A Bit of Ornamental Joy

***Don't forget to enter this fabulous BOOK GIVEAWAY! Trust me... it's a super fun read!***

Today I have another card inspired by the Online Card Classes Holiday Card Workshop. I seriously love these classes! They just motivate me to PLAY and THAT, my friends, is an awesome thing! No pressure, no deadline, no requirements... just PLAY WITH ALL OF THE THINGS!!!!

Whoa. Got a little excited there. Okay. I've got it together now. Moving on....

So, anyway, today's card was inspired by the embedded ornament card that Jennifer McGuire created for the class. I loved the idea of an ornament that could be pulled from the card. My execution didn't work as well as I had hoped, but I think if I create a second one I can correct some of the issues. Another option with this card would be to use a bit of magnet tape on the back of the pull-out piece and create a magnet instead of an ornament, which would be great for cards for all occasions!



I inked both the die cut circle ornament (layered three times to give it some Ooomph!) and the background piece individually. I then stamped and embossed the wisemen and the star from the Blessed Christmas set from Paper Smooches onto the ornament. On the background, I used the Sci-Fi Star Creative Screenings stencil from Winnie & Walter with some pearlescent embossing paste to create a shimmering, starry background.



The sentiment is from the Winnie & Walter The Big, The Bold, and the Merry Cutaways set. Which I love. With all of my heart. And all of my soul. And all of my inner most being. (Wait..that might be your soul... hmmm... I suppose that's a philosophical discussion for later....) I cut it twice, so it is on the ornament and on the vellum, leaving the card looking halfway decent even after the ornament is removed. But only half way. HA!



Here you can see a bit what the ornament looks like outside of the card. I like this idea and I want to play with it a bit more. It is certainly a fun way to include a small gift with your card AND encourage people to keep your art.

I am also entering this card in the Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes Challenge.

Have a Happy!

I am a Leading Lady!

Happy World Card Making Day, folks!!! I have some VERY exciting news to share with you today! I am the Leading Lady over at Winnie & Walter for the month of October!!! I could not be more thrilled! I absolutely LOVE Winnie & Walter stamps, cut files, and, well, just about everything they make! LOVE! And Julie and Shay are pretty spectacular, too, so it's just a total package kind of deal, folks. Total. Package.

For my first week I wanted to have some fun with some of my FAVORITE Winnie & Walter stamps, so I decided on WORD UP! theme for this week. Yup. It's all about the words for this one, folks!



For my first card, I used words as my absolute focal point. This one is ALL about the words. I stamped Happy from The Big, The Bold, and The Happy three times in different colors and then added the Hello, taking it off to the other edge to draw the eye to it. I love how words are the star of the show for this fun card!



Another great thing about the word stamps from Winnie & Walter is that you can totally use them in the background, as well. For this fall card I stamped the word 'autumn' in the background repeatedly in a very pale ink to add visual interest and texture to the design. I then stamped my tree and the sentiment right on top! I love how the background adds so much to this card.



For my final card, I actually didn't use any stamps at all?! WHAT?! I know, right? I cut the 'thanks' using the The Big, The Bold, and You cut files and used the negative as a stencil to trace my sentiment onto the card. I then used one of the BRAND NEW stencils from Winnie & Walter to add some bold, black embossing paste stripes across my card panel. I am LOVING these stencils!!! This card shows how words can be used in, perhaps the most traditional method, as a fabulous, standout sentiment!

And there you go, my friends! I hope you have enjoyed our little Word Play today! Go grab some of your The Big, The Bold stamp sets and make some magic happen!!!

Shay and Julie have GENEROUSLY provided a $30 Gift Card to one of my readers! To enter, simply comment on my Leading Lady posts here on the blog throughout this month. I will be choosing a winner at the end of the month from ALL of my Leading Lady posts, so you have a few chances to enter!

Have a Happy!

P.S. Winnie and Walter are also having some FABULOUSLY fun things going on for World Card Making Day, so be sure to check them out today!!!

I Create Backgrounds Now. Backgrounds are Cool.

Yeah, so that's pretty much my default format for a blog post title when I can't think of one now. You're cool with that, right? Good. 'Cause, well... that's how it's gonna be. That's what comes with reading the blog of a Dr. Who fan, folks. Thems the breaks, kids. For reals, though.

We have a BRAND NEW challenge for you over on the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog! This week it is all about CREATING YOUR OWN BACKGROUND! Umm... yup. So that's fun stuff, folks. For reals, though. The design team is featuring Faber-Castell Gelatos 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! They are such a fun medium to work in! SO versatile!



I actually went a slightly different route and used my gelatos as a water color medium on my images and used embossing paste for the background that I created. I love the tone on tone textured background using the brand new Dots and Lines stencil behind the adorable pumpkins. To watercolor with the gelatos, I simply colored on a craft sheet and then used my waterbrush to paint the pumpkins. I SO love this look!



Now it's YOUR turn! Create a project with your own unique background and link it up for your chance to win a $50 Gift Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store!

ALSO... I wanted to let you guys know that I have a few more de-stash mystery boxes ready to ship. They are Medium Flat Rate USPS Priority boxes that I can ship to US addresses only. I am asking $45 SHIPPED for these boxes. (That is around $30 for the product! WHAT?!) They are SUPER stuffed and include both new and gently used stamp sets (over ten in each box), patterned paper, embellishments, ribbon/twine, some even include dies, inks, and more! Please email me if you are interested in purchasing one of these boxes!

Have a Happy!

SSS Thanksgiving Table Stamp Set SSS Feast of Thanksgiving Stamps and Dies My Favorite Things Black Licorice Hybrid Ink *Faber-Castell DESIGNING WITH GELATOS KIT 770402 *Ranger Inkssentials Non Stick CRAFT SHEET Reusable 15 X 18 Stamp Paint Ink *Sakura KOI MEDIUM WATERBRUSH Water Brush Watercolor #6 *Wendy Vecchi WHITE EMBOSSING PASTE Studio 490 *Silhouette SPATULA TOOL Fancy Pants Me-ology 6x6 Paper Pad *Crafter's Companion 50 PACK ULTRA SMOOTH PREMIUM WHITE CARDSTOCK 752252 *Fiskars Compact STAMPING PRESS Stamp Entire Project at Once! 02958 *Precision Heat Embossing Emboss Tool Gun Hero Arts PW200 *Sizzix BIG SHOT MACHINE Powder Blue & Teal 657900

InLinkz.com

Because Creamsicles are Delicious

Mmmmmm! Yes. They. Are. I'm a big fan. Which is funny, because I'm not actually a huge fan of oranges, I mean, they are okay, but not something I reach for often. And the orange flavored jelly beans really aren't my favorite, either, but for some reason, the minute you mix an oragey flavor with creamy goodness, I am in heaven, my friends! HEAVEN! I do so love creamsicles. And creamsicle flavored drinks with alcohol in them. For reals, though... those are awesome. Just sayin'.

ANYWAY, when my August kit from Simon Says Stamp arrived at my door, I saw creamsicles as soon as I this stamp set fell into my  hands! And what better way to create that refreshing, creamy look, than with watercolors?! Yup. I'm in love. With creamsicles. All over again.



The new Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, yes, afterall, that is the reason we have gathered together today (Nope, not MAAAWAIGE this time, folks.... or for this thing called life... nope, not that one today, either. Although, now I do really want to listen to Prince all day and watch the Princess Bride. K. Tangent done. Moving forward.). Right. New challenge. It's EMBOSS IT! Yup! We want to see you emboss! You can heat emboss, dry emboss, use embossing paste, WHATEVS, folks! Just EMBOSS IT!



I used the super awesome matt dull embossing powder from Wow for my image and then watercolored over it to create a resist. For the textured background, I mixed embossing paste with glitter, because glitter, and then spread it over a stencil to create the dotted background. I kind of love it. Lots. For reals, though.



And now it's YOUR TURN! One lucky participant will win a $50 Voucher to the Simon Says Stamp Store! Yup. Dudes. You know you want that. SO, all you need to do is create a NEW project (up to FIVE) with the EMBOSS IT! theme and link it up to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog! Happy Crafting, folks!

You can find the links to the goodies I used to create my card below! 

Have a Happy!

Simon Says Stamp August Card Kit Simon Says Stamp Ice Cream Dream Stamp Set Bo Bunny Lemonade Stand 6x6 Paper Pad *Sakura KOI WATERCOLORS SKETCH BOX 24 Colors with Waterbrush Kuretake Gansai Tambi 24 Color Watercolors Set *ZIG Wink of Stella ELEGANT Set Glitter Black Silver Clear Brush Tip Markers 025375 *Versamark WATERMARK Rubber Stamp Emboss Chalk Resist INK PAD *WOW Embossing Powder CLEAR MATTE DULL LARGE Jar Regular WC02-L Matt *Ranger EMBOSSING POWDER LIQUID PLATINUM Rubber Stamp Ink *The Crafter's Workshop MINI CIRCLE GRID 6 x 6 Template *Wendy Vecchi WHITE EMBOSSING PASTE Studio 490 *Martha Stewart CRYSTAL Fine Glitter White M111022 *May Arts IRRIDESCENT WHITE Metallic String *Pretty Pink Posh 6MM SPARKLING CLEAR Cupped Sequins *Sakura KOI MEDIUM WATERBRUSH Water Brush Watercolor #6 *EK Success POWDER TOOL Applicator EKT001 *Precision Heat Embossing Emboss Tool Gun Hero Arts PW200 *EK Success CUTTER BEE Scissors EKCB01 *Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100# GREEN LEAF GL11 *Crafter's Companion 50 PACK ULTRA SMOOTH PREMIUM WHITE CARDSTOCK 752252 *SSS White WATERCOLOR PAPER 6 x 9

InLinkz.com