Blog

Halloween

Halloween Cards Day #2

kittieslovecrafting

Hello friends. Today’s card features some adorable crafty little squirrels from Lawn Fawn’s Pick of the Patch Stampset. This stamp set can be for both Fall and Halloween but it can also be used in combination with other cute Lawn Fawn stamps to create other occasion cards. It also pairs well with the Lawn Fawn Reveal Wheel Die and Pick of the Patch Reveal Wheel Add-ons.

While this card looks very time consuming, it really isn’t. The most time consuming part was the coloring. I started by diecutting the tree using the Lawn Fawn Landscape Leafy Tree Backdrop from some Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock. Then starting with a piece of Old Olive Cardstock measuring approximately 3 x 4-1/4″, I diecut the grass using the Lawn Fawn Simple Grassy Hillsides Dies. Next I cut out a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ to 4-1/4 x 5-1/2″. I used Seedless Preserves, Chipped Sapphire and Faded Jeans Distress Oxide Inks to create a night sky. I started with Seedless Preserves, then blended Chipped Sapphire above that and Faded Jeans above that. Once all was blended, i added some Black Soot Distress Ink at the very top portion, over the blues to darken it up a bit.

While the inks dried, I stamped the all the pumpkins, the squirrels and the carving tools and added faces to the pumpkins from the Lawn Fawn Pick of the Patch stampset using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink. I will be coloring these with Copics later. I set those aside to dry and added some Peeled Paint Distress Ink to the bottom 2/3 of the grassy hillside.

The back panel was dry by this point so I added some stars from the Lawn Fawn Pick of the Patch stampset using Versamark Clear Emboss Ink and Wow White Embossing Powder. I made sure to prep the surface with an Anti-Static Powder before embossing the area. Lastly I added some splashes with white acrylic paint (any white acrylic paint will do).

It was time to color. I like to do this usually while watching some videos on my Ipad. Just relax and color. Sometimes when I don’t feel inspired to create, I will stamp out images from stampsets I may have sitting on my desk waiting to be used and just sit and color them while watching TV.

I used Copic Markers to color everything (all the colors are listed at the end of this post. I diecut those images out with the coordinating dies. I also added some highlights with my Uni-Ball Signo White Gel Pen.

I stamped the sentiment from the Lawn Fawn Pick of the Patch stampset using Orange Twist Ink by Catherine Pooler Designs onto a scrap of cut a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″. I made sure it was at least 5-1/2″ wide. Then cut it down to 5/8 x 5-1/2″. I find it easier to start with a larger piece of paper than needed because even using my MISTI I can’t seem to center it correctly all the time. LOL. Anyone else have this problem???

Ok, it’s time to assemble this card. I adhered the grassy hillside to the tree backdrop panel first. Trimmed off any excess cardstock and added some Foam Tape behind all of the grass and tree backdrop. I left the top of the grass without Foam Tape so I can tuck some pumpkins behind it. I aligned the sky panel behind the tree backdrop and stuck those together. I laid out my images where I wanted and adhered them onto the panel, tucking two pumpkins behind the grass, one in front of it but all adhered flat. I then adhered the carved pumpkin towards the bottom and popped up the squirrels and carving tools with some Stampin Up! Dimensionals.

At this point I was looking at my card and decided I needed to add some leaves because the grass had too much dead space so I used Eucalyptus Ink by Catherine Pooler Designs and stamped the leaf from the Lawn Fawn Pick of the Patch stampset all over the grass.

I adhered the sentiment strip to the top 1/3 of the card over the tree. I added this completed panel to a card base created from Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock and measuring 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″and scored at 4-1/4″. Last but not least, I added some Nuvo Glitter Drops in White Blizzard to the sky to add some sparkle and Nuvo Crystal Drops in Bottle Green on each side of the sentiment strip.

I generally don’t like to leave the inside of my cards (especially holiday cards) empty inside so I stamped the HAPPY HALLOWEEN sentiment from the stampset in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and the pumpkins in Orange Twist Ink by Catherine Pooler Designs and Memento Tuxedo Black Ink onto a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″, cut to 4 x 5-1/4″.

Dimensions

Copic Colors Used

  • Pumpkins: YR04, YR12 and YR27 ; Stems: YG13 and YG25; Guts: Y13 and YR04
  • Squirrels: W1, W5 and W7; Cheeks: R20
  • Pumpkin scooper: YG13 and G94
  • Knife handle: BV11 and BV17; Knife blade: C00 and C3

Supplies

https://linkdeli.com/widget.js?1559654439292

Thanks for reading this very long post and I hope I’ve inspired you to make some Halloween cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Halloween, Uncategorized

Halloween Cards Day #1

kittieslovecrafting

Halloween is just 7 weeks away but who’s counting?!? Umm. Me! I love Halloween even if I don’t get to dressed up anymore. It’s still sooo much fun!!!!

So I’m kicking off my Halloween series with an easy card. Black cardstock, stamps, embossing powder and some colored pencils is all you really need. So grab your favorite Halloween stamps and let’s begin!

I started with a panel of Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock cut to 5 1/2 x 4 1/4″. When your whole image is going to be heat embossed, it’s a good idea to start with a piece of paper/cardstock that is slightly larger than you will need. This gives room for errors. God knows I need it! LOL.

I pulled out one my new favorite Halloween stampsets, the Spooky Hollow by Catherine Pooler Designs then using my MISTI, I laid out the stamps I needed and mapped out my scene.

I prepped the surface with an anti-static bag (especially important on dark cardstocks) and stamped the house, the tree, one bat and the moon first, using Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder. Next, I reapplied some more anti-static powder and stamped and heat embossed the second bat and the fence which I had to stamp 3-4 times to get a continuous fence. Then stamped and white heat embossed the sentiment onto a scrap of Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock. Before I diecut this panel out, I added some white dots with my Uni-Ball Signo Broad Point White Gel Pen to the sky. This can also be done with paint splatters. I just wasn’t in the mood for the mess that day.

Once all the stamping was done, I diecut the panel using the largest die from Lawn Fawn’s Small Stitched Rectangle Dies which measures 3-3/4 x 5″.

Time to color the house… You can certainty leave it uncolored but I wanted it to stand out and I was curious to see how my Prismacolor Pencils looked on the black cardstock.

I used two greens for the roof and door, two purples for the house, two greys for the porch floor, a yellow for the window shutters and a yellow orange for the inside of the window, and finally two reddish browns for the wood boards. Prismacolor Pencils have a rich pigment so they show up on dark cardstock nicely. Then I fussycut the sentiment and adhered it using Stampin’ Dimensionals.

I diecut a panel of some very old Halloween pattern paper from my stash using the largest die from Lawn Fawn’s Large Stitched Rectangles which measures to 5-1/2 x 4-1/4″. I distressed it a bit using Ranger Black Soot Distress Ink. Then adhered the black panel onto it and that to a card base (Simon Says Stamp Blue Violet 100lb Cardstock) measuring 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″and scored at 4 1/4″.

Lastly I finished off the card with some Nuvo Glitter Drops in White Blizzard. But I couldn’t leave the inside empty so cut a panel of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2″ and adhered a piece of the same Halloween pattern paper, measuring 3/4 x 5-1/4″ to the bottom edge, which I also distressed with Black Soot Distress Ink.

But I didn’t stop there. I was having too much fun with this card so I used the fence stamps from Spooky Hollow by Catherine Pooler Designs and white heat embossed it along the bottom edge of a black Euroflap Envelope.

Dimensions

Supplies

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I’ve inspired you to start making your Halloween cards. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Cards, Summer, Thank Yous

Quick Cards Using only Pattern Paper and Sentiment Stamps

kittieslovecrafting

Hello friends. I would like to talk to you all about pattern paper and cardstock today. Most of us have a ton of it, some of us use it and some of us hoard it (Guilty as charged. LOL) Sometimes we have pattern papers that have images on them but no coordinating stamps (either you didn’t purchase them or the manufacturer didn’t create a coordinating stampset). These two paper packs from Brutus Monroe were part of their June release. Very fruity and summery but there is no coordinating stamps. I have several fruity stamp sets that will work with this paper but I know that many other people may not.

So I decided to challenge myself to make cards with just the paper and some sentiments from my stash. Since it’s still summer I decided to use fruity paper. Fruit is a delicious summer treat!

The first card I made was using the Fresh Melon Paper Pad. I grabbed my LAYERING CIRCLES DIES by Stampin’ Up! and cut out a 3″ circle from the green melon stripe pattern. Next I cut a 2 1/4″ and a 2″ circle from Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″. I took the 2″ one and inked it with Rockin Red Ink by Catherine Pooler, inking from the center out so the outer edges are lighter. I sprayed some water on it and patted it dry to remove it.

Thanks a Melon

I let that dry for a few minutes and then adhered all the circles together layering from the smallest to largest. I cut that piece in half and cut slices out of the other half. I drew some seeds on each piece with my Faber-Castell BLACK ESSENTIAL PITT Artist Pens and some highlights with my Uni-Ball Signo Broad Point Gel Pen – White.

Ok, time to work on the background. I chose 4 pattern papers from the pack, cut one to 1/2 x 2-1/4″, one to 2 x 3-1/4″, one to 2 x 3-7/16″ and the last one to 2 x 2″. I adhered them on the white card base as per the below sketch. If you want a gap between your rectangles cut them down to 1/16th smaller on each side. I added a strip of the thicker width Pin Stripe Peel-Off Stickers – Apple Green by Love From Lizi vertically in the center, then the narrowest width strips to the outer edges and in between the panels horizontally.

Thanks A Melon Card Sketch

I masked off the “BUSHEL” part of the THANKS A BUSHEL from Lawn Fawn Thanks a Bushel Stamps and stamped “Thanks A” with Tsukineko Versamark EMBOSS INK PAD Watermark and heat embossed with WOW Embossing Powder OPAQUE BRIGHT WHITE SUPER FINE onto a piece of Stampin’ Up! Real Red Cardstock. I then cut that down to a strip measuring 1/2 x 2-1/4. I also stamped the word “MELON” using Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Pad by Stampin’ Up! and the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamp Set onto Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock. I fussycut those out leaving a white border around each letter.

Thanks a Melon

I laid out my sentiments and watermelon pieces onto my card to figure out placement. Once I was happy with it, I adhered all the pieces down, popping up one watermelon slice with Stampin’ Dimensionals by Stampin’ Up! . To finish this card, i added some Tonic Nuvo Drops in BOTTLE GREEN.

I had so much fun playing with these papers from Brutus Monroe that I decided to make another card.

The second card came together quickly. I started with a white card base measuring 5-1/2 x 8-1/2″, scoring it at 4 1/2″. This was made from Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″. Next, I cut some of the pattern paper down to 4 x 5-1/4″ and cut that down diagonally as per the below sketch. I did the same thing to a second pattern paper (green one) and adhered that behind the top layer, offsetting it a bit to create a border. I added a strip of the thinner width Love From Lizi Pin Stripe Peel-Off Stickers in Gold Glitter between the two pattern papers and adhered them to my card base, leaving a 1/8 border around the edge.

Thanks Card Sketch

For the sentiment, I kept thing simple. I used the Large Thanks Die from Honey Bee Stamps and diecut the word 3 times from Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100# BLACK Cardstock. I layered those 3 together and adhered them, creating a nice thick 3D sentiment. I adhered those to the card in the center of the white space. I felt like something was missing though. I took another pattern paper that had small lemons, limes and oranges (maybe grapefruit? not sure) and using a 1/2 punch I cut 3 of them out and adhered them on my page. That completed the front of this card! Like I said, this one was a quick one.

But just because I hate an empty card inside, I adhered some of the same pattern paper I used on the front diagonally to the inside bottom right corner. And now its complete!

Thanks_Card Inside
https://linkdeli.com/widget.js?1559654439292

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I’ve inspired you to start making your thank you cards. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Cards, Christmas, Christmas, Uncategorized

Christmas in July

kittieslovecrafting

Hello friends. Another Monday is upon us and July is almost over. I don’t know when the whole Christmas in July phenomenon started but I look forward to it every year now. The Hallmark Channel shows Christmas movies all month long, which I just love; those cheesy Christmas movies are the best! There are crafty sales and giveaways and crafters share cute Holiday cards and crafts. What could be better? It’s also a great time to get a jump start on your holiday cards. Before we know it will be December and time to send out cards!

And since I love a good Christmas card just as much as the next gal, I had to join in the fun before July was over. I kept things simple with this card. First I cut a piece of Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2″ and scored it at 4 1/4″ for my card base. Next I cut a piece of Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100lb Lipstick Red to 4 x 5 1/4″, grabbed my Stampers Anonymous – Tim Holtz – Holiday Script Stencil and some Therm O Web TRANSFER GEL iCraft Deco Foil and began the foiling process. It’s super easy but requires patience and drying time.

I taped the red cardstock to my work surface using some Post-it Tape and then taped in place the stencil where I wanted it. Since this stencil is narrower than the cardstock panel, if you want to cover the whole background you will have to do these steps twice. I did not have to do this however since I will be covering the left side. I used a palette knife to spread the deco foil transfer gel over the stencil, making sure to spread it evenly and thinly. You don’t want a thick uneven layer or the foil will not stick correctly. I set that aside to dry (it took a couple of hours) and took cut a piece of Stampin’ Up! Old Olive Cardstock to 1 1/8 x 5 1/4″ and ran it through my diecut machine using the Darice Diagonal Stripe Embossing Folder.

Still waiting for the first half of the deco foil gel to dry, I proceeded to diecut my snowflakes. I cut 3 snowflakes using the Delicate Snowflake Die by Catherine Pooler Designs from Neenah 110lb Classic Crest Cardstock 8.5″X11″ and adhered them together to create a dimensional snowflake.

Several hours later…

The transfer gel will look shiny once it is dried. I placed a piece of the Therm O Web Gina K Designs RADIANT RED Fancy Foils Deco Foil over the red panel, sandwiched it inside a folded piece of parchment paper and ran it through my laminator (make sure it is good and hot). It comes out so pretty! I took the embossed piece of Stampin’ Up! Old Olive Cardstock and adhered it to the left side of the red foiled panel, added a strip of the wider Pin Stripe Peel-Off Stickers – Gold Mirror Moondust from Love From Lizi and then adhered that all to my card base, leaving a 1/8″ border all around the card.

Time to add the snowflake. I adhered that 3D white snowflake roughly in the center of the card, added some Tonic PALE GOLD Nuvo Crystal Drops to the center of the snowflake, the top and bottom of the card panel. And the card is finished! Oh wait! we need a sentiment!

I added the “Merry & Bright” sentiment from Peaceful Flakes Stamp Set by Catherine Pooler Designs to the inside of the card using my Old Olive Classic Stampin’ Pad by Stampin’ Up! as well as a large snowflake from Peaceful Flakes Stamp Set by Catherine Pooler Designs in Real Red Classic Stampin’ Pad | Stampin’ Up! to the bottom right corner. Ok now this card I complete!!!!

Supplies

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I’ve inspired you to start making your Christmas/Holiday cards. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Cards, Encouragement, Just Because, Thank Yous

5 Cards 1 Kit (Simon Says Stamps July Card Kit)

kittieslovecrafting

Hello friends. I finally got to play with this adorable bee-themed card kit from Simon Says Stamps. It’s the July Card Kit called Bee Yourself. Lots of fun products to play with and I just adore the stampset. Unfortunately the kit is no longer available but I will link all the available individual products. I almost strictly used only the card kit contents. I did bring in a few of my own products and I will link those below as well.

Card Kit Supplies

When I first saw the reveal video for this kit, I fell for the paper pad from Honeybee Stamps immediately. I knew I had to use the aqua watercolor pattern first. I kept it simple. I wanted to see if I could foil using a stamp and the glue pad and a stamp (didn’t have transfer gel. I do NOW though 🙂 ).

For the first card, I cut out the aqua watercolor pattern piece to 4 x 5 1/4” and glued it onto an A2 sized white card base (Simon Says Stamp White 120# cardstock). I then used the Glue Sponge like an ink pad with a stamp and then placed the Rainbow Shattered Glass Foil Transfer Sheet on top of the area and ran it through my laminator. It didn’t come out even but I decided to make it work. I added some strips of two other pattern papers from the Honey Bee The Bee’s Knees exclusive 6 x 6 paper pad.

I had previously stamped, colored and fussycut several bees from the Simon Says Stamp Bee Yourself 6 x 8 clear stamp set. I laid out my stamps on my card then using Ranger Black Archival Jet I stamped the bee trail and then using Versamark clear embossing ink I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed it with Wow white embossing powder. I colored the “BEE” with a yellow and white Prismacolor Pencils, and adhered my bee and added some of the sequins from the Black and Yellow custom sequin pack.

I stamped the bee and trail again on the inside of the card and added a second smaller sentiment.

The second card came together very quickly. I cut a piece of the yellow hexagon paper from the Honey Bee The Bee’s Knees exclusive 6 x 6 paper pad to 4 x 5 1/4” and adhered it to an A2 sized black card base (Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock). Next I used some of the rainbow foil on the preprinted foilable cards and fussycut out the flower and sentiment.

