Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Final Gina K Preview Day and Blog Candy!

Wow! What a week of amazing previews---Tonight the Gina K Design team is showing projects created with Warm Winter Wishes (illustrated by me!) and Holiday Hospitality (the one free with three set!).

I am so thrilled today to show you a few things I made with my new set Warm Winter Wishes. But first, I want to share the story behind the set. [You can also click on the Alzheimer's Association link under "find it fast" to read all the previous posts related to this.]

Here is the post I wrote last year to introduce the first set, Whimsical Autumn, I drew to raise money for the Alzheimer's Association:

In Loving Memory Of Clare Lyons "Mamo"
September 26, 1916 - July 1, 2008

For those of you who read my blog, you know that my grandmother passed away in July. I wrote about it here. What you may not know is that for the past 12 years of her life, she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. After she was first diagnosed, she moved into my parent’s house where I was living with my daughter. I saw first-hand how devastating this disease can be. I saw my grandmother go from a completely independent and meticulous women to a completely dependent person who lost all of the wonderful memories her life created. In many ways, my family has been saying goodbye to my grandmother for years...as her energy diminished, her weight plummeted and the memories of her life were erased from her mind. I had just finished drawing the images for this set when I received a call from my mother telling me that my grandmother passed away. Although part of me was rejoicing because she suffered too long…the selfish part of me was wishing for just one more visit...After returning from Pennsylvania and getting back to work—I had a resurgence of energy for this new set. I decided the best way for me to honor my Grandmother’s memory was to give back. And so, 100% of my proceeds from this set will be sent to the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Always.

So this year, I decided that I would do it again. Whimsical Autumn allowed me to donate more money that I ever could on my own and it gave me such personal satisfaction....so I illustrated Warm Winter Wishes for this year. And, just like Whimsical Autumn, I will donate 100% of my proceeds from the sale of this set to the Alzheimer's Association in my grandmother's memory. Always.
This year's set includes a snowman that is holding a heart. There are small words you can stick inside the heart or you can leave it empty. Here is the FIRST card I created with this set. I sneak peeked it a few days ago but wanted to show it again today. All images are in Warm Winter Wishes:

I stamped the snowflakes (they can also be stars, the sun, etc.) in pink for this winter card. I used a sentiment from the set and stamped the snowman twice so I could layer the image. I added the little "Hugs" inside the heart.

Materials used: Stamps- Warm Winter Wishes (Gina K Designs - will be released October 1!)Memento black ink; stickles (ranger); designer paper- Jolly by Golly (Cosmo Cricket); ribbon (Michael's).

Next, I created a card with the snowman again but this time I paired him with Hip to Be Square so I could have him outside the window. I used some of the new Vintage Holly digital paper for the background. For this card, I left the heart empty stamped the sentiment below.

The beautiful ribbon is from the Holiday collection of ribbons that will be available on Thursday as well!

Materials used: Stamps-Warm Winter Wishes, Hip to Be Square (Gina K Designs); Memento black ink; Copic markers; cardstock-white (Gina K Designs); digital paper- Vintage Holly (Gina K Designs); ribbon (Gina K Designs); markers-black/red (SU!); corner rounder punch (Creative Memories); other-silver snowflake.

Next, I wanted to create a card for another holiday--to show you that many of the images can be used all year. I used the block "LOVE" stamp for this design. I stamped the sentiment block in staz-on ink over the clear hearts and then mounted them to the card using some of the red brads from the new Stamp TV kit:
I added the sentiment and some more beautiful ribbon that you will find at Gina K Designs. The metallic gold cardstock (new!) and the rocket red cardstock are also from Gina K Designs.
Materials used: Stamps-Warm Winter Wishes (Gina K Designs); Memento black ink; Staz-on ink; Heidi swapp ghost hearts; red brads (Gina K Designs); cardstock-rocket red, metallic gold (Gina K Designs); ribbon (Gina K Designs); designer paper-Everafter:Something Borrowed (Cosmo Cricket).
Finally, here is another card I created with this set. This little coffee/tea/hot cocoa mug is also in the set. I used the block "LOVE" stamp to create a background and stamped the mug on top. I stamped the mug again and layered it over the first image.
I stamped the sentiment, inking it with markers so I could use two colors. Finally, I added some chocolate ribbon that comes in the Stamp TV kit this month.
Materials used: Stamps-Warm Winter Wishes (Gina K Designs) ink-Memento black ink, gray (SU!); Copic markers; cardstock-kraft (SU!), rocket red, pure luxury white (Gina K Designs); ribbon (Gina K Designs); black adhesive rhinestones.

Blog Candy: So what do you think? I hope you like this new set---and before I send you off to see all the amazing things my teammates have designed......leave a comment on this post for your chance to win Warm Winter Wishes. (Subscribers can post twice!) Random.Cara will select a winner tomorrow night (Thursday at 6 p.m. CENTRAL time!)

Then, head over to GinaK's blog to add your comment to her blog entry for a chance to win the stamp sets being previewed tonight our blogs!

Here are the rest of the links to the Design Team Members participating in the hop tonight:
CenterStage Spotlight Designers:
Joy Hadden
Lori McAree


We'd love to have you join us at our Release party tomorrow night over on SCS starting at 7pm CST. There will be lots of chatter, samples, contest questions, and challenges - you won't want to miss it! Check out Theresa's discussion if you're new to our Release parties for some helpful information to get you started.
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Gina K Holiday Cheer StampTV Kit Preview

Hello! Today the Gina K Design team is previewing the new Stamp TV kit- Holiday Cheer!

This kit is full of awesome supplies to help make your holiday gift giving a breeze!
Contents include-Holiday Cheer stamp set; Holiday Greetings stamp set; Brad assortment- red, gold, silver; Card stock amounts: 2 white heavy,2 ivory heavy, 2 all spruced up, 2 cranberry tart, 2 rocket red, 2 good as gold, 2 black, 3 layering white, 3 layering ivory; 1 large clear box; 1 large clear pillow box; 1 medium clear pillow box; 1 small clear pillow box; 1 yard of each of the holiday assortment ribbons; 4 yards of additional organdy ribbon including All spruced up, ivory, rocket red and white with gold threading.

Here is a project I created with this kit:

I used a little black wooden box I got at Hobby Lobby and painted it with black acryllic paint. I covered portions of the box with some gorgeous digital paper Emily created for this month's release--called Vintage Holly.... LOVE it!

I stamped the reindeer from the Holiday Cheer stamp set on pure luxury white cardstock and cut it with Nestability ovals. I used All Spruced Up cardstock (in the kit) to mat the deer and some ribbon to thread behind it. The black cardstock is onyx, also from GinaK Designs.

I added the little circular sentiment from Holiday Greetings and adhered a button in the center part. This month, Gina K is also releasing Autumn Assortment packs and Holiday Assortment packs filled with cardstock and matching ribbon and buttons. I used the a button from the Holiday Assortment pack on this project.

And here is a gift created with the large pill box that comes in the kit:

This box is plenty large enough to house a gift card (but I just tucked it in behind the tag so you could see for yourself!) I filled the clear box with red and green m&ms too--cause it is always fun to add a little treat with the gift card gift.

The fruit wreath image (from Holiday Cheer stamp set) was stamped twice. I colored one wreath in with Copic markers. I only colored the bow from the second image so I could color it out and place it on top of the first for some dimension. Once assembled, I attached it to the tag. The sentiment is from Holiday Greetings set (in kit!) and the gold cardstock is new to Gina K designs too---it is LOVELY! I attached the tag to the box with some eyelets and some of the gorgeous holiday ribbon that comes in the kit!


***Everything in RED in this post can be found at Gina K Designs Thursday night at 10 p.m. central time!***

Head over to GinaK's blog to add your comment to her blog entry for a chance to win the new StampTV kit being previewed tonight our blogs! Then, check into StampTV for a new video on creating shimmering background paper with an image from the new StampTV kit!

Here's the links to the Design Team Members participating in the hop tonight:
Carolyn King
Cathy Tidwell
Cindy Lawrence
Donna Baker
Emily Giovanni
Erika Martin
Jessica Fick
Kurtis Amundson
Lee Murphy
Lynn Mercurio
Melanie Muenchinger
Tami Mayberry
Theresa Momber

Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow---I get to show you more from my new set! Yipee!!!

