National Coffee Blog Hop

For National Coffee Day, Sweet N Sassy is sponsoring the National Coffee Day Blog Hop at the Coffee Loving Cardmakers Blog. There is coffee projects for inspiration and prizes for commenting on the company blogs in the hop

For my project, I created a clean and simple card using the Star Teacher DIGITAL stamp set.

But THEN I cut a slit in the card and created a pull out gift card holder for a Starbucks card. I decorated the gift card holder and an envelope using Texture Tiles 9

It is a super fun card and is perfect for a teacher’s gift or anyone gift. I hope you are inspired and have a great time on the hop!

NOW go leave a comment on the Sweet N Sassy blog post for a chance to win a $25 gift code to the Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps Store. Commenting will be open through October 4th. The winner will be announced here on the blog on Thursday, October 6th.

Thanks for stopping by!!
Lyn

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SNSS Let US Rejoice!

Today I have two projects using a new set from Sweet N Sassy called Let us Rejoice. One is pretty clean and simple and the other is a journal page. This set is absolutely precious! I had a great time playing with them!

First I have clean and simple card that was all about the coloring. I really love to use pencils on kraft. There is just something so perfect in the combo. I stamped up my image on a 4.25 (square) card from Neenah Dessert Storm and colored it with Polychromos pencils. I didn’t want to have to mask so I colored the baby Jesus separately and fussy cut it and adhered it to make sure it blended with Mary and Joseph. I blended out a little night sky and added one of the sentiments from the set (there are a few wonderful choices!) I rounded the corners and added twine (I dyed it to match the sky using Copic markers) and a star button – it was a little on the bright yellow side so I colored over it with a Copic color that matched the yellow gold on Joseph’s robes.

For my second project, I have an art journal page and I really love it. This is in my disc bound 6×6 journal. I used Distress Oxides for the background . I spritzed a little water for some “stars” and added some washi tape for the “straw” – the washi part is my least favorite part, but I played with it over and over and decided it was a mixed media piece and I could just build on it. I am ok with the final result :). I colored my images from Let us Rejoice with Copics, fussy cut them and adhered them to my page. I grabbed the star die from the Born this Day Set (love this one for it’s sweet image and great sentiments for inside and outside of the card.) I cut the verse from Let us rejoice into strips and cut off the word joy to replace it with a Joy die-cut from the Peace and Joy Word Dies set. After I got to hear, I felt like I needed someone to rejoice at the star so I added the Scene Silhouettes: Jesus is Born wise men into the background and that was the missing piece for me… some white pen doodles finish this off and it makes me smile out loud!

I love them both and I think it really shows how versatile this set is!!

Thanks for stopping by!
Lyn

SNSS Instahop – Give Thanks

Today there is a hop on Instagram for Sweet n’ Sassy Stamps. For my projects, I have used Give Thanks stamp set and dies.

For my first project, I have a clean and simple card on kraft (Neenah Dessert Storm) I stamped the Script Background with Versa Mark for a tone on tone look. I added a simple sentiment strip with a sentiment from Begin Again. I did some light ink smooshing on the Dessert Storm too then stamped a leaf from Give Thanks. I stamped the Script onto the leaf in a few spots then colored over it with color pencils to make it pop the cut it out with the coordinating die.

My second project is an ATC card with a mixed media background. I did some ink blending with Distress Oxides, then for texture, I stamped the Falling Leaves Background and Script Background in a few spots [By the way… the Falling Leaves Background is the stamp of the month this month – free with a $65 purchase.] I stamped two leaf stems from Give Thanks, colored them with Copics, cut them out with the coordinating dies, and adhered them to my ATC. Finally I added a word strip from Faith Wordfetti and darkened the edges with Ground Espresso Distress Oxides.

Finally, I stamped a leaf from Give Thanks and colored it with Copics and die cut it. I also die cut a few black leaves and stacked them with the colored leaf for some dimension. I also colored the edge black. Then I created a background on white card by stamping the Sentiment and randomly stamping leaves in black. I splashed some Distress inks onto it it wouldn’t be too stark. I adhered the stack leaves and that’s all there was to this one.

This was a lot of fun – I hope you were inspired! If you want to see what everyone else created, head over to SNSS on Instagram.

Thanks for stopping by!
Lyn

Technique Lover’s Challenge – SCORE!

Happy Monday all! Can you believe that Friday is the first day of FALL?! I cannot wait. Fall is absolutely my favorite season – which one is yours?

Today is my day to host the Technique Lover’s Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers and I decided to go with a fairly simple technique. We are going to create our own backgrounds using plain cardstock (white or colored) and score lines. The lines will fill the page or at least large sections of it. The score lines can be vertical, horizontal, diagonal in either direction, or a combo (I did diagonals in both directions in my samples.)

NOTE: I used my scoring tool but if you don’t have one, do not worry… you can use a ruler and stylus/bone folder/butter knife/etc. to create lines too – just drag the scoring tool down the rulers edge and you have score lines. If you place the paper on a more cushioned surface like a mouse pad or a piece of fun foam and your scores will be more pronounced.

You can use white card and add the lines for a little interest in a CAS card, or do ink blending to create a really fun look (if you use the side of the paper that the lines are raised, they pop out a bit when you brush ink over them or if you use the other side, they recede a bit if you brush ink over them.)

My first card used the SNSS Fall Leaves Stencil. I stenciled the leaved then inked the script block from Texture Tiles 1 THROUGH the stencil for added texture. Then I score my lines (1/2″ apart diagonally in both directions.) I added a little more ink (Distress Oxides like the rest) on over everything to make my diagonals pop. Then I added my sentiment from Everyday Greetings with VersaClair Nocturne – I used my MISTI so I could keep stamping until the sentiment got to the lower potions of the scores.

My second card is CAS and the diagonals really add something to the background I think. My focal image is from SNSS new release – Holly Christmas by my sweet friend Deidre Cason. Is this not beautiful!!

I hope you try the challenge today and whatever else you do…just have fun!

Hugs,
Lyn

Art Journal – Lots of Leaves

Today I have a mixed media art journal page for my disc bound journal using lots of stamps, inks, and oh yeah, leaves…

I created a background on watercolor paper with distress inks and oxides and leaf dies Give Thanks and punches. then I randomly stamped texture using the Falling Leaves and Texture Tiles 1 from Sweet N Sassy Stamps. Background – check!

For the main image, First, I created me… using Girl Power 2, I stamp my hair style and added glasses and shoulders. Then I sketched out arms and hands and a body. I wanted it to look like I had just jumped in a pile of leaves and was jumping for joy so I gathered up my stamp sets with leaves – Give Thanks, Happy Scarecrow, and Fall in Love with Jesus. I stamped, colored with Copics, and cut until I had a pile of leaves worthy of any kid on a crisp autumn day! I built the pile of leaves (did I mention there are a LOT of these.) Some leaves are buried at the bottom of the pile with little exposure but I really wanted dimension so the coloring, and cutting wasn’t wasted right? (haha).

Finally, I added my sentiment from the Give Thanks set and colored it in with my Polychromos pencils. I just felt like I would be praising God for such a glorious time and I LOVE how it turned out. I hope you do too!

Have a great day and THANKS for stopping by!
Lyn

P.S. and by the way… Falling Leaves is the Stamp if the Month at SNSS this month. It is free with a $65 purchase!

Faith-dex Card: Pray without Ceasing

Happy Friday! Today I have a kind of simple but really beautiful faith-dex card.

I used a Heidi Swapp faith-dex die cut and the new Sweet N Sassy Stamps Pray Without Ceasing set. While I love the bigger sentiments for their versatility in card making, I really love the more wordfetti type sentiments as they are so comforting. My favorite is “He bends down to listen.” It makes me think of a father getting right down on the same level as his child to make sure he is present in the conversation and the child knows he is there, listening, and ready to act as needed. This one really gets me in the feels!

I used water color paper to cut out my card, I used the blending brushes on my desk with the Mosaic Stencil – I didn’t add ink to them just used what was left from other projects. I used Distress Oxides to stamp up my wordfetti in in a reverse rainbow and then I felt it was too simple (haha) so I dug through my stack of already colored images and found a leaf set from Botanical Branches which I cut apart to balance up my card. On the back, I added a scripture from the Pray Without Ceasing set for me to memorize:
1 Peter 5:7 – Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

I love how this turned out. It isn’t my usual bright color set which is a nice change. I hope you are inspired! Have a wonderful weekend!

