Sending Smiles Across the Miles...

Hey everyone. After a small break I am back with another card. It features cute kittens riding in a hot air balloon.

I first started with the background. I wanted to make an fading sky from darkest to lightest. I used the distress inks on watercolor paper to do this. I started with Salty Ocean, trying to be patient as possible using circular motions. Then halfway through I switched to the colour Tumbled Glass. Then I distressed it using flicks of water from a paint brush but with the larger splatters I just used my fingers. It was still a little bland so I flicked some Spun Sugar and Shaded Lilac to give it some more interest.

I also used the distress inks to color in the clouds. Instead of using a circular motion I used a tapping motion with the inks Spun Sugar and Tumbled Glass. By using a tapping motion, it gave a more textured look and the inks blended nicer together.

I stamped the images on white cardstock paper and colored them in with copic markers. The colour combination was inspired by the current MFT color challenge #48. I used the coordinating dies to cut out the images and then trimmed the basket part off the hot air balloon. To connect the basket of kittens to the balloon, I used black thread and a needle to put the strings on and used tape on the back to secure it. The balloon portion is propped up with 3D foam squares and I glued only the basket portion on the card so it looks like the kittens are moving around in the basket.

I stamped the sentiment with Versafine ink and heat embossed it. Then I attached the base to a slightly larger stitched rectangle card base lined with a perfect matching background design that had similar colours. Lastly, I finished off the card by applying glossy accents to the triangle banners, bow tie and noses and applied heart sequins as a finishing touch.

And, the card is finished. 

Materials used on this card:
- Lawn Fawn Blue Skies stamp and coordinating dies
- My Favorite Things Cool Cat stamp set
- Mama Elephant Up and Away for the sentiment
- Lawn Fawn Large Stitched Rectangle Stackable dies
- SimonSaysStamp Stitched Rectangles dies
- Recollections Home Basics Paper Pad
- Recollections Cool Water Cardstock Paper
- Staples White 110lbs Cardstock Paper
- Artist's Loft Watercolor Paper 90lb
- Copic Markers for the cats & basket: YR00, E000, 0, N0, N2, E23, E25, BV00, BV02, BV13
- Copic Markers for the hot air balloon: BV02, BG45, YG13
- Distress Inks: Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass, Spun Sugar, Shaded Lilac
- Versafine Onyx Black Pigment Ink
- Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
- Zing! Clear embossing powder
- Ranger Glossy Accents
- Needle & Black Thread
- 3D Foam Squares
- Tombow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue
- EK Success Powder Tool
- Heart Sequins

This card will be entered in the MFT Color Challenge #48. 

This will also be entered in the Lawnscaping Challenge #132 Distress Maniac.

Thanks for dropping by!

* Hugs *

natnatbot

Happy Wedding! Congrats to the Purrr-fect Couple

Happy Wedding Day to Eric and Louise! This celebration card was made for them. 

For this card, I used my homemade misti to align the stamps and to make sure I had good ink coverage. First I stamped the top hat and flower and heat embossed it. This is a one-dimensional card so I used the masking technique to cover the top hat and flower and then aligned the cats so it looked like they were wearing it. The cats were heat embossed as well and coloured in with Copic markers.

I used Lawn Fawn's Owen's ABC's for the message with the Memento Dye Ink in Lulu Lavender and London Fog. I stamped them 3 times to get really good coverage. I love the way it turned out and didn't need to heat emboss this like I planned to. 

Then I stamped the outline of the heart with the Memento London Fog dye ink and colored it in with a copic marker. After, I applied Glossy Accents on the heart, top hat and flower to give it some dimension. Lastly dot sequins were glued to make it look like confetti. 

The envelope was made with the We R Memory Keepers 1-2-3 Punch Board. I stamped the bride and groom's name on the card and then used the Dotted embossing folder to create interest. 

