A little vitamin sea...

Hello, hello!

The MerMay clear stamp release at Sweet November Stamps had more to offer than just mermaids... we also introduced a cute new critter set called Sea Birds. In this 4x6 clear set you will find a flamingo, pelican, two flying seagulls and this sweet pair of sand pipers... along with a length of beach fencing, some sea grass and two sentiments. I've already shared a card where I paired the pelican with one of the mermaids, which is always great fun, but these birds have enough individuality and character to be the stars of the show all on their own. Here the sand pipers find themselves on a lonely stretch of beach, overlooking the lighthouse that I borrowed from the Mermees are Back set. I also used a mirror stamp to flip the direction of the beach fence from its original orientation. Once I added the red stripes to the lighthouse, I decided to keep with a classic red/white/blue nautical color scheme for the entire card. It just seemed to suit the vibe that is going on here, and the postage frame die really nails the look too. So even though there isn't a mermaid in sight, I'm still quite pleased with how this card turned out.  :)

Have a good one!

Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Sweet November (Sea Birds and Mermees are Back), My Favorite Things (mirror stamp)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and rich cocoa
Mama Elephant postage frame die
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
mama sandpiper- E40, E42, E43, E44, E30, E31, E33, E50, W3, T5, T7, T8, C10
baby sandpiper- W1, W3, W4, T8, E30, E42
sand- E50, E30, E31, E34, E42, E43
fence/sea grass- E43, E44/BG96, BG99
rocks/lighthouse- N4, N5, N7/C00, C1, C3, C5, W5, W6, W8, C10, Y11, R24, R27, R29, R89, B00
sea- B0000, B000, B60, B32, B41, B52, 0
sky- B0000, B000, B00, B01, B41, B52, 0

Hello cutie...

Hello there!

Today I am up on the TGF blog and it's not much of a secret that I've been a long time TGF fan. I fell in love with The Greeting Farm characters back in 2009, just after the name changed from Pink Poison. Flutter Anya was one of the very first red rubber stamps that got me hooked on stamping, coloring and card making, and oh my, what a crafty adventure it has been! I will admit that there aren't many TGF stamps missing from my collection so when the big Anya Reboot kit recently went up for pre-order, I didn't think I would need it. That all changed when I saw that the original characters included in the kit had been updated with slightly different looks here and there. As soon as I received my Anya Reboot kit in the mail, I thought it would be fun to search my personal blog for posts sharing cards that I made using the original Anyas included in the kit. Not just to see the difference in the stamps but to also see the growth and change in my coloring and card making style over all these years. I didn't have older cards using all of these Anyas, at least not as-is since I did a lot more head swapping back in the day, but I found enough that I'm going to make this a little series for my TGF blog posts.

As you can see, I'm kicking things off with the delightful Flutter Anya who started it all. On my new card I've paired Flutter with the flowers and twirly flight path from the What's Buzzin'? set as well as the Hello sentiment set. My original card from 2009 was made as a Christmas card and while I wasn't feeling the Christmas vibe this time around, I did make a point of giving her red hair and similar color choices in their outfits. You can see how small shifts in the tonal range make a big difference in the overall look of a card, with my new card having a fresh, spring time feel. The other big take away is my shift from using a mix of patterned papers on each card and instead creating one layer scenes through coloring and stamping. Sure, looking back can be a bit cringe but I can remember being proud of this card and now I'm even prouder of how far I've come and I wouldn't change any of the cards I've made along the way because they got me to where I am now.  :) 

 Stay crafty my friends! 

 

Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Copic X-Press It
stamps- The Greeting Farm (Anya Reboot kit, What's Buzzin'? and Hello)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and desert sand, Papertrey Ink vintage jadeite and lovely lady, Catherine Pooler seafoam
My Favorite Things blueprints die
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Wink of Stella clear glitter pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, E04, R00, R20
hair- YR21, YR15, YR24, E97, E99, E29
dress/wings- YG41, G24, BG96, RV00, RV10, RV02, RV93, RV95/RV00, V000, V01, BG10, BG11, Y00
grass- YG11, YG41, G43, G24
sky- BG0000, BG000, BG01, BG02, C0, 0
flowers- G20, BG90, Y02, Y18, Y26, RV02, RV32, RV34, V01, V12, V15, YG41, YG45, BG96

Sunshine and seashells...

Hey there!

Today I've got a card combining one of the cute mermaids from the Guppies set with the pelican from the Sea Birds set and the flying birds from the Horizon Lines: Seaside Cliffs set... all of which are part of the Sweet November Stamps MerMay clear stamp release. First, I stamped the mermaid and masked her off before stamping the dock from the older Dock on the Bay set, beneath her. This gave her the perfect place to sit and chat with Mr Pelican above the water line. Off in the distance I colored in a spit of land, hinting at more of the shoreline that the dock would be attached to. Between the true blues of the ocean water and the mermaid's red tail, I figured it would be a different look from my usual mermaid cards if I stuck with a primary color scheme and made the sky yellow. I'm really happy with how this scene came together and it always feels good to mix and match so many different sets into one card.  :)

Later gators!

 

Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Sweet November (The Guppies, Horizon Lines: Seaside Cliffs, Sea Birds, Seashells and Sunshine and Dock on the Bay)
ink- Memento tuxedo black, Catherine Pooler icing on the cake and Papertrey Ink lemon zest
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 2
Wink of Stella clear glitter pen
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
sorry, I lost my list
 

May your day bubble over with fun...

Good morning!

As you can see, I'm still working my way through the back log of mermaid cards from the Sweet November Stamps MerMay clear stamp release. This pretty mermaid is from the new Salty but Sweet set and so are the little axolotls that accompany her. The slab of rock comes in the older Aquata set and I borrowed the sentiment from the Merwees #1 set. Because the scene still felt a bit empty, I stamped in the small school of fish from the Mermaid Hair set several times until I felt there was enough going on in the background. 

Ok, I'm off to work for the day... have a good one!

 

Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Sweet November (Salty but Sweet, Aquata, Merwees #1 and Mermaid Hair)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Papertrey Ink spring rain
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 2
Wink of Stella clear glitter pen
Kat Scrappiness clear enamel dots
Copic markers:
sorry, I lost my list
 

The Merwees are going digital...

 

Hello friends!

Sure, MerMay is over but that doesn't mean that the mermaid fun is done and over at Sweet November Stamps. We have one more brand new digital stamp release and it is a special one because it is the first time we are adding digi Merwees to the store! With three adorable clear Merwee sets to choose from in the store, now our digi loving friends can be happy too with the Merwee Shellebration collection. There are four new cuties and each one also comes with their own special friend. In the store you will find; Merissa, Mya, Minnie and Mimi.

For my first card I printed out Mimi and her crab friend in the same size that the clear Merwees come in. After masking them I stamped background building elements from the Horizon Lines: Under the Sea set and The Guppies set, as well as some extra fish from the Merwees #3 set. If you are interested in watching this scene being colored you can find the short Reel over on my Instagram or there is also the longer speed coloring video that can be found on the Sweet November Stamps Youtube channel.

Next, I printed out Mya with her squeezable little octopus and this time I used the Horizon Lines: Under the Sea set and The Guppies set to create a small cave for them to call home. The sentiment and bubbles are from the Mermaid Hair set.  :)

Finally, Merissa and her jellyfish pal are hanging out in the deep sea trenches thanks to the Horizon Lines: Under the Sea set and they are joined by the school of fish from the Mermaid Hair set.  :) 

Now be sure to check out the Friends of Sweet November Stamps group on Facebook for even more Merwee Shellebration cuteness from Caitlin, Allison and Amanda. As well as our talented guest designer, Bea! Don't forget, I will be coloring Minnie Live today at 11am PST over on my Adventures in Coloring with Amy Facebook page and I hope to see ya there!

You can also find us on Instagram @sweetnovemberstamps and don't forget to use the #sweetnovemberstamps any time you share a card or project using SN images so we can see all of your beautiful makes!

Embrace the journey...

Hello there!

I'm up on the Bellariffic blog with a new summertime inspired Scenic Saturday card. Living in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, hiking is certainly a popular past time around here. And since I recently added the fabulous Curvy Girl Loves to Hike to my Stamping Bella collection, I went right to her as the star of this show. Because my goal was to really immerse Curvy right in amongst the tall trees of the forest, I used a couple scraps of masking paper to block out part of her hand, walking stick and feet when I stamped her. Once the masks were removed I was left with blank space that I could then color in as a large tree trunk and grass that both now appear to be in front of her. This simple trick adds interest by helping to create a foreground and midground within your scene. I took my time coloring Curvy and the landscape in front of her, including the addition of some large boulders on either side of the path and the wood sign containing the sentiment, because I find it is easier not to accidentally meld the background and foreground together when one is already completely fleshed out and the detail work taken care of. So, once I had that foreground space looking just how I wanted, I moved on to sketching in the forest behind our pretty hiker. Adding a babbling brook cutting through roughly the middle of the scene was a fun way to add some additional distance between Curvy and the rest of the trees. Just remember that the further in the distance you want something to appear, the lighter the colors you want to use to create them. Take those trees way off in the very back, I used a single earth tone Copic, E55, to sketch them in over the golden glow of the sky that I laid down first. Now when they are viewed in comparison to the more detailed trees, your mind reads them as further away rather than side by side. I hope this makes sense and that it inspires you to play with color as a way to create depth in your own coloring.  :)   

Stay crafty my friends!

 

Supply list:
cardstock- Lawn Fawn and Copic X-Press It
stamps- Stamping Bella (Curvy Girl Loves to Hike and sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 2
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, E04, R00, R20
hair- YR21, YR14, E97, E99
clothes- C00, C3, B91, B95, B97, B99, W1, BV00, BV02, BV13, BV04, BV17, E84, E87, E89
backpack/walking stick- T6, T7, T9, YG25, YG67, Y18, E81, G40, G24, YG45, BG72, BG75, BG78, E70, E71, E74, BG90, BG93, BG96/E44, E47, E49
trees- E55, E57, E59, YG25, YG67
rocks/stream- W1, N2, T3, C4, B000, B00, B21, B12, E30, E31
grass- YG00, YG03, YG25, YG17, YG63, G94, G99
sign- E42, E43, E44, E47
sky- Y000, YG00, YR30, YR31