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

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

Late Summer 2016 Essentials by Ellen Release Hop

You haven't lost your way if you came from Laurel Beard's blog!   

Hello, and welcome to the Late Summer 2016 Essentials by Ellen Release Hop! I’ll be showcasing several of the new stamp sets and dies on my post today!  It's always a fun day when I get to hop with the folks over at Ellen Hutson;)

My first card uses one of the 2 dies in the Sunshine Word die set by the ever-awesome Julie Ebersole:)  These little dies are so cute!  Using an inlaid die cut technique, I created little "sunshine" squares.  Because the letters in this die are all hooked together, it's super easy to do the inlaid technique.

For the background, I made a mask using the cloud dies from the Silver Linings die set and created some lightly blended clouds.  

This next card uses the new Stay Salty stamp set and matching dies.  These sets have all kinds of natural nautical designs with some fantastic sentiments.  Speaking of sentiments, the font on this one is awesome, no?  For this card, I created a little scene using the two sun ray panels of the Silver Linings die set.  Together, they make a perfect full ray pattern.  

The panels are blended with water-based ink and I stamped over them with Versamark.  Then I went back with a small water brush and "painted" inside the clouds and waves.  This removed the color just a bit for a bit more depth.  This card just makes me want to hop in a boat and watch the sunset with a margarita;)

I hope you are enjoying the hop and all the wonderful new release!  And, you know what?  I also get to give away an Essentials by Ellen stamp set!  Woohoo!  The winner may ANY

Essentials by Ellen brand stamp set  (Maximum value $25 USD) currently in stock at Ellen Hutson.com  To enter my giveaway, please leave a comment on today’s post by Tuesday, August 23rd!

There is also a crazy good GRAND GIVEAWAY in the CLASSroom!  To enter, be sure to leave a comment there, also by Tuesday, August 23rd.  

All winners will be announced at the CLASSroom on Friday, August 26th!  Please check there on that date to see if you are a winner and for further details on claiming your prize!

If you get lost along the hop, please visit the CLASSroom blog for a complete list of all the designers.  Happy hoppin'!  Now it's time to hop on over to Katie Brooks!

Essentials by Ellen Holiday II 2015 Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the Holiday II Essentials by Ellen Release Hop! I’ll be showcasing some of the stamp sets and dies from the new release!

Are you ready to see some fun new stuff?  You may see some stamps that you're already familiar with in this first card.  The stamp set, Autumn Acorns, was actually released last year, but now there are matching DIES!   Who doesn't  love a matching die?  These dies made it so easy to create this Thanksgiving card!  I simply stamped and heat embossed a bunch of the outline acorns and leaves onto watercolor paper.  Then I die cut each piece and used my Peerless watercolor papers to paint each one.  

I arranged them around a circle that I painted in a faint sky blue (and splattered with some white paint) and attached the leaves with glue or foam tape.  Here's a  closer look at the wreath...

For my next card, I'm using the new stamp set, Holly Jolly, and the new matching dies for the previously released stamps, Christmas Scribbles!  The Holly Jolly set has sentiments in the most fabulous font. And I love that the sentiments are so large!  I decided to use a technique I like to call stacked stamping where you stamp the design once on the card front and then layer it with the die cuts of the same images.  This is fun to do with a design that has both images and words like this...

I love how the bold sentiment looks over the delicate "scribbled" stamps.  Here's a side view where you can really see how it's layered...

That's it for me today, but before I go, let's talk freebies:)  I get to give away an Essentials by Ellen stamp set!  The winner may chose ANY Essentials by Ellen brand stamp set (maximum value $15) currently in stock at Ellen Hutson.com  To enter my giveaway, please leave a comment on today’s post with a valid email address by October 27th!

Here's a quick look at the entire new release...

BTW, there's also a crazy good Grand Giveaway in the CLASSroom!  To enter, be sure to leave a comment there, also by October 27th, with a valid email address; winners will be announced at the CLASSroom on Friday, October 30th!

The next stop on the hop is the Heather Campbell!  (If you're going in reverse order, the next stop is Laurel Beard;)  Thanks so much to Ellen and Julie for asking me to participate in this blog hop:)  Happy hoppin’!

Mahalo and aloha,

jj

Essentials by Ellen July Pin-Sights Challenge

I'm so excited to playing along with the July Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights Challenge!  Have you played along with this challenge yet?  It's super easy.  Basically, just create a piece based upon the Pinterest inspired piece.  For details and to link up your challenge card, go to the CLASSroom:)  Let's take a look at the inspiration, shall we?

I was so inspired by the pic that I made two cards:)  The first uses the Wild Garden dies that have been colored with blended ink.  I really love how blended ink has so much more depth than colored cardstock.  The background is striped paper (Avery Elle) covered with a vellum panel.  Love the contrast of the red, white, and blue:)  BTW, the sentiment is from the Fancy Thanks set.

My next card was inspired by that little image of a golden sparkler in the inspiration piece!  I used some stamps from the Bohemian Garden and Bokeh Dots sets to make a modern-ish fireworks card.  The sentiment is the awesome Brushstroke Peace die.  

Just like my first card, I used blended ink to create the deep blue color.  The "fireworks" were stamped and heat embossed in gold, white, and clear.  

That's it for me today!  Don't forget to link up your card here for a chance to win a $50 GC!  You have until July 31st to link up:)  I hope that you're feeling inspired to play along!  

Mahalo and aloha,

jj

Essentials by Ellen Holiday Release 2014 Blog Hop

Welcome to the Essentials by Ellen Blog Hop! We’re so excited to unveil a brand new line of high quality Clear Stamp Sets and Designer Dies, designed by Julie Ebersole exclusively for Ellen Hutson LLC.  This collection reflects an eclectic mix of images, sentiments and art styles that are sure to appeal to a wide range of tastes!  Just in time for holiday crafting, the entire release is available now at Ellen Hutson LLC.

How about a look at some of the new goodies in action?  My first card was done with the set, Autumn Acorns.  This set has the loveliest images of all things fall.  I love that Julie created open images for coloring and solid images for use alone or to fill in the open images.  For my card, I used one solid image and one open image to create this card...

To get this look, I stamped my leaves onto a vellum panel with gold embossing powder.  The panel is glued to the card front under the solid leaves and under the sentiment strip.  Then I colored in the open leaves with some Copics.  I stamped the sentiment using a mix of gold ink and deep red.  So fall-ish!

This next card uses the Twelve Days set!  Can I just say that I love Julie's style of illustrating?  It's fun and whimsical just like her;)  The images from Twelve Days are perfect for creating a chalkboard card.  Over the stamped background, I wrapped a vellum strip and added a die cut sentiment in holiday red!  The word dies are from the new dies set, Merry and Bright.

Now for something a little different:)  This release is chock full of beautiful and innovative products, and hopefully this card shows both sides.  Julie has created a new die (the Zipper Die) that cuts a perforated flap that can be opened to reveal a hidden gift card.  It's beyond awesome!  When I looked at the die, I thought how cool it would be to create a hidden shaker!  For the front of the card, I used a bunch of Distress Inks to create a winter sky.  Over the background I heat embossed the sentiment from the Brushstroke stamp set.  Now, let's talk hidden shaker...

Behind the Zipper Die flap on the card front, I created a winter scene using the Home and Hearth dies  and the sentiment from the coordinating Home and Hearth stamp set.  I went a little crazy with the glitter and sequins inside the shaker, but I can't seem to help myself, lol!  

Last but not least, I made a card using the Tis the Season stamp set.  This set is so Julie, and I love it!  Really fun images and the cheeky sentiments to match.  Speaking of cheeky, I used a combination of stamps from Tis the Season and Merry & Bright to create a bevy of ugly Christmas sweaters:)  After embellishing my sweaters (which was so much fun by the way), I fussy cut them and added them to a white panel.  

Here's a little close up look at the sweaters and that perfect sentiment.  Isn't this a fun set? 

I'm happy to say that I have one of these Tis the Season sets to give away!  Just leave a comment on my blog by October 8th, and the lucky winner will be announced on October 9th!    

On top of the giveaway on my blog, there is a GIANT prize package being given away from all the stops of the hop!  The fun begins at the CLASSroom!  Be sure to leave a comment there by October 8th.  Winners will be announced October 9th! 

The next stop on the hop is the fabulous Heather Campbell!  Here's a full list of hoppers so you don't get lost;)  

• The CLASSroom  

• Teri Anderson  

• Laurel Beard  

• JJ Bolton - You're here:)

• Heather Campbell  

• Kittie Caracciolo  

• Darlene DeVries  

• Julie Ebersole  

• Sharon Harnist  

• Amber Kemp-Gerstel 

• Cristina Kowalczyk  

• Karolyn Loncon  

• Nichol Magouirk  

• Jean Manis  

• Jennifer McGuire  

• Chari Moss  

• Paulina Nakamura  

• Jocelyn Olson 

• Catherine Pooler  

• Miriam Prantner 

• Julia Stainton  

Thanks so much to Ellen and Julie for asking me to participate in this blog hop:)  And thanks to you too for stopping in!  Enjoy and happy World Card-making Day! 

Mahalo and aloha,

jj

Ellen Hutson Giveaway Winner!

Hi guys!  I almost forgot to pull a number for the Ellen Hutson giveaway!  The winner of this prize package is #24 ~ Beach Girl 115!!!

She won with this super nice comment:)

Beach Girl 115, please contact me at ribbongirls at comcast dot net and I'll set you up with Ellen to get your prizes:)  Thanks so much for all the comments and I hope that you stop by again!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Ellen Hutson the CLASSroom Guest Post & Giveaway

Hey, hey, hey!  Just a quick post to mention that I'm guesting over on Ellen Hutson's blog, the CLASSroom, today!  I hope you head on over and check out a little tutorial on how to create a scored sunburst!   Here's a sneak peek of one of the projects:)  

Ellen has been nice enough to offer some blog candy that includes a sampling of the products I used in my tutorial projects:)  Cool, right?  I just ♥ Ellen!  So go check out the tutorial and check back here for a chance to win!

For a chance to win, just leave a comment on this post by Monday, March 18th, midnight EDT!  The winner will be chosen at random and posted on this blog on Tuesday, March 19th:)  Crossing my fingers for you:) 

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj