essentials by ellen

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ESSENTIALS BY ELLEN JUNE 2023 RELEASE

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Yessirreee, the June 2023 Essentials by Ellen Release is available now!

When I was first introduced to stamping and card making over 30 years ago, postage themed rubber stamps were VERY prevalent and I LOVED using my collection to make collage style greetings and dress up my envelopes! Back then, the art style was reflective of real/vintage postage stamps, as well as date and cancellation markings.

Today, we’ve given it a modern and refreshing whimsical touch and it is so much FUN to play with!

Stroll through the slideshow above to see a few ideas I developed (Alas, there’s never enough hours in the day to execute all the ideas running through my head . . . ) and be sure to check out the Ellen Hutson Instagram Hop for more inspiration and give some comment love to all the contributing designers for a chance to win in the giveaway!

Thanks for stopping by today—if you have time to comment below, I’d love to know which of the products speak to your card-makin’ soul! Also, if you have any questions about these samples, feel free to ask in the comments!

Disclosure: I include affiliate links to the products used in my projects and make a small commission when you purchase via those links, at no extra dimes to you. 🙂 Thank you for buying all the things!

SUPPLIES:

Happy Mail Die - EH

Envelope Slider Dies - EH

Catherine Pooler Do-si-do Ink - EH

Catherine Pooler Samba Ink - EH

Catherine Pooler Suede Shoes Ink - EH

Catherine Pooler Wintergreen Ink - EH

Catherine Pooler Dress Blues Ink - EH

Versamark Ink - EH

Detail White Embossing Powder - EH

Versafine Nocturne Ink - EH

Clear Embossing Powder - EH

Dual Temp Heat Embossing Tool - EH

Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers (used for watercolor) - EH

Canson XL Watercolor Paper - EH

Concord & 9th Sorbet Card Stock - EH

Concord & 9th Midnight Card Stock - EH

Neenah Solar White 80# Card Stock - EH

Kraft Card Stock - EH

Dune Wool Felt - EH

Winter White Wool Felt - EH

Coral Wool Felt - EH

Very Light Turquoise Embroidery Floss - EH

Peel n’ Stick Fabric Fuse - EH

Gemini Jr. - EH

Spellbinders Platinum 6 - EH

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HOW TO STAMP ON ACETATE

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Stamping on acetate (I use Ellen Hutson's Crystal Clear Plastic) used to one of those things that caused me some anxiety and stress, even tho I loved the end result—you had to make sure you didn’t slide around on the slippery surface and ruin the impression. I would hover, double check that my pinkie fingers were anchored to steady my hands, hold my breath and hope that the impression would land specifically where I wanted it. Sometimes it did, sometimes no worky . . .

The MISTI changed all that. If you still do not have one of these, I highly recommend getting the original/standard platform. I think it’s the most versatile size but still compact enough to not overwhelm your work surface. I also own the Mini MISTI, which is so awesome for stamping a quick sentiment on a card front, but when I need to reposition the paper or the stamp, the size of the original makes it a whole lot easier.

TIP: The snow dome above, from CHRISTMAS MAGIC, was die cut out after the stamping had dried. I like to use washi tape to anchor the die down to the Crystal Clear Plastic, but I’m careful to avoid placing the tape anywhere where it might in advertently “lift” any of the ink off. I suppose I should test that theory to see whether or not it this ink does hold up to sticky stuff, but I figure why take the chance when you can avoid it anyway? (insert shoulder shrug)

In hindsight, after filming the video below, I realized you might have seen the stamping better if I had removed the protective tissue that is sandwiched between each sheet of Crystal Clear Plastic (It comes that way in the packaging and I always leave it on the sheet when I’m trimming it down to size to avoid scratches), but as I progress through this particular project, you’ll get some good looks at how the snow actually looks and the difference between the original card, and the duplicate I made to show the technique.

Skater image from SNOW MUCH FUN . Sentiments from HOLIDAY CHEER HOT FOIL STAMPS

Here, I used the smaller dome in the set to make a snowy acetate window for a traditional style shaker card. It’s a really fun way to dress up your shaker windows with very minimal effort!

MORE TIPS:

  • Use a MISTI; seriously, the magnet holds your acetate in place and really helps you get crisp, clean impressions, without sliding all over the place. Makes a HUGE difference in ease. Ask me how I know . . . !

  • Use an ink that is permanent on slick surfaces; I love Staz-On inks, and their Opaque Cotton White EH / AMZ has been a favorite of mine for years and years! Keep in mind that this ink is specifically formulated for things like acetate/non-porous surfaces and does not show up well on paper.

  • Staz-On Opaque Cotton White ink EH / AMZ comes with it’s own reinker bottle; you load the ink pad yourself. Shake the bottle well before loading the pad; I often use a plastic butter knife to spread the ink evenly across the surface and “work it” down into the pad foam. If you “over-ink” the pad, things can get really thick/gunky on the stamp, become super slippery and take a while to dry. I get best results when pad is inked enough to be slightly “tacky”, but not slippery.

  • You made a mistake or got an ugly impression; it’s gonna be OK — don’t mess yer dress!!! Use a rubbing alcohol prep pad (First Aid aisle at the grocery store/pharmacy, etc.) to clean the ink off and try again. Yup! You can totally do that! HUZZAH!!! (virtual high 5)

  • Use a heat-resistant acetate, like Ellen Hutson’s Crystal Clear Plastic ; you can heat emboss and hot foil stamp on it! BONUS!!!

