Suns(hi)ne

It just wouldn't be a unicorn card if I didn't try for a pink creation. With the scalloped border and plentiful hearts, this turned into a very girly and cute little card.

Thanks for reading,
~Elle~

Pink and Blue Day

Today's card is yet another card that was a bit challenging to photograph as it features very soft and subtle colors. Adding a simple doily gave this card a precious felling and I think it would be perfect for a baby card. I'll have to play around with these elements again.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Coffee and You

Good mornings begin with coffee. Great mornings begin with coffee and your favorite people. So, to celebrate some of my favorite people, I created a quick and quirky coffee card. With the bright yellow and dark brown tones, I think the palette is so cheerful and happy.

Thanks for taking a look.
~Elle~

Otterly Lost

For today's card, I pulled out the Otterly Love You stamp set yet again, and tried to make a little scene card. I liked how the added sea panel turned out - especially layered over the little swimming fish.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Not Alone

Playing with the London Mouse stamp set again, I thought I'd try something that was inspired by London fashion and go for a black & white striped background. to this, I added a bright pop of color and layered the cute elements from the stamp. Overall, I think it turned out pretty spiffy.

Thanks for taking a look.
~Elle~

Keep Swimming!

It's sweltering around here lately, and it's that time of year I'm both grateful for AC and wishing I could take a long and leisurely swim in a pool. I channeled that swimming energy into today's card and made a simple encouragement creation. I used a nautical paper to help the center panel pop and added some enamel dots for embellishment.

Thanks for reading.
~Elle~

Curious Day

I found a vellum panel I'd cut out for a card that never quite made it onto a card, so I decided to use it for today's creation. One of the challenging parts of using vellum on cards is adhering them, so I had to use a design that covered at least a part of the front panel. I chose a simple rectangle and added a scalloped element to the bottom. Overall it's a bit different from what I was thinking originally, but I do like the layered aspect.

Thanks for reading.
~Elle~

Robot Birthday: Take Two

As I mentioned yesterday, I wanted to make a couple of robot birthday cards, and today I'm sharing card #2. Since I switched up my palette, this card has a totally different feeling, but I do think it's still nice and festive. I used a scalloped border die to add an extra punch of color, and I had fun stacking up gears in one corner.

I didn't go for a traditional birthday greeting with this card, as it could also double for a general congratulations card to celebrate an achievement.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Robot Birthday

I have a never-ending need for boy and male birthday cards, it seems, so I decided to make a couple of fun cards featuring robots. I used a smaller set from Lawn Fawn that matched the paper I wanted to use perfectly. I kept the card very simple, with just a few enamel dots as embellishment.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Bits and Pieces: Succulent Thanks

For today's card, I decided to use some bits and pieces that have been sitting on my desk - mainly a set of cardstock stickers and a die-cut thanks. I like using stickers when I need a quick-and-easy kind of card - especially when it's a kids' card and the stickers are bright and cheerful. But today, I decided to use a more subtle palette and a classic theme.

I started by choosing the two stickers I wanted to layer, then I looked through my paper stash and found a couple of patterned paper that matched it pretty well. I finished the card with a few enamel dots in the corner.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

No otter like you

Playing with otters again today, with a fun layered card. I pulled a few dies to create waves and a central panel. Adding a velum layer to tuck the otter behind was a really fun idea and I plan to play around with it again on a future card.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Pink Summer

I wanted to create another fun summer card with the VW bus, so I decided to pull out my Distress Oxide inks and make a yellow-to-pink gradient background. This gradient is most definitely "summer" for me, and it seems to be a trendy throwback to the 80s and 90s.

I opted for no sentiment on this card, as I didn't want to obscure the gradient too much. I also added some very sparkly iridescent sequins that really make the card shine.

Thanks for reading.
~Elle~

Curious Thanks

This card was really hard to photograph, as there are parts of it that are very subtle - such as the little heart border and the sentiment. Nonetheless, it turned out sweet and I'm happy with the overall feeling of the card.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Fathers Day to all you dads out there. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Thanks for reading,
~Elle~

Fathers' Day

As Fathers' Day is tomorrow, I thought I'd share a card to commemorate the occasion. I used a combination of creamy birch tones and some light blue and gray for a palette that's relaxing and homey.

Thanks for reading.
~Elle~

Sunshine and Rainbows

I've been reorganizing my stamps (again), and I came across this fun stamp from Paper Smooches. I got this set back in September of 2014 and somehow I'd never gotten around to inking it up - which, of course, is something that needs to be remedied immediately.

