Cute Cards

CardMaker Magazine Blog Hop featuring JessicaLynnOriginal Stamps

| marialrussell

I am just so excited for today’s blog hop as we are collaborating with CardMaker Magazine plus we can use whatever favorite stamps we like from JLO Stamps!  There will be a FREE DIGITAL STAMP for all – anyone can visit www.jessicalynnoriginal.com and download that digital stamp.

PRIZES, PRIZES!  To be eligible to win a $50 Gift Card good for ANYTHING at Jessica Lynn Original’s website, we ask that you please leave a comment on each blog. Jessica will pick one winner.

Are you ready to see the cards?  The first one that you see here is a Halloween-themed card. This stamp is called Ghost of Christmas Past. I must admit that I overly-embellished this card. A common occurrence when I have my creativity mojo going. Sometimes I get really carried away. This card must have taken me 4 hours to make. It was a lot of work, but totally worth it. My husband keeps commenting that my cards are so detailed and embellished that they will be too expensive to sell. I don’t really sell my cards. I mostly give it to friends. I love that when they get my cards, they like it so much that they put it in a frame and display it at their home offices! That is a huge compliment for me! I feel that if I don’t take my time or put a lot of effort into making my cards, what’s the point of even making one?

With the exception of the pumpkins, everything has been handmade/die cut by yours truly!

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The second card is one of my favorites. It’s so simple but adorable at the same time. I used two stamp sets for this card. The owl is one of my favorites from JLO Stamps. She is called “Ruby With a Martini” and the cute bat is from “Ghost of Christmas Past”. Halloween is my favorite holiday and I make a lot of Halloween cards and scrapbook layouts.

Created by Maria Russell For www.jessicalynnoriginal.com
Created by Maria Russell
For http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com

The third card is a Valentine-themed card. I love the simplicity of this one. I love Jessica’s sentiments on this stamp set as well. I think she has the most amazing handwriting I’ve ever seen.

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Last but not the least, is a birthday card!  Today is MY birthday so of course I have to make a birthday card somehow.  I combined two digital stamps on this card, and used some of my confetti stamps to create the confetti background.  I also used my magnolia doohickey balloon dies to cut out the cute little balloons that you see below.  I wanted this card to be happy, girly and adorable.

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Created by: Maria Russell For: http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com

Which one is your favorite? Mine is still the Halloween Witch card just because she looks so stylish and I love Halloween! We are all little witches in our own sort of way, aren’t we?!

If you got lost along the way, this is the order of the hop:

CardMaker: http://www.cardmakermagazine.com/blog/

Vickie Yeakley: http://stuffbyvickie.blogspot.com/…/jessicalynnoriginalcom-…
Mendi Yoshikawa: http://www.snippets-of-mendi.blogspot.com/
Sharon Rogers: http://sharonshowcase.blogspot.com/…/jessicalynnoriginal-ca…
Stacy Morgan: http://twinshappy.blogspot.com/
Amanda Pollock: http://wombatleu.blogspot.com/2015/…/cardmaker-magazine.html
Maria L. Russell: https://mariarusselldesigns.wordpress.com/
Jeanette Cloyd: http://creativeplayischeaperthantherapy.blogspot.com/…/its-…
Jennie Harper: http://stampawaytheday.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Greco: http://glitterinmyhair.blogspot.com/…/cardmaker-magazine-bl…
Gini Williams Cagle: http://ginicagle.blogspot.com/
Chrissy Hsu: http://bubblegumpaper.blogspot.com/
Chitra Nair: http://www.craftingchitra.blogspot.com/
Jessica Lynn Mould: http://jessicalynnoriginalstamps.blogspot.com/…/CardMakingM…

Please don’t forget to leave a comment on each blog for a chance to win a $50 gift card.  Good luck and I hope you all have an amazing day!

Happy Haunting ~ Lawnscaping Challenge No. 112 ~ Embossing

| marialrussell

Good morning crafters!  I wanted to start my Halloween cards early this year so when I checked my emails and received a notification for another Lawnscaping Challenge, I just couldn’t resist.

For my card today, I am using the Lawn Fawn Spooktacular stamp set, Sweater Weather stampset and their coordinating dies, Grass Border and Stitched Rectangle dies. These stamp sets and dies are so much fun and so versatile; you can mix and match them for any occasion.

