Hello and welcome to my blog! You’ve likely arrived here from Sandy Allnock’s post where she introduced her Charity Blog Hop. When she asked me to join the fun I could not have replied “YES” any faster. I think it’s a great idea to spread the word that there are lots of good causes out there that need our help, and they often have wonderful gifts that you can purchase for your friends and loved ones.
The charity I chose is Farm Sanctuary. Their mission is “to protect farm animals from cruelty, inspire change in the way society views and treats farm animals, and promote compassionate vegan living.”
Now, Farm Sanctuary does sell many gifts and items that help support their cause. I wasn’t in need of a gift at the moment, so I chose to donate to them directly, which makes me a member. And that comes with the awesome benefit of being able to reserve accommodations at their various locations. That is definitely a gift to me and my husband, as we would love that. I wonder if any of the animals snuggle?
An additional gift to me was that knowing this blog hop was coming up allowed me to justify the ownership of this incredibly cute stamp set from My Favorite Things. Now, I’m not a pig person. Not anti-pig, was just never the person that thought they were cute or anything. I do happen to think they are insanely intelligent. Have you seen the Sow Much Cuteness stamps and dies from My Favorite Things? They seriously make me giddy with joy, and I do not know why. But I love them. And had to have them.
And this is what I made with them. Well, from them and some goodies from Lawn Fawn. And Hero Arts. Because I’m an equal opportunity hoarder of all of the cute things.
In my mind, this is what a day in the life of a pig at Farm Sanctuary is like. They get their own house, they have glittered ears and bellies, and butterflies and flowers flock to them. I hope reality is pretty close to this for them.
This card is pretty straight forward in design, but here are some highlights:
- I made the grass by applying some distress inks to a scrap of watercolor paper. Spritzed it with water and let that mix until I liked the color. Then I used the Lawn Fawn grassy border die to cut the lawn.
- I stamped the Hero Arts dog house stamp on some wood grained patterned paper. Cut that out with scissors and used a black marker along the edges to cover up any mistakes I made. I then cut a piece of the same patterned paper to use as the inside of the dog house. Applied some Vintage Photo distress ink to that to make it darker, since it was inside the house, and not as much light would get to it. Have to make the pig’s dog house as realistic as possible.
- Stamped and colored various images from the Sow Much Cuteness stamp set. I used copics for all of the coloring and then some colored pencils for some shading on the pig. I originally had him laying down, but decided I liked him “twinkle toes” style, so that’s why the relaxing pig is in standing position. Added some shimmer pen to his belly and ears, to all of the flowers, and to the butterfly’s wings.
- I assembled the card with some craft foam, foam tape, and liquid glue. It took me a bit to figure out what should be dimensional and what shouldn’t. And there are no rules, so do whatever makes you happy.
- Last but not least, I heat embossed the sentiment on some black card stock and adhered it to the dog house as if it was the pig’s name on the front of his house. And now that I think about it, I should have hung it askew. Oh! And I could have hand written that sign with a versamarker pen and made some letters backwards. That would have been darling. Next time!
Here’s a close up of the dimension behind this flower, and also the Nuvo Drops that I used as “nails” on the doghouse. So very cute, and clearly I need Nuvo drops in black. And look at that lovely discoloration on the wooden dog house! That’s the patterned paper, but it’s perfect for a reclaimed wood structure.
And this is the butterfly, where you can see a bit of his shimmer. Those Spectrum Noir overlay pens are my favorite. I’m glad they come in a three pack, no fear of running out.
Awesome companies are helping inspire you to hop along and leave comments on all the blogs – Altenew ($30), Lawn Fawn ($50), My Favorite Things ($25), and Ellen Hutson ($25)! Be sure to go say thanks to them on their social media for helping get the word out about giving, and leave comments by Wednesday March 22. Winners will be announced on Sandy’s blog on Thursday March 23.
Here’s the full list of blog hop participants. Be sure to head back to Sandy’s blog in case any of the links don’t work. She won’t let you get lost.
- Sandy Allnock
- Lisa Stein – that’s me!
- Caryn Davies
- Carly Tee Minner
- May Sukyong Park
- Lisa Spangler
- Aimes Gray
- Jessica Frost-Ballas
- Ellen Hutson Blog
- Julia Stainton
- Emily Midgett
- Taheerah Atchia
- Joanne Soukup
- Melissa Miller
- Libby Hickson
- May Flaum
- Cindy Lawrence
Thanks for hopping by. If you’ve got an animal, go hug it. If you want to help animals, go to Farm Sanctuary. They do good things. We all need good things.
I love your card. This is my first visit to your blog and I love your style; your cards are fantastic.
Thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to comment. 🙂
Darling card, it is so Spring.
Thank you for sharing about the Farm Sanctuary. I had not heard of that before. Cute piggy card, and I too hope that is what a day looks like at the sanctuary. 🙂
Your dog house looks great! love using patterned paper when I don’t have a lot of time to color every little thing. Dies are so handy, they changed my life lol. Thanks for sharing and for such a good cause. Thanks for the chance to win what a good hop!
Oh so cute!
Love your card and appreciate your participation in the Charity Blog Hop.
Soooooow CUTE!!! And I’m going to check out the sanctuary charity…I think I have some giving to do. ???
Super sweet scene card! Loving those Nuvo drop nails. 🙂 Great details!
Such a CUTE little farm animal card! Love the plaid paper!
This is fabulous Lisa – I LOVE that wee piggy! Great cause you picked too.
Hugs,
Caryn xxx
Thank you for participating in the charity blog hop! Cute piggies card!
Very cute card! I love the little details like fhd nuvo drop nails!
Super share…thanx!!
an absolutely precious card! sure does make me smile and feel happy all over! 🙂
A great blog hop. Your card is so cute. Love it. Thanks for sharing.
Love the little pig super cute and such a great charity to pick.
Adorable card!! So bright & cheerful!!
Gotta love anything on a LawnFawn plaid background! I used to collect pigs–until they over-ran the house. I saved a few of my favorites, and sent the rest to the thrift store. Mostly, I like to eat them. Sorry–can’t do the vegan thing. But you may if you like! (Smile!)
What a great card – and thanks for sharing about your charity of choice too!
Lisa, I love your happy piggy!!! (And you made me finally order that stamp set – my sister LOVES pigs.)
Love your adorable card. Great background.
Very cute card ? Love these pigs ?
What a wonderful idea for a blog hop! Love the card.
Love your card. it is really very sweet.
What a sweet card!
LISA! Love what you made! And I have to look into Farm Sanctuary. I don’t know if I ever told ya, but I went veg after growing up on a farm — once I figured out where meat came from around age 13 I just couldn’t eat anything that we raised, so I’d only eat turkey. Then in 2000 I couldn’t even eat that anymore after getting lost while driving in the boonies of Texas and getting behind a turkey truck…anyhow love your piggy! SO CUTE! xoxo
Love your very cute card! You made such good use of the patterned papers.
What a wonderful blog hop!! This card is adorable!! I love the fun background paper and the little house. I am a pig lover myself. I think they are adorable and really intelligent. I have always wanted one for a pet but my husband has said otherwise!!
Love the stamp set, adore your card, and I am very tempted to choose Farm Sanctuary for my donation…knew nothing about it, but love the idea! As for that MFT stamp set, I passed over it after much hesitation but it is now on my list. Those pigs are sow cute 😉
Adorable! You make me think I “need” that pig set! ❤
That pig stamp set is really starting to grow on me. I didn’t immediately, but now I really want it! TFS
So much detail and so many little extras in the making of your card. Really cute. Love the purpose of this blog hop. Thanks for being a part.
I love this idea. Thanks for sharing
Great job! Love all the detail. Thank you!
Super cute! Good cause.
Love how you embellished the pig (dog) house.
Fun and colorful card! My friend loves pigs so this would be a hit with her! Thanks for sharing.
This card is so darn cute!
What an adorable card and for such a wonderful blog hop!
I agree, these little pig have a lot of appeal, very cute card.
I am a pig person…like to say they’re my spirit animal…and, yes, they are cute. As evidenced by your adorable card. The little scene you’ve created is just darling.
Your card is adorable, Lisa!! I’m not much of a pig person either, but that MFT stamp set is so cute!!
This card is darling!!! I’ve been eyeing that piggy set. My dad farms cows and is very committed to cruelty free farming. It’s so nice to see that it’s an inspiration to many people. Thank u for your part.
Hugs!!!
I find pigs adorable and I am also an equal opportunist for cuteness! Thanks for sharing your charity, I’ll be sure to check them out.
Your description of how you imagine a pig’s sanctuary life is hysterical. Great ideas!
🙂
This is a very cute card…I agree this set by MFT is adorable. I love the shimmer and use of Nuvo Drops to provide some accents.
Those pigs make me giddy too, and I am not a pig person either!! What is it about them?? But I had to have them…
Love your adorable card, the pig house is perfect.
What a LOVELY card! Both my daughter and husband love pigs! 😀
The details on your card put it over the top! Thanks for sharing The Farm Sanctuary!
I loved this MFT stamp when they intoduced it and I love it even more now.
Expecting goats…got pigs. I guess that works too!! lol
Very cute piggy card, one of my favorite farm animals!
I’m so happy to have found your blog. It’s going on my favorites list! Great cause!
You are right. We all need good things, and this blog hop has definitely lifted my spirits on this dreary day. I love your little twinkle toes! 😉 Thanks for the info on Farm Sanctuary.
Such a CUTE card!! Made me smile:)
beautiful piggy card 🙂 love lil piglets, they are so cute
Such a cute card, with many fabulous details! Great charity, too.
Lots of cute little details added to your card! I snort a’ love it,
Such a cute pig! Great card!
You are sweet and caring! Cute card!
Cute card. I make donations to Haiti for things like this “goat” challenge.
This card is sow fun! Love the plaid paper too!
love the pigs and it does scream spring. Such a great card
Super cute card!
Love your interpretation of this stamp set. I think pigs are adorable and you caught their essence in your card. Such a cute design. Thanks for joining in.
Squeeeaaaal! Lol! What a cute card! Adorable! A card that would always bring out a smile of happiness! I love the pop of glitter!
What a darling card! Love everything about it! Thank you for the info on such a fine charity too. Julie L
What a good idea, Lisa. I’m not familiar with the organization – I bet you’ll have fun on the farm.
What a cute little card! Also, wonderful charity!
Thank you for sharing about the Farm Sanctuary, and for participating in this remarkable Blog Hop! Great card.
Very cute! The scene you created is definitely fun and happy! The charity you chose sounds like a good one!
I love these pigs too! They are so darn adorable and there’s so many positions in the set. There should be much stricter regulations and enforcement on the humane treatment of humans and animals and less spent on weapons to kill.
Your Piggy has character! My daughter raises pigs and I’ve come to realize that pigs do indeed have individual personalities!
Very cute!
Love this and love your farm sanctuary charity. So awesome.
Very cute piggy card. It makes me smile and your thoughts behind it are great.
This is adorable! I’m sure any pig would love the house you created. I too am an equal opportunity hoarder of cute things.
So cute. Thank you for the inspiration and the giveaway!
Your card is SO adorable and perfect for the Farm Sanctuary theme! I love how happy the little pig looks!
How cute is that card? I don’t tend to make cute cards with animals, but I must say you have inspired me to have a go now……well done.
Never heard of this charity. Sounds absolutely wonderful. Love your card & blog!! Thanks for all sharing
Super cute piggy and the card is too!
Love your little scene!
Love your little scene! Such fun!
Cute card. Love the plaid paper.
What a wonderful idea for a blog. I have been inspired by all of you to donate to our local food bank. Thank you for the inspiration.
That’s AWESOME! And the entire point of the blog. Good for you! 🙂
What a sweet card. Love the bright colors.
So darn cute! Love it!
This hop has been great I learned about new bloggers and new charities too!
Oh My Goodness…. Farm Sanctuary!!! Squeal!! Oink, Oink…. Love your fun card!!! and I LOVE your statement…. “Because I’m an equal opportunity hoarder of all of the cute things.”…. too funny… Oink, Oink….
Thank you! Such an adorable card!!
Wonderful card and great details. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I love the plaid background. Very cheerful & “springy”.
Love your darling card… that pig is too cute!
This is the cutest card! I’m with you – I don’t have a problem with pigs but adult pigs to me aren’t that cute – but this pig is! And what a lovely charity idea! Thanks for sharing!
What a wonderful idea ! My family has donated to Habitat for Humanity, the Heifer Fund and Oxfam for years. All good charities! This is a great opportunity for your readers to discover some new and worthy charities!
Very cute card!!
Cute card, great charity!
Way over the top! Like the card,love the reason for it.
Love this card. What a cute little piggy!
Wow, what a terrific idea! I look forward to checking out all the blogs!
Colorful card! Thanks for sharing.
Great card! And a worthy cause!!!
Such a pretty and happy card!
Wow!!! This is such a wonderful idea!!! Love your adorable card! So cute!!!
Spring is in the air. Wonderful card.
Adorable card and I love the charity you chose. Thanks for sharing and inspiring!
Very cute Farm Sanctuary scene you created for this lucky pig.
Great job with the colors and the dog house. I give to the Farm Sanctuary yearly – anything that helps the animals.
Yay!
What an adorable little pig! That is a great set. Love the card you created.
Cute pigs. I am not a pig fan but I like yours.
Thanks for the chance to win a prize.
Erica K.
What a cute card for a great cause!
Cute card! Thanks for sharing!
Equal opportunity hoarder, heh 😀
The pig looks so happy <3
Thank you for highlighting such a great charity! You chose the perfect stamp set to use for your card. Those pigs are so joyous!
Im so glad you did Farm Sanctuary, it’s one of my faves too!
What an adorable set n such a cute piggie!
I can see why this
piggy makes you
giddy! Your card
is adorable and
a great cause.
Carla from Utah
super cute card!
Love your little piggy! Thanks for helping this wonderful charity!
Cute card and great choice for animal care
Love your card!! It’s just so cute!!