Create with Connie and Mary--Monochromatics!

I will admit, I did find this weeks theme of ‘Monochromatic’ a bit of a challenge! It took me a bit to get my crafting mojo but I am happy with what I created in the end. I decided to use a color I am really loving right now which is Soft Seafoam. I am so happy it is a permanent part of our Subtles collection.

I started by cutting a bunch of hearts using the Stitched Hearts dies to create a background. I then cut the joined hearts out of vellum (I was really trying to stick with the theme!) and a larger focal heart. On the larger heart I flicked with my Soft Seafoam marker. I coloured the Crinkled Seam Binding ribbon with my Dark Soft Seafoam Blend to layer behind the focal heart. I pulled a few strands loose from the vanilla ribbon that is in the Forever Greenery Trim Combo pack and added behind the heart in an organic way. This a great trick to use in place of metallic thread.

My favourite part of this card is the ‘Hi’…want to know why? Because it is on the FOAM ADHESIVE SHEETS which are basically all my dreams come true. I found the easiest way to work with the adhesive sheets and the Playful Alphabet dies is to cut the letters out of card stock first so they are handy. Then cut out the letters on the foam adhesive sheet, pick off the top layer (these sheets are like one giant Dimensional) and press the card stock letter into place and then pop it free from the sheet. Works like a charm!

HOT TIP: Don’t through away your sheet when you are done cutting it all up, save all those weird bits to use as Dimensionals.

And those clear gems…ya, to die for! They are found with the Peony Suite in the new catalogue and are called the Elegant Faceted Gems. Got to have those…add them to your shopping list right now…you will thank me!

This close up look hopefully lets you see how fabulous the HI looks on the Adhesive Sheets. I can't say enough about how amazing they are, especially paired with the Playful Alphabet Dies. And the Elegant Faceted Gems have a pattern on them which just adds to their awesomeness.

Tasteful Touches Fun Fold

Sometimes you just need a good card fold, design and elements to make a really awesome card! Today I am sharing a ‘fun fold’ card that is simple but packs a punch!

You start with your standard card base of 4 1/4 x 5 1/2. Mine is Purple Posy. You can get 4 card bases out of one sheet of card stock too which is awesome. You will then cut your second ‘card’ base to 3 x 11 and score at 5 1/2. Once you have these two pieces you can stamp a pattern along the edges of the Purple Posy. I used one of the images from the Tasteful Touches stamp set and stamped in Highland Heather. Attach the white card to the Purple Posy base and then embellish as desired.

I used the Tasteful Touches stamp set as the focal point of this card. I absolutely LOVE the feathers. I stamped them in Bumbleebee on Whisper White card stock. I inked the feather once and stamped it three times to get three different tones of the ink. These are then hand cut.

The sentiment, You are the Best, is actually stamped twice. I stamped it once and then layered a 1 inch strip of card stock over top as a mask. I then stamped my sentiment again to get the second half ‘The Best’ to line up underneath this strip. I then added a DSP strip from the Flowers for Every Season 6x6 stack overtop in place of where the mask was.

I added a bit of linen thread and some of the shapes from the In Good Taste Wooden Elements. The Misty Moonlight scallops along the white base edges come from the Budding Blooms dies. And of course I had to flick my Purple Posy marker across the Whisper White base! Its the best trick out there to take away the feeling of too much blank space.

I hope you will give this ‘fun fold’ a try! Have an awesome day!

Create with Connie and Mary--Birthday Celebrations!

This week’s theme is birthday and I think its because a special someone (hint: Connie) is celebrating a birthday! So naturally we are celebrating by sharing birthday cards with everyone. I used the new Playing with Patterns Suite to create this easy peasy card!

I love the colors in this suite and tried to incorporate little snip-its of them all on one card! The base is Purple Posy and I stamped the polka dots from the Pattern Play stamp set in Highland Heather. I cut and scored this card base like a normal card ( 4 1/4 x 5 1/2) and then trimmed off an Inch. This lets a little peek a boo option happen to highlight this striped patten paper from the Playing with Patterns DSP. I used the Stitched So Sweetly dies to cut the scallop rectangle from a Crushed Curry patterned designer paper found in the DSP.

I love that the ribbon for this suite is a trio of colors and textures. You get a skinny piece of Night of Navy, a shimmery Coastal Cabana option and a Purple Posy/White wide ribbon all in one set! You can find it in the catalogue on pg 161, along with a bunch of new amazing ribbon options.

I stamped the sentiment on Seaside Spray card stock with the new Misty Moonlight In Color and cut it out using a die found in the Stitched So Sweetly collection. I stamped it again in Calypso Coral on the same card stock and cut by hand ‘Cue The’ to add in that color to the design. A few of the Playing with Patterns Resin dots and voila! An easy peasy card!

This card came together so effortlessly with the elements of this amazing suite!

Did you notice the cute little 3x3 acetate boxes in the new catalogue? I made a little mini card and coordinating envelope to go with my full size card. It would be cute to stash a little treat behind the card in the box.

The HB is cut out using the Playful Alphabet Die which is a part of the Pattern Play Bundle on pg 102 of the catalogue. If my projects have inspired you with this suite (see my blog post from Wednesday) you can use my Monthly Hostess Code to place an order!

You can hop backwards to check out Melissa’s project or you can go on to our birthday girls blog post! Enjoy your day, I hope you get to stamp something!

Splish Splash! Joy of Sets Blog Hop!

The theme for June is Splish Splash and what a better way to introduce you to this amazing new product suite, Whale of a Time. The whale punch is literally so cute I can’t even handle it! Everything I used on these two cards are new so let me take you through it!

I wanted to created a water background so I used watercolor paper with our new Water Painters. The brushes come in 3 tip sizes and before you twist the brush on super tight, twist in REVERSE, to get the brush tip off to add water! I added a drop of re-inker in three colors, Pool Party, Coastal Cabana, and Pretty Peacock, to an acrylic block. I took the widest brush tip (shown below) and dripped a drop or two of water onto the block. I mixed the re-inker around and then added it to my watercolour paper in a horizontal brush stroke. I then took the medium water brush and dripped some water on top to give sort of a bubble finish. I let those dry and while waiting put together the whale using the builder punch. I stamped a bit of detail to his back and top fin in Shaded Spruce. When the background was dry I used the same color to add in the sea weed.

When I looked through the Whale of a Time Designer Series Paper I knew immediately that I wanted to cut the ‘wave’ design apart and layer it on my card to create more 3D feeling waves. I was able to get two cards out of one piece of DSP. I added some of the Whale of a Time sequins into the sea weed for a bit of whimsy. The sentiments are stamped and embossed with White Embossing powder on Pretty Peacock card stock and then just cut by hand and added onto the cards with Mini Dimensionals.

The card bases are Pretty Peacock and Mint Macaron and both have a Shaded Spruce layer which was ran through the new Seabed embossing folder.

Isn’t the detail in these DSP waves amazing? It was my inspiration for the color pallet of this card. I think these cards would be super cute to give my kids next week when they finally finish their online schooling.

Narelle is next on our blog hop today, I absolutely love her style! I can’t wait to see her fabulous creation with this unique theme!

Yellow Balloon Project

My last card in my “A Card a Day in May” challenge is dedicated to my friend Michelle who lost her battle with cancer earlier this month. We met while working at lululemon and her impact on me as in individual will last the rest of my days. I had never met anyone like Michelle before. She did not let her illness define her in any way. She lived a big full life and was so positive and resolute in her efforts to stay alive. She loved her dogs and her husband Aaron was the center of her universe. They were the ultimate team. When a health challenge came her way she would say ‘Aaron and I will discuss a plan’. She always believed there was something she could be doing or trying to keep her cancer at bay. Michelle was generous, and kind, funny and a believer. The legacy Michelle leaves behind is how blessed we all are for knowing her. She made my life better and brought such a wonderful light to this world.

One of her wishes was to have yellow balloons released on her birthday which was shortly after she passed away. So we did that, all across Canada, friends and family of Michelle’s got together and released balloons in the spirit of connection to Michelle and tagged it #yellowballoonproject.

One way I felt I could stay connected to Michelle was to send her cards so that is why I am sharing this #yellowballonproject inspired card with you today. This stamp set is called Above the Clouds and that is where you are Michelle. I know you will continue to shine your light and your love down on us. Thank you for being you.

I will be your friend forever Michelle, I will continue to think of you and strive to approach my challenges in the same way as you, with light and grace. Until we meet again. XOXO

In case you missed any of the projects I shared this month I have collaged them all here! Take a look back through my blog to get more up close photos and the crafty details! It was a challenge for me to create a new card every day and to stretch my design muscles. Looking back I am really proud of all of my stampin’ in May. I am looking forward to a new month with a new catalogue!