Northern Lights

I had a plan...and it so did not work, haha. So I tried this instead. This was my second try at the "galaxy background". Both tries were on Monday, haha. The first time I was hoping for fireworks, but I'll show you at the end why it didn't work out.

I still wanted to use the idea in my head, so I went with a starry sky instead. I used the sketch from The Paper Players for the layout. And I love this cute father and daughter image, watching the night sky.

Supplies:
Stamps: A Good Man, Little Twinkle
Ink: Real Red, Pacific Point, Flirty Flamingo, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Memento Black, Versamark, Crumb Cake
Stampin' Blends: Light Basic Black, Light Pumpkin Pie, Dark Night of Navy, Bronze, Ivory, Color Lifter
Paper: Mint Macaron & Whisper White card stocks

I even stamped the inside to go with the outside!!

So, for my first attempt...
Since I was trying to do fireworks, I kept the colors bold- Real Red, Coastal Cabana, Pacific Point, Night of Navy. You just sponge it on your card stock, then sponge black ink around it for the "night sky". I then added these little flower centers from Colorful Seasons, embossed in white. But this is what I got....

I don't often throw something away but I sure don't know how else to use that, haha... what do you think? Have you tried any new techniques lately?

We Create The Blues Blog Hop

And here we are, starting a brand new year, with a great blog hop, full of inspiration to get you creating your own projects! Welcome 2019!

This month we went with a color theme- the cold, wintery BLUES! Blue can be exactly that- cold and crisp. But it can also be calm and soothing. Blue has always been one of my favorite colors so this was a perfect place to start the new year.

My card uses two shades of blue- selected from the DP that coordinates with the stamp set I picked! I also used the latest sketch from the Global Design Project page.  I liked this sketch because it allows the DP to shine, which makes the phrase work so well!

Supplies:
Stamps: Little Twinkle
Ink: Night of Navy, Pool Party
Paper: Whisper White card stock, Twinkle Twinkle DP
Accessories: Wink of Stella, Pearlized Doilies, Glue Dots

I'm working on designing an upcoming Valentine/Love themed card class and this will probably be one of the cards we make- using this cute set as an "I love you" card instead of for a baby card! What do you think? There really is Wink of Stella on "you" and "stars" but it is very hard to see, especially on a cloudy, snowy day, haha....

Anyway, hop on to see what Cheryl has made to inspire you, and then hop on to see everyone else's creations too! It's not a long blog hop, but it will get your creative wheels turning! And have a very happy new year!

Little Twinkle - Boy

Today I have a baby card, likely for a boy. Really, I decided to get this gray ink and I wanted to try it out, haha, and then it ended up part of my class!

For once, I have a few dimensions for those who like that when recreating a card. Since I was making it for a class, I wanted to get the most out of the sheets of DP without any waste. So! The card is {almost always} the regular A2 size. The gray star pattern is 3 inches wide and the dotty pattern is 1 inch wide, then I scotch taped the two together.

Supplies:
Stamps: Little Twinkle
Ink: Gray Granite, Pool Party
Paper: Pool Party & Whisper White card stock, Twinkle Twinkle DP
Accessories: Metallic Sequins, Glue Dots, Take Your Pick Tool

The layout was inspired by THIS card. So far I've only used this set for baby cards. The original looks more wedding-y, and I definitely see Valentine's potential from this set!

I also chose to use the new Take Your Pick tool from the Holiday Mini. It is a very simple way to pick out the sequin you want, and not the other three that always seem to want to tag along, haha... My customers liked it! Be sure and check it out, because it has 5 tips that do something different!

Techniques!!

Annnd then I quit stamping..... Summer is so busy!! However, today I got several things stamped, so I'm set for posts for a few days...
This past week I had two rounds of my missed Christmas Card class. That was fun! And I was so excited to get planning my next class! That's a different story, haha, but at my classes when I would try to point out a tool or a technique on my display board, I kept discovering I didn't have any! With a little one, my crafting has become even more simple than it already was, and I literally use stamps, ink and paper and that's pretty much it! So when I placed my order I got stuff for a new-to-me technique! And today's card is full of them!

My card {mostly} uses the color combination found on the Fab Friday blog, the second sketch from the Fall to Layouts, and is heavily inspired by THIS card by Cathy Caines. It includes watercoloring, embossing paste, a punch, Wink of Stella and a little basic stamping. haha...!

Supplies:
Stamps: Little Twinkle
Ink: Stazon Black, Mint Macaron, Tranquil Tide
Paper: Powder Pink, Mint Macaron, Watercolor Paper, Silver Glimmer Paper 
Accessories: Twinkle Builder Punch, Aquapainter, Embossing Paste, Pattern Party Decorative Masks, Palette Knives, Wink of Stella pen, White Bakers Twine, Glue Dots 

Maybe you can see the Wink of Stella on the big "twinkle" better here?

Anyway, it obviously took more time than my normal creations, but it was fun! I used Tranquil Tide ink, with an Aquapainter to make the background. After it dried I tried my hand at the Embossing Paste for the first time. I only wanted a few clouds, and they are more transparent than I expected but maybe I didn't use enough? I stamped the greeting, and after a minute added the Wink of Stella just to the scripty "twinkle". And then I used the punch on the glitter paper, sticking scraps in to get more stars. All of that was adhered with Glue Dots. I stamped the little constellation around the edges of the card base for a little interest and to reiterate the star thing. Finally I wrapped some Baker's Twine to keep with the sketch, and I love how it turned out!

And just to show I used the set again already, I threw together this baby card using an image I stamped and colored a few months ago.

Yeay card making!!