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Hi there! Colorado Craft Company recently released some absolutely stunning holiday stamps, and I have been enjoying playing with them so much. I have a traditional card for you today, with bold red poinsettias from the Big and Bold-Poinsettia Blessings stamp set that I’ve watercolored with the Karin Brushmarker Pro markers. Let’s get started with the details!

I began by stamping the main floral image from Big and Bold-Poinsettia Blessings onto some Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper using Ink on 3’s Fadeout Ink. I then used Karin markers to do some watercoloring in multiple layers. I prefer to scribble the Karin markers onto a ceramic palette, then pull the diluted color up onto my paintbrush and apply it to the paper. I find that this method gives me a bit more control over the movement of the color, because it doesn’t seem to sink down into the paper quite as quickly, allowing me to maneuver the color and create the depth I want.

I watercolored the image in stages, laying down the lightest value first, then adding a medium value, to add more depth, finally adding the darkest red value only to the areas that would have the deepest shadows. I also used a small paintbrush and a flicking motion to add some pine sprigs to add a bit of greenery.

I stamped the greeting from Big and Bold-Poinsettia Blessings using black pigment ink, but I pressed a bit too hard on the paper and smudged the area around the sentiment. After spending so much time watercoloring the image, I needed to figure out a way to make it work. Splatters to the rescue! I pulled out my black gouache, diluted it thoroughly, and splattered it on the painting with a few flicks of my paintbrush. Problem solved! I added a black frame around the edge using my T-square and a black pen. I trimmed the watercolored panel down a bit, then mounted it on a 5×7 panel of black cardstock. I finally added a few black gems to add some sparkle.

If you haven’t checked out the newest Colorado Craft Company release, you totally should! It’s so beautiful, with so many classy, elegant holiday options, as well as some adorable new sets from Anita Jeram. Well, that’s all for my project today. Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a marvelous day!

Hi there! Welcome to the Ellen Hutson October 2020 Release Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from Therese Calvird, and your next stop is France Wisniewksi. Today we are celebrating all things holiday-both fall and winter holidays! The newest Ellen Hutson release is full of fantastic goodies in a huge variety of styles, including stitching, autumn, cute, elegant, etc etc etc… truly something for everyone! My first two projects today using my favorite color combo for Christmas: bright, crisp white with a pop of bright red and lots of shimmer and shine!

My first card/tag duo focuses on the gorgeous new Deer Couple die set. I used only the male reindeer for these projects, but the set comes with a sweet male/female pair. To start, I create a super simple tag using some red foil, white cardstock, and a simple Merry Christmas sentiment from new Santa’s List stamp set. (That set is chock full of cute images and fantastic sentiments, definitely a must-see). I die cut a tag using last year’s Shipping Tags dies and some red foil cardstock. I also die cut the classy deer silhouette from some crisp white cardstock, then adhered it to the foil tag using foam adhesive. I trimmed a strip of white cardstock and stamped the Merry Christmas from Santa’s List and added it with more foam adhesive. The final touch was to add a loop of black twine to finish it off.

For my second project, I maintained the simple white with red color scheme, this time adding simple pops of red and allowing the detail of the die to take center stage. I love doing all-white projects for holiday cards; there’s something so classy about an all white card, don’t you think? I began by die cutting the snowy background from white cardstock, then backed it with some sparkly white cardstock.

Next, I die cut a snowy hill using the Essentials By Ellen Landscapes die from some more white cardstock. I adhered it to the snowy backdrop using foam adhsive, then used Crystal Lacquer and some chunky glitter to add “snow” to the top of the die cut. I find it’s important to add lots of different textures and dimensions to these all-white projects to help keep them from being boring.

Next, I used another reindeer die cut from Deer Couple, again popped up with foam adhesive. I also added a little red jewel nose to add another pop of color and yet another texture. The final step was to add the Merry Christmas greeting from Santa’s List on a strip of cardstock stamped in bright red ink, then popped up with some more foam adhesive.

For my second set of projects, I wanted to create a pair of wintry, non-traditional snow-themed projects to utilize the new Sparkly Christmas sentiment set and the Twirling Flurries cover plate die. (If you buy nothing else from this release, buy the Twirling Flurries. That die is ab.so.lute.ly stunning.)

My first project focuses on the Twirling Flurries cover plate die. These stitched cover plate dies are some of my absolute favorite products from the Essentials By Ellen line. They provide just the right amount of texture and interest to a background while still providing a great canvas for a little scene or large scale sentiment. I began this project by ink blending using Pinkfresh Studio’s Ocean Breeze, Summer Shower, and Candy Violet inks with some blending brushes to create an almost Aurora Borealis background. I also spritzed the blended background with some iridescent shimmer spray to make things extra sparkly.

Next, I die cut some white snowflakes using some more sparkling white cardstock. I heat embossed a sentiment from Sparkly Christmas using sparkling silver embossing powder on a strip of aqua cardstock, then adhered it to my shimmery blended background using foam adhesive. I added the sparkly white snowflakes using liquid adhesive, then added some iridescent gems to add some more sparkle and texture.

For my second project, I used the larger sentiment from Sparkly Christmas as the focal point. I began by heat embossing the (super fun and a bit cheeky) sentiment on a piece of pale aqua cardstock, first stamping in dark teal ink, then restamping (using my trusty MISTI) with embossing ink and covering it with silver pearl embossing powder. I then used some medium and dark turquoise inks with blending brushes around the edge of the panel to create almost a glow around the center.

I added some more sparkling white snowflakes around the edge of the card, allowing the darker edges to make those bright, sparkly white snowflakes pop! I added a few iridescent gems and some dots with my white gel pen (snowflakes are all different sizes, right?) and had a mostly-flat, easily-mailed one layer card!

Now, to celebrate this release and blog hop, Ellen Hutson is providing some fun prizes!

Prizes, prizes, we’ve got the prizes! One lucky commenter will win the whole Essentials by Ellen holiday release! And another will receive $25 to spend at ellenhutson.com! For a chance to win, all ya’ gotta’ do is hop along, enjoy the fabulous eye candy, and leave a little love for your fellow crafters: increase your chances by commenting on each stop on the hop! Comments left before 11:59 PDT on October 14 will be entered to win. (Winners are selected randomly.)

That’s all for my projects today! Your next stop is France Wisniewksi. Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy hopping!

Hi there! I just wanted to pop in and to let you know that Colorado Craft Company is offering a free shipping promotion to celebrate their new stamp line partnership with Anita Jeram through midnight PST tonight! You can get these sweet little kitties from Kittens and Mittens shipped to you for free!

Head over to Colorado Craft Company to check out all of the sweet new sets from Anita Jeram and save on some shipping. Happy shopping!