Hero Arts Spring Catalog Blog Hop and Giveaway

 

Hello, friends! I am so excited to be joining the Hero Arts Spring Catalog Blog Hop today! If you came from Jenn Shurkus' blog, you are off to a great start! If not, feel free to jump over to the Hero Arts Blog to get the full hop list! This catalog is stuffed with SO many amazing new designs and it includes some less new designs you may not have noticed before, too, so be sure to check it out! AND.... guess what?! There is actually a second catalog available now, as well! The Creative Essentials catalog is full of all of the most essential craft supplies you could possibly desire from Hero Arts. It's pretty amazing. 

I actually have TWO cards to share with you using the beautiful new Wonderful Day bundle and a few other fantastic things from this catalog. 

For this card, I used the new Overlapping Circles stencil as my background and then used the Wonderful Day stamps, stencils, and dies to create a CAS design that is loaded with color! The sentiment comes from the Every Day Sentiment strips stamp set cut with the sentiment strips die. 

AND...I have a surprise! I made my first ever card making video. Please be kind, it is literally my first and I have no idea what I am doing, but it was wicked fun to create! I will grow with it. I promise. LOL!

I loved this set so much I had to make another card with it right away! For this one, I used the full collection of gorgeous flowers and went with lots of color and a bit of glitter! I used the sentiment strip die to emboss the background, giving it a very deep, pronounced striped look. 

Thank you for stopping by today! Your next stop is Jennifer Kotas. You can find the complete hop list on the Hero Arts Blog! 

GIVEAWAY! 

Leave a comment to enter!

Hero Arts will be giving away two $50 gift cards, drawn from the comments left along the hop. Comment on all the blogs for more chances to win! You have until Sunday, February 26 at 11:59pm to enter. The winners will be announced on the Hero Arts blog.

British Ducks and Whatnot

 Did you know that was a thing? There are British Ducks. No, really. Very. British Ducks. I didn't know that until I went to London over Christmas, where I met the most British duck I've ever seen. Here... let me introduce you....

There she is. Tell me she is not the most British duck you have ever seen. And, yes, she lives in the Queen's Gardens. And she is lovely. I did not take her home. but I sure did want to do so.

All that to say, ducks are pretty fun. and this new SUPER cute duck die set from Spellbinders is no exception to that!

Ummm... seriously, though! I used an amazing new raindrop 3-D Embossing folder for the background along with blended distress inks and then pieced together the adorable duck, giving him sparkly red rubber rain boots and a sparkly rain cap along with a red umbrella. 

The sentiment die is from the new Raining Hearts Etched Die set and I love it! I stacked it three deep to give it a bit of structure and dimension. And... because I borrowed a couple of the child's rubber ducks for this photo shoot... he insisted on being in a shot with them.

He's a pretty cute little duckling, himself, if you ask me! HA! 

So, head on over and check out the newest release from Spellbinders and spend your day contemplating the nationality of ducks. If you do those two things, I promise you will have a wonderful day. You truly will!

Have a good one!

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! 

Falalalala

 So, this stencil thing is pretty real. And pretty awesome. This entire image was colored using, you guessed it... STENCILS and INK! I know, right? I used the Under the Christmas tree stamps, dies, and stencils from Pinkfresh Studio to create the image and then simply stamped and embossed the sentiment on a strip of cardstock to finish the look.

These layering stencils are seriously just amazing. I had so much fun creating this tree! I used a bit of gold ink to add some shine and sparkle to the decorations, too! 

If you haven't jumped onto the current stencil trend, I highly recommend giving it a shot! It is so easy to do and the results can be absolutely amazing! 

Heads up: The links in this post are affiliate links. It doesn't cost you anything extra, but if you choose to purchase from that link, I do get a share of the sale. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

More Coffee, please

But seriously, do you have some? I'd love a cup. I have to admit, I am actually a tea drinker, but since my son was born both my husband and I seem to drink a LOT more coffee than we used to. Maybe that's because Bailey's goes better with coffee than it does with tea? HA!

Kidding.

Not really. 

But, alas...I have yet another fun card for the Coffee Lovers Blog hop! I used the Picket Fence Studios Jill Girl stamp and die for this one.

