Designer Series with Mama Elephant, Friend Indeed

Hello! It's Nicole Gavaldon here with another designer series blog post featuring the sweet stamp set, Friend Indeed. I just love all of the Mama Elephant sentiment stamp sets because you can use them in so many different ways; and, with so many different stamp sets, too. What I love the most about this set is the large hand scripted 'friend' stamp. I think it's so pretty and I can image stamping this in so many different colors but on todays project I'm simply stamping it in black ink because of all the different colors going on the background. I thought it would be cute to make the sentiment the focal point of this card and so I thought taking a smaller image from the set, Sunday Stroll, would work out perfectly--and I was right! 

Lately, I haven't been able to make a card without reaching for my distress inks to do some wild and free watercoloring, and while making this card I used the distress ink colors, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, and Spiced Marmalade--on some Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock (my fav) and then die cute that out using a stitched rectangle die, and also used my favorite ME dies--the Femme Frames die set. I really can't get enough of that set I think it adds so much to my cards!

To finish the card off I added some Pretty Pink Posh sequins, in the colors, Metallic Gold, Sparkling clear, and Pink Blush. I just love how all of the colors came together and I can't wait to make more cards and projects with this great set, Friend Indeed.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Video Blog Hop with Laura Sterckx from Making Cards is Fun

Thank you so much for stopping by! I was approached by the very talented, Laura Sterckx, from the Making Cards is Fun blog, and she asked me to join in on a fun video blog hop! It feels like it's been so long since I made an actual video for my own Youtube channel and I'm pretty excited that I got a chance to do it. You may be wondering why Laura has gathered a group of crafty gals together for a video hop and the answer is because she's hit a major milestone on her Youtube channel and has reached a total of 7000 followers! This is the reason why she decided on putting together a great big video blog hop. 

In this video I'm using a variety of Mama Elephant products as well as some Lawn Fawn Products, too. Feel free to watch the video (show below) for a details description of the products used while creating this card. 

Laura, is also offering a chance to win lots of prizes and even a coupon code from Ellen Hutson. Feel free to click the following link for more information on winning prizes and for the full list of videos on the hop! Good luck and I hope you enjoy my video and all of the other videos on this hop! 

Happy crafting and thank you for stopping by! 

Stamp Highlight, Mama Elephant, Blessed

Today the Mama Elephant blog and design team are creating our samples using the stamp set, Blessed. You may have already seen this set because I used it for the Stampede blog hop, but it's fun to revisit this set and create something new with it! This time around I used the "Lucky" scripty sentiment along with the, "I feel so" and "to know you" phrases to create one custom sentiment. I also used the stamp set, Tandem Extras--because the images in that set are too cute and I just love using them.

All of my cards have been created with a watercolor background these days and this card was no exception. I went to my trust Tim Holtz distress inks and chose two simple colors to create this grassy background. It was so much fun to create this with this set and I hope you will love it as much as I do.  To view more DT samples feel free to head over to the ME blog by clicking here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp Highlight, Mama Elephant, Tandem Extras

Welcome back to another day of the Mama Elephant Stamp highlights! This set coordinates perfectly with the stamp set, Tandem Ride. With this set, Tandem Extras, you can create such adorable cards and I just love the handwritten calligraphy sentiments and the adorable little banners, flowers, and additional critters. What is so great about this set is that you can also coordinate it with other ME stamp sets, too!

With this card I wanted the critter to look like he was flying around on her little balloon--so cute! I also wanted it to look whimsical so I choose to create the watercolor background in three bright colors and added some Pretty Pink Posh sequins to get it a little extra something. There are so many amazing DT samples over at the Mama Elephant blog, click here, to view them and get lots of inspiration!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Stamp Highlight, Mama Elephant--Tandem Ride

Welcome to another Mama Elephant Designer Series! Today the design team an I are using the new (and adorable) stamp set, Tandem Ride, to create our samples. I just love how this set comes with lots and lots of adorable critter images and elements to create such adorable scenes on your projects. They've also released a set filled with lots of coordinating extras and beautiful calligraphy sentiments--much like the one shown in the image above, click the following link to view that set, Tandem Extras.

I also choose to use the Femme Frames die once again, but I just can't help using it--when I'm making ME cards it's one of the first things that I reach for. I just love it! I also decided to do some more watercoloring for the panel in the background. I only used two distress ink colors and I think the results came out just great. I think this set is just the cutest! If you'd like to take a look at the other DT samples feel free to click, here, and view them!

Thank you so much for stopping by!

July Mama Elephant Stampede, Blessed

Welcome to the Mama Elephant Release Design Team blog hop!

Our newest release is now live and available for purchase in the store!

All of the ME releases are simply adorable, right? Well this July collection of stamps is no exception. Today I've created a card using the new sentiment set, Blessed. I just adore this set because it can be used in so many different ways, from sending comforting card to a just because card. Endless possibilities! I paired this new set, Blessed, with the stamp set, Charmed from last months release. Blessed, is a set that you'll need for your stamp collection the cursive fonts are so pretty and the coordinating sentiments in this set will make for some really beautiful cards.  

www.mamaelephant.com

To celebrate the new release, Mama Elephant is picking 3 winners to win their choice of stamp set! Winners will be chosen at random from the collective blogs in the Stampede. You have up to 4 chances to qualify to win!

» 1. Leave a comment on this blog post «

» 2. Like/share us on Facebook: facebook.com/mamaelephant «

» 3. Follow/tweet us on Twitter: twitter.com/heymamaelephant «
» 4. Follow/tweet us on Instagram: instagram.com/heymamaelephant «

Each action qualifies for one entry, max 4 entries per stampeder please!

Now let's get on with the Stampede with our amazing designers!

Melania, Vera, Nichol, Laura, Pamela, Elena

Thank you so much for stopping by!

So Many Thanks

Hello everyone! Today I'm super excited to share the card I created using the new stamp set, Charmed. This stamp set is packed with so many whimsical images and coordinating sentiments--this is one of those stamp sets that makes card making so easy because of how great each of the images work together and the sentiment variety means you can use this stamp set to create so many different types of cards and projects. 

I always love using the watercolor technique when using Mama Elephant stamps--that technique always go so nicely with any of their images. I used light yellow cardstock for the card base an the scalloped panel, and used a variety of pastel Copic colors. This little sleeping fox is so adorable! 

I always love thinking of different ways to use my stamps, and I thought that the wreath in this set would be perfect for creating Thanksgiving, and Christmas cards, too. All you'd have to do is color the wreath in according to the holiday you'd use it for and maybe even add a Santa hat to the fox or owl. How cute would that be?! 

I hope you enjoyed this card and thank you so much for stopping by! 

Stamp Highlight, Chance Of Rain--Mama Elephant

Hello! Today we're super excited to be sharing samples for this AMAZING new stamp set, Chance of Rain. Mama Elephant did such a great job with this release and the images and sentiments in this set are just perfect for creating all sorts of cards and projects. Of course I went with the watercolor technique for this card because I wanted to set a rainy little scene and for the little girl, and her teddy I gave them both a traditional yellow rain coat and I think that the yellow goes so well with the gray and blue tones on this card.

The great thing about this set is that ME also sells the coordinating dies so it makes card making that much more easier for us all--and not that we need easier but the faster we can finish a card the quicker we can get to making another one, and another one--am I right?

For a better look at this set and to view all of the other DT samples feel free to, click here, to view them all! I hope you enjoyed my card and thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have a great day!

Stamp Highlight, Sunday Sentiments--Mama Elephant

How fun is this new set, Sunday Sentiments?! It's coordinates with, Sunday Stroll, and I'm sure all of your crafters can find other stamp sets to pair it with as well. There are so many wonderful phrases that would be perfect for so many different occasions. I just love this set and I think it's definitely a must have for your stamp collection. I could image using this set on other things as well; such as, tags, and cupcake toppers. Mama Elephant comes out with such great sentiment stamp sets--just love them!

To create this CAS (clean and simple) card I used some Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock, and some Perfect Match cardstock, in Lavender Moon, by Papertrey Ink. I've really been getting into using colored cardstock for cards. I don't know why I've never done it before in the past--but now I'm sure my wallet is going to take a beating since I'm going to be stocking up on many more colors, hehe. I also used the Femme Frames die for the scalloped edges panel, and propped everything up on some 3D foam adhesive. If you notice I used the mirror image technique to get an exact mirror image of the sweet little girl image. I wanted this card to look like they were two besties or sisters. I did some really simple coloring on each girl, and used the "Thank you" and "You make everything so much better" sentiment. I did some simple watercoloring using my distress ink minis in the colors: Spun sugar, Tattered rose, and Picked raspberry. So cute right?!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this card and I hope you fall in love with this stamp set the way I did. There are so many things to create with it, and I just love how happy and positive all of the phrases are. To view more DT samples, head over to the Mama Elephant blog by, clicking here. I hope you have a great day!

Stamp Highlight--Sunday Stroll, Mama Elephant

The June release by Mama Elephant is so adorable! I love every single set that they came out with. Today we are featuring, Sunday Stroll--it's a super cute set with so many little images and elements to create some really fun cards, tags, and all kinds of projects. For this card I wanted to create something really clean and simple (CAS), so I went with creating a really light colored watercolor background, and stamped out the large boy and girl image from this set--as well as two of the trees. I arranged the kids to look like they are holding hands (so cute), and used the banner and sentiment from the set, Charmed. What's great, too, is that these stamp sets also have coordinating dies to make card making that much more simpler for you.