Materials used on this card: 

- SimonSaysStamp - Furry Kisses stamp
- Mama Elephant - Three Amigos for the Top Hat
- Lawn Fawn - Chirpy Chirp Chirp for the Flower
- Lawn Fawn - Owen's ABC's
- Double Stitched Rectangle Dies from Aliexpress
- Versafine Pigment Ink in Onyx Black
- Versamark Stamp Pad
- Zing! Clear embossing powder
- Memento Dye Ink in Lulu Lavender and London Fog
- Copic Markers: 0, RV00, BV000, N0, N2
- Ranger's Glossy Accent
- EK Success Powder Tool
- Tombow Awua Mono Liquid Glue
- Sequins
- Recollections Cardstock Paper from Soda Pop Collection
- Staples 110lbs White Cardstock Paper

Materials used for the envelope:
- We R Memory Keepers 1-2-3 Punch Board
- We R Memory Keepers Dotted Next Level Embossing Folder
- Lawn Fawn - Violet's ABC's
- Recollections Cardstock Paper in Grey Kraft
- Scor-Tape Double Sided Adhesive in 1/8"

I hope you enjoyed this card. It's going to be submitted for the SimonSaysStamp Challenge: Animal Magic.

Thank you for stopping by. 

*Hugs*

natnatbot

Happy Birthday Sis!

It's my sister's birthday! She turned 25 today. (A nice shiny quarter)

I wanted to make her a special card. She loves unicorns and rainbows, so why not use the stamp set from Mama Elephant. I also added a little more pizzazz by making it a shaker card. This is my first shaker card and I ran into some issues putting it together, but the results still came out fantastic. Lessons learnt for the next shaker card. :)

I cut a circle from my card base and put transparency film on the back as this will be my window for the shaker card. I stamped the sentiment with Versafine black pigment ink and heat embossed it. I really like how the happy birthday wording came out with the rainbow effect. I set up the stamp in my homemade Misti so the word stamped in the exact same place every time and used each colour ink of the rainbow for that ombre effect. Then I went back and used my Versamark Ink to heat emboss it so the words really popped. 

Next I stamped out the images and diecut the rainbow and coloured them with Copic markers. I used the wink of stella on the unicorn wings and the icing of the cupcake. I did about 3 coats but it didn't really show up on camera but in person it really sparkled. Then I added glossy accents in the same places. The background of inside the shaker card was blended with distress ink. 

Then I added a whole bunch of different coloured heart shaped sequins and a few clear circle sequins in the center of the card. Double sided foam tape was added on the back of the cover and brushed with my powder tool to remove the static. Then I carefully placed it on top trapping the sequins inside. I gave it a little shake and that's it. My shaker card is done. 

For the envelope I used an embossing folder to make the hearts rise and used the Alphabet blocks to diecut the name. 

I hope you enjoyed this card. 

Materials used:
- Mama Elephant - Unicorn and Rainbow stamp & coordinating dies
- Mama Elephant - Rainbow High Creative Cuts
- Lawn Fawn - Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables
- Lawn Fawn - Party Animal for the word happy birthday
- My Favorite Things Die-namics - Stitched Circle Stax
- Copic Markers: BV000, BV00, R81, Y21, R11, B00, G00, RV00, BG70, BG13, N0, 0
- Memento Dye Inks: Lady Bug, Tangelo, Dandelion, Pear Tart, Summer Sky, Lulu Lavender, Angel Pink, Tuxedo Black
- Versafine Onyx Black Pigment Ink
- Versamark Stamp Pad
- Zing! Clear embossing powder
- Distress Ink in Spun Sugar for the background
- Wink of Stella - Clear
- Multicoloured Heart Sequins
- Ranger Glossy Accents
- Staples 110lbs White Cardstock Paper
- Double Sided Foam Tape
- Transparency Film
- EK Success Powder Tool
- Recollections Purple & Pink Cardstock Paper for the envelope
- SimonSaysStamp Alphabet Blocks
- We R Memory Keepers Next Level Heart Embossing Folder

This card is going to be submitted for the SimonSaysStamp Challenge: Animal Magic.



Thank you for stopping by!

*Hugs*

natnatbot

Oh Happy Day! - Lawnscaping Challenge: Off Kilter

Oh Happy Wednesday!  

Here is a little happiness and sunshine to brighten your day. 

I used Lawn Fawn's Hello Sunshine stamp set to stamp the bee and flower and propped it up with foam underneath to give it some depth. For the sentiment, I used different colour Memento inks on a polka dot paper stitched circle cutout. The background was blended with Memento inks. 

Materials used on this card:

- Lawn Fawn - Hello Sunshine stamp

- MFT Die-namics - Stitched Circle STAX

- MFT Die-namics - Pierced Square STAX

- Copic Markers for the bee

- Memento Inks: Tangelo, Rose Bud, Bahama Blue, Summer Sky, Pear Tart, Dandelion, Bamboo Leaves, Lady Bug, Tuxedo Black

- Ranger Glossy Accents

This card is being submitted to the Lawnscaping Challenge: Off Kilter

Thank you for dropping by. 

