Tape: Turns out, that stuff is useful!

The Paper Crafts Gallery Idol 2014 contest has come around and I decided to toss my hat into the ring again this year. The challenge was to create with decorative tape.

Tape.

See, here's the thing. I have, oh, say, 100-ish rolls of washi tape, a few fabric tapes, and probably some others that I don't even know I own. I have a lot of tape. I use it for simple things, though... a strip here or there, an envelope closure, a bit of cuteness on a mailed envelope.... I generally don't go terribly original with it. Well, that wasn't going to fly for Gallery Idol Open Auditions, SO....I dug deep and came up with these three ideas. Ready for it?

Three creative uses for tape.

1. Roll strips of tape and adhere them to create a shape. Fold a super long strip in half and essentially use like a quilling strip. (Yes, all that rolling takes a bit of time. And by a bit, I mean lots.)

2. Fold strips of tape, leaving one end sticky, roll into links, create a tape chain. (Yes, all that folding and linking takes a bit of time. and by a bit, I mean lots.)

3. Loop tape and adhere to a card base. Layer a raised, die-cut panel over the tape to create a puffy heart look. (Yes, all that looping and layering takes a bit of time. And by a bit,.... well, I'm sure you see the trend here, folks.)

So, lessons learned in tape exploration:

1. Tape is super versatile.

2. Tape is super fun.

3. Cool tape designs take forever and six days!
4. I obviously should buy more tape.

No, but for reals, these were a LOT of fun to create and not actually ridiculously time consuming. They just took a bit longer than my usual cards, and that's reasonable for a contest like this one, if you ask me! 

The top 20 will be announced on Friday, so, we shall see!

I have linked similar tapes to those I used. Not all are exact, but these will achieve similar looks.

*Simon Says Clear Stamps COLOR AND SUNSHINE sss101399 *My Favorite Things BIRTHDAY GREETINGS Clear Stamps MFT *Mama Elephant Clear Stamp ORIGAMI Set ME1402-060 *Hero Arts Shadow Ink Pad SOFT GRANITE Mid-Tone 2012 AF226 *Hero Arts Shadow Ink Pad CHARCOAL Black Mid-Tone 2013 af236 *Versamark WATERMARK Rubber Stamp Emboss Chalk Resist INK PAD *Hero Arts EMBOSS WHITE EMBOSSING POWDER *My Mind's Eye CHARMED Decorative Tape Washi Record It! REC103 *Little B Skinny Washi Tape MINI BLACK AND WHITE HOUNDSTOOTH 100002 *Little B Skinny Washi Tape GINGHAM RED 100003 *Freckled Fawn BLUE POSITIVE Japanese Washi Tape 630 *Queen & Company Trendy Tape POLKA DOTS RED TT956 *Queen & Company Trendy Tape POLKA DOTS YELLOW TT1017 *Love My Tapes AQUA TRIANGLES Japanese Washi Tape 354 *Love My Tapes LINED FLORAL PURPLE Japanese Washi Tape 005 *Love My Tapes POLKA DOTS ORANGE Japanese Washi Tape 615 *Precision Heat Embossing Emboss Tool Gun Hero Arts PW200 *Wplus9 CLEAR CUT STACKERS: HEARTS Designer Dies WP9D-042 *EK Success CUTTER BEE Scissors EKCB01 *Sizzix BIG SHOT MACHINE Powder Blue & Teal 657900

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Made With Love Blog Hop

Happy Valentine's Day, folks!  I am SO excited today because I am participating in the Made for Love Blog hop along with the girls from the Gallery Idol 2012 competition.  We're friends, dude.  It's pretty cool.  Just sayin'.  If you came from Joscie's blog, you are already on your way!  If not, feel free to jump on back to Taheerah's blog for the beginning of the hop.  I know you have a ton of blogs to visit, so I will make some attempt to keep this short and sweet, but there are couple of things you need to know... there is a TON of AMAZING inspiration on this hop AND TONS of prizes from AMAZING sponsors, too...as in... at least one at every stop... so don't miss out on that awesomeness!  K?  K.  Thanks for keepin' it real with me here, folks!



For my card, I decided to go classic Valentine.  I chose a red cardstock base and then mounted a dry embossed panel in the same tone onto that.  I die cut the wreaths and adhered those, stamped the heart from Gourmet Rubber Stamps in white on pink cardstock, trimmed, and adhered that with foam tape.  I then stamped and embossed the sentiment (Technique Tuesday) in white on a vellum strip, trimmed a banner, and adhere it to my card.  I used Zip Dry, which I'm telling you in preparation for that question being asked.  LOL!  I love how it is just a good, 'ol fashioned Valentine kind of card!  YAY!



And now...it's PRIZE TIME!!!  I have TWO prizes being offered today!  The first is a fabulous goody bag Simon Says Stamp worth $25!!!  YAY!!!

The second prize is an awesome collection of goodies from The Crafter's Companion! One winner will receive TWO six packs of Spectrum Noir markers and this adorable stamp set, too!


To enter to win one of these two great prizes (there will be two winners... one for each prize) simple leave a meaningful comment on this post (if you are in a reader or email, please click through to my blog to enter).

Please take a moment to thank our AMAZING sponsors if you get a chance! Seriously...these guys ROCK!!!  One Grand prize winner who comments on ALL of the blogs along the way will win a $90 Gift Certificate to Ribbon Carousel!  My giveaways end on Wednesday, 20 February, 11:59 Eastern time.

Avery Elle  | BasicGrey  | Becky Oehlers stamps  |  Bossy Joscie  |  CAS-ual Fridays Stamps   |  Fresh Squeezed Stamps  |  Gel-a-tins   |  Great Impressions Stamps  |  I {Heart} Papers  |  Lil' Inkers Designs  |  Mama Elephant   |  Neat & Tangled Stamps  |  Punky Sprouts  |  Ribbon Carousel   |  Simon Says Stamp  |  SRM Stickers  |  Sweet and Sassy Stamps  |  Sweet Stamp Shop  |  The Crafter's Companion  |  The Craft’s Meow  |  The Twinery   |  Timeless Twine  |  Unity  |  Uniko Stamps  |  Viva Las VegaStamps

AND...Next on the hop is the fabulous Amy Kolling! Be sure to check out her awesomeness and leave some love!

Here is the full hop list, just in case you need it! :) And don't forget that there are prizes to win at EVERY STOP! Like...for reals, you guys. So don't miss 'em!

Taheerah Atchia
JJ Bolton
Joscelyne Cutchens
Jennifer Ingle
Amy Kolling 
Agnieszka Malyszek
Wida Miller
Jocelyn Olson
Miriam Prantner 
Anita Recksiedler
Elena Roussakis
Jennifer Rzasa
Erin Lee Schreiner
Dana Warren
Laurie Willison
Tessa Wise
Nina Yang 

Thank you SO MUCH for vising our hop!

Have a Happy!!!!

Jingle Out!

Paper Crafts Gallery Idol Round 2 - I need your VOTE!

***This post will remain at the top of my blog while the voting is open! Please check it out if you haven't already, otherwise, scroll down to see my latest post! Thank you!!!***




This is it, folks! I am so excited to be in the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol Top 20! I really can hardly contain myself! It is such an honor to be a part of this amazing group! I am really looking forward to sharing this card with you today, as I put my all into this one, let me tell you! This card took hours. As in, like...3-4 hours. I know for some people that's normal, but for me that's just plain CRAZY, I tell you! For reals, though. I usually do a card in 30 minutes to an hour. And...even looking at this one, I could duplicate it in that time, which means I spent a LOT of time conceptualizing. Just say'n. LOL!

Here it is, folks...my Round 2 card for the Color My World Challenge.... drumroll, please...

...

...

... (p.s. That's what a typed drumroll looks like, apparently. At least in my world. Just say'n.)



*Insert HUGE sigh of relief here!*

No, for REALS you guys! This weekend has been such an amazing mix of stress, excitement, and pure anticipation for this very moment when I get to show you my card and invite you to vote! YAY!!!! It feels AMAZING to finally put this out there to the world! ACK!!! This is really happening!



When I saw the theme I was actually really happy as I love working with the rainbow color scheme! It's just fun and happy and a wonderful way to begin a competition like this! I had lots of ideas come through my head, but this paintbox idea was the first and I just had to run with it! It is so ME!!! I love the fact that it looks like a child has been playing with this paintbox for hours on end creating wonderful, happy, color-filled goodness!!! That's what I do. I love it.



The card is built on watercolor paper. I layered black cardstock and watercolor paper to create the base of my paintbox. The little pallets are stamped from Tami Mayberry's Ticket Trio set by Gina K. Designs and then the color is filled in with Luminarte Twinkling H2O's for Creative Imaginations. I stamped each pallet on watercolor paper, cut it out, mounted it on black, and then cut those out by hand, as well. I painted the base of the paintbox to give that well-loved appearance with the Twinks, as well! FUN!!!!! YAY! The paintbrush is hand cut from cardstock and then I added flax twine from The Twinery and wrapped it with foil tape by Nashua Tape. I {heart} this card. I really and truly do!



The Twinkling H2O's really make the entire thing shimmer! It's so pretty, but, hey...I'm always been distracted by sparkling things! HA! The sentiment is cut from a fabulous Inkadinkado stamp. I just love it! It makes me smile. Just say'n.

So...now I've done my job by creating a card that I love and now I need YOUR HELP! I need your votes!

This link will take you directly to the contest page! My card is #12 and has my name in the description! Thank you SO much for your support!!!

You can also vote using the widget on my sidebar and in this post! You will need to register to vote, but it's pretty simple! Love you guys! THANK YOU!