Thursday, August 30, 2012

August Paper Smooches DT Blog Hop!

It's Pep Rally week and we are here today to share a sampling of the Paper Smooches September stamp release with you! The three NEW clear stamp sets will be available to purchase at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on September 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 September stamp sets! (you do not need to comment on all blogs to qualify) You have until midnight Mountain time on Friday, August 31st to leave a comment. Please check all five blogs on Saturday, September 1st 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)


My card features the lady and a sentiment from one of the upcoming releases, Jive Turkey. I fell in love with this lovely lady as soon as I laid eyes on her! No doubt, she'll be seeing a lot of ink.


History was a favourite subject of mine in school and I immediately thought of Laura Secord, a Canadian heroine in the War of 1812. Her name is now associated with the very famous chocolatier and ice cream company that was named after her. For my card, I wanted to re-create that act of heroism she is known for so I created a background scene with the birch trees from Autumn Groves. If I changed the sentiment, this would make a great Christmas card, too, don't you think? :)



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

Sources: SU Natural Ivory & Real Red cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Paper Smooches Jive Turkey (available September 1st) & Autumn Groves; Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa inks; Tim Holtz for Ranger Tumbled Glass, Broken China & Faded Denim distress inks; Copic markers; foam tape

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

{Paper Smooches} He's So Dreamy


Kim shared this card on the Paper Smooches Blog yesterday. Yup, I'm a huge Twilight fan! I love a lot of vampire TV shows and movies. So basically, this card could be about any one of the hot vampires. LOL This one is from Spookalicious and the sentiment was created with Graffiti. The dream bubble is from He Said, She Said.


I misted the black background to hide my imperfect heat embossing. ;) The vampire was coloured with Copic markers and the edges of the dream bubble were sponged with blue ink before I fussy cut it and popped it on the card with foam tape. Some clear rhinestones complete the scene.

Thanks for stopping by! I've been battling severe back pain for a couple of days but hope to be crafting again soon. See you tomorrow for the Paper Smooches September Release Hop!

Sources: SU Pool Party; Gina K Designs pure luxury black & white cardstock; Paper Smooches Spookalicious, Graffiti & He Said, She Said; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Ranger Tumbled Glass & Broken China distress inks; ColorBox Frost White pigment ink; Zing! white embossing powder; Copic markers; Studio Calico Opaque White Mister Huey Mist; SU Basic Rhinestones; foam tape

Friday, August 24, 2012

Unity Friends With Flair {Aug 24th}


It's Friday again and you know what that means! I love playing along with Unity's FWF, not only because I love Unity and have a ton of it - okay, maybe too much. LOL That is not a bad thing, right? ;) Unity always has a way of drawing me in, whether it's their amazing stamps, talented design team members, employees, customer service or publication incentives. Plus, they're having a wonderful sale for a great cause right now. Need I say more? :) Today's card was super simple to make. It's another publication reject but I still love it. If you know me, I love taking stamps and using them for something other than what they were meant to be. The sentiment is from Donna Downey's Advent! set and I put it in a frame from Simply. Love. Deeply. to make a classic card that I could send to a friend on any occasion. Love, indeed.

Now it's less than two weeks 'til my little man starts junior kindergarten! I can't believe how quickly time has flown. I feel a little bit sad that he won't be able to play as he wishes all day long but I know he's ready to embark on this new phase in life. Still, I'll be hanging on to every bit of baby he has left!

Sources: SU Natural White cardstock; My Mind's Eye Follow Your Heart - Be Amazing paper pad; Unity Simply. Love. Deeply. & Advent!; Hero Arts Soft Sand shadow ink; SU Real Red ink; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; We R Memory Keepers corner chomper

Thursday, August 23, 2012

{Lil' Inker Designs} Thanks for the Lift


Have you seen the six amazing new stamp sets available for purchase at Lil' Inker Designs? We've added three stamp sets by 2 Cute Ink and introduced three more in a new line called The Sugar Kissed Cottage. I wasn't able to participate in the Color Team Hop last week so I'm showcasing the 2 Cute Ink Sea Turtle stamp set today. This card uses three of the eight stamps in this set along with a dotted outline stamp and curly label die from Flags & Tags.


