MerSanta

You all know I love my Waffle Flower and how could I resist (1) Merman and (2) Christmas. Punny Christmas at that!

I used a die to create a stencil and sponged Distress Oxide on the background.  I next stamped the Merman and colored him up with Copics.  I didn't bother to mask the background as it's light enough that the blue just adds a bit of shadow to his torso which doesn't bother me at all.  Next I stamped the sentiment, cut out the panel, and mounted it onto the card base which I had lightly sponged the edges with the same Distress Oxide. Easy peasy!

I'm entering this in CASology #273 List, Simon Says Wednesday Anything Goes

The Details:  Waffle Flower The Season, Versafine Onyx Black, Copics, Distress Oxide Salty Ocean, Clear Wink of Stella, Memory Box die used to create stencil

Peaceful Bear

The simplicity of this card really speaks to me. The leftover Brushos background jazzes it up so, don't you think? Maybe I can use more of the leftover Brushos in other cards this season.  Let's see!

I'm entering this in Simon Says Wednesday Anthing Goes, Jingles Belles Not a Creature Was Stirring and Allsorts 439 Christmas Creatures.

The Details:  Avery Elle Merriest and Winter Woodland Wonders, Hero Arts August 2017 Kit Window Cut Die, Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Wink of Stella Clear, Brushos Ultra Marine, Copics, Ranger Multi Medium Matte and Watercolor Cardstock

Merriest Hello

I almost threw away the heads and then I found the diecut Hello panel. Rescue time!  A brushed Distress Ink and Oxide background spattered with water with a holiday plaid inset. I wonder whatever happened with the center of the O. Perhaps I'll find it as the clutter is reduced!

I'm entering this in Daring Cardmakers Blended Backgrounds, Simon Says Anything Goes, Watercooler Wednesday #142 All About Christmas

The Details:  Avery Elle Merriest, Neat and Tangled Say Yes to Donuts, MFT Big Hello Die, Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick and Candied Apple, Distress Ink Candied Apple, Lawn Fawn Christmas Plaid 6x6 Paper, Versamark, Recollections Christmas Stamps (snowflakes), Ranger Detail Fine White Embossing Powder and Multi Medium Matte, Copics

Holiday Baking Girl

I had to, just had to, use this baking girl image for a holiday card. I am not adept at decorating cookies but I have a friend who is brilliant at it. Yum! My favorite part of my coloring is her eyes--so pleased with how filled with life they are.

I'm entering this in Watercooler Wednesday #142 All About Christmas, Mod Squad Add Snow, Fab 'n' Funky #368 Christmas, Simon Says Wednesday Anything Goes

The Details:  CDD Oh What Fun, Party Dies, Fancy Frames Dies, and Snowflake Flurries Stencil, Doodlebug Designs Milk and Cookies 6x6 Paper, Distress Oxide Peacock Feathers, Impress Sequins, Ranger Multi Matte Medium, Copics, Lawn Fawn sentiment

Warmest Bear Wishes

I'm working on simple Christmas cards for upcoming crafty get-togethers. Lately I've been into cute coloring but that doesn't necessarily translate well in a group setting so I'm trying to tone it down.  Trying.  LOL.

I'm entering this in Simon Says Wednesday Anything Goes and Jingle Belles Pink Christmas for the Cure

The Details:  Lil Inker Seasons Greetings, Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Ladybug, Gold Wink of Stella, Pretty Pink Posh Sequins, Ranger Multi Medium Matte, Gina Marie Scalloped Rectangle Die, Gina K Designs Blizzard 6x6 Paper

CDD October Mood Board Zombie Treat Bags

Boy, do I have a treat for you today for the Crafting Desert Divas October Mood Board! Yeah, I went there. Bwahaha! I got together with some crafty girlfriends and decided to take along treat bags for them and their littles. The Craftin Desert Divas Zombody set was perfect for what I had in mind. Halloween but not too scary. Plus zombies, which I love.

It was a great opportunity to play with skin and hair. I stamped each image onto a Stitched in Circle diecut. I worked up the lot to see what combos I liked for future reference then zombified them by adding gray, purple, green and sickly yellow tones. Gross and yet ever so cute!

I made the treat bags themselves while I was watching television. Yes, that easy. I also stuffed the tissue and candy in there which was a mistake.  Shouldn't have had candy next to me while watching TV. Straight to my butt. I know you know what I'm talking about.

Join in the fun!

