Always great to see you...

Hey there!

Yesterday we introduced the Mermaid Lagoon mermaids and background builder set to the Sweet November Stamps shop. I had already made cards using; Laguna, Oceana and Ondine, so when it came time for my Live coloring video yesterday, Sirena was the star of the show. She got her own unique lagoon configuration using the Mermaid Lagoon "background builders" which for the most part are more like foreground builders. I then began coloring this pretty mermaid into a dark night scene because when I asked my fellow crafters if they wanted to see day or night, night won by a landslide. I think it was a great decision as we don't do a whole lot of night scenes outside of Halloween and it provided lots of opportunities to talk about playing with light and shadow in a scene. With all the various scene items and Sirena herself, this video ended up going over my usual two hours but hopefully the extra half hour is worth the watch. :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Copic X-Press It
digital stamps- Sweet November (Mermaid Lagoon: Sirena and Mermaid Lagoon: Background Builder set)
stamps- SugarPea Designs (sentiment)
ink- Catherine Pooler juniper mist
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
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

Welcome to the Mermaid Lagoon...

Hello friends!

Even though we have said goodbye to May there is still one last mermaid themed digi release that we wanted to squeeze in this year. So today we are introducing the magical Mermaid Lagoon mermaids and background builder set to the Sweet November Stamps shop. There are four beautiful mermaids; Laguna, Oceana, Sirena and Ondine, each one perched on her own rock. But what makes this release extra special is that the Mermaid Lagoon "background builders" are more like foreground builders. They are made to be mixed and matched in front of the mermaids so it appears that we are peering through the enchanted foliage to get a glimpse of the mermaids as they relax close to shore.  

My first card has Oceana relaxing in her lagoon as the sun comes up behind her. In addition to the flowers and tree branches that I added from the Mermaid Lagoon builder set I also added the sea cave from the Ocean Background Builder set which I then added the Mermaid Lagoon waterfall above. The little fish popping out of the water is from the Surfacing Builder set. 

Next, we find Ondine basking in the light of a full moon, the beautiful night flowers lending a sweet scent to the salt sea air. The little frog on the lily pad, who is also from the Surfacing Background set, sings a sweet lullaby near by.   

Finally, Laguna is excitedly waving to a fellow mermaid so they can spend this lovely day together in the hidden cove. The shore is bursting with colorful flowers and lush leafy greens, the likes of which Laguna has rarely seen.

Now be sure to check out the Friends of Sweet November Stamps group on Facebook for even more Mermaid Lagoon magic from Caitlin, Lisa and Amanda. We've also got two wonderful guest designers joining us this week; Claire Harrison and Christina Pook. Don't forget, I will be coloring Sirena 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!

 

You give the best hugs...

TGIF!

I'm up on the Hello Bluebird blog today with a mash up of old and new stamps that center around a couple of cuties from the new Big Hugs Woodland set that was just released. Sure, the main stamp in this set is the big pile up of critters but this fox and raccoon charmed me from the start. I wanted to create a special space for them to call home so I began flipping through the rest of my Hello Bluebird stamps to see what I could piece together. I eventually grabbed the big billowing cloud from the Besties set and the stand of trees from the Picked For You set. I began building my scene by stamping and masking the pair of hugging critters, using Memento rich cocoa ink on Catherine Pooler card stock, then doing the same with the stand of trees both to the right and the left of the critters, framing them in nicely. I then masked the trees before inking up the Besties cloud in Studio Calico glass slipper ink, selectively wiping away any ink that got on the bottom of the stamp as I wanted to replace the original tulips with the flowers from the Big Hugs Woodland set instead. After stamping on the flowers I couldn't resist adding some cute tufts of grass that are in the set too. Once the scene was ready I began coloring everything in using Copic markers. My focus was to keep it as light and bright and airy as I could, which is why I left the bottom third of the card front white. It also balances the big, billowing cloud up top which is pleasing to the eye. The sentiment is also from the Big Hugs Woodland set and I heat embossed the small script in white onto a dark grey card stock that matched the bark texture I colored onto the birch trees. The 'hugs' script was stamped in Studio Calico sky blue ink and then cut out using the coordinating Big Hugs Woodland dies. I glued them both together and then used foam adhesive to give them a bit of a lift as a final finishing touch on my completed card.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you have a crafty weekend!

 

Supply list:
cardstock- My Favorite Things and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Hello Bluebird (Big Hugs Woodland, Besties and Picked For You)
ink- Memento rich cocoa, Versamark watermark and Studio Calico blue sky and glass slipper
Hero Arts detail white embossing powder
Hello Bluebird Big Hugs Woodland Coordinating dies
My Favorite Things A2 stitched rectangle stax set 1
Copic markers:
cloud/sky- BG0000, BG000, C0, BG10, BG72
trees- W1, W3, W7, E42, 0, YG21, YG25, YG17, YG67, BG96
ground- E30, E31, E43, E44, YG0000, YG00, YG01, YG03, YG23, YG63, G94, 0
flowers- B01, B14, Y18
raccoon- E41, E42, W1, W3, W4, W5, W6, W7, R30
fox- E40, E41, E42, R000, R30, YR21, YR14, E97, E99, E59

Make some noise...

Good morning!

I've still got a handful of cute scenes that I stamped up using the new A Special Day release at Purple Onion Designs and I can't wait to get them all colored up! To that end I pulled out my markers and set about bringing this adorable backyard band to life. Bonnie, Mateo, Bernard and Travis were all stamped on a mini slimline card front since they each have their own instrument to play. Together they are making a joyful noise to celebrate a birthday. I also added some falling confetti using the older Confetti stamp for an extra festive look.

Don't forget that there is still time to take advantage of the A Special Day collection bundle deal where you can save 30% when you get all 28 stamps/stamp sets and the coordinating "Let's Celebrate" sentiment set. Or if you would rather pick out stamps from the new collection a la carte you also have until June 8th to get 10% off your order in honor of celebrating Stacey's 10th year illustrating stamps for Purple Onion Designs. 

Later gators!

 Supply list:
cardstock- Papertrey Ink and Catherine Pooler
stamps- Purple Onion Designs (Bonnie, Mateo, Bernard, Travis, Confetti and Let's Celebrate Sentiment set)
ink- Memento tuxedo black and rich cocoa
Hello Bluebird Nesting Deckle Mini Slimline die
Wink of Stella clear glitter pen
Copic markers:
bunny- E50, E40, E81, R000, R30, 0
guitar- E31, E53, E55, E35, E25, W3, W4, W7
bear 1- E30, E31, E34, E43, E44, R000, R30
maracas- E33, C3, Y11, Y21, Y26, BG05, BG09
bear 2- E30, E31, E34, E43, W4, W5, W6, W7, R30
horn- Y02, YR23, YR24, E47
mouse- N0, N1, N2, N3, N4, R000, R30
drum- E33, E81, E84, Y11, Y21, Y26, BG05, BG09, Y02, YR23, E47
sky- B000
confetti- RV13, YR15, V04, BG15, G07, Y02, Y26
grass- YG03, YG25, YG63, G94, G99
bushes- YG13, YG05, YG07, YG09