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

3 fun ways to give a gift card or cash

Are you looking for a fun way to give gift cards or cash? How about a handmade card that sends a sweet message and a gift?!

There are some die cuts that make it so easy to turn cards into gift card or cash holders!

Like The Stamp Market's Gift Card Slot Die...

You could create a pocket by making a partial cut with a paper trimmer or straight edge & craft knife but this die is so much easier! I love it!

Another great die is the Essentials by Ellen Parcel Box Die. The box it creates is small enough to fit inside a card and it can hold cash or a standard gift card.

Finally any die can be used to create an opening for a pinata-style card but I love using a rectangle die big enough to fit cash or a gift card. And it looks like a present! It's it cute?!

You can see more about how all these cards came together in my video tutorial...

I hope you are inspired to create some handmade cards that double as gifts!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Carly

supplies:

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

The Stamp Market Gift Card Slot Die

Essentials by Ellen Parcel Box Dies

Essentials by Ellen Essentials Rectangles Dies

The Stamp Market Chunky Alphabet Dies

The Stamp Market Chunky Outline Alphabet Stamps

The Stamp Market It's Your Birthday Stamps

The Stamp Market Bounty of Blooms Stamps

The Stamp Market Tons of Type Stamps (for "Happiest of Birthdays")

The Stamp Market Inks Tropic Teal, Party Pink, Fresh Pink & Melon Orange

VersaFine Clair Nocturne Ink

Tropic Teal Cardstock

Solar White Cardstock

Acetate

Gitter Paper

MISTI

Glossy Accents

Chunky Glitter

Purple Tape

Fringe Scissors

shaker card with the stamp market's bounty of blooms

My favorite kind of card to make is always a shaker card! Even just a really simple one like this...

I stamped the Bounty of Blooms off the edge of a teal cardstock panel with navy ink and it looked rather plain. So I added a little color with pencils (I can always use more pencil practice).

The card still seemed a bit boring so I die cut a circle from the center panel to create a shaker window. With the shaker window I was happy!

Hope you are having a great day!
Carly

supplies:

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

The Stamp Market Bounty of Blooms Stamps

The Stamp Market Thanks Die

The Stamp Market Navy Ink

Hero Arts Infinity Circle Dies

Tropic Teal Cardstock

Polychromos Colored Pencils

how to make an easy diy rainbow baby onesie

Are you getting ready to celebrate the arrival of a miraculous tiny human? We are and we are so very excited!

Our little guy is a rainbow after a very rough storm and I haven't been able to resist crafting some little onesies for him! 

This DIY rainbow onesie is super easy to put together! Here's what you need...

• a onesie
• some felt
• a rainbow die cut (or if you don't have one, you can hand cut your rainbow)
• felt glue (or embroidery floss)

And here's how you put it together...

• die cut or hand cut your rainbow. I used The Stamp Market's Rainbow Stripes die to cut mine. And a little note about felt...the type of felt matters when die cutting. I highly recommend using wool or wool blend. It cuts much cleaner than using acrylic felt. Ellen Hutson LLC and Benzie Design have great felt!
• next attach your rainbow to your onesie with glue or by stitching. I'm not a great stitcher so I absolutely love the glue! I used Tacky Glue based on Benzie Design's recommendation an it worked perfectly! If you do use glue, I recommend placing a piece of cardstock inside the onesie to keep any excess glue from soaking through the front onto the back. (You can see my little piece of cardstock inside the onesie in the pic below.)
• and that's it! So easy right?!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Carly