clair087

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...

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 ...

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.  *...

Hi Friends! Today I'm sharing a Holiday card I created with some non-holiday stamps. I wanted to make a snowflake card but I was missing a large, beautiful flake in my stamp collection.  So, I decided to make my own! Using some simple pencil sketch guides, and the handy  Misti stamp tool , it was pretty quick and easy to pull this together! I used the beautiful Pinkfresh Studio Pretty Paisley stamp set. I loved the insert paisley motif, and thought it would work perfectly for building my snowflake. If you have any stamp designs on hand that are linear in nature, they would work perfectly for this! Intricate borders, dotted borders, fancy motifs...The possibilities are endless! STEP 1 - TEMPLATE I first decided to cut a square piece of cardstock, measuring across two paisley motifs back-to-back to determine the length and width of the square. I then used a light pencil line to draw two lines, creating quadrants on my square, to act as a guide. STEP 2 - STAMP + EMBOSS I stamped...

Winter's not quite here and thank heavens for that. It gets so cold here, and it lasts for so long that I'm happy for it to stay away for just a tad longer. But we are dipping down in temps and snow is on the way. And just like clockwork, around this time of year, I'm very eager to play with festive stamps. Especially when it involves gingerbread and colorful candy! I loved creating this 'sweet' pouch. The negative gingerbread cut reminded me of a cookie that is no more. Ever have a delicious treat that you're so looking forward to munching on, only to find out you were a tad too late?! It happens a lot in this house, so I chuckled when I made this. I'm afraid some of these products are no longer available, but I do think this idea could work well with any stamps and dies: Christmas Trees and Ornaments, Christmas Presents and Bows, or even be used with other themes. You can still find the gingerbread dies on PTI's website, but the stamps have been retir...

It's such a happy, sunny day here. I hope it's much the same wherever you are.  Thanks so much for visiting today - I have in store for you a very simple and fun card, with a few techniques I've been loving lately. It involves die-cuts, vellum and double-embossing, so let's get started! I have been drawn to embossing quite a bit, and especially loving the layers that can be achieved with this technique. For some tips on layering with embossing, check out this post I did a while back.  For this card, I used the same technique, to add many different textures and colors. I was inspired by a really beautiful Moroccan rug, and wanted to emulate the design and colors. I used Papertrey Ink's Southwestern Style stamp which is no longer available, but I looove this set  along with this set , for an awesome switch up. Or you could use this PTI set (but it's a last-call item, and will likely not be around for much longer). I stamped all of my borders on vellum, for some...

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...

I've been stamping with a lot of florals lately and thought a Holiday twist would be fun! I was super inspired by Melissa's beautiful pastel holiday creation over on the PTI blog, so I decided to enter the challenge with this little number. I'm sort of loving the switch up of colors and materials here! Such a fun card to make, with plenty of layers. So let's break it down! To start, I stamped a half card base with 1canoe2's Twilight  floral stamp set, in Archival ink colors of Violet, Tea Rose , Sky Blue , Viridian, Leaf Green,  and  Cornflower Blu e. Just at the top and bottom, I added a stitched detail using PR's Positive Thoughts stamp border. I adhered this piece onto a my card base, so it could act as a pocket. On the side of the base, I stamped candy canes, hearts and bonbons and added a few melted Perler beads (tutorial  here ) as well as a dash of Nuvo Jewel drops in Rose Water . Inside the pocket, I tucked in a little tag with more soft layers. At th...

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! 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!...