I have been playing with my Cricut Explore and digital images. Did you know that with the Print Then Cut Feature and any of the Cricut Explore Machines (Explore, Explore Air or Explore One) you can create fun images just like this?
Aren't they gorgeous!?!? It's super easy! I've created a video to show you exactly how I did this and the products I used.
Do you have a Silhouette? You can do this, too! Check out this video:
I have been busy this month with my pocket letter swaps. Here are some photos of recent outgoing pocket letters. I've also added a video if you'd like to see them close up
It's Christmas in July Blog Hop! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you got here from Crafts by Two, but in case you didn't, the entire blog hop list is at the end of this post. Make sure you check out all the blog hop posts, there's some super talented, super creative crafters along the way!
For this blog hop we are asking you, the viewers, to send a card for the Troops (US Army) or a Card for the kids in St. Judes Research Hospital to Crafts by 2 and they will see that they get delivered accordingly. The best part is not only are you helping to put a smile on the troops and children's faces, you get an entry to win a grand prize for every card you send! How easy is that?!?!? Post your cards on Social Media using hashtag #cardsforlove. We would love to see what you're making!
You can even send card kits, so the kids can make their own cards. You will receive an entry for every card they can make with the kit. You can send as many cards as you like and each card is ANOTHER entry! Check outCrafts by Two for all the prize information.
Now.. where to send the cards. Simply put your card(s) in blank envelopes and then put those into another envelope addressed to:
Here's another card featuring Oak Tree Stamps. This one is the Now and Forever stamp set. I colored this with the Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers which I am loving at the moment! Thanks to Ken Hess for sending me these fun stamps to play with.
Below I've listed a process video of the making of this card.
I broke down and ordered the Zig Clean Color Brush Markers. I had to. I kept seeing so many wonderful projects and excitement over them, I just had to do it. So I did! Que the angels singing, bright lights.... I LOVE THEM!
A couple of pointers. Use Bristol paper. I tried traditional watercolor paper by Canson my first time experimenting and I could not get the colors to move like I had seen everyone else doing. The paper makes all the difference. Be sure and dry your stamped image before you begin to color. Yes, I know you seasoned stampers are probably keenly aware of that little fact, but I was not. My last bit of advise.... PLAY! this is so fun!
The Tim Holtz bird crazy stamps are so much fun to color! When I first laid eyes on this set, I thought they were strange birds, but the more I looked at them, the more I knew I NEEDED them. They are so incredibly adorable!
I think so far this has been my favorite pocket letter to make. The theme was "Shiny and Bright" and was to feature the Metallic Trend. This was a swap we created in our Pocket Letter Inspiration and Ideas Facebook group.
It's a little difficult to catch the metallic elements on camera.
I stayed with a gold and white theme on this letter and no particular brand. If it was gold/white - I threw it in.
This next pocket letter was yet another Heidi Swapp Theme. I think I've been involved in about 8 Heidi Swapp Themed letters now.
I chose to use Heidi's Dreamy collection for this letter, mixed with a few foils and vintage Heidi.
and yet another Heidi Swapp theme letter. This one features mostly September Skies collection with a bit of vintage Heidi thrown in as well.
This is another card from the Oak Tree Stamp line. I'm still learning coloring, but I just adore this little ballerina.
The stamp set comes with lots of versions of this sweetie pie and a few different sentiments.
You can check out this stamp set as well as many others at Oak Tree Stamps.
I had so much fun creating this card with the Bear Hugs Stamp Set by Oak Tree Stamps. The awesome part about their stamps is that they also come with matching SVG, PNG files, which makes it super easy to make cutting files using your Cricut Explore, Silhouette or any digital die cutting machine. They have offered a 20% discount to my followers. Use coupon code OAKTREEJULY now through July 10th and receive 20% off your order! Great deal!
To make the background I used Tim Holtz Distress inks and blended the night sky. I topped that with some gold embossing paste using a star stencil. I colored the stamped images with copic markers and added a special touch to the nose and eyes using glossy accents.
