Belle Papier {pretty paper}

well…we still have another five plus months until Christmas but Christmas product is hitting the shelves soon as Summer CHA is just on the horizon. You won’t have to wait that long though as CHF has a lot of Christmas releases early this July and today I have a peek for you at my next Rummage Bin line set,  Night Before Christmas. I’ve already gotten started on getting my Christmas cards going and this year…I WILL get them sent out. The last couple years were a bit overwhelming and I didn’t get as many sent out as I would have liked.

Actually… part of the problem with the Christmas cards is that I have a lot to send out. I’m sure you’re the same way. And I tend to obsess about how long its going to take etc. and is this year’s card better than last years…. But really…that’s not what it’s about. It’s about staying in touch and letting those special people know you care. For my Night Before Christmas stamp set, I wanted to take a trip back to simpler times when Christmas wasn’t about a room full of presents and stressed out moms. I also wanted a set that I could keep the stamping simple. This year I AM going to get cards sent out. And while you can color and create uber-fancy cards with this set, you can also use it to stamp simply and let the image speak for itself.

I have a simple card design to share with you today for a sneak peek. Release date is Tuesday July 7th.

Holiday Kisses

This image looks great simply stamped in one color. Classic Black, dark brown, holiday reds, greens and blues are just a few I’d suggest.

Quick Tip: Christmas cards don’t have to be expensive. Keep the layers and embellishments simple for quick and elegant creations.

Supply List:

Stamps: Night Before Christmas (The Rummage Bin line) by CHF

Ink: Cranberry Adirondack Ink by Ranger, Black Memento Ink by Tsukineko

Paper: cardstock by Prism, patterned paper by Little Yellow Bicycle

Other: ribbon by May Arts, corsage pin

 Have a wonderful weekend!

I love the beach. It’s not too far away and it’s my favorite place in the world. Of course, I haven’t traveled too far but hey! I’m happy so it’s all good, right?

Today’s design feature a new line from CHF, Sara England. Sarah is a Maryland artist that features whimsical designs of dogs. It’s so fun to work with them converted into images for stamping. While I had a Shepherd and not a Lab…these darling images remind me of the times we spent with our late, family pet.

I don’t have a WT challenge for you today. There’s a guest hostess at SCS stepping in for me as we decided to take an extra day off and stay at the cottage. Thanks Melody! Be sure to check it out as it’s a super fun challenge!

 Summer Sunset

A quick Copic colored card. Love this fun Cosmo Cricket paper. The colors scream summer.

Supply List:

Sun Watching (Sara England line) by CHF
Ink: Black Memento by Tsukineko
Paper: Simply Smooth white cardstock by CHF, kraft cardstock by Bazzill Basics, patterned paper by Cosmo Cricket
Other: Copic markers, flower by Prima, button, sewing machine

Sailing

This watercolor effect is easy to do. After embossing your image with clear embossing powder, wet your paper well. Pick up reinker color with a waterbrush and dab into each section. The wet paper should pull the color to fill the embossed section. Allow to dry well before creating your card.

Quick Tip: Make sure the paper is quite damp to allow the ink to move.

Supply List:

Stamps: Sailing with my Dog (Sara England line)by CHF
Ink: Versamark ink by Tsukineko, Adirondack reinkers by Ranger
Paper: Shimmery white cardstock, kraft cardstock & green by Prism
Other: button by Autumn Leaves, embroidery floss, waterbrush

I’ll be back tomorrow with a peek at my new upcoming stamp set.

Take care,

I am running away today so this post is going to be SUPER short. Yes, it’s still supposed to rain a little but we’re off to the lake in hopes of clearing weather, fireworks and I totally need a day off. I was up late last night working on a new stamp set until my eyes were crossing. lol

Honey

I created this card a few weeks ago for a SCS Sketch challenge. It is such a great layout I had to play along. Instead of using different pieces for the three panels, I stamped the Vintage Text Scrapblock and then my bees before cutting the layer apart. You get some flow this way and I love how the wings and text match up from one layer to the other.

Quick Tip: Use two different sized punches on circle elements to make them pop.

Supply List:
Stamps:
Vintage Text Scrapblock by Cornish Heritage Farms
Sweet Bee (The Rummage Bin line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Black Memento by Tsukineko, Vintage Photo Distress Ink by Ranger
Paper: Simply Smooth Vanilla by Cornish Heritage Farms, Just Chillin’ patterned paper by Making Memories
Other: Copic Markers, circle punches, pin by Fancy Pants Designs, flowers & Lace by Prima, sewing machine

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian friends! Enjoy the celebration!

Off to find the beach towels,

edited to add…ughhh! It’s pouring! Guess we need an umbrella too!

Just one more day until Canada Day and ughhhh…it’s still raining. Seriously…I think this is the wettest June that I can remember. At least everything is nice and green and I haven’t had to do much watering. I WOULD like it to clear up a bit so we can hit the beach tomorrow….but who knows?

I have a couple of cards to share with you today. We’re going with lots of black today. I think it was the elegance of the stamps that inspired me in that direction. These two designs use stamps from the All Things Considered line by CHF.

Ever After

This first card was actually based on a CPS sketch from a few weeks ago. I love these Jenni Bowlin mini papers..they are so much fun to work with on cards.
Stamps: Botanical Bliss
Ink: Black Memento Ink byTsukineko
Paper: Black cardstock bay Bazzill, Simply Smooth Vanilla by CHF, 4×4 mini patterned papers by Jenni Bowlin
Other: sewing machine, ribbon by May Arts, gaffer tape by 7 Gypsies, 1 1/2 ” circle punch, Copic markers

Black & White Wish

I went for bold and black on this card. So many times I color and embellish but the stamps are so beautiful on there own, it was a fun exercise just to play around with design and texture and leave color totally out of this project.

Quick Tip: Anchor a corsage pin in chipboard for a different look.

Stamps:
Key Elements (ATC line) by CHF
Vintage Text Scrapblock by CHF
Ink: Black Memento Ink by Tsukineko
Paper: Simply Smooth white cardstock by CHF, black cardstock by Bazzill Basics
Other: chipboard letters by Chatterbox, felt by Queen & Co. , butterfly by Heidi Swapp, corsage pin

Happy creating!

 Well…I’m not sure if anyone still goes for a Sunday drive or not but I thought it would be fun to share a few car designs today. Camaros actually. They are such a fun car, don’t you think?

I’m not driving too far today…just to church and then plan to spend a relaxing day with my family. I’m super excited about tomorrow though. The CHF Summer Stamp Star Design Challenge kicks off Monday. I hope you’ll join us this week by submitting a design for it. If you’ve missed the details…click on the Will It Be You star in my sidebar.

Camaro

This first car is super fun. I love the graphic look and no masking involved…just stamp and color. Bright fun Copic colors worked perfectly for this look. To make the Camaro sentiment pop, I used a white gel pen to highlight the letters.

Supply List:

Stamps: Camaro Collage (GM line) by CHF
Ink: Black Memento Ink by Tsukineko
Paper: Simply Smooth white cardstock by CHF
Other: Copic Markers, rhinestones by MAMBI, white gel pen by Signo

Happy BRTHDA

I thought it would be fun to create a “girlie” car design. 16th birthday perhaps? The combo of polka dots, pink and glitter make this car totally feminine. Isn’t that license plate sentiment CUTE?

Supply List:

Stamps:
Camaro Style (GM line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Distressed Circles Scrapblock by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Black Memento Ink by Tsukineko, Adirondack ink by Ranger
Paper: Simply Smooth white by Cornish Heritage Farms, Intense Pink & Blush Red Dark by Prism, black by Bazzill
Other: ribbon by Michael’s, copic markers, glitter by Art Institute, heart chipboard

Have a beautiful day!

hi there! More scraps to share today. This is another quick card I made weeks ago while doing some cleaning and yes…I squeezed a little more of that October Afternoon paper in there. Actually, I think these cards are numbers 5 & 6 that I’ve shared here so far. It’s amazing how far one piece of paper will go!

This first card is super simple…just a lot of scraps set on the diagonal. To make it easy to get perfect clean edges…I adhered the strips over a thing piece of cardstock that I had cut to size. I left the strips long so that I could just flip it over and cut back to the original square size. Perfect clean edges.

Good Friendship

This is a super simple friendship card. I recently came across dotted cardstock by Bazzill at my local scrapbook store. I LOVE it! Such a fun graphic look. This design is paper pieced with the Shady Tree Studio “The Cafe” set.

Supply List:

Stamps: The Cafe (Shady Tree Studio line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Black Memento by Tsukineko
Paper: black cardstock by Bazzill, patterned paper by October Afternoon
Other: Nestability die by Spellbinders, foam dimensional tape, buttons by AUtumn leaves, linen thread

Have a simply wonderful Saturday!

It’s all done! School is out as of yesterday and summer vacation has officially begun in our household. Graduation night was Wednesday evening and my boy had a great night and we were definitely proud parents. Yes…I finished those 200 place cards on time…yay! Now I remember why I never make a design more than once. I get my joy in designing a project…definitely not by mass producing them. To those of you who do…hat’s off to you!

Now that the event is over I can share the card I designed for the occasion.  I paired up my Reach 4 the Stars stamp set with a new CHF Backgrounder, Graphic Tapestry. This is such a great image, with lots of detail and it works well on both masculine and feminine projects. I’m loving the new American Crafts glittered chipboard letters I picked up the other day. I believe it is the Thickers Roller Rink Glitter package. They are such a fabulous size for cards and you really get a lot of letters for the price. I think I need some more!

Congrats

Supply List:

Stamps: Graphic Tapestry Backgrounder by CHF
Reach 4 the Stars (The Rummage Bin line) by CHF
Ink: Black Memento Ink by Tsukineko
Paper: Black cardstock by Bazzill, patterned paper by MME
Other: sewing machine, punches, glitter chipboard by American Crafts

And here’s my very handsome graduate. He cleaned up pretty well didn’t he? It was a special night and I actually got some great pics from a boy who usually runs from the camera. I’m feeling a scrapping bug coming on.

Last of all…I have a winner for the Sweet Bee draw! Random.org picked #3 as my winner. Congratulations Jean Beck! Please e-mail me with your address and I’ll get it off to you!

Take care!

Bold bright colors and funky combos are a trend that is showing up more and more in the papercrafting world. While I’ve always been a fan of subtler combos…this trend is really catching my eye. It’s fun, funky, warm and it’s perfect for summer. I thought it would be fun to give it a whirl and also plan a challenge around it. Your WT challenge today is to find ways to use bold and bright combos. Check out the challenge here.

Welcome Home

A wild mixture of products, colors and patterns seems to work for this trend. What I think ties this card together is the white in each of the layers. Looking for the stamps in this project? The key from the Key Elements ATC set, the Vintage Text Scrapblock is stamped onto white cardstock and home from the Key Expressions set is stamped into the chipboard painted house.

Quick tip: To keep the project from looking oh so 80’s, use fresh papers and patterns to bring it up to date.

Stamps:
Key ELements (ATC line) by CHF
Key Expressions (MLM line) by CHF
vintage Text Scrapblock by CHf
Ink: Rose Bud & Black Memento Ink by Tsukineko
Paper: Kraft cardstock by Bazzill Basics, Simply smooth Vanilla cardstock by CHF, patterned paper by Fancy Pants Designs & MME
Other: sewing machine, chipboard by Maya Road, Watermelon Paint Dabber by Ranger, dymo label maker, rhinestone heart by MAMBI, labels 1 Nestability die by Spellbinders

Don’t forget…you have until tomorrow morning for a chance to win the Sweet Bee set.

Happy stamping and have a great day!

I’m still buzzing here with yet another Sweet Bee design to share with you today. Actually…I have a little more than that so be sure to read to the end of the post.

I’m buzzing around today trying to get ready for my son’s graduation. Pick up the cake, iron the shirt, tidy the house, help decorate the community center, get teacher gifts ready for last day of school…etc. I’ll be sure to share some pics when it’s over.

Do you like coloring? One of the images in particular in the Sweet Bee set is perfect for it. This image would look great in chalks, watercolors or colored pencils but today I pulled out my Copic markers and airbrush system. I could have masked off the specific details of this image but rather…I just went ahead and airbrushed the entire thing, trying not to get too much spray on the image. I’m a busy girl, what can I say?! Actually…using the Copic colorless blender works great for lightening up areas where you don’t want the sky to be. To get the shimmer on the wings and flowers, I used a clear Copic Spica pen.

Bee Happy

Quick Tip: Spray the sky is two shades to get a realistic effect. I used a soft blue and a purple-tinged blue to airbrush in the background of this image.

Supply List:

Stamps: Sweet Bee (The Rummage Bin line) by CHF
Ink: Black Memento Ink by Tsukineko
Paper: Simply Smooth white cardstock by CHF, patterned paper by MME
Other: Copic markers and air brush, sewing machine, Spica glitter pen by Copic, vintage insertion lace

As for what I have to share with you…I have one Sweet Bee stamp set to send to one lucky winner. Simply comment on this post between now and 8 am EST Friday June  26th for a chance to win. I’ll announce the randomly drawn winner on Friday morning. Good luck!

Off to start my buzzzy day. Take care!

Wow…what a disparate group of items. Actually…the Thomas Kinkade and the fishing do go well together as CHF has a new Thomas Kinkade stamp release, The Fishin’ Hole. This is another smaller vignette image release and I’m loving this size. It makes it super easy to color it without taking as long and it also gives you more space to design around when you’re creating your project.

As for the photo editing part…you know how I love Jessica Sprague courses! Right now JSprague has a two year celebration going on and if you sign up this week…there is a new photo-editing class you can take for free. Guess who must have been one of the first to sign up? LOL I took the Photo Editing: Good to Great workflow class and have been waiting for this one for months.

Fishin

close-up

Quick Tip: To get a realistic image, try to color each detail in the image with two markers for shading. I know many people tell you to color along a color group but I find with these image, you get a more natural look if you use two different shades of green for instance. Where the light hits will have a much warmer green tone than green in the shade.

Supply List:

Stamps: The Fishin’ Hole (Thomas Kinkade line) by CHF
Ink: Black Memento ink by Tsukineko
Paper: Simply Smooth White cardstock by CHF, kraft cardstock by Bazzill Basics, patterned paper by MME
Other: sewing machine, buttons by Autumn Leaves, Copic Markers

Happy creating and don’t forget about those Summer Stamp Star Challenges!
Julia