Hugs,
Lyn

Happiness Blooms – Mixed Media (ish)

Today I have a fun card for you using the Sweet N Sassy Stamp of the Month Happiness Blooms.

Using Distress Inks, I stamped Texture Tiles 1 to create a background on watercolor paper. I spritzed it a bit to give it a watercolor(y) look. I stamped the flower from Happiness Blooms over it and colored with Copic markers. It has a loose look because of the Copics on watercolor paper. To give it a more crisp look, I went back in with Polychromos pencils. I love the colors on this one. I layered it all up and there is the card. I just needed a sentiment…The sentiment strip comes from Pray Without Ceasing. It is a great encouragement card don’t you think?

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you are inspired.

Lyn

Roses for a Technique Challenge!!

Tags

Bible Journal, SplitCoast Stampers, Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, Technique, Watercolor

Happy Monday!! I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend – mine was filled with mom time and it was wonderful! Today is my day to host the Technique Lover’s Challenge at SplitCoast Stampers. In honor of Mother’s Day, or Spring, or proms, or anything that makes you think of roses really, I wanted to try a watercolor rose technique. I found a tutorial from Jenna at ScribblingGrace.com that shows how to do simple Roses with Watercolors. Though the tutorial is based on Bible journaling, this technique is perfect for cards too. She is super sweet and really walks you through the steps.

After creating my background, I pulled out my new Sweet ‘n Sassy Set called Pray Without Ceasing. I love it. It is beautiful and is chock full of lots of encouragements and reminders that even our smallest prayers are heard!

After playing around with this, here are a few tips….
– Any watercolor should work even distress inks watered down. I grabbed a cheap set of metallic water colors I got from Michaels for $5. Just remember you need a lot of more concentrated color to begin with.
– Grab a bigger piece of watercolor paper if you have it. That way you can practice a few times and just keep going on the sheet. Then you can cut it down and make a few cards with the result.
– She mentions in the tutorial that she dips her paint brush in the water between certain layers. I had a hard time managing the water flow when I did this so I recommend either skipping that step at first or making sure to tap the excess water off on the side of your jar.
– Have fun and don’t get too worked up over the process. I found that even the roses I didn’t love, didn’t look too bad after I added the leaved and sentiments were great cover ups 

I can’t wait to see what you create!

Thanks for stopping by – now head over the challenge and join in 🙂 Technique Lover’s Challenge at SplitCoast Stampers

Hugs!
Lyn

2022 Spring/Summer Coffee Lover’s Blog Hop

It’s Friyay!! Today is the start of the Spring/Summer Coffee Lover’s Blog Hop. This is a traditional hop with each stop offering prizes for commenting on their company blog post. Sweet’nSassy Stamps is a sponsor and the team has had some fun playing around with all of the coffee themed options in the SNSS Shop. My project is a mix of clear stamps and a sweet Cocoa Mouse digi.

First, I created some coffee stained paper with my leftover coffee – this is the first time I have tried this and it was super fun. When it was dry, I stamped the coffee beans from Special Blend all over the page. I colored them in with Polychromos pencils then added some random background texture with Texture Tiles 9. I printed out Cocoa’s Latte Digital Stamp on Neenah Solar White cardstock and colored it with Polychromos pencils and fussy cut it to top off my card. I added the sentiment from Coffee Talk [all my brown stamping used VersaClair Pinecone] and that is my card.

I hope you are inspired on the hop – have fun!!

OH YEAH, Just in case you find that you need some of the coffee themed stamps (or any other haha) Sweet ‘n Sassy is having a sale this weekend to acknowledge National Scrapbook Day. Head over to the SNSS Shop and use the code NSD2022 for 15% off regular priced items.

Thanks for stopping by!!
Lyn

Song Bird – Mini Art Journal

Today I have sweet little journal page in the mini journal I made using my memorydex dies.

First, I did some fun but simple background texture with distress oxides, the leaf branch stencil, and Spotted and the “rain” from Puddle Jumpers and then I toned it down a bit with watered down white acrylic paint. I stamped one of the birds from Song Birds on top of this and colored it with my Polychromos colored pencils. They work great – easily coloring over other things! Finally I used Versa Clair Nocturne ink for the sentiment/verse.

I hope you like it and are inspired. Sometime a little canvas is just what you need to keep creative!

Thanks for stopping by!!
Lyn