Gnome Sweet Gnome

Have I ever told you that I have a thing for gnomes? I think they're pretty darn cute and I really love them in stamp form. Turns out they live in pretty cute houses too! And did you know that Sweet 'n Sassy has not only a gnome house digi image but also has a cute little gnome and gnome sentiments too??! Here are the links to all three:

Gnome Home
Gnome Sentiments
Nathaniel Gnome (of course we named him!)

For today's card I started with my sweet gnome house, which was colored with Copic markers. My chocolate brown card base is layered with this fabulous orange polka dot paper from Jillibean Soup along with a sweet woodsey scrap of paper I had hidden in my stash. I opted for cutting out my gnome home and then used foam tape to layer it onto a piece of embossed kraft cardstock. To finish off my card, I added some smoke in the chimney but using a piece of cotton, the sentiment, a bow, and a button.

And do you know where the layout came from? It's this week's Sweet Stop sketch challenge! This week The Sweet Stop is celebrating its one year anniversary! Check out the challenge details here...You could win 10 free digis!!

Thanks for stopping by the blog today!!

Short & Stubby = Lovable

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I wanted to share another card I created with that adorable and lovable "Nathaniel Gnome".

My inspiration for creating this card came from The Sweet Stop's sketch SSS51. A great sketch, except that I got so 'into it' that I forgot my red ribbon which was to go across the card under the image. Regardless, I'm pretty happy with how the card turned out.

"Nathaniel Gnome" is printed on Neenah Super Smooth card stock and then colored with Copics. In my usual way, I colored him first and then paired him with the DP. I am rather happy to say that I did not agonize over the exact color match between his shirt and the designer paper. I tend to do that, lol and have been known to waste precious crafting time looking for just the right paper. My DP is from DCWV called Green Woodland Toadstools. The moment I saw it, I knew it would go perfectly with the adorable gnome.

The sentiment is from "Gnome Sentiments" and I just have to say how wonderful digital sentiments are. Although I have Photoshop, I tend to use MS Word for my digital stamps. I sized the sentiment to 1 inch, printed it out on white card stock and then used my circle punch to punch it out. So easy and so quick. I don't know about you, but there used to be so many times that I had a rubber stamp sentiment but it was the wrong size. I'm sure you can relate, right?

I hope you enjoyed my gnome card. The first thing my husband said when he saw the card (can you guess?) "Travelocity", lol.

And don't forget, tomorrow is Thursday which means it's Digi Day over at the Sweet 'n Sassy Group on SNR and PCP. Deedee will be your hostess at SNR and Kim will be hosting at PCP. Stop by to get all the details of the challenge, prizes and to participate in the friendly conversation.

Hope to see you there!

Meet Nathaniel Gnome

Happy Friday everyone!

With all the fabulous digital stamps at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps, I always have such a hard time deciding which digi I should play with. After a great 'cyber' discussion among the design team, discussing gnomes and the memories they conjure up, I decided to create a card with Korin's Nathaniel Gnome.

Nathaniel was suggested by Chris Sather for the Digi Designer Contest. Isn't that awesome to see a stamp that you thought of?

He's colored with Copics and for his beard I became daring using Liquid Applique. It's my first time using this medium and I am not quite sure if I like it. His beard is too smooth. I'll just have to try it again, right?

Now when I think of gnomes, I think forest, nature, woodsy type colors which is why I chose earth tones for my card stock and panels. I added the red card stock pieces to tie the color of his jacket and hat in with the card. Having said all that, Nathaniel is printed onto Neenah Solar White super smooth card stock which I generally would not have paired with earth tone colors. This time I thought the white gave it a nice 'pop'. I love white space :-).

The sentiment is from Gnome Sentiments. These are just two of several great digital stamps which were released this week at the shop. And if you don't see a digi stamp that you are looking for or think of one that would make a great digital stamp, enter your suggestion in the Digi Designer Contest. Hurry though, this contest ends March 19th! Wouldn't it be so exciting to see your name at Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps? I think so :-)

Thank you guys so much and have a wonderful Friday!

~Micki