Because Sometimes You Just Feel Like Putting a Shaker in the Middle of a Card

That's a really long blog post title, but it's true, soooo.... I'm going with it. For reals, though. This was a fun card to create. The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge theme this week is Super Friends and Super Heroes. The Design Team is featuring Mama Elephant products this week. Mostly because Mama Elephant products are ADORABLE!!! For reals, though. They really are.



I combined a couple of adorable Mama Elephant stamp sets with the Spellbinders® Curved Matting Basics A die set to create this fun little shaker card. I layered dies over the card for a bit of a textured background that isn't too busy at all. I used the same die to create the shaker window for a bit of added fun! I kind of love this one. And by kind of, I mean I TOTALLY love this one. Totes, dude. Totes.



Now it's your turn! Create a card for a special friend or your super hero and link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog! If you need some inspiration, I highly recommend pulling out Mix Tape Vol. 1. It is the quintessence of super hero inspiration. I promise.

One lucky participant is going to win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store! WHAT?! Yup. Totally. Even super heroes need to shop now and then, right? Right. 

Supplies:

Stamps: Mama Elephant Photo Bomb and Small Talk Clear Stamp Sets

Dies: Spellbinders® Curved Matting Basics A

Markers: Spectrum Noir 

Sequins: Pretty Pink Posh Sweetheart Mix

Have a Happy!

P.S. Heavenly Donuts Coffee choice for today: Chocolate Covered Strawberry. And yes, it is delicious!

My Precious

Yes, I will openly admit that the primary reason I bought this adorable Winnie & Walter stamp set was because of the name. I mean, for reals, you guys! It's called MY PRECIOUS!!! And, yes, for the record, I do say it in my best Gollum voice. Every.single.time.



I stuck with a very simple design for this card. To add the color, in the spirit of the 30 Day Coloring Challenge, I tried something I hadn't done before. I placed a sheet of acetate over the image and then used distress markers to scribble color over each gem stone. I then spritzed the acetate with water to activate the inks, flipped it over, and pressed the color onto the paper. I kind of love how it turned out!



I will be honest, while I love the color technique and how that worked out, I do wish I had come up with a better way to place my sentiment on this one. It is just not feeling right. Even now. However, the truth is, I'm okay with that. I tried something new and it worked and that makes me happy!

Have a Happy, folks!

Well, That Stinks!

I am a dog person. If you have been around for more than ten minutes, you likely know this, already. I am not a cat person. I mean, I don't have anything AGAINST, them, per se, but they pretty much try to kill me every time I am in their presence. The don't do it on purpose. It's just that I am one of those people to whom animals are naturally attracted. This includes both cats and dogs. The thing is, I am VERY allergic to cats. Not a little bit allergic. LOTS of allergic. And they insist on touching me. And I love animals, so I have a very hard time turning down a cute and fluffy furball. Alas, this, is why I am not a cat person. They try to kill me.

BUT...I can still STAMP them! Because I am NOT allergic to ink and paper. WHOA, that would SUCK! It's a good thing I'm not allergic to ink and paper. For reals, though.



CUTENESS! I love the Newton's Nook cats! They are just adorable and so much fun to color, too! I colored this little furball with Spectrum Noir pens and then fussy cut the patterned paper below him to be the 'floor'in order to limit the layers on the card. The little bunting thingy (yup, technical term) is also cut from patterned paper.



OH! Also, many of you have asked where I get my delicious coffee flavors. The answer is not likely going to make you happy unless you live on the North Shore in the greater Boston area. LOL! They come from a place called Heavenly Donuts. There are a few in the area, but only some are actually good because they have different owners. MINE, however, is amazeballs. They have the BEST customer service ever AND they have so many amazing coffee flavors (both iced and hot) that it blows your mind. For reals, though.

Have a Happy!

Supplies:

Stamps: Newton's Nook Naughty Newton clear stamp set

Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black

Patterned Paper: Project Life Southern Weddings 6x6 Paper Pad (P.S. This paper pad is absolutely GORGEOUS and not overly wedding-ish, so it is super versatile and you need it. For reals, though.)

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Card Shoppe Whirlypop

Markers: Spectrum Noir

Coffee Helps {GIVEAWAY!}

Summer and coffee. Now, those are a couple of things that I can get excited about! I am participating in the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop while sipping my peanut butter cookie flavored iced coffee this morning! If you would like to participate, you still can! Simply create a summer AND coffee themed project and link it up on the Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop post! There are LOTS of awesome sponsors and prizes for entering AND for commenting! SO much fun going on!



