Watercolor Camera Hello

Watercolor is a technique I both enjoy and I'm endlessly frustrated with. One of the things I struggle with the most is the sheer lack of control. Water does what it wants and it's very challenging to get it to look exactly the way it does in my head. But practice makes perfect and I decided to embrace the unpredictability and make an interesting (and different) card. I think it turned out pretty unique.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Tulip Birthday

A quick birthday card share today with some tulips. I used some very quick Copic flat coloring, then added details with my Prismacolor pencils. It's a technique I enjoy, but have not done for some time. I'll have to pull out my pencils more often!

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Desert Hello

I recently got a couple of desert-inspired goodies to make some special cards with. I decided to use a stamp and window die from Hero Arts to make this hello card. With a bit of Copic coloring, I think it turned out pretty swell.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Nautical Thanks

In a nautical mood today, I thought I'd make a thank you card with this sweet Pure Innocence sailor girl I'd colored ages ago. Although her outfit color does not match with the background, I think it fits really well and pops. That's one thing I much enjoy - playing with palettes and contrast.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

More succulent thanks

A very girly succulent thanks today. I am still loving the pastel colors and the addition of lace from the doily, but I may try more bold and graphic colors next time. The really fun thing about succulents is that they come in many shades, so it will be very fun to experiment with different palettes.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Spring Hooray

I don't like spring (too much sneezing from seasonal allergies), but I do enjoy spring-themed crafting. There's something so fun about sweet pastel colors and cuddly critters just waiting to be popped on a card or two.

For this card, I paired a small Lawn Fawn sentiment with a chick from Doodlebug. I think they match together just great.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Warm wishes of love

I couldn't resist just one more cute cup-o'-love card. I kept things very simple and made my own patterned background with the heart-eyed smiley face from the stamp set. A bundle of hearts and some glittery enamel dots just tied everything together.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Succulent Thanks

I'm working on a set of desert-themed cards lately, and I couldn't resist a sweet succulent in a cup. I've had Simon Says Stamp's Cups and Succulents stamp set for some time now, but I certainly have not used it enough. One thing that's great about this set is that the cup and the succulent are separate - meaning you can mix and match the tops and bottoms. I'm looking forward to using it again sometime.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

A Collage of Thanks

Reorganizing my crafty stash a little again and I came across a few things that I bought for bullet journaling. I never did really get into bullet journaling and I'm not sure I'll fully have the time for it nowadays, but I don't like the idea of wasting supplies. So, I thought I'd pull them out and use on a card.

I added some ink blending and texture paste with a stencil to the mix.

It's pretty unusual - not the kind of style that I normally go for, but experimenting was fun. I may experiment with this style again sometime and bring even more mixed media style to a project or two.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Love Donuts and Coffee

Yesterday's cup of love made me think of coffee and donuts, so I just had to whip up another cup o' love card using some stamps from Simon Says Stamp and paper from Doodlebug. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Cup of Love

With so many Valentine-related ads lately,  I couldn't resist making just a few love-themed cards. Today's card is pretty simple, but I like how it turned out. It uses a tiny stamp set from Waffle flower and a Tim Holtz sticker from my sticker stash.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Scenic Route

I've got a great collection of travel papers that I've been meaning to use for some time, but I always felt like I couldn't find the right stamp to go along with them. I decided to jump into using them and make a few unique masculine cards. I think it turned out pretty fab!

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Woodland Hello

For quite some time, I've been wanting a forest/flower/tree cutout die to use with some scenes. I think it creates such a lovely look and it's going to work perfectly with the many woodland creature stamps I own. One of the things that made me hesitate, though, was the size. The window needed to be big enough to show a background and to tuck details under, but not so big to take up the complete card front.

I finally settled on this die from Memory Box, and I'm so pleased with it! I think the size is perfect and the detail is great without being too overwhelming. I'm excited to see all the lovely ways I'll be using it in the months to come.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Jar of Thankful

I'm not 100% sure where I was going with this card. I just wanted to combine some elements together and play with the layout. I think it turned out cute and unusual, and definitely a layout I'll have to try again.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Snail Friend

Another simple card today, just playing with bits and pieces of things on my desk. I decided to combine sequins and enamel dots as a decoration, and I really like how that turned out. I may have to do an embellishment focus challenge sometime in the near future.

I used the adorable little snail from Lawn Fawn and I think it's such a fun set. I'll have to make a few more cards with it.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Bunny Friend

It's a very simple card today, playing with my dies and a skinny washi tape I got recently. I don't have a huge selection of washi tape, but I've been meaning to make use of what I have. I think it will make for an excellent detail on some CAS cards.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Angel Thanks

I've been trying to play a little more with my distress oxides and ink-blending, and I've enjoyed it a little more. Although I'm still not a fan of how messy they get and how much they stain my hands, I do like how well they work with colored cardstock.

On today's card, I used blue and purple oxide inks on some lavender cardstock, and I'm really digging the color transition I got. I got some gloves to use when ink-blending and that's helped a ton. I plan on exploring more with colored cardstock and different blending combinations.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Otterly Smiles

I thought I'd pull out some stencils and play around with creating my own background. It was fun, even if it's not exactly how I thought this background would turn out. Still, experimenting is a great thing and now I've got a few other ideas I want to play around with on the next project.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Favorite Nut

I wasn't sure about this card. It feels like a mishmash of a ton of different styles and ideas, and I'm not all that confident that I pulled it off. But in the spirit of sharing, I wanted to add it to the blog anyway. Not every card can be perfect, and you never know which project just might inspire someone out there.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Cat Love

I've got Valentine's Day on the brain today, and what a better way to declare your love than with a cat. I'm still very much into gray tones, so I added this fabulous Pinkfresh studio paper as the background for my card. I think it turned out so fun!

Thank you for taking a look.
~Elle~

More Flowers

More flowers today, this time with a fun spring palette. I liked using pink and aqua along with the yellow to add a touch of brightness. I kept the grey tones in, as they add a great neutral element and added a few enamel dots.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Heartfelt Thanks

Another wintry thank-you card -- this time with a walrus in a sweater. I love the whimsy in animals wearing sweaters and scarves, so this cute image was right up my alley.

It's hard to see in the photo, but there are light pink snowflakes stamped around the white panel. They add a fun little detail.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Happy Yellow Flowers

As part of my project to use my stash as much as possible in 2019, I am planning to use each stamp set I own a few times to create some interesting projects.

I'm starting with a stamp set from Simon Says Stamp called Favorite Flowers. This stamp set was a part of a card kit, and while I did use a couple of the stamps from it in a card or two, I definitely didn't stamp everything out.

I opted for a simple creation, adding some of the lovely flowers and some foliage die-cuts. I like the palette of gold, yellow, gray and brown - I think it's both cheerful and bright without being too sweet.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Winter Rabbit Thanks

I'd like to send a couple of thank-you cards to friends and family to let them know just how much I appreciate their generosity and and their time this holiday season. Although my mind is already thinking about spring, I enjoyed making this simple little winter card with a sweet bunny and a simple snowflake.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Hello 2019!

Happy 2019, everyone!

After a very busy holiday, I'm ready to jump back into creating and sharing my projects. I've also got a crafty goals list for the year that I'm really excited about. I thought I'd share it along with today's project- a quick and easy card I made with some bits and pieces of paper and stickers that were floating around on my desk. I added a couple die-cuts to compose the sentiment and a few enamel dots as embellishment.

For 2019, I only have a few goals:
1) Make great use of my crafty stash.
I've only got one crafty order for 2019 and it's already been placed as an early birthday gift. I'm going to try and use what I've already got and see just how long it takes to stamp every stamp and use every pretty bit of paper  (probably years!). As with 2018, I want to focus on making instead of buying, and that kind of focus makes me very happy.
2) Do a purge/destash.
Like a lot of us, I've got a ton of things that I should pass on to someone else. Some of it is supplies I've outgrown, some is just supplies I bought on clearance that don't fit my style at all. So, I'm planning on paring down my stash to only include things I love and things I use. I'm ready to part with a lot of it, and I've just got to figure out where to give them off to.
3) Make a card every day.
I really enjoyed my resolution in 2018 of making a card every day. I made and shared quite a few and it was a wonderful motivator to keep creating. I'm going to keep the goal going in 2019 and continue sharing my projects.
4) Send out cards.
I make a lot of cards, but I rarely mail them out. So, in 2019, I will try to do better and mail those cards out whenever I can.

Do you have any goals for 2019?

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~