I diecut a few hexagons from Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock using the Simon Says Stamp Small Hexagon Cluster wafer thin die and a few from some black glitter paper. I added the black hexagon cluster to the card and then inlayed 3 glitter hexagons back into the clusters. I added a black mat behind the sentiment. Then I adhered the flower onto the right side of the card and the sentiment toward the bottom. I adhered the little bees and added some sequins to finish off the card.

For my next card I wanted to use the foil as if I didn’t have a laminating machine. I diecut a piece of Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock with the Honeybee Stamps Hexagon Coverplate Top Die. I cut a piece of the Rainbow Foil and adhered it to the back of the black panel and adhered that into an A2 sized card base (Simon Says Stamp Seaglass cardstock). I wanted to keep this one very simple so the sparkly background could be the star. I cut a strip of Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock to about 1 1/4 x 4” and heat embossed the BEE yourself sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp Bee Yourself 6 x 8 clear stamp set in Wow white embossing powder. I adhered that to the card front, added the bees and some sequins and the card is done. Or is it? Nope because I couldn’t stop there. I stamped the “bee-utiful” sentiment and a little bee with Ranger Black Archival Jet Black on the inside of the card. And now this card is done!

3 cards done, 2 to go…

Another paper that I really like for this collection was the black and white wonky (technical term :)) striped one. Another thing I wanted to use was the foilable cards. And the rainbow one of course calls for rainbow foil (duh). I only foiled the rainbow itself and the little bees so that they would stand out. I fussycut around the images and words, leaving a white border around them. I chose the yellow polka dotted pattern paper from the paper pad as my background. I cut a piece to 3 1/4 x 5 1/2”. I adhered a strip of the black and white wonky stripe paper onto and A2 sized card base (Simon Says Stamp Sunshine cardstock), leaving a 1/4 inch on each side, and adhered the yellow polka dot one in the center over that piece. I added some thin Love From Lizi Pin Stripe Black Glitter Peel Offs to separate the patterns a bit. I love the peel offs from Love From Lizi! They add interest to your card with little effort and she sells soooo many colors (glitter, metallic, transparent). Super fun.

Anyways back to my card…

I adhered the images down onto the card and added some sequins from the included pack. To finish off the inside I cut a piece of Simon Says Stamp White 120# cardstock to 4 x 5 1/4” and adhered inside the card. I added a 1 x 5 1/4” strip of the yellow polka dotted paper and a 1/2 x 5 1/4” strip of the black and white wonky striped paper to the right side of that panel. And stamped the “JUST bee-cause” sentiment in Ranger Black Archival Jet Black. And this completes card #4.

While I was making these cards, I had a thought…how cute would the bees look on a tag??? So I got out my trusty tag die from Tim Holtz (Sizzix Framelit Dies – Tag Collection by Tim Holtz) and diecut 2 tags using the second to largest die from Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock. I chose two pattern papers for my backgrounds, the light wood grain and the black and aqua hexagons, diecut 2 of each of those and glued them onto the front and back of the tag. Then I got to distressing.

For this first tag, I used Ranger Distress Ink – Tumbled Glass, Ranger Distress Ink – Walnut Stain, Ranger Distress Ink – Antique Linen, and Ranger Distress Ink – Black Soot. I kept layering them and drying in between til I got the desired color. Once everything dried, I added 4 pieces of the Simon Says Stamp Small Hexagon Cluster wafer thin die. Then I heat embossed a sentiment using Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder. I stamped a bee trail in black with in Ranger Black Archival Jet Black and added a bee which I had colored using COPIC markers and fussycut. Lastly I fussycut some blue flowers from the white pattern paper that featured them, applied some distress ink around edges and adhered those in place. I then added white splatters with some acrylic paint. To finish off the tag I added some Lawn Fawn Trimmings Lemon Single Cord and Nuvo Drops in Ivory Seashell.

For this second tag I used Ranger Distress Ink – Tumbled Glass, Ranger Distress Ink – Mustard Seed, Ranger Distress Ink – Walnut Stain, and Ranger Distress Ink – Black Soot. I then used some scraps of the pattern paper and adhered them diagonally to the bottom right of the tag, and added some distress ink to tone them down. I added some Love From Lizi Pin Stripe Black Glitter Peel Offs, stamped some hexagons in Ranger Black Archival Jet Black and heat embossed a sentiment using Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder. I colored the ‘BEE’ with Prismacolor Pencils, added some Lawn Fawn Aquamarine Single Cord and the tag is done.

I don’t want to leave this tag just as is though. I thought it might look cute as a card instead. So I cut a piece of the yellow hexagon paper to 1-1/4 x 5 1/2” and a piece of the yellow polka dot paper to -1 x 5 1/2” and adhere it to the.back of the hexagon paper and adhered both to an A2 sized card base (Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock).

I adhered the tag to the card base on a slight angle, placing it over the edges.i trimmed off the excess and proceeded to diecut some more hexagon clusters with black cardstock and adhered them to the card. I added one on the black. paper so it looks like it’s embossed. I added three little bees and some sequins to complete this card.

Supplies

Card Kit Includes:


Other Supplies Used:


Hope you’ve enjoyed this post. Thanks for reading to the end; I know it was a long one. I hope I’ve inspired you to make some adorable bee cards of your own. Whether you have the kit or not you can make these cards. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Cards, Celebrations, Fall, Just Because

Donut Cards

kittieslovecrafting

Happy Monday everyone! Coming to you today with some fun and delicious cards. I love coffee and donuts but since I am trying to be good (yeah, right!) and not eat too much sugar, I will make them into cards instead.

This die from Honey Bee Stamps really makes them super quick and easy to make. There are also so many ways to embellish this cute donut card. It can be for birthdays, holidays, seasons, or just because.

All the cards bases were created using Lawn Fawn Paper Bag 8. 1/2 x 11” Cardstock along with the Honey Bee Stamps Donut Card Die. On this first card I used Lawn Fawn Guava 8 1/2 x 11” Cardstock and the Honey Bee Stamps Donut Card Die to create the frosting and added a layer of orange Queen & Co Rainbow Glitter Fun Foam to highlight the sprinkles. In retrospect I should’ve made the sprinkles 3D, but oh well.

I diecut the sentiment from Neenah Solar White 8 1/2 x 11” 110lb Cardstock using the Honey Bee Stamps Donut Worry Dies for the inside and the outside of the card. I used Stampin’ Up! Vellum for the sentiment shadow. I glued all of it with Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue.

The second card uses SU! Highland Heather 8 1/2 x 11 Cardstock for the frosting and a layer of light pink Queen & Co Rainbow Glitter Fun Foam to highlight the sprinkles.

I diecut the word ‘Sweet’ from Neenah Solar White 8 1/2 x 11” 110lb Cardstock using the Catherine Pooler Celebrate Friends Stamp of Approval Collection Sweet Die. I then ink blended Catherine Pooler It’s A Girl ink to create an ombré effect on the word. I glued that down onto a scrap of Stampin’ Up! 8 1/2 x 11 Early Espresso 8 1/2 x 11” cardstock and fussycut around it to create a shadow. I stamped the word ‘You’re’ from Stampin’ Up!’s Cool Treats (retired) with Versamark clear embossing ink onto a piece of Stampin’ Up! 8 1/2 x 11 Early Espresso 8 1/2 x 11” cardstock and heat embossed it with Wow white embossing powder. I adhered those two pieces to the front of the card with Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue.

On the inside I diecut out a donut shape using the Honey Bee Stamps Donut Card Die circle die from Neenah Solar White 8 1/2 x 11” 110lb Cardstock and stamped a sentiment from Stampin’ Up!’s Cool Treats (retired) in Catherine Pooler Designs Over Coffee Ink and glued the piece inside the card.

For the last card I had to make it a Fall card, not only because I love Fall but also because I love pumpkin spiced everything and donuts are no exception. Can’t wait for Fall people!

Anyways I used SU! Pumpkin Pie 8 1/2 x 11 Cardstock for the yummy orange frosting and layered purple Queen & Co Rainbow Glitter Fun Foam (ok it’s a little bit more Halloween than Fall but that’s ok ‘cuz I live Halloween too).

For the sentiment, I stamped part of it using the Honey Bee Stamps Happy Fall Y’all stampset, Versamark clear embossing ink and heat embossed it with Wow white embossing powder onto a piece of Stampin’ Up! 8 1/2 x 11 Early Espresso 8 1/2 x 11” cardstock. Then diecut the ‘Fall’ word from Stampin’ Up! 8 1/2 x 11 Early Espresso 8 1/2 x 11” cardstock with the Fall die from the same stampset.

To make the word appear to float over the donut hole, I used a strip of Stampin’ Up! Vellum and adheredit over the hole. I used the circle die in the Donut Card dieset to trim the sides. I then adhered the rest of the sentiment pieces above and below. I used Nuvo Crystal Drops in Violet Galaxy to add some embellishment.

