Shaker Holiday Tag! (Little Tangles Challenge)

Hey everyone!

Thanks for coming back for another Neat and Tangled Little Tangles challenge!

Our challenge this week is was Tags and boy did an idea pop into my head right away for this one! I have been loving shaker cards and wanted to create a smaller version for a tag! 

The Tiny Triangles die was just perfect for this tag! I used the die with some DCWV glitter paper to create the front and matted it on My Favorite Things dark grey cardstock. I then adhered the plastic onto the back of those.  I have a random deer die that I got from a friend and thought he'd look perfect on the card with a twine bow! I then threw some red, white, and green seed beads in the shaker box and put some Neenah cardstock on the back! The tie for the tag was sandwiched between the foam tape and the back cardstock!

I hope you will join us over at the Little Tangles challenge blog and submit a card for the challenge!

Please submit your card HERE.  The winner will receive a Neat and Tangled stamp set of their choice- for more details please visit the Little Tangles blog! 

Little Tangles Challenge: Thankful

Hey everyone!

Thanks for coming back for another Neat and Tangled Little Tangles challenge!

Our challenge this week is "Thankful" and while I am a holiday addict starting November 1st, I wanted to steer away from traditional autumn colors for this challenge.

I started by using the Paris stamp set to create the flowers that encase the sentiment.  I used copics to color in the flowers and add a pop of color to the card.  The sentiment is from the Dala Horse stamp set and was stamped with black Hero Arts ink. 

I hope you will join us over at the Little Tangles challenge blog and submit a card for the challenge!

Please submit your card HERE.  The winner will receive a Neat and Tangled stamp set of their choice- for more details please visit the Little Tangles blog! 

Little Tangles Challenge: Paper Piecing!

Hey everyone!

Thanks for coming back for another Neat and Tangled Little Tangles challenge! 

I have to admit, when I saw our challenge for this month, I felt a little out of my league.  I like clean and simple and, to me, paper piecing felt very intimidating. I know there are many ways to do this technique, but here is what I created!

For this card, I used the Heart of Gold die with two colors of paper, gold glitter, and a coral/red. I decided I liked the look of the gold outline so I pieced the red pieces back into the die. To help keep everything down, I put adhesive down onto white cardstock and placed the outline down.  Then I placed the inside pieces down and it was together for me to then play around with it so I can move it around before I place it down permanently. The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp and of course I finished it off with a few Neat and Tangled sequins!!

I hope you will join us over at the Little Tangles challenge blog and submit a card for the challenge!

Please submit your card HERE.  The winner will receive a Neat and Tangled stamp set of their choice- for more details please visit the Little Tangles blog! 

Little Tangles Challenge: Gold and Mint

Hey everyone!

Thanks for coming back for another Neat and Tangled Little Tangles challenge! I absolutely loved our color combo challenge this week!

Gold and mint! 

I mean look at this color combo! Isn't it gorgeous?!

For this moths card, I used the All My Heart stamp stamped on vellum to create a banner.  The gold striped background is actually from a Teresa Collins gold foil 6x6 paper pad (no longer available unfortunately). The mint heart paper is from Lawn Fawn and I cut it using this stitched circle die. 

I hope you will join us over at the Little Tangles challenge blog and submit a card for the challenge!

Please submit your card HERE.  The winner will receive a Neat and Tangled stamp set of their choice- for more details please visit the Little Tangles blog! 

Little Tangles: Birthday Challenge

Welcome to another Neat and Tangled Little Tangles challenge! This week our challenge is birthday cards! 

Here is what I created:

For the card, I used the Punchinella Stamp with white embossing powder and rubbed distress inks over it.  For the sentiment, I kept it simple with the  and Everyday Circles set and used a circle punch to punch out "Happy". I used foam underneath the background to give it some dimension and adhered the sentiment directly on top.

I hope you will join us over at the Little Tangles challenge blog and submit a card for the challenge!

Please submit your card HERE.  The winner will receive a Neat and Tangled stamp set of their choice- for more details please visit the Little Tangles blog! 

Plan It Out Loud

Welcome back everyone! This past month has been a busy one and I can't wait show you what I've been up to! 

About a month ago I decided to open up an Etsy shop! What am I selling you ask? I'm selling custom made stickers for planners!  You can find my shop HERE. 

Some of you might be saying "Huh? Why don't you just use your phone?" Well, I am a big fan of paper planners- I love the satisfaction of crossing things off of to-do lists.  Seeing the week laid out and just glancing at it is so much easier than my phone.  I also really enjoy being crafty and I can  make a paper planner my own by decorating it and creating my own layouts week to week.  

I am using the Erin Condren planner and really love the layout! Here are a few looks into my planner and the stickers I offer! 

All Star week in Cincy! 

Here is the Tribal set that can be found HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Here are a few others designs I have up in the shop! 

If you're a planner nerd like me hop on over and visit Plan It Out Loud on Etsy! 

Do you use a paper planner? If so, what kind of planner do you use? 

Little Tangles: Die Cutting

Welcome to another Neat and Tangled Little Tangles challenge! This week we are focusing on die cutting! 

Here is what I created:

For the card, I used the A Lot to Say and Tiny Triangles dies.  I used distress inks on the Tiny Triangles die cut piece and the speech bubble was cut from some scrap patterned paper.  Then I cut a velum and stamped my greeting from the Paper Cut Flowers stamp set.  To finish the card off I used some Summer Sky sequins.

I hope you will join us over at the Little Tangles challenge blog and submit a card for the challenge!

Please submit your card HERE.  The winner will receive a Neat and Tangled stamp set of their choice- for more details please visit the Little Tangles blog! 

Little Tangles Challenge: Sketch

Welcome to another Neat and Tangled Little Tangles challenge! This week we have a sketch for inspiration!

Here is what I created with the sketch as my inspiration! 

For the card, I used the scalloped stamp from the On the Edge Stamp Set and stamped it twice with My Favorite Things Tropical Teal ink.  Then I cut a piece of gold foil paper to fit between the two stamped images and raised it up with fun foam.  For the sentiment (from the Sparkle and Shine stamp set) I used Ranger Gold Tinsel embossing powder for an extra pop of sparkle.  To finish the card off I used some star sequins.

Here is a closer look at the sparkle from the embossing powder- the camera does not do it justice for just how sparkly it really is!

I hope you will join us over at the Little Tangles challenge blog and submit a card for the challenge!

Please submit your card HERE.  The winner will receive a Neat and Tangled stamp set of their choice- for more details please visit the Little Tangles blog! 

Little Tangles Challenge: Clean and Simple

This week is another awesome Neat and Tangled Little Tangles challenge! 

I created a couple cards for the challenge this month because I am a huge fan of clean and simple cards. 

For both cards I used the Kindness Matters stamp set with Memento Ink in black and then colored in the hearts with Copics.  I matted the white cardstock pieces (Neenah) onto gray and black cardstock and adhered them onto the card fronts. 

I hope you will join us over at the Little Tangles challenge blog and submit a card for the challenge!

Please submit your card HERE.  The winner will receive a Neat and Tangled stamp set of their choice- for more details please visit the Little Tangles blog! 

Hugs

I'm a big fan of simple cards.

Too many techniques or techniques that are time consuming just don't appeal to me.

Today I want to share a card that I made using the new Lawn Fawn Hugs die. I stamped the background with Impression Obsession Cling Star Stamp and cut the die out of glitter paper. To ground the sentiment I cut some strips of black and teal and slanted them on the card.  Star sequins helped finish off the card.

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.  This week I said goodbye to Kira, my German Shepherd.  I had her for 12 years and she was the sweetest dog I've ever known.  She never met a person she didn't like and brought joy to my family's life.  She had bone cancer that was not responding to treatment and we knew it was time help ease her pain.  While it was so hard to say goodbye, I know she is in a better place and pain free.  I will miss her more than words can express.

I will be back next week with a new Little Tangles Challenge post. 

Do you like clean and simple cards or are you more of a technique heavy card maker?

Watercolor

Welcome back everyone! Sorry for the short break on my blog, I've been finishing up my Master's degree and then yesterday my computer went and completely died. Let's just say it's been a hectic week! 

This week I have two cards that I created using the Peerless Watercolors.  I absolutely love these watercolors and they are super easy to use- which is good because I am not really great at watercolor! 

These cards also used the Hand Lettered Encouragement stamp set from Simon Says Stamp- I LOVE this set! I also used the Simon Says Stamp Stitched Squares Die on the orange and pink card and I cut one edge off so it is only stitched on three sides.  Then I placed the unstitched side right up against the card edge.

I am really enjoying how simple yet colorful these cards are! 

Do you use watercolors on your cards? 

Little Tangles Challenge: Sequins

Welcome back everyone! Sorry for the short break- spring break interfered with posts (ok let's admit it- I didn't set one up before I went on spring break haha!).

This week is another fabulous Neat and Tangled Little Tangles challenge! 

Here is my card for the challenge! 

For this card, I used the new N&T box die on white Neenah paper.  Then, before I folded the box, I used Distress Ink in Seedless Preserves to color the box purple.  Then I folded it and glued it together with Multi Matte Medium.  I used the Crafting is my Jam stamp set to stamp "throw some" and "sequins" on the box.  I used some individual letter stamps to create the "make it rain" saying to finish off the cute saying from a Ke$ha song.  Finally, I used just about one of every Neat and Tangled Sequins with some more Multi Matte Medium to glue them down.

Well there's only one thing left for you to do... go forth, create, and join in the challenge! 

Please submit your card HERE.  The winner will receive a Neat and Tangled stamp set of their choice- for more details please visit the Little Tangles blog! 

Wine Not?

Drinking and card making... well they sometimes go together. This week I wanted to send a "pick me up card" to a friend and while there's nothing better than being there in person to drink some wine, a card with wine on it is the next best thing!

The Cocktail Hour Set by Simon Says Stamp was perfect for this! The set has the stamps, dies, and sayings all in one and I love that there are many different sayings so you can get lots of use out of this set!

I also used this stamp set on another blog post called "Cards for Guy's" which you can find HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Little Tangles- Anything Goes Challenge

Welcome back to my blog! This weeks Little Tangles card challenge is... drum roll please...

ANYTHING GOES!

Here is the card I created for this challenge.

I used the Punchinella stamp with Versamark ink and Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder by Ranger that has fantastic glitter sparkle to it.  Next, I stamped Thank You from the All My Heart stamp set on white paper and embossed it with Liquid Platinum embossing powder and used Distress Inks in Peacock Feathers and Pistachio to give it some color after cutting it out with a circle die.  It needed something else after that so I took white paper and matted the Punchinella piece on it after I used the Peacock Feathers Ink to customize the color to match. Then I matted that onto black cardstock and then onto a square white card.

Well there's only one thing left for you to do... go forth, create, and join in the challenge! 

Please submit your card HERE.  The winner will receive a Neat and Tangled stamp set of their choice- for more details please visit the Little Tangles blog! 

Sweet Birthday Wishes

Hello everyone! This week I received my order from Lawn Fawn and couldn't wait to play with all my goodies! This weeks card used the Lawn Fawn Baked with Love stamp set and its coordinating die set.

I also made a cute envelope to send the card in using some spare cardstock I had on hand.

Attention:

Suchi, you are the winner of my Neat and Tangled giveaway . Please contact me to receive your stamp set!

The Macaron Bar

Hello everyone! This past weekend I had a great opportunity to take a class on making macarons at Macaron Bar in Over the Rhine.  

I had always heard that macarons were the most difficult dessert to correctly bake, so I'm glad I waited to attempt them until this class.  I highly recommend signing up for a class when new classes open up (they are sold out through April right now- and I totally understand why). 

A few things about macarons you may or may not know:

- Macarons are different from macaroons

- Macaroons are a coconut cookie

-Macarons are a french cookie that has an almond cookie with filling

-The flavor of macarons comes almost entirely from the filling

-They are best if eaten the day after made: then the filling has time to infuse into the shells 

We had a class of 8 people (4 pairs) and one instructor.  The class was set up so the instructor would demonstrate the steps then we practiced on our own while he and an assistant observed our baking. 

First we made the meringue and folded it with almond powder and powdered sugar to create the cookies.  Each pair of students made a different color macaron and we all traded colors and shared our different colors.

While the cookies were baking, we created our ganaches to fill them with. Each pair did a different flavor (and traded and shared again) and we ended up with White Chocolate Rose, Dark Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, and Salted Caramel ganaches. YUM! 

Here is the finished product! Each group got to take home about 4 dozen macarons.  My personal favorite were the Salted Caramel ones! So yummy! 

These have just topped the charts as my favorite dessert!

What is your favorite dessert?

Valentine's Day Cards + Giveaway Winner

Welcome back! With Valentine's Day coming up, I wanted to share a few cards I came up with recently.  Keep reading for the giveaway winner below.

GIVEAWAY: 

The winner of last weeks Neat and Tangled Tiny Triangles Stamp Set is...

Suchi, please contact me to receive your stamp set! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Little Tangles: Watercolor + GIVEAWAY

I am really excited for this months Little Tangles card challenge!

Watercolor is one thing that I always watched other people do and thought "Man that looks easier than most techniques". Boy was I wrong, but I'm glad this challenge gave me the push I needed to keep trying watercolor until I achieved the look I wanted. 

All of these cards were made using Distress Inks as watercolors.  For this technique I just rubbed my ink pad on my craft mat, spritzed some water on the color, and painted with it. I had better luck with this technique than I did with actual watercolors.

I hope that this inspires you to create a card using watercolors! 

Please submit your card HERE.  The winner will receive a Neat and Tangled stamp set of their choice- for more details please visit the Little Tangles blog! 

GIVEAWAY: 

This week I am giving away the Neat and Tangled stamp set Tiny Triangles (seen below).  Enter to win by posting a comment on my blog below and let me know what your favorite go to technique is to use on a card. I will announce the winner on my blog next Thursday, February 12, 2015.  

Thanks for stopping by!

Products used: 

Origami Map stamp: HERE

Tiny Triangles stamp: HERE 

Thinking of You stamp: HERE

Sparkle and Shine stamp set: HERE