One in a Million

This next card is another thank you. This summer, JP and I made the decision to hire a babysitter for the afternoons and it was honestly, the best thing we could have done for both our son and our sanity! I've been able to get work done uninterrupted knowing he was in good hands either at the park or splashing in his pool in the backyard. I was worried about how he would get along with someone who was essentially a stranger, but being a teacher herself, she was SO good with him and he really got along so well with her. (he talked about her a lot over the weekends 😏) 

Sadly though, with the school year approaching, her days with us were coming to an end.  I wanted to make something to show our deep appreciation so along with some goodies, I knew I wanted to make a card. The crayons are from Lawn Fawn and I couldn't wait to finally have an excuse to use them. I used copics to color them and placed a smiley face on one of them. Instead of using the sentiment that came with them, I went with this one from Mama Elephant. To finish it off, I let my son decorate the inside. 

Overdue Thank You

Well, that was a bit of a hiatus... There was so much going on the last couple of months that it was impossible to sit down and craft.  I even had to *gasp* purchase cards for some events which really annoys me. Last week I did a major cleaning of my desk so hopefully that will inspire me to get crafty again (because God knows I'm still PURCHASING crafting supplies....)

This card was waaaay overdue. It's also the first one I've made in almost 4 months so I had to ease my way back in. The background was made with a stencil I got for my birthday from Waffle Flower. I wanted to make something colorful and upbeat. I thought about dry embossing glitter instead, but I figured I should stick to something foolproof. I'm not sure where the sentiment is from, but I made it in two tones of Blue since this is a thank you card for an incredibly sweet coworker that sent me some Bluey merch for my son. (we're wackadoo obsessed over here, kids) I thought of adding sparkles or embellishments, but then I thought it looked complete as a simple card.   

Have you watched Bluey? It's a daily occurrence in this house and it helps that the show is entertaining for both kids and adults. My husband says it's the Seinfeld of preschool shows. 😁

A Kawaii Hello

This bunny card was made for my friend Rachel. When I first started crafting years ago, her website was one I would go to for inspiration. She was always winning card challenges and for a newbie like myself, getting to her level was something to aspire to! Fast forward a couple of years, I realized we actually had more in common than just crafting (including living quite close to each other!) We'd leave comments on each other's blogs but with the introduction of social media, we actually started having real conversations. She's such a close friend at this point despite the fact that we've never actually met face to face! Hopefully if this pandemic ever calms down, we can leave the kids with their dads and have a proper craft day.

I wanted to send her a card to say hello and Happy Spring. I was also sending her a Tuxedo Sam memo pad because we talked about how much we like Sanrio and I honestly don't know anyone else into Sanrio and Kawaii stationary. (Pochacco 4 lyfe!) This cute set was from Darcie's Stamps and it was quite fun to copic color. The sentiment, cut from glitter paper is from Lawn Fawn. 

Happy Spring from Pochacco!

Welcome Baby Girl!

Recently, I had to make a card for my husband's cousin who is having a girl! I had gotten these adorable bunnies on a cloud stamp set from Mama Elephant so I knew I wanted to make something with them.

To begin, I created a pink cloud background with Picked Raspberry and Kitsch Flamingo distress oxide. I added one of the stamps (I got the dies with it so it was so easy to cut!) and stamped the sentiment below it. I was already really excited because I had purchased embellishments from Trinity Stamps so long ago but kept forgetting to use them. This color palette was perfect so I added them randomly around the stamp. I think it gave the whole thing an extra pop. I really liked how this simple and sweet card turned out!

A Muggle Birthday!

This card was made for my sister-in-law who is a big Harry Potter fan.  I was trying to decide what kind to make and really wanted to keep it simple and classy.  I also wanted to use my distress oxides but not flood the entire card with it. So I did a few messy swipes with Festive Berries, Spiced Marmalade and Scattered Straw, trying to showcase Gryffindor colors.  I also (for the very first time!) messed with water and the oxides using a paintbrush. I simply dabbed it very lightly and honestly, I could have done more, but I was paranoid it would oversaturate the cardstock. Maybe I'll get a little more adventurous with my next attempt! I added a little Harry and Hedwig below and colored those with copics. They are (of course) from The Sassy Club. The banner was from a set I got months ago from Concord and 9th and I really wondered why it had taken me so long to use it! 

Parlez Vous Français?

For this next card, I wanted to do something different and make a postcard. My friend Scott has a fancy job working in Paris. (he's an animator on the new Super Mario Brothers movie!) He was kind enough to indulge my massive Disney pin addiction and purchase two really cool villain pins when he was at Disneyland Paris. Were we not currently in a pandemic, I would have shown up on his doorstep a long time ago pretending to be Emily in Paris except instead of showcasing an amazing wardrobe, I'd have colorful Mickey ears. 

For the postcard, I used a Mickey stencil from The Sassy Club to try and create an ombre look with different colors, but it kept turning into a disaster no matter how much masking I used. So I chucked it and decided to go with a very simple color palate. The castle is from a Sassy stamp set and the words are from Simon Says Stamp. It still looked a little bare, so I used Squeezed Lemon distress oxide on a border.

For the other side, I created a stamp also from a Sassy set (she has the best Disney stamps) and then used my fanciest script writing to make it look sophisticated. I snapped this photo before writing out my note to him. I also blurred out his last name for this post. And of course, I had to include a picture of the pins! Paris had a really awesome villains release last Halloween. They glow in the dark! 

Unfortunately, my current pin collection is in storage or I would post a picture of that as well. However, I do have a picture of the pin bouquet I made for my wedding. I saw someone selling Disney pin bouquets on Etsy for a crazy amount of money and I realized I could just make it myself and be able to really personalize it just the way I want. It was a little heavy, but soooo beautiful and totally worth the effort. Lasts a lot longer than flowers too!

Holly, Jolly Christmas 2021

So I ended up scrambling to finish my Christmas cards, but working down to the wire usually suits me just fine. I really never toot my own horn, but I have to say, I was REALLY happy with how this batch came out. I spent a really long time just copic coloring pages and pages of nutcrackers and penguins but I finally forced myself to cut them out and start assembling. I also have SO many holiday stamps and embellishments that I didn't even come close to using everything. Perhaps I'll actually start next year's batch during the summer so that I could make the amount I want.

I probably won't though. 

This card was made for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law because I just loved the little penguin family and this year is my nephew's first Christmas!

This sentiment is YEARS old. I think it's one of the first Christmas stamps I ever bought but I've never used it! I realized it went perfectly with my stamps from My Favorite Things though so it just goes to show you that you should never throw out anything... haha

I really wanted to create a snowy look and I know a lot of people just use white paint, but I cheated and used the Avery Elle white ink spray. I just let it dry overnight and I really loved the effect.

This one was specifically made for JP. He actually picked out the Nutcracker set from Avery Elle the last time we were at a craft store so I had to make him one!

This is one that took me a couple of tries because I kept screwing up the snow drift effect with the blue distressed background, but when I finally got it, I was so happy with the end product. 

I really hope that if you're reading this, you had a safe and wonderful Christmas. I'm crossing my fingers for continued health and some peace of mind in the new year because thankfully, I'm already surrounded by more love than I probably deserve. I hope you are too.