Happy Anniversary Cuddles Card by Ellen Haxelmans

Happy Anniversary Card!

Today Ellen has stretched some Holiday stamps to create a sweet and snuggly anniversary card using our Newton's Christmas Cuddles Stamp Set! Although this stamp set has a holiday theme the images in it are very versatile and work for many other occasions. Today she features the sweet image of kissing kitties on this Anniversary Card. She colors the image with copics (colors listed out below) and cuts it out with the Newton's Christmas Cuddles Die Set.  Instead of a holiday theme she creates a lovely sunny scene using our Sunscape Stencil. She also adds adds the grass using our Land Borders Die Set. She then adds in sentiments from another seasonal design, the Newton Celebrates Stamp Set!

Tips on creating this card!

Below we have some tips from Ellen on how she created this adorable cuddly scene:

1. First I made the background for the card. I colored a rectangular piece with blue distress ink. Afterwards I placed the Sunscape Stencil on the card base, so it looks like the sun is in the middle of the card.
   
2. Afterwards I did cut out and inked the grass and hills with the Land Borders Die Set and added color with distress ink. To have a pretty border I used the second large scalloped rectangle shape from the Framework Die Set.
   
3. I colored the kitties from the Newton's Christmas Cuddles Stamp Set with copic markers. When I was happy with the result I added yellow along the top of the kitties to mimmic the sunbeams.
   
   Copic Markers: B29, B26, B24 and RV69, RV34, RV32, RV42 (neck-yoke?) and R89, R37, R29 (heart), E55, E53, E51, E50 (Girl cat), W5, W4, W3, W2, W1 and E35, E33, E31 (Boy cat), YR16, Y15, Y06, Y02 (yellow for the sunbeam)
   
4. As last step I did stamp and cut out the sentiments from the Newton Celebrates Stamp Set.

Isn't it fun how a little creative thinking can help you get more from your stamps? We hope this idea inspires you to look at your stamps in new ways and find more uses for them!

If you love this project by Ellen you can visit her over at her blog Crafty Ellen to see more of her beautiful creations!

Love is in the Air Card by Maria Russell

Love is in the Air!

Today we are getting in the mood for love with this adorable kitty card by Maria! For her card today, she used our Newton's Christmas Cuddles Stamp Set  to make a Valentine/Love themed card instead of a holiday card! She used the image of the kitties snuggling together wearing their cute scarves as the focal point of her card. She colored them and cut them out using the coordinating Newton's Christmas Cuddles Die Set to add to her card. For her card background she used our Tumbling Hearts Stencil to add tons of purple hearts onto the center panel. Then she embossed the big sentiment "Love is in the air" from our Uplifting Wishes Stamp Set over the top in white. She added in sunshine (die from another brand) and framed the scene, adding the kitties to the bottom edge of the frame. On the frame edge she added blue clouds by masking with our Sky Borders Die Set

 to create layers of pretty clouds! 

Has anyone started creating Valenines yet? This card would be perfect to send as a Valentine or and anniversary card!

Thank you for the beautiful inspiration today, Maria! To see more beautiful projects by Maria, visit her over at her blog, Maria Russell Designs and don't forget to subscribe to her YouTube channel too!

Meowy Christmas Card by Amanda Bodine

Meowy Christmas! 

This adorable card by Amanda would be perfect for any cat lover on your Christmas card list! She created this card with the adorable images  of the kitty popping out of the gift box and the pile of gifts from our Newton's Christmas Cuddles Stamp Set. She colored the images with vibrant colors using copic markers and then trimmed them out with the coordinating Newton's Christmas Cuddles Die Set. For her background she created a panel of ombré blue to white and added the "we wish you a meowy Christmas" sentiment, also from the Newton's Christmas Cuddles Stamp Set along the top. She also framed the panel with a black scallop edged frame using our Framework Die Set. What a fun holiday card!

Thanks for the beautiful inspiration today, Amanda! To see more of her beautiful coloring and projects, visit Amanda over at her blog,  RutabagaPie Designs!

A Big Welcome to Zsofia Molnar and Design Team Recap!

We have a new addition to our Design Team!  

A big warm welcome to Zsofia!

