2017 Season's Givings Blog Hop

**Thank you for all your kind comments, and I enjoyed reading about your resolutions for 2018!
My winner, per Random.org is Lagene!**

2017 has been a fun, crafty year where I got to experiment with many products and supplies.
Creating cards is my sanity outlet, and I absolutely adore sharing projects with you. I love reading your comments, taking your suggestions into consideration to make me a better card maker, and just celebrating with all of your success! The above image is my Best Nine from Instagram (follow me here-I'd love to follow you back!) I had so much fun creating all of these cards!

I love creating with flowers, so I thought it fitting to give away a brand new, super awesome (in both looks and smell- I love the smell of new photopolymer!) stamp set from Brutus Monroe called Botanical Banners. This would be gorgeous when stamped and colored with Zigs, Watercolors, Colorburts, etc.!

To win this giveaway, I'd love to hear about your 2018 Crafty Goals. My goal this year is to create a full length card making video tutorials. I did make a few videos, which was my goal in 2017, but I have quite a bit to learn. If you'd like to comment on
 what kind of videos you'd like to see from me, that would be awesome too!

Please leave your comment by Saturday, January 6th.
Unfortunately, I am a single mama on a limited budget, so this giveaway is open to US residents only due to the cost of international shipping. Please leave your email in your comment so that I can contact you if you've won!

If you are following the hop, you should have arrived from Julee Tilman's blog.
The next stop on the hop is Lee Murphy!

Make Your Own Magic

Goodbye 2017 and bring on 2018! It's been quite a year, albeit an overall good one.

I created this card for my sister, using some fantastic stamps available at Ellen Hutson for the December PinSights Challenge.

I started by stamping Leading Ladies: Crafting Lady and using the corresponding dies, coloring with Copic Markers and detailing with a white Signo Gel Pen. I them stamped the sentiment from Crafty Ladies: Say By by Brandi Kincaid onto light blue cardstock. I also added a sentiment banner stamped with a sentiment from Mirror, Mirror by Brandi Kincaid. I finished the card with a few selectively placed Nuvo Drops.

Ducky Birthday Banner

These little ducks from Sugar Pea Designs are just precious! They remind me of the illustrations from books that I used to read to my boys.

I'm playing along with the Sugar Pea Designs Mix It Up Challenge #38. I stamped, die cut and Copic colored two ducks from Quackers, adhered them to a light blue embossed card base and finished with a stamped banner. 

Love Words

Concord & 9th has done it again. I say this every time, but wow, their innovation just blows me away. Today I got to play with their Love You So Bundle. I am delighted to be able to participate in their Feature Fridays, where they showcase the December release.

The Love You So stamps alone in this bundle are amazing! There are a lot of possibilities, but the star of the show is this awesome halftone LOVE block. I started by stamping the solid block with two inks (green and blue), blending in between, onto a white cardstock front. Then I stamped the halftone pattern right on top. Super easy with a stamping tool like the MISTI.

I then added the black cardstock sentiment panel, and used the Love You So Die Cut Set to die cut a peek-a-boo heart from the front of the card. 

I absolutely adore this Bundle, I hope that you take a minute to check it out. 
Concord & 9th has some pretty amazing graphics on their website showing the possibilities of this combo.

On Point Birthday

Concord & 9th has this really cool and innovate stamp and die bundle that they released this past December called Stuck on You. I am delighted to be able to participate in their Feature Fridays, where they showcase the latest new release.

I've got to say, this bundle is PERFECT for masculine cards! I am perpetually amazed at Concord & 9th's ingenuity, and the Stuck on You Dies really showcase this. Although I didn't showcase the 3D capability of it today, I did use the Dies for the showcase of my card. I die cut the large catcus from green paper and used some Distress Oxide Ink to shade it slightly and add some interest with splatters. I foam mounted the cactus onto a mustard card base that had been stamped with some patterns from the Stuck on You Stamp Set. To finish the card, I created a sign with a stamped sentiment and a toothpick and stuck it into the cactus, adhering it with dimensional adhesive.

There you have it... nice and simple masculine birthday card that packs a punch, and super easy to make! I'm really excited to showcase the remaining December Release products over the next few Fridays with you, and thank you for stopping by today! (affiliate links used)

Noel Tag

One of my go to gifts for the holidays...a quality candle with a handmade tag. And this tag couldn't have been more quick or more easy to make! I die cut the Lil' Inker Designs Noel Word Die from some chipboard and coated it liberally with Distress Oxide Ink in Vintage Photo. I added a red Nuvo Drop for the nose and tied it to the candle with burlap string.

Lil' Inker Designs is a sponsor for Taheerah's Advent Calendar Extravaganza. Laura has some fabulous samples and prize information over on the Lil' Inker Designs Blog, and you can read more about the Advent Calendar Extravaganza on Taheerah's Blog!

Where Creativity Meets C9:: Butterfly Wishes

I have a card up on the Where Creativity Meets C9 Challenge Blog for the Anything Goes Challenge. I have loved seeing how you've been inspired to create something with your Concord & 9th products.

I have a bright and vibrant card to share today, featuring something that I love to do, but don't do often enough. Loose watercoloring! Additional details on how I created this card are up on the Where Creativity Meets C9 Challenge Blog.


The current challenge ends on December 29th, I hope you have a chance to play along! Check out Where Creativity Meets C9 on Facebook and Instragram!

