Handmade Valentine Made with Help of Toddler

Did you have a nice Valentine's Day? Valentine's Day is a great occasion to send all loved ones handmade valentines.

Handmade Valentine Made with Help of Toddler's Hand Prints: Handprint Heart

Handmade Valentine Made with Help of Toddler's Hand Prints: Handprint Heart

Inspired by this pin, I made a handmade valentine with the help of our toddler. The hardest part about working with a little one who isn't quite ready to craft yet is that they can't sit still long enough and they like to wave and smear their hands everywhere. So instead of paint, tracing the silhouette of her hands was more manageable. No cleaning of sticky fingers or messy paint from hands or clothing.

This valentine has another valentine inside, so after tracing one hand, just cut out three shapes by folding a piece of paper in three. For the front of the card, create a heart shape with one hand and add hand-lettering in the same of a heart on the other side.

On the inside is a mini card with two hands that flip to make a heart shaped card hanging off of string adhered by washi tape. When the hands are flipped up, there's a special message for my valentine.

If you want to keep it simple, just create that first card for a fun graphic handmade card.

Happy hands make happy cards!

Mama Elephant Highlight: Inline Letters

Good morning! I'm back again today for the last November

Mama Elephant

highlight. Inline Letters is an awesome set and has so many uses. The best part is that it comes with coordinating dies so you can cut virtually any word out!

Materials used: Mama Elephant Inline Letters, coordinating Inline Letters Creative Cuts dies, Many Thanks, Bold Banner Creative Cuts die

I created this card by stamping "thanks" on the white card base three times in Creative Color inks in Bubblegum and Smoke. Next, I used the Inline Letters Creative Cuts dies to cut the word "thanks" out from vellum paper and adhered it to the card base. I then die cut a Bold Banner from kraft paper, added light gold glitter speckles to it, and adhered it to the card base behind the die cut word "thanks". Lastly, I stamped the sentiment, "a million thanks" from the Many Thanks set in Bubblegum and adhered it to the front below the die cut letters.

Be sure to stop by the Mama Elephant blog for more inspiration from the rest of the design team!

Thanks for stopping by!

- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Fair Feathers

Hello! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. Today I'm here to have a closer look at the Mama Elephant Fair Feathers set. I love this set because it has great outline and solid feathers along with perfectly coordinating dies.

Materials used: Mama Elephant Fair Feathers, coordinating Fair Feathers Creative Cuts dies, Embellished Tag Creative Cuts die

I created this card by stamping feather outlines on the white base of the card with Mama Elephant Creative Color inks in Lollipop, Sunshine, and Bubblegum. I then added a piece of kraft paper off set to the right of the card base. To give this card tons of dimension, I layered feathers on top of a die cut Embellished Tag and further stamped ink spots, sprinkled confetti, and added a small silver star for a touch of sparkle.

Don't forget to visit the Mama Elephant blog to see what the other design team members created!

Thanks for stopping by!

- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Four Seasons

Happy Monday! I'm here today to share a Mama Elephant highlight of one of the November stamp releases, Four Seasons. This set is perfect for Project Life albums or to make personalized cards. I made a personalized and feminine birthday card for a special little girl who turned four on November 5th.


Materials used: Mama Elephant Four Seasons, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, sequins, gold paint

To create this card, I highlighted the number 4 by coloring it in pink and encircled it with the circular date stamp -- love this circular date stamp by the way! To give the card an extra dimension, I added a glitter gold butterfly perched on the circular date stamp image, some glitter gold paint splatters, and sequins.

Be sure to stop by the Mama Elephant blog to see what the other design team members created with this super awesome and versatile set.

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant: More Mileage With Your ME Favorites

Hello! I'm over at the Mama Elephant blog today, to share four cards that mixes this month's releases with some Mama Elephant originals from last year. This is perfect for ME fans who may already have some of last year's favorites. I wanted to show you how to get more mileage out of your stamps. Here's a preview of the cards but go on over to the Mama Elephant blog to see how I created all of these cards.