We are so excited to have Zsofia Molna  joining our team! We've been admiring her work on our inky paws challenge inspiration team for quite some time now so when we had a spot open on our team - We knew she would fit right in! Zsofia will begin designing with us for our upcoming July release and we can't wait to share what she creates!

Here's a little more about her:

Zsofia Molnar 

safsafdesign

Hello! My name is Zsofia Molnar and I am a card maker from Hungary. I am thrilled to join this amazing Design Team. I live in beautiful Budapest with my 2 kids (7 and 4 years old) and the most loving husband ever. We are a truly trilingual family as my husband is Egyptian and we communicate with each other in English. I started paper crafting more or less 4 years ago when I was fascinated by all the pretty scrapbook layouts. I have never even made a single one, but rather fell in love with making cards and sharing handmade kindness with my family and friends. I am an addict since then, I have to be crafty every day to feel good. This is my little escape. I love cute critters, florals and I really enjoy building scenes with layers. I am curious to try new techniques but my favourites are still Copics and Distress inks. You can follow my crafty journey on my blog: www.safsafdesign.wordpress.com or on Instagram @safsafdesign2016.

 Zsofia has been using our stamps for quite some time and has a few favorites she'd like to share today today. Srcoll down to see her lovely work!

Hello Everyone,

I am thrilled to join the Newton’s Nook Designs Design Team as of July 2018, it is a dream come true. You might have seen my cards on the Inky Paws Challenges during the past year. As an introduction I brought you today some of my favourite cards.

Wedding on the Beach

I love to stretch my stamps and find more and more occasions to use them. On this card I used the kitty couple from Newton’s Christmas Cuddles (one of my favourite sets), I placed them on the beach and added some accessories, so they look like getting married. Perfect for summer weddings!

Princess Birthday

I am a huge fan of patterned paper and love to combine them on my cards. For my daughter’s 7^th birthday I made this card using an Inky Paws Challenge sketch as a guide for the layout. The girl from Once Upon a Princess set was coloured to match the patterned papers, I do this often. I also love to use gems and crystals as a little extra bling.

Rainbow Cocktails

I love colours so much, they cheer me up. Usually my cards are bright, I enjoy including a rainbow whenever it is possible. The cute drinks from Cocktail Mixer were coloured in a rainbow order and got some extra shimmer and shine thanks to my favourite Shimmer Pen and Glossy accents. I believe these little details add a lot to card designs.

Unicorns

I am falling for cute critters and I adore unicorns which is probably the effect of my daughter. I often make my own backgrounds using distress inks and I love to use colourful inks to stamp my sentiments. On this card I used the Believe in Unicorns stamp and die set, coloured with Copic markers which is my favourite colouring medium.

Coffee addict

And last, but not least, I am a coffee addict. I love mine long with milk, from my favourite mug. I cannot imagine starting the day without it. The kitties from Newton’s Sweetheart are also sipping something like that instead of milk on this cheerful card. I also love to use tags as part of my card designs, they help setting the scene.

I hope you like my cards and I put a smile on your face. See you soon but till then happy crafting!
- Zsofi

And a Now we'd like to give a BIG shout-out to our AWESOME Current Design Team Members!

We just LOVE our Design Team! We are so thankful to have all these lovely ladies staying on our team for the rest of the year! They continue to amaze us each month with their incredible creativity!

Samantha Mann 
Designer & Design Team Coordinator

Sam's Scrap Candy

Hi, I'm Samantha Mann and I couldn't be happier to continue for another term with Newton's Nook Designs!! My husband and I have lived all over the US, from Washington State to Florida, but we're currently in hot, humid, coastal South Carolina! We have two little boys (who I usually call my little menn)! I have always been in love with school supplies (ever since elementary school when I would save my nickels to buy cute pencils or erasers!) and that love just grew and developed into my crazy obsession (read: passion!) of paper crafting! I love making cards and even dabble with the occasional scrapbook layout! I tend to lean towards clean and simple design, but not always! I am all about learning new techniques from fellow crafters! I'm definitely quirky, and love to make playful, humorous sentiments for my cards (and layouts)! I work full time for an advertising company and spend every other moment I can paper crafting, reading and enjoying the little moments in everyday family life.

Amanda Bodine

RutabagaPie Designs

Hi!  I’m Amanda Bodine.  I am so excited to be joining Newtons Nook Designs and their talented Design Team.  I’m married to Rob going on 21 years and we have a 19 year old son in college. We also have a dog named Scout and a kitty named Ashe who are loved and adored by all of us.  I’ve always been a crafty person.  From the time I was little, I loved to color and create fun little projects with arts and crafts supplies.  The year my son was born, I was introduced to scrapbooking.  10 years later I began making cards, and I’ve been passionate about it ever since.  I often travel with my Copics and pages of my favorite images to color.  I love creating in my studio on rainy days, with a tall pottery mug of tea, listening to podcasts or NPR.

Holly Endress

Hollybeary Creations

Hi I’m Holly Endress. I’m a Stay at Home mom to two Special Needs boys. My husband is retired Navy and after living all over the US we now live in PA just outside MD. I’ve been paper crafting for over 26 years and I love everything about. My favorite mediums right now are Watercolor, Copics and anything with Distress ink. I’m looking forward to working with everyone here on the Newton’s Nook Designs team and sharing Fun projects with you.

Ellen Haxelmans

Crafty Ellen

Hello! I’m Ellen and I live in Belgium with my boyfriend Davey and two chickens “Jip and Janneke”.  With the age of 25 I’m probably the youngest here in the team hihi...

I've always been artsy and even studied art. Because I don’t do anything creative it in my current job, I really like to paint, draw and of course create cards in my free time. As a fan from Newton’s Nook Designs I'm so happy to be a part of this awesome team! You can see more of my work on my blog: http://craftyellenh.blogspot.be/

Larissa Heskett
Larissa Heskett Designs

I’ve been married to my best friend Adam for almost 13 years, and we have two handsome boys, Beckett (11 yrs.) and Greyson (5 yrs.)!! We live on our Family Farm with an Entourage of Animals, and I enjoy EVERY aspect of living a rural life. I’m a Certified Surgical Technician, but I’m very blessed to be a stay-at-home mom. I enjoy crafting in every way, jewelry making, baking/cooking, gardening, singing, nature and taking photos. I LOVE Spending time with my Family and Friends and meeting/crafting with other creative people I’ve found/met online and through other events! I also LOVE to try new techniques and experiment with my supplies!! I look forward to inspiring you with the AMAZING Newton's Nook Designs products!! I cannot even begin to explain how HONORED and EXCITED I am to have the opportunity to design with this AWESOME Design Team!! For More Info about my Designs you can Visit my Blog: larissaheskettdesigns.blogspot.com

Juliana Michaels

17 Turtles

Hello! I'm Juliana Michaels. I grew up in a creative household loving art, design, and making things with my hands. I give all the credit for my creativity to my multi-talented Mom who loves to paint, sew and draw. Nearly 20 years ago I found my true passion in paper crafting and scrapbooking.

I've been a project designer in the paper craft/scrapbook industry since 2007 and I've been fortunate to work for many top manufacturers including: BoBunny, Bella Blvd, Elle's Studio, SRM Stickers, Provocraft, Pebbles, Therm O Web and Jillibean Soup. My projects have been published in a variety of magazines and idea books and I've had projects displayed at the Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show. Most recently I started a new journey in my creative career and fulfilled a life long dream to create graphics and product design as a graphic artist for Jillibean Soup. When I'm not creating for work, I love to create cards, scrapbook pages and other craft projects. I've also recently journeyed more into the world of stamping and found a new passion with stamps, inks and coloring mediums.

On the personal side, I'm married to Danny, my best friend and the love of my life. I'm also mom to two Golden Retrievers named Lincoln and Shirley and an American Paint Horse named Woody. I have a fondness for coffee, Mexican food, turtles, Halloween and antiquing. In my spare time I love crafting, card making, scrapbooking, playing with Lincoln and Shirley, enjoying the outdoors, and reading science and historical fiction.

Nakaba Rager

Notes from Naki

Hello Newton lovers! My name is Nakaba Rager but most people call me Naki. I am originally from Japan, came to the US to learn the English language in 1996. I met my husband in 1998 and got married 9 months later! we used to speak Japanese to each other because his Japanese was better than my English back then! Ha! We have 4 beautiful children together (2 boys and 2 girls) and we also have 2 boy cats! I met card making in 2012 but it was 2 years later that it became my true passion (AKA obsession) when I was introduced to many small companies including Newton's Nook Designs! I started to play many challenges, and here I am, on the NND DT for my second term! Jen's cute and sweet designs truly make me happy, and being on this DT is a dream comes true! I am so honored to be on the same team as these so-very-talented-ladies! Thank you Jen and Jeff!

Maria Russell

Maria Russell Designs

Hello stampers and crafters. My name is Maria Russell and I am so THRILLED to be a part of the Newton’s Nook Designs design team.  My husband and I have lived all over the world and we have two talented, beautiful children (now adults).

My love for paper crafting began in high school when my friends and I wrote each other letters, took photos, kept a journal and scrapbooks.  It kind of looked like a smash-book because I had everything in there from ticket stubs, to beautiful napkins, to candy wrapper.  Paper crafting is very therapeutic for me.  I only ventured into card making in 2013 and I am hooked!  I was really honored when one of my cards got published at Scrapbook and Cards magazine, Creative Cards Volume I in 2015.

I am so HAPPY to be a part of this amazing design team!  I’d be honored if you’d like to visit my blog: www.mariarusselldesigns.com

Tatiana Trafimovich
Tatiana Craft and Art

Hello! My name is Tatiana and I’m so excited and honored to be joining the Newton’s Nook Designs DT! I live in sunny Rome with my hubby, stepson and two sweet kitties, Tommy and Lilly.

I always loved everything handmade and crafty related and tried all kinds of hobbies from jewelry making to crocheting until I discovered and felt in love with a magical world of paper crafting. Cardmaking and coloring became my relaxing getaway.

I like getting inky, experimenting, stretching my supplies, learning new techniques and coloring with any medium, especially cat images which I often make look like my kitties.

That's a lot of amazing talent, don't you think!? We can't wait to see what everyone creates next!

Interactive Folding Card with Ellen Haxelmans

Today we have another fun interactive project to share by Ellen! Each month she is sharing an interactive project one week after our new release! 

Today is she's sharing how to make a card with scenes that appear in layers and build suspense as you open the card:

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to make the folding layers for this card:

1. For this card you start using a square card base. One side you cut off half of it. (photo top left)
2. The next step is to make three flaps with the same measurements as the half sized flap and with a bit extra so you can glue the flap on your card. After cutting the paper I folded the sides with my bone folder. (photo top right)
3. Glue down the three extra flaps on the rest of the sides. (photos bottom left)
4. Let the fun begin and decorate your flaps. On her card today Ellen created created three scenes, but you could also decorate each flap with something different.

Here is what Ellen's finished card looks like.
When the card is closed with all flaps folded in, she has a fun birthday scene on the front.



To create this scene she used the images of gifts and the  cute kitty popping out from the gift from the Newton's Christmas Cuddles Stamp Set. She colored the piles of gifts in fun bright colors and also added in some fun clouds to the sky using the Cloudy Sky Stencil and added on the "celebrate" from the new Birthday Essentials Stamp Set. The little stitched purple flag was cut out using our Frames & Flags Die Set.

Next, you open those two flaps to reveal this next scene:

So cute! For this scene Ellen used the kitty with the cake from the from the Newton Loves Cake Stamp Set and add a cute little coke bottle for him from the Love Bites Stamp Set. She created a hill using the Land Borders Die Set and also added in a cute little chick from the Newton's Easter Basket Stamp Set. In the sky behind the kitty she added pawprints using our Pawprint Stencil. She also added the "make a wish" sentiment from the new Birthday Essentials Stamp Set.

Then you can fold open those two flaps to reveal the final message and inside of the card:

Wow! What fun! On this last scene Ellen used the kitty with balloons from the Newton's Birthday Balloons Stamp Set. She added some clouds along the bottom using our Sky Borders Die Set and added confetti to the sky with the Confetti Stencil! She also added in the "Happy Birthday" from the new Birthday Essentials Stamp Set. She even added in a cute little birthday hat from the Newton Loves Cake Stamp Set.

This is so fun, don't you think!? It makes opening the card such a fun journey with a scene at each step! Are you inspired to try to make a fun card like this for someone special? Make sure you share it with us if you do! We'd love to see it!

If you love this project by Ellen you can visit her over at her blog Crafty Ellen to see more of her beautiful creations!