United We Flourish with Concord & 9th

I am tinkled pink, er...mint, to help Ellen Hutson celebrate with Concord & 9th for the latest United We Flourish Stamp Set! United We Flourish is a campaign by Ellen Hutson and various companies in the stamping industry to bring crafters unique, limited edition items. You can check out all the details at the Ellen Hutson Classroom Blog as well as each stop along the blog hop showcasing the new UWF set. There are amazing prizes along the hop too: To celebrate, two randomly selected commenters will win a $30 gift certificate to the Ellen Hutson shop and two commenters will win a $30 gift certificate to theConcord & 9th shop. To enter just leave a comment on the Ellen Hutson Classroom blog or the Concord blog by 12pm PST on December 26^th.

My card is quite simple, but I love the punch it packs. I started with a mint card base and stamped and silver heat embossed the large sentiment from Concord & 9th's Here's the Scoop Stamp Set flanked with a sweet sentiment from the new UWF Sweet Sprinkles Stamp Set. I then added some tone on tone sprinkles from the UWF Sweet Sprinkles Stamp Set in the middle. I then stamped the cupcake liner from UWF Sweet Sprinkles and silver heat embossed it, and the frosting with pigment ink and clear embossed it. Each was then die cut from the corresponding die set from that is included with the UWF Sweet Sprinkles stamp set. The cupcake was foam mounted onto the card base over the sprinkles and I finished with some sequins. (affiliate links used)

If you are following the hop, you should have arrived from Kittie's Blog. Your next stop on the hop is the super talented, ever fun Julie Ebersole!

Polkadot Turnabout

Concord & 9th has done it again with another innovative turnabout stamp, and this time it is with polka dots! I am delighted to be able to participate in their Feature Fridays, where they showcase the new release.

I created the background with two stampings in white of the Polka Dot Turnabout, and  one stamping in Versamark (so three turns). I then added a stamped sentiment from the Kindhearted Stamp Set, made a die from Kind Card Add-on Frame Die. I also incorporated the delicate and beautiful outline from the Quilted Heart Die, the giveaway this month for ordering $60 plus. (affiliate links used) 

I'm really excited to showcase the remaining December Release products over the next few Fridays with you, and thank you for stopping by today!

A Wish or Two

Make a wish or two!

I am playing along with both the MFT Sketch Challenge 362 and the MFT Color Challenge 82.

There were some details on this card that were a bit difficult to photograph, but I wanted a clean and simple design with minimal layers. I started by dry embossing two circles onto a white card base, then stamped and colored some sea creatures from Ocean Pals and adhered them near the circles. I then stamped and white heat embossed onto black cardstock some sentiments from Essentials Sentiments and More Essential Sentiment Stamp Sets.

I finished the card with a spattering of clear Nuvo Drops to represent bubbles. The winter season has severely limited photography time, especially when it is dark when I leave for work and dark when I get home...hopefully you can see some of the details in this close up shot.

Winter Coffee Lover's Blog Hop:: Peace Love Coffee

Always a fun time when a Coffee Lover's Blog Hop rolls around! Today I'm featuring a card with winter color schemes and a super fun set from Lil' Inker Designs called Peace Love Joy for the 2017 Winter Coffee Lover's Blog Hop! With just a small bit of masking, I was able to create a fun new word and a fun new meaning for this set.

I started by stamping the base letters from Peace Love Joy onto soft blue cardstock with blue ink and then added the filler letter pieces with various winter colors. To create the word COFFEE, I used the letter "E" for the "F" and simply masked off the bottom part of the "E". I die cut the panel with the Stitched Mats: Dual Squares dies and then adhered it to a white card base that has been embossed with the same dies. I finished the card with some White Blizzard Nuvo Drops. 

Lil' Inker Designs is once again a Super Sponsor for the 2017 Winter Coffee Lover's Blog Hop! Laura is offering the super fun, super cute and newly released Magical Winter Stamps and corresponding Magical Winter Dies as a prize. 

The store also features many other amazing coffee related sets, such as the Latte Love Stamps and Dies, Cozy Coffee Stamps and Dies, Coffee Talk Stamps and Dies, and the Coffee Word Die. (affiliate links used)

Where Creativity Meets C9:: Challenge 16:: Anything Goes

There's a new Where Creativity Meets C9 Challenge and this challenge is for everyone! Anything Goes as long as you feature the amazing products from Concord & 9th as this challenge is dedicated to the innovative stamp company and their products!

There are so many beautiful stamp sets available at Concord & 9th that are great for this challenge, of course! Concord & 9th just released their December products...they are so unique, fun and amazing.

I started with a white card panel and stamped some blossoms and leaves from the beautiful Brushed Blossoms in mint and teal, and soft brown.  I then added a panel stamped with one of my favorite background stamps, Barnwood Background Stamp. Then I finished with a sentiment, also from Brushed Blossoms. (affiliate links used) 

The challenge is sponsored by the fabulous Concord & 9th and one lucky random entry will receive a $25 gift certificate for a Concord & 9th shopping spree. The favorite entry will be asked to guest design for a future challenge! The challenge runs until December 29th, so there is plenty of time to pull out your favorite Concord & 9th stamps and die and create an one layer project. Plus, new Concord & 9th products were released TODAY and they are fantastic!

You can find Where Creativity Meets C9 Challenge on Facebook here, and their Instragram here!

Gather the Gang

I made this card for my crafty retreat neighbor, she is so much fun! I stamped this cuite-pie stampt set Gather Together from Honey Bee Stamps onto vanilla cardstock with light ink, and did some no-line coloring with PrismaColors.