Monday, March 31, 2008

MFTeasers have Begun!!!

Well...it is that time again----Time for the MFTeasers to begin.
My Favorite Things will be releasing two new sets on Wednesday night after the New Release cocktail party on Splitcoaststampers from 9-11 p.m. Eastern time. Join us for a night of fun and contests--and your chance to be the next My Favorite Guest designer!

Here is a look at the new set called "Happy Mother's Day!" (I LOVE the name of this set--so easy to remember!) The little verse around the box reads "Thank you for...being a gift in my life...loving without condition...giving all of yourself" Beautiful, eh?

The image is stamped in Brilliance Black ink. I colored her arms and the plant with Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils. Then, I paper pieced her dress (stamped the image again on designer paper and then cut out the dress and adhered it on the image.)

I cut out some of the small flowers from the designer paper and put them on the corners of the image.

The adorable scalloped piece was created using the Martha Stewart punch Juanita sent me---(waving---THANKS Juanita!)

Materials used: Stamps- Happy Mother's Day (My Favorite Things); black brilliance ink; Prismacolor pencils; Copic markers; odorless mineral spirits; cardstock--white (Stampin' Up!), berry sorbet (Papertrey Ink); pink paper pack (PTI); ribbon (PTI); scalloped punch (Martha Stewart); dimensionals (SU!).

This is dedicated to a few ladies I know who will be new mothers very soon:

My sweet baby sister, Clare, who will be having her first child ANY DAY NOW!!! ((((Clare Bear))))

AND my stamping friend Carole (TruCarMa) who recently informed me that she is expecting her third child! I know a lot of you know Carole from her bright and colorful personality (NOW we know it is all hormone driven! Snort!) and her WONDERFUL cards. ***Don't forget to stop by her blog to wish her Congratulations!!!

BTW--Just a few days left for anyone who wants to play along in my challenge to win a $25 gift certificate to Gina K Designs. See details here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Poor Fishy........

First, I just want to say thank YOU for all the emails and comments I have received about our upcoming move--I really appreciate all of your prayers and support...it really touched my heart!

Ok...FINALLY a card! This card is for the CCEE challenge a few gals and I do each Monday on Splitcoaststampers. This week, the zany Cindy (or Mothermark as she is known on SCS!) sent us these supplies:

Two sheet of this circle/yellow designer paper by My Mind's Eye
Two thin strips of the dp that she cut off because the sheets wouldn't fit in the mailing (! no comment!)
Three big brads
The Star by My Mind's Eye
The ribbon

Instructions were:
We had to use all supplies (We could also use other dp but the one supplied must be used too)
We had to use a fish image (because she thought the dp looked like bubbles of course!)
The fish had to be inside of a circle shape
We had to take special note to USE the star and brads and not pretend we didn't see them (cough, cough...wonder who does THAT?!)

Here are my excuses as to why the main image is NOT a fish-
1. I have no fish images---seriously, out of HUNDREDS of stamps---not ONE fish --- Crazy!
2. Ok..fine....There was a big sweet fish in the center of the circle.....then all of the sudden, out of nowhere this huge pelican swooped in and snatched him up(Think NEMO scene where all the birds are shouting "Mine, mine!)

So it is in no way MY FAULT that the main image is just a pelican with parts of a fish (Poor Fishy!) I used the adorable bird from Gina K Designs and just sketched the fish in his mouth and the surrounding scene. The sentiment is from my first stamp collection. The images were colored with Prismacolor pencils and Copic markers.

I did use one of the little strips of designer paper Cindy enclosed in the package and probably thought no one would touch---(EXTRA CREDIT!) I just folded it back and forth and thought it made a funtastic embellishment over the sentiment!

I cannot wait to see what the other crazy girls came up with. You will be able to see all the cards for this challenge here. (They will be uploaded on Monday!)

Materials used: Pelican (Gina K Designs); sentiment (Carolyn King Collection I distributed by Gina K Designs); dp by My Mind's Eye; Bazzill dark blue cardstock (Boardwalk Collection); white cardstock (Stampin' Up!); Brilliance black ink; artist sketch pen; Copic markers; Prismacolor pencils; large brads; star (My Mind's Eye); ribbon, slit punch (Stampin' Up!); Cuttlebug and Nestabilities; pop dots and dimensionals (SU!).

