Essentials by Ellen February Pin-Sights Challenge

Hello crafty friends!   I'm so excited to be invited over to the Ellen Hutson blog today, to play along with the monthly Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights Challenge.  Every third Thursday of the month a new inspirational challenge is posted with a chance for you to win a $50 gift certificate to the Ellen Hutson store.

Here is the gorgeous inspiration photo collage that you can use to make your card for February.

The rules are pretty simple when making your card:

1. Incorporate whatever inspires you about these pinned photos and colors.
2. Be sure to use some Essentials by Ellen products in your creation.
3.  Head on over to the Ellen Hutson Pin-sights challenge and link your card up to the challenge gallery You have until February 28th to enter to win!

I made two cards today that were inspired by the purple floral bouquet on the bottom and the gorgeous colors in the top photo.

I started out by stamping two identical backgrounds with the Essentials by Ellen Mondo Hydrangea stamp set.  Once on Canson Watercolor paper and once on Neenah Solar White cardstock.  This was made super easy by using the MISTI stamp positioner.

I water colored the image on watercolor paper using different shades of Ranger Distress Inks.   Then I diecut a heart shape in the finished watercolored piece, setting the heart aside.  I adhered the negative background piece it to the card front with dimensional tape.  I heat embossed the sentiment on a strip of black paper using white embossing powder then adhered it over the heart shape using dimensional tape.  I stamped, watercolored and cut out three single flowers to adhere with dimensional tape and added a few sequins for some sparkle.

Card 1 Supplies: 

• Stamps:  Mondo Hydrangea (Essentials by Ellen)

• Dies: Lawn Cuts Dies, Heart Stackables (Lawn Fawn)

• Ink:  Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves, Peacock Feathers, Evergreen Bough, Black Soot (Ranger), Onyx Black (Versafine), clear (Versamark).

• Paper: Neenah Solar White cardstock 110 lb, Canson Watercolor Paper

• Accessories:  WOW! Superfine White Embossing Powder,  Sparkling Clear Sequins (Pretty Pink Posh), Mounting Tape (Scotch)

Now, because I can't bring myself to throw away a diecut piece that I've already colored, I decided to use it on a second card.   This is where the second background on Neenah cardstock comes into play.  After gluing it to a cardfront, I lined the heart up in the middle and adhered it with dimensional tape for a subtle spotlight affect.  I added three single watercolored flowers  and the Essentials by Ellen Be-You-Ti-Ful diecut sentiment that I color blended with Ranger Distress inks.

Supplies: 

• Stamps:  Mondo Hydrangea (Essentials by Ellen)

• Dies: Be-You-Tiful (Essentials by Ellen),   Lawn Cuts Dies, Heart Stackables (Lawn Fawn)

• Ink:  Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves, Peacock Feathers, Evergreen Bough, Black Soot (Ranger), Onyx Black (Versafine).

• Paper: Neenah Solar White cardstock 110 lb, Canson Watercolor Paper

• Accessories:  Tonic Nuvo Crystal Drops Black Ebony,   Mounting Tape (Scotch)

Well, that's all for today my friends. I had a great time with this challenge and  I hope you get a chance to play along.

  

The Ton's February Challenge - Heart

Hi everyone!  It's time for another monthly challenge over at The Ton!
For the month of February we're celebrating what else?..... love of course, with the cue word  "HEART".



 The Ton's Challenge Blog 

We challenge you to make a card using the cue word HEART as your inspiration.   You have the whole month of February to enter as many times as you like, for a chance to WIN a $50 gift certificate  for  The Ton online store.  You can click on the link to head on over and check out the details any time.  But first I'd like to show you a card I made for this month's  
Heart Challenge!

The word "HEART" inspired me to pull out those adorable heart shaped Sunnies glasses to compliment the "fabulous" stamp from The Ton's new Seriously Amazing stamp set. 

Supplies:

• Stamps:  Seriously Amazing, Sunnies, Beautiful Day Bicycle, XOXO (The Ton).

• Dies:  Sunnies Coordinating Dies

• Ink:  Hollywood Star, Ballet Slippers, Noir, Hampton White Pigment (The Ton), clear emboss (Versamark).

• Paper:  Silver Glitter Adhesive Paper (The Ton), Solar White cardstock 110 lb (Neenah), black cardstock.

• Accessories:  Silver Metallic Sequins 4mm (The Ton), white superfine embossing powder, clear superfine embossing powder (Ranger), dimensional tape.

To give the affect of seeing thru the glasses, I first stamped the "fabulous" word multiple times on the card base with The Ton's Hollywood Star ink and set aside.  On another piece of cardstock I stamped the "fabulous" one more time. Then, using a blending tool I lightly blended the light pink Ballet Slippers ink over the top of the fabulous.  This is what gave the word a blurry, muted look.

 After the ink dried I stamped the glasses from the Sunnies stamp set in Noir black, over the blended "fabulous" word, then diecut the image.  To make them shine like real sunglasses,  I took a clear Versamark ink pad directly to the glasses image and then embossed clear embossing powder over the top.  Doing this step muted the the stamped word even more.  I positioned the glasses on the stamped card base with dimensional tape, being sure to line up the letters on the glasses to the letters on the card base.  I added some little Silver Metallic Sequins on the frames for some bling.

To finish up this card I added a strip of  The Ton's Silver Glitter Adhesive Paper to the bottom of the card.  I also stamped some black hearts from the Beautiful Day Bicycle stamp set and the sentiment from the Sunnies stamp set.  I used the new XOXO stamp set on the inside of the card to wish a Happy Valentine's Day!

That's all  for today my friends.  Thank you so much for stopping by.  I hope you'll make some time this month to join in this fun Heart Challenge with us over at The Ton Blog.  We love seeing all of your creations and it's so fun to see everyone's interpretation of each challenge.  

Have a great day and happy stamping! 

The Ton’s 3rd Anniversary Blog Hop

Hi friends!  Welcome to   The Ton's 3rd Anniversary Release Blog Hop!  This "mini" blog hop showcases a handful of designers each day, all the way thru Friday, January 26th.  We're excited to show you The Ton's release and all of the new stamps, dies and Couture Mixes are on sale NOW in
The Ton shop!
 You can head on over any time and check it out!  Also, my post today contains links to each product that I used so you can find them easily.

When you're done here be sure to leave a comment down below then head on over to The Ton blog every day my friends, because of course there are daily prizes to be had! (more info below).

Details:

For The Ton's 3rd Anniversary Release, Effie has released 23 new stamps and die sets and 9 new couture mixes! There are also three new gifts with purchases that you can obtain with this new release: 
  

• Spend $125 or more: Receive a 4x6 Daisy Duet Photopolymer set

• Spend $250 or more: Receive our three set 6x8 inch Peony Notes Bundle [Sets A+B+C] (and a Daisy Duet Photopolymer set).

 

 **Incentive products are available for purchase separately**
 
 *This promotion does not apply to prior purchases.
*The threshold amount is calculated before taxes and shipping.
*This promotion will continue until February 1 at 11:59pm EST or until supplies last.
*Limit one incentive package per order.
*No coupon code needed. 
*All incentive products will be added to qualified orders automatically (but will not be shown in your cart at checkout)
*There must be at least one new release stamp in your order to qualify for these GWPs.
*For orders previously placed containing our new Smooched or XOXO Mini sets: These previous qualifying orders can be added to your new order to qualify for incentive products. Please include original order number in the notes of your second order. 


For my first card today I used:

Buildable Woodgrain

Coming up Daisies Stamps
and Coordinating Die

Rose Champagne Sparkle Couture Mix

This beautiful Buildable Woodgrain background stamp set is such a great concept.  It gives you plenty of room to play with different patterns and different color combinations for the background of your card.  No two cards are alike when you use this set.  I stamped mine using inks from The Ton:  Crystal Pewter, Smoky Quartz and Light Onyx.

Aren't those flowers gorgeous?    I stamped them in Caviar ink and then colored them with Kuretake real brush watercolor markers.  If you look closely, you will see that I die cut this using the Coming Up Daisies coordinating die.  What I like about this die is that it really cuts close to the image.  It also cuts out all the little center pieces so your background can show in between the flowers and stems.

I trimmed my florals off to allow extra room for the sentiment I chose from the Peony Notes B stamps set.  I don't like to waste anything that I took time coloring so I just added the trimmed piece to the inside of the card.    I added a little sparkle to the front of the card with some of the new Rose Champagne Sparkle Mix.

For my second card I used:

Peony Notes A, B & C

Painted Peonies

Mint Sugar Couture Mix

For my second card I wanted to try the whole Peony Notes set together, A, B & C.  I stamped the blue background first using Blue Diamond ink.  Then I stamped the flowers with:  Vanilla Frosted Cupcake, Beach Blondie, Amber Citrine.  The leaves were stamped with:  Bright Fern and Deep Emerald.  All of these sets are made to work wonderfully together.

Not much else was needed on my card because I filled the whole front with beautiful stamped images.  All I had to do was add a sentiment and added a few sequins from the Mint Sugar Couture Mix.

 How to Win:

• DAILY RELEASE GIVEAWAYS: For each Release Day (1 through 3), The Ton is giving away a stamp set of choice from the new release! So there are three stamps up for grabs! To qualify, you must leave a comment on The Ton's Daily Release posts. Leave a comment on each Design Team member's blogs to increase your chances of winning. The comment period will close on January 28, 5pm EST. Winners will be announced thereafter on The Ton’s blog  

• BLOG HOP GIVEAWAYS: For each day of The Ton’s blog hop festivities (1/19 to 1/26), Effie is giving away a stamp set of choice to a lucky commenter. To qualify, you must leave a comment on each blog stop for the respective giveaway day for which you are entering. The comment period for all giveaways closes on January 28, 5pm EST.

Time to Hop!
 Thank you for stopping by today.  I hope you enjoy all of the hop days this week.  Be sure to leave your comment down below before you hop on over the awesome Chris Dayton's blog.


 The Ton
Janette Kausen
Lisa Harrolle
Chris Dayton

 Have a great day!

The Ton’s 3rd Anniversary Release - Day 3

Hi friends!  Welcome back to Day 3 of  The Ton's 3rd Anniversary Release!  This is the last day of   The Ton's release and all of the new stamps, dies and Couture Mixes are on sale NOW in
The Ton shop!
 You can head on over any time and check it out!

Don't forget, starting on Friday, you can hop along with us for 7 days of inspiration and fun on
The Ton Blog Hop!   Along with the design team we'll also have some very special guest designers on our hop!  When you're done here be sure to leave a comment down below then head on over to The Ton blog every day my friends, because of course there are daily prizes to be had! (more info below).

 

Details:

For The Ton's 3rd Anniversary Release, Effie has released 23 new stamps and die sets and 9 new couture mixes! There are also three new gifts with purchases that you can obtain with this new release: 
  

• Spend $125 or more: Receive a 4x6 Daisy Duet Photopolymer set

• Spend $250 or more: Receive our three set 6x8 inch Peony Notes Bundle [Sets A+B+C] (and a Daisy Duet Photopolymer set).

 **Incentive products are available for purchase separately**
 
 *This promotion does not apply to prior purchases.
*The threshold amount is calculated before taxes and shipping.
*This promotion will continue until February 1 at 11:59pm EST or until supplies last.
*Limit one incentive package per order.
*No coupon code needed. 
*All incentive products will be added to qualified orders automatically (but will not be shown in your cart at checkout)
*There must be at least one new release stamp in your order to qualify for these GWPs.
*For orders previously placed containing our new Smooched or XOXO Mini sets: These previous qualifying orders can be added to your new order to qualify for incentive products. Please include original order number in the notes of your second order. 

Introducing:

Sweet Folk Hummingbird

Delicate Polka Dot Cling

Pink Bokeh Mix

What an adorable set this is.   I love that sweet little hummingbird and those extra large flowers are beautiful and so easy to color.  I started off stamping both the flowers and hummingbird with The Ton's Caviar ink.  This ink works great with Kuretake Real Brush Watercolor markers.  I went for bold colors to make this a bright, happy card.

I stamped the polka dots directly onto the front of the folded card base with The Ton's Cali Blue ink, then assembled the colored diecut pieces on top using dimensional tape to adhere the bird.

I stamped the sentiment in the bottom right corner and added a strip of The Ton's Silver Glitter Adhesive Paper to the bottom of the card to ground the flower stem a little.  I topped it off with some sparkle from one of the 9 new Couture Mixes:  Pink Bokeh Mix

 How to Win:

• DAILY RELEASE GIVEAWAYS: For each Release Day (1 through 3), The Ton is giving away a stamp set of choice from the new release! So there are three stamps up for grabs! To qualify, you must leave a comment on The Ton's Daily Release posts. Leave a comment on each Design Team member's blogs to increase your chances of winning. The comment period will close on January 28, 5pm EST. Winners will be announced thereafter on The Ton’s blog  

• BLOG HOP GIVEAWAYS: For each day of The Ton’s blog hop festivities (1/19 to 1/26), Effie is giving away a stamp set of choice to a lucky commenter. To qualify, you must leave a comment on each blog stop for the respective giveaway day for which you are entering. The comment period for all giveaways closes on January 28, 5pm EST.

Check these out!
 For your convenience, here is a list of the designers that created more fun projects for Day 3.
Stop on by and check them out!

The Ton
Mayline
Eunji
Vera
Laura Jane
Jenny
Tae Eun
Brenda
Anna
Olga

 Thank you so much for stopping by my blog for this release this week.  The Ton's awesome 8 day blog hop starts tomorrow.   I'll be back on Sunday to share some more cards with you and more chances to WIN!!

 Have a great day!

The Ton’s 3rd Anniversary Release - Day 2

Hi friends!  Welcome back to Day 2 of  The Ton's 3rd Anniversary Release!  Tuesday thru Thursday of this week,  The Ton's design team and I are showcasing a whole new line of fun products designed by Effie Cho.  Right here on my blog I'm showing off some of the awesome new stamps and dies that will be available for purchase tomorrow at  
The Ton !

The fun doesn't stop there!  Starting on Friday, you can hop along with us for 7 days of inspiration and fun on 
The Ton Blog Hop.  Along with the design team we'll also have some very special guest designers on our hop!  When you're done here be sure to leave a comment down below then head on over to The Ton blog every day my friends, because of course there are daily prizes to be had! (more info below).

Details:

For The Ton's 3rd Anniversary Release, Effie has released 23 new stamps and die sets and 9 new couture mixes! There are also three new gifts with purchases that you can obtain with this new release: 
  

• Spend $125 or more: Receive a 4x6 Daisy Duet Photopolymer set

• Spend $250 or more: Receive our three set 6x8 inch Peony Notes Bundle [Sets A+B+C] (and a Daisy Duet Photopolymer set).

 **Incentive products are available for purchase separately**
 
 *This promotion does not apply to prior purchases.
*The threshold amount is calculated before taxes and shipping.
*This promotion will continue until February 1 at 11:59pm EST or until supplies last.
*Limit one incentive package per order.
*No coupon code needed. 
*All incentive products will be added to qualified orders automatically (but will not be shown in your cart at checkout)
*There must be at least one new release stamp in your order to qualify for these GWPs.
*For orders previously placed containing our new Smooched or XOXO Mini sets: These previous qualifying orders can be added to your new order to qualify for incentive products. Please include original order number in the notes of your second order. 



