Spread Joy not Germs Blog Hop!!!

Hello and welcome!! I'm so happy to be participating in the #spreadjoynotgerms blog hop which was put together by our friends at Catherine Pooler Designs and Hedgehog Hollow. We're coming together to make some Happy cards which we encourage you to send out during this uncertain time.
We are all experiencing something different and out of the norm. There is no better time to send out some happiness, whether it be across the globe or across the street. Let's create a card and make the world smile!

This is a MASSIVE blog hop with TONS of prizes. There are 31 sponsors who have generously donated more than 50 prizes. Please remember that these small businesses are struggling right now and still donated to this hop. Let's help them out a bit:) More details will be provided at the end of the post!

I'm using products from Pink & Main which is generously offering a $25 gift certificate to the online shop! Let's have a look at what I've created!

I went with a clean and simple design. This card could easily be massed produced. I started by cutting a white panel with the largest of the Stitched Rectangles Set 2 dies. I then placed the Mask It Circle Stencil towards the left centre of the panel. Using the Ergonomic Blending Brush, I blended some All That Jazz ink. I repeated the process by adding 2 more circles on the right side of the panel.

Using the stencil, I cut a mask out of typing paper so I could cover the lower half of the circle before stamping the florals.  These come from a fab set called Gorgeous Vases. I chose 3 different bouquets and using Versafine Black Onyx Ink stamped them inside the circles.

The sentiment comes from the Just Because Stamp Set and was stamped onto a Sentiment Strip Die. I originally had the sentiment on just a white banner but decided to add the same blue ink to make it pop of the white background.

I added a few pencil details to one of the flowers in each bouquet but this step could easily be skipped. After adding the panel to a grey card base (yes, it has white heat embossing on it) that I just happened to have in my stash, I added a few black gems and called the card done!  I think this card could be fun to send to a friend, sibling or even a neighbour. Who would you send this card to?

The next stop on this creative journey is : KAREN B.

To be eligible to win, all you need to do is leave a little love at each stop of the hop. This is a large hop and we appreciate you taking the time to comment! You don't have to comment on each stop, but your chances of winning increase with each comment you leave! I suggest maybe grabbing a coffee/tea/glass of wine to keep you company on this journey :)

Deadline to enter is April 24, 2020!!

Winners will be announced on April 27th, 2020 on both Catherine Pooler's Blog and the Hedgehog Hollow Blog!

For more information on all the prizes being offered or if you'd like to see the full list of hoppers, please visit:

Catherine Pooler's Blog

or

Hedgehog Hollow Blog

Thank you so much for stopping by! Have fun hopping and good luck!!

Be well, my friends!

Laurie

Watercoloring "The Ton" Stamps with Colleen Part Two and a WINNER!!!!

Hello crafty friends and welcome back to the second part of a collaboration with Colleen from Maple Syrup Designs!  A couple of weeks ago, we had our first post which featured The Ton stamps and watercolour. Today, we are continuing with this theme!

I would like to mention that Colleen and I have decided to make this a bi-monthly feature!! We will feature products that she carries in her shop and try to have a theme or technique in there as well!!

Okay, let's take a look at the card I created for you today!  The stamp set I chose to watercolour is Born Classy and I also used the co-ordinating dies.  I also chose a different medium to work with and it's also something Colleen sells in her shop!  I used the Catherine Pooler Inks Reinkers and they worked quite lovely!

I picked Bellini, Peppermint Scrub, Black Jack and All That Jazz to begin with but added Icing on the Cake as well.  I used Bristol Smooth Paper  and stamped the images with Versamark Onyx Black Ink.

If I did this card over, I would use watercolour paper as I used a bit more water than I had anticipated and found that the Bristol started to pill slightly.  I was a bit worried about the skin tone but the Bellini ink worked great! I used All That Jazz for the gown and Black Jack for the Purse. Her hair was coloured with Icing on the Cake.

These inks gave a very interesting look on this paper, almost like coloured pencil! I stamped one of the dress detail images in Versamark ink onto her dress and heat embossed it with Silver Embossing Powder.

Now, I tried to catch this as best I could on a photo.  The Versafine Ink was not completely dry so the embossing powder stuck to it.  I could have brushed it off before heating it but I actually liked the added shine!

Before die cutting my images, I stamped the Floral Border Background stamp in a light grey ink onto a white panel cut with the largest die in the Fancy Frames Die Set from Craftin Desert Divas(also available at Maple Syrup Designs and one of my most loved, most used die sets).

I foam mounted the images onto the stamped panel and adhered the scalloped panel onto a light grey card panel.

I stamped the sentiment with the same Versafine Ink and also added a few confetti images that are also in the stamp set.

So this didn't turn out in a traditional watercolour style but I really like it and plan to experiment more with the CP Inks!

I really hope you liked my project today, it was a lot of fun to make!!  NOW, onto the most important part of this post...THE WINNER of the giveaway which is the Large Peony 5 stamp set and dies from the The Ton!

I'm super happy to say that Carol was the lucky commentor on my blog! I will be contacting you soon and thank you for your lovely comment!!

Thank you for stopping in today!  Please stay tuned for our next installment which will be May7th featuring another amazing stamp company, you won't want to miss it :)

Laurie