Let's PARTY!

Hello, all! I hope you had a truly wonderful Christmas holiday! I certainly enjoyed the extra time with family. We have a new challenge over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog this week as we bring in the New Year! This week our challenge theme is PARTY! Yup! It's a fun one! I pulled out the super adorable Lawn Fawn Party Animal Stamp Set. Because CUTENESS!!! Oh...and it seemed to suit the theme. But, mostly, CUTENESS!!!



I used my MISTI to stamp the birds and the sentiment and then stamped the little party horn on scrap paper, colored it, and cut it out to adhere with foam tape. I used Spectrum Noir pens to color my images. I played with bright, fun colors for this one!



I used a thin strip of striped paper from the Lawn Fawn Let's Polka in the Dark paper pad. I also used a small accent strip to add balance to the top right of the card. I mounted the stamped panel on a yellow card base for a bit more color and fun.

Now it's YOUR turn! Create something fabulous based on the PARTY theme and link it up to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store! That seems like a fabulous way to ring in the New Year, wouldn't you say?

Have a Happy!

I'll Never Forget Your Kindness

I had a thank you card to create and the Paper Smooches December challenge was exactly the inspiration I needed to get started! The challenge this month is FLOWERS and I had this AWESOME Paper Smooches Single Rose die. I love this die and I've had it in my stash for quite some time and hadn't had the chance to use it, so I jumped on this one!



I die cut the rose several times from black cardstock and adhered the cuts randomly on a white panel. I love that this is an outline die! It made for a seriously awesome black and white background. I then used a sentiment from the Spreading Sunshine Clear Stamp Set, embossed in pink on vellum, for the focal point of my card.



A bit of gold thread behind the sentiment adds just a pop of texture and interest for this fun design. I had a certain recipient in mind for this card, so I hope she loves it!

Thanks to the Paper Smooches challenge for the inspiration to use my new flower die on this card!

Have a Happy!

Make it SPARKLE!

Happy Christmas Eve EVE! I confess, I am still sneaking Christmas cards into my creating. And I still need to send them, so that works out well, actually. HA! The challenge this week over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog is to Make it Sparkle! Ummm... okay! I LOVE sparkle. For reals, though. I love it. Lots.

The Design Team is featuring Technique Tuesday products this week. You don't have to use them to play along, but if you have some, we'd love to see what you do with them! Technique Tuesday has a great selection of truly unique stamps and dies. Plus, I happen to adore two of their designers, Cath and Teri. They contribute amazing designs with a whole lot of love behind them. YAY!

I used the absolutely GORGEOUS Cath Edvalson Garden Leaves Die set for my card. Cath's designs are based on her own papercutting work so they have absolutely incredible details. I love this leaf die so much! I coated each cut with my Wink of Stella clear to make it truly sparkle and then layered them to create a totally unique look. A few Jillibean Soup self adhesive sequins add both color and sparkle to the swag. Those things are a tad bit on the amazing side.

The sentiment comes form the Hero Arts Clearly Kelly Fa La La La La stamp set. (Yup. That was officially fun to type. And yup... I totally sang it.) It is heat embossed with a red glitter embossing powder to add even more sparkle to my card design. YAY for sparkle! I used my MISTI to get perfect placement for both the 'joy' and the 'to the world'. I have to admit. I fought purchasing one of those things for a LONG time, but I am a convert. I love that thing!

Now it's YOUR TURN! Create something fabulous and MAKE IT SPARKLE! Link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store! I bet you would enjoy some post holiday shopping! 

In the meantime, have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thanks for being awesome!

Advent Calendar Extravaganza Time!

Hello, all! I am excited to be participating in the Advent Calendar Extravaganza with Taheerah today! This is a month long event STUFFED with inspiration and prizes, galore! You won't want to miss it!

Advent Calendar Extravaganza is -the- festive event of the season! This ‘hop with a twist’ was dreamed up by Taheerah Atchia and features surprise destinations each day! Joining in the fun with Taheerah are over 60 special guests - each serving up some fantastic Christmas inspiration! Just like an Advent Calendar, you’ll never know where you’re going to be visiting next until you ‘open the door’!

