Happy Mother's Day

We're almost to the end of April.  The weeks seem to be flying by for me lately. My mom says that is because I'm getting older...sigh.  In case you didn't know, Mother's Day is around the corner, May 11th.  I'm grateful that I get to celebrate the day with my Mom.

Although my Mom won't join us for airplane rides, I thought she would enjoy this card.  It features:

• Lawn Fawn - Just Plane Awesome | stamps + lawn cuts
• Lawn Fawn - Plane Awesome Sentiment Trails | stamp + lawn cuts
• Lawn Fawn - Stitched Rainbow | lawn cuts
• Concord & 9th - Quintessential Scripty Sayings | die
• Pretty Pink Posh - Fancy Cake | die
• Lawn Fawn - Pint-Sized Patterns Falling Leaves | 6x6
• Lawn Fawn - Stripes 'n Sprinkles | 6x6

I was going through sets that have a Mother's Day Sentiment.  When I saw the Just Plane Awesome Sentiment Trails I thought that would be a cute card for my Mom.  Bonus points for being postal friendly.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Links to products used or recommended are listed below:

Ink Blending and Die Cutting Only

Today we are creating a fun card using nothing but ink blending and die cutting techniques. It was really fun to pull this card together and when I was finished I realized that I didn't stamp or color a single thing. It was a woah moment.

First off, I recently ordered a couple of die and stencil sets from Waffle Flower which is what started this whole journey...just playing with new goodies, having no plan in mind. That's how I ended up with my sentiment and those beautiful little butterflies - Waffle Flower's Multiple Butterflies Combo and Overlapping Birthday Combo.

This is kind of funny but in that same order was the Mama Elephant Classic Card Quads. I immediately thought it would be a perfect background for the fun stenciling I had just done. So I chose 1 style and cut it 4 times from white cardstock. Then I layered the Pretty Pink Posh Deco Leaves stencil over the top of 2 at a time. I inked one blue and one green to go with my sentiment since the butterflies were already pink.

After removing the stencil, I didn't like how white the panels still were so I added a light layer of the same color over top and thought it flowed much better. Then I added foam tape and squares to the back of everything.

After adding everything to a white card base, I came in with some Wink of Stella glitter brush pen on the butterfly wings for just a little sparkle. 

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

Links to products used or recommended are listed below:

hey friend

 Do you like vintage goods, thrifting, treasure hunts? I do! Here's how I was inspired this week:

Who doesn't love pretty vintage pyrex?  My card today features:

• Concord & 9th - Kitchen Classics | bundle stamps + dies
• Pretty Pink Posh - Friend Shadow | die
• Lawn Fawn - Stripes 'n Sprinkles | 6x6

I love the retro feel of this card and love how it turned out.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Links to products used or recommended are listed below:

Strawberry Shaped Cards for Spring

Happy Mix it up Monday everyone! It's Amanda from Twiddler's Nook. This week I have a couple of sweet little strawberry shaped cards using Lawn Fawn and Mama Elephant goodies together. This is a fun way to use your larger shape dies in a different way so be sure to dig through your stash and see what you've got!

The base of my cards are created with the Lawn Fawn Outside In Stitched Strawberry and a couple of accents from the Stitched Strawberry Frame die set too. Although you absolutely could create this without the frame die set. The only thing I borrowed from it was another layer on my topper leaves and the extra leaf attached to the stem.

I cut the layers from yellow, pink and green cardstocks and then did some ink blending on all of them to add deeper color before using liquid glue to adhere them together. Then I cut another full strawberry from pink cardstock, scored it about 3/8" from the top and glued that flap to the back of my strawberry to create my card.

Next, I went digging for a fun critter to add and a sentiment of some sort. At first I was going the punny route but didn't find anything that spoke to me, so I landed on sweet Mama Elephant Little Agenda bunnies and Spring Banner Greetings. I also had commitment issues on my sentiment banner color so I did one of each for fun. I still don't know which I like better.

After the bunny and sentiment banner were added with foam squares and strips, I finished things off with black glaze pen on the bunnies' eyes and glossy accents on their strawberry and the center of the flower on the big strawberry too.

I have no plans for these at the moment but I think pulling out my envelope punch board to make a custom sized envelope would be super cute or tying them to the handle of a gift bag would be adorable as well. Maybe even lunchbox notes!

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

 Links to products used or recommended are listed below:

Let's Party!

I don't know about you but I've been enjoying the Waffle Flower Postage Collage collections.  Here's how I was inspired this week:

My project features:

• Waffle Flower - Postage Collage Cupcake | stencil
• Waffle Flower - Postage Collage Birthday | stamp
• Waffle Flower - Postage Collage | stamp
• Waffle Flower - Postage Collage Blocks | stencil
  
• Waffle Flower - Subsentiments - Bloom | diecut embellishments
• Waffle Flower - Postage Collage | die
• Pretty Pink Posh - Let's Party Shadow | die

The Distress Oxide inks I used:

• Worn Lipstick
• Picked Raspberry
• Fossilized Amber
• Shabby Shutters
• Mowed Lawn
• Rustic Wilderness
• Broken China
• Tea Dye
• Ground Espresso
• Black Soot

The Grip Mat definitely helps in the stenciling process!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Links to products used or recommended are listed below:

Playing with Colors and Stencils

Welcome friends! This is Amanda with Mix it up Monday. Today I'm playing with the Concord & 9th Sweet Stems stencil set I picked up a while ago. It's laid out perfectly that you don't need to mask anything to get the perfect color layering and is really fun to create with in any color palette. To prove that, I sat and created 3 cards with what felt like no effort at all.

With a stencil set like this my first attempt is always just to play with it and see how the layers fit together. Sometimes I'm done after that but with this set I kept coming up with color combos I wanted to try out and see how they looked together.

I used distress oxide inks for this first card - salvaged patina, twisted citron, dried marigold, spiced marmalade. Then I used dried marigold for my sentiment color as well. I splattered the panels with water and then with pearl watercolor for sparkle.

For this card I switched to Lawn Fawn dye inks - no. 2 pencil, jalapeno, ballet slippers and guava. I splattered it the same and used guava for my sentiment.

This final combo is also Lawn Fawn dye inks - jalapeno with artichoke on some darker spots, ballet slippers, fresh lavender and juice box. I used fresh lavender for the sentiment.

After inking all of the panels I trimmed them down to fit just behind the Mama Elephant postage frame and used liquid glue to adhere the layers together. The sentiments all came from the Mama Elephant Way to Go stamp and die set.

I popped the sentiments up with foam strips and then popped the postage frames up on gray card bases with foam tape as well. I oriented them all differently so you could see the variations. Then trimmed any excess off the edges with a paper trimmer.

I hope this gives you some inspiration to take a moment and get inky. It's fun and well worth the time!

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

Links to products used or recommended are listed below:

Sweet Day

 I had so much fun combining products on this card.  Here's how I was inspired:

This card features:

• Pretty Pink Posh - Birthday Dogs and Cats | stamps & die bundle
• Pretty Pink Posh - Birthday Words | stencil
• Mama Elephant -  Celebration Cake | stamp & die
• Waffle Flower - Sweet Birthday Sentiments | combo stamp & die

The Birthday Words stencil with the following Distress Oxides:

• Kitsch Flamingo
• Dried Marigold
• Scattered Straw

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Links to products used or recommended are listed below:

Rainy Day Spring Card

Happy Mix it up Monday everyone! It's Amanda from Twiddler's Nook. I had a lull between new, fun orders being delivered so I gave some of my older spring products a little love. It started with a little relaxed coloring and quickly became a card design in my head.

All of these adorable images are from the Mama Elephant Rainy Days stamp set. I colored them with copic markers and used the coordinating dies to cut them all out.

Next, I cut a smaller Pretty Pink Posh Eyelet Rectangle from light gray cardstock and stamped my sentiment in the middle. As soon as I read this sentiment, I knew I had to use it today! It's probably the #1 best philosophy for spring.

I wanted a little texture on my card base without distracting from the colors of my images so I inked up the Pretty Pink Posh Trellis stencil with gray ink before popping my sentiment panel up in the center with foam tape.

Last, I added all the images with a combination of foam squares and liquid glue. For finishing touches I added glossy accents to critter noses (including umbrellas) and all the raindrops too.

What are your thoughts on spring? It's my least favorite season and I can't wait for summer to take over. That's where this sentiment comes in handy and keeps me positive.

I appreciate you sharing your time with me. Have a fabulous day!

Links to products used or recommended are listed below:

You make me laugh

 Happy April!  When I was growing up I use to dread April Fool's Day. Today I'm celebrating it with a card that features a pun.  Here's how I was inspired:

I combined the following products:

• Lawn Fawn - Dad Jokes | stamps + lawn cuts
• Pretty Pink Posh - Cascading Stars | stencil

I used the following Distress Oxides:

• Wild Honey
• Spiced Marmalade
• Seedless Preserves

Why yes, I do love puns!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Links to products used or recommended are listed below: