Papertrey Ink April Release Countdown Day 1

 Hello and welcome to day 1 of the April release countdown for Papertrey Ink! There are some really fun new products that might be able to fill in some gaps your collection might need! For me, I have really been wanting some larger bees to go with some of the larger flowers and my wish has come true! Not only that, but there is also an adorable new Build-a-Ladybug Die as well! Both new die sets come with three different sizes of bees or ladybugs!

My first card for today features the new This is Big Sentiments: Strength Stamp/Die set and the new new Build-a-Ladybug Die. It also showcases the lovely new Love to Layer: Top Notch Die set and a beautiful new hot foil plate!

To begin, I die cut all of the flowers and foliage using the Into the Blooms: Wild Wood Die and then colored them with dye inks and blender brushes. I also added some fossilized amber distress oxide spray and set them aside to dry.

I used the new hot foil plate with champagne foil onto a panel of Pale Peony cardstock. I added some Hibiscus Burst ink around the edges and trimmed it down just around the edges of the foiled design. I layered that onto a top-folding card base that is cut using the Nesting Basics: Pierced Rectangles Die. 

I die cut the middle-sized layer included in the Love to Layer: Top Notch Die from white cardstock and then added it to the Peony layer using foam squares. I added the sentiments; one stamped in black and the companion sentiment is heat embossed in gold.

I arranged the flowers and ladybug using foam squares and liquid glue until I was satisfied with the arrangement. I added glitter to the flowers and foliage for sparkle and shine!

 My second card for today features the new Build-a-Bumblebee Die and the new Wildflower Frame Stamp/Die set!

To begin, I die cut the frame using the Wildflower Frame Die and then stamped it with Vintage Photo distress ink. Once that was done, I colored the image using OLO markers and other alcohol markers in my collection. I also added some white acrylic pen details and some brown marker splatter for an aged, vintage look. I cut the frame out one more time and glued the two together for a sturdy piece.

Once that was done, I got to work on the bees; I chose to use the middle and smallest sized bees for my card. There is another large bee and some legs to add to the bees if desired. I cut the body from Dark Chocolate cardstock and then added some True Black ink around the perimeter. The stripes and wings are cut from white cardstock; I added Harvest Gold ink to the stripes and Spring Rain ink lightly to the wings. I had a bit of fun adding some yellow flocking powder to the stripes for a fuzzy, realistic texture. I adhered the wings using small pieces of adhesive foam.

The sentiment is also from the Wildflower Frame stamp set and is cut using the coordinating die. I layered it onto the smallest die included in the new Love to Layer die set.

For the background, I used the Cover Plate: Honeycomb Die and added some vintage photo distress ink splatter lightly over the top. I layered the entire panel onto a top-folding A2 white card base using foam squares. I added a few sequins for sparkle and shine!

Join me tomorrow for day 2 of the countdown! Thanks for fluttering by!

18 Carrot Friendship {Happy Easter}

I can't believe Easter is on Sunday! It feels like it has arrived so quickly this year! I couldn't let the special day go by without creating a card with this absolutely DARLING stamp set from Pink and Main. This is one of those must-have stamp sets for me and I bought it back in January when it came out and FINALLY took the time to create with it! I adore the sweet bunnies and chicks and I have really missed coloring! 

To begin, I used the 18 Carrot Friendship Die to cut all of the pieces out. I cut a few extra eggs so I could use them as fillers if needed. Once that was done, I used the 18 Carrot Friendship Stamp Set to stamp the images in black. I had to run some errands, so I just left them to dry because I absolutely hate when I go to color the images and the black ink smears! Ugh!

When I got home, I colored the images using OLO Markers, along with a few Copic and Prismacolor markers to blend colors. I also have a cheap Caliart set that I used as well. I have found that the key with the cheap sets is to make a color chart (or fill in the one that comes with it) because the caps never show the true color. I only have a few sets of the OLO markers, so the extra colors come in handy to provide shading if need be.

It was so fun and therapeutic to color and I really need to do it more often. My daughter asked me the other day which companies I used to make critter cards for and I told her neither company is currently making stamps, but I really need to create with them more often because they're so cute and I miss coloring!

I added some white pen detailing, glitter, and a touch of gold on the pink egg with polka dots.  

I kept things simple and just added the images to one of the beautiful mats that you can create using the Eyelet Layer Frames. I cut it from white and then added some Seafoam Ink and splatter to the center of the mat using a blender brush and paint brush. I set the scene and then committed using foam squares. I layered it up onto a panel of Pale Peony cardstock and a white card base.

I had a few images left over so I added them to the inside along with another sentiment. I am seriously perplexed because by the time I was finished with the majority of the card, my stamp set up and vanishes so I couldn't use one of the included sentiments. I opted to use the Simple Spring Mini Sentiments Stamp Set for the sentiment on the front and this one on the inside.

I had so much fun creating this card and while I normally like to make religious Easter cards, this one was such a joy and a delight! Thanks for fluttering by!

 

Frightfully Sweet Halloween

Halloween is frightfully close and I snuck some time to create a few cards and tags to finish up the season! This particular stamp set is one of my favorites and I seem to pull it out every year, but it looks like it has been discontinued. It is called Frightfully Sweet from MFT and is such a fun one to color. 

Both cards are almost identical and to begin, I used a Cloud Stencil on an A2 panel of white cardstock with milled lavender and wilted violet distress oxide inks. I also added some wilted violet ink splatter over the top. I trimmed the panels down to measure 4 by 5 1/4 inches and set them aside.

The scene was created by using the Bring Home the Holidays Die Collection. I have been using this particular die set a TON lately and for all types of cards, so it definitely transcends beyond Christmas and winter. I die cut the hills from Weathervane and Soft Stone cardstock and the trees from black. I glued them all on the stenciled panels using foam squares and liquid glue.

Please note, I DID stamp the sentiment on the grey hill before I added it to the background. I die cut all of the cute critters and candy pieces and then stamped them with black ink. I colored them with alcohol markers and added some glossy accents to the candy pieces and the treat buckets. Once they were dry, I added some white gel pen accents. 

I also created some quick and easy tags using the same spooky critters. I didn't use a tag die but rather just cut black cardstock and then used a paper punch on the corners to give it the tag shape.

I used a sheet of really old SU!  Halloween pattern paper that I've had in my stash for the cute pattern and color.

The sentiments are heat embossed in silver and then added to the tags with foam squares.

I thought the sky on both cards was looking a bit stark, so I added some moon stickers from a sticker pad my sister gave me a few years ago. I had fun creating this set of cards and tags and I'm sad Halloween is almost here because I just love October! Thanks for fluttering by!