Thank you card featuring 2 Cute Ink Country Music Chick digital stamp

Usually, my cowboy themed cards are going to Texan family members back in the States – like this Howdy Halloween from  last year – but this one is for a Swiss French speaking friend of mine who loves country music (hence the 'merci' and not 'thank you'). The cute Country Music Chick digital stamp is from 2 Cute Ink.

I used a few coats of quick drying acrylic paint to color the wooden merci sentiment and flower a dark brown (you can see the merci in its natural state on this masculine wine tag). I added a pink button and some shimmery twine to top it off.

The digital paper is AMB Illustrations Cowgirl. Is it the perfect match or what?!

Supply List
Paper – cardstock, AMB Illustrations Cowgirl digital paper
Digital stamp – 2 Cute Ink Country Music Chick
Color – Caran d'Ache Luminance 6901 pencils
Dies – Die-namics rectangle stax
Embellishments – wooden merci sentiment and flower, button, twine

I'm linking up with: Creations in Pink #13 – ATG predominately pink, 2 Crafty Critter Crazies #30 – ATG with a critter, A Bit More Time to Craft #99 – ATG, A Perfect Time to Craft #9 – ATG, and Crafty Animals #30 – ATG with an animal.

Christmas card featuring Eureka! Stamps The Night Before Christmas digital stamp

Eureka! Stamps The Night Before Christmas digital stamp is the focal point of this Christmas card. If you want all the attention on your stamp, this simple card design is the way to go.

This How You've Bean coffee card uses the same design and is one of my card favorites. I made it back in 2017, but like it so much I hang on to it. Do you have cards like that? Ones you like so much you don't want to send them to anyone?

Paper is from a discount nameless paper pad. The dies are those no-brand types you see on Amazon and eBay. The card was simple so I kept embellishments that way, too – three little stars top it off.

Supply List
Paper – cardstock, patterned paper
Digital stamp – Eureka! Stamps The Night Before Christmas
Color – Caran d'Ache Luminance 6901 pencils
Dies – no-brand stitched circles and square
Embellishments – stars

I'm linking up with: QKR Stampede #360 – ATG, Colour Crazy Challenge Week 33 – ATG, Crimbo Crackers #191 – ATG Christmas, Christmas at Sweet Stampin' August – ATG Christmas, and Cute n' Crafty Christmas #17 – ATG Christmas.

Bunnie freebie birthday card

This birthday card features a free Di's digi stamp bunny from Crafts Beautiful. The Crafts Beautiful site is a plethora of freebie goodness – stamps, papers, templates, etc.! And that's just the paper related part of it. All crafts are represented, even baking. Go check it out and you'll see what I mean.

I decided to use up some purple cardstock and matching patterned papers on this card. I've got a lot of purple and I hardly ever use it. And I like purple, too! Don't know why that is. Anyway, I did make a tiny dent in the purple stash. I tend to pair it with black, like this purple/black thank you card, but this time went with a pinkish rose (lots of that to use up, too!).

The sentiment is from Kim's Digital Stamps - Twelve Round Greetings sentiment sheet. Paper is retired Love to Craft Let's Celebrate paper pad. In lieu of ribbon, I used a strip of Dove Craft Painted Blooms flower tape down the center, accented with two purple pearls.

Supply List
Paper – cardstock,  Love to Craft Let's Celebrate paper pad
Digital stamp/sentiment – Crafts Beautiful freebie, Kim's Twelve Round Greetings
Color – Caran d'Ache Luminance 6901 pencils
Dies – Die-namics square and circle stax
Embellishments – floral tape, pearls

I'm linking up with: Simply Create Too #152 – ATG, Creative Fingers #169 – ATG, Colourific Challenge Corner #3 – ATG, Colour Crazy Challenge Week 32 – ATG, and Brown Sugar #292 – ATG.

What's the best eraser to use with colored pencils?

No card today, let's talk about...erasers!

One reason I like coloring with pencils is the ability to erase. Now I say erase, but anyone who uses colored pencils will tell you that erasing is relative. If you've intensively colored an area, you won't be able to totally get rid of the color and if you apply too heavy a hand you'll damage the paper. But, there are erasers that can lighten a color slightly, remove chance bits of color, or coloring outside your stamp lines. Following are the two erasers I use with colored pencils.

For the longest time I have used the Faber-Castell Perfection 7058 eraser (as mentioned in my pencil coloring tutorial). This is a great eraser for lightening an area if I've colored too darkly. It has a sandy texture when erasing that needs to be lightly whisked away (I use a mini feather duster for that). Care should be taken when erasing as applying too much pressure can remove a bit of the paper top layer. For a stubborn dark color, however, that might be the only way you get rid of it. Use a regular pencil sharpener to sharpen.

