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Hello Friends! Happy Sunday-Funday! Happy to be popping in with my latest CAS Challenge card! I'm so pleased with this one, even though I think it's bordering a little on the not so clean and simple lines...What do you think? It's a big challenge for me, so this is definitely still CAS compared to my other cards. CAS kicked up a notch? Is that even a thing? But what I love the most, is that even with a little texture, it's still a very mail-able card. And have you seen the ultra thin pop-up adhesives?? They would make this card even thinner. I can't remember the manufacturer, but if you know what I'm talking about, please share it in the comments! To start today's card, I used a cardstock base, but quickly decided I wanted a more ethereal look to this card, and die-cut an ever-so-slightly larger scalloped base out of vellum to lay over-top. The technique I've used today, is a quick and easy way to make your stencils really work some mileage for you! Usin...

Hey everybody! Can you believe it's exactly one month until Christmas?! It's approaching quickly and I still have a heap of cards and oodles of ideas to share with you before then!  Today I'm sharing a little CAS duo - and a card that was inspired by  PTI's November Blog Hop . I've been working a lot on paring down the layers over the years. And while I'm not quite ready to give up the intricate cards just yet, I am trying to challenge myself to step outside the box a little. So far so good :)  For today's challenge, I wanted to focus on a single layer background. Plain cardstock seemed a little too vanilla, so I decided to make a dotted and festive one instead! I find this to be such a fun and relaxing technique. And the tools are so simple: just a stencil, an ink blender and some ink. I love the satisfaction I get when I peel back that stencil and reveal whats hiding beneath. It makes me smile every time! For this background, I used a polka dot stencil ( h...

Happy Saturday, Friends! I hope you've all had a wonderful Holiday thus far.  Today I'm sharing with you a very easy background that you can quickly add to your tags, cards, or other projects if you're in a hurry. ______________________________________________________________________ TIP: STENCILING WITH MARKERS By using stencils you have on hand, along with a few fun marker colors, it takes no time at all to add a little bit of extra fun to your projects! Using a lined stencil, such as the one here , is a quick and easy way to add color with markers. The openings are smaller, so there is less room for error, and coloring is a lot easier when you don't have to cover large surfaces! Just swipe your marker across a few times, and voila! Don't have a stencil? No problem! Simply use a ruler and draw the lines.  ______________________________________________________________________ Once I had my tag all stenciled up, I added some string through the top, and a couple of g...

Hi everyone! I hope you've all had a splendid Thanksgiving, enjoyed with family and friends, and all the turkey you can eat! Even though North of the border, our Thanksgiving tradition falls a lot earlier, we still partake in one of the biggest shopping days of the year, so I've compiled below a little list (it was hard , but I narrowed it down to ONLY 4 shoppes) of my favorite BFS happening through the weekend!  And I'm sure, just like me, after all the shopping frenzy, you might need some peace and quiet in your life, and what better than some alone time with Copics and this Beautiful Bouquet floral stamp!  I also thought it would be fun to start a new card series on the blog: Delicate.  I've been straying a little from this style. So this is my way of getting back to it and sharing a few soft + feminine cards with you all.  To start this card, I first stamped the beautiful floral and embossed it in silver. I knew I would eventually add silver glittered accents, s...

Gingerbread is one of our favorite cookie flavors. We love it so much around here, that it's a staple year-round! A few might say it's plain or boring, or only to be used for making delicious holiday decor. I say, gingerbread can be crazy flavorful, soft, and sooo yummy! While I still lived in Europe, we often enjoyed Lebkuchen, which is a gingerbread of sorts, but a much more complex and flavorful version (imho). I have tried, to no avail, to get the recipe right, so if any of you happen to have one kicking around...I beg you....Please, please share it with me!  For now, though, I'll just share this little tribute to my favorite cookie. Oh and a lovely textured background, inspired by Holiday icing.  To start my little card today, I used a circle stencil to ink up the focal background of my card, in colors of Aqua Mist and Spring Rain .  ______________________________________________________________________                  TI...

Hi Friends and happy Monday!  It's the start of the week, and I'm super excited to share with you the start of my new series: CAS (Clean and Simple) Challenge! Anyone who's followed this blog for some time, knows just how truly challenging this is for me, and that I've been trying to pare back for some time - mostly because it's fun to try something new, but also because layered cards take  forever ! Not that I mind, but sometimes it's really nice to be able to walk away with a finished card in 15 mins :) So this monthly challenge is devoted to just that. And there is no better way to usher in a speedy finish, than with today's feature: a single layer stenciled card.  This little number was very easy to pull together. The biggest challenge was deciding which stencil to use, picking my color combo, and finding just the right accents. Not too shabby, right? To start this card, I cut a square base out of some cardstock and covered it with one of my favorite ste...

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...

Good Morning! Many of the cards I've been gravitating towards lately are all about gratitude.  It's so easy to forget how much one has to be thankful for when life is not so easy.  But just like a rainbow, emerging through the clouds and rain, so does a grateful heart in times of difficulty. And just like a rainbow, gratitude has the power to brighten a cloudy day like nothing else!  Especially with the help of a pile of colorful pumpkins at the end :)  Before I get to my card, I want to take just a second to thank you all for your patience with my pre-scheduled posts as these last few weeks passed by. And for still visiting this lil' blog in my absence! I apologize that I have not been able to get back to you all just yet - I'm definitely working on that as we speak. Things are a little bit better now for me health wise, so I'm going to try and be more present in blogland in the coming weeks. Thank you all so much for your support and love! It means so much to me!...

Well today's card is a wee departure for me! No fancy bows, no patterned papers, no buttons and little texture... Okay I lied on the texture part :)  The focal feature of this card is a technique I love so much. It's one of my favorite ways to play with ink blending! So many talented artists use it beautifully, so this is just my little take. I love the dimension it achieves, without too many fussy layers. First Layer To start, I used a card base and blended five colors, one on each quadrant of the card and one transition color in between. I used Pale Peony on the top left, Hawaiian Shores on the top right, and Bright Buttercup in between. For the bottom, I used Pale Peony on the left, Bright Buttercup in the middle and Spring Moss on the right.  Second Layer   This is where the fun begins! I used PTI's heartburst stencil from the Sunshine and Rainbows kit, and used intensified versions of the colors below to accentuate the rays. On the top left I used Raspberry Fiz...