The Lost Card

I had so much fun making today's card. But my month has been chaotic, and before I got to blog it or even photograph it - I LOST IT.

I turned the house upside down looking for it, and nothing. I came to the conclusion that a cat had knocked it into my trashcan, so I did the unthinkable - I went outside and dug through our big, gross trashcan - ugh. It wasn't there. Then I was really sad.

I looked again for the rest of the day - nothing. I went back into the craft annex and noticed an envelope sitting on my rolling cart. It was a bill. I picked it up and dadgum it if this sweet little deer wasn't staring at me.

Overjoyed, I photographed her (she's clearly a she based on the eyelashes).

I stamped her on watercolor paper in Fadeout Ink and then used Daniel Smith watercolor to paint her. Then I used a multiliner to add detail to her spots and nose and eyes. The background is this stencil, and I used the Life Changing brushes to add Sea Glass ink to the panel before gluing the deer down. I added the sentiment from the same set. Don't you just want to hug her? You go ahead - I can't because I'm actually allergic to deer! True story! PS I love her little heart tattoo.

Interlocking Squares Mask - A... [ CLD ] Cuddlebug Fawn - Unity Stamp Company [ UNT ] GKD Color Companions Ink Pad- Sea Glass [ GNK ] Fadeout No Line coloring Detail Ink [ INK ] VersaFine Clair Ink Pad, Nocturne -... [ ELH | SSS ] Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors [ BLIC ] Escoda Versatil Brushes, Travel Round... [ UTR | BLIC | INK ] Life Changing Blender Brush 2-Pack -... [ PFS ] Fabriano Extra White Cold Press... [ BLIC ] Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White [ GNK ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSP | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] Tombow MONO MULTI Liquid Glue Two... [ SSS | MFT ] LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for... [ BRG ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | ELH | CST | ART ] Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473 [ SSS ] Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675 [ SSS | ART | AMZUS ] Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC [ ELH | SSS ] Crafter's Companion GEMINI... [ SSS ] Essentials by Ellen Storage... [ ELH ] Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets... [ CHC ] XL Stamp Storage Pockets [ ELH ] Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies [ ART ]

Do you have mystery disappearances in your craft room? Tell me about it in the comments!

Loveyameanitbye.

Feeling Froggy

Do you collect anything? I'm not much of a collector of things, but I do have a few small collections. One is pieces of Wedgewood - the decorative pieces with the white "frosting". I have blue, black, pink and green pieces and they are beautiful.

I also have a small collection of vintage porcelain toast racks that I use to display cards I receive.

But on more than one occasion in my life, I've met people who collect a very specific thing.

And that thing is frogs.

You're going to need to let me know in the comments if you or someone you know collects frogs. I'd also love to know why they are so collectible.

I love frogs - real and otherwise, but I'm not a frog collector. I do have one frog in my house - it's a floral frog that's shaped like a frog, and I just couldn't pass that up one day at Uncommon Objects. It was too meta to just ignore.

If you have a frog collector in your life, today's card is for you!

I used this adorable new negative frog die to cut through the front of my Key Lime card base. I then cut it again out of a white card front so that I could get his eyes. Then on the inside of my card, I added a panel of black cardstock, popped in the whites of his eyes and just giggled at his cuteness.

I used this new birthday set for the sentiment, and a teeny strip of my fave black and white paper pack to finish it off.

Isn't he adorable? I just love him. Hope you have a good Wednesday!

Loveyameanitbye.

Simon Says Clear Stamps BIG BIRTHDAY... [ SSS ] Simon Says Stamp PEEKING TALKING FROG... [ SSS ] Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473 [ SSS ] GKD Patterned Paper Pack- Petite... [ GNK ] Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- Key Lime [ GNK ] Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White [ GNK ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSP | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for... [ BRG ] Mudder 10 Pack White Buffer Sanding... [ AMZUS ] Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675 [ SSS | ART | AMZUS ] Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC [ ELH | SSS ] Crafter's Companion GEMINI... [ SSS ] Cut Align [ MSP ] Ink Off Cloth [ INK ] Essentials by Ellen Storage... [ ELH ] Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets... [ CHC ] XL Stamp Storage Pockets [ ELH ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | CST ] Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies [ ART ]

Together is Always Better + $100 Giveaway

My absolute favorite stamp style is the storybook style like you see in children's book illustrations.

I think this is because this was the first time I was presented with visual art - that makes sense, right? So some of my favorite art will always be these illustrations - as a matter of fact, this weekend, my mom gave me the ACTUAL copy of Swimmy that I owned as a child. It made me very happy - I love that book. He was my first watercolor crush.