And that’s not all! With 25 *amazing* sponsors taking part as well, your crafty wish list is bound to get a boost with a chance to win a prize EVERY SINGLE DAY!! Today's sponsor is Altenew!

Join in the fun every day at taheerah-atchia.com to see what special surprises wait behind the door!




Because Altenew is sponsoring today, I wanted to pull out some Altenew stamps! YAY! I used the Modern Beadwork stamp set to create a super fun "ugly" sweater style card. I had a BLAST creating this card! 

It’s not a party without a prize - and with prizes every day there are several chances to win! Today’s prize is generously supplied by Altenew, so you’ll definitely want to get your hands on it! Simply leave a comment on this post to enter - then head back to taheerah-atchia.com and leave a comment there too to double your chances! Don’t forget to grab the other surprise destinations from Taheerah’s blog and head over to them to leave comments there as well to improve your odds even more! You have until 7am EST on Thursday 31st December to leave all your comments! 

Don’t forget the Advent Calendar Extravaganza runs from 1st-25th December inclusive so make sure you visit taheerah-atchia.com every day for fabulous inspiration and amazing prizes every single time! Merry Christmas!

Pinkfresh Studio Christmas Wishes Blog Hop and Giveaway!

Hello, friends and welcome to the Pinkfresh Studio Christmas Wishes Blog Hop and Giveaway! We have some amazing inspiration and a Goody Bag worth over $150.00 to give away today! If you came from Christin's blog, you are on the right track! If you are just now stumbling on the hop, you may want to head to the Pinkfresh Studio blog for the details and to start from the beginning! There is lots of fun to be had! This will be my last with the Pinkfresh Studio team. I have enjoyed working with these products so much!



I love the Christmas Wishes papers! They make card making so easy! I added a super cute rubber sticker sentiment to this one and then added sparkle with Wink of Stella on some triangles and star and circle sequins.



Next on the hop is JESSY! But don't forget to leave a comment here before you go! Each comment you leave on the hop is another chance to win that amazing prize package! WOOT! WOOT!

Have a Happy!

Hello, friends! Today we have a brand new Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge for you! We are going DIE CRAZY this week! The design team is featuring Simon Says Stamp exclusive products. You don't have to use SSS products to participate, but you know we love to see what you do with them!



I used a couple of recent favorites for my cards. I actually love them so much, I decided to make three cards using the same design, but I mixed up the colors a bit to add variety to the game.



Now it's YOUR turn! Get out your dies and create something AWESOME to link up to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog! We can't WAIT to see what you create! One lucky participant will win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store! WOOT! WOOT!

I'm Only Jingling Half Way

If you are on Facebook at all, I'm sure you've seen this popular holiday meme circulating it's way around the interwebs.

Well, as I'm sure you can tell, I particularly love this one. *wink* *wink* When I saw these super adorable Holiday Grumplings stamps from Taylored Expressions, I simply HAD to have them. And this, naturally, was the first card I created with this set. And I love it. Lots. And lots. And a little bit of lots.



Ummm... and lots. I colored that little critter with Spectrum Noir markers and added a strip of Pinkfresh Studio patterned paper along the edge for some color. A small bit of gold tape made for a perfect accent banner at the top of the card. I didn't want to do too much because... you know... only jingling HALF WAY.



I got to play a little this weekend. Lots of time in the studio and I loved it! Since I started my new job I've had less time to create, which is okay, but I do love being able to dive in and just have some fun!

Have a Happy!

Spellbinders 2016 CHA Roundup Blog Hop

Welcome to the Spellbinders 2016 CHA Roundup Blog Hop Day 4! Today I have two cards to share with you using some of the GORGEOUS new dies! 

My first card uses the beautiful Fairmont Labels. I love this label shape. The details are subtle, but add a lot at the same time!  I layered two die cut labels with gold and white cardstock. I used distress inks to create a watercolored stamped tree and added a simple star sequin to finish it off.

For my second card, I used the World View die. This is one of my favorites! I am going to have so much fun with this one! The embossed continents are fabulous! 

You can find more AMAZING inspiration today over at Donna Salazar Designs. Yup. You read that, right... THE Donna Salazar! YAY!!!

There are AWESOME Giveaways all week, too! To win the dies being featured today visit both blogs and complete the OFFICIAL ENTRY FORM for your chance to win. Of course, we love to read your comments, too! Find the full contest details HERE and the official rules HERE. If you have any questions about the contest, email Spellbinders at ContestQuestions@Spellbinders.us. 

Supplies

CARD 1:

Spellbinders Platinum Die Cutting and Embossing Machine

S6-058 Spellbinders Fairmont Labels

Clearly Besotted Tiny Trees Stamp Set

Green ink

Watercolor paper

white and gold cardstock

CARD 2:

Spellbinders Platinum Die Cutting and Embossing Machine

S1-001 Spellbinders World View Die

Paper Smooches Many Thanks

My Mind's Eye Fancy That Patterned Paper

May Arts Burlap String

Wood Veneer Starburst

Blue cardstock

Have a Happy!

TAG! You're It!

Good News! I'm not going to make you run after me on the playground. Even BETTER news! We have a brand new challenge for you over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog! This week's challenge is TAG IT! We want to see you create a tag, add a tag, whatever! Make tags a big part of your design and link it up! The Design Team is using Tim Holtz products this week. You don't have to use them to play along, but if you've got some on hand, we'd love to see what you do with them! I pulled out my Crazy Birds stamps for this one, along with some Distress Inks for some watercolor fun.



I die cut the base with the brand new Stitched Dressed Up Tag dies, with which I am in love. Obviously. I watercolored the base and then stamped my bird on more watercolor paper and painted some more! Because I love watercolor. Lots.



If you know me, this tag is a little hilarious, because I'm the farthest thing you can find from the 'bah humbug' type. I LOVE CHRISTMAS! But this bird... he seemed to be the bah humbug type. And I love him for it. SO FUN!

Now it's your turn! Create something awesome and link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store! WOOT! WOOT!

Have a Happy!

Happy Hanukkah!

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah and I have a card up over on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog for just this occasion!



You can find the complete instructions for this card over on the CAS-ual Fridays blog! Be sure to stop by!

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Have a Happy!

It's DIEcember Time!

Yup! It's that time of year, again! It's DieCember time at Simon Says Stamp! That means an entire release of awesome new dies! WOOT! Heidi was kind enough to send me the new Stitched Dress Up Tags to play with for the release! Ummm.... I absolutely LOVE THEM! These are officially new staples in my die stash. They are fantastic!



I created three tags using the new dies, bringing in the So Very Merry stamp set to use with them. I cut the tag toppers with glitter paper to add some sparkle to the design! I colored the images, minimally, with Spectrum Noir markers for a bit of color.


Be sure to stop by the Simon Says Stamp blog to find more inspiration using this awesome new release!

Ready to shop? You can check out the DieCember release along with lots of other awesome stuff over at Simon Says Stamp!

Have a Happy!

Countdown to Christmas!

I have a super fun tutorial up on the Bazzill Basics blog today showing you how to create this fun countdown calendar! It is seriously easier than it looks and totally fun to do!

Head on over to check it out!

Have a Happy!

Because PUPPY BUTTS!

Or rain, if you happen to be here, but you won't see ME complaining! HA! The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge this week, however, is LET IT SNOW! We want to see your snowy creations this week! The Design Team is featuring Art Impressions products today. Art Impressions makes some seriously adorable rubber stamps! They have SUCH fun designs! You don't have to use them to play along, but if you have them on hand, we'd love to see what you do with them!

I used the super cute cat and dog mini set for my card. Because PUPPY BUTTS!!!! I created a snowy shaker card using a pretty Pinkfresh Studio Christmas Wishes patterned paper to create a scene out the little window. The puppies are colored with Spectrum Noir markers.

I filled the shaker with Tim Holtz Distress Glitter and some sequins. 

Now it's YOUR turn! Create something fabulous based on the LET IT SNOW theme and link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store! WOOT! WOOT!

Have a Happy!