clair087

As many of you. we've started receiving some Holiday happy mail and I couldn't be more thrilled to open my mailbox every morning. Can we please have Christmas mail surprises all year long?! In light of the increased mail action, I thought it would be fun to do a Delicate Series project that is a teensy bit related to this and will hopefully be helpful in your holiday crafting! First I need to ask...Does anyone else get a little squirm-ish when a card sheds glitter everywhere?! I loooove things that sparkle and shine, but if it makes your house look like Santa's workshop, and you're picking itty bitty twinkles off everything from your cat, to your hubby's work clothes (lol), you gut-wrenchingly know that card just might be going back into the envelope! Since I don't think that any card deserves such a harsh punishment, I'm sharing my favorite way to avoid this situation! (To be honest, that would never, ever happen around here. It just might reside on a high ...

Hello Friends! I mentioned I'd be back with the beautiful Altenew alphas. This time around with a sparkly, glittery take, that features a negative inlay and a fabulous way to stretch these fantastic dies! To start my card, I used the pretty Caps Bold alpha dies to create a negative cut-out of my focal point.  I've been loving the word 'joy' and I've chosen it as my go-to for this Season's cards. You'll see a few more cards with it yet to come. ______________________________________________________________________ TIP: FAUX INLAY LETTERING To accentuate the negative die-cuts, and create the look of inlay lettering, rather than actually embossing each letter, you can use a cardstock base covered with a sticky double-sided adhesive sheet . For a two-tone look, use a piece of cardstock to cover the lower portion of the now-sticky paper, as you apply the embossing powder.  Then simply add a mixture of gold, pink, white and glittered embossing powders to create ...

As much happiness as colorful holiday cards bring me, there is just something about this color combo. The connection to Christmas is as instant as hearing Christmas carols on the radio, or smelling gingerbread!  So today, I have two little shares using this traditional palette and a few tips on how to stretch your dies! ____________________________________________________________________ TIP: STITCHED DIES First up,  I have a snowflake tag, cut with PTI's Stitched Snowflake die . I love that the holes are already pre-cut! I usually add a little bit of string or thin wire (if using as an ornament) and it's all set to go! This makes your "stitched" dies double as a pretty fine base for tags or ornaments! ____________________________________________________________________ To decorate my tag, I used a vellum oval, embossing tiny 'snow' with Altenew's Floral Frame stamp .   I then added a die-cut sentiment and banner (both from my stash, but similar here and ...

Helloooo Friends! I've got a  winter-wonderland-of-a-card to share with you all! I was inspired by the beautiful flakes outside and wanted to create something just as soft and delicate. I've also been itching to use this little deer cutie and I'm so happy to finally share him with you :) To start this card, I adhered some aqua and white polka dot paper onto a card base.  I then used various snowflake stamps to stamp my background with Versamark ink , and white embossing powder to emboss all the flakes. A background stamp like this one would work wonders here! After embossing, I added iridescent rhinestones and Nuvo drops to create a twinkling effect. I used white cardstock to back the vellum. I found that the snowflakes were competing with the aqua background a little too much for my liking. I then added a frame of greenery and adhered these layers onto my card base. Lastly, I stamped and die cut this sweet little deer, using Altenew's Modern Deer stamp and die set.  *...

Hello everyone! I hope your weekend has been delightful. I promised I would share a little bit about my upcoming plans for this blog, so let's get to that first. So much change is in store, but I'm going to try and break it down a little :) INSTAGRAM Guys, the day is finally here...I'm sooo excited to announce that I have finally joined Instagram! I plan to share all the latest updates from this blog, crafty/life moments, and whatever other random whims come along. I am probably the least social media savvy person you will meet, so it might be a rough ride to start, but I hope you'll join me anyway!  You can find me at @ivana.creates Also, huge spoiler alert in regards to my upcoming name change -  I'm launching #letsmakesomethinglovely  and hope you'll join in! It's where you'll be able to find all of my posts, but I hope you'll join me there too! I'm super excited to see you all in insta-land! Let's be friends, okay? NEW BLOG DESIGN A brand...

Happy Saturday! It's looking a whole lot like winter here, and snow is all around us! Naturally, cozy cards are on my mind, so today I'm sharing a quick little number that  just might warm even the coldest of days :) I started this card with a patterned paper journal card, complete with polka dots, and a striped heart. I love pulling colors from paper patterns, and I thought the combination of burnt orange and red was perfect for a comforting vibe. I added some mustard to the mix and a wee bit of yellow as well. I framed my sweet cup with these beautiful stamped branches using Altenew's Floral Frame stamp set.  I colored some leaves selectively, and also added a few berries using PTI's Holiday Hugs stamp and die set. I used colors of Smokey Shadow, Pure Poppy, Terracotta Tile, and Saffron Spice  to match the cozy hues.  For the striped mug, I used an older stamp set from The Craft's Meow (no longer available), but I did find this sweet stamp that would work perfec...

It's been a few weeks now, but I've wanted to share this post for some time and I'm finally getting around to it. I created this little card for my mom. She makes my heart so happy.  Over the past year, my health challenges have made even the simplest of tasks impossible at times. Things like cooking, cleaning and general everyday stuff.  We all know how things like this can pile up when not done for a week or two, or even a month or two. But going on a year, I was starting to feel overwhelmed at the sheer amount of life stuff that had mounted. It seemed like every corner of our house (and our life) needed attention, but I could only give so much and I was at a loss of how to tackle it all. My sweet mom, without hesitation, offered to come and help. So, a few weeks ago, she visited and spent an entire week with me, helping organize, clean and sort everything out. I was fortunate to have a couple of good days and even joined in on the cleaning (and even got back into cooking...

Good morning!  How are you all doing today? I hope your week has been full of creativity. Today, I'm sharing a card that I've been meaning to do for some time now. It's probably been done before, but the idea came upon me when I was stamping with multi-layer stamps, thinking how fun it would be to add more dimension with a bit of embossing. I find this technique especially fitting for Autumn cards, where layers evoke so much coziness. And it's such a fun way to stamp on colored cardstock :) I am also very, very excited to share with you my most recent favorite stamp...which just so happens to be on SALE for a limited time ;) So here we go! Altenew SALE! Before we get into the nitty gritty, SB.com is having a huge sale on Altenew products over the next three days. The sale is happening until midnight, Thursday Sept. 20th and most of the stamps are 20% off or more! My favoritest, cutest little mushroom stamp used above is only $12 right now! And so are way too many others...

Helooo everyone! Have you been having a good week so far?  I hope all is well wherever you may be!  Over the course of this past year, I've dabbled a bit in different techniques and card styles.  And I've started to realize that some of my cards fall into the traditional style you've all come to know from me, while some have started to morph into a more simple and clean category. And then there is also a third, completely new look for me.  I decided that a fitting title would be "Painted Cards" because they require a tad more artistry, a few more mixed mediums, and at times, a bit of painting. Today's post is all about how to achieve this look.  But do not fret - even if you are not a painter or an artist, these types of cards are so doable.  I'd love to share just a few of my go-to tips here with you today! ______________________________________________________________________ TIP: USING 'PAINTED' PRODUCTS When selecting stamps, in particular, it ...

Good Morning!  It's no secret I love pastels and soft colors, but I also adore bold, bright hues, and at times, a more muted palette. The thing I really struggle with, is mixing them all! So today's card is all about that and a couple of little tips I've picked up along the way in making different color families come together. Altenew SALE Before we get to the card, I wanted to share that this sweet stamp set is currently a part of a huge sale on SB.com - most Altenew stamps and dies are 20% off or more, meaning this gorgeous (and really large) stamp set is under $18! You can use my link here or use the link provided in the supplies list below. The sale is valid until midnight Thursday, September 20th! Happy Shopping! *** To start today's card, I used PTI's Tag Sale Quilted die to cut out the scalloped tag. I used Altenew's gorgeous Peony Bouquet stamps for all of the floral stamping. I love that this set combines outline, fill and shading options for each fl...