Magical Life

Nothing beats a magical card, especially when things are uncertain.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Brave Viking

I couldn't resist coloring this Viking one more time. I used bright colors and paired him with the awesome dragon paper from my Echo Park. There's something about dragons and adventure that makes by mind brim with ideas - it must be all the fantasy books I've read over the years.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Under Your Spell

Reverse Confetti - Best Witches stamp

I've hit a little bit of a busy spell lately (pun not intended, but made me giggle nonetheless) and I took a brief break from card-making. We've also had quite a few gloomy rainy days. I love gloomy, rainy days, but they make taking pictures in natural light really difficult. My posting might still be a little sporadic over the next couple of weeks, but I'll try to squeeze in some card shares.

Today's card is a cute little Witchy Halloween creation featuring a witch and her cauldron from Reverse Confetti. I kept the card very simple, pairing the stamped an colored images with a sparkly background featuring bokeh lights and swirly snowflakes (yes, we do get snow on Halloween in my corner of the world sometime).

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Princess Birthday

Pretty Pink Posh - Trick or Treating Friends

In my post a couple of days ago, I mentioned how versatile this trick-or-treating stamp set would be for cards other than Halloween. So, I decided to use one of girls and color her as a lovely and sweet princess.

I also pulled out an embossing folder to create a textured background for my focal panel. I don't use my embossing folders very often, but I think they can add a lot of interest to a card -- especially when I want that tone-on-tone look.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Pumpkin Kitten

Studio Katia - Meowy Halloween stamp

Straight out of summer and into Halloween! I just couldn't resist playing with the adorable witchy kitty from Studio Katia one more time. I wanted to color her differently, so I colored her to look like a magical pumpkin kitty.

For the background, I played a little with my watercolors and practiced some watercolor blending and splattering.

Thanks for taking a look.
~Elle~

Alchemist Witchy Cat

Studio Katia - Meowy Halloween

It's almost time for Halloween! I couldn't resist making another adorable card, this time featuring a witchy alchemist kitty from Studio Katia's Meowy Halloween. I got this adorable set both for the kitty and for the fun accessories.

I used my craft knife to cut out some holes where the kitty's paws are and tucked a green potion in. I just love how that worked out!

I paired the kitty and pumpkins with a bit of patterned paper from Doodlebug. I love the bright colors Doodlebug paper is known for, and they worked just perfectly for my card.

Thanks for reading.
~Elle~

Bright Lounge Fairy

Some Odd Girl - Lounge Fairy digi, Avery Elle - Bottle It Up (sentiment, retired)

It's been absolute ages since I used a digital stamp, so I thought I'd give it a go with my favorite digi company-  Some Odd Girl. I just love Kristy's designs and this bright lounge fairy was no exception. I used the classic fairytale palette - pink, white, green and yellow, but I kicked it up a notch by adding an ombré color to her hair.

Since the image itself was so large and detailed, I kept the rest of the card really simple by combining a striped patterned paper with a scalloped edge white panel. A quick sentiment and a few enamel dots finished everything off just perfectly.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

TGF - Violet, Make A Wish

The Greeting Farm - A Lil' Magic stamp, Doodlebug - Fairy Tales 6x6

Today's card features a very sweet little unicorn from The Greeting Farm. Aside from the lovely design, one of the things that drew me to this stamp set is the hairstyles- and I love using my Copics to color hair. This time, I went with purple tones, which matched up with the patterned paper I wanted to use. I added a bit of extra depth with colored pencils, and rounded off the card with some enamel dots.

I kept the card very simple, so the pony (whom I've named Violet) could take center stage.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

BB- Magical Flight

Today's card features Birdie Brown's Magical Dragons stamp. Of course, as soon as I saw this stamp set, my immediate thought was that I just had to let the princess and the knight ride the flying dragon. Wouldn't that be just the most awesome adventure?!

It took a bit of finessing, but I managed to layer the stamps just right, and added some clouds to finish off my scene.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

TGF-Willow

 Today's card is a simple card using one of the The Greeting Farm's secret stamp club stamps -- Willow. Willow is another cute girl from the charming witch school line. I'm getting to have quite a collection of these!

I stamped Willow in black hybrid ink onto some marker paper, then colored her in with Copics. I kept the coloring really simple and mono-chromatic. I went for a more natural hair color (black) with a rebellious purple streak and teal for her uniform. Once she was done, I carefully cut her out with a pair of scissors, leaving a small white border.

I wanted to echo the colors of her outfit, so I chose a starry patterned paper that matched it. I die-cut it with a stitched rectangle die. Then I grabbed a neutral polka-dot paper and die-cut the same rectangle. I used a stitched scallop border die to trip the star paper and then I adhered the two together. This gave a bit of extra contrast I felt the card needed.

I adhered the paper to a white top-folding A2 white card (4¼x5½") using foam squares. I added Willow (also on foam squares). For the sentiment, I used a cute sticker I found in my stash and a few purple enamel dots.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

SOG - Giggle

Every card-maker knows, mistakes happen - and sometimes it really sucks when they do! I can't even count the number of times I've messed something up. Whether it's the splotched greeting or matting the layers crooked, I've done it, let the frustration get the better of me and thrown away the card.

Chucking that card into the trash felt great emotionally, but I often wonder if that was the best decision. The fact of the matter is ... Not every card is going to be perfect. In fact, even those cards that felt perfect in the moment they were created might look completely horrible a year from now when I have more experience or when the trends change.

And to add to that, having to work with a mistake is a limitation that could prove great for my creativity. Having to change plans and make something different from my original vision could result in a better-looking card - and, if I'm perfectly honest with myself, the few times I covered a mistake, I did end up with a better card! So, I decided to try and push myself to fix a card first before throwing it away.

With the rambling bits out of the way, let's talk about today's card. I am using Some Odd Girl's Giggle Fairy digi stamp. I printed her out onto some Copic X-Press it cardstock and colored her in with Copics. I wanted to do some fun gradients, so I used a variety of color - orange and pink for the dress, purple and teal for the wings and a few slots of teal on her feet and ears. To make her look more magical, I used my white gel pen to add some sparkly dots. Then I carefully fussy-cut her out with scissors, leaving a small white border.

Since the fairy is so colorful and bright, I wanted to keep the rest of the card very simple. So, I die-cut a piece of neutral blue patterned paper with a curved edge die. I adhered it to a green top-folding A2 card base (4¼x5½"). I adhered the fairy with foam squares, then went to emboss a sentiment at the bottom right of the card.

And that's where I messed up and the sentiment came out a blobby mess. Since I really liked the coloring on the fairy, I first tried to very gently take her off the card. It worked ok at the bottom, where she was touching the cardstock. But I'd pressed down really hard at the top and there was no moving her from there! I really liked the way I'd colored her, though, so I decided to be creative and see if I can fix my mistake.

I die-cut another piece of that patterned paper with the curved edge die and adhered it just under the fairy. Then I added a piece of flair as sentiment and a few enamel dots as a decoration.

Once the card was done, I really like how the new version turned out. It was a lot more interesting visually, and it really allowed the fairy to shine.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Think Pretty Thoughts

Today's card features a super cute stamp set from Sweet Stamp Shop called Unicorn.

I started by stamping the unicorn, cloud and sentiment with brown ink onto some Copic marker paper. I then used Tag Builder 3 die from My Favorite Things to cut out a cute scalloped panel out of the stamped image. I colored it in with Copics, going with purples, pinks and a touch of blue. I also sketched in some hearts with a pink pen.

I cut a rectangular panel out of a piece of pink patterned paper I found in my scraps stash. I adhered it to a purple note-card, then drew a little scallop around it with a white gel pen. I adhered the center panel at an angle with foam tape.

Lastly, I added in some sequins all over the image. I think they bring in just the right amount of sparkle and shine.

Thanks for reading!

~Elle~

SOG- Cowboy Adventure

This is my last card as Some Odd Girl's guest designer. It's been an incredible experience, and I enjoyed every second of it. Each card was a blast to create, and this card is no exception.

For this card, I chose the brand new Cowboy Kody digital stamp, along with the Pirate Kaylee digital stamp. I love how the two of them fit together and made for one adventurous duo. It reminded me of Indiana Jones movies (and yes, I was humming the theme as I colored...)

Read more about the card here.

Supplies:
Some Odd Girl Cowboy Kody and Pirate Kaylee digital stamps
Copics
7 Gypsies Maritime 8x8 patterned paper
Kaisercraft Madame Boutique 6.5x6.5 patterned paper
Freckled Fawn Rustic enamel dots

SOG Guest DT 2

My second guest design team project for Some Odd Girl is now up! It's still completely unbelievable and so amazing to see my work up there...

This card uses 2 stamps. The first is a brand new Bandit Wizard digi, which is what you see on the card front. It's a fabulous stamp that goes just perfectly with Halloween. But the first thing that popped into my head was this song. And that sounded like a great anniversary/love song - just a touch of darkness, perfect for those who want to do something romantic for Halloween.

I colored in the wizard bandit in dark grays, adding a bit of fluffy texture to his fur with small circular motions. I used a combination of pink and purple for his hat and cloak, and finished off with gold. After he was completely colored in, I cut around him with scissors and my craft x-acto knife.

I kept the background pretty simple, adding a few rectangles of bold Valentine paper. For the sentiment, I decided to make use of some of my letter stickers. I purposefully kept them crooked, adding a bit of whimsical charm.

For the inside, I used the clear bandit stamp set Love Bandit. I wrote in the rest of the lyrics by hand and added just a bit of red to the heart to tie it to the card front.

Simple, fun and unexpected. :)

Supplies:
Some Odd Girl Bandit Wizard digital stamp
Some Odd Girl Love Bandit digital stamp
Neenah Desert Storm Environmental cardstock in 100#lbs
Avery Elle Whipped Cream heavyweight cardstock
My Favorite Things Hybrid Ink in black licorice
American Crafts Valentine 6x6 paper pad
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive Runner (pink)
Webster's Pages Nest Little Letters Stickers
Copics (C2, C4, C6, C8, BV01, BV11, BV13, BV25, BV29, 100, R20, R22, Y11, Y35, Y38,  YR15)
Wink of Stella (clear)
Sakura Gellyroll white gel pen

Soya Pumpkin

It's the weekend, and time for another digi stamp creation. Today's card uses the stamp Soya: Love Pumpkin, by MilkCoffee.

After printing out the stamp and trimming it into a small rectangle, I colored Soya in with Copics. I tried a new combination for blonde hair-color, and I really like how it turned out. For the background, I went with a simple single color, working in a circular motion to create a cloudy effect. I also added some dark green dots around Soya, just for a bit of extra interest.

I rounded the corners of the rectangle panel with my corner chomper, and set it aside to work on the rest of the card.

I cut and scored a piece of Primitive Cream cardstock into a standard A2 card (4 1/4 by 5 1/2). While my paper trimmer was still out, I trimmed a piece of patterned paper from Chickaniddy's Scrumptious paper pad into 3 3/4 by 5". I liked this paper in particular because it's got a very interesting brushed gradient effect, and it includes both oranges and green hues. I adhered the background to the card base with my standard adhesive.

I found a couple of thin strips of dark gray cardstock, and I cut them into a flag shape. I did the same flag shape on one of the scraps of the Chickaniddy paper, and layered the 3 strips to adhere to the card base. I added in Soya's panel, using foam tape.

I stamped a simple hello sentiment from Simon Says Stamp's Warm Wishes stamp set in black ink. It felt like the card was still missing something, so I added a few colorful sequins from the Crystal Reflections mix.

Lastly, I used my white gel pen to add some stitching lines around the flags.

Supplies:
MilkCoffee Soya: Love Pumpkin digital stamp
Simon Says Stamp with Darkroom Door Warm Wishes stamp set
My Favorite Things Heavyweight Cardstock in Primitive Cream
Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black inkpad
Chickaniddy Scrumptious 6x6 paper pad
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive runner (pink)
Copics (E00, E11, E13, E15, R20, YR23, E23, E37, YR15, YR68, R05, B32, B34, G97, G99, G21, 0)
3M Double-sided Foam Tape
Simon Says Stamp Crystal Reflections sequins
Ranger Studio Multi-Matte glue
Sakura Gellyroll white gel pen

Petal Fairy

I didn't get a chance to get as crafty as I was meaning to this weekend. There were two birthday parties and some chores I've been neglecting *cough*laundry*cough*. By the time I finished everything and was ready to get crafty, it was already Sunday night. I still made a little time to color in this beautiful digi from Some Odd Girl, so I finished a simple card with her.

Petal Fairy is a brand new digi, and if you're a part of the Odd girls Facebook group, you can grab the link to buy her early (before she's listed in the store front).