I'm entering this in Tuesday Throwdown #366 Spooktacular

The Details: Craftin Desert Divas Zombody, Treat Bag Dies, Stitched in Circle Dies, Copics, Distress Ink Candied Apple, Scor Tape, AMuse Chevron Cardstock, Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx

Holiday Cheer Deer

I love this little scene--that plaid!!!  Using new and old bits and bobs. Slowly, oh so slowly, reducing the mess on my desk. Woo hoo!

The Details:  Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside Borders, Craftin Desert Divas Fall Borders, Recollections Christmas Stamps, Hero Arts Holiday Cheer (sentiment), Carta Bella Plaid stencil, Distress Inks, Distress Oxide Broken China, Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Yvonne Creations tree die

Holiday Friends

The last of the current batch of images from the Recollections set (squirrel and fox) which I paired up with other bits cluttering up my craft desk. I so love that little girl disguised as a deer. Cuteness abounds!

I'm entering this in Merry Monday #262 Gifts

The Details:  Neat and Tangled Lumberjack Love, Recollections Christmas Stamps, MFT Toasty Greetings (sentiment), Simon Says Stitched Whirl Cover Plate, Pretty Pink Posh Doodlebug Designs Milk & Chocolate 6x6 paper, Ranger Multi Medium Matte, Copics

CDD Mini Release - Balloon Parade

Over at Craftin Desert Divas, we're having a special mini release for a new Holiday Border Die set, featured yesterday, and the new Balloon Parade stamps that are the focus for today.

The moment I saw Balloon Parade, I immediately thought of pairing it with March On. And with the grass from Outdoor Landscape Dies 2.  Honestly tho, the latter is because I was tired of coloring so used the grass as grounding.  Lazy sod! LOL. I'm using this for a baby card I need for the office but I could have paired it with a different background and had it be for a general celebration too. Love that versatility!

Notice the clouds?  I used the cloud die from Scene Builders as a mask. Such a soft and pretty effect.

I'm showing a different angle for the Jingle Berries Sequins and to show the gold of the tuba. That's using Y15, 26 and 28. I love adding the Y15 at the very end to brighten up the gold tones. Love!

The Details: Craftin Desert Divas Balloon Parade, March On, Outdoor Landscape Dies 2, Flag Banner Dies, Scene Builders Dies and Jingle Berries Sequins, Doodlebug Designs Milk and Cookies and Hello Sunshine 6x6 Paper, Ranger Multi Medium Matte, Distress Oxide Salty Ocean

Balloon Parade

March On

 

Flag Banner Dies

Outdoor Landscape 2 Dies

Scene Builder Dies

Jingle Berries Sequins

Doodlebug Design Hello Sunshine 6x6 Paper Pad

Doodlebug Design Milk & Cookies 6x6 Paper Pad

Ranger Multi Medium Matte

Distress Oxide

Memento Tuxedo Black

Sweet Holiday Wishes

This gumball idea turned out so cute!  I knew I wanted to use designer paper with it and thanks to Freshly Made Sketches for a layout. The red and white striped paper is fab--old timey sweet shop idea. Tee hee!

I'm entering this in Freshly Made Sketches #309 and Addicted to Stamps and More #264 CAS

The Details:  Lawn Fawn and Merry Messages, Penny Black Sweet Die, MFT Dot Cover Plate, Doodlebug Designs Milk and Cookies 6x6 Paper, Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black, Pretty Pink Posh Sequins, Ranger Multi Medium Matte, Copics

Beats

I love how this card turned out.  It makes me laugh.  Doesn't it look like the deer is listening to music on headphones? LOL.

Really simple card with quick coloring and sponged trees. Using up those bits and bobs!

The Details: Recollections Christmas Stamps, Yvonne Creations Tree Dies, SugarPea Designs Woodgrain Journal Card, Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black, Doodlebug Designs Home for the Holidays 6x6 Paper, Distress Inks

Bear Hug Slider

This make 'n' take is from my friend, Lenae, who always rocks the interactive. So cute!  I never finished this last year because I hated the bear color I had chosen--sort of sickly yellow. Darker browns covered that up nicely!

I may make more of these slider cards. Such a cute way to reveal the sentiment.

I'm entering this in Curtain Call Cuddle

The Details:  PTI Slider Die, Gina Marie Scalloped Rectangle Die, Copics, Sizzix Snow Embossing Folder, WPlus 9 Holiday Hugs

Whimsical Bear Greetings

Another make 'n' take from ages ago that I'm just now finishing up.  Thanks again to Kimberly!  This turned out so cute.  Love the whimsy.

