Deck the Halls With Inky Paws Blog Hop!

 

Welcome to the BLOG HOP! It has been so amazing to be a part of this wonderful Deck the Halls with Inky Paws celebration! I have loved Newton's Nook from the very beginning and I truly think I always will! Today I have two cards to share with you showcasing some amazing holiday products from Newton's Nook!

I created this slimline card using the Christmas Tree Line Stencil. I used a couple of different greens to stencil the tree and then used warm brown tone for the tree trunks. A bit of yellow for the stars tops off every other tree!

To add a bit of decor to the tree, I stenciled with VersaMark ink and then heat embossed using colorful embossing powders.

Finally, a strip of glitter paper and a simple stamped sentiment strip complete the card.

But, that's not all, folks! I have a second card to share with you today using one of my all time favorites, the Beautiful Blizzard stamp set. 

To create this design I stamped and embossed the snowflakes on a white panel and then used blending brushes to create the blue background. I used a few water drops to add an even snowier look and then spritzed the entire panel with shimmer spray to make it SPARKLE!

So much shimmer! Love that! The sentiment is an amazing die that comes in the Main Street Christmas die set. There are actually THREE great word dies in that set along with the coordinating dies for the Main Street Christmas stamp set. It's amazing. I think I said that already. But it is. For reals. 

Not only is there a TON of inspiration, but we also have an amazing sale to share with you AND a chance to win a Gift Certificate! 

Deck the Halls with Inky Paws SALE!

$5 off every $30 You Spend!
That means $5 off $30, $10 off $60...up to $25 off $150!*
No Coupon Needed
Now through Sunday, December 11th!
*Maximum $25 discount per order.

Enter to Win! Deck the Halls with Inky Paws Hop Prizes!
We will be choosing two lucky winners to win a $25 store credit for Newton's Nook Designs online shop! To enter, just leave comments on the Design Team Member and Guest blogs (see list below)! Two winners will be chosen at random from the collective blogs in the blog hop. Make sure to check out each of their blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Sunday, December 11th at 9 pm EST to comment -- winners will be announced on the NND blog on Monday, December 12th.

Deck the Halls with Inky Paws Blog Hop List:

Newton's Nook Designs
Jennifer Timko
Jenn Shurkus
Jennifer Ingle
Amy Tsuruta
Donna Idlet
Ellen Haxelmans
Tina Herbeck
Larissa Heskett
Samantha Mann
Zsofia Molnar
Maria Russell
Farhana Sarker
Tatiana Trafimovich
Amanda Wilcox

I cannot thank you enough for visiting me today! I wish you a very Happy Holidays and an absolutely wonderful New Year! 

Deck the Halls With Inky Paws: Celebrating With Newton's Nook Designs!

 

I am absolutely thrilled to be joining the team over at Newton's Nook Designs for Deck the Halls with Inky Paws week! 

What is your favorite Christmas song? Mine is silver bells. Why? Because it beautifully describes the amazing feeling of the holidays in the city. There is nothing better than walking the streets of Boston during Christmas time, seeing all of the beautiful decorations, the lights, hearing the holiday music playing, and breathing in that cool, crisp air. I LOVE it. I am excited to share with you a card I created using the absolutely stunning Main Street Christmas stamps and coordinating dies. I chose this set because it has that same feeling of Christmas in the city that I adore so much.

To create the background for this card, I first created a simple circle stencil using a punch and a sheet of printer paper. I used ink blending brushes in yellow tones for the moon. I then masked that area off and used blending brushes to blend a variety of blues to create a gorgeous night sky. I then spritzed some shimmer spray onto the whole thing to make it really sparkle! I stamped Santa and his reindeer over the inked background.

I then stamped the row of buildings and colored them with Copic markers before die cutting and adhering to the panel with foam tape. The sentiment is heat embossed on black to make it stand out perfectly! 

It truly IS the most wonderful time of the year, isn't it?! I hope you will make your way over to the Newton's Nook Designs blog to check out what the other featured designers are creating this week! The line-up is pretty darned amazing, let me tell you. 

Wishing you a very Happy Holiday Season! 

Black Dogs are the GREATEST!

