I feel like I've been playing with stencils a LOT lately - but a lot of the results aren't here on my blog! I'm doing several articles for Craftsy focusing on stencils and the first one is now published!
Check it out and let me know what you think! I REALLY appreciate all the comments/shares/"likes" I get over there on my articles - it can be a little (OK a lot!) daunting writing for an audience that doesn't know "me" and that caters to a HUGE variety of readers! And they have some very professional writers/photographers doing articles for them and then there's me - LOL!
Anywho - here are the supplies I used for this card - and then check out the article for all the step-by-steps!
So since I already had everything sitting out, I grabbed my MFT Red Delicious Die-namics and whipped up this card.
I sponged Distress inks onto all the layers of patterned paper - love the dimension it gives. The main sentiment was stamped and embossed on vellum, with the #1 being stamped with Distress ink and punched out with a circle punch.
I finished off the inside with more patterned paper and a stamped sentiment from the All About Teachers stamp set and called it a day :).
To see how this card came together check out the video below:
Finally got a chance to ink up my All About Teachers sentiment set, and for today I decided to make 2 cards using these adorable new Pollycraft images.
Haha I can do math and this IS a 60th birthday card - when you see the inside it all makes sense *wink*.
I made this months ago and had it in my files and forgot about it! It was one of those ideas that popped in my head, so I made it, then at the time was so busy I forgot about it :P.
This was super easy to make - just a bit of die cutting and gluing. The card base is MFT Smooth White card stock, and I die cut more white card stock with the Polka Dot CoverUp Die-namics. I then added the Happy Birthday in rainbow colors (MFT Little Letters Die-namics) and the 30 is the Big Numbers - those I stacked 4 pieces together then coated a couple of times with Glitter Glaze. The "th" was die cut with Little Lowercase Letters Die-namics.
And the inside - which makes it a 60th birthday card LOL! I die cut the word "twice!" with Little Lowercase Letters and the exclamation point with the Little Numbers Die-namics from Black Licorice card stock and that was it!
I'm really looking forward to the next Online Card Class - Stretch Your Stamps 2. I enrolled on a whim, and when they listed the sets they're featuring it gave me the push to pick up one of the sets that's been on my list for MONTHS now. I have a couple of the other sets already, and can substitute with ones I have on hand - so I got some other goodies in my order:
To watch directly on YouTube click HERE <-----click!
Katelyn was sitting on my lap while filming (she likes the hauls LOL) and I tried to get her to talk more. She's a pretty vocal little munchkin but as soon as the camera is on she clams up (not as much when I'm doing voiceovers for videos - but that doesn't involve turning on a camera). She does that with my phone too. She'll be chattering away or doing something cute and as soon as I pull out my phone to video or take a picture she stops. Goofball :P.
Anywho she was a little more vocal this time so I left those bits in rather than edit them out! ;) ;)
Also love that they have their images colored in on their packaging - totally makes coloring in the stamp images quick and easy if you just follow along with what they did - and why not?
It was difficult to capture the shimmer of the Wink of Stella and the Glossy Accents on the wine glass in a picture but you can see it better in the video!
For the outside and inside of the card I used my MFT Wildcat stencil and my Copic airbrush - super quick and easy.
**Also heads up that The Paper Trail is having a BIG sale right now! Use the code CLEAROUT and get 35% off your order! This sale only lasts 'till tomorrow! (July 27 2014)**
I used the Uptown Girls the THREE AMIGAS image for my card - and totally went with the wreath/circle/Christmas theme!
The patterned paper is no longer available (sorry! I checked and it's from 2011 LOL! Time to go through my stash again...), but I used several circle punches to punch out a bunch of patterned circles for my card.
I mention in the video how I was partly inspired by a card I made recently for a Craftsy article I wrote - more info on that is here:
If you play along (guidelines are to use current Stamping Bella images) you just need to e-mail Emily a pic of your finished card by Thursday July 31 for it to be added to the Bellarific Friday post!
Hey everyone! I finally got a chance to get this card made and video uploaded:
I've had this TCW 4 Feathers stencil for months and this idea for it brewing for just about as long. It's finally back in stock so I HAD to make this card!
I used my Peerless watercolors to color in the stencil - it's easier to show in the video than to try and explain here!
And if you missed it you can check out my Peerless Organization post/video here:
I also did a leetle bit of heat embossing - that's this week's SSS Wednesday Challenge - I'll need to do something more "embossy" to really play along hopefully SOON ;) ;)
NSR (non-stamping-related) post today - so like I say in the video if these sort of posts don't interest you it's OK to click out and I'll catch you next time with a card-related post/video! ;)
Anwyho - I never planned on sharing all this with everyone, but I've been getting a LOT of questions about what's on my wrist and people wanting more info - so I decided to film a video explaining what this is and why I'm wearing it!
EDITED to add - new links to Amazon! My old FitBit bit the dust, and now they have several new and nicer versions than the one I show here. My plan is to get one (haven't decided which one yet!) and get my steps in again! :)
If you want to get one for yourself you can get them here on Amazon <-----click!
I mention in the video my hubby now has one too and he loves it, some of his co-workers have one, and several more are interested. Even my mom has one.
As of posting this I've lost 13lbs in 3 weeks since I started eating less and trying to hit 10,000 steps a day (some days more, some less). It's definitely a lifestyle change and it's hard - but SO motivating to see results!
So that's my story! Totally nerve-wracking to put it out there on the interwebz like this, but if I find this helps even one person out it's totally worth it! And it's working for ME which is the most important!
Do you have a FitBit? Or something similar? Let me know in the comments below whether you do or not and if it's helped you! :)
Hey everyone! It's time for this month's Creative Challenge with MFT - and here's what the challenge was:
Classic patterns never go out of style, but thanks to the plethora of designs we offer, your projects will never feel dated. Join our designers as they inspire you with trendy and innovative projects centered on the pinnacle of patterns: the time-honored stripe.
Make sure to check out MFT's post here for the links to all the other DT members playing along to see what they made!
I decided to go rainbow with my cards:
For my first card I used MFT's Stripes Stencil and sponged on various dye inks to get a multi-colored look.
I also used the Happy Everything stamp set and the Happy Die-namics.
On the inside I used the Happy Everything stamp set and inked up the HAPPY stamp with all the same inks I sponged on the front.
For my second card I did something similar doing a resist using the Striped BG stamp that I stamped and embossed with clear embossing powder. I then sponged all the dye inks onto the card stock between the stripes.
I kept the rest of the card elements simple as I didn't want to cover up too much of the fun striped background!
To see how I made these cards check out the video below:
I had some fun playing around with my mini Distress inks and crackle embossing paste, and filmed the whole process so there's a video at the end!
The crackle paste is pretty cool, it picked up the ink left on the stencil and come from the card stock (which I was fine with - any embossing paste would pick up the ink) then dried in a crackle finish just like it claimed!
So I got sucked into the whole Erin Condren Life Planner craze that I seem to be seeing everywhere lately! And when I posted a picture of the box when it arrived on my Instagram account I had several people ask for a video so here it is:
It's been about 2 weeks since it arrived and I'm really liking it so far! I'm using it to keep track of my appointments (which is what I used to do with my old "freebie" planner that was SO ugly - LOL it was one my hubby's work got a bunch of for free and he brought a few home), and now with this EC one I'm also planning out all my DT assignments, video planning, Craftsy articles etc etc etc as well. THAT is going to help a lot. My previous method of placing sticky notes all over the place to remind myself of deadlines and whatnot wasn't really working to well :P. Those things tend to go missing quite often...
The washi tape isn't from Erin Condren - I already had this set of Doodlebug washi tapes and it's PERFECT for this - haha I've finally found a good use for it! I've seen some people really go all out with customized stickers and washi tapes and punched embellishments - they look SO pretty. I don't know if I'll take it that far but I wouldn't be surprised. I've already found myself picking up packs of colored pens in the store and wondering if I need them for my planner :P :P :P. I'm a nerd I know ;).
ANYWHO - like I said in the end of the video I have a referral link for Erin Condren - so if you click on it when you order I get credit. And down the road if there is enough credit banked I'll prolly do a giveaway or two here on the blog for Erin Condren gift certificates. Just a small way to say thank you!
Use the code WELCOME10 for $10 off your order! <-----ETA I *think* in order for it to work you need to first sign up on the EC site, they then e-mail you the code and THAT will work (not sure if it's the same code or not) - that's what people are telling me so sorry for any confusion! :(
On another note - I got an e-mail from Craftsy yesterday and I'm seeing it all over their Facebook page today that they're having a weekend flash sale on a bunch of classes:
You can check out all the ones on sale HERE <-----click! I've been really enjoying the classes I've enrolled in so far and plan to sign up for more.
OK that's it from me for the moment! I'll have more cards and videos coming up ASAP! :)
As I mention in the video I wasn't planning on doing a video for this card as I was running late (as usual) and was trying to get it done in case the power went out! We were under a severe thunderstorm warning yesterday and it hit in the evening. Thankfully for us our area fared pretty well, friends of ours were without power for a couple hours and further away there was a bunch of hail.
But like I said we didn't get any damage, and I got a chance to edit and upload the video for this card this monring for last week's Bellarific Friday challenge - which was this sketch:
Next week's Bellarific Challenge is an inspiration:
If you play along (guidelines are to use current Stamping Bella images) you just need to e-mail Emily a pic of your finished card by Thursday July 24 for it to be added to the Bellarific Friday post!
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