June is all about the coloring!

Hi Friends!

If you are anything like me, you are 12 days into #thedailymarker30day Coloring Challenge with @KathyRac.  I've committed to carving out a little bit of me time each day to color!  It's fun, relaxing and at the end of 30 days I'll have tons of components for future projects.

Kathy says if you practice your coloring daily you will really improve your skills and I'm beginning to see the truth in that. You can follow along with me @cardhappyone on Instagram and see what I'm coloring.  It's a busy month in my family so some days it's just a critter or two...others something floral...and occasionally I will pull together an entire card.  Here is my favorite so far....

I made an ink blended background with Distress Ink and then topped it with images from the Essentials by Ellen So Matcha stamp and die set.  I love the way it turned out SO MATCHA!!!

I invite you to carve out 10 minutes for yourself each day to color and get your Zen on!  You'll find improving your skills is just an added bonus!!  Happy coloring😊😊😊😊😊

Coffee, Critters, and a giveaway...OH MY!

Today I'm hopping along on the Coffee Loving Card Makers Spring/Summer Blog Hop.  The theme is Spring/Summer and Coffee, of course!  I have 3 fun theme inspired cards to share with you and a give away (details at the end of this post).  So pour yourself a cup and let's get started...

The first card is all about SPRING!  I started with a pastel pink watercolor background (sorry it's hard to see it in the photo).  I cheated and used My Favorite Things Watercolor Wash patterned paper!  Next I added a circle die cut with MFT's Inside and Out Stitched Circle from MFT Bundles of Blossoms Brights patterned paper. Finally, I added a sweet little bunny and sentiment from Memory Box that I stamped in black and heat embossed with WOW clear embossing powder that I had quick colored with Copic Markers. I adhered all of that atop an A2 base cut from Ellen's Essential Cardstock in Slate Gray that I cut using Dotted Rectangle Stackables.  I'm thinking this card is definitely my cup of Tea!!!

For the second card I focused on Summer!  Summer makes me think of picnics and a red gingham tablecloth, so I started with a rectangle of MFT Tiny Checks Bright patterned paper and for my critter on this one I chose this cutie from Tree Farm from Ellen Hutson.  The sentiment in the sign is from Hot Mess Lady also from Ellen Hutson and I added some polka dots with a Barn Door Distress Marker.  I also incorporated 3 different Washi tapes and a strip of white cardstock to finish this one.

The final card is all about the COFFEE!...and that little bear of course!  My highly caffeinated bear is from the stamp set All Inside by Julie Ebersole, his thermos is from Tree Farm by Brandi Kincaid, and his little mug with a steamy heart is from Sock Monkey Surprise...all from Ellen Hutson. I created the background on Kraft cardstock using a cute little O Frap! coffee stamp from Art Impressions stamped in Dark Chocolate ink from Altenew.  I then did a quick color on the labels and lids using copic markers and finished with clusters of dots.  I toyed with the idea of adding a sentiment, but in the end wanted the cute little critter to stand alone!

I hope you are now thirsty for inspiration (and coffee) and will take some time to check out all the projects and great sponsors over on THE HOP! 

 To qualify for my giveaway follow me @cardhappyone on Instagram.  

One new follower will be chosen at random to receive a Hero Arts Shades of Gray ink cube set valued @ 9.99 plus a few fun surprises💕 (total value $25) The winner will be announce on my Instagram on Friday, June 8th...so follow now!

Seeing Black and White and Red all over!

Today I'm continuing the Black and White trend, but with a twist...RED!!!  As you know from my last post I'm crazy for black and white, but add in another strong color and its the bomb 💣.  My favorites are bright colors...especially turquoise, fuchsia, or yellow...the contrast is spectacular!

The first card mixes a technique I've been wanting to try for a while....creating a background with washi tape and a strong color palette.  I love washi tape almost as much as I love patterned paper (they come in so many color and print combinations). I just can't resist them and my collection of both continues to grow.  Is that a problem? if so...I'm thinkin it's a good problem😊.  Am I right?

So...I created my background using different widths of black and white and red and white washi tape on a red note card.  I used a criss-cross pattern and randomly added layers until I was satisfied with the overall look.  I also cut out some shapes from patterned papers and a few little critters that I previously colored with Copic markers. They were wearing red accessories...so of course they needed to jump on these cards!

For the Washi background, I decided on a red and white polka dotted hexagon using the Pretty Pink Posh Stitched Hexagons Die set.  Then I cut a circle out of it with the MFT Inside and Out Circle Stax.  I used the same die to cut out a black and white polka dot circle which I inset into the hexagon.

Finally, I added Birch the bunny from Purple Onion Designs with foam tape for dimension and a cute sentiment from the Koalifications stamp set from Neat and Tangled.  The finished product (although a little busy 😎) makes me smile.

I was having so much fun with this color scheme, I decide to make a second card using Blizzard the husky from Purple Onion designs.  Since the first card was a little busy🙈 I went for a more simplistic approach this time.

I began with the same red note card and added a stitched rectangle from MFT cut from black cardstock with a really subtle print on it.  I topped that with a red and white polka dot square with a pinked edged...and finally Blizzard!  Then I heat embossed a fun sentiment from the Essentials by Ellen set All Inside by Julie Ebersole and my second card was complete!

I encourage you to use a color palette as your inspiration and see where it takes you.  You might be surprised and delighted by your final destination...I know I was.  HUGS!!

Black, White, and Beautiful!

Hi all! 

Today I am mixing up some of my favorite things💟... Patterned Paper (polka dots, stripes and hounds tooth) plus Black and White❤❤👀! I started out with the Rustic Botanicals stamp and die set by Julie Ebersole for Ellen Hutson (I adore this set!!) and stamped them on Neenah white cardstock using Hero Arts Black Ink. 

For added impact I heat embossed them with Wow Clear Embossing Powder and cut them out with the matching die cuts. I love the gloss and slight dimension that embossing adds.  I have been borrowing a heat gun from my husbands work bench, but I think he was tired of having to search for it every time he wanted to use it so I ordered my own...and am so happy I did!

I picked a selection of black and white papers that spoke to me and then went about the business of planning out how I was going to put it all together.  I also cut out Brushstroke Hello by Julie Ebersole in black and white glossy cardstock.

 In the end, I was able to turn this collection of components into three cards using a strong black and white patterned paper as the background and a coordinating paper as an accent.  The sentiments and botanicals pop off the backgrounds and are fresh and fun!

The first one I left strictly black and white and just added 3 little enamel dots as a finishing touch...well, HELLO lovely!

On the second one I added just a hint of color by filling in some of the circles above the stripe with a
Ranger Distress Marker in cracked pistachio.  I think it added that little something that was missing.

 And on the final card, I decided to add the hint of color to the floral component by using Ranger Distress markers in Cracked pistachio on the leaves and Barn Door on the flower.  The final touch was an enamel dot in the center of the flower and the word Thanks.

I hope you will try using your favorite color combination to create some cards with a monochromatic feel...You may even surprise yourself with what you come up with!  HUGS!!

Hello...More Grocery Store Inspiration

Hi...back again with another grocery store inspiration.  Amazing what a simple bin of brussel

sprouts can inspire!

Looks good enough to eat...right?  So many different shades of green!  My interpretation of these Brussel sprouts started with some Copic Sketch markers and a stamp from Purple Onion Designs called Garden Bushes.

Add in a rectangle of Watercolor Wash paper layered on Calm and Cozy Chevron paper from MFT and the word Hello cut out from an Essentials by Ellen Hello die and the result is pure LOVE💖💘💗!  I absolutely adore the way this turned out. I will definitely be recreating this to send off to friends just to say HELLO!!

In the end I decided I like the sentiment better in black and layered all the components on a white A2 note card adding a strip of black and white striped washi tape under the stamped image as a finishing touch.  I hope you too are inspired by the everyday things around you to create something extraordinary!!