Happy Birthday Kendra Blog Hop

Happy New Year's Eve! Today is an extra special day because it is also my friend Kendra's birthday! Kendra is such a lovely person and a very talented crafter, and I'm lucky to count her among my crafty friends. A few of us put together a hop in her honor, so you should have come here by way of Roxanne's blog but just in case you missed any of the stops, check out the Crafter's Companion USA blog for details. Also, be sure to comment at every stop because there's going to be some prizes!

I had planned to film a video to showcase how I created this card, but I've been a bit under the weather this holiday season and have lost my voice completely! It's such a funny feeling, and believe me, my kids are taking advantage of it! ;) But anyway, I did snap some photos so I could walk you through step by step.

Step 1:

Ink up the Mulberry Wood Friend stamp from Crafter's Companion

with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink and stamp onto

Spectrum Noir Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock.

Step 2: 

Die cut your image into a focal panel.

Step 3:

Choose your patterned papers and match them to the 

Spectrum Noir color chart to choose your markers.

Step 4:

Color image with Spectrum Noirs in shades:

DR4, DR6, DR7, BT2, BT4, BT5, CT4, GB8, 

LG3, LG5, BG6, BG7, BG8, TN1 and TN2.

Add extra dots of the brighter shades for confetti.

Step 5:

Adhere your patterned papers to the card base

using your favorite sketch.

Step 6: 

Add a bow to the top of the panel and adhere with foam tape.

Round all four corners of the card base.

And viola!

Snap a photo of your results!

This post is bittersweet for me because it is also my last post as a Design Team member for Crafter's Companion. After much consideration, I've decided to step down to focus more on my health and to just enjoy crafting without the pressure of deadlines for a while. I had a wonderful two years on this amazing team and I'm going to miss it very much!

But before this post gets too long, let me close by wishing Kendra and extra special birthday and wishing all of you a very happy and healthy New Year! Hoping 2015 holds many exciting things in store for this industry and for each of you in your personal and crafty lives!

This was the final spot on the hop, but please check out the Crafter's Companion USA blog for the full hop list. And don't forget to leave a comment to be entered to win the giveaway!

Snow Fun

Hey friends! Did you have a nice Christmas? I sure did! I received two new books, two thoughtful gift cards, and a pair of pretty earrings that I've already worn twice! So fun. Did you get any fun stuff?

But speaking of fun stuff, I got a little crafting in this weekend and made this cute little card using the adorable Mulberry Wood Sledging By stamp set by Crafter's Companion. I just love him with his rosy cheeks. I colored him with my Spectrum Noirs in shades

DG3, CG2, LY2, LY3, EB1, EB2, GB8, DR4, DR6, DR7, OR2, 

OR3, PP1, BT2, BT3, IG1, and IG2.

I hope you like him! Have a great evening!

Happy Christmas!

Hi friends! I wanted to wish you all a very merry Christmas! I can't believe it's Christmas Eve already. In my family, we have always celebrated and opened gifts on Christmas Eve, so in just a few hours our festivities begin.

But before I put together the dishes I'm bringing and wrap those last-minute gifts, I wanted to share a card and spread a little Christmas cheer to my crafty friends. Today's card features the Mulberry Wood Wish Upon A Star stamp by Crafter's Companion. I've always thought this was such a sweet image with those little owls, and this is the first time I've gotten a chance to ink it up. I decided to do some watercoloring with my Distress Markers. 

To accent my focal image, I embossed a layer with the Embossalicious Let It Snow 6x6 folder. Those snowflakes are just so intricate and beautiful! Love them.

I added a sentiment from Moonbeam Meadow Christmas Kisses to complete my card. I hope you enjoy it!

Have a wonderful time celebrating with your family and friends! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Festive Fun

Hi friends! I am hurriedly trying to finish up my last few Christmas cards of 2014 and so I've got another one to share. This one features one of my favorite holiday images to color, Barkley Festive Fun by Crafter's Companion. I colored him with my Spectrum Noirs in shades: DR3, DR6, DR7, TB1, BT2, CG2, DG3, IB1, IB2, BG7, BG8, TB1, and TB2. 

Still working on trying to keep things looking layered and interesting while keeping them flat for mailing! It's a struggle. Let me know if I did well or not! ;)

Happy Holidays!

Watercolor Rudolph - Lawnscaping Challenge #96 + winner

Hello deer friends! (Ha! Get it?) Welcome to Lawnscaping Challenge #96! Can you believe this is our LAST challenge of  2014? I hope you'll help us send this year off with a blast and create some of your most special holiday cards yet!

For my card, I decided to give my markers a rest and do some watercoloring with Distress Inks and Lawn Fawn's Let It Snow and Critters In The Snow stamp sets. This is also the #9th installment in my 2014 Holiday Card Series so I hope you'll give the video a watch. 

Please stop by the Lawnscaping Challenges blog to check out the other amazing design team projects and link up your own creations as well.

Special thanks to the wonderful folks at Lawn Fawn for providing our winner with a FREE stamp set of their choice. Just in time for the new release! Wahoo!

Click the YouTube icon at the bottom right to watch there in HD and please don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe!

