Saturday, June 30, 2012

Paper Smooches Winner Announced!

Good morning! I'm here to announce my winner from the June Paper Smooches Release Blog Hop on Thursday and that lucky lady is:

Congratulations, Jocelyn! Please email me with your mailing address so we can get Squeaky Clean sent out to you right away.

Thank you all for hopping along with the Paper Smooches design team for this release! See you on the Paper Smooches Blog for inspiration all month long. Have an amazing weekend!!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

June Paper Smooches DT Blog Hop!

It's Pep Rally week and we are here today to share a sampling of the Paper Smooches July stamp release with you! The three NEW clear stamp sets will be available to purchase on July 1st. You will find them HERE. Follow the Paper Smooches blog for more sneak peeks.

To add extra fun to our blog hop...we are offering up a prize! Just leave a comment on any of the five design team blogs listed below for your chance to win one of the three new July stamp sets! (you do not need to comment on all blogs to qualify) You have until midnight MT on Friday, June 29th to leave a comment. Please check all five blogs on Saturday, June 30th to see if you are one of the five lucky winners.

To increase your chances of winning:
1. Leave a comment on this blog post
2. Tell us that you Facebooked about our blog hop
3. Tell us that you Tweeted about our hop
4. Tell us that you posted on your blog about our blog hop

(which means that you have up to four chances to win on each blog)

I think we all appreciate a man who can and will do the cleaning! LOL My card features the broom and one of the sentiments from Squeaky Clean. This must-have set is filled with adorable household cleaning supplies and appliances!

I coloured and fussy cut both the professor (from Smarty Pants) and the broom, slid the handle into his hand and he's ready to clean. LOL The dusty ground was created by sponging wonky scallops that were die cut from khaki crepe cardstock. The hearts are from Qwick Qwips (large solid heart), Pip Squeaks (small solid heart) and Hang Ups (open hearts).

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Remember to check back here on Saturday to see if you are the lucky winner of Squeaky Clean!

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Discount Cardstock Posh Khaki Crepe cardstock; Paper Smooches Squeaky Clean (available July 1st), Smarty Pants, Qwick Qwips, Pip Squeaks & Hang Ups; SU Riding Hood Red & Real Red; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Copic markers; MFT Die-namics Wonky Scallop border; foam tape

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Hey Chick

Kim is sharing this card on the Paper Smooches Blog today. Much like the squirrel from Hang Ups and the professor from Smarty Pants, I think this farmer from Green Acres is going to be a very versatile character for my Paper Smooches projects! This is a very simple scene which I created using the farmer, baby chick and sentiment from Green Acres. The muddy soil is just a strip of textured brown cardstock and the field of wheat in the background was created using the solid fern branch from Zoo Crew and three different shades of yellow ink.

Thanks for stopping by today! I will see you Thursday for the July release blog hop. It's the best release yet and I can hardly wait!!
  Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; AC textured brown cardstock; Paper Smooches Green Acres & Zoo Crew; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Hero Arts Butter Bar shadow ink; SU More Mustard ink; Tim Holtz for Ranger Scattered Straw distress ink; Copic markers; We R Memory Keepers corner chomper; foam tape


Friday, June 22, 2012

Let's Catch Up!

Today, the Avocado Arts Crew Too gals are sharing projects using the June release, Let's Catch Up! I wanted to make a card using the net and envelope since I hadn't inked them up yet. I did some masking and paired them up with the chicken wire frame from Thoughts and Smiles. The heart and trail are from ZipnBy to Say Hi.

Since the card is mostly flat, I made the envelope three layers of yellow cardstock but it's still easy to mail. Not only is this set great for the boys and men in your life but also for saying hi to friends.

If you'd like to purchase any of the sets I used, just click on the graphics. Avocado Arts would love to see you using their stamps! Remember, there's a publication incentive, too. ;) Don't forget to check out the following posts for more inspiration using Let's Catch Up!

*Sadly, the Pit Crew Too is saying farewell to our dear friend Sav. This is her last post with Avocado Arts and we will miss her dearly! I know I will continue to follow her work no matter where she ends up because she is so talented. We know you are going to achieve star status no matter where you go, Sav!

