Now and Forever Overload

 Hello friends! It's a cold, snowy day here in Central NY. There's not much to do except craft (oh, darn!), and with my Christmas cards done, I've turned my attention to Valentine's day. Close to my Heart is running a promotion called "Now and Forever." (Click here for shopping link.)

I went a little crazy because I love it so much. Get ready for an overload...

This is the only one that uses the paper included in the bundle. I haven't decided how much scrapbooking I'm going to do with this kit which means I'm conserving paper for the time being.

The next two are the same card but with different embellishments. I couldn't decide which I liked better. What do you think?

Here's the simplified version:

I think this next one is my favorite of them all. The scallop die cut border isn't available until January 1, but I couldn't resist adding it in here. I also used the retired Rectangle Stitched Thin Cut. Just because it's retired doesn't mean it stopped working. 

This next one also uses a retired product called Hello Pumpkin Washi tape. I used two strips and lined them up so they look like one continuous piece of striped pattern. I smudged black ink when stamping my sentiment, so out came the little black enamel heart embellishments to cover it up. I had planned to give this to the hubby for our upcoming anniversary, but he walked into my craft room as I was finishing it up. Grr!

Truck Full of Pumpkins

 It's been a hot minute since I last posted here. I've still been creating, but I'm sharing almost exclusively on my Facebook Group called "Crafty Friends." I wanted to share this particular card because I'm just so stinkin' proud of how it turned out.

The truck, pumpkins, leaves, and fence type thing holding the pumpkins in the truck bed (don't you love my technical terminology) are from the stamp set called "Seasonal Haul." I colored all of them with colored pencils. The woodgrain sentiment panel was created by running French Vanilla cardstock through the Slimline Stitched Card Front and Background die then trimming it down to 3" by 4.25." My original plan was to center it on my card base, but this looked better. The sentiment comes from the stamp set called "Crisp Air-Cardmaking."

The card base was created using a direct to paper swiping technique. I literally slid my ink pad across the paper. I used both Pine and Paprika colors. FYI, you need to let that dry before adhering anything over the top of it. Just sayin'.

I didn't originally plan for my truck to be green. I colored it in oranges and browns before deciding there wasn't enough contract between it and the pumpkins. I grabbed a green colored pencil and went right over the top of my orange truck. It resulted in that very cool patina look. I might just have to try that again...this time on purpose. LOL!

Until next time,

Becca

Backyard Bliss meets Layered Flowers

One of my favorite products from the CTMH 2021-2022 Core Catalog is retiring soon. Layered Flowers has become my "go-to" set of die cuts. 

Here I paired the flowers cut in White Daisy, Peach, and Mocha and leaves cut in Harbour and New England Ivy with patterned paper from the new Backyard Bliss collection and the As You Grow collection.

And here's another card using this same paper and basic layout but with a retired Stamp of the Month which was hugely popular and the small doily from the recent Hope and Kindness promotion. 

Those little bunnies are so stinkin' CUTE! I used colored pencils then cut it out and added it to the doily before adhering the whole thing to the card. This also uses retired Blue Belle cardstock, but like the bunnies, it was a very popular color of the year, so I'm assuming many of you still have some in your stash. I love combining old with new!

Click here to shop the new Backyard Bliss collection.

Until next time,
Becca

June Stamp of the Month: I Heart Summer

 

Is it wrong of me that I DON'T (Heart) Summer??? I'm a fall girl. Give me cool days, chilly nights, and colored leaves any day! But I do have some lovely summer traditions and memories - as well as a best friend who LOVES summer - so this adorable stamp set went in my cart as soon as possible. Besides, I can see myself using these images for so much more than just summer. Travel. Coffee. Sailing. Reading...just to name a few.

For this card, I stamped the border images then cut them out individually to create a shaker card.

I did glue down the beach ball and basket so they were always in place but left everything else to shake. It's a fun way to dress up your shaker cards so they aren't always just glitter, sequins, or beads. I decided that I will most often use the sentiments individually, so I cut them apart with my Microtip Scissors. I can put them back together again if I want, which is the beauty of clear stamps. I could even rearrange the order or mix and match. So many possibilities.

