Tag Archives: stamping

Whiskers & Wicked Light

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Hello, crafty friends! 🍁✨

This month’s inspiration takes us straight into the heart of the Día de los Muertos festivities. The board is alive with bold colors, vibrant papel picado, sugar skulls, festive dancers, and the warm glow of candles. I wanted my project to capture that magical mix of tradition, celebration, and just a touch of spooky charm.

For my make, I chose to feature one of my favorite October pairings: a curious black cat and a glowing jack-o’-lantern — all hand-drawn with colored pencils on rich grey cardstock. The soft pencil strokes bring the kitty to life as it peeks over the pumpkin, bathed in that eerie green glow we all love during Halloween. Behind them, I sketched a pattern of mischievous jack-o’-lantern faces to keep things playful yet just a little haunting.

The drawing is framed with layered cardstock in deep charcoal, fiery orange, and brick red, echoing the warmth of an autumn night and making the pumpkin’s glow stand out even more.

Why not venture over to the challenges:  Park Hopping My Happy Place and check out the amazing creations from the talented design team members.

I hope you enjoy this design, and be sure to join in on the fun for the Park Hopping My Happy Place.

💀🌸🎉Makira

Hawaii Day 2025

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Hey everyone! Colorful Options is celebrating Hawaii Day!

I have created a card and envelope as my design team contribution.

Over at the Colorful Options Challenge, play along with the colors of our Hawaii Day Inspiration Board, or choose a color from the monthly challenge that you enjoy, or blend the two together. So many Options!!!

This challenge will run alongside our regular monthly challenge from Sunday 8/10 through Saturday 8/16.  

Make sure you join in on the blog or on Instagram for your chance to win a gift certificate of your choice (Simon Says Stamp, Scrapbook.com, or Amazon). Visit the challenge to check out the amazing creations from the talented Design Team. You can’t win without entering! Come join the fun!!

I did add a few items to this set to make a mail mix. My thought is to send a “bouquet in an envelope” to help spread a little cheer. The tuck-ins include a floral post card, a cheery blossoms cachet, a packet of forget-me-nots, and a flowering butterfly.

Wishing all the entrants good luck! Have fun, everyone!

A Steampunk August

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Happy Saturday, everyone! I’m delighted to share a fun steampunk-style card. This card is my design team contribution to the Colorful Options Challenge. For this month, I’ve embraced neutrals with a bit of a dusty green.

Remember, Colorful Options is all about color challenges. While the current theme centers on a books and library vibes, you’re free to explore any color or combination that resonates with you from the inspiration board above. Pick a color or combo of colors, make them the star, and join in the creative fun! If this muted palette isn’t your thing, play along with a rainbow-inspired make instead.

My card is a combination of Tim Holtz & Merimi Small Art ephemera and images. Some simple collaging with a bit of color pencil enhancement to “hide” some of the edges.

I hope you enjoy this design, and be sure to join in on the fun for the Colorful Options Challenge!

Christmas in July, A Great Start

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Happy Tuesday, everyone! I’m delighted to share a festive Christmas card featuring the beautiful Waffleflower stamp die-cut. This card is my design team contribution to the Colorful Options Challenge and Park Hopping My Happy Place. For this month, I’ve embraced the classic colors of red and green. There’s something about this palette that instantly brings Christmas to mind!

Remember, Colorful Options is all about color challenges. While the current theme centers on a picnic, you’re free to explore any color or combination that resonates with you from the inspiration board below. Pick a color or combo of colors, make them the star, and join in the creative fun!

Why not venture over to the challenges: Colorful Options Challenge  & Park Hopping My Happy Place and check out the amazing creations from the talented design team members.

This design is part of a mail mix I made. Thought I’d include it for some additional inspiration.

This design was a quick and easy make, and I’m excited to share it with you!

The Card:
I started with Bristol Smooth cardstock and cut it out with the Waffleflower die. I then did some masking & stamping with a Sassy Club stamp set. Then I pulled out the Copic collection & began coloring. For the background, I added a gold gel pen and a white pencil for interest. Then, varying postage stamps were stamped over everything. I used Tim Holtz’s Christmas Postage (Stampers Anonymous CMS323) & an assortment of Waffleflower postage marks. A little red and white border was added before placing it on the green card base.

The Envelope:
For the envelope, I used a digital layout and then brought it to life with a little ink, scoring & cutting.

Fun “Tuck-Ins”:
I added a few playful “tuck-ins” with the set: a gift card and three stamps. These were downloaded from Etsy and modified to fit the desired size. I printed them on clear sticker paper, then used my Cricut to cut them out. Despite the added elements, the total weight of the package remains under 3 oz, so it will only require double postage to send.

I hope you enjoy this design, and be sure to join in on the fun for the Colorful Options Challenge!

This is the Way – May 2025

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another month of exciting challenges!

For the Park Hopping My Happy Place challenge, I have created a card and envelope set for you to enjoy. I’m back to working with some very simple mixed media. Stencils, paint, foundry wax — and then… some fun.

The buttons, trading card, and sticker are “tuck-ins” for this set. Do you like to add any “extras” when you send cards? Let me know in the comments below. 😁

This month, we are excited to announce a collaboration between the Colorful Options Challenge and the Park Hopping My Happy Place Challenge! If the current month’s theme isn’t your style, don’t worry! You have the freedom to select any theme inspired by theme parks.

Remember, Park Hopping My Happy Place embraces an anything-goes philosophy, which means you can draw from a wide range of inspirations beyond just the inspiration of the month; the inspiration photo serves solely as a launching point. For those seeking further inspiration, check out the inspiration page for more ideas, themes, and IPs.

Make sure you join in on the blog or on Instagram for your chance to win a gift certificate of your choice (Simon Says Stamp, Scrapbook.com, or Amazon). Visit the challenge to check out the amazing creations from the talented Design Team. You can’t win without entering! Come join the fun!!

At Park Hopping My Happy Place, you have until Saturday, May 31st, 12:00noon US CST time, which translates to 6:00am on Sunday, June 1st in the UK or 7:00am on Sunday, June 1st in CET.

If you’re looking to recreate this set, here’s what you’ll need:

Wishing all the entrants good luck! Have fun, everyone!

Pi Day 2025

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Hey everyone! Colorful Options is celebrating Pi Day!

I have created a group of small gift cards with envelopes for this challenge.

Over at the Colorful Options Challenge, play along with the colors of our Pi Day Inspiration Board, or choose a color from a pie that you enjoy! 

This challenge will run alongside our regular monthly challenge from Pi Day Friday 3.14 through Thursday 3.20.  

Make sure you join in on the blog or on Instagram for your chance to win a gift certificate of your choice (Simon Says Stamp, Scrapbook.com, or Amazon). Visit the challenge to check out the amazing creations from the talented Design Team. You can’t win without entering! Come join the fun!!

If you’re looking to recreate these cards, here’s what you’ll need:

  • Papers: Arteza water color paper, White White by Fabriano, copy paper for the envelopes
  • Distress Sprays in Lumberjack Red, Picked Raspberry, Saltwater Taffy
  • Distress Mica Stain in Fortune Teller
  • Distress Spritz in Picked Raspberry
  • Stencils from my stash
  • Hero Arts White embossing powder
  • Distress Embossing Ink
  • Gina K flower stamps
  • embellishments: charms, Kreinek thread, eyelets

Wishing all the entrants good luck! Have fun, everyone!

March 2025

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Hey everyone! Welcome back to another month of exciting challenges!

I have created a palette of rainbow cards for you to enjoy this month. I’m back to working some very simple mixed media today.

Over at the Colorful Options Challenge, there’s a stunning photo inspiration board celebrating the color green. If this month’s color isn’t your style, join me with a rainbow-inspired project instead.

Make sure you join in on the blog or on Instagram for your chance to win a gift certificate of your choice (Simon Says Stamp, Scrapbook.com, or Amazon). Visit the challenge to check out the amazing creations from the talented Design Team. You can’t win without entering! Come join the fun!!

You have until Friday, March 28th, 11:59pm US CST time, which translates to 5:59am on Saturday, March 29th in the UK or 6:59am on Saturday, March 29th in CET.

If you’re looking to recreate this card, here’s what you’ll need:

  • Papers: Arteza water color paper, colored paper & vellum from the stash
  • Distress Watercolor Pencils
  • Liquitex Ivor Black
  • Sizzix Dies Shadowscript #2
  • Tim Holtz Ideology Small Talk
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix 3D embossing folder Texture Fades

Wishing all the entrants good luck! Have fun, everyone!

Sew-inspired Sunday

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Happy Sunday, crafters! I have an inky-collage card for you today.

I was inspired by Kath Stewart and her beautiful green & purple make earlier this week. If you want to recreate something similar, hop over to her blog; she has the best tutorials!!

Have a great week!

Challenges entered:

Steampunk Sunday

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Happy Sunday, crafters! I have a little steampunk card to share today.

The top “flap” of the card opens up to exposure the gift card holder.

Here is what you will need if you want to recreate this card:

  • White stock from the stash.
  • Distress Collage Medium
  • Sentiments from Tim Holtz Ideology: Small Talk, Label Stickers Sentiment
  • Images from: Collectanea Industrial by Maremi’s Small Art.
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology Sticker Book Postmarked th94387
  • Various acrylic paints for blending & the black paint splatters in the background.
  • Idea-ology – Tim Holtz – Remnant Rubs – Eccentric
  • Sewing machine with black thread

Have a great week!

Challenges entered:

Funn Fold Friday

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Happy Sunday crafting, everyone! I have a fun fold card to share with you today.

I don’t usually go for fun fold designs, but this challenge inspired me to give it a try. When I’m unsure what to create, I turn to gift card holders—they’re practical and always handy to have on hand!

Here is what you will need if you want to recreate this card:

  • Black card stock from the stash. Black & white patterned paper/cardstock also from the stash.
  • Tim Holtz, Sizzix Vault Pillow Box for the gift card holder.
  • Sentiments from Tim Holtz Ideology: Small Talk, Label Stickers Sentiment
  • Fairy from: Collectanea Christmas Fairies by Maremi’s Small Art.
  • Eyelet and eyelet tool.
  • Ribbon from the stash
  • Ephemera on the cover is from the stash.

Have a great week! Happy back to school, college students!

Challenges entered: