All My Kisses {Avery Elle}

Hello friends, 

Christmas is still fresh in my mind, but I love that we are shifting into Valentine's mode. Valentine's Day is my most favorite of all the holidays for paper crafting! Bring on all the hearts, doilies, and all the delicious shades of reds and pinks. I am here for it! I am kicking off my Valentine's Day crafting with a card featuring Avery Elle's All My Kisses stamp set and the XOXO Elle-ments die. 

I die cut the XOXO Elle-ments die from a panel of white card stock three times. I adhered the die cut panel to a piece of water color card stock blended with Distress Oxide Inks and spattered with white paint. 

I stamped, colored and die cut the adorable puppy. I stamped the sentiment onto a strip of black card stock with Versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I adhered the puppy and the sentiment to the card. As a finishing touch, I added the three tiny hearts. I die cut the hearts from red card stock and added a layer of glossy accents to the die cuts for added dimension. 

Supplies: 

• All My Kisses clear stamps
• Die: All My Kisses Elle-ments 
• Die: XOXO Elle-ments

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Katie

I Chews You Valentine {Avery Elle}

Hi friends,

I am popping in today to share a card and tip featuring Avery Elle's Shark Hugs Clear Stamps and coordinating Elle-ments dies.

The Shark Hugs shark is so dapper, and I love that you can tuck various accessories into his fins. While you can certainly use a masking technique to place items into his fins, the coordinating Shark Hugs Elle-ments dies contain a special fin flap die that makes it so simple to tuck items into his fins.

I follow some easy steps to align the fin flaps die with the stamped image.

Once the fin flaps are cut, proceed as usual with coloring and die-cutting the shark image. I colored my shark with Copic markers and chose to tuck the bitten heart into his fins. For the background, I die-cut a panel of white card stock with the Three Hearts Elle-ments die. I blended a panel of watercolor card stock with a few shades of Distress Oxide Ink and spattered it with water to lift off some of the ink. 

 I placed the Three Heart panel on top of the blended panel. I die cut the Heart Frame Elle-ments die from gold card stock and placed the shark on top. I stamped the sentiment with black ink and attached the finished panel to an A-2 notecard. 

Supplies:

Shark Hugs Clear Stamps

Die- Shark Hugs Elle-ments

Die- Heart Frame Elle-ments

Die- Three Hearts Elle-Meets

I hope that you will invite this handsome shark into your crafty collection and give the fin flap die a try! 

Thanks for stopping by!
Katie

Cupids! {Avery Elle}

Hi everyone!

I am on the Avery Elle blog today with card to share using the sweet Cupids Clear Stamps. These little Cupid babies are so adorable, I could not resist using all three of the Cupid on my card.

To start, I ink blended a cloud background using a DIY stencil I created using the Pierced Cloud Elle-ments dies. Next, I stamped the Cupid, cloud and bird images and colored them with Copic markers.

To add a little extra interest to the card, I die cut the heart and confetti trail onto the card front and added some glitter behind the die cut for a little subtle sparkle and shine. I adhered the images to the card and stamped the sentiment with black ink.

Supplies:

Cupids Clear Stamps

Dies- Cupids Elle-ments

Dies- Pierced Cloud Elle-ments

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Classroom Valentine Bookmarks {Avery Elle}

Hello friends,

I am on the Avery Elle blog this week with a little project featuring the Party Tag Elle-ment dies. The Party Tags are wonderfully versatile. I adore the size and fun fishtail design of these tags. With Valentine's Day coming up, I thought the tags were perfectly suited for creating bookmarks for a classroom Valentine exchange or to give the special readers in your life.

I die cut the largest tag from water color card stock and a second layer from pale pink card stock. Onto the water color tag, I created a cloudy background using a DIY cloud stencil and Distress Ink. I stamped the images from the Cupids stamp set onto white card stock and colored the images with Copic markers. I adhered the images to the tag.

I stamped the sentiments onto white card stock with clear Embossing ink and heat embossed the sentiments with Avery Elle's Rose Gold fine detail embossing powder. Finally I attached all the tags together using Raspberry Hemp Twine.

Supplies

Dies: Party Tag Elle-ments

Cupids Clear Stamps

Dies: Cupids Elle-ments

Rose Gold Metallic Embossing Powder

Raspberry Hemp Twine

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Happy Heart Card {Avery Elle}

Hello friends,

I am on the Avery Elle blog this week with a quick and cute little card to share with you featuring the And Then stamp set.  And Then is a fantastic sentiment set.  It's perfect for your all the loves in your life, from family and significant others to kiddos and special friends.

I adore the "You make my Heart Happy" sentiment and it takes center stage on the Tons of Hearts Frame Elle-ments die.  I stamped the sentiment with Versafine Black Onyx ink and heat embossed it with Avery Elle's clear embossing powder.

I backed the hearts frame die that with a panel of blended Distress Oxide inks (Picked Raspberry, Festive Berries, Spiced Marmalade, and Wilted Violet).  I attached the panel to a white notecard trimmed down to 4.25" square.

Supplies: 

And Then Clear Stamps

Die- Tons of Hearts Frame Elle-ments

Clear Fine Embossing Powder

I hope this little card made your heart happy!  It makes my heart happy that you shared part of your day with me!  Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Ombre Valentine Peacock {Avery Elle}

Hello friends,

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and I have a cute card to share with you today featuring Avery Elle's Peacock stamp set and the Tons of Hearts Frame Elle-ments die.

I die cut a white panel of card stock using the Tons of Hearts Frame Elle-ments die.  In the center, I stamped and heat embossed the Peacock and the sentiment with Veramark ink and embossed the images using Avery Elle's fine-detail embossing powder in Rose Gold.

I colored the Peacock in shades of pink and red with Copic markers and adhered the frame panel to an ink-blended piece of card stock.  I love how the background colors peek through the heart openings!

Supplies:

Peacock Clear Stamps

Die- Tons of Heart Frame Elle-ments 

Rose Gold Embossing Powder

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Three Hearts Die Inspiration {Avery Elle}

Hello friends,

Stopping in today to share a card idea featuring Avery Elle's new Three Hearts Die.  I just adore the latest addition to the Three Shape series of dies. It's perfect for Valentines Day!  Supply list and links are below.

I positioned the die onto an A2 panel of white card stock and die cut the trio of hearts a few times.  I adhered the die cut panel on top of a panel of watercolor card stock colored with Distress Oxide inks and sprayed with water.

Inside the hearts I tucked the pair of cacti from the Stuck on You stamp set.  I added some of the tiny sentiments from this set inside the heart shapes.  They fit perfectly and remind me of conversation hearts!  I trimmed the panel and adhered it to a red A2 note card.

Supplies

Die: Three Hearts Elle-Ments

Stuck on You Clear Stamps

Die: Stuck on You Elle-Ments

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Love You Like No Otter {Avery Elle}

Hello friends, 

Just popping in today with a card to share featuring the totally adorable Otterly Fantastic stamp set.  These otters are the just the cutest, so I couldn't resist using two on my simple card!

I stamped, colored and die cut the otters and the hearts. I blended a circle of Distress Oxide Ink in Salty Ocean onto a panel of watercolor card stock and spritzed with with water to lift some of the pigment.

I adhered the otters to the panel of watercolor card stock and die cut the panel with the Wonky Stitches Elle-ments die. I stamped the sentiment in black ink and attached the panel to a red note card.  A few clear gems add a finishing touch. 

Supplies:

Otterly Fantastic Clear Stamps

Die: Otterly Fantastic Elle-ments

Die: Wonky Stitches Elle-ments

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Katie

CardMaker Magazine + Lawn Fawn Valentine's Blog Hop

Good morning and Happy Fri-Yay friends,

The CardMaker Magazine Blog girls are teaming up today with Lawn Fawn to share some ideas and inspiration using Lawn Fawn's newest Valentine's themed products just in time for the big, lovey-dovey, flowers and hearts holiday next week.

You should have arrived here from Stephanie Gold's blog, but if you just stumbled upon my post and want to start at the very beginning, please visit the CardMaker blog or the Lawn Fawn blog.

For my card, I used the Love Letters stamp set and dies along with the Happy Mail die set to create this wintery Valentine's Day scene.

The Happy Mail dies are just so much fun to use.  The set creates a mailbox that you can actually tuck letters into.  Imagine writing a tiny note and tucking it into the mailbox! The mailbox flag could be attached using a brad so the flag could be raised and lowered.  This set really got my creative wheels turning!

I stamped, die cut and colored the sweet birdies with Copic Markers and arranged them in the scene.  A few clear sequins added a finishing touch.

All of the stamps and dies that I used today can be purchased from Lawn Fawn.

Well that's all for me today, but your next stop on today's hop is Rebecca Keppel. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

CardMaker Blog feature- DIY Fringe Heart {VIDEO}

Hello friends,

I have my first feature up on the CardMaking Connections blog today with an idea to share for making a quick and easy Valentine, this DIY Fringe Heart.

I also put together a video showing how it all came together.  I hope you'll take a peek and visit me over at the Cardmaking Connections blog to see more. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Favorite Person {Avery Elle}

Hello friends,

I am on the Avery Elle blog today with a card featuring the Favorite Person stamp set.  Favorite Person includes lots of wonderful sentiments to let some person know that they are, well, your favorite and the styling of sentiments is just gorgeous and so sophisticated.  Links to my Avery Elle supplies are listed below.

 For my card, I decided to stamp the scripty "XO" sentiment repeatedly to create a pattern across a piece of white card stock.  Then I cut another piece of white card stock with the Dotted Border Elle-ments die to create a diagonal opening so the "XO" pattern can show through.

I stamped the sentiment with black ink before adhering it to the "XO" panel with foam tape.  A few clear sequins added a little touch of sparkle.

Supplies: 

Favorite Person Clear Stamps

Die: Dotted Border Elle-ments

Well that's all for me this fine Friday.  Be sure to swing by the Avery Elle blog for even more inspiration from the Avery Elle team.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Katie  

Essentials by Ellen January Pin-Sights Challenge

Hello friends, 

I am honored today to be playing along with the January Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights Challenge. 

The Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights challenge is a monthly inspirational challenge based on a Pinterest Inspired photo that is located on the CLASSroom blog.  There's lots to love in this month's inspiration photo- so many dreamy images and luscious shades of red.

I used the Essentials by Ellen Love You So clear stamps and the Essentials by Ellen Folk Hearts designer dies to create my card.  With the inspiration photo andValentine's Day right around the corner, I was immediately drawn to these stamps and dies.  I love the brush lettering the the Love You So stamp set and the hearts are the perfect size for cards. 

I used Distress Ink to watercolor a panel of watercolor paper.  Once the panel was dry, I spritzed it with water and blotted the panel to create the bleached out looking spots.  I die cut a panel of white card stock with the largest heart die.  Before adhering the die cut card stock to the watercolor panel, I applied watermark ink to the edge of the card stock and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder.  

I adhered the card stock to the watercolored panel and stamped the sentiment from Love you So with black ink before adhering both layers to a white card base. I have to tell you that this "I love you more" sentiment reminds me of a little back and forth saying that my hubby and I had when we were newlyweds.  It went like this...

Person 1: I love you.

Person 2: I love you too.

Person 1: I love you four.

Person 2: I love you more.

Weren't we the cutest? 

A complete list of my supplies is listed below. 

Now it's your turn to play along for an amazing prize! A random challenge participant will receive a $50 gift certificate to the Ellen Hutson store .  To be eligible, you MUST use Essentials by Ellen products and the photo badge as inspiration. Submit your entry to the inlinkz on the challenge post. 

I hope you can play along with us this month.  Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Love You So Card Supplies:

• Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Love You So by Julie Ebersole
• Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies, Folk Hearts by Julie Ebersole
• Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Festive Berries
• Ranger Distree Ink Pad, Abandoned Coral
• Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Picked Raspberry
• Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad, Seedless Preserves
• Verafine Ink Pad, Onyx Black- 
• Versamark Ink Pad
• Ranger Embossing Powder, Gold

Classroom Valentines with Hogs and Kisses {Avery Elle}

Hello friends, 

I am on the Avery Elle blog today with a trio of Classroom Valentines using the Hogs and Kisses stamp set and coordinating Hogs and Kisses Elle-ments dies. 

I die cut white card stock using the rectangle die included with the Envie Elle-ments die.  Even with the red card stock mat, the note cards fit perfectly inside the envelopes.  I stamped and die cut the animals, colored the images with Copic markers and stamped a sentiment inside each.  I adhered the images to the notecards and added the hearts and grass.  I am thinking that these cards will be perfect for Sophie's Class Valentines this year.

That's all for me today, but be sure to stop by the Avery Elle blog for even more inspiration from the AE team!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

#TBT- Lots of Love {Avery Elle}

Hello friends, 

It's time for another Throwback Thursday on the Avery Elle blog.  This time we are featuring a set chock full of sentiments for all the loves in your life, the Lots of Love stamp set. 

I paired Lots of Love with the Burst Elle-ments dies to create a Valentine target.  I stamped the sentiment in black and added one of the little hearts included in the set to the center of the target.  I added an arrow from the Aim High stamp set and die cut the dotted border using the Pierced Rectangles Elle-ments dies.

Well that's all for me today, but be sure to stop by the Avery Elle blog for even more inspiration plus a chance to win this "love"ly stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Sweet Valentine Treats {Paper Smooches SPARKS}

Hello friends!  

Today starts another Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge.  This week is an ANYTHING GOES challenge, so albeit a day late, I thought I would share the Valentine's Day treats that my girls handed out to their classmates on Friday.  

Valentine's Day is like the winter equivalent of Halloween whereby sugar and all things sweet seem to rule the day- at least for the classroom set.  The girls LOVE Pixy Stix and begged me to figure out a way to make these sticks of sugar into a Valentine.  We ended up fashioning them into arrows complete with feathers and heart arrowheads. 

We die-cut hearts using the Hearts Dies and glued a heart to the end of each stick.  Colorful card stock cut with the Feathers Dies adorn the other end of the arrow.  I wrapped the base of the feathers with a bit of washi tape to help keep them in place.

It's just not Valentine's Day without a punny sentiment, so the Love Struck stamp set came to our rescue with the fitting "Quill You Be My Valentine" sentiment.  We stamped the sentiment onto a circle punched from white cardstock and mounted the circle to pink card stock cut with the Pinked Circles die before glueing it to the Pixy Stix. 

Once dry, the girls could write the to and from information on the back of the circle.   From what I was told, most of these arrows didn't make it out of the classroom parties and were consumed on the spot.  So now, a moment of silence for the 2015 Gehring Valentine's... we barely knew thee, and are grateful for your contribution in making this Valentine's Day just a bit sweeter.  

So, now it's your turn!  Make anything you like using Paper Smooches Stamps and link up your creation to the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog by Saturday, February 21 at 11:59 PST.  The winner of this week's challenge will receive a $30.00 gift certificate to the Paper Smooches shop!  Yay!!! 

Be sure to check out the inspiration from the other Paper Smooches SPARKS team members playing along with this week's challenge: 

Lynn Mangan

Lori Tecler
Larissa Heskett

Savannah O'Gwynn

That's all for me today!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I can't wait to see what you create! 

Katie

Silly Valentines with Waffle Flower Crafts

Hello friends,

It's Silly Valentine Week on the Waffle Flower Crafts blog, and today I am sharing some Funny Valentines perfect for the classroom.  Here's a peek:

You can see the finished product and read all about my process here. I hope you can take a minute to stop by and see what I have been up to! 

Katie

Bee Mine {Avery Elle}

Hello friends!  

I am up on the Avery Elle blog today sharing a card I made with the Bee Mine stamp set.  

First, I made a card base from Sea Glass card stock.  Next I trimmed a panel of white card stock and I stamped and colored the bee hive image.  I positioned the Bee Mine Elle-ments die and held it in place with a bit of washi tape as I partially cut out the hive.  I completed the die cut panel with the dotted straight line die from the Dotted Borders Elle-ments set. 

I die cut and colored the little bee also included in the Bee Mine set and embossed the dotted trail onto the card base.  A few yellow and pink sequins add a finishing touch.

Well, that's all for me today. Be sure to stop by the Avery Elle blog today (and EVERY day) for even more inspiration from my talented teamies.  Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

Hey Sweets {Paper Smooches SPARKS}

Hey Sweets! :)

Just popping in this morning to share a card that I made for the latest Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge.  This week is a sketch challenge and here's my take:

I sort of flipped the sketch a bit and instead of using a scalloped frame, I used the scalloped frosting edge from the Cupcakes die.  Before adhering the cupcake to my card, I added a bit of interest by stamping the frosting with the polka dots from the Geo-Graphic stamp set and the wrapper with the diagonal stripes from the Kissables 2 stamps set. 

The sentiment if from the Ghoulfriends stamp set and I topped the cupcake with a heart from the Hearts Dies set.  The white sprinkles are enamel dots. 

Here's a look at this week's inspiration sketch: 

Ready to play?  You know the routine!  Link up your take on this week's challenge to the Paper Smooches SPARKS blog by 11:59 p.m. PST on Saturday, January 31.  The winner of the challenge will get a $30.00 gift certificate to the Paper Smooches store!  Yay!!!!  

Be sure to check out the inspiration from the other SPARKS team members playing along with this week's challenge: 

Lynn Mangan

Lori Tecler
Larissa Heskett

Savannah O'Gwynn

That's all for me today!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  I can't wait to see what you create! 

Katie

Bee Mine Valentines {Avery Elle}

Hello friends, 

I am over on the Avery Elle blog today sharing an idea for personalized Valentines using the Elle's Alpha's stamp set and the Bee Mine stamp set. 

Using the Just a Note Elle-ment die, I die cut two of the notched banners from Pixie card stock and one from white card stock.  I adhered the two pink die cuts together and trimmed the notched end from the white card stock die cut.  I stamped and colored the Bee Mine hive, bee, and dotted line.  

Next, I stamped "Sophie" using the cutie Elle's Alphas stamp set.  I added the trio of hearts from the Lots of Love stamp set. 

I couldn't resist dressing up the Just a Note envelope by stamping some of the sentiments and images from the Lots of Love stamp set.

On the back, I stamped the woodgrain pattern from the Woodgrain & More stamp set and secured it closed with one of the hearts from Lots of Love.  

Well that's all for me today, but be sure to stop by the Avery Elle blog for even more inspiration from my awesome AE teamies!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie

You + Me Card {Take 2 Thursday}

Hello friends, 

It's been a few weeks and Lindsay and I are back again today; this time with another edition of Take 2 Thursday.  This week, we are using the adorable Snow Day stamp set from Lawn Fawn. With the holidays behind us, I decided to use the tiny heart images included in the set and paired it with this sketch from Retro Sketches to make a clean and simple Valentine's Day card. 

On a scrap of white cardstock, I die cut a heart  and stamped the Me + You sentiment.  The sentiment is from Lawn Fawn's Woodgrain Backdrops stamp set. 

I lightly traced the heart onto a panel of white card stock and filled in the shape with the tiny hearts.  I erased the pencil lines and adhered the heart negative panel with foam tape.  Finally, I adhered the white card stock to a merlot card base.  

Well, that's all for me today, but be sure to stop over at Lindsay's blog to check out her fabulous take on this set.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Katie