Newton’s Nook Designs November Release – Day 3

November 17, 2021November 17, 2021 Samantha VanArnhem14 Comments

Hello friends and welcome back to Day 3 of the Newton’s Nook November release!

All new products for this release will be available for purchase on Thursday, November 18th!

I have so much to share today! My first project uses the new Snow Angel Newton stamp set and coordinating dies:

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I started with the purple heart background paper from the new Coffee House Stories paper pad for my background. I create a little “snowbank” for Newton with a circle die from the Circle Frames Die Set and attached it to the background with foam adhesive.

I also added a few pale purple snowflakes and a sentiment all from the same stamp set.

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I stamped, colored and cut the Newton image and attached it to the circle die cut using an Action Wobbler to give the card some added fun!

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Next up is the match to my first card but this time using the new Snow Angel Puppy stamp set and coordinating dies:

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It was fun to think up slight changes to my first card design that made this card turn out so differently.

I decided to use a classic red and green color combination for this card and switched from the circle die to layering rectangular shapes from the Frames and Flags Die Set:

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I still added some snowflakes to the background (this time in a pale blue) and a sentiment in the bottom corner.

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I attached the puppy with foam adhesive rather than an Action Wobbler which still gives a fun dimensional effect!

My last card for this release might just be my favorite and it uses the new Roll With It stamp set:

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I knew I wanted to play off of the curved design of this stamp so after stamping and coloring the image on a white panel, I cut the top using a die from the Land Borders Die Set.

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I ink blended along the top of my card front using Distress Oxide Inks and then added the die cut panel using foam adhesive on top giving the card the look of a winter hillside!

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Would you like to win the “Snow Angel Newton ” or the “Snow Angel Puppy” Stamp Set? We will choose ONE lucky winner for each stamp set!

Here’s how to win: Comment on the NND blog and Design Team blogs (see list below)! The winner will be chosen at random from the collective reveal posts. Make sure to check out each of their blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Wednesday November 17th at 9pm ET to comment — winners will be announced on the blog post on Thursday, November 18th.

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton’s Nook Designs

Samantha VanArnhem – you are here!

Amanda Wilcox

Newton’s Nook Designs November Release – Day 2

November 16, 2021November 14, 2021 Samantha VanArnhem16 Comments

Hello friends and welcome to Day 2 of the Newton’s Nook November release!

**All new products for this release will be available for purchase on Thursday, November 18th!**

Today’s project uses the new All Booked Up stamp set and coordinating dies:

I also used the new Bookmark die and the Coffee House Stories paper pad:

I absolutely knew I wanted to use the paper that was all stacks of books for my background (it’s my favorite design from this pad):

Normally I would use a basic circle or square shape to create a home for my image but the bookmark die was perfect! I did trim it a bit shorter to fit the stamped and colored image.

I finished the card with an embossed sentiment from the same set. I would normally have added a bit of ribbon to the top of the bookmark but we were in the midst of moving and the box where all the ribbon lives hasn’t surfaced yet! I may still try to add it in later.

Would you like to win the “All Booked Up” Stamp Set? This stamp set will be given away to ONE lucky winner!

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton’s Nook Designs

Samantha VanArnhem – you are here!

Amanda Wilcox

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Newton’s Nook Designs November Release – Day 1

November 15, 2021November 14, 2021 Samantha VanArnhem14 Comments

Hello friends and welcome to Day 1 of the Newton’s Nook November release!

**All new products for this release will be available for purchase on Thursday, November 18th!**

My first project uses the new Time for Coffee stamp set and coordinating dies:

I also used the new Coffee House Stories paper pad:

I have to admit that I’m not a coffee drinker so I had to do a little searching to figure out what some of the images were in this set!

I knew I wanted to create a “row” of images for the focal point of my card so I started by stamping, coloring and die cutting all of them to start playing around with a layout.

I ended up with five of the images (odd numbers!) and then used the super cute coffee bean paper as a base for them to sit on. I also added a small strip of the striped paper at the top.

I added the two largest images by gluing them directly onto the card base. The three smaller images where added with foam adhesive for dimension.

I finished this card with an embossed sentiment from the set. Now I’m all set for a coffee loving friend’s birthday!

Would you like to win the “Time for Coffee” Stamp Set? This stamp set will be given away to ONE lucky winner!

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton’s Nook Designs

Samantha VanArnhem – you are here!

Amanda Wilcox

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Newton’s Nook Designs July Release and Giveaway

July 16, 2021July 15, 2021 Samantha VanArnhem2 Comments

Hello friends! Today I am excited to be part of the 8 year anniversary celebration with Newton’s Nook Designs! To celebrate this awesome milestone, Newton’s Nook Designs has released adorable new cupcake themed products, which I will be using on my projects today. There are prizes too! Read all the way to the end of this post to find out how you can win!

