SEI Spotlight: Iron-on Sheets

Hi! I've recently been obsessed with SEI Iron-on Sheets. I was over on the SEI blog last week sharing how I used the easy-to-use sheets to create this onesie here.

Materials used: SEI Iron-on Sheet in Pink Polka Dot

Seriously, how cute is the little heart shape on the tush? Go on over to the SEI blog to see how the onesie came together.

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Project Scrapbox Workbox: Installment #3

Hello! I decided to share my workspace, the Original Scrapbox Workbox, again. I just went through a big purge of unused supplies. As you've seen here and here, my craft area is teensy. So constant cleaning and organization is a must. The space is a real work in progress...

In an effort to take up less space, I've upgraded most of my full size stamp pads with Tsukineko Dew Drops, Clearsnap ColorBox Cat's Eye Queues, and SEI Ink Blocks. It's made such a difference and I love how I can quickly see all of the colors all in one small tin.

It's been a real struggle for me to find the right function behind my storage space since I always tend to have more than what can fit into the space. What are your tips to keeping an organized small craft space?

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Hustle

Good morning! Here to share this week's last Mama Elephant highlight today of the super cute and modern sentiments set, Hustle. This set has so many fun, modern sentiments, it's a real must-have.

I wanted to create a simple card using the sentiment, "fist pumpin' for you!" because it's so fun. So I went searching for the perfect image, and guess what! The little creatures from Up and Away are actually perfect since they all have one closed fist! I chose the cute little bunny and didn't add too much to it because I wanted to keep it relatively clean. So to give it just a bit of dimension, I used Copics to give it a shadow and further added some flock to the belly and tail for added cuteness. Lastly, I created a banner using the triangle pennants from Trifecta to finish off the card.

Materials used: Mama Elephant Hustle, Trifecta, Up and Away; Copic sketch markers, Memento stamp pad in Tuxedo Black, flocking powder

Be sure to stop by the Mama Elephant blog to see what the rest of the design team created!

Thanks for stopping by!
-KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Lights Out

Good morning! Here to share another Mama Elephant highlight. This set is perfect for personalizing how you want to tell someone they're awesome or just to say "watt's up?" I look forward to telling someone they're brilliant with this card.

I stamped the lightbulb and personalized the inside of the lightbulb with the start circuit design. To give it that extra color, pattern, and sparkle, I stamped it on a Basic Grey pattern paper and added orangey gold glitter to the star. I used foam dots to adhere it to white cardstock for that extra dimension. To give it an extra pop of coordinated but understated color, I layered iridescent star confetti and sequins streaming behind the lightbulb. Finally, I added the perfect coordinating sentiment, "I think you're brilliant" to finish it off.

Materials used: Mama Elephant Lights Out; Basic Grey pattern paper, sequins, confetti, glitter

I love the simple layers and dimension created with the use of pattern paper, glitter, and iridescent confetti and sequins.

Be sure to stop by the Mama Elephant blog to see what the rest of the design team created! And come back tomorrow for another highlight!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Full House

Good morning! Here to share another Mama Elephant highlight today on the super cute and versatile set, "Full House". This set is perfect for creating backgrounds and patterns. But I decided to create a clean and simple abstract card.

I stamped the super cute houses, then I created a coordinating watercolor block as the abstract sky, gold embossed the heart in a speech bubble stamp (super cute stamp!), added the perfect "happiness lives here" sentiment from an oldie but goodie stamp set, "We Click", and finished it off with hearts from "Sunny Skies".

Materials used: Mama Elephant Full House, We Click, Sunny Skies; Zing! embossing powder, Tim Holtz distress markers

I love the softness created with the watercolor block and grey sentiment, with just the right pop of gold intensity and pops of red from the stamped hearts.

Be sure to stop by the Mama Elephant blog to see what the rest of the design team created! And come back tomorrow for another highlight!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Stitches

Hello! Welcome to the first day of highlights of July releases from Mama Elephant. We're sharing Stitches today. This stamp set is super cute and perfect for saying "thanks!"

I created a mini sewing kit perfect as bridesmaid emergency kits or party favors. I used the triangle box die to create the container. I then made a tag and stamped a gold embossed spool of thread and buttons. I love how this set allows you to create whatever sewing scene you wish. There are so many configurations and options, you can have many different spools of thread.

Here's a closer look at the inside of the kit once it's open.

