Choo Choo You're 2!

My little nephew turned 2 this past week so of course I had to make him a fun card. I knew I wanted to use the MFT Pumped-Up Numbers die-namic and thought it would be fun to have it pulled by the train from PTI's Little Hot Rod (retired). From there I just kept pulling out supplies to make my scene!

I die cut the number 2 from Pacific Point card stock and applied a very liberal coating of Glossy Accents to give it that shiny balloon look. I die cut it a second time from white fun foam and adhered the two together to give it some dimension. It's hard to tell from my photos, but I used a Cloud Stencil and Tumbled Glass distress oxide ink to create a sky full of puffy white clouds. I also did some selective inking from the sentiments in Little Hot Rod to create my custom sentiment. 

The grassy hillside was created by ink blending Mowed Lawn and Rustic Wilderness distress oxide inks onto a panel of white card stock cut with the long ground die from the Under the Sea die-namics. I also used the Grassy Edges stencil to go back in and add the tufts of grass in the same inks. The train itself is stamped in three shades of blue ink and die cut. I glued a super thin piece of card stock behind the train and cars to hold them together because I wanted to include a slider element so the train could actually move! The slider channel was cut from MFT's Surf & Turf die-namic, which I believe is now retired. The "track" is made from a thin piece of Chocolate Chip card stock die cut with the Build-a-Scene: On the Road die from Taylored Expressions. Lastly, I used some blue and white baker's twine to attach the balloon to the train. This was super fun to make!
 

SUPPLIES:

Stamps: Little Hot Rod (PTI)

Paper: Pacific Point, Chocolate Chip (SU!), Stamper's Select White (PTI)

Ink: Pacific Point, Bliss Blue (SU!), Blueberry Sky (PTI), Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Tumbled Glass (Distress Oxide), Versa Fine Onyx Black

Dies: Little Hot Rod (PTI), Pumped-Up Numbers die-namic, Under the Sea die-namic, Surf & Turf die-namic (MFT), Build a Scene: On the Road (Taylored Expressions), Card Front Element Builder (Sugar Pea Designs)

Stencils: Cloud, Grassy Edges (MFT)

Other: Slider Elements (MFT), glossy accents, blue & white baker's twine, foam tape, fun foam

It's Cake Chomping Time

When My Favorite Things released their Baby Shark die-namic and Sharky Sentiments set, I bided my time until they went on sale and then bought them. Both my boys love sharks, especially my oldest, so I knew they would eventually get put to good use. Well, my oldest just celebrated his 8th birthday so I finally got a chance to play and make him a fun shark card!

 

The body of the shark is die cut from Smoky Slate card stock and the mouth is cut from Soft Stone card stock. Both of those pieces were also lightly sponged around the edges with their coordinating ink to give the shark a little dimension. The body of the shark has embossing lines built in so it is extremely easy to line up the eyes and mouth. 

To create the underwater background I used four different shades of blue distress oxide ink and the Ray of Light stencil. Before laying down the stencil, I lightly ink blended Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean ink from top to bottom on my white card base. Then I put the stencil over top and blended more Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean, along with Blueprint Sketch and Chipped Sapphire toward the bottom. After removing the stencil I went back and laid down a little more color so the lines weren't quite so stark. Once I was happy with the colors I splattered it with water to create "bubbles". There were several moments during this process I was sure I had ruined the whole thing but I am happy with how it turned out. 

The Sharky Sentiments are all really funny but this is the one I chose. It is embossed in white on a black strip die cut with one of the Skinny Mini Banners from PTI. What I loved about this particular banner was the jagged edges, like the shark had "chomped" off the edges! The shark and the sentiment are both popped up with foam tape and that is that. I love how this turned out and so did my son!

SUPPLIES:

Stamps: Sharky Sentiments (MFT)

Paper: Stamper's Select White, Soft Stone, True Black (PTI), Smoky Slate (SU!)

Ink: Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire, Aged Mahogany (Distress Oxide), Smoky Slate (SU!)

Dies: Baby Shark die-namic (MFT), Skinny Mini Banners (PTI)

Other: Ray of Light Stencil (MFT), white embossing powder

Fleur Impressions Valentine's

I'm back today with more cards using The Greetery's Fleur Impressions set. I honesty couldn't stop stamping these gorgeous flowers! This time I used them to make Valentine's Day cards.

Since these were Valentine's Day cards I kept to reds and pinks for the flowers. The large red flower was stamped using Pretty in Pink, Pure Poppy and Real Red inks. The smaller red flower was stamped in Pure Poppy and Real Red. I arranged everything in the Small Terrarium die which was cut from gold card stock. 

The spray of pink flowers on the right was stamped in Pink Pirouette and Hibiscus Burst. All of the greenery was stamped in combination of Leafy and Mossy inks. 

There is also a stem of Petite Eucalyptus peeking out of the top. 

The sentiment is from a retired PTI set called Keep it Simple: Valentine. I loved the font and thought it suited the card perfectly. The main panel was also cut with the Crimped Frame die and mounted with foam tape to a white card base. 

My second card is very similar, except that instead of using the Small Terrarium die I used an Ink to Paper die called Geometrix: Hexagon. 

I used the same combination of reds and pinks as the first card. 

The layout I used is the same as I used on the cards in my last post. I just love the abundance of blooms!

Thanks so much for reading!

SUPPLIES:

Stamps: Fleur Impressions, Petite Eucalyptus Stamp + Cut Combo (The Greetery), Keep it Simple: Valentine (PTI)

Paper: Stamper's Select White (PTI), gold

Ink: Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink, Real Red (SU!), Hibiscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz, Pure Poppy (PTI), Leafy, Mossy (The Stamp Market)

Dies: Fleur Impressions, Small Terrarium, Crimped Frame (The Greetery), Nesting Rectangle Infinity Dies (Hero Arts)

Fleur Impressions

We have been having one of the snowiest winters in several years here in Western PA. All of the constant cold and snow has me longing for spring. Since real flowers are going to have to wait I have been stamping a veritable garden in my craft room! Whenever my husband finds me stamping he teases, "Stamping more flowers?" Haha, yes! I've been spending a lot of time playing around with The Greetery's Fleur Impressions set and here are some of my cards. 

I started by stamping a BIG pile of blooms in pinks, blues and purples, along with all of the little leaves that are included in the set. I also inked up my Petite Eucalyptus set for the first time to have even more greenery to play around with. Then I started arranging bouquets!

This first card uses many of the purple and pink blooms. I also love the Geometrix: Hexagon die from Ink to Paper and thought it would go nicely with all of the flowers. I die cut it from gold card stock and layered the flowers inside of it, sort of like a terrarium. I love all of that color bursting from the hexagon frame!

Before adding any of the die cuts to my panel, I ink blended some yellow distress oxide ink in the background. I believe I used Fossilized Amber and Squeezed Lemonade. 

The purple flowers are inked with Lilac Lace, Amethyst Allure and Royal Velvet inks. The pink flowers are inked with Pink Pirouette, Hibiscus Burst and Raspberry Fizz. 

The eucalyptus stems on the left are stamped using Twisted Citron and Rustic Wilderness distress oxide ink, and the stem on the right uses Bundled Sage and Rustic Wilderness. The main panel was also cut with the largest Crimped Frame die and popped up on the card base with foam tape. 

 

My second card uses all blue flowers! I thought they looked so lovely grouped together that I kept it monochromatic. 

The inks I used for the blue flowers are Bashful Blue, Blueberry Sky and Enchanted Evening. The smaller flower clusters are just two step stamps instead of three, so I either used the lighter two shades or the darker two shades. 

Again, before adding any flowers I blended some color into the background. This time I used Mowed Lawn at the center, and then Twisted Citron and ended with just a little Squeezed Lemonade at the edges. I also splattered some Mowed Lawn ink for added interest. 

Here you can see how different the single flowers look just by using either the two lighter or two darker shades of blue. The flower on the left was done in Bashful Blue and Blueberry Sky, and the flower on the right is stamped in Blueberry Sky and Enchanted Evening. 

I had so much fun with these and definitely will have more Fleur Impressions cards to share soon!

SUPPLIES:

Stamps: Fleur Impressions, Petite Eucalyptus Stamp + Cut Combo (The Greetery)

Paper: Stamper's Select White (PTI), gold

Ink: Pink Pirouette, Bashful Blue (SU!), Hibiscus Burst, Raspberry Fizz, Lilac Grace, Amethyst Allure, Royal Velvet, Green Parakeet, New Leaf, Blueberry Sky, Enchanted Evening, Harvest Gold (PTI), Mossy (The Stamp Market), Mown Lawn, Twisted Citron, Squeezed Lemonade, Fossilized Amber (Distress Oxide)

Dies: Fleur Impressions, Crimped Frame (The Greetery), Geometrix: Hexagon (Ink to Paper)

Valentine, you're sharp!

Hello! Today I am sharing the Valentine's my kids will be giving their classmates at their school parties later this week. The schools have a "no food" treat policy, so we dressed up pencils to give instead. To make the pencils look like arrows I used the Pencil Arrow die by Papertrey Ink. At first I tried using my good card stock, but I found it was too thick and that the cheap lighter weight stuff I had from Michael's actually worked better! 

The tags I made with my Cricut Maker. I haven't had my Cricut all that long and this was the first project I tried using pens on. I designed the tags in Cricut Design Space, added the text, and matched the inks to the pencils. Pretty fun!

I hope the kids like their pencils and enjoy their party this week! 

You're A-Maze-ing

Hello! I can hardly believe it but Valentine's Day is quickly approaching. I've been busy making Valentines for my kids' classroom parties and will share those soon. In the mean time these are actually what I made for them to give to their classmates last year and I never posted, so here you go!

I combined a bunch of different sets to create these fun maze themed Valentine's last year. I actually have maze sets from two different stamp companies, and used them both! The main maze is from a Papertrey Ink set called The A-Maze-ing Stamp Set, and it is currently on clearance for just $5!

The sentiment at the bottom is from a retired My Favorite Things set called You're A-Maze-ing. The little arrow at the start of the maze is from another MFT set called Interactive Labels. And the stripes down at the bottom are actually an airmail stripe image from a PTI set called Love You to Pieces: Airplane. 

The pink heart in the middle of the maze is also from the MFT set You're A-Maze-ing. 

The sentiment at the very top is another retired stamp set, called Keep it Simple: Valentine. 

One of my favorite parts of the project is the die I used to attach the pencil to the Valentine! It is a die from Papertrey Ink called Write Stuff Holders. There are two dies in the set, one is sized to hold a crayon and the other is sized to hold a pencil, so fun! These were quite a bit of work (so much stamping for a mass produced project!) but I love how they turned out and the kids really had fun with them. I'm almost done with this year's Valentines and will hopefully share those soon. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
 

SUPPLIES:

Stamps: You're A-Maze-ing, Interactive Labels (MFT), The A-Mazing Stamp Set, Love You to Pieces: Airplane, Keep it Simple: Valentine (PTI)

Paper: White, Red (Michael's)

Ink: Real Red, Pink Pirouette (SU!), Versa Fine Onyx Black

Dies: Write Stuff Holders (PTI), Stitched Rectangles (SSS)

More Birthday Blooms

Today I have two more cards I made using The Greetery's Birthday Blooms stamps and dies. In this first one I played around with a purple theme. I actually started by ink blending Shaded Lilac distress oxide ink onto a white card stock panel, then decided to die cut it with the Essentials: Braided Ovals dies from Pink Fresh Studio. That gave me a fun frame for the rest of my pieces. 

After die cutting a pile of the Birthday Bloom flowers, I stamped them in a variety of purples. The darker blooms are a combination of Lilac Grace and Royal Velvet, and the lighter blooms are a combination of Lavender Lace and Wilted Violet. The "happy" die cut is stamped in Royal Velvet ink. 

I placed my sentiment in the middle of the oval and then framed it with my stamped blooms, alternating light and dark. I added just a few clear sequins and also stamped a few flowers in the corners of my white card base. 

For the last card I went with pink! The background was created by blending Spun Sugar and Picked Raspberry distress oxides onto a white card stock panel. I also splattered water and Picked Raspberry inks for more interest. I die cut the background panel with the Nordic Frames die and then added the rest of my pieces. 

The blooms were stamped in a combination of Pink Pirouette and Fuschia, and Pink Pirouette and Orchid inks. 

I die cut the word "Birthday" and stamped it in black ink and added it to the center of the focal panel. "Happy" is stamped directly onto the pink panel. This was a fun set to play with, thanks for reading!

SUPPLIES:

Purple Birthday Card

Stamps: Birthday Blooms (The Greetery)

Paper: Stamper's Select White (PTI)

Ink: Lilac Grace, Royal Velvet, Green Parakeet, New Leaf (PTI), Lavender Lace, Garden Green) (SU!), Wilted Violet, Shaded Lilac (Distress Oxide)

Dies: Birthday Blooms (The Greetery), Essentials: Braided Ovals (Pink Fresh Studio)

Other: sequins

Pink Birthday Card

Stamps: Birthday Blooms (The Greetery)

Paper: Stamper's Select White (PTI)

Ink: Pink Pirouette, Garden Green (SU!), Fuschia, Orchid (The Stamp Market), Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry (Distress Oxide), Green Parakeet, New Leaf (PTI), Versa Fine Onyx Black

Dies: Birthday Blooms, Nordic Frames (The Greetery)