I started by printing out Petal Fairy and coloring her in with my Copics. I didn't do anything special this time around, just colored for the fun of it. I went with bright colors, and added a couple of highlights with a white gel pen. After she was completely colored in, I carefully cut around her and set her aside to make the rest of the card.

I made a top-folding A2 card base out of mint cardstock.

I really liked the polka and flower patterned paper from My Mind's Eye Just Sayin' paper pad. I cut it into a 3 x 3 1/2" panel. I matted it with a piece of pink cardstock that matched some of the flowers. I adhered the fairy onto the panel with my standard adhesive, making sure she was over the flowers. Unfortunately, some of her butterfly wing was sticking out and I had to trim it (it wouldn't fit in an envelope otherwise). I adhered the panel to the card front using foam tape.

Lastly, I decided to add a few embellishments. I kept them simple by adding a few pink enamel dots and drawing a border with a white gel pen.

Supplies:
Some Odd Girl Petal Fairy digital stamp
Copic X-Press It blending cardstock
Copics (E00, E11, E13, R20, R22, 0, B02, B05, Y11, Y38, BV29, E35, E37, E47, E29, YR23, YG25, YG67, YG99, YG41, YG45, BV01, BV04, BG32, BG49, R11, RV42, RV55)
Sakura Gellyroll White Gel Pen
Simon Says Stamp Heavyweight 100#lbs cardstock in Mint
My Mind's Eye Just Sayin' 6x6 patterned paper
Stampin' Up Cardstock in Strawberry Slush
Tombow Craft Dot Adhesive Runner (pink)
3M Double-Sided Foam Tape
Freckled Fawn Pinks enamel dots

Have a Magical Day!

Today's card features a digital stamp by Wendy Burns from her alldressedupstamps Etsy shop: Magical Day. It is a super adorable stamp, and I just love this character style. Wendy Burns also has a few of her fun characters in clear stamp sets over at My Favorite Things, so check them out.

I started by printing the stamp onto some Copic X-Press It blending cardstock. I trimmed down the image and rounded all 4 corners with my Corner Chomper., on the 1/2" setting. I then colored in the girl and the cat, creating a dotty purple border around them.

I wanted to keep the rest of the card simple. I created the card base by cutting and scoring a sheet of Kraft cardstock into a top-folding A2 card (4 1/4 by 5 1/2"). I grabbed a piece of grey heart paper from Lawn Fawn's Let's Polka 6x6 paper pad and cut it to measure 4 by 5 1/4". I adhered the stamped panel to the patterned paper with foam tape.

The bottom of the card felt a little bare, so I tied a piece of white ribbon around it. Then I adhered the whole panel to the card front with my standard adhesive.

Supplies:
alldressedupstamps Magical Day digital stamp
Copic X-Press It Blending Cardstock
We-R-Memory-Keepers Cropadile Corner Chomper
Neenah Desert Storm Environmental Cardstock 100#lbs
Lawn Fawn Let's Polka Petite paper pad 6x6
3M Double-sided Foam Tape
Tombow Dot Adhesive runner (pink)
Copics: Skin (E00, E11, E13, E15, R20, 0), Stars (Y11, Y35), Pumpkin (YR15, YR68, R05, BV25, BV29), Hat (C4, C6, C8, 100), Bow (B32, B34, B37), Outfit (B00, B02, B32, B34, B37, RV11, RV42, R85), Hair (E33, E57, E59, E79), Cat (W2, W4, RV11, RV42, R85), Background (V01, V12, V04, 0)

Forest Goddess

The moment I saw Some Odd Girl's Forest Goddess stamp, I knew wanted it. Of course, I didn't have a decent printer at the time, so it had to wait. But the amazing summer digi sale (woo!) made it impossible to resist buying her and a whole bunch of other stamps. So, here I am with gorgeous stamps that all have me excited to create. I've got a-plenty of material for my Saturday Digi series, and a ton of stamps just begging to be colored.

Let me start out by saying that I kind of have mixed feelings about this card. There are parts of it that I love to bits (stamp + some of the coloring, window die idea), but other parts I'm not so sure about. But it's important to share both hits and misses - and who knows, maybe you all will feel inspired, anyway.

