Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.

Happy Friday Everyone! Hope all of you are well. Honestly, I have been on cloud 9 (no pun intended) the past couple of weeks and I am excited to share why with all of you. One night after my Husband had gone to bed, I checked my email. To my surprise there was an invite from Concord and 9th to guest design for their November 2017 release. I do not keep it a secret that I have admired Concord and 9th since the release of the tree ring background stamp set. My response? Truth, I had no words….I could not talk. I went up to tell my Husband and I could not talk. Every part of cardmaking, from admiring what others create –> shopping –> creating –> sharing –> interacting with others –> sending handmade smiles, means the world to me! There are some pretty amazing companies out there and an equally amazing community of creators (crafty friends). Concord and 9th is one of them. After I gained my composure I responded, YES!!!!!!!! Seriously, I feel pretty darn blessed to have this opportunity. My heart is so, so happy. I will give it my all to present their product well and hope to inspire you.

Are you ready to see some creations? We are almost there. But first I want to explain a little bit about how this all works. Concord and 9th has what is called, “Feature Friday,” #c9featurefriday. On Fridays their guest designers showcase one of the new bundles. Today we are showcasing the Hi There Bear Bundle. (I will explain later where you can find more inspiration.) Thank you for sticking with me =)

This darling bear set makes me think of my bear collectibles that I have boxed up. I decided to share my cards with you in the order that I created them. Here goes!

For my first card I wanted to include the Concord and 9th Tree Ring Background Stamp Set. So, I heat embossed it in white on one of the corners of a card panel that is slightly smaller then the A2 card base. Most of my bears are brownish in color, so I created a brown bear. I first stamped the outline and then the fill. Then I re-stamped the outline and clear embossed. I stamped the cute bear paw. It is at this point I die-cut the bear. Then I used a black gelly roll pen to accent the ears, eyes, nose, mouth and paw. It adds a lot of interest. The bear was now ready to be adhered to the tree ring with foam tape. Just had to use the heart too. So, I die-cut the heart 5 times and adhered each piece together to create a dimensional embellishment. Then adhered it to where the bear’s heart would be. The bear looks like he/she is waving hello, so I used the hi there sentiment. Finally I added craft foam to the panel and adhered to the card base. Presto, a clean and simple card with a little bit of dimension to add some interest.

For my second card I envisioned a cute lil bear peeking (flying) in from the side of the card surprising a friend on their birthday with a fun bunch of balloons. The very first thing I did was stamped the bear, including the outline. I also die-cut the slit in his/her paw to hold the balloons. I selected the panda bear because they are fun and silly to me. Perfect for a birthday surprise. Then I created a mask for the bear and did some light ink blending on the background. Now it was time to work on the balloons. Again masking was involved because I wanted to add the flowers to the balloons. For the mask I stamped the outline of the balloon on a piece of thin cardstock. Then I took a craft knife and cut out the inside of the balloon. (If you use the negative die-cut as the mask the flowers will stamp outside of the balloon a little. That was not the look I was going for.) As you can see I selected rainbow colors for the balloons. I stamped the outline and solid inside with the lighter color and the flowers with a shade darker (the mask was used when stamping the flowers). Then I die-cut the balloons. It then took me awhile to position the balloons. For some reason I always get nervous with placement. Once I figured out an approximate placement for the balloons, I stamped the sentiments. I then added some dimensional foam tape to all of the balloons and adhered them to the card. Then I attached a piece of string to the bear’s paw and to the pink balloon. It was finally time to enhance his/her ears, eyes, nose and mouth with a black gelly roll pen. This card took a bit of time for me to complete, but I am happy with the results. Hope you are too!

For my final card for this weeks Feature Friday, I was inspired to use the lined panel and the color purple. I also wanted the bear to be a dark grey/black toned. I stamped the lined panel on dark grey cardstock using a purple distress oxide. I then trimmed the panel to have a small border. I went on to stamp the bear outline in white pigment ink. While that was drying I got a dark grey card panel ready and also a purple layer. I adhered the small layer directly to the purple panel. I then proceeded to add craft foam to that panel and adhere to the card base. I went over the white lines with a white gel pen. As you can see it picked up some of the purple, but I was okay with that. It adds some character. Then I heat embossed a sentiment in white on a purple piece of cardstock. I trimmed the sentiment a little and adhered with foam tape to the bear. I really like how the purple layer and white really makes the bear stand out.

Above is a photograph of all three cards together. All unique and so much fun to create.

For more fabulous inspiration please check out what guest designers Lynnea Hollendonner – Instagram | Blog and Lea Lawson – Instagram | Blog created. Concord and 9th will post on their blog and Instagram as well. Concord and 9th also has some informative videos on their YouTube channel, along with card samples on the item detail product pages in the store. I listed links to the products below in the supplies section. A handy tool when looking for Concord and 9th inspiration is by using #concordand9th and #c9featurefriday in the search field in Instagram. (To help make things a little easier, I made the hashtags clickable.)

When you create using Concord and 9th’s product make sure you are tagging #concordand9th so everyone can admire your creations and give you feedback. =)

***Next Friday, November 17, 2017, we will be showcasing the Beautiful Branches Bundle.

SUPPLIES

(For your convenience, I am happy to provide links to the products I used. Compensated affiliate links are used when available at no cost to you. You can find my affiliate disclosure here. I appreciate your support.)

Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your feedback. If you ever have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. See you again soon!

Crafty Hugs,

Tracie