I recently bought these adorable flamingo dies and thought they would be a perfect fit for the summer theme! I combine them with the MFT Coffee Cup Die set to create this fun card. The sentiment is half from the Tickled Pink stamp set and half computer printed. I accented the flamingo with white colored pencil to add some dimension. The Bazzill Kraft Foil paper made the PERFECT little coffee cup sleeve! Seriously. I love that part. I really do.



I have a little giveaway to share with you today, too! Simply leave a comment on THIS BLOG POST by 12 June 2015 for your chance to win!


Have a Happy!

What They Said

So, Kathy Rac (yes, there is more to her last name, but that's what I call her in my head. Thanks, Instagram!), is doing her awesome 30 Day Coloring Challenge. The thing of it is... Kathy is really GOOD at coloring. Jingle, on the other hand... is okay at coloring. I mean, I don't suck at it and I can hold my own, but that's about the extent of it. Sooo... I decided to play along here and there for this challenge. We'll see how it goes. I know every day isn't feasible for me, but I plan to color MORE this month than usual. That's the level of commitment I am willing to make. PRACTICE! That's what it is all about, folks!



So, I stamped these little adorables. These little adorables, while adorable, are a tad bit intimidating due to the coloring required to make them even more adorable. Naturally, I decided to stamp ALL THREE of them on ONE CARD because I like to give myself more work to do. Naturally. Seriously, though, I used a combination of Spectrum Noir pens and Copics (two critters with SN's and two with Copics... can you tell the difference? *wink*) to color the critters and then used them even more to add shadow at the bottom. Whoa. That was a LOT of coloring, folks. For reals, though.



Okay, I admit it. They were super fun to color. Also, I did a little research to help choose my colors. Did you know that raccoons apparently have a thing for jazz hands? For REALS. Do a google image search. You will totally see it! Actually, I need you to see it. So... here.

SEE!!!!! JAZZ HANDS!!!! Oh, MAN, I love it so much. For reals, you guys. These are the kinds of things that just make my freaking day. For. Reals.

Have a Happy, folks!

Supplies:

Stamps: Mama Elephant Three Amigos

Ink: My Favorite Things Hybrid Black Licorice, VersaFine Onyx Black

Pens: Spectrum Noir, Copic

Washi Tape: Shhhh! It's a tiny sneak from the next Pinkfresh Studio kit. Don't tell. It's a day early.

Sequins: Studio Calico

Wow! That's Fantastic!

It's Time for a New Challenge! Wait....I guess I just said that. In the little banner right above this. Oh, well. I said it again. But, for reals, though...it is. It is time for a brand new challenge over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog! This week we are Making it Masculine! We want to see you create projects for the men in your life! The Design Team is featuring CAS-ual Fridays Stamps products and Waffle Flower Crafts products this week!



I pulled out THREE of my favorite CAS-ual Fridays Stamp sets for this card. Yes, three favorites. I have a lot of favorites when it comes to CAS-ual Fridays Stamps, what can I say? I stamped using some favorite Simon Says Stamp inks to create a simple, classic design. I have a confession: I don't differentiate between 'masculine' and 'feminine' cards. I make a card for a person. If that person likes blue, I use blue. If that person likes birds or flowers or cake or beer, I choose my images accordingly. I think this card would work wonderfully for any friend who likes bold, clean designs, but we are going to go with masculine for the sake of the challenge, K? K. Glad we had this talk.



A wee bit of washi tape and a single sequin accent the top of the card for just a teensy bit of pizzazz! That's a fun word. PIZZAZZ! Go ahead... say it. No, like, for realies...out loud. PIZZAZZZZZ! Yup. Totally a fun word. Plus the word 'pizza' is hidden in it, so that makes it even more awesome.

Wow. Tangent. Okay, so, anyway... now it's your turn to play along with the challenge! Create something awesome for the Make it Masculine challenge and link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog! We can't WAIT to see what you do! One lucky participant will win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store! Yup. That's awesome, too.

Have a Happy, folks!

Mountains in Your Way? Move 'em.

Yup. Move 'em. You can do it.



I created this card with fabulous Encouraging Words stamp set from WPlus9. The sentiments in this set are amazing. They are truly encouraging words. In addition to the sentiments, the images are wonderfully simplistic, making them a natural choice for a CAS designer.



I used three different ink colors to get the coloring I wanted on the sun behind the mountains. I love how that turned out! This one was quick, yes, but it makes me happy.

Have a Happy!