Introducing:

Timeless Peonies

Painted Peonies

Delicate Polka Dots

 Pink Cosmo Twist Mix

For my card today I stamped the beautiful new Timeless Peonies.  This layered stamp set is pretty awesome.  I have never worked with anything quite like it.  I found the easiest way to stamp this set is from the outside in.  That means I started by stamping the background first, in a beautiful shade of Crystal Pewter gray.  Then I stamped the leaves using
The Ton's Soft Garden and Bright Fern.  I saved the layered peonies for last and they lined up beautifully.  One thing I do want to mention is that this design is very forgiving.  If you slip up and your stamping is off a little,  you won't even notice when your piece is finished.  You achieve a beautiful background print, customized with the colors you choose.   I used Rose Quartz, Soft Garnet and Red Sangria for my peonies.

This would have been a beautiful one layer background on it's own but I decided to bump it up a notch by die cutting some of The Ton's  Double Stitched Rectangles (Large).  I stamped the front of the folded card base with the new Delicate Polka Dots rubber cling background stamp.  Then I glued the outside of the floral piece onto the front of the card. The next piece I bumped up with a little dimension tape then added a sentiment from the new Painted Peonies stamp set.  After I finished this card I realized that it would make a beautiful shaker card. Darn it!  Too late.   Instead, I just glued down a whole bunch of the new Pink Cosmo Twist Mix inside the little sentiment window to make a faux shaker card.  It almost looks like a real shaker!

 How to Win:

• DAILY RELEASE GIVEAWAYS: For each Release Day (1 through 3), The Ton is giving away a stamp set of choice from the new release! So there are three stamps up for grabs! To qualify, you must leave a comment on The Ton's Daily Release posts. Leave a comment on each Design Team member's blogs to increase your chances of winning. The comment period will close on January 28, 5pm EST. Winners will be announced thereafter on The Ton’s blog  

• BLOG HOP GIVEAWAYS: For each day of The Ton’s blog hop festivities (1/19 to 1/26), Effie is giving away a stamp set of choice to a lucky commenter. To qualify, you must leave a comment on each blog stop for the respective giveaway day for which you are entering. The comment period for all giveaways closes on January 28, 5pm EST.

Check these out!
 For your convenience, here is a list of the designers that created more fun projects for Day 2.
Stop on by and check them out!

The Ton
Mayline
Eunji
Vera
Laura Jane
Jenny
Tae Eun
Brenda
Anna
Olga


Wait!

Just a reminder:  The Ton's January Challenge is now live! For this month, we have a fun Word Challenge so head over there now for a chance to win a $50 spree to The Ton’s shop!***
 ***Gift certificates only apply to The Ton stamps, dies, ink, gilding and embossing powder.

The Ton’s 3rd Anniversary Release - Day 1

Hi everyone!  I'm so happy today because we're kicking off The Ton's 3rd Anniversary Release!  Today thru Thursday The Ton's design team and I will be showcasing a whole new line of fun products designed by Effie Cho.  I'll be posting projects for all three days here on my blog and Thursday all new product is will be available at The Ton shop for purchase!  But don't go far because I'll also be joining in the big Blog Hop!  We're going to do it up big this year. Starting Friday, you can hop along with us for 7 days of inspiration and fun.  Along with the design team we'll also have very special guest designers on our hop!  When you're done here be sure to leave a comment down below then head on over to The Ton blog every day my friends, because of course there are daily prizes to be had!

Details:

For The Ton's 3rd Anniversary Release, Effie has released 23 new stamps and die sets and 9 new couture mixes! There are also three new gifts with purchases that you can obtain with this new release:

• Spend $125 or more: Receive a 4x6 Daisy Duet Photopolymer set

• Spend $250 or more: Receive our three set 6x8 inch Peony Notes Bundle [Sets A+B+C] (and a Daisy Duet Photopolymer set).

 **Incentive products are available for purchase separately**
 
 *This promotion does not apply to prior purchases.
*The threshold amount is calculated before taxes and shipping.
*This promotion will continue until February 1 at 11:59pm EST or until supplies last.
*Limit one incentive package per order.
*No coupon code needed. 
*All incentive products will be added to qualified orders automatically (but will not be shown in your cart at checkout)
*There must be at least one new release stamp in your order to qualify for these GWPs.
*For orders previously placed containing our new Smooched or XOXO Mini sets: These previous qualifying orders can be added to your new order to qualify for incentive products. Please include original order number in the notes of your second order. 