Before I sign off, I want to announce the winner of my giveaway from the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. I had a blast hopping along this weekend and I so appreciated all the awesome comments I received on my card. The winner of that card and the $10 Starbucks gift card I put up as candy is Becca Cruger. Congrats, Becca! I'll be contacting you later today for your mailing info. Huge thanks to all who entered! Have a great day!

Pop Up Butterfly

We interrupt the regularly scheduled Christmas card broadcast to bring you this pop up butterfly card I created recently using the Die'sire Create A Card Lace Butterfly by Crafter's Companion. This is a fun die that actually cuts out an entire card front with elements that you can pop up.

I embellished my card by adding the Die'sire 3D Delicate Flower cut from Shimmering Cardstock in Pink Pearl, Pearl White, and Green Envy. Also the card front is die cut in the Rose Pearl. It's hard to pick up on camera but these Shimmering Cardstocks have such a pretty pearlized look in real life.

I added a sentiment from Sentimentals Love Is All You Need and die cut that with the Die'sire Just The Ticket dies. Hope you like it!

We will now go back to our regularly scheduled Christmas card broadcast! ;)

Coffee Lovers Blog Hop with Giveaways!

Hey friends! Welcome to the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop! I am super excited to be joining with a ton of other fabulous crafters to bring you some coffee-inspired cards and projects for the holidays. The talent is going to be off the charts, so be sure to head to Amy Tsuruta's blog where everything will be linked up and where you'll get the opportunity to link up and participate as well!

There are LOADS of prizes from our wonderful sponsors who I will list at the end of this post, and not only that, but most of the hop participants are offering up some blog candy as well. Check out my project.

I created a pocket card featuring this adorable polar bear guzzling his brew from Cool Day by MFT. It's the perfect size to tuck in a gift card to your favorite coffee shop or craft store. Leave me a comment (including contact info) by Sunday December 14th at 11:59PM EST and I will select one person to win a cup of of their favorite holiday coffee on me, in the form of this $10 Starbucks gift card. You may also CLICK HERE TO ENTER MY 5,000 YOUTUBE SUBSCRIBER GIVEAWAY, but be sure to head right back to the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop so you don't miss out on any of the amazing projects!

Happy Hopping!

17Turtles	Veronica Zalis	Chris Franco
Add a Little Dazzle	Butterfly Reflections Ink	Color Cast Designs
Create a Smile	Hero Arts	Kraftin' Kimmie
Kreative Kymona	Latina Crafter	Neat & Tangled
Newton's Nook	Pickled Potpourri Designs	Poppystamps
Reverse Confetti	Stamp Academy	Stamp Simply Ribbon Store
STAMPlorations	SugarPea Designs	Sweet 'n Sassy
The Alley Way Stamps	Two Paper Divas	Verve Stamps
Whole Wild World	Your Next Stamp	Paper Smooches

Seasons Tweetings - Holiday Card Series #7

I *finally* got a chance to film a bit today, so I'm bringing you card #7 in my 2014 Holiday Card Series. I love this little Winter Sparrow set from Lawn Fawn and it was just calling to me to use it.

I created a window card by die cutting one of the Lawn Fawndamentals Notecards with a Lawn Fawn Circle Stackables and using that as a panel. Then I inset the sparrows and added Pretty Pink Posh sequins and some Stickles glitter glue. I hope you enjoy the video!

Click on the YouTube icon at the bottom right to watch there in HD and don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe!

I also created this card with the Christmas Card Challenge #53: Anything Goes in mind. There's still a few days to enter if you haven't already! 

Merry Moosemas

Hi friends! Today I colored up an image I have been dying to use, Mulberry Wood "Giving" by Crafter's Companion. I think they are just so sweet and I love the string of lights wrapped around the dad's antlers.

I colored them with my Spectrum Noirs in shades GB8, GB10, EB1, EB2, PP2, DG3, DG4, DR3, DR6, TB5, TB7, JG1, JG3, BT1, BT2, BG1, and BG2. I also added some glossy accents to the bulbs to give them some shine, but it didn't pick up well on camera.

I will also be linking this up to the Christmas Card Challenges #53: Anything Goes, a new-to-me challenge!

So where do you stand with your Christmas card making? Are you all done? Or like me, do you still have a long ways to go?

Polar Bear Joy - Lawnscaping Challenge #95

Happy Monday! Welcome to Lawnscaping Challenge #95. Today we are all about monochromatic: white on white. When I started brainstorming an idea for this challenge, I thought to myself, "What's whiter than a polar bear in a snowstorm?" So that's exactly what I set out to create. Bonus: polar bears are my favorite animal!

I began by stamping out the polar bear from Critters In The Snow and built his snowy world with Forest Border and Stitched Hillside Borders. I did a bit of sponging with Avery Elle Sea Glass ink just to make the white really pop, and finished off with a die cut Scripty Joy sentiment.

Please check out the other amazing design team samples at the Lawncaping Challenge blog and link up your white on white projects to play along.

Special thanks to Simon Says Stamp for sponsoring our challenge with a $25 gift certificate to their shop!