Monday, September 28, 2009

Hip to be SQUARE

Hi everyone! Tonight the Gina K Design team is previewing Hip to Be Square (by Melanie Muenchinger) and Lord of the Seasons (Nina Brackett)!

Tonight I used Hip to Be Square. This set has a great square grid design, fun sentiments and cool elements that fit inside. It is a great set to play with. I used it on another card you will see soon!

Here is my first card:

I stamped the grid design over some designer paper and then added the sentiment and the star. The button is from one of the new button assortments Gina is adding to the store on Thursday.

I used black onyx as the base and a matching Prima swirl under the stars. What a fun set!

Wanna see more previews? Head on over to these blogs:
Stop by GinaK's blog today to add your comment to her blog entry for a chance to win the new stamp sets being previewed tonight our blogs!

Then, check in with the Illustrators of our two stamp sets featured tonight:
Melanie Muenchinger: Hip to Be Square

Nina Brackett : Lord of the Seasons

Design Team Members participating in the hop tonight:
Cathy Tidwell
Cindy Lawrence
Donna Baker
Emily Giovanni
Erika Martin
Jessica Fick
Kurtis Amundson
Lee Murphy
Lynn Mercurio
Melanie Muenchinger

Theresa Momber

CSS team:
Giovana Smith and Janice Melton

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

The GKD Previews BEGIN!

Hello! Welcome to the first night of Gina K Designs release previews! On Thursday night, Gina K Designs will be releasing SEVEN new stamp sets as well as new digital paper, new cardstock, coordinating button assortments and ribbons. Wait till you see it all!!!

Tonight the design team is previewing A Very Merry Christmas (new set by Theresa Momber) and Special Delivery and Special Delivery Add-on (by new illustrator, Tami Mayberry).

Theresa's set is full of her amazingly detailed gorgeous drawings--these images will get you in the holiday mood. I chose to work with this tree stamp today:
I stamped the image with Memento ink on white pure luxury cardstock. The tree is colored with Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils. I added tiny red stickles over the berries to add some sparkle and some adhesive rhinestones to the corners of the card.

The red cardstock is rocket red (Gina K designs). I used some of the new ribbon and buttons that Gina will be carrying on Thursday. They are both from the Holiday Assortment collection.

Next, Here is a glimpse of Tami's sets- Special Delivery and Special Delivery Add-On. I can tell you right now...I will be using these a lot! These sets are very cool---I have a thousand ideas running through my head for these but I went with a gift set today. One of the biggest requests I get is to show some more simple (READ: Fast to produce and FLAT to mail!) cards. So, I used these sets to create a little card set:
(Sorry about the glare on the gift box!) I used a clear box (which will be carried in Gina's store on Thursday) and created the front of the box with a sturdy peice of onyx cardstock. I stamped the images in the set on ivory cardstock like a postcard. I added a bit of rocket red (Gina K Designs) and some new Holiday Assortment ribbon.
Here is a better view of the front of the box (without glare!):

Every image is from these sets. (And there are a TON more!) Then I created an EASY TO MAIL card set....each card mails flat so this will be the perfect gift to give someone and they don't have to worry about additional postage. Here is the card. I stamped the stamp outline and then added the pink block of ink and finally stamped the two hearts at angles. I used the rocket red cardstock and ivory cardstock on this as well as the Holiday collection ribbon again:
I left the sentiment off so that the recipient can use the card for any reason.

Finally, I created a little stamp holder. This small, vellum envelope slides right in the box and holds enough stamps for each card in the set.

Wouldn't this be a fun holiday gift? College kid gift? With all the fun stamps in this set, gift giving just got a lot easier.

Don't forget to stop by GinaK's blog today to add your comment to her blog entry for a chance to win the new stamp sets being previewed tonight our blogs!

Then, check in with the Illustrators of our two stamp sets featured tonight:
Theresa Momber: A Very Merry Christmas
Tami Mayberry: Special Delivery and Special Delivery Add-on
Design Team Members participating in the hop tonight:
Carolyn King
Cathy Tidwell
Cindy Lawrence
Donna Baker
Emily Giovanni
Erika Martin
Jessica Fick
Kurtis Amundson
Lee Murphy
Lynn Mercurio
Melanie Muenchinger

CenterStage Spotlight Designers:
Kay Simmons
Linda Payne

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

C Ya!

My husband and I are leaving for our mini-get away! So excited.... (and still a bit sad to leave the kiddos!)

Just wanted to pop in and let you know that the Gina K previews begin TOMORROW night!!! I have my blog posts all set for tomorrow and Monday and I will be back Tuesday with more previews.

On Wednesday, I get to show you some more of my set (and give one away!)....Cannot wait!

C Ya soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Where has the week gone?

Hi everyone! Thanks for all your sweet comments. I truly appreciate every one of my readers.
We are so busy around here taking care of things and getting ready for the deployment...somehow many days fly by without notice!

Here is a quick card for today:
I used PaperTrey's Everyday Button Bits for this card. (A set I just couldn't resist!)

Reminder: Coming next week---Gina K Sneak peeks begin on Sunday night! Blog candy....and more!

I am getting samples ready to post so my hubby and I can get away for a few days without the kids...!

Materials used: Stamps-Everyday Button Bits (Papertrey Ink); Memento black ink; ribbon-Spring Moss dot satin (Papertrey Ink); buttons (PTI); vanilla cardstock (Gina K Designs); Designer paper-October Afternoon; slit punch (SU!); hemp.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a WONDERFUL weekend!

Monday, September 21, 2009

World Card Making Day Blog Tour

Happy Monday!!! I was delighted to be asked to be part of the Paper Crafts World Card Making Blog Tour. The countdown has begun leading up to the 4th annual World Card Making Day taking place on Saturday, October 3. This holiday was founded 4 years ago by the Paper Crafts team as a way to bring people together through card making and to help kick off the busy holiday card making season.

You can see a list of participating bloggers on the Official World Card Making Day Site!
As a participating blogger, I have an exclusive coupon code that allows my blog visitors to get 25% off their total cart amount at the Paper Crafts/CK online store. Here is the code you need to receive your discount: RCVX-6GVD-DTDN. The coupon will be valid from midnight (MDT) on 09/21/09 through 23:59:59 (MDT) on 10/12/09, and is good for 25% off of the user's cart subtotal.

Be sure to check out the wonderful gallery and event ideas on the site too!!!

And....since we are talking about Cardmaking.....we were all asked to post a new card on our post today......

With permission from Gina (Gina K Designs), I wanted to give you a super sneak peek of a set that will be released on October 1. It is my new set called Warm Winter Wishes and my proceeds will be given to the Alzheimer's Association in my grandmother's memory. My grandmother passed away from complications from Alzheimer's Disease last year. (You can read that post here.)

Since most of you know my husband is getting ready to deploy to Iraq...I was torn about releasing a new set right now. But, since my grandmother's birthday and World Alzheimer's Day (September 21 --oopsie, had a typo there before!) are both this week...it is the perfect time to release this set. (I just might have less samples to share for a bit.) So I definitely wanted to jump on this opportunity to give you a little sneak peek:


Materials used: Stamps- Warm Winter Wishes (Gina K Designs - will be released October 1!)Memento black ink; stickles (ranger); designer paper- Jolly by Golly (Cosmo Cricket); ribbon (Michael's).

I hope you like it.....you will see lots more samples when we get closer to the release date.

In the meantime, go check out the World Card Making Day site, get inspired and get ready to stamp the day away on October 3! Don't forget to use the coupon code above!


Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Celebrate MFT!

Gotta LOVE MFT!
Welcome to the first MFT Customer Blog Hop! This month My Favorite Things invited a few stampers to start off Celebrate MFT day (which is always on the 20th of the month!) {As an aside....I think I have done enough blog hops this month to officially be classified a frog :) )

If you would like to start at the beginning of the hop (and I know you do!)...head on over to Joanne's blog and click along.

Today, I have two cards to share with you. The first features the set Grow Love, Plant a Tree.

I absolutely ADORE this tree...and had so much fun playing around with it. (Truth be told....99% of the time spent on this card was on that tree..I kid you not!)

I stamped the tree on three different patterned papers. I cut the base out of the brown swirls and then added the first layer and stitched around the edges. Then, I stamped on the brown again and layered another designer paper on the inside circle. I stitched around the inside circle edge and then cut out the trunk and inside circle to mount over the original tree. Finally, I punched a few hearts to add to the inside of the tree (and planted on on the ground too!)

The rest of the card is pretty self-explanatory. I used some beautiful May Arts ribbon along the bottom that I got from Jody in a ribbon share. I have been hoarding this ribbon---cause is just so lovely---but today was the day when I cut into it.....sigh! I added just part of the sentiment in a cloud....thought the "Grow Love" would be perfect for this little tree of hearts. (Tip: Stamp sentiment and then free-hand cut cloud design.)
Materials used: Stamps- Grow Love, Plant a Tree (My Favorite Things); Cardstock-white-(Gina K Designs), ruby red (SU!); Memento black ink; other ink-olive, sky blue (SU!); sponge; Designer paper- Helen Dardik (Creative Imaginations), blue (Paper Studios), tree dp- Urban Prairie/hayloft (Basic Grey), Urban Praire/corn husk (Basic Grey); ribbon-May Arts; heart punch (Provocraft); embroidery floss; paper piercing tool (Bazzill); Mega Nestabilities-Curved Rectangle (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug (Provocraft).


The next card is a simple Halloween card. Simple layout but I wanted to show the adorable Ben Paper Dolls set and how it can be used for a cute trick-or-treater. So I dressed up Ben like a pirate and tucked a little treat bag in his hand......he is all ready to go.

The little fence is from Too Cute To Spook!
Materials used: Stamps-Ben Paper Dolls, Too Cute to Spook (My Favorite Things); memento black ink; Copic markers; cardstock-caramel (SU!), white (Gina K Designs); Designer paper-"Spooked" Stripes (My Mind's Eye), Halloween kids flat paper (K & Company); ribbon- Celebrate it-Harvest (Michael's); Rob & Bob Halloween Characters layered (K& Company).


I hope you like these two creations.......and since this is the end of the hop, I would love to invite you to head on over to the September Celebrate MFT Gallery. Post a card in on SCS and add the keyword "CelebrateMFT0909" so your card will show up in the gallery too!

Go ahead.....Celebrate MFT!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Friday, September 18, 2009

Fruitful Harvest Blog Hop

Hello! Tonight, Asela is hosting a blog hop with her newest set from Gina K Designs, Fruitful Harvest.

Although I don't make a lot of elegant, lacy, distres-y, vintage-y type cards...sometimes I just feel the need to try. I love the beautiful grapes in this set and wanted to give my card the same feeling I felt when I first saw them:
I added some lace along the side and some rhinestones under the "friend" part of the sentiment. The background is stamped with French Script backgrounder (SU!) and I used tea dye distress ink all along the edges (with a sponge).

The grapes are stamped twice....once on the background paper and once on white pure luxury cardstock. I colored them both in with Copics and the cut out the grapes on the white cardstock, adhering the section on the left right on top of the stamped one and adding some dimension to the rest of the bunch with some mounting tape.

Heeheee....the background purple paper is from a Halloween paper pack that was sitting on my desk!!!

Materials used: Stamps-Fruitful Harvest (Gina K Designs), French Script (SU!); Memento tuxedo black ink; Ranger tea dye and vintage photo distress ink; sponge; Copic markers; designer paper- Halloween pack (Recollections); cardstock-white (Gina K Designs, pure luxury), cocoa (SU!); lace; ribbon (May Arts); adhesive rhinestones-Autumn (Recollections); Spellbinders tag ties; Cuttlebug (Provocraft); hemp (Hobby Lobby); paper piercing tool.

For even more inspiration with the Fruitful Harvest, head over to Asela Hopkin's blog, the illustrator of this beautiful stamp set. She has also asked her friend Deb Felts to share a card with us tonight too!

Then, take the time to check out all the other GinaK Design Team Member's sharing projects tonight on their blogs: Emily Giovanni , Erika Martin , Gina Krupksy , Jessica Fick , Kurtis Amundson , Lee Murphy , Lynn Mercurio , Melanie Muenchinger , Theresa Momber

and our CenterStage spotlight designers: Geri Utterback and Shelly Wilson

Have a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by!


Wednesday, September 16, 2009

We are the Champions

Life is Busy...........My six year old son had his first baseball game last night....
Here he is warming up before the game (This was all the action he got in the field!!):

He was so excited to play....to have a uniform....and to WIN the first game!

Tonight, Melanie is hosting a blog hop for her School, Sports, Spirit! stamp set and so I created this baseball card (so appropriate for this week!):

I paired the jacket and sentiment from School, Sports, Spirit! with her Sporty Accessories images--baseball bat, glove, ball. I colored and cut out the jacket and then was able to slide the baseball bat through the arm opening. The little ball is popped inside the glove to add some more dimension.

I colored the images with Copics and prismacolor pencils and used some twine to create little corner accents.
ETA: the background paper - stripes, newspaper print and brown are all from a Sports scrapbook kit by Imagine That (Walmart).


For even more samples of the School, Sports, Spirit! stamp set, please visit the Illustrator of the set, Melanie Muenchinger's blog. Melanie will be offering her new stamp set as blog candy tonight too - comment on her blog for your chance to win this spectacular stamp set!

Want some more inspiration? Check out these links:
Melanie's guest designer Melissa Shultz's blog
StampTV members: Mary Anne , Sharri Seffens
GinaK Design Team Members: Gina Krupsky , Donna Baker , Erika Martin , Jessica Fick , Lee Murphy ,Theresa Momber
GinaK's CenterStage Design Team Members: Geri Utterback ,Tina Gilliland


I have some fun news to share soon.....
In the meantime, thanks for stopping by!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Do You See what I see?

Happy Monday (or what is left of it!) Tonight, Nina is hosting a blog hop with her newest Gina K release called Elegant Verses.

I am sure you will see TONS of ways to use these beautiful quotes throughout the hop....and I was even going to create a card with JUST a verse but then I thought of a fun way to combine this set with her other set, Elegant Post.

You may not recognize anything from Elegant Post but I will get to that.....the beautiful verse that I stamped in the foreground and background is from Elegant Verses. Because I wanted the flower vase to stand in for the word "flowers," I simply inked the part of the sentiment I wanted to use and stamped.

Now....for the vase. The vase is created from the lantern image in the Elegant Post set. It is simple to make. When I stamped this image for the first time, I noticed that the main structure of it looked JUST like a vase. Do you see what I see? If not.......

Here is what I did:

I took the lantern stamp and used a black marker (water based--I used Stampin Up! black) and went over all the outside lines of the image. Basically, the only thing you don't want to ink up is the inside part with the bulb.


Then, I stamped it on some designer paper. This is what the image looked like:


Then, I cut around the outside lines of the image, omitting the swirls on the edges:
........ Leaving me with a cute little vase!
From there I just added some stems with my black marker and used a few flower punches (Provocraft) and added a few adhesive pearls to the centers. EASY!

For even more samples of the Elegant Verses stamp set, please visit the Illustrator of the set, Nina Brackett. Nina will be offering her new stamp set as blog candy tonight too - just comment on her blog for your chance to win this beautiful stamp set!

After visiting Nina, hop over to her good friend Silke Ledlow's blog for some special projects she'll be sharing with us tonight.

Then, stop by these GinaK Design Team Members' blogs participating in Nina's blog hop tonight:


Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Designer Gift Card holder

Hope you are having a GREAT weekend. We are (finally!) enjoying a rainy weekend here.

Today, I wanted to share one of my favorite 'shaped' creations with you:
I designed this to look pretty much like my Coach bag. I used some great leather paper from PaperTemptress to create the bag. I added some faux stitching (poking piercing holes and connecting the holes with a white gel pen). You can also sew the detail with a sewing maching (but mine doesn't like me so I did it the easy way!) I added some hardware and a little initial tag. Finally, I tucked a piece of tissue inside so you can see where the gift card would go.

Supplies List:
Paper: leather (PaperTemptress)
Ink: white gel pen (Ranger)
Accessories: silver eyelets (SU!); paper piercing tool and bazzill piercing mat; hardware (We R Memory Keepers); Cropadile; Martha Stewart rub on initial; Cuttlebug and tag die (Provocraft)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Autumn Beauty Blog Hop

Hi everyone!

First and foremost, I want to take time to remember those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Thank you to all of those who serve our country in the armed forces---your sacrifices are greatly appreciated.

Tonight, Theresa is hosting a blog hop with her newest set--Autumn Beauty! She has also designed a beautiful digital paper pack called All About Autumn that is available for purchase as well. Be sure to leave a comment on Theresa's blog for a chance to win this stamp set!

Here is my card:


I think I used all the other images in this set so I wanted to focus on the sunflower tonight. I stamped it on white Pure Luxury cardstock and colored it with Copics. I added a bit of gold stickles to the center.
I stamped the fun leaf swirls in the corner of the designer paper and then layered the image on top. The ribbon on the side of the image is from Gina K Designs too.
Materials used: Stamps-Autumn Beauty (Gina K Designs); Memento black ink; Copic markers; Frayed burlap distress ink (Ranger); stickles (Ranger); Autumn cardstock paper (Recollections); hemp; corner rounder punch (Creative Memories); ribbon (Gina K Designs).
Theresa has asked several guest designers to join in on the blog hop tonight:
Pam Imholz
Karen Knegten
Jennie Harper
Melissa Shulz
Brenda Turner

Then stop by these Designers' blogs to see the projects they are sharing tonight on their blogs:

Gina Krupsky
Emily Giovanni
Jessica Fick
Kurtis Amundson
Lee Murphy
Lynn Mercurio
Melanie Muenchinger

And finally, check out our CenterStage Spotlight Designers joining us with cards tonight:
Geri Utterback
Shelly Wilson
Tina Gilliland


Have a wonderful weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Hopping through the LEAVES

Tonight, Melanie is hosting a blog hop featuring her newest set A Year of Leaves.

Here is what I came up with:

I stamped some leaf images on the designer paper and then stamped one of the leaves on white Pure Luxury cardstock and colored it with Copics.

I love the simple scripty sentiment so I left it as is and added a few adhesive pearls underneath.

The final touch is the row of eyelets (remember those?) along the top and I put two more in the bottom part to tie a hemp bow.

Materials used: Stamps-A Year of Leaves (Gina K Designs); ink- Fired brick (Ranger), Rust (Stampin up!), memento black ink; Autumn cardstock paper (Recollections); Autumn adhesive pearls (Recollections); hemp; slit punch (SU!); eyelets (Making Memories); Cropadile.

Want some more inspiration? Head on over to Melanie Muenchinger's blog. You'll want to leave a comment on her blog because she is hosting a drawing for her gorgeous stamp set there tonight!

Also showcasing Year of Leaves stamp set samples tonight are these GinaK Designers:
Gina Krupsky
Donna Baker
Erika Martin
Jessica Fick
Kurtis Amundson
Lee Murphy
Theresa Momber

as well as our CenterStage Spotlight Designers:
Geri Utterback
Shelly Wilson
Tina Gilliland

and Melanie's guest designers:
Selma Stevenson
Karen Knegten


Totally random non-stamping stuff: My son's favorite part of school is the game they play in PE called Pass the Chalupa, Por Favor!

Heehee....ONLY in Texas!


Have a great day! Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Do You Believe in Magic???

...you might after you see this new set by Alicia for Gina K Designs-- Feel the Magic!
When I first saw these images I was immediately drawn to the adorable witch...she is so cute and I knew I wanted to make a little treat bag featuring her.


I cropped the original image of the witch (she is sitting on a mushroom in the actual stamp) and I had her sitting on a cauldron (that I just cut from designer paper) instead. Since I wanted to use these little eyeball chocolate crisp candies inside---I thought having her sit on a cauldron working up a spell would work well. (Who knows what she is planning on turning a bunch of eyeballs into anyway??!!) The set comes with a cute little star wand so I took that idea and just made it larger (so it wouldn't get lost in the busy design) and used a punched star covered in glitter for her wand.

I used my treat tote tutorial to make this pouch. I just made this a bit wider to accommodate the large window. I put the eyeballs into a clear envelope before securing them inside and then I re-used the mesh bag the candies originally came into to add to the inside of the window. (I cut the mesh bag open and then adhered it to the backside of the front opening.)

Materials used: Stamps-Feel the Magic (Gina K Designs); cardstock-white Pure Luxury (Gina K Designs); Copic markers; stickles-purple and gold (Ranger); designer paper--Stampin' Up, Halloween paper pack (Recollections); circle punches (Stampin' UP); star punch (SU!); slit punch (SU!); scalloped circle punch (SU!); Spellbinders Nestabilities dies; crystal stickers (Mark Richards); hemp; orange ribbon (May Arts); (candy).


Boy, my kids are gonna be so happy to see this posted---- they have been patiently waiting to eat those eyeballs!!!


Wanna see some more MAGIC??? Joining us tonight with special projects made with Alicia K's Feel the Magic Stamp set are these amazing designers:

Gina, Asela, Donna, Emily, Jessica, Melanie, Theresa and Erika.

*******

NSR (Non stamping Related): My baby, Lauren, started preschool today. My other two kids started school already but she didn't start until today. She marched right out the door---totally happy....no worries at all! Gotta love THAT!


Hope your day is MAGICAL! Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Impression Obsession Week at Stamper's Dream

Happy Monday!!!!

It is Impression Obsession week at Stamper's Dream!!! This week the design team will be showing you lots of fabulous creations with the clever Impression Obsession stamps that you can find at Stamper's Dream store.

Dontcha just loveee their stamps? Me too and I was delighted to work with this awesome Halloween set - An Apple a Day. I love this set because those candy apples remind me of a family that lived across the street from ours growing up. Every Halloween they would make candy apples to give to the trick-or-treaters and my brother (who is 11 years older than me) would send me over there twice just to get him an apple too!

I stamped the apples on red paper and then again on orange and yellow and paper pieced them. I added some shading and some orange and purple stickles for the candies. It has lots of sparkle and dimension in real life.

I added another strip of red paper along the side and crazy stitched it (which is really my good stitching so I am glad it is in vogue!) and then added the sentiment hanging on the ribbon at the top.

Now...do you want to see some more Impression Obsession Inspiration???? Here is the schedule for the week so you can follow along. (Rumor has it that Michelle might be offering some blog candy this week too!)

Monday - Charmaine, Michelle and Me
Tuesday - Amy, Denise, Charmaine, Michelle
Wednesday - Silke, Becca, Michelle
Thursday - Denise, Laurie, Michelle
Friday - Tosh, Silke, Amy, Michelle

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, September 6, 2009

A Vintage Challenge, yep...I said Vintage!

Lol! I know.....Vintage is NOT my thing! So go easy on me, K?!

I was just challenging myself for the Moxie Fab Vintage & Shabby Chic Challenge.

Here is what I came up with: I know....it doesn't look like my style at all and that is because it isn't. Needless to say, this was very CHALLENGING! But it was also fun to try.

The image is--Copyright 2000 Denise Van Patten and you can find lots of beautiful images on that site: http://collectdolls.about.com/

I printed the image on Kraft paper and added some crystal stickles (Ranger) to Santa's hat and cuffs. I cut it out with a scalloped die and adhered it it to the cardbase. I used Tea Dye ink (Ranger) to add some age to all the edges of this. Designer paper is from Cosmo Cricket and October Afternoon. The sentiment is a rub on from K & Company.

Well, that is about it. Getting ready to head out to dinner!

Have a great rest of the weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Clean, Cute, Simple Saturday!

Hee....yep.... a Christmas card! I created this card for the week long Stretch Your Holiday Style Challenges on the Moxie Fab World Blog. This one is for the Fun & Cute Challenge.

I used the fun reindeer from Funky Christmas (Gina K Designs) as the focal image of this card. I added a heart in his hands and added the sentiment that I typed on the computer. My favorite part of this (besides the cutie reindeer!) is the button hemp. I threaded the buttons so that the hemp would tie through the center button and that is how it is attached to the card.

(Did that make any sense at all???? If you picture just one button and wrapping the hemp around the card and then threading each side through one button hole and then tying the hemp in the center........it might make better sense. I just made sure to thread the a red button on either side before doing the center button!)

I kept the layout very simple and clean to keep the focus on the reindeer. The reindeer is stamped twice, once on the card and again to color and pop up on top of the original. Then, I added some red stickles to the reindeer's nose and then used a light green Copic marker to highlight the mistletoe word in the sentiment.

Gotta love fun & cute cards!

Materials used: Stamps-Funky Christmas (Gina K Designs); Memento black ink; Copic markers; White cardstock (Gina K Designs); hemp; buttons (SU!); red stickles (Ranger); designer paper- Mr Campy-Flannel (Cosmo Cricket), Early Bird-Apron Strings (Cosmo Cricket).

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!!