I'm entering this in Watercooler Wednesday #141 Masculine Anything Goes

The Details:  Pretty Pink Posh Sentiment and Border die, Impress Bear, Crate Paper Snow and Cocoa, Memento Tuxedo Black

Sending Joy

Another crafty day card.  I hope my friends are sitting down when they see this. Generally when I don't finish a project and it comes home to be finished, it gathers way more dust before I get around to finishing it.  LOL.

I wanted the snow flurries to be in yellow but didn't notice the stencil still had blue on it from a previous card so green it is!

I'm entering this in Jingle Belles Pink Christmas for the Cure, Sparkles Christmas Challenge #81 Christmas for Kids 

The Details:  Penny Black Gift Giving, Lawn Fawn Merry Messages, Craftin Desert Divas Snow Flurries Stencil, Zigs, Versafine Onyx Black, Gina Marie Scalloped Oval Die, Distress Oxide Broken China and Distress Ink Squeezed Lemonade

We All Need a Bear Hug

Got together with some of the gals from our crafty group this weekend and had a blast . . . as usual! But, so not usual, I actually focused enough to make a few projects. Go, me!

This card was so simple to make thanks to Kimberly doing everything except the coloring for this make 'n' take she brought along Saturday. She's inspired me to take a closer look at my Zigs--these are not colors (the bear, eg) that I would have chosen but I love the results.  Thanks, girl!

I'm entering this in Curtain Call Cuddle, Jingle Belles Pink Christmas for the Cure, Penny Black and More Close to Nature

The Details:  Penny Black Christmas Hug, Zigs, Versafine Onyx Black

Cards in Envy Let's Play Dress Up

Grrrr-reetings, friends!  It's time for a new Cards in Envy Challenge!  This time we'd like you to play dress up. Super fun!

For my card, I masked the 3 background monsters then colored them up. Next I stencilled the web background in a variety of Distress Inks and Oxides, adding the Wilted Violet Oxide to give it a bit more bam. As you can see I hadn't bothered to mask which is really apparent on the mummy but that's okay--he's more mummy-like covered in cobwebs. Shiver. The vamp is mounted on foam tape so he's popping out at you. I added the web designer paper to frame the front panel--love how that looks.

I'm entering this in Cardz 4 Guyz #180 Halloween or Autumn Thank You and Addicted to Stamps and More #263 Holiday

The Details:  SugarPea Designs Monster Mash, Echo Park Cobweb Stencil, Pebbles Midnight Haunting 6x6 paper, Distress Ink Squeezed Lemonade and Worn Lipstick, Distress Oxide Wilted Violet, Copics, Papertrey Ink Banner die, Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black, Clarity Brush Applicator

CDD October Release Day 2 - Holiday Hugs

Oh, I'm so bummed. Today is the second day of the full CDD October release and my last release card to show you. Boo. I've so enjoyed working with these sets and hope you've been inspired to check them out!

This time I'm featuring the Holiday Hugs set stamped on an Stitched In Circles Die and framed by an Inside Scalloped Rectangle Die. The sentiment tags are from the Treat Bag Die.

Killer cute, right? I love this set--so adorable!  I really like the effect of the image centerpiece against that embossed background.  t really pops!

I'm entering this in Just Add Ink #381 Just Choose Two (Embossing Paste, Coloring, or Sequins)   

The Details: Craftin Desert Divas Holiday Hugs, Stitched In Circles, Treat Bag Die (tag), Inside Scalloped Rectangle Die, and Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black, Cuttlebug Forest Embossing Folder, Copics, Ranger Multi Medium Matte

CDD October Mood Board - Trolls Like Coffee Too!

Hi everyone! Today I'm sharing a card I made for the Craftin Desert Divas October Mood Board Challenge. This troll set is so adorable! I had a great time coloring up this scene and let the images remain the focus in this CAS layout.

Want to join in?  You know you do! Don't forget to add your creations using CDD products to the challenge album and share them using the hashtag #cddmonthly for your chance to win prizes in the CDD store!

I'm entering this in City Crafty #383 What a Fun-ghi

The Details: Craftin Desert Divas Coffee Trolls, Timber (leaves), Harvest Happiness (pumpkin), and Harvest Wishes (sentiment), and Fancy Frame Dies

CDD October Release Day 1 - Angel Kisses and Holiday Jolly

I'm so excited that the sets I'm featuring in this post are available to buy right this very minute at the Craftin Desert Divas online shop! Christmas is just around the corner, people! (insert hysterical laughing)

First up, I've used Angel Kisses, the Fall Border Dies, and Distress Oxides to create a whimsical holiday scene. Yellow seems to be the It color for the design team right now. So loving it!

If you take a closer look at my background, you'll see there's lots and lots of visual depth. I create that by sponging with Distress Oxides, spattering with water, dabbing away the excess water then sponging again. Lastly I spattered Copic Opaque white for closer stars. Oh, the shooting star? That's me forgetting the panel was still wet. LOL.

The Details: Craftin Desert Divas Angel Kisses and Fall Border Dies, Distress Oxides, Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics, Copic Opaque White

For my next card I've used Holly Jolly, coloring the images based on the colors in the Doodlebug Design Hello Sunshine 6x6 Paper pad. So fun and unexpected for the holidays. I especially love pink Santa! This is as the world should be. :)

I used the Fall Border Dies and Fancy Frame Dies to create and frame the scene. Notice I inset the polka dot snow panel to reduce the thickness of the card a bit for mailing. Neat trick.

I'm entering this in Jingle Belles Pink Christmas for the Cure

The Details: Craftin' Desert Divas Holly Jolly, Fall Border Dies, Fancy Frame Dies, Doodlebug Design Hello Sunshine 6x6 Paper, Uni-ball Impact Bold Point Gel Pen, Versamark, Ranger Detail Fine White Embossing Powder, Memento Tuxedo Black

Now I hope you've been inspired to visit the rest of the DT to see what they've made and to stop by the shop.  Happy crafting!

CDD October Sneak - Holiday Hugs and Holly Jolly

We're on Day 4 of the CDD October sneaks and still have so much goodness to share with you!  

I have two cards for you today.  The first uses the new stamp set Holly Jolly and Snowflake Flurries Stencil, the other Holiday Hugs. These products will be available for purchase this Friday, October 13, at the Craftin Desert Divas online shop!

My first card is ever so pink and girlie! Just look at the wee girl cuddling her wee snowman--ack! I love this style of anime image, don't you? Oh! Notice the fluffy snow banks?  I used the Garden Border die for them!

The Details:  Craftin Desert Divas Holly Jolly, Snowflake Flurries Stencil, Shake It Up die (trees) and Garden Border Die (snowbanks), Distress Oxide Picked Rasperry, Worn Lipstick, and Seedless Preserves, Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black

For my second card, I created peekaboo windows using one of the Fancy Frame small rectangle dies on my Distress Ink/Oxide background. Then I stamped the images and colored them. The blue hair! That's one of my favorite things about coloring trolls or other magical characters--you can make them look however you want.

The Details: Craftin Desert Divas Holiday Hugs and Fancy Frame dies, Distress Oxides, Copics, Copic Opaque White, Versafine, Ranger White Embossing Powder, Wink of Stella

CDD October Sneak - Angel Kisses

Today is your first full view of Angel Kisses, one of the new sets available for purchase this Friday, October 13, at the Craftin Desert Divas online shop!

Now I'm not normally an angel girl but these had me at "hark!"  They're so adorable, aren't they! And just wait until you see the other angels in the set. Cuteness overload for sure.

Steps I took (note not necessarily the most logical order because that's how I roll!):

1. Mask & stamp the angels then color them using Copics.
2. Add flooring to ground them. I just eyeballed the perspective of the planks and flicked away.
3. Mask the spotlight then sponged yellow, concentrating overhead, on their hair, the side of the wings and the floor around them. This really pulled the whole card together.
4. Diecut the focal panel using the Fancy Frame Dies.
5. Added some Wink of Stella to the wings and halos.  NOTE: I waited to do this after coloring so I wouldn't muck up my Copic with glitter.
6. Stamped the sentiment with Versafine Onyx Black. NOTE: I do this last, after sponging, after diecutting, etc, so that my sentiment remains crisp and ink doesn't transfer to my cutting plates (ask me how I know).
7. Impressed the base of the card with the largest of the Fancy Frame Dies and adhered the card front.

So sparkly and flippity cute!  I know exactly who is getting this card for the holidays. One down, many to go!  LOL.

I'm entering this in Addicted to Stamps and More #263 Holiday

The Details:  Craftin Desert Divas Angel Kisses and Fancy Frame Dies, Copics, Distress Ink Squeezed Lemonade, Clear and Gold Wink of Stella, Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black