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

Christmas in July with Scrap N Stamp!!

 Hello and welcome to the Scrap N Stamp Canada "Christmas is July Blog Hop"! You have arrived from the super talented Kia. 

The Christmas in July theme is always fun. It breaks up the spring and summer crafting nicely and lets you dig through your holiday -making stash! 

I mixed and matched three different brands for my project today, something which I love to do.

I used the Christmastime die set from Tim Holtz/Sizzix. This is quite a simple die set yet is just beautiful. I chose to cut everything from white cardstock and use a variety of Distress Inks to add the colour. I then glued all the pieces together to create one solid image.

To easily create the background, I started with a piece of light blue cardstock. I simply inked around it using Broken China, then Chipped Sapphire and finally Black Soot Distress Inks. By starting off with the light blue cardstock, it cuts down on the blending time!  I then mixed a bit of white acrylic paint with water and used a paintbrush to splatter. I made sure to go over the couple and the trees to create continuity.

Now, speaking of the trees! I used the beautiful Layered Narrow Pines die set from Memory Box. This set pairs beautifully with the Christmastime die set.  I did the same technique by using Distress Inks to add colour. I used Rustic Wilderness and Peeled Paint.

I used a stitched rectangle die to trim down the background panel. I used the Stitched Hillside Borders from Lawn Fawn to create the snow bank. 

I foam mounted the "snow" to allow for a couple of the trees to be tucked behind. This meant that the cute couple needed some foam adhesive as well.  This is where I realized I hadn't stamped the sentiment...do you ever do that??

Luckily, it worked out okay! I heat embossed the sentiment in white. The "Warm Winter Wishes" comes from the super sweet Stay Cozy Stamp Set from Aall & Create.

The entire panel was foam mounted onto a top-fold, A2 white card base.  To finish off, I added some white, pearlescent pearls.

And that's my finished card! I hope you like it. It was A LOT of fun to make!

Now, onto the fun stuff...

For a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to the Scrap N Stamp online shop, all you have to do is leave a comment on each stop of the hop! This hop is full of gorgeous, Christmas inspiration so it should be very easy to leave a nice comment!

The winner will be announced on the SNS Blog on July 25, 2023.

Thank you so much for hopping along! Good luck!

Up next is the wonderful Mari...enjoy!

Laurie

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge....Diecutting!!

 Well, hello there!! I'm really not sure how many subscribers I have left here and that's understandable and okay.  I've been so very absent here. I apologize and will try harder.  I don't have any other excuse except I'm super lazy.  I actually love sitting down and writing blog posts but when you don't actually HAVE to do it (ie. design teams), it just seems easy to ignore/forget about it! Anyway.....

I'm entering the current Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge which is all about die cutting!! If you know me or follow me on Instagram, you'll know that die cutting is my all time favourite thing to do so I just had to enter this one!

I love making cards but I've discovered that I can take all the same supplies and techniques and turn paper into home decor pieces! I actually have a bunch of framed "paper pieces" throughout my craft room!

I've used the Lovely Envelope Die Set from Altenew to create this floral filled envelope. I used water colour paper and used Distress Oxide Inks along with the "smooshing" technique. For the sentiment, I used the You Matter Die from Simon.

Once all the pieces were put together, I adhered everything onto a 5X7 piece of ivory cardstock embossed with the Geo Screen Embossing Folder from Spellbinders.

This is just an inexpensive frame. The panel is quite dimensional so I had to really push it in there but it worked!!

I love the way it looked and it is on my wall now!  

I do apologize for the photos. It was a little late and I was having a bit of trouble not catching the glare of the photo frame.

Thanks so much for dropping by. I hope you found a little inspiration :)

Laurie

Rainbow Thinking of You Card with Create A Smile Stamps!

Hello friends and welcome!  Today, I made a rainbow "thinking of you" card featuring stamps and dies from Create a Smile Stamps.

I started by taking one of the banner dies from the Useful Banner Die Set and cut rainbow strips of card stock. I adhered the banners one by one onto a scrap piece of cardstock so it became one piece and easy to move around.

To add a bit of texture and interest, I chose a few of the solid images from the Wildflowers Stamp Set and heat embossed them with clear embossing powder. I love this look. It lets the background show through yet it also darkens the cardstock where it's embossed!

After a dry run of panel placement, I decided to clear heat emboss directly onto the card base as well. Hard to see but the texture is awesome!!

I used fun foam to adhere the rainbow panel. The sentiment is a combination of the You Twice Die and the All About You Stamp Set. In retrospect, I wish I had white heat embossed the "thinking of" but I'm still happy with the way this turned out!

Thanks so much for dropping by! See you soon!

Laurie

Perfect Pearls...A Blog Hop!

Hello all and welcome back! Today we're having a blog hop brought to you by Scrap N Stamp Canada! From the title of this post, you've probably guessed that we are featuring Perfect Pearls, remember those?!

I've had a few pots of these kicking around my craft room for quite some time. I do have have some of the Perfect Pearls colour mixed up with some water (homemade shimmer spray) but I hardly ever use that! So, this was definitely a great challenge because it made me use some much neglected supplies!

There are many different techniques that involve Perfect Pearls but I tried something new. Well, new to me but maybe this technique is "out there"...let me know!

These are the colours I had on hand: Pewter, Heirloom Gold, Perfect Gold, Perfect Bronze and Perfect Copper. Sorry about the washed out photo but you can faintly see a die cut rainbow at the bottom..

Instead of using a binding agent like Versamark or the Perfect Medium, I wanted to see if double sided adhesive would work. Spoiler Alert:  It did!!  I die cut the Rainbow Whimsy Die from MFT out of white cardstock which I placed the Stick It Adhesive to.

I removed the backing from the adhesive and using a fluffy brush, liberally applied the Perfect Pearls. I started with the Perfect Copper shade for the largest arch of the rainbow.

The key to this is to make sure the entire surface is covered, including the edges. I found that the Perfect Pearls adhered very well and removed any sickness of the adhesive. 

As you can see, my rainbow isn't in the typical colours but I think it turned out beautiful as well as quirky!

I die cut the rainbow 3 more times out of scrap, white cardstock and layered them all together. Now, it's time to put this onto a card!

 I used the Cloud Stencil from MFT and a blue ink to create a sky directly onto the front of the card base.  I thought this card needed a few raindrops. I used the Colour Drops Die Set (MFT) and die cut 3 of the smallest die. I used the same adhesive covered cardstock. After removing the backing, I added the Perfect Pearls and the Pewter shades. It's so easy to blend different powders! I also stacked the drops onto scrap card stock.

As you can see, white gel pen works beautifully over top of this medium. I may have gone over board on that.  The sentiment come from the Essential Sentiments Stamp Set (older but must have set from MFT) which I stamped onto a strip of white cardstock and snipped into 3 pieces.  I popped those up as well because why stop with the dimension, right?

I hope you enjoyed my take on the Perfect Pearls! This is such an under used medium and I encourage you to give them a try!

BLOG HOP LINEUP:

Tara

Deborah

Kia

Chala

Susan

Laurie

Nancy

PRIZE AND SALE!!

There will be one $50 gift certificate given away to one lucky commenter! So make sure to leave a comment at each stop to increase your chances of winning! The winner will be announced on the SNS Blog on 

For this weekend only, all Perfect Pearls will be 10% off so now is a perfect time to stock up!!

**Some affiliate links used. Thank you so much if you make a purchase through one of these links**

Thanks for stopping by!

Laurie

Sending Paper Hugs Blog Hop with Scrap N Stamp Canada!

Welcome to our monthly blog hop for Scrap n' Stamp Canada. It's such a crazy time in our world right now and we thought it would be fun to make cards with the theme "paper hug". In this particular point in time, this is the safest hug we can give!

I've used a combination of stamps and dies from different companies. But really, the star of the show is the Tall Type Alphabet from Concord & 9th!! I love this die set. I know the price can be a little daunting but it really is worth every penny. From creating custom sentiments to personalization on your cards or scrapbook layouts, a good alpha bet die is great to have.  This one, in particular is a great size. Not too big,  not too small.

I started by die cutting the "paper hugs" out of white cardstock and set them aside. The big florals are the Stitched Flower Frame and Outside In Stitched Flower Die Sets. I cut all the pieces from scrap cardstock. 

After adhering the flower pieces to the outer edges of a white card base, I decided to add some pattern to the die cut letters. I used the Playful Patterns Stamp set, also from Concord & 9th, which co-ordinates with the Tall Type Alphabet Dies. I used the Tranquil Teal Gina K Ink from the 2018 Assortment Ink Cubes to add the pattern, which just happened to match the leaves perfectly!!

I cut the letters again but this time from craft foam. I wanted to add some dimension but couldn't imagine cutting foam squares that tiny or repeatedly cutting from scrap cardstock! I adhered the letters together and down on the card using Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive.

The sentiment looked good but not exactly "finished". I went through my stash of stamps and found a sentiment in the Love Bugs Stamp Set from MFT that said "sending a smile your way". I stamped it out in the same Tropical Teal ink then trimmed around and removed the "smile" portion.

I popped up the sub sentiments well. After looking at the card, I decided to add some light grey shading with a copic marker around the flowers to try to add some faux dimension (it's very hard to see).  I used a white gel pen to add some details to the flowers and leaves and also added some white pearl accents.

I hope you enjoyed my project for today and I encourage you to create and send a "Paper Hug" to someone special!

(**affiliate links used at no cost to you. If you order through any of the links, I receive a small commission which I'm very grateful for so, thank you!

PRIZE ALERT:

One lucky commenter will win a $50 gift certificate to the SNS shop! So, please leave a little love at each stop to increase your chances of winning!  Good luck! You have until April to leave a comment and the winner will be announced on the SNS Blog. Along with the chance to win the gift certificate, every order placed this weekend will receive the Paper Hugs stamp set fromPicket Fence Studio for FREE (while supplies last).

FACEBOOK CHALLENGE:

You can also participate in the challenge on our Facebook Page which you can find HERE. We also have a fun, new challenge up on this page!! It's called the 30 Days of Cardness Challenge and we're hoping you'll play along! Everyday this month, we'll give you cue words to help fire up your mojo!!

BLOG HOP LINEUP:

Tara

Chala

Deborah

Laurie

Susan

Nancy

Kia

See you soon!

Laurie