So when I see stamps that you can tell sweet stories with, I'm always sucked in immediately.

Today's new bunny set was no exception. I love this set so much that 2/3 of my class projects this weekend were overflowing with these bunnies.

These two bunnies holding hands reminded me of Pooh and Piglet walking in the woods, so I tried to recreate that with Daniel Smith watercolor. I stamped it in Fadeout ink first, and then just painted a blustery day around it and a very loose scene.

I used a very sharp Polychromos to add some fur around the edges of the bunnies. The sentiment is from this set and is stamped in Nocturne. Such a sweet image.

There's another bunny in the set that's smiling - and you could even use him on a praying for you card, because he looks like he's praying!

But that's not what my bunny is doing - my bunny is imagining that he's a peacock! I used the new negative die to create a negative tail in the black cardstock, and I put this glitter paper behind it.

The sentiment is from this set and is stamped in Unicorn. The bunny is watercolored with Daniel Smith.

 Next up - a card that refused to be photographed! I painted the funky pineapple from this set in Nocturne, and cut it with the matching dies. But the coolest part of this card is invisible in my photo tent. The pineapple is sitting on a piece of watercolor paper that I embossed pineapples all over with the new pineapple stencil. (I used the Gemini Jr. and this sandwich: Bottom plate, plastic shim, embossing mat, paper, stencil, top plate. It gives a very deep emboss, which you'll see below.) The sentiment is from the same set and I just stamped it on a strip of white cardstock.

Here is a shot of the pineapples from the stencil stolen by the lighting. 

Finally - my favorite card, I'm not going to lie, is again with the bunny set. But another FABULOUS new background, reminiscent of Van Gogh - I stamped in Picket Fence Distress ink (see what I did there?) on top of a galaxy background that was in my UFO pile. I used my infinity dies to cut a little earth, which I sponged with Picket Fence, and then watercolored my bunny, cut him with the matching dies and sat him down for little read under that starry sky. The reason I used Picket Fence Distress Ink is the way it sort of pools adds to the starry look - I love it so much.

Now guess what? Since it's the Picket Fence  birthday celebration this month, they've given me a gift certificate to give away! I have a $100 shopping spree for one of you. Here's what you need to do to be entered to win - leave me a comment telling me your favorite children's book!

I will announce the winner on the 21st!

All the products I've used are below, and you can see the rest of this amazing release here! The good news is - everything is 20% off so you can shop the whole release at a discount. Just click here and use code PFS20 at checkout! Have fun!

Pineapple Collage Stencil [ PFS ] Peach & Piper Coordinating Die [ PFS ] Peach and Piper [ PFS ] Something Sweet Coordinating Die [ PFS ] Something Sweet [ PFS ] Small Ways to Say Thank You [ PFS ] Together is Always Better [ PFS ] Flower Die Negative [ PFS ] A Bright Night [ PFS ] Fadeout No Line coloring Detail Ink [ INK ] AF249 Unicorn Pigment Ink Pad | Hero... [ HA | SSS ] VersaFine Clair Ink Pad, Nocturne -... [ ELH | SSS ] Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad PICKET... [ SSS ] Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors [ BLIC ] Escoda Versatil Brushes, Travel Round... [ UTR | BLIC | INK ] Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencils and... [ BLIC ] Summer Glitter Pack - Concord & 9th [ C&9 ] Fabriano Extra White Cold Press... [ BLIC ] Heavy Base Weight Card Stock- White [ GNK ] MISTI Stamping Tool [ MSP | HA | SSS | ELH | MFT | UNT ] Lawn Fawn STAMP SHAMMY Cleaner LF1045 [ SSS | ELH | CST | ART ] Rotatrim Professional Series Cutter -... [ BLIC ] My Favorite Watercolor Sketchbook [ UTR ] Tombow MONO MULTI Liquid Glue Two... [ SSS ] LightView 2in1 LED Magnifier for... [ BRG ] Airtable: Organize your stamps & dies [ ART ] Art Anthology BIG CRAFT MAT 24x36 311473 [ SSS ] Xyron ADHESIVE ERASER 23675 [ SSS | ART | AMZUS ] Teflon Bone Folder - Ellen Hutson LLC [ ELH | SSS ] Crafter's Companion GEMINI... [ SSS ] Cut Align [ MSP ] Essentials by Ellen Storage... [ ELH ] Die Storage - Clear Storage Pockets... [ CHC ] XL Stamp Storage Pockets [ ELH ] Latest Release Archives - Picket... [ PFS ]