Christmas in July Hop with Ellen Hutson

     

Hello, and welcome to the Christmas In July blog hop with the Ellen Hutson team! I'm really not sure how it can be halfway to Christmas already (maybe this will be the year I finally complete a December Daily?!?) but before all the new Christmas sets are released, we thought it would be fun to share a Christmas card using one of the existing Essentials by Ellen sets.

You may have come from Adelina Starace, but if not feel free to start at the beginning withTherese Calvird.

The card I made is a very specific card, intended for a very special person ... the person with the very important job of "facilitating" Santa's visit every year! What a guy he is, right?!

Since his work is all done at night, the Big City die cut from black cardstock came in handy to help set the mood. After blending a few of the purple inks to make a dusky sky, I sprinkled a few drops of white acrylic paint on the background for the snow falling. It always amazes me how the sentiments included in stamp sets always seem to work out for your specific need, and this was no exception. The Leading Gentleman stamp set has the "What a Guy" sentiment that I embossed in gold.

From Bear Ware 2 I was able to use the Santa hat (a tad snug on his head, but still fits). The fake beard and mustache were already part of the Leading Gentleman's accessories, so that ended up working out just perfectly! I often like to include little details on a card, and this time I personalized his pocket (although now I'm thinking I need to add a "C" for Claus). 

 

I tried emphasizing the belly (which has possibly been enhanced by a pillow) by using a much darker shade of red for a shadow on his pants. No boots for this guy, but I colored his shoes all black. And finally I added the tiny "merry christmas" from Bear Ware 2.

So there you have it; first Christmas card of the year ... done!

Great news, we are having a sale in conjunction with our Christmas in July celebration! Take 25% off select items now through Saturday the 28th!

PRIZES:

We've also got prizes, naturally! One random & lucky commenter will win $25 to the EH shop! To enter for a chance to win, make sure to leave comments at each stop along the hop. Comment before Wednesday, July 31st at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be notified by email.

Your next stop on this hop is the absolutely wonderful Michele Ferguson who is just as lovely and hilarious in person as she is on-line! Ho Ho Ho!!  

Thanks for stopping by!!
-Kelly

 Supplies Used (affiliate links, thanks so much for your support!!):

Bed Of Roses by Julie Ebersole, Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies (Retiring) Leading Ladies - Leading Gentleman By Brandi Kincaid, Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps Leading Ladies - Leading Gentleman By Brandi Kincaid, Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies Big City by Julie Ebersole, Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies Bear Ware 2 by Julie Ebersole, Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps Bear Ware 2 by Julie Ebersole, Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies Life Changing Blender Brush - 4 Piece Broad, Picket Fence Studios (LCB-4) Black Jack, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Suede Shoes, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Flirty Fuchsia, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Juniper Mist, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Queen For A Day, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Teflon Bone Folder, Essentials by Ellen My Sweet Petunia Mini MISTI Laser Etched Stamping Tool (6-1/8 X 7)

National Ice Cream Day Blog Hop - Ellen Hutson and Catherine Pooler

I'm very happy to participate in a hop celebrating a topic that is near and dear to my heart ... Ice Cream!! Seriously, I have the largest sweet tooth ever. I'm a dessert-before-the-meal type person. We have McDonald's soft serve cones weekly during the summer, as well as treats from the local ice cream shop. Today on the way home from my oldest son's baseball tournament we stopped for ice cream and I saw the strangest of all flavors I've ever heard of .... Play Doh!

Of course I had to try it. So what does Play Doh ice cream taste like? It's a sweet base with chunks that have the same texture as cookie dough, but without the taste. So you kind of feel like you're eating dough, but it's tasting incredibly good! Such an odd experience, but I totally want to go back for more!

Anyway, a very warm (or cool) welcome to the Ellen Hutson and Catherine Pooler blog hop celebrating national ice cream day! You may have come from the lovely Jen Carter, but if not please feel free to start at the beginning with Adelina Starace.

Given my ice cream passion, I've created THREE cards for today! All three are ice cream birthday cards, and all use the same three stamp sets:

• Catherine Pooler I Scream, You Scream
• Essentials by Ellen Little Lady or Little Gentleman
• Essentials by Ellen  Totally Random Sayings, Vol. 2

First up is an adorable birthday card for a boy. Love the bunting on top from the I Scream set, and love how the sentiment from that same set actually fits perfectly into the banner from the Little Gentleman set! How "cool" is that?! Those cute little stars around his feet are also from the I Scream die set. 

