PaperFections

Sentimental Background - August Essentials by Ellen

Thank you so much for joining us today for the August Essentials by Ellen Release Hop! You'll find a lot of amazing inspiration awaiting on today's hop, along with . . . *PRIZES: We've got super fun prizes! One random lucky commenter will win $25 to the EllenHutson shop and one will win the whole August Essentials by Ellen release! To enter for a chance to win, make sure to leave comments at each stop along today's hop! Comment before Thursday, August 15th at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be notified by email. But first, here's a little about the card I have to share today, using Julie Ebersole's new Mondo Amaryllis stamp set and Mondo Amaryllis die set: Isn't this floral gorgeous?!! I stamped it with Gina K Jet Black Amalgam ink onto watercolor paper and watercolored with these Daniel Smith watercolors: Rhodonite Genuine (PrimaTek Set), Quinacridone Rose (Floral Half-Pan Set or Ultimate Mixing Half-Pan Set), Permanent Alizarin Crimson (Ultimate Mixing Half-Pan Set), Serpentine Genuine (Colors of Inspiration Half-Pan Set), Green Apatite (Floral Half-Pan Set). The finished floral was die cut with its coordinating Mondo Amaryllis die set and popped up on X-Press It Foam Mounting Tape. The background was... Read more →

Watercolored Spring Daisies + Stamp Sale!

Hello and happy Friday, Friends! Today's project is a bouquet of watercolored Spring daisies using Julie Ebersole's latest February stamp and die release for Ellen Hutson's Essentials by Ellen. Mondo Gerbera Daisy was stamped and clear heat embossed, then watercolored with Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolor set, keeping the colors soft and light. The watercolored piece was then trimmed and mounted onto a black card base. The beautiful Big Scripty Hello die is also new from Ellen's February release. It was also die cut from black cardstock, glittered with shimmer pen, then its coordinating shadow die used to cut vellum for a soft background accent. Need some new stamps? They are all on sale this weekend at Ellen Hutson LLC! Just click the banner below to start shopping! Thanks so much for joining me today ... Happy weekend! SUPPLIES: Mondo Gerbera Daisy by Julie Ebersole, Essentials by Ellen Stamp & Die Combo Mondo Gerbera Daisy by Julie Ebersole, Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps Big Scripty Hello by Julie Ebersole, Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies Big Scripty Dies by Julie Ebersole, Essentials by Ellen Die Combo VersaMark Ink Pad Ranger Watercolor Paper, 10 pk Ranger Distress Watercolor Cardstock Essentials By Ellen Cardstock,... Read more →

Essentials by Ellen February 2019 Release!

Happy Friday, Crafters ... It's Release Day at Ellen Hutson! There are a wonderful new group of February stamps and dies by Julie Ebersole for the Essentials by Ellen line. One of my favorites (of course!) is the Mondo Gerbera Daisy! This beautiful new floral is a dream to color but also makes a fabulous impact stamped in just black or colors, without coloring it in! For this card, I gold heat embossed the daisy onto watercolor paper (cutting off and extending the length of the stem), then watercolored with Daniel Smith's Ultimate Mixing Half Pan Set. The daisy was die cut with its coordinating Mondo Gerbera Daisy die, then popped up on foam tape over a watercolor background I created by lightly washing Daniel Smith Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Genuine (SBT), then splattering with a darker mix of the same (gorgous!) color! This SBT is also available separately in an individual tube, or in Daniel Smith's Blues Half Pan Set. To finish this card, I die cut several layers of Neenah Solar White #110 cardstock using one of the two word dies that is included in the Mondo Gerbera Daisy die set -- isn't that a pretty font? I then... Read more →

Ellen Hutson's 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Touch 2018: Tons of Techniques!

Welcome to this year's Ellen Hutson 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist series . . . my absolute favorite project/post each year! I'm so honored to have participated in this tradition for the past 7 years, since 2011! (You can find my previous year's tags by clicking (here -->) on the 12 Tags of Christmas category over in my right sidebar). This year we once again have 24 designers paired up for each of the 12 days, to share their talents with you as we provide you with ideas for creating your own tags this holiday season! My partner in crafting today is the very talented Emily Midgett! Please be sure to head over to her blog to see her take on today's theme! GIVEAWAY: We are looking forward to seeing what you are inspired to create from the tags/techniques/themes that are shared this year and we would LOVE to have you participate! Just look for the little “theme box” (below) on each post and use the designer’s tags to inspire you to join in the fun! Remember to leave a comment every day sharing your appreciation with the artists (on the Ellen Hutson CLASSroom blog AND the... Read more →

Ommission Stamping with New Leading Ladies!

