A haunting new digital release at Sweet November...

 

Hello friends!

There is a new digital release now available at Sweet November Stamps and it is as creepy, cute as you can get, LOL! With a pair of miniature Grim Reapers, Boo floating through a wall and a Haunted Staircase background set for them all to linger on, creating fun Halloween digi scenes is a breeze.

For my first card I printed out Li'l Grimmy Scary at the bottom of the Haunted Staircase. On the wall above is the torch that is also part of the staircase set and it is casting its glow over this creepy little cutie. I don't know about you but I don't think I'd want to cross his path, cute or not. 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 Li'l Grimmy Sweet in front of the castle window that is part of the Haunted Staircase set. He is watching the bats from the Spooky Tree clear set flutter across the moonlit sky while the Spider Salutations clear set adds a large webbed greeting to the top of the card. I also used my Sharpie white pen to add a few additional webs across the rest of the ceiling. 

Finally, Boo Thru the Wall rounds out this hauntingly cute trio of characters and he is busy floating to and fro throughout the castle looking for someone to while away the hours with before dawn. Perhaps he will find his friend outside the castle walls when he peeks through the window that comes in the Haunted Staircase set.

Now be sure to check out the Friends of Sweet November Stamps group on Facebook for even more hauntingly cute Halloween cards from Caitlin, Lisa, Allison and Amanda. As well as our talented guest designer, Wendy Luschowski! Don't forget, I will be coloring Li'l Grimmy 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!

 

Scary Grimmy supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Copic X-Press It
digital stamps- Sweet November (Li'l Grimmy Scary and Haunted Staircase set)
stamps- Colorado Craft Company (sentiment)
ink- Versafine onyx black
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
Sorry, I didn't keep a list but you can see the colors used here

Sweet Grimmy supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Copic X-Press It
digital stamps- Sweet November (Li'l Grimmy Sweet and Haunted Staircase set)
stamps- Sweet November (Background Builder: Spooky Tree set and Spider Salutations)
ink- Versafine onyx black and Versamark watermark
Hero Arts detail white embossing powder
My Favorite Things Blueprints die
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Nuvo red jewel drops
Copic markers:
Grimmy face/hands- W00, W0, E40, E81, E84, W5
eyes- BG32, FBG2, C6, C8, C10
robe/shoes- BV23, BV25, BV29, C2, C4
sickle- E74, E79, E49, C00, C2, C4, C5, C6
sky/moon- BG10, BG11, BG32, BG49, B37, B39/C0, C3
room- W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, W6, W7, W8, W9, W10, 110

Boo supply list:
cardstock- Lawn Fawn and Copic X-Press It
digital stamps- Sweet November (Boo thru the Wall and Haunted Staircase set)
stamps- Sweet November (Ghostly Greetings)
ink- Versamark watermark
Hero Arts detail white embossing powder
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 2
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
ghost/eyes- G0000, G000, G00, FBG2/BG000, C2
sky- BG18, BG78, BG09
staircase- C1, C2, C3, C4, N4, N5, N7, N9, W4, W5, W7, G0000, G000


 
 

Fresh air and sunshine...

Hey there!

I'm up on the Bellariffic Blog and this week we are heading down to the farm for our Scenic Saturday card. This hard working pair are the Oddball Homesteaders and they have been busy tending their crops all summer long. Now they are eager to harvest the fruits of their labors, despite the looks on their quirky faces.

For the background I thought it would be fun to have this pair standing out in front of a field of corn that is just waiting to be picked. To add a bit of separation between them and the cornstalks I masked each of the Homesteaders before stamping the fence from the Oddball Barn, Hay and Fence set right at their torso level. This makes the fence appear further back from them than if I had stamped it aligned with their feet and I actually stamped it twice, hiding the seam behind the pitchfork handle, to make it longer as well. To simplify this scene a bit, you could stamp the fence a third time, taking it across the entire card front so that when it comes time to color in the stalks of corn, they go all the way across too. But, I wanted to play with some scene perspective once again so I left room to color in a dirt path extending back into the distance between the two fields. I accomplished this look by making sure that as I sketched in the path, the line of it narrows the further up the card it goes. The corn growing to the right of the path also has to start as small brush strokes that lengthen as you bring them forward in the scene. The stalks that are closer also get some darker greens added to them to help give them more detail. The final touch to really plant the growing corn into the background (pun intended), is to add some dark shadows extending out horizontally from the base of each stalk. With that, the illusion of distance has been achieved... and we've given these two quite a task to get started on. No wonder they look less than enthused, LOL! 

Stay crafty my friends!

 

Supply list:
cardstock- Lawn Fawn and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Stamping Bella (Oddball Homesteaders, Oddball Barn, Hay and Fence set and sentiment)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and rich cocoa
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, E04, R00, R20
girl hair/eyes- E35, E39, E49/BG000, C2, C3, B14
girl clothes/bucket- W00, W1, W2, W3, W7, E23, E44, E47, E84, E87, B52, B45, B97/C0, C2, C4, C6, YR65, YR68, E18, E50, E41, E43, RV63, RV66, YG03, YG05, YG09, G85
guy hair/eyes- E50, E53, E33, E55/BG000, C2, C3, G24
guy clothes- Y32, YR23, YR24, E44, W00, W1, W2, W3, W5, B93, B95, B97, B99, E74, E44, E47, E23, E84, E87, YG01, G43, G46, BG96
sky- B0000, B000, B00, B01, C0, 0
ground/grass- E31, E34, E43, E44, YG03, YG25, G94, G99
corn- YG17, YG67, BG99, Y11, Y21, YR23, YR24
fence- E43, E44, E47, C2
 

Hope your day is just beachy...

 

TGIF!

There are only a couple days left to take advantage of the 25% OFF 20th anniversary celebration sale at Purple Onion Designs. No code is necessary, all you have to do is fill up your cart and the discount will apply automatically at check out. Michele, the owner of Purple Onion, is also doing a fundraiser for the Maui Wildfires with a special stamp bundle that consists of 13 stamps for $20. The bundle is discounted over 50% and the entire purchase price will be donated to the Global Empowerment Mission for each set purchased.

 

 

My card today features the adorable Gazing couple from the Charmed by the Sea collection. These two are just sitting and soaking in all of the beauty that surrounds them with the Sunrise Sunset painting the world with glorious splashes of color. I added a seashell and message in a bottle from the Seaside Accessories set to the sand beside them for a few extra details in the scene. The sentiment is another great one from the Seaside Sentiments set and it fit perfectly just behind these sweet friends.  :)

Enjoy your weekend my friends!

 

Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Purple Onion Designs (Gazing, Seaside Accessories set, Sunrise Sunset and Seaside Sentiment set)
ink- Memento rich cocoa and desert sand
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
sky/water- Y0000, YR30, YR31, YR0000, R000, R00, R43, RV000, BV0000, BG10, BG11, BG45, V91
sand- E50, E30, E31, E34, E43, E44
message in a bottle- E81, E84, E31, E35, BG10, BG11, BG72
blanket- W00, W3, E81, BG11, BG72, BG75
 shell- BV31, BV23, BV25
bear- E55, E57, E59
bunny- T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T0, R30
 

A little vitamin sea...

Hey, hey!

I'm still playing catch up with posting cards I made during previous releases at Sweet November Stamps and it is safe to say that this particular cutie from the Merwee Shellebration digital release will likely be the last mermaid card that I share for quite a while. With summer coming to a close the upcoming holidays are definitely taking over in my current coloring and card making. So, little Minnie here was colored during a Live over on my Adventures in Coloring with Amy Facebook page back in June and she is riding the waves with her baby seal friend. It's always fun trying to capture the motion and movement of water in various ways. :)

Ok, busy day ahead, I had best get it started. Have a good one! 

Supply list:
cardstock- Lawn Fawn and Copic X-Press It
digital stamps- Sweet November (Merwee Minnie)
stamps- Sweet November (Sea Birds)
ink- Catherine Pooler
My Favorite Things stitched rounded rectangle stax
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Wink of Stella clear glitter pen
Copic markers:
sorry, I didn't keep a list but you can see the colors used here

A friend of coffee...

Hello there!

I'm up on the TGF blog today and I'm back again with another caffeinated cutie from the big Coffee Bean stamp kit. This time around I was drawn to the Bean wearing a fashionable, wide brimmed summer hat with her carry-out holding a Venti cup for her and her bestie. It was that idea of her surprising a friend with their favorite blend that had me going to my TGF digi collection for the perfect sentiment. I love this large 'A Friend of Coffee' sentiment with its playful script and new that it would look great decorating the window of one of the shops in the digi Storefronts set. So once again I stamped the Coffee Bean first, stamped and cut out a mask for her, then printed the digital background, which was enlarged to fill the entire card front, right over top. When the mask is peeled away it leaves her exiting her favorite coffee shop, looking bright eyed and perky for the rest of her day. With so much of the background being that store front, it really didn't require a whole lot of crazy coloring to complete. And the Beans are some of the smallest characters on The Farm so she was pretty quick to color too. Which made completing this card a breeze!  :)

Stay crafty my friends!

 Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Catherine Pooler
digital stamps- The Greeting Farm (Store Fronts set and Friend of Coffee sentiment)
stamps- The Greeting Farm (Coffee Bean kit)
ink- Memento tuxedo black
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 2
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
skin/eyes- E000, E00, E11, E04, R00, R20, E15/YG23, G24
hair- E15, E37, E29
clothes- E53, E55, E57, RV00, RV10, RV11, RV34, V20, E40, E81, Y11, Y21, Y26
coffee cups and carrier- C2, C4, W2, E31, E42, E43, E81, E84/E31, E34, E43, E44
sidewalk- C2, T3, T4, T5, W2, W3
shop- E25, E27, E49, BG0000, BG10, BG72, C0, C2, C3, C4, 0, T4, T5, T7, T9

Sweet friend...

Hello, hello!

I'm up on the Hello Bluebird blog with a card inspired by this month's Design Challenge which is a beautiful mood board filled with sweet summertime images and fresh color palettes. In particular I was drawn to the pink ice cream cones, fresh lemons and the cute little sunshine drawn in the sand. As I flipped through my collection of stamps I found the perfect ones in the older Park Play set. Not only is the darling squirrel enjoying some ice cream but the set also includes the happiest looking sunshine I've ever seen. With the stamps being on the smaller size, the Gallery Frame #2 die gave me just enough space to have them really fill the happy scene I intended for them. On the smaller upper panel I stamped the sun and the part of the sentiment that says, 'thank you", which I borrowed from the Banner Buddies set. While down on the square panel I stamped the squirrel and the bear. By selectively inking just the ice cream cone and stamping it a second time, I was able to have both of these cute critters enjoying a sweet treat.  The next step was to mask them both off so I could stamp the background from the Storybook Friends set behind them. Now it was time to grab my Copic markers and start coloring. Following the Mood Board color story, I played primarily with pinks and yellows with just a pop of orange on the little bear cub's shirt. The results are a bright and sunny scene that captures some of the best things about summer. Once I glued all the parts of the Gallery Frame #2 die back together on a white card base it was time to complete the rest of the sentiment by adding the new Sweet Friend Words die set in coordinating colors of card stock.

I hope this inspires you to get crafty and create at least one last summer inspired card for the Design Challenge. You have through August 31st to post your creations on Instagram for a chance at the prize of a $50 gift certificate to the Hello Bluebird store, and don't forget to use the hashtag #hellobluebirdsummerchallenge2023 when you do.  :)

Stay crafty my friends!

Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Hello Bluebird (Park Play, Storybook Friends and Banner Buddies)
ink- Memento rich cocoa and Versamark watermark
Hero Arts detail white embossing powder
Hello Bluebird Gallery Frame #2 die
Hello Bluebird Sweet Friend Words die
Copic markers:
sun/sky- Y0000, Y000, Y11, Y21, R30/B0000, B000, B00, B01
grass/trees/flowers- YG00, YG01, YG03, G24, YG17/YG00, YG13, YG17, YG67, E35/G07, Y00, Y11, Y18
path- E41, E42, E43, E44
squirrel/dress- W1, W2, W3, W4, W5, 0, R30/C2, Y000, Y00, Y11, Y15, Y26
bear/shirt- E50, E53, E55, E57, E31/YR21, YR04, YR18
ice cream cones- E31, E34, E44, RV00, RV10, RV11, RV02, RV34