Use it or Lose it

Hey everyone!  The Blog Hops with Heart are having a Use it, or Lose it theme this month!  If you came from Becca's Blog, you are in the right place.  We are all going to share a project using a product for the original reason we bought it, how fun is that?!?  As much as I love finding other ways to use my stash...I do have a quite a few I just use as intended.

For my card today, I used Gansai Tambi Watercolors...as I am obsessed with watercolors lately.  I'm finally using them for the reason I bought them!  For almost a year, I have used them primarily for splatters of gold, silver and white.  But, I recently discovered their magic happens when you mix them with lots of water on a palette (or in my case, a plate from my kitchen!).  I still have NO idea what I'm doing...but I'm having so much fun playing, so I don't even care!  I used a few beautiful stamp sets from Altenew, Beautiful Day and Garden Treasure.  The I loved using the diesGarden Treasure Dies also, which made my card come together so much easier.  I stamped all my images with VersaMark and heat embossed them in Princess Gold Embossing Powder from CTMH.  Then did some loose watercoloring, and after they dried I went back in to add more detail with darker colors.  Lastly, I used my new Finetec watercolors to paint the stamen, such beautiful paints!  I popped a few up on foam tape to assemble the floral images.  Then I added a bit of Gold watercolor splatters and stamped the sentiment to finish my card.  Many of you have asked how I do splatters without getting them all over my craft room?  I'd have to say cleaning up is so much easier now that I use the CTMH All-Purpose Mat!  It is 15"x 20", so it's much larger than my old mat from Michael's.  That makes it large enough that all of my splatters land on my card, and the easily wipeable mat, and that is all.  I hope that helps!

You have reached the end of this month's hop!  If you started here, be sure to head to Jayma's Blog to see what everyone has in store for you!  Thanks for joining me!

Wplus9 Modern Peonies

Hey everyone!  I'm finally popping in to share a card I made recently using the beautiful stamp set and dies from Wplus9, Modern Peonies!  This set is so beautiful, I was so anxious to stamp it and emboss it in gold...I messed up a few of the stamped images.  I decided to try watercoloring the mistakes...and fell in LOVE with watercoloring!  I've only attempted watercoloring three times, once with some a cheap set from Michael's.  I thought watercoloring wasn't for me, it looked chalky once it dried.  The next two attempts were with the popular Gansai Tambi watercolors.  Which were beautiful, but didn't really win me over at first.  So I delegated using them for splatters of gold, white and sparkles, that I can't seem to resist adding to many of my cards!   My HUGE mistake, unknowingly was...I didn't ever add close to enough water.  I painted straight out of the palette.  So, for today's card I just grabbed one of my kitchen plates to use as a palette.  I added lots of water, and blended the colors and just played.  That is when I discovered the magic of watercolors, and fell in love!  I cannot wait to try other brands that are actually for watercoloring, as I have read the Gansai Tambi is actually kind of made just for cardmakers.

Anyway, enough of my rambling...I just had to share my new love!  Also, in case you aren't following me on YouTube...I announced the winner of my giveaway is bkbaker1222!  Congratulations!!! Supplies for my card will be linked below.

Peony Card Supplies:

*Wplus9 Modern Peonies Stamp:  https://goo.gl/TVZyD7
*Wplus9 Modern Peonies Die:  https://goo.gl/hA03x4
*Wplus9 Sunshine Layers Die:  https://goo.gl/LAHDdq
*Wplus9 That is All stamp set:  https://goo.gl/DAzgTI
*Wplus9 That is All die set:  https://goo.gl/at4R9j
*Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors set:  https://goo.gl/paXvxe
Canson Watercolor Paper:  https://www.amazon.com/Watercolor-Pad-X12-Fold-Over/dp/B004M59O4C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497753842&sr=8-1&keywords=canson+watercolor+paper


Thanks for joining me!

Going Green Blog Hop

Hey everyone!  The Blog Hops with Heart are going green this month!  If you came from Shelly's Blog, you are in the right place!  If you saw my last YouTube Video, you already know I picked up new Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks.  I couldn't wait to play with them!  Cracked Pistachio is one of my favorite colors, so I'm using it for my green today.

To make my card, I started by blending out Cracked Pistachio and Broken China on Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock to make the background.  When blending any inks into paper, what I hate most is getting my fingers messing and stained.  Also when I touch the card to hold it in place, I accidentally remove some of the color.  Sometimes I will use a post-it note to hold it in place...but today I couldn't find them anywhere...which led me to a new discovery!  I have no idea why I didn't try this before, it worked perfectly!  I simply flipped my CTMH All-Purpose Mat over, and used the sticky side to hold my paper.  The CTMH All-Purpose Mat is the only craft mat I have found that is sticky on one side.  So, it was great to have the mat hold my paper, and still be able clean up the mess with a quick wipe with a microfiber cloth.

After blending my inks, I like to add splatters to finish the background.  I wipe a bit of ink on the All-Purpose Mat and mix with water to splatter on my card panel.  Then after they dry, I used Lawn Fawn Ocean Wave Border dies to cut my waves out, and popped them up with foam tape to simulate waves.  I colored the images from the MFT Mermazing with Copic marker and cut them out with MFT Mermazing Dies.  (Don't forget to use the code MFT15 to save 15% at Hallmark Scrapbook!)  I then used the Lawn Fawn Outside In Stitched Rectangle Dies and added Nuvo Crystal Drops to finish my card off.

Copics Marker colors used:

Skin: E50 E51 E53
Hair:  E53 Y32 YR 21 E35 E39
Mermaid top:  V01 V04 V09
Kelp:  V09 V15
Mermaid Tail: BG10 BG11 BG13 BG23 BG49
Rock:   W1 W3 W5
Kelp:  YG97 YG99 G43

I've made a card tutorial of the card on my YouTube channel:

Next on the hop is Becca's Blog!  Thanks so much for joining me!

Cuddly Koalas~My Favorite Things

Hey everyone!  I have two cards to share using the super cute stamp and die set from MFT, Cuddly Koalas.  I had so much fun playing with this set...I couldn't stop!  For my first card, I kept it simple and colored the sweet images with Copic Markers, then popped on a card panel.  For the the card panel, I had just blended a bit of pigment ink and splattered with Gansai Tambi Watercolors.

For my next card, I wanted to make the Koalas climb up the tree.  So I made a slider card, which is pretty easy when you have the dies to work with.  First I made the sunset background, by blending pigment inks.  I think I would have liked this better if I had used distress inks...but I'm out of watercolor paper, lol!  Then I splattered some white and gold specks with Gansai Tambi Watercolors  Then I used the slider die to create a track for the Koalas to slide on.  I colored all the images with Copic markers, and used Copic markers around the border of the tree to hide the white border the die left.  I used glossy accents and a white gel pen to add detail to all of my Koalas.

Supplies used:
MFT Cuddly Koalas:  https://goo.gl/vai2nQ
MFT Cuddly Koalas dies: https://goo.gl/q03Xz3
Lawn Fawn Slider Dies: https://goo.gl/KZbNxy
MFT Slider Channel Builder: http://www.mftstamps.com/die-namics-slider-channel-builder
MFT Single Stitched Line Retangle Frame die:  https://goo.gl/yWzKqm

Thanks for joining me!

My Favorite Things~Sweet Forest Friends

Hey everyone!  I wanted to share a recent card I made using the Sweet Forest Friends stamp and die set from My Favorite Things.  This was a sweet and simple card to make, so I made it into a shaker card.  I colored all the images with Copic markers, then placed them on the outside of the card.  I hope you like it!

Supplies Used:

My Favorite Things Sweet Forest Friends: https://goo.gl/R9qLhx
My Favorite Things Sweet Forest Friends dies: https://goo.gl/mJcnWd
Essential Cover-Up Horizontal die: http://www.mftstamps.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Essential+Cover-Up+Horizontal

Lawn Fawn~Be a Little Shellfish (Floating Octopus)

Hey everyone!  I have a new interactive card to share today, using a few stamp sets from Lawn Fawn.  To make this card I first cut a window in my card using the stitched circle dies.  Then I stamped and colored all my images with Copic markers, adding dots and detail where I thought looked cute.  I added some clear glaze to the inside of the oyster shell, and it looks so cool!  I then used cracked pistachio, and salty ocean distress inks to make the inside of my shaker card.  I cut circled out of two layers of fun foam, and then attached them to the back of the card panel.  I attached the fish to the inside panel, and glued the starfish to the inside of the window.  I added sequins and seed beads to the inside of the shaker, and assembled the shaker card.  I left a portion without adhesive so the acetate handle for the octopus would fit and slide around.  I then glued all the remaining images to the front panel, using foam tape for the oyster.  For the octopus, I just attached it to some left of packaging acetate...and it's almost like a popsicle stick holding it, and so fun to make him swim around everywhere.

Thank you for all the requests for a card tutorial, click here to watch it on YouTube!

Supplies used:

Lawn Fawn Year Six:  https://goo.gl/nkHgZl
Lawn Fawn Octopi my Heart: https://goo.gl/RsTZxB
Lawn Fawn So Jelly: https://goo.gl/QWL5r1
Lawn Fawn Fintastic Friends: https://goo.gl/rqosZL
Lawn Fawn Fintastic Friends dies: https://goo.gl/V74d25
Large Stitched Circle Stackables dies: https://goo.gl/d06aUR
Large Dotted Retangle Stackables dies: https://www.lawnfawn.com/products/large-dotted-rectangle-stackables

My Favorite Things~Otterly Love You

Hey Everyone!  This month the Blog Hops with Heart are using a photo for inspiration.  If you came from Amie's Blog, you are in the right place.  We are using this beautiful rustic photo from Funky Junk Interiors as our inspiration.

I used the photo for inspiration, and adapted it to my style which is not very rustic, lol!  To make my card, first I used Lawn Fawn Small Stitched Circle dies to cut a circle out of this gorgeous wodgrain paper from the No Worries Paper Pack.  I used the super cute stamp MFT Otterly Love You and MFT Otterly Love You dies.  I combined it with the So Jelly stamp and So Jelly dies from Lawn Fawn, and some hearts with the Lawn Fawn Hearts as well.  I colored all the images with Copics, and made it into a shaker card.  This was such a fun card to make!

Next on the hop is Becca's Blog, you won't want to miss her take on this photo!

Thanks for joining me!

Anniversary Blog Hop~Spring Flowers

Hey everyone! The Blog Hops with Heart celebrated our first anniversary in January...but we are celebrating a bit late!  This month everyone has an anything goes project to share!  If you came from Jayma's Blog, you are in the right place.  I've been searching my craft room for flowers, as I seem to long for spring every January 2nd...

I had to try out a new to me stamp set, Altenew Wild Hibiscus for my card today.  I did a bit of stamping, masking and watercoloring which is my favorite technique lately.  It is so simple using Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens (I call them Ziggies) and the CTMH Shimmer Brush.  I added some Stickles and few Sequins.  The sentiment stamp is That is All and That is All dies from Wplus9.  Here is my card:

                                                  

Thanks for joining our hop!  I hope you found a ton of inspiration!  If you started here by chance, the hop runs in a circle.  So hop on over to Amie's Blog, so you can see everyone's amazing project from the beginning of the hop!

Thanks for joining me!

A Blog Hop with Hearts

Hey everyone!  Welcome to this month's blog hop.  If you came from Amie's Blog, you are in the right place.  This month we are featuring hearts!  My birthday is the day before Valentine's Day...so of course I love hearts!  My family just returned from visiting Monterey, CA for Whale Fest...and we had the best time!  Spending time at the coast with my family makes my heart happy, and was just what I needed to get some crafty mojo back!

For my card, I started by coloring the sweet images from CTMH Easter Bunny.  I chose a pastel pink sheet of paper from Sugar Rush, I thought the No-Line Coloring technique would compliment the colors.  I stamped the card with Memento Desert Sand ink, and used Copic markers to color the bunny.  I wanted to make her have a cute fuzzy tail, and decided a spinner card would be fun...So, I did a bit of masking to make the bunny's backside.  Then I attempted to make her a tail out of the White and Gold Twine.  I used Lawn Fawn Stitched Heart dies, to cut a window out of the card base.  Then I added a die cut heart from Whimsy Fundamentals for the back panel.  To finish it off, I added a few tiny hearts cut from the Mama Elephant Confetti, which were cut from Whimsy Fundamentals and retired gold and white paper (Happy Times).  I stamped out the sentiment with gold pigment ink, and VersaFine pigment ink.   This was a super fun card to make!

When the card opens, the bunny spins!  Here is a quick video showing the card in action:

Next you will want to hop on over Jayma's Blog!  Be sure to visit each of the fabulous blogs on the hop, you are sure to be inspired!

Thanks for joining me!