Happy Haunting
Happy Haunting

I first stamped all the images that I needed for the card on white card stock and colored them using my copic markers. Then I cut my card base, and black card stock as well as the vellum using the stitched rectangle die. I didn’t really have any design in mind at this point. I knew I wanted a round moon, so I cut it using my circle die, and dry-embossed it with my dots embossing folder. I then sponged the edges of my moon using my yellow inkpad to add a little bit of color. I proceeded to die-cut the trees with black card stock using the sweater weather dies, then went ahead to die-cut the rest of the stamped images and the grass border. I also used my bridge dies to create a cute little scene for my cat. Now that I had everything laid out in front of me, I started to create my card. The last thing that I did was to stamp the sentiment “happy haunting” using my white embossing powder on some dark purple card stock, then I adhered it to the front of my card. Oh, of course I had to use my wink of stella to give the moon some glittery effect, as well as the pumpkins, the witch’s hat and the leaves.

What do you guys think? I hope you like my card today.  Happy Crafting and Happy Haunting!

You’re My Honey

| marialrussell

One of the reasons why I love jet lag is the fact that when I am wide-awake at 3:00 a.m., I can make some really strong coffee, go to my craft room and work on my cards in peace. Everything is just so peaceful at dawn. It really helps my creativity. The only downside is I am already fading by 4:00 p.m.

The card below turned out to be so stinkin’ cute! To be honest, I didn’t picture this card to look like it does now because I changed my mind quite a few times while I was creating it.  I wanted to fuzzy-cut the image but I was worried about the Antennae.  I decided in the end to cut it out and replaced it with a die-cut piece using a butterfly die. I almost gave up at one point, but decided to keep going until I was happy with the results.

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Materials used:

Honey Bee Stamp Set from www.jessicalynnoriginal.com

Gray card stock – cut at 8 ½ by 5 ½ scored at 4/14

Pink Card stock – cut at 5 ¼ by 4, also used some to diecut the flowers

Beige Card Stock (for the Deco Label in the front of the card)

Green Card Stock – to diecut the grass die

Honeycomb Die

Deco Labels Die

Spellbinders Banner Die

Magnolia Doohickey Grass and flower die and butterfly die from Le Jardin Collection Vol. 4

Copic Markers – W0, W1, W3, W7

Copic Markers – E77

Copic Marker – B00

Copic Marker – R11, toned down with Copic Blending Ink 00

Memento Tuxedo Black Ink Pad

Glossy Accents

Scotch Foam Adhesive

Ranger Multi-medium matte adhesive

I hope you like this card.  Please note that Jessica was kind enough to offer a 10% discount for all of my YouTube subscribers, Instagram followers and Blog followers. If you are interested to purchase her amazing stamps, please go to http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com and use code: save10.  This code is valid until September 1, 2015.

Launch of Toy and Working Dog Breed Stamp Sets by JessicaLynnOriginal

| marialrussell

I am really excited to share today’s blog post. We are launching two wonderful new stamp sets at Jessica Lynn Original called “Toy and Working Breed”. I have always loved dogs! I grew up with them and I can’t imagine not having a dog in my life. They are amazing, loving, funny, faithful – truly a man’s best friend!

The toy breed stamp set is very special to me. The Chihuahua image that Jessica has for this set had a striking resemblance to my beloved pet, Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi was my constant companion and I took her everywhere with me. She was very stylish and had outfits for every occasion. She was super spoiled! I lost Chi-Chi in 2013 and I was really sad for a long time that I still couldn’t bring myself to getting another Chihuahua.

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When I first received the stamp set, I really had a hard time trying to think about card designs. I’ve always loved stamping, but I’ve never had stamp images that are so life-like, it was honestly hard to get creative. I am a novice with Copic markers so it was really hard for me to color the images and make it look realistic.

I decided to stamp and color a couple of the images on white card stock. I then fuzzy-cut the images and gathered my card supplies but when it came to putting the card together I was just stumped! I made one mistake after another.  I just couldn’t get creative! I left it alone for a few days and decided to look at Chi-Chi’s old photographs! For some reason, I had a light-bulb moment and got my crafty mojo back. I started with a simple card below, but then since I had all the other images already cut and colored, the ideas just kept coming. I guess it’s obvious since this is the very first time I actually have 4 card samples and one Doggie Treat bag for the launch.   You can tell I had so much fun playing around with the stamp images, I used a lot of my dies to “dress-up” the dogs.

I am not going to list all of the dies that I used for the cards because I would like to eventually post a YouTube video showing you how I made some of the cards, as well as the doggie treat bag.

Please let me know what you think about the cards or if you would like to see a tutorial for any of the cards I’ve shown today. Which one is your favorite? To order your sets, here is the link to the toy dogs stamp set: http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com/jessicalynnoriginal-akc…/ and the link to the working breed stamp set: http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com/jessicalynnoriginal-akc…/

Have a great weekend and happy crafting!

Created by Maria Russell for http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com
Processed with Moldiv
Birthday Pop-Up Card by Maria Russell for http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com
Created by Maria Russell for http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com
Processed with Moldiv
Created by Maria Russell for http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com
Doggie Treat Bag Created by Maria Russell for http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com

UFO Brentwood Owl Stamp Set Release

| marialrussell

Today I am featuring two cards that I created using the new Stamp Set by http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com called the “UFO Brentwood Owl”. I am super excited to share these cards with you today because I absolutely love the images that Jessica created for this set. If you would like to win this stamp set, please head on over and leave a comment on Jessica’s Blog post (http://jessicalynnoriginalstamps.blogspot.com). Jessica will choose a random winner and she will announce it on her Blog, so please stay tuned for that.

To start, this stamp set reminds me of my love for the 90’s TV show, “Roswell”. My children and I were addicted to Roswell, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer – two famous TV shows at the time when my children were still young. Since we live overseas, I always pre-recorded the shows so that after homework and dinner, the kids and I will have some quality time together watching the show. We even listened to the Roswell soundtrack in my car while I drove them to school.

The first card below is a side-step card. I always love creating interactive cards, and I thought that Brentwood needed to have more space so that I can highlight each of the stamp images in their own way, without it getting “lost”. I think I was able to capture this sense by making a farm-scene at night with the moon shining in the background.

I first colored Brentwood and the UFO images with my Copics. Then I put glossy accents on Brentwood’s helmet to achieve the look of glass, and make it look more realistic. While waiting for the glossy accents to dry, I then stamped the other images using some of the stamps I already have in my stash and preceded to die-cut the pieces. Once I had everything laid out, it was really easy to put the card together. I added stickles to the moon and the UFO beam to make it stand out a little.

Processed with Moldiv
Created by Maria Russell for http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com

The second card below is very patriotic. With the 4th of July coming up, I think this is a perfect project to make in time for our Independence Day. My original idea was to create a scene where Brentwood was holding the USA flag landing on the moon, but one of our design team members already made a card using a similar design. I was in Germany and Lithuania for a week and only came back yesterday, so I was a bit late creating these cards. However, I still wanted to create a scene in space, so I decided to create a shaker card. Brentwood is holding the USA flag, but with the UFO, stars confetti, blue and red seed beads as the shaker material. I also added glossy accents to Brentwood’s helmet but unfortunately it didn’t show through the photo.  I had so much fun creating this card. What do you guys think? I will post a tutorial on my YouTube channel for these two cards.

Processed with Moldiv
Created by Maria Russell for http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com

Thank you so much for stopping by and have an amazing weekend!

Start of the Summer Design Team Showcase Featuring Brentwood at the Beach – Win a Prize!

| marialrussell

JessicaLynnOriginalDTLogo

Hello and Welcome to the Start of the Summer Design Team Showcase Blog Hop created by the JessicaLynnOriginal June 2015 – January 2016 Design Team! I am pleased to announce that I am one of the designers for JessicaLynnOriginal.Com.

Today we are featuring projects using the Brentwood at the Beach Digi Stamp that really showcase and introduce our talented design team members! This fun stamp captures that summer vacation and can be used in many ways. This card kind of reminds me of my son when we were on a holiday in The Maldives. He loves surfing and scuba diving but most importantly, he loves to just hang out by the shore, collect shells and play with hermit crabs. Put your feet up and grab a cool drink to sip as you travel along the hop, getting inspired by the different takes from each of our designers. If you are coming from Jessica’s blog, then you’re in the right place.

Here is the card:

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If you’d like to see a video on how I created this card please watch it here:

This digi-stamp is available free for download today (May 23, 2015 at 0800 CST) so please hurry and check out the website (http://www.jessicalynnoriginal.com/free-digital-brentwood-owl-summertime-fun-stamp-2015/). While you’re there, please check out the other stamps available for purchase as well. My favorite is the Brentwood Owl.

Supplies I’ve used:

Brentwood at the Beach Digital Stamp
Card base – Light Blue Card Stock (8 1/2 by 5 1/2, scored at 4 1/4)
Dark Blue Card Stock – 4 1/4 by 5 1/2 to create the water background
Tan Colored Card Stock – Used to die-cut and create the “Sand”
Designer Series Paper – Used to cut the Surf Board
Orange Card Stock – used to die-cut the umbrella
Dies – Umbrella Die, Stitched hillside border die, feather framelits
Copic Markers Used for the Owl ~ E25 and E35 blended with Dark Chocolate Brown Alcohol Marker (main body). I also used R000 and B00 for the eyes.
The shorts were colored using Coastal Cabana Alcohol Markers.
Copic Markers Used for the Starfish – R24 and R29
Copic Marker Used for the Coconut – G05
Hologram Shell Stickers

Win a prize! Please let me know what you think in the comments below. Comment on each of the blogs in the hop and you will be eligible to win a $25 gift certificate towards anything at JessicaLynnOriginal.com! After the hop, Jessica will randomly select a winner and announce the lucky person on her blog on Sunday, May 24th. Here is the link to Jessica’s Blog ~ http://jessicalynnoriginalstamps.blogspot.com.

Next on the hop is Vickie Yearly ~ http://stuffbyvickie.blogspot.com/2015/05/welcome-to-start-of-summer-blog-hop.html blog!

If you got lost along the way, or if a link doesn’t work, please click here to see the link for everyone’s Blog (http://jessicalynnoriginalstamps.blogspot.com/2012/05/got-lost-along-this-hop.html)

Thanks for stopping by! Happy crafting!

Some Bunny Loves You

| marialrussell

My creativity mojo is visiting today so I decided to take advantage and create this card using my cute stamp set from Lawn Fawn called Snow Day. This stamp set is so versatile and is just not meant for winter or Valentine-themed card. You can also use this for your spring-themed cards, or create a “Just-Because” card like this one.

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The idea to make this card actually came to me while my daughter and I were having our little heart-to-heart talks. She is currently visiting for two weeks during her school break. I am really enjoying our time together. During one of our talks, I realized that the shy, little girl I once drove to school every day, has now turned into this beautiful, intelligent, amazing woman. It’s actually making me a bit emotional just writing this Blog, LOL! Wait, where was I going with this? Oh, right! During one of our “talks”, she mentioned to me that her boyfriend calls her “Bunny”. I don’t know about you but I think sometimes we, as crafters, get our crafting ideas out of the blue. I even have them while I’m in bed trying to get some sleep (note to self: put a little notebook by the bed stand). I thought about the stamp set that I recently purchased from Lawn Fawn and started crafting today.

My daughter’s favorite color is purple. I wanted this ‘just because” card to look really subtle but sweet at the same time. I think I’ve achieved this by combining the pinks and the lilac with a soft mint-green and a darker aquamarine ink to create the trees in the background. What do you guys think?

I hope I somehow inspired you to get your creative juices flowing and start crafting. Here’s to a great weekend!

Valentine Pop-Up Card Tutorial

| marialrussell

If you would like to order the products shown on this video and avail the discounted rate through a demonstrator website (also earn some stampin’ rewards and free stuff), please click on the link above.

The tutorial on this video is just to show you how to create an A2 size Pop-Up card that fits in a regular A2 envelope; but you can decorate it according to your own taste and style.   The possibilities are endless!

Materials used:

Main card — Card Stock is cut at 9 inches by 5 ½ inches
(on the 9 inches side — score your card stock at 2 1/8, 4 ¼, 6 3/8 and 8 ½
(on the 5 ½ inches side — score your card stock at 2 ¾ inches)

Tabs in the middle of the card:

Card stock cut at 3 1/8 by 3 1/8 score at ½ inch and 2 5/8 — (We will cut this in half as I showed on the video to create the middle tabs in the card and these will hold your decoration).

Fold the scored tabs and put sticky strip and insert and adhere to your basic card.

Mini Glue Dots (Item No. 103683)

Sticky Strip

Acetate sheets

I hope you enjoyed this video. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message.. Craft with your loved ones and create some memories. Happy crafting!

French Maid Minion Card – A Blooms and Butterflies Color Challenge No. 22

Video | | marialrussell

The Blooms & Butterflies Team was given a task to create a card using the colors Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray and Daffodil Delight. It is indeed very challenging. I have made a Minion Card before and it is my most pinned creation on Pinterest. I thought the color combination will be perfect to create a French Maid Minion Card. So here it is.  I have made some adjustments to the card.  I noticed on the photo that the glue dots were showing a little bit so I managed to tuck it in, and also fixed the Minion’s hair so it doesn’t show.

Materials used:

Basic Black Card Stock (Item No. 121045)
Basic Gray Card Stock (Item No. 121044)
Smoky Slate Card Stock (Item No. 131202)
Daffodil Delight Card Stock (Item No. 119683)
Whisper White Card Stock (Item No. 100730)
Soft Suede Card Stock (Item No. 115318)
Window Sheets (Item No. 114323)
Signo White Gel Pen (Item No. 105021)
1 3/4 Circle punch (Item No. 119850)
1 3/8 Circle Punch punch (Item No. 119860)
1 inch Circle punch (Item No. 119868)
Edgelits — Adorning Accents (Item No. 125595)
Banners Framelits Dies (Item No. 132173)
Love You to the Moon Stamp Set (Item No. 133143)
Designer Series Faceted Buttons (Item No. 127555)
Stampin Dimensionals (Item No. 104430)
Mini Glue Dots (Item No. 103683)
Stampin Trimmer (Item No. 126889)
Round Plate to trace the round edge of the card

I hope you enjoyed this video. If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message.. Craft with your loved ones and create some memories. Happy crafting!