"Merry, Happy, Cheer, Santa" card:


Materials used: Mama Elephant Cozy Christmas and Polar Pals, Mama Elephant Creative Color Inks (in sunshine, apple, orangeade, and bubblegum), Memento ink in London Fog, Copic Sketch markers



"Feliz Navidad Snow Globe" card:


Materials used: Mama Elephant Merry Greetings, Full House, and Believe in Magic, Memento ink in London Fog and Tuxedo Black, Stickles, Distress Inks, sequins


"Warm Holiday Wishes Dear Deer" card:


Materials used: Mama Elephant Winter Wonderland and Polar Pals, Mama Elephant Bold Banner die and Embellished Tags die, Memento ink in London Fog and Tuxedo Black, gold glitter paint, sequins


"Yay Baby Celebration" card:


Materials used: Mama Elephant Party Kit and Nursery Decor, Mama Elephant Creative Color Inks (in mojito and ocean), Memento ink in Tuxedo Black, Copic Sketch markers

As you can see, the new Mama Elephant stamp sets are very versatile and can be mixed with older sets for even more variety so you can be sure that you get optimal mileage out of your stamps! Head on over to the Mama Elephant blog to get all of the details on how I created these cards.

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

SEI Spotlight: "Holiday Wreathe" Card & Matching Tag

Hello! I was over on the SEI blog earlier this week sharing another simple holiday card made with SEI's new Chalet collection and my favorite die-cutting tool, the Silhouette Cameo. I really love the Silhouette Cameo because there's so much you can do with it.

For this card, I designed a wreathe very simply using stars and circles. I purposely left some spots uncut so that I could add some pearls to give it added dimension. I also like how it gives it the illusion of berries you may find on a wreathe. The stickers and paper peeking underneath are from the SEI Chalet collection and perfect with a simple kraft card.


Materials used: SEI's Chalet collection, Silhouette Cameo


Check out how I made the card and tags over at the SEI blog!

And this project ends my two year term on the SEI design team. I had so much fun designing for SEI because their designs make it easy to be inspired to make anything! I am so thankful for my time with SEI and I can't wait to continue to be a customer and follow inspiration from the new 2014 design team. Thank you, SEI!

Thanks for stopping by!
-KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant & Studio Calico Cinnamon Spice Add-On Kit

Hello! I'm so excited to share that Mama Elephant has an exclusive stamp set in this month's Studio Calico Card add-on kit, Cinnamon Spice. Plus there's a giveaway on the Mama Elephant blog today, so be sure to stop by the ME blog to get all the details and to participate.

I'm already a Studio Calico Project Life subscriber so getting an extra kit this month to play with and to make cards with was such a treat! I love how the paper pad has perfect designs for holiday card making and my favorite of course is the Mama Elephant exclusive stamp set for the Studio Calico Cinnamon Spice November Card Add-On Kit.

"All is Calm, All is Bright" card: I started with the kraft card base from the kit. I stamped the Mama Elephant row of decorated houses onto the kraft paper for a subtle look. Then I used the white gel pen from the Mama Elephant white marker set to add snow trim to the houses. I really wanted to contrast a sparkly "all is bright" with a tone on tone "all is calm" neighborhood, so I sprinkled a bunch of gold, copper, silver, and clear peach sequins and adhered them to the card base. Now, I love sequins on cards, but they're not always great to send in the mail because they can pop off. So I decided to create a "window" to the card as a protective layer above the sequins using clear acetate.

I really love the Studio Calico white washed brick pattern paper because it reminds me of snow but has just enough texture appearance to make it a faint background. So I used this pattern paper to sandwich the acetate so that the calm and bright village can show through.

Materials used: Studio Calico November Cuppa Card Kit Cinnamon Spice November Card Add-On with exclusive Mama Elephant stamp set, Clearsnap ColorBox fluid chalk ink, Mama Elephant white pen set, Memento ink in Tuxedo Black, sequins

"Joy to You and Me" card: For my second card, I also used the kraft card base that came in the kit. I stamped the Mama Elephant sentiment circle and then used a craft knife to cut a window out. I then stamped and embossed the wreathe image from the Studio Calico Cuppa Card Kit stamp set. I love the black sparkle embossing powder from Ranger! I then drew strings for the ornaments to suspend from and added the Studio Calico bows. To finish the front of the card, I stamped a bunch of snowflakes and stars from the Studio Calico exclusive Mama Elephant Cinnamon Spice stamp set and added a few black stars that came with the kit. Lastly, I stamped the circle sentiment on the inside of the card matching up to the window.

Materials used: Studio Calico November Cuppa Card Kit and Cinnamon Spice November Card Add-On with exclusive Mama Elephant stamp set, Memento ink in London Fog, Tsukineko Embossing Ink, Ranger Embossing Powder in Black Sparkle

Here's a closer look at the card when it's folded flush. The stamped sentiment peeks through perfectly like a dimensional ornament. This is also a better view of the black sparkle embossing powder -- I love the sharp black shimmer!

Be sure to check out the Mama Elephant blog for your chance at the giveaway!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Toy Shop

Good morning! Here to share the last of this month's Mama Elephant highlights. You must check out the Mama Elephant blog if you haven't already done so to see all the new products and design team inspiration.

Today we're taking a close look at Toy Shop. As you may have seen during the Mama Elephant Stampede, I had highlighted several ways to use Toy Shop already. But here's another way to use this awesome stamp set.

I stamped the toy shop image with a welcome sign above. To create the pole for the sign to hang off of on the roof, I stamped the stripe from Remember December in apple. I colored the rest with Copics. Using a craft knife, I cut the window opening and added an old Hambly pennant overlay to create a real window. On the inside of the card, I stamped a few toy images and colored them with Copics. I love how you can see through the cover of the card. This set is perfect for any kind of building and customizing you want and a must-have for the holidays!



Materials used: Mama Elephant Toy Shop, Mama Elephant Creative Color Inks (in apple), Memento ink in Tuxedo Black, Copic Sketch markers

Stop by the Mama Elephant blog to see what the rest of the design team created with this super cute and versatile stamp set!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Mama Elephant Highlight: Merry Greetings

Hi there! We're back again with a Mama Elephant highlight today on Merry Greetings. This is a must-have sentiment set. With a perfect combination of beautiful handwriting and typography, you can wish everyone joy this holiday season in anyway you wish!

"Joy To You and Me" Card: I created a layered card with kraft paper. I first used the Creative Cuts Embellished Tag to make a window so the "joy to you and me" sentiment from Merry Greetings would peek colorfully underneath. I decorated the the sentiment with the cute decorative images from Winter Wonderland and the gorgeous colors from Mama Elephant Creative Color inks. I also added gold polka dot washi tape on the edge of the card fold. Before adhering the kraft cardstock to the card, I added deers and a star image from the Winter Wonderland in hazel to give it a subtle brown on cardstock look so that the decorated sentiment peeking through would be the main focal point.




Materials used: Mama Elephant Merry Greetings, Mama Elephant Creative Cuts (Embellished Tag), Mama Elephant Creative Color Inks (in winter, apple, mojito, hazel, ocean), Memento ink in Tuxedo Black, washi tape

"Mistletoe" Card: I also wanted to show how this perfect holiday sentiment set can also be used to make an even simpler card. All you need is one of the sentiment stamps, accompanying mistletoe suspended from the dotted line image from Polar Pals, and a few clear sequins.


Materials used: Mama Elephant Merry Greetings, Mama Elephant Creative Color Inks (in apple and mojito), Memento ink in Tuxedo Black, sequins

Don't forget to check out the Mama Elephant blog to see what the rest of the design team created with this holiday must-have stamp set!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl