Some Birthday Cards to share...

Hey crafty peeps,

Happy first Sunday of Advent. Is everyone ready for Christmas? I try to not get caught up in the frantic pace of this season but still manage to stay busy...maybe I should rephrase that and say my DAUGHTER manages to keep me busy. lol. Between that busy-ness and a lengthy migraine phase I haven't had too much time or energy to craft. But I thought I'd share a few more projects from November.

A friend commissioned me to create a birthday card for her son's birthday, who loves hippos and pandas and she also wanted to get a card I had already shared on social media for her daughter who loves pigs. So here are those cards.

Since I had neither a hippo nor panda stamp set I had to get creative. I mean, I could've ordered those things but why when Pinterest is so rich with inspiration, am I right? I do own the MFT BB Beary Special stamp set and altered the bear to look like a panda. Then I wanted to find a way to use him on a card fit for a teen boy and remembered I had seen some fabulous comic book style cards. I used my Brother Scan N Cut2 to create the frame and the Birthday sentiment and Voila!

I don't recall if I shared this card on my blog before, but this is the card I shared on other social media that my friend requested for her daughter who loves pigs. I used a Stampingbella set "especially for you Petunia" and some new to me Waffle Flower Crafts dies. I absolutely L O V E the die set and the way this card turned out. 

Both cards were well received and have special places in each of the kid's rooms. It made my heart happy to hear that the recipients enjoyed their cards and I'm honored that I had a small part in making their special day maybe a bit more special.

Another card I made back in October was this one for my niece. I used the MFT Polynesian Paradise stamps to create the bouquet of tropical flowers. I also used some MFT dies: the die-namics square peek-a-boo window the scalloped rectangle from the MFT Blueprints 27 set.

I had some glitter Thickers and used them for the number "15". They were the perfect size for the square. Some enamel dots were the perfect finishing touch to add a bit of whimsy but the overall feel was still clean, simple, and even a bit sophisticated.

I think decorating the envelope whenever possible makes the card even more special. So I stamped the front...

...and the back flap.

Going back in time even more, here's a pop up card I made for my brother back in August for his very special milestone birthday. I used my ScanNCut2 to create the box and then decorated it. I can't remember if the balloons were from a Cricut cartridge or if I used the ScanNCut? The puppies are from a Penny Black stamp set and I used some Thickers for the large focal number and the other numbers and stars were cut from glitter paper with the ScanNCut. 

I did need a padded envelope to mail this but it was worth it!

Alright, that's it for the birthday cards for now. I have more but it would just get a bit too long to share everything. Hope you enjoyed and got inspired.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a blessed and crafty Advent season.

Hugs,

Bettina :D

I've Been Spotted

Hey there crafty friends,

While I haven't been blogging much lately, I have managed to create some cards. It was a wonderful surprise to find one of my recent card creations on the MFT Blog. So exciting! Thank you #mftstamps

This card came about when I heard of a boy, Jacob Thompson, who's dying of cancer and this may be his last Christmas. His wish was to just receive a ton of Christmas cards. So, I used the irresistibly cute "Happy Pawlidays" stampset by MFT and came up with this design. Since a few of my frequently used alcohol markers are running dry (awaiting re-inkers in the mail) I used my Tombow brush markers for a watercolor look.  

So, that's my share for today. Do head over to the MFT Blog and check out their You've Been Spotted post to see all the other wonderful projects that were spotted this week.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time, have a blessed and crafty day!

Hugs,

Bettina :)

Winter and Holiday cards

Hello Crafty Friends,

Just dropping by to quickly share a few winter and holiday cards I've made using the MFT September Card Kit. If you love puzzles, this kit is perfect cause it has the snow globe die and so many accessory pieces and they're super tiny. Unfortunately they sold out of the kit, but you can now purchase the die separately. Also, the diamond dust is very cool in the shaker. Anyway, here are some of the cards I made using the kit and I plan on making many more.

Here's the first one I made. I really liked the design or layout but I had major regrets about using the liquid appliqué to create the snow. It was just too much. So I took it apart and recycled the card base and the word and made a new card...sans the liquid appliqué and that turned out so much better to my eyes. Although, I'm not entirely sure why the card bases look so different when they should look identical but the picture on the right is truer to the actual color.

 

Here's the next set of cards which includes the do-over on the bottom. I really like using non-traditional colors.

Here I tried some different designs including a shaker. But I think my favorite of these three is the top card using the snowman. That purple is the perfect shade of winter. lol.

Well, that's it for now for my holiday cards. If you follow me on Instagram you may have noticed that I made some other cards as well. I'll post about those later.  I'm trying to build up my stash of birthday cards but got a little distracted by the card kit. lol. Who can relate?

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a blessed and crafty day,

Bettina :)

MFT 2017 Design Star contest entries

Hi,

Here are the projects I entered in the MFT 2017 Design Star contest. I know I probably won't win (not saying that because I'm a pessimist...just being realistic....and also I've seen all the other WAY more AMAZING entries. lol) but it challenged me to try some new techniques and to just make something.

Anyway, the first card I entered in the Innovation category. I had intended it to light up once you pull the slider tab, but couldn't figure out how to hide some of the mechanism since the copper part of the wire needed to stay loose...and I didn't just want it to light up by pressing on a designated spot. So, I made it a simple slider card. It still has the LED light because I couldn't bear to tear the entire card apart to dig it out. lol

 

The next category I entered was the CAS (clean and simple) category and this, for me, is a real challenge. I love adding lots of details, dimension, and colors to my cards. White space, at least when I make a card, looks incomplete. When I look at the other entries they look so effortless and perfectly designed. And then......there's mine....

It looks a little bland and top-heavy but I love using copper colored embossing powder on fall sentiments so that's my favorite part about this card besides that super cute harvest mouse.

Oh, and then there's the card that JUST DIDN'T GET FINISHED IN TIME. The struggle, people! Why is September so busy?! I thought I'd have lots of time to craft with the kiddos back in school...clearly I was mistaken. TBH I really didn't even think I would enter the Coloring Virtuoso category at all...but around dinner time I got the idea for the card. But there was so much going on between late errands, kiddo pickups and drop-offs, I literally met myself coming and going and in between I tried to design the card and just figuring out the masking took 3 tries. Even the final card has a mistake but I wasn't starting over yet again so I found a way to cover it up...ish. Anywho, even though this card didn't get done until 2am...4 hours past the entry deadline, I still wanted to share it real quick. Of all the cards I entered, this one might have stood a chance a winning; I'm really happy with how it turned out.

I've never done this much masking on a card before in my life. #maskingisnojoke lol. I have much newfound respect for all you masking geniuses out there.

Hope this post gave you some inspiration. And even if you don't think your project is "good enough" to enter in a contest...do it anyway! You'll inspire someone just to TRY, which is ultimately all that matters, and you'll learn so much in the process.

Well, time to sign off once again. Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again real soon.

Have a blessed & crafty day,

Hugs,

Bettina :)

Hey, You! Card

Hello there Crafty Friends,

I have a quick card to share that I created for this week's MFTWSC335. Used lots of different MFT stamps: Mermazing, I Knead You, More Essential Sentiments, and Ocean Pals.

I used Spectrum Noir markers to color in the images and used both distress inks and MFT inks to stamp the algae and ocean plants. The pretty background paper is from a 6x6 pad by Molly & Rex...those papers are so beautiful and I found them at my local Michael's.

To diffuse the image of the kitty a bit to make her look more like she's on the other side of glass/water I used a piece of vellum and cut the top with a curvy edge die (from Mama Elephant's Landscape Trio) to give the illusion of water movement....but to be honest it's barely noticeable and you could save that step and just cover the entire back with vellum.

I used the same die to cut the bottom of the background paper. The assembly was the trickiest part but it ended up not being too bulky and I only used one layer of foam tape on select elements. The foam tape was actually thinner than the fun foam I used to frame the scene and create the "tank". I actually used some thin packaging for the "glass" front of the tank. The frame I cut with my ScanNCut and it's about 3 or 4 layers of cardstock. I then ran a generous line of multi-medium matte along the bottom to glue some real sand that I had (I don't know why I had sand but I did so I used it...lol).

Working on the vellum I attached my elements in layers, checking frequently to make sure it would fit inside the frame. When I was happy I then place the frame on top of the vellum scene piece, trimming elements as needed to make them fit, and attached the cat to the back of the "tank". Then I glued it to my background paper and, in turn, attached that to the card front using more foam adhesive.

So, that's my latest card. Hope you like it and join in....there's still time to enter the weekly MFT sketch challenge.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a blessed & crafty day.

Hugs,

Bettina :)

Just some projects to share

Time sure has flown by. I haven't had a chance to post about any of the projects I've done except for Facebook and, more recently,  I've ventured into using Instagram to share projects. Still haven't figured out all the ins and outs of Instagram. And WHY is May soooooo busy? I don't even know. There were a couple of projects I made that I can't post pictures of because I was in a hurry to send them off and forgot to take pictures....they were Mother's Day cards. I'm bummed because I was really happy with how they turned out and would have loved to have shared it within this crafty community.