Lastly I stamped a sentiment from the Queen & Co Happy Harvest Kit with Catherine Pooler Designs Over Coffee Ink and this card is complete.

Before I go I just want to say that if you want to make these cards and you don’t have all the supplies I used and don’t want to purchase them, just look through your stash of stamps, dies, and papers and make them your own. It’s fun to play with different looks. The possibilities are really endless. Have FUN with it!!!

Dimensions

Supplies

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I’ve inspired you to give the Honey Bee Donut Card Die a try and make some donut cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Birthdays, Cards, Celebrations

Today is Your Day

kittieslovecrafting

Hello friends. This card features stamps from Catherine Pooler Designs. These stamps are from the Celebrate Friends Stamp of Approval Collection but are also sold separately. I wanted to make a cheerful, fun but gender neutral card. This can be for a birthday or other celebration. This card is available for sale in my Etsy shop if you prefer not to make it yourself.

Ok let’s make this card. First I cut a piece of Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2” for the card base and scored it at 4 1/4”, another piece to 4 x 5 1/4” for the back panel and a third to 1 1/8 x 5 1/2” for the vertical strip. Time to do some stamping.

I stamped the back panel first using the mod circles from Catherine Pooler Designs Punctuated Party Stamp Set and Catherine Pooler Fiesta Blue Ink and Catherine Pooler Garden Party Ink. Next I stamped the mod streamers from the same stampset using Catherine Pooler Fiesta Blue Ink and Catherine Pooler Over Coffee Ink. I stamped 3 next to each other. Then I stamped the sentiment onto a piece of with Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock using Catherine Pooler Over Coffee Ink and the Catherine Pooler Designs Punctuated Party Stamp Set. I quickly (gotta be quick or the ink will dry) sprinkled some WOW Clear Embossing Powder and heat set it using my heat gun.

I diecut the sentiment with the Simon Says Stamp STITCHED SQUARES Wafer Dies. Then I fussycut the streamers out. Time to start putting this card together. I adhered the back panel to the card base and then I went to adhere the streamers to that and realized it was not going to hold up against the background. So I cut out a piece of Stampin’ Up! Vellum to 4 x 5 1/4” and adhered it on top of the card panel. Now I can adhere the streamer strip over that. I added the sentiment piece with some 3M foam tape to the card.

Something is missing but what… It’s not festive enough. What’s a birthday car without cake and a party hat?!? So I stamped the cake from Catherine Pooler Designs WooHoo Stamp Set in Catherine Pooler Fiesta Blue Ink and the party hat in Catherine Pooler Garden Party Ink and Catherine Pooler Over Coffee Ink and diecut them with their coordinating dies. I added some Stampin’ Dimensionals to each image and added it to the card. Finished it off with some Tonic Nuvo Jewel Drops in Key Lime and Sea Breeze and I added some shimmer to the cake with my Spectrum Noir Clear Overlay Sparkle Brush Pen. All supplies and dimensions listed below.

Dimensions

Supplies

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I’ve inspired you to make some birthday cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Art Journal

Imagine the Possibilities Art Journal Page

kittieslovecrafting

Hello friends. Today’s post is a little different. Coming to you with a with an art journal layout. I haven’t done one of these in quite a while but it’s time to start it up again. An art journal is just a fun place to play with your products and experiment. Sometimes it comes out great and sometimes not so much but it’s about having fun. If you haven’t tried art journaling yet I highly recommend it. You don’t need a ton of supplies to do this either. I like to keep some printed tissue papers and some Acrylic paints on hand. I use stamps and pattern papers from my stash. God knows I have plenty of those!!! LOL I recently purchased the Stamperia paper after seeing Umut Radios use them in her videos. They are beautiful papers. Check out her videos for more inspiration. She inspired me to get started; she makes beautiful layouts using printed napkins!

Ok so let take you through my process. First I gathered some supplies.

Supplies

I stamped the Tim Holtz Rubber Stamp BOOKS SKETCH Stampers Anonymous several times onto scraps of Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock with Ranger Black Archival Jet Black Ink. At this point I only had a slight idea of what I was doing on these pages but I kind of knew I wanted stacks of books. I will continue while those dry.

I added Canvas Tissuestock Printed French Script, 12-Inch by 12-Inch, Ivory, 10-Pack to the pages. I used Matte gel medium to adhere. I added some to the back and then some over top once down on the page. This seals it and allows you to add other mediums on top without saturating the paper. Next I tore up some of the pattern paper from the Stamperia Scrapbooking Paper – Clockwise collection and randomly adhered them onto the pages. No need for perfection here because I want it to look organic. I sealed everything with Matte gel medium. And now I wait…and wait…and wait for it to dry. A couple of hours later….

Step 1 – Adding Paper

Time to add ink some. I spritzed the pages with water and again very randomly sprayed distress sprays in Tumbled Glass and Walnut Stain. I spread it around with a brush and used my heat tool to dry it some but I still had to wait for it to dry a few hours before continuing with other colors. Once it dried, I added some Broken China Distress Stain, Ground Espresso Distress Stain, and Tarnished Brass Distress Stain and kept layering color until I was happy with the results.

Step 2 – Adding Ink

While that dried, I cut out and colored all my images. i distressed the tag edges and added distress ink at the edges. I added Walnut Stain Distress Stain and Ground Espresso Distress Stain around the edges of all the cut outs, except the books. Set those aside to dry and got my Stencils out. I used some brown and aqua acrylic paint with the Catherine Pooler Harleen Creative Screenings to some texture. The pattern is similar to the one on the paper I added in the background. Then I used the Tim Holtz Layering Stencil BURLAP with gold acrylic paint and added some small areas of gold.

Final page

Next I laid out the images on my spread and adhered them down with Matte gel medium. Let that dry and completely and added shading with my Faber Castell Stamper’s Big Brush Pens and highlights with a Uni-Ball Signo Broad Point White Gel Pen. Lastly I added splatters with gold and white acrylic paint.

Here are some closeups.

  • Top Left Page_Closeup
  • Bottom Left Page_Closeup
  • Top Right Page_Closeup
  • Bottom Right Page_Closeup

Supplies

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I’ve inspired you to make some adorable critter cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Cards, Celebrations, Encouragement, Just Because, Mother’s Day

Stampin’ Up! So Hoppy Together Stampset

kittieslovecrafting

Hello friends, I’m coming at you today with this cute and simple froggy card using Stampin’ Up!’s SO HOPPY TOGETHER Stamp Set. I’ve had this stampset for awhile and just got around to making some cards. It was part of the Stampin’ Up! Sale-a-bration 2019 catalog so unfortunately is no longer available but I still wanted to present some inspiration for those of you who have this stampset. And if you don’t have the stampset you can easily substitute another critter for the frogs. And if you want to own any of these cards they are both available for sale in my Etsy shop.

Celebrate Your Awesomeness Card

For this card I kept things simple. I cut a card base to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2” from Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock and scored it at 4 1/4”. Then cut and adhered a panel measuring 4 1/4 x 5 1/2” and a Strip to 1 3/4 x 5 1/2” from Queen and Company Flirty Florals Paper Pad to the card base. Using a paper pad is a great way to ensure that all your pattern papers coordinate. No guessing necessary.

I stamped the frog images onto Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and colored them with Daffodil Delight Stampin’ Blends Markers, Granny Apple Green Stampin’ Blends Markers, Highland Heather Stampin’ Blends Markers, Pool Party Stampin’ Blends Markers and Rich Razzleberry Stampin’ Blends Markers.

I fussycut all the images out then diecut the circles with the Queen and Company Foundation Dies #1. Using the Company Sentiment Stacker Dies, I diecut the ‘Celebrate’ word from Simon Says Stamp Black Card stock and the shadow from Stampin’ Up! Vellum. I adhered those two pieces together then proceeded to stamp and heat emboss the sentiment strip onto black cardstock using Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder. That was then cut out using the Company Foundation Dies #2.

I figured out the placement of all the images and sentiments on the card and adhered. Finished it off with some Nuvo drops in Key Lime, Purple Rain and Sea Breeze. I also stamped the froggy image on a white envelope.

Dimensions

Supplies

Hoppy For You

This card is my favorite of the two. Also quite easy to make. This time the pattern paper is just an accent or enhancement.

I cut a card base to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2” and a panel to 4 x 5 1/4” from Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock. Then cut a strip of Catherine Pooler Black Tie Gala Patterned Paper to 1 3/16 x 5 1/4” and Simon Says Stamp Black Card stock to 1 3/8 x 5 1/4″. I adhered those two pieces together and then to the card panel. Then adhered the white card panel to the card base.

