Oh Baby!

Good morning!  I'm sharing one more baby card this month, and this time I've used the Oh Baby and the Stork stencils from A Colorful Life Designs.  I brushed some mint green ink through the Oh Baby stencil onto some soft green cardstock first.  Then I placed the Stork stencil above the sentiment and spread some pale green pearlescent paste over the stencil.  After the paste dried, I adhered this soft green card panel to a white card base.

I chose these shades of green because they are gender neutral, so I can use these for anyone who is expecting.  Some other colors I've used for this purpose have been lavender, peach, and yellow.  You don't have to use the traditional pinks or blues for your baby cards.  :-)

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You'll save 10% off your order, so stock up the stencils that catch your eye.  There's a bunch of great baby stencils, tons of gorgeous Christmas stencils, and there's even zombie stencils for those of you who like to make Halloween projects.  LOL  Have a wonderful day!

 

Grateful Leaves Trio

Good morning!  I have a fun card to share with you today.  These new Grateful Leaves from Technique Junkies have the words carved into the stamps, so I stamped all three of them with a rustic purple ink and then cut them out with scissors.  I used the same ink to stamp the Distressed Paint background, and then I arranged the leaves and adhered them with foam tape.  I love this Distressed Paint stamp - it goes with just about anything when you want that crackled, distressed, woodgrain-ish look.  The final touch was some sheer ribbon wrapped around the top as an elegant contrast to the distressed background.  

Please feel free to use this code, TJ10Holly, when you shop at Technique Junkies.  You'll save 10% off your order, so check out the Grateful Leaves and the Distressed Paint stamps.  You can see all of the September release stamps HERE and you can check out the newest Diamond Dragonflies Kit HERE.  I hope you have a wonderful day!

 

Bloom with Joy

I recently purchased a Memorydex and I am filling it up with some fun little memorydex cards.  On this floral piece, I printed out the flowers and the sentiment from the Bloom with Joy set from Polka Dot Orchard and then colored the flowers with Copic markers.  I wanted an early fall vibe, so I used some pinks and oranges for the flowers.  After I was done coloring, I cut this card out with a memorydex die.  

Polka Dot Orchard has some of the best sentiments I've ever seen, and I love the sentiment on this card.  Some of the newest digi sets have some Ready Prints where the images are already resized and formatted for card fronts.  All you have to do is print them and use them as desired.  

Check out the great stuff in the Polka Dot Orchard store.  You'll find digital stamps, stencils, and some fun earrings as well as home decor items.  Have fun browsing around!

 

Snowman with Spiral Skies

Good morning!  The weather tricked us again and now we are in second summer here.  We had False Fall for a couple of weeks and now we're going to have record-breaking heat this week.  Oy!  So to cool down, I thought I'd share this cute snowman card with y'all today.

I stamped this snowman (Colorado Craft Company) with Copic markers and then fussy cut him.  The little snowy hill was cut with a wavy hillside die, and then I brushed some gray ink across the top and added some Stardust Stickles.  While this was drying, I created my white card base.  Then I placed the Simple Spirals stencil from A Colorful Life Designs over the card base and brushed gray ink over that.  It does kinda look like swirly gusts of wind, doesn't it?  

After the Stickles on my snowy hill was dry, I stamped the sentiment with gray ink and adhered it to the card.  Then I glued down the snowman and added more Stardust Stickles to the bottom of the snowman.  You can't go wrong with more glitter.  LOL!

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop for stencils at A Colorful Life Designs.  You'll save 10% off your entire order, so stay cool and have fun shopping!!

 

Box of Crayon Leaves

Good morning!  It alllllmost feels like fall here, because the mornings are just a tiny bit cooler and crisper than they have been over the past four months.  We are still in the 90's in the afternoons, so it's not quite there yet, but I do think there is some hope for some cool fall weather on the horizon.  So with that in mind, I had a lot of fun with today's card.  

I stamped the new Leaves background from Technique Junkies with a dark brown permanent ink onto some white cardstock and let it dry.  Then I had a blast watercoloring the leaves in various shades of yellow, orange, red, green, and magenta.  While this was drying, I stamped the sentiment from the Autumn set (Technique Junkies) with the same dark brown ink I used for the background.  That sentiment says it all, and it really does look like I used all the crayons in the box to color those leaves, doesn't it?  LOL

Please feel free to use this code, TJ10Holly, when you shop at Technique Junkies.  You'll save 10% off your entire order, so grab this beautiful new Leaves Background stamp and check out all the great fall stamps from this month's release HERE.  Have a great day!

 

Baby Boy Moon and Stars Onesie

Good morning!  Today I'm sharing this sweet baby boy onesie card that I created with some stencils from A Colorful Life Designs.  I started by placing the Marvelous Masks Onesie stencil onto some white cardstock and I filled in the area with a dark blue ink.  While this Onesie stencil was still in place, I put the Moon and Stars stencil over that and taped it down.  I carefully spread some white glitter paste (Artic Fox Paper Glaze Luxe from Picket Fence Studios) over the Moon and Stars stencil, lifted both stencils, and let the piece dry completely.  

Because I had used a blue dye ink on the onesie, the white glitter paste absorbed some of that tint.  Hence, we have some pale blue glittery moon and stars instead of white.  I actually like it this way - it IS a baby boy card, after all!  

I glued this onesie panel to a dark blue mat and adhered it to a white card base.  The "baby boy" was die cut from the same dark blue cardstock, and the die is from Frantic Stamper.

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You can pick up these Onesie stencils, the Moon and Stars stencil, and many others.  Have fun looking through all the great categories of stencils!  

 

Dotted Branch for Fall and Winter

Good morning!  Is it fall where you live yet?  We are finally out of the 100's, but with the temps in the 90's here, it's not quite fall yet.  LOL  Hopefully we will see some cool temps before the end of the month!  

I love the new fall stamps from Technique Junkies that were released this month.  I paired the Dotted Branches with the Pumpkin Spice sentiment for this autumnal pumpkin-y card above.  Some dark brown ink brushed on the edges gives the sentiment and the background a warm glow.

While I was playing with the Dotted Branches, I started wondering how it would look on a winter card.  I stamped it with Versamark onto some gold paper and then covered it with gold embossing powder.  After I tapped off the excess and melted the powder with a heat tool, I set it aside to cool off.  I stamped the Joyeux Noel with a deep merlot ink and matted it with gold and merlot cardstocks.  The gold Dotted Branches panel was adhered to a merlot card base and then I adhered the sentiment to the background.

I love how this Dotted Branches looks on this gold cardstock!  Now I have a background stamp that is perfect for the fall season as well as the winter/holiday season.  If you'd like to shop at Technique Junkies and pick up this Dotted Branches stamp, you can use this code, TJ10Holly, to help you save 10% off your order.  You can also grab the Pumpkin Spice stamp and the Joyeux Noel stamp and make some quick cards to send to your friends and family.

 

Enjoy the Little Things

Good morning!  Today I have a very clean and simple card to share with y'all.  The current Power Poppy challenge is to showcase their wonderful sentiments, and I picked this one from the Wildflower Mini digital set.  Because the sentiment is all about the little things, I purposely kept this card super simple.  I grabbed some papers and glued them down to the card base, and then I die cut the sentiment with a rounded rectangle die.  That's it.  No ribbons, no bling, no extras.  The focus is completely on this great sentiment.

You still have a few days to enter the Power Poppy challenge.  You can check out the details HERE and drool over the gorgeous artwork.  Oh, and there is a list of digital sets that are on sale right now, so take advantage of that while you can.  Enjoy your weekend!!

 

Boxes for Bestie and Fall

Good morning!  I promised y'all that I would show you some stenciled cards that were NOT baby themed today, and here they are!  LOL  This Random Boxes stencil is one of the non-baby stencils from this month's release and it is so versatile.  I used the new Random Boxes stencil from A Colorful Life Designs in two different ways.

On the blue card above, I randomly brushed some green and blue inks over the Random Boxes stencil.  On the fall card below, I brushed on some yellow, orange, and deep orange inks in an ombre pattern.  This stencil is so much fun and you can do just about anything with it.  Birthday cards, congratulation cards, retirement cards, seasonal cards.... the possibilities are endless.

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You'll save 10% off your entire order, so grab this Random Boxes stencil for your stash.  You can see the rest of this month's release HERE and if you're working on Christmas cards, check out all the great Christmas stencils HERE.  

 

Grandma Cards

Good morning!  Today I'm sharing some fun cards that I made for someone who just became a new grandma last week.  The stencils in this month's release at A Colorful Life Designs are all about babies, and there are a few that celebrate the new grandmas and grandpas as well.  On the card above, I used the new Best Moms stencil with some patterned paper and a sweet little gingham bow.

On the card below, I used the awesome new Be A stencil.  You can choose the grandma "name" that you want with this sentiment.  That's such a cool idea, and I went with "Meemaw" because we're in Texas and it just fits, ya know?  LOL  I also used the new Stork stencil with some pink glitter glaze from Picket Fence Studios.

You can see all of the new September release stencils HERE.  There are some fabulous general pattern (background) stencils included if you're not looking for baby stencils.  I'll share a card with one of those new pattern stencils with y'all tomorrow.  If you'd like to shop at A Colorful Life Designs, be sure to use this code, HollyFan10, so you can save 10% off your order.  Have a wonderful day!

 

Hello Baby in the Dream Stars

Good morning!  I'm back with another baby card using the beautiful new Dream Stars stencil from A Colorful Life Designs.  I placed this Dream Stars stencil onto some blue cardstock and spread some glitter paste over the stencil.  After it dried completely, I brushed some blue ink around the glittery stars and let it softly fade out onto the blue cardstock.  The sentiments were stamped with a darker blue ink and trimmed down before I glued them down onto the card.

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You will save 10% off your entire order, so have fun browsing around!  

 

Fall is in the Air - BTB #69

Good morning!  If you've been stamping as long as I have, you might remember these little shimmery pots of goodness called Twinkling H2O's.  This week's Beyond the Blue challenge #69 is to use a retro tool or embellishment, so I pulled out my neglected stash of Twinks and a really old die.  I used an old leafy die from Taylored Expressions (it's so old it has those anchor holes on the sides to mark your spot) and cut out a bunch of leafy branches from watercolor paper.

After I dropped some water into these pots of Twinks, I randomly brushed the colors onto my die cut leaves.  While I waited for these to dry, I stamped and cut the sentiment (Honey Bee Stamps) and cut my card base from kraft cardstock.  I glued down the dry leafy branches and then splattered some of the dark brown Twinkling H2O color over the card before I adhered the sentiment.

Honestly, this was so much fun!  I used two very old stamping supplies from my stash (the leafy die and the Twinks), and now I wanna pull out the rest of my Twinkling H2O's and play with them again.  Take a look through your supplies and play along with our challenge.  We'd love to see what your retro supply is!  

 

All About Autumn - 2 versions

Good morning!  This new stamp from Technique Junkies, called All About Autumn, lists all the wonderful things that we love about the fall season.  This is a full A2 background stamp, 5.5" x 4.25", and I've got two different versions to share with you today.

For my first card above, I stamped All About Autumn with Versamark, covered it with copper embossing powder, and melted the powder.  Then I brushed on several colors of distress inks in an ombre pattern with the yellow on top and the deep red at the bottom.

For my second card, I inked up the All About Autumn stamp with the various ombre colors and pressed it onto white cardstock.  Then I taped some clear plastic over the stamped image and filled it with sequins to make it a shaker card.

Which version do you like best, the copper ombre card or the ombre shaker card?  This All About Autumn stamp is on sale at 15% off until September 8, and you can use my code, TJ10Holly, to save 10% off everything else in the Technique Junkies store.  Check out all the fantastic stamps, stencils, and Shimmering Bliss sprays, and have a wonderful day!