On July 7th, the Pit Crew Too will be joined by two amazing paper crafters who need no introduction: Julie Masse and Teri Anderson. We are beyond excited!!

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; SU Delightful Daffodil cardstock; Avocado Arts Let's Catch Up!, Thoughts and Smiles & ZipnBy to Say Hi; SU Melon Mambo, Pool Party, Wild Wasabi & Tangerine Tango inks; Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

You're Fab

Kim is sharing this card on the Paper Smooches Blog today. It was so much fun to create. I don't often throw things together like this and keep going. It was hard to stop! I used a big sentiment and tag from Qwick Qwips, with a smaller partial sentiment from Alfresco and hexagons from Geo-Graphic. I layered the tag on a hexagon, a couple of circles and some strips of paper, all from Echo Park's A Boy's Life collection. I was going to stamps some stars and add some gemstones but figured I should just stop since it was already so colourful with burlap and staple embellishments!

Sources: SU Crumb Cake & Melon Mambo cardstock; Echo Park A Boy's Life 6x6 paper pad; Paper Smooches Qwick Qwips, Alfresco & Geo-Graphic; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Hero Arts Cerulean chalk ink; SU Melon Mambo ink; Sizzix 2" Hexagons Bigz die; SU 1/2" & 3/4" circle punches; Doodlebug lime eyelet; We R Memory Keepers Crop-a-Dile Eyelet and Snap punch; May Arts navy burlap string; Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher & staples; foam tape

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Father's Day and a Few RAKs

I hope those of you who celebrated this weekend had a wonderful time with your fathers. I celebrated twice this weekend. On Friday, we treated my husband at Uncle Betty's for the first time and the food was so good. We will definitely be going back there! On Saturday, my son made this Octonaut-themed card for his Dad.

He chose all of the different elements, including the colours and shapes, but he asked if I could assemble it for him. Here's the inside. He's particularly proud of the colouring he did here and he dictated a super sweet message for me to write to his Dad.

My parents were here for dinner tonight for the usual salmon steaks and I paired them with caesar salad and stuffed pasta. I baked blueberry oatmeal bars and my Mom brought a couple different desserts, too. We were stuffed! I presented my Dad with this card.

Ever since I got the new Stepping Stone Alphabet stamps, I wanted to try them out so this was a perfect opportunity to do that. As I've mentioned before, my Dad has a massive garden but this is the first year he couldn't care for it because of an inoperable hernia. I made sure to put a flower on his card. I added a photo of me, my Dad and my sister from the 70s to it and that was the part he loved most. Everyone thought it was really cool. I guess having a printer is a good thing! ;)

Since we're on the subject of Father's Day, I realized that I didn't post two of the cards my husband made for me in my last Cards from Friends post. Several of you had asked where they were so here's the one he made for Valentine's Day. It's from him and our son, hence the two penguins. Heehee.

This is the card he made me for Mother's Day. It's his home made Octonaut scene using stamps (whereas the one our son made this weekend was printed). Our son calls himself Captain Barnacles the polar bear, my husband is Kwazii kitten and I'm Peso penguin because I'm the family medic. LOL

And if you'll bear with me, I've received a few more cards from awesome friends so I'll share them, too. This first one is from Glenda Wyatt. Her sweet card is full of yummy Hero Arts stamps and washi tape! I love the little button and tiny clip, too.

This next card is from Jen Wills whom I had the pleasure of meeting last summer. I can't wait for her next trip to Toronto or maybe I will end up in Bermuda instead. LOL I love the beauty of this card and the meaning behind it.

Next up is a card from Angela H. who happens to be the Growing in Unity Gal this week so hop on over to her blog starting tomorrow for loads of aweome Unity projects and a chance to win stamps! I love this clean and simple scene Ang created with embossed Hero Arts houses.

This last card is from Caroline Bredeson who also sent along a bundle of flannel with penguins on it! She wanted my son's Pinguini to have a little blankie of his own. Isn't that the sweetest? Caroline's card is so pretty! I could never make a card like this so I love having one to hold and admire in person.

Thank you, friends, for gracing my home with your amazing creations! Your mail hugs mean a lot to me.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Celebrate

Today, the entire Avocado Arts Pit Crew has loads of inspiration to share with you! We've all made cards featuring the June release, Let's Catch Up!, with sneak peeks of the upcoming July release, Bold Celebrations. Please visit these amazing blogs for more inspiration:

I used the fish and bowl from Let's Catch Up! along with a balloon, string and sentiment from Bold Celebrations. I masked the string from the fish's mouth through the opening in the fish bowl and up to the balloon. If you really love birthdays and stamping for parties, you are going to love the July set. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury white; My Mind's Eye Away We Go paper pad; Avocado Arts Let's Catch Up! & Bold Celebrations (available July 1st); Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Pumpkin Pie & Tangerine Tango inks; Copic markers; Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Eight; foam tape

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Little Sweetie

Eeek, can Kim's illustrations get any cuter? Oh, yes. Check out this little baby. Heehee. I know you want to pinch, squeeze and laugh out loud. The baby and teddy bear are from Pip Squeaks, the sentiment is a partial from Green Acres. I just used the 'ma' from 'Hi ma' and repeated it. The speech bubble is from He Said, She said. The stamped off words at the bottom of the blanket are from Word Up and Helping Hands. The stitched border is from Santa Paws. All of the papers are from Echo Park's A Boy's Life collection except for the orange piece which is from My Mind's Eye's Away We Go collection.

Sources: SU Natural White cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; My Mind's Eye Away We Go 6x6 paper pad; Echo Park A Boy's Life 6x6 paper pad; Paper Smooches Pip Squeaks, Green Acres, Santa Paws, Word Up, Helping Hands & He Said, She Said; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Crumb Cake & Pumpkin Pie inks; Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Thinking of You

The Hero Arts June Contest includes the Thinking of You theme and my card features that exact sentiment. I've been hoarding a few supplies that friends have sent and I finally used two of them here. To start, I stamped the Newspaper Background on the card base and affixed the aqua label from Angela. Then I attached one of the red paper straws that Jocelyn sent me. (Thanks, gals!) I stamped the open flag from Hooray on two patterns from Basic Grey's What's Up collection and attached those to the straw. Next, I stamped the sentiment from Year Round Sentiments on two lines and added a small bow. To finish, I cut off the top of the straw at an angle to match the slant of the top flag and rounded the bottom right corner of the card.

Thank you for stopping by today! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Sources: SU Sahara Sand cardstock; Papertrey Ink Aqua Mist cardstock; Basic Grey What's Up paper pad; Hero Arts Newspaper Background, Hooray & Year Round Sentiments; Hero Arts Wet Cement shadow ink; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Papertrey Ink Mat Stack 4 die; Kikkerland red paper straw; Ribbon Carousel eggshell vintage seam binding; Uniball Signo white gel pen; We R Memory Keepers corner chomper

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Hey! How are you?

Today, the following members of the Avocado Arts Pit Crew are inspiring you with more projects made with the June stamp set, Let's Catch Up!:

---> Emily Leiphart <---

I had so much fun making this card! I die cut some chevron waves from Basic Grey's Out of Print paper pad for the fish buddies I made. I stamped one fish as it was and reverse stamped the other. The fine details of the stamp made it so easy to get a clear impression on the first attempt! After colouring the fish, who are ever so slightly different in colour, I cut out the speech bubbles from the tree and added a third sentiment at the bottom of the card to complete the thought. I added the touches of coral on the sentiments and fishes to echo the bit that shows up on the patterned paper.

Let's Catch Up! is a fantastic set for the boys and men in your life. :) If you wish to purchase it, just click on the graphics below. Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Basic Grey Out of Print paper pad; Avocado Arts Let's Catch Up!; Paper Smooches Babe Block; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Calypso Coral ink; Copic markers; MFT Die-namics Chevron Stripes

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

What's Up?

Kim shared this card on the Paper Smooches Blog yesterday. It features the goat and wheat from Green Acres which was released last week! I was born and raised in the big city but I have a fondness for wide open spaces. I love visiting farms and zoos. The animals in this set are so cute! Aren't all of Kim's animals? ;) I used four colours from the Beverly Collection to create this card, including the card base, mountains and bell. I thought this sentiment from Good Gab would be perfect to pair up with the goat since he's high up on the mountain! I stamped some coordinating wheat for the goat to eat while he's roaming the hills. ;)

Sources: Paper Smooches Beverly Collection (Bazzill Basics); Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; SU Sahara Sand cardstock; Paper Smooches Green Acres & Good Gab; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Hero Arts Soft Purple shadow ink; Tim Holtz for Ranger Mustard Seed distress ink; Copic markers

Monday, June 4, 2012

Many Cards from Friends

I've received a lot of cards these past two months for various reasons and I'd like to share them with you. I love all of these ladies for so many reasons. Their talent amazes me and I'm honoured to call them friends.

I received this fun card from Jocelyn Olson for my anniversary. She knows I love bathroom people. LOL Jocelyn has an incredible hydrid cardmaking style. Maybe now that I'm going to own a printer, I can emulate her skills. ;)

This card from Glenda Wyatt came to congratulate me on becoming a Hero Hostess. She wanted to celebrate with me. :D

Here's another card from Glenda. Her sympathy card was the first to arrive after the news of my miscarriage. I love that it's not a traditional sympathy card. The beautifully paper-pieced hot air balloon made me smile.

I love this beautiful, uplifting card from Annette Allen. That is the most perfectly tied jute bow ever.

Isn't this the most gorgeous bouquet card you've ever seen? My Stampin' Up demonstrator sent it to me. Grace Lin is truly one of the best.

This delicate and soothing card from Lai Yoke van der Wal felt like a big hug. I loved this card when I saw it on her blog and was absolutely delighted to hold it in my hands.

I have to apologize for the bad lighting on this photo. It was difficult to photograph this bottle of wine that Lindsey brought but I had to show you the beautiful tag she made. Not only did she bring me a bottle of wine, she brought homemade rhubarb streusel muffins and Legos for my son!

I was furious with my mailman when this dazzling card from Karen Dunbrook arrived soaked to the core on a very rainy day. Lucky for him, it wasn't too damaged except for the wrinkles. ;)

I was speechless when I received this card from Cheiron Brandon. Still am. That heart is amazing!

This sweet card from Jessi Fogan reminds me of the best times I have with all my friends. It makes me want to meet more of you in person.

I feel like I've known Erin Thiem for a lifetime. She has the best outlook on life and the sentiment on her card couldn't be more perfect.

Every time I receive a card from Alice Wertz, I get giddy. Can you blame me? This time, it was my son that went nuts. He's really into the Octonauts right now and he absolutely adores this card. If you look closely, the mermaid's tail is super sparkly and the bubbles have glossy accents on them. My son loved feeling the bubbles. He didn't realize the girl was a mermaid and said it wasn't good that a big fish was eating her. LOL

A Kim Hughes original! That's enough to make me smile.

Stamping Royalty winner and new Avocado Arts teammate, Vera Yates, delighted me with this lovely card. The colours and patterns are just perfect.

Do you think talent by osmosis is possible now that I own one of Cristina Kowalczyk's cards? I remember seeing this awesome card with the microbead centres on her blog but I never thought it would be mine someday.

I totally swooned over this card when I saw on Lisa Arana's blog. She's a master when it comes to mixing and matching patterned papers. This is one of those cards I wish I had made!

Thank you, ladies, for all the smiles, your thoughtfulness and for your friendship. It's not just what you see on the front of the card but the kind words and personal stories you shared with me on the inside. I feel very loved.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Growing in Unity Winner

Happy Saturday! I'm here to announce my winner from Growing in Unity Week. I let Random.org choose the date of the post as well as the comment from that particular date and the lucky lady is:

Congratulations, Barb! Please email me with your mailing address and choice of two itty bitty stamps from Unity Stamp Company so we can get those sent out to you right away.

Thank you to all who stopped by this past week to enjoy my Unity cards! I hope to 'see' you on a weekly basis for Friends With Flair Fridays. :)