  • Staz-On has a tendency to “stain” your stamps. If you find it bothersome, try using a cleaner like Ultra-Clean to remove.

Disclosure: I include affiliate links to the products used in my projects and make a small commission when you purchase via those links, at no extra dimes to you. 🙂 Thank you for buying all the things!

SUPPLIES MENTIONED:

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REPOST: FIT TO BE PIED

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Because it’s apropos for today, which is Thanksgiving, I’m reposting one of my favorite Bear card designs!

And, if you’re shopping online while waiting for the big bird to finish roasting, heads’ up on the sale going on over at ellenhutson.com right now:

 
 
 
 

I hope your Turkey Day is indeed “fit to be pied”! (big grin)

HAH!!! Mama Bear and Li’l Bear have been busy making pumpkin pie. WOOT!!!

I usually refrain from coloring Bear; I just like him in white. But I do like to outline him with a soft color and often reach for Copic Milky White. All of these were stamped with Gina K Amalgam Jet Black Ink, which is alcohol marker friendly. You could also use colored pencils, water-based markers, etc. Normally, I reach for Versafine Clair Nocturne when stamping my images in black, but it does not play nice with alcohol markers unless you clear emboss it.

I also have a quick tip for using stamps that have coordinating SOLID dies. I used the Bear from All Inside for the demo, but this works for any solid die. You can watch right here or over on my YouTube Channel.

If you look closely, you may be able to see how some of the smallish images were outlined outside the lines with a pale blue—this can actually make white images appear even whiter (like the plate and the whip cream atop the slice of pie).

I used Orange Stickles on the pumpkin, but you can substitute Diamond Stickles in a pinch.

Have a fab day and thanks for stopping by!

GIVE ME ALL THE STARS!

I adore stars—this basic shape is truly suitable for so many different occasions and applications! I think the largest sizes of the star shapes would make great banners for the holidays or birthdaysuy

For the creations below, I did full panel watercolor washes onto quarter sheets of my favorite watercolor paper using my Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors and a wide flat brush—one of the best investments I’ve ever made to my crafting tools.

Once they were dry, I flattened them under some heavy books overnight and then they were ready to go for whatever I wanted to do with them, which was the following (so far, heh, heh, heh!) . . .

Using the negative from my die cutting session made the perfect backdrop for my li’l Boo, here! I laid down a variety of sizes onto the panel and ran it through in one fell swoop! I’m telling you, it does not get any easier than this!

I had used the Piercing Plate 2 on white card stock for a textural effect on white card stock which I trimmed 1/4” smaller than the base card (standard A-2). Then I mounted the starry watercolor panel onto that and trimmed the edges of that to be flush; mounted that to the base card. I love that some of the stars “bleed off” the edge.

For just a tad more interest, I made a messy nest of black thread from my emergency sewing kit (I don’t really sew, but a girl’s gotta’ do what a girl’s gotta do when the button of her pants pops off, am I right?!)

On this one, I took all the solid cut outs and layered them around my moon, which was first cut using the Alpine Snowfall die, which. isa knock out die, and then cut out using the Essentials Circles. I didn’t bother poking out all the chads in the “moon”, because I liked how it looked when some fell out and others still clung—it’s more moon-like, IMHO. Gotta’ love those multi-functional dies, LOL!

Hope your weekend is stellar! (chortle)

Stay healthy and safe out there!

HALLOWEEN STAMPING GOODNESS

Today I’m sharing three sweet and adorable Halloween Boo-quet projects here on the blog—also used this set on a Haunted House Treat Box Tutorial over on the Ellen Hutson YouTube Channel that turned out so STINKIN’ CUTE, it’s gonna kill me to wait until Halloween to gift them to the grand weebles! GAAAAH!!!

This was a super fast card, excellent for a last-minute Halloween greeting! So fun to string the balloon boo-quet to kitty’s tail! The matching die set has individual dies, in addition to one for the boo-quet as a whole, so you can pick and choose which of those to pop up, if you want! Options . . . always options, LOL! (wink!).

QUICK TIP: Stamp the balloon strings first, then position and stamp the ghost/bat balloons; so much easier to line them up accurately!

It’s hard to tell in the photo, but our sweet little witch has a pale pink watercolor wash on her dress. I foiled a quarter sheet of black card stock with the Tiny Stars Hot Foil Stamp and then die cut the clouds from that, popping them up, but upside down. Sometimes, I just like ‘em that way. My card, my prerogative. (hair flip)

After die cutting the black clouds in the previous project, I had some leftover, of course . . . So, I figured why not use it to make a background for my little witch to go trick-or-treating with her buddy and broom—and at that point I decided it would be fun to die cut a circle large enough to accommodate the sentiment and turn it into a quick little shaker element!

If you haven’t been bitten yet by the hot-foil stamping bug, I must say, it’s super satisfying—I just love the look of those shiny stars, debossed into the paper. I could just putz around and hot foil stamp the day away—which is actually a smart idea because then you could have a number of pieces ready to go when you need them. Truth.

What do you do more of? Halloween greetings or treat packaging? I’m a mixed bag because both are so much fun to make.

Hope your week is going splendid!