Lawnscaping Challenge: ONE LAYER!

Hi everyone!

I fell off the blogging wagon for a while, but I'm back because I was so inspired by the current Lawnscaping challenge and really wanted to join!  This challenge is to make a one-layer card.

So here is the card I made for this challenge!

I used the balloon tops from Lawn Fawn's Party Animal stamp set, and the strings from the Hello Sunshine stamp set. The "Happy" part of the greeting is also from the Hello Sunshine set, while the "birthday" word is from the Scripty Sayings set (I masked off the other parts of the script to just get the word "birthday").

Here it is at another angle:

I stamped everything out in Versafine Black Onyx ink and clear-heat embossed it to protect it from the watercoloring.  I used Distress Inks in Evergreen Bough, Chipped Sapphire and Peacock Feathers to add some stripes in the background, and used stars from various Lawn Fawn sets in the same colors of Distress ink to add a bit of interest to the background.  I also colored in the balloons with Picked Raspberry.

At the end, I added a black border using a marker and added some Wink of Stella glitter and finally Glossy Accents to the balloons for a super shiny effect!

I think it's a cute go-to birthday card!  I actually made another copy of this card using different colors as well, and gave it to a male colleague, so this card can definitely go gender-neutral if you need it to!

Thanks so much for visiting!

xoxo
From Ashley

Lawnscaping challenge: inspired by COLOR!

Hi everyone and welcome back to my (still new) blog!

Today's post is an entry into the most current Lawnscaping challenge: inspired by COLOR!  I discovered the Lawnscaping challenge blog very recently, and that is actually what inspired me to start my own blog!  I was always inspired by how different people can be given the same inspiration and end up with very different products.  I've always been tempted to join in on the various blog challenges I've seen before, but these Lawnscaping challenges are what sent me over the edge - all the card designs in these challenges are so super cute!

For this challenge, I incorporated color into one of my recently-purchased Lawn Fawn stamp sets that I was excited to try out!

I actually purchased this stamp set (Lawn Fawn's Chit Chat) with the idea of combining those cute speech bubbles with critters from other stamp sets that I already own,  But, it works by itself too!  For this card, I just stamped the speech bubbles in either Memento Tuxedo Black ink (for the empty bubbles) or in various colours of ink (for the filled in bubbles) - the orange is Stampin' Up's Pumpkin Pie, and the green is Lawn Fawn's Celery Stick.  I also stamped some of the birdies from the Chit Chat set and then colored in all the empty bubbles and birdies using Copic markers, to fill out the rainbow of color!

I also added in some extra little music notes and hearts around in the background (because I can't leave well enough alone when it comes to cards, apparently!).  Those are all from Lawn Fawn's Happy Wedding stamp set - but so many stamp sets come with little bits and bobs like that, that you definitely wouldn't need to own the Happy Wedding set in particular.

I backed the whole piece with some Fun Foam (a tip I learned from Jennifer McGuire and a great way to add dimension to the entire card) onto a piece of patterned paper from Lawn Fawn;s Beachside collection, then mounted everything onto a kraft card base (this one is Neenah Desert Storm).

I like to make cards with a purpose in mind, and since my sister lives in a different country for school, I am planning to send this to her in the mail.  I hope it brings a smile to her face when she receives it!

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you have a great day!

Xoxo,
Ashley

Lawn Fawn Year Four card idea

Hi all,

Welcome to my first official card post. I have a feeling this post will be riddled with technical errors as I attempt to figure out this blogging thing...if you know of any tips or tricks, please let me know in the comments!

My card today is a cute birthday card made with mainly Lawn Fawn products.

 I love that Lawn Fawn makes a birthday-themed mini stamp every year for its own birthday as a company. So cute! And this Year Four stamp is one of my favorites. I even splurged on the stamp set AND matching dies this time (usually I tell myself fussy cutting isn't so bad and cheap out on the dies...hey, more money saved to buy more stamp sets, right?).

 To make the card, I stamped the cute hippo and birdie along with the party hat and balloon all with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto some Neenah Solar White 80lb cardstock. I colored in the images using Copic markers and die cut them using the matching dies (yay!). I prepped the background by cutting a series of rectangles and squares, all using dies from both Lawn Fawn's small stitched rectangles and small stitched squares sets, in various colours from Lawn Fawn's Pint-sized Patterns 6x6 paper collections (in Beachside and Let's Polka, Mon Amie).

I also used Lawn Fawn's grassy border die on the green paper to make it look like grass under the hippo's feet. I then glued the background papers together using some Tombo liquid adhesive, and mounted the die cuts onto some foam squares to give the card some fun dimension. Finally, I stamped the cute sentiment in Tsukineko VersaFine Onyx Black ink, which is an absolutely wonderful and crisp black ink, onto some Neenah cardstock that I had added colour onto using some Tim Holtz distress ink (squeezed lemonade) on a blending tool.  I added some stitched lines to the edges and cut some banner edges before mounting it onto the card with more foam squares.  Add in some Pretty Pink Posh sequins in a variety of colors and voila!  I used Neenah Desert Storm cardstock as the base for this card.  I find myself reaching for kraft cardstock as the card base a lot lately - I like the neutral but interesting look it gives.

I love Lawn Fawn products because they are so cute and whimsical - and the finished products always make me smile!

Thank you so much for stopping by, and I'll be back here soon with another card.

Xoxo,
Ashley

Hello and welcome to my blog!

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my papercrafting blog!  This is my first post on the first blog I've ever made, so if you're here reading this, it definitely means a lot!

I am a PhD student who has recently discovered the world of papercrafting and, in particular, cardmaking.  I have become quickly obsessed with it as a hobby and have really enjoyed using it as an outlet after a long day at work - a feeling I'm sure many of us can relate to!

After ogling the great work I see on so many other cardmaking blogs, I thought I'd take a stab at making my own blog to share my work.  While being a fun pastime for me, I hope it can serve as inspiration for some of you out there as well!

Thanks again for stopping by and I hope to be sharing some of my handmade cards with you very soon!

Have a great day!

From Ashley