 

Materials used: Bazzill cardstock, Zing! embossing powder, Lifestyle triangle box die, Hambly overlay, buttons, thread, needles, twine

Be sure to stop by the Mama Elephant blog to see what the rest of the design team created! And come back tomorrow for another highlight!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant July Stampede

Welcome to the Mama Elephant July Design Team blog hop! Our July release is now live and available for purchase in the Mama Elephant store.

To celebrate the new release, Mama Elephant is giving away 3 gift certificates worth $20.00 each to 3 lucky people! Winners will be chosen at random from the collective blogs in the Stampede. Winners will be announced on the blog on the last Stamp Highlight day on the Mama Elephant blog.

Here's how to qualify to win (leave a separate comment for each):

1. Leave a comment on this blog post
2. Become a follower of our blog
3. Like/share us on Facebook
4. Follow/tweet us on Twitter

One of my favorites is Hustle. It is awesome because of all the fun sentiments. I particularly love "if you want a rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain".

To create this Caribbean pink and purple sunset-inspired postcard piece that's perfect for anybody's desktop, I used clear embossing powder to stamp the sentiment onto watercolor paper. I then created a background using distress markers using the ink to craft sheet, water and bead up the ink, before applying paper to the craft sheet. This is one of my favorite techniques currently.

To finish off the postcard piece, I added sequins, photo corners, a pattern background, and placed it into a frame.

Materials used: Mama Elephant Hustle, Tim Holtz distress markers, Ranger super fine embossing powder, sequins

Hope you enjoyed this project. Be sure to hop to every Mama Elephant design team member's blog.

• Mama Elephant http://www.mamaelephantblog.com/ -- start here if you get lost
• Karolyn Loncon http://karolyns-paperkraft.blogspot.com/
• JJ Bolton http://jjbolton.org
• Geralyn Sy http://inacreativebubble.blogspot.com/ 
• Jenn Biederman http://createdbyjb.typepad.com/
• Cheiron Brandon http://www.cheironbrandon.typepad.com
• Alice Wertz http://aliceslittlewonderland.blogspot.com/
• Mariana Grigsby http://marianagrigsby.wordpress.com/
• Savannah O'Gwynn http://savannahland2.blogspot.com/ -- your previous stop
• Pearl Lui http://kraftypearl.blogspot.com/ -- you are here
• Lea Lawson http://leascupcakesandsunshine.blogspot.com/ -- your next stop

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

A First: Teaching a Card Crafting Class

Hi! It's no surprise, I love Etsy. As I've previously mentioned, I work at this wonderful online marketplace that supports an amazing community of artists, designers, and entrepreneurs. As I've also mentioned, I also started two shops selling paper goods and jewelry, as it's been a big dream of mine to embark upon.

What's equally amazing is that it's a workplace full of talented souls bursting with creativity. So much so that we have classes for employees, taught by employees. This means I learn to sew or how to make lip balm from my fellow coworkers. How cool! Since I look forward to learning from some of the classes, I decided to also give back and hold a class too.

This was the first time I ever held a class, for reals. And I was so surprised by the ease of it all and most of all, I loved being inspired by my peers and connecting with them. The class was a card make and take session where I showed various techniques with masking, stamps, heat embossing, and watercoloring with Gel Sticks.

I had a bit of the jitters going into it not know if people will be interested in learning the techniques. Having never taught a class before, I had a lot of self doubt. But here's what I found to be effective for my class:

• Define the aim of the class
• Decide how much time and how many students
• Develop a syllabus around the aim
• Thoroughly budget and account for supplies and materials
• Get all supplies and prepare materials once you have a head count
• Send out communications reminding students of what to bring and expect
• Expect set-up to take 30-60 minutes depending on size of the class
• Expect a few no-shows as well as unexpected late sign-ups
• Get to know the students and gauge comfort level with the tools
• Demonstrate each technique and a final product for inspiration
• But let the students be creative and design as they wish -- one thing I strived for was to have every student create something entirely different from the next
• Keep track of time to ensure all techniques are demonstrated as promised in the syllabus
• Help and engage with students to be inspired by them and their interpretation of the techniques
• After the class, send supplies lists/recommendations and an overview of the techniques to all students thanking them for their participation

Not bad for a newbie teacher, if I may say so myself. :) I seriously had so much fun, I am looking forward to teaching more classes in the future. Do you have any good tips for teaching classes? I'd love to hear them.

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

SEI Spotlight: Baby Love Garland

Happy July! Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. I'm over at the SEI blog this week to share a simple and cute garland which doubles as a card. Be sure to check out the SEI blog for details on how this project came together!

Materials used: SEI Mia Bella, Think of Me; glitter, circle punch, scallop scissors, letter stencils

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl