Monthly Archives: December 2011

Journey to Happiness

Posted on December 30, 2011 | 18 comments

Looking for a great way to kick off the new year? How about a class to focus on two wonderful things…the things that matter most and spending time creating?

Sounds great right? How about a chance to win a spot in the class? I’m super excited to be able to give away one spot for this class. I know you’re going to love it! Check it out…

Journey to Happiness, What matters most is a 4 week workshop that starts 12/29/11 and it taught by Lisa Day

“We will be working towards celebrating and creating a life

dedicated to focusing on what matters most to you!”

– Lisa Day

In Lisa Day’s latest workshop, you’ll spend four weeks setting up creative action plans to make sustainable changes that will help you focus on and stay true to what matters most. In class you will create two layouts and two mini albums which can be used as a guide to creating and celebrating a life – never losing sight of what matters most.

Do you want to make some changes in your life so that you can experience greater happiness and really focus on the things that truly matter to you? The journey to happiness is an on-going process, but with a clear focus, you can enjoy that journey every step of the way.

Read here to register and read rest of description

New to Big Picture Classes? Learn more here

 

So back to that giveaway! Just leave a comment on this blog post by 9pm EST December 31st and I’ll randomly draw a winner from the comments.

Good luck!

18 Comments

Posted in Card Designs

a simple valentine

Posted on December 30, 2011 | 5 comments

Sometimes you don’t need a big fussy card to say how you feel.

Sometimes all you need are some simple hearts stitched with love….

Here’s my clean and simple one layer stamped valentine. It’s stamped with hearts and sentiment from the new Sweet Treat Sweetie stamp set by Avocado Arts. It’s simply colored with Copic markers and then stitched together on my sewing machine.

Easy Peasy.

The Avocado Arts Design Team has been busy creating with this set. Here’s a few ideas…

Supplies:

Have a simply wonderful day!

5 Comments

Posted in Avocado Arts, Card Designs

some holiday recycling

Posted on December 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’m thrilled with all the gifts I received this year. No re-gifting for me! I did however reuse some of the packaging that came with my gifts. Tissue paper! It’s a great to stamp on and make a cool textured background.

Today’s card features stamping on tissue paper. I’ve used Studio Multi-Medium to decoupage it on. I love the subtle texture and how the colored slightly patterned paper shows through.

All of today’s stamps are from Market Street Stamps and I’m sharing more photos and details of this project on the MSS blog today. Why not join me?

Supplies:

Have a beautiful day!

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Posted in Card Designs, Market Street Stamps, Maya Road

getting inky

Posted on December 28, 2011 | 2 comments

Stamps. Ink. Paper.

The bare basics of crafting supplies. On their own they are pretty humble but when combined, I’m always amazed at the possibilities.

This card uses a new stamp set from Market Street Stamps called Believing Butterfly. I’ve stamped the butterflies using Distress Stain ink for a very soft and dreamy watercolor look.

I encourage you to get to know your inks if you stamp. It’s not just about color. Different inks give a very different impression and look. I find Ranger’s Archival inks line to be the best for crispness and a clean impression. I also love how they are great for watercoloring with as once heat set, they are permanent. The one thing you can’t do with the Archival inks is use them with Copic markers.

Ranger Distress Inks have a wider range of color and give a fairly good impression. They are also perfect for a myriad of techniques and the colors blend beautifully.

Lately I’ve been experimenting with the Ranger Distress Stains. They are just inks that coordinate with the Distress Ink line but they are a very wet ink that is applied with a bingo dabber-type top. I love the watercolor look you can achieve with them and they are also perfect for adding a lot of color to a background in a hurry.

I wanted to highlight the sentiment a little with so much inking and misting going on. To do this I stamped the sentiment a second time onto some white cardstock and then cut out words I wanted to highlight. Really quick and easy to do.

Supplies:

Happy creating!

2 Comments

Posted in Card Designs, Market Street Stamps

a simple life

Posted on December 26, 2011 | 8 comments

I’m a simple girl with a simple life.

It really doesn’t take much to make me happy.

Simple life is the best.

I’ve been stamping for quite a few years now. I love all kinds of techniques but sometimes, simple stamping is just all you need.

These stamps are from the new 2012 Hero Arts release. As soon as I saw them I just couldn’t get them into my shopping cart fast enough. Beautiful!

As I mentioned, I used very little for this card. Just the stamps, white and black cardstock and black ink.  A colored pencil adds a pop of color and some subtle shading. I only used one pencil. By just varying pressure you can get the effect of many shades and a little depth. A beautiful fabric brad is a quick way to add a luxurious looking pillow to the scene.

Supplies:

Thanks so much for all the Christmas wishes! We had a wonderful day with family and we ended up as stuffed as the turkey. Today was wonderful too. Boxing Day is my day to relax and I enjoyed it immensely just puttering around my studio.
If you’re like me and don’t want to venture out for the sales, Ellen Hutson LLC is having a two-day sale to reduce inventory. Why count it when you can sell it instead?! 20% off for today and tomorrow, the 26th and 27th. Here’s the link if you feel like a treat. Don’t forget the code count2011 to save!
Have a simply wonderful day!

8 Comments

Posted in Card Designs, Hero Arts

a very merry Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2011 | 6 comments

This morning I’m rejoicing in the greatest gift of all. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2Corinthians 9:15

I’d also like to share a Christmas card I created to wish you all the merriest of Christmases! I hope you all have a wonderful day holding those you love close.

This card puts together many of my favorite things. I love stamped canvas so I’ve stamped the canvas button to coordinate with the canvas text background. The button is also stamped with a clock. I’ve used Ranger Archival inks for this as I find they work best for stamping on canvas and wood.

Supplies:

Wishing you the gifts of joy, hope and peace for the coming year. Merry Christmas!

6 Comments

Posted in Card Designs, Hero Arts, Holiday

natural beauty

Posted on December 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

Designing with natural materials and fibres is trend that has taken hold in fashion and decorating over the past while. I love that natural and textured and subtle look. The tone on tone and variety of textures fascinates me. I must admit I’ve spent countless hours on Pinterest enjoying all the inspiration there.

When a style is so prevalent everywhere, it’s usually always a big hit in the paper crafting world. Today in the CLASSroom I’m sharing one of my interpretations of the style. I hope you enjoy it! Here’s the link if you’d like to join me.

Wishing you a wonderful day!

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Posted in Card Designs, Ellen Hutson LLC projects, Hero Arts