card design

PICK YOUR POISON

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As I’ve mentioned before, Halloween reigns supreme at my house . . . (chuckle) This idea was one I just couldn’t pass up. I used the Bottles of Bubbly Die, which was originally designed to be a champagne bottle for various festivities and celebrations but I’ve even used it in various ways, such as:

So, naturally, when I needed a bottle for the poison label, which was just hand trimmed out to look wonky/spooky-like, I turned to this same, versatile bottle. (cheeky grin)

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I still have some cork paper in my stash so I used that to die cut the cork for my bottle, and the vellum webs were attached with mini glue dots—you can’t really see the dots unless you look hard for them. (fist pump)

The little banner was also “fish-tail” trimmed at one end and then stapled to the card front with one of those fun baby staplers I love so much (listed below). BTW, make sure your card is open before you staple the skinny li’l banner . . . ask me how I know . . . (snort!)

Have a fab day, and thanks for stopping by!

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FIT TO BE PIED

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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.

 
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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!

HALLOWEEN, THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS CARDS, OH MY!

There was a lotta chuckling and monkey-clapping goin’ on when I finished this one—and I know just who to send it to, LOL! Hands and feet were hand drawn, and then the little guys were coated with Glossy Accents.

The Bears are ready for Turkey Day—I’m laughing because I remember the last time the Mister and I were in Disneyland, and he just had to have one of those turkey legs—they’re ginormous, LOL! I

I haven’t shown off the Mondo Amaryllis yet, so here’s one way to use it. I white embossed it with a detail/fine white powder and watercolored it. I’ve learned (after many fails, LOL!) to use a fine/detail embossing powder if I plan to die cut the shape later because when I use regular, the embossing seems to crack and chip off from the pressure.

Hope you found today’s shares inspiring!

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ESSENTIALS BY ELLEN AUGUST 2019 RELEASE

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Hello, HELLO!!! (envision me monkey clapping and bouncing on my chair) And welcome to the August EBE hop! So glad you’re here—hope you like eye candy. . . (chuckle) You can see the whole August collection and lots of inspo here: Essentials by Ellen August 2019 

Along with our hop, there will be prizes so be sure to read the details on that following my project photos! Yes, photos. I have three projects I’ve been dying to share, and more to come. YASSSSS!!!! (pats self on back)

Halloween is the Mister’s birthday so we have a lotta fun this time of year—I had so much fun illustrating the characters in this set! I’ll be sharing some adorable treat packaging ideas soon, as well! And, did you happen to see the sneak peek from this webisode of Hello, Monday on YouTube??? Another fun version using the very same stamp set, very same layout and similar color scheme.

So! What do you think of Bear’s new companion? Li’l Bear is down at the pumpkin patch today with Dad, but has sooooo much more to do as the holidays approach… (wink) . Big Bear (the original) is from All Inside.

How ‘bout dem Pom poms? Santa and Snow dude have been taking selfies and needed a cute garland to dress up the Polaroid frame. Soooooo cute!!!

PRIZES:

We've got super fun prizes!!! One random & lucky commenter will win $25 to the EH shop and one will win the whole August Essentials by Ellen release!!! To enter for a chance to win, make sure to leave comments at each stop along the hop! Comment before Thursday, August 15th at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be notified by email.

Hope you found these ideas inspiring and be sure to check out all our designers’ fab creations!

CHICKENS & PICNICS

Brandi’s chickens crack me up—just look at what happened to Mama Hen and Papa Rooster!!!

These images were just stamped with Versafine Clair Nocturne and then watercolored using Peerless Watercolors and an Aquash.

This is totally what happens when Easter Eggs hatch. Totally. (chortle)

I know this idea has been done before—the ants makin’ off with all the picnic goods—but I’ve never made one myself so I wanted to try. These were all stamped with Gina K Amalgam Black Ink and colored with Copic Markers. I will say I’m not entirely happy with my color scheme for this one, but it was a first attempt, so I’m trying not to be too hard on myself. Sometimes on a design like this, where there is a lot going on, I struggle bringing so many colors together. In hindsight, I think it’s the color I chose for the bottled wine that’s got me buggered more than anything else . . . Note to self: Next time, go with white wine.

I did borrow the pickle jar from Cooking Lady.

Anyhoo, I die cut a quarter sheet with one of the grassy Landscape Dies, and ink blended one side, before piecing and gluing them back together onto my card front—I wasn’t sure how much I’d be popping things up and didn’t want the card to get too bulky.

Hope you’re having a fab weekend!