A sweet and simple (& quite quick to make!) card for a friend - for any occasion

Hi Everyone,

I hope you're all doing well! 

I shared this sweet card over on my Instagram recently, and so I thought that I would pop in in here, too! My plan is to go back through some of my favourite Insta shares, and post about them here on the blog, to share more info about the process, products used, etc. It shouldn't all be about the Insta love! ;o)

This sweet any occasion card came together rather quickly, as the colouring is not very complicated, and the background took literally just a few minutes - so, if you're a beginner, or you're under time pressure - it might be a great design idea to go for. Plus, you could use any critters you have, to achieve a similar effect. Changing the background colour combo would make it a great card for a male friend, too (I, of course, went for a more girly look this time - you know me, I love cutesy & pink!).

To achieve a similar look, all you need is to gently blend on some ink for your background (I used pink & purple, and left a bit of white around the edges, focusing on more intense shades towards the center of the panel). For a bit of interest, I added some shimmery splatter, and cut the panel with a stitched die. 

I coloured & die cut the adorable images by MFT, and stacked them one on top of the other, to make the scene more fun. I chose for the critters to stick out from the ink blended panel a little bit, too - this adds a bit of an "unexpected" element to the design, and makes it more interesting (+ notice that all of the coloured images are popped up with foam tape, yet again - to add some interest!).

Finally, I stamped the sentiments, and adhered the whole panel to a grey card base. The enamel hearts, some while gel pen highlights, and a black gelly roll for the critters' eyes were the perfect final touches - when you make a simple enough card, little details like this can make a big difference!

What do you think? I believe it's really adorable. 

Stay safe and crafty,

Mirella

SUPPLY LIST (please see affiliate disclaimer & essential supplies info here):

Stamp & Die set: MFT Weather with you. Sadly, looks like it's discontinued, but some crafty stores still have them in stock - google it! :o)

Embellishments: Doodlebug Rainbow Hearts

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3D embossing folders - what is the fuss about? :-)

Happy New Year Everyone! Here's to hoping for a great 2022!

Lots of companies have recently been releasing 3D embossing folders, and I was wondering what the fuss was about. Most of us would have had embossing folders in our stashes for a while now, and - if you're like me - you probably don't use them too often nowadays, do you? I used to be obsessed with the embossed texture, but I do tend to forget about my folders nowadays... Therefore, I was not hugely interested in the new hype... Until I tried one out, of of curiosity, that is!

I must tell you, these 3D folders are a whole new experience! The dimension is amazing, and they somehow seem to be much kinder on the paper also (I used to get lots of cracks in the past, but maybe that was just lack of experience and using different, paper, not sure?), which is great!

Now, don't get me wrong, I will definitely not be using these on every single card, but when I do want some additional interest to the background, I will be remembering about my 3D folders for sure! These backgrounds are also fantastic for CAS designs, as the designs are so interesting that just a small sentiment, a bit of bling, or a small image will totally be enough! 

Here's one of my most recent cards, with an Altenew folder & image. The white Neenah cardstock was covered with some gilding polish (another item in my stash that I love, and that I constantly forget about, but you can read more about it here), and then embossed - and it took it beautifully! I am so in love! 

Have you used any of the new embossing folders yourself? Share your thoughts! :o)

Stay safe and crafty,

Mirella

SUPPLY LIST (please see affiliate disclaimer & essential supplies info here):

FROM ALTENEW:

Best Mom stamp set

Diamond stars 3D embossing folder 

Pocketful of sunshine enamel dots

FROM CRAFT STASH (UK)
(they ship worldwide) 
Note that if it's your first order from Craft Stash, you can get 20% off your order of the Polishes

Metallic Gilding Polish at Craft Stash
Citrus Green Metallic Gilding Polish at Craft Stash

FROM SCRAPBOOK.COM

Metallic Gilding Polish at Scrapbook.com (all colours)

FROM SIMON SAYS STAMP

Gilding Polish (all colours, although they don't seem to carry the Citrus Green at the moment)

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Simon Says Stamp Blooming Meadow cards

Hi Everyone,

Happy August! I cannot believe that it's August already! 2021 seems to be flying by! 

I am just popping real quick here today, to share with you two simple cards I made recently, with the gorgeous Blooming Meadow stamp & die set by Simon Says Stamp. I have tonnes of ideas for this set, but for now I created two cards by "colouring" the flowers with two tones of inks. 

A lot of people wanted to know what supplies I used for these, so I decided that putting these in a blog post would be the easiest. 

Stay safe and crafty,

Mirella

SUPPLY LIST (please see affiliate disclaimer & essential supplies info here):

Circular scalloped card base: here

From Simon Says Stamp:

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From Scrapbook.com: