pinkfresh studio february 2021 stamp, stencil and die release blog hop

Are you looking for some cardmaking ideas? Well you are in the right place because Pinkfresh has a gorgeous new release and we are having a little blog hop today to show off the new goodies!

I couldn't wait to create with the new Pinkfresh Seamless Starburst Circles stamps & stencils! 

And I would love to tell you that I came up with something oh so clever but the truth is that Pinkfresh did all the hard work! These sets are so cool, a breeze to use and some of my new favorites!

I had so much fun ink blending & layering colors with the stencils and then stamping the black starburst detail later on top.

I almost felt like I was cheating it was so easy! So I added some glossy & glittered letters to make myself feel better, LOL!

The starburst detail layer stamp also looks perfect by itself!

And the stencils are fun without the stamped layer too!

I'm smitten with these sets and can't wait to use them more! Next I think I'm going to try adding a layer of glimmer paste or glossy accents with the stencils. What do you think?

Ok before you go, let's talk giveaways!

• Pinkfresh is giving away the full release so make sure you stop by their blog! They are also running some great specials so you are probably going to want to shop!
• You also have a chance to win $25 to the Pinkfresh shop by leaving comments here and at each hop stop!
• Winners will be announced on the Pinkfresh Giveaway page on February 15th so please make sure to check there (winners have two weeks to claim there prize).

BLOG HOP LIST

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Carly

supplies:

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

Pinkfresh Studio Seamless Starburst Circles Stamps

Pinkfresh Studio Seamless Starburst Circles Stencils

Pinkfresh Studio My Favorite Things To Say #2 Stamps 

Pinkfresh Studio Adore Alpha Dies

how to make a handmade card in 5 minutes

Do you need a handmade card super fast? I can help with one of my go-to five minute card designs. And while you're here, let's catch up! I can't believe how quickly time is flying by and how long it has been since I posted!

The past few months have felt even more topsy turvy than the newborn stage. And I can't believe my little guy is six months old already. I love being a mama, though I do miss sleep, LOL! Here's my sweet boy...

I have to sneak crafting in during naps or the wee hours. Over the last few months I have managed a few projects, you can see more on my Instagram.

And now let's talk about a super quick card design that I use when I need a card FAST!

You need...

• your favorite cardstock for ink blending
• your favorite ink for ink blending
• your favorite ink blending tools
• masking tape
• stamps

And here's the easy steps...

• use the masking tape to mask off a section of the card.
• apply ink to the unmasked section.
• remove masking tape and stamp images & sentiments.
• and if you have an extra minute, add a few sequins.

I love this simple color blocked design because its classic & cool. I really needed a quick encouragement card and since it came together so quickly, I had time to change the ink color and create a Valentine's card.

Do you have a quick card design that you use often?

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!
Carly

supplies:

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

Essentials by Ellen Bravehearted Stamps

Pretty Pink Posh Simple Sayings Brave Stamps

Catherine Pooler Inks Catching Rays & Pucker Up

Masking Tape

Blending Brushes

25 tags of christmas 2020

Are you ready for holiday crafting? I know I am! It is such a great stress relief to make pretty things with paper & ink! And if you need a little inspiration, I've got the event for you!

I'm so thrilled to be joining in Tracey's awesome tag event! It is super fun to create tags and I love all the fantastic creations that other makers share!!!

Today I'm sharing some tags made with Essentials by Ellen stamps & dies...

Now I have to say that I feel like I barely had to do any creative thinking because the Essentials by Ellen Made This For You stamp set is so easy to use and so darn cute! It pairs perfectly with the circle tag from the Tag Trio die set.

The rectangle tag was just a scrap strip of cardstock with to & from stamped with the Warmest Wishes set.

After I made the two stamped tags, I decided I wanted a clear layer because I'm a little obsessed with using acetate this year for my holiday treats, card and tags. 

With my paper trimmer, I cut a rectangle of acetate. Then I die cut dots of clear double-sided adhesive with a circle die. I removed one side of liner paper from the adhesive dot, placed it on the acetate rectangle and burnished it with my bone folder to remove any wrinkles or air bubbles. Then I removed the top liner paper and applied glitter to the adhesive, burnishing with my finger. Ta-da, glittered polka dots! 

