A Simple Thanks Card

Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up...me! It's been an awful long time yet again. I seriously thought I'd be well out of this funk I've been in FOR THE LAST YEAR (maybe two).

My creative spark has seemed to take a down turn. I used to have so many thoughts and ideas, now I have very few. So, when that spark ignites, I have to get to the craft room and let it flow!

Funny thing is, even though I hardly create, I'm still buying hahaha! But I've heard that crafting and buying are two separate hobbies!

Lately, my store of choice has been Scrapbook.com. They have such an amazing selection, always have a discount code or freebies. Only downside is the duties I have to pay every time...oh well. Shipping is quick, even to Canada.

So, here is a clean, simple thanks card...

This uses the Mini Hello Dog Die Set which is an exclusive Scrapbook.com product and which also was a freebie! The large "thanks" is from the Concord and 9th Markered Die Set, which unfortunately is no longer available and the "friend" comes from an amazing stamp and die set called Thanks, Friend.

I also used some VERY old patterned paper from Fancy Pants...gotta love using the neglected patterned paper!!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I'm going to try better to show up but I'm not going to promise.

I hope all is well, my friends!!

Laurie

Sweet Bee Card ft. Create A Smile Stamps!

Hello friends and welcome! Today, I'm sharing a cute, clean and simple card with you featuring stamps, dies and stencil from Create a Smile Stamps!

I created a couple of mini scenes using the Best Bugs Stamp Set and the Magical Frame Dies.  This was simple to do. The die cuts in 2 seperate pieces, the inner square and the frame portion. I did all the stamping on the square. The scene to the right did require some simple masking of the flowers because I did do a little ink blending.

I stamped the bees on a separate piece of cardstock and fussy cut them not leaving a white border. This gave the illusion of more masking!  After the colouring was done, I attached the frame to the inner square with scotch tape then added some foam tape.

On the card base, I masked off the centre portion (approx 2.5 inch strip) then applied the Narrow Stripes Stencil over top. I used a light grey ink to add the subtle stripes. This just gave it a little extra something.

To finish the card off, I stamped the sentiment onto one of the Useful Banner Dies and adhered it with foam adhesive. And to add even more cuteness, I used three of the new Chipboard Tiny Hearts as embellishments.

I hope you enjoyed todays look at Create A Smile products!

See you soon!

Laurie

Sending Smiles with Create A Smile Stamps!

Hello!! Today I'm sharing a card using some brand new products from Create A Smile Stamps!  The May release is now available for purchase.

I used the new Plant A Tree Stamp Set along with the Basic Ovals Stencil. The stamp set is on the smaller scale which means the price is fantastic. But it is also packed with a ton of images! The stencil is so versatile. It has four different sizes of ovals and it also comes with the co-ordinating masks!

I started by using the largest oval on the stencil and ink blended some blue and a little brown at the bottom. I stamped each image (they are all separate) directly onto the ink blended background. I used Gina K Inks for this as they work well with alcohol markers.  I added very simple shading to images which really brought them to life!

I used the second largest of the Scalloped Rectangles Dies to trim down the piece of cardstock I was working on. To create the embossed lines perfectly around the oval, I held the panel up to the light and on the back side, lightly adhered the mask portion of the stencil. You can see through the cardstock just enough for placement. I then traced around the mask with a pencil.

On my scoring board, on the BACK of the panel, I added the scoring lines every 1/8th of an inch, stopping when I got to the traced line.

I added some white gel pen details to the images as well as 3 tiny, die cut hearts.  The sentiment comes from the new From Afar Mini Stamp Set and was stamped onto one of the Useful Banner Dies.

Both the sentiment strip and the panel were foam mounted to a light grey card base which measures 5.25 X 3.25 inches.

I hope you enjoyed todays card and will check out the new CAS release!!

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today.

Laurie

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

February Pinkfresh Studio Challenge!

Hey, hi, hello there and welcome back! Today, I'm sharing a card I made for the current challenge over on the Pinkfresh Studio Challenge Blog.

I received some brand new items from their January release and was dying to have a play with them! Speaking of a new release, they are releasing a bunch of gorgeous background stamps today! They have some very unique designs and I may just have to "take a look" aka "add to cart".

Okay, let's have a look at the card I made! It's very clean and simple but I've added a few, subtle details to step it up a notch.

I just had to use the new Curvy Floral Vine Stamp Set. This is a simple layering set that is just beautiful. TIP: I die cut first, then stamped. I don't usually do it this way but I was having some issues having the die fit properly after I stamped the image. **This is NOT a flaw with the products! Photopolymer stamps are flexible so sometimes while placing it on your block or in your MISTI, it can shift slightly. And while it's easy to manipulate the stamps to line up, if you're off just by a little, the die will not line up.**

I used the smaller banner shape from the Essentials: Ornate Banner Die Set on a piece of white cardstock. I have a homemade stencil that easily lets me ink blend a heart shape. I used a light yellow ink.  To add a bit more detail to the banner, I flipped it over and using my scoring board, added score lines every 1/4 inch.

To add a bit more detail to flowers and leaves, I took a slightly darker shade of pencil crayon and added some simple flicks. This made quite a difference!  I used the Curvy Floral Vine die and cut it from white cardstock 3 more times. I adhered all those layers together including the stamped image. This created some nice dimension. For putting everything together, I stamped the sentiment in the middle of the heart using a dark, grey ink.  This sentiment comes from the new Leafy Decor Set. This stamp set is packed with awesome sentiments!!

I adhered the florals to encircle the heart. I foam mounted the focal banner onto an ivory card base that measures 3.75 X 5.25 inches.  I added a few pink jewels from my stash to add a bit of sparkle.

And that's it!  I hope you enjoyed my little process today!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Laurie

"Galentines" Blog Hop for Scrap N Stamp Canada!

Hi and welcome to the Scrap N Stamp monthly blog hop! We are celebrating "Galentines Day". This is a fun take on Valentines where you make cards for your girlfriends!  Valentines Day can be a rough day for some people so this is a great way to spread some cheer.  What's really nice about this theme is that is doesn't necessarily have to love. It can be a simple "thinking about you", "thank you" or "hello"!

I've made a couple of cards using the Friendship Bloom Stamp Set. This is a collaboration set with Hero Arts and Gina K Designs. I highly recommend this set if you like florals. The main image is massive and the sentiments are amazing.

I white heat embossed the entire image onto a piece of Bristol Smooth paper.  For the colouring, I actually used some GinaK Designs. These are dye inks that come in beautiful colours! I used the Autumn and Summer Assortment set of ink cubes. 

When the colouring was done, I cut the image in half and trimmed the pieces down to fit 2 cards. This purple is my favourite!

But this pink is pretty fabulous, too!

I foam mounted each floral piece with foam tape. Each of the sentiments come from the You Get Me Stamp Set, also from Gina K.  This is a small, affordable set that has THE best sentiments that would make any girlfriend smile!

To finish each card off, I added a few colour co-ordinated sequins from my stash.

PRIZES:

There will be one lucky winner of a $50 gift certificate to the Scrap N Stamp Online Store. All you have to do is leave a comment on each stop of the hop for your chance to win! The winner will be announced on the SNS Blog on February 18th, 2020!

FACEBOOK CHALLENGE:

For another chance to win, you can upload a creation with this months theme to the SNS Facebook Challenge Page. Use #SNSCHALLENGE.

BLOG HOP LINEUP:

Tara

Amber

Sandie

Laurie (that's me!)

Kia

Nancy

Susan

Chala

Deb

Thanks for hopping along with us! Thank you in advance for all your lovely comments!

Laurie

CAS Paper Smooches Card!

Hi guys!  I wanted to share a quick card with you today and IT'S NOT a Christmas card!  While I love making Christmas cards, I needed a little break from the snowmen and wintry scenes.

I also wanted to create one more entry into the Paper Smooches November Challenge. They are looking for a few designers for their new challenge team and I would just LOVE to be a part of that!!

I combined an older and newer stamp set on my card today.  The first set is Bee Mine and was one of the first PS sets I bought.  And I specifically bought it for the large bee image!

After colouring and die cutting that cutie, I did the same with the clouds from the Sunnyville Stamp Set.  To create my little scene, I used a stitched square die and a grassy border die. I used It's A Boy and Lime Rickey inks from Catherine Pooler to add the colour.

I popped the square panel onto a 3.5 X 5 inch notecard. I love making this size of card when you have a small scene. I really wanted that bee to pop off the card so I used a double layer of foam adhesive.  Of course, no card of mine is complete without some shimmer and shine! I added some sparkly dots on the wings and Nuvo Crystal Glaze to the eyes as well as the wings.

The sentiment comes from the Kindess Sampler Set which is a must have set for your stash!!  

I hope you enjoyed the CAS card! Thank you for stopping by!

See you soon,

Laurie

This Pun's For You Blog Hop!!

Welcome!!  It's time for our monthly blog hop for Scrap 'N Stamp Canada and it's a good one...PUNS!!! Who doesn't like a good pun??  Sometimes they make your eyes roll but mostly they're good for a laugh!!

For my card today, I used the Birthday Bears Stamp Set from My Favourite Things.  This set is full of the most adorable bear images. And while it isn't a new release, this set is definitely one of my faves from MFT.

I went with a fairly clean and simple look today as I wanted that bear to be the main focus of the card.

I did so some simple ink blending to with Peeled Paint Distress Ink to create the illusion of ground and used the Cloud Stencil (also from MFT) along with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink for a very light, cloudy background.

I coloured up all the images with my Copic markers and fussy them out as I don't have the co-ordinating dies.

I used a stitched rectangle die to cut the ink blended panel out then layered it on a piece of dark teal cardstock which almost matches the colour of the balloon.

I added some Nuvo Crystal Glaze to the balloon and a few other areas on the images because I cannot get enough of that stuff!!

To finish off, I stamped the sentiment on the bottom of the focal panel.  This pun is more cute than funny but does the job just fine!!

Here is the full hop lineup!!  Don't forget to leave each of us some love for your chance at winning a fabulous prize!!!

Tara (SNS Blog)

Meghan (Guest)

Nancy F

Susan

Deborah

Kia

Nancy E

Dawn

Chala 

Laurie (you are here!)

PRIZES:

Scrap N Stamp is kindly offering 8 Punny Prize Packs as well as 1 $50 gift certificate to the SNS store!! 

Made In Minutes with My Creative Time!!

Well, it's Monday...blah.  Let's try to cure those Monday blues with a card that literally took minutes to make. I made this super, clean and simple card using one of my favourite sets from My Creative Time.

The Home Sweet Home Stamp and Die Set was one of the first sets I ever purchased from Emma and continues to be one of my most used.  This set is on sale right now, so it's a great time to pick it up...just sayin' :)

I did some very simple ink blending onto a panel cut with one of the smaller Scalloped Stitched Rectangular Dies.  I used Peeled Paint and Salty Ocean Distress Inks.  I coloured up that adorable mushroom with my alcohol markers and added a few details with a white gel pen, a glitter pen and some Nuvo Crystal Glaze.

The sentiment comes from the same set and was stamped on a speech bubble which is from the Stitched Round Speech Bubbles Die Set.  I used foam adhesive to adhere the mushroom and sentiment as well as on the focal panel.

And I left it at that!!  It's hard for me to leave this much white space but I didn't want to add anymore time to the process!!

Thank you for stopping by! I appreciate your visits :)

Until next time...stay crafty!!

Laurie

MFT's 2018 Card Design Superstar Entry: Clean & Simple Genius

Well, holy cow!! I'm entering a challenge, can you believe it?  I got so excited when I seen the 2018 My Favourite Things Card Design Superstar Challenge that I just had to enter!

There are 3 categories in this challenge: Clean & Simple Genius, Colouring Virtuoso and Innovation Master.  While I love colouring, my skills are what you'd call..lacking. I do love a good interactive card but honestly, I'm terrible at them!! Seriously. I struggle through a simple shaker card :).  So that, my friends, leaves the Clean & Simple Category!

I love "clean" cards. It has taken me quite some time to embrace the white space but now I'm pretty comfortable with it.  Although, my finished card turned out quite colourful. I hope this will still count as CAS!!

I used a ton of MFT product on this card starting with the Stitched Circles Stax.  I adhered them all together to cut as one piece. So instead of cutting full circles, they cut rings.

I went through my stash of scrap cardstock and picked out some rainbow-ish colours.  I discovered that I do not have any orange cardstock so a coral colour would have to do.

Look at all those beautiful rings of colour!! So many rainbow cards in my future!  To make one solid, rainbow circle, I die cut the largest circle out of scrap paper and glued each ring to it. Then I cut it (almost) down the middle.

This is the layout I had planned.  It's faint but I did use the Stencil Cloud with some Tumbled Glass Distress Ink to add a bit of interest and dimension to the background. Before I adhered the rainbows to the panel, I used the large stitched rectangle die from the Blueprints 15 die set (which is not available any longer).  This was the perfect size to frame my scene.

I changed my mind on the sentiment but thought I would show this anyway as the process was the same.  I white heat embossed, on black cardstock, a sentiment from the Beach Bunnies Stamp Set. I trimmed it out using the small banner die from the Blueprints 27 Die Set. 

Now it was time to put everything together!!  I adhered the rainbows directly onto the cloudy panel and foam mounted the sentiment strip. The entire panel was adhered to a pink card base.

It was looking a little "flat" to me so I die cut a few clouds from the Somebunny Co-ordinating Dies set and foam mounted those using craft foam (also cut with the dies).  

I added a good dose of clear sparkle to each cloud instead of adding any embellishments.

I know it's quite colourful but I think the design itself is quite simple!!  I actually LOVE the way this card turned out and I hope you do too!!

Thank you so much for stopping in today! I love it when you visit :)

Until next time...stay crafty!

Laurie

LDRS Inspiration Week Day Two!

Thank you for joining us on our LDRS Creative inspiration week blog hop! We are showcasing lots of gorgeous projects using products from our new releases. Simply use the list at the end of the post to keep hopping! 

Each day we are giving away a $50 LDRS Creative gift card to one lucky hopper!  To enter leave a comment on each blog in the hop, plus follow us on Facebook.

We are also giving away a second $50 gift card on Instagram so hop on over there too.

For the release event we are excited to offer some great savings!

Spend over $75, save 10% use code STS10
Spend over $150, save 15% use code STS15
Spend over $200, save 25% use code STS25

(Coupons valid until midnight EST 4/27/18)

 Today we are showing off some fabulous new products designed by the amazing Andrea Gomoll!! If you are new to her designs, you will be very impressed!!

I used the new Let Love Grow Stamp Set for my project today. This is a large cling stamp set with many beautiful images.  I started by colouring the gorgeous girl image with Copic markers and fussy cut her out.

I love this beautiful girl.  I used the heart border stamp from this set and used the Watermark/Emboss Ink Pad to give a subtle stamping effect on the kraft cardbase.  Instead of stamping the sentiment directly on the front of the card, I die cut a small circle on the front flap and stamped the sentiment through it.  A bit of hand drawn stitching detail finishes the circle off.

To jazz things up a little more, I added some colour to some random hearts on the card front and added some Glossy Accents for some shine!

I hope you enjoyed this look at just one of Andreas amazing designs! She has others in the shop so I encourage you to check them out!!

Here is a list of all the LDRS supplies I used on this card:

Let Love Grow Stamp Set

Raven Hybrid Ink

Watermark/Emboss Ink 

Here's a list of all the talented ladies on the hop. Please visit and leave them some love!!

LDRS CREATIVE BLOG

STEPHANIE BEAUCHEMIN

KIRSTEN  HYDE

MARTHA TUCKER

MEG RUSSELL

LAURIE CASE...(YOU ARE HERE)

ANDREA SHELL

KASSI HULET

RALUCA VEZETEU

JANE SAVAGE

 ANDREA GOMOLL

Please return tomorrow for tons more projects made with the newest release products!

Laurie

Clean and Simple Style with Craftin Desert Divas

Hello Friends and welcome back! Design Team member, Laurie here, to share one of my favourite card making styles, clean and simple.

Clean and simple, to me, doesn't necessarily mean quick and easy.  It's clean lines, white space and one focal image.  The time it takes to create something like this varies as usually I want my focal image to be perfect!

I started by breaking out my Stabilo 68 pens.  These are wonderful to use as a watercolour medium!  I chose one of my favourite bird images from the Birds of a Feather stamp set and created a mask by using a full stick Post-It note. I stamped the bird first, placed the mask then stamped the branch. This makes it appear that it was one entire stamp! Ahhh, the magic of masking!

I've been using Mixed Media paper for all my water techniques lately as I find it is a brighter white.  It's not a super heavy weight card but I don't usually use a ton of water :).  My ink of choice when stamping for watercolour is Versafine Onyx Black.

I cut an extra panel of the mixed media paper using a die to create a light washed background for this beautiful bird.  When using these markers for a wash, I'll lay down colour onto a slick surface and pick it up with a wet brush.

This creates a beautiful light background. And because the ink is reactive to water, it makes the prettiest splash effect!

For the colouring of the bird, I lay the marker directly onto the images and blend with water.

Because this is a clean and simple card, the focus will be that bird, which is why I wanted the background panel to be very soft.  I fussy cut the image and foam mounted it onto the panel and

stamped the simple sentiment below.

When putting together a CAS card, you want to make sure that your focal image is is aligned perfectly! I find that if things aren't lined up, it can be a distraction.

I made sure that the die cut panel was centred on the card base.  I also chose to use a blue base as I thought it made that little birdie pop!!

As for the finishing details, I kept that simple as well.  Just a few dots of white gel pen and Glossy Accents to accentuate certain parts of the image!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you found some inspiration on clean and simple card making!!

Supplies Used:

(Affiliate links provided. This means if you make a purchase directly from one of these links, I will make a small commission, with no cost to you of course! Any purchases are greatly appreciated)

Birds of a Feather

Fancy Frames Dies

Verafine Black Onyx Ink