Challenge #8 | Father's Day {avery elle}

Happy Friday and welcome to another challenge for the AEI♥U Challenge blog. This week we are looking forward to Father's Day. Let's make some cards for Dad!

As a huge fan of all things nautical, I had to use the Knotty stamp set for this masculine card. I used the anchor stamp in that set to create a pattern on the background of my card using the Fog pigment ink pad from Avery Elle. 

I then stamped a sentiment (also from the Knotty stamp set) using Versafine Onyx ink.

Can't wait to see what you make for Dad!

Avery Elle stamps or their free digital stamps must be used in each entry. You may enter as many times as you wish, but they must be posted to the InLinkz tool separately. Please enter a new, not previously posted project that fits the challenge theme.  Your project must fit the theme to be eligible to win. The winner will not be chosen randomly.  We will be looking for entries that include great use of color, design & creativity. You have until 12:01 AM (PT) on Sunday, June 8th to enter.  The winner will be announced on Thursday, June 12th at 6:00 AM (Pacific Time) on the Avery Elle Challenge Blog.

Happy Memorial Day {bella blvd}

Happy Memorial Day! Today on the Bella Blvd blog we are using the Lucky Starz collection to show off our patriotism. I made these two cards with Lucky Starz and All American collections.

I love red, white and blue as a color combo, but they can be especially powerful for patriotic cards and projects. Add in some fireworks and you have a holiday card!

Supplies: Lucky Starz (Pattern paper: Macintosh Starz). All American (Pattern paper: Borders & Cute Cuts), Alpha + Bits stickers, Chip Icons.

The navy always feels more serious to me than the red and white, so I used that as my main color on this card that says "American hero."  

Supplies: Lucky Starz (Pattern paper: Surf & Turf Starz). All American (Pattern paper: Borders & Cute Cuts), Alpha + Bits stickers

Hope all of my American friends are having a wonderful holiday weekend! Thanks for taking a moment to visit here today.

Candy jar card {samantha walker}

Today on the Samantha Walker blog I'm sharing my process for making this fun candy jar card. A variety of enamel dots add dimension and pops of fun color to the project. 

Supplies: Samantha Walker (candy jar studio file, For All You Do Vintage Labels stamp set, Echo Park Keepin' Cozy 6x6 paper pad)

Thanks for stopping by here today! I hope this card has brightened your day a bit. 

Card sketch {bella blvd}

Bella Blvd has a great jumping-off point today for all you card makers. Stop on over to the Bella Blvd blog to see what the card designers for Bella Blvd made with this month's sketch.

Here is the card that I made with the sketch and one of the newest collection: Classic Calendars. 

I love the patterns in the Classic Calendars collection. I couldn't pass up the chance to use the dots on the Bell Pepper paper to coordinate with the circles on the sketch.

Supplies: Classic Calendars (Pattern Paper: Bell Pepper), Treasures & Text

Kiwi Lane swap {fancy pants}

Today on the Fancy Pants blog I'm sharing my layout for our partnership and swap with Kiwi Lane Designs.

When looking to work with the Madison Avenue Framing templates I have from Kiwi Lane Designs, I knew I wanted to use them to create dimension on my layout. I have new photos from the start of my son's baseball season, so i set out to use the templates to create grass and hills to go along with the pictures.

I used foam adhesive to pop up the layers and create depth — tucking the little monster, a corrugate paper hill and the photos into the layering.

There are great varieties of green in the Be Different collection, so it made it really easy to achieve this look without needing to add card stock to my supplies.

Once I had my rolling hills all set, I was able to add a variety of die cuts, stickers, buttons and tags to the layout.

Thanks for stopping by here today to see my layout! Remember to add a comment any day this week to the Fancy Pants Blog for your chance to win a fabulous Fancy Pants and Kiwi Lane Designs prize pack that includes products from the Be Different collection, Tiny Tags Accessory set, Tiny Celebrate Accessory set, and the Aspen Court set.

Fancy Pants Designs Collections Used: Be Different, As You Wish - Turquoise Corrugate Paper

Challenge #7 | Botanicals {avery elle}

Happy Friday and welcome to another challenge for the AEI♥U Challenge blog. This week we are exploring botanicals. We want to see your floral cards! 

