Natasha's Colorful Creations

Gray Muse – Summer/Fall 2020 Blog Hop

Welcome to The Gray Muse Blog Hop featuring the 2020 Summer/Fall Stamp Collection! This release includes seven gorgeous floral stamp sets and one must-have sentiment set titled Social Distance! We have some amazing guests sharing inspiration using these stamp sets so grab your favorite drink and get to hopping!

Giveaway: The Gray Muse is giving away FIVE $25 gift codes to the shop so you can add some of these stamps (or enamel pins) to your collection. In order to qualify, leave comments on every post in the hop. The more posts you comment on, the greater your chances. The giveaway ends on Wednesday, September 30th at 11:59 pm Eastern Time. All winners will be selected at random and announced on The Gray Muse Blog within a week.  

I want to say thank you to Rubeena for having me join in her newest release blog hop! I discovered Rubeena as a crafter and have been a HUGE fan of her work! I was drawn to her beautiful cards and watercolor! She is extremely talented! I discovered her pins last year and have been hooked! They are amazing and I am happy to say I have a full enamel pin board now! I am always excited to add to my collection! Rubeena is such a talented women and is extremely kind! I have included a full list below of the blog hop order so you can hop to each crafter’s blog to find beautiful crafty inspiration! Come join in the fun – this is a gorgeous release!

Friend Stamp Set

For my first card I am using the beautiful new Friend stamp set! I love the big and bold font of the word friend, paired with the beautiful floral images! I started by stamping my image on Bristol smooth card stock and heat embossing it using clear embossing powder. I love to create bold and bright cards! For this card I used my zig markers. I work in layers when using my water based markers. I allow my project to dry on its own and continue to add layers of colors until I have the look I am going for. Once my coloring was dry I created an outline using 2 different shades of a tan/brown. I enjoy adding shading around the image as I feel it highlights my focal point. I added a few metallic splatters and adhered this to my card base!

I hope you enjoyed this one layer card! I can’t wait to use this stamp again and pair it with one of the Gray Muse sentiment sets! In Rubeena’s collection she has 3 sentiment stamp sets! You can see them here.

Lovely Lotus Stamp Set

For my second card I am using the beautiful Lovely Lotus stamp set designed by artist Alex Syberia. I love the floral images in this set, along with the sentiments.

I started by stamping the lotus image on Fabriano Hot Press watercolor card stock. I love this cardstock when I use my Karin markers. I have found this paper to work well with this medium. For this floral image I decided to keep the coloring simple by only using a few colors. For the floral image I used: Rose Pink 168, Magenta 359, Olive Black 447, Praline 385, and Gold 283. I work in layers as well allowing dry time between colors. Once my coloring was dry, I used my scan and cut to trim the image and set it aside.

To create my background I wanted to use patterned paper from my stash! I have a lot of beautiful paper and find I don’t use it enough! I chose this bright yellow paper for the background and a textured gray paper for the die cut circle. Both papers were trimmed down using dies. I assembled my card using the patterned paper and used foam tape behind my lotus flowers. I then chose a sentiment from the Lovely Lotus stamp and from the Social Distance stamp set 9the sentiments in this set are AWESOME – be sure to check them out). I heat embossed these using white embossing powder on the gray cardstock. Once my card was assembled I added a few sequins as well.

Pretty Pansies

I recently shared a card using the beautiful Pretty Pansies stamp set on Instagram. Just wanted to share a bit of inspiration using this new release as well!

Thank you so much for stopping by today on the hop! I hope you found some inspiration here today! Here is a full list of the blog hop! Be sure to hop and comment for a chance to win a gift certificate to the Gray Muse shop!

Blog Hop

Thank you so much for stopping by! Thank you to Rubeena for having me join her hop and to celebrate this GORGEOUS new release!

Crafty Hugs,

Natasha

Unity Stamp Company – NEW Release

Hi friends! I am super excited to be back today on my blog sharing an AMAZING new release at Unity Stamp Company! It has been a very busy start to the school year. I apologize if I have missed some of your posts. I am hoping to begin to get back on track! Unity has an awesome release today and I had so much fun creating with 3 of the new sets! Let’s get started!

For my first card I am using the beautiful Scattered leaf Background stamp. I love this stamp and I created a shaker card using this beautiful new set! I haven’t made a shaker card in awhile, I thought this was the perfect set to create a fun shaker card! So let’s get started!

I started by stamping my image on Fabriano Hot Press watercolor paper. I love this paper for my Karin markers! I find the color moves really well on this paper and allows me to build color up really well without the paper pilling. Once my coloring was complete, I die cut the center circle for the shaker element. I then started to prepare my shaker.

To create a shaker pouch I use the clear office 3 ring binder sheets. I start by cutting the section I need to fill in my space. I have found using the binder pouches it is easy to create a shaker pouch. To create the shaker I use a Fuse Tool. Depending on the cut, I may need to fuse together 3 sides before I add the shaker elements. Once my elements are inside, I fuse the last side together. I then tape the pouch on the back panel and then use foam tape to create dimension, which allows the shaker elements to move. I then chose 2 sentiments from the Heart of Autumn Sentiment Kit. I heat embossed these on black cardstock using white embossing powder. I adhered my card together and added black twine which was a part of a KOM. I hope you enjoyed my first card.

For my second card I am using another beautiful background stamp called Illumination border background. I love the simplicity of these beautiful holiday lights. I also adore the vintage feel to these bulbs as well! Let’s get started!

I started by stamping the background stamp on Fabriano Hot Press watercolor paper as well. I planned to use my Karin markers to color these beautiful bulbs. I colored in my bulbs using 3 different colors. Once my coloring was complete I wanted to add a bit of sparkle to the bulbs. I used WOW Glitter embossing powder. It is hard to capture the shine in the pictures. I chose a sentiment from the September 2020 KOM. I love these kits – they are full of beautiful red rubber stamps delivered right to your door each month! I then trimmed down the card panel using a Hero Arts rectangle die. I trimmed own a piece of patterned paper from my stash and then adhered my card together. This was a fun and quick card to make! The possibilities with this stamp are endless and so fun! I can’t wait to see what you make with it!

For my last card I am using the ADORABLE Gobble owl, isn’t he so cute? I had so much fun coloring him. Let’s get started with my last card using this cutie!

To begin I stamped the owl on Fabriano Hot Press watercolor paper. I used my karin markers to color in this adorable image. I completed serval layers of color and then added colored pencils to the nooks and crannies for added dimension to this owl image. I then trimmed down my owl into a square using a die cut from my stash. I find I don’t use my square dies enough. I need to bring them out more often.

I wanted to create a fun background for my stamped image, I wanted to use this beautiful piece of patterned paper that was a gift mailed with my September 2020 KOM – I love that Unity adds fun surprises to your monthly mail. I trimmed down the patterned paper to fit an A2 sized card panel. I then stamped the beautiful background stamp – Small Details onto a piece of kraft cardstock using gold embossing powder. I then used a combination of distress oxides to “antique” the background a bit. I then adhered my card together and used foam tape behind my owl stamp panel. I added a bit of brown twine for added interest.

Thank you so much for stopping by today! You can see all of the new released stamp sets here! I hope you will take a peek!

Unity also carries beautiful patterned paper packs and the quality is amazing! You can see the new Fall line here.

Be sure to check out these amazing SALE categories too:

Thank you for stopping by! Thank you for stopping by! I have listed all the products I used within my post. You can click on any of the links I have shared if you are interested in purchasing the products. The products listed are a compensated affiliate link, which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission with no extra cost to you. I really appreciate your support.

Crafty Hugs,

Natasha

STAMPtember PARTY!!!!!

Hi everyone! It’s party time! Have you seen the AMAZING new STAMPtember release – it is AWESOME!!!!! I love it and I am so excited to participate in the PARTY today! Come join the party and be sure to check out the Simon Says Stamp blog. You will see beautiful inspiration using the awesome new release! Come check it out!

Today is special party! We are celebrating Simon Says Stamp 11th – STAMPtember! Come join the fun and discover all the different promotions that Simon Says Stamp has to offer! Be sure to check out the designers blogs, Facebook posts, and Instagram to see what promotions they have available to you! It’s going to be so much fun!

Let’s get this party started – using the Circle Pattern background stamp! I love this new background stamp! I have created 3 cards so far using this new release and I know I will be using this again! It is such a versatile stamp to have in your collection! For today’s card I wanted to focus on mainly using the background stamp with a few added sentiments! The party begins with a rainbow inspired card!

I started by preparing a piece of Canson XL watercolor cardstock with my embossing buddy. I heat embossed the background stamp using white embossing powder. I was now ready to create my rainbow of watercolor! To create my rainbow I used my Gansai Tambi watercolors.

  • 32 Red
  • 33 Cadium Orange
  • 40 Lemon Yellow
  • 51 Sap Light Green
  • 64 Ultramarine
  • 139 Cobalt Violet

I used a wet on wet technique to create this background. I wet the background panel down with water. I then added the layers of each of the colors listed above. I completed this 2x, letting it dry between each layer on it’s own. I find this gives the best results.

Once it was dry, I added some metallic watercolor splatters. Then I trimmed down the panel using a stitched rectangle die. I die cut the outer panel using my largest die, then die cut another using the next largest die to add more dimension. Then I die cut two circles on my A2 panel using a punch and added foam tape behind these! I set these aside and began to work on my sentiments!

For the sentiments I chose to use the CZ Designs – You Da Best die. I die cut the outer portion using black cardstock and then the middle using white cardstock. I die cut the white portion 3x and stacked these to create more dimension. I wanted to add 2 smaller sentiments in the circle die cuts. I thought it would be a fun way to “pop” up the sentiments for added interest! I chose 2 sentiments from the Simon Says Stamp Beautiful Flowers set. I heat embossed these in white on black cardstock. I then adhered my card together and added a few sequins for more sparkle and fun!

I hope this card makes you smile and keeps the party going! I had a lot of fun with this one!

Thank you so much to Simon Says Stamp for having me join your designer family! I am having a great time and I am very thankful! I am excited for a month long party! Be sure to join Simon Says Stamp Facebook live events all month long! The next live will be Friday 9/4/2020 EDT. You will see more beautiful inspiration and maybe some more awesome giveaways!

Thank you for stopping by my blog today! I am excited to share my promotion with you! Happy shopping!

Happy STAMPtember!!!!!!!

Crafty Hugs,

Natasha

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