Fun stuff:
I have two tutorials featured in the Scor-Pal April/May Ezine---Mother's Day Gatefold 1 and Triangle Box 5. You can see these and other fantastic projects here.

I just heard that the May issue of Cardmaker Magazine is now out---I have a Father's Day card featured on page 66! (NOT that I have seen it yet!)

My Favorite Things is having a New Release Cocktail Party on Wednesday, April 2 from 9-11 p.m. Eastern time. Lots of fun is planned including finding out how YOU can be the next MFT Guest Designer. Head over to the MFT forum on Splitcoaststampers to find out all the details and we hope to see you there on Wednesday night. I will begin posting some MFTeasers tomorrow!! Stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Happy and SAD

What an exhausting two days---yesterday we had a few showings so I was in and out of the house a lot--no stamping done.

HAPPY: Today we got an offer on the house--woohoo!!! Fingers crossed that it works out.....I was on the phone with the realtor MANY times today while....lugging my three kids to the sports store, Walmart, Various ball fields, etc....YIPES!

SAD: Funny thing is that now that we have someone interested in the house, it is hitting me that I will be leaving the home that I LOVE and my WONDERFUL family of friends that have made this assignment such a blessing....


I WILL have something to share with you tomorrow.
In addition to that good news I got some very happy mail today--more about that later and a publication project acceptance (that I didn't even submit! Whoot!)

FUN Stuff:
My Favorite Things will be releasing two new adorable sets on Wednesday, April 2nd. I will have some MFTeasers of these starting on Monday and more deets about the release party that will be on Wednesday night on Splitcoaststampers!

For a great tutorial on using Nestabilities in your cuttlebug machine and to enter to win a FREE set of Nestabilities check out this post on Gina K's blog!

Thanks for hanging in there--busy times!!!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Pick me Up--For a Friend

A friend of mine just lost her second llama this week.....so I wanted to send her a little hug via the USPS.

I chose this set called Rain or Shine by My Favorite Things for the card because I just wanted to send her a little sunshine. I also (sort of!) followed the My Favorite Things sketch challenge for this...I just changed the center image to a rectangle rather than a circle. Thanks Cindy for another great sketch!

I went over the rain drops with icicle stickles. The designer paper is actually a digital paper pack from My Favorite Things. You just print out the paper from your printer as you need it! LOVE that!


Materials used: Stamps-Rain or Shine (My Favorite Things); cardstock-white, pink, red (Stampin' Up!); Digital Paper pack (My Favorite Things); brilliance black ink; Prismacolor pencils; Copic Cool Grey #1 Marker; Icicle Stickles; pink ribbon (SU!); circle punches and scalloped circle punch (SU!); dimensionals (SU!); slit punch (SU!), red dot stickers (unknown).

Thanks for stopping by!



Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Have a Ball!

I had this idea for a birthday card ever since purchasing this baseball paper. This morning, I put my vision on paper!

I created a baseball glove out of caramel cardstock (I worked from a template I made in case I wanted to make more!) After adding the detail with chocolate marker, I sponged the edges to give it depth.

I cut out a baseball from the dp and used it as the template for the card opening. I used my Creative Memories cutting system to create the folded over circle (the one that closest matched the size of the baseball.)

Once again, I used my Cuttlebug numbers folder to make the cut out number on the front (I just embossed a piece of red cardstock and then cut out the number I wanted to use!)

A few punched holes with hemp ties completes the front of this card.





I used Karen Foster snap stamps to create the inside sentiment-"Have a Ball!"




Materials used: Stamps-Karen Foster Stamp stamps; real red, creamy caramel and white cardstock (Stampin' Up!); chocolate chip and close to cocoa classic stamp pads (Stampin' Up!); sponge; chocolate chip stamp and write marker (Stampin' Up!); sponge; baseball paper from The Paper Studio; Cuttlebug and numbers embossing folder; Cropadile; hemp (Stampin' Up!); Creative memories cutting system.