Photo Faber-Castell USA

The Faber-Castell Perfection 7058 eraser does work well, so it was with hesitation that I purchased the Tombow 2.3mm MONO Zero eraser a few months ago. But, I'm so glad I did! The MONO Zero eraser's forte is its tiny 2.3mm head. With that I can cleanly erase those little areas where I stray outside the stamp lines. It does this without the gritty feeling of the Faber-Castell one. I like that no sharpener is required with this eraser, just click like a pen and the eraser advances. Also, you don't need to buy a new eraser every time as refills are available. The eraser's longevity seems to be good; I've been using it a while now and I'm still on the first eraser.

Photo Towbow USA

To sum it all up, I use the Faber-Castell Perfection eraser to lighten color in larger areas and for stubborn dark colors. I use the Tombow 2.3mm MONO Zero eraser for tidying up color outside image lines.

Note – this blog is not monetized, Faber-Castell and Tombow haven't given me anything for this post, these are just the erasers I use and thought you might be interested in knowing more about them.

Nos penseés les plus chaleureuses Christmas card

I'm always on the look out for punny Christmas sentiments. Last year I used this French one – nos penseés les plus chaleureuses – with this toosh warming QKR Stampede snowman card. The sentiment literally translates to 'our thoughts the most warm', but is used in the sense of  'warm regards' or 'loving thoughts'. 

I liked it so much I decided to use it again this year with the present melting snowman digital stamp, also from QKR Stampede. Paper is a magazine freebie.

The border was cut from the paper and I kept the embellishments simple with a wooden snowflake and enamel dot.

Supply List
Paper – cardstock, magazine freebie paper
Digital stamp – QKR Stampede Melting Snowman
Color – Caran d'Ache Luminance 6901 pencils
Dies – Die-Namics square stax
Embellishments – wooden snowflake, enamel dot
Font – Candy Round BTN

I'm linking up with: QKR Stampede #359 – ATG, MLCCB #13 – Aug. ATG Christmas, Happy Little Stampers August – ATG Christmas, Jingle Belles 02/08/19 – Blue Christmas, and CHNC #449 – ATG Christmas.

Unicorn birthday card idea featuring QKR Stampede Unicorn digital stamp

This unicorn birthday card features QKR Stampede's Unicorn stamp. I chose this for a unicorn loving friend of mine. Last year I used a freebie cutsie for her card, but I gotta admit, I prefer this year's. I like the fact that this unicorn is no wimp, by golly there's some muscle there! That's what I like about QKR Stampede stamps, they're just that little bit different from everyone else. Some are downright quirky (gotta love quirky). This QKR Stampede Sunbathing Potato card, for example, still cracks me up . Out of curiosity I checked and there are 22 cards made with QKR Stampede stamps on the blog. So yeah, I guess I like them.

Paper is more of that Max Bringmann/Aldi can't-get-a-link-for type. I have a big stack of these pads now. They cost me CHF 4.99 a pad (about $5.08) and considering their very large size (24 x 34 cm) I can make a LOT of cards from just one sheet. Some pads have a lighter paper with 50 sheets, some have a heavier paper and those have 26. Which is to say, that if you have an Aldi store near you, especially if you're in Europe (and specifically Switzerland), it's worth taking a look while you do your grocery shopping. If you have an Aldi store near you in the States, tell me if they have craft supplies there. I'm curious.

Since this card was hand delivered, I made a pretty bow to embellish it with (no worries about it being bulky and eaten by a postal machine). Three little buttons top it off in the bottom right corner. The sentiment was created with Monterey BT font.

Supply List
Paper – cardstock, Max Bringmann paper
Digital stamp – QKR Stampede Unicorn
Color – Caran d'Ache Luminance 6901 pencils
Dies – Die-namics rectangle stax
Embellishments – ribbon, button
Font – Monterey BT

I'm linking up with: QKR Stampede #358 – ATG, Arty Divas #1 – ATG, Crafty Sentiments Designs 30/07/19 – ATG, Lemon Shortbread #99 – ATG, and TTCRD week of July 30 – ATG.

Flamingo Happy Summer card

This is the last of this year's Happy Summer/Happy 4th of July combo cards. If you care to take a gander, you can see the others in the series by clicking on the link: Porky Ready to Grill, Beach Scene freebie, and Beach Crab.

This was one I whipped up in a hurry. As you can see there's no coloring. This image was included in a Max Bringmann/Folio paper pad picked up in Aldi. I carefully used a die to center and cut the image then used my Zutter round-it-all tool to round the corners of all the papers, which are also Max Bringmann. I'm sorry there's no link for the paper, but unfortunately these are the rare paper pads I can't seem to find online links to.

