enough of that delicious writing!!!  This card is especially apropos today because not only is it the birthday of my twin boys (15 today!) but it's also my hubby's birthday (age withheld, heehee;)!  Needless to say, it's a very special day for me!

I put the sentiment on an angled panel to really give it prime billing.  Then I added some balloons and streamers from the Party Kit set.  The dies really made it simple to do! 

Thanks for checking in today!  I hope you get a chance to visit the rest of the DT to see their Splendid creations!!

Mama Elephant/Kryssi
Pamela Ho
Emily Leiphart
Nichol Ma
Elena Roussakis
JJ Bolton (you are here)

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant Stamp Highlight: Sightseeing

Hey guys!  We are chugging along with the Mama Elephant highlights this week!  Remember the new release is out now:)  Today we're highlighting the new stamp set, Sightseeing!  I'm a fan of anything England, so I'm seriously loving this set!  These stamps were screaming to be made into a shaker card...

The first step was to stamp the large bridge onto acetate.  I used Stazon ink (a must for acetate) and look how crisp it came out!  Inside the shaker on the card base, I stamped the flags (added the stripes with markers) and sentiment, then added a die cut bus and wheels.   I added a bit of blended ink at the bottom of the card base for the water.  Here's a closer look at the card...

To create the shaker frame, I used the negative cut of my Femme Frames Stitched Frame die.  It makes a perfect frame from an A2-sized panel.  I love how the acetate gives you that 3D look!  

Thanks for stopping in today!  Come back tomorrow for another stamp highlight and don't forget to check out what the rest of the DT has done with this fun set!

Mama Elephant/Kryssi
Laura Bassen
Pamela Ho
Emily Leiphart
Elena Roussakis
Geralyn Sy
JJ Bolton (you are here)

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant Stamp Highlight: Around We Go

Hey everyone!  It's highlight time at Mama Elephant!  The new release is out now and today we're highlighting the new stamp set, Around We Go!  This is the same set I used for the Stampede here, and this time I took a different approach:) 

I used the large wheel stamp and a bunch of yummy Mama Elephant inks to create a background.  It's such a pretty image and I knew it would make a great pattern.  For my sentiment, I used one of the new ones from the set Splendid.  This one took no time at all and I really like how it turned out!

Thanks for checking in today!  Come back tomorrow for more stamp highlights and today go check out what the rest of the DT has in store for this fabulous set!

Mama Elephant/Kryssi
Laura Bassen
Emily Leiphart
Nichol Magouirk
Elena Roussakis
JJ Bolton (you are here)

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant May Stampede

Welcome to the Mama Elephant Release Design Team blog hop!  Our newest release is now live and available for purchase in the store:

http://www.mamaelephant.com

Today, I'm sharing a project using the new Around We Go set!  This set has so many fun scene building stamps and coordinating dies too!  

Even though I'm not a big fan of heights, I have been known to white knuckle my way through a ferris wheel ride or two;)  That's the reason I couldn't resist pairing the ferris wheel of Around We Go with this sentiment from Wanderlust!   You know that feeling!

The coordinating dies for this set made it so easy to put together a fun 3D ferris wheel.  The bottom layer is the baskets stamped on vellum.  The next layer is the wheel itself dressed up with some Copic coloring and a bit of glitter pen.  The last layer is the die cut base.  I love the way they all come together!  Here' s a closer look at the all the die cuts together...

That's all for me today, but you know I can't let you go before I send out the...GIVEAWAY ALERT!  To celebrate the new release, Mama Elephant is giving away one of each of the new stamps released! Winners will be chosen at random from the collective blogs in the Stampede. Winners will be announced on the blog on the last Stamp Highlights day. You have up to 3 chances to qualify to win! Just leave a separate comment for each!

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READY TO STAMPEDE? The next stop is the wonderful Nichol Magouirk!

Here's the full list if you've missed anyone (and you know you don't want that;):

Jennifer McGuire 
Pamelo Ho 
Emily Leiphart 
JJ Bolton (you are here)
Nichol Magouirk 
Laura Bassen 
Geralyn Sy 
Elena Roussakis 

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Blog crashing over at Mama Elephant!

Today I'm crashing the Mama Elephant blog with a post on the new Hello Script die!  I've got one...

and two...

cards to share there!  I hope you check it out!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Simon Says Stamp & Mama Elephant Summer Garden Blog Hop

Hello, hello, hello!  I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!  Today the Mama Elephant gang is hopping with the fun new stamp and die set designed by Mama Elephant called Summer Garden!  This set is the another collaboration between Simon Says Stamp and Mama Elephant (which is always a good thing in my book).  I have a couple projects I made using these wonderful stamps and matching dies!  

