Saturday, January 30, 2010

Want FREE Stamps for a YEAR!

Thought so!

All you have to do is NAME THIS BEAR:


Alma of The Cat's Pajamas is holding a contest to name the newest critter to join the TCP family. Think you have the BESTEST name for him??? Just email your entry to contest@thecatspajamasrs.com by February 8 and if your name is selected....you will win all their new stamps for a YEAR! All the details can be found on this POST!


Card details: Bear-Happy Camper (The Cat's Pajamas), sentiment and flower from A Beary Good Year-releases Feb 9! (The Cat's Pajamas); Copic markers; Memento black ink; white cardstock-Gina K Designs; button; Designer paper- Farm Fresh, Report Card (October Afternoon); ribbon (Offray).

Have a Beary Special Day!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, January 28, 2010

CHA Pictures

Well....here they are....some of the pictures I took from CHA. I was really bad about taking pictures. I saw/met lots of other wonderful stampy friends but I was so excited to hug most people that I forgot to take a picture.

The BEST thing about CHA is seeing all your wonderful friends who you have "known" for ages but have never met in person!


Dawn Easton and I (I admit, I swiped this from her blog!) LOVE her and it was so nice to give her a hug for real:


Stamper's Dream Team: Tosh Leyendekker, me, Michelle Rodgers (owner of Stamper's Dream store) and Amy Sheffer. LOVE these gals! It was so fun to have time to sit and talk (oh yeah....and eat!)

Me, Kim Van der Sanden (My Favorite Things), Deborah Anton. I spend most of my time with these awesome ladies (and Alma!):

Me and Maren Benedict! LOVE her....Should have gotten a picture of the "drink" we had that night!


JustRite/Stamper's Dream Dinner: We had a GREAT time at the Cheesecake Factory on Saturday night! Thanks Kellie!!!!!!!

Debbie Olsen, me, Kellie Fortin (JustRite), Sharon Harnist, Amy.

Debbie Olsen, Me, Tosh, Kellie, Sharon, Amy, Michelle:

At the TradeShow with Amy, Alma de la Rosa (The Cat's Pajamas), Kim and Deb:

I had a blast hanging out with all my stamping friends. It is really fun to get together with so many people who "get" what you do. I miss them already!

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Sung from the Heart Hop

Hello!!! Well...I am back from CHA. It was an AWESOME trip...had so much fun with my stampy friends (old and new!) and it was great to see all the new crafty things that will be flooding the stores soon.

I have some pictures to post but first....I have to get unpacked, do laundry and a few other odds and ends before I can edit them. So look for them in the near future.

In the meantime....Gina is hosting a blog hop for Rupa's newest set Sung from the Heart tonight. I had to scramble this morning to get a card finished for this hop. So you are gonna have to settle for a simple design from me today! (I KNEW I should have done it before I left! ha!) Here is the anniversary card I created with her set: I stamped the bird on white cardstock, colored it with Copics and cut it out. I hand cut a heart that could frame the number "9" in the October Afternoon designer paper. Why 9? My husband and I were married June 9th and this year marks our 9th anniversary :) (This sentence is a test to see if he ACTUALLY reads my posts!)

I love this sweet sentiment and wanted to emphasize the word "you" so I swiped it with the same blue marker that I colored the bird with.

Designer paper is from Road Map by October Afternoon.

Materials used: Stamps-Sung from the Heart (Gina K Designs); Memento tuxedo black ink, ruby red (SU!); cardstock-white, kraft (Gina K Designs); button (Gina K Designs); Designer paper-Road Map (October Afternoon); hemp; Spellbinders scalloped rectangle dies; Cuttlebug (Provocraft).

Check out these links for even more inspiration:

Now, it's your turn! Please hop over to Gina's blog to add the direct link to your blog post showcasing Rupa's Sung From the Heart stamp set in the mister linkey box. Gina will have a special prize for the one link that she chooses out of all the participating bloggers - check out her blog for the details.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Heartily Yours Hop!

Hello! Tonight Nina is hosting a blog hop featuring her newest set Heartily Yours. Here is the card I created with some of the images from the set:
I stamped the birds on the white base and then stamped the birds in red ink on scrap paper so I could piece the wings on top of the original.

I colored a sateen flower using a red Copic marker for a touch of color.

Materials used: Stamps-Heartily Yours (Gina K Designs); Memento black ink; black and red markers (SU!); Copic markers; sateen flower (Gina K Designs); brads (Gina K Designs; cardstock-white pure luxury (Gina K Designs); designer paper-Farm Fresh (October Afternoon), small red dots (Recollections, Michael's); slit punch (SU!); hemp.

