Friendly Little Bats

 I mentioned that I really like bats, right? When I saw the Reverse Confetti challenge to create a card with a Thanksgiving or Friendship theme, I figured it was a perfect time to combine my love of Halloween and bats with a friendship sentiment for a cute little card.

I stamped the three little bats from the Reverse Confetti Best Witches stamp set and colored them with Spectrum Noir colored pencils. I am discovering that I REALLY love coloring with colored pencils. I honestly feel like I work better with them than I do with my markers a lot of the time. I am loving it. It is also wicked relaxing to feel the smooth pencil over the paper. I don't know...I just really enjoy it.

After stamping and coloring the bats I added a quick stamped star and then finished it off with a great Lawn Fawn Hello die. The friend is actually hand written with a Copic pen to get the look I was going for.  

This card was one of those ones that I just really enjoyed creating. It makes me smile.

What are the kinds of things that just make you happy when you create? Is it coloring? The actual stamping? Putting together various design elements? I'd love hear about it in the comments!

Calling All Sistahs! Blog Hop, Discount Code, and Giveaway!

Hello, friends! Welcome to the Calling All Sistahs blog hop! Have you seen the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Calling All Sistahs collection? It is fabulous. AND... it is a wonderfully helpful way to remind your friends to squeeze 'em! We have a fun blog hop for you today! CAS-ual Fridays Stamps is giving away three $25 Gift Certificates to the store! All you have to do is comment on each post for your chances to win! The winners will be chosen randomly from all comments, so be sure to leave them on every blog!

I used the Calling All Sistahs stamps and dies to create my fun reminder card. A bit of masking allowed me to create my text border and then I used a die cut with a sentiment stamp for my sentiment. A couple of strips of washi tape finished it off perfectly!

You can also get 15% off in the store when you place your order! AND.... 50% of all profits from the Calling All Sistahs collection is donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation! YAY! Use the code JINGLE2016 for 15% off your order!

You can find the complete list of links for the blog hop below. Happy Hopping! And don't forget to Get em' Squeezed!

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps http://cas-ualfridaysstamps.blogspot.com/

Jingle http://justjingle.blogspot.com/

Kelly http://notablenest.blogspot.com/

Julia http://just-one-more-card.com/

Laura http://www.lauralscott.com/

Deanna http://www.designcreativelybling.com/

Jasmine http://journeywithjasmine.blogspot.com/

Emma http://heartofcraft.blogspot.com/

Lisa http://royalpumpkinart.blogspot.com/

Angie http://schwooo.blogspot.com/

Archana http://handmadecardsbyarchana.blogspot.com/

Joanna http://www.hartybyheart.com/

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!

It's New and It's Awesome!

Have you heard about the new Spellbinders® Sapphire machine? It is currently exclusively available through Joann Stores and when you see the price, you are going to be a *wee tad bit* excited. For reals, though. This is a fabulous smaller machine and there is also a great line of blue dies to go with it! YAY! This week some of the Spellbinders® designers and partners are participating in a blog hop AND you have a chance to win a Sapphire! Seriously. It's the cutest thing ever and you need one. I promise. Click on THIS LINK to find out how to enter to win!

In the meantime, I am sharing a card today that I created using some of the fabulous new Sapphire dies!



For this card I pulled out the Basic Squares, Basic Rectangles, and the Mini Hearts die sets. Why, yes, I do happen to be in love with these dies. Like, SUPER DUPER in love, dude. Save the date. For reals, though.



I cut the shapes in several colors before adhering them randomly onto my card. I made sure to emboss each piece (because Spellbinders® dies are MADE to cut and emboss and they rock like that) to add extra visual texture to the design. I absolutely LOVE how this one turned out. For reals.

Be sure to head on over to the Spellbinders® Blog to enter to win and to check out the blog hop!

Have a Happy!

This Gold is Distressed!

I mean, it can be tough being a gorgeous gold foil flower. WAIT, nope. Not that kind of distressed. I recently purchased a pot of WOW Heat & Bond powder along with a packet of the Bright Gold foil that goes with it. It arrived. And I, naturally, was scared to death of it.

What? That doesn't happen to you? Oh. Wellll... it happens to me.

HOWEVER, my dear friends, I conquered that fear by carefully reading the directions and choosing the simplest application of the product. This involved using my heat gun and a burnisher (read: teflon bone folder, 'cause that's totatally what I used) to create a distressed gold foil look. The results? Well, I have to say, I kinda really like 'em!



Of course, that AMAZING stamp set from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps did half the work for me. I mean, SERIOUSLY, that flower, you guys?! I so love it. So, lots of love it. I made this card for the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog. You should visit that blog from time to time. We make some pretty awesome stuff. For reals, though.



I die cut the flower from the black and layered that over the dark teal cardstock before adhering the stamped, foiled, and die cut flower with foam tape. A bit of gold thread and a few sequins add even more pizzazz to the look. (Pizzazz has LOTS of z's in it. That is a fun word to type. And to say. Go ahead, say it out loud...PIZZAZZ!)

For those of you in the United States, I wish you a Happy Memorial Day weekend! For the rest of you...

Have a Happy!

Fur Friends are Forever Friends

Everybody now... 'Awwwwwwwwww!'

It's true, though. Fur friends ARE forever friends. For reals. Or maybe FUR reals. (tee-hee! See what I did there? HAHAHA!) Anyway, moving on...

It is time for a brand new challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog! This week we have a super fun one!!! You Gotta Have Friends! That's right, we want to see your friendship themed projects! The design team is excited to be using goodies from Art Impressions! Big thanks to AI for sending us some stamps to play with! I am IN LOVE!!! You don't have to use Art Impressions stamps to play al ong, but if you have some, we'd love to see how you rock them!



I used the super duper adorable Cats and Dogs Front and Back Mini set for my card. That puppy is just too cute for WORDS! I also really love some of the adorable crazy lady stamps they have! SO Much fun! Below you can see the inside of my card.



AAAAAACK! Puppy face cuteness OVERLOAD!!!! I can hardly stand it, folks. Seriously, though.


Annnnnd.... puppy butt cuteness overload, too. 'Cause you need more of that in your life. Just sayin'.

You can find a complete list of supplies in the inlinkz below! Happy shopping!

We have LOTS of fun going on over at the challenge blog! One lucky winner will, of course, win a $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp super store. PLUS... Artistic Impressions is giving away an AWESOME prize on the Challenge Blog, as well! Woot! Woot! Be sure to head over to link up your card for a chance to win LOTS of awesome!

Have a Happy!

*Art Impressions CAT & DOG MINI SET Front and Backs Cling Rubber Stamps *Art Impressions LAUGHING Girlfriends Cling Rubber Stamp *Art Impressions BUG BUSTER Cling Rubber Stamps *Art Impressions CACKLE, CACKLE! Cling Rubber Stamp *Art Impressions 5 WHOOTS Cling Rubber Stamp *Art Impressions BUNNY Front 'n Backs Cling Rubber Stamps *Art Impressions ALL TIED UP Cling Rubber Stamp *CAS-ual Fridays HEART BOARD Fri-Dies *Simon Says Stamp On the Edge Wafer Die *S136 ALWAYS *Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember?äó ABSOLUTELY Craft DIE S123 *Sizzix BIG SHOT MACHINE Powder Blue & Teal 657900 *Precision Heat Embossing Emboss Tool Gun Hero Arts PW200 *American Crafts Dear Lizzy 6 x 6 POLKA DOT PARTY Paper Pad *Crafter's Companion 50 PACK ULTRA SMOOTH PREMIUM WHITE CARDSTOCK 752252 My Favorite Things Black Licorice Hybrid Ink *Versamark WATERMARK Rubber Stamp Emboss Chalk Resist INK PAD *Ranger Embossing Powder WHITE EPJ36685 *Crafter's Companion GREENS SPECTRUM NOIR MARKERS 404638 *Crafter's Companion SKIN TONES SPECTRUM NOIR MARKERS 404546 *Crafter's Companion BROWNS SPECTRUM NOIR MARKERS 404607

InLinkz.com

This Card Could Get Me In Treble!

HA! See what I did there? With that clever little post title? See that? Yeah... okay... moving on.  LOL!

Today we are beginning some super fun sneak peeks for the May release from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps! Woot! Woot! There are some super fun sets and dies in this release and I am looking forward to showing them off! Today's card features the new Treble Clef die and the Big Treble stamp set! SO FUN!



For my card, I created a red card base and then trimmed a white panel, die cut the treble clef from the panel, and then layered the stamped vellum over the negative die cut. I like how the red is subtle, but shows through strongly, nonetheless.



Be sure to head on over to the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog to check out what the rest of the team has created ! I think you are going to LOVE their amazingly creative work!

Have A Happy!

I'm ALL Ears!

I recently bought a bunch of Mama Elephant stamps because I love them tons and tons and simply didn't have enough of them, SOOO...I treated myself.  YAY! Once they arrived I just wanted to stamp that cuteness over and over again!  I decided to play along with the Mama Elephant Photo Inspiration Challenge!

I combined the super cute Honey Bunny set with some adorable papers from Chickaniddy Crafts.  I love how well these worked together!  I added a bit of a free hand watercolor background behind the bunny and used my heat gun to dry it so I could push the pigments around a little.  I love doing that!  I heat embossed the sentiment using my brand new EK Success Powder Tool to prep the surface.  I am LOVING THAT THING!  So awesome for embossing!

I was super inspired by the colors, but also by the natural feel of the things in the photo.  I tried to incorporate those elements into my design.  A touch of natural burlap string from May Arts was the perfect finishing touch!

You can check out the supplies I used in the links below!  Thanks for stopping by!

Have a Happy!!!

*Mama Elephant Clear Stamp HONEY BUNNY Set ME1402-059 *Mama Elephant HONEY BUNNY Creative Cuts Steel Dies MEL-027 *Chickaniddy Crafts 6 x 6 DATE NIGHT Paper Pad DN14PD01 *Chickaniddy Crafts DATE NIGHT Banners Stickers DN14EB03 Sakura XNCW-24N 24-Piece Koi Assorted Water Colors Field Sketch Set with Brush *Sakura KOI WATERCOLORS SKETCH BOX 24 Colors with Waterbrush *May Arts IVORY Twine String Burlap *Hero Arts Shadow Ink Pad CHARCOAL Black Mid-Tone 2013 af236 *Precision Heat Embossing Emboss Tool Gun Hero Arts PW200 *Fiskars Compact STAMPING PRESS Stamp Entire Project at Once! 02958 Stampendous Detail Embossing Powder .5 Ounce-White Opaque Sistema Klip It 3 by 6.7-Ounce Containers, 3-Pack, Clear

InLinkz.com