Will You Be My Gnomie? - The Cutting Cafe

Hey there!  I have a fun one for you today!  I picked up this adorable Gnome Shaped Card file over at The Cutting Cafe and I love it!!  It's been a while since I pulled out and plugged in my Cricut and I thought it was about time!

Isn't he adorable?!  And there are two different gnomes in the set so I'll be needing to make one with the other guy too.  I used some plaid for his hat because... well... plaid!  And there are a bunch of accessories that he could be holding but of course I picked the coffee cup!  I actually cut my pieces smaller than the file called for so that my largest piece would fit on a 12x12 sheet of paper.  I just pulled in all of my pieces and then selected all of them and shrunk the whole thing at once to the size i wanted.  I put him all together and then added the sign using some dies from Kat Scrappiness.

Hope you enjoyed it!  Oh I forgot to mention the sentiments that come with the set in JPG form so you can make them any size you want!  I chose this one but there are a few good for many different occasions or just because!  Very fun!

Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you'll come again soon!

Happy Birthday Jillian! - Make A Wish! - AJVD

I'm up on the blog over at A Jillian Vance Design sharing a birthday card!  Jillian's Birthday is coming up so there is a sale and a Rafflecopter Drawing!  Hope you'll hop on over there and give us a visit for your chance to win, links, and sale info!

You Are Not Alone - Reverse Confetti

Hello again!  So glad to see you here!  Today I'm playing along with the Stock Your Stash Challenge over at Reverse Confetti!  I recently... idk... sometime since I've been home...not even sure what day it is but I'm pretty sure it's the weekend or I'd be working... or I'm in trouble...lol... ordered some stuff and decided it was time to get it out and use it!  This month's challenge is "Hello/Just Because" so I created a card to send out to a friend just because we're all feeling a little alone right now... maybe both literally and figuratively...

I've been wanting this Butterfly Blossoms stamp and dies since it came out... I've had it in a cart I don't know how many times and finally it's in my house!  It's just SO pretty!  I have lots of butterflies... why I kept talking myself out of it...lol... but THIS is my favorite!  

And that background... when I was getting ready to place my order, I said to Amy, "Amy.  What background die to do I need from Reverse Confetti?"  and she said that this Stitched Scallops Cover Panel was one of her faves, so there it went into my cart!  And I love it too!

And you know I love frames.. and these Scalloped Squares are a new favorite of mine!  

I added a few of my favorite sequins from Trinity and I was done!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you'll come again soon!

I'm Here For You - Miss Ink Stamps

Welcome back!  Today I'm sharing a card I made inspired by a crafty friend that I crop with virtually almost every Sunday.  We have a group of ladies that used to get together physically once a month and about halfway through the Pandemic so far we decided to start cropping virtually (thanks Mom!).  So last week, my friend Mare was playing with an old technique of painting with bleach!  I had never heard of it, but I don't watch a lot of videos... I just don't have the time.  She had been watching a Gina K Facebook Live on this technique... which I will admit I didn't watch... but I decided to play with the technique with the little bit I know.

Oh I had so much fun!  Basically I stamped the images from the Smokin' Caterpillars stamp set with Memento Espresso Truffle Ink in my Misti and then stamped over it with Versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder.  You may notice some extra sparkle... I think my clear powder ended up with some glitter in it...lol.. which I'm good with.. and not surprised.  I think the embossing is important so that the bleach doesn't make the outline fade and maybe the embossing kind of contains the bleach?... although that might make a fun no line type of thing so I might play with that a little.  (I'm guessing if you watch the video these things will be addressed...lol).  I decided to try it on kraft paper for a really neutral color pallet.

 

After my images were embossed, I took a brush and some straight chlorine bleach and painted the images... I had to be careful with this one as there is a lot going on and I didn't want to bleach any of the open spaces... and I did.. but it worked out okay because I just decided there was something behind there and treated it as such.  At first it seems like not much is happening, but as time goes on the bleach really takes hold.  You don't need a lot.  It was very cool.  After, I splattered on some bleach for good measure and then used a Diamond Fade stencil and some Brushed Corduroy Distress Oxide Ink to add a little extra... I masked the image on the right and let the diamonds go over on the image on the left... just 'cause... it was intentional and not an accident.

I got a really cool result that looked great as it was, but you know I can't leave anything alone.  I tried.  I was a little afraid and was going to just leave it, but it got the better of me and I pulled out some neutral Prismacolor pencils and did some light coloring.  I did use greens and browns, but then also went over those with a putty to diffuse the color a bit.  I am so happy I did this and I love the dimension it adds!

So finally a sentiment from Everyday Sentiments and some sequins from Trinity and I was done!  I'm gonna be playing with variations of this technique all month and I'll be up on the Miss Ink Stamps blog towards the end of June with a few tips based on what I've learned and experienced.

Thank you SO much for stopping and I hope you'll come again soon!!  In the meantime, please stay safe and share as much virtual love as you can.. I think everybody needs it right now!

Caffeine Fueled Paper Play - Stamplorations!

I'm up on the blog over at the Coffee Loving Cardmakers with a new challenge for June, last month's winner and I'm playing along with a couple challenges over at this month's feature Sponsor, Stamplorations!  Hope you'll give us a visit and maybe even play along!

Hey Girl, Happy Birthday - Waffle Flower

Welcome back!  I'm here today with a birthday card using a Waffle Flower set, Hey Girl that is not available in the Waffle Flower shop right now, but you may be able to find it still somewhere!  It is one of my fave sets and a friend asked me to make her a birthday card for her daughter in law to be and requested a sloth and I immediately thought of this set because I LOVE it!  And it's perfect for birthdays... and sloths...lol!

I found the matching dies on clearance and purchased them and when I went to put them with the set I found I already had them, so I had two... but I realized it's awesome to have two because I could cut twice as many images in one pass of my Gemini!  Will I buy two of coordinating dies on purpose in the future... probably not... but it is something I would consider if there were images that I would frequently want to cut more than one of and it was on clearance!  I also love this Moon & Stars Panel die that I used for the frame.

I did use a tiny Happy Birthday sentiment from another set in my stash because I needed something tiny and horizontal, and that pretty paper is from a Stamps of Life pad.  Of COURSE, I finished it off with my fave sequins from Trinity Stamps.

That's it!  I hope she likes it!  It's like sending off a baby...lol!  But I wouldn't send off my baby... just to make that clear...lol!

Thanks so much for stopping and do come back tomorrow!

Crafty Fuel - A Jillian Vance Design

I'm up on the blog over at A Jillian Vance Design and sharing how I created this one!  If you'd like more pics and details, join me over there!

Thanks so much for stopping!  Come again soon!