Until next time,

Becca

May 2022 Stamp of the Month: You Can Do Anything

It's a beautiful day to go after your dreams. Don't you just love that sentiment? It's my favorite part of the new stamp of the month offering from Close to my Heart. Here's the card I made featuring that lovely sentiment.

Several months ago I saw a few people alter the largest flower in our Layered Floral Thin Cuts to create this daisy-like floral. I've wanted to try it and decided now was the perfect time. I cut two out of white cardstock, sponged one lightly with Ballerina and then Flamingo ink, then sponged the other one a little more heavily. I cut one of the leaves in white and sponged it with Sage ink. The center was cut in white, sponged with Lemonade and Sundance then stamped with Espresso ink using one of the images from the Perfectly Imperfect stamp set.

Here's a closer look at the flower. I curled some of the leaves up and some down to give it extra dimension. I adhered the bottom layer directly to the card and the top layer with some foam tape. 

For the card base, I cut the largest of the new Postage Frames Thin Cuts from the May/June 2022 Mix-in Paper collection. I took advantage of the dual sided paper to have the frame in the more solid Lemonade color with the inside in the less solid stripe. I stamped the sentiment in Espresso to match the flower center, then accented with Rose Gold Liquid Pearls after everything was adhered.

I love how this turned out. I'll be using this technique of cutting and layering that flower many, many more times.

Before you go, be sure to check out the full image of this fabulous stamp of the month by checking out the sidebar image with a link. Remember, this stamp set is only available May 1-31. It's available for only $5 with a $50 purchase or, if you've signed up as my VIP member, it's free with a $50 purchase.

If you want to see more inspiration using this lovely set, please join the CTMH Artwork Showcase Facebook group. This is taking the place of the blog hops to allow for greater participation. Hope to see you there.

Until next time,

Becca

Wild Berry Blast Blog Hop

Welcome to the Wild Berry Blast Blog Hop. Wild Berry is the CTMH color of the year. It's vibrant and fun and a blast to work with. It's also on sale until the end of the month, so if you see something here or on another stop along the hop, be sure to click here to get it. You should have come from Lauren's CTMH Craftings, 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 from. If you get lost along the way, head to Melinda's blog for a full list of participants.

I went back to an old favorite for my project...tags on cards. I love them! But this time I jazzed up my tag a little.

Every one of those stripes on the tag is a zip strip from the Wild Berry Blast special paper packet. CTMH has a special half-inch wide strip on every piece of patterned paper. One side is product information and the other is a fun design. They call it a zip strip. I regularly end up with lots of them left over. So I decided to feature them. I cut one of them not quite in half (more like one-third to two-thirds) and another at the full half inch. I only used two strips for this entire tag with some left over.

You could do this by creating your paper design first and then cutting it out (our thin cuts will go through two layers of our paper), or you could cut your tag first, add your zip strip layers, and then trim off the edges, which is what I did. I had to fuss with the opening of the tag (thank goodness for Micro-tip scissors). Although, in hind sight, I guess I could have run the tag back through my die cut to get that hole out. At any rate, I managed.

The butterfly is cut from the In Full Bloom digital collection. I made him 4 inches wide. I was worried about those thin inner lines, but my Cricut Maker handled them like a champ. Once I had it adhered to the tag, I pulled a Wild Berry Blast sticker and added it over the edge of the tag. I mounted the tag with foam tape over a card base topped with the Stitched Lattice Overlay. It's still available and one of my very favorite thin cuts.

I also made this scrapbook page.

My colors here are Wild Berry, Capri, and Black. I trimmed down the Wild Berry patterned paper to 11x11 and gutted it with a two inch border. I then cut the Capri paper to 11.25x11.25 and gutted it at...I don't really remember because I had to cut it twice when the first one didn't work. I adhered it to a piece of 12x12 White Daisy cardstock. I splattered Black Shimmer Brush over all of it.

As it happened, I had just enough room to put two 3x3 photos matted with Capri at 3.25x3.25. I accented with Layered Floral Thin Cuts and one of the stickers from the Wild Berry Blast special. Don't ask me how. I got lucky.

I have no idea what pictures I'm going to put in this, but I've started to really enjoy having pre-made pages ready. I might make a second page because I love how this turned out.

Again, this special only runs through the end of April, so get it while the gettin's good! Now head over to Show & Tell with Michelle. I can't wait to see what she and our other fabulous Makers have created to inspire us.

Until next time,
Becca

National Scrapbook Day Blog Hop

Welcome to the National Scrapbook Day blog hop. There are five different product bundles - plus one mega bundle - featured in this hop. I'm so excited to see what everyone has done. You should have come from Show and Tell with Michelle, 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. Head over to Melinda's blog for a full list of participants if you get lost along the way.

I'm featuring the thin cuts and embellishments from the "Circles and Patterns" bundle with paper from the "Little Penguins Mini Album." Click here to see all five bundles.

I'm so in love with how this turned out!! My daughter is pregnant with her second child. For the gender reveal, she took her firstborn to their church for a photo shoot. Inside that egg are either pink or blue candies. My daughter sent us this as a teaser until the big reveal on Easter Sunday. So mean!! 

To create this layout, I started by cutting six circles, one each of the background and texture paper. After they were cut, I cut one more from some Lemonade and another from White Daisy. I'll point out where I used the last two in a moment. I then cut an 11x11 sheet of black and a 10.75x10.75 White Daisy piece. I splattered Black Shimmer Pen on the smaller White Daisy, adhered it to the Black, then adhered everything to a 12x12 piece of White Daisy with no splatters on it. I then started figuring out my circles. 

I stamped one center and one outer leaf shaped one in Nectarine over White Daisy using the small stripe stamp from the "Circles and Patterns" bundle (see top left and bottom middle circles). I sponged Flamingo ink to the bottom left leaf shape of the top middle circle so I didn't have white on white. The top right leaf of the top right circle is White Daisy sponged with Flamingo and then stamped with the weave pattern from "Circles and Patterns." It doesn't really show up well, but it's there. I promise. And lastly, the top right leaf of the top middle circle is the light side of Lemonade cardstock stamped with the flower pattern from "Circles and Patterns." It's so great to have the stamps that allow you to add some patterns to scraps of cardstock! I only needed a 2.5 inch square of patterned paper from the "Little Penguins Mini Album" to create this layout. 

My Versamat came in really handy when it was time to assemble. I lined up the points of my centers at the 3, 6, and 9 inch marks both vertically and horizontally. Easy peasy! 

The 4x6 photo is matted on White Daisy and then Capri. I popped it up on foam tape before adhering it to my base page. I decorated with a pink tab and some stickers from the Smitten sticker sheet (still available). Black embellishments are all from the "Circles and Patterns" bundle augmented with a few  Black Acrylic Hearts. Once those were down, I added a few dots of Robin's Egg Blue and Ballerina Liquid Pearls. I love adding these, and when they're placed close to acrylic shapes, they don't get smooshed in your scrapbook.

"Easter" was stamped in Black ink. It's from the For All Occasions set featured in the Core Catalog. That set is a must have in my book.

I don't often show my scrapbook pages because my kids don't want their babies all over social media, but I got permission for this one because you can't see her face. Soooo cute!!  Now you're off to Kristine's blog. I can't wait to see what she and our other talented Makers created to inspire us.

Until next time,
Becca

P.S. It's a boy!!

Message In a Bottle: April SOM Blog Hop

 

Welcome to the April Stamp of the Month blog hop featuring "Message in a Bottle." I come after Michelle's Show and Tell with Michelle blog, but don't worry if you started here. The hop is a circle, so you can start anywhere and just keep going until you get back to where started. If you get lost along the way, hop over to Melinda's blog where she'll have a complete list of all the participants.

Here's a look at this fun, versatile stamp set. 

I decided to show you how to take the In Full Bloom Cardmaking Workshop and change it up by using the images in this set. Here's what the original workshop makes (four of each design)...

Here's how I changed it up (because, even though I really like the above images, I'd like some variety)...

It might be difficult to see the difference in the bottom right card because the only change is the sentiment inside the film strip. The original card stamps "Thanks" multiple times, so I just substituted one of the sentiments from "Message in a Bottle." 

It's not really noticeable in the above photos, but I used a Mint Shimmer Brush on all the cards except the bottom right one. It's the "water" in the two left ones and just highlights the sentiment in the top right one. On the top left one, I did stamp the heart twice, once inside the bottle and once on a separate piece of white cardstock. I cut out just the heart and layered it inside the bottle.

And then, just for fun, I decided to turn one of the bottles into a vase. I used the "In Full Bloom - Scrapbooking" set, which I featured in this blog hop post, because...well...it's GORGEOUS!

I stamped the flower and leaves in Mink ink then colored with pencils. I stamped the bottle in black. I then cut everything out by hand, although you could use the thin cuts on the flowers and leaves if you purchase the stamp set with coordinating thin cuts rather the just the stamp set like I did. The background paper is from the current Mix-in paper suite and looks like wood. The border is Black Shimmer Trim which I cut lengthwise to make it thinner.

Here's a close up on the bottle so you can see the shine I got by covering it with Liquid Glass. It's also a better look at the background texture paste I tinted with a tiny bit of Mermaid Lagoon Distress Oxide ink. The bottle is glued directly to the card base, the leaves are on a single layer of foam tape, and the flower is on a double layers of foam tape.

I love the tiny sentiments in this set. I stamped and cut it out, tucking it behind the flower and adhered directly to the leaves for some more dimension. The final touch was some Gold Twine which I tucked under the flower. 

Now you're headed to ScrappinKaty's blog. I can't wait to see what she and the other fabulously creative Makers have made to inspire us with this great stamp set. 

Until next time,

Becca

March/April 2022 Seasonal Catalog Blog Hop

Welcome to the March-April Seasonal Blog Hop. I absolutely fell in love with this catalog as soon as I opened it. I am so excited to see what everyone has for us. You should have come from Brenda's blog. But if you started here, don't worry. The hop is a circle. Just keep going until you get back where you started. If you get lost along the way, jump over to Melinda's blog for a full list of participants.

My favorite of all is the In Full Bloom-Scrapbooking set, so I made two cards for the hop. Here's the first one...

To start, I added a couple strips of Mix-in Paper to my card base. I stamped my flowers and leaves in Mink before coloring with pencils. I cut them out then layered them onto the card base, adding foam tape to some for extra depth. I stamped the sentiment - from the In Full Bloom Cardmaking Workshop - in Charcoal on the top flower before layering it onto the card. I embellished with gold glitter gems to finish off the card. 

Here's card number two...

I started with Pewter cardstock layered onto a white card base. To that I added a strip of the Mix-in Paper, a smaller strip of Mulberry Glitter paper, and then I cut a zip strip from the Mix-in paper in half lengthwise and cut angles on the ends, adding it partially over the top of the glitter paper. I stamped the zigzag from Embroidered Borders in White Daisy ink along the sides of my strips before starting the tag portion.

I used Buildable Tags Thin Cuts on the newsprint pattern of the Mix-in paper. I stamped one of the "blobs" (yes that's the technical term) from Perfectly Imperfect Patterns in Mulberry and then Rosemary. Then I added the ink splatter from image in the same colors around the edges of the blob. I then overstamped the flower and leaf images from In Full Bloom in black. I accented with the butterfly image. I added ribbon to the tag before adding 3D foam tape to the back before putting it on the card base. The circle sentiment is a combination of Embroidered Circles stamped in black then overstamped with the blog from Perfectly Imperfect Patterns in Mulberry. The actual sentiment is from Spot-on Sentiments, which was introduced several catalogs ago and is still available to purchase. I hand trimmed it and the embroidered scallop, layered one on top of the other, then added it to the tag with more foam tape. Black dots were the final touch. 

Now you're off to CatScrapbooking's blog to see what she's made for us. I'm right behind you!

Until next time,
Becca

March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Welcome to the March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring "You're the G.O.A.T." Now, if you're not up on all the terminology, you might need someone to explain that abbreviation--like I did. GOAT stands for Greatest of All Time. You should have come from the fabulous Katy Taylor's ScrappinKaty blog. The hop is a circle, so keep going until you get back to where you started. Head over to Melinda's blog if you get lost along the way. Here's a close up look at this adorable stamp set.

I am still recovering from my heel spur surgery and working with limited supplies. I haven't been down to my craft room for almost TWO MONTHS! **Sigh** But I grabbed the same Card Front Stencil Pack I used for last month's blog hop to create two, new cards.

This one uses Capri, Sapphire, and Lagoon inks for the background. The whale was stamped in Capri and rolled in Sapphire. To finish off, I sponged the edges in Sapphire as well as added some clear shimmer brush splatters before adding it to my card base.

For this card, I used Candy Apple and Black inks for the stenciled pattern with Papaya cardstock borders. I stamped the cat and dog in black twice, cut them out, and then added them to the card base which I cut down to accommodate the off-the-edge images. I made sure that the entire card would still fit inside a standard size envelope. 

After I mounted the first layer of the cat and dog, I cut out the faces from the second set of images I'd stamped and used foam mounting tape to lift them.

The final accents were some red colored pencil on the lips and a bitty sparkle on the dog's collar. 

Now you're off to the amazing Kim's blog. I'm hopping right behind you because I can't wait to see what all our wonderful Makers have made to inspire us.

Until next time,
Becca

February SOM Blog Hop: Here's the Story

Welcome to the February Stamp of the Month Blog Hop featuring "Here's the Story." 

You should have come from Kim's blog but don't worry if you started here. The hop is a circle, so keep going until you get back to where you started. If you get lost, head over to Melinda's blog for a full list of participants. 

While this set is geared toward scrapbooking, I wanted to twist it up for a card. Please excuse the photography on my dirty floor. I had heel spur surgery a few weeks ago, so I'm not able to get downstairs to my craft room with my good camera... or hold a broom while trying to steer a scooter.

Here's my card:

I have a limited number of craft supplies sprawled over my dining room table, so I had to make due with what was already upstairs. I started by swiping Grape ink over Jingle Joy paper (still available in the Online Only section of my website). I then stamped two of the labels from Here's the Story. The longer one I sponged with Black ink through the plaid pattern of Card Front Stencil Pack 3 then turned sideways and cut off one end to create a banner. I stamped the oval label and trimmed out the center. I then pulled out the Sawyer Cardmaking Workshop to decorate. I hand cut the butterfly because I don't have my die cutting machine upstairs. Which also means that, instead of running my Linen base piece through the Stitched Rectangle Frame like I normally do, I had to improvise. I used a stamp from the Sawyer workshop to created a border by stamping it multiple times in Black ink. 

All my coloring was done with pencils because (and you're going to get tired of hearing this by the time my post is done) that's all I have upstairs.

I don't have Candy Apple paper upstairs, so I stamped a banner from the stamp set included with the most recent Album Retreat, but you can easily created a banner with just cardstock.

Once all my pieces were done, I layered them on my card base. I only used foam tape on the butterfly. Everything else was adhered directly. I then added tiny dots in Candy Apple ink. That dot and both sentiments are also part of the Sawyer Card Workshop set.

Now you're off to Krista's Crafty Blog. I can't wait to see what she and all the other talented Makers have to inspire us with this fun set.

Until next time,
Becca

Jan-Feb 2022 New Products Blog Hop

Welcome to the New Products Blog Hop featuring items from the Jan-Feb Seasonal Catalog. You probably came from Darlys' blog. But if you started here, that's fine. The hop is a circle so keep going until you get back where you started. If you get lost along the way, head to Melinda's blog for a complete list of participants.

I have three different cards using three different sets of products for you because--frankly--I just couldn't choose among them. So many great things in this catalog!

My first card features the Sawyer Cardmaking Workshop (new) plus Slim Line Alpha Thin Cuts (Core Catalog).

My nephew and his wife just had a baby. They have two girls and have given each a "bird" middle names, so I knew exactly what I wanted to do to welcome Little Miss Ruby Wren. The cardstock used on the letters is retired, but that part is so easily replaced with different cardstock that I decided to include it in this hop anyway. 

The bird and branch were done on watercolor paper. I used Black Detail Embossing Powder for the bird. I then watercolored, using the barrier created by the plastic embossing to keep colors in place. On the branch, I just let the brown of the branch and green of the leaves bleed into one another. The tiny little tag and hello were done on regular White Daisy Cardstock. To ground the card, I added a half-inch wide border of plain Black Cardstock.

I sent this picture to my sister. She cropped it and put it on her Skylight because she loved it so much.

Here's card #2...

This "Udderly Wonderful" stamp set was the very first thing in my cart. It's different than anything else I have, and I love the punny sentiments. I used two papers from the current Mix-In Paper, tore the edge of the black one and layered it on top of the gray one. I then ran both through my die cutting machine using the Stitched Rectangle Frames. I embossed the sentiment in White Detail Embossing Powder. The cow was stamped in black ink and then colored with alcohol markers to get some blend. I used the coordinating thin cuts to cut out the cow head. I stamped and colored the bell then cut it out using my Microtip scissors to eliminate the white border that would have been around it had I used the coordinating thin cut. I then created a small slit under the cows chin with an x-acto knife and inserted the bell. I used foam tape to secure the bell on the underside. I added more foam tape around the edges of the cow head and added it to my card. I tied a knot of Gold Embellishing Thread and tucked it into the slit, securing it with a dot of Liquid Glass. It doesn't show up well in the picture, but it gives just a little something, something in real life.

My final card features Build-a-Flower (new) and the For All Occasions stamp set (Core Catalog).  But it also features one more stamp set from the Jan-Feb Seasonal Catalog. Can you spot it?

That bottom border is the light side of Flamingo Cardstock stamped with the new Barn Door stamp set in Flamingo ink. I LOVE that I now have the ability to create woodgrain in any color I want! My colors here are Raspberry, Flamingo, Caroline, Bluebird, Lemonade, Sundance, and Nectarine on the flowers. I want to point out that I used Lemonade and Sundance on the large yellow flower at the top of the cluster. The center of the blue flower is Lemonade overstamped with the smaller center in Nectarine. Using Nectarine over Lemonade made the Nectarine fade a bit, making it identical to Sundance stamped straight on white as shown at the top of the big yellow flower. I hope that makes sense. The leaves are Clover (outline) and Green Apple (centers) with Evergreen vines. My sentiment is Sapphire. (NOTE: Please click here to see another fun way I've used this Build-a-Flower stamp set for a previous blog hop.)

The drawback of solid image stamp sets like this is that you need lots of ink colors. The benefit is that, if you already have those colors, you can do amazing things in a very short amount of time. I stamped the vines directly on my card base. Everything else was stamped on White Daisy, cut out, and then layered either by gluing directly to the cardbase or using foam tape. The final touch was adding dots of Sage Liquid Pearls. 

I made five more of these, leaving off the sentiment, so I can add whatever I need for any occasion.

Well, that's it for me. Now you're headed to Megan@Crop Craft Create. I can't wait to see what we she and the rest of our talented Makers have created to inspire us. 

Until next time,

Becca

Smitten Blog Hop

Welcome to this special blog hop featuring the Smitten promotional items. This is such an adorable Valentine themed set! I can't wait to see what all our talented Makers have created. You should have come from Gina'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. You can always head to Melinda's blog for a full list of participants if you get lost along the way.

Here are my cards:

For this card, I combined the fan image with the Slim Alpha Thin Cuts. To give them just a little more oomph against the Ballerina background paper, I outlined parts of the letters with a Black Journaling Pen. LOVE how this turned out. 

For these next two cards, I added images from the Build-a-Flower set which just released January 1.

The paper, hearts, sentiment, and sticker on the cup all come from the Smitten collection. The cup was made using parts of Build-a-Flower. Here's a look at this set so you can see how I did it.

The only altering of an image I did was to curl the stem image (Don't you just love that we can bend images?) into a C shape for the cup handle. I cut everything out, layered it up with foam tape, and added some Liquid Glass over the coffee part to give it shine.

This one used none of the Smitten paper because I like to show how you can still use the stamps once the coordinating paper is gone. Note that scallop border. It comes from Build-a-Flower.

This final card uses just the image and paper from Smitten along with the middle sized die from Stitched Square Thin Cuts. This Capri colored gingham paper is so fabulous. I wish I could get about twenty sheets of it. 

This special set can be found under the "Promotions" tab on my website. It runs through the end of February or while supplies last.

Now you're off to CatScrapbooking. I can't wait to be inspired by her and the rest of our blog hop participants!

Until next time,
Becca

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