A new release from Brandi Kincaid exclusively for Essentials by Ellen is now available in the shop! You can see lots of inspiration on the "This Just In" page of the Ellen Hutson LLC website and on Ellen's the CLASSroom blog. There are two new Leading Lady stamp and coordinating die sets (Bookworm Lady and Holiday Shopper Lady), a great little Ugly Sweater Accessories stamp and coordinating die set, plus some great stand alone dies - Winter Window and Snowfall Backdrop! Today I'm using the Holiday Shopper Lady and the adorable Winter Window die. I always love thinking "outside the box", to find unusual and different ways to use my supplies. So while the Winter Window die would probably normally be used to look at an outdoor scene, I've created a scene of my Holiday Shopper Lady looking into a store window. She's doing a little sidewalk window shopping for her long holiday shopping list, waiting for the store to open so she can catch that big sale! Remember those commercials where everyone is crowded around the store doors, waiting for it to open,saying "Open-open-open"?!! To get this look, I did some selective inking of the Holiday Shopper Lady stamp... Read more →

Emboss Resist Love You So Matcha!

Happy Friday, Friends! Today I wanted to revisit a favorite "oldie but goody" technique of mine, emboss resist -- especially since I'm absolutely LOVING the Claritystamp Stencil Brushes! Emboss resist is simply heat embossing (in this case, clear detail) stamped images onto cardstock (Neenah Solar White), then applying ink over the embossing. The embossed image(s) resist being colored with the ink ... thus, creating a very unique background! My favorite blending inks are Distress -- here I used an "ode to the end of Summer" combo of Carved Pumpkin, Squeezed Lemonade, and Cracked Pistachio. The Claritystamp Stencil Brushes help give a very soft and very effortless blend! The Folk Heart was die cut from the center of the background panel before inking, so the ink catches the edges and really defines the shape! The sweet So Matcha kimono girl was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and her the main part of her kimono colored with Copic YG41 and G43 (shading) to match the inked background. Then I created a subtle floral pattern on the kimono using the tiny flower stamped with Cracked Pistacio. To finish the card, I die cut the So Matcha girl with her coordinating die and... Read more →

Watercolor Rainbow Shaker Card

Hello, crafty peeps! It's release day over at Ellen Hutson LLC and we have some Fantasmagorical new products to share today! What exactly is Fantasmagorical? Well, I will defer that question to Julie Ebersole, the creator of this stamp set, but I sure had a blast playing with her new Unicorns 'N Rainbows stamp set and coordinating dies! And evidently July is World Watercolor month, so I threw in some of that, too! ;-) To create this watercolor rainbow shaker card, I used a background of watercolor paper and brushed Tumbled Glass Distress Ink over a cloud stencil, using a fabulous new-to-me tool: Clarity Stencil Brushes! These amazing brushes give such a smooth and soft blend ... I'm totally hooked on them! Next, I stamped the adorable unicorn and his rainbow with Memento Gray Flannel ink onto more watercolor paper, then used Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers to watercolor them both. Then I used their coordinating Unicorns 'N Rainbows dies to cut them both. Next, I die cut a spot for my rainbow from the stenciled cloud panel, then stamped the awesome sentiment (from the new Pure Magic stamp set), using the Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. I... Read more →

Happy Spring

Happy Spring, Friends! The Spring rainy season has been here and now green is popping up everywhere ... I love it! To celebrate, I thought these adorable Memory Box Spring Bunnies would be appropriate! Aren't those bunnies adorable?!! I stamped them in Memento Gray Flannel ink, then colored them with Copic T0, T1, T2, and gave them rosy cheeks and pink ears with Copic R00 and R20. Next, I die cut Memory Box Blossom Circle from a green alcohol ink background paper I created with Copic Various Ink Refills and glued it in place around the bunnies. Next, I used Memory Box Broadsworth Floral Border to cut the card front right edge of my white top-folding card base. Then I glued a strip of pink alcohol ink background paper to the inside of the card, to make the delicate die cut edge pop. Note: (The alcohol ink backgrounds are from another one of my Copic Various Ink background making sessions << Full details can be found on that blog post. The green paper was made with YG03 and G46. The pink paper was created with Copic RV14 and RV17, with Gold Metallic Mixative added). To finish the card, I stamped... Read more →

Get to Know the 2018 Ellen Hutson Design Team Blog Hop!

Welcome to the "Get to know the new 2018 Ellen Hutson Design Team" Blog Hop! If you are visiting my blog for the first time via the blog hop, my name is Sharon Harnist and I’ve been papercrafting since 1995 when I started scrapbooking. I was introduced to stamping and cardmaking in 2004 and found a lifetime love! I started this blog in 2007, shortly before joining some of the first designers for Ellen Hutson's fabulous online shop! I am very proud and honored to have been around that long and today we are introducing and getting to know some new designers to the team. Today we'll be sharing some of our favorite things . . . Even as a seasoned card maker, I enjoy learning tips & tricks from other crafters! My favorite tip/trick is ... to use a stamp positioner to achieve perfectly aligned stamping! Case in point ... this bookmark: My Misti stamp positioner helped to make sure these sentiments were aligned properly AND helps to make sure stamp impressions are sharp and clear! To create the background for this bookmark, I used one of my favorite and most versatile crafting products, Copic Various Ink Refills on... Read more →

Celebration Lady!

