Saturday Night Crafting with Sasha

 
Tonight, I'm crafting with my friend Sasha Reade, experimenting with watercolour powders. I had fun and got some amazing results, but there's definitely one BIG fail, that I need your help with!

DIY Bouquet Calendar Gift

I was inspired to make a layered 2024 calendar by a reel I saw on Instagram. I used some new products from Catherine Pooler and Crafty Meraki to put my own spin on it!

Merry Christmas Poinsettia

Welcome to this week's LIMES inspiration post!

I chose this card as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper!

LIST: Colours (purple, green, white, yellow), Techniques (die cutting), Elements (single 'half'-flower with white outline, sentiment strip, varied background, white lacy mat on dark card base).

INCLUDE: green, white, yellow, die cutting, flower, sentiment strip, varied background

MODIFY: gel prints instead of patterned paper, poinsettia/Christmas instead of thank you theme, red instead of purple, full flower, stitching instead of lace on white mat, white circle mat instead of white outline on the flower, flower centred instead of to the right

I love that deep purple colour but it's time for me to start making some Christmas cards, so I changed up the occasion and used red instead of blackberry. I created my red and green 'paper' with a gel plate and some shimmery acrylic paints. I love how easy it is to create so much interest by using different shades of the 'solid' colour you want, and layering them up for depth. 

My poinsettia didn't have an outline, so I added the effect with a white circle mat behind the flower

Happy Birthday with Flowers 3 Ways

Welcome to this week's LIMES inspiration post!

I chose this card as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper!

LIST: Colours (white, aqua, green), Techniques (die cutting, embossing), Elements (embossed background, aqua frame, layered oval sentiment, 3 ribbon flowers, ribbon with dots and a knot)

INCLUDE: white, aqua, green, 

MODIFY: faux embossed background, die cut flowers, circle sentiment with no scalloped layer

EXCLUDE: ribbon, dots, aqua border

SPIN: faux embossing on focal layer and mat

This inspiration is so pretty and delicate - a little more pretty and delicate than my normal style, but I had fun using one die cut flower in 3 ways - as faux embossing on my double-layered backbround, as my focal flowers and then finally as leaves.

Butterfly Birthday

 Welcome to this week's LIMES inspiration post!

I chose this card as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper!

LIST: Colours (green, peach, pink, burgundy, black, white), Techniques (die cutting, stamping), Elements (floral background, circle focal panel, ladybug, stamped sentiment strip).

INCLUDE: colours, circle focal panel, stamped sentiment strip

MODIFY: lady bug to butterfly, florals to geometrics, less black

EXLUDE: embellishments

I love the rich colours on this patterned paper background, and I translated them into my CP colours before stamping my background with a turnabout stamp using the Altenew Stampwheel (so easy!).

Instead of a lady bug, I used a layered butterfly die set with black on the base, white in the centre, and a blend of the pink and peach on the top layers.

Layers - plus or minus! (get more from Layering stencils and dies!)

 It's release day at Crafty Meraki, and I'm sharing 3 ways to get new looks from layering stencils and dies!

Happy Magical Birthday

 


Welcome to this week's LIMES inspiration post!

I chose this layout as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper!

LIST: Colours (brown, teal, red, orange), Technique (digital scrapbook page), Elements (geometric background, flower, large text sentiment, strip sentiments, owls, birds, fall theme)

INCLUDE: brown, teal, orange, geometric background, large text sentiment

MODIFY: technique - stencil with watercolour powders, birthday theme

EXCLUDE: red, bird, flowers

I was drawn to the colours of this layout, but needed a more masculine design for this birthday card, so I left off the flowers.

I used some pixie spray to stick my stencil to some cardstock, and sprinkled watercolour powders in blue, gold, and brown over top. 

For the mat and sentiment, I cut them from white cardstock, blended dark teal and dark brown inks over top and spritzed with some iridescent shimmer spray. 

Effortless Artistry (Merakiversary)

Today, Crafty Meraki is celebrating the love, passion, and creativity that  brought us together in this incredible journey. Your support has been our guiding light, and as a token of our gratitude, we're hosting a fabulous giveaway! Three cheers for a dino-mite third birthday!

To enter the giveaway, watch my video below (and hop along and comment):

1. Subscribe to CraftyMeraki 
2. Leave a comment below the video (comments here on the blog will not be considered). (We will pick a random winner from the comments left across all channels) 
3. Tag your crafty friends in the comments (Optional - Each tag is an extra entry!) 

Three lucky winners will receive an exclusive Crafty Meraki EAP Release bundle! 

Giveaway closes on May 23rd. Winners will be announced on May 24th in a blog post on the craftymeraki.com Blog.  This giveaway is not affiliated with Instagram or YouTube. Open worldwide (must pay shipping).

Butterfly Thanks

Welcome to this week's LIMES inspiration post!

I chose this layout as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper!

LIST: Colours (brown, black, red, yellow, orange, green, blue), Techniques (digital scrapbook/photos), Elements (grid, puppy, white words, flowers)

INCLUDE: black, yellow, orange, green, grid, white words

MODIFY: black background instead of brown, butterflies not puppy, die cut sentiment, pink not red

EXCLUDE: blue, flowers

SPIN: square card, gems

I love a grid and this puppy is adorable!  I used a Paper Rose die to cut 16 identical squares, and I blended 4 colours of ink onto them. Then I stamped some small outline butterflies onto each square, making sure to create movement by having some of them stamped off the edge. I coloured them all in with a black Copic marker.

The hardest part was trying to get them spaced evenly, and straight (don't look too closely! lol!) and then I added my white die cut sentiment.

Leafy Happy Birthday

Welcome to this week's LIMES inspiration post!

I chose this card as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers' Featured Stamper!

LIST: Colours: (White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Brown) Techniques (stamping, die cutting), Elements (autumn leaves, white space, die cut sentiment, frame, 3 die cut leaves)

INCLUDE: white, yellow, orange, green, die cut sentiment, leaves, white space

MODIFY: added pink and gold, changed from fall to spring, stenciled background, 3 die cut flowers instead of leaves, 

EXCLUDE: mat/frame

SPIN: square card

Somehow, I can make Christmas cards all year long, but I'm not ready for autumn cards until September! lol!  Still, I love the warmth of these leaves and the addition of the little die-cut leaves so I used these ideas to make a more spring-y card.

I created my leafy background by extending a circular leaf frame stencil. I blended green ink through the circle of leaves, then masked that circle, moved the stencil to each of the 4 corners and blended some more leaves to get a more continuous look.

I blended ink onto 3 flower die cuts and then added depth with darker shades of Copic Markers.

My die cut sentiment was stacked up with some Inca gold cardstock for the top layer. I finished with Enchanted Forest gems for the flower centres and the dot on the i.

Craft Roulette - Thanks!

 I had so much fun on Friday night, playing Craft Roulette with Mary Gunn! The wheel was actually very kind to me (for a change! LOL!)

You can watch my episode here:

Project: Slimline (I opted for mini-slim)

Colours: Purple & Orange +1 (I used green, plus neutrals are always allowed)

Element: Sack (WHAT?!)

Random: Gems/Sequins

I cut a cardbase and a panel from white (embossed with an embossing folder for some dimension). I cut a frame from kraft cardstock and hand-cut my 'sack' which I used as a vase for my flowers. 

I blended the orange and purple on a piece of scrap cardstock and cut the flowers, and then did the same with two green inks for the leaves.

I added a sparkly thanks die-cut sentiment from my stash along with some Mystic Topaz gems to finish the card.

LIMES: Happy Birthday Dots & Flowers

Welcome to my weekly LIMES post, where I choose an inspiration and use LIMES to create my own version.

I chose this card as my inspiration from the gallery of this week's Splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper, Pam:

LIST: Colours (pink, white, yellow orange, pops of green and blue), Techniques (stamping, colouring die cutting, dry embossing), Elements (dot patterns, dimensional flowers, watering can, circle focal panel with dry embossing, scalloped mat, sentiment strip, green ribbon

INCLUDE: pink, white, yellow, orange, green, dot patterns, flowers, circle, popped up sentiment on lower right side

MODIFY: changed the proportion of colours, combined the circle focal panel with my sentiment, left more white space around the dots, fewer flowers

EXCLUDE: watering can, scalloped frame, dry embossing, ribbon

I really love how pretty and feminine Pam's pink card is, and the two things that attracted me most were the dot patterns in the background and the abundance of pretty flowers. I cut down on both elements by creating a single dot pattern and only 3 flowers, creating a very clean and simple birthday card. 

