Silver Linings

12th Birthday!

Hola! I’m sharing this card I made for my niece, who is turning 12!!!??? How!!?? I swear she was just turning 3 yesterday. Yup, I’m that adult that cannot digest that children just keep on growing! Haaa! 🙂  ❤

I thought this bear would be fantastic to hold some fun balloons! AND a cupcake, while sporting a party hat! Busy little dude! 🙂

I colored the cutie bear and his accessories with Copic markers, added some Stickles and Wink of Stella sparkle. I tied silver thread to each balloon (which, while time consuming, is a fun detail) and finished it off with a little washi tape and stitching. In the end, it’s a little bit busier of a card than I generally make, but it is a PARTY! 🙂

For this, I used Essentials by Ellen All Inside ( and dies), EH’s Silver Linings, and Avery Elle’s Numbered Balloons and Party Animal  stamp/die.

I’m adding this for the Mix-It Up Challenge with Avery Elle over at Ellen Hutson! Perfect! 🙂

Thanks for stopping by! Biggest birthday wishes to E on Monday! Shhhhhh! 🙂 ❤

Jill 🙂

Instagram? jilldhawkins

You are Crafty and Kind

Popping in today with this card I made for the Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights Challenge fun! When I saw this color combo inspiration, I was sold! I do love color!

The pinned inspiration photo for this month makes me so happy! ❤ ! I die cut the rays from all the different colored cardstocks, trimmed apart,  and inlaid them on this panel. I clear embossed the sentiment and stitched it on. My sewing machine had some issues recently, and I ended up using the wrong stitch (wanted a straight stitch). But once that needle went through, I was committed! Not tragic, but a bit busier than I’d have liked. 😉

For this card, I used the Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies, Silver Linings by Julie Ebersole. I also used the recently released, Crafty Ladies Say by Brandi Kincaid. Awesome!! 🙂

So glad I am squeaking this card in for the challenge! Whoooooohooo! Love these challenges at EH!

ETA 8-01-17: Last night, I sat down at my desk and all these bits were still there. Hence, I made four more cards! Love when you get a 5 for 1! 🙂

For these sentiments I used the same Crafty Ladies Say…and also: Warm Fuzzies, Mermaid’s Tail, and All Inside. Goodness, I ❤ the way these colorful rays look! 🙂 And I also was sure to check my stitch setting before starting this time. Double yay! 🙂

Thank you for stopping by today! Have a great week!

Jill 🙂

Instagram? jilldhawkins

Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights Challenge

Today I have the awesome opportunity to join in the Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights Challenge fun! How excited am I? 🙂

The Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights challenge is a monthly inspirational challenge based on a Pinterest Inspired photo that is located on the CLASSroom blog. A random challenge participant will receive a $50 gift certificate to the Ellen Hutson store!!  To be eligible, you MUST use Essentials by Ellen products and the photo badge as inspiration. There will be an inlinkz on the challenge post where you can submit, HERE.

Here is the Pinterest inspiration photo: Pretty, right?

And here is my inspired card:

Gah! I had sooo much fun making this card! I rearranged these pieces dozens of times until I finally settled on this little number. 🙂

I first used all the inspirational colors, and that was too much. Then I dialed it down to just a few of the colors: The navy, the off-white and the pinkish hue.

I freaking LOVE the Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies, Silver Linings by Julie Ebersole. I mean, how cool are these dies? I really enjoy how they are held together just slightly, which is great for holding the piece together and/or makes them really easy to separate. I separated the pieces, and pieced the colors easily after doing that.

I then used the Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Hinged Thanks By Julie Ebersole. Another fun die! I went back and forth about putting a different color cardstock underneath to peek through. Yes? No? Yes?  In the end, I always settle on the simpler look. 😉

Can you tell I am a big fan of Julie Ebersole’s designs? I am! That Julie is a troublemaker for my wallet. 😉 Such fun!

I added some stitching and finished everything off with these Pretty Pink Posh Sequins, Sparkling Clear Mix (4mm, 6mm, 8mm &10mm ).

A BIG thanks to Laurel for helping me gather all the details for this great challenge! A HUGE thank you to Ellen Hutson, for having me along this month, and for always being so awesomely supportive of me, and all those in our fun crafty community! ❤ ! It has truly been a pleasure to participate this month! Keep the good stuff coming! 🙂

Thank YOU for stopping by today! I hope you participate in this month’s challenge! 🙂

Jill 🙂

Instagram? jilldhawkins