I've been taking the Online Card Class: Watercolor this month, so of course I was just itching to try out some of the techniques from the class. For this card, I used the distress-inked acrylic block technique for my background and the watercolor markers for the flower and leaves. 

I had so much fun playing around with the watercolor techniques and the Avery Elle Petals and Stems stamp set. Maybe you can give watercolors a try when you play along with the challenge this week!

Avery Elle stamps or their free digital stamps must be used in each entry. You may enter as many times as you wish, but they must be posted to the InLinkz tool separately. Please enter a new, not previously posted project that fits the challenge theme.  Your project must fit the theme to be eligible to win. The winner will not be chosen randomly.  We will be looking for entries that include great use of color, design & creativity. You have until 12:01 AM (PT) on Sunday, May 25th to enter.  The winner will be announced on Thursday, May 29th at 6:00 AM (Pacific Time) on the Avery Elle Challenge Blog.

What's New {bella blvd}

In case you missed it, Bella Blvd released three new mid-season collections: Summer Squeeze, Scattered Sprinkles and Classic Calendars. Today on the Bella Blvd, some of us on the creative team are sharing projects that show off the new collections. 

Make sure to stop by the Bella Blvd blog all week long to see what we've been up to with the new collections.

I absolutely love the yellow "hello" paper in the Summer Squeeze collection. It is a b-side to the Pocket Full of Posies paper, and I plan on fussy-cutting each single "hello"on that sheet. 

Supplies: Summer Squeeze: (Pattern paper: Pocket Full of Posies), Treasures & Text

For my second card, I focused on the fun pink and black colors in the new collections. So fun, right?! I just had to make a friend card with these colors. All the while humming Debbie Gibson songs and snapping my gum — this color combo always brings me back to middle school.

Supplies: Summer Squeeze: (Pattern paper: Borders, Daily Details. Scattered Sprinkles: Treasures & Text

Thanks for stopping by here today to see some of what's new at Bella Blvd.

Samantha Walker Creative Crafters Team Blog Hop {graduation}

Welcome to the Samantha Walker Creative Crafters Team Blog Hop! You should have come to my blog from Cristal (Pinky) Hobbs. If you found me first, make sure to start back at Samantha Walker's blog to catch all of the fun from the beginning.

This month's lucky winner will receive the Spellbinders Sea Flowers Grand Impressabilities.

...and be eligible for the free SVG/Silhouette file for this month. Be sure to look extra closely at Step #4 below to learn how you can get this FREE SVG and Silhouette Studio file:

To enter, just leave a comment on Samantha's blog during Wednesday 5/14 until Sunday 5/18. The winner will be announced on Samantha's Facebook page on Monday 5/19.

For additional entries:

1. Receive an additional entry for commenting on each of the other blogs in the blog hop.
2. Go here and follow Samantha Walker's blog. 
3. Follow her on Facebook.

4. Sign up for an e-mail subscription to Samantha's blog and you will automatically receive a link to a free SVG cutting file that you can download and use on your personal electronic cutter. If you are already a subscriber, just enter in your information in the secure form on Samantha's blog!  The free files will be e-mailed early next week!

To receive the additional entries and get the free files, mention in your comment on Samantha's blog that you have done so! 

Now for this month's theme: Graduation

For my project this month, I made a card for the graduate. I always think of owls in association with graduation. So very wise, right? Also stars — like a "superstar!" I'm a bit corny, I think. 

I cut the owl on my Cameo, the word bubble from a die and the stamps are from JustRite.

Supplies: Samantha Walker Silhouette Studio Files (Animal Owl 4), For All You Do Vintage Labels clear stamps, Patterns Basics clear stamps.

Your next stop on the hop is Samantha Walker Facebook page ... Click on the image below to keep on hopping!

Thanks for hopping along with us this month! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Watercolors and a May birthday

This past week I took the Online Card Class Watercolors class. Through a series of videos, I watched some of my favorite card makers show off their techniques, tips and tricks. Some of them I already knew about but rarely practice — some were completely new to me.

This card shows off one of the masking techniques. I had no idea you could use rubber cement to help mask off areas on projects.

My little man turns 8 this month. I made this card because the BOOM sentiment gave me the perfect opportunity to use the masking technique and because Nate says "BOOM!" all the time.

Thanks for stopping by here today. I can't wait to keep working through the techniques from the class. I'll make sure to stop by here and share them with you.