Happy Wedding Day!

So, you know how I said something about all holiday all the time around here? Yeah, I lied. As it turns out, there are apparently other events in December and my card making efforts must also go towards those. Figures. HA! BUT, what that means is that today we get a small break from the Christmas card insanity and we take a look at a pretty winter wedding card that I created for a wedding I went to yesterday! YAY!



I created this one using some awesome Winnie & Walter stamp sets! I so love these! I stamped and colored the wreath and the laurels with Spectrum Noir markers and then added the gold thread and a fun, sparkly bow.



A bit of masking allowed for the overlapping embossed sentiment. I like how this makes two stamps feel like one complete sentiment.

I hope you have a super fantastic week this week, folks! Also, don't forget to check out my Spellbinders die giveaway if you haven't already!

Have a Happy!

Noel and a GIVEAWAY!

Well, the Christmas season is definitely in full swing. I know this because I am drinking eggnog flavored coffee as I type. Yup. Eggnog iced coffee. It's kind of fabulous. For reals, though. BUT, Christmas is a time for giving, sooooo.... I have a GIVEAWAY! Yes, my friends, I am giving away two gorgeous Spellbinders® die sets today! But first, a card...



I created this fun window card using the absolutely GORGEOUS Heirloom Reflections Die set. This set has four BEAUTIFUL ornaments (two dies each) in it and I just love them! They are so pretty! I combined them with some DCWV Glitzy papers and the and the BoBunny Candy Cane Lane paper pad for a simple, but very stand-out card! I love how this turned out! The ornament is hung in the die cut circle so it sort of spins in the window. So fun!



What's that? You really love those dies and you want them? OKAY! I can help you with that! I have both the Heirloom Reflections set AND the Holiday Greetings die to give away to ONE lucky winner! It's my Christmas present to YOU, my readers!



Use the widget below to enter and MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thanks for being awesome!

Have a Happy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Warning: Christmas Card Overload is On The Way

It's true. You will be seeing a LOT of Christmas cards around here this month. The simple fact is, I need to make them FOR people and I need blog content and I have limited time to play, therefore, you get to see ALL OF THE CHRISTMAS CARDS! You are cool with that, right? Right. Good. 'Cause it's TOTALLY happening.



I've had this Simple Stories DIY Christmas paper pad hanging about for a bit now and I hadn't cracked it open yet, so I decided I needed to fix that problem! I pulled out some fun dies and these fun holly shaped Doodlebug Sprinkles to create this layered bit of insanity. HA! It's no really insane...it just has a lot of layers and actually required me to think about the final design before adhering stuff and, well, quite frankly, that's not something I often do. I just start tossing bits and bobs together until a finished card appears. HA! No, for reals, though.... that is basically my process, so pre-planning....that's kind of HUGE for me.



So, let's chat about these dies for a minute. I used three different dies and layered them to get this cool looking ornament. I started with a basic circle die in white. I then stuck the enamel shapes down and layered the Holly Wreath over the circle. The white on white adds dimension and texture without making it too busy. Finally, I cut the Happy Holidays from black cardstock and layered it over the wreath. I love how the colors on this card worked out. They just make me happy. And there is just SO much dimension!!! LOVE it! I cut the silver ornament topper from DCWV glitter paper and then added a bit of May Arts silver string to finish it off. This card actually came together very quickly and it so doesn't look that way! It was really a fun one to create!

That, my friends, is what I have for you today! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Have a Happy!

Tree Swings and Christmas Cards

It is time for a new Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge! Woot! Woot! This week the challenge is all about CHRISTMAS and HOLIDAYS! We want to see you create something fabulously festive! The design team is showcasing Stampendous! goodies this week! You don't have to use them, but we would LOVE to see what you do with them if you've got some hanging about!



So, I posted a Christmas card on Monday that had a tree swing and now I'm doing it again. Apparently my crazy little mint colored head associates tree swings with Christmas. Which makes no sense whatsoever. But it keeps happening. So I'm going with it. Whatevs. I just do what the voices in my head tell me to do, what can I say? HA!

No, seriously, though...I LOVE this adorable stamps from Stampendous! and I had so much fun turning it into a holiday image! Isn't it awesome when you can really get the most out of your supplies?! The sentiment dies are from Spellbinders. And I love them. And you probably need them.



I decorated my tree with some Stampendous! tinsel embossing powder and Pretty Pink Posh sequins. CUTENESS! The image is colored with Spectrum Noir colored pencils, blended with a bit of blending solution... LOVE THEM!!! I bordered my card with Teresa Collins papers that are pretty much just awesome. AWESOME, I tell you.

Now it's YOUR turn! Create something awesome and festive 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! WHAT?! Yup. Totes, dude. Totes. Do it.

Supplies:

Die: Holiday Sentiments by Spellbinders®

Stamp: Stampendous! Tree Swing Cling Rubber Stamp

Patterned Paper: Teresa Collins Tinsel Collection

Sequins: Pretty Pink Posh

Colored Pencils: Spectrum Noir

Because They Brought Us Together

I am sure many of you have heard the news that Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking Magazine will no longer be publishing after February of 2015. This magazine has been such a huge part of so many lives, including my own. The editors have worked hard to not only create an amazing publication, but to bring together a community of crafters. I have met some of my closest friends through my connections due to Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking and they have helped me in many other ways, as well, including making me feel confident in my work. Today we have this amazing blog hop to bid the magazine farewell and to congratulate the editors for a job well done.



I couldn't bring myself to create a goodbye or even a thank you card because those felt too 'finished'. Instead, I created this HIGH FIVE! card. You deserve it, folks! A high five to you for all you have done and a high five to you for all you WILL do. Jennifer, Stacy, Susan, Kerri, Holly, Matt, and Melinda - Thank you. You guys are amazing. High Five!

You may have come from the Operation Write Home blog, if not, you may wish to head back to Jennifer McGuire's blog for the start of the hop. Next on the list is A Creative Journey! Happy Hopping!

Have a Happy.

Supplies:

Patterned Paper: Shimelle Collection
Sticker: Amy Tangerine
Die: Spellbinders Pierced Circle
String: May Arts

Spellbinders® Winter Sneak Peek and GIVEAWAY! - Day 2

It is SNEAK PEEK time over at Spellbinders® and we are EXCITED! We have some AMAZING new releases coming out at CHA and I am excited to give you a quick peek at two of those great die sets today! The Around The World set and the International Luggage dies are SO MUCH FUN, you guys! For reals! I love these dies! They are great for CAS designs, Shabby Chic designs, vintage, layering...you name it! Seriously... they are super fabulous. For. Reals.

First, I am going to show you how I created this super fun card!



Spellbinders® Supplies:

• IN-048 Around The World
• IN-049 International Luggage
• SCD-009 Pierced Circles
• T-001 Spellbinders® Tool 'n One
• GC-001 Spellbinders® Grand Calibur Die Cut Machine
• MMM-001 Spellbinders® Artisan X-plorer

Cross Promotional Partner Supplies:

• WorldWin Papers®: ColorMates® Cardstock (slate, white)
• DCWV®: Woven Paper 
• Cosmo CricketTM: Tiny Text Punch Me Stickers
• May Arts Ribbon: Iridescent String
• SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L®: EZ-Runner®, 3D Foam Squares

Other Supplies:

• Ink: Blue Denim
• Chipboard

Instructions:

1. To create the cloud background on this card, I used dies to create an embossing plate. This is a super easy technique, that makes your dies even MORE versatile! LOVE THAT! To create the plate, cut a cardstock panel and then die cut the clouds repeatedly from chipboard (I used old product packaging for mine.) and adhere them to the cardstock panel.



2. Create a sandwich in your die cut machine as you normally would for an embossing plate to emboss.


3. Die cut the suitcase, airplane, and passport. ink the passport and insert into suitcase 'pocket', adding adhesive where needed.

4. Die cut circle, using both the cut die and the piercing die, from the textured paper and adhere to embossed background.



5. Brush powder or cornstarch to the back of sentiment sticker. Using foam tape, adhere string to sentiment and to airplane die cut. Adhere to card with the foam tape.

6. Adhere suitcase with passport to the panel using both a tape runner and foam tape as needed. Adhere panel to card base with foam tape.

I love how cute this card turned out and I can use my custom embossing plate again and again! It is always awesome to get the MOST out of supplies! LOVE IT!

AND... to show you another direction you can go using these same die sets, I created this fun shabby chic luggage tag! LOTS of layers on this one! I used some basic tags along with leather and fabric pieces from the A Gilded Life line. If you haven't checked those out yet...dude... DO IT!


GIVEAWAY TIME!
You have the chance to win some of the AMAZING new dies I used on my projects today! To enter, CLICK HERE and fill out the entry form. You can find the complete giveaway rules here. 
If you have any questions regarding the giveaway or our sneak peek week, you can contact Spellbinders® by email. No contest entries submitted via this email will be accepted. Please use the entry form only to enter the giveaway.
Be sure to head on over to the Spellbinders® Blog for more inspiration and details on our Winter Sneak Peek and Giveaway! Also, Linda Duke is sharing another FABULOUS project on her blog today, so be sure to head over there, as well!

Have a Happy!

Cyber Monday DIE SALE at Simon Says Stamp

It's Cyber Monday and this is my second post of the day! Be sure to scroll down or CLICK HERE to check out the awesome deals at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps!

Simon Says Stamp is having a HUGE sale on dies today! Just click on THIS LINK to get to the Cyber Monday Sale category and shop your heart out!!! Use the code DIES to get 50% off everything in this category! Woot! Woot!!!

This is also the kick of for DIEcember and that means NEW RELEASES! You can see those HERE!



I created this card using one of the new DIEcember dies along with some amazing gold cardstock from Bazzill and a great CAS-ual Fridays Stamps sentiment!

I won't keep you long... have fun SHOPPING!!!