Cool Bear Tag – 12 Tags of Christmas 2019 Challenge

Ellen Hutson is having her 12 Tags of Christmas 2019 Challenge again this year. I always love to see what her designers create. This year, the daily themes are inspired by Christmas Carols.

My tag was inspired by Day 7, Cool Yule with Heather Meeson . After I saw the title, “Cool Yule”, Baloo from the animated version of The Jungle Book was stuck in my head.

So, I colored the MFT sELFIE bear similar to Baloo. Who could be cooler? Shoobie doo bop!

Supplies:  Stamps – My Favorite Things, Scrapbook.com, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, inks – Copic 100, B0000, N1, N4, R29, YG23, Gina K. Designs Amalgam, VersaFine Onyx Black, ZIG Wink of Stella clear, die – Taylored Expressions, hole punch – Fiskars, organdy ribbon – ClearBags.

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Floral Wreath Birthday Card – Ellen Hutson June 2018 Color Trend Challenge

I dug deep and finally completed another challenge. This is for the Ellen Hutson June 2018 Color Trend Challenge .

Here is the inspiration:

In reality, I loved everything on the inspiration board, but thought I would execute something too close to the inspiration. So, I stuck to it being a color challenge.

I cut a 5 inch square of white cardstock, and used my homemade wreath builder tool to build the wreath on my MISTI. After I was done stamping, I did trim 1/8th of an inch from each side, to give me space for the black mat.

I have stashed it away for personal use.

Supplies: Stamps – Clearly Besotted, Essentials by Ellen, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Basic Black, inks – Hero Arts Unicorn, Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Inks Chipped Sapphire, Crushed Olive, Lucky Clover, Mowed Lawn, Shaded Lilac, Tumbled Glass, Wild Honey, Wilted Violet, die – Spellbinders, sequins – Pretty Pink Posh, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder white.

 

Floral Wreath Birthday Card

I watched a Jennifer McGuire video last week, about using the new gina k. Designs Wreath Builder Stamps & Templates – here is the video from YouTube:

I immediately cyber scampered over to the gina k. Designs store, to see if the templates were available as a stand alone purchase. Not at this time (I did not ask gina k. if the stencils would ever be a standalone product, and I do not have a crystal ball to read the future.). I didn’t really have the budget available to purchase the stamp set and template package.

Think think. Think think.

I made my own template, using lightweight cardstock, acetate (Office Depot transparency sheet), double sided tape, and a Spellbinders rectangle die (cut twice).

Here is my first card using the handmade template with my MISTI. (the circle under the greeting is the blank center of the wreath)

I cut my cardstock to be 5.5 inches (leaving myself the option to keep it as a square, or to trim it down to make a regular A2 card. The A2 option won because I made a small mistake, and that size allowed me to trim off the mistake.

Supplies: Stamps – Essentials by Ellen, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Basic Black, inks – Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Ink Wilted Violet, Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Oxide ink Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean, VersaFine Onyx Black, dies – Spellbinders, hotfix pearls – Swarovski Cabochon Jet, embossing powder – Stampin’ Up! Sterling Silver.

Sending Best Wishes Floral Card – Ellen Hutson January 2018 Pin-Sights Challenge

I am arriving very late to the party – dangerously close to TOO LATE!

This month’s Ellen Hutson Pin-Sights Challenge is all about lovely shades of purple. Here is the inspiration board:

I was inspired by…the garden photo (top left).

I used Rustic Botanicals to create my garden, and the only unique thing I did was to stamp the little 3 dot stamp 4 times to make the center of the large flower.

The sentiment is from My Favorite Things (You Give Me Butterflies), and I liked how it filled up my white space. The ribbon is, of course, a “thank you” for an order from the Ellen Hutson store.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps – Essentials by Ellen, My Favorite Things, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Pear Pizzazz, inks – Stampin’ Up! Lovely Lilac (retired), Orchid Opulence (retired), Pear Pizzazz, VersaFine Onyx Black, sequins – Simon Says Stamp, embossing powder – Ranger Silver Pearl, ribbon – Ellen Hutson.

You Are Strong Card – Ellen Hutson December 2017 Pin-Sights Challenge

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! May 2018 be a healthy and happy year for you!

I am just squeaking under the wire for the Ellen Hutson December 2017 Pin-Sights Challenge.

Here is the inspiration board:

I am excited – Offspring3 gifted me a plethora of new stamps for Christmas, and 2 new (to me) Ellen Hutson sets were included in the bunch! (Be Strong and Rustic Wildflowers) YAY!

I attempted to use all of the colors in Distress Ink form – I did stamp off the Salty Ocean and Wild Honey to make them lighter. And I liked the motion in the photo on the lower left – although, I don’t think I quite had enough space to capture the same effect.

Supplies: Stamps – Essentials by Ellen, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Basic Black, inks – Hero Arts Unicorn, Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Inks Mermaid Lagoon, Mowed Lawn, Picked Raspberry, Ripe Persimmon, Salty Ocean, Shabby Shutters, Spun Sugar, Twisted Citron, Wild Honey, die – My Favorite Things, sequins – Pretty Pink Posh, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder white.

Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2017 Challenge

It is December, so time to head on over to Ellen Hutson’s blog for the 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2017 Challenge!

I chose to create a tag based on the sketch from Day 8. Here is the sketch:

 

I was also inspired by the tag on Day 5 made by Eloise Blue – the critter and the ink blended background.

My vision – a night sky background, a fox sitting on a fallen tree with the moon rising behind. I counted my fallen tree and the sentiment as the vertical stripes.

For my background, I blended 3 Distress Inks – Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire on Bristol card stock. I heat set the colors, and then flicked on some sparkly white watercolor from the Kuretake Gansai Tambi set.

The fox was colored with Copic markers, and cut out first with the circle die. Then, I partially die cut the fox, to allow the fallen tree to be put underneath the tail.

I added a sentiment and fussed with the ribbon for an hour.

Thanks to Ellen Hutson for having this challenge again this year – the grand prize to a random winner is $150 gift certificate to the store! (Oh, great Random Number Generator in the sky, PLEASE generate my number!)

Supplies: Stamps – Hero Arts, Lawn Fawn, Papertrey Ink, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Close to Cocoa (retired), Strathmore Bristol, inks – Copic E11, E19, Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Inks Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire, Salty Ocean, VersaFine Onyx Black, Vintage Sepia, dies – Lawn Fawn (fox), Spellbinders (circle), double hole punch – Stampin’ Up!, watercolor – Kuretake Gansai Tambi, embossing powders – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear, Ranger Silver Pearl, organdy/satin ribbon – ClearBags.

Pink Floral Encouragement Card – Essentials by Ellen October 2017 Mix It Up Challenge

Here is my entry for the Essentials by Ellen October 2017 Mix It Up Challenge with Altenew.

I combined Altenew’s Henna Elements set with a sentiment from Essentials by Ellen’s Courage set. My original color scheme did not include pink, but, OH…it is October, Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps – Altenew, Essentials by Ellen, paper – Avery Elle Neutral Collection, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Poptone Sour Apple, inks – Copic C1, RV0000, RV11, RV13, RV14, YG23, YG25, VersaFine Onyx Black, die – Lawn Fawn, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear.

Wish Big Birthday Card – Essentials by Ellen September 2017 Pin Sights Challenge

I am just squeaking in under the deadline wire for the Essentials by Ellen September 2017 Pin Sights Challenge . I created a mosaic using the small balloon from the Essentials by Ellen Wish Big stamp set, and I watercolored with Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Inks.

Here is the inspiration board:

I was originally planning to go in a different creative direction (sea glass, lower left!), BUT, I was very inspired by a trip to the Baltimore Museum of Art on Sunday. A new exhibit, Tomas Saraceno: Entangled Orbits opened October 1st. I did not go to the museum specifically for this exhibit (Offspring2 was looking for inspiration for a class assignement), but I was very glad I got to see it the exhibit in person.

Here is the specific piece that inspired me for this card:

I don’t know the exact diameter of this piece – it was suspended in a small room, we had to step over the suspension cords to move around. I would guess over 5 feet in diameter?

Supplies: Stamps – Essentials by Ellen, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Ranger Distress Watercolor, Stampin’ Up! Tangerine Tango, inks – Hero Arts Unicorn, Stampin’ Up! Bashful Blue, Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Inks Abandoned Coral, Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire, Mermaid Lagoon, Peacock Feathers, Ripe Persimmon, Squeezed Lemonade, Wild Honey, dies – Spellbinders, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear, white.

Hello Floral Card – Essentials by Ellen August 2017 Pin Sights Challenge

(click on any photo to enlarge)

I saw the colors for this month’s Essentials by Ellen August 2017 Pin Sights Challenge, and had to participate.

Here is the inspiration board:

I stamped my florals in Distress Inks, so the coverage is not solid – this was an intentional choice.

After the ink dried (I let it sit overnight – just because I could), I added the detail items to the flowers/leaves with  3 different color detail embossing powders.

Then, I die cut the word out of the floral background, and out of yellow card stock. I ultimately decided one extra layer was not enough, and cut another “Hello” out of tangerine card stock.

Here is a side view of the layers:

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps – Essentials by Ellen, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Stampin’ Up! Tangerine Tango, Taylored Expressions Lemon Meringue, inks – Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Inks Abandoned Coral, Mowed Lawn, Picked Raspberry, Ripe Persimmon, Squeezed Lemonade, VersaFine Vintage Sepia, VersaMark, dies – Essentials by Ellen (word), Lawn Fawn (stitched rectangle), embossing powders – Ranger Silver Pearl, Stampendous Gold Detail, Stampin’ Up! Silver Detail, organdy ribbon – Offray.

Pink Encouragement Card – Essentials by Ellen June 2017 Mix It Up Challenge

This month, the Essentials by Ellen Mix It Up Challenge is using the BCRF (Breast Cancer Research Foundation) stamp and die set, Courage, that was released recently.

I made a background of pinks and green, and mounted a sentiment on top of that. A few sequins, and I was done.

Supplies: Stamps – Essentials by Ellen, paper – Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Poptone Razzle Berry, inks – Stampin’ Up! Green Galore (retired), Pink Passion (retired), Pixie Pink (retired), VersaFine Onyx Black, die – My Favorite Things, sequins – Pretty Pink Posh, embossing powder – Filigree Fine Art Powder clear, organdy ribbon – Offray.