Spotlight on SEI: Hooray & Anticipation

Hi there! While we are bracing for a hurricane here, in NYC, let me share some cheeriness here on my blog. Today, I'm over at the SEI blog to share a card for a super duper special little boy who recently turned one.

Materials used: SEI Field Notes, Vanilla Sunshine, cardboard elements stickers; foam squares

I absolutely love the stickers from the SEI Vanilla Sunshine collection. You can use them for any kind of card, especially when you couple them with some SEI cardboard elements stickers to give it some texture. Check out how I made the card on the SEI blog.

Another project I shared on the SEI blog a couple of weeks ago is this "Anticipation" layout. This layout is pretty special to me because it documents just moments before my husband and I got married. Have a look at all the details here.

Materials used: SEI Vanilla Sunshine, Field Notes, alphabet stickers

Hope you've enjoyed this card and layout. Don't forget to check out the SEI blog for more inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!

- KRAFTY pearl

SEI + My Etsy = A Collected Look

Hiya! Here to quickly share a long overdue SEI layout. You often see me mixing various collections together for a collected, eclectic feel. The beauty of SEI designs is that it's so easy to mix and match colors and patterns!

Materials Used: SEI Desert Spring, SEI Field Notes, SEI Promise Me, tissue paper, Singer 160 sewing machine

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Basic Borders

Wedding Wednesday will return next week!

Today, let's take a close look at Mama Elephant's Basic Borders set.

This set is a must-have. I love the polka dots and and diagonal stripes. You can make your own washi tape, borders, background, and ribbon with this set. Here I made ombre stripes to look like washi tape:

Materials used: Mama Elephant Basic Borders, Polar Pals; SEI Field Notes pattern paper, Bazzill cardstock, ColorBox Cat's Eye Inkpads, Copic Markers, Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black

A closer look: I love the variation you create with these Basic Border stamps. Combine with different colors from ColorBox Cat's Eye Inkpads to design an ombre look. I created a greenish neon lights look which compliments the sentiment, "merry and bright", perfectly.

Hope you've enjoyed Mama Elephant's first release! Don't forget to check out the projects from the other Mama Elephant design team members here:

• JJ Bolton
• Cheiron Brandon
• Mariana Grigsby
• Savannah O'Gwynn
• Alice Wertz

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Trifecta

On this terrific Tuesday, we continue to highlight Mama Elephant stamps. One of my favorite Mama Elephant stamp sets is Trifecta!

This set is seriously the most versatile stamp set I've ever seen. You can do so much with the triangles as a background, as pennants, as arrow heads, as little trees, and even little roof tops!

Materials used: Mama Elephant Trifecta, We Click; CTMH Inks, SEI Tumble Dye spray, Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black

A closer look: Inspired by Van Gogh's impressionist paintings, I created a sun-drenched sky with funky roof tops and a masked cloud. I then framed my little work of art using the faux Instax stamped on wood grain pattern paper.

And just in case you didn't see some of my other ideas for this set, here's a look at some of my other projects. Click on the picture to see the original post.

Triangle pattern as a background and for masking shapes.

Triangles turned upside down to create mini trees.

Hope you've enjoyed these projects and don't forget to check out the projects from the other Mama Elephant design team members here:

• JJ Bolton
• Cheiron Brandon
• Mariana Grigsby
• Savannah O'Gwynn
• Alice Wertz

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Polar Pals

Good morning! On this brisk (NY) Monday morning, I'm sharing a project made with Mama Elephant's Polar Pals.

Tell me these little creatures are not the cutest stamps ever. Best of all, they fit really well with the snow globe from the Mama Elephant Believe in Magic set. Give that a try, or use the cute banners to create a garland look like this card I made here. You'd think this set is just for winter or holiday-themed cards, but you can also very easily create a birthday card too.

 

Materials used: Mama Elephant's Polar Pals; SEI pattern paper, Martha Stewart medium balloon punch, Copic Markers, Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black

A closer look: Create a festive garland look using any of the banners for a cute birthday card. The possibilities are actually endless given the star and heart banners and all the different words too!

Hope you've enjoyed this technique and don't forget to check out the projects from the other Mama Elephant design team members here:

• JJ Bolton
• Cheiron Brandon
• Mariana Grigsby
• Savannah O'Gwynn
• Alice Wertz

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Good Times

TGIF! It's been a long work at my day job, but I've been able to complete all my highlights and posts as soon as I get home every night. We end this week with a look at Mama Elephant's Good Times set.

Mama Elephant's Good Times is truly one of the most versatile sets I have ever seen. From the cool and current sentiments to the three perfect balloons and cute icons, this set is a must have!

Materials used: Mama Elephant Good Times, Believe in Magic; Tsukineko Delicata Ink in Golden Glitz, Singer 160 Limited Edition sewing machine

A closer look: When I say versatile, I really mean it. The balloons when turned upside down make perfect ornaments! I used the ribbon stamp from the Good Times set. I also used the reindeer and stars stamp from the Believe in Magic set which fits so well into these balloons/ornaments. I added some stitches to the card to finish off the ornament card.

Don't forget to check out the projects from the other Mama Elephant design team members here:

• JJ Bolton
• Cheiron Brandon
• Mariana Grigsby
• Savannah O'Gwynn
• Alice Wertz

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Geotagged

I hope you're enjoying all the Mama Elephant highlights so far. We're taking a look at the Geotagged set today.

Like all of the other sets, this is perfect for cards and layouts alike. The map of the United States is pretty darn awesome! I adore the suitcase with polka dot print and the super cute and detailed luggage stickers.

Materials used: Mama Elephant Geotagged, Basic Borders; CTMH pattern paper, Martha Stewart medium balloon punch, CTMH Inks, Tsukineko Delicata Ink in Golden Glitz, Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black

A closer look: I created a clustered embellishment from the suitcase and polka dot pattern stamps. I matched the colors to the houses in a photo I have on the layout. That's one of my favorite things about stamping -- being able to pull colors from photos into stamped embellishments.

To add just a bit more variation to the layout, I used the suitcase stamp and polka dot pattern and masked it under a balloon wood grain pattern negative. Give this stamped embellishment technique a try!

Don't forget to check out the projects from the other Mama Elephant design team members here:

• JJ Bolton
• Cheiron Brandon
• Mariana Grigsby
• Savannah O'Gwynn
• Alice Wertz

Thanks for stopping by!

- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Nursery Deco

Wedding Wednesday post here.

I'm back for the second time today to share another super cute and versatile Mama Elephant stamp set, Nursery Deco.

 

As you saw in this blog post, the set can be used to create a really meaningful title and background in one. But I also mentioned how it can be used to make a super cute baby card too. I immediately fell in love with the cute teddy bears and giraffes when I first saw the set. Don't you just love how cute this set is?

Materials used: Mama Elephant Nursery Deco, Good Times, Geotagged, Believe in Magic; CTMH Inks, Copic Markers, Tsukineko Delicata Ink in Golden Glitz, Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black

A closer look: I started this card by stamping the cute little bear in a Good Times balloon. I then started to create a celebration backdrop filled with more Good Times balloons, cute pennant banners in varying shades of blue. To give it a bit of sparkle, I added Good times bows, Believe in Magic stars to appear as confetti in a balloon, and a Geotagged mini tag using Tsukineko Delicata Ink in Golden Glitz.

Don't forget to check out the projects from the other Mama Elephant design team members here:

• JJ Bolton
• Cheiron Brandon
• Mariana Grigsby
• Savannah O'Gwynn
• Alice Wertz

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Wedding Wednesday: The Venue

Happy Wednesday! Now that we've touched on ways to organize your wedding thoughts and notes. The next step is to think about the venue. The venue is an extremely important part of the day and it really sets the tone for the rest of your decor and vision, including your dress, your colors, and everything in between.

There are a few questions to answer:

• Is it a small and intimate or is it large and festive?
• What do you envision as your backdrop?
• What time of year will it be?
• What is your budget?

Our decision: Given our guest list, our wedding was on the larger side but it was important to keep it feeling small and intimate. While my groom didn't have a preference on the backdrop, I always envisioned getting married in a clean, lush green garden with sprinkles of bright, colorful flowers.

Photo credit: Cly Creation

I also envisioned seats on the grass... an understated, down-to-earth,  backyard-like, yet classic wedding.

Photo credit: Cly Creation

Once you've fully answered the questions, you'll be able to narrow down to a list of places that's just right for you.

Next week, I'll post a second part to the venue topic covering the different questions I asked my venue that helped me make my final decision.

Come back at 9am for another Mama Elephant highlight!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Believe in Magic

Hi! We continue today with a closer look at Mama Elephant's Believe in Magic stamp set.

Here's the thing, who doesn't love a snow globe? Seriously, especially one where you can build on your own! And the best part is this set works so perfectly with the Mama Elephant Polar Pals set. It's also perfect with the Mama Elephant Trifecta set!

Materials used: Mama Elephant We Believe in Magic, Trifecta, Polar Pals, We Click; CTMH Inks, Tsukineko Delicata Ink in Golden Glitz, Memento Ink in Tuxedo Black, Bic Mark-it Markers

A closer look: I created two snow globes and used the Trifecta triangle patterns to create the look of trees in one of them. I added "Cheer" and "Merry" from Polar Pals which fits perfectly in the globes as well. Then I used the base of the snow globe to create a brick pattern into an abstract tree, topping it off with the "XOXO" starburst label from the We Click set.

Don't forget to check out the projects from the other Mama Elephant design team members here:

• JJ Bolton
• Cheiron Brandon
• Mariana Grigsby
• Savannah O'Gwynn
• Alice Wertz

Thanks for stopping by!

- KRAFTY pearl