Be Happy

 

There are just days when my creativity is asleep. No matter how hard I try, I just can't get past the mental or creative block. If I force it, I end up creating something really simple that makes me feel "meh". On the other hand, if I stay away from creating for too long, it takes even more time to get back into the flow of things.

I haven't figured out the solution yet, but I think it's worth exploring different types of creativity at times like these. I might not be able to pull off a complete card, but I could play with die-cuts or do some coloring. One big thing I'm trying to keep in mind is that it's okay to just play. I don't have to complete a project every crafty session. Sometimes starting it and walking away when I get stuck gives me that clarity to know what I want to do when I came back to it.

Thank You Cookies

 

I have been into cooking and baking lately. I love baking- it's something I've enjoyed for years. But I always find myself with too little time or too little energy to bake regularly. A few years ago, I bought a cookbook with recipes I really wanted to try, but it's been sitting on a shelf since then. My plan when I bought it was to make every single recipe in the book (just like Julie and Julia!), and then life got in the way.

As I'm - in general - trying to make more time for things that I want to do, I am thinking of pulling out that cookbook and making some recipes. Not all of them and no more than a new recipe per month, but a small goal sounds like fun. And who knows, maybe I'll discover a few new recipes to add to my Christmas cookie list.

Sprinkles

I've had donuts on my mind lately, so I thought I would channel that donut mood into a card.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Treat Yourself!

We had a lot of ice-cream this summer - both as a way to cool down in the scorching heat and as a perfect dessert to finish off our dinners. I wanted to share some of that cool delicious joy with a friend, so I whipped up a quick card with an inside pocket - the perfect place to stick an ice-cream giftcard.

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~

Cookie Tag

I wanted to play with the Lawn Fawn cookies stamp again, but this time I thought I'd pull out some supplies that I don't often use - tag dies and ribbon.

I paired the tag with a fun patterned paper from doodlebug. It turned out so fun!

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Concept Trio Challenge: Seasons - Summer

Lawn Fawn - Here's The Scoop , Simon Says Stamp - Ice Cream Dream, Mama Elephant - Friend die

A while ago, I ran a mini-challenge for myself where I would create 3 cards using the same concept or idea. I really enjoyed this challenge, so I thought I would bring it back periodically and share some card creations that fit into a mini theme.

For the first challenge, I'm going with a seasonal theme. Today's card is a simple summer card, with adorable ice-cream and light color palette. I added some ink blending to the bottom of the friend die cut to help it stand out and used a tiny heart enamel shape for the dot over the i.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Goodbye Summer

Simon Says Stamp - Funny Food stamp, Ice Cream Dream stamp

As it's officially fall now, I thought I would make one last summer card. It would be a fun card to send out as a way to recap our summer and just to say a quick hello.

I used some bits and pieces I had in my embellishment stash, as well as cute summery images from Simon Says Stamp and a sticker from Tim Holtz's Chit Chat sticker pad. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Thanks for reading.
~Elle~

Peek-a-boo Ice Cream

Today, I'm sharing the second card I mentioned that features a square peek-a-boo window die and some delicious treats. I used the iconic delicious ice cream from Lawn Fawn's Here's The Scoop and the sentiment from Simon Says Stamp's Ice Cream Dream. I kept the rest of the card very simple and chose a neutral pattern for the ice-creams.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Ice-cream Trio

Yes, we're right back to ice-cream - and mainly because I just happened to have a few extra colored bits laying around my crafty desk. I actually made two cards, but I'll share the second one on a different day. For this card, I enjoyed adding little square panels as the frozen treats background, and I used an interesting yellow patterned paper as a backdrop - as yellow is a very "summer" color in my mind.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Sweet & Cool

For today's card, I was playing some more with Simon's Ice Cream Dream set, as well as adding bits of dimension. I paired the images with a piece of striped patterned paper and added a few enamel dots to tie everything together.

Thanks for taking a look. :)
~Elle~

Summer Picnic

Another favorite summer activity for me is barbecue. We grill often during the summer months - both because it's delicious and because it keeps the power bills down (running AC can get costly) - and there's something so iconic about eating freshly made BBQ picnic-style. For this card, I used Lawn Fawn's Let's BBQ stamp set, along with a milkshake from Here's The Scoop.

Thanks for reading.
~Elle~

Summer Treat Trio

More icy-cold treats today in another summer card! Again, I used Lawn Fawn's Here's The Scoop, along with the Simon Says Stamp Ice Cream Dream set. I decided to go with an aperture opening for this card and add some bright oranges and summer reds to the background.

Thanks for reading!!
~Elle~

Strawberry Cool

It's a hot summer this year in my corner of the world, and we're surviving on icy-cold ice cream treats. Of course, I wanted to celebrate the season (and the treats!) with a card or two. For today's card, I went with strawberry pink tones and images from Lawn Fawn's Here's The Scoop stamp set.

And, yes, you do spy that pink-to-yellow ombré on the ice-pop. I'm still so drawn to that palette and I have to stop myself from using it on every card...

Thanks for taking a look! :)
~Elle~

Sliced Bread

Simon Says Stamp - Funny Food stamp

I had just colored this cute little piece of bread when I decided to look through my stash to find a paper to match it up with. Lo' and behold, I found a polka-dot paper that reminded me of the Wonderbread packaging dots, and I thought that was just perfect! I kept the rest of the card very simple, but I think it turned out fun.

Thanks for reading,
~Elle~

Pizza My Heart

 Simon Says Stamp - Funny Food stamp

Of course, I just could not resist making one more stamp featuring Simon Says Stamp's Funny Food set. This time, I decided to feature one of my favorite food combinations- pizza and fries. I don't have it often, of course, but it's one of those comfort junk foods I had when I was young that reminds me of home.

I used a speech bubble die to create an area for my sentiment and paired the images with a warm orange polka-dot paper and a few glittery enamel dots.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Donut Worry!

 Simon Says Stamp - Funny Food stamp

I had a lot of fun with the Funny Food set on my previous card, so I decided to make another! This time, using the cute donut.

When I think of a happy color, I always gravitate to yellow. Golden yellow is the color of sunshine, and in my mind, it's the color of a smile. So, I paired the vanilla donut with the white icing with a yellow stripe.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

One in a Melon

Simon Says Stamp - Funny Food stamp

Today's card features a cute little set from Simon Says Stamp called Funny Food. I love puns, so this punny little set was a must-have for my stamp collection. I kept this card very flat and simple, so I could send it along to the Cards From The Heart Card Drive.

I colored the melon image with Copics and fussy-cut it out. I know this set has coordinating dies that cut around the little feet/arms, but I didn't purchase the dies, so I had to make-do with my trusty scissors. I paired the image with a red gingham that reminded me of a picnic tablecloth. A few dabs of Nuvo drops finished off the card.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~