Hello Books!

Getting back into the swing of things with a digital stamp today. I used a soft pastel palette and some fun doodlebug paper to bring everything together. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Monster-ific

This card uses a free digital stamp from Useless Trinkets: https://uselesstrinkets.wordpress.com/freebies/

I colored the adorable toothy monster with grays and added some green dots. It reminded me of a mossy rock monster, though I didn't add enough texture to make his skin seem like a rock. I colored his belly yellow and gave him a bright purple patch of hair. I used the palette as my inspiration with the patterned paper and layering die colors.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Mermake a wish

Today's card features a digi stamp from The Greeting Farm. This particular stamp was offered as a freebie in one of their newsletters a little while back, and I've been meaning to color it and use it on a card for ages now.

For my coloring, I tried something new and combined Copics with my Prismacolor pencils to add an extra touch of texture. I like how it turned out, and how it added a bit of extra depth to the image - particularly the hair. I'll have to experiment with this combination method again. I've seen a couple of artists use it in YT videos with absolutely brilliant results.

A bit of ribbon, enamel shapes and a pretty mint background - and that's all there was to it.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

SOG Monthly Challenge - February

Some Odd Girl is starting a new monthly challenge, and I just had to jump in and make a card! I used the lovely Cupid Mae digi, and some Valentine supplies I had sitting around. I chose a darker skin tone and color for this Cupid, and tied the colors together with red and white doilies.

Click here to check out what the other Oddies made, I guarantee you'll be impressed! :)

Thanks for reading,
Elle

SOG - Foxy & Wizard

Today is the last day of Some Odd Girl digi release, and I've got 2 more cards to share!

Cat Wizard is just plain adorable. He reminds me of the adorable Bandit Wizard digi - which was one of the stamps I worked with when I first guest-designed with the Oddies. So, of course, it's with both excitement and nostalgia that I created this card.

I colored the cat orange, a nod to the little orange friend we had visiting at our front door just the other morning. A bit of purple for contrast and the image was ready!

I had a whole piece of dotty orange vellum left from the ghost card, so I decided to use it. I placed it over a subtle striped paper and it created a really fun and different texture.

For my last card, I went completely non-Halloween. This is both because I wanted to show that you could do something different with each stamp, and because I really wanted to use soft and subtle colors.

I was inspired by a white fennec fox, and decided to keep the fur very pale. I used the same tones for the outfit, going with a pale pink and a darker gray. I set everything against a stripy background and added a couple hearts.

My sentiment came from another word sticker sheet, and I though it went rather perfectly with an unusual fox lady image.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

SOG - Bunny Vamp & Bat

Day 4 of Oddie releases is here! Be sure to check out the Some Odd Girl blog for more fun inspiration.

I started by coloring in Bunny Vampire in rich and dark colors. I even gave him the famous widow's peak hairstyle! Once he was colored in, I knew I wanted to keep the rest of my card simple - just set him against the navy dark night.

So, I got creative with the rest of my card, and used the scripty sentiment from Frenchie Gwen. It means "Forever" in French, and it's just so perfect for a vampiric theme. I actually giggled imagining the bunny saying it with a slight lisp (you know, those big ol' teeth do get in the way of talking...). But I kept it as it was and still get a little giggle out of seeing it.

This bat card needs a bit of explanation... When I was young - I think I must have been 5 or 6 - we were visiting relatives and I wasn't feeling very well. I don't remember much about that trip, but I do recall laying down and watching a cartoon about a white bat having adventures. It was in a language I couldn't understand, so I don't even know what the show was. But that white bat stuck with me so much that I keep wanting to color my bats white. And with this gorgeous new digi from Kristy, I was able to!

Since it didn't scream Halloween, I went in a different direction with the rest of my card. I added a white starry sky and played with some circles layered together.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

SOG - Sorceress and Ghost

Day 3 of Some Odd Girl release brings us an adorable Sorceress in Training, and an equally cute masked Ghost.

One of my favorite things about Some Odd Girl stamps is how fun they look when they're colored in bright shades. They take on a whimsical cartoon-y look and they feel like they could pop straight off the page and into a children's movie or book. And this adorable sorceress is no exception! With her wide-eyed look of amazement, she was just perfect to color in with purples, pinks, yellows and teal.

For my background, I wanted to go with something fun and abstract, and that's where my huge stash of patterned paper came in handy. I found this mixed media background and loved how it made the sorceress pop.

I added a sentiment from Fairy Magic and a little chipboard heart.

The second digi released today is a cute little masked ghost. I love the idea of one creature being costumed as another, so this double-costume ghost is just adorable!

