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

floral cards ideas with essentials by ellen

Do you love making floral stamped cards? I do! And when I made these cards, I was in a glittery mood too!

These gorgeous floral stamps by my very talented friend Brandi Kincaid are part of the second Essentials by Ellen Summer of Stamping release and hopefully you are joining us for a very inspiring blog hop! (If so, you should be arriving here from my sparkly friend Carissa Wiley's awesome blog and you can find the whole hop list on the EH blog.)

Now should we talk more about glitter cards? I know not everyone loves glitter like I do because it can be really messy. For these cards, I used two different glitter mediums - glimmer paste & loose glitter - and the loose glitter is definitely the messy sister!

For crafters who think they don't like glitter, I would definitely recommend trying the glimmer paste. 

Basically it is glitter mixed into a gel medium that you can spread with a palette knife and when the paste dries, the glitter stays put! I love to layer iridescent glimmer paste over ink blending like this...

Now if you don't mind having a few stray sparkles on your face for a few days, good ol' fashioned loose gliter can create some really fun cards too! For these cards, I covered an entire stamped panel with double-sided adhesive and then glitter.

The photos really don't do the sparkles justice plus you can see more about both of these glitter techniques in my quick cardmaking process video...

Since I was on a glittery roll, I also made one more card. I did a little ink blending on the card front and then added glimmer paste on top. The I stamped a panel with the flowers from the Essentials by Ellen You Should Know set, and die cut "friend" with the Essentials by Ellen Block Words set. The negative die cut word let's the glimmer paste show through. And then I finished the sentiment with "what would I do without you?" from the Essentials by Ellen Thank You For Being A Friend set.

Your next stop on the hop is Laurel Beard's lovely blog but before you go, make sure to leave me a comment (about any ol' thing) because it will enter you in a giveaway to win shopping $$$ to the EH shop! 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! Comment before Saturday, July 18th at 11:59pm PDT. The winner will be notified by email.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a fab week!!!
Carly

supplies:

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

Essentials by Ellen Mondo Pansy Stamps

Essentials by Ellen You Should Know Stamps

Essentials by Ellen Thank You For Being A Friend Stamps

Essentials by Ellen Classic Block Alpha Dies

Essentials by Ellen Block Words Dies

Moonstone Glimmer Paste

Prisma Glitter

Purple Tape

Be Creative Adhesive Sheets

Distress Inks Picked Raspberry, Abandoned Coral & Carved Pumpkin

Palette Knives
Spreader

how to make easy emboss resist cards with reverse confetti

One of my favorite stamping techniques is emboss resist, where you emboss over a lighter color and then layer a darker color on top. It's easy and I think the results are always fun!

Embossing the image lets you create beautiful layers of color because the embossed image will resist the ink you add on top. 

For these cards, I created a simple border with the emboss resist technique.

I started by masking off a border with low-tack purple tape. Then I applied two colors of Distress Oxide ink (to get the perfect green) with a blending brush.

When the ink was completely dry (because I don't want the embossing powder to stick to everything), I stamped the some cacti in clear embossing ink and embossed with clear powder.

Then I layered a darker Distress Oxide ink on top with a blending brush.

I used a clean paper towel to remove the excess ink from the embossed images and then pulled the tape away to reveal my border.

I love the clean & simple look and it pairs well with the fantastic sentiments from the Best Sentiments stamp set! I am going to use those sentiment stamps sooooo much!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Carly

supplies:

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

Reverse Confetti Cacti Builder Stamps

Reverse Confetti Best Sentiment Stamps

Reverse Confetti Honey Bear Stamps (for the clouds)

Distress Oxide Inks Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers & Salty Ocean
Purple Tape
Blending Brushes
Clear Embossing Ink
Clear Embossing Powder

cards with reverse confetti + blog hop

Are you looking for some cheerful card ideas? I think I can help!

Reverse Confetti has some of the sweetest and most cheerful designs around! Their Background Builder stamp set is also an easy way to add some happy rainbow color!

(BTW, if you are joining us for the Reverse Confetti hop today, you should be arriving from the Reverse Confetti blog.)

For this little hello card, I used the solid circle stamp from the Background Builder set to stamp circles in a random pattern. I also used a slightly larger circle die cut to make one circle opening for my minty-colored Honey Bear (one of my favorite RC sets).

The solid circle stamp also makes a fantastic stamp for swatching inks!

For this card, I used the solid stripe from the Background Builder set to stamp rainbow stripes with varying spaces in between. I'm pretty sure I had a striped shirt just like this in middle school and I would still wear it today if I found it in my closet. Haha!

I love how the bold sentiments from the Best Sentiments set go with the background images and I think I will be using them a lot!

Keep hoping with us for more Reverse Confetti ideas! Your next stop is Amy Kolling's amazing blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Carly

supplies:

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

Reverse Confetti Background Builder Stamps

Reverse Confetti Best Sentiments Stamps

Reverse Confetti Honey Bear Stamps & Dies

Catherine Pooler Inks It's A Girl, Coral Cabana, Bellini, Garden Party, Mint To Be & It's A Boy

Copic Markers RV21, RV23, BG05, B01, B00, BG34, G00 & G000

how to create easy card scenes + summer of stamping blog hop

Do you love scene cards with adorable stamped critter images? Me too...when other people make them, LOL! Creating scenes for my cards always feel super intimidating so I found a little cheat that I want to share with you for creating easy card scenes!

First, let me say welcome to The Essentials by Ellen Summer of Stamping! I'm so excited to be part of this fun event because don't we all need a good dose of positivity and creative energy right now?! Thank you Ellen Hutson for filling our days with sunshine & crafting!

The first Summer of Stamping release is available TODAY and we are having a little hop to celebrate and share some cardmaking inspiration for you! (If you are hoping with us, you should be arriving from Latisha's lovely blog and you can find the whole hop list on the EH blog.)

Now let's talk about scene cards! Some of my amazing crafty friends create gorgeous scenes that I LOVE but I really struggle to compose a scene that fills a card front. I have found a little hack that works for me to is to make the scene smaller!

I can fill a smaller circle, square or rectangle with a scene and not feel crazy intimidated. Plus it gives me the white space that I love having on a card.

Two of my favorite ways to easily "shrink" scenes are with a stencil (ready made or DIY) and masking tape. I've made a quick process video so you can see more...

Before you hop along to Elise's beautiful blog, I should mention that there is a fun blog hop 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! Comment before Saturday, July 11th at 11:59pm PDT. The winner will be notified by email.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Carly

supplies:

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

S'more The Merrier Stamp & Die Set
Essentials by Ellen Life's A Picnic Stamps & Dies
Essentials by Ellen Landscapes Dies
Distress Oxide Inks Wild Honey, Twisted Citron, Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch & Seedless Preserves
Copic Markers V05, RV63, RV52, R14, R22, R21, YR68, YR16, Y17, YG01, B12, B24, E11, E13, E37 & E47
Circle Stencil
Square Stencil
1-1/2 inch Purple Tape
1/2 inch Purple Tape
Blending Brushes
Shimmer Spray