CLICK the following picture to watch the video where I draw the winner:

Thanks for all those of you who hopped along and left nice comments! We hope we were able to inspire you all with some fun fall craft projects.

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I’m so excited to be part of the Topflight Stamps 1st Birthday Blog Hop! The designers had free reign to use any of the products from the shop, and I am in LOVE with these whimsical Katzelkraft Jungle Animals Stamps so I knew I wanted to create a set of fun, anytime cards with them.

These are the Copic colors I used for each animal:
Polka Dot Horse: Body and Main: 0, W0, W1, W3 and W7; Rainbow Sweater: R35, R37, YR02, YR07, Y11, Y15, YG07, G09, B12, B16, B69, BV13, V04 and RV09; Eye: E25 with Uniball Signo white gel pen highlights
Exhausted Elephant: Body: N0, N2, N4, C0, R30; Eyes: B34 with Uniball Signo white gel pen highlights
Lion with Bird: Bird: YR07, E97 and E07; Lion Body: E50, Y212, E53, YR24 and W3; Lion Main: W3, W5, W7, YR24 and E15; Teeth: C0; Eyes: YR24

After coloring them, I fussy cut out each of the animals and inked all the edges with a Momento Tuxedo Black Marker for a finished look. I also coated all the teeth, tusks, and eyes with Ranger Glossy Accents for shine. I’ll admit that after struggling to fussy cut out those super fine detailed curly whiskers of the lion and the legs of the bird, I ended up cutting them off; they just looked too scraggly. Instead, I re-stamped the image onto the card front and glued the colored and fussy cut lion and the bird over top to regain those delicate details in a much cleaner looking form for the finished card.

Because I also wanted to play with the AWESOME Clarity Stencil Brushes (also available at Topflight Stamps), I decided to stencil backgrounds for each animal. For the polka dot horse, I used a Dylusions Bubbles Stencil and blended on Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Squeezed Lemonade and Tumbled Glass. Where the two colors blended together, it created a beautiful citrus green. For the elephant, I used the Tim Holtz Splatters Stencil to create a coffee or tea stained look with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Scattered Straw and Tea Dye. Lastly, for the grumpy lion, I wanted the focus to be on his wonderful facial expression so I used a DecoArt Andy Skinner Tornado Stencil with the center of the spiral being where I positioned the lion’s head. To add some energetic color, I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Squeezed Lemonade and Festive Berries, and where the two colors blended together a glorious tangerine orange color appeared.

Next, I wanted all of the animals to look like they were sitting or laying on a floor of some sort, so I dug through my collection of washi tapes and picked out some fun patterns and colors that I thought would coordinate with the animals and their backgrounds. The polka dot horse got a plain yellow, a white and cornflower blue stars, and a thin teal and black chevron. The elephant was grounded with wide wood grain and super thin rope patterned washi tapes. The lion got his footing on an ombre black, thin yellow and a bold red, white and black plaid.

I was struggling a bit, thinking about what sentiments would work with and highlight these animals that were so full-of-personality, when I remembered some funny Dylusions sentiment stamp sets that I had fallen in love with and had to have in my stash but had never used. The sentiments for the horse and the lion are from the “Quote Bubbles” Stamp Set (this link is a different set, but has these quotes). The horse with the rainbow colored sweater says, “I’m a rainbow sprinkle in a vanilla world,” and the exasperated lion with a bird on his head says, “Pretending I’m a pleasant person is exhausting.”  The quote for the elephant comes from the Dylusions “Quote Medley” Stamp Set (this link is for a different set, but has this quote) and says, “I don’t like morning people…Or mornings.. or people.!” I mean really, these quotes seemed made for these animal stamps! To give these sentiments a bit of visual weight, I heat embossed them with charcoal colored American Crafts Zing! embossing powder, fussy cut each segment out, inked all the edges with a Momento Tuxedo Black Marker, and popped them up on thin double sided foam dots.

To create coordinating card liners, I matched the washi tapes used on the card fronts with the card liners and/or I used the same stencils and Distress Inks to stencil matching backgrounds for the insides of the cards. I like how the cards are finished both inside and out.

GIVEAWAY ON MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL: To celebrate my birthday, I’m giving away a $25 gift card to the craft store of the winner’s choice. You must subscribe to my YouTube channel and leave a comment on the video (not on this blog post) by April 7, 2018 (12 pm ET).

GIVEAWAYS FOR TOPFLIGHT STAMPS 1ST BIRTHDAY BLOG HOP: Be sure to comment on this blog (please include your email so I can contact you if you win). Each of the designers on this blog hop are giving away a $10 gift certificate to Topflight Stamps. PLUS all the blogs on the hop to be eligible for the GRAND PRIZE $50 Topflight Stamps store credit!!! You have until March 31, 2018 (12 pm ET) to comment. I will announce my $10 GC winner here on my blog on Monday, April 2. The $50 Grand Prize winner will be announced on the Topflight Stamps Blog the same day. Be sure to check out all these blogs and comment for your chance to win the grand prize!

• Topflight Stamps
• Donna Bowman
• Lindsay Weirich
• Clare Messenger
• Julia Stainton
• Jenny Colacicco
• Veronica Zalis
• Tenia Nelson
• Lisa Hoel
• Teri Anderson
• Jenny Marples
• Nathalie Fournier
• Karen Bearse
• Kristina Song – YOU ARE HERE

SALE: Topflight Stamps is having a Special Birthday Discount from March 27 – March 31, 2018. Get 20% off your entire purchase by using the code: BDAY20

Disclosure: Many of the supplies I’ve used for today’s project are linked. Some may be affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support toward the costs of running this blog!

As a quick summary, I will say that I am still not wowed by the Arteza Real Brush Pens. The quality was ok to poor but with some adjustments (like snipping off or pulling out stray/loose or torqued bristles), they are usable for basic hobby crafting. The Arteza Fineliner Pens were AWESOME! I loved the fine tips for getting into nooks and crannies of images and they blended beautifully for a great, easy-to-achieve watercolored look (you can see a coloring video using them HERE, starting at 4:05). Lastly, the Arteza Watercolor Pencils seemed good hobby or student quality and the price was fantastic. If you’re interested in watching a full, detailed review of all three products and entering the GIVEAWAY (you must leave the comment on the YT video – not here on my blog), check out the following video on YouTube:

Arteza 96 Real Brush Pens (currently ~48% cheaper per pen at Arteza shop (with 10% off coupon: BOE-TOZ-460) than Zig Kuretake Real Brush Markers on Amazon)
Arteza 72 Fineliner Pens (currently only $16.57 at Arteza shop (with 10% off coupon: BOE-TOZ-460)
Arteza Watercolor Pencils (currently ~65% cheaper at Arteza shop (with 10% off coupon: BOE-TOZ-460) than Derwent Inktense Colored Pencils on Amazon)

COUPON: If you want to purchase any products at the Arteza Shop, you can get 10% off by using the coupon code: BOE-TOZ-460

Disclosure: The products in this video have been provided to me for free by the Arteza Company for my honest review. If you make a purchase at the Arteza shop, I may receive a small commission to help cover the costs of running my YT channel and blog at no extra cost to you.

COLOR CHART: If you’d like to receive a printable chart for the 96 package of Arteza Real Brush Pens that I created for my color swatch and for labeling the markers using sticker mailing labels, please email me at kristina@craftypaws.us and I’d be happy to email it to you.

Thanks for stopping by CraftyPaws Blog today. I hope you found this helpful!

First the winner of the Livvy Creations Double Sided Letter Board was Scrappinology (Gina). The following is the random selection video:

Second, the two winners of the 7000+ Subbie Giveaway and Gorjuss Girls Collaboration with Sarah Elliott were Stacey’s Stash and Debbie Vignola. The following is the random selection video:

Thanks to all those who have subscribed to my YouTube channel and played along with these giveaways!

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I am so excited to be doing a YouTube collaboration with my friend Sarah Elliott. She and I both recently passed 7,000 YouTube subscribers so we decided to do a collaboration/giveaway! We share many crafty loves, and one of them is the Santoro Gorjuss Girls so we made these cuties our shared theme (I can’t wait to see what she created). I had so many Gorjuss Girls in my stash that I had never inked up (so embarrassing) so I thought this also would be a perfect opportunity to combine this collaboration with my participation in the #thedailymarker30day coloring challenge hosted by Kathy Racoosin. I pulled out a bunch of Gorjuss Girl images and colored and fussy cutting them out to make embellishments for my new letter board (Sponsored Letter Board Unboxing and Giveaway ending 2/14/18). The following are the Copic colors I used:

The Little Friend:
Blue dress: B41, B32 and B45
Green bib: YG01 and YG07
Orange squiggles: YR04 and YR07
Raspberry/purple in tights, underskirt and hair: V04, V06 and V09
Black in hair and tights: C3, C5, C7 and 100
Skin: E50, BV01, E51, E21 and R20

Quote by Felix Mendelssohn

Oops a Daisy:
Blue dress: Y000, B91, B32, B34 and B37
Tights: W1, Y000, C00 and C1
Hair: Y11, YR31, YR04 and YR24
Skin: E50, E51, E21 and R20

Purrrrrfect Love (I did not include the heart background and kitty, as I’m a dog person):
Hat and boots: E41, E53, E55 and R30 (inside ears)
Yellow shirt: Y13, Y19 and E55
Blues of dress and fingerless gloves: BG70, B91, B34 and B37

Spring At Last:
White parts of dresses: C1
Blue parts of dress and tights: B21, B32, B34 and B37
Flowers, purse and butterfly: Y08, RV02, RV04 and RV55
Hair and dark stripes on tights: B01, C4, C6, C8 and C9
Skin: E50, E51, E21, E53 and R20

Quote by Eleanor Roosevelt

Little Fishes:
Blue parts of dress: B32, B34, B37, B69 and B39
Red parts of dress, hair tie, and pantaloons: R14, R35, R37 and R39
White parts of dress: C1, C3, Uniball Signo White Gel Pen and
Prismacolor Pencils in white (PC938), 10% cool grey (PC1059) and 30% warm grey (PC1052)
Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11 and R20

Hair: C5, C6, C9 and BV08
Seaweed: YG25, G14
Algae on rock: YG95, G99
Rock: E41, E43, E44, E84 and E87
Crab: B93, B95, B97, B99, YG01 and R35
Water: B91, B93, B95, B97, BG11, 0 blender marker and Uniball Signo White Gel Pen

Quote by CraftyPaws — I’m a So Cal Girl and I Miss the Warmth of Summer

Sweet Tea (this stamps set is discontinued but I found some at Blitsy and Quick Creations as of 2/10/18):
Blues of dress and bow: B32, B41, B34, B37 and B39
Stuffed bunny:  0, W0, W1, B91, B32, B41, B34, R30 and R20
Pink of teacup and saucer: RV000, RV00 and RV52
Cream of teacup and saucer: E50, E31 and E55
Skin: E000, E00, YR00, R20
Hair: E97, YR07, E23, E19 and E18
I also added some dimensional detail to the teacup by using the Diemond Dies Natures Flourish and the flowers from the Diemond Dies Cherry Blossom Branch and Flowers Die Set, adding flat back pearl centers for the flowers.

Quote by Lao Tzu

Diemond Dies is having a SALE on everything in the store through February 28, 2018! Use the coupon code “save14” for 14% off and free worldwide shipping on all orders of $35 or more. After that date, use the coupon code “thankskristina” for 10% off and free worldwide shipping on all orders of $35 or more.

Disclosure: Many of the supplies I’ve used for today’s project are linked. Some may be affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I truly appreciate your support toward the costs of running this blog!

The following is a video sharing the giveaway details along with a little Copic coloring and assembly of the Sweet Tea embellishment:

These embellished letter boards are being entered into the following challenges:
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Creatalicious Anything Goes Challenge with Optional Love/Anniversary/Thinking of You
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes Challenge
Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge
Crafts Galore Encore Anything Goes Challenge
613 Avenue Create Anything Goes with Optional Love Challenge
Crafty Gals Corner Anything Goes Challenge

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I am so happy that I was contacted by the owner of Livvy Creations, who asked me to review and perhaps (if I liked the product) offer a giveaway to my followers. This double sided felted letter board is solidly made, comes with 600 characters (including fun emojis), and is currently being offered on Amazon HERE for less than half of the normal price ($40) through February 2018!

I never jumped on the light box trend because the space, character and word limitations did not work for me. Letter boards address all of these issues for me, and this version is so well-made and luxe feeling that I am happy to add this to my home/craft room decor.

Check out the following unboxing video for my initial thoughts and to enter the giveaway, which closes February 14, 2018:

Disclosure: This is a sponsored giveaway. I would never endorse or promote a product I did not truly like, and I was completely free to review this product however I felt about it. However, I need to disclose that I received the letter board I unboxed in this video as a gift, and the giveaway is sponsored by Livvy Creations.

The winners are drawn in the following video:

Thanks again for subscribing and following! Big hugs, Kristina

Challenge Rules:
Must be a CraftyPaws YouTube subscriber and/or a @kristina_craftypaws Instagram follower.
18 years or older or have a guardian’s written permission.  Open worldwide.

1. Make a birthday card for Jacqueline using the inspiration mood board (pictured above and explained in the video linked below) as a reference. Please write a note inside and include your name and where you’re from (state/province and country) – 2 entries (please email kristina@craftypaws.us for address)

2. If on YouTube, make a VR sharing your card and/or promo and link to my challenge video (see below) – 1 entry (please email me to let me know you’ve done this)

3. If on Instagram, re-gram my IG giveaway challenge post, tagging me @kristina_craftypaws and using #craftypawsgiveaway  – 1 entry

Deadline for VR and IG reposting: November 28, 2016
Deadline for me to receive birthday cards (we’ll be hand delivering the cards when we visit her that following weekend): December 5, 2016

PRIZES!
1. $20 gift certificate to OnlyOneLifeCreations on Etsy
2. $20 gift certificate to Flairbyme.net
3. $20 gift certificate to HappyCreating on Etsy
4. $20 gift certificate to Not2ShabbyShop.com
5-6. 2 – $25 gift certificates to DiemondDies.com
7. Large Crafty Prize Package from me (sampling of yumminess in video)

This giveaway is not sponsored by YouTube nor Instagram. Giveaway accounts will not be counted.

I won’t go into the detailed process here since my YouTube Video shares that, but here is a list all the supplies I used — notice, no stamps!
Diemond Dies: Deer Trio Die, Cross Stitched Squares Die Set, Word Die Set #1, Pine Tree Die Set, Grass Border Die
Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Scattered Straw, Tea Dye, Gathered Twigs and Old Paper for the deer and the pine tree trunks.
Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Pine Needles and Tumbled Glass for the trees, grass and sky.
Tim Holtz Distress Markers (I price compare as I need these and currently MarkerPOP is having a great sale so that is the link I provided): Picket Fence, Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Pine Needles, Tea Dye and Gathered Twigs to add depth of shadows, visual texture and details to the die cuts.
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper, Big Shot die cutting machine, Spellbinder Tool ‘n One, Pentel water brush, Tim Holtz blending tools, sponge finger daubers, tissue, white Sakura Gelly Roll Pen (for the spots on the deer and fawn), Zig clear Wink of Stella (for some shimmer on the sentiment and in the tree tops), and Glossy Accents (for for the antlers, eyes, noses and hooves).

I’m so happy this experiment was a success (IMHO), and it was all with just ink blending and watercoloring layers of colors! Plus, I often struggle with masculine or cards for boys or men, but I like how fresh and outdoorsy this came out. YAY!

SUMMER HOP COUPON!: Now through July 10, 2016, Diemond Dies is offering 15% off and free worldwide shipping with no minimum purchase. Use the coupon code “hop15” at checkout for awesome savings!

The following is a tutorial video on how I created this card from start to finish:

This card is being entered into the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create Challenge – Sights of green meadow and blue skys and sounds of grass rustling as deer pass through
Not Just Cards Anything Goes Challenge
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Add Some Shimmer Challenge
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends Anything Goes Challenge
Fab ‘n’ Funky Boys/Men Challenge
Through the Craft Room Door Anything Goes Challenge
Craft Your Passion Anything Goes Challenge
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes Challenge
Creatalicious Anything Goes with an Optional Focus on Animals Challenge
Virginia’s View All About Colors Challenge