These banner stickers went so well they look like they were made for it.

Supply List
Paper and image – cardstock, Max Bringmann patterned paper pad
Dies – Die-namics square stax
Embellishments – banner stickers

I'm linking up with: Dragonfly Dreams July – Things With Wings, Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #110 – ATG, 2 Crafty Critter Crazies #28 – ATG with a critter, A Perfect Time to Craft #7 – ATG, and Crafty Animals #28 – ATG with an animal.

Cheshire cat masculine birthday card

I whipped up this grinning cat card featuring Dr. Digi's Cheshire Cat digital stamp for a young cousin of mine's birthday. He always likes my cards and thanks me for them, which I appreciate. I just purchased this Paper Addicts Mandala Dreams paper pad and was looking for a digi to pair it with; this stamp is the perfect match. Although it's more monotone than his blue/teal Genie card from last year, I like how it turned out.

Since the paper is so busy I didn't think it needed much in the way of embellishments. These black/tan buttons from my stash add a simple finishing touch.

The sentiment was created with TroutKings BTN font. The outside 'Smile!' sentiment is paired with '...it's your birthday!' inside.

Supply List
Paper – cardstock, Paper Addicts Mandala Dreams paper pad
Digital stamp – Dr. Digi's Cheshire Cat
Color – Caran d'Ache Luminance 6901 pencils
Dies – Die-namics circle, rectangle & square stax
Embellishments – buttons
Font – TroutKings BTN

I'm linking up with: Show Us Your Pussycats Challenge #44 – ATG with a cat, Get Creative Challenges #82 – ATG w/opt. monochromatic, Dare 2B Artsy July – Masculine Birthday, Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends #109 – ATG, and Simply Create Too #151 – ATG.

Ham it up Pig Christmas card

I'm always on the lookout for quirky Christmas stamps. This QKR Stampede Christmas Pig digital stamp is a perfect example. And if the image suits a punny sentiment, so much the better. I created this one with Castellar font. I had to explain what 'Ham it up' meant to my French husband, so I guess that rules out sending it to any French speakers. And now that I think about it, it might not be the best card for a vegetarian either.

The paper is Carta Bella's Christmas Delivery paper pad. I purchased it a couple of years back so it's probably retired now, although I suspect it's still available on eBay or Amazon. It's my favorite Christmas paper pad and I've made serious inroads into it. There are three cards up on the blog made with it: Snow Time Bear, Cardinal Christmas, and Snowmen Joy.

I kept embellishments simple with a wooden snowflake and button.

Supply List
Paper – cardstock, Carta Bella Christmas Delivery
Digital stamp – QKR Stampede Christmas Pig
Color – Caran d'Ache Luminance 6901 pencils
Embellishments – wooden snowflake, button
Font – Castellar

I'm linking up with: QKR Stampede #355 – ATG, Crafty Calendar July – Christmas in July, CHNC #445 – ATG Christmas with option men/boys (and I think this card would qualify for that!), Winter Wonderland July – Christmas Buildings/Winter Buildings (I'm hoping the inside of a stable counts), The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #52 – ATG Christmas, ABC Christmas Challenge July – N is for No Peeking/ O is for Ornament, and Cute n' Crafty Christmas #15 – ATG Christmas.

Happy 4th of July! and a Ready to Grill card

Happy 4th of July, everyone! To Americans back in the States and those abroad, enjoy the day! It might not look it from the front, but this IS a Happy 4th of July card; the 4th of July part of the sentiment is inside.

If this image looks familiar, you might remember that I used several of these stamps last year for the 4th of July – Porky in an apron and chef's hat, with an ear of corn, with a hotdog, with some watermelon, some pickles, and firing up the grill. And just in case you're wondering, yes, Porky is a vegetarian.

When you consider I paid only $1.00 for an eight stamp set, of which I've used seven, I'd say I got my money's worth. Unfortunately, Digi Web Studio no longer has this set and doesn't appear to be doing basic digital stamps anymore. The digital paper is left over from last year. I created the sentiment myself. Embellishment is a little striped ribbon.

Supply List
Paper – cardstock,  patterned paper
Digital stamp – Digi Web Studio Porky's Backyard BBQ stamp set
Color – Caran d'Ache Luminance 6901 pencils
Dies – Die-namic circle and oval stax

I'm linking up with: Creatalicious Challenges #166 – ATG + opt. two or more design papers, Aud Sentiments Challenge #230 – ATG + a sentiment, Crafting with an Attitude #53 – ATG, Creative Playground Challenge #7 – ATG, and Southern Girls Challenge 27 June – Stripes.