3 ways to send congratulations

YAY! Thanks so much for hopping with us as we celebrate the Essentials by Ellen December release! This release has such a fun, celebratory theme! And I have 3 cards to share with one of my new favorite dies, Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies Yay by Julie Ebersole...

I think I say "yay" all the time because a) it's just a fun word and b) it seems like such a nice way to congratulate someone! "Yay" feels happy and genuine, as in "I'm happy for your happiness". I think we could all use a little more "yay" right now. 

I used the negative cut of "yay" to make a window/aperture on the front of my card, along with a party hat from Celebration Lady set. And did you know that you can use Copic markers to custom color white pom-poms?

The positive cut of the letters are also fun to play with. I cut two words from cardstock I had inked and then coated one with Glossy Accents and one with Nuvo White Blizzard glitter drops.

This is one of my favorite ways to dress up die cuts and to keep myself from mucking it up before it dries, I place a loop of low-tape on an acrylic block. I stick my die cuts into the tape and apply the Glossy Accents or Nuvo. Then I set the block very, VERY far away from myself to dry.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have fun on the rest of the hop and your next stop is my friend Carolyn Peeler's blog.

Hugs!
Carly

supplies: 
Essentials by Ellen Stamps, Cue the Confetti
Essentials by Ellen Stamps, Leading Ladies - Celebration Lady
Essentials by Ellen Dies, Leading Ladies - Celebration Lady
Essentials by Ellen Dies, Banner Cake
Essentials by Ellen Dies, Yay
Mama Elephant Inks Apricot & Tutti Fruitti
Avery Elle Ink Mint To Be
Copics BG32, BG34, V01 & V05
Solar White
Glossy Accents
Nuvo Drops White Blizzard
Pom-Poms

pretty pink posh's brilliant sparkle dot stamp!

Have you seen the new Sparkle Dot Patterns 1 stamp set by Pretty Pink Posh? It is so awesome and full of so many possibilities! I've only just started playing with it but I wanted to share...

The heart & star patterns are perfect to pair with the PPP Reindeer Friends set and the patterns are fabulous to use with Nuvo Drops.

I used the star dot pattern with Nuvo Silver Moondust glitter drops and then I create a shaker panel over the top, filling it with PPP Sparkling Clear Confetti Mix and Flat Silver Stars.

I stamped the heart pattern over an red inked background and filled it with Nuvo Ruby Slippers glitter drops. Then I added a panel with a heart window on top. The Hero Arts Infinity Nesting Heart dies match up to the heart dot pattern pretty well.

And I have a little reminder too...there is an embellishment sale happening at Ellen Hutson starting today, which means you can get 20% off sequins & Nuvo Drops!!! Head over to EH and use the code saveonbling17. You're welcome or I'm sorry for enabling, LOL!

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs!
Carly

supplies:
Pretty Pink Posh Stamps, Sparkle Dot Patterns 1
Pretty Pink Posh Stamps, Reindeer Friends
Pretty Pink Posh Dies, Reindeer Friends
Hero Arts Dies, Infinity Nesting Hearts
Nuvo Drops Silver Moondrops & Ruby Slippers
Copics E13, E33, E37 & R22

a mod christmas card + nuvo mousse

Hi and Happy Sunday! I just wanted to pop in share a quick Christmas card...

I love playing with Nuvo Mousse and I love the mod background I created with some of the stamps from the Essentials by Ellen Fat Pants & Modern Christmas stamps, both by the amazing Julie Ebersole.

Some quick Nuvo Mousse tips from me...

• create background paper/DIY shimmer paper like my card. The Nuvo Aquamarine Mousse matches the Hero Arts Tide Pool ink beautifully. And I love these for applying mousse to large areas.
• Mother of Pearl Mousse is super easy to tint with ink pads & reinkers. To create my green holly, I swiped Hero Arts Lime Green ink onto my craft sheet, added a little scoop of mousse and swirled until blended.
• Craft-A-Board is the perfect surface for mousse. I used it for my holly & berries.

And a little help from your friendly crafty enabler (me), the Fat Pants & Modern Christmas sets are on sale right now as a sweet bundle. 

Hope you have a wonderful, crafty day! Hugs!
Carly

supplies:
Essentials by Ellen Stamps, Fat Pants
Essentials by Ellen Stamps, Modern Christmas
Essentials by Ellen Dies, Modern Christmas
Hero Arts Pale Tomato, Lime Green & Tide Pool
Nuvo Mousse Aquamarine & Mother of Pearl
Craft-A-Board

hopping with pretty pink posh!

There's a new Pretty Pink Posh release this week and I think it might be the best one yet! In fact, I'm a little obsessed with the new Wild Rose stamp set, as you will see in a minute but first let me tell you about prizes...

There are 4 $25 gift certificates up for grabs! Winners will be picked randomly along the blog hop (both days). Comments must be left by 11:59 PM PST on 11/7/2017 and winners will be announced on the PPP blog so make sure to leave a little "hello" along the hop to enter.

Ok, back to the Wild Rose set...I used my MISTI to create a cascade of Wild Roses and then I stamped in different inks & played with an assortment of mediums.

#1. VersaFine, Clean Color & Aqua Shimmer

I stamped with my favorite black ink for watercoloring or pretty much anything, VersaFine. I colored just one flower with Clean Color Real Brush Markers and used a Nuvo Aqua Shimmer glitter gloss marker to blend. Finally I added a layer of Glossy Accents over the top for dimension and shine. It's hard to capture but the glossy glitter is so yummy!

#2. Clean Color & Nuvo Mousse

I stamped the flowers again using a Copic-friendly ink (I find it works better with the Nuvo Mousse). Then I coated the entire panel with Mother of Pearl Nuvo Mousse. It's like DIY shimmer paper with the stamped image underneath. I used the Clean Color markers to color the flowers, over the mousse, blending with just a little water. The final touches were sequins of course, and Nuvo Glitter Drops flower centers and smudged on the panel too.

#3. Distress Oxides

On this card, the flowers are stamped in Distress Oxide. Then I used more Distress Oxide to watercolor in a messy, Carly fashion.

And I used one of the tiny, cute sentiments from the PPP Bear Hugs set. 

Thanks for stopping by and have fun hopping!

Pretty Pink Posh blog 
Laura Bassen
Joy Taylor
Jeanne Jachna
Crystal Thompson
Keeway Tsao
Lexa Levana
Carly Tee Minner 
Amy Kolling
Eloise Blue
Suzy Plantamura

Hugs!
Carly

P.S. here are links to the dorable stamp sets from Pretty Pink Posh that I recommend you getting ASAP!
Wild Rose & Bear Hugs

And here are links to the other supplies I used:
-Bristol Cardstock
-Nuvo Aqua Shimmer Pens
-Glossy Accents
-Clean Color Markers Bright Yellow 052, Orange 070 & Light Carmine 021
-Nuvo Mousse Mother of Pearl
-Nuvo Glitter Drops Honey Gold
-Distress Oxide inks Spiced Marmalade & Worn Lipstick

a little christmas sparkle in july!

We have been having fun thinking about the holidays at EH this week! And today our whole EH design team is celebrating with Christmas in July cards! 

I love creating holiday cards but somehow I have a hard time getting them done to actually send at Christmas! Maybe starting in July is the answer, what do you think?

This card was super simple to create! I started by stamping snowflakes, stars & part of the sentiment from the Essentials by Ellen Season to Sparkle set, in Versamark on white cardstock. I embossed them with clear powder (white would have worked too).

Over the embossed images, I applied Indian Gold Nuvo Mousse. I love the rich metallic finish of the Nuvo Mousse. And when the mousse was dry (only about a minute), I used a very dry baby wipe to buff the excess mousse off of the embossed images.

The pictures hardly do it justice so if you haven't used it yet, just know that it is a showstopper!

The "sparkle" is a die cut word, layered and covered in Pink Flambe Nuvo Mousse.

That's it, so easy! I planning to create a bunch to at least jumpstart my Christmas card stash, LOL!

Happy Saturday!
Carly

P.S. Ellen Hutson has a smokin' good sale on Christmas stuff! You can get the Season To Sparkle set (or something else cool) for 40%. Check out all the cool stuff here!

5 Ways To Use Glimmer Paste

Glimmer Paste is one of my favorite new products and today I'm over in The Classroom at Ellen Hutson LLC with 5 Ways To Use Tonic Nuvo Glimmer Paste. 

Come on over!
Carly

more mousse love

I'm over in The Classroom at Ellen Hutson LLC with what I think might be one of my favorite new techniques, markers over mousse!

Come on over!

xo,
Carly

multi-tasking mousse

I love & adore multi-tasking supplies! I love the creativity they encourage and they help keep my crafty stash in check (sort of, haha!). And I have found a new one that is knocking my socks off, Nuvo Embellishment Mousse. You can do everything with mousse...gild, watercolor, color over, color under, use with stencils, use with all kinds of paper & embellishments...the list goes on. 

This card was creating for my sweet friend Laura's bday, using mouse with embossed images for a resist technique. I not only wanted to create something pretty for my friend but I'm also trying to talk her into getting some of her own mousse, LOL!

To create this card, I stamped in VersaMark on white cardstock and embossed in white (clear would work too.) Then I just applied the mousse over the top.

For a very smooth and saturated mousse finish, try applying with a soft cloth or sponge. Also apply multiple coats of mousse in various directions, with a moment to dry between each. 

See the color change in the above photos? That's the gorgeous shimmer of the mousse! I use Pink Flambe mousse for this project but if you are thinking of just dipping your toe in, I suggest Mother of Pearl mousse to start. The mousse is easy to tint with water-based reinkers. 