When I was Skyping with Color Team member Isha a couple of weeks ago, she showed me the cards she made using this stamp set and my son exlaimed, "It's Sandy sea turtle and a crab!" Sandy is one of the characters in The Octonauts. When I told him I was getting this stamp set, too, he was extremely excited. He hasn't stamped with it yet, but when he does I'll be sure to share it with you! I stamped and fussy cut the cuties, created the label and stamped it again on the label so I wouldn't have to trim out the skinny little crab arms and tufts of hair on the turtle's head. ;)

Here's the Sea Turtle stamp set in its entirety. If you'd like to purchase this stamp set, simply click on the graphic below.


Thanks so much for stopping by today! If you didn't get a chance to hop with the Lil' Inker Designs Color Team last week, be sure to check out THIS post for a recap of all of the new releases and projects. You will be very tempted to shop!

Sources for Thanks for the Lift: SU Island Indigo cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Lil' Inker Designs Sea Turtle & Flags & Tags; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Riding Hood Red, Island Indigo & Wild Wasabi inks; Copic markers; foam tape

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

{Avocado Arts} Miss You, Friend


Today, the Avocado Arts Pit Crew is sharing projects using the August release, Perfectly Perfect Day. For this one-layer card, I used quite a few stamps from this set including the tree, leaves, breeze, tire swing and of course the grass.  This is the most incredible grass stamp ever and I love it layered. I used it on all three of my cards this month!


Some of the leaves were stamped in a single green, either light or dark, and I used the rock-and-roll technique on others to give the scene dimension. The breezes and blowing leaves, in combination with the swing, give the card movement. The sentiment was created with Avocado Style Borders & Sentiments and Hello Friend.


I love all the possibilities this set offers! It is so great for many occasions and the stamps provide a ton of options for scene-building. If you'd like to purchase Perfectly Perfect Day, just click on the graphic above. 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:


We've had the most beautiful weather here for the past four days. There's a crispness in the air and it almost feels like fall has arrived which I love because that's my favourite time of year. I hope you're all having a great week so far!

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Avocado Arts Perfectly Perfect Day, Avocado Style Borders & Sentiments & Hello Friend; Hero Arts Soft Green & Green Hills shadow inks; SU Bashful Blue ink; Memento Tuxedo Black & Rich Cocoa inks; Copic markers

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

{Paper Smooches} Hey Cute Ghoul


Kim is featuring this card on the Paper Smooches Blog today. It features the girl ghoul and bat from Spookalicious, along with the boy ghost and sentiment from Halloweenies. The speech bubble is from He Said, She Said.


The black diamond paper and the text pattern the ghosts are stamped on are from Basic Grey's Out of Print paper pad. I stitched the black paper on orange cardstock and popped it on to the card base with foam tape. The three main elements are adhered to the raised panel with mini glue dots. You can see how crisp the face of the bat stamps even with the palest of grey pigment inks. I love that!


Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; SU Tangerine Tango cardstock; Basic Grey Out of Print paper pad; Paper Smooches Spookalicious, Halloweenies & He Said, She Said; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Tangerine Tango ink; VersaColor Sky Gray pigment ink; Gutermann white thread; sewing machine; foam tape

Sunday, August 19, 2012

The LEGO Party


Edited to include the cake! As most of you know, we celebrated our son's fourth birthday last weekend. It was a three-day affair with his party and a couple of fun days. I'm still recovering. LOL! You can imagine that this will be a bit of a long post but I'll try to keep it to a minimum while showing all the good stuff. ;) First up is the card I made for him using some new stamps and matching dies from Papertrey Ink. I knew Little Hot Rod would be a must-have when I saw it. Boy Basics: Truckin' It has been a long-time love and this one complements it perfectly. Since the party was LEGO-themed, I tried to make this card look like a LEGO block with loads of vehicles 'cause he's been collecting LEGO for the past 1.5 years so he has a lot of vehicle sets. We are now at the point where we're overwhelmed with the amount of LEGO and I've spent the past few days Googling ways to organize everything. It will be fun!


When we were preparing for the party, my husband did some research into mini LEGO builds and we decided that a parrot would be a great animal that the boys and girls would enjoy building. My husband recreated the parrot at the LEGO Store based on what parts they had available. We purchased the parts for all the loot bags, bought some mini treat bags and started the process of putting the loot bags together.


