Happy New Year!

It's hard to believe we've come to the last day of 2018 already, but here we are! I enjoy the feeling of clean slate whether it be -- the start of a new day, the beginning of a new month, or the dawn of a  new year! I thought this TCW stencil looked a bit like a clock face it's center, so I decided to make a New Year's card with it. This card is a bit of a departure for me -- it's a bit more mixed media than I usually do, but I really wanted to do something with my Gelli Plate. I mixed two colors of distress paint (blue and gray) on my gelli plate and used a stencil to create the center of my card.

 Here's wishing each of you a Happy and Blessed 2019!

Supplies and tools:
Gelli Printing Plate
Mini Rosetta Stencil (TCW)
Distress Paint --- Hickory Smoke & Blueprint Sketch
Dina Wakley Pallete Knife
Circle and Scallop Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
Clock Hands Die (Sizzix)
Tuxedo Black Ink (Tsukineko)
Distress Embossing Ink (Ranger)
Distress Ink (Ranger) - Hickory Smoke & Chipped Sapphire
Sponge Daubers
Silver Embossing Powder
French Market Stamps Set (Tim Holtz)
Different Strokes Stamp Set (Basic Grey)
Pearl
Silver Gel Pen

I'd love to see what you've been creating, so stop by the current link party and showoff any creation that includes a product or two from one of the companies carried in the Cropstop store.

Bauble Blossoms

Hello friends! It's time for another "Inspiration Monday" post. Today I'm sharing a bright and happy card I created using some new Cropstop supplies I recently acquired!

Here's how I put this card together:

• embossed a piece of blue card stock with the Holly Flourish Embossing Folder from Ultimate Crafts
• inked the embossing with Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink (Ranger)
• stamped a sentiment from All Things Are Possible (Heartfelt Creations) in mermaid lagoon distress ink
• highlighted the sentiment with a blue colored pencil
• die cut my sentiment using the Beaded Oval Nestabilities (Spellbinders)
• added White Opal Liquid Pearls around the edges
• popped up my sentiment using Scotch Foam Mounting Tape
• die cut three flowers using the Bauble Blossoms Two Dies from Spellbinders
• inked their edges with mermaid lagoon distress ink

Now it's your turn....stop by the current link party and showoff any creation that includes a product or two from one of the companies carried in the Cropstop store.

Simply Striped

Hello blog friends! Today I'm sharing three really simple and easy projects centered around the idea of creating a striped background with distress inks and water.

Here's how I did it:

• Swiped the colors I wanted across a piece of watercolor paper
• used a wet paintbrush to paint the colors and blend them into each other 

For my first card  I:

• Swiped Spun Sugar, Cracked Pistachio, and Scattered Straw on Watercolor Paper
• Using a small paintbrush and cup of water I painted over the colors, blending where they met
• Stamped the Zentangle Butterfly (Woodware) in Tuxedo Black ink (Tsukineko)
• Die cut the bottom of my panel with the Scallop Basic Edges 2 Set from My Favorite Things
• Added three sequins
• Mounted my watercolor piece on white card stock with my ATG gun
• Stamped the sentiment (Zentangle Butterfly) in the same distress inks

For my second card I created a rainbow background by:

•  swiping Seedless Preserves, Blueprint Sketch, Mowed Lawn, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, and Fired Brick Distress Ink (Ranger) across my Watercolor Paper
• blending with water and a small paintbrush
• Next I, die cut a circle from the center with the Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders) and layered it on black die cut -- Scallop Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders) 
• I popped this up off my card with mounting tape
• Die cut Birds on a Wire (Spellbinders) and glues it across the center
• matted my watercolor piece on black card stock with my ATG gun
• spritzed the completed card with water (to create spots) and heat set

For the last project today, I created a bookmark by:

• Swiping Salty Ocean, Broken China, and Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink (Ranger) across my Watercolor Paper
•  blending with water and paintbrush
• Using sponge daubers, I applied Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink (Ranger) through the Feathers Stencil from TCW
• The sentiment is from Zentangle Butterfly (Woodware) and is stamped in Versamark Watermark ink and embossed with white embossing powder
• I finished off the bookmark by flicking a few spatters of white acrylic paint over the panel and mounting it on coordinating blue card stock
• I created matching crinkle ribbon using Hug Snug Seam Binding and Mermaid Lagoon/Blueprint Sketch distress ink

Now it's YOUR turn to share the projects you've been working on! Stop by our CURRENT LINK PARTY and show off anything that includes a product or two from one of the companies Cropstop carries the store!

Guest Designer - Vicki Robertson

Time for another Guest Design post here on the Cropstop blog. Today I'm sharing the talents of Vicki Robertson of He"artful" Validation of Vicki. Vicki has not only created a beautiful spring themed card to share with us, but also includes step by step directions (with photos!) for our readers.

Vicki Says: "This card base is  6" x 6", which happens to be my "go to" size when creating cards.  There's something about four symmetrical sides that makes me feel like I'm working on mini canvas or layout.

The "How-to"..

1.  Cut your card base 6" x 12", fold in half and crease.

2.  Cut the next layer of cardstock 5 7/8" x 5 7/8" and adhere to base.

3.  Cut patterned paper 5 3/4" x 5 3/4" and adhere to previous layer.

4.  Die cut two Foliage Flourishes and adhered to top and bottom of card front.  

5.  Die cut Majestic Oval and adhere Nesting Oval die cut centering it in the opening.  Place white foam tape to back for dimension and adhere to card center.

6.  Make bow and hot glue at top of oval.

7.  Die cut, ink and assemble flowers using foamiran.

 8.  Use black micro beads mixed with glue to create flower centers and let dry.  Hot glue flowers over the bow.

9.  Add sentiment using Elizabeth Crafts Banner die.

10. Glue butterfly to center of oval. 

Thanks, CropStop, for having me as a Guest Designer once again! It's always a pleasure to be here."

 Supplies and Tools:

Aleene’s Tacky Glue

Bazzill Paper

  Core'dinations Cardstock

Elizabeth Crafts Banner Die

Foamiran for Flowers

Heartfelt Creations Vintage Floret

Love Nicole Patterned Paper

Martha Stewart Micro Beads  

Prima Butterfly

Ranger Distress Inks...

(Peeled Paint, Picked Raspberry, Seedless Preserves, Shaded Lilac, Victorian Velvet)

Really Reasonable Ribbon

Spellbinders Nestabilities Majestic Oval

Spellbinders Shapeabilities Foliage Flourish

Tutti Designs Dotted Nesting Ovals

 Thanks for sharing your talent with us, Vicki! 

Now it's your turn....stop by our CURRENT LINK PARTY and showoff any projects that include a few products from companies Cropstop carries in the store! 

I'll look forward to seeing your work appear in the gallery!

Re-Inkers Background

Today I have a super fun card to share with you as well as a mini tutorial for creating a splatter background using re-inkers.

To create my background I:

• Dropped ink from Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide Re-inkers and Broken China Distress Oxide Re-inkers in a random pattern on Watercolor Paper
• Using my Tim Holtz spritzer tool I blew the inks around my paper till I liked the splatter pattern
• I laid these aside to dry (Note: I found that it took quite a while for these to dry completely, even with the help of a heat tool. You may want to consider leaving them over night if you try this technique.)
• When my panels were dry,  I used my Tim Holtz splatter brush and applied some black paint spatters over top

Since I decided to go for a fun card, I incorporated a different fold into the design for even greater interest!  To create my card I:

• Cut my splatter background into 2 1/2 x 4 inch pieces and matted it on black card stock
• Scored and folded my 4 1/4 by 11 inch piece of white card stock at the 2 3/4 and 8 1/4 line and attached my splatter pieces to the top and bottom
• Stamped one of the birds and two sentiments from the Bird Crazy set (Tim Holtz) in Tuxedo Black ink (Tsukineko)
• Colored my bird with Prismacolor Pencils
• Dies cut my bird with the Circle Nestabilites (Spellbinders) and layered it on coordinating a Scallop Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders) 
• Using a Sharpie marker I added some faux stitching lines around my main image and adhered just the top portion to my card

 Inside:

• I decorated the left side with a piece of Washi Tape and added a sentiment from a Bible Journaling set (American Crafts)
• I created a two tone effect by inking the stamp with Broken China Distress Ink first and then bouncing my Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink around the edges before stamping

I hope this card inspires you to try create something fun today! After your finished, be sure to stop by the CURRENT LINK PARTY and showoff your projects that include a few products from the companies Cropstop carries in the store! Happy Crafting!

Almost nesties w/ your cricut

ok, so I love my Cricut and I love my Nesties for different reasons, but I love them both so, while I haven't bought the scalloped nesties yet (they are in my BUY LIST) I have been able to cut out some scallop ovals w/ my cricut.

This particular one is from the Storybook Cartridge. This cartridge has some cool shapes to cut out. I of course embossed the oval w/ one of my Cuttlebug embossing folders and added some color w/ some distress ink.

Xmas and Labels #9 paired up...

Turid has made a match made in heaven , with the Spellbinder's Label #7 and this Monochromatic Xmas dream of a card. We have a few of these Nesties and many more @ CropStop.com

Xmas is around the corner...

Have you started your christmas cards yet? Here to inspire is one of Vicki's card using some of the available punches and nestabilities at CropStop.com.

Supplies: Spellbinders Nestabilities Label 8; Martha Stewart Ornament Edge Punch

Spellbinders SHOUT! - Label Seven

Have you seen Marcelle's samples at the CropStop's Forum and Gallery? She is using Label 7 of the Nestabilities from Spellbinder in some very gorgeous and unusual ways! Here is this week's breathtaking inspiration. I love how it looks christmasy but it is not a xmas card.