But......anyway, here are pics of the projects I am able to share with you in no particular chronological order....

Here's a cute card I made using the Birdie Brown "Our Story" stamp set by MFT. Of course it was for a MFTWSC but can't remember which one. I was trying to use up some pattern paper from my stash. I feel like I just don't use them enough....actually I feel that way about most of my craft supplies. lol.

I bought my first ever Altenew card kit and created this card using one of the stamps in the kit and beautiful pattern paper which also came in the kit. I really wanted it to look like super loose water coloring, which was quite challenging but I really like how this turned out.

Another card for a MFTWSC. I found the sketch to be challenging but finally came up with this card which has a little pocket in the front with a note card tucked in. I used an older MFT stamp set (have had it for years) and played around with creating a color blend transitioning from yellow to red to coordinate with the pattern paper. I really like the colors.

The next card I made for my cousin who got married on April 1st. Her wedding colors were bright pink, cobalt blue and silver and those were the colors I used to make this card. I also used a stamp by Stamping Bella. The sentiment on the inside was one that I just wrote on the computer and printed out. My cousin loved the card and plans to keep it...which made me super happy. :)

Originally I had wanted to water color the wedding card but found that it just wasn't going to work with the bold colors. I'll have to find another used for this colored image because I do like how it turned out.

Not everything I make is cards or paper crafts. I used my Brother ScanNCut to create this floating frame as a wedding gift for my cousin. I used the ScanNCut Canvas to design this split monogram (after watching some tutorials on it, of course) and then cut the design from vinyl. Because I don't work with vinyl very often it took me 4 tries to get it right...even though I watched tutorials on how to attach vinyl...smh. It's very important not to peel off the entire release paper....you gotta peel it back in stages for such a large project. It will save your sanity. lol

Here I went nuts coloring these adorable cats from the "Purrr-Fect Friends" stamp set by MFT. I just wanted to try different color combos. I still haven't used them on a card yet :(

My current obsession is the BB "Mermazing" stamp set by MFT. The first mermaid I colored absolutely had to look like Ariel. It's a rule....I'm sure of it. I stamped out a bunch of the images from the set and tried to play around with color combinations. The hair is so much fun to color. My goal is to eventually create swatches with different color combos so I can easily remember which of my Spectrum Noir markers I need to create a certain look.

Oh, and here's where I tried an ink smooshing technique but I was very intentional with where I smooshed the colors so it could like sort of an impression of a flower. I also wanted to add pencil lines to add definition to the "petals" but in the end chickened out. I didn't want to ruin it because my colored pencil skills are terrible. This ended up on a Mother's Day card which I mailed out before remembering to take a picture. >>>sigh<<< But my mom really liked the card.

So, that's my project share for ya. I think you're officially caught up. lol. If you have questions about a particular project and the supplies I used, please leave it in the comments. Hopefully you found some inspiration here. I do post more frequently on the My Favorite Things Insider Facebook page and I'm 'bettinalacuesta' on Instagram if you want to follow me there.

Until next time have a blessed and crafty day.

Hugs,

Bettina :)

Purr-Fect Friend and an Alligator card

Hello there crafty friends,

Here are my most recent creations for MFTWSC#323.

I made a card using the new Purr-fect Friends stamp set by MFT. One of my crafty goals this year is to use my pattern paper pads more. I always admire Christy's use of pattern paper in her card series and she really inspired me to do the same. I used papers from a 6x6 pad by American Crafts. I'm sure you've all heard of the 30 Day Color Challenge hosted by Kathy over at The Daily Marker? In addition to creating this card for the MFTWSC I also made the card to participate in that challenge. Anyway, that cat from the stamp set is so much fun to color and I'm really happy with how it turned out. Here it is:

I'm also playing around with different color combinations; so many possibilites. This one's a cool color palette.

I'll post more pics of the different combinations I've come up with soon.

Initially, before I came up with the "Purr-fect Friend" card, I saw a dinosaur in the sketch, but sometimes I just don't know how to execute the ideas floating in my head so it ended up looking more like an alligator. I used no stamps at all but only MFT dies and some circle punches and an embossing folder. It's a strange card for me but I'm glad I gave it a try. LOL Here it is. What do you think? Can you see the alligator in the sketch? Once you see it....you can never un-see it. Muahahahahaha.... ;)

Alrighty, that's all I have for now. Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope you all get a chance to participate in the 30 day color challenge; you don't have to devote a lot of time and you don't even have to finish....just start and color.

Have a blessed and crafty day.

Hugs,

Bettina :)