I kept the containers themselves fairly simple, otherwise they would've taken way too long to make. I taped the bags closed with coordinating washi tape just for fun. ;)


All of the loot bags were customized for the party-goer with their names spelled out in alpha stickers.


My husband and I worked in an assembly line. First he built the parrots so he could disassemble them into the treat bags. I had to take a photo of them after he lined them up because they made me laugh!


Before he built them 100%, he built them in steps so I could take photos and create an instruction sheet for the parents. I tucked them into the books which were going with the loot bags.


The loot bags were attached to the books like this. The method I used is the one shown previously HERE.


The party-goers were given several different books that I found at an overstock book store. Basically, each loot bag, not including the supplies to make the bags themselves, cost around $5 a piece. Not bad, eh? :)


For the 'cake' part of it, I didn't get nearly as fancy as I did last year with CARS cupcakes, the previous year with walrus cupcakes or even the year before that with panda cupcakes. I found a great recipe for making chocolate rice krispy squares and turned it into a giant LEGO block cake. It was a huge hit! Both the white and dark chocolate sections were well-loved by both the kids and their parents.


Our son thought his party was the coolest ever. Heehee. And he gave me the trophy from one of his gifts for being the best Mommy ever. Awww... :D

Sources for card: Gina K Designs pure luxury white & Wild Dandelion cardstock; SU Night of Navy, Real Red, Tangerine Tango & Wild Wasabi; Papertrey Ink Little Hot Rod stamps & dies; SU Real Red, Tangerine Tango, Summer Sun, Wild Wasabi & Night of Navy inks; foam tape

Sources for loot bags: SU Real Red cardstock; Gina K Designs Wild Dandelion cardstock; Papertrey Ink Little Hot Rod stamps & dies; SU Brilliant Blue ink; Echo Park Little Boy, Little Girl, A Walk in the Park & Wintertime alpha stickers; Papertrey Ink Favor It Box 6 die; Celebrate It treat bags; LEGO store; The Twinery baker's twine; washi tape; foam tape

Friday, August 17, 2012

Unity Friends With Flair {Aug 17th}

Happy Friday! Are you laughing? I hope so. This card was a publication reject but it did garner a great deal of laughter. I figured it would be too risqué to be picked up but submitted it anyway. I used the briefs from Change is Good and the sentiment from Love Every Inch. I bet Unity never thought these two stamps would be used together. LOL!

Today was the most gorgeous day of the year. I can't even describe how absolutely perfect the weather was but I sure wished I could bottle it! This week has been super exhausting for me. I've been low on energy ever since my son's birthday weekend. I haven't made anything in ten days! I'm not complaining about a lack of mojo though 'cause I am enjoying this down time. I know things will get busy again very soon. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Sources: Bazzill Basics Taffy cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Unity Stamp Co. Change is a Good Thing & Love Every Inch; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Copic markers; foam tape

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

{Avocado Arts} Inching By to Say Hi

Today, the entire Avocado Arts Pit Crew has loads of inspiration to share with you! We've all made cards featuring the August release, Perfectly Perfect Day, with sneak peeks of the upcoming September release, Grateful Season. I used the grass from Perfectly Perfect Day with the worm and two sentiments from next month's release, Grateful Season. Which worm is the original and which one was reverse stamped? ;) You are going to love this made-for-fall September release!

Please visit these amazing blogs for more inspiration and sneak peeks:

Be sure to leave a comment here and on all of the design team blogs for your chance to win one of these three awesome mini stamp sets!!! Winners will be chosen on August 17th and announced on the Avocado Arts Blog as well as their Facebook Page so be sure to check back to see if you are a lucky winner!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Sources: SU Certainly Celery cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury black & white cardstock; Amy Tangerine Sketchbook paper pad; Avocado Arts Perfectly Perfect Day & Grateful Season (available August 1st); Paper Smooches Dude Block; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Ranger Shabby Shutters & Peeled Paint inks; Copic markers

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

{Paper Smooches} Thanks

Thank you for putting up with my silence for the past few days! We celebrated our son's fourth birthday this past weekend and I'm trying to catch up on so many things. I will find some time to blog all about that at the end of the week. In the meantime, Kim is sharing this card on the Paper Smooches Blog today! It features solid and outline petals and a sentiment from Daisies & Paisleys which was released earlier this month. This set is so much fun to play with because you can make anything with it and no two cards will look the same! My flowers are more like poinsettias than daisies but in complementary colours, they can fit any theme and in this case, a retro masculine thank you. First, I stamped the solid flowers and then offset the outline petals. Then I punched holes and inserted large eyelets in the centres of each flower. Finally, I placed gemstones inside those eyelets. The entire panel is popped up with foam tape on top of the card base.

Thanks for stopping by today! I will have more for you tomorrow. :)

Sources: SU Pool Party; AC textured brown cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Paper Smooches Daisies & Paisleys; SU Pool Party, Tempting Turquoise, Island Indigo, More Mustard & Pumpkin Pie inks; Memento Rich Cocoa ink; We R Memory Keepers Crop-a-Dile & Standard Cinnamon Eyelets; SU Basic Rhinestones; foam tape

Friday, August 10, 2012

Smooch On, Friends!

It's a busy week for me and I didn't really plan to blog again 'til next week but I have two Paper Smooches cards to share with you!

This first card was shared on the Paper Smooches Blog earlier this week. It uses one of the newest releases, Graffiti, along with glossy lips from A Little Lovin. The letters from Graffiti are big and so much fun to use. I just lined up the letters and stamped them on three colours of cardstock. Then I quickly snipped them out individually, lined them up on the card and adhered them in place. This set really takes clean and simple card making to the next level.

This second card was in the July News Flash for last month's release of Teen Routine so you may have gotten a peek of it then. The layout was inspired by one of Kim's Designer Drafts. Did you know that Kim offers tons of cool sketches you can follow when you make your cards? I don't often use sketches but when the mood or need strikes, I only have to go so far as the Paper Smooches Blog! :)

This card is what I would describe as a scene within a scene. It's a lovely iPad episode with two adorable little chick friends (from My Peeps and Green Acres) having a chat. I put all the colour in the screen since it's the focus of the card. The hill was made using a sheet of bright yellow cardstock from the Beverly Collection and I distressed the top edge to give the card more texture. The tree is from Spring Groves, the shadow is from Vogue Abode and the tiny 'hello' sentiment is from Word Salad.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I will catch up with you next week. In the meantime, I have a birthday party to prepare for! :)

Sources for Smooch On: AC textured white cardstock; SU So Saffron, Certainly Celery & Pool Party cardstock; Paper Smooches Graffiti & A Little Lovin; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Real Red ink; SU Crystal Effects; We R Memory Keepers corner chomper

Sources for Hello Friend: Gina K Designs pure luxury kraft & white cardstock; Bazzill bright yellow cardstock from the Paper Smooches Beverly Collection; Paper Smooches Teen Routine, My Peeps, Green Acres, Vogue Abode, Word Salad & Spring Groves; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Tim Holtz for Ranger Shabby Shutters distress ink; Copic markers; foam tape; We R Memory Keepers corner chomper

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The Sky Is The Limit

Today, the Avocado Arts Pit Crew is sharing projects using the August release, Perfectly Perfect Day. I used quite a few stamps from this set including the cloud, hot air balloon, a sentiment and the grass. I did all my stamping on patterned paper. The clouds and hot air balloon are fussy cut and layered with foam tape.

I love all the possibilities this set offers! It is so great for many occasions and the stamps provide a ton of options for scene-building.

If you'd like to purchase Perfectly Perfect Day, 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 Bold Celebrations.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Stay cool in the summer heat!
Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Amy Tangerine Sketchbook paper pad; Avocado Arts Perfectly Perfect Day; SU Melon Mambo ink; Ranger Frayed Burlap distress ink; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Marvy-Uchida 1/8" inch circle punch; May Arts natural jute twine; Forever in Time green rhinestone

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Sentiments: Mixing & Matching + Using Multiple Colours with Video Tutorial

Today, I will be hosting a Hero Arts Scramble in the Hero Arts Flickr Group between 3:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. EST. You can find the thread containing the challenge information HERE. The video and cards from this post include all the instructions and samples for the Scramble so I hope you will join in if you have 90 minutes to spare! All you need is Hero Arts stamps and your imagination. :) First, I have a short video with some tips and tricks.

