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Thursday, February 24, 2022

mft's color challenge 184

I'm afraid I'm turning into a broken record because I'm about to repeat myself AGAIN...the cardmaking challenges at MFT are making me feel so creative!

Today's color challenge was especially exciting for me! Let me tell you more...
Here's the palette for the challenge...
These are gorgeous colors but not colors I would normally use. I love pink and orange and rainbow, LOL! But I did it, I used this palette and honestly, I'm so smitten with how the card turned out!
I started by stamping the castle from the MFT Fairy Tale Friendship set in Cement Gray on an A2 white panel. 

Next I die cut the MFT Arched Happy Birthday above the castle. 

I stamped the clouds from the MFT Barnyard Birthday set in Blue Yonder.
I adhered the panel to a folded card and then inlaid the letters for "Happy Birthday". I used the ink cubes to color each letter because I'm silly and never have the right colored cardstock on hand. LOL!

I did a teeny bit of coloring on the castle with Copic markers.

I stamped the dragon in Sour Apple, die cut him and colored him with Copic markers as well.

Here are the Copic markers I used:
  • Castle - T2
  • Castle Banners - B41
  • Dragon - YG03, YG01, B23 & B41
Finally I foam mounted him over the castle. And I couldn't resist adding a tiny bit of pink on his cheek & a clay heart sprinkle in his hands.

I hope you are inspired to join in this color challenge! Pop over to the MFT blog to learn more and thanks so much for stopping by!

Hugs!
Carly



Monday, February 21, 2022

mft's sketch challenge 581

I'm a little behind sharing my latest card for MFT's sketch challenge because last Monday I had a baby! Here's my sweet girl Mackenzie...

And even though I'm busy soaking up all the baby snuggles and the sketch challenge 581 is almost over, I wanted to share my card. Here's the sketch...


And here's my card...

I used the Mini Slimline Outside the Box Clouds dies as the background rectangles. They seemed like the perfect background for the floating kitten & balloons from the Purr-fect Pairs set.

There isn't much time left to enter this sketch challenge but remember that you might win $50 to spend in the MFT shop! Find more info HERE on the MFT blog.

And if this isn't the challenge for you, hopefully you will be inspired to try the next one!

Hugs!

Carly

Saturday, February 12, 2022

using glossy accents with pretty pink posh stencils

Do you use Glossy Accents when making handmade cards? I do, in fact it's one of my very favorite supplies and I love using it with stencils!

But before we talk more about Glossy Accents, let's talk about Pretty Pink Posh and their birthday release! I adore PPP's products and the amazing people behind the awesome brand!!! I'm thrilled that I get to help celebrate their 8th birthday today with a blog hop. And I'm delighted I get to share how fun their layering stencils are!!!

And one more thing before we talk cards, there are 3 $50 gift certificates to Pretty Pink Posh up for grabs! Enter to win by leaving comments along the hop by 11:59pm PST on February 16th, 2022. The winners will be announced on the PPP blog.

Ok, now let's talk about the super cute Layered Cupcake stencil and how you can use it with inks and Glossy Accents!

I created a quick video to show you the process...


Here are my tips for using Glossy Accents with stencils...

  • less is more...start with less Glossy Accents and make fewer passes with your squeegee/straight edge to help prevent "leaking" under the stencil. Add more Glossy Accents and more passes as needed. Spray adhesive for stencils like Pixie spray can also help with "leaking" but I'm rubbish with spray adhesive, LOL!
  • work quickly...clean your stencil & squeegee quickly to prevent the Glossy Accents from drying on your tools. I live in the rainy PNW so I might a little more time to clean my stencil but if you live in a drier climate, a container of soapy water is great to have nearby.

Your next stop on the hop is Channin Pelletier's amazing blog and I'm sure she is going to wow us!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Carly

P.S. In case you get lost, here's the whole hop list...


P.P.S.

supplies:

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

mft's sketch challenge 580

It's time for another MFT sketch challenge! Are you ready for it?

I've been having the best time with these sketches! I'm feeling so creative thanks to these challenges! Since I'm on the MFT team, I'm not entering my sketch card to win BUT you can! Have fun creating, increase your crafty mojo AND enter for a chance to win $50 to the MFT shop...it's win-win-win!

Here's this week's sketch...

And here's the card I made...

I've been working on using up some of my crafty stash including some glitter paper in colors I didn't really like. This glitter paper started as a really pale peach that I was never going to use so I used blending brushes and MFT inks to create this ombre rainbow.

I used Lemon Drop, Orange Zest, Poppin' Pink & Summer Splash.

After the ink was dry I used the MFT Piece of My Heart die to cut a window. The great thing about using this die to create the window is that I can use the inside pieces on another card.

I adhered acetate on the back of the glitter paper to make a shaker window. 

Then I foam mounted the shaker window to a folded card with a pile of sequins in the middle.

The final touch was the sentiment strip using Itty Bitty Love stamps and Itty Bitty Strips dies. I used these stamps & dies so much! 5 stars, highly recommend!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you are inspired to join this week's MFT sketch challenge! You can find all the info HERE on their blog.

Hugs!

Carly

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

mft's february release is available now!

I'm excited to share that the February release is available now!!! But wait...before you rush off to shop, I have another card to share with you!

I could not resist turning one of my new favorite dies into a shaker so I cut the Happy Cake Day die from the middle of a 110lb panel. 

I added a sentiment underneath and a few stars. And to make the shaker window I adhered acetate on the back of the panel.

To create the background I adhered yellow glitter paper to my folded card front. I added foam tape around the edge to create the shaker container and filled it with sequins.

Once the card was assembled, I added the "frosting" which created by coloring white cardstock with Distress Oxide Salvaged Patina and die cutting the Happy Cake Day again.