I had already stamped and colored the images prior to starting this card. If I know I’m making multiple cards using the same stamp set, I like to stamp and color all the images I need (or just a bunch of I’m not sure what I want to use) before I create my cards. I will fussycut them just before I begin the cardmaking process. Onto the next step then…

I used some Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock and used the direct-to-paper method to color with Catherine Pooler Fiesta Blue Ink. This method is a great way to match your cardstock to your project. If you want to see this technique in action check out this video from Catherine Pooler.

Next I diecut the word “HOPPY” with the Honey Bee Bee Bold Alphabet Dies. I also cut two additional sets of the word from Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock. I stacked the two white sets together and adhered, followed by the colored set of letters on top of those.

I stamped the sentiment with the Lawn Fawn Happy Happy Happy Sentiments using Versamark clear embossing ink onto Simon Says Stamp Black Card stock and heat embossed with Wow white embossing powder. I cut it down to a strip measuring 1/2 x 1 3/4”. Time to adhere the sentiments and the little froggy on his unicycle as well as his fluttering friends. He’s just so cute, don’t you think?!? Finished it off with some Nuvo drops in Key Lime, Sea Breeze, and Rosewater. Lastly I stamped a little frog on a white envelope in Catherine Pooler Fiesta Blue Ink.

Dimensions

Supplies

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I’ve inspired you to make some adorable critter cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Cards, Mother’s Day

Easy Mother’s Day Card

kittieslovecrafting

Hello friends. Coming to you today with a quick and easy Mother’s Day card. If you haven’t found the perfect card for mom yet, you will want to give this one a try. Only one type of paper is required. And the addition of a stencil, ink and a die makes it super easy to create a card with texture. It can also be for any other occasion–just change out the sentiment.

Supplies

I started by cutting down a piece of Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock to 4 x 5-1/4″. Then created a pattern in the background using Catherine Pooler Designs Rose Petals and Catherine Pooler Designs Pattern of Rings Creative Screening.

I set that aside to dry and stamped the teapot in Catherine Pooler Designs Polished and Catherine Pooler Designs Green Tea with Catherine Pooler Designs Cuppa Tea Stamp Set. I stamped the teacup and plate in Catherine Pooler Designs Green Tea and Catherine Pooler Designs Icing-on-the-Cake and the little embellishment in Catherine Pooler Designs Polished. Lastly I stamped the flower for the teapot in both Catherine Pooler Designs Green Tea and Catherine Pooler Designs Rose Petals. I diecut all the images with the coordinating dies, Cuppa Tea Dies.


Catherine Pooler Designs Cuppa Tea Stamp Set

I added a sentiment from the Lawn Fawn HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY Clear Stamps. I stamped the HAPPY in Catherine Pooler Designs Green Tea onto the card panel at the top left and the MOTHER’S DAY in Catherine Pooler Designs Polished on a scrap of Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock. I diecut that sentiment using the banner from Queen and Company Foundation Dies #2.

I glued that banner down to a piece of Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock after using the direct-to-paper method to color it with Catherine Pooler Designs Polished. I added 3M foam tape to the back of the teacup, plate and teapot and adhered it to the card.

Mother’s Day Card

I cut down a piece of Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock to 5 1/2 x 8 1/2″, scored at 4 1/4″ to create a card base. I then cut a piece Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2″ and again used the direct-to-paper method to color it with Catherine Pooler Designs Green Tea. I adhered that Green Tea panel to the card base and the completed card panel with images onto that piece.

I finished off the card by adding some Tonic Nuvo drops in Carnation Pink and Tonic Nuvo Jewel Drops in Rosewater.

Supplies

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you enjoyed this process post. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

Birthdays, Cards, Spring

Cute Interactive Pop Up Cards

kittieslovecrafting

Hello friends. I’m back with two adorable pop up cards created using the Lawn Fawn STITCHED HILLSIDE POP UP Lawn Cuts Dies. Currently this is in the lead for my favorite interactive die! I seriously just want to make everything a pop up card now!!! LOL it can be a little fiddly if you don’t adhere the inside tabs properly but it’s still tons of fun to create with this die.

Oh Gnomes! Happy Birthday

I created a little scene using the Lawn Fawn LEAFY TREE BACKDROP LANDSCAPE Lawn Cuts Dies, Lawn Fawn Mushroom House Die Cuts , Lawn Fawn Mushroom Border Die,
and the little girl gnome from Lawn Fawn’s Set Oh Gnome!. I’m loving all the mushroom dies, especially that mushroom house. I mean, look how cute it is. Adorable! Using mostly dies to create this card also made it come together a lot faster than expected. I cut off the border on the Leafy Tree Backdrop Die so the tree appears much taller than the little gnome. I also took apart the mushroom border and used the individual mushrooms scattered around both scenes. You don’t have to use the border dies as is. Don’t be afraid to cut apart your border die-cuts or any die-cuts (not the dies themselves however) for that matter. I used the My Favorite Things CLOUD Mix-ables Stencil to create the sky with Distress Oxide Tumbled Glass.


Oh Gnomes! Happy Birthday Card_Front

I continued the scene on the inside of the card using the same dies and stamps again. I used the Lawn Fawn STITCHED HILLSIDE POP UP Lawn Cuts Dies to create the pop-up mechanism. For the forest in the background I used the whole tree die but cut them down to look larger than the gnomes again. And I repeated the same technique I used on the front of the card for the inside sky.

Oh Gnomes! Happy Birthday Card_Inside
Oh Gnomes! Happy Birthday Card_Inside Greeting

The greeting was from the Lawn Fawn HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY Clear Stamps. I finished off the card with some white accents using my Uni-Ball Signo Broad Point White Gel Pen and added some sparkle to the windows on both the front and inside of the card using my Spectrum Noir Sparkle Fine Glitter Brush Pen .

Supplies

Enjoy the Little Things Pop Up Card

And because I can’t get enough of the Lawn Fawn STITCHED HILLSIDE POP UP Lawn Cuts Dies, I used it again to create a second card. Again using Lawn Fawn products (cuz I’m addicted and I ain’t afraid to admit it. LOL), I made a scene on the front of the card. This time I combined Lawn Fawn VILLAGE SHOPS, and Lawn Fawn HAPPY VILLAGE stampsets.

Enjoy the Little Things Pop Up Card_Front

The first scene features images from the Lawn Fawn HAPPY VILLAGE stampset and a greeting from the Lawn Fawn VILLAGE SHOPS. I used the Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Spring 6×6 inch Petite Paper Pack for the sky and the Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Rainbow 6×6 inch Petite Paper Pack for the grass. I cut out the grass using the Lawn Fawn Grassy Hillside Borders Die and ink blended some Tim Holtz Distress Oxide in Mowed Lawn to the mute the grass.

Using pattern paper is a great way to build a scene. It makes for a quick and easy background but it doesn’t have to look flat. You can add depth to it by simply using ink or alcohol markers to add some color to it. One note however, if you choose to use markers make sure they are blendable or it will look streaky. So water-based markers will probably not work because they don’t move on the paper.

Enjoy the Little Things Pop Up Card_Front

On the inside I again used the Lawn Fawn STITCHED HILLSIDE POP UP Lawn Cuts Dies with the same pattern papers as the front, again applying some Tim Holtz Distress Oxide in Mowed Lawn to darken the bottoms edges of the hillsides and give them dimension.

    The inside scene features images from the Lawn Fawn VILLAGE SHOPS Clear Stamps as well as a greeting from the same stampset.

    Before I glued the images to the inside of the card, I added highlights with my Uni-Ball Signo Broad Point White Gel Pen. I also added the rest of the sentiment inside the cards.

    Supplies

    Thanks for stopping by and I hope I’ve inspired you to make some adorable cards of your own. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

    Just a quick side note: I have no affiliation or do I profit from promoting Lawn Fawn products. I promote any product that I love and I LOVE their products.

    DIY Projects, Easter

    Quick and Easy Easter Wreath

    kittieslovecrafting

    Easter is around the corner and I finally got around to making my Easter Wreath. Yay! I made this wreath using mostly Dollar Tree supplies. My store didn’t have much so I ordered from their online store and had it shipped to my house. They offer a ship-to-store option too.

    A word of caution…if you order flowers online they can arrive crushed as mine did. I ordered 6 stems and only got 5 usable flower heads out of it and those were not that great as you will see in the photos. Keep that in mind.

    Anyways,  it was super easy and quick to make. I started off with a 10-inch straw wreath form. I got mine from Hobby Lobby, but they are readily available at other craft stores and online. Check Amazon, Michaels, Joann Fabrics, Walmart and Dollar Tree. My local store did not carry it but I’m guessing others might. I carefully removed the clear plastic wrap around it as it tends to shed. Nor,ally I would normally leave the plastic wrap on it but since I wanted this to look natural and .organic, I removed it.

    After cleaning the straw debris from my desk, i wrapped some 5/8 inch wide lavender satin ribbon around the wreath, creating a stripe pattern. I get most of my ribbon from the Ribbon Retreat. This color is called purple haze. A tiny dab of hot glue on each of the ribbon ends secure it to the wreath.

    I added the moss next. I used Green Spanish Moss I hot glued it onto the bottom half of the wreath. Once I had enough of the area covered, I wrapped Green Floral Wire, 22 Gauge around the moss to secure it further. Ok the hard part is done. Time to decorate.

    I added 5 Green Gerbera Daisies. 6 Speckled Easter Eggs, and 3 3 inch Salisbury Butterflies.To finish it off , i added 3 Pearl Corsage Pins to each ribbon stripe. That’s it. Add a ribbon to hang it and your wreath is complete. Easy peasy. Quickest wreath I’ve ever made.IMG_0526_watermarked

    Supplies:

    Thanks for stopping by and I hope I’ve inspired you to make your own wreath. Leave comments or questions below or feel free to email me.

    Cards, Easter, Watercolor techniques

    Easy Watercolor Backgrounds Using Distress Inks

    kittieslovecrafting

    Today’s topic is watercolor backgrounds. Whenever I want a quick and easy background for a card, I go with a watercolor background. You don’t need to know how to watercolor like a pro, you just need some good watercolor paper. The paper makes the difference in the results you get. I used Canson XL Series Watercolor Paper Pad (140 Pound, 9 x 12 Inch). The great thing is, that this technique can be achieved with dye inks, stains, sprays, or watercolors (high end or inexpensive). I used Distress Ink Stains for my backgrounds. I originally pulled out my Distress Ink Pads but then decided that my Distress Ink Stains haven’t been getting enough love so I decided to use those instead. These can be dabbed on or sprayed. These now are sold in spray bottles but if you’re like me and have the original bottles, Ranger sells a spray bottle lid. I used mine straight out of the bottle like watercolor though.

    Watercolor Background Supplies

    Ok, so let’s get started. First, I taped down my watercolor paper piece (4 1/4 x 5 1/2″) with some ScotchBlue Painters Tape to a hard surface. Protect your surface before you begin because this will be messy. With a clean brush, add some water to your surface, covering the whole area. Then dispense some of ink onto a clear block, craft mat, etc. (I used my glass mat) and then dab/pounce it your paper. If the surface is too dry, add some more water. You can add more ink to certain areas to get darker areas. Alternatively, you can add more water and blot certain areas to subtract color. Stick to one color if you are not comfortable mixing multiple colors together. Keep playing with adding color until you are satisfied.

    Let your piece dry in between layers. This will yield a better result, in the end. You can let it air dry or use a heat tool (if you are not patient like me. :)) Once the piece was almost dry I added some splashes using the same ink color for each. I usually do this inside a box since I don’t want my desk and surrounding areas to stained. Let it dry completely before moving onto the next step. And if you want to stop here, you totally can; they look great as is. I wanted to enhance mine by adding another level of texture.

    Watercolor Panels

    I added texture to only two of the panels by embossing them. On the first panel (blue one), I stamped the Easter eggs from the Newton’s Nook Designs Newton’s Easter Basket Stamp (no longer available) with Versamark clear embossing ink and added Wow white embossing powder. On the third panel (yellow one), I used a the Tim Holtz MINI STENCIL SET 27 MST027 with Ranger Texture Paste Transparent Gloss to add texture. I used only portions of the stencil around the page. Then before it dried, I sprinkled on some Dazzling Diamonds Stampin’ Glitter. Any white glitter will do however. These are now ready to become cards!

    Watercolor Panels With Embossing

    I made Easter cards with these backgrounds. I used Newton’s Nook Designs Newton’s Easter Basket Stamp on all 3 cards for the images.

    I used Simon Says Stamp Some Bunny for the sentiment on the first card and the Lawn Fawn Straight Flower Border Die Cut to build the scene. And finished it with Nuvo drops in different colors. The second card features the Pretty Pink Posh Happy Easter Script Die cut out of 4 layers of cardstock (3 black and one white), stacked up to create the sentiment. The third card showcases the Easter egg kitty by putting him in ovals diecut using Stampin’ Up! Layering Ovals Framelits Dies. I added a sentiment from Newton’s Nook Designs Newton’s Easter Basket Stamp. I created card bases from Stampin’ Up! Tempting Turquoise (retired), Stampin’ Up! Elegant Eggplant (retired), and Stampin’ Up! Crushed Curry 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock, respectively. And finally, on the inside I added a piece of white 80lb cardstock so I can later write a message inside my cards.

    Supplies

    Thanks for stopping by. I hope this was helpful and I’ve inspired you to create some fun watercolor backgrounds of your own. Feel free to email me with questions or leave a comments below.

    Cards, Easter, Holidays, Mother’s Day, Spring, Thank Yous

    Spring Cards 2

    kittieslovecrafting

    3 Cards using SSS Blooming Circle and Blooming Wave Wafer Dies

    Hi friends. Continuing on with some Spring inspired cards, I pulled out the Simon Says Stamp Blooming Circle Wafer Dies and Simon Says Stamp Blooming Wave Wafer Die to create 3 different cards. It was a little time-consuming to inlay all the flowers and leaves but the results are well worth it

    This Easter card combines the Simon Says Stamp Some Bunny stamps and Newton’s Nook Designs Newton’s Easter Basket stamps with the Simon Says Stamp Blooming Circle Wafer Dies. I added patterned paper from both the Doodlebug 6 x 6 Double-sided Paper Pad-Easter Express (discontinued), and Queen & Co Flirty Florals 6 x 6 Mat Stack. Images were colored with Copic markers and fussycut. I inlaid the flowers after diecutting several pieces of scrap rainbow color cardstock. Finished it off by adding some Nuvo Crystal Drops in White Gloss.

    Card 2 turned into a Mother’s Day Card. When I started working on these cards I had no idea what the theme would be so I didn’t pick sentiments. But after adding the daisy pattern paper (from Doodlebug 6 x 6 Double-sided Paper Pad-Easter Express (discontinued)), I decided to make into a Mother’s Day card. I used the Simon Says Stamp Blooming Wave Wafer, to create a border then inlaid the flowers after diecutting several pieces of scrap yellow and green cardstock. I used Lawn Fawn Happy Happy Happy Sentiments and the Lawn Cuts Happy Happy Happy to creqte this dimensional sentiment. Finished it off by adding Nuvo Crystal Drops in Ivory Seashell.

    And for this 3rd card, I wanted to make it look like rings so I diecut the Simon Says Stamp Blooming Circle Wafer Dies and diecut 3 flower circles, centering one of them. Once again I ran the die through with several color cardstock in rainbow colors. I added a sentiment to the center wreath using Catherine Pooler Designs Good Stuff Inside.Finished it off by adding Nuvo Crystal Drops in White Blizzard Glitter Drops.

    Supplies:

    Hope you’ve enjoyed this process post and I hope I’ve inspired you to create some cards of your own. Thanks for stopping by and once again please leave questions in the comments or feel free to email me if you prefer.

    Birthdays, Cards, Just Because

    Fruit Frenzy Reveal Wheel Card

    kittieslovecrafting

    Well, it’s Monday again friends and that means back to work. Ugh!! But I got to play this weekend with the Lawn Fawn Reveal Wheel dies and Semicircle add-on. Can you tell I’m loving the reveal wheel dies?!? Its just so much fun to make these! And I wanted to show that a lot of non-Lawn Fawn stampsets also work with this die. Now don’t get me wrong I love everything Lawn Fawn makes, but I want to maximize the use of my stamps as well. This card is available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

    All the paper and ink for this card are Stampin’ Up! products. Most are still available for purchase. Full list below. There’s very little measuring with this card. Dies and punches do all the work for you.

    As with my previous reveal wheel cards, I began by cutting out all the Reveal Wheel pieces with the Lawn Fawn Reveal Wheel dies and Semicircle add-on from Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock.  You need to cut out two panels (one with the cutout window and one without – this will be your back piece). To create the complete circle on the front piece, I turned the semicircle 180 degrees and lined up under the open semicircle. Butt it up against the edge of the bottom 2 cut lines and it will have the perfect space between both. Its a good idea to cut out the tiny arrow from Stampin’ Up! Garden Green 8 1/2 x 11” Cardstock at this time.