 

Easy Breezy Sunflower Birthday

In my blog post yesterday, I mentioned that this month was all about babies over at A Colorful Life Designs.  There are also some new background pattern stencils in the store this month.  One of them is this fun Simple Spirals stencil.  I love the easy breezy look of this stencil.  I placed this stencil over some kraft cardstock and brushed a kraft ink over the stencil.  Then I added a die cut sunflower (Honey Bee Stamps) and added the stamped birthday sentiment (Ink Blot Shop).

Please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, to save 10% when you shop for stencils at A Colorful Life Designs.  You can see all of the new September stencils HERE and the Simple Spirals stencil is HERE.  If you're looking for some other fun pattern stencils, you can check out the Patterns category HERE.  Have fun!

 

September 2022 stencil release - A Colorful Life Designs

Good morning!  This month is alllllll about babies over at A Colorful Life Designs.  The owner, Mary Kay, just became a grandma two days ago, and this release is PERFECT for the new parents and grandparents!

If you are anything like me, and you gotta have it all, you can get all of this month's stencils with one click of the September 2022 Master Creator Bundle.  You'll save 20% off this bundle which is a fantastic price for all of these great stencils.  You can see lots of baby themed stencils along with a few general pattern stencils in the picture below: 

For my cards today, I decided to make a fun set of baby onesies cards.  I used the Marvelous Masks Onesie stencil (the third largest size) and the Sweet Zoo stencil for all of these cards.  I just used different colors and masked off the various animals for each onesie.

Aren't those just stinkin' cute??  If you'd like to save some money, please feel free to use this code, HollyFan10, when you shop at A Colorful Life Designs.  You can check out this month's stencils HERE.  Have a wonderful day!!

 

Technique Junkies September 2022 release

Happy September 2022 Release Day!

We have new stamps in the Technique Junkies store today.  All of the September 2022 release stamps are 15% off through September 8.  No codes needed - just add the stamps to your cart and the discount will be applied at checkout.

You can save 10% off everything else in the store by using my code, TJ10Holly.  Stock up on some previously released stamps, Shimmering Bliss sprays, stencils, ink pads, and more.

This month is all about the fall season and Halloween.  If you're like me and you "Gotta Have it All," here is a great deal for you.  You can get all of the September release stamps for just $92.99.  What a great price for all of these stamps!  Here's a little picture of all of the release stamps: 

For my first card today, I've used the gorgeous new Chrysanthemum Corner.  I stamped this with a Copic-friendly black ink and then colored it with Copic markers.  The sentiment is from the Lavender Friendship Sentiments set (previously released).  I then cut this out with a label shaped die and tied a ribbon behind it.

For my second card today, I've stamped the awesome new Pumpkin Spice with some orange ink onto white cardstock.  I cut this out with a deckled rectangle die and affixed some foam tape to the back.  I stenciled the background by placing the Pumpkins stencil (A Colorful Life Designs) onto the orange card base and brushed some orange ink over the stencil.  After I adhered the Pumpkin Spice sentiment to the card, I wrapped some twine around the top.

For my last card today, I stamped the new Leaves background with Pinecone Versafine Clair ink onto some watercolor paper and let it dry.  I smooshed several colors of distress ink onto my glass mat and misted them with water.  Then I misted the paper with water and dipped the stamped paper into the various ink colors until I had the coverage I wanted.  I set this aside to dry while I stamped the Leaves Turn (previously released) and cut it out with an oval die.  Once the watercolor background was dry, I glued it to some vanilla cardstock and then to a dark brown card base.  I wrapped some twill ribbon around the card and then affixed the sentiment with some foam tape.

I'll be sharing more of my cards with these new Technique Junkies stamps throughout the month.  Check back in a few days to see the two cards I created with the new All About Autumn stamp.  

Looking for more inspiration?  Check out what the rest of the Design Team has created with these new release stamps:

TJ Blog

Tracy Fear

Christine

Pam Stang

Holly Brown

Darlene

Tracy Schulz

Judy Jackson

Pat Huntoon

Remember, you can use my code, TJ10Holly, to save 10% when you shop at Technique Junkies.  Have a wonderful day!