Hello, Crafters! Did you see that the new Essentials by Ellen December release is already available in the Ellen Hutson shop? You can find all the fun, new stamps and dies HERE! If you have an occasion to celebrate, these new stamps and dies have you covered!! In this release is another cute new Leading Lady by Brandi Kincaid: Celebration Lady stamp set and coordinating dies! And here's a card I created with her: I imagined Celebration Lady at a holiday party ... either Christmas or New Year's perhaps? :) The glowing background was created with the emboss resist technique: First I stamped the sentiment and confetti/ribbon with Versamark ink, then clear heat embossed them. Next, I used Delicata Golden Glitz metallic pigment ink to sponge over the the Neenah 110 Lb. Solar White card base. It has such a beautiful shimmer in person! Her dress was paper pieced from yet another one of my Copic Various Ink backgrounds I created in this session << Full background technique details can be found there. I just stamped her dress onto the alcohol-inked Yupo paper using my Misti (the Yupo paper is a bit slick and sometimes it takes several impressions to... Read more →

Top 5 Gifts for Crafters

Hello, friends -- Today I have a card to share that uses one of my favorite techniques, alcohol ink blending, to create a fabulously glitzy background for the holidays! My alcohol ink of choice is Copic Various Ink Refills, since I already have them on hand to refill my Copic markers. They are also my #1 pick for one of the Top 5 Gifts for Crafters this holiday season! There are a few different ways to work with alcohol ink. My first go-to method is to place drops of the alcohol ink onto a felt ink blending pad (I used YG03 & G46), attached to an alcohol ink applicator tool or ink blending tool. I also added in some drops of festive gold metallic mixative. You can also add a few drops of 0-Colorless Blender, to help keep the felt pad moist. Then just pounce the ink blending tool all over a piece of Yupo paper: The Yupo paper is coated, which allows the alcohol ink to move around on the surface of the paper, creating wonderful shade variations! You can keep working the ink until you achieve your desired effect. Another way to use the alcohol ink is to:... Read more →

Christmas in July!

Hello and welcome to Christmas in July! There's nothing like thinking about cooler weather and getting a head start on holiday cards than in the middle of the hottest part of the summer -- right?!! :D Plus, a SALE doesn't hurt, either -- Just click the banner above to shop the Christmas category! The Ellen Hutson team has a little blog hop going on today for you, to help get you in the holiday cardmaking spirit! We hope you'll join us -- You can find a list of all those participating today over in the CLASSroom. Here's my project, in a chilly shade of blue! When last year's Essentials by Ellen Holiday 2016 stamp and die release came out, I never got the opportunity to use the beautiful dove from Julie's Bird Shapes die set, so I was elated to get to use it now! Isn't it gorgeous?! More inspiration for #WorldWatercolorMonth -- I created a quick background using my Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolors: #57 Turquoise Green (very watered down). After washing the background with the lighter Turquoise Green wash, I splattered it with a darker/less watered down Turquoise Green and a mixture of both Bluish Gold and Antique Gold,... Read more →

Celebrate You!

Today I have another beautiful background technique for you, using stamps and dies from Reverse Confetti! Please visit me over in Ellen Hutson's the CLASSroom for all the details. And guess what? All Reverse Confetti products are ON SALE this week at Ellen Hutson! You have until Sunday at 11:59PM Pacific to take advantage of this discount ... Just click the banner below to start shopping! Read more →

Faux Embossed Background

Today in the CLASSroom I'm showing you how to achieve a faux embossed background, uisng your dies! I hope you'll join me there! The dies and stamps I used are from Paper Smooches and the entire PS line is on sale this week at Ellen Hutson (yay)! Just click the banner below to take a look at all of their cute products over in Ellen's store, and save 20%! Sale ends Saturday, April 1 at 11:59pm Pacific. Read more →

Doily Distress Oxide Cards

It's another fun week over in Ellen Hutson's the CLASSroom, using some of my very favorite papercrafting tools, dies! I used my favorite new Distress Oxide inks to create the backgrounds for these cards. I hope you'll join me in the CLASSroom for all the details! I also used some fabulous new-to-me dies from Waffle Flower. And lucky for you, ALL DIES are 15% off this week at Ellen Hutson!! Just click on the graphic below to start shopping. You have until midnight Pacific Sunday, March 19 to take advantage of this sale! Happy shopping! Read more →