Hello Beautiful

Simon Says Stamp - Hello Beautiful stamp, Fresh Daisies die

Today's card is a departure from my usual style, as I wanted to use some ephemera and die-cuts that have been sitting in my stash for far too long. I also wanted to play around with an interesting patterned paper and with the idea of a very subtle sentiment that looks to be a part of the background image.

I think it turned out really interesting.
~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~

Bonjour Bunnies

Mama Elephant - Pix's Favorites

Today's a very busy day, but I couldn't resist putting together this quick and simple little card.

I hope you're having a wonderful day!
~Elle~

Halloween Friends

Pretty Pink Posh - Trick or Treat Friends

For today's card, I thought I'd use a fun little set I got last year, but never inked up. I really like how versatile this set is - for both Halloween cards and other occasions.

I used my go-to Halloween colors -- purple, green and black/grey. I also sprinkled a whole bunch of fun sequins across the page.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Birthday Ellie

Lawn Fawn - Elphie Selfie stamp

We've got a birthday party to head to this weekend, and I noticed that my birthday card stash has gone dangerously low. Of course, I had to quickly fix that and make a few extra birthday cards.

For today's card, I opted for a cute little elephant and a fun confetti background. I just love finding the perfect patterned paper in my stash!

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~

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~

Coffee Break

Simon Says Stamp - Coffee And Tea stamp, Echo Park - Sentiment Words die, Simon Says Stamp dye inkpads in Mint and Goldenlocks

Today, I'm sharing a fairly simple card that I made to go with a coffee gift card. I wanted to keep the card pretty simple, while playing around with some masking techniques. I used a finger dauber and some post-it tape to blend some random geometric shapes.

I used Simon Says Stamp's dye inks to create the blended areas and I was really surprised at how smooth of a blend I got. I think I'll have to blend with dye inks some more in the future, especially since the process felt much less messy than blending with oxide inks has been for me.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Pix's Autumn

Mama Elephant - Pix's Favorites, Potted Pretties (sentiment)

I couldn't resist playing with Pix's Favorites stamp set again - this time, creating a simple little autumn scene card. It's finally getting cooler in my corner of the universe, and that always puts me in the mood to create autumn cards.

I went for a really simple scene, using some Distress Oxide blending for the background, along with textured grass. I really like how it turned out.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Bits & Pieces: Hello Owl

Avery Elle - Woodland Wonders

For today's card, I played around with bits and pieces that were laying around on my desk. I tried the CAS layering style again, adding a few die-cuts and enamel dots to the simple scene.

Thank you for reading.
~Elle~

Pix's Purple Thanks

Mama Elephant - Pix's Favorites, Many Thanks

Today's card is a pretty clean and simple card, but I'm happy how it turned out. I started by creating my front panel by layering some white cardstock onto a piece of starry patterned paper. I used a curved edge die to make an interesting  border and I adhered the panel to a light purple card base.

Next, I stamped out the sweet bunny and tree trunk from Mama Elephant's Pix's Favorites stamp set onto some Copic-friendly paper. After coloring and fussy-cutting, I added them to the front panel, using liquid adhesive.

I stamped the sentiment from Mama Elephant's Many Thanks onto a banner die-cut and adhered it to the front. I used liquid glue for that as well, since I wanted to keep this card relatively flat (and easy to mail.

As a last touch, I used Tonic's Nuvo Jewel drops to create a little trail of bubbles. Since jewel drops are translucent, it turned out just perfect!

Thanks for reading,
~Elle~

Superhero Sunshine

My Favorite Things -  Happy Haunting stamp, Mini Cloud Edges stencil, Simon Says Stamp - Sunshine die, Lawn Fawn - Puffy Cloud Borders die

And now, it's time for something a little different - an encouragement card for a boy. I decided to use the adorable superhero from My Favorite Things' Happy Haunting stamp set to make a fun scene.

I used the Mini Cloud Edges stencil and some black soot distress ink to make a stormy sky. Then, I grabbed a piece of patterned paper that had a sun-rays and I die-cut the bottom with the puffy cloud border. I layered everything together, popped on the superhero and put a fun little sentiment at the bottom.

Thank you for taking a look.
~Elle~

Helping Hands

Neat & Tangled Stamptember Exclusive 2017 - Hello Pumpkin (retired)

One last card using the lovely Hello Pumpkin set -- this time, I mad a little scene with two adorable mice. In my head, this little scene has a story attached to it. The white mouse is reaching down to help his friend up on the tree stump, where they'll happy sit together and watch the acorns and leaves fall, as they snuggle with their scarves.

I'm really happy how this one turned out.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Festive Polar Greetings

My Favorite Things - Birdie Brown - Birthday Bears

I know, I know! We're barely getting into the autumn season and here I am sharing a Christmas card... In my defense, I've been trying to get very organized when it comes to card-making this year, as I know I won't have a ton of free time to make all the cards and the presents and the decorations...

So, over the next few weeks, I'll probably be trying out some stamps and some card ideas to help with the Christmas crafty workload.

For today's card, I used a non-winter card - Birdy Brown's Birthday Bears. I like how versatile this set is and how a simple color change takes a birthday bear and turns him into a polar Christmas bear.

Thanks for taking a look.
~Elle~

Thankful Autumn

Neat & Tangled Stamptember Exclusive 2017 - Hello Pumpkin (retired)

You guessed it! I'm still really enjoying playing with the Hello Pumpkin set from Stamptember 2017. This time around, I wanted to do a little scene that's very CAS. I also wanted to play with some distress oxide inks to create a fun background.

While I like how it turned out in the end, I got my fingers soooooo messy! I think I might have to buy some gloves to wear while I'm ink-blending pretty backgrounds.

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~

Aqua autumn

Neat & Tangled Stamptember Exclusive 2017 - Hello Pumpkin (retired)

Another happy autumn bear card today, but I decided to switch up the palette a little bit and add a cool aqua and some pink to my dark gray bear. The aqua, pink and yellows were my go-to summer palette, but I think they can work for autumn, too.

I added some sparkly iridescent sequins as an embellishment and kept the rest of this card very simple.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Hello Pumpkin

Neat & Tangled Stamptember Exclusive 2017 - Hello Pumpkin (retired)

It's September, and that means Simon Says Stamp is throwing a big month-long Stamptember bash! I really look forward to it every year, and I love all the different collaborations that happen throughout the month. Although I usually save up to get the exclusive Stamptember collaborations from my favorite companies, the budget's really tight this year and I have to keep up my spending freeze.

Fortunately, I have a few Stamptember sets from previous years that I can pull out and use. That way, I still feel like I'm a part of the celebration, but I'm letting that poor wallet breathe a little.

For today's card, I used Neat & Tangled's collaboration set called Hello Pumpkin. I absolutely fell in love with this set and all the adorable images. I'll be using it all throughout the week and sharing some fun inspiration. I hope you'll enjoy my projects, too!

Thanks for taking a look.
~Elle~

Autumn Hugs

Avery Elle - Woodland Wonders

It's starting to feel a little more like autumn - the temperatures are dropping and sunflowers seem to be in full bloom. I wanted to create a really simple little autumn card, so I reached for my Woodland Wonders stamp set from Avery Elle to make a simple scene.

I used Lawn Fawn's Doe ink to stamp the trees and the sentiment. I love the softness and warmth of this ink, and I think it goes perfectly with the craft color I used as a base.

For a bit of contrast, I used Waffle Flower's New Fish in Pond ink and some Tonic Nuvo Jewel drops in Sea Breeze.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~

Hocus Pocus

My Favorite Things - Happy Haunting

It's September 1st, and that officially makes it autumn in my mind. So, I knew I had to make another fun autumn card (or 10) to celebrate. For today's card, I used the Happy Haunting set from MFT. I bought this set last year, but didn't get a chance to play with it a whole lot before the holidays caught up with me.

I used the sweet little witch and made a simple layout with some striped patterned paper and enamel dots.

Thanks for taking a look!
~Elle~