WFC2104W1 - Waffle Flower Challenge: Pastels

 

Today, I am thrilled to share a special card for a challenge with Waffle Flower Crafts. I was fortunate enough to take part in this challenge as a guest designer, and had an absolute blast creating my card.

The theme for the challenge is pastels - which is just perfect for me. I often use pastel colors and I love how they make any project feel dreamy and magical. For my card, I was inspired by the beginnings of spring all around me, so I decided to make a magical fairy card.

A little ink blending with white splatters and a spray of flowers and leaves pairs perfectly with two lovely fairies. I am so happy with how it turned out and please do expect to see me play with this fun stamp set a lot more in the future.

- Little Fairies Stamp Set

- Classic Sentiments Stamp Set

- Dots & Lines Sampler Paper Pad (Unicorn stripe)

- Enamel Dots - Up & Running

- Enamel Dots - Clearly Enough

YNS: DT Dare!

It's time for another Designer Dare! Your Next Stamp gave us a challenge to make something with the theme "Just For You" - a theme that's both wildly open to interpretation and focused enough to get those creative gears going. My first thought when I saw the theme was the upcoming Father's Day and making a special gift for dad.

Dads can wear many hats - from hard-working providers to strong "rock" protectors to goofy fun-loving best friends - and each dad is a little bit different than the next. Some dads love sports, others would rather spend their time looking through a telescope or playing a video game match. But regardless of their interests, virtually all dads always need one BIG thing -- Time. Every Dad (and Mom!) I know wishes they had more time for something. So, in our family, we've made a tradition that the best gift we can give to someone on their special day is plenty of TIME to do what they feel like doing.

This is where today's project comes in - it's a coupon book meant to give Dad some time to enjoy his favorite activities. It could be a night out with the boys, or a "no chores" break for one day. With the coupons and help from his family, Dad is guaranteed to find some time to do the things he loves.

To decorate the coupon book, I used the brand new Waddles - Bring on the BBQ stamp set. I loved Waddles for this project, in particular, because there's a big variety of Waddles stamps in the YNS store that can be used to personalize each coupon. You can find a winter-loving Waddles, a baker Waddles or even a relaxing-on-the-beach Waddles. With just a few sets, you can have an entire adventure's worth of fun activities.

This project is a great project to do with children. Your little ones can help you come up with coupon ideas, decorate the cover or even help write descriptions. It's a great way to get them involved in creating something special for dad without breaking the bank.

Head over to the Your Next Stamp blog to see more takes on this fun challenge.

Thanks for reading,
~Elle~

YNS- New Release Blog Hop!

This post is a part of the Your Next Stamp June blog hop, where we're sharing fun and adorable projects to inspire you into summer and beyond. You can play along with us by hopping along! The more blogs you visit and comment on, the greater your chances of winning a 25$ gift certificate to the Your Next Stamp store.

If you've taken a look at the Your Next Stamp store, you know that there's an abundance of my favorite type of stamp: cute - whether it's adorable critters you can't help but cuddle or boys and girls embarking on adventures, there's so many adorable bits and pieces to choose from. And then there's my all-time favorite gumdrops... I use enamel dots on virtually every card I make, and Your Next Stamp gumdrops are by far a favorite.

For my blog-hop project, I've created a bright and cheery masculine birthday card.

I played with primary colors - yellow, red and blue, and paired it with the simple sentiment and my favorite gumdrops! A little bit of masking and some creative trimming gave my card a fun edge that draws the eye to the sentiment.

The Handyman stamp is a fantastic set for any guy (or girl!) that loves tools, home improvement and fixing the many household objects we need on a daily basis. One of my favorite things about this set is that it has all the basic tools and you can choose whether you want to make them super cute by adding a smiley face or leave them plain. This adds so much more versatility, since you don't have to worry about selectively masking parts of the stamp if you don't want your tools to smile.

You can find the Handyman stamp right here. And remember, if you're quick, you can grab 20% off your entire purchase with this code:

Ready to keep hopping?

An InLinkz Link-up

YNS: June Release!

I was fortunate enough to be asked to guest design for Your Next Stamp again this month. I had so much fun during my last design spot that I just jumped at the occasion! June's release features a lot of fantastic stamps, themed for fathers, 4th of July and summer splash fun. For my card, I decided to use Splish Splash Fun - which has an adorable kitten and her toad friend playing in a pond.

I used my favorite summer template - bright blues, warms yellow and a touch of red. I echoed my palette through some patterned paper, a sunny card base and polkadot ribbon. As a decorative touch, I added a few of the sparkly gumdrops in the corner.

You can grab these awesome goodies and more from the new release over at the Your Next Stamp store. And to celebrate this new release, there's even a special discount code that works on your entire order. How awesome is that?!

YNS: Tags Dare

Are you ready for another Design Team Dare?! Your Next Stamp is challenging its designers to break away from the same old same old and make a set of tags!. Hop on over to Your Next Stamp blog to see the other lovely creations, and don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a free stamp set of your choice.

I decided to go in the winter holiday direction and made a set of 4 Christmas tags that I can use to embellish my Christmas gifts with. For all four tags, I used the super fun stamp set called Holiday Buddies. This fantastic large set features 8 whimsical images that you can stamp and color, and 2 classic simple sentiments.

I admit, it was tough choosing just 4 images to feature, so I'm definitely going back and making another set of tags with the rest of the cute critters.

Since this stamp set has a bit of a retro flair, I chose some classic masculine/winter patterns as my tag backdrop. I used my Vintage Photo distress ink around the edges to add a bit of extra warmth and to go with the vintage feeling. Kraft stickers as sentiments kept the focus on the images.

Lastly, I added a few sparkly gumdrops from Holly Jolly and Ice Ice Baby. Don't they just look fun?!

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

YNS Challenge #52

Your Next Stamp has another challenge up and another chance to win a certificate to the YNS store and a chance to be a featured top pick on their blog!

For my card, I was inspired by the lovely palette that was shared as a part of this challenge:

Although the palette is fall-inspired, I thought it could work great for a winter holiday card. I thought I'd go in a more masculine-inspired direction, especially since there's a lot of boys and men in my family. It's nice to be able to share a card that sports my "cute" modern style, but still feels cool and fresh.

For my card, I used the sentiment from Holiday Buddies and the skate from the brand new Sports Fanatics Skating Fun stamp.

Isn't that stamp set fun?!

I hope you'll get a chance to play along with Your Next Stamp, too! Click over to Your Next Stamp blog for the rules and submission area.

YNS: November Blog Hop!

Hello and welcome to my little corner of the card-making universe! This post is a part of the Your Next Stamp November blog hop, where the talented design team ladies and guests such as myself are sharing fun and unique projects to inspire you. You can play along with us by hopping along! The more blogs you visit and comment on, the greater your chances of winning a 25$ gift certificate to the Your Next Stamp store.

One of the things that I love about Your Next Stamp is the abundance of super cute and whimsical images to choose from. You can find a variety of trendy images and themes, but there's also a few very unique sets to choose from. One of my favorite sets is the mini splatter background (heart and star), and I haven't seen anything like it out there.

Of course, I couldn't help but mention the amazing gumdrops (enamel dots)  featured in the YNS store... They are my go-to embellishment, and I have loved every single shade I've bought (and I've bought a lot!). The sparkly gumdrops are especially fun to use because they add a subtle shimmer that makes a card shine.

For my blog-hop card, I opted for a mini-scene card featuring a sweet Darlings girl and her pet raccoon. I used my Copics to color a sunset scene, going with warm colors that are both autumnal and bright. With the versatile journey sentiment, I can send this card to a friend that's about to embark on a big trip or a friend that's entering a new and exciting chapter in their career.

My card uses the fun new set called Little Darlings Indians. You can find this set and other new stamps in this release here.  And if you place your order before November 10th, you will receive 20% off with the special coupon code:

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

YNS: November Preview

Today, I've got a different kind of card to share with you. This card features a new stamp set from Your Next Stamp called Cool Backgrounds, as well as the Fancy Congrats die.

I was super excited when I saw this stamp set because it features a large splatter stamp. I love the splattered look on cards - it can add texture, color and the overall aesthetic of a cool modern card. And while you could get the same kind of effect with making a messy splatter with water or ink, it's just as fun (and much more useful!) to have a stamp that can play the same role. Knowing exactly how your inked splotch will looks makes for one great element that you can incorporate into your card layout planning.

In addition to the splatter stamp, Cool Backgrounds has a variety of patterns set in rectangles. This makes them both useful for stamping small sections, and for repeating to create one big textured area. I decided to use a stripe stamp and some clever masking to create striped circles on my background. Since I was going for subtle and planning to sprinkle some glittery gumdrops, the round shape was a detail I wanted to incorporate. 

I cut my sentiment with the Fancy Congrats die and a few stars (pst, there's a really cool star die set at Your Next Stamp) out of sparkly silver glitter paper. This echoed the soft gray of the stripes and the glitter from the gumdrops.

The end result is all elements playing together and fitting perfectly. Isn't that fun?!

Thanks for reading,
Elle

YNS Challenge #51

Your Next Stamp has a really fun challenge up that is both fun and inspiring!

When I saw the lovely autumnal palette featured in challenge #51, I knew immediately that I wanted to do something different and unexpected. I happened to have the Party Animals stamp set on my crafting table, and I thought it might be fun to use it for my challenge card.

Using these autumnal colors was a refreshing challenge. I found myself a lot more careful about how I chose the color and where it was placed. The bright yellow and red turned into great accent colors, and the green, brown and grey gave the card a very masculine feeling.

This challenge also came with a sketch - and that made it much easier to pick and choose which shapes I wanted to highlight.

I hope you'll get a chance to play along with Your Next Stamp! Click over to Your Next Stamp blog for the rules and submission area.

Guest Designing for Your Next Stamp!

I just wanted to make a quick note that I've been asked to guest-design for Your Next Stamp for the month of November. I am so thrilled!

Your Next Stamp is a Canadian-based company that features absolutely adorable stamps, useful dies and a plethora of gumdrops (enamel dots). I'm a big fan and I'm honored that they asked me to join them. :)

Guest DT: Inspiration

Hey, everyone!

I've got another fun inspirational card over at Some Odd Girl blog. I'm chatting a bit about inspiration and using a slightly different coloring medium.

Let me know what you think.
~Elle~

Little Red

I'm over at Some Odd Girl blog again with a fun fairytale card!

Check it out.

~Elle~

Some Odd Girl - Bird Duo

 It's time for another fabulous release from Some Odd Girl! This week, we've got 2 fantastic bird digis - Nerd Bird and Tired Owl. Aside from being absolutely adorable, these birds are also incredibly fun to color! So, if you're a fan of coloring (like me), these two awesome birds are a must-have.

 

I just loved how smart Nerd Bird looked with his glasses, so I knew right away I had to use a smartie pants sentiment. I paired it with some fall-inspired paper and a few fun sequins. To make things just a bit more interesting, I made a square 4¼x4¼" card and used some foam squares to add a bit of dimension.

Tired Owl reminded me of a college student studying for his finals, so that's the direction I took with the second card! I used some hand-written patterned paper and cut out a tea-cup from another piece of paper. I layered everything together and found the perfect school-like sentiment in my stash. A few enamel dots, and voila!

Please be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team ladies did with today's fab release.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Nerdy Tia

It's time for another fabulous new release from Some Odd Girl!

Last time, we had the adorable Tobie in his smart school clothes, and this time it's Tia that's joining in! Nerdy Tia is a perfect stamp for celebrating school, learning, or anything that's clever and smart.

I started by printing Tia out onto some Copic X-Press it cardstock. I colored her in with Copics, going for a bright and cheerful palette. Once I was done, I carefully cut her out with scissors, leaving a small white border.

I dipped into my stash of patterned papers again and found a fantastic plaid paper as well as a white notebook-inspired paper. I trimmed the plaid paper to be slightly smaller than the standard A2 card base (top-folding 4¼x5½") and die-cut the notebook paper with a stitched circle die.

I layered the papers together and adhered them to a Kraft card-base. I added Tia with foam squares.

For my sentiment, I die0cut a couple of word dies with yellow and red cardstock. My color inspiration was pulled from the colored image (yellow pencil and red tie). I adhered them above Tia.

As a last touch, I added a few blue enamel dots next to Tia, just to pull in some more of that blue color.

Be sure to check out the amazing projects the rest of the Oddie Design Team created!

Guest Duo

I've got not one, but two cards I'm sharing over on the Some Odd Girl blog today!

Check them out and let me know what you think! :)

~Elle~

Sneak Peek -- Masculine card

I'm tackling a simple masculine card over on the Some Odd Girl blog today! I'd love if you could take a quick peek. :)

Geeky Tobie

 Today's card features a brand new digital stamp from Some Odd Girl -- Geeky Tobie! Tobie looks really smart and studious in this stamp, which is great for all those school projects. From cards to notebook decorations, I can see Tobie's smiling self fitting in just perfectly.

For my project, I chose to go with a card - something that I can give to a teacher once school starts.

I started by printing out and coloring Tobie with my Copics. I carefully cut him out with scissors, leaving a small white border.

Then I dug into my school-themed papers (I have a ton!) and pulled a couple of fun papers. Since Tobie's got a calculator, I used a bright number paper as my backdrop. Then I die-cut a composition notebook cover paper into a banner shape and trimmed it down to size.

I adhered the papers to a medium gray card base (top-folding A2 size - 4¼x5½"), then added Tobie with foam squares. As both papers are quite busy and vibrant, I chose to minimize embellishments and added just a few enamel dots near Tobie.

Since this card was going to a teacher, I chose to leave the sentiment out. Instead, I added a chipboard button with "A+" on it. This way, the teacher can use it for a variety of occasions and write a fun personalized message inside.

Head over to Some Odd Girl blog to see what the other designers created with Tobie. Their projects are awesome and super inspiring!

~Elle~

Jumping Roo

Today's card features the newest release from Some Odd Girl -- a hopping kangaroo digi!

Now, I have to admit, at first glance this little guy seemed challenging... Kristy has an amazing grasp of anatomy, and the 'roo looks realistic and charmingly cartoon-like. But once I settled on an idea, the card came together just perfectly.

After printing out the digi, I colored in with my Copics and carefully cut out the image. I wanted it to look like he was jumping in the clouds, so I die-cut a stitched round circle out of some cloud patterned paper. While I had my bigshot out, I also die-cut a cheery yellow paper into a stitched rectangle. I adhered all of the elements together, adding the 'roo with foam squares.

For the sentiment, I decided it would be fun to create a circular sentiment. So, I grabbed Owen's ABCs stamp and a pretty light teal ink, and made a nice bunch of round letters. I die-cut each with a tiny circle die and adhered them to the card with foam squares.

A few round enamel dots, and the card was done!

Please be sure to check out Some Odd Girl Blog to see amazing creations from the design team. They have done such an amazing job, and they've really made this stamp shine.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

SOG - Baby (DT)

I have a sweet baby project over on the Some Odd Girl blog. Be sure to check it out! I talk about how I created the card and give a few ideas of what you can do to switch it up. :)

SOG- Summer Gold

Today's card features a brand new digital stamp from Some Odd Girl - Drinks All Around Piper. I love how fun and summery this digi is, and how versatile it can be! You can color the bottles Piper is carrying as a beer for adults or fizzy soda for younger audiences. And how fun would it be to create a picnic-styled background to put Piper in?!

For my card, I decided to go a bit more abstract and use some fun summer colors -- yellows, golds, oranges and bright teal. I love how much this color combination pops, and it's just a quintessential summer for me.

I started by printing out Piper and coloring her in with Copics. I knew that my background was going to be yellows and oranges, so I made sure to use colors that would pop against it -- purple, blue and a touch of dark red for her hair. When I was done coloring, I added a couple of highlights with a white gel pen and carefully cut Piper out with sharp scissors.

The rest of the card came together really quickly. I cut down the piece of patterned paper with the rays and matted it onto some orange cardstock. I adhered it to the bright teal A2 card base (4¼x5½") with foam tape. I adhered Piper to the front, then added a couple of enamel dots as embellishment.

I have to admit, I struggled a bit with the sentiment. But then, I came across this chipboard sticker I've had in my crafty stash for ages, and it fit just perfectly with the card-- size was just right and the colors matched up. What a lucky crafty find!! I added it to the card, and the card was complete!

Please be sure to visit Some Odd Girl blog to see the other amazing cards created by the Design Team. There are so many different takes everyone had for Piper, it's so much fun to see.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~