Venetian Mask Cards and So Suzy Stamps

Happy December everyone! Some of you may have seen me singing & dancing the news on Instagram a few weeks back (or noticed the addition to my sidebar here on the blog), but now I can truly sing from the rooftops about my joining the new So Suzy Stamps design team! Wheeeee!!!

Our first challenge post is up on the blog today, and it's a fun one - Anything Goes! Just grab those So Suzy Stamps stamps and let your creativity fly. I decided to play with the Venetian Mask and it's matching sentiment, and my oh my do I love them. Remember the teaser photo I showed yesterday:

Well that's the inside of this lovely card:

I played with lots of watercolors and water color paper one night and created lots of pretty backgrounds. I pulled out this one and heat embossed the mask in white on top, then added some white stitching with a gel pen. A little matting with deep gray paper and then I added the whole thing with foam tape to the white card base. So soft and lovely.

I really wanted the sentiment on the front of the card, so I grabbed a darker background from the stack and just stamped the mask on top with some dark gray ink. To add the sentiment without taking away from the mask, I heat embossed it onto vellum and wrapped it around the watercolor paper. More matting with the same dark gray paper and some stitching added with a silver marker. More foam tape onto another white card base and this one was done, too!

I love how I used the same stamps on two different cards and got such different results. I can't wait to see what you create for the challenge. Be sure to go link up your creations here by the end of the month, and Happy Crafting!

Supplies used:
Love Takes off the Mask stamp
Venetian Mask stamp
(if you go shopping at a2z Scrapbooking, be sure to use Jennifer15 for your discount!)
Tim Holtz Watercolor Paper
Hero Arts White Embossing Powder
Ranger Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder
White Gel Pen
Silver Marker

Growing in Unity Day 2 - Let's Sail Away

Happy Tuesday everyone - welcome to Day 2 of my GIU fun! I'm the Growing in Unity gal this week over on the Unity Stamp Co. blog, which means I'll be sharing a project created with my Unity stamps with you every day. I invite you to come back each day and leave a comment for a chance to win your choice of (2) Itty Bitty stamps! Woohoo! If you're new to my blog, I'd love it if you became a follower and join in the fun over on the Caffeinated Papercuts Facebook page. :)

Watercolors are definitely the rage right now, so I decided to go play with some myself. I haven't broken out my new watercolor set yet, but I did paint several backgrounds one night with my Distress Pads. A little water, a little brushwork, and you have yourself a stack of backgrounds to use another day. For today's card, I pulled one out and got stamping!

I love how this one came out somewhat dreamy, with the texture of the watercolor paper showing through the stamps and the bit of sequins for the water. Since watercolor paper curls when wet (go figure), I attached it to the card base with strips of foam tape to keep it all down. A bit of Glossy Accents to hold down those Pretty Pink Posh sequins and this card was all done!

The Distress Inks I used for the background were Broken China, Faded Jeans, and Peacock Feathers. Just start with the lightest and keep adding in more colors. So easy, and so much fun!

I love how the stamped image came out a bit faded; makes it seem wind-tossed. See, a masculine card with a bit of bling!

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for Day 3 of my Growing in Unity week; until then, Happy Crafting!

Up, Up and Away!

Happy Sunday everyone! It's DeNami blog hop day (can you believe it's been a month already?) and this month the theme is The Sky's the Limit! You should have arrived here from Tina's blog (oh the cuteness). If you just happened to come visit my blog this lovely morning, here are the blog hop details:

When: The blog hop starts on May 18th, 2014 at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until May 19th, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).Why: To be inspired by fun DeNami Design creations and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!

Prizes: We are giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to our website! We'll be giving away one gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and then we'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!

All right, onto the fun stuff! I finally spent my gift certificate I won on one of the hops a few months ago and had so much fun creating my card with these little cuties. Up, up, and away!

How sweet would these little critters be for a new baby card, a shower, a birthday card...really, the sky's the limit. (oh shush, it was a wonderfully awful pun and you know it)

I colored in the critters and balloons with my Spectrum Noir markers, then made the balloons look shiny with help from my Glossy Accents.

Thank you so much for stopping by today - you're now off to Tammy's blog to continue the hop. Remember to head back to the DeNami blog if you get lost along the way.

Happy Crafting!

So What Does that Fox Say?

I don't know about you, but I actually love the song "What Does the Fox Say?" If you somehow haven't heard it, just head over to YouTube and search for it...then watch everything else the group has made. Seriously. Just don't try to eat or drink coffee while you do unless your computer needs a coffee bath.

So, when I saw that the Sweet Stamp Shop had a fox stamp set mimicking the song, I may not have been able to hit 'add to cart' fast enough. I mean come on, look how adorable he is!!

What does that fox say??

I used the sentiments from the song to make a tone-on-tone background for my little fox to sit upon, then layered it with some shimmery bronze cardstock and a kraft card base. A bit of neutral twine from Pretty Pink Posh made the whole card feel very nature-y and perfect for a guy or a gal.

Hatee-hatee-hatee-ho!

I stamped the fox with Memento Black ink then colored him in with my Spectrum Noir markers. Speaking of, any interest in knowing what colors I use to color my images or a video? Let me know in the comments! When he was ready, I fussy-cut him out and used my trusty foam tape to pop him on the card. A bit of foxy translation by way of the speech bubble (and some more fussy-cutting and popping) and this card was done!

Closeup of the background stamping

So, did you see the part where I said 'video'? Thanks to some new software I bought myself for Easter, our YouTube channel is coming soon! Please tell me in the comments what YOU would like to see; start to finish cards, coloring tutorials, funny cat videos...I'd love to hear!

Happy Crafting!

You Had me at...Shaker Card, Baby!

Hi everyone! I couldn't resist making another sweet shaker card for the Pretty Pink Posh Shaker Card blog hop. Turns out I'm a bit addicted to going 'shake shake shake'...hehehe

I used a mix of Sweet Stamp Shop stamps, Lawn Fawn stamps, and Pretty Pink Posh goodies (of course) to make this sweet baby card. While no one I know is currently expecting, you never know!

You had me at baby

 A closer look at that sweet stork (I'm feeling a bit proud of how my coloring came out):

That chevron ribbon? Also available at Pretty Pink Posh!

Look at those sequins go! I used the Spring Mix with some silver hearts added in for fun.

Shake shake shake!

Thanks for stopping by. I've loved seeing all of those shaker cards!

Happy Crafting!

Nuts About You Shaker Card

Happy Saturday everyone! Paulina over at Pretty Pink Posh invited everyone to hop along with her by making a shaker card, and seeing as I have massive amounts a bit of her sequins, I just had to join!

I inked up the adorable squirrel from the 'Cheeky' stamp set made by Sweet Stamp Shop (such cute stamps!) and colored him in with my Spectrum Noirs. Add some sequins, a bit of patterned paper, and voila!

kinda nuts about you

Ohhhhh the shakey goodness!! (What, that's a word.)

Wheeeeee!

Hello little squirrel

Wouldn't you want to get this in the mail?

I had so much fun making this card. If you're curious about how I did it, Pretty Pink Posh has a fabulous video up on their YouTube channel all about it. The secret is in the foam tape... ;)

Happy Crafting!

Bunches of Love Card

Happy Thursday everyone! Almost to the end of the week and Easter goodness. I snuck into the craft room the other day to play with my new Stamp of the Week from Unity and made a 'just because' card for my Gram. She's as addicted to strawberries as I am to coffee, so this really fit!

Bunches of (strawberry) love

I'm hungry just looking at these berries. Seriously. I pulled out a pad of MME 6x6 paper and went to town stamping the berries & stems, then fussy-cutting them out. The patterned gray paper was from MME as well, then backed with a lovely deep red card stock. The sentiment was stamped with the Ranger embossing pad then embossed with the Black Soot distress embossing powder.

I added dimension to the stems with one of my Spectrum Noir pens, then coated the berries with Crystal Lacquer to give them some shine. A few sequins from Pretty Pink Posh and this card was ready to mail!

{linking up to the Unity FWF!}

Thanks for stopping by today, and happy crafting!

Polka, Polka, Polka Dots!

We're hopping along with DeNami again, and this month it's all about polka dots! I think they're such a fun pattern; they're happy, cheerful, and fun to say. Polka dots. Polka. Dots.

Yeah, I need more coffee.

You should be arriving here from Amy's blog. Remember, if you get lost along the way you can always head back to the DeNami blog for directions. Be sure to comment on everyone's blog along the hop to try and win those lovely, lovely DeNami gift certificates!

So, what happens when you combine polka dots and coffee? In this case, I'm pleased to say the answer is massive cuteness:

DeNami Espresso Scene stamp

I stamped the Espresso Scene onto thick white card stock with black Memento ink then colored in the latte mugs with my Spectrum Noir markers. The background of the circles was lightly colored with a light latte color as well. While that dried, I sent my blue paper through the Big Shot in the polka dot embossing folder. A bit of sanding of the Core'dinations afterwards and we have instant texture (and polka dots!).

Side view to show the layers and coloring

I added a backer of coffee card stock to the blue then tied on my champagne chevron ribbon. The entire stack was then mounted to my card base with foam tape. Next came the latte mugs using more foam tape because, well, I love a good layer.

Close-up of the latte mugs; see the shimmer & shine?

Then came the fussy work; the polka dots around the cups got colored with a black Sakura gelly roller and the hearts and swirl of coffee got finished off with the clear Sakura pen. A bit of glitter via the clear Spica pen and my coffee was ready! A lovely espresso sequin in each corner finished off the card with a last bit of shimmer.

Looks good enough to drink!

Thanks for stopping by today! You're now off to the lovely Lisa's blog to see what she's done with the fun that is polka dots.

In case this is your first stop, here are the blog hop details:

When: The blog hop starts on February 9, 2014 at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until February 10, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).
Why: To be inspired by fun DeNami Design creations and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!

Prizes: We are giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to our website! We'll be giving away one gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and then we'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!

Happy Crafting!

Distance Has No Meaning...

Hello everyone! I'm sharing one of the last cards I made up for Operation Write Home with my Unity Stamps today.

 I colored the sentiment and image using my Distress Markers and coloring the stamp itself. Especially an image like this, it's so easy! The texture is from my stamping it on a linen cardstock and I love the result.

Speaking of Operation Write Home, today was to be the day I announced the winner of the giveaway. Just one problem - there were no entries. Not a one. So, the short answer is that there is no winner. The longer answer is that I'm giving up on hosting contests for the foreseeable future. Either my promotion skills are severely lacking or I simply do not have a large enough audience or my giveaways are terrible and no one has mentioned it to me. Anyway you look at it, they are almost always a bust and I'm taking the hint.

As for Operation Write Home, I'll be sending in a nice bundle of cards to them, including many of the ones I've made for blog hops.

I'm linking up to the weekly Unity FWF today!

Enjoy the weekend! I'll be having a crafty one with my friend Rachel from Sheepish Shenanigans. :)

Happy Crafting!

DeNami Halloween Blog Hop

I love Halloween; the costumes, the candy corn, the spookables. What other day a year do we have the freedom to get dressed up and party while eating candy? So, I happily drank my pumpkin coffee and ate my candy corn while I came up with this cutie-patootie card for this month's hop.

You should have arrived here from Paulina's blog (once you were able to tear yourself away, that is...her work is amazing!). If you didn't, feel free to head back to the DeNami blog when you're done to see the full list of participants on this spooooky Halloween hop!

In case you've forgotten why you're here:

When: The blog hop starts on October 13 at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until October 14, 2013, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).
Why: To be inspired by fun DeNami Design creations and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!
Prizes: We are giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to our website! We'll be giving away one gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and then we'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!

So, what did my pumpkin and candy saturated brain come up with?

Trick or treaters and batty bats, ooooo!

Here's a secret; I love Halloween bats. Love. Them. So I had to use the vampire bat stamp and have them following that cute little band of chickie trick or treaters. A little seasonal glitter paper, some ribbon and Liquid Pearls, and those chickies are ready to get some candy!

Top view in my cruddy craft room lighting...sigh...

Thanks for stopping by today! Now you're off to see what kind of Halloween treats Wendy has for you while I go celebrate my husband's birthday. Yes, there will be candy corn. :)

Happy Crafting!

Die Cuts, Doilies, Twine, and Buttons, Oh My!

Ohhh has it been a month of ups and downs! We were buying a house, then we weren't, then we were, then they buyers for OUR house fell through...aaarrrrgggghhhhh! So now we're staying put, renovating, and trying again next year. C'est la vie. One day I will have my larger house with a massive craft room and a double wall oven. Ah dreams...

Because of all the chaos (though omg, is my house CLEAN!) I really didn't have time to play in my craft room recently. I did find, however, my failed attempt at the previous 10 Minute Craft Dash. I meant to enter it anyway (despite it taking me 18 minutes, it still could have been a favorite) but, of course, I was busy packing. I'm pleased to share it for Unity's FWF instead!

Washi, doilies, twine, AND buttons?? Yummy!

 I scrap-lifted a beautiful card I found on, shock!, Pinterest, and came up with this beauty. It really does have all of my favorite things on here: kraft paper, twine, buttons, washi tape, Stickles...sigh. I love it. The sentiment is from Unity (of course) and is truly wonderful. It can easily be used as either an 'I care' or a sympathy card.

All right, I'm off to go shopping for my baby's 3rd birthday party tomorrow! I still cannot believe I'm the proud mama of a three year old. Sigh.

Happy Crafting!

Krazy for Kraft DeNami Blog Hop

Good morning everyone!  Welcome to September's DeNami Blog Hop featuring the oh-so-versatile kraft paper. You should be arriving from Lisa's blog. If you get lost along the way, just head on back to the DeNami blog for the full list of bloggers hopping along today.

When: The blog hop starts on September 8th at 6 AM, PST. However, you have until September 9th, 2013, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs (to be eligible for a prize).
Why: To be inspired by fun DeNami Design creations and also the chance to win mini shopping sprees on the DeNami Design website!

Prizes: We are giving away THREE $20 gift certificates to our website! We'll be giving away one gift certificate to a random participant (DT members not eligible) and then we'll also be giving away TWO gift certificates to TWO people who comment along the hop!

So, here's a little secret - I love kraft paper. I buy it by the 100 pack. Yes, really. It's so versatile! I also had new stamps to play with...and I was hungry. Confused yet? Allow me to enlighten you:

Mmmm, holiday cookies...

 Yup, I was thinking of gingerbread. The sugar cookie set paired with the Gumdrops makes for quite a yummy card, don't you think? I hand-wrote the sentiment with gold Stickles and masked the area while stamping to give me a nice, clean surface. A bit of scoring on the top and bottom makes a nice border for the Visions of Sugarplums...

The cookies were stamped, fussy-cut, then decorated with Liquid Pearls and watercolor pencils. I wanted them to really look like they were covered in icing, so I added a layer of Glossy Accents for dimension. It's a massively long drying time, but so worth it.

How yummy do they look?

The gumdrops received some sugar crystals by way of Rock Candy Stickles. Just look at all of the shimmer and shine!

Ok, pass the coffee - these babies are getting eaten! Oh, they're still only paper...dang...

That's it for me this month! Your next stop is Amy. Enjoy the krafty tour!

Happy Crafting!