*Hugs*

natnatbot

*** Update ***

I am super excited to share with you that I received a Honorable Gnome by the Lawnscaping team. I am so overjoyed for the attention. I can proudly post this badge on my blog. 

Welcome Baby featuring Mini Peeps

Hello. My sister's good friend was having a baby shower so this card is for the happy couple. She didn't know the gender of the baby so I kept it neutral using yellows and grays. 

I used a really cool lettering die by SimonSaysStamp called Alphabet Blocks. It's really neat because you get the letters to create the word twice. It cuts out like the way I did above by and you will also have the negative cut outs to use on an additional card. It was my first time playing around with it and here's a tip: If you want to give it some dimension, adhere the foam to the card stock first before cutting it. I made the mistake of not doing that and I had to fussy cut foam and double sided tape to line up the letters. It took a lot of time to do it.

Next I used the Lawn Fawn flower die on white card stock and stamped and embossed the welcome sentiment on it. I stamped the baby peeps and filled it in with glossy accents. 

The card is very simple as I wanted the printed background to really stand out. 

Materials used: 

- Simon Says Stamp - Alphabet Blocks for the word Baby

- Simon Says Stamp - My Kind of Peep for the mini peeps

- Lawn Fawn - Flower Border

- Lawn Fawn - Stitched Rectangle Stackables

- Lawn Fawn - Little Bundle for the word Welcome

- Recollections Paddywack Paper Pad for the background

- Recollections Cardstock Paper in Yellow and Gray

- Staples 110lb White Cardstock Paper

- Copic Marker: R20

- Versafine Onyx Black Pigment Ink

- Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

- Zing! Clear embossing powder

- Ranger Glossy Accents

- Tombow Stamp Runner Dot Adhesive

I am also entering this in the SimonSaysStamp Monday Challenge: Summer Garden.

Thanks for stopping by. 

*Hugs*

natnatbot

MFT Color Challenge 46 - Happy Purr-thday!

Happy Purr-thday to all the June babies out there.  This card is for you and for the My Favorite Things Color Challenge #46. 

These are the colours I had to work with. You can find out more about the MFT color challenge by clicking the banner below.

I love the MFT Cool Cat stamp. Each cat is so unique and has their own personality. My goal is to use each cat on a different card so I had to feature one on this card. Here is the design...

To create this simple card, I die cut the light blue and ivory cardstock with the Lawn Fawn Large stitched rectangle die. Then I used 2 of the MFT Die-namics Stitched Circle dies to create the inlay and propped the top light blue cardstock with foam to give it some dimension. Then, I stamped out the images with my Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured them with Copic and Spectrum Noir markers. 

I love using glossy accents because it makes the image pop. I used it on the party hat, the top of the cake, the trim of the pillow and the cat's nose, ears, paws and tail. Then I finished the cat by darkening its eyes, whiskers and smile with the Sakura gelly roll pen. The sentiment is stamped with Versafine Black ink and embossed on a kraft colour rectangle stitched cardstock that was die cut from the smallest SimonSaysStamp stitched rectangle die set. Lastly, I used the confetti die on the same colour cardstock used throughout the card to sprinkle some stars, dots and sequins. 

That's it.... easy eh? 

These are the materials used on this card:

- My Favorite Things Die-namics - Stitched Circle Stax
- My Favorite Things - Cool Cat Stamp
- Lawn Fawn - Party Animal for the party hat and cake
- Mama Elephant - Confetti Die
- Lawn Fawn - Large Stitched Rectangle Stackables Dies
- SimonSaysStamp - Stitched Rectangle - used the smallest size
- Recollections 'Seaside' Cardstock
- Staples 110lb White Cardstock
- Copic Markers: R11 / R20 / B00 / E31
- Spectrum Noir marker: FS1
- Elmers Foam Sheets
- Ranger Glossy Accents
- Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
- Versafine Onyx Black Ink
- Zing! Clear embossing powder
- 4mm Clear Circle Sequins
- TomBow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue
- Sakura Gelly Roll in Black

Thanks for dropping by. See you next time.

*Hugs*

natnatbot

Hay There! - SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge: Mask It

I am on a roll this week with cardmaking. Here are 4 smaller square cards created for the SimonSaysStamp Wednesday Challenge: Mask It. 

The idea was to have the pile of hay in front and have the animals behind it so its like they are popping out to yell surprise. The sentiment 'Hay There' is so perfect for this theme.

I used the MFT Pierced Square Die to cut the white cardstock paper then I stamped the hay on the paper as well as the post-it note to use as my mask. I also masked the party hats on the goat and horse. I coloured all the images with copic markers and adhered it to a bright colour cardstock folded tent style.

Materials used on these cards:
- My Favorite Things Die-namics Pierced Square Stax
- My Favorite Things The Whole Herd stamp set
- Lawn Fawn Party Animal stamp set
- Copic Markers
- Post-it notes Full Adhesive
- Recollections Cardstock Paper

You can read all about the challenge on their blog by clicking the pic below. 


Thanks for dropping by. 

*Hugs*

natnatbot

Happy Shower # 2 - SimonSaysStamp Monday Challenge

This is the second card created for the SimonSaysStamp Monday Challenge: Monochrome

Materials used on this Blue Fox Card:

- Memento Luxe - Teal Zeal Ink for the fox and umbrella
- Memento 'Paris Dusk' Dye Ink for the heart
- Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink for the clouds

- Lawn Fawn - Large Rectangle Stackables 

- Lawn Fawn - Puffy Cloud Borders
- Mama Elephant - Up & Away stamp for the umbrella, bunny and fox.
- Lawn Fawn - Little Bundle stamp set for the sentiment and mini heart
- Mama Elephant - Rainbow High Creative Cuts for the clouds
- Mama Elephant - Confetti Die for the hearts and dots
- Lawn Fawn - Love n' Breakfast for the bow
- Zing! Clear embossing powder
- Versafine Onyx Black Pigment Ink for the sentiment
- Staples 110lb White Cardstock
- Recollections 'Bold Basics' Paper Pad for the polka dot paper

- Recollections 'Dreamy' Cardstock Paper
- Copic Markers
- Scrapbook Adhesives 3D Foam Squares - Small
- TomBow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

*Hugs*

natnatbot

Happy Shower! - SimonSaysStamp Monday Challenge

Hi Everyone 

I'm back with another card...actually 2 cards created for the SimonSaysStamp Monday Challenge: MONOCHROME!!!!!  

This challenge gave me the idea to create a baby shower card. One for a boy and the other for a girl, so I went with traditional Pink and Blue tones. Voila, here is what I came up with. 

I used the 2 largest Stitched Rectangle stackable dies from Lawn Fawn to die cut the polka dot paper and cardstock. The smaller rectangle cardstock pieces were stacked together so I can use the Puffy Cloud border to cut it at the same angle. Having the border stitched markings made it really easy to line it up straight to form the rectangle again. The clouds were die cut and distressed with distress ink. 

The umbrella and character are from Mama Elephant's Up & Away stamp set. They were stamped, embossed and coloured in with Copic Markers. I didn't have the coordinating dies so I had to manually cut it out myself leaving a white border around it. For the tiny bow, I didn't leave a border as I wanted it to look like it was part of the character. I cut a slit in the character's hand to tuck a bit of the base of the umbrella so it looked like it was holding it. Then I adhered it to the card using 3D foam squares so it looked like it was floating in the sky. Lastly I sprinkled the sky with diecuts of hearts and mini dots. 

Materials used on both cards :

- Lawn Fawn - Large Rectangle Stackables 
- Lawn Fawn - Puffy Cloud Borders
- Mama Elephant - Up & Away stamp for the umbrella, bunny and fox.
- Lawn Fawn - Little Bundle stamp set for the sentiment and mini heart
- Mama Elephant - Rainbow High Creative Cuts for the clouds
- Mama Elephant - Confetti Die for the hearts and dots
- Lawn Fawn - Love n' Breakfast for the bow
- Zing! Clear embossing powder
- Versafine Onyx Black Pigment Ink for the sentiment
- Staples 110lb White Cardstock
- Recollections 'Bold Basics' Paper Pad for the polka dot paper

- Recollections 'Dreamy' Cardstock Paper
- Copic Markers
- Scrapbook Adhesives 3D Foam Squares - Small
- TomBow Mono Aqua Liquid Glue

Materials used on the Pink Bunny Card:

- Lawn Fawn - Plastic Flamingo Ink for the bunny and umbrella
- Versamark Ink
- Spun Sugar Distress Ink for the clouds

Thank you for dropping by. I hope this inspires you to create something and to enter the challenge as well.  

*Hugs*

natnatbot