i love you - retro sketch challenge and SSS may card kit

Hi, friends! Happy Memorial Day! :)

I love the Retro Sketches challenges! So I decided to break into my Simon Says Stamp May 2013 card kit (I know, I'm behind a little LOL) and play along with this week's challenge. First, here's the sketch:

And here's my card:

The kit came with some great pre-made sentiments, so I picked this one, and this lovely plaid paper to match. I also used a couple of the chipboard hearts from the kit and covered them with the Liquid Pearls. They look really cool in person...

..like enamel or cloisonne! :)

That's it from me today. Thank you for stopping by... see you soon!

simon says stamp april '13 card kit - amazing birthday!

Hi, friends! I finally have a card from the Simon Says Stamp April '13 card kit to show you! :)

A bit of a confession... I've never really been into card kits. I was always afraid that I wouldn't totally love/use enough of the kit contents to justify the cost... after all, it is someone else who's selecting the contents for you. ;) HOWEVER, the Simon kits really are amazing... and each kit is better than the last! So, I decided to jump on board... better late than never, hee. :)

As for my card, I decided to play along with the most recent sketch challenge going on over at SplitCoast Stampers. Here's the sketch (the challenge thread can be found HERE):

And here's my card using the kit (I changed the orientation from landscape to portrait):

I instantly fell in love with the colors and patterns in this kit - so fresh and springy and trendy. STUNNING stamp set, too! Holy cow... I can tell this one will definitely be a staple on my craft desk! The kit is of course sold out at this point, but if you follow my link above to the stamp set, you'll find the other goodies that came in the kit that you can still purchase separately. And make sure you go HERE and get signed up for the monthly kits. May's kit is also now sold out, but if you hurry, you can get in on the June kit! It really is an amazing value and as a recent card kit convert, I promise you won't regret it! ;)

Thanks for popping in and for your lovely comments. See you tomorrow with a new Simon Says Stamp challenge post! :) 

simon says stamp april card kit challenge

Hi, friends! It's the weekend, YAY! :)

Just checking in today to let you know about a cool challenge going on over at Splitcoast Stampers involving the April 2013 Simon Says Stamp card kit...

If you have the April card kit, and you love participating in challenges, then this is for you! A $25 e-card to Simon Says Stamp is up for grabs... just go HERE to get all the details.

And if you don't have the April kit (yes, it's sold out), no worries... this is going to be a monthly feature over at Splitcoast - YAY! So hurry on over and sign up HERE to get in on the monthly card kit subscription and play along with us. You don't want to miss it!  :)

I'll have some of my own creations using the April card kit to share soon... stay tuned. ;)

Have a great weekend! xo

it's a lovefest over at splitcoast stampers

Hello, friends! I have a special post for you today. Splitcoast Stampers is currently having an event called LoveFest (from Feb. 14-28), and as a participating member company of Splitcoast, today is Simon Says Stamp's day to celebrate!

We get to host a challenge, and our theme for the challenge is Die Crazy, and here's my card:

I used Simon's Delicate Dahlia die, which is just so intricate, I absolutely love it. I cut it out of red card stock. The Sakura Quickie glue pen works perfectly for adhering this detailed of a diecut. I accented the dahlias with an image from Hero Arts' Many Dots clear stamp set, and the sentiment is from the new Thanks a Bunch sentiment set. If you look closely, you can see the striped background, stamped with the new Pinstripe cling stamp and tone-on-tone ink (Hero Arts Soft Sand shadow ink). A sprinkling of red pearls, and it's ready to go! :)

So what are you going to make? :) Head on over to Splitcoast, and check out the main LoveFest thread HERE, which lists all of the challenges. To play along in Simon's challenge, create your project using at least one die, upload to the Splitcoast gallery, and tag it with the keyword LOVEFEST2013E. Then, post to THIS thread and include the link to your card in the gallery. You have until noon central time on Feb. 28 to enter, and of course, there will be prizes! Two randomly drawn winners will each receive a $25 gift certificate!

Hope to see you over there... thanks for reading! :)

ABNH - challenge #7 and stre-e-e-e-tching your stamps

Hi, all! It's the 1st of the month again, and you know what that means - another challenge over at A Blog Named Hero! :)


This time, the challenge is all about "stretching" your stamps and using them in ways you might not normally think of in order to get the most out of them. It's in conjunction with the new Online Card Class that's about to start July 9th...



..which is right around the corner! I do hope you're all signed up. :) I was blessed enough to be asked to be a guest artist for the Stretch Your Stamps class, and would LOVE to "see" you there! :) Now, on to the ABNH challenge, sponsored by the ever-generous Heidi and Simon Says Stamp!


Here are my cards... I used the famous Lattice Background:


For one card, I stamped and embossed it onto adorable Lawn Fawn patterned paper, then cut out just a strip of it to use as a matting element on my card. I thought it kind of looked like lace when fussy cut like that:


For the other card, I stamped the background on only a third of my card base, rather than the entire base. Then I colored in random sections with a Copic marker and a white gel pen:


Now it's your turn! Pick one stamp or stamp set and use it in 2 or more completely different ways. Each stamp/set you use counts as ONE entry. Upload it HERE by July 10, 2012 5pm EST, and you'll be entered into a drawing for a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!


And please head on over to A Blog Named Hero to see my what my amazing design teamies have made! :)

Thanks for reading today, and for your lovely comments. They always make me smile and are SO appreciated. ♥ Be back soon!



SUPPLIES:

InLinkz.com

a card a day in may - 5/21: 4 FOR THE PRICE OF 1

Howdy, peeps! I told you I'd have a special ACADIM post today, so here it is:


It's my first day blogging over at A Blog Named Hero, and I have not one, but FOUR PROJECTS for you to see! I was quite inspired by the current Dust 'Em Off challenge, and went a little nuts. LOL Just click the graphic above to be taken over to my ABNH post!

Hope you enjoy, and I'll see you again tomorrow! :)

Sorry guys... graphic link is fixed now... oops!

A Blog Named Hero challenge #3: topsy turvy (and a card a day in may - 5/1)

Hi, friends! Thank you so very much for all of your sweet comments regarding my announcement. I'm still pinching myself! Just can't seem to find the words to express how humbled I am to be a part of A Blog Named Hero and working with all these fabulous ladies. :) As a matter of fact, "work" starts now, with a new ABNH challenge beginning today!


And the challenge is brought to you by the ever-wonderful Simon Says Stamp!


So go put on your thinkin' caps, and use a sentiment in a non-traditional way. For my project, I used my sentiment as a flower stem:


Stamping the sentiment so it reads up towards the flower rather than down and away keeps the focus on the main image, which was stamped with chalk inks and accented with colored pencils. I even accented parts of the "stem" with the colored pencils (click to see detail):


It's a great way to add even more interest to solid images by giving them more depth and dimension. :)

Time to get creating! Upload your project over at A Blog Named Hero no later than midnight EDT Saturday, May 12, 2012, for a chance to win a $25 shopping spree over at Simon Says Stamp!



And click the banner below to head on over to A Blog Named Hero, and check out the rest of the design team's challenge projects... SURE to inspire. ;)


See you tomorrow with another fun announcement... :D thanks for stopping by!

SUPPLIES
stamps: all Hero Arts - CG251, CG363, & CL267
inks: Colorbox Fluid Chalk: Rose Petals Queue & Primary Elements Queue
paper: Hero Arts Mixed Layering Papers in Foliage & Blush
misc: Prismacolor pencils & pop dots

enjoy

Hello, friends! Happy Friday! :) I don't know about you, but for me, it's been a LONG week. I'm ready for a little R&R! ;)

Here's a card that was inspired by a sketch from over at the Retro Sketches Blog a few weeks ago. I loved this one:


I kinda turned it over.. up and around.. exercised some creative liberties, ;) and voilá!


I love the Untitled Word Shadow set. Lots of fun technique possibilities with reverse-silhouette images like this, but here, I just did some simple stamping and coloring with my Prismacolor pencils.


If you want to use this technique with these stamps, make sure your pencils are really sharp! The details in the images are so fine, they require a nice pointy tip to keep it looking neat... quite unlike what I did here, LOL! By the way, Sahara Sand card stock (Stampin' Up) is the PERFECT match to the Wet Cement (Hero Arts mid-tone shadow ink)!

Thanks for stopping by and reading today... I hope you "enjoy" your weekend, heehee! ;)

SUPPLIES
stamps: Hero Arts AC005 & CG139
inks: Colorbox Frost White pigment & Hero Arts Wet Cement mid-tone Shadow Ink
paper: Stampin Up, Georgia Pacific, The Paper Studio
misc: white embossing powder & heat tool, Lifestyle Crafts Nesting Circles dies, Prismacolor pencils, Hero Arts pearls, WRMK Corner chomper, and pop dots

thinking of you.. old tuesday trigger

Hello, stampy friends! I hope you had a wonderful Easter. :) I'm back with a card that I made for a Tuesday Trigger challenge from a couple months ago, but just didn't photograph before the deadline. Here's the inspiration piece...


..mmmm, yummy! ;) And here's my card... what do you think?


I wanted to somehow incorporate kraft card stock, to get that little bit of light brown in, but I'm not sure what happened! LOL Anyway, I was obviously inspired by the color scheme, the angular aspects to the candies (matted sentiment), the doily (used a punch on the edge of the brown mat) and the little nonpareils (used pearls). I love the sentiments from this Hero Arts set (CL491 - Made With Love) because they're big and bold and can stand alone as the focal point on a card. Fun!



So how's your spring so far? I'm absolutely loving the gorgeous weather, but for the first time in my life I'm dealing with HORRIBLE allergies... yuck. :( Can't wait until that passes, meanwhile, I'll be buying stock in Kleenex. ;)

See you again soon!

SUPPLIES
stamps: Hero Arts (CL491 Made With Love & S5507 Envelope Pattern)
inks: Stampin' Up! (Pretty In Pink & Choco Chip)
paper: Stampin' Up! (Pretty In Pink & Choco Chip) & Georgia Pacific (white)
misc: EK Success border punch (Dotted Scallop), Hero Arts pearls, & pop dots

have you heard?

There's a new blog in town... :)

...and it's a really fun, challenge-based blog created by the rocktabulous Linda and Mary Dawn that celebrates their affinity for all things Hero! How cool is that?! :) But the crazy part is that I was asked to participate in this week-long celebratory shindig! ME! Total thrill. :) The theme this week is "Playing Favorites". Check out a sneaky-peeky of my project...

Favorite stamp images: floral & text
Favorite inks: New Hero Arts Mid-tone Shadow Inks
Color palette & technique inspired by a favorite stamping genius of mine: Shari Carroll

...and then get thyself over to A Blog Named Hero PRONTO for the full reveal, as well as even more inspiring projects. And whatever you do, don't forget to add them to your blog reader so you won't miss any of the amazing things they have planned, all starting April 1st! ;)

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll be back to share more really soon. Even though I've been MIA here on the blog (thanks to an adorable new husky puppy we brought home back in February), I've still been creating here-n-there... just no time to blog about it. Things are finally starting to get back to routine around here a bit, so I'll be able to share more often now... yay! :)

tuesday trigger - warm fuzzies

Hello, friends! The last couple of weeks have been absolutely crazy for me. Lots of family birthdays in a very short time - five in just two weeks, to be exact! And two of them are my own kids, a few days apart! So, to say I've been busy lately is a bit of an understatement!

However, I really wanted to participate in the latest Tuesday Trigger challenge over on the Moxie Fab blog:


I just love the colors, the soft yet explosive look to the flowers... I knew right away what I wanted to do:


Aaaannd this isn't it. LOL BUT... I still like it. :) About half way through my original design (with different images and techniques), I realized I was starting to incorporate a lot of elements like those Julie used in her jaw-dropping creation HERE (with the more muted colors of the inspiration pic, of course). I really wanted my design to be different, so I started over, obviously going in another direction. I still adore Julie's card! And I'm sure I'll still finish the other one... I'll just be sure to post it as an "inspired by.." piece. ;)

Anyway, I was inspired by the colors, obviously, as well as the grouping of the flowers, and thought that the new Hero Arts Starbursts stamp would be perfect. After stamping the image with that wonderful new Cup o' Joe mid-tone shadow ink, I punched some circles the same sizes as the bursts out of masking paper. Then, I placed the negative masks over the corresponding bursts and sponged away (the Scattered Straw isn't this bright IRL). I picked this sentiment because it reflected how the inspiration photo made me feel. :) The white lines parallel to the sentiment strip were added with the Unibal Signo... the card base looked a little plain without them.

And that's it! Thanks so much for stopping by today. :) Can you believe it's almost the weekend?! YAY!

SUPPLIES
stamps: Hero Arts K558 & CL342
inks: Hero Arts AF214, Ranger Scattered Straw & Tattered Rose
paper: The Paper Studio (kraft), Bazzill (peach), Georgia Pacific (white)
misc: Hero Arts button, Stampin' Up! twine thread, Unibal Signo, Eclipse masking paper, sponges, & pop dots