Fall Coffee Lover’s Blog Hop

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| marialrussell

I am super excited to join the Fall Coffee Lover’s Blog Hop. I love this community and I can’t wait to see everyone’s creations.  Thank you, Amy Tsuruta and the rest of the amazing team at Coffee Loving Cardmakers Blog. You guys rock!

 

For my card today, I used the digital stamp by http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com.  This digital stamp is free for download during this Hop.  Isn’t Brentwood adorable?! I didn’t want to create a card with the traditional fall colors, which is why I tried the color combination on the card below.

 

If you are wondering where to get the amazing sequins that I used for my card, I got them from http://www.katscrappiness.com/?aff=21   Kat has over 200+ (unique) sequins and confetti mixes for every occasion.  MY favorites are the Halloween, Fall and Christmas mixes!

 

 

I am off to Dubai tomorrow for some much-needed R&R.   I hope you all have an amazing weekend!  Happy fall everyone!

MFT Stamps – Sketch Challenge # 299

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| marialrussell

I’m back today with a fall card showcasing the new Fall Friends stamp set by MFT Stamps.  The card below is my entry for the current sketch challenge no. 299.   For more information or if you would like to join the challenge,  please click on this link http://www.cardchallenges.com/2016/09/wednesday-sketch-challenge-sketch-299.html Here is my rendition for sketch 299:

 

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Here are the supplies I’ve used:

 

MFT Stamps Fall Friends Stamp Set

MFT Stamps Harvest Buddies stamp set

Die-namics Stitched Basic Scallop Edges

Die-namics Mini Fringe (the tassel)

 

I hope you all have an amazing day!  Happy crafting!

 

MFT Stamps ~ Grateful For You

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| marialrussell

I am back today to share with you a card that I made as my third and final entry for the MFT Stamps 2016 Card Design Superstar.   It has been a wonderful, scary and intimidating experience thus far. As I write this blog post, there are almost 400 entries! Scary, huh?
Today’s card is a simple thank you card for my best friend, who lives in Washington, D.C. I am a little sad that we are not going to be able to spend Thanksgiving together again this year. I made this card to let her know that she means so much to me, and I am grateful to have her in my life!

 

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Grateful For You – Card Design by Maria Russell

 

I started out by stamping the images on Neenah solar white card stock using MFT stamps Black Licorice hybrid ink. I used Copic markers to color the images. Since I didn’t have the coordinating dies, I had to fuzzy cut all of the images using my precision scissors.

 

For my card scene, I had to think outside the box again to create a larger window for my critters so I decided to use the gift box cover up die. I think it turned out perfectly.

 

For the awning, I used the new Stitched Scallop Basic Edges. I love these dies so much it cuts like butter!

 

Here is the complete list of the supplies I’ve used for the card. They are all from MFT Stamps.

 

Happy Hedgehogs

Harvest Buddies

Grateful For You stamp set and coordinating die-namics

Die-namics Stitched Scallop Basic Edges

Die-namics Gift Box Cover Up

Sweet Celebration 6×6 Paper Pad (from the birthday card kit)

 

To finish off the card, I used my black gel pen to give the eyes more dimension, my white gel pen to highlight the cheeks and the leaves, and also used glossy accents on the acorns.

 

Wish me luck and thank you for stopping by!

MFT Stamps Card Design Superstar Contest ~ Entry # 2

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| marialrussell

Hello everyone. I’m back today with my second entry for the MFT Stamps 2016 Card Design Superstar. I was traveling for a week and managed to have Internet connection to look at all the beautiful designs that everyone has posted so far. It is very intimidating to compete with these amazing card designers but I really wanted to give it a shot. Even if I lose, I figured I would at least gain some traffic at my blog or inspire someone to look outside the box and create a project that is quite unique. If you have been following me for a while, you know that I love to stretch my stamps.

 

I wanted to create a funny anniversary card but this is also a perfect card for a cat owner! If you have a cat, you know the struggle of having a wild kitty around the house!

 

Ever since I got the cool cats stamp set, I had this idea in my head for one of the cat images but I wasn’t so sure if my ideas would somehow work.   Today, I looked at all of my MFT stamps and dies and decided to just go for it. It’s so much fun to mix and match the sets. It took me awhile to finish the card but I am happy with the result.

 

Here is the photo of the card.

 

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For the “torn wallpaper”, I used the Homespun stitched die-namics to create the zigzag pattern, and used my scissors to partially cut it out. I wanted it to look like the naughty cat had accidentally torn the wallpaper, and managed to also knock the painting off the wall. Isn’t it hilarious?

 

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Here are the supplies that I’ve used:

 

Cool Cats stamp set

Cool Cats dienamics

All Heart stamp set

Santa’s Elves stamp set (used for the sentiment of the naughty cat inside the speech bubble)

Make Yourself At Home stamp set

Make Yourself at home dienamics

I Knead You stamp set

I knead You dienamics (the speech bubble)

Homespun stitched dienamics

Blueprints No. 27 dienamics

Watercolor wash 6 x 6 paper pad

 

I hope you like the card that I designed today.  Wish me luck!  Have an amazing weekend!