Thanks for stopping by! (Have to go clean play dough off my kitchen floor!)

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Watercolored Flowers

Yeah! I managed to squeeze some stamping time in today. (Boy, I am SICK of having my house on the market ALREADY--and it has only been on three days!)

I pulled out this adorable set from My Favorite Things called Bundles of Bouquets. The flower vase is stamped in Brilliance black ink on watercolor paper and then I watercolored the image. I am not great at watercoloring but I still like to do it!

The background is stamped with Stampin' Up! Weathered.

I pierced around the edge and then used my olive marker from Stampin' Up! to connect the piercings (faux sewing!)

The piece of blue cardstock is from Bazzill Boardwalk collection and was a gift from my sweet friend Tosh!

I used my Cuttlebug and little tag die to create the mini tag. I stamped the word "friend" on it on olive and faux sewed the edges of it too.


Materials used: Stamps-Bundles of Bouquets (My Favorite Things), Weathered (Stampin' Up!); brilliance black ink; watercolors; aquapainter; old olive SU marker; Cardstock-mustard, olive, cranberry crisp, watercolor paper (SU!); Bazzill Basics-Boardwalk; hardware (We R Memory Keepers); Cuttlebug and tag die and Mosaic embossing folder; dimensionals (SU!); hemp (SU!); mustard ribbon (SU!); paper piercing tool and mat (SU!).

Fun stuff:

Check out the Craft Critique review for today--that's me!

Kim (The My Favorite Things lady) is having a cool contest on her blog. Check it out here.

If you have the Framed Flowers set from Gina K Designs and want to win a $25 gift certificate to her store, check out this post.

Thanks for stopping by!

RAKS The Kindness of Stampers

It never ceases to amaze me how KIND and WONDERFUL my stamping friends are. Today my mail was evidence of that.

First, I received this AMAZING card AND punch from Juanita. The card is soo pretty. I love the wonderful colors and her little tiny crystal stickers so perfectly placed. And check out the bottom border and then read this---

I have exchanged a few emails back and forth with this amazing woman---one regarding a card I did a week ago. She (and about 35 other people) asked where I got the punch I used for this card. I told her that it was a Martha Stewart pre-made card that I had used. Well, on a recent shopping excursion, she found this punch (which looks just like the beautiful border on the card minus the embossing). So, she picked one up for ME?!

What a sweetheart---I can tell you that I will be using this A LOT! Thanks so much Juanita!

Here is another one. This beauty is from Shawn. Shawn won my blog candy a few weeks ago and she just had to send this as a thank you!?!?!?! Wow---I feel like I just WON blog candy!

Thanks so much Shawn---you are soo sweet and your card is just amazing. I love the beautiful embossed swirl in the background.


I KNOW---I am a lucky ducky!

I have received hundreds of cards in just the past year that I started doing this. I usually do not post them but I think I just might start doing that. I keep every card (as you can see) and it is such a fantastic feeling to go back and read each one.

I am touched that so many wanted to share their beautiful hand-made creations with me.

Stampers are AMAZING!

Monday, March 24, 2008

"HELP......

...the Zebra is going to EAT me!"


A classic moment from our Safari adventure this past week. My husband was driving and I had my daughter on my lap (don't worry I am not Brittany---it is a drive through where you literally go 8 miles an hour on a closed course and feed the animals that roam free! My other two monkeys were dangling out the back windows!)

Two fearless Zebras decided to poke their head INSIDE our car....needless to say Lauren was not pleased.

The rest of the day she kept repeating "It's ok.....Zebras are nice!" --That is what I kept telling her to calm her down.


Here are two projects I did last night---nice to get back to my stamping stuff!

The first card features an image and sentiment from Penny Black. The flowers are called Tigress. I colored them with Prismacolor pencils and then clear embossed them. They have a nice shine in real life.

I used my Nestability rectangle dies to mat and frame the image (I used gold cardstock for behind the flowers.)

The designer paper is from Memory Box Sugar Collection. I love the patterns in this pack.

The stamps and designer paper can be found at Stamper's Dream.


Materials used: Stamps-Penny Black (available at Stamper's Dream); cardstock-white, black, gold (Stampin' Up!); brilliance black ink; designer paper by Memory Box-Sugar Collection; slit punch (SU!); horizontal slot punch (SU!); black brads; Cuttlebug and Nestability dies; clear embossing powder, versamark pen and heat tool (SU!); dimensionals (SU!); ribbon (May Arts); Prismacolor pencils; odorless mineral spirits.

The next project is one I created with stamps and little clipboard set from Stampendous. The stamps are called "Clipboard Decor" and are made specifically to work with these mini clipboards (that Stampendous sells three different sizes in a pack--picture here!)

I used the largest clipboard and altered it to make a memo pad holder. I covered the clipboard with yellow cardstock. I flipped the base over and traced it on yellow cardstock and cut it out. Then, I covered the board with Modge Podge and adhered the measured cardstock on top and then sanded the edges.

I stamped the inside detail on white cardstock and cut it out and adhered it to the clipboard as well.

I used the stamps in the Stampendous set to create the border and the accent along the clip. The sentiment is stamped underneath the pad and I stamped it on the top of the pad to make it pretty for a gift presentation.

I attached a flower on the top of the clip to finish off the design. What an easy project. This would be adorable to leave by the phone or computer for messages or you could attach magnetic tape on the back and use it as a grocery list on your refrigerator.





Here is the view of the clipboard without the post it notes. The sentiment is also stamped on the base.

The clipboards and Stampendous Clipboard Decor stamps can be found at Stamper's Dream.


Materials used: Stamps- Clipboard decor by Stampendous; clipboard (Stampendous); bananna and white cardstock (Stampin' Up!); ribbon (SU!); large pop dot (SU!); button; flower (Paper Studio); Modge Podge; red classic ink (SU!); sanding block (SU!).


Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!


Tomorrow is a family day---I will be back on Monday with a fun project! I hope you have a Happy Easter!


Full details on how to make this triangle treat basket will be included in the next Scor-Pal online magazine (April/May). (All stamps used on this project are from My Favorite Things- Eggstra Special Easter.)


Thanks for stopping by!


Friday, March 21, 2008

Congratulations Michelle!!!!

My friend Michelle (owner of Stamper's Dream ebay store) has some very exciting news---she has taken the big step and opened her OWN online store! Her store is still called Stamper's Dream---just no more ebay fees and tons more fun products!!!!

For those of you who have ordered from her before, you know she offers FAST and wonderful service. Here are some of the awesome products she offers at her store--



Stamp lines:

Gina K Designs

My Favorite Things

Hero Arts

Inkadinkado

Judikins

Northwoods Rubber Stamps

Outlines Rubber Stamps

Penny Black

Paper Inspirations

Stampendous

Wordsworth

A Muse



Accessories:

Embossing Powders

Cuttlebug Folders

Fun Flock

Liquid Pearls

Memory Box Paper

Bind It All

Adhesive

Acrylic Blocks



The following card features a few products she offers - The main image is by Inkadinkado, the sentiment is from Hero Arts and comes from a very cool clear stamp set called Frames & Messages and the Swiss dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug).



Materials used: Stamps: nest-Inkadinkado; sentiment- Frames & Message Clear stamps by Hero Arts (both available at Stamper's Dream); ink-brilliance black, SU classic old olive, creamy caramel; White, mustard, olive, saffron and designer paper (Stampin' Up!); ribbon (May Arts); Copic markers; Cuttlebug and Swiss dots embossing folder; Prismacolor pencils; hardware by We R Memory Keepers; dimensionals (SU!).

Congratulations Michelle!!! Go check out her store here!

EDIT: If the link to the store doesn't work for you, try again later. Certain browsers will take a few days to pick up the new code.

Thanks for stopping by!


Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Wanna Win a $25 Gift Certificate?

CONGRATULATIONS AMY---You name was drawn as the winner of the gift certificate...Please email me for the code! Thanks to everyone for playing along!!

As a special thank you to everyone who ordered my newest set from Gina K Designs called "Framed Flowers," I would like to present a $25 gift certificate to one lucky customer.

All you have to do is link a card that you made with your set "Framed Flowers" to this post.

On Saturday, April 5th, I will randomly draw one person to win a $25 Gift Certificate for Gina K. Designs (you will receive a code that you will use at checkout.) This gives you over two weeks to play along and even order the set if you want to play along!

Please link your cards and number your entries to this post. (Only one card/project per person!)

Thank YOU so much!

My Favorite Things Discount

My Favorite Things stamps is holding a promotion for a limited time!

How about a little *promo* that offers a discount on all orders, including Int'l orders? Enter the code MFTDay0308 and receive a discount of $4.60 on your order! This is like offering free shipping on US orders under $40, but the discount will work on all orders, and those US orders over $40 get both free shipping (as usual) AND the discount! This offer extends of course to our valued Int'l customers and there is no restriction on what is purchased!


Details:

*During your order process, use the coupon code MFTDay0308 and receive a $4.60 discount on your order total
*This coupon is only valid until midnight March 20th in honor of Celebrate MFT Day and National Craft month
*There are no product restrictions, but note that some items are currently out of stock and the coupon can't be used on those items
*Orders will ship within 2-3 business days as usual!

Have fun!

Finally Done! and a Card...

As promised, here is the trash pile that graced our driveway yesterday! Boy, have we been busy cleaning and de-cluttering. (There are a lot more black bags hiding behind the mound too!)

The realtor was at our house today to take the final pictures and now we are taking a few days to relax with our kiddos....so I will be MIA for a few days....but I WILL be back with LOTS of fun stuff!

Here is a cute thank you card I created. I just love the dp from American Crafts and I think it goes so well with those flowers. The sentiment is a rub on that I applied to a die cut slider I made using my Cuttlebug machine.


Here is a few of the card opened--so you can see how the image overlaps and the yellow is actually on the INSIDE!

Materials list:Designer paper-The Goods: Pumpkin pie and Acorn (American Crafts)Chocolate Chip cardstock (Stampin' Up!)White cardstock (Papertrey Ink)Stamp-My Punny Valentine (Papertrey Ink)Chocolate chip classic stamp pad (Stampin' Up!)Transparency sheet (Office Max)Cuttlebug and ribbon slider tag dieHemp (Stampin' Up!)Silk flowers-Spare Parts (The Paper Studio)Button (Stampin' Up!)Rub-on: Mini Marks Ginger Sidekicks (American Crafts) .
I have two quick announcements coming....and then I will be gone for a few days. I will answer any questions, etc. when I return!
Thanks for stopping by!



Monday, March 17, 2008

Squeezed One In!

My Friend Alli designed her first stamp set for Papertrey Ink last month called Shapes by Design. The geometric shapes are so very cool and I think they compliment the new colors that PTI introduced in February. I had this idea in my head for awhile (just haven't had the time to see it through!)

Tonight, I decided I deserved a reward for working so hard on our house! (You should see how many trash bags and stuff will be sitting outside our house tomorrow--I will try to remember to take a picture!)

Anyway, I finally got the chance to use this set. This card was so quick to make and with the color combination (love the burst of pink!) and the added flower--it is one of my most favoritist quick cards ever!

Congrats Alli on your first two sets (her newest set-Wedding Day- was released this month!)

REMOVED FOR PUBLICATION

Materials used: Shapes by Design (by Alli Miles for Papertrey Ink); cardstock-spring moss, aqua mist (Papertrey Ink); ink- spring moss (Papertrey ink); prima flower; button; white embossing powder; versamark; heat tool; slit punch (SU!); circle punch (SU!).

FUN NEWS: Check out one of the newest reporters for Craft Critique. I am so excited to join this incredible team!

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Rainin' Vellum!

This week for my challenge with my CCEE Splitcoaststampers group---we had to use vellum on a card.

This was simple! I LOVE vellum. I chose to emboss vellum (the swirl background) and attach it to white cardstock. I also used some vellum flowers for embellishments (I simply punched them using my SU! flower punch.)

This stamp is from Penny Black and it is called "Rainin' Daisies." You can find it at Stamper's Dream.
I colored the image with prismacolor pencils and used my Copic (cool grey #1) marker for some shading.