    TIP: Use heavy cardstock for the reveal wheel to give it more stability. It won’t work well if it’s flimsy. Ask me how I know. LOL

    Next I cut a 1 1/2 x 3 3/4” piece and 3/4 x 3 3/4” piece of the Stampin’ Up! Tutti Frutti DSP. I used one 6 x 6 piece and just used both sides since they match perfectly. I adhered the two pieces together, leaving the bolder pattern on top and a little of the smaller pattern peeking out from behind on one end. I adhered these to the front panel at the bottom edge.

    Ok, time to stamp all the things. 🙂 I heat embossed the bowl onto a piece of Stampin’ Up! Garden Green 8 1/2 x 11” Cardstock with Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder and diecut it with the coordinating dies. Then I punched out several fruits from Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock using Stampin Up! Itty Bitty Fruit Punch Pack . Then stamped all the fruits with Stampin’ Up! Fruit Basket stampset. I Found it’s easier if you punch them out first.

    I used Stampin’ Up! Crushed Curry and Stampin’ Up! Granny Apple Green for the lemon and the pear, Stampin’ Up! Granny Apple Green and Stampin’ Up! Garden Green for the lime, Stampin’ Up! Garden Green and Stampin’ Up! Real Red ink for the strawberry and the watermelon.

    Next, I stamped the sentiment (from the same stampset) onto some Stampin’ Up! Crushed Curry 8 1/2 x 11” Cardstock using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. Cut it down to 1/2 x 2 1/4” and cut the ends into a banner.

    Time to assemble the card. I attached the little wheel to the larger one with a tiny brad, added 3 Stampin’ Dimensionals behind the tiny wheel, making sure not to cover the brad and it to the back card panel. Added some 3M foam tape  to the back of the front panel, making sure not to get too close to the wheel, and  attached it to the back panel. Glued that to a 4 1/4 x  5 1/2” card base (Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock). Next I glued the bowl to the bottom edge of the circle, glued the fruit inside the wheel and the sentiment strip to the top half. Then scattered some more fruit around the card. And the card is complete!

    Dimensions:

    Continue reading “Fruit Frenzy Reveal Wheel Card” →

    Cards, Easter, Spring

    Spring Cards

    kittieslovecrafting

    Celebrate Spring

    Happy Friday!!! It’s time to celebrate the arrival of Spring with this cute card featuring bunnies hopping through the tulips. Can also be used as an Easter card. This card is available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

    Ok it may be winter still but I wanted to show how you all that you can use stamps meant for a specific event or holiday and use it for other type of cards. This allows us to stretch our stamps and dies.

    Celebrate Spring

    I used an older Lawn Fawn stampset, Hello Baby, which is meant for baby cards and used it for a Spring scene instead. Lawn Fawn stamps are great because you can combine different stampsets and they look like they belong together.

    WThis card base is a made from Stampin’ Up! Early Espresso cardstock. The sky was made with Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Rainbow 6 x 6 patterned paper and the tree, grass and flowers were diecut from colored card stocks. I used Lawn Fawn’s Leafy Tree Backdrop for the tree and leaves background, Lawn Fawn’s Grassy Hillside Borders for the grass, and the dies from Hello Baby, for the tiny flowers and clouds. The bunnies and tulips on this card were colored with COPIC markers and cut with coordinating dies. Nuvo drops in Ivory Seashell and Spectrum Noir Clear Overlay Sparkle Brush Pen was added to the tiny flowers for some embellishment.

    The inside of the card is decorated with matching pattern paper and diecut tiny flowers. Then stamped with “Happy Spring” using Lawn Fawn How You Bean?

    Supplies:

    Hope you’ve enjoyed this process post and I hope I’ve inspired you to create some cards of your own. Thanks for stopping by and once again please leave questions in the comments or feel free to email me if you prefer.

    Birthdays, Cards

    Sweet Birthday Friends Card

    kittieslovecrafting

    Happy Humpday everyone! It’s finally Wednesday and time for sweets. This card lets you indulge in sweets without the calories. Woot woot! No guilt here. LOL. This card is available for purchase in my Etsy shop if you prefer not to make your own.

    Anyway this card was super easy to make. Let’s get into it then. First, all the stamping needs to be done so it has time to dry. I cut a panel of Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock to 4 x 5 1/4″. I stamped the background using my stamping platform (Stamparatus by Stampin’ Up!) and Lawn Fawn Sweet Friends with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink. Set the panel aside to dry. Then I stamped all my cute images and set that aside to dry.

    In the meantime, I stamped the images from Lawn Fawn Sweetest Flavor and Lawn Fawn Sweet Friends with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and
    let those dry. Then, I stamped the sentiment strips onto
    Simon Says Stamp Black Card stock with Lawn Fawn Happy Happy Happy Sentiments, Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder and heat embossed.

    Next, I worked on the diecut SWEET. Diecut the letters out from the center of the stamped card panel as well as 3x from black cardstock using Honey Bee Bee Bold Alphabet. Then I created an ombre effect by blending on some Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Picked Raspberry Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick. The bottom half has more Picked Raspberry.

    While that dries I colored the images with my Copic alcohol markers and diecut them with the coordinating cookie cutter dies. You can also color these with pencils or watercolors or water-based markers as well. Just be sure to use the appropriate ink so it doesn’t bleed.

    Time for assembly. I cut a piece of Lawn Fawn Really Rainbow 6 x 6 Paper, a pink stripe to 4 1/4 x 5 1/2″and a panel of Simon Says Stamp Black Card stock to 3 7/8 x 5 5/8″ and adhered the patterned piece to the black one. Next, I adhered both to the card base (4 1/4 x 5 1/2″ Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock). I added some double-sided tape to the back of the white panel and adhered it to the black cardstock panel. The SWEET sentiment can now be easily adhered to the panel since it has the tape behind it. Its easier to adhere the 3 black alphabet layers together first then add the pink ombre letters with glue to those. Now we can add it to the card panel. To add shine I added Ranger Glossy Accents Glue Dimensional Adhesive over the letters and let it DRY. Can’t stress this enough. LET IT DRY.

    Once the glossy accents are completely dry, I adhered the sentiment strips and the images to the card. And because I can’t resist using Nuvo drops, I added some Nuvo Crystal Drops in Morning Dew. Then I cut a strip of the pink striped paper to 1 1/4 x 5 1/2″ and added two of the Sweet Friends images.

    Dimensions:

    Supplies:

    Hope you’ve enjoyed this process post and I hope I’ve inspired you to create some cards of your own. Thanks for stopping by and once again please leave questions in the comments or feel free to email me if you prefer.

    Birthdays, Cards

    Sweet Friends Interactive Card

    kittieslovecrafting

    Hello friends. This fun A2 size interactive birthday card features the Lawn Fawn Reveal Wheel dies and Lawn Fawn Sweet Friends. It’s a cute interactive card. Four words In the rotating window complete the sentiment. This card is available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

    Views of all 4 words in sentiment

    Supplies:

    Hope you’ve enjoyed this process post and I hope I’ve inspired you to create some cards of your own. Thanks for stopping by and once again please leave questions in the comments or feel free to email me if you prefer.

    Cards

    Sweet Ice Cream Birthday Wishes

    kittieslovecrafting

    Hello friends. To celebrate the new Lawn Fawn’s Reveal Wheel add-on products, I made this little interactive birthday card. I love the Reveal Wheel dies. They are awesome! They make it super easy to make cute and fun cards and Lawn Fawn keeps making new dies and stampsets to go along with it.

    Ok let’s get to the card making! After all that’s why you are all here. I began by cutting out all the Reveal Wheel pieces (including the ice cream cone frame with the LF Reveal Wheel Sweetest Flavor Add-on) out of Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock. It’s a good idea to use heavy cardstock; it gives the wheel more stability. The last thing you want is the wheel to bend while the recipient is playing with their card. Ugh! You need to cut out two panels (one with the cutout window and one without – this will be your back piece).

    Next I stamped sprinkles from the Lawn Fawn Sweet Friends  stampset all over the top panel in the following colors, Stampin’ Up! Pumpkin Pie, Stampin’ Up! Granny Apple Green, Stampin’ Up! Highland Heather, Stampin’ Up! Pool Party, Catherine Pooler Designs Be Mine, and Catherine Pooler Designs Shea Butter. Then I cut the rainbow paper about 1 1/2” x 4, just large enough so you can trim with the Reveal Wheel main die. Glue that panel onto the front panel (the one with the window) and rerun it through your diecut machine using the die for the main panel. This will give you a stitched border on the rainbow paper. At this point, I added a piece of gold glitter washi tape (~1/8” wide) onto the panel.

    I put this aside for now and got to stamping and coloring my images. I stamped the ice cream cone image from Lawn Fawn Sweetest Flavor 3 times and the cherry in Catherine Pooler Designs Midnight ink on Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock. I will be coloring these with my new Prismacolor Pencils, Blending Stumps and Gamsol.

    TIP: Make sure to use a water- based ink if using alcohol markers and an archival ink for water-based mediums such as pencils (if using gamsol), water-based markers or watercolors.

    I let the ink dry and colored the images as well as colored the ice cream cone frame. Then diecut the stamped images using the coordinating dies. I also fussy cut the cone off of one of the ice cream cones and the ice cream cone frame. While those dried, I stamped the sentiment onto Stampin’ Up! Vellum and cut it down to 11/16 x 3 3/4”.

    Time to work on the Wheel itself. I colored the Wheel the same color as the middle ice cream scoop using my Prismacolor pencils and Gamsol. I stamped the faces from both Lawn Fawn Sweetest Flavor and Lawn Fawn Sweet Friends around the wheel. Ok. All that’s left to do is assemble this little card. Attached the little Wheel to the larger one with a tiny brad, added 3 Stampin’ Dimensionals behind the tiny wheel and it to the back card panel. Added the black one, behind that and glued it all to the card base. Next I added the ice cream, sentiment strip and little tiny arrow to the card. Embellished with some Nuvodrops in a few different colors and it’s all done. And always make sure your card is fully functional by playing with it. LOL.

    Supplies:

    Hope you’ve enjoyed this process post and I hope I’ve inspired you to create some cards of your own. Thanks for stopping by and once again please leave questions in the comments or feel free to email me if you prefer.

    DIY Projects, Holidays, St. Patrick's Day

    St. Patrick’s Day Wreath

    kittieslovecrafting

    Happy Friday everyone. I don’t know about you but we are starting to get ready for spring in my house. And with Spring comes green…and lots of it. So let’s start it off by celebrating St. Patrick’s Day! My husband is Irish and so I like to put up decorations for the holiday. Since I don’t have one yet, I made a wreath for the front door. My neighbors must think I’m crazy about holidays or just plain crazy because I’ve had a different wreath and welcome mat for every holiday since we moved in last September. LOL

    St. Patrick’s Day Wreath
    St. Patrick’s Day Wreath_Hat Detail
    St. Patrick’s Day Wreath_closeup
    St. Patrick’s Day Wreath_ closeup 2
    St. Patrick’s Day Wreath_closeup 3
    St. Patrick’s Day Wreath_closeup 4

    Supplies:

    Thanks for stopping by to check out my post. Please feel free to leave questions or comments about any of the products listed above or feel free to email me if you prefer.

    DIY Projects, Holidays, Valentines Day

    Valentine’s Day Mesh Wreath

    kittieslovecrafting

    Hello everyone. I’ve always loved been making wreaths. I started making them when I lived in my small NY apartment and could not keep alot of decorations. A wreath has the ability to capture a holiday, a season, a theme or occasion in a small space. I had to put my passion on hold for awhile due to lack of space (apartment living, arrgh). Now that I have space to store and make them, it’s reignited my love of wreath-making. Look for more wreaths to come in the future!

    I have never made one before so, of course, I turned to Youtube. Where else do you learn how to do everything in life, right? You can learn to change a tire, put on makeup and make a wreath all in one day. LOL. I came across this very funny Youtuber, This Southern Girl Can who makes them. She’s pretty much got it down to a science at this point. She uses dollar store supplies to make budget friendly wreaths. Check her out her Youtube channel.

    Check her out her Youtube channel.

    • Step 1
    • Step 2A
    • Step 2B
    • Step 3
    • Step 4A
    • Step 4B

    Step 1. Gather supplies.

    Step 2. A) Cut mesh pieces that are approximately 6 inches in length. This will give you 6 x 6 squares. Alternatively, just roll each piece of mesh over itself so it makes one full loop. Cut ribbon 9 inches long (this is 1.5 times the length of the mesh pieces). B) Also cut your chenille stems (pipe cleaners) in half and then fold those pieces in half again.

    Step 3. Take 3 pieces of mesh and 1 piece of ribbon. Roll mesh into coils (rolls). Hold each between your Index and 3rd fingers while you roll the other 2 pieces and pinch all together. Add ribbon with pattern side out away from your finger, then tie with a chenille stem piece. Twist once or twice to secure.

    Step 4. A) Now add this bundle to your wreath form by feeding the chenille stem ends through the middle two wires on the wreath form. (see picture Step 4A). B) Continue adding bundles until you fill the whole form. I used 10 bundles per section. A section consists of the space between the 2 vertical wire pieces There are 6 sections so you will use 60 bundles when complete (you can see the sections in picture 4A).

    Valentine’s Day Mesh Wreath_Final
    Valentine’s Day Mesh Wreath_Closeup

    Supplies:

    Hope you’ve enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by and once again please leave questions in the comments or feel free to email me if you prefer.

    Cards, Holidays, Valentines Day

    Valentine’s Day Cards Day 4

    kittieslovecrafting

    Hello friends. This card wraps up my Valentine’s Day card series for 2019! I’ve enjoyed sharing my cards with all of you. For this last one I broke out one of my Stampin Up! Christmas stampsets. Unfortunately it was recently retired so it’s no longer available. But no worries if you don’t have this stampset because you can use any small stamp you may have to recreate the look. If you absolutely must have it though, check Etsy or EBay. Lots of people sell SU! Stamps in both places. Enjoy!

    Making Every Day Bright Valentine Card

    This card was super easy to make. I just stamped the little light bulb image in Stampin Up! Blushing Bride ink all over the background. Using a stamp positioner is the key to aligning them in rows. Also, stamped the light bulb “glow” in red over the middle bulb.

    Then for I stamped one light bulb in Stampin Up! Real Red ink and quickly added Wow clear embossing powder over the image. To add some interest I added splatters of both the pink and red inks to the background. I also colored in the hearts inside the pink bulbs with my Stampin’ Write Markers in Blushing Bride.

    I mounted that to a piece of red glitter paper and then to the card base. I added Stampin’ Dimensionals to the back of the red light bulb and added to the card. I stamped ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ from the Lawn Fawn HOW YOU BEAN Conversation Heart Add-On with Versamark clear embossing ink and Wow white embossing powder onto a piece of Real Red Cardstock and cut it down into a strip. Used more Stampin’ Dimensionals to adhere it to the card. And for some additional interest, added some Nuvo Crystal Drops in Autumn Red.

    Card Base = 5 1/2 x 5 1/2″ Real Red Cardstock
    Glitter Panel = 5 x 5″
    White Panel = 4 1/2 x 4 1/2″ Neenah Solar White 110lb Cardstock
    Sentiment Strip = 1/2 x 3 1/8″ Real Red Cardstock

    Supplies:

    Hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my creations and I hope I’ve inspired you to create some cards of your own Thanks for stopping by and once again please leave questions in the comments or feel free to email me if you prefer.

    Cards, Holidays, Valentines Day

    Valentine’s Day Cards Day 3

    kittieslovecrafting

    Hello friends. My Valentine’s Day card series is coming to end soon. I’ve had lots of fun making these cards. For this card, I had to pull out the adorable Lawn Fawn HOW YOU BEAN? stamp set and Valentine’s add-on. I just love a good mason jar stamp, don’t you?!? And Lawn Fawn was brilliant in creating add-ons for this set so you can use it over and over again. That’s a great value for your dollar!

    I will also be posting a DIY Valentine’s project this coming Monday. I love making holiday decorations so I thought I’d share this one with you all. It’s budget friendly but looks like beautiful once complete. So look out for that post! 🙂

    Happy Heart Day Shaker

    Happy Heart Day Shaker
    Closeup

    Supplies:

    Thanks for stopping by and once again please leave questions in the comments or feel free to email me if you prefer.

    Holidays, Valentines Day

    Valentine’s Day Cards Day 2

    kittieslovecrafting

    Hello everyone. Since the temperature here in the Northeast has been absolutely frigid, I thought I’d share some cards that warm the heart. 😀 To all my fellow Northeasterners and my friends in the Midwest who are worse off than we are, I wish all a warm and safe weekend. And for everyone elsewhere in the country and around the world, have a great weekend!

    Heart-shaped Cards

    Heart-shaped Cards 1

    Supplies:

    Heart-shaped Cards 2

    Supplies:

    Cards, Holidays, Valentines Day

    Valentine’s Day Cards Day 1

    kittieslovecrafting

    Hello friends. Welcome to my blog. This weekend I got busy making some cards for Valentine’s Day. I can’t believe that January is almost over and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! No better way to launch my blog then to spread some love with these cards.

    These cards were fairly quick to make despite how complicated they look.

    Sending Hugs Shaker Card

    Supplies:

    Circle-shaped Valentine’s Day Card

    Supplies:

    Thanks for stopping by to read my post. In the future I will be upload more detailed blog posts with card sizes, etc. Keeping it simple while I navigate this new adventure.