The first is a card that I made with an angled panel.  For something different.  I stamped and colored the same images on a card front and on the panel.  Then I diagonally cut the panel and backed it with a strip of vellum.  Both stamped layers are colored with Copics (these images are perfect for coloring with pens and pencils).  This treatment is a fun way to bring a little something extra to a card without it getting super busy.

My next project are a couple of simple double layer tags.  This technique is perfect for stamp sets with matching dies.  I started by cutting 2 sets of tags using the Embellished Tag die.  Then I stamped my flower image onto one of the tags.  Then I die cut my top layer with the matching die so that the negative cut is directly over my stamped image.

Here's an easy trick for die placement; use the negative of the tag as a placement tool.  Put your stamped tag into the negative die cut piece (top pic) and tape it in place (if you're wondering I use this tape for taping down dies).  Remember to place the tape on the negative template not the tag.  Then carefully removed the stamped tag and replace it with the unstamped tag.  Now tape down the die directly to the tag (bottom pic) and remove the other piece of tape.  Now you're ready to put it through your cutter and the die cut is perfectly placed!   

Here's a look at the entire set of stamps and dies...

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 gift voucher to one lucky winner from all of the comments left on the blog hop:)  Who couldn't use that?

 

That's it for me, folks!  Next stop on the hop is Nichol!  Here's the hop lineup if you want to start from the beginning:)  

Stephanie Klauck ~ Simon Says Stamp

Laura Bassen 

Emily Leiphart

JJ Bolton (you are here:)

Nichol Magouirk 

Elena Roussakis 

Mama Elephant  

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant Photo Challenge

Did you know there's a new Mama Elephant photo challenge!  Here's a look at the inspiration pic:)

I was inspired by the colorful, translucent colors, so I pulled out my colored vellums:)  I love these papers and I'm *trying* not to hoard them;)  I used the Landscape Trio dies to cut a variety of "waves".  I layered them and attached them to 2 card stock panels.  The whole thing is lifted up over the card front with foam tape.  That way the layers really feel like waves and you get a bit of light behind them:)  The last step was to add a tiny bit of sugar glitter here and there.  I picked one of my favorite sentiments from the Everyday Greetings set.  That's really how I feel today!

I hope you play along with the challenge!  Check out the Mama Elephant blog for details:) 

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant Stamp Highlight: Everyday Greetings

Hey guys!  I have one last Mama Elephant stamp highlight for you this week:)  You know you can't have a  Mama Elephant release without a cool sentiment set!  Especially one with Kryssi's handwriting:)  For my card, I used one of the awesome sentiments from Everyday Greetings on a background of sunshine (a la Sunny Skies).

For the rolling hills, I used one of my Landscape Die trio dies.  Behind the green hills, I tucked in a sun that I created using acetate, sequins, and glitter!  To make the sun, I die cut a circle from acetate and folded it in half.  I filled it with sequins and my favorite hexagon glitter and machine-stitched it around the edges.  Here's a tip for sewing paper, especially slippery paper like acetate, on the sewing machine.  Put a piece of plain tissue paper under your project.  This allows the feed dogs (you know those nubby things that pull fabric through the machine) to grip your project.  When you're done, you can just pull away the tissue paper.  I promise this will make sewing your cards MUCH easier!

Thanks for stopping in all week!  I hope you found something you can't live without, heehee;)  Don't forget to check out what the rest of the DT has in store for this fabulous set!

Mama Elephant/Kryssi
Emily Leiphart
Geralyn Sy
Laura Bassen
Jenn Biederman
Nichol Magouirk
Elena Roussakis
JJ Bolton (you are here)

Mahalo and Aloha,
jj

Mama Elephant Stamp Highlight: On Point Borders

Mornin' folks!  How about another Mama Elephant stamp highlight?  Today, the DT is highlighting the background/border stamp set, On Point Borders.  This set has 5 different graphic border stamps perfect for adding a subtle texture to your projects.  I took the largest stamp of the bunch and stamped it in white on kraft.  I *love* how it turned out.  Nice detail without being overwhelming.  

Then I took the Stitched Frame die (from Femme Frames) and made a custom panel by cutting the panel once and then cutting it again across one of the corners.  I highly recommend double cutting or mixing and matching dies.  You can get so many looks just from a handful of dies.  

As you can see, I needed to cut off one corner so that I could pop in the little dinosaur from Just Hatched.  The "peekaboo" sentiment was a little long for the speech bubble, so I curved it to make it fit.  Before I finish, let's take a closer look at that adorable baby dino!  

Thanks for stopping in today!  Come back tomorrow for one more stamp highlight and today go check out what the rest of the DT has in store for this fabulous set!

Mama Elephant/Kryssi
Emily Leiphart
Geralyn Sy
Laura Bassen
Jenn Biederman
Nichol Magouirk
Elena Roussakis
JJ Bolton (you are here)

Mahalo and Aloha,
jj