Dainty Congrats

I don't really make vintage cards, but there's something about that soft and dainty look that I just can't resist. So, I thought I'd try with this sweet little cup and some pretty patterned paper. I really like the sage green and the bright pop of pink with cream as a palette and plan to use it again. I'm also digging this textured cardstock from Bazzill. It's not heavy enough to use as a base, but it's really fun as a layering piece.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Congrats Nurse

The Greeting Farm - Cheeky Nurse, Altenew - Lace Up

One of my friends recently completed her certification to become a Registered Nurse, and I wanted to celebrate the occasion with a card. I used Cheeky Nurse from The Greeting Farm and a sentiment from Altenew's Lace Up. I opted for brown tones with a pop of red.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

LF: Boy Congrats

Today's card features an older set from Lawn Fawn called Home Sweet Home. It's a retired set that was released in 2013, but it's been sitting in my stash for ages - just waiting to be used. I decided to pair it with a newer set (Elphie Selfie) because it had a fun little bird stamp that fit the card idea perfectly.

I went for a baby boy card, as I seem to have very few of those in my stash. I added a bit of texture with a dot stencil and blue ink, and embellished with 3 glittery enamel dots.

Today's card was inspired by the Lawn Fanatics challenge:

Their challenge runs until November 19th and it's a great way to dust of your old Lawn Fawn favorites.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

(SCS) You're a Winner

Continuing on with the Fun & Games theme, I used Simon Says Stamp's All Boy (retired) for another masculine card -- this time for congratulations. I paired the stamp with a fun Kaisercraft patterned paper and tried to repeat the elements (circles, stars) for an interesting layout.

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

MFT- Masculine Congrats

Looking over my card stash, I noticed that I did not have a whole lot of masculine cards - which is a shame because I happen to have a lot of males in my circle of friends and family! Sure, a good majority of my cards are gender-neutral and could be used for anyone. But sometimes it's nice to have a purely masculine card to give away to a loved one.

I thought I would start with a congrats card, as I had very few cards in this category.

I grabbed a piece of plaid patterned paper and trimmed it to 4x5¼", then matted it with a piece of brown cardstock that was just a bit larger than the paper. I adhered it to a standard top-folding A2 card base (4¼x5½").

I wanted to keep things really simple, so I die-cut a little tag with Tag Builder Blueprints 2 die. I also die-cut a little circle fastener out of the same brown cardstock as I matted the patterned paper with. I adhered the two together, then stamped my sentiment and bow-tie using Terrific Ties stamp.

I decided to embellish the card with some cork stars, so I die-cut a few stars with dies from various blueprints dies. I adhered the stars to the card with foam squares and added a few enamel dots.

A very simple card, but a fun one nonetheless.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Lawn Fawn - Happy Tooth

Lawn Fawn's Monster Mash is an absolutely adorable stamp set featuring a bunch of cute monsters. One of them is a flying monster, which I see featured in oodles of cards. But the first thing that always pops into my head is how he looks like a flying tooth. And, of course, once an idea like that gets into my brain, there's no stopping it! So, I made a happy tooth card - the kind of card you'd give to a little one who just lost their first tooth. Maybe it could even be from the Toothfairy herself!

I started by cutting a piece of 4 1/4" by 5 1/2" white cardstock in half. This creates a panel that's perfectly sized for Lawn Fawn's Wild Rose notecard, and that's what I'm using as my card base.

I stamped the flying monster, masking of his face with a piece of tape. I also stamped a third "leg" to look more like a tooth root. Then I grabbed the cute crown from Critters Ever After stamp set and stamped it just above each tooth. Lastly, I took the cute smiling face from Milk and Cookies stamp set and added it to each tooth.

I quickly colored the teeth and the crowns in with Copics, without doing any blending or fancy techniques. After I was done coloring, I noticed that the panel looked a little too plain. So, I grabbed a couple of hearts from Monster Mash and Milk and Cookies. I stamped them all over the panel, both in first and second generation stamping.

For the sentiment, I chose "let's celebrate!" from Plus One. It seemed like a great sentiment to go along with the card. I adhered the panel to the notecard with foam tape.

As a last touch, I scattered a few sequins around the panel.

Supplies:
Lawn Fawn Monster Mash stamp set
Lawn Fawn Critters Ever After stamp set
Lawn Fawn Milk and Cookies stamp set
Lawn Fawn Plus One stamp set
Lawn Fawn Wild Rose notecard
MFT Hybrid Ink in Black Licorice
Stampin' Up Classic Inkpad in Blushing Bride and Pool Party
Neenah Solar White cardstock in 80#lbs
Copics (E50, B000, Y11, Y35, RV11, V12)
3M Double-Sided Foam Tape
Assorted Sequins

SOG - Rani Congrats

I was in the mood to do something very bright and colorful, and this Rani digi stamp from Some Odd Girl just looked perfect! I had fun with bright colors and jewel tones. And, of course, I created a whole card around it.

I started by printing out Rani and coloring her in with my Copics. I used darker skin tones, and a mix of pink, blue and gold for her outfit. After she was completely colored in, I carefully cut her aside while I worked on the card background.

I cut and scored a piece of navy cardstock to create a standard A2 card (4 1/4 by 5 1/2"). I also cut a couple of panels: navy (2 1/2 by 4") and white (2 1/4 by 4") that I would use for the sentiment. I stamped the pink decorations and a blue congrats using Altenew's Hennah Elements stamp set.

I rummaged through my stash of papers and found this lovely paisley pattern. The bits of color matched up with the rest of my design, so I cut it into a 4 by 5 1/4" rectangle and adhered it to the card base. I then adhered the navy and white sentiment panel.

Lastly, I added Rani, using some foam squares to make her pop off the page a little. Since the card had plenty of color and detail, I chose not to add any other embellishments.

Supplies:
Some Odd Girl Rani digital stamp
Copic X-Press It Blending Card paper
Copics: Skin (E13, E15, E18, R43, 0), Hair (BV17, BV25, BV29, 100), Gold (Y21, Y38), Blue (B02, BG01, B37, BG07, B00), Pink (RV14, RV55, RV66)
My Favorite Things Heavyweight Cardstock in Nightshift Blue
Neenah Solar White Cardstock in 80#lbs
Altenew Hennah Elements stamp set
Stampin' Up Classic Inkpads in Strawberry Slush and Tempting Turquoise
Stampin' Up Foam Dimensionals

PS- Congrats

This week is another designer drafts sketch challenge on SPARKS, and the sketch inspired me to make a graduation card. I've only ever made one graduation card and it was very feminine and specific for the recipient. So, I wanted to challenge myself to make a more general card.

I started with picking out a fun star patterned paper from Fancy Pants Memories Captured. I die-cut it with Paper Smooches Borders I die. I also die-cut a circle from plain white cardstock. While I had my Bigshot out, I also die-cut congratulations from Paper Smooches Congratulations die.

For the background, I cut a piece of light-gray cardstock to 4x5.25 and adhered it to my card base. I adhered the white circle, then layered the star panel over it. I cut a strip of stripped yellow paper and adhered it to the star panel.

I cut apart the Congratulations letters and shortened it to say "Congrats". I glued it to the circle with a glue pen. As a last touch, I stamped a few solid stars.

Voila! Simple grad card is done.

Supplies:
Base: Simon Says Stamp White Woodgrain card stock
Paper: Bazzill Taffy card stock (panel), Fancy Pants Memories Captured 6x6, Lawn Fawn Let's Polka 6x6
Dies: Paper Smooches Borders I, Paper Smooches Congratulations, Sizzix Circles
Stamp: Paper Smooches Space Cadet
Ink: MFT Hybrid Ink in black licorice
Tombow Mono Glue Pen