January SOM Blog Hop: Sweet Little Things

Happy New Year! Welcome to the first stamp of the month blog hop for 2022. This could be my favorite SOM of all time. Soooo cute! I can't wait to see what all our talented makers have made for us. You should have come from Gina's blog, but the hop is a circle so start anywhere and keep going until you've seen all the inspiration. Melinda has a complete list of participants on her blog if you get lost along the way.

Here's an up close look at this darling stamp set:

And here are my cards.

I watercolored on both, but on the first one I embossed the image whereas I only stamped in colorfast ink on the second. I used watercolor paper for both. You can see that the image is much crisper on the first card than on the second. Embossing lays down a natural barrier with that almost plastic line of melted embossing powder. I really love how that makes watercoloring so easy.

On the second card, I wanted the bee but knew it would be impossible to cut out. So I stamped the image directly over my background piece after I was done stamping the multiple sentiment lines and making my mushy mess. I didn't bother coloring in any of it except for the bee. I then stamped the image again on watercolor paper and cut it out to place over the top of the original image for a stand out piece. 

I'm not sure which background I like best, the clean and simple first one or the sloppy mess of a second one where I flicked color all over. Both have their place.

Now you're off to Darlys' blog. I'm SO EXCITED to see what our talented Makers have come up with. I have a feeling they're going to wow us all!!

Until next time, 
Becca

December SOTM: Owl Love You Forever Blog Hop

Welcome to the December Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring "Owl Love You Forever". You should have come from the Show and Tell with Michelle blog. If you get lost along the way, head to Melinda's blog for a complete list of participants.

This is one of those sets you have to see and play with to fully appreciate how fun it is. I decided to pair it with the Layered Flowers Thin Cuts for three cards.

My colors here are Lemonade, Capri, and Grape. I sponged the edges of my leaves with some Sapphire ink to give them a little more definition. I used colored pencils for my birds, borrowing heavily (or maybe downright stealing) the colors from fellow CTMH Maker Trina Wirihani. The only other supply used here was the middle size frame of the Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts.

My colors here are Nectarine, Lemonade, and Green Apple. I also used the Floral Background Thin Cut. It's not in either of the current catalogs, but it's still available online. I also used the middle sized Stitched Rectangle Frame Thin Cuts on this but used the panel instead of the frame. As for the coloring, once I had the basic idea from the first card, I just substituted new colors and went to town. These are only a few of the many colored images I made because, once you get going, it's hard to stop.

For this final card, I used Espresso and Capri paper and the leftover frame from my panel cut on the second card. I loved how changing up the colors gave this an entirely different feel from the bright colors in the first two cards. 

Now you're off to Krista's blog. I can't wait to see what she and our other talented makers have created with this fun set. 

Until next time,
Becca

November/December New Product Blog Hop

Welcome to the New Products Blog Hop for the November/December Seasonal Catalog. You should have come from The Inky Scrapper's blog. If you get lost along the way, head to Melinda's blog for a complete list of participants.

I fell in love with the Candid Moments Cardmaking Workshop. LOVE that bird, so here it is a few times a few different ways.

I white embossed the bird and the leaves before coloring over the top. For the bird, I used water colors; for the background I used Distress Oxide ink.

More white embossing and water coloring here, but I turned it into a Christmas card with the Joy thin cut, which is also part of the Nov/Dec catalog.

 For this car, I created a background using the light side of Papaya paper ands stamping the leaves in both Papaya and White Daisy. The White Daisy is a pigment ink, so it required lots of dry time.

I've been having fun with the new Tab Thin Cuts, adding it here to the top of the card and dressing it up with the white gel pen and a flower from the stamp set. 

Now you're off to Darly's blog. Happy hopping!

Until next time,

Becca

Holiday Cards Blog Hop

Welcome to the Holiday Cards Blog Hop. You should have come from Haley Dryer's The Inky Scrapper blog. If you started here, don't worry. The hop is a circle so you can keep hopping until you get back to where you started. Melinda's blog has a compete list of participants in case you get lost along the way.

I decided to feature the new "Joy" thin cut with some clean and simple cards. Here's the first one:

I used the new Candid Moments paper and made it more Christmassy by adding small snowflakes from the Elegant Snowflakes stamp set. It was released last year but is still available, though there are only a few left. The new Floral Snowflakes stamp set would work just as well. The Joy was cut with Sapphire paper, the snowflakes are in Sundance ink, and I splattered Ballerina Shimmer Brush over the top. Here's a close up of that because it's hard to see in the picture, but it's really beautiful in real life.

The trick to this is to make sure the Joy thin cut just barely goes over the edge of the paper. I used a lot of Washi tape to hold the thin cut in place so it didn't slip.

My second card is a repeat of this one using different colors.

This card features Black Glitter paper and the now sold out Sept-October Mix-In paper. But I decided to show it anyway because you don't have to use this EXACT paper. You can use whatever Christmassy paper you have, including the new Wonderland paper. Just use a coordinating color for your Joy thin cut. 

Now, I'm going to be honest with you...I buy cardstock in bulk and make my own cards with it. I buy super thick cardstock for a couple reasons: 1) because I like how sturdy thick cards are, and 2) because I can layer dark papers behind it and there's no bleed through. If you decide to recreate this card but don't use thick cardstock, some of that red pattern will show through on the front of your card.

For this last one, I went white on white.

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I started by cutting the border from last year's release called Yuletide Borders. I added it on top of a plain white panel which I then ran through the largest Stitched Rectangle thin cut. Finally, I took the leftover Joy pieces from the first two cards, created one more Joy, and glued all three together. 

Next up is Danielle's Scrappy Chicks blog. I can't wait to see what she and the other amazing Makers have for us.

Until next time,

Becca

November SOTM: Created to Shine Blog Hop

Welcome to the November Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring a really fun stamp set called Created to Shine. I grew up going to Sunday School, and as soon as I saw this set, I was immediately transported to the basement of First Baptist Church in Tacoma, WA singing, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine."

Before I get too carried away, a little blog hop business. You should have come from Michelle's Show and Tell with Michelle blog, but don't worry if you started here. The hop is a circle, so just keep going until you get back to where you started. If you get lost along the way, head to Melinda's blog for a complete list of all the participants.

I've been on a tags kick for the past few hops, and this one is no different, although I used the Buildable Tags Thin Cuts in a slightly different way this time.

To create my window, I centered the window panel from Buildable Tags with the largest of the Stitched Rectangle Thin Cuts. I then attached the medium size coordinating rectangular shaker foam and acetate to it. Next, I stamped my image on the card base, stamped the centers in Papaya, Peach, and Shortbread, then added both Gold Loose Sequins and Gold Star Sequins to my shaker. I finished off by stamping the sentiment and hand cutting it out to layer over the top.

This could easily convert to a Christmas card by using red and green inks for the light centers and adding a Christmas sentiment, like one from the For All Occasions stamp set. Or you could stamp the lights in something neutral like Shortbread and fill your shaker with the Red and Green Loose Sequins.

Now you're off to Maureen's blog. I'm right behind you because I can't wait to see what all of our talented Makers have created with this awesome set.

Until next time,

Becca

Thin Cuts Blog Hop

Welcome to the Thin Cuts Blog Hop. We're focusing on the plethora of Thin Cuts (aka Metal Die Cuts) just released in September. 

A little blog hop business before we get to my cards. You should have come from Darlys's blog, but don't worry if you started here. The hop is a circle, so just keep going until you get back to where you started. If you get lost along the way, head over to Melinda's blog for a full list of participants. 

I love tags on cards, so I'm choosing to feature the Buildable Tags Thin Cuts along with a few others for good measure, like this one...

Here and in the next card, I added half of the Love You Thin Cut. I used the Pumpkin Spice Paper Collection, Harbour and White Daisy cardstock, and a little embossing. I selectively stamped just "fall" from one of the sentiments in the We Love Fall set. 

This next card is almost identical, I just switched around the papers and dressed it up a bit.

The background uses another Thin Cut that, although not featured in any catalogs now, is still available: Stitched Lattice Background. The die is just shy of the full 5.5inches high, so I trimmed my card base by 1/8 inch in height and to only 3 inches wide. I also added the Pumpkin Spice Wood Stickers as an embellishment. 

True confession time. My first attempt at this idea turned out like this----> 

I contacted my dear friend, Katy Taylor, and said, "Why don't I like this?" She suggested what turned into the first card.

To create the second card, I cut away the entire background of this card and kept just the tag.

Sometimes your best option is junking what isn't working. It's just paper, people. I repeat that as often as I need. And it's always good to have crafty friends who will tell you exactly what's wrong with your work.

For this next card, I added  a couple of small stamp sets, North Pole Post and Santa's Airmail. 

I also used the Sept-Oct Mix In paper, Candy Apple cardstock, and the Stitched Rectangle and Tags and Tabs Thin Cuts.

All of the above tags had Mink Twine threaded through them. It's also not featured in any catalogs, but it's still available for purchase.

And for my final card, I added the Layered Flowers Thin Cuts and used the As You Grow paper.

This card also includes Gold Loose Sequins, Gold Embroidery Thread, and cardstock colors in Harbour, Shortbread, Rosemary, and White Daisy.

If you want to see another card with a tag on it, click here to see the card I made for the October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop. 

Now you're off to Danielle's Scrappy Chicks blog. I can't wait to see what she and everyone else made.

Until next time,

Becca

October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop: Wildflower Friendship

Welcome to the October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring the adorably on-trend set called Wildflower Friendship. If you've been out shopping for home decor at all, you've seen similar items everywhere.

A little blog hop business before we get to my card. You should have come from Darlys's blog, but don't worry if you started here. The hop is a circle, so just keep going until you get back to where you started. If you get lost along the way, head over to Melinda's blog for a full list of participants.

Now if you've been around my blog at all, you know how much I love using tags on cards. The new Buildable Tags Thin Cuts came to my new house, and I just had to use it with that cute fox.

I started by stamping the library card image from the "Date Stamp" stamp set in Mink ink, but instead of using the thin cut that's part of that set, I used one from the Buildable Tags to cut it out. I then added some splatters using my Black Shimmer Brush and set it aside to dry. 

I also a couple other thin cuts. The background is As You Grow paper with the Stitched Rectangles thin cuts and the sentiment is Ballerina paper through one of the banners that's part of the Waterfall thin cut. I also made the tag hole from Ballerina and looped Gold Embroidery Thread through the hole.

The fox was actually really easy to color. I just picked a handful of colors that matched the background paper and started coloring. There's no shading because the images are too small. I only did a little shading on the fox. Once I had her colored, I built my card up in layers, adding foam tape behind the fox to give her a little more dimension. Gold Loose Sequins were added with Liquid Glass to tie in the gold from the tag top.

Honestly, I wasn't completely sold on this stamp set when I first saw it, but it's really growing on me. I can't wait to hop over to Wendy's blog to see what she and everyone else has created to inspire us.

Until next time,
Becca