Trick or Treat in the Pumpkin Patch

| marialrussell

Today is the launch of a new 4×4 stamp set at http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com called “Trick or Treat in the Pumpkin Patch”.  I love Halloween and I am excited to share the cards that I have made below, using the stamp set.

 

The first card is a traditional “spooky” Halloween card.

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I did some water-coloring on the second card.  I love the sentiment in the stamp set because Hocus Pocus is one of my all-time favorite Halloween movie.

 

The cute bat that you see below is another Halloween stamp by JessicaLynn called “Ghost of Christmas Past”.  You can still find these stamps at the website if you’d like to purchase them.

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The third card is really simple.  Sometimes less is more.  I love the black cats and I had to use them again on this card.  This time, the sentiment is inlaid on the card front.

 

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Which one is your favorite?  I hope I have given you some inspiration today.  Please check out Jessica’s blog for more details on how you can win a $15 gift card to the store: https://jessicalynnoriginal.net/2016/09/17/halloween-has-arrived-prize/  Or if you would like to purchase the stamps, please go to the online store at http://www.jessicaly noriginal.com. Thank you so much and have a nice weekend!

Welcome Little One ~ LED Tea Light Vellum Card

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| marialrussell

There is an open challenge at MFT Stamps called “2016 Card Design Superstar” and I decided to participate. I love MFT Stamps and I figured what have I got to lose?

 

For my card below, I chose the Magical Dragons and Essential Sentiments stamp sets plus a whole bunch of die-namics I have in my stash.  The supplies I’ve used will all be listed down below.

 

I first stamped the images on Strathmore watercolor paper using VersaFine vintage sepia. Since the card is to welcome a little baby, I didn’t want to use black ink because I wanted the colors to be soft without any hard lines. I then used my Zig clean color brush markers to color the images. To make the colors softer and more pastel, I blended my coloring with my watercolor brush. Once I was satisfied with the colors, I set them out to dry and proceeded to partially die-cut the birch trees on my card base.  To build my forest scene, I die-cut the stitched cloud from the end of the rainbow die-namics set, rolling fence with the matching hill, grass fields, and I also used the stitched mountain die-namics to create the starry sky and cover my partial die-cutting on the top of the card.  I also die-cut the little hearts using tag builder blueprints no. 5.  It was a bit tricky to adhere the vellum cloud and the smoke speech bubble to the card but I was able to hide the adhesive behind.

 

Here are the photos of the card. I have taken a few shots with and without the LED tea light so you all can see how beautiful this turned out.

 

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Here’s a close-up of Momma and her little one:

 

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Here’s the photo without the LED tea light:

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The last step I made was to stamp the smoke “speech bubble” using my Versamark ink, and I heat-embossed it with white embossing powder. I then adhered the little heart in the middle of the speech bubble. I wanted the image to look like the mother dragon was saying “I Love You” to her little one.  Can you imagine a new mom receiving this card?   She can also display this in her nursery.

 

Here are the supplies that I have used. They are all from MFT Stamps.

 

Magical Dragons stamp set

Die-Namics Magical Dragon

Essential Sentiments stamp set

Die-namics Stitched Mountain Range (for the starry sky)

Die-namics End of the Rainbow (the vellum cloud)

Die-namics Birch Trees

Die-namics Rolling Hills

Die-namics Grassy Fields

Die-namics Tag Builder Blueprints No. 5 (hearts confetti)

 

The card above is my first entry.  I hope you like the card that I made and got inspired. Have a wonderful day!

MFT Stamps Monster Love

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| marialrussell

I am completely obsessed with MFT Stamps lately so when I was asked by Jamie of not2ShabbyShop to pick the stamps I wanted for my design team package for September, I naturally picked a cute stamp from MFT called “Monster Love”.  What’s not to love?  They are so easy to stamp and with a stamping tool, you can easily achieve perfect results each time.
I originally filmed a process video for the cards but with a vertigo attack recently, I accidentally deleted the footage!  I still shared them on my recent YouTube video though if you’d like to see it.
Here are the 3 cards that I designed showcasing the stamp set.  I also used my all-time favorite Tag Builder Blueprints No. 5.

I hope I have given you some inspiration today! Have an amazing day!

Halloween Under the Sea ~ TGF Guest Designer

| marialrussell

I have another video below as a guest designer for The Greeting Farm showcasing the Little Mermaids stamp set.  If you have been following me for a while, you know that I always like to stretch my stamps and here are examples of how you can use your stamps for a different  occasion.  We are going to celebrate Halloween Under the Sea.

 

If you would like to purchase the sequins, confetti and other sequin mixes for your projects, here is the link to the shop where you can purchase them inexpensively: http://www.katscrappiness.com/?aff=21

 

Here is the video:

 

 

And the photos below:

A shaker tag with the treat bag:

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Little Witch:

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Getting all-dressed up for the Halloween party:

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And a simple “Hello” card:

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I hope I have given you some inspiration to stretch your stamps and think outside the box.  Have an amazing week!