HUGS

Happy Monday!

Just popping in to share a card I made with My Favorite Things set called Fancy Flowers.  For this card, I embossed the flowers in white onto black cardstock.  The main panel was created by stamping the flower and coloring it with Copic markers.   I stamped the flower again on white cardstock and colored it and cut out the center portion so I could pop it up over the first one:

I added a strip of blue paper over the bottom of this focal panel and then die cut the word HUGS (Words for Friends) from black cardstock and placed it on top.

I finished it off with a little sheer ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cammie

Gina K Inspiration Blog Hop Day 1

The Design Team for Gina K. Designs welcomes you to another fabulous Inspiration Blog Hop!!! Gina and the Design Team will inspire you with many beautiful ideas! And as you hop through the blogs, make sure to leave a comment on each of them because we will choose a few random comments and those stampers will each win a grab bag of deeply etched, pre-cut Gina K. Designs stamps! To see the full list of winners check the Big News forum at Stamp TV a couple of days after the hops!!

Today the Gina K Design team are sharing projects created with these new releases: Stately Flowers 4 and Ticket Trio.  I used the pre-cut Rubber sets for my samples but Gina K IS NOW OFFERING you a choice of Deeply Etched Rubber or Clear for the stamp sets! Love having a choice!

Here are my samples:
The first card uses Stately Flowers 4. I love all the gorgeous flower/greeting combinations in this set. I stamped the flower with Memento tuxedo black ink and colored it with Copic markers:

 

Next, I have a card using Ticket Trio.  I used this set in a different way....I kept looking at the stamps and seeing the tickets as doors and windows.  So, I folded cardstock over and then just cut the top like a house.  Then covered it with paper and stamping:

Check out all the amazing inspiration on these blogs:

• Gina K
• Melanie Muenchinger  Illustrator – Stately Flowers 4
• Tami Mayberry  Illustrator – Ticket Trio
• AJ Otto
• Carolyn King
• Cathy Tidwell
• Deb Felts
• Emily Giovanni
• Giovana Smith
• Jimmi Mayo
• Lee Murphy
• Lori McAree
• Sharon Harnist
• Theresa Momber
• Tina Gilliland
• Vicki Dutcher

 Thanks for stopping by!

Gina K Inspiration Blog Hop!

The Design Team for Gina K. Designs welcomes you to another fabulous Inspiration Blog Hop!!! Gina and the Design Team will inspire you with many beautiful ideas! And as you hop through their blogs, make sure to leave a comment on each of them because we will choose a few random comments and those stampers will each win a grab bag of deeply etched, pre-cut Gina K. Designs stamps! To see the full list of winners check the Big News forum at Stamp TV a couple of days after the hops!!

I used Sweet Strawberries (by Theresa Momber) for my first card today:  

I just love Theresa's beautiful hand drawn strawberries so I had to use them for this card.  I stamped the main image with Memento ink and colored it with Copic Markers.  I traced around a Spellbinders circle die with a pencil and then cut it out with scissors but leaving the areas that had the stamped image.  I layered the circle on some patterned paper, added a ribbon and then I used a strip of patterned paper from Petals and Wings paper pack underneath.  I inked all edges with Tea dye distress ink and sewed around the edges of my card.  Finally, I stamped the birthday sentiment from the set and added some rhinestones.  

My second card features Vintage Notes (by Tami Mayberry)

 

I love Tami's clean graphic style.  This is a set I know I will use a lot!  For this card, I stamped the note on patterned paper and inked the edges.  I used two colors of brown ink to stamp the "Just a Note" sentiment over and over.  I used the number strip in the set to add some interest to the background.  I inked the numbers in Tea dye ink and then stamped off on some scrap paper before I stamped on the background. The result is just a hit of the numbers here and there.

Check out all the amazing designs and inspiration:

• Gina K
• Tami Mayberry - Illustrator Vintage Notes
• Theresa Momber – Illustrator Sweet Strawberries
• AJ Otto
• Carolina Buchting
• Carolyn King (you are here!)
• Cathy Tidwell
• Deb Felts
• Donna Baker
• Emily Giovanni
• Giovana Smith
• Jimmi Mayo
• Lee Murphy
• Lori McAree
• Melanie Muenchinger
• Michelle Woerner
• Sharon Harnist
• Suzanne Dean
• Tina Gilliland
• Vicki Dutcher

Thanks for stopping by!

Love Roo!

Hello there! I have a happy little card to share today that will [hopefully] bring a smile to your face on this Wednesday morning:)

While being totally constructive and not wasting any time by surfing around on some of my favorite stamp sites...I stumbled across the newest Paper Smooches Sparks challenge.  And, yep---I was inspired by this photo to play along:

Cute, ugh?  Might have to try to make some of those!  You can find all the challenge details on the Paper Smooches Sparks blog:

Here is my take on the inspiration photo:

Here is a close-up of the kangaroo. (My son told me that I did an ok job on it :) hee!

Supplies:
Stamps- A Little Lovin, Houndstooth, Geo Graphic (Paper Smooches); cardstock- white (Gina K Designs); patterned paper- Wayfarer mini print (Bazzill Basics Paper); Dies- cloud trio, fresh cut grass (Die-namics, My Favorite Things); baker's twine-blossom (The Twinery); ink-Memento tuxedo black, orchid pastel, yellow citrus, blue lagoon (Cat's Eye Chalk ink- Colorbok); Copic markers; felt- Chartruse (Papertrey Ink); sewing machine; Zapdots (Helmar); ribbon- chevron blue (May Arts).

I was inspired by the fun colors and textures in the photo and I wanted to make a spring-ish card because of the bunnies.  I decided to use the kangaroo and sentiment from A Little Lovin (cause I love them!) and built a Spring scene using them.

I incorporated some felt to get the texture in from the inspiration picture.  I stitched along the felt grass to get some stitching in there too.

I used some of the colors  from the bunny's ears on the card by stamping background designs (Geo Graphic, Houndstooth) on the die-cut clouds.

What a fun challenge!  But, don't take my word for it --------> Click on the Paper Smooches logo to play along!

Thanks for stopping by!

Love you Beary Much

Hello!!!! I am super excited because I am getting ready to head to CHA tomorrow morning!  I am very excited to see my stampy friends and to see all the new things that will be introduced at the show:)

Before I go, I have a cute little card to share... love this little fella from The Cat's Pajamas:

Supplies:
Stamps:  Honey Bear (The Cat's Pajamas)
Sentiment sticker- Fancy Sticker Sentiment- Love (SRM Stickers)
Ink: Memento tuxedo black
Patterned paper- Times & Seasons (Echo Park); Authentique
Copic Markers
Mini clothespin
Fibers- Baker's twine- Cappuccino (The Twinery)
Corner rounder punch (Making Memories)

Have a great week! Meet you back here for some fun-tabulous blog candy next week!

Masculine Birthday

Hello! Hope you are having a good week so far. Mine has been B.U.S.Y!

I love this Our Craft Lounge set-- Golfin' Gramps! He is so cute (reminds me of my dad a bit!) and I have quite a few golfers in my family (yep, including my dad!) so I couldn't pass this set up. It was one of the first OCL stamp sets I purchased and I still LOVE it!
Hee! The sentiment reads "Any way you slice it, have a wonderful birthday!"

The patterned paper is by Echo Park.

Thanks for stopping by!

OCL Sneak Peek Day 2

Hello! Today is day 2 of the Our Craft Lounge sneak peeks. You can find a complete list of the designers who are posting today on the OCL blog.

Blog Candy: Remember to leave comments on all of the blogs today to be entered to win a set of your choice. Winners will be announced on the OCL blog on Saturday.

For today's project, I used the new crafty cling set called Surfin' Santa:
Akk...he is so cute! I love this fun stamp. I stamped Santa and colored him in with Copic markers. After inking the image, I smudged off the design on the shorts to show another way to color them without the candy cane pattern. Pretty straightforward!

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the OCL blog hop.

Thanks for stopping by!

OCL Sneak Peek Day 1

Hi there! Today is the first day of sneak peeks of the new release from Our Craft Lounge and my first release as an Our Craft Lounge design team member :) You can find a list of all the fabulous designers who are sharing projects today on the Our Craft Lounge Blog.

I used A Little Witchy to create this Halloween treat box:

To create this, I just made a box from black cardstock and added some patterned paper. I stamped all the images from the set on white cardstock and cut them out. The witch's outfit is paper pieced and I used Copic markers to color the rest of the images. I stamped the sentiment on a label and added all the elements to the box.

Like what you see? You can find these new releases at Memories of Time.

Blog candy: All comments left on the designer's preview posts on Wednesday and Thursday and blog hop post on Friday will be included in the blog candy drawing on the OCL blog that ends Friday night at midnight (PACIFIC), so be sure to leave a comment on all the blogs you visit!

See you tomorrow for another OCL new release project!

Thanks for stopping by!

MFT Stamp Challenge

Hello! Happy Friday!
This week started out a bit bumpy so I really didn't have any time to play with paper and stamps. It was my husband's 40th birthday and on his actual birthday he was rushing back to the car to go out to lunch with me and the kids and he hopped over a hedge....and well....let's just say his ankles aren't in their 30s anymore :( We ended up in the emergency room that night for x-rays and thankfully it is not broken. (Although if you saw the pictures on FB, you would bet that it was.)

Anyway, after all that fun, he is back to work on crutches and life goes on. I needed a little jump start to my creativity so I jumped on this week's My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge- MFTWSC32: Here is my card using the sketch:

I paired the MFT Pure Innocence image, Are We There Yet? with some Echo Park Paper- Splash! (Love it!)

Thought this would be a fun combination for the last few weeks of summer :( (Sniff, sniff!) I colored the image with Copics and paper pieced the outfit. I layered her over the popped up sun (Echo Park, Splash!) and added a sticker sentiment over the sun (Random Thoughts by Bo-Bunny Press). I cut different layers of patterned paper for the sketch and added some twine (The Twinery) around the bottom of the card.

Thanks for stopping by today!

You make my heart bloom

Hello! I am in the midst of cleaning out my stamp room---what a HUGE (and not very fun) job! I have tons of things I am purging and it IS nice to get a bit of room just in time for some new CHA releases!

So..... I have a card to share using the newest Stamp TV kit from Gina K Designs called Sent with Love. I created this for the release party last week but haven't had the chance to post it until today.

This kit has so many fabulous stamps. I mixed and matched a few to create this one. I stamped the tree and then stamped it again (so I could use a few heart clusters to put on the ground). I used the bird from the mailbox stamp (just stamped the whole image and then cut out the bird so I could put him in the tree).

I colored all the images with Copic markers. I added another one of the tree hearts to the sentiment to make it all matchy matchy! Designer paper is by Jillibean Soup.

Materials used: Stamps- Sent with Love (Gina K Designs); Memento tuxedo black ink; white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Copic markers; Dienamics Sunshine die (My Favorite Things); Designer paper- Soup Staples: Green Sugar, Atomic Soup: Minced Molecules (Jillibean Soup); Twine (Jillibean Soup); ribbon- mustard (Stampin' Up!) label punch (Stampin' Up!); Sewing machine; corner rounder punch (Creative Memories).

Thanks for stopping by!!

Psst! Wanna know a secret??

Hello!!! Lots of fun stuff happening this fall and today I can finally announce one of the fun things.....
oopsie...sorry. I can't announce it....but I know who CAN. Visit the MFT lady here to get the scoop!!

In the meantime....can I dazzle you with a card? This card is for this week's MFT Wednesday Stamp Club Challenge: Floral Fantasy! - Create a project featuring flowers. (SCS Keyword - MFTWSC08252010) :


For this card, I cut the front panel smaller (again...on a kick with that right now!) and used the Jumbo scallop die for the red panel along the inside of the card.

The image and sentiment are Jolinne- Just for You. I colored her with Copics and prismacolor pencils and paper pieced much of her outfit. I used the Flower Trio and Leaf Trio die to create the flowers on the scallops. I also used the Cloud Trio and the Fresh Cut Grass (temporarily sold out) Die-namics die on this.

Now head on over to Kim's blog to find out the news!! Squeal!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Beautiful Butterflies

Hello! Happy Friday!
Well....in case you missed it....all the new Gina K Design stamps are NOW in the store. You can find them here.

My husband was working last night and by the time I got all the kids settled the party was over. And once I got to bed....I had one kid up coughing half the night. (Funny, his first absence of the year is on the second to last day of school.)

Here is another card from the beautiful Hope Grows set:


Just a simple card using those gorgeous butterflies and branches. The ribbon I used on this is from the new Stamp TV kit: Enjoy the Sunshine....love it! I stamped the butterflies, colored them with Copics, cut them out and added them to the card. The large purple butterfly and the smallest yellow butterfly are stamped twice....once on the card base and then I added another layer on top. After I adhered the butterflies, I added some crystal stickles.

Materials used: Stamps- Hope Grows (Gina K Designs); Memento tuxedo black ink; Copic markers; Cardstock-ivory (Gina K Designs); ribbon-Enjoy the Sunshine kit (Gina K Designs); crystal stickles (Ranger).

Hope you have a wonderful weekend:) Thanks for stopping by!

It's Impression Obsession Week at Stamper's Dream

Hi all ya'll!!! This week is Impression Obsession Week at Stamper's Dream and so the team is showcasing their wonderful stamps ALL week long. Today, Tosh , Silke , Amy , Michelle and I have cards to share. (But be sure to check out the schedule below so you can catch up on any posts you might have missed on Monday and Tuesday---'cause they are FANTABULOUS!)

I love Impression Obsession! They offer such variety in their stamp images--from elegant to whimsical!

My card features the Spoiled Rotten set (which includes the pup, sentiment and lots of paw prints and bones.) I *heart* this guy---he looks like he has gotten himself into some trouble but how could you be mad at that face??:
I had a hard time photographing these colors for some reason. What you might not be able to see is that I stamped the dog twice so that I could pop up the head and bone for some dimension. You can see that a bit better on this photo:

I colored the dog with Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils. His scarf is paper pieced to match the background colors. It was a bit tricky working with the small pieces but I love the look!

This fits the Moxie Fab Picking up the Pieces challenge this month.

I stamped the prints all around and on the sentiment circle. This set is so fun to play with!

Materials used: Stamps- Spoiled Rotten (Impression Obsession); white cardstock (Gina K Designs); Copic markers; Prismacolor Pencils; Ink: Memento tuxedo black, going grey (SU!); designer paper- Park Buddies (SEI); ribbon-white twill; button; sewing machine; corner rounder punch (Creative Memories); hemp (Hobby Lobby).

Here is the week's schedule:

Today - Leslie , Laurie and Becca

Tuesday - Cindy , Amy , Denise , Dawn and Michelle

Wednesday - Tosh , Silke , Amy , Michelle and me

Thursday - Cindy , Leslie , Denise, Dawn and Michelle

Friday - Laurie , Silke , Tosh , and Michelle

You *may* notice a new name on the design team names above. The wonderful Leslie Miller just joined the Stamper's Dream team! Welcome Leslie!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Anyone Can Color: A Copic Marker and Prismacolor tutorial

Hi everyone! At last....another coloring tutorial. I KNOW a lot of you have been patiently waiting for me to tackle another tutorial. I apologize that it took so long to get it done but I made sure to fill this one with lots of information. So many people have been asking what I mean when I say I colored an image with Copic markers and prismacolor pencils. So today's tutorial is focusing on that. I also used one of my favorite stamping techniques--paper piecing.

(I apologize for some of the wonky shadows that are in some of the pictures. I colored and photographed these early this morning and the sun was not cooperating. The pictures do show the colored steps just fine though. Just disregard the shadows!!!)

Let's get started:

First...I had to select an image to color. To me..the answer to this was pretty easy as I had several requests to show exactly how I colored these kittens after posting some cards with them.

I stamped my image three separate times in Memento ink. The cardstock colors I used are white, ivory and ocean mist. (Since I knew I was going to use the blue to paper piece the cup, I only re-inked that part of the image before stamping on the cardstock.)
Then, I got my colors together to color the kitten on the white cardstock. The Copic markers I used are: E50 Egg Shell, R20 Blush, E31 Brick Beige, E37 Sepia, B 95 Light Grayish Cobalt.

The Prismacolor pencil I used is raw umber.


First, I took my Egg Shell marker and colored the kitten. I colored most of the kitten but left a few white spaces around his nose/mouth area. There will be a lot of blending of colors and I just wanted to make sure these areas remain the lightest so I didn't bother to add ink there yet.

Next, I took my beige marker and added that around the edges of the kitten's face and body. You can see the contrast of the colors because I didn't blend the color yet.

Then, I used my Sepia (I think my "favorite" Copic marker of all) to add some darker, shaded areas. Note: I still didn't blend the colors at all yet. Just adding color at this point.

After I put down enough darker brown color, I went back to my beige and blended the Sepia using small circular motion. Do not blend it all across the image. After you blend the Sepia in...then you can go back to the Egg Shell and blend some more.


The key to lots of dimension is different shades of the same color. You want the shades you select to be in sharp enough contrast to each other so that when you blend you can create the hues in between. I chose to color the kitten using Egg Shell (as my lightest color); Brick Beige (as the midline color) and Sepia (as the darkest color.) Because they are definitely a few shades away from each other...the colors look strange when you first apply them but after you BLEND...they create wonderful dimension.

I always blend using the next lightest colors I used. For example, If I used sepia...I blended it in with the Beige...If I use the Beige...I blend with the Egg Shell.

Next, I used some Blush to add some pink to his nose, ears and cheeks.

I blended some more using Beige and Egg Shell. (Keep playing and blending until you are happy with the results!) Then, I used Light Grayish Cobalt for his eyes.

When I am content with how the copic coloring looks....I can then use my Prismacolor pencils to add more dramatic shading. For this example, I am only using my brown pencil to add some more shadows to the kitten.

After I lay down the color, I blend it with odorless mineral spirits by dipping the blending stump in the mineral spirits and moving it over the colored pencil in a circular motion. (Remember: only do this step after you are finished coloring with Copic markers. You can damage the tips of your markers if you get the residue from the pencil or mineral spirits on them.)

The kitten is DONE!

You may notice that I stamped the kitten a few times. I wanted to use ivory as my base for this image (because it will go better with the paper I am using on the rest of the card.) So....I take my stamped kitten on the ivory and go over the outline with G00 Jade Green and BG0000 Snow Green. I only used Jade where I wanted darker shadow (like under the saucer and by the handle.)

Next, I took the blue kitten image and added some shadows to the teacup using the same markers. (I tested these colors first on the blue to make sure they looked ok.)

I cut out the teacup from my blue cardstock and the kitten body from the white cardstock that I colored in the steps above and assembled them on the ivory cardstock. (Note: I did lay some beige color on the kitten on the ivory cardstock so that when I popped the kitten on top, you would not see white underneath.)

And here is what my assembled kitten looks like.

I didn't color the flowers because they will be hidden once I create a card from this.

Stop back tomorrow to see how I use this image on a card! HERE it is!

Materials used: stamp image-Purrr-fectly Delightful (Gina K Designs); cardstock-Pure luxury white, ivory, ocean mist (Gina K Designs); Memento tuxedo black ink; Copic markers; Prismacolor pencil.

I hope you like this tutorial and if you have any questions feel free to post them or email me and I will get back to you as soon as I am able to.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tutorial: Two Easy to Be True Treat Holder!

Hello ya'll! Hope you had a great "long" weekend.

Today, I am sharing a super easy way to package a few little treats for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, a birthday or just because! I posted THIS treat holder last week and someone at the Gina K release party asked if I could post a tutorial on it....so this is it.

I changed it a bit just to give another variation: What you will need:
6" by 6" square of cardstock (which will be the base of your treat holder)
ribbon (for handle and for embellishing if you wish)
Scor-Pal
Scissors
Stamps and scrap of cardstock to embellish front (my supplies are listed at the end of tutorial)
Cropadile


Step 1: Take 6" by 6" cardstock sheet and score it at 2" and 4". Turn cardstock one rotation and score again at 2" and 4". (See next step if you need a visual of scored squares.)

Step 2: Cut two slits on either side of cardstock as shown below. I folded up the center squares on each side to show you where it was cut. Fold at all score lines.

Step 3: (Optional) I decorated my first box with ribbons and this one with a ribbon band. This is an optional step if you would like to embellish your box this way. Before you have assembled the box, measure the spot you would like to punch holes with your Cropadile. In the first box I created, I measured five holes on the front and back center panels using my Stampin' Up Mat pack to create evenly spaced holes for ribbons. For this example, I measured two holes on either side of the front panel so I could thread ribbon through. After marking the spots where you want holes, punch with Cropadile. (You will see the punched holes in Step 6.)

Tip: The front and back panels are on the sides that you have not cut.

Step 4: Apply Scor-Tape or adhesive to cut center panels on both sides.

Step 5: Adhere back flaps over adhesive. Line that flap with adhesive and adhere front flap over it.

Step 6: Here is the assembled base. You can see here the two holes I punched with my Cropadile (from Step 3.) At this point, I took my Cropadile again and punched two holes on either side of the box to insert a ribbon handle.

Step 7: I added a ribbon tie through the front holes and inserted the ribbon handle through the holes on either side of the box.

Step 8: Stamp a design and mat before adhering to front of box.

Step 9: Here is my finished box. I added a little tag on the top and candies inside.

Materials used: Cardstock-white, lipstick red, innocent pink (Gina K Designs); Stamps- Dream Birds, Warm and Fuzzy (Gina K Designs); ribbon (Offray, Gina K Designs); Scor-Pal, Cropadile; Copic Markers.

Easy! I would love to see what you create if you use this tutorial! If you leave me a comment, I will be sure to check it out.

Thanks for stopping by!