I paired the unicorn with a fun hexagon patterned paper and a few enamel dots.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Aloha Summer!

There's something so iconic about the VW bus and palm trees - they just whisper "summer", and I couldn't resist making a mini scene to celebrate the season. I opted for minty cool tones, along with a few brighter colors to play up the contrast.

For the background, I dug into my scraps folder and found several bits of patterned paper that worked just wonderfully together.

Thanks for reading.
~Elle~

Otterly In Love

Today's card features the adorable Otterly Love You stamp set from Birdie Brown. One of my favorite things about this set is how playful the otters look, and - of course - how fun the punny sentiments are.

I paired the adorable otter with some fun paper from Doodlebug I found in my stash. I think they work together so great.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Pirate Girl

Of course, I couldn't leave the Yo Ho Ho stamp set without at least one girl card - the stamp set does feature an adorable girl pirate and her kitty look-out. For this card, I paired a scalloped border and a dotted patterned paper that featured green and purple colors. Green and purple combination always feels like a fairy to me, but I think it works out very nicely for a girl Pirate as well.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

BP: Summer Sunshine

It's time for another bits-n-pieces creation!

I had some fun summer stickers and labels in my stash that just begged to be used. I paired them with a dotted patterned paper and a retired die I've definitely under-used. For the sentiment, I added a shiny puffy sticker "happy" and a sticker label on which I wrote "summer". A sprinkling of enamel dots ties everything together neatly.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Corky Birthday

You guessed it! I still can't resist using the adorable Yo Ho Ho stamp set from Neat & Tangled to make bright and cheery cards. This time around, I added a bit of extra texture with a piece of thin cork and a few bright enamel dots.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Here for you

London Mouse was one of those stamp sets that I absolutely fell in love with and just had to get right away. Once I got it, however, I became quickly overwhelmed with all the ideas I wanted to do. It's been a while since then (the stamp has retired, after all), but my brain is still brimming with possibilities. So, to get over that initial hurdle, I decided to just play and make a very simple little card.

Thanks for taking a look.
~Elle~

Good Luck Bear

In stark contrast to yesterday's summer theme, I pulled out the Ski-sons Greetings stamp set to make a simple encouragement card. I paired the image with a retired sentiment set from My Favorite Things and a subtle gingham paper.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Hello Summer

I wanted to play with the summer theme again, so I pulled out another stamp that came in a kit along with some Doodlebug Sprinkles enamel shapes. As the stamp featured a blocky "hello", I colored it in with my Copics, giving it a bit more dimension. I added a striped patterned strip and a piece of vellum for a bit of extra interest.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Ahoy Seas

Another cute pirate card today, this time featuring a lovely Carta Bella paper with colorful waves. I paired the pirate with a cute puppy and added a few enamel dots to tie everything together.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Coffee Thanks

I recently pulled out my Memento Luxe pigment inks that I got a few years ago now. I figured they must be dried out by now, and I intended to throw them out. To my delight, I found them to be in a working condition. I guess I stored them just right, so now there's a few colorful pigment inks I can play around with - and that's great, because nothing beats pigment inks when it comes to detailed sentiments.

So, after stamping and clear-embossing the sentiment, I dug through my bits and pieces and found a coffee stamp I'd colored some time ago. I paired it with some masculine paper and a dark card base.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Greatest Treasure

Today's card features Neat and Tangled's Yo Ho Ho stamp set again. I had a lot of fun coloring the cute images in this set, and I keep reaching for pirate and nautical papers to pair them with. For the background, I went with the Echo Park's pirate paper once again (they just pair together perfectly!).

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Summer State

It's June and that officially makes it summer in my mind. Even though we've had the scorching heat for a couple of weeks now, it just doesn't feel like summer until June rolls around. So, I wanted to celebrate with a quick summer-themed card.

Summer cards always make me feel a little ambivalent. On one hand, I love the imagery and iconic summer things. The bright colors are fun, and who can say no to popsicles and swimsuits?! But on the other hand, "happy summer" just doesn't feel like the kind of card I'd send out.

Still... in the interest of expanding my horizons and stretching out those creative muscles, I'm going to make an effort to create a few cards to celebrate the seasons. Not an overabundance of them, maybe, but a few might be nice to have around.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Coffee makes it possible

It's Friday (yay!), and I'm still on my coffee kick from yesterday. For today's card, I pulled out the Coffee and Tea stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. This stamp was part of a card kit that I absolutely adore, and I've had fun coloring the different cups and accessories. I paired the cup with a simple polka-dot paper and a strip of glittery gold cardstock for a bit of extra shine.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~