Friday Flurries

Happy Friday......Is it just me-or are the weeks flying by?

I have to get my act together! I doubt I will be blogging much next week as I am hosting thanksgiving dinner for the first time ever. My husband's family is coming so I have to get the house ready AND learn how to cook in just a few days! Wish me luck!

I created this card last night with the new MFT set Pure Innocence-Flurries of Love: I love this new line. The images are so sweet.

Everything on this is pretty self explanatory. The snow is liquid applique. The image is colored with Copic markers.

Materials used: Stamps-Pure Innocence-Flurries of Love (My Favorite Things); cardstock-ivory, white (Gina K Designs); designer paper-the Mod Retro Stack (DCWV); Copic markers; liquid applique, heat tool; ribbon (SU!); sparkle burst brad (Karen Foster Designs).

Hope you have a great weekend....I am going to see New Moon tomorrow with my daughter! Cannot wait!

Thanks for stopping by!

Vintage Tag

Hi there! I am battling a cold so this is gonna be short and sweet~sorry!
Tonight the Gina K Design team is showing you some more designs with Nina's Vintage Borders set.

I decided to create a tag using many of the stamps in the set--the ornate flourish, the music background, the sentiment and the intricate lace design.

I paired these elements with the snowflakes from the Stamp TV set-Holiday Cheer , the bird from First Christmas and the greenery from Tropical Flowers.

The stamps in Vintage Borders are the perfect backdrop for all of your stamped images.

Now how about some more inspiration with the Vintage Borders stamp set? First, check in with the Illustrator of this versatile stamp set, Nina Bracket, and her friend Lisa Hjulberg , who is joining in the blog hop tonight.


Then, stop by these GinaK Designer's & Center Stage Spotlight blogs for even more samples:

Asela, Carolyn, Cindy, Emily, Erika, Jessica, Kurtis, Lee, Lynn, Tami, Theresa and Melanie

Deb, Melissa, Karen, Sharri, and Sue

Before you finish hopping, be sure to check in on Gina K's blog to enter your comment for a chance to win Nina's Vintage Borders stamp set. If you already have purchased Nina's set, you can substitute any Gina K Designs stamp set valued at $23.95 or less.


For those of you are who looking for a quick and easy Christmas card idea, check out the Vintage Borders Card Kit available online in Gina K's store tonight. The Kit includes the step by step tutorial as well as all the card stock cut to the exact measurements needed to make 4 cards. For more details and photos of this card kit, see Jessica Fick's blog link as well as this Class Kit link.

Thanks for stopping by!

FLAT is in!

I have been trying to create some designs that would be very simple to mail and require no additional postage.

Today, I made this card, which features Polar Love by My Favorite Things.The only touch of texture on this is the fringe ribbon....but it is very thin and does not bulk up a card for mailing. (I am thinking about this a lot these days as I am currently sending a TON of mail out!)

This set is so sweet--I just LOVE the bears holding onto the heart. I colored the scarf and then added the extra lines to make it striped. I added a bit of crystal stickles to it to give it a bit of sparkle. I stamped the sentiment and then cut it up to add along the designer paper.

Materials used: Polar Love (My Favorite Things); Memento black ink; Copic markers; stickles-crystal (Ranger); cardstock-white, ivory (Gina K Designs); designer paper-Cosmo Cricket, The Paper Studio; corner rounder punch; fringe ribbon (Hobby Lobby).

Thanks for stopping by today!

Baby Bear

Whew! What a weekend......great weather and we were running all around....

We got the neatest package from my husband....he sent my daughter a children's book. In the back of the book is a DVD of him reading the book to her so that she could read the book along with him. It was the greatest thing and she LOVES it. This is a service of the USO and it is just an amazing gift. The other two kids cannot wait to get theirs.

Ok......I finally finished this card that I alluded to on Friday. This card was completed 10 minutes at a time (literally!)
The idea for this card popped into my head when I was working on the card in the post below. This design works for a new baby--boy OR girl!

I thought this sweet bear from First Christmas (Gina K Designs by Asela Hopkins) would look so cute sitting in the moon with some sparkly stars all around:

See....the Santa hat looks like a cute little baby hat when you use it in this way. This stamp will get a lot of mileage from me that is for sure!

I paired it with a sentiment from Tag Lines! (Gina K Designs).

More details: The little adhesive stitching is from Cloud 9, something I have had in my stash for awhile and have never used. I covered the sticky stars (I got from Jody Morrow HERE) with doodlebug glitter so the stars really sparkle. I created the moon by cutting a circle with a Nestability die (Spellbinders) and then cutting it into a crescent. I just added some sponging around the edges.

Materials used: Stamps-First Christmas, Tag Lines (Gina K Designs); cardstock-white (Gina K Designs); blue (SU!); designer paper- Lime Green Linen (The Paper Studio); Memento black ink; ink- barely banana, bashful blue (SU!); sponge; Copic markers; redline star shapes; doodlebug glitter-yellow; 3D Gel stickers, Travel (Cloud9 Design); brads (SU!).

Hope you all had a great weekend! I did!

Thanks for stopping by!

It's a GIRL!

Hello! I am so excited because my baby sister is having her second daughter today!!! She was scheduled for a c-section this afternoon so by the time you are reading this--I will be an aunt (again!) EDIT: Sweet baby Carolyn (!) was born today. She weighed in at 8 lbs and 12 oz! So excited to meet her. Congrats Clare and Dave!

My daughter Lauren and I spent the morning shopping for her new cousin!!!
Since I knew the blog hop for Asela's First Christmas set was tonight---I decided to get the new baby card ready to go! (It is only fitting that I used a bear on my sister's card because we used to call her "Clare Bear" growing up!)

As you can see--I used the bear in the set to make a new baby card. You can even mask off the hat but I think it looks so cute with the hat on so I just made it pink. (You can color it blue for a baby boy!)

I used pure luxury cardstock for the image and framed the designer paper with some tan leather and All Spruced up.

Materials used: First Christmas (Gina K Designs); Memento black ink; Copic markers; rubon-American Crafts (IM phrases); cardstock-pure luxury white, all spruced up, tan leather (Gina K Designs); designer paper-SEI; slit punch (SU!); corner punch (SU!); pom pom ribbon (Jo Anns); sewing machine.

I am working on another sample with this set but didn't have the time to get it done. Ah....life sometimes gets in the way! Will post in the near future!

Wanna see more designs with this beautiful set? Stop in at Asela Hopkin's blog (our featured Illustrator tonight) and see what she has prepared for us.

Then, check out the design team blogs:

Donna, Erika, Jessica, Lee, Melanie, and Theresa

and the CenterStage Spotlight Designer's blogs:

Deb , Sharri , Diana, Karen

Remember, the Idea Center has lots of tutorials, photos, and links that will provide even more ideas for you with this stamp set!

And, if you haven't already done so, be sure to leave a comment on GinaK's blog for a chance to win this stamp set tonight too! If you have already purchased this set, you may swap it out for any other GinaK stamp set valued at $23.95.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks Veterans and Calendar HOP!

First and foremost----Happy Veteran's Day! Thank you to all those who have served or who are currently serving our country. Hugs to my hubby, who is in an "undisclosed location in Asia." (his words verbatim).

<<-----Hubby in action. If this photo doesn't make you feel secure......then I don't know WHAT will! (giggle!)

*****

Gina K Designs is releasing two new sets by Tami Mayberry tonight---Calendar Bits & Pieces and Calendar Grid. The grid is just that---a grid that you can add the calendar dates to---or use for fun invitations or save the date cards. Calendar Bits & Pieces includes TONS of stamps to fill in your calendar or create scrapbook pages, cards, etc.

I created two projects today to try to show you the versatility of these sets. I am sure you will see LOTS of ways to use them on the hop tonight.

First, I used the Calendar Grid to create the fun background of this card. I used the words from the Bits & Pieces set to create a sewn on sentiment:

Materials used: Calendar Grid and Calendar Bits & Pieces (Gina K Designs); bashful blue ink (SU!); white cardstock, tan leather cardstock (Gina K Designs); designer paper-Early Bird-Cosmo Cricket; flower stickers (Martha Stewart); buttons (Making Memories); ribbon-Funky Vintage Trims, Lizzie (Making Memories); sewing machine; slit punch (SU!).

Next, I created a desk calendar using the Grid in a traditional way:I found a stand up photo album at Dollar Tree and thought it would be perfect to alter for a desk calendar. All the little stamps and the words and numbers are in the Bits & Pieces set. Wouldn't it be cute to create holiday desk calendars for grandparents with photos of the kids on the backs of the pages? There are endless possibilities with these sets---Check out these links for more:

For some helpful tips on how to use the Calendar Bits & Pieces and Calendar Grid stamp sets, please be sure to check out Gina's blog and StampTV for a helpful video on just how quick and easy it can be to use! Both of these sets as well as the PDF version of the Calendar Grid image will be available for purchase tonight over on our online store.

After that, stop by our Illustrator's blog - Tami Mayberry for some projects with her stamp sets.
Here are the Gina K Designers who are joining us in the preview tonight:

Cat, Donna, Erika, Jessica, Lee, Lynn, Melanie, Nina and Theresa

You'll also want to check in on these CenterStage Spotlight Designer's blogs for more ideas:

Melissa, Sharri, and Sue

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas Peace, Hope, Love

Hi everyone! Hope you are having a good week so far. Tonight Melanie is hosting a blog hop with her newest release from Gina K Designs called Festive Frame.

I love how you can use this set simply by embossing the beautiful flower frame or dress it up by stamping it and coloring it.

I chose to color it in for this card. I stamped the frame on pure luxury white cardstock, colored it with Copics, and then cut it out...omitting the double lines on the inside of the circle and on the outer edge of the frame:

I stamped one of the beautiful sentiments in the center of the opening in two colors of ink. After mounting the panel to the front of the card, I stamped the bird from First Christmas and added it to the card as well.

I used some All Spruced Up ribbon and the Bow Easy to create the bow. Finally, I added some gold dots to the corners.