There are a couple of oops moments when I rip my mask and drop my acrylic block on the floor. It was so hard not to burst out laughing in the middle of my video! LOL

For my first card sample, I made a one-layer clean and simple card using four different stamps. First, I created a mask for the Fleurettes so I could mask it and stamp the Designer Woodgrain around it. Then I used "I hope your birthday is as special as you are" from Many Birthday Messages combined with "lovely" from Heyday Sentiments.

Many of you have asked me about using two different ink colours on my sentiments so now you know my secret. It's washi tape! If you're like me and don't want to cut apart your stamps, this is the perfect solution.

For my second card sample, I combined "life is better with friends" from Hey Y'All with "miss you" from Heyday Sentiments. I created a little romantic scene to go with the sentiment by stamping and fussy cutting the Cityscape in three different colours. I used pale ink colours because I wanted to add the hearts and wood veneer people. After stamping the little hearts from XO, I attached the wood veneer people and added glossy accents to the hearts.

Scramble participants are eligible to win two prizes: (1) Hero Arts is offering a digi prize and (2) I am offering the prize of a cling stamp, Etched Flowers, and diamond gems (shown below). Both winners will be drawn using Random.org from all entries uploaded to the Hero Arts Flickr Gallery using the tag "quickcard45". The only limit is the time and you must use Hero Arts stamps (digis count). Your card(s) must also be photographed and uploaded into the gallery within the time allowed. If you are also making clean and simple cards or if your project fits into one of the other Hero Arts August Contest categories, remember to use the tag "August2012A" as well. I look forward to seeing all of your fabulous projects. Thanks so much for playing along!

Sources for Lovely Birthday: Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Hero Arts Fleurettes, Designer Woodgrain; Many Birthday Messages & Heyday Sentiments; Hero Arts Soft Blossom & Soft Stone shadow inks; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Island Indigo ink; We R Memory Keepers corner chomper; Judikins Eclipse masking tape; washi tape

Sources for Life With You: Bazzill Basics kraft cardstock; Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; Hero Arts Cityscape, Hey Y'All, Heyday Sentiments & XO; Hero Arts Soft Lilac, Soft Yellow & Soft Sand shadow inks; Hero Arts Punch chalk ink; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Crystal Effects; Studio Calico wood veneer people; foam tape; washi tape

Friday, August 3, 2012

Classy & Fabulous

I'm really behind on sharing published cards and since it's Friends With Flair Friday with Unity Stamp Company, I thought I'd share a card that was published in Paper Crafts magazine's 365 Cards. I used Undeniably You for the dress and sentiment, which I stamped in two parts. The doilies on the side are from a retired kit of the month called Happily Ever After (which I'm selling for only $5). I inked up the edges of the base and added a green mat in between the stamped layer and the card base. I wrapped lace and a twine knot around the bodice and popped the dress on with foam tape.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope to see you again tomorrow!

Sources: SU Natural Ivory & Old Olive cardstock; Unity Stamp Co. Undeniably You & Happily Ever After (retired); Memento Tuxedo Black ink; SU Old Olive ink; Ranger Antique Linen & Walnut Stain distress inks; SU Victoria Lace crochet trim; The Twinery Honeydew baker's twine; foam tape

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Welcome, Baby!

Hero Arts has a new contest this month and one of the challenges is clean and simple stamping. That's right up my alley! I inked up a couple of new Hero Arts stamps for this including the Tartan Background and a sentiment from Heyday Sentiments. The cute little robot is from Robot Trio. I coloured and fussy cut the robot but I didn't want to cut out the antennae and wires around his ankles so I stamped him again right on the Tartan Background before adhering the coloured version. The banner is also layered for added dimension. I'll be sending this off to my sweet friend Cristina who had a baby boy a couple of weeks ago.

Quick Reminder: I will be hosting a Hero Arts Scramble complete with prizes this Saturday, August 4th at 3:00 p.m. EST. If you are around and have 90-minutes to play, I hope to see you at the Hero Arts Flickr Group in a couple of days! All you need is Hero Arts stamps and your imagination. :D

Sources: Gina K Designs pure luxury white cardstock; SU Marina Mist cardstock; Hero Arts Tartan Background, Robot Trio & Heyday Sentiments; Memento Tuxedo Black ink; Hero Arts Soft Stone shadow ink; SU Pumpkin Pie ink; Copic markers