A Very Special Unicorn

Hey there! This blog post is a very special one for me. Today my husband and I finally adopt our son! Those of you who have followed me for a while may remember that in October of 2015 we became foster parents with the hopes of adopting. We were placed with our son in November of 2015. He is the most amazing little boy and we have been praying for 21 very very long months that he would be ours forever. Today he will finally share our last name. Anyone who has adopted through foster care knows the stresses, fears, and worries we have had for almost 2 years. We have been so blessed by our baby boy (...I guess he's a toddler boy now!) ! When we found out that I wouldn't be able to have kids we were devastated. Traditional adoption was far out of our finances and we thought we would never have a family. But there are so many kids in the foster care system that need loving homes and we are so happy that he is ours!! We don't have a lot, but we have a lot of love for him! 

Anyway, here is the card I have planned for today! 

Follow your dreams - it means so much to me. I dreamed of having a family and it seemed like a unicorn dream a few years ago...but now I have my son forever!

I watercolored my unicorns and clouds with Gansai Tambi watercolors and added a bunch of shimmer with my Wink of Stella clear glitter brush pen.

I created my background with Simon Says Stamp inks and rainbow sparkle embossing powder and the Concord & 9th Triangle Turnabout stamp. This stamp is a-maz-ing! Seriously! Quick and easy backgrounds are my favorites!

That's all! This card was really quick, but I think it's super cute! See you soon!

Magical Unicorns on the BRink Blog!

Hey! I'm guest designing over on the Butterfly Reflections, Ink blog today! I've made a card with lots of glittery, shiny rainbows and a unicorn! Here are some photos! Be sure to head over to the BRink blog for all the details on products and how I made the card!

See you next time!

Triangle Turnabout Thank You's

 Hey, everyone! I have two cards to share with you! One masculine and one that's more feminine. I'm always short on thank you cards and since I had all of my things out I thought I would make two cards!

Who else is in LOVE with the turnabout stamps from Concord & 9th!? I love them! They make backgrounds so easy! For the blue card I used 3 shades of blue inks from Simon Says Stamp and Studio Calico for the first three turns and then Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder for the last turn. I love this one! I usually shy away from blues, but this might make me come back to them! I love how they pair with the liquid platinum!

The second card is more feminine. Again I used various colors from Simon Says Stamp and Studio Calico. The backgrounds really do all the work for these cards! I wanted to finish off the cards and keep these clean and simple. I used the new script thanks dies from Simon Says Stamp. I love that this die is a set - one to cut the sentiment and another to cut the shadow! I cut a black sentiment for the blue card and a dark gray sentiment for the other. I used various sizes of Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear sequins to add a little shine!

That's all! Super simple, but the background really packs a punch!

Watercolored Hedgehogs

Hello! I know it's not the season for Valentine's Day cards, but my local county fair is coming up next month and I always enter my cards into the fair! One of the categories is Valentine's Day and I didn't have a card...so I made one! I took a lot of inspiration from Yana Smakula. She made a card a couple weeks ago where she watercolored circus images in lines. You can find her card here! Here's mine! 

The Sending Hedgehugs stamp set from Lawn Fawn is an older set, but it's one of my favorites...and it's my husband's favorite, too! I used Versafine ink and clear embossing powder to stamp and emboss the two hedgehogs and the heart all over my watercolor card panel. Then I used Distress Inks to watercolor the images. I used Brushed Corduroy, Gathered Twigs, and Vintage Photo for the hedgehogs, Festive Berries for the hearts, and Hickory Smoke for the shadows under the hedgehogs. 

I stamped the sentiment from an old Simon Says Stamp set and adhered it with foam squares. I used Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Sequins to add some sparkle! That's it! Super simple, but I'm in love with this card! And now I'm ahead of schedule for Valentine's Day 2018! See you next time!

Fruity Backgrounds

Hey, there! Fruit stamps seem to be all the rage this summer! When I saw the Fruity stamp set from Studio Calico and One Little Bird I knew I had to have it! I have 2 card examples using this cute stamp set!

I love how you can make so many different kinds of fruits with the same stamps! I made watermelons and limes today, but you could use the same stamps to make lemons or oranges, too! And there are stamps to make peaches and strawberries in the set as well!

I used a Watermelon and Key Lime inks from Simon Says Stamp for the watermelons and Key Lime and Jellybean inks also from SSS for the limes. Add some black spatters, a sentiment strip, and some Pretty Pink Posh droplets and these cards are done!

These were so easy to make! I'm going to make more using different fruits. I'll have a whole farmstand of fruity cards! See you next time!

Floral Watercolor

Hey, everyone! I have 2 cards to share with you today using the Floral Bliss stamp set from Simon Says Stamp. 

I stamped the floral image and sentiment on to watercolor cardstock using Versafine Onyx Black ink and used clear embossing powder over the ink. I used a few colors from my Gansai Tambi watercolors to color over the flowers. I did 3 layers to really build up the color.

I added black watercolor flicks and die cut the panel with a stitched rectangle die. I die cut a piece of patterned paper with another stitched rectangle and mounted everything onto a black card base. I added white Nuvo drops for some texture.

I liked the design so much that I repeated it using a blue Daniel Smith watercolor. I used a different patterned paper and card base and I used gold Nuvo drops instead of the white.

I can't decide which one I like better! These were so quick to throw together, but I really love them! See you soon!

Galaxy Bears

Hello, everyone and happy 4th of July! I hope everyone is having a great day! Today I have a card that reminds me of 4th of July as a kid! I used to love sitting in a friend's lawn watching fireworks! 

I stamped the bears from the Bear Hugs stamp set from Mama Elephant. I colored them with Copics and added a few layers of glitter from my Spectrum Noir sparkle pen. I used a stitched border die to cut a piece of watercolor cardstock into a hill shape and used Distress inks to add color.

The background was the most involved and even that wasn't super card! I used a basic galaxy background technique with Distress inks and added flicks of white paint for the stars. I think the background could be a galaxy...but I think it has the subtle hints of fireworks.


Thanks for joining me today! See you soon!