Since I kept the coloring monochromatic, I found a fun ghost paper to pair it with and added a bit of orange vellum to bring in more color. My sentiment was spelled out of whimsical foam alpha stickers, and I popped up the ghost on some foam squares.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

SOG - Shark & Dino

Shark Cat is another fab digi that was suggested to Kristy and everything about it is perfect - from the annoyed look on the poor cat's face to the floppy fins and teeth on the shark costume. If you haven't seen the glorious shark cat videos, you ought to. Sittin' on a roomba, this awesome cat is a force to be reckoned with!

I didn't have a roomba for my card, but I did have the fabulous sentiment from Steampunk Kaylee that seemed to fit just perfectly. A lime ribbon, a doodad and some enamel dots got it all wrapped up.

T-Rex Dog digi is another new release and a perfect companion to our costumed feline. My favorite part of this stamp is the little paws. So cute!

For this card, I played with stripes and some sparkly sequins. I picked my sentiment from a die and a sticker - don't they go so well together?

Be sure to check Some Odd Girl's blog for more amazing inspiration!

Thanks for reading.
~Elle~

SOG - Voodoo Lady

It's digi release week for Some Odd Girl, and that means you'll be seeing some awesome new cards on my blog and the rest of the DT girls' blogs all week long! If you'd like to see more, head over to Some Odd Girl blog and hop along with us! :)

Voodoo Lady was a stamp I requested, and I admit that I squealed a little when I saw the finished result. Of course, we know Kristy is awesome and beyond talented, but I really think she outdid herself with this awesome stamp. Not only is it a fun and different image, but the level of detail is plain amazing.

For my colors, I chose purples for her skin with some red accents (her tattoos and eyes). The rest of the palette was more earthy - olive greens and tans. I loosely based my coloring on some video game and fantasy book/comic book characters, but I think I gave her enough of a flair to be completely different and unique.

I spent ages on figuring out the background, but finally went with a black and a pink- as they both had the kind of texture that fit the image. I found a couple of fun stickers in my stash and used them for my sentiment. A few enamel dots to echo that red orb, and it's complete!

Thanks for reading,
~Elle~

SOG - Accessories Galore

The final release day for Some Odd Girl is today, and I think it's probably one that you will all be the most excited about because this release features accessories - like hats, glasses, bows and mittens. What's really awesome about the accessories is that you can add them to a huge variety of digital stamps - critters, people or objects. You can re-size them, print, color and trim to add on top of your regular stamps, too. Super versatile!

I used the cute pig from Day 2 release and gave her some glasses and a bow. Not only did this make her look absolutely adorable, but it added some fabulous character. You could easily use the glasses and a scarf to make her into a Harry Potter pig, or add a fancy hat and make her into a fabulous diva.

Of course, I couldn't just stop at one card, and I had to make a super smart Corgi (also day 2). A simple set of glasses, and he looks so smart and clever! Perfect to go with the sentiment from Hipster Pets, right?

And be sure to check out what other creative ideas are brewing over on the Some Odd Girl blog!

SOG - Where's Perry?

Day 4 of the newest Some Odd Girl digi release is here! Today, we've got a whole 'nother bunch of cute and fun critters - llama, platypus and hippo.

I just could not resist the platypus - especially since I also had a hat I could add to him. And that, of course, made me think of Agent P from Phineas and Ferb. So, I just had to make the iconic "where's Perry?" into the sentiment.

The rest of the card was inspired by some fun boy shapes and colors. I decided to make use of some embellishments that have been sitting in my stash for ages and added a few die-cut shapes to make the card more interesting.

Check out what the talented Design Team ladies did over on the blog!

SOG- Spice!

Day 3 of the newest Some Odd Girl release is here! Today, we're inspired by some cute house-hold objects like rolling pins, graters and teapots.

I recently made a card that used the sentiment about spicing up one's life, and I thought it went just perfectly with the little salt/pepper shaker digi. I grabbed my Copics and colored in the shaker stamp, giving it lots of dots to make it look like it was half-filled with pepper. I adhered it to a die-cut circle with a scalloped edge behind it.

I constructed my sentiment out of a die-cut you and the letter stickers I found in my crafty stash. since the sentiment took up a lot of space, I focused my embellishments around the pepper shaker.

Check out what the rest of the Oddies did over on the blog!

Black Sheep Rock

Some Odd Girl release continues with bunches of cute and whimsical critters!

Although all the critters in today's release are adorable, the image I was most drawn to was the Bad Hair Day Sheep - and for a rather unusual reason. The second I saw him, he reminded me of one of my friends - who, aside from being the "black sheep" of the family, also happens to be a big heavy metal/rock fan.

I don't know what it is exactly about this sheep that made me think "rock concert", but I could just clearly imagine him headbanging to a guitar riff or two. Or ramming heads with folks over in the mosh pit...

So, the card was simple - masculine and monochromatic, with just a few dotty embellishments to make it a little less plain.

Check out what the other girls did over at the blog!

Veggie Thanks

It's release week over at Some Odd Girl Stamps, so hang tight as our fab Design Team shares some clever ideas to make use of the new digis.

First on the line of releases is the happy veggies! Now, I have to admit that I was stumped when I first saw these adorable stamps. While I just adore their happy and quirky faces, veggies are not my first choice of theme when it comes to cards. But, then I had a brilliant idea of using the stamps for a quick-n-easy set of thank-you cards to send to my friend Deirdre.

Deirdre has an elderly neighbor has a really lovely and fruitful garden and she enjoys giving away a basket or two of produce to the neighborhood over the summer. Often, it's thanks for shoveling the driveway during the winter or for mowing her lawn in the summer. Or just to thank them for their kindness and consideration.

Here's the set I came up with:

I kept the cards super simple by focusing on just the image and a large die-cut thanks sentiment. I added a few enamel dots as embellishment and packaged them together with some orange ribbon.

I think they're pretty great and that Deirdre's neighbor will really enjoy them.

Be sure to visit Some Odd Girl blog for more inspiration!

(New) Gnome Town

I think we've saved the best for the last, with the incredible Gnome Town stamp from Some Odd Girl!

Now, a big stamp might be intimidating, but Gnome Town is so charming that I jumped straight into coloring. I used only Copics and tried my hand at some reflective lighting to complement my night-time scene.

Since the stamp was so large and detailed, I simply adhered it to a wood-grain patterned paper. I decided not to add any sentiments or embellishments to not detract from the awesome image.

See how the rest of the Odd Girls used this stamp on Some Odd Girl's Blog!
~Elle~

(New) Background Elements

Today's Some Odd Girl release is actually a whole collection of must-have stamps! The background builder features several pieces of flora that allows you to build a background for your gnomes, fairies and woodland critters. What's great about this collection in particular is that the stamps are at drawn at a very high resolution. So, you can print out your images as large or as small as you need them.

I really wanted to highlight one of the trees, so I printed it out large enough to fit a card front and got to coloring! I used pinks for the leaves, just to do something unique and I did a simple dotted background on a plain white card base. A sentiment sticker and a couple of enamel dots, and my card was done.

For more uses of this fab collection, check out Some Odd Girl Blog!
~Elle~

(New) Gnome Mountain

Today's card features a very grumpy-yet-adorable gnome that's just perfect for cheer-up cards, birthday cards and congratulations. With his grumpy look, the stamp lends itself to funny cards and serious cards alike. And the addition of the little snail adds just the right amount of cute.

I kept my card super simple, matching up the Copic coloring with an ombré patterned paper and a few small enamel dots. Like my previous two cards, I found the sentiment in my stash of stickers.

Check out what the other Odd Girls are up ton on Some Odd Girls' blog!
~Elle~

(New) Gnome Fishing

We're continuing on with Some Odd Girl digi stamp releases! Today's stamp is Gnome Fishing, and it features a fun fishing stamp - perfect for boy cards, masculine cards or just a fun new something to color.

Like yesterday, I created a custom hand-colored Copic background for my image. I chose more masculine colors this time around, sticking with blues and greens. I set the stamp against a woodgrain background, and added a simple "Relax" sticker. As a last touch, a few enamel dots and shapes rounded everything off.

Be sure to check out Some Odd Girl blog for more inspiration!
~Elle~

(New) Gnome Girl

Today is the beginning of an exciting new week for Some Odd Girl -- it's release week and there's oodles of fantastic new digis coming your way. The theme for this release is gnomes, and they're absolutely adorable!

The digi we're featuring today is Gnome Girl, who comes with a cute pose and the tree stump and foliage. I was immediately inspired to create a forest scene, so I took out my Copics and did a loose hand-colored background.

I chose some pretty papers that had similar tones to my coloring and added a simple sticker for a sentiment. A couple of enamel dots and the card was done!

Join me tomorrow for another fab digi, and remember to check Some Odd Girl blog to see what the rest of the talent created.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~

Balloon Tia

Today is new digi release day for Some Odd Girl, and the digi is just irresistible! Meet Balloons Tia -- the perfect stamp for celebrating those happy moments (birthday included!).

I couldn't decide what color to use for Tia's gorgeous dress - pink or purple... So, I incorporated both! To add some contrast, I colored her balloons yellow. Once she was colored in, I carefully cut her out with a pair of sharp scissors, leaving a small white border.

The rest of my card was kept pretty simple. I grabbed a simple peachy wide-striped patterned paper and some dotty vellum to create my panels. I added a die-cut smile (because she definitely makes me smile!) and a scattering of sequins and enamel dots. Voila! Simple, bright and happy.

Head on over to Some Odd Girl blog to see what the rest of the team did with Tia.

Thanks for reading!
~Elle~