Products Used:

Newton’s Cupcake: https://www.newtonsnookdesigns.com/newtons-cupcake/

Newton’s Cupcake Die Set: https://www.newtonsnookdesigns.com/newtons-cupcake-die-set/

Cupcake Stencil Set: https://www.newtonsnookdesigns.com/cupcakes-stencil-set/

Would you like to win a $50 store credit to the Newton’s Nook Designs Online Shop? We will choose TWO lucky winners! Here’s how to win:

Comment on the NND blog and Design Team blogs! (see list below) The winner will be chosen at random from the collective posts. Make sure to check out each of their blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Monday, July 19th at 9pm ET to comment — winners will be announced on the blog post on Tuesday, July 20th.

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton’s Nook Designs

Newton’s Nook Designs June Release and Giveaway – Day 3

June 16, 2021June 12, 2021 Samantha VanArnhem16 Comments

Hello friends and welcome to Day 3 of the Newton’s Nook June release! I have more beachy goodness to share today but this time the dogs are invited too!

All new products for this release will be available for purchase on Friday June 18th!

My first project uses the new Kitten Beach stamp set and coordinating dies:

This may come as a shock if you’ve seen my last two posts, but I decided to pick my favorite image and create a little shaped, blended background. It’s kind of my go-to plan. So the question is, which was my favorite image? They are all cute and I really love Newton in the lounge chair but I couldn’t pass by that little crab!

I created a similar background to yesterdays card (blending the blue and brown together) but this time used a larger circle stencil and also added in clouds from the Petite Cloud Stencil.

After I colored and die cut the image, I added it to the background with foam adhesive.

I finished this card by adding a sentiment a few die cut shells from the Summer Moments stamp set.

And now the beach goes to the dogs!

Now, could I have created another version of a shaped and blended background for these two? Absolutely!

But I I some ideas for adding more elements and decided to go wild and use the entire card base for my background this time:

Now you might be wondering where that sign came from – this is where having a variety of sets from the same manufacturer comes in really handy! When stamps have the same general style and line thickness, it’s so easy to combine them! That sign is actually from the Hoppy Greetings stamp set released earlier this year!

After I die cut the main image, I selectively trimmed all the non-beachy parts off and layered the dogs on top to cover anything else (like the bunny paws)!

For the background, I blended in a similar way to my first card just over the entire card front this time. I then added the palm trees and birds from the Retro Sun and Palms stencil (such a versatile stencil set!).

To finish this card, I glued the sign directly onto the card base and added the colored and die cut dogs on top with foam adhesive.

Would you like to win the “Kitten Beach” or the “Beach Barks” Stamp Set? We will choose ONE lucky winner for each stamp set!

Here’s how to win: Comment on the NND blog and Design Team blogs (see list below)! The winner will be chosen at random from the collective reveal posts. Make sure to check out each of their blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Thursday June 17th at 9pm ET to comment — winners will be announced on the blog post on Friday, June 18th.

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton’s Nook Designs

Samantha VanArnhem – you are here!

Amanda Wilcox

Newton’s Nook Designs June Release and Giveaway – Day 2

June 15, 2021June 12, 2021 Samantha VanArnhem18 Comments

Hello friends and welcome to Day 2 of the Newton’s Nook June release! Today we are starting our visit to the beach!

All new products for this release will be available for purchase on Friday June 18th!

My first project uses the new Summer Moments stamp set and Retro Sun and Palms stencil – another perfect pair!

I would like to title this card “Me in a Few Weeks”! We are finally taking a beach vacation this summer and this will literally be me, reading on the beach. Besides shell hunting, it’s my favorite thing to do on the beach!

Starting with the background, I used the sun stencil first with sunset shades of Distress Oxide inks. The sun on it’s own is enough to anchor a card but I couldn’t resist adding the palm trees and birds too! I chose to use black ink for a silhouette effect.

I stamped and colored the reading and beach bag images from this set (but again you could use any from this set and they would fit right into that background). I added some flicks with the darker marker color on her hat to give it the look of straw.

Once the images were colored and cut out with the coordinating dies, I added them to the background. The reading image is attached with foam adhesive but the back was just tucked under and attached directly to the card front with glue.

I finished with my favorite sentiment from this set that just tucked perfectly between the images and palm trees!

Next up is Newton’s Seashell:

I love these little image sets! The price point is great and all they need is a small little background to call home and your card is ready!

For this background, I used an oval shape stencil and created the beach scene by gently blending out a light blue and light brown shades into the middle. I added shells (these are actually from the Summer Moments set) about where they meet. I didn’t worry about coloring them in since they are more background/supporting images.

After I colored and die cute my image, I attached it to the card front using foam adhesive.

I completed the card with a few finishing touches like the sentiment, splash marks and a few dots (made with Copic markers) to give a sandy effect.

Would you like to win the “Summer Moments” Stamp Set? This stamp set will be given away to ONE lucky winner!

Here’s how to win: Comment on the NND blog and Design Team blogs (see list below)! The winner will be chosen at random from the collective reveal posts. Make sure to check out each of their blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Thursday June 17th at 9pm ET to comment — winners will be announced on the blog post on Friday, June 18th.

Check out all the awesome Design Team Blogs below to enter:

Newton’s Nook Designs

Samantha VanArnhem – you are here!

Amanda Wilcox

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Celebrate for Crafty Meraki

February 12, 2021February 9, 2021 Samantha VanArnhemLeave a comment

I have another “die cuts only” card to share today! Sometimes when I get new products to play with it’s fun to come up with unexpected ways to use them together. My initial thought was to make a scalloped background and cut the celebrate die from white – which probably would have worked too – but then I thought about flipping it and I ended up with something that was a little bit more “me”.

I started by cutting a number of the middle sized frames from the Timeless Frames die set in different shades of purple. For this project, I would suggest using thinner cardstock (this was 65lb weight paper). Patterned paper might be fun to try too! You can then trim the frames into strips to use for the next step.

Next, I cut a piece of thin copy paper slightly larger than the “celebrate” die cut from the Celebrate Tag Slimline Tag die set. I covered the copy paper with adhesive and added the scalloped strips to cover it completely.

I ran that entire piece through my Gemini Jr with the “celebrate” die – crossing my fingers that it would cut through the layers and it worked like a charm!

I attached the die cut to my card base using foam adhesive for a little dimension and finished with the die cut “you” from the same set cut from black cardstock.

Originally, I thought of this as a birthday card but really you could send this card to anyone you want to celebrate!

Thanks for stopping by!

Samantha

Products Used:

Timeless Frames die set by Crafty Meraki
Celebrate Tag Slimline Tag die set by Crafty Meraki
Gemini Jr by Crafters Companion

Life is Messy – My Favorite Things for Crafty Meraki

September 9, 2020 Samantha VanArnhemLeave a comment

Life sure is messy lately, isn’t it? And friends absolutely do help! This poor little kitty is crying over his spilled milk but he has a friend that is trying to help him out with a torn up box of tissues and a gentle pat on the shoulder – something we could all use when things are rough.

Quick Tips:

I broke out of my Copic rut and used my Zig markers for these images. They were stamped on Bristol smooth paper (I’ve always found that works best for me).
A scene doesn’t have to take up the entire card front – a small scene on a die cut shape can be just enough!
If you don’t have this particular set of nesting dies, you can easily create the same look by trimming the bottom edge off of a circle die cut.
This card is 5.25″ square – slimline cards may be all the rage, but I still love the proportion of a good, even square!

Thanks for stopping by!

Products Used:

BB Cat-Astrophe Stamp Set by My Favorite Things
BB Cat-Astrophe Die-namics by My Favorite Things
Stitched Semi-Circle Die by Sunny Studios
Speckled Egg and Peeled Paint Distress Oxide Ink

You’re Sealiously Awesome – Sunny Studios for Crafty Meraki

August 9, 2020August 7, 2020 Samantha VanArnhemLeave a comment

Hello! This is Samantha welcoming you to my very first blog post as a member of the Crafty Meraki design team!

Today’s card is created with some incredibly cute products from Sunny Studios available on the Crafty Meraki website:

Photo Aug 04, 3 21 11 PM

Quick Tips:

I started by blending the background using a DIY stencil made from thin plastic sheets (check the art supply section at your local craft store or Amazon) and an oval die. You could also use masking paper or one of the ready made shape stencils available on the market.
I find creating little “mini-scenes” like this one using an ink blended or stamped shape much easier to complete than a full card front scene!
Distress Oxide ink colors used for the background include Mermaid Lagoon and Blueprint Sketch (for the water) along with Picked Raspberry and Squeezed Lemonade for the sky.
The images from the Sunny Studios Sealiously Sweet and Tropical Scenes sets were stamped and colored using Copic markers.
I chose to fussy cut my images and pop them up with foam tape but you could also mask the images and make this a one layer card.
Consider making a set of matching cards using this format but changing up the seal image used and sky and water colors – it would be an adorable gift!