TCP Sneaky Peek Week Day 1

Hi friends! There's a brand spankin' new release from The Cat's Pajamas coming April 7.  Today's Day 1 of Sneaky Peek Week and we're featuring the adorable Messy Birthday stamp set. Each day through release day,  the Cat Pack will be treating you to a peek at a new stamp set. Look for the In it to Win it graphic and leave a little comment love on those posts for a chance to win a Cat Cash gift code to the shop! Sets are available as they are peeked, so if you see a must-have there's no need to wait!

The sweet little bunnies in this Messy Birthday set completely stole my heart. Couldn't wait to color it up and combine it with that spectacular scripted Happy Birthday sentiment!

I started by stamping the bunny image in copic safe ink, then coloring with Copic markers.  I hand trimmed around the image and added a few glitter accents with some frosted lace stickles.  Next I stamped the sentiment in black on a soft blue card base. I stenciled the clouds on with the Great Outdoor Stencilz and some tumbled glass distress oxide. The Big Beautiful Blending Brush made this so easy!

There are a few stand-alone dies in this release as well, and I chose to pair this set with the super sweet Liners Too dies.  These liners dies fit the previously released One Liners sentiment set beautifully, but there are tons of other sentiments it will fit, too, like the from all of us one I chose from the Messy Birthday set. I stamped the sentiment on the die cut and left just the bow portion attached, coloring it with copics, then adhering it to the bunny image and popping up on foam tape on my card base.

Alrighty, thanks so much for stopping by! Now it's time to see what my other teamies are sharing today. Leave a little love at each of their blogs today for a chance to win the drawing! Check out all the details on the TCP Blog.

Cristena

Julee
Christine

Nancy
Brenda
Kerry

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for shopping from my links and supporting this blog. It is so very appreciated.💙

Tea-rrific

Hi friends! Today I'm sharing a fun shabby chic creation that doubles as a gift card holder.

The card started off how most of my shabby chic creations start... with a Prima paper pad. This time it was the Santorini collection. I stamped the teapot  and teabag from the Tea for Two set directly onto one of the papers, then added a few gel pen accents, hand trimmed, and sponged around the edges with antique linen and vintage photo distress oxide.

I created the gift card pocket with a Lawn Fawn die, adding lots of sponging and tucking in a Starbucks gift card.  I then stamped the for my tea-rrific friend sentiment and cut out with a circle die, then started layering everything together.  I added some lace, ephemera, and paper butterfly and flowers to finish things off.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I think you're tea-rrific!

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙

The Simple Things

Hi friends! How y'all doing? It's officially spring break for the boys so we're basically chill-axing, but next week things get real with the beginning of at least 4 weeks of home education. Not sure how I'll get them to do school work when I can barely get them to eat dinner. 😂

Since I know things are going to get hectic, I thought I'd get a jump on some of my April release stamping. But guess what?! Amid distractions from the boys, I pulled this set from the wrong bin and didn't realize until I was all done that it was part of the March release! LOL It is a gorgeous set and was definitely on my list to create with, though!

I've kind of been in a bit of a stamping funk lately. When I find myself with low creativity, I try to get back to basics to recharge. Here I went back to something I love to do... watercolor backgrounds.  I just played around with Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors until I had a background I loved.  Next I stamped and colored the flower image from Dreams Will Blossom with Kuretake Clean Color Real Brush markers.  I added a few white gel pen accents and then cut with the coordinating Dreams Will Blossom Frame Cuts.

I embossed the sentiment in white over the watercolored background, then added a thin black mat and assembled everything together. It's a perfect little encouraging card to go with the Stay Crafty With Hero Challenge #1.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you are able to stop and look around and take in the small blessings all around us.

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙

Everything Will Be Okay

Hi friends! How you holding up? Yesterday I did a little stamping therapy, taking on the Hero Arts Stay Crafty challenge #1.  I already had the Affirmation Messages set sitting on my desk because I wanted to use it, and it totally fit the challenge of making an encouragement card.