I used a glue pen to adhere the "frosting" to the top of the acetate shaker window. 

The final touch was some happy Barnyard Birthday buddies, watercolored simply with Distress Oxide inks Kitsch Flamingo, Shaded Lilac, Salvaged Patina and Squeezed Lemonade.

Head over to the MFT blog for more new release eye candy!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Carly

Monday, February 7, 2022

just one more day until the mft february release

There's only one more day until the MFT February release and it's a party! I've got one more little peek for you...


To create the background I used Distress Oxide Salvaged Patina ink with the MFT Classic Edges stencil. Then I added a little bit of water splatter to create the soft texture.
The sweet little bouncing bear is colored with Copics and foam mounted to the card.

Lastly I stamped the sentiment and added a few star sequins. It's a super simple card but I really like how it turned out.
Here are the MFT products I used...
To see more of what's coming from MFT this February, pop over to the MFT blog and YT.

Hugs!
Carly

Sunday, February 6, 2022

coloring on distress oxide inks + 2 days until the mft february release

Have you tried coloring over a Distress Oxide background? I just tried it and I love how it came out! Check it out and get a peek at some more of the MFT February release...


I used the MFT Circle Extraordinaire stencil to ink blend the Distress Oxide Kitsch Flamingo circle.

I stamped the adorable little circus tent inside with MFT Extreme Black Hybrid ink. After letting it dry for a moment, I added a little coloring with Copic markers R14 and R22.


The little "hooray..." sentiment was easy to curve on my stamping tool to stamp along the curve of the pink circle.

I stamped, die cut and colored the little bear before foam mounting him to the card with a pom pom for his hat and a few star sequins.

Here's a quick recap of the MFT products I used...

To see more of what's coming from MFT this February, pop over to the MFT blog and YT.

Thanks for stopping by!
Carly

Saturday, February 5, 2022

easy masking + halfway to the mft february release

We are halfway to the big MFT February release and I've got another little peek plus a tip on easy stamp masking!

I love the adorable Hip Hip Yay Day sentiments and Hip Hip Yay Numbers! I think the combinations of sentiments are boundless but I wanted to start with something that said "hip hip yay..." in honor of the stamp names.

I created a really clean & simple card by stamping the sentiments directly on a white folded card. But I needed the "th" so I did a little easy masking with the birthday stamp. (BTW, there is an adorable Hip Hip Yay Alphabet that I could have used for the "th" but the size is a little larger and I wanted the 8 to be the only thing that was a larger size.)

Before inking I used low-tack tape to cover everything but the "th". I removed the tape before stamping and voila, only the "th" stamped on the card.

The 8 is stamped, die cut and foam mounted. I added a little bit of color with Copic markers and finally I finished with a few rainbow rhinestones.

Here's a quick recap of the MFT products I used:

To see more of what's coming from MFT this February, pop over to the MFT blog and YT.

Hugs!

Carly

Friday, February 4, 2022

how to send birthday cake without the calories + 4 days until the mft february release

Do you know someone with a birthday coming up? Would you like to send them some birthday cake? How about one that's calorie free and easy to mail? LOL!

I've got the cake for you and another little peek at the MFT Stamps February release!


How adorable is this cake die cut?! And think of all the ways it can be customized! I'm planning to make a rainbow cake next but for this card I went with pink on pink, glossy frosting with glitter & sprinkles!

After die cutting the cake, I applied Distress Oxide Tattered Rose on the cake layers and Kitsch Flamingo on the frosting (with ink blending tools).

I adhered the cake to a folded card and then I applied Glossy Accents to the "frosting". While the Glossy Accents was still wet, I added a little chunky glitter and paper sprinkles on top.

To finish the card I stamped the sentiment and added a little faux black splatter with a pen.

Here's a quick recap of the MFT products I used:

To see more of what's coming from MFT this February, pop over to the MFT blog and YT.

Hugs!
Carly

adding a little stitching to stamped cards

Do you ever stitch on your stamped cards? I like to add just a few stitched details myself.

I'm sharing more over on the Ellen Hutson blog today and I would love for you to stop by!

Hugs!

Carly

Thursday, February 3, 2022

a party animal card & the mft stamps february release countdown day 5

Do you need a birthday card for your favorite party animal? How about one with a little shaker window and pastel farm animals? Well then I have the card for you because the countdown to the MFT February 2022 release starts now!


How cute are these barnyard critters?! It was so fun to put this card together!

I stamped the party pig & cow in black ink and embossed with clear powder to make them easy to watercolor. Then I watercolored them very simply with Distress Oxides ink (I just swipe the ink pads on my non-stick craft mat and use a wet paintbrush to pick up the color).

They are foam mounted to a card with a shaker window made with the Arched Happy Birthday. Behind the window there's a little ink blending with the same Distress Oxide colors. The shaker window is filled with little star sequins.

Here's a quick recap of the MFT products I used...


To see more, make sure you pop over to the MFT blog!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope to see you again tomorrow for another sneak peek!

Hugs!
Carly

Wednesday, February 2, 2022

mft's sketch challenge 579

Raise your hand if your week needs a little creative kickstart? I've got just the thing, the MFT sketch challenge!!!

Here's this week's sketch...

And here's my take on it...

You can see I couldn't resist trading the circles in the sketch for hearts (and I added a couple extra too).

I used Distress Oxide inks Salvaged Patina and Twisted Citron to ink blend the background strip. I stamped a few tufts of grass on top with Twisted Citron.

I foam mounted my simply colored cat & mailbox on top. Here are the Copic colors I used:
  • kitty - E41, E43 & RV02
  • mailbox - C1

Lastly I added the embossed sentiment strip and hearts.

Here are the MFT products I used:

I hope you are inspired to join this week's MFT sketch challenge! You can find all the info HERE on their blog.

Hugs!
Carly