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Friday, November 29, 2019

adorable holiday gift card holder idea with the stamp market + giveaway

I love the ease of giving gift cards at Christmas but I definitely think they need a little dressing up. The Mailbox Gift Card Holder die set and Merry Mail stamp set from The Stamp Market are perfect for adding a little fancy wrapping!

Hopefully you are joining us for The Stamp Market hop and arriving from their blog.
This die is ingenious and it's really easy to put together once you see how it works.
I made a quick video so you can see what I mean AND so you can see another way to use the die set...




Before you leave, The Stamp Market has generously gifted me with a $20 gift card to give to someone! So leave me a comment about anything at all and I will draw one lucky & random winner!

And I feel like it's my duty as your crafty friend to also point out that The Stamp Market is having a fabulous sale today!!!

Once you are done shopping, keep hopping with us by heading over to Ashlea's amazing blog!


Have a great day!
Carly

Monday, November 25, 2019

the gray muse

Happy Monday friends! I'm excited to be guesting over on The Gray Muse blog today and I hope you will stop by!
Hope you have a great day!
Carly

Friday, November 22, 2019

galaxy backgrounds with alcohol inks

Have you tried creating a galaxy background with alcohol inks? 
Until today (well yesterday really), I had been making all of my galaxy cards with ink blending techniques. And I don't know why I'm so late to the game but I suddenly decided to break out my alcohol inks.

I think my technique might need a little work but I'm still pretty happy with the results. 

Here's how I made this one...

I started by using different colors of alcohol inks, blending solution and an air blower (really meant to clean my camera lens) to create an abstract background on glossy cardstock.



Then I used a mini alcohol ink applicator to apply dark denim blue alcohol ink over the top. I might have been a little heavy-handed with the blue, but more of the colors show through in person.


When the panel was dry, I added a little white paint splatter and teeny star sequins to complete my galaxy look.

And it seems like the perfect space (pun intended, LOL) for the Essentials by Ellen Space Out ship!


I also added my message inside because why not?!

I love how the alcohol ink has so much texture and I can't wait to play more!

Thanks for stopping by!
Carly

supplies:
affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. thank you!
Essentials by Ellen Space Out stamps & dies
New Moon Ink (for Copic coloring)
Copic Markers BG15, BG13, BG34, BG11, R24, YR68, YR16, T2 & T1

neat & tangled november release

Have you had a chance to peek at the latest Neat & Tangled release? It's very merry and it makes me happy!
You can out the whole release HERE and maybe secret Santa yourself (and I guess now you know how I Christmas shop, LOL).

Hugs!
Carly

Thursday, November 21, 2019

holiday shaker tag with neat & tangled

I'm popping in with another tag for Tracey's wonderful 25 Days of Christmas Tags event! Today I used some brand new Neat & Tangled to make a shaker wreath!

To create the shaker container, I used 5 layers...

  • a cardstock circle...colored with a BG11 marker to match my wreath and stamped with "happy holidays"
  • a ring of double-sided foam adhesive die cut with the same circle I used for the cardstock and one slightly smaller 
  • an acetate circle
  • a cardstock ring...cut with the same dies I used for the foam adhesive
  • stamp, die cut & colored branches from the Neat & Tangled Classic Chrismtas


Thanks so much for stopping by and make sure you head over to the Neat & Tangled blog to see more and learn about prizes!

Have a great day!
Carly

supplies:

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

hot pink poinsettia card with neat & tangled

I know it might be a little early but my Christmas tree is up. I couldn't resist but so far it only has lights so it could be a Thanksgiving tree, LOL! 

I have a feeling that soon it will have some hot pink decorations. Maybe even some hot pink poinsettias like this card...
Sometimes when I'm coloring a stamped image with Copic markers, I choose the colors I'm already comfortable with. That's why I end up with mint green puppies, bright blue monkeys and now, hot pink poinsettias.
For this card...

  • I stamped the Holiday Background on kraft cardstock and embossed with white powder.
  • I stamped & colored the poinsettia flower with Copic markers RV09, RV06 and RV02. And the leaves with BG11, YG41 and G02.
  • I wanted the sentiment strip to match perfectly so I colored white cardstock with RV06.

Thanks so much for stopping by and make sure you head over to the Neat & Tangled blog to see more and learn about prizes!

Have a great day!
Carly

supplies:

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

clean and simple christmas card idea with neat & tangled

I love a clean and simple card and I think they are especially great for Christmas cards because they come together in a snap! This CAS card sure did...
The Neat & Tangled Holiday Background Stamp is genius! All I did was stamp it in black on white cardstock and then add a few colored sentiment strips. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and make sure you head over to the Neat & Tangled blog to see more and learn about prizes!

Have a great day!
Carly

supplies:

Monday, November 18, 2019

simple ink blending with neat & tangled

Ink blending is one of the cardmaking techniques I find myself using over and over again so it's no surprise my first card with the merry new Neat & Tanlged release!

I used a simple circle stencil and three pink inks to blend a pop of color in the middle.

Then I stamped the gorgeous poinsettia from the Neat & Tangled Classic Christmas stamp set in red.

And lastly I added a little faux splatter with a Copic marker.

Thanks so much for stopping by and make sure you head over to the Neat & Tangled blog to see more and learn about prizes!

Have a great day!
Carly

supplies:
affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. thank you!
The Stamp Market inks Fresh Pink, Bubble Gum, Party Pink & Cherry Kisses

Sunday, November 10, 2019

coloring over watercolor with essentials by ellen

Have you ever tried coloring over a watercolored background? I love doing it because it feels like a super easy way to get a big pop of color!
Hopefully you are joining us for the Essentials by Ellen November Release Hop and arriving from Ardyth's amazing blog! (You can find the whole hop list over on the EH blog.)
For these cards, I used Catherine Pooler ink pads and reinkers. Using the reinkers and the ink pads gives different saturation of the same colors without having to add layers of watercolor.





I love adding the Copic coloring on top but since the watercolor cardstock soaks up a lot of ink, I keep the coloring simple with very little blending.

You can see a little bit more about the super easy process in this quick video...







To see what the rest of my talented friends have created with the latest Essentials by Ellen stamps and dies, keep hoping along to Adelina's fantastic blog!

And before you hop along, there are prizes! One random & lucky commenter will win $25 to the EH shop and one will win the whole November Essentials by Ellen release!!! To enter for a chance to win, make sure to leave comments at each stop along the hop! Comment before Thursday, November 14th at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be notified by email.

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Carly

P.S. You can see the whole Essentials by Ellen November release HERE


supplies:
affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you. thank you!
New Moon Ink (for Copic coloring)
VersaFine Nocturne (for sentiments)
Catherine Pooler Inks Sauna, Coral Cabana & Be Mine
Copic Markers RV55, R22, Y17, T2 & T4

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

how to make a sweet glimmer paste card with the stamp market

Today I'm excited to share an easy way to use glimmer paste to "frost" a stamped cookie! And I can't wait for you to see this new stamp set from The Stamp Market! 
Hopefully you are joining us for The Stamp Market's November release hop and arriving from The Stamp Market blog.

Now let's talk about using glimmer paste with this adorable Christmas Tree Cookie stamp! For this card I tested out the Stamp Market's new no-line ink (spoiler alert...it rocks) and did a little masking to create a sparkly cookie!



You can see the whole process in this quick video...







Your next stop on the hop is Ashlea's amazing blog!

And you can see The Stamp Market's whole November release HERE!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Carly


P.S. I also created a little Christmas Tree Cookie felt ornament. My stitching needs a little work but I think I'm going to make more!


supplies:

diy holiday tags for the 25 tags of christmas

Are you thinking about creating your own gift tags this Christmas? Well have I got an event for you!
I'm so thrilled to be joining all the talented makers again for Tracey's amazing tag event! Prepare to have your socks knocked off because there are so many wonderful tag ideas coming your way!

Today I'm joining in to share some tag ideas using Essentials by Ellen stamps and dies...
Bear is one of my most loved (and used) Essentials by Ellen stamps and I was so thrilled when he got a little buddy this year. 

I had fun pairing both bears with glittery initials to create tags. You can see how they came together in the quick video...




Make sure you head over to Tracey's blog to see more Essentials by Ellen tags. And while you're there, you can learn about prizes ;)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
Carly


supplies:

Friday, November 1, 2019

rainbow snowflakes with honey bee stamps

I'm over on the Honey Bee blog today sharing the easy cardmaking process for creating this rainbow snowflake card.
Come on over and say hi!
Carly