Tea Thanks

 

I've been drinking lots of tea lately - it's been both energizing and soothing, not to mention delicious. It's not completely out of character for me, as I've enjoyed tea throughout the years. But I'd always stuck to my familiar herbal teas. Lately, I've been trying other flavors and discovering what I love and what I don't. Since I was feeling inspired, I thought I'd make a simple little card with a teacup and I like how it turned out.

I've been going through phases lately of wanting to do things in a very minimal (clean and simple) kind of way, and then bouncing to more complex/layered as a way to make good use of many supplies. It's very rewarding to explore different styles, even if I'm not always comfortable with them.

I think growth comes from pushing past our comfort walls and into places where we can explore intuitively. We get better with practice - lots and lots of practice.

We Flamingo Together

 

Today is my birthday and I wanted to share a card that makes me happy. It's an idea that's been in the back of my mind for a few weeks now, but I hadn't gotten around to creating it until now. And it turned out just like I wanted it to - which is amazing.

I'm not doing anything big today. Just a quiet day that I can spend on my favorite hobbies - which is a perfect birthday in my book. How do you like to celebrate?

Thinking of You, Spring

 

My favorite season is autumn. I love the cool weather, the rain and the changing leaves. In contrast, my least favorite season would probably be spring. Though similar to autumn, spring comes with seasonal allergies that make me miserable.

I recently watched a short indie movie about the different seasons. One of the things that stuck with me is how we're intrinsically tied to the seasons, on a spiritual level. If we celebrate each season as it unfolds, we feel closer to nature and life feels more simple. As I've actively worked on living and enjoying a simple and slow life, the idea of celebrating seasons really resonated with me.

This spring, I will try to celebrate the season instead of complaining about allergies. I will look to new growth and new possibilities of seeing my creativity through a fresh perspective. I'm excited to see new things I can try and master with a different outlook.

Thanks Bear

 

There's always a need for thank you cards, and they're probably my favorite kind of card to make (and the kind of card I make the most often). Any kind of scene can fit a thank you card, be it playful/cute or subdued and solemn.

For this card, I went with something simple - maybe even fitting a melancholy mood of a winter scene. I have a little box full of images I colored in the past that have yet to find a home on a card. I'm going to try and use them on the next few cards I make, as they make for some quicker cards.

Hello Flowers

I'm also working through my stash of stickers, hoping to use them up on some cards. Bold scripty words with stripes and florals just work!

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Sending Christmas Cheer

We are far from Christmas, but I thought I would get a little head start and make a card here and there for my stash. Hopefully, this will make the holiday season less demanding/stressful.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Rainbow Hello

Spring is here, and while I'm not a fan of the seasonal allergies (ugh, pollen count), I do enjoy using pastels and rainbows to make bright and cheerful cards.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Dragon Hugs

As you may have noticed, things have been a little quiet around here lately. With the Covid-19 pandemic situation, there have been a lot of changes - both for me personally and for the society as a whole. For a while, I found myself too stressed out to even think about creativity. But I'm slowly finding a balance again and hoping to get crafty and share what I've created here and there again.

My postings might be consistent for a while as I'm working through a backlog of cards I've made recently, but they might also get spotty again after. There is still a lot of uncertainty and a lot of time spent finding the "new normal". Hopefully, I can build up some momentum and get back to doing what I enjoy.


Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Special Friend

I got a small set of blending brushes for Christmas, and I really wanted to try them out. I went for a super soft barely-there blend, and the brushes are really excellent for that. I will have to play with them again sometime.

Note, this is my 1000th blog post. Queue small celebration, hooray~!

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Captain of My Heart

Keeping up with the nautical theme, here is a super simple little love card. I combined Birdie Brown's Mermazing and Party Like a Pirate stamp, along with a bit of inking over patterned paper. It's very simple, but I think it works.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Happy Heart Day!

Happy Valentine's weekend! I have spent this weekend doing a few fun things with my husband, but I did want to share this simple little card I made with nothing but patterned paper, cardstock, a die and enamel dots.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Yellow Hello

I thought I'd play with layouts a little bit today. I have a few squares of 2x2 patterned paper from a project and I've been thinking up new ways to use them (aside from a basic background for a critter). I think this layout turned out pretty fun, and I'm going to try to challenge myself to try a few other ways of incorporating those paper bits.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Rule with Coffee

Tuesdays are always busy and require copious amounts of delicious coffee to get through the day. I am eternally grateful for the coffee-maker on Tuesdays, and I thought it would be fun to bring this sentiment onto a card.

I kept things very simple, but the warm tones and a fun little pattern makes for a happy card.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Eely Like You

Thanks for checking out my card!
~Elle~

It's been Oolong

I just love puns, so - of course - I couldn't resist whipping up a simple "tea" card with a punny sentiment. It's been "oolong", friends, it really has!

Fun fact - I actually wanted to use this stamp as my "comeback from hiatus" project, but I couldn't find it. I think it's time to tidy my crafty stash again...

Thanks for reading,
~Elle~

Taco 'Bout It

As you may have noticed, I took an extended break from sharing cards over the past couple of months. It was for what I'd like to think of as very joyful reasons - a trip to Canada to visit my parents and brother, hosting birthday parties and dinner parties for friends and family, and a slew of activities and adventures that kept the whole family fully enjoying the season.

Now that we're settling back into our familiar family routine, I'm ready to head into my crafty space again. We're still a little time away from Christmas, but fall is nipping at our toes already. I feel a little bit rusty, but I'm eager to create cards for the upcoming holiday season.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Thinking of You Bike

It never ceases to amaze me how a choice in font can completely change the design and the feeling of a card. It certainly explains why I have so many stamp sets that all say the same thing (thank you in 54845687545 different fonts) and why it's so hard to decide which stamp to use sometimes.

I found this fancy "thinking of you" on a Hero Arts stamp and I knew I wanted to pair it with this patterned paper and a bicycle, but I went through a dozen options of ink and cardstock colors and bike choices before I settled on what you see. I like how it turned out, simplicity and all, but it sure took a while to get there. Does that happen to anyone else, or is it just me?

Thanks for reading,
~Elle~

Lucky Star

With how busy life is in the summer, I am finding myself with very little time to get crafty. I still feel that creative itch to make a card or twenty, but I only have brief moments to put things together. While I've got a few work-in-progress cards on my crafty desk, I also need to make sure I've got a few ready-to-go sets just in case.

This very simple card uses a die and a gorgeous font sentiment stamp. I've been trying to mix and match my supplies lately, and I really like how much it expands the usefulness of my stash.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Hey Chickie Friday!

It's Friday! And I'm sharing the final card in the patterned paper CAS challenge. Once again, quirky Paper Smooches chickie is adorable and the sentiment and font just works perfectly. I played with some contrasting colors here, and I like the bright palette look of the card.

~Elle~

Jawsome CAS

One of my favorite things about this card is the sentiment with colors that match the pattern and the shark. I've been really into colorful sentiments lately, and I think they are perfect for CAS cards with lots of empty space.

~Elle~