I started by printing out the stamp onto some Copic X-Press it blending cardstock. I colored it in with my Copics - which took a few hours, I admit. There were a lot of gorgeous details I wanted to pay attention to, and I enjoyed making the image colorful. I left the skin for last, and encountered my first issue. I decided to try a new color combo that I've seen someone use, but it just did not work for me. It took me ages to blend everything out, and even then there are some really messy bits. I'm not as happy as I normally am with the skin. But it's important to try new things and now I know that this particular color combo will not work for my skin tones.

After this was done, I started to carefully cut out the image. This is where the second difficulty arose. The image is not only complex, but it has a lot of tiny branches and leaves on the head piece. As you can tell, I tried to cut them out initially, but it was slow and difficult. I ended up accidentally cutting out a bunch of the little branches and losing out on the detail. So, I left a little white in the head dress area, and drew in some swirls. I'm not super happy with it, but it's better than having mangled bits of wood.

After the painful cutting out, I got to work on the rest of the card. I wanted to have a decorative window, but I didn't have a die for that. So, I got creative! I grabbed a piece of 4 by 5 1/4" white cardstock and used the Spellbinders Labels 28 die (second largest) to partially cut the window in the middle. This is done by putting the die through the Bigshot only part of the way. I cut the bottom out with my paper trimmer.

For the background, I decided to use a scrap of paper from Bo Bunny's Lemonade Stand 6x6. I cut it to be slightly larger than the window. I created a card base by cutting and scoring a piece of kraft cardstock in half, for a standard A2 card. Using the window as a guide, I positioned the patterned paper and adhered it to the card with my standard dot adhesive.

I used foam tape on the window panel, and adhered it to the card. I then adhered the goddess, using dot adhesive where she touched the panel and foam tape where she touched the patterned paper. So it didn't look like she was floating, I added a bit of gray shadow under her feet.

And this is where my last issue came in. I wanted to add some decorations, but nothing I tried looked right. It was either too overbearing (paper flowers) and obstructing the window border, or it took too much attention away from the central image (enamel dots, sequins). I don't have any leaf dies, so I couldn't add leaves either, and none of my stickers or die-cut packs worked.

So, in the end, I left it as is - maybe a bit too plain, and with mixed feelings.

Supplies:
Some Odd Girl Forest Goddess digital stamp
Neenah Solar White 110#lbs cardstock
Neenah Desert Storm Environmental cardstock 100#lbs
Bo Bunny Lemonade Stand 6x6
Spellbinders Labels 28 dies
Copics: E33, E37, E29, E17, B00, B02, B18, V12, V06, V17, YG23, YG17, R08, R46, R89, BV29, Y11, Y15, YR14, (Skin: E21, E23, E25, E27, R32, R35, 0), W2, E57, E59, E33, B00
3M Scotch Double-sided Foam Tape
Tombow Dot Adhesive (pink)

SOG- Genie Gwen

This is my second card of the day, but I'm just so excited that I had to share it right away! I finally got myself a good printer and I'm now dipping my feet in the fun world of digital stamping.

For this card, I used Some Odd Girl's Genie Gwen stamp. I printed her out on some Copic X-Press paper and colored her in. I cut her out carefully and set her aside while I worked on the rest of the card.

I made the card base out of some dark chocolate cardstock but cutting and scoring it in half for a standard A2 card. I also cut a piece of light blue cardstock to measure 4 by 5 1/4". For the background, I used a couple of papers from My Mind's Eye Sherbet 6x6.

To add in a bit more interest, cut the purple panel into two strips and used a piece of gold washi tape between them. I layered all the papers onto the front panel and adhered it to the card with foam squares. I then added Genie Gwen, also using foam squares.

Lastly, I added the embellishments - and lots of them! Some sequins, wood veneer stars, pearls and dots from the good ol' white gel pen.

Supplies:
Some Odd Girl Genie Gwen digital stamp
Copic X-Press it marker paper
Simon Says Stamp Heavyweight cardstock in Dark Chocolate and Sea Glass
My Mind's Eye Jubilee collection Sherbet 6x6 paper pad
Scrapbook Adhesives 3D foam squares
Doodlebug sequins in Pool
Studio Calico Star Essentials wood veneer
White pearls
White Gel Pen
Copics: Skin  (E11, E13, E15, R22), Eyes (V12, V06, V17), Hair (YG23, YG25, YG17, G29), Outfit (B00, B02, B05, C6, C8, 0), Smoke (R81, R85), Gold (Y21, Y28, YR15, Y35)