Introducing:

Winter Folk Cardinal

 

Coming up Daisies

This stamp set features a beautiful layered cardinal with a delicate, folk art design.
For my card today I did a swiping technique across the cardinal stamp with The Ton's  Coral Cavern ink before stamping.  This gave the bird some extra texture but it did take away from some of the folk art design on the head and tail. The top layer on the wing and tail were stamped with Valentine red. For the black around the beak I used Noir ink.   I cut my bird out with scissors but there will be a coordinating die set available in the shop on Thursday.

I stamped the branch design across a piece of white cardstock with Everglade Moss ink, then fussy cut along the top edge of the pine boughs.   For a little more detail I added some brown stems with a kuretake real brush watercolor marker.  I also added some white with a gellyroll pen.  The sentiment is from another stamp set in The Ton's new release:  Coming up Daisies.

The background of this card was embossed with the little snowflake cluster and Hampton White pigment ink,  Then I blended some pretty Cali Blue ink, darker at the bottom and fading off to white at the top.  I  finished the panel by using  the Double Stitched Rectangles Die set for a nice faux stitched edge.  The cardinal and white branch panel were added to the card with dimensional tape.  Of course I had to use some of the sequins from the new Mint Sugar Mix that will be available in The Ton Shop on Thursday.

 How to Win:

• DAILY RELEASE GIVEAWAYS: For each Release Day (1 through 3), The Ton is giving away a stamp set of choice from the new release! So there are three stamps up for grabs! To qualify, you must leave a comment on The Ton's Daily Release posts. Leave a comment on each Design Team member's blogs to increase your chances of winning. The comment period will close on January 28, 5pm EST. Winners will be announced thereafter on The Ton’s blog  

• BLOG HOP GIVEAWAYS: For each day of The Ton’s blog hop festivities (1/19 to 1/26), Effie is giving away a stamp set of choice to a lucky commenter. To qualify, you must leave a comment on each blog stop for the respective giveaway day for which you are entering. The comment period for all giveaways closes on January 28, 5pm EST.

Check these out!
 For your convenience, here is a list of the designers that created more fun projects for Day 1.  Stop on by and check them out today!

The Ton
Mayline
Eunji
Vera
Laura Jane
Jenny
Tae Eun
Brenda

Anna
Olga


Wait!

Just a reminder:  The Ton's January Challenge is now live! For this month, we have a fun Word Challenge so head over there now for a chance to win a $50 spree to The Ton’s shop!***
 ***Gift certificates only apply to The Ton stamps, dies, ink, gilding and embossing powder.

Release Day!! Love is in the Air.....

Hi everyone!  Release day is finally here for the awesome new:

Stamp of Approval Love is in the Air Collection!!

Available NOW at Catherine Pooler Designs online shop!

Don't miss out, get your Stamp of Approval Love is in the Air Collection today!  Once these are sold out, these products won't be available for purchase again for many, many months.


Have you guessed the surprise ink color yet?

Don't forget your Add-Ons in the "NEW" section!
Bon Voyage Accoutrements Dies
Love is in the Air Dies
Mystery Color Ink Refill
Brand New Grid Stamping Blocks!


I'm sharing a couple of fun clean and simple cards with you today featuring some my favorite Love is in the Air stamps and Catherine Pooler Designs gorgeous inks that are available in the online store.


A whole sky full of colorful hot air balloons!

I love the way this little chevron square looks stamped as a background.  It almost looks like a quilt!

There's still time to get in on that blog hop for your chance to win a  
Stamp of Approval Love is in the Air Collection
for FREE!   Just head over to:

Day 1      Day 2   and    Day 3

of the blog hops and comment on each designers blog posting for multiple chances at winning.  Catherine is giving away one box for each day of the hop.
Winners will be announced tomorrow on Catherine's blog.

Good Luck!