And make sure to check out more about mousse this week in The Classroom at Ellen Hutson(the team has some crazy cool projects and I have another one to share on Thursday that I'm pretty excited about). And because I'm an enabler (ask Laura), mousse (and all Tonic) is 15% off this week at EH. Here's a link :)

xo,
Carly

supplies:
Flora & Fauna Oh Hello Friend
Savvy Happy Birthday Stacked
MFT Blueprints Blueprints 13
VersaMark
Hero Arts White Embossing Powder
Nuvo Embellishment Mousse Pink Flambe
Smoothie Blending Sponge
Solar White
Licorice Twist

essentials by ellen february 2017 hop!

Yay, it's Essentials By Ellen release day! I've been so excited for today and I'm so happy you're here! Welcome!!! Today I have the honor of showing off some of the new release, the Mirror Mirror sets by Brandi Kincaid and the Swing N Slide die by Julie Ebersole! First up, Mirror Mirror stamps & dies:

 

To create this card, I stamped the background with makeup images from the Make It Beautiful set, coloring just the lipstick with a VersaMark pen and embossing with new WOW Yum Yum Bubblegum pink. I cut a circle from silver foil paper and embossed the sentiment in the same powder I used on the lipsticks, to look like a lipstick message on a mirror. Quick tip...not all foiled paper can handle heat embossing so make sure to test a scrap first. And to create the "lights", I colored the circles and topped with Morning Dew Nuvo drops. Of course there is yellow Nuvo but when you use clear (Morning Dew) over blendable ink, it "pulls" the color up to create more of a glow.

Next I continued my lipstick theme with Julie's adorable Swing N Slide die...

To create this card, I blended Spun Sugar and Shaded Lilac Distress Inks on smooth watercolor paper. I embossed the sentiment in white and drew my "lipstick" heart with Watermelon pink gelato. Gelatos make fabulous "lipstick" for paper! I used one of the slide dies on the panel, inking the card beneath it to match. And I created the slider with the lipstick from the Make It Beautiful set.

Before you keep hopping, there is one more super fun thing, I’m giving away an Essentials by Ellen stamp set! Here's the "fine print":

The winner may chose any in stock Essentials by Ellen brand stamp set (Maximum value $25 USD) at Ellen Hutson.com  To enter, please leave a comment on today’s post by Tuesday, February 28!

There is also an AMAZING Grand Giveaway on the CLASSroom blog!  To enter, be sure to leave a comment there, too, by Tuesday, February 28!

ALL winners will be announced at the CLASSroom on Friday, March 3! Please check there on that date to see if you are a winner and for further details on claiming your prize!

Your next stop is the wonderful blog of my friend Carolyn Peeler! If you get lost along the hop, please visit the CLASSroom blog for a complete list of all the designers.

Have fun hopping!

xo,

Carly

Essentials By Ellen February 2017 Release:

Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Spread the Sparkle by Julie Ebersole

Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps, Mirror Mirror By Brandi Kincaid

Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps, Make It Beautiful By Brandi Kincaid

Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps, Oh Deer By Julie Ebersole

Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps, Otterly Awesome By Julie Ebersole

Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps, Otter Ware By Julie Ebersole

Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps, Wonky Backdrops By Julie Ebersole

Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps, Spa Day By Brandi Kincaid

Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies, Sparkle by Julie Ebersole

Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Mirror Mirror by Brandi Kincaid

Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Make It Beautiful by Brandi Kincaid

Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Oh Deer By Julie Ebersole

Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Otterly Awesome By Julie Ebersole

Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Otter Ware By Julie Ebersole

Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Spa Day By Brandi Kincaid

Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Swing N Slide By Julie Ebersole

Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Hinged Thanks By Julie Ebersole

Essentials By Ellen Winter 2017 Complete Release

Products I Used:

Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps, Mirror Mirror By Brandi Kincaid

Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps, Make It Beautiful By Brandi Kincaid

Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Mirror Mirror by Brandi Kincaid

Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Make It Beautiful by Brandi Kincaid

Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Swing N Slide By Julie Ebersole

My Favorite Things Die-namics, Blueprints 13

Lawn Cuts Dies, Circle Stackables

VersaFine Ink Pad, Onyx Black

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Shaded Lilac

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Shaded Lilac

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Kit #4

Ranger Distress Ink Pad, Spun Sugar

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Spun Sugar

VersaMark Ink Pad

VersaMark Watermark Pen

Avery Elle Pigment Ink Pad, Strawberry

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 050, Yellow

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Marker 052, Bright Yellow

Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, 25 pk

Ranger Silver Foil Cardstock, 3 pk

Bazzill Specialty Paper, Metallic Silver Foil 5pk

Wow Embossing Powder, Regular - Yum Yum Bubblegum

Tonic Nuvo Crystal Drops, Morning Dew

Stampendous Embossing Powder, Detail White, 0.76 oz.

Gelatos Designer Set, Tropical

My Favorite Things Replenishments, Slider Elements