Mama Elephant Challenge

Hello there…hope you are all enjoying your weekend! 

I thought I would share a card that I created for the challenge over at Mama Elephant. Here is the inspiration photo, courtesy of www.raymondhom.com.

And here's what I created…

I actually used stamps from three Mama Elephant stamp sets. The sequin and star stamps are from Confetti, the doily-like stamp is from Filigree and the sentiment is from Up and Away. I also used the Femmes Frames dies which are my FAVORITE dies! I don't even put those two away. They have what may be a permanent place on my desk. 

I am really pleased with the way it turned out. If you are interested in checking out the challenge or all the other gorgeous creations, they can be found here.

Have a wonderful week!

My First Shaker Card!

Hello all! I hope you are having a great week!

Well…technically this isn't my first shaker card. It's just the first one I am going to show you. :) I had a couple other ones that I worked on but I honestly wasn't happy with the results. I watched a ton of videos but until I actually tried putting one together…well, let's just say I learned a lot. I plan to do a how-to version of what works for me in a few days. 

I do have one I want to share…please remember it's my first attempt. 

And here's a bit of a close-up…

Not too bad for a first attempt, right? I am going to make a very similar one in the how-to video. (And I hope to have a few others to share.)

I think these shaker cards are really adorable and there are ton of options. If you want to see more shaker cards, head over to the the Pretty Pink Posh blog and check out the shaker card blog hop which can be found here.

So many awesome cards to see! Everyone did such a fantastic job!

Happy crafting everyone!

Honey Bunny Mini Easter Cards

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you are enjoying your weekend! I want to share the mini cards I created to go with some simple little treat bags I made for friends.

It was a perfect excuse to pull out some of my new Mama Elephant stamps! I grabbed my favorite one…Honey Bunny…and got busy.

I wanted these cards to be relatively small so I cut some squares of paper which were 2 x 2 inches. I stamped on the images I wanted to use and got busy coloring with my Copic markers. I added a little bit of pattern paper and used some kraft card stock from Papertrey Ink as the card base.

I think they are pretty darn cute…and that stamp set is stinkin' adorable! Absolutely love it!

You can check out all these adorable stamps right here.

Happy crafting everyone!

Possibilities..

Hello everyone! 

I have a small new Moleskine sketchbook that I have been wanting to start using for my art journal. (I showed it in a haul video on my YT channel/AKCaraboo.) It's 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches. Small by many people's standards for an art journal but I am finding myself liking smaller things like this lately. The larger pages of other journals seem somewhat daunting to me. Here's what it looks like...

I have been thinking about cracking open this journal for a couple of weeks but have been stuck thinking about the possibilities...what I want it to be, what types of things I want to try or do in it…and so on. But finally I decided to just DO IT. So tonight…with my daughter and hubby both out…I am ripping off the plastic and playing! Can't wait to see what is created…and I will share it with you from time to time. 

If you have been waiting to do something…try something new...just go for it. We over-think things so much…we need to just learn to enjoy the process. So that's what I am going to do…stop thinking and start playing!

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Hello all! I am back again! Yeah me…posting again! I am back to share a recent project with all of you. I have been crafting and creating for years but much of what I make I give away to friends and family. I decided I need to start creating some things to put up around my house. I was looking through my stash of goodies to alter when I came across some mini canvases. I decided to use some of them to create some magnets for my frig. I pulled them out and laid them down to figure out which layout worked best. 

Once I was happy with the layout of the canvases I laid out the stamps to determine where to place them.

I placed them face down because that is how I would be stamping them onto the canvases. Once that was done, I picked a stencil and began applying some molding paste to each of the canvases. Before doing that I laid the stencil down with the stamp on each canvas to determine where I wanted to apply the molding paste.

Then I moved the stamp and applied the molding paste. Once I had added that to all the canvases and let it dry, I applied lots of color. I sprayed, applied gelatos, sprayed again…added gesso…and so on…until I was happy with the background. Then I stamped the images using Archival Ink…and if I am truthful…added a bit more color and gesso. I also darkened the parts that were stenciled…then added some gesso. I kept "tweaking" it until I finally had to walk away. When I came back (the next day) I decided it needed some black sequins. Then I added some magnets to the back and called it done!

What do you think? Here are a couple of close ups…

I really happy with them and love seeing them on my frig every day! Have a great day!

Derwent Inktense Pencils & Unity Stamps

Hello all! I know it's been a while…I hope you are all doing really well in this not-so-new-any-more year! I have been busy crafting and I wanted to share one of my newest crafty loves…Derwent Inktense pencils! They are water-soluble goodness! I actually have had these pencils for quite a while but I really hadn't tried to use them. So I pulled out one of my favorite Unity stamps…Jacqueline girl and stamped her on watercolor paper (140 lb cold press). (If you try this, make sure to use waterproof ink.) I then colored the image using the Inktense pencils.

Here's a quick video on how I did it:

This technique was so much fun…I think these pencils are a great alternative to Copic markers. (I love my Copics but they are a bit expensive and take practice.) I liked them so much I went out and got some more AND I ordered a small set of the Derwent Graphitint and Derwent Metallics (both water-soluble) to try! 

Here's how the card turned out:

I really like the watercolor feel the image has after using these pencils. I hope the video shows you how really simple this to do and you give this technique a try. 

Happy Crafting!

One of My Favorite Things...Coleto Pens!!

Hi everyone! I hope you have all been enjoying the last days of summer...we actually had a fantastic summer here in Alaska. We had gorgeous sunny days, cool breezes, great temperatures but...it's been raining for days now. Fall is here. I find myself wanting to snuggle up with a cozy blanket, some hot tea and my journal. Journaling means reaching into my collection of pens to find the perfect one to suit my mood.

If you are a subbie to my Youtube channel, AKCaraboo, then you know that I have an addiction to pens. I shared my newest pen case...full to the brim with pens.

It's truly difficult for me to find a pen that I don't like...even the ones that have "issues." Maybe I don't like the color but I like the feel of the pen, maybe I don't like the way the pen looks but I like the way it writes...you get the idea. I have even taken the ink from pens I don't like and put it into other pens. Which leads me to one of my new favorites...the Pilot Hi-Tec- C Coleto multi-pen. 

These pens are fantastic because you can buy the pen body you like and then pick the ink cartridge you want to use...colors and sizes. Here's my newest one...

This pen body will fit three ink cartridges. (I also have one that fits five!!) The ink cartridges are .5mm...I also have them in .4mm. I love the way you can tailor the pen to suit your needs and preferences.

You simply choose a pen body and open the top...

Pick the ink cartridges you want to use and slide them into the pen body...

And then close the pen top (or as I call it the lid).

And start writing...here's the colors I put in this pen.

They are super easy to use and the ink writes very smoothly.

I plan to do some more pen reviews and some comparisons both here and on my YT channel so stay tuned for those...I figured it was a good excuse to buy more pens!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Cara