PaperFections

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 →

New Catherine Pooler Products!

Hello, Crafty Friends! Today I wanted to share some beautiful new Catherine Pooler Designs products -- stamps, dies, and inks -- that Ellen Hutson has started carrying at her online store! These inks are quick drying non-permanent dye inks (except for Midnight) and the pads are foam, which means they give amazing coverage that results in gorgeously stamped images! You can see that amazing coverage on my sample, even on kraft cardstock! The Catherine Pooler ink colors I used were: Polished (light red-orange), Shea Butter (soft yellow), Seafoam (light green), Stone Blue, Sugared Lavender; and Midnight, which is a gorgeously deep, dark black permanent ink which works beautifully with alcohol and water-based markers. I can't wait to try this ink with my Copic markers and watercoloring! The sweet stamp set I used is also by Catherine Pooler Designs, Love Grows -- it's such a great flower building set, with wonderful sentiments! The small flowers and flower centers were stamped with Versamark ink, then I used White Pearl Kirarina WiNK pen on the smallest flower centers. MFT's Blueprints 27 was used to create a white stitched scalloped right card edge. BLOG HOP: This post is part of a blog hop to... Read more →

Copic Airbrushed Background-Birds

Today over on Ellen Hutson's the CLASSroom blog I'm showing you how to stretch (literally!) the use of your dies and also how to mask and create a Copic airbrushed background for the United We Flourish Hero Arts-Essentials by Ellen Better Together stamp and die set. I hope you'll join me there! Read more →

United We Flourish: Ellen Hutson & Hero Arts!

Hello and welcome to another United We Flourish collaboration between Ellen Hutson and one of the fabulous companies we work with! This month that fabulous company is Hero Arts and here's a look at the awesome stamp and die combo set, Better Together! Here's a look at a card I created with it: Aren't those birds adorable?!! And SO MUCH fun to color! I stamped the birds onto Neenah 110 Lb. Solar White cardstock, die cut them with their coordinating dies, then colored them with Copic markers. Next, I die cut a window out of another Solar White panel using the Strands die from this month's Essentials by Ellen release and used this as branches for my birds to perch on! The birds were popped up on foam tape and the little heart stamp added to a black cardstock panel behind the window. The heart was colored in with Pearl Kirarina Wink opaque pen. To finish the card, I added the sentiment on the front panel with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, accented with the tiny heart stamped in Love Letter. <3 GIVEAWAY: To celebrate today's release and blog hop, two randomly selected commenters will win a $30 gift certificate to... Read more →

Art Supply Sale!

Stuck in the house on this wintery cold day with nothing to do? Stay in and shop the Art Supply sale at Ellen Hutson through tomorrow! Things like watercolors (and my favorite Kuretake Gansai Tambi sets!), stencil brushes, Distress crayons, mousse, foil, pencils, watercolor paper, glimmer paste, embossing powder, and tons more! Check out the sale category HERE! Stay warm! DANIEL SMITH Extra Fine Watercolors, Essentials 5ml Set of 6 Kuretake Gansai Tambi, 24 Color Set Kuretake Gansai Tambi, 12 Color Set Claritystamp Stencil Brushes, Set of 4 Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Brushes, 3 pk Assortment Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Crayons, Set 1 Tonic Nuvo Embellishment Mousse, Mother of Pearl iCraft Deco Foil Transfer Sheets, Copper Crafter's Companion Spectrum Noir Metallic Pencils Strathmore Watercolor Paper Pack, 5x7 Cold Press Tonic Nuvo Glimmer Paste, Silver Gem Hero Arts Embossing Powder, Detail Black Read more →

United We Flourish: Ellen Hutson & Concord & 9th

Happy Sunday, Friends! Are you in need of a little sweet treat today? If so, the Ellen Hutson and Concord & 9th teams have you covered today! We've both teamed up for another United We Flourish campaign to bring you this oh-so-sweet stamp and die combo set, available exclusively at EllenHutson.com! Here's a look at the awesome Sweet Sprinkles stamp and die set: And here's a card I created with it: The cupcake's frosting was die cut from another one of my Copic Various Ink background making sessions << Full details can be found on that blog post). It was created with Copic RV14 & RV17, with Gold Metallic Mixative added: Then I used the smaller sprinkles stamp to add some glittery gold goodness (aka metallic gold sparkle embossing powder) to the top of the frosting! The cupcake liner was die cut from gold foil cardstock, then run through my paper crimper. The cupcake was popped up on foam tape on the white card base. Another scattering of sprinkles was heat embossed down the left side and the cute sentiment added along the bottom in Rose Bud Memento ink, to match the frosting. :) BLOG HOP & PRIZES! To celebrate... 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 →

12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2017!

It's that time of year again, for one of my favorite projects -- Ellen Hutson's 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist! You can find all the instructions for my Copic Various alcohol ink background tag over in the CLASSroom. << Simply leave a comment on that blog post and you'll be entered into a drawing to receive a $25 gift certificate to spend at EllenHutson.com! Or if you are inspired to get creating and join in the challenge fun, you could win a $150 gift certificte! You can find all the details here. Happy Holidays! Read more →

Ellen Hutson 11th Anniversary Inspiration Hop

I can't believe my dear friend Ellen Hutson has had her wonderful online papercrafting store open for 11 years! I'm so honored and proud to say that I've been designing for her for 10 of those years, this month! Today's project features just a few of my favorite essential papercrafting items you'll find in Ellen's shop, including her fabulous line of Essentials by Ellen stamps and dies, by various designers. One of my favorite lines is Julie Ebersole's Mondo Flower series, which I'm using today! Ooh-la-la, meet Mondo Peony, one of my favorite Essentials by Ellen sets! This is the largest in this 4-bloom set. I allowed it to take center stage, by stamping it in Memento's waterproof Rose Bud and Peanut Brittle inks onto watercolor paper and watercoloring it with Kuretake's Gansai Tambi 36-color set. The colors I used, #34 Dark Pink, #36 Wine Red, and #42 Bright Yellow (for the peony), and #53 Mid Green for the leaves, are all also available individually. After die cutting the peony and leaves with their coordinating Mondo Peony dies, I popped them up over a watercolor cardstock base on which I painted stripes with #90 Gold. To finish the card, I... Read more →

Ellen Hutson 11th Anniversary Sale!

Happy Black Friday, Crafty Friends! I wanted to let you know about the fabulous 11th Anniversary sale going on at EllenHutson.com starting today! Just click <-- that link or the banner above to start shopping! More details: -Sale is Friday 11/24 until Sunday 11/27 11:59pm PST -20% off everything but new Mama Elephant (anything released in the last 90 days) and the BCRF fundraiser set -Must use the code celebration17 to receive discount -Anniversary sale code cannot be combined with any other codes and is not valid on previous purchases Happy holidays and happy shopping! Read more →

United We Flourish: Ellen Hutson & MFT!

Are you ready for another United We Flourish collaboration between Ellen Hutson and one of your favorite stamp companies she carries? This month that company is My Favorite Things and this is the sweet Good Friends stamp and die combo set, available exclusively at Ellen Hutson: So sweet, isn't it?!! Here's the card I created: Because we all have those impossible-to-forget friends, right? :) The sentiment is what inspired this card ... Once I saw it, I knew I HAD to stamp and color up all the sweet dogs and cats in this set! Here are the Copic Markers I used to color them: To finish this card, I did a wash of Daniel Smith Cobalt Teal Blue watercolor on Ranger watercolor paper. Then I stamped the sentiment on Neenah Solar White 110 Lb. cardstock, die cut it with MFT's Stitched Oval Stax, and popped it up over the animals. The sweet heart is a stamp included in this set; it was colored with B01 Copic marker, then glittered with Tonic's Nuvo Aqua Shimmer Pen (love!): BLOG HOP: You can find out more info about the United We Flourish campaign HERE. And for more inspiration, you can find the full... Read more →

UWF Altenew: More Poppy Fields!

Hello, Crafters! Today I have a few more projects for you featuring this month's Ellen Hutson United We Flourish collaboration with Altenew's new stamp and die combo set, Poppy Fields! Because, well . . . I adore flowers! :) I love creating my own backgrounds, and the outline stamps in this set made a wonderful pattern, I thought! For this card, I randomly stamped the largest outline flower with Ranger Jet Black Archival ink onto a Neenah Solar White 110 Lb. panel, then trimmed it down a little. Next, I die cut Essentials by Ellen Hinged Thanks out of the panel, colored the letters with Black Copic Marker, then mounted the panel onto a Bazzill Lollipop card base: I love how the rose colored card base shows underneath the hinged "Thanks" letters when they are open! Next, I stamped two of the layering poppy stamps, using Hero Arts Bold Rose Madder Ink as the lighter base, then Hero Arts Bold Crimson for the darker accents. The center of the poppy was stamped in Jet Black Archival ink, then shimmered with Clear Wink of Stella marker (ooh-la-la!) The poppy was die cut with its coordinating die (included in the Poppy Fields... Read more →

United We Flourish: Altenew Blog Hop

Last November Ellen Hutson began celebrating their 10th anniversary with the theme United We Flourish. And what does "United We Flourish" mean? It means that our company would not be here without the amazing companies we work with, the designers who create stunning projects showcasing the wonderful products being created, AND you -- the fabulous customers! Your response to United We Flourish was overwhelming and heart-warming! We heard repeatedly from you that you appreciate how our little company works together with the other manufacturers we carry, to bring you their products and education showing how to use those products. To thank you for your constant support and encouragement, we have partnered with some of our friends to offer exclusive limited edition stamp and die sets! These sets will be available for a limited time (most likely 3-6 months) after each release, depending on how quickly you snap them up. The theme of these stamps sets are uplifting and fun. This month's United We Flourish collaboration is with Altenew and here's the beautiful die and stamp set combo they created, Poppy Fields: Isn't this layering stamp set wonderful?!! It creates two different sizes and shapes of poppies, and also has the... Read more →

Big Sale!

Hello, Crafty Peeps! Just passing along a little sale info I KNOW you will be interested in!! Celebrate September by picking up some fresh new STAMPS at 20% off!!! Friday through Sunday, use the code saveonstamps17 to take 20% off all stamps in the stamp category at Ellen Hutson!! Coupon codes cannot be combined and are valid on in-stock items only. Not good on previous purchases. Sale ends September 17th, 2017 at 11:59PM PDT. Please note, we anticipate that the number of orders will alter our quick shipping time, so please expect that your order may take up to a week to ship. And please understand that we will not be able to combine orders. Thanks & have fun shopping! Read more →

Essentials By Ellen September 2017 Release

Hello Crafty Friends! Welcome to the first day of inspiration hops for the September Essentials by Ellen release! This month brings some fun new accessories (and pals!) for the adorable All Inside bear, with the Bear Ware 2 stamps and coordinating Bear Ware 2 dies! Another one of my favorite additions this month are the Concertina Tags: So I combined all of these elements to create this fun tag card: The Concertina Tags each have different decorative bottom edges and are hinged together but you can easily trim them apart, to make die cutting multiple tags super quick and easy! For the base of my tag card, I die cut through two layers of Neenah 80 lb. Solar White cardstock with the tags die, leaving the top edge uncut and "hinged". This creates a card base 6-3/8" wide x 3-1/4" tall that will fit in a #10 business envelope: Next, I die cut a single layer of Solar White cardstock Concertina Tags, cut them apart, then used the following Distress Oxide Inks to sponge color onto the white tags, in an ombre effect: When the card is closed, the hinged tags can be Z or accordion-folded: I had fun dressing... Read more →