I started with the background, wanting to use some happy sunny colors, so I blended squeezed lemonade, dried marigold, ripe persimmon, and tattered rose, then spritzed with water for that oxidized effect.  Next I stamped the sentiment in black.  I used a white prismacolor pencil to color over the flowers, leaves, and accents until the background color was covered up. Then I added more color with prismacolor pencils and coated the flowers with a bit of crystal clear lacquer and a pinch of glitter.  I popped this panel up on a foam sheet then accented with rhinestones and a seam binding bow to finish things off.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have someone in your household who can give you a squeeze and let you know that everything will be okay in this time of uncertainty. If not, I'm sending a virtual hug your way! If you feel like crafting, be sure to check out the Stay Crafty with Hero Arts Challenge.

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙

His Strength

Hi friends! My mind has been wandering and my heart has been restless this past week, and my creativity has been at a low. I've walked into my stamp room several times, sat down, stared for a while, then got up and left. So today I was pretty sure I was going to share a card I had made a week or two ago.  But then the sun came out and I sent the kids out in the back yard and I felt like stamping! Here's the card I made.

I knew I wanted to use the Psalm 23 Background stamp as this scripture has been on repeat in my head all week long. I hadn't had a chance to play with the Lovely Lotus set yet, so decided to pair them together.  I stamped the lotus in morning mist versafine clair ink, then stamped a mask from a post-it note. Once it was cut and placed over the flower, I stamped over it with the Psalm 23 Background in the same gray ink.

Next I pulled out tumbled glass and broken china distress oxides and blended a background, adding some interest by fingerpainting a little gesso over it here and there.  Once that was dry, I lifted the mask off and colored the flower with Arteza brush markers.

I then cut a 4 x 5.25" panel of white cardstock, stamped the sentiment from Be Encouraged 2 in the bottom center, then ran the upper portion through my die cut machine with a swiss dots embossing folder. I finished with a taffeta bow, a gray mat for my stamped panel and a white card base.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fantastic day!

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙

SNSS March Release Blog Hop

Hi friends! Welcome to the March SNSS Release Hop! There's another fabulous release in the shop that we've been playing with and we're so excited to share our projects with you! Hop along and leave a little comment love for the designers linked later in this post and you might just be a lucky winner! One lucky comment from all the comments along the hop will win a $10 gift voucher to the SNSS shop. Winner will be announced on the SNSS blog, Wednesday, March 24.

If you've arrived from the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog, you're already on stop 2, welcome to more stampy goodness from me! If a link misbehaves along the way head on back there for the full hop list. Alright, let's get hopping!

The other day, Korin shared a card with the Psalm 23 Background and it totally inspired me to try it out.  She used watercolors, but I chose some colors of distress oxide to do some smooshing on watercolor paper, then stamped over the panel repeatedly with the Psalm 23 Background.  Next I added in a little sponging with Antique Linen distress oxide and roughed up the edges with a paper distresser.

I had already stamped colored and cut the flower, leaf sprig and the cross from Rustic Easter. I didn't want to cover up too much of that lovely background, so I cut down the cross image to just the nails and mounted on foam tape over a die cut vellum circle.  The sentiment is added on white cardstock, then I layered my florals together and finished off with a seam binding bow. I just love how this card turned out!

Thanks so much for stopping by! There's still a ton of inspiraton on the hop, so be sure to click on over  to the next stop.

The next stop on the hop is the fabulous Ceal Pritchett!

Sweet 'n Sassy Blog
Julee Tilman ✋ That's me!
Ceal Pritchett
Diane Zechman
Esther Asbury
Jane Bosi
Karen Decknick
Lee Ann Barrett
Lucinde van Ballegooijen
Lyn Tomlin
Sheri Gilson

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙

March SNSS Release


My Supply List

Warm My Heart

Hi friends! It's time for your friendly reminder about this month's TCP Tuesday Challenge.... Furry Animals. We'd love to see your creations! TCP products are NOT required, but we do love to see 'em. Link up over on the TCP Blog for a chance to win a $50 gift code to the The Cat's Pajamas!

Each month a new challenge is posted on The Cat’s Pajamas blog and Facebook page.