Materials used: Stamp-Rainin' Daisies (Penny Black, available at Stamper's Dream); cardstock-white, red, turquoise; vellum; ink-black; Prismacolor pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Copic marker (Cool grey #1); Cuttlebug and swirl embossing folder and nestabilities; flower punch (SU!); white brads (The Paper Studio); slit punch (SU!); paper piercing tool; dimensionals (SU!); white ribbon (SU!).

...Back to cleaning!!!!

Thanks for stopping by!



Fast Flowers

Busy busy---working on the house this weekend. We are getting LOTS done!!!

Since I don't have much time today---here is a ten minute card I made using Framed Flowers from Gina K Designs.

I stamped the frame and then the grass stamp from the set. Then I inked only the stems and leaves from one of the flower bunches and stamped it on top of the grass. I added the primas and punched a Nestability scalloped rectangle and placed it underneath the strip of patterned paper. I layered the flower panel on top and stamped the sentiment.

Easy peasy!


Materials used: Stamps-Framed Flowers (Carolyn King distributed by Gina K Designs); cardstock-white, olive; designer paper-SU!; ink-black, olive, choc chip; primas; brads (The Paper Studio and SU!); Cuttlebug and nestability dies; dimensionals (SU!); corner rounder punch (SU!).



Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Tagged!

Can you tell I am catching up from a busy week!?

I was tagged a few days ago!

I have to:
1. Link to the person that tagged you and leave a comment on their blog, so that their readers can visit. Sweet RaeAnne tagged me--she is adorable. She is only 16 years old!! Check out her blog and say hello!
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share 7 Random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 random people at the bottom of your post, linking to their blog. Let each person know by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are my seven random things about me:
1. I am one of eight children.
2. I love Dt. A & W rootbeer (and Dt. Dr. Pepper, etc.), so much that I would NOT be surprised if dt soda runs through my veins.
3. I used to be addicted to Coke (bawaaa....not the drug...Coke the soda.) I seriously drank about 6 a day in college and would get bad headaches (Caffeine withdrawal) if I tried cutting back. I had to wean myself from that and it was not pretty. (My poor roommates!)
4. I can eat an entire box of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies in one sitting (and have!)
5. I have a black dot in my left eye (not the pupil, silly...it is another dot -- not quite as big!)
6. I am starting to get grey hairs. (It is NO wonder with my kids (heehee!) The funny thing is that they are not grey--they are WHITE. I have pulled more than I can count so I fear it might be time to start dying it...yipes!)
7. My biggest fear is life is dying before my children will have permanent memories of me.

I am tagging anyone who reads this because I don't want to forget to include anyone who would like to be tagged!

Thanks RaeAnne!

I'm a Featured Blogger

In all of the craziness around here I totally forgot to post that I was featured blogger on Queen Cats Bloggers Club yesterday!

You can check it out here:
http://qkdbloggers.blogspot.com/2008/03/carolyn-from-texas-usa.html

Check out all the other fantabulous designers on there as well---such a great potpourri of talent! Thanks for the honor Queen Kat!

Last week's CCEE challenge

Now that I am starting to think about this Monday's challenge I do with a group of girls on Splitcoaststampers, I thought I would post my card from last week(duh! I just forgot!)

Our challenge was to create a card with a web on it for a special SCSer (MWebb) whose birthday fell on that Monday.
Here is my card. My "web" was the gold webbing spray I sprayed on the red designer paper! (heehee!)

All stamps are from Gina K Designs (Baskets of Happiness and sentiment from Framed Flowers.)

Materials used: Stamps-Baskets of Happiness (Gina K Designs) and Framed Flowers (Carolyn King dist. by Gina K Designs); designer paper-Cosmo Cricket; very vanilla, whisper white (SU!); corner punch (SU!); square punch (SU!); circle punch (SU!); paper piercing tool; ink-black, red; Prismacolor pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Copic markers; hemp (SU!); webbing spray (Krylon); brads (SU!); dimensionals (SU!).

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

House Woes and an Easel Card Variation

Well....I needed a break from cleaning and planting and watering and cleaning some more.....so I made time to create a quick card.

But first, I wanted to show you a small example of WHY it is so difficult for me to get my home in showplace condition...

Exhibit A:

For those of you familiar with my blog...you are not surprised at ANYTHING my kids do. For the past week or so I have been finding these little hexagon shapes everywhere. Yesterday, there were several lined up very nicely in our downstairs bathroom on the mirror. What are they? They are the little cushion stoppers from all of our kitchen cabinets (so they don't make a loud sound when you close them.)

Dumb mommy didn't figure out what they were until finding these.....(and she had already thrown out all the other ones that kept appearing out of nowhere!) Oopsie!

I am just hoping that no one opens our cabinets now...BANG!

Oh well....Here is a card I created using this adorable stamp from Stampendous called "Changito B-day." These guys are too cute. You can find this (and many other Changito stamps at Stamper's Dream.)

This card is designed a little different. I created an easel card a long time ago when I made a card front that was much bigger and I needed a way to attach the front panel to a back one. Sooo....I used my word window punch from Stampin' Up! to create the easel top that connected the front and back. I love the design and have used it for lots of cards (even ones that are standard size!)

So, I decided to use the same idea to make this. The card is actually the small matted image part. I used the easel design to make just that section open so that you can view the message.

Although you cannot tell in the first picture, I cut small little slits all around the chocolate mats (the outer one and the one for the opening.) It adds a fun whimsical touch (you cannot see the fringe on the image one very well in the first photo--check out the second photo for a better view of it!)

I used some small prima flowers and little mini brads from Queen & Co. to adorn the word window punch top.

From this picture, you cannot even tell that the inside panel is the one that opens:

Here is the card with the panel open. I covered the back of the front panel with the same designer paper that I used on the base of the card.

Materials used: Stamps-Changito B-day (Stampendous available at Stamper's dream); ink-brilliance black; cardstock-white, choc chip, SU designer paper; brads (SU!); primas; small choc brads (Queen & Co.); word window punch (SU!); scissors; Prismacolor pencils; odorless mineral spirits; Copics (olive, pea green); sewing machine.
Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

A Look at the Gina K New Releases

Whew......I am tired today! The Gina K Release party was a blast---thanks to everyone who emailed or commented after it--your sweet words meant so much!

I have been working so hard lately with back to back MFT and Gina K releases (as you know) AND I have been getting my home ready to be put on the market. So, sleep has been sacrificed lately.

I will be working VERY hard in the next week or so getting my house ready (and kids trained to not write on walls) so I will post when I can!

For now--Here are a few of the release projects I did for the new Gina K sets:

The first card features the set called "Thinking of You" by Rupa Shevde. It is an adorable set--I just love all the clean lines of all the fantastic images in it.

Materials used: Stamps-"Thinking of You" (Rupa Shevde for Gina K Designs); cardstock-white, red, Dutch Girl (Cosmo Cricket); ink-black; prismacolor pencils; scalloped circle punch (SU!); black brads; slit punch (SU!); dimensionals (SU!); ribbon (SU!).

The next two samples use my friend Melanie's new set called "What's in Your Tin I" She has two tin sets out and they are so cool...they have all sorts of frames and images to help you customize those little altoid tins (but they can be used for soo much more too!)

I used the frame images in the set to stamp on the backside of the designer paper I used. It made sizing the lid a piece of cake.

The first tin is for my son, who will begin losing his teeth soon (The first one might be yanked--yipes!)


The next tin is for my eleven year old. She has this on her end table to put her earrings in before bed. She is notorious for leaving them on and then quick taking them off after she is in bed and then they end up falling on the floor and mom vacuums them up! So...now she has no excuse for losing them!

The flower and brad are fun incentives that Gina is giving away with this release with any order over $100!

