Spellbinders Guest Post feat. Happy Hour Collection

Hello, crafty friends! I'm on the Spellbinders Blog with three cards featuring different ways to use the Happy Hour Collection, one of many awesome releases now available in the Spellbinders store!

Affiliated product links are listed below at no extra cost to you. Details on how I made each card and more photos are on the Spellbinders Blog. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies: 

Lunar New Year Challenge + Giveaways | April 2024

The Lunar New Year Challenge is back and since we've partnered up with your favourite craft companies all year long, that means there are giveaways every month! This month, we're giving away ONE $25 gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp, ONE $25 gift certificate to Lawn Fawn, ONE $25 gift certificate to My Favorite Things, and ONE $25 gift certificate to Angie Blom Digital Designs. That's a total of $100 in giveaways in April! 

Several of our design team members received product from Simon Says Stamp to create their inspiration projects. I was immediately drawn to the gorgeous Orange Blossoms Die and Stencil Bundle, as well as the Joyful Greetings Stamps and Dies.

Oranges or tangerines are commonly gifted at Chinese New Year because they're believed to bring good luck and happiness. The Chinese words for orange and tangerine closely resemble those of luck and wealth.

I couldn't wait to stencil these oranges and foliage with different colours. I chose distress inks in Saltwater Taffy, Ripe Persimmon and Crackling Campfire. The dimples on the oranges were blended with Aged Mahogany.

For the leaves, I chose distress inks in Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint and Forest Moss. The stems were blended with Walnut Stain.

The flowers were stencilled with Candied Apple, Lumberjack Plaid and Aged Mahogany, with Wild Honey in the centre. After die cutting all the stencilled pieces, I set them aside to stamp and emboss the sentiments.

The sentiments are from the Joyful Greetings Stamp and Die set. I love the bold 'joyful' sentiment and the secondary additions make the set extremely versatile for many occasions. Obviously, I was drawn to the 'new year' sentiment which I split in this design.

On the first card, I gold heat embossed the sentiment on Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock and on the second card, I gold heat embossed the sentiment on Neenah Ultra Thick White cardstock.

For the layouts, I cut three A2 panels from Simon Says Stamp Lipstick Red (two), Lemon Chiffon and Green Apple cardstock. Next, I cut one of the Lipstick Red and Lemon Chiffon panels on an angle, measuring them at 2" on the left edge and 3-3/8" on the right.

Before glueing the top panel on to the Lipstick Red and Green Apple bases, I stamped the secondary sentiment for the first card with Nocturne ink and gold heat embossed the secondary sentiment for the second card.

After attaching the angled panels on the top of both cards, I glued the leaves and popped up the oranges with foam squares. I also popped up the 'joyful' die cuts with foam strips.

To finish, I die cut stars from the Joyful Greetings Die set, from both Gold Glitter cardstock and Matte Gold Foil cardstock, then embellished both cards with them.

The rules are simple. You must create a new Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year or a 2024 Dragon Birthday card and add the link to your post below. Multiple entries are allowed. Backlinking to an older project is strictly prohibited.

Our April Lunar New Year Challenge will run from 12:00am EST on April 1, 2024 through 12:00pm EST on April 30, 2024. We would love to see you using products from our four generous sponsors! The four lucky winners will be randomly selected from all eligible entries and announced at the start of the May Challenge. 

(save and share with your project)

Visit the April Link-Up Party post HERE to see all of the design team projects and be inspired to create your own! When sharing your challenge entries on social media, feel free to save this badge and post it along with your project. Please tag us @lunarnewyearchallenge on Instagram and use the hashtag #lunarnewyearchallenge so everyone can find and be inspired by all your amazing projects.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you again soon!

Supplies: 

Best in the Patch | Catherine Pooler

Hooray, it's finally Friday! I hope you're all looking forward to a beautiful fall weekend! I've been going through my stash and finding tons of products that I've never used and there are a few here from Catherine Pooler Designs! I'm also linking up to the 2023 Fall | Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, which ends today.