I love the glitter dots! Using transparent glitter and clear adhesive combo, the dots look good from both sides of the acetate.

Make sure you head over to Tracey's blog to see more tags and learn about the prizes!!!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Carly

essentials by ellen holiday 2020 hop

Complicated interactive card designs always seem like too much for my lazy relaxed crafting heart so I love that there is a pop-up card that takes just a few simple cuts! And I love that this card style pairs so well with some of my favorite stamps, the Essentials by Ellen All Inside Bear & his accessories!

Before we talk more about this pop-up card, I should mention that we are having a hop today to share the latest Essentials by Ellen release (peek at the whole awesome release HERE)! If you are hopping with us, you should be arriving from Jessica's amazing blog!

Here's a quick video of the pop-up card process...

My tips for creating a card like this...

• use heavyweight cardstock to minimize any coloring showing through and make the pop-up as sturdy as possible.
• bulk up your card stash by using the same design for multiple card occasions. I made cards for Halloween, Christmas and a birthday with basically all the same designs.

Your next hop stop is Carolyn Peeler's beautiful blog. And EH is also giving away prizes!!! One lucky commenter will win the whole Essentials by Ellen holiday release! And another will receive $25 to spend at ellenhutson.com! For a chance to win, all ya' gotta' do is hop along, enjoy the fabulous eye candy, and leave a little love for your fellow crafters: increase your chances by commenting on each stop on the hop! Comments left before 11:59 PDT on October 14 will be entered to win. (Winners are selected randomly.)

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!
Carly

supplies:

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

Essentials by Ellen All Inside stamps & dies

Essentials by Ellen Bear Ware 5 stamps & dies

Essentials by Ellen Halloween Magic stamps (for "all signs..." sentiment)

Essentials by Ellen Bear Ware stamps & dies (for party hat)

Essentials by Ellen Bear Ware 2 stamps & dies (for witches hat, scarf & candy cane)

Essentials by Ellen It's All Good stamps (for "just wanted..." sentiment)

Essentials by Ellen That Thing You Did stamps (for "happy birthday)

Essentials by Ellen Tis The Season stamps (for "happy halloween" & "merry christmas")

Copic Markers R24, R08, YR68, YR16, Y17, Y35, G02, B04, B02, V05, RV02, C9 & C6 

floral card ideas with the gray muse

Do you love making handmade cards? Me too! One of my favorite kind of cards to make is floral cards!

Recently I've been trying to stretch some of my cardmaking supplies (and just use the neglected ones) so today I'm excited to share some clean & simple floral cards that feature gorgeous stamps from The Gray Muse and backgrounds made with Nuvo Drops.

I'm also really excited to be joining in an inspirational blog hop for the The Gray Muse's Summer/Fall 2020 stamp collection. 

I hope you will join us for the hop! (And if you are hopping, you should be arriving from Amy Tsuruta's fantastic blog).

Creating these backgrounds is really easy and only slightly messy *wink*

Check out this quick process video to see what I mean...

my quick tips...

• low-tack tape is a great way to "contain" the Nuvo Drops when you spread them out because the clean up is so easy but the Drops are also awesome to use with stencils.
• allow the Nuvo Drops to dry completely before stamping. I don't personally recommend heat setting because I've had them bubble.
• try applying Nuvo Drops in different areas on the cardstock and moving the squeegee in different directions (down, diagonal, sideways) to change the appearance of the background.
• I've tested a few inks for stamping on the slick Nuvo Drop surface and I really like Versafine Clair, which will dry if you set it aside for a bit or it can be heat set if you are in a hurry. StazOn also works great or you can emboss.

Now before you hop on to Laura Jane's lovely blog, there are giveaways! The Gray Muse is giving away FIVE $25 gift codes to the shop so you can add some of these stamps (or enamel pins) to your collection. In order to qualify, leave comments on every post in the hop. The more posts you comment on, the greater your chances. The giveaway ends on Wednesday, September 30th at 11:59 pm Eastern Time. All winners will be selected at random and announced on The Gray Muse Blog within a week.  

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Carly

supplies:

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

The Gray Muse Pretty Pansies Stamps

The Gray Muse Lovely Lotus Stamps

Nuvo Drops Orange Marmalade, Ripened Pumpkin, Strawberry Coulis, Rosewater, Carnation Pink, Sherbert Shimmer, Sweet Lilac, Pale Periwinkle, Crushed Grape & Purple Rain

Purple Tape

Squeegee

VersaFine Clair Nocturne

shaker cards to send while socially distancing

Are you missing your friends as much as I am right now? Socially distancing is tough when you miss hugging your pals!

My favorite way to let my pals know that I am thinking about them is to send handmade cards. And if you know me, you will already know how much I adore making shaker cards!

I love that shaker cards are interactive but easy, and you get to include sparkly sequins!

These cards are perfect for the times we are living in because of the fabulous & funny Essentials by Ellen Voices In My Head Vol. 3 stamps. 

I paired the sentiment stamps with die cut words created with the Essentials by Ellen Classic Block Alpha, using the negative die cut letters as my shaker windows. (If you've never made a shaker card, here's a quick video on my go-to steps for a shaker card with word die cuts.)

To create the background for the shaker window, I put some Nuvo Drops on the card front, smoothed them with a straight-edge squeegee and let dry. I love the bright, colorful & glossy finish!

Since the edges of the Nuvo are not visible through my shaker window, I didn't worry about creating perfect edges or even erasing my pencil guidelines.

Thanks for stopping by!
Carly

supplies:

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

Essentials by Ellen Voices In My Head Vol. 3 Stamps

Essentials by Ellen Voices In My Head Accessories Stamps

Essentials by Ellen Mini Voices In My Heads Stamps 

Essentials by Ellen Classic Block Alpha Dies

Nuvo Drops Ripened Pumpkin, Carnation Pink, Sherbert Shimmer, Crushed Grape, Caribbean Ocean, Aquatic Mist & Apple Green

VersaFine Clair Nocturne Ink

White Cardstock

Acetate

Glue Pen

Tape

Star Sequins

summer card ideas with avery elle + summer of stamping hop

Are you looking for some happy summer cardmaking ideas? How about cards with bright colors, a little glitter and some adorable Avery Elle Peek-a-boo critters?

How adorable are these camp critters from Avery Elle? They are part of Ellen Hutson's third Summer of Stamping release and we are having an inspirational card hop to celebrate today! Hopefully you are joining us for the hop and arriving from the Avery Elle blog (and you can find the whole hop list on the EH blog).

I wanted to create some bright & fun cards to go with the sweet stamp set so I chose a happy rainbow palette of inks & Copic markers.

For this card I used glitter paper as the sky background and a sentiment borrowed from another Essentials by Ellen set, You Should Know. Plus I did a little practicing with some Copic colors I rarely use...usually those critters would be pink & purple, LOL!

For this card, I cut a circle in the top card panel for the critters to be peeking out of. I gave them a little rainbow ring background with glitter clouds. And I couldn't resist doing one candy-colored critter...but how cute is a blue bunny?!

Copics used...

• Racoon - C0, C1, C3, C4, C6, RV13 & RV21
• Foxes - YR16, E95, RV13 & RV21
• Bunny - B01, B000, RV13 & RV21
• Bear - E33, E11, E01, G00, G000, RV13 & RV21
• Canoe - R14 & R22

Before you go, there is a fun prize! One random & lucky commenter will win $25 to the EH shop!!! To enter for a chance to win, make sure to leave comments at each stop along the hop! And don’t forget to comment here too for a bonus entry! Comment before Saturday, July 25th at 11:59pm PDT. The winner will be notified by email.

Thanks for stopping by!
Carly

supplies:

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

Camp Wanna Stamp Peek-a-boo Pals Stamp & Die Set
Essentials by Ellen You Should Know Stamps (for sentiments)
Essentials by Ellen Clouds Dies
Essentials by Ellen Essential Circle Dies
Catherine Pooler Inks It's A Girl, Coral Cabana, Bellini, Garden Party, Mint To Be & It's A Boy
Copic Markers C0, C1, C3, C4, C6, RV13, RV21, YR16, E95, B01, B000, E33, E11, E01, G00, G000, R14 & R22
Delicate Pastel Glitter Paper