Thursday, April 23, 2015

PTI April Blog Hop

The PTI blog hop theme this month is so dreamy.... Navy blue and pink, hobnail, navy and white stripes, flowers.... A tablescape after my own preppy, hobnail-loving heart. I had about 5 cards sketched out, but limited myself to two since we can only enter once.

My first card utilizes the darling frames from Betsy Veldman, as well as her Bitty Bouquets and Graceful Greetings. I stamped the florals in Raspberry Fizz, Hibiscus Burst, and Angel Pink  by memento. The greens were Spring Moss and Tropical Teal. I embossed the white  panel behind the frame with my Swiss Dots embossing folder on linen card stock, channeling the lovely hobnail vase in the inspiration photo. Some gold Wink of Stella finished off the flower centers.

My second card showcases Brushed Blooms and Graceful Greetings, with the horizontal stripes cover plate in Enchanted Evening. I die cut the flowers out of watercolor card stock and added some extra shading with my watercolor brush. The oval panel with the greeting was stamped and heat embossed with the Limitless Labels stamp set... First time I've ever used it! I'm in love with both cards, but I really really love the second.

Hope you all enjoyed them! I'd love it if you followed my blog and/or followed me on Instagram. My name is eamidgett.

Thank you for visiting, and happy blog hopping, friends!

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Fabergé fake out

So I have seen gold heat embossing with watercolor or Copic coloring a lot lately on Instagram and Pinterest. So gorgeous. Reminds me of Fabergé eggs and Russian royalty before the revolution and Anna Karenina and just... luxury.

I  combined the beautiful gold embossing powder with some lovely pastel distress markers and a wplus9 stamp set and some water to create this A2 panel. It came out much better than I had anticipated... I initially was just playing around, but I liked my practice sheet enough to make a card out of it. Looking at it now, I would have done something different with the sentiment, but everything is glued down now. C'est la vie.

The stamp is just the large cluster from Botanical something-or-other from wplus9 stamped multiple times across the watercolor paper. I used regal gold embossing powder from ranger. Distress inks were tumbled glass, worn lipstick, spun sugar, seedless preserves, shaded lilac, and I can't remember the green off the top of my head. The die cuts were from Simon Says Stamp cut from gold foil card stock from Bazzill.

I hope you enjoyed this card! I would love it if you became a follower, either here and/or on Instagram. My name is eamidgett. :)

Thanks for dropping by, friends! Have a fabulous day!

Saturday, April 18, 2015

More watercolor...

So, if you don't like watercolor, you probably should ignore most of my posts for the next few days... Weeks.... Who knows how long this obsession will last...  I have some Distress Markers headed to me that are scheduled to arrive on Monday, so prepare yourselves for lots of watercolor elephants, bunnies, deer, flowers, berries, etc. :) sorry, not sorry!

Today I have a watercolor berry card for your viewing ... Pleasure(?) At least I hope it's your viewing pleasure. I used my PTI Strawberry Patch kit and an Echo Park die set to create this card. I only had 5 distress markers when I made this card, so I had to work with what I had. I think it turned out pretty well, despite my limited supplies!

In other news, I (anxiously) took a box of cards to a local coffee shop to ask if she would be interested in selling them for me. Thank goodness for my self esteem she said yes! In the words of George McFly, I just don't think I could take that kind of rejection. My mom, hubby, and friends are encouraging me to take them to the florist next. Now to work up the courage to do so....

Hope you guys enjoyed this card!! I'd love it if you would follow me here and/or on Instagram. My name is eamidgett.

Have a fabulous day, friends!

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Watercolor bunnies

So, I'm the type of crafter who, when I get an idea or technique in my head, I can't get it out until I have created said idea or used the technique. It's both a blessing and a curse, because while I'm rarely short on ideas, sometimes I have too many to concentrate on one, (so I make none) or else I get stuck in a technique rut. (Exhibit A- My shaker card rut)

My current idée fixe is watercolor. There is something about the soft colors and subtle shading that is extremely appealing to me at the moment. That said, I'm not very good at it. I think it's partially a lack of research on technique and the proper tools for what I want to do, and partially that I just need to practice. I purchased some Akashiya Sai watercolor markers after watching a video from Kristina Werner during which she uses the markers to watercolor a darling little momma bear and baby bear. What I did not realize was that the colors of the marker set I ordered were very vivid and bright. After playing with them, I found that I was after a much more subtle color-washed look, as opposed to deep, vivid colors.

This card was one of my first attempts. It's not exactly the idea I had in my head, but it was good enough that I thought I'd make a card out of it. The stamps are Storybook by Avery Elle. Patterned paper is from Teresa Collins. I have ordered some Distress Markers, and I think I will attempt to recreate this card in much more subtle colors after a bit od practice.