I was also happy about how the ice cream cone fits so well into the Little Gentleman's die cut hand, and how it's oversized just enough to call attention to it. Love, love, love!!

My second card is a girl birthday card, and this one features a RAINBOW ice cream cone ... YUMMM!!! Because I wanted that to really stand out, I left the remaining images on the card uncolored for contrast. Also loved being able to use the adjective "sweetest" from Totally Random Sayings to fit wit my ice cream theme.

Since I didn't get to color in the fun ice cream truck on my second card, I just had to make a third card. It's just TOO CUTE!!

Love the little music notes from the I Scream set to really bring my ice cream truck to life. And again the stars for accents.

Here they all are together! So many different ways to use these sets!

PRIZES: 

We've got fun prizes!!! We are giving away $25 to the EH shop and $25 to the Catherine Pooler shop! To enter for a chance to win, make sure to leave comments at each stop along the hop! Two random & lucky commenters will win! Comment before Sunday, July 28th at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be notified by email.

Your next stop is the fabulous Karen Baker!!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a SWEET day!!
-Kelly


Supplies Used (including affiliate links; thanks so much for your support!!!):

I Scream You Scream, Catherine Pooler Clear Stamps I Scream You Scream, Catherine Pooler Dies Leading Ladies - Little Gentleman by Brandi Kincaid, Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps Leading Ladies - Little Gentleman by Brandi Kincaid, Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies Leading Ladies - Little Lady By Brandi Kincaid, Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps Leading Ladies - Little Lady By Brandi Kincaid, Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies Totally Random Sayings Vol. 2 by Julie Ebersole, Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps Painted Stripes by Julie Ebersole, Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps Bed Of Roses by Julie Ebersole, Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies (Retiring) Life Changing Blender Brush - 4 Piece Broad, Picket Fence Studios (LCB-4) Mint To Be, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Lemongrass, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Green Tea, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Juniper Mist, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Aquatini, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Queen For A Day, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Party Dress, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Black Jack, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Teflon Bone Folder, Essentials by Ellen My Sweet Petunia Mini MISTI Laser Etched Stamping Tool (6-1/8 X 7)

Essentials By Ellen July Release Blog Hop - Interactive Submarine

Hello, and welcome to the Essentials By Ellen (EBE) July Release Blog Hop! We're pretty excited that all the new EBE stamp and die sets you may have seen on Instagram this week are finally available to hop into your shopping cart! You may have come from my dear friend Ardyth's blog, but if not feel free to start at the beginning with Adelina

My absolute favorite from this release is the Subbing In set (with coordinating dies) by Brandi Kincaid. It's got the cutest little ocean critters that you can use to build a detailed under-the-sea scene with. The jellyfish in the window of the sub kills me! You get a few corals, some fish, critters, punny sentiments, and of course this adorable submarine. On the bottom of the sea floor I used another new set of dies, the Wave Dies.

To supplement some of the ocean scene, I used the seaweed from Otter Ware, and the tiny school of fish from S'Whale. Love how these sets are all compatible. You might be able to tell from the slight glare on the submarine windows, but I cut out the center of the windows and backed them with some clear acetate.

Because I wanted to make this card interactive, and because I wanted the submarine to appear to be diving down to greater depths in the ocean, I selected a wavy track from the Swing N Slide die set. It really gives the sub a fun motion! Would you like to see?

The cartoonish style of this sub fits with the cartoonish movement of its diving … perfect match!

PRIZES: 

We've got super fun prizes!!! One random & lucky commenter will win $25 to the EH shop and one will win the whole July Essentials by Ellen release!!! To enter for a chance to win, make sure to leave comments at each stop along the hop! Comment before Thursday, July 18th at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be notified by email.

I'm happy to send you to the blog of another dear friend of mine, Michele, who I'm sure has something totally creative and clever to share with you! 

Thanks for stopping by!
Kelly



Product List: (affiliate links are used, at no additional cost to you. thanks for your support!)

Swing N Slide By Julie Ebersole, Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Otter Ware By Julie Ebersole, Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps S'Whale by Julie Ebersole, Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps Aquatini, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Mint To Be, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Green Tea, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad Black Jack, Catherine Pooler Ink Pad 36 Pan Set, Altenew Watercolor Paint