Check out these blogs for even more inspiration:
Nina Brackett {Illustrator}

Now, it's your turn! Please hop over to Gina's blog to add the direct link to your blog post showcasing Nina's Heartily Yours and Heartily Yours Additions stamp sets in the Mister Linkey Box. Gina will have a special prize for the one link that she chooses out of all the participating bloggers - check out her blog for the details.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Happy Birthday Christi!

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Christi!
Happy Birthday to YOU!
Today is Christi Milliken's 50th birthday, so if you get a chance...head on over to her blog and leave her some birthday love! (She is super talented so if you haven't visited her blog before...you are in for a treat!)
Christi's mom, Pat, contacted me many months ago to plan a special surprise for Christi's 50th and I am so happy to be a part of it! Her is the card I sent her (along with 50 buttons!):
Here is the list of participants in today's birthday hop. You can check out their cards for Christi on the links listed below. (Some cards may not be posted yet but should all be up by 11 a.m.!)

Happy Happy Birthday sweet Christi! Hope your day is as sweet as you are!
HUGS-Cammie
Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Happy Hearts Hop

Happy Friday! Hopefully by now I am in Anaheim!!!
Tonight Tami is hosting a blog hop with her newest set Happy Hearts for Gina K Designs. Here is the simple design I created with these fun hearts:
I also used her Calendar Grid stamp to create the background before layering the hearts on top--altering the heights of them for some fun!

Check out these blogs for even more inspiration:


Now, it's your turn! Please hop over to Gina's blog to add the direct link to your blog post showcasing Tami's Happy Hearts stamp set in the Mister Linkey Box. Gina will have a special prize for the one link that she chooses out of all the participating bloggers - check out her blog for the details.

Thanks for stopping by!


Wednesday, January 20, 2010

A Purrr-fectly Delightful Hop and Butterfly Tutorial

Hello! Hope you are having a wonderful week. I am getting all set to travel to California on Friday for CHA, so my blog will be on auto pilot for the next few days. If you have a question, please email me. I will check in on my blog while I am away but I am not sure when. *Hopefully* I will have lots of fun things to share next week when I return!


Tonight the amazing Theresa is hosting a blog hop with her newest release from Gina K Designs called Purrr-fectly Delightful. Here is the birthday card I created with the set:

I stamped the kitten on white pure luxury cardstock and colored her with Copic markers. I cut her out and popped her on top of the stamped kitten on the card base for some dimension. I used some October Afternoon-Farm Fresh designer paper throughout the card and created some little butterflies out of ocean mist cardstock (see below) and a flower punch.

The happy birthday greeting is from Eclectic Summer Sayings set. I used a few Prima pearl swirls to create the butterfly paths. Hope you like it!


Simple butterfly shape using flower punch:


<---Punch flower shape from cardstock. I used the Five petal flower punch from Stampin' Up! (For the smaller butterfly, I used the three flower punch from Stampin' Up!)



<---Fold flower in half. (You may get a little wrinkling in the cardstock...that is ok.)



<---Using craft scissors, cut off the top of the flower (this is the petal that is folded in half) at a slant.


<---Open up flower....it is now a butterfly shape! TIP: To add some dimension to the butterfly, use a sponge to ink along the edges.




Materials used: Stamps-Purrr-fectly Delightful, Eclectic Summer Sayings (Gina K Designs); Memento tuxedo black ink, bashful blue ink (Stampin' Up!), SU! markers-black, red; Copic Markers; Designer paper-Farm Fresh (October Afternoon); cardstock-pure luxury white, ivory, ocean mist (Gina K Designs); ribbon (SU!); Say It In Crystals Pearls White (Prima); Flower punches (Stampin' Up!); tag punches (Stampin' Up!); corner rounder punch (Creative Memories).

Check out these blogs for even more inspiration:

Now, it's your turn! Please hop over to Gina's blog to add the direct link to your blog post showcasing Theresa's Purrr-fectly Delightful Stamp set in the Mister Linkey Box. Gina will have a special prize for the one link that she chooses out of all the participating bloggers - check out her blog for the details.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

It's a Jungle....

Ever have a day where you feel like this? I love this cute fella! These stamps are from High Hopes and are illustrated by the ever talented Crissy! I LOVE her work!

I had fun just playing around with this fella! Pretty self-explanatory...just some coloring with Copic markers and background stamping. I stamped the sentiment right on Kraft and then again on vanilla cardstock so I could cut out the word "jungle" and pop it on top of the original. The background designer paper is from October Afternoon (Louie).

Hope you are having a great day!!!!!
Thanks for stopping by today!

Monday, January 18, 2010

Square Peg Hop!

Hello!!! Hope your weekend was wonderful! We had great weather here so we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the sunshine!

Tonight Melanie is hosting a blog hop with her newest set, Square Pegs. Here is the card I created for the hop:I used this set with Melanie's Hip to Be Square to create this card. I used the little xoxo stamp block to stamp each section of the background (which is from Hip to Be Square.) And I used a Copic marker to color the outside section of the window design.

The center detail strip was created by using the little design in the Square Pegs set (I think intended to decorate the Easter eggs). I LOVE the design and wanted to incorporate it in this card. So I inked up the stamp with red and black markers and then stamped.
I punched a Marvy heart to place over the center.

The "Love" sentiment is from Love Notes (I just masked off the rest of the sentiment.) Final touches include the fun ribbon and the button accents.

Materials used: Stamps-Square Pegs, Hip to be Square, Love Notes (Gina K Designs); ink-Memento black, SU! markers-black, red, soft sky ink (SU!); Red Copic marker; cardstock-white, ocean mist (Gina K Designs pure luxury); ribbon-Gina K Designs Holiday Assortment; Marvy heart punch; buttons (Gina K Designs); Hearts cuttlebug embossing folder (Provocraft); Cuttlebug (Provocraft).


Check out these links for even more inspiration:

Now, it's your turn! Please hop over to Gina's blog to add the direct link to your blog post showcasing Melanie's Square Pegs stamp set in the mister linkey box. Gina will have a special prize for the one link that she chooses out of all the participating entries. Check out her blog for all the details.

Thanks for stopping by!



Sunday, January 17, 2010

Simple Sunday!

Just popping in today to say Hello and to share this quick creation: This was created with some fun designer paper (Black Orchid, SEI) and some rub-ons and metal accents. Fast...easy. I just love this color combination.

Hope you have a wonderful day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

JustRite Wedding Card

Hello! Today I have a simple wedding card to share with you:For this card, I used one of the stamps from Romantic Sentiments by JustRite (temporarily sold out!) and framed it with a 2" Square Decorative Frame by JustRite. I embellished around the frame with some decorative pearls and then added a touch of velvet ribbon to add some texture.

You can find lots of JustRite products......and many more stamps, embellishments, paper, etc. at Stamper's Dream store!


Have a great day! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Still in Stitches!

Happy Friday! This week went so fast! I am so enjoying having my husband home so time is flying.
As promised yesterday....here is the "other" card I was working on with a stitched heart. The premise is the same--Use a Mega heart punch (Marvy) as a template to create piercing holes around and then remove template and hand stitch with thread.)
I originally stitched two hearts because I figured I would mess one up (and they were easy to do while watching TV with my daughter!)

For this card...I added a bunch of punched hearts along the side (punched from paper scraps!)...did some machine stitching along the side and added some ribbon and buttons.
It is rather busy on the left.....but I kept the right side of the card very simple to keep the focus on the sentiment, "The best thing about me is you"---LOVE this! It is one of the new sentiments in the LOVE NOTES set (by Gina K Designs) and it is free this month when you buy three other stamp sets.

Materials used: Stamps-Love Notes (Gina K Designs); su markers-red, black; red thread; paper piercing tool, Marvy Mega heart punch; designer paper-black-The Mod Retro Stack (DCWV), Farm Fresh (October Afternoon); Report Card (October Afternoon); Grandmas Christmas Soup (Jillibean soup); ribbon-SU!; white cardstock-Gina K Designs; sewing machine.

Just another way to use a stitched heart in your design!
Have a great FRIDAY!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Gettin Stitchy!

Hello--happy day! I have been meaning to ink this cutie up again and make a Valentine with her. This is one of the Pure Innocence Line of stamps from My Favorite Things called My Balloon.

In the original stamp, the little girl is holding a balloon. For this card, I simply used my ink pad to ink the girl and the balloon string (not the balloon):
I wanted to make a BIG ole heart balloon for her to hold. So I took a Marvy heart punch and placed it where I wanted on the card.



Then I took a paper piercing tool and pierced around the heart shape. I then stitched through the holes with red thread.
<---Here is another view of the heart balloon. I love the look of the stitching because it adds so much texture. I paper pieced the girl's dress and colored her with Copic markers. I finished off the card by adding the strip of designer paper along the side, adding a few buttons and stamping the sentiment (Stampabilities). Materials used: Stamps- Pure Innocence: My Balloon (My Favorite Things), sentiment (Stampabilities); Memento tuxedo black ink; black and red SU! markers; buttons (Gina K Designs); Marvy Uchida heart punch, paper piercing tool; red thread; designer paper-Farm Fresh (8 by 8 paper pad) October Afternoon; Red Dots (Recollections, by Michael's).

I have another card using a stitched heart to share tomorrow. (Not QUITE done yet!) See you then!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Welcome Home!

On Friday night we picked up my husband from the airport. His boss pulled a few strings so he could come directly home with us (We are so grateful!)
It is so nice to have him home. My youngest (Lauren, 4) won't let him leave her side. Family all together = happiness!

Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Stamper's Dream Hop, Sale and Blog Candy!

Hello! Welcome to the Stamper's Dream JustRite blog hop! The beginning of the hop is Tosh's blog, so if you didn't start there, you might want to! If you came here from Silke's blog, you are right on track!

This post has a lot of information...be sure to read to the bottom to find out how to enter to win blog candy and to see the ONE DAY sale info!

Today the Stamper's Dream team is featuring two of the new JustRite releases now available at the store: Romantic Sentiments and Lovely Thoughts.

These sets are some of my favorites ever released by JustRite. You can use them in tons of ways---with the fun borders that are available from JustRite or you can stamp them alone. There are so many possibilities and I am sure you will get lots of great ideas from the hop today.

First, here is a card I designed using Romantic Sentiments:



For this card, I used the key to my heart sentiment and created a romantic anniversary/wedding/valentine card. I kept the colors very muted and just wanted to keep the focus on the amazing sentiment. I used markers to ink the words so that I could really make the word "heart" pop.

Here is a cute treat pail that I decorated using Loving Thoughts:


For this project, I thought it would be cute do to a literal interpretation...and create a little bucket full of kisses. I added a button border to the little pail, stamped the sentiment in two colors (using markers) and added the punched heart to the top of the sentiment. This cute treat would be simple to mass produce.

Blog Candy: To be entered to win some "dreamy" blog candy, you must post a comment on every blog in the hop. Michelle will post the winner on her blog on Wednesday night!

Now head on over to Laurie's awesome blog to see some more JustRite creations. Here is the order of the hop just in case you got lost along the way!! Be sure to comment on each post to be entered to win the mystery blog candy:

One Day Sale at Stamper's Dream: Today only the following products are on sale:

30% Off Life Stories

20% Off JustRite Square Products

25% off Spellbinders

30% off Whiff of Joy

10% Off Prism paper

NEW ARRIVALS at Stamper's Dream:
New stamps from JustRite Stampers! New stamps from Impression Obsession, new paper and stamps from Basic Grey! Awesome new products from Maya Road! The December Flourishes release is here. Also new, the new Penny Black Valentine release and stamps from Cookbookin' are here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Whoot!

Paper Crafts Card Creations, Start to Finish Volume 2 issue is on newsstands NOW. You can also find it HERE!

This amazing issue features all of the major card giving occasions and shows you how to take the design to the inside of the card. It also includes some inner active designs.

I am honored to have this card in the issue (Page 30):

I am super excited about this because.......See that ambulance? That is one of my illustrations---Squeal! It is so fun to have something you designed in print....but it is even more fun to have something you designed that features one of your illustrations in print! That doesn't happen too often to me--so thanks for letting me share my excitement!

You will have to check out the issue to see the inside of the card! (heehee!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Cut it out!

This week's Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger is brought to you by my friend Maren.....

<--She found this lovely plate in a Pottery Barn catalogue and created a beautiful card that was inspired by it.

I was intrigued by the simplistic elegance of it and wanted to try to make something understated and elegant.

I also used a bird on my card---but I created an one layer Easter card.....




Here is my card: It is hard to see what I did on this picture, so I took a few more so you can tell that the bird image was stamped in Versamark (so dark lines would not show) and then cut out....

I think you can see that it is a cut out much better in this picture:


I used some Prima swirl pearls to accent around the image, trimming the middle section where the window is:

Finally, I embossed the sentiment in white to make it pop on the Kraft paper.

<-----I took a quick picture to show you how I did the window. I used a Spellbinders rectangle die to draw the window on the card base (for stamp placement). Then, I stamped the bird in Versamark ink (so no dark lines would show after I cut) in the center of the rectangle.
Then, I drew the box lines closer to the bird...so the wings would touch the lines of the box.
I used my Fiskars pencil grip blade to trim all around the bird (as shown on left.)
Stamp credit: Easter Blessings (Gina K Designs)
What a fun challenge!

Thanks for stopping by!