Shine bright this holiday season...

Good morning! 

In case you missed it this weekend, we just added the new Gnome for the Holidays collection to the Sweet November Stamps store. There you will find Gnorbitt, Gnigel and Gnewton, three little gnomes with some seriously impressive beard growth, LOL! We also added the new Gnome Home holiday builder set to make adding a winter scene super easy. 

To celebrate the release I went Live yesterday and colored up Gnigel with his lantern and paired him with the Gnome Home background off in the distance. As you can see I did a snowy night scene and we talked a lot about light sources and the use of color when creating 'white' objects on your cards, it was a really good discussion. And in the end another adorable gnomie got a card of his own to call home. :)

Later gators!

Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Copic X-Press it
digital stamps- Sweet November (Gnome Gnigel and Gnome Homes holiday scene builder set)
stamp- Mama Elephant (sentiment)
ink- Catherine Pooler juniper mist
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
Dr. Ph Martins bleed proof white
Copic markers:
sorry, I didn't keep a list but you can see the colors used here

 

Gnome for the holidays...

Hello friends! 

There was a new Christmas digi release just added at Sweet November Stamps last night. It's called Gnome for the Holidays and yes, I realize that it seems like everyone and their brother has released some gnome stamps this holiday season but we wanted to bring some of our SN sweetness to this popular theme. So you will find Gnorbitt, Gnigel and Gnewton in the shop along with the new Gnome Home holiday builder set. 

For my first card I have paired Gnome Gnorbitt with the older Brownie Hole and accessories set. It was a lot of fun to color that round doorway into a snowy hillside for Gnorbitt to call home. The mailbox was an easy alteration too, all I had to do was use the crop tool to remove the bottom half that was all decked out in spring flowers and color in some snow to take its place. I mean who wouldn't want to curl up and spend a cozy Christmas season in that gnome hole?  ;)   

For my second card I paired up all three of the new gnomes for a monochromatic plus one slimline card. While each gnome comes with his own accessory, I wanted to show how you can mix and match them. I paired the ornament that originally comes with Gnewton with all three gnomies then placed them all in a tight knit group. The dramatic color scheme is primarily black and white with pops of red and I kept the background very stark and stylized with long shadows breaking up the white hillside. Don't they just pop off that background?! 

Ok, be sure to go check out the Friends of Sweet November Stamps group on Facebook for even more Gnome for the Holidays inspiration from Melissa, Tee and our fabulous guest designer... Anne Wood! I will also be coloring Gnigel Live later this morning at 11am PST on my Adventures in Coloring with Amy Facebook page. :)    

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! 

 

 

Although it's been said, many times, many ways...

Hello!
 
The Christmas countdown is officially on and that means you shouldn't be surprised that this week's Scenic Saturday post over on the Bellarific Blog is still all about Christmas. For my card today I've inked up the lovely Mochi Ornament Girl, her beribboned hair decorated with festive ornaments. One of the things I love most about the Mochi Girls is their large footprint that they take up when stamped on a standard A2 sized card front. With them being so large and in charge you know they can really hold their own with whatever else you choose to decorate your card with. This led me to go in a different direction than my usual Copic colored scene as I was tempted to pair her with some pretty Christmas stickers that I've had in my crafty stash for years. So instead of coloring a background I masked Mochi Ornament Girl and stamped a twinkling star background pattern as well as some older holiday floral motifs behind her. I like how their retro vibe match the whole 60's look she is rockin'. Then I just added all the stickers to finish off this fun holiday card and there is no doubt that Mochi Ornament Girl is still the star of the show. :)

And as I'm linking things up here it looks like the big sale is still going, all of the stamps are discounted in the store so now is the time to add a few to your collection!   

Have a wonderful weekend bellas! 

Supply list:
cardstock- Lawn Fawn and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Stamping Bella (Mochi Ornament Girl), October Afternoon (Silent Night set), Taylored Expressions (twinkle background) 
ink- Memento tuxedo black and Papertrey Ink sweet blush, pure poppy, harvest gold, honey nut, saffron spice and prairie grass
October Afternoon Silent Night border stickers
Wink of Stella clear glitter pen
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Ranger glossy accents
Kaiser Craft gems
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, E04, R00, R20
eyes- YG25, YG95, YG97
hair- E23, E57, E29
everything else- G000, G00, BG53, BG70, BG72, Y11, Y21, Y26, R02, R22, R14, R17, R30, R12, RV42, YG21, YG93, YG95, YG97, YG99

 

Sending Joy This Season...

TGIF!

So yesterday I was feeling particularly crafty and since I still had the Joy and Peace stamp set and coordinating dies from Hello Bluebird out on my desk I decided to finally make this card that I've been kicking around in my head ever since first getting the set. I love these kinds of layering stamp sets as they always seem to have a cool kind of retro advertising type vibe but to be honest they intimidate me. I'm not a pure stamper who relies on ink pads and solid stamps to create with, never have been. I admire those you do it but my joy has always been with the coloring. Still this Joy and Peace set with the sprigs of holly and pine is so pretty and I really wanted to try my hand at it... while still including a bit of my beloved coloring. So I set about die cutting all the pieces and using a bunch of Catherine Pooler inks for stamping on the designs. I don't worry about perfectly centered stamping, in fact I kinda wonk some of them on purpose because again, I like the retro off-set look. Then I inked up a couple of the birds from the Garden Party set, wiping the ink off the back of their heads before stamping so that I could easily color them into a pair of Christmas cardinals with that funny point of feathers on the backs of their heads. I've always lived with the tradition that having a cardinal on your Christmas tree will bring good luck in the new year so why not extend that little superstition to a card? Once they were both colored I fussy cut and nestled them into their bower of berries. If I'm being perfectly honest I thought this type of card would be much quicker to complete than when I color an entire scene but I was sooo wrong, LOL! I'm chalking most of that up to being a stamp layering noob who second guessed every step of the process. Still, I'm really glad I made the time to play with these and I'm super happy with the card, so all's well that ends well!  ;)

Later gators!  

Supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Hello Bluebird (Joy and Peace set, Garden Party set and Cozy Plaid Background) 
ink- Memento rich cocoa and Catherine Pooler All That Jazz, Samba, Cranberry Fizz, Mardi Gras and Deck the Halls
Hello Bluebird Joy and Peace die set
Hello Bluebird Pine Boughs die set
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
My Favorite Things stitched dome die
Kaiser Craft gems
Sakura Stardust glitter pen
Copic markers:
birds- YR07, YR09, R14, R24, R27, R29, E18, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6
 

 

Wishing you the sweetest holiday...

 

Hey, hey!

I'm back today with another card using a mix of old and new Stacey Yacula stamps from Purple Onion Designs. As great as all the new critters are in this year's Sweetest Little Town collection the Bakery Background actually had me reaching for some previously released sweeties that I think tie back to the bakery perfectly. Sweets is a set of three mice from the Twas the Night Before Christmas collection but I decided to take them out of their cozy home and put them out in front of the bakery instead. Now she is a kindly baker passing out Christmas cookie samples to the youngsters on the street. The additional young mouse is Maggie from the Mistletoe Farm collection. And even though all the parts and pieces come from three various collections, you would never know that they weren't intended to go together from the start just by looking at this scene. I'm tellin' ya, this is why I have a hard time parting with my stamp collection... ya never know when a new addition is going to breathe new life into what you already have. 

And if you don't have any of these super cute stamps already, the annual Black Friday sale is still happening for a few more days and you can get a great deal on old and new.  ;)

Stay crafty my friends!  

Supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Purple Onion Designs (Bakery Background, Maggie, Sweets and Essential Holiday Greetings set)
ink- Memento rich cocoa
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
Dr. Ph Martins bleed proof white
Sharpie extra fine white pen
Copic markers:
sky/snow- B0000, B41, BV0000, BV31
bakery- RV10, R81, R83, RV34, Y11, Y21, Y26, Y28, C1, E50, E81, 0, E55, E47, E49, E43, E44, T7
road/sidewalk- T0, T1, T3, T4, T5, N1, N3, N4
baker mouse- E50, E81, V20, R000, R30, R35, E37, E59, E89, YG01, YG21, YG17, G28, E41, E42 
jumping mouse- E30, E31, E34, E50, E81, R000, R30, YG03, YG95, YG97, YG99, R35, R37, R59
baby mice- E50, E81, V20, R000, R30, E41, E42, E43, E55

The most wonderful time of the year...

Hello there!

Exciting news everyone! After a much too long hiatus due to complications brought on by the pandemic Dreamerland Crafts is finally back with their first new release in over a year. I have missed seeing new characters added to the lineup, bringing with them all sorts of new story telling opportunities for my cards. The Christmas and Fall Characters collection can already be found at Simon Says Stamp and for my first card of the new release I've inked up these two Christmas cuties called Happiness is Time Spent with a Good Friend. Right away I fell in love with this little gal, all dressed up for the Christmas party. I can just imagine her excitement as family and friends laugh and mingle all around her. With so much going on and the hour growing late she finds herself a quite window seat where she is joined by her beloved kitty. Together they bask in the love and good spirits that fill their home on this Christmas Eve. To help bring that vision to life I also grabbed the WC Mini Cabins stamp set from Art Impressions to add the hint of the snow covered neighborhood outside the window. I can't tell you how much fun I had creating this card and I can't wait to ink up more of these new stamps! 
 
Toodles!

Supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Dreamerland Crafts (Happiness is Time Spent with a Good Friend), Colorado Craft Company (sentiment), Art Impressions (WC Mini Cabins)
ink- Memento tuxedo black
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
Dr. Ph Martin's bleed proof white
Sakura stardust glitter pen
Copic markers:
skin- E000, E00, E11, E04, R00, R20
hair- E34, E27, E49
clothes- C1, C2, C4, W1, W3, R14, R27, R29, R89, G07, G29, E81, E84, T3, T5, T7
kitty- E40, E81, R00
floor/wall- E31, E55, E42, E43, E44, E71, C4
window seat/pillows- W00, W1, W2, W4, E40, G43, G46, R14, R29
outdoor scene- Y00, Y02, B000, B21, B23, B34, B45, B97, B99, 0

Wishing you a season of gladness...

Hello there! 

I hopped on my Adventures in Coloring with Amy Facebook page yesterday and did a Live coloring video using the sweet little Tree Trimming fairy Lotti Da from the newest Christmas digi release at Sweet November Stamps. When it comes time to decorate the Christmas tree little Lotti Da is in charge of adding glass bulbs throughout the branches. Whether they are shiny, matte or covered in glitter, multi colored or classic gold and silver Lotti Da knows the perfect spot for each and every bauble. I paired her with one of the branches from the Pine Tree and Branches scene builder set as well as one of the new Christmas sentiments. In the video you can see how a sticky marker caused some blending issues on the glass ornament and how I shifted gears to salvage the nearly complete scene. Seriously people, the best Christmas gift this girl could hope to get is someone to come and clean and refill all my markers, LOL! ;)

Anywho, it's December 1st! The countdown to Christmas is really on now!   

Supply list:
cardstock- Bazzill and Copic X-Press It
digital stamps- Sweet November (Lotti Da Fairy, Pine Tree and Branches scene builder set and Christmas sentiment pack)
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
Wink of Stella clear glitter pen
Dr. Ph Martins Bleed Proof white
gold sequins
Copic markers:
sorry, I didn't keep a list but you can see the colors used here