stretch your dies

Getting more from our craft supplies is always a good thing and today I'm sharing an idea for stretching your dies over on the Neat & Tangled blog!

Come on over!
Carly

alcohol ink marbling & tie dye

Did you know that tie dye is hot for fashion this spring? Well I might not wear it (still deciding) but I will definitely be using alcohol inks to create marbling & tie dye effects for my cards!

I'm sharing a little video on the Honey Bee blog today so come on over!

Hugs!
Carly

stretch your stamps...adding elements

I'm over on the Trinity Stamps blog today with 2 simple added elements to the Seasonal Sweetheart set. Can you spot them?

Come on over and day hi!

Hugs!
Carly

faux two step stamping

I love a simple two step stamp with a solid "fill" layer & an outline and I've got a little trick to recreate that look even when the stamp set is just one step!

Not sure what I mean by two step stamping? Well its really just any image that uses more than one stamp. One of my favs is Essentials by Ellen Wasabi. Wasabi has a fresh but retro feel, especially when the layers are a little offset!

The Essentials by Ellen Backyard Bird Friends only has one layer so I have a little trick to fake a similar look!

The faux two step stamping is super easy! See it in action...

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Carly

supplies:

affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. thank you! 

Essentials by Ellen Backyard Bird Friends stamp & die combo

Essentials by Ellen Backyard Bird Friends stamps

Essentials by Ellen Backyard Bird Friends dies

Essentials by Ellen Be Strong stamps

Essentials by Ellen Strong die

Inkadinkado Stamp Masking Paper

Picket Fence Blender Brushes

Distress Ink Picked Raspberry, Abandoned Coral, Carved Pumpkin, Mustard Seed, Twisted Citron, Mermaid Lagoon & Wilted Violet

foiling with wow bonding powder

WOW Bonding Powder allows you to add transfer (toner-activated) foils to stamped images and I'm sharing a little video about it today on the WOW blog. 

Come on over and say hi!
Carly

simple scenes with simple blend stencils & essentials by ellen

The Brutus Monroe Simple Blend Stencils are perfect for creating simple scenes for the Essentials by Ellen Grand Lady and Little Gentleman!

Today is release day for the latest Essentials by Ellen! My awesome friend Brandi Kincaid has illustrated 3 really beautiful sets, including 2 new characters Grand Lady and Little Gentleman.

I'm a HUGE fan of white space on my cards so creating simple, small scenes is right up my alley. And I think they are perfect for the Grand Lady and Little Gentleman. Here's a quick video of my process...

4 Tools I Love For Scenes:

• Inkadinkado Stamp Mask Paper: great for masking detailed stamps like Grand Lady
• Low-Tack Tape: my go-to for "lazy girl masking"...covering part of a stamp, inking, removing tape and stamping.
• Brutus Monroe Simple Blend Stencils: perfect for creating a simple background or base of a simple scene.
• Memento Tuxedo Black Marker: perfect for adding in small details like a purse handle, fixing missed lines, etc. And Copic-friendly.

Thanks so much for stopping by and you can check out the whole Essentials by Ellen release HERE!

Happy Friday Hugs!

Carly

supplies:

affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. thank you! 

Essentials by Ellen Grand Lady stamps & dies

Essentials by Ellen Little Gentleman stamps & dies

Essentials by Ellen It's A Date stamps (for "You're Golden Girl" sentiment)

Essentials by Ellen Pattern Play stamps (for tiny flowers)

Essentials by Ellen Teacher Lady stamps (for glasses)

Essentials by Ellen Stay Salty dies (for clouds)

Distress Ink Tumbled Glass & Cracked Pistachio

Distress Oxide Ink Cracked Pistachio

Avery Elle Ink New Moon

Copics R21, R22, YR30, Y11, G0000, G00, BG11, BG32, B0000, B000, B00, B01, B02, C0, C1, C3, C4, E000, E01, E02, E35, E37 & E50

Memento Tuxedo Black Marker

Stamping Mask Paper

Delicate Frog Tape

Brutus Monroe Simple Blend Stencils Circle & Square

easter bunnies, bears and llamas...the new neat & tangled

The new Neat & Tangled March release is available now!!! The release includes 2 awesome sets illustrated by my talented friend Elena and 2 Benzie Design stitching dies!

I know I've been talking about these sets all week but I have more to share this weekend! And in the meantime, I just want to encourage you to treat yourself (and support NT) with a little crafty shopping! You can find the new NT here ;) Or if you aren't doing any crafty spending, just pop over to NT and leave them a little comment love! Let's end this week on a high note!!!

Hugs!
Carly