Thanks for dropping in, friends! I'd love it if you became a subscriber and/or followed me on Instagram. My name is eamidgett.

Have a fabulous day!

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

You're so punny...

Puns. I'm not normally a fan. I just can't pull them off. Check back with me in a couple years when I have toddlers who will love them, but for right now, I'm just dipping my toe in the punny pool.

The PTI set "On the Farm" has some cute sentiments, not too horribly punny, but pretty darn  cute. I found this "howdy" die from Frantic Stamper and thought it would be perfect for this sentiment. I hadn't had a good idea to use the bandana cover plate die from the County Fair make it market kit from last summer until I saw this howdy die... I think it's a pretty good match!

Flowers and flourishes are normally my forte. I'm still working on getting better at more kid-friendly cards, so hopefully by the time my kiddos understand stuff like this, I will be proficient at them! (What a thing to have to practice, oy.)

Anyway, thanks for visiting! I'd love it if you became a subscriber and/or followed me on Instagram. My name is eamidgett.

Have a fabulous day, friends!

Friday, April 10, 2015

Tons of peonies.

So how do you say the word "peony"? Do you say it pee-uh-nee? Or do you say it pie-nee? My husband's grandmother used to tease me about the high-falutin' way I pronounced each syllable in the word.... She was a country girl, through and through, so perhaps that made the difference?

That little anecdote leads me to my post today: I have a little duo of thank you cards made with The Ton Stamps' "Fresh Cut Peonies."   I follow a baker from Jakarta on Instagram, goes by the name of ivenoven, and she makes and decorates the most stunning cakes. They are mostly floral, so right up my alley, and she posted a cake made with pink florals on a chocolate buttercream-frosted cake the other day. It so inspired me that I had to create something with the gorgeous colors.

The first thank you is fairly simple in concept: dark chocolate background, deep, gorgeous pink peonies, bright green leaves, heat embossed sentiment. I used Memento Angel Pink, Hero Arts Ultra Pink, and wplus9 Sweet Gelato inks for the peonies, and Limeade Ice and New Leaf from PTI for the leaves (from an altenew set). I stamped ten or so of the flowers using my handy dandy MISTI, then fussy cut them all (no fun!). The Liquid Platinum heat embossed sentiment is from The Ton's Thanks a Bunch.

I had several peonies left over, and my sequins and fun foam were calling my name, so I made yet another shaker card. (Someone needs to stop me!!) The shaker card is fairly straightforward, as well. I used sequins from a variety of sources: The Ton, Pretty Pink Posh, Simon Says Stamp, etc... As well as some seed beads from my stash.

Hope you enjoyed these cards! I am kind of in love with them.

Thanks for dropping by, friends!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Eat More Cupcakes.

Shaker cards have become my new obsession. Like, seriously, I can't stop making them. (And goodness knows I have acquired plenty of sequins to make a shaker card for every person I know...)

I'm normally a pretty muted, pastel-y crafter, but for some reason oranges and pinks are really calling to me lately. And cupcakes... Well you can't ever have enough cupcakes.

Sentiment is from Verve, dies are from Shakers and Sprinkles kit, and the cupcake is from the Party Pops kit. Colors are Summer Sunrise and Hibiscus Burst from PTI. I used fun foam to create the dimension for the shaker. The sequins are from a variety of places: Pretty Pink Posh, Hobby Lobby, and some beads from my stash that I've had for a loooong time. I used Delicata gold ink for the little sun bursts and the cupcake liner. (Tip: if you aren't using the dies for the Party Pops set to guide your stamp placement for the cupcake, stamp the liner first, then the frosting. It will ensure that you get straight placement on your card stock!) 

Thanks for visiting, friends! I'd love it if you would follow me here and/or on Instagram. My name is eamidgett.

Have a fabulous day!

I'm baaaaack.....

So.... Hi there!

Been two years. Yeah, I know. I have a good excuse; my last post was when I was eight weeks pregnant.... With twins....

So yeah, I've been busy.

I am now enjoying all of the benefits of naptime, which equals lots of cards to blog!  This one was made for the Papertrey Ink Make It Monday. I played with my new Make It Market Party Pops kit and created an ombre cupcake card. Loving this kit! So playful and fun, but still an element of sophistication! Can't wait to dig into it more and really learn the interactive elements.

Hope you all like it! Thank you for visiting my blog... I'd love it if you would follow me on here and/or Instagram. My name is eamidgett.

Have a fabulous day, friends!