I hope that you enjoyed this card, and if you would like to take a look at all the other DT samples feel free to head over to the ME blog by clicking here to view them. I hope you have a great day!

June Stampede--Mama Elephant

Welcome to the Mama Elephant Release Design Team blog hop!

The newest release is now live and available for purchase in the store!

I had so much fun creating with these two new stamp sets, Sunday Stroll, and Sunday Sentiments! These two sets go together so perfectly and they are great for many occasions. I created this 'just because' card using watercolors and Copic markers. I was going for the CAS look by using the white on white, and I think that, that makes the watercolor ground pop that much more. 

www.mamaelephant.com

To celebrate the new release, Mama Elephant is picking 3 winners to win their choice of stamp set! Winners will be chosen at random from the collective blogs in the Stampede. You have up to 4 chances to qualify to win!

» 1. Leave a comment on this blog post «

» 2. Like/share us on Facebook: facebook.com/mamaelephant «

» 3. Follow/tweet us on Twitter: twitter.com/heymamaelephant «
» 4. Follow/tweet us on Instagram: instagram.com/heymamaelephant «

Each action qualifies for one entry, max 4 entries per stampeder please!

Now let's get on with the Stampede with our amazing designers!

Guest designer May Sukyong Park, Pamela, Nicole G, Nichol, Elena, Laura, Ashley

Thank you for stopping by! 

Playful Pups

Hi there! It's Nicole Gavaldon here, and today I'm excited with talk about how I created this CAS card using the new and adorable stamp set, Playful Pups. The puppy images in this set are so cute, and the fact that this set comes with a variety of different sentiments means you can create so many products for lots of different occasions. I used the, "Missing you is real ruff" sentiment for my project which would work as a 'Just Because' card, too.

If you take a closer look at the card I created you'll notice that I used the Mirror Image stamping technique to get the mirror image of this cute pup that's holding a tiny envelope in his/her mouth. I have so much fun using that technique for card making! I also took a piece of Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock and did some really clean and simple watercoloring using distress ink, and once it was dry I used the ME Femme Frames die, with the scalloped edge, to cut out the panel for the front of the card, and simply adhered that onto a piece of 100lb. white cardstock--with some 3D adhesive foam tape. The two pups are also backed with 3D adhesive foam and I used some white and silver twine to ground the two puppies so that they don't look like they are floating, hehe.

The possibilities are endless for this stamp set--you could create birthday cards, birthday cupcake toppers, treat bag tags, and even projects for Valentine's Day with the, "I've got a spot in my heart for you", sentiment! I hope you enjoyed my very first designer series blog post for ME and thank you so much for stopping by.

Bella Letters by Mama Elephant

I created another fun card using the stamp set, Bella Letters. This set is perfect for creating your own custom sentiments; or, for creating fun cards with lengthy quotes on them--like the card I created here using the same stamp set. I also wanted to do some fun watercoloring for this card and add some sequins as well. After doing that I felt that the card was missing something so I added the cute critter from the new stamp set, Woodland Gifts. I feel like my style was still shinning though on this card even thought I was trying something a little bit different.

If you'd like to view all of the other DT cards you can head over to the Mama Elephant blog, and don't forget that all of these new stamp sets are already available for purchase!

Thank you for stopping by!

Woodland Gifts--Mama Elephant

Today I'm joining in with Mama Elephant on the, Woodland Gifts, stamp set highlights post. This adorable stamp set was designed by the talented Elena, who is also on the ME design team. This set is so whimsical and fun to use--you can create cards, tags, and many other things with this versatile set. I choose to use the mini squirrel image and stacked it on top of the mushroom and stump image to make it look like it was offering a gift (the balloon) and paired it with the "will you forgive me?" sentiment.

To add some fun pops of color I also used some pattern paper, Lawn Fawn twine, and Pretty Pink Posh sequins. This card isn't your average A2 size--it's actually a perfect 3 1/2' x 3 1/2" square size. I just wanted to change it up a bit, hehe.

I hope you really enjoyed this card, and don't forget you can also head over to the ME blog and view other DT cards, too. Thank you so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Playful Pups--Mama Elephant New Release

Today Mama Elephant is showcasing their adorable new stamp set, Playful Pups, this set contains several super cute puppy images and clever matching sentiments! I just love the two puppy images I used for the card shown above--especially the pup with the little envelope in it's mouth; and, this stamp set works for year round projects (which is always a huge plus for us stampers), too, yay!

I've been really obsessed with using distress inks with the applicators to achieve subtle ombre looks, lately (so fun). I also used the dies from the ME creative cuts collection, Basic set. I also used some Pretty Pink Posh sequins for the shaker part of the card. PPP sequins always add so much to any card! 