I used the Picket Fence Studio Jill Girl stamp and die. I stamped her on kraft cardstock and colored with Spectrum Noir colored pencils. I just love how she turned out! The background is the Simon Says Stamp Leafy Leaves stamped in Gold Brilliance ink (Tsukineko). I did heat set the ink, since it is a metallic pigment ink, to avoid smearing. The Just Because sentiment die from CZ Designs is die cut three times and layered to give it a bit more depth. I then added just a few metal dots as accents.

This is image has such a cozy feel to it! I just love it! 

Be sure to check out the Coffee Lovers Blog hop to see SO MANY PROJECTS and join us!

And with that, I wish you a wonderful weekend!

Hej Hej!

 Well, that's how it would be spelled if we were in Sweden, anyway. I'm not. I have been. And I freaking LOVE that place, so when I saw this awesome Hey Hey sentiment die from Simon Says Stamp, I knew it was just perfect for me! Plus, I pretty much just greet everyone with Hey instead of Hi most of the time, anyway, so, there's that, too. 

For the background, I stamped the Simon Says Stamp Fractured background using the Rainbow Hyrbrid Ink cubes. I love that these four colors come in a set and work so brilliantly together! I then filled in a few select segments with the Spectrum Noir glitter brush. I've mentioned how much I love that thing. I REALLY love that thing. I wish you could truly see the shimmer that it gives. It is AWESOME. It is also remarkably difficult to photograph, and for that, I apologize.

The sentiment is die cut from the stamped panel and then popped up on a black card base so it stnad out really well. Love that!

This one was a simple one. It came together pretty quickly, but I love how it turned out!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

We Need a Little Christmas, Right this Very Minute

 We need a little Christmas NOW!

Okay, so I know some of you would prefer to wait a bit, and that's cool, but I had to start on Christmas cards, at least. 

Also, now that song is in your head and that's fun, sooo......

I did lots of things on this card. I don't often do lots of things, but for this one, I did lots of things. I started by stamping and embossing this wicked cool Simon Says Stamp Star to Star background in gold. I kind of love it. I then used the Simon Says Stamp Peace Hope Love Stencil and did some blending with Hero Arts bubblegum ink. That gorgeous medallion is die cut twice, once in black for the 'underneath' part (that's the technical term, naturally), and once from gold cardstock. A bit of foam tape raises the gold over the black.

Finally, the sentiment is an older Simon Says Stamp Joyeux Noel die cut from a nice bright pink cardstock.

I love that this card mixes fun stuff from several collections. I always appreciate when I can use supplies I've had around for awhile along with some of the newer stuff to create new looks.

And thus, we begin with the holiday cards of 2021. Yes, my friends, it has begun. Don't worry too much, though...I will have some others mixed in there, too. I promise.

Have a wonderful day! 

A Little Halloween with a Little Potter Mixed In

Is that okay? Can I squeeze in one more Halloween card for this year? I had fun with this one, taking some fun Halloween stamps and giving them a bit of a Harry Potter twist. Because who doesn't love a sorting hat and a Nimbus 2000? Right? Right. Good. Glad we had this chat.

So, not gonna lie. This one sat on my desk for several days while I decided if I was brave enough to share it. Now that I'm looking at it fresh again, I think I actually really do like it. It's fun! I stamped the hat and the broom from the Simon Says Stamp Toil and Trouble stamps and dies set onto kraft paper and then colored with Spectrum Noir colored pencils. I went for the weathered Sorting hat look on the hat and um..... I REALLY REALLY LIKE IT. K? K. Thanks. I die cut both pieces, along with the tree from the Ghouls and Tree die set from Simon. 

I finished the card by adding just a touch of Reverse Confetti patterned paper and then stamped, embossed, and die cut the sentiment and frame together. 

And, my friends, there you have it. A bit of Halloween and a bit of Harry Potter all rolled into one fun card. Now... where did I leave my robes, I gotta fly......

Because RAINBOWS!

Yup. I yelled rainbows. I'm gonna do it again. RAINBOWS!!! You guys, for reals, though. This awesome Build a Rainbow stencil and the accompanying die from Simon Says Stamp is freaking awesome. 

I used the SSS Rainbow Ink Cubes and blending brushes along with the stencil to create the rainbow itself. Then I die cut the bottom panel and inked the cloud edge to create the cloud look. LOVE IT. The sentiment is the You Are Enough die from Simon, too. Finally, I went a little old school and pulled out an old wood starburst embellishment, used a paint pen to make it white and then covered it with... you guessed it... STICKLES! I think Sterling (my toddler) is bringing back my love of glitter glue. Mostly because he puts it on everything he possibly can. 

Stenciling is super popular right now and it has never been a big thing for me, so I am trying to give it a shot here and there. I think I may end up loving it. This was certainly a TON of fun to create and not a SINGLE stamp was used to create it. WHAT?! That's craziness. Absolute craziness. I do adore how vibrant the colors are, though! That's pretty awesome! And the cool variation you get from using the blending brushes with ink... yeah, I'm liking that, too.

What technique have you been trying out recently? I'd love hear about it! 

Cute Spooks

 So, seriously. When you give me absolutely adorable Halloween supplies I just cannot help myself! I am loving creating these cards! 

For this one, I started by die cutting the  Simon Says Stamp Window Webs from a white panel. I just knew I had to create a super cool background to put behind it, so I decided to ink up another cardstock panel to create a night sky using distress inks. I then put a little white ink from a bottle of reinker on a paint brush and splattered it to create the stars in the sky.

You guys! This was a lot for me. LOL! I don't do a ton of messy things anymore, but I absolutely LOVE how this turned out and I super love that it uses those techniques and still results in a clean and simple card.

I stamped the absolutely adorable ghost witch stamp and the spider from the Too Cute To Spook stamp set from Simon Says Stamp and colored them with Spectrum Noir colored pencils. I cut the ghost out, but you can purchase dies with the stamps if you prefer to go that route. Either way... this stamp set is THE CUTEST!

The sentiment is stamped and embossed on a strip of black cardstock to finish off the card. I am linking this little guy up to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge.

I hope you have enjoyed my Halloween fun this week! I may do more, I may do some other stuff... we shall see. Thanks for stopping by! Feel free to leave a comment to let me know you are here! 

Because sometimes there are goodbyes

In February of 2013, I decided to apply to be on the Design Team for a stamp company that I absolutely LOVED.

That company was CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. I have been so fortunate to have been a part of this team since that call and I have loved every single minute of it! Michele has truly unique designs that are simply wonderful! She also has a heart of gold and put up with me through all of my ups and downs through the last few years. This team has truly meant a lot to me. Which is why I am sad to say that I have decided to step down. This is my final post as a DT member for CAS-ual Fridays and that is really hard to type. Wow. 

When considering what to create for today, my mind went to one place very quickly. Thank you. I wanted to create a card that said thank you to Michele, thank you to those who have followed my CFS designs, and thank you to those with whom I have designed over the years. So...

Funny... My absolute favorite CFS sets happened to be perfect for my card! What a coincidence! LOL! But really and truly... Michele - It's been awesome. Thank you. For everything.

Jingle Out.

Make for the Border!

Hello, folks! Happy Wednesday! We have a super fun new challenge this week! We are Running for the Border on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog this week! That's right, we want to see you use border stamps, border dies, create a border.... however you interpret the challenge, as long as it is AWESOME, of course! The Design Team is featuring Memory Box products this week. I pulled out this SUPER cute bow and string border die to create my card. I kind of love it. Kind of lots, actually.

I don't normally do horizontal cards, so that was an extra bit of challenge for me, but I love how this turned out. I used Lawn Fawn plaid paper to create the look of a wrapped gift and then stamped the border strip with HB2U using Lawn Fawn Milo's ABC's. 

Now it's YOUR turn! Create something fabulous based on the Make for the Border theme and link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge for your chance to win a $50 Gift Certificate to the Simon Says Stamp store! YES!!!! You totes wanna win that, yo. For reals.

Have a Happy!

Jingle All the Way!

It's Day 4 of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Release and we have another awesome stamp set to share with you! And this one has some AMAZING coordinating dies, too!

Now, I naturally gravitated toward a certain stamp in this set... I'm sure you can see why! *wink, wink*



Ummm... YUP! I LOVE that stamp! And the little bell cluster is absolutely FABULOUS! LOVE IT! For reals.

But, you GUYS! This stamp set also has a seriously fabulous sleigh in it and you have GOT to see what some of the Girl Fridays created with it! I was inspired, that is for sure!

Have a Happy!

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Release Week Day 2!

We are back with more awesome inspiration from the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps July Release! Today we are showing off the brand new Christmas Sparkle stamp set and the coordinating Ornament dies! These are AWESOME, you guys! You can create cards, gift tags, ornaments... You simply MUST check out what the design team has created to see some amazing inspiration!



I used the smaller circle stamp to create a fun background in silver ink and then popped one circle out by adding the sentiment and the die cut hanger and string. I love the dies that go with this set! I can't wait to use them to their full potential!

Don't forget that you can save 15% on your CAS-ual Fridays Stamps order using the code JINGLE2016!

Have a Happy!

It's Stencil Time!

Hello, friends! We are playing with Stencils this week for the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge! I have to be honest, I don't reach for my stencils very often, so this was definitely a challenge for me, but I had a lot of fun with it and love the results! The Design Team is using Stencil Girl 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!

I used a few different distress inks, blending them together, to create the stenciled flower design. I then used the Simon Says Stamp Wishing die and coordinating stamp set for the sentiment. I love how it turned out! So fun! A bit of border layering over more blended ink was the perfect way to finish off a simple design.



Now it's your turn! Create something awesome using stencils in a fun and creative way and ink it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog! We can't WAIT to see what you create!

One lucky participant will win a $50 Gift Certificate to the Simon Says Stamp store! WOOT! WOOT! Happy creating!

SMILE! It's RELEASE DAY!

Yes, this is the final day of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Release week and that means when the clock strikes midnight (Eastern time) the new stamps will be available IN THE STORE!!! WOOT! That, my friends, is most certainly something to smile about!



This new Tin Roof (RUSTED!) (p.s. No, the rusted part isn't part of the name of the set, but ... every.single.time. #thatisall) background was just begging me to do some ink blending! I love how the ink allows the details of the embossed background to really stand out! I layered the smile die several times to create a dimensional sentiment. I then went over it with a Spectrum Noir glitter brush pen for some added shimmer. Because: Glitter.



I hope this release week has left YOU with a smile! Don't forget to use code JINGLE2016 with your order for 15% off at the CAS-ual Friday Stamps store!!! Also... stop on by the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog today to check out what the rest of the team created and to enter to win this awesome stamp set! WOOT!

Have a Happy!

BRAVO! (Discount code and Giveaway)

Hasn't this week of new release fun from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps just been awesome so far?! I love these stamps and dies! I have another great stamp set and die to share with you today! This one is all about the celebration!!!



I stamped the background using several of the awesome marquis style sentiments in this set! I love the fun font on these! I also love that they can totally be focal point or background depending on how you design your card! I pulled in the BRAVO Fri-die and some embellishments from Pinkfresh Design to add a punch of color to finish my card.



Tomorrow we have our FINAL reveal and then the new stamps and dies go LIVE in the store! WOOT! WOOT!!!!! Don't forget that you can stop by the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog for your chance to win this awesome stamp set and to check out some amazing inspiration from the Girl Fridays!

Also, remember to use code JINGLE2016 for 15% off your entire CAS-ual Fridays Stamps order! FOR REALS, dude! 

Have a Happy!

It's time to CELEBRATE!

Yes, my friends, it is time to CELEBRATE! It's our Seventh Birthday over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog, so, naturally, you get the presents! We are giving away SEVEN $50 Gift Certificates to the Simon Says Stamp Store this week, instead of just one! WHAT?! Yup! Totally! You don't want to miss out this week! The challenge is to create something birthday inspired! The Design Team is using Simon Says Stamp exclusive products this week for your inspiration. You don't have to use them, but if you have some, OF COURSE, we love to see how you rock 'em!



I simply had to pull out this adorable Birthday Farm Animals stamp set for this one. It's not necessarily the newest of all sets, but MAN, do I love it! It is so perfect for all kinds of birthdays and totally fun! I used the Firework Burst dies from Simon to create a fun, party-style background behind my goat. MY GOAT!!! I just got to use that in a sentence. Yup. That made me happy.

>

And now it's YOUR turn! Create a fabulous birthday inspired creation and link it up over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for your chance to win one of SEVEN $50 Gift Certificates to the Simon Says Stamp Store! WHAT?! Totally, you guys! For. Reals.

And, with that, my dear friends, I wish you well! Happy creating... and WINNING!!!!

Have a Happy!