 Did you know that black dogs end up in shelters longer than any other color dog? For some reason adopters shy away from black pups. Personally, I think that is ridiculous because black dogs (labs, in particular) are WONDERFUL! I have my super great buddy, Wyatt (along with my chocolate lab, Morgan), and he is a great big ball of love. He's also a 100 lb. lap dog, but, alas....

The Newton's Nook and Simon Says Stamp Stamptember collaboration stamp set had this absolutely perfect little Turkey Day pup and I could not resist using him to create a fun Thanksgiving card! I colored him, black of course, with Copic markers and simply stamped and heat embossed the sentiment.

The background is Simon Says Stamp Fractured stamped in grey ink. Nice and simple. While this particular Thanksgiving stamp set is no longer available as it was a limited edition for Stamptember, don't you worry your little puppy loving head... you can check out the Newton's Nook collection at Simon Says Stamp and find ALL KINDS of cute critter stamps that you will just love!

Since this is such a simple card, I only took the one shot. Also... Wyatt was literally hunting me down because I got caught steeling treats for the photo. So... I will share a photo of Mr. Wyatt, since he inspired my card! YAY!

A Bit of Red, A Bit of Green, and a Bit of Brown

 I mean, when you start working on your holiday cards it's possible that 'Oh! I had better stock up on brown cardstock!' isn't the first thing that comes to mind, but, folks, I'm here to tell you that you just may want to stock up on brown cardstock for your holiday cards! This color combination presented in the Newton's Nook Inky Paws Challenge is really quite gorgeous!

The next thing that may or may not come to mind is to use these colors for... snow. Snowflakes, to be exact. Yup. From the Beautiful Blizzard stamp set. That's what I did. And you know what? I absolutely LOVE it! Turns out snow doesn't have to be blue and silver all the time. 

See what I mean? I used a combination of Hero Arts and Simon Says Stamp inks and I absolutely love how the rich color tones work with those beautiful detailed snowflakes. I stamped and embossed the Pinkfresh Studio sentiment in gold and added a strip of gold glitter paper along the edge for plenty of sparkle and shine!

And... I'm not the only one who loves stamping these pretty snowflakes! Sterling wanted to make a card, too! He is a big fan of pink, so he had to have pink on his and he chose his other colors, too. It doesn't quite fit with the challenge, but that's okay, he's two, he can pick his colors. LOL! He particularly loved the gold ink! This was the first time we've used that one and he thought it was great! We did cheat a little and used the Misti so his snowflakes were a bit easier to stamp and then ended up right where he wanted them. It is so much fun crafting with him!

Don't Make a Scene!

Okay, I lied. That's actually EXACTLY what we want you to do for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge this week! Make a Scene! The Design Team is using Newton's Nook products in our scene inspired cards today. You don't have to use them if you don't want to, but we would love to see them if you've got 'em!



Okay, so, when I saw this Dreams of London stamp set I simply HAD to have it. And then we got super busy getting ready to move and I hadn't had the chance to play with it yet. I finally broke it open and oh, my goodness, I love it even more!!!! I stamped (masking the cat) the images and then colored them with Spectrum Noir pens. I added some distress inking to create the background in my little die cut circle.



And now it's YOUR turn! Create something awesome that incorporates a scene in some way on your project and link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win a $50 Gift Certificate to the Simon Says Stamp store! THAT, my friends, is an awesome prize!

I can't wait to see what you create! Scenes can be so much fun to put together! 

Have a Happy!

It's a Newton's Nook Anniversary Celebration!

Hello, folks! I am so excited to be participating in the Newton's Nook 2nd Anniversary Celebration Blog Hop Today! Huge thanks to Newton's Nook for providing a stamp set for this post! Also... you are going to LOVE this stamp set, dude. For reals, though! Be sure to read this entire post to find out how you can win a gift certificate, too!



I did a little no line coloring using Spectrum Noir markers and some ink blending for the calm waters. and the sun. This sentiment CRACKS ME UP. For reals, though. LOVE!



There is a LOT of fun going on for this anniversary celebration! Check out the inspiration along the blog hop and enter to win AWESOME prizes, too! You can find all of the details on the Newton's Nook Designs Blog!

Celebrate with us and enter to win!
Would you like to win a $20 Store Credit to spend at Newton's Nook Designs online shop?

Here’s how to win:
Comment on the Design Team Member and Guest blogs (see list below)! One lucky winner will be chosen at random from the collective blogs in the blog hop. Make sure to check out each of the blogs and comment for your chance to win. You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning! You have until Sunday, July 19th at 9 pm CST to comment -- winners will be announced on the blog post on Monday, July 20th. They are running a giveaway on the Newton's Nook Facebook page too so make sure to enter there for another chance to win!!

Here is the complete hop list! Be sure to check out each blog!

Special Guests:

Jennifer Ingle

Tessa Wise

Shellye McDaniel

Simon Says Stamp


Design Team:

Lydia Evans

Larissa Heskett

Samantha Mann

Crafty Math-Chick

Jess Gerstner

Stephanie Muzzulin

Danielle Pandeline

Nina-Marie Trapani

Kimberly Rendino

Yukari Yoshioka

Have a Happy!

Furry Friends!

You GUYS!!!!! This week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge couldn't be more perfect! It's a FURRY FRIENDS challenge! If you saw my post yesterday, you know that I have a brand new furry friend in my house. And because of that sweet little girl, I don't think my Butter Pecan Ice Cream flavored Coffee is going to be enough this morning, BUT, that's okay. Because she is great. And learning. And I love her to pieces. We are featuring Newton's Nook Design Stamps today. If you like animals, Newton's Nook is a GREAT company to check out! They have non-animal stamps, too, but LOTS of cute animals! I love them!

I used the super fun Beach Party stamp set for my card along with the Simon Says Stamp You Are Pawsome stamp set. The grass is actually the waves stamp from the beach set! I just colored it green and added visual texture to make it look like grass instead of water. I colored the images with Spectrum Noir pens. The clouds are cut with the Memory Box Puffy Cloud dies and accented just slightly with a grey Copic marker before adding with foam tape.

And now it's YOUR turn! Create something fabulous inspired by the Furry Friends 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! 

Also, don't forget to check out this AWESOME sale! It ends TONIGHT (8 July) at 11:59 Eastern Time!!! Shop fast! (My links are affiliate links and I always appreciate your support!)

Seriously. That is a GOOD deal. For reals.

Have a Happy!

Well, That Stinks!

I am a dog person. If you have been around for more than ten minutes, you likely know this, already. I am not a cat person. I mean, I don't have anything AGAINST, them, per se, but they pretty much try to kill me every time I am in their presence. The don't do it on purpose. It's just that I am one of those people to whom animals are naturally attracted. This includes both cats and dogs. The thing is, I am VERY allergic to cats. Not a little bit allergic. LOTS of allergic. And they insist on touching me. And I love animals, so I have a very hard time turning down a cute and fluffy furball. Alas, this, is why I am not a cat person. They try to kill me.

BUT...I can still STAMP them! Because I am NOT allergic to ink and paper. WHOA, that would SUCK! It's a good thing I'm not allergic to ink and paper. For reals, though.



CUTENESS! I love the Newton's Nook cats! They are just adorable and so much fun to color, too! I colored this little furball with Spectrum Noir pens and then fussy cut the patterned paper below him to be the 'floor'in order to limit the layers on the card. The little bunting thingy (yup, technical term) is also cut from patterned paper.



OH! Also, many of you have asked where I get my delicious coffee flavors. The answer is not likely going to make you happy unless you live on the North Shore in the greater Boston area. LOL! They come from a place called Heavenly Donuts. There are a few in the area, but only some are actually good because they have different owners. MINE, however, is amazeballs. They have the BEST customer service ever AND they have so many amazing coffee flavors (both iced and hot) that it blows your mind. For reals, though.

Have a Happy!

Supplies:

Stamps: Newton's Nook Naughty Newton clear stamp set

Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black

Patterned Paper: Project Life Southern Weddings 6x6 Paper Pad (P.S. This paper pad is absolutely GORGEOUS and not overly wedding-ish, so it is super versatile and you need it. For reals, though.)

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Card Shoppe Whirlypop

Markers: Spectrum Noir

I am STUCK on You!

So, awhile back, I bought the super awesome Around the House stamp set from Newton's Nook because, well, because it's AWESOME and I totally love it. For reals, though. BUT, alas, it sat there. Sad and uninked. I don't know why, I honestly just hadn't gotten to it yet. Well, due to some super fun challenges, this is the second time you are seeing me use this awesome set TWICE! I used it on the card I posted on Sunday and now you are seeing it again here today on a VERY different card. I love versatility in stamps. I really and truly do.



I loved the colors for the Inky Paws Challenge, but none of my Newton's Nook stamps were particularly fall-ish (although, I do super love the new Falling Into Autumn set, so I may have one soon... LOL!) I decided to use the colors on a non-season specific card instead and I absolutely LOVE how it came out! I colored the dispensers with Spectrum Noir markers and kept the design SUPER simple. This one makes me happy. Of course, my ridiculous love of office supplies probably strengthens that bond. For reals, though.



If you haven't played with Newton's Nook Stamps yet, you should totally check them out! You can get them directly from the Newton's Nook website or you can find them at Simon Says Stamp, as well! If you'd like to play along with the challenge, there are free digi stamps available so you don't have to buy something to participate!

Have a Happy!!!

Amazing in Gold and White with Pastels

Taheerah posted this awesome photo as the inspiration for the Cure For the Monday Blues Challenge and I instantly fell in love with it. Because she kindly extended the deadline, I managed to squeeze a card in for it today! I loved the whites and golds that are dominant in the photo, but the bits of black and pastel colors, like the wall in the background also inspired me. The computer screen made me think to pull out this awesome Newton's Nook Frame stamp and emboss it in gold. The text on the screen led me to search for a mixed font sentiment from WPlus9 and the acrylic chair just SCREAMED shaker to me. So... this is what came from all of that thinking...



I filled my shaker with some white and tiny clear sequins. I kind of love it. Like, lots. For reals, though. And those Little B flower dies.... LOVE! I added those, as I felt it needed just a *touch* of pink and the floral paper decor in the photo inspired that a bit, as well.



So, there you have it!

Have a Happy!

Flamingos Probably Wouldn't Make Great Pets

Probably not. But it still SOUNDS like a great plan, if you ask me!!! Plus, I do believe that one of these would call the other 'pet' in that lovely dovey mushy gooey kind of way. I am playing along with the CAS-ology Challenge and the Curtain Call Challenge with this fun card. I used the brand new, and super adorable, mind you, flirty flamingos from Newton's Nook Designs.



I stamped and embossed the image with white embossing powder on watercolor paper. I then used watercolors to add a whole bunch o' pink to the design. I highlighted some areas and made some darker to create depth. I super duper love watercolor paints. I really and truly do. A Wink of Stella black glitter brush added a touch of sparkle to their beaks. YAY! for sparkle!!!



The sentiment is a perfectly simple font from Lil' Inker Designs, called Mom and Dad Sentiments, and I love how well it worked with these little flamingos! SO much fun!

You can find all of the supplies I used in the links below.

Have a Happy!

Newton's Nook Flirty Flamingos Lil' Inker Designs Mom and Dad Sentiments *Tim Holtz DISTRESS WATERCOLOR CARDSTOCK Ranger Ink TDA39549 *Sakura KOI WATERCOLORS SKETCH BOX 24 Colors with Waterbrush Kuretake Gansai Tambi 24 Color Watercolors Set *Ranger Embossing Powder WHITE EPJ36685 *Ranger EMBOSSING POWDER LIQUID PLATINUM Rubber Stamp Ink *Versamark WATERMARK Rubber Stamp Emboss Chalk Resist INK PAD *Precision Heat Embossing Emboss Tool Gun Hero Arts PW200 Simon Says Stamp Shades of Grey Cardstock *ZIG Wink of Stella ELEGANT Set Glitter Black Silver Clear Brush Tip Markers 025375 *ZIG Wink of Stella GLITTER BLACK Brush Tip Marker 025207

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