Materials used: Stamps-" What's In Your Tin I?" (Melanie Muenchinger for Gina K Designs); paper- SU dp, KC dp; ribbon (SU!); white cardstock (SU!); dimensionals (SU!); flower embellishment (Gina K Designs); old olive and black stamp pads (SU!); altoid tin (Gina K Designs).
The next card features my new set called "Framed Flowers." I used all of the main flower images in the set and stamped a few and then added some layers of flowers on top. I love the sentiment and I know I will be using it often. This card also shows the grass stamp that the set includes...making little gardens a breeze! The background used the Cuttlebug embossing folder "Swiss Dots" that I got from Stamper's Dream Store.
This card was created for the sketch challenge for the Gina K Designs release party. Anyone can play and a winner will be randomly chosen on Thursday night to win free stamps--details here! While you are there, be sure to check out the other three challenges too!

Materials used: Stamps- Framed Flowers (Carolyn King for Gina K Designs); ink-olive, real red, ruby red; choc chip (SU!); slit punch (SU!); ribbon (SU!); paper piercing tool; tab punch and circle punch (SU!); bling brads (Gina K Designs); dimensionals (SU!); Cuttlebug and Swiss Dots embossing folder.
Here is more card with the "Framed Flowers" set. The flowers were inked and stamped in a row and I cut the frame using the nestability dies and my Cuttlebug machine. This was quick and easy!



Materials used: Stamps-Framed Flowers (Carolyn King for Gina K Designs); cardstock-cranberry; very vanilla; olive; ink-choc chip, ruby red; hemp (SU!); dimensionals; Cuttlebug and Swiss dots embossing folder and Nestabilities; corner rounder punch (Creative Memories).

All stamps are available at Gina K Designs! And, if you buy three stamp sets--you get the Free with Three set ---"Spring Blooms."
Ok..that is it for now! Thanks so much for all of your support!
Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Blog Candy Winner!

Random.Cara selected the number 85 as the blog candy winner and the winner of my new set.

(Thanks Cara for selecting a number right in the middle, forcing me to count each entry!!!)

The winner is Terri Cassidy who wrote "Previous post is #85 This Post is #86I'm sure whatever you designed I will HAVE to buy."

(As you can see by her post, the numbers were all messed up again! lol!)

Terri, please email me your snail mail address and I will get that set right out to you!

Thanks for playing. If you didn't win, you can pick up the set tonight (after 9 p.m. central time) from Gina K. Designs! Hope to see you at the release party for lots more chances to win!

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Versatility of Framed Flowers

For today's post I wanted to give you a demonstration of the versatility of my new set called "Framed Flowers," which will be available tonight at 9 p.m. central at Gina K Designs.

I designed this set with flower images that can be used for the simplest of designs.

For this card, I simply inked the stamp with Stampin' Up! markers and then stamped it on the card. The inside sentiment reads "Thank you for being a friend." I love this sentiment and it is especially cool because you can use the whole sentiment, or just ink the "Thank you" or the "friend." Very versatile!

Another VERY simple design. For this card I added the frame image and scalloped strip and another one of the sentiments that comes with the set on the front. The card still only took about 5 minutes to make!

For this next sample, I added the grass stamp that comes with the set. This card also illustrates how the frame coordinates perfectly with the rectangle nestabilities. (And if you don't have nestabilities, it is simple to just cut a mat of cardstock and either leave the straight edge or use scalloped scissors on the edges!)


Finally, I wanted to show you the little coordinating flower that looks so cute on envelopes. Such a simple but nice touch. I inked just the word "friend" from the "Thank you for being a friend" sentiment and stamped it on the acetate tag.

And this is just one flower grouping in the set....there are two others with their own coordinating smaller images.


I will post a card tomorrow that uses all of the flowers together and some other fun projects featuring other new stamps from Gina K Designs.

Don't forget---the Gina K. Designs release party will be held tonight on Splitcoaststampers from 7-9 p.m. central time. There will be TONS of prizes and contests and peeks at all the new sets and embellishments.
Free stuff:
*If you buy three stamp sets, you get this month's "Free with Three" set for FREE!
*If you buy six stamp sets, you get the "Free with Three" set and another set of your choice (an $18.95 value or less) FREE!
*This month, if you place an order over $100, you get this (scroll down to the bottom of the post) cool flower center embellishment tin FREE!


I will be back later to post the winner of my free set! Thanks so much for all the sweet comments...you have no idea how much they mean to me!


Thanks for stopping by!