Crafty Meraki Video Hop (& Glimmer Giveaway!)

 

I love the look of Clean and Simple cards. But I also love to try techniques, and some of them can get pretty messy. 

Today's video shows 4 ways to use watercolour powders and then how I used the panels I created with these messy techniques to make clean and simple cards.

This video is part of a video hop to celebrate the latest Crafty Meraki release, and they are giving away a Spellbinders Glimmer hot foil machine to ONE randomly chosen lucky winner! Head to my video here and then hop and comment for a chance to win!

Inspired by HowSweetEats

 

I'm taking a quick break from Christmas in July to show that inspiration is all around us! I found this photo on Instagram and knew I had to give this colour blend a try!

I masked off the sides of a panel of white cardstock and blended Dress Blues, Glam, Cranberry Fizz and Pucker Up ink, letting it fade to white at the top, just like the drink. I added a Crafty Meraki branch and used some Crafty Meraki Fairy Garden gems as my ice cubes, although maybe they look like the bubbles in the soda! lol!

Mistletoe Joy

Congratulations to this week's Featured Stamper, Candy!

I chose this card as my inspiration:

LIST: Colours (monochrome shades of brown, orange, ochre, copper, white), Techniques (stamping, colouring), Elements (downward branch with leaves, horizontal copper stripe, twine bow, stamped sentiment, circular woodgrain patterned paper)

INCLUDE: downward branch, stamped sentiment, basic layout

MODIFY: I changed the occasion to Christmas by changing the colours to red, pink and white. die cut instead of stamping, added berries to the branch, moved circular element to focal panel, twine became metallic horizontal element

EXCLUDE: patterned paper

I die cut my olive branch and turned it for a more 'mistletoe' feel. I added berries in shades of red and pink.

The background was blended with the same colours as the berries, from dark on the top and bottom to pale in the centre, to give a 'horizontal' feel to the background. I wrapped the background with some gold twine for my metallic element and popped up the background and then the circular focal panel for some dimension.

Don't forget about the Card Maker Success Summit, July 28-31! Your free ticket is waiting for you HERE!

Crafty Meraki IG Hop

 

I'm excited to be part of an Instagram hop to celebrate Crafty Meraki's 2nd birthday. Today, they are releasing some new stencils and stamps. 

I made this card with the new Butterfly Garden stencil. I love that I could use small blending tools to add multiple colours without any masking, and then to take it to the next level, I added a thin coat of Enchanted Gold Gilding Polish which not only softened the colours, but added subtle shimmer and texture!

I added a stacked up hello sentiment and lots of the newest colours of Meraki Sparkle gems!

Monochrome Birthday Wishes

Congratulations to this week's Featured Stamper, Karen!

I chose this card as my inspiration:

LIST: Colours (aqua, yellow, pink & white), Techniques (die cutting, stamping, colouring), Elements (die cut daffodil bouquet, butterflies, tilted square panel, patterned paper backgrounds, stamped sentiment strip, ribbon)

INCLUDE: colours, die cut botanical, tilted square panel

MODIFY: olive branch vs daffodils, square tilted in opposite direction, background is die cut not patterned paper, sentiment 'strip' is part of the frame, reduced yellow and pink for a more monochrome look

EXCLUDE: butterflies, ribbon

SPIN: square card, negative frame

I coloured some cardstock with my Hot Tub ink and then die cut a background panel with a coverplate, and a branch. I scored and folded each leaf for some dimension.

I cut a square from a square from white cardstock, using EBE Essential Square dies, which cut a narrow frame, which makes it very easy to create a negative frame like this. I stamped my sentiment on the frame, and then placed the branch on top.

I finished the card with some pink and yellow gems.