February Essentials By Ellen Release: Mondo Daisy

Hello Folks! I know all the Mondo flowers by Ellen Hutson are always super popular, but there is one being released TODAY that I'm especially fond of ... the Mondo Daisy! I'm not a master at using 20 different shades to color in a flower that has petals going in 20 different directions, so this flower is perfect for me to pick one shade to color with, or to even just leave it white!

Let's take a look ...

I love how with just a few shades of grey, you can "color" your typical white daisy.

I added some gold sequins in the center for some sparkle to this quiet card. 

The "friend" die cut is actually a bonus that comes with the die set for the daisy. You also get "hi".

This card highlights the darling little lady bug that also comes with the set! I put some glossy accents on her, naturally.

Isn't she cute?! The sentiment is actually a hybrid ... I took the "thank you for every little thing" and turned it into "hello little thing" because, well, the cute little lady bug! I thought this would make a really fun baby card, and something a little different.

I also chose to make the sentiment red to compliment this little fella. 

 

Going along with the white daisy theme, here's another card, featuring multiple daisies. 

This time I colored in the negative space between the daisies. I also made a mask for each daisy so I could spatter some paint onto the background. It reminds me of pollen floating in the air on a hot summer day (note to self: do not give to any allergy sufferers!!)

Now how about some COLOR?!

This card is actually the same as the last card, only flipped, and colored. 

What do you know, we found a lucky lady bug right in the center! I purposely put the lady bug right above the word "lucky."

On the side I have the "friend" die, going vertically. I didn't want to give it the attention it would take being horizontal, because I wanted the smaller sentiment to be the main thought. To further put it in the background, I chose to make it white, the same color as the background. I like having something there to take up the space, however. 

This card definitely has a lot more "stuff" on it than I usually include, but I do like it. It's somewhat scrapbookish, I think.

Finally, I thought I'd go all out and put three large gerbera daisy blooms on one card!

These flowers always have nice long stems, so I extended them with a felt tip pen. Hopefully, you can't even notice this, and they just look like long flower stamps.

The coloring was straightforward because each bloom is only one color. Just like in nature, for the most part. 

I liked adding the sentiment in gold. Why not, right? It's so loud as it is, a little gold isn't going to hurt it : )

Sure hope you liked the Mondo Gerbera Daisy just as much as I did! Stay tuned, I have more projects coming tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!
Kelly

Affiliate Links:

Mondo Gerbera Daisy by Julie Ebersole, Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps Mondo Gerbera Daisy by Julie Ebersole, Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies Letterboard Script 2, Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies Uni-ball Impact Gel Pen, White Catherine Pooler Ink Pad, Black Jack Catherine Pooler Reinker, Aquatini Altenew Watercolor Paint, 36 Pan Set Ranger Accents, Glossy Accents Brutus Monroe Ultra Fine Embossing Powder, Alabaster Dual Speed Heat Tool, WOW My Sweet Petunia Mini MISTI Laser Etched Stamping Tool (6-1/8 X 7) Sizzix Big Shot White & Gray We R Memory Keepers Basic Score Board

Altenew Winner!!

Hello Folks! Thanks so much for all your sweet comments from the Altenew Japanese Mum blog hop last week ... it was nice to read them all and I'm thankful for your time : ) 

I am pleased to announce the winner of the $20 Altenew gift certificate! The person who was randomly selected from the comments is:

MerrieFebruary 1, 2019 at 10:58 AM

Beautiful cards. Love the MoM card with the flower for the O. Thanks for sharing the tip on how to line up the layers. Started following your blog. Hope to get more great ideas.

Merrie, please contact me at griglion@ameritech.net and I'll send you the details on claiming your prize. Big congrats!!

Hope you are all staying warm and healthy this winter!
Kelly

Altenew Build-a-Flower: Japanese Mum Release Blog Hop + Giveaway

Hello Folks! I'm SUPER excited to participate in this blog hop for the newest Bulid-a-Flower release from Altenew, the Japanese Mum! You may have come from the blog of the lovely Reiko Tsuchida, but if not feel free to start at the beginning on the Altenew Card Blog.

 

I cannot even describe how much I LOVE the whole Build-a-Flower concept! I know coloring in all forms (pencils, markers, watercolor, etc.) is super popular now, but sometimes you're looking for a fool-proof way to have a colored flower without having to think about what to shade, where to shade, how to shade, how many different colors to use, etc. Not only do these Build-a-Flowers take all the guesswork out of coloring your flower, but once you have it all set up you can easily stamp many of these in a row, allowing you to show off nice, full bouquets of multiple flowers on your card.

Here's how I get the layers to line up perfectly ...

I start by penciling two perpendicular lines on a sheet of copy paper. Then I place the first layering stamp in the middle. I use a straight edge and an ultra fine tip permanent marker to make the same perpendicular lines on the back of the stamp, adding an arrow at the top so I know which direction to line the stamp up. Then I ink it up and stamp this first layer, taking care to make sure both lines match up.

I repeat the same process with the remaining layers.

For each new layer I carefully line it up on the stamped image, using this layering guide (also on the back of the package) as a reference.

Once I'm happy that it's in the correct place, I make two perpendicular lines on the back of the stamp (with the arrow pointing to the top) and stamp.

Now I'm ready to stamp multiple flowers! All I need to do is draw the two perpendicular lines on my cardstock and then line each stamp up.

I made a set of cards with three flowers, one of which I mounted on foam tape for some dimension. The leaves are not as involved, so I didn't bother making guidelines on those stamps. I just eyeballed the layers.

The background panel was made with one of my top two most-used stencils: Feeling Dotty. I sprayed some Antique Gold Metallic Ink Spray (which is on sale now!) through the stencil which was loosely laid over the paper. This allowed some of the bigger drops to puddle through, giving it it a less precise look. Having the gold metallic throughout the card really gives it a nice sparkle.

In the middle of the main mum I added pink sequins for some extra sparkle

For this card I just used three of the same colored flowers ... all picked from the same bush : )

The sentiments that I embossed in white on the black cardstock are from the Scribbled Flowers stamp set. Looking at all the mums in this photo reminds me how much I love the ease of getting perfectly lined up layers once I add my guidelines to the stamps.

One more card, this one started with my perpendicular lines right in the middle of the card base. Once I built up the layers in the center floral I got out my other most-used stencil: Elegant Swirls. With a circle placed over the Mum, I blended ink through the stencil, and then directly onto the card. This left a nice white circle, or "O" around the Mum.

I thought this would be the perfect Mother's Day card if I made the MUM into a "MOM" : ) Having large letters like the Classic Alphabet Dies would be ideal, but if you don't have those then just try the letters yourself with a marker!

Finished off with a sentiment from Scribbled Flowers across the design.

All this fun and I only used a few shades of pink for the mums. Can't wait to try out some different color combinations!

Subscription Plan
There is now a monthly subscription plan for the Build-A-Flower sets! When signed up, you are guaranteed a spot in the monthly Build-A-Flower releases (which often sell out) and will receive the stamp and coordinating die set at a specially discounted price ($35.00 →$29.99). See the Altenew site for further details.
 
Prizes:

To celebrate this release, Altenew is giving away a $30 gift certificate to 6 lucky winners! Please leave a comment on the Altenew Card Blog and/or Altenew Scrapbook Blog for a chance to win. Three winners will be announced on the Card Blog, and other three winners will be announced on the Scrapbook Blog on 2/9/2019.

My Giveaway:

The folks at Altenew have also generously provided a $20 gift certificate for one lucky follower/commenter on my blog! To be eligible, please 1) follow my blog and 2) leave a comment on this post before February 6th, 2019. I will announce the lucky winner on my blog on the 6th.

Your next stop on this hop is the Altenew Scrapbook Blog

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Enjoy all the wonderful inspiration from these amazing crafters!

Kelly


At no cost to you, affiliate links may be used.

If you get lost along the way, here is a complete list of the hop:

Altenew Card Blog 
Vicky Papaioannou 
Virginia Lu 
Kristina Pokazanieva

Zinia Redo

Rubeena Ianigro

Patricia Roebuck

Erum Tasneem 
Laura Jane
Reiko Tsuchida

Kelly Griglione <---you are here!

Altenew Scrapbook Blog

Laurie Willison

Seeka

Therese Calvird

Gayatri Murali

Emily Midgett

Svitlana Shayevich

Neat & Tangled January Guest Designer - Doily Die SIX Ways

Hi Folks! My final guest design post is up on the Neat & Tangled blog! I've been eyeing the gorgeous Doily Envelope Die for awhile now, thanks in part to the amazing Kate who uses it often to wrap her multi-dimensional creations, and have been so anxious to try it out.

For my final post I came up with SIX different ways to use this die (not including two bonus cards that I threw in)!  

I'm sharing all the details, tips and tricks on the Neat & Tangled blog, but I couldn't help but wanting to share a photo of each card here too.

1) Make an envelope, as it was intended. 

2) Make a square doily with the two large flaps.

3) Use the doily as a stencil.

This next card uses a similar technique of covering a portion of the card with the doily to use as a stencil and brush ink through. Since it's a similar idea, I didn't count it as a different way to use the die, so let's consider it a bonus card!

4) Search for other elements in the lace to highlight.

5) Use the smaller doily flap as a topper for your card.

6) Use two of the smaller doily flaps to create a square panel.

7) Use the doily to outline any size card. This card was featured in last week's post, so I didn't really count it in my six ways to use the doily die, but thought I'd still mention it since it's a different idea.

Well that's a wrap! Both for my Doily Envelope cards, and for my January guest designing. Sure hope you liked the ideas, and maybe were inspired to look at your supplies in a way they weren't intended to be used! Be sure to stop by the Neat & Tangled blog for all the commentary, and how-to photos, especially with making the square doilies.

Many thanks to Miriam and Neat & Tangled for inviting me to share my projects with you this month. It's sure been a treat playing with these wonderful stamps and dies!

Thanks for stopping by!
- Kelly