• To play along, upload your design to the Inlinkz link up on The Cat’s Pajamas blog
• The Cat’s Pajamas products are NOT required, but we do LOVE to see them!
• Winner is announced the first Tuesday of the following month and will receive a $50 gift voucher to The Cat's Pajamas store.

This little bunny just might be my new favorite furry critter. I mean what's not to love a bout a bunny flopped out on the ground holding a warm cuppa?  💙💚

I colored the bunny from Make Tea with Copics, being adventurous and even trying a little glow around him. He's cut with a circle die, then matted in black.  My background is done with the packaging smooshing technique and Dyestress blendable inks.  I love the fun feel to it.  I didn't want to cover it up, so I stamped and embossed the you warm my heart sentiment in black, then mounted to an A2 card base.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Click on over to the Cat Pack links on my sidebar to see what my other teamies are sharing today.

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙

Mojo Monday 533 - 535

Hi friends! I have a little something different for you for the Mojo Sketch this go round.  I'm giving you three sketches at once, but leaving the linky up through the end of April.  You can divvy them out through the next month, or do them all up front.  The choice is yours.  The next new Mojo Monday post will be May 4.

As always, you're free to play along with any papercrafting products your heart desires and enter as many creations as you like. Use the sketch as inspiration for your creation, then come link it up below so I can come take a look! Create with one, two, or all three of the sketches. The linky for this challenge will close on May 3, 2020. I have included dimensions on the graphic later in this post, but feel free to change them up to suit your needs.

These sketches came to be when I picked up the Echo Park Magic & Wonder pad at Tuesday Morning.  I needed to make some masculine birthday cards, so I decided to challenge myself to use up as much of the paper I cut into as possible.  This was the result.  You can download a printable Two Sheet 6 x 6-ish Wonder PDF here. I say 6 x 6-ish, because the dimensions I used included the extra portion of the paper pad that has the hang hole on it, making it 6 x 6.5".  I know both Echo Park and Carta Bella papers are these dimensions without perforation. You could use a regular 6 x 6 sheet, but would need to change the dimensions to 0.75" x 4" for strip D and 3 x 2" for panel C.

I started by choosing two sheets of double sided paper from the paper pad.  You want patterns that are multi directional, since they'll be going different directions. I cut both sheets at once, first cutting at 4" on the side with the hole, then cutting the 4" panel to 5.25" to make my background panels. I had a few frayed edges on the resulting piece, so I cut it down to 1.125".

Next I cut the other strip at three inches, giving me a 2 x 3.5" piece and a 2 x 3" piece. I arranged the panels how I thought they looked best, hiding any portions that had the hole from the paper on them, then cut thin black mats for everything.

My stamping was done with the gorgeous Scene Silhouettes: Woodland set and the Sentimental Mash-up sets from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps. I love how easily these stamped panels came together, and these images are perfect for masculine cards!

Alrighty, now it's your turn! I hope you enjoy these sketches! Can't wait to see what you create!

Join me for Mojo Monday!

Click here to enter

If you shop through the affiliate links below I get a small percentage of the sale price at no cost to you! It's not a lot, but it does help pay the monthly fees for the linkup widget for Mojo Monday and other web and email services that help me keep Mojo Monday running smoothly! Thanks so much! 💙

Cup of Blessings

Hi friends! Happy Fri-yay! Today I'm popping in with one of my favorite types of cards to make... a coffee card!

I was so excited when Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps decided to release coordinating dies to go along with their popular Fill Me Up set.  Hooray!  I inked up the to go cup and little java jacket and colored with Copic markers, then die cut.

Next I worked on the background. I knew I wanted to use this sentiment from the new Blessings in Disguise set, so pulled it out and decided to stamp a random background with the leaves and dandelion stamps.  Next I stamped the sentiment on a strip of white cardstock and added the dandelion images to either side and accented with frosted lace stickles and a few holeless sequins.  Some thin black matting sets each panel off.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fabulously creative weekend!

Compensated affiliate links are used where possible. When you place an order after clicking one of my links, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks so much for using my links and supporting this blog. 💙