Melanie Muenchinger, the Illustrator of Festive Frame has invited a couple of her friends to join in on the blog hop tonight, so click on their blog links to see the projects they've created for us:

Joan Ervin

Linda Payne

Wendy Price

Then, check in on these GinaK Designer's participating in the Blog Hop tonight:
Carolyn King
Donna Baker
Erika Martin
Jessica Fick
Lee Murphy
Melanie Muenchinger
Theresa Momber

And our fabulous Center Stage Spotlight Team:

Deb Felts
Diana S. Queen
Melissa Cash
Sharri Seffens

After you're done hopping to all the Designer's blogs stop by GinaK's Idea Center here: Festive Frame for lots more ideas on how to use Melanie's stamp set. And, don't forget to check in on GinaK's blog so you can leave your comment to be entered as a chance to win this stamp set, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blog Award....

My dear friend Michelle (Stamper's Dream) passed this blog award to me, and I will be passing it along to 5 others after I complete the questions.

The rules are to answer these questions in one word, which is harder than you may think!

1. Where is your cell phone? pocket

2. Your hair? brown

3. Your mother? selfless

4. Your father? wise

5. Your favorite food? Pizza

6. Your dream last night? none

7. Your favorite drink? diet a&w (two words...sorry!)

8. Your dream/goal? happiness

9. What room are you in? game

10. Your hobby? stamping

11. Your fear? snakes

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? beach

13. Where were you last night? home

14. Something that you aren't? unapproachable

15. Muffins? choc chip

16. Wish list item? Cricut

17. Where did you grow up? PA

18. Last thing you did? laundry

19. What are you wearing? jeans

20. Your TV? on

21. Your Pets? none

22. Friends? cherished

23. Your life? full

24. Your mood? content

25. Missing Someone? yes

26. Vehicle? minivan

27. Something you're not wearing? hat

28. Your favorite store? Pottery Barn

29. Your favorite color? green

30. When was the last time you laughed? today

31. Last time you cried? month

32. Your best friend? Sister

33. One place that I go to over and over? school

34. Facebook? yes

35. Favorite place to eat? McAllisters

Now I need to pass this on to 5 more bloggers whom I visit daily and am always inspired by:

Tosh

Deb

Melanie

Kim

Gina

Be back with something crafty tomorrow...

Thanks for stopping by!

Slap on the Wrist

I woke up this morning to an email from my husband (who is currently in Kuwait). It said:
"Your blog....please refrain from placing pictures of my boy in frilly gold ruffles" (See post directly below this one!)
Oopsie....forgot he could access my blog from half way across the world!!! Hmmmmm.....might have to have some fun with this! (grin!)

***

I apologize that I did not address the events that took place at Ft. Hood on Thursday on my blog. I had a post all typed and ready for Friday and did not go back to change it. I didn't realize so many knew that was our home base. Thanks for your concern.....We live off post and my husband is currently serving in Iraq so he is safe. (Go figure....safer there than at home!)
All of our friends on post are safe. Please keep all those families who have been directly affected in your prayers.

***

Did you see the new Pure Innocence line from My Favorite Things? Awww.....total cuteness. I just love them all. I used My Balloon for this card and coupled it with a fun ribbon sun. I think the sentiment is just so sweet. Materials used: Stamps-My Balloon (Pure Innocence Line. My Favorite Things); Memento black ink; Copic markers; cardstock-white (Gina K Designs); designer paper-Mod Retro stack (DCWV); ribbons-scraps (SU, May Arts, Offray), orange grosgrain ribbon-May Arts.

Thanks for stopping by!

JustRite Photo Ornament

Look what is new from JustRite Stampers. The November release from JustRite is fabulous and Stamper's Dream Store will be shipping the new stamps by mid-November.

Here is a peek at something I made with the 2" Square Decorative Frames:Do you see the beautiful square frame bordering the picture of my handsome son? That is from the new Decorative Square frames set. I embossed the frame and then matted the cropped picture of my son on some gold cardstock.

I used Brayton Font and the Harmony Rectangular Stamper to emboss the year and punched it with an oval punch. The base of the ornament is the Fleur de Lis Pendant die (Spellbinders). I added a bow made with Antique Sheer Gold ribbon (May Arts) to the top and threaded a piece of gold metallic string (May Arts)through the top of the ornament so you can hang it on a tree. This would also be beautiful on a card front or as a gift tag.

I am in love with the square stamps. They are so elegant---and look fabulous embossed! You can use these squares to frame a monogram note...a small sentiment...or even a picture (like I did for this ornament). You can even use your small letters to customize the border.

Here is what's new from JustRite at Stamper's Dream----Shipping mid-November:

and new Decorative 2" Round Borders too:

****Note: You can buy the borders and mounts separately....but these are also available in kits which include the border set, a mount and three sizes of fonts so you can customize your project. This is a great way to buy them if you are just starting out with JustRite...you will have everything you need to get started....

Decorative 2" Square Monogram Kit

Decorative 2" Round Monogram Kit

Michelle is always adding new stamps, embellishments and paper to her store, so be sure to check out Stamper's Dream today!

Thanks for stopping by!