Don't forget you can leave a comment on Saturdays post to win a stamp set! Click here for your chance to win. 

Life Lately

Hi everyone! It's been so long since the last time I've posted on my blog and I was beginning to feel a little sad about it. I haven't really had the time to post like I normally do because I can't seem to find them time to do it. My small business is growing at a rapid pace, and I'm so happy about that! I have lots of new things in the works for my shop and I've been mainly focusing on that while also managing my shop and all the orders that I make and ship out. 

This weekend I managed to do a little bit of shopping at Paper Source, and I found these really great stamps--both photopolymer and rubber. I purchase some black and white twill ribbon along with some heavy lb. cream envelopes (that's I've always wanted to try from Paper Source). I've been collecting new stamps, dies, and embellishments for some time now but I haven't even been able to really sit down and play with them. Namely, because of all the orders I have and new items that I'm working on for me shop. Below is a picture of all the Lawn Fawn goodies I have that I can see from my desk when I'm working but I can't use because I'm so busy. Such torture, lol! 

I do have a video that I'm working on for Lawn Fawn so that will be a fun thing to share! I'm not going to reveal yet what it is I'll be making, though, I want that to be a surprise for all the viewers, hehe. I'm definitely loving the new LF release. The new stamp sets and dies are so cute! 

As you can see I've gathered a rather large craft haul and once I get a chance (or if I get a chance) to have some crafting time I'm going to be making lots of cool things with these. Take care! 

One Card A Day, New Series

In my last post I mentioned that I had a new goal of making at least one card a day; and, this week was the first time I actually give it a try. I made a card on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. With fulfilling orders it sometimes gets really hard to make a card each day because my business/buyers are my first priority. When I did have time to make a card it was more like I stayed up an hour later after work to make my card. Some nights I just couldn't stay up past midnight to make a card, though, hehe.

I recently purchased a few new stamp sets and dies—some from Mama Elephant and a few others from Avery Elle. I have a feeling that this new series ‘One card a Day’ is going to empty my wallet very fast, lol, because I’m going to need lots of new stamp sets. I mean I have a lot to begin with, but we card makers/crafters always need an excuse to buy more stamps—am I right?

For these cards, I use a lot of fun techniques like watercoloring, Copic coloring, and paper piecing. I also used Lawn Fawn paper, stamps and dies too. I actually had a lot of fun mixing and matching products from lots of different stamp manufactures. I usually make a card using only one stamp company but mixing them all together made the creating process so much fun!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this new series and I can’t wait to try it again next week. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to make one every day. I think I’m going to try and make a card tonight too, and if I do I’ll share them next Friday for ‘One card a day, #2. 

Crafty Weekend Fun

If you follow me on Instagram (@unifyhandmade) you may have already seen two of the cards I’m showing here on my blog today. I made these cards for fun, and I like having lots of them on hand and ready to go for myself and for my family and friends as well. The last stash I had collected was running very low, and lately I’ve been trying to make at least one card a day—for fun, to keep my stash alive, hehe. I think making one card a day is an easy goal—and it’ll certainly be a fun one. It seems as though I’ve haven’t been making as many cards as I used to these past couple of months. But now I’d like to ensure I put time aside to create at least one card a day. I think I’ve said this in the past a few times, but this time around I’m really going to make time for all of my stamps, dies, and other craft tools. I can’t let them just sit there collecting dust. They’re all too cute and fun not to use!

I do get my crafty fix when I’m working all day on the papercrafts I sell in my shop—and that’s such a blessing it itself. Maybe that’s why I didn’t even realize that I wasn’t making enough cards for fun because I have fun everyday just working on orders, too. Once in a while when I’m working I’ll glance over at my stamp stash and realize they’re being neglected but I always tell myself, “Oh the weekend, I’ll make as many cards for fun as I can” or, “I’ll make one card tonight before bed”. Usually I’ll post a light night card on my Instagram, hehe.

This weekend I also went to Lawn Fawn’s 4^th birthday party at, Stamp Fever, in Orange, CA. It’s a cute little craft shop filled with all the things to fulfil your crafting needs—plus the staff there is super nice! If they don’t have something you need, they’ll simply order it for you. Kelly Marie, and Mike, (two out of the three LF owners) were there greeting everyone, and doing fun make-n-takes. It was really fun to be in a fun crafty environment with friends. I even took my boyfriend, Gabriel, and I made him do a make-n-take with, Nancy, hehe.

While I was at Stamp Fever I picked up a few new stamp sets, and dies. I’ll probably be sharing those on my blog soon. I love supporting small business so I tried to spend as much as I could without going overboard at Stamp Fever—actually I think I did go a little overboard but it’s ok! Haha.

Tomorrow I have a new video on the Lawn Fawn blog so I hope you stop by their page to view it. I’ll probably share it here on my blog as well.

I hope you have a great day!