The pumpkin, thermos, acorn, takeout cup and the top leaf are from Pumpkin Season; the chipmunk and other leaves are from Woodland Wonder; and the sentiment is from Best in the Patch. I previously used the apple and leaves from Woodland Wonder in this POST but other than that, the rest of the set remains untouched. 

All of the colours were inspired by the Bushel and Peck Patterned Paper, including Samba, It's a Girl, Sauna, Wintergreen, Deck the Halls, Spiced and Macchiato. Some of the images are created with stamp layering in mind but I used some washi tape and creative masking to create the colourful thermos, takeout cup and multi-coloured sentiment.

(click on any image to enlarge)

The hill created at the bottom was stamped with Deck the Halls ink using the Sketch Plaid Background, also a previously-unused stamp. It's so awesome and artistic! I cut out the hill portion from the stamped background, plus a second layer from silver glitter cardstock, using two of the Melon Edge Dies.

I hope you enjoyed today's project. I appreciate you stopping by and, if you're inspired, please shop my affiliate links below. Thanks so much for your continued support!

Supplies: 

A Little Treat For You (National Taco Day) feat. Spellbinders

Happy National Taco Day! We'll be celebrating by having tacos for dinner. Do you like hard shells or soft shells? I personally prefer soft shells. ;) Today, I'm using some older products from Spellbinders, including the Food Truck, which was a club die from July 2022 and currently on clearance! My friend Thanh was kind enough to gift me the truck and I never had a chance to use it 'til now. I don't know why because it's so darn cute!

I die cut the pieces for the tacos from Pomegranate, Beeswax, Rainforest and Timber cardstock and assembled them using liquid glue. They look so delicious, don't they? I made tacos for my family tonight and they looked pretty much like this but with a few more vegetables.

The sentiments are also from Sending You stamp set with coordinating dies, an old club kit from October 2021. For alternates, I highly recommend the Smooth Lines Mix & Match Dies, which uses the same font. Other possibilities include Serenade Sentiments or Thanks Enclosed Sentiments.

I stamped the scripted fonts from Sending You (also available from Smooth Lines Mix & Match Dies) using Versafine Clair Nocturne ink on Snowdrift cardstock and die cut them using the coordinating dies. I cut a shadow from silver glitter cardstock. For the second part of the sentiment, I stamped and white heat embossed the secondary sentiment on Onyx cardstock.

To create the background, I cut the blue notebook paper from Lawn Fawn's Really Rainbow 6x6 paper pack and the red grid paper is from My Favorite Things' Colorful Canvas 6x6 paper pack. I tore the right bottom corner off to expose the red, which ties in nightly with the tomatoes in the tacos. I'm really enjoying the process of incorporating patterned paper into my projects again. It's been several years since I've used this much of it in a short timespan.

I hope you enjoyed today's project! I appreciate you stopping by and, if you're inspired, please shop my affiliate links below. Thanks so much for your continued support!

Supplies: 

Love Warms the Soul (Mid-Autumn Festival) feat. Catherine Pooler

Today, the Chinese culture is celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival (also called the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival). This is the time of year that I miss my parents the most because my parents would spoil us with mooncakes in bulk and make so many delicious sweets. All of these things were a delicacy and rarely eaten otherwise. It was a special time to gather with family, give thanks to the good things in life and pray for longevity and good fortune.

I love making Asian-inspired cards, especially for Chinese New Year and you can see more of them on my blog HERE. Catherine Pooler's Lantern Festival stamp set and coordinating dies immediately came to mind and I stamped the three lanterns in Green Tea, Aquatini and Serenade.

Naturally, I wanted to add mooncakes or some kind of cake but I don't own any Catherine Pooler stamps that would've worked as a mooncake or some kind of small cake so I had to use the adorable dumplings and chopsticks from Hey There Dumpling, which I stamped with Buttercream, It's a Girl and Slate.

Today is also National Coffee Day so I included a mug from the Pumpkin Season stamp set and coordinating dies, stamped in Tranquil. The apple and pretty leaves are from the Woodland Wonder stamp set and coordinating dies, stamped with Lemongrass, Macchiato, It's a Girl and Aquatini. Can you believe this is my first time inking up both of these stamp sets?! I believe they were released at least two years old and I've never used them. Well, now they're going to get lots of love!

To create the background, I cut the largest of the Scallops & Dots Dies from silver opulent cardstock and blended Tranquil and Serenade ink on the inner panel. I misted it with water and added gold splatters. Before assembling the layers, I gold heat embossed the strings and tassels for the lanterns and cut a piece of patterned paper from Black Tie Gala (retired but I've linked to an alternate).

You may wonder why I mixed gold and silver on this card (and I believe it's the first and only time I've done that) but it works! I did try all gold and all silver but it didn't look right. I used a combination of liquid glue, double-sided tape, glue dots and foam squares to attach all the elements to the card base for varying amounts of dimension and visual interest. I just love this combination of images and soft colours for today's celebration!

TOMORROW, September 30, 2023 is the last day to purchase a craft box from Lindsey's stash for a chance to win a $100 gift card to Scrap 'n Stamp. It's also the last day to take advantage of the sale at Scrap 'n Stamp. By using code LINDSEY10 at checkout, you'll get 10% off your purchase and Scrap 'n Stamp will give 10% to Lindsey's Legacy Fund. Please consider taking advantage of the many ways you can help, even if it's just by reposting one of our hop badges.

Start the BLOG Hop ---> HERE

Start the INSTAGRAM Hop ---> HERE

If you're visiting the Catherine Pooler shop, be sure to add the FREE Holiday De-Lights Download to your cart! I appreciate you stopping by and, if you're inspired, please shop my affiliate links below. 

Thanks so much for your continued support!

Supplies: 

Lindsey's Legacy Hop for Clear Cell Ovarian Cancer Research | Instagram Hop

Today, we are hopping in memory of our dear friend and fellow cardmaker, Lindsey Martin-Penny, who sadly passed away last year from a rare and aggressive form of ovarian cancer.

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and Lindsey’s husband Burke thought it would be a great time to sell off her many craft supplies, with all of the proceeds going towards Lindsey’s Legacy Fund for Clear Cell Ovarian Cancer Research in cooperation with The Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.

The purpose of this hop will be to honour Lindsey, celebrate her life and all that she loved, as well as help spread the word to raise funds for clear cell ovarian cancer research. You can help in one of several ways!

1. Purchase a Flat Rate Mailer stuffed with loads of fabulous craft supplies. These can only be mailed within Canada and there will be no tax receipts provided with the purchase of these boxes. A box of craft supplies would make a great gift for yourself, a crafty friend or a child/classroom! For details about the boxes and how you can go about purchasing one, please email lindseyslegacyfund@rogers.com with the message "Craft Box" or visit Lindsey’s original blog, Bashful Blogging. Every craft box purchase in September will be entered into a draw and one lucky winner will win a $100 gift certificate to Scrap ‘n Stamp.
2. During the month of September, shop at Scrap ‘n Stamp using the code LINDSEY10 at checkout. You will get 10% off your purchase (sale items excluded) and Scrap ‘n Stamp will donate 10% of their proceeds to Lindsey’s Legacy Fund.
3. Any donations over $15 made directly to Lindsey’s Legacy Fund will receive a digital tax receipt.
4. Repost this hop on your social media and encourage others to share!

If you are here, you are at the end of Lindsey’s Legacy Hop! This hop is split into two portions: (a) a blog hop and (b) an Instagram hop. If you get lost along the way, please return to the full hop list below.

Part 1: Blog Hop

Emily Leiphart

Tracey McNeely

Glenda Wyatt

Carol Mayne

Color Hues Color Challenge

Sisterhood of the Snarky Stampers

Julie Peddicord

Joyce Mehrberg

Kim Heggins

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Part 2: Instagram Hop

Jessica McAfee

Lori Elder

Angela Hathikhanavala

Natalie Sahl

Karen Boyce

Thanh Vo

Emily Leiphart (you are here)

How to hop:

💙 Like and leave a comment at each stop

💙 Learn a little bit about Lindsey’s connection to that person

💙 Share this post and help us save lives

Lindsey and I talked a lot about being middle-aged women and all the trials that came along with it. We shared so many unpleasant symptoms and we joked that literally everything could be blamed on perimenopause. What I truly miss is being able to talk to Lindsey now that I'm in full menopause and, as you can see, this card was inspired by that. 

One of the things I loved most about Lindsey was her sharp wit, loaded with snark. I, myself, am a very sarcastic person so we were always laughing and rolling our eyes! I'm certain she would've loved this card. I mean, come on! I seriously cannot believe all these stamps are retired though. Maybe Taylored Expressions needs to re-release them?

The panda, chick, wine, bottle and sentiment are from a set called Hot Flash Grumplings. The other four food items are from a set called Binge Worthy. Taylored Expressions has a whole line of grumplings and they're all very funny and real-to-life. In fact, these exact panda and chick images are featured in these snarky calendar cards. My images were heat embossed and watercolored with TE Liquid Watercolor. The patterned paper is from an old Spellbinders Card Kit of the Month.

Since this is the final stop on the hop, you'll start again on my blog post HERE. Please be sure to leave a comment at each of the stops where you can learn more about Lindsey’s life, loves and her legacy.

Thanks so much for hopping with us!

Supplies: 

My Return to Crafting + Lindsey's Legacy Hop

Hello, crafty friends! It has officially been five months since I last created. Yes, it's sad but I've had a lot of heartache in my life these last three years. Losing both my parents and one of my best friends finally broke me and while I'm still not sure if I can craft again, I've helped Lindsey's husband Burke organize a legacy hop which will take a week from today! This means that I will have to make something for next Friday. 

Today's post actually features a couple of cards that I made five months ago and neither photographed nor posted. Even photographing these cards today felt foreign but it's really nice to see them here on my blog so I'm glad I at least forced myself to do that! In fact, I have a few more cards that were made months ago that I'll be sharing over the next few days just to try and get back into a creative mood.

You might recognized this card from a previous post in early May. I loved that card so much that I had to remake it but, this time, I used the back side of the Optical Arches Embossing Folder on Pitch Black cardstock. I used the Sweet & Savory Dies, cutting three sets of donuts from Lavender, Lilac Blossom and Eggplant cardstock, and layering them in various combinations. I "drew" the sprinkles with liquid glue, then topped it with sparkle glitter and set them aside to dry completely.

Next, I adhered all of the donuts to the embossed panel using black foam squares. Both sentiment strips were created using the Mini Everyday Sentiments, which were heat foiled using Matte Silver Hot Foil on Eggplant cardstock. To finish, I embellished the donuts with three shades of purple enamel hearts.

I cut a few extra donuts this time and decided to make a mini slim card using the March 2023 3D Embossing Folder of the Month, Tiled Motif. Unfortunately, this embossing folder is not currently available (though it could be in the future). For a similar look, I recommend the Tile Reflection or Orange Peel embossing folders.

All this purple reminds me of Lindsey because purple was her favourite colour, followed closely by red. When her birthday passed this year, I wished that I could've given her this card. For those of you who've lost loved ones, you must know how hard those "firsts" are -- the birthdays, anniversary and special holidays are when you miss them the most.

If you've made it this far, THANK YOU! As I mentioned at the start of this post, I will be hosting Lindsey's Legacy Hop on Friday, September 15, 2023 9:00 a.m. EST and I hope you will join me and a long list of Lindsey's friends as we celebrate her life and create a legacy helping those with clear cell ovarian cancer.

I appreciate you stopping by and, if you're inspired, please shop my affiliate links below. Thanks so much for your continued support!

Supplies: