Bon Voyage

I hope you're having a great weekend so far!  Today's card is for Card Patterns sketch this week. Our sponsor is Sparkle Creations that provided the cute images for the CP DT to use. I colored mine with Copics. The sentiment is from my GinaK's Fanciful Tags stamp set. The papers are Echo Park For the Record.

Butterfly Sympathy

Hi, friends! I hope you all had a great weekend. My family and I spent it playing, cleaning the house, tending to our yard and flower boxes and hosting friends for dinner. It was wonderful to take a break from the computer and work with my hands. And it always feels good when I have a clean home and a house full of wonderful friends, enjoying our home-cooked meal. It makes me happy :-).

My card today was published in Cardmaker Magazine in May 2011. It uses Layers of Color's Flutterescent set. The sentiment is from GinaK's Fanciful Tags, which was die cut with Spellbinders Fancy Tags dies.

And here's our dinner party, which pretty much consists of the same friends every Sunday. Our dining room is not big enough, so we set up a table on our driveway when the weather permits. My oldest was invited to dinner by her friend's family, so she wasn't there. My two youngest invited their BFFs over. These men are my husbands' Bible students. The two older gentlemen are friends from church. Thanks for letting me share a little bit about our life in Croatia with you. :-)

Vintage Rose and a little sneak peek

Hello, friends. My hubby's finally here and all is well in the home! And he brought us lots of goodies like Jell-O and condensed milk (for my cheesecake and banana pudding recipes...yumm!). No chocolate chips this time. I'm well stashed on those for a couple of months. He also brought me lots of paper crafting goodies from my favorite CHA paper lines like Crate Paper's Emma's Shoppe and Echo Park's Springtime. I can't wait to get creative!

My card today uses Layers of Color's gorgeous Cottage Rose cling art stamp. It's colored with Copics. The sentiment is from Fanciful Tags stamp set by Gina K, die cut with Spellbinders Fancy Tags dies. I'm entering this to The Shabby Tea Room's 1st birthday bash celebration.

And want to see a sneak peek of my latest Gina K Designs' stamps (hint: they coordinate with some of the new Spellbinders dies)? The party is tonight on StampTV, 7-9pm CST. The GinaK team is doing something different for this release and I hope you will join in the fun.

Red and Black

I am back from the trip to the US and still feeling the CHA buzz. The highlight for sure is meeting so many of my blogging friends. It was an experience I will not soon forget. It was so good, however, to finally see my family at the airport. My girls made me a very colorful welcome banner that came with their wonderful hugs and kisses.

I am slowly recovering from jetlag and trying to get back on schedule. I haven't been creative , but here are some cards I made before I left. They use one of my favorite color combos of red, black and white.

This card uses my Hugs and Prayers and Fanciful Tags sets.

This one uses my latest Gleefully Yours set.

Merry Christmas!

I had planned to have a Christmas blog candy, but realized that most people will be too busy to visit blogs, so I decided to postpone it until next year and it will be a bigger prize that includes new stamps and a sampler of my seam bindings. So, stay tuned.

For my Christmas post, I thought share a few cards from each of the teams I have had the privilege to be a part of in 2010.

First is a card using Layers of Colors' A Touch of Elegance clear art stamps.

This one uses my Gina K Designs stamp sets, Heirloom Ornaments, Fanciful Tags and Vintage Backgrounds.

Here's a card using SRM Stickers Sentiments Happy Holidays using the upcoming Card Patterns sketch. Here's a little sneak peek for you. :-)

Finally, I hope you all a very merry Christmas. As a Christian, I have a huge appreciation for this holiday. Beyond presents and merriment, Christmas is a day that celebrates God's love toward mankind. As my pastor, John MacArthur says, "The babe Jesus Christ in a manger is more than just a tender child. He is the express image of God. He took on a body of human flesh so He could bear in that body the sins of the world. He made possible the gift of God--eternal life (Romans 6:23). That is the sum of the Christmas message."

I took the quoted notes above from Grace To You's article that you can find in its entirety -->> HERE. I hope you will take the time to read it and even follow the Scripture reference. It sums up why I, along with the many followers of Christ, celebrate Christmas. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me by clicking on the Contact tab above.

Here's my favorite new Christmas song this year. I love the lyrics!

Bon Voyage

Happy Wednesday, friends. I hope your week's been going well. Mine is great, esp today as I look out the window and the sun is shining! We've been working to fix our patio and need it to dry before we start the next phase. We're also installing a wood stove to prepare for a harsh winter. I can't wait to have it all done.

Today's card is for this week's Card Patterns and uses some of my favorite products. The stamps I used are Layers of Color's Acanthus Leaves (fleur de lis), GinaK's Lovely Labels 2 (background frame), Vintage Backgrounds (text) and Fanciful Tags. The papers are Webster's Pages. The beautiful seam binding is from this week's Card Patterns' sponsor, Simple Treasures.

Here's the sketch. I hope you can play along with us to win some fabulous vintage ribbons.

Just For You

I am so happy to join the Layers of Color team blog hop featuring LOC's newest Cling Art Stamp Release. Yup, you read that right, LOC now offers their stamps in rubber on cling. If you're here from Melisa's blog, then you're on the right place. If not, please start on the LOC blog for more info about these new stamps and the Two New Release Prize Drawings.

I just love LOC's vintage style, esp because my good friend Laura hand drew them herself. As you may have noticed, I've been making more vintage shabby cards lately. There's just something special about the homey, heirloom feel of them. And LOC has the perfect stamps for this trendy style.

My first card uses Bird Queen. I colored it with Copics, then die cut with Spellbinders' Labels 16. I sponged the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The green paper is by Webster's Pages, stamped with a text stamp (from GKD Vintage Backgrounds). The sentiment is from GKD Fanciful Tags. The beautiful rose paper is from Pink Paislee's Sweetness Collection.

My second card uses the Embroidered Butterfly stamp, which was also colored with Copic and dotted with white ink. The papers are Webster's Pages.

Your next and last stop is the LOC blog to sign up for the prize drawings. Come stop by and visit the beautiful Layers of Color Boutique! Discover dozens of stunning new release artwork samples in the Layers of Color Cling Art Stamp Galleries!

See more of my artwork at my Layers of Color Card Gallery. And you'd like to visit with other Layers of Color fans and be inspired both creatively and spiritually, please stop by our forum on SNR! We have a group that's like family!

Thank you for hopping with us today and have a blessed day.

Simple Loveliness

Wednesday's post showed Layers of Color's soon to be released Cottage Rose in a fancy, shabby kind of way:-). Today's previews show how quickly you can make a set of simple note cards using the same stamp with coordinating inks and papers that many stamp companies have now. I think these make a lovely gift, don't you? The sentiment is from GinaK's Fanciful Tags set.

Here's a close up:

Join the Layers of Color team for the New Release party on Monday, Oct 11th. You can start on the LOC blog for more info.

Happy WCMD!

I just love this holiday that Paper Crafts Magazine came up with. Like we, paper crafters, need another reason to create? :-). It is good to dedicate one day maybe to get started on your holiday cards. I know I will do that today.

Here are my cards for today. This one uses my latest Lovely Labels 2 set (frame, flourish and sentiment). The butterfly is from Picture It! set. The vintage paper is from the Vintage Basics digital paper pack. That yummy ribbon is something I made myself and I'm giving away a sampler on yesterday's post. The card base is GKD Ocean Mist and the other papers are by Oct Afternoon.
My second card uses my most used Layers of Color stamp set, Flutterescent. The sentiment is from my Fanciful Tags set. The card base is GKD Innocent Pink.

Speaking of GKD and LOC, my dear friend, Jennie, who has been beautifully creating with my GKD stamps is now a DT member for Layers of Color. I love her work and I know she will be a great asset to the LOC team. Congratulations, Jennie! Read the announcement on the LOC blog.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway that includes some hand-dyed seam binding, fine European lace and a copy of my Vintage Basics digital paper pack. Leave a comment on YESTERDAY'S POST. I'll announce the winner on Thursday!

P.S. For more WCMD inspiration today, check out the World Cardmaking Day Blog Tour list. (click on the Mr. Linky link on the bottom of that page to see the list).

New labels, papers, and a birthday GIVEAWAY!

This contest is closed. The winner is announced on THIS POST. Thank you all for your birthday wishes for my daughter.

Last night was Gina K Design's release party with all the new goodies. But before I share about my new stamps, I just want to greet my first baby a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I typed this post last night, exactly 11 years since I felt labor pains for the first time ever...and they weren't as bad as I had expected :-). 5 hours later, I finally held God's little blessing in my arms. And if I may say so, she was the prettiest half-Asian baby ever born in that Croatian hospital :-).

Here she was at 2 weeks old:
And here is a more recent photo taken this summer.
I made her this card:
Using my latest Lovely Labels 2 and Fanciful Tags sets.
The tag on my card was made from a printed digital paper from Vintage Basics.
In honor of my girl's special day, I'm giving away a sampler pack of yummy seam bindings (like the one I used on my card above) that my girls and I hand-dyed, some fine European lace AND a copy of Vintage Basics digital paper pack.

Just leave me a comment below and I will announce the winner on Thursday. By the way, these ribbons coordinate with GinaK's Turquoise Sea, Ivory, Innocent Pink, Rocket Red/Red Hot, Cranberry Tart and Kraft cardstocks.

Favorite Fall Memory

Welcome to Gina K Designs' Sr. DT Hop. Our task is to create something based on a favorite fall memory. I'm showcasing my latest sets, Grand Damask and Fanciful Tags.

Without a doubt, my favorite in the last 38 autumns God has blessed me to have is the birth of each of my children! We didn't plan it this way, but all three of my girls were born in the fall. Here is my greatest earthly treasure, my family.
And my second favorite next to the blessing of having the girls in the fall is... Kris and I went to a college football game for our very FIRST date 16 years ago! And what is fall without football, right? I combined both fall memories to create the following cards.

First is a birthday (for the birth of my girls) card with University of Georgia Bulldogs (my hubby's favorite team) colors, red and black. The card base is GinaK Lipstick Red, the patterned papers are Thrift Shop by Oct Afternoon. The large circle and fancy tag is cut with Spellbinder dies.

This simple get well card uses colors of my Alma Mater, UCLA. I have a lot of fun football memories there for sure. The card base is GinaK Wild Dandelion. The patterned paper is from my Bright Botanicals Digital paper pack. The button and ribbon are also from Gina K.
For all the information about how to enter your card into this month's challenge, please visit GinaK's blog, then check out these participating designer's blogs for more inspiration using the newly released stamp sets available through GinaK Designs:

• Jessica Fick
• Theresa Momber
• Nina Brackett -- you are here!
  
• Melanie Muenchinger
• Tami Mayberry
• Carolyn King
• Cathy Tidwell
• Lee Murphy
• Kurtis Amundson
• Miesje Flach - our CenterStage Spotlight designer!
  

Country shabby card

I've been busy doing digital designs and spending most of my free time in front of a computer. It was nice to get away from that and create something with my craft supplies instead of a mouse. :-)

Today's card uses my latest Gina K Designs sets, Grand Damask and Fanciful Tags. The card base is GinaK Kraft, the patterned paper is Fly a Kite by October Afternoon. The lace is from my stash that I bought from a flea market a long time ago. The cream buttons are also GinaK.

Have a happy Thursday!

Butterfly Shabby

Today's card is a shabby-fied (I know it's made up, but you know what I mean :-) butterfly using my latest sets, Grand Damask and Fanciful Tags. The damask is stamped with Vivid Straw. The polka dot paper is from the Bright and Grungy Dots digipaper pack. The butterfly is by Martha Stewart.

The Lean On Me Blog Hop is going on. You can start on Gina's blog for more info.

Fancy Cards from Jennie and Me

Where has time gone? It seems we just arrived from Croatia yesterday and now I can't believe it's almost September already. My craft stuff has been put away and split up between "must have's" and "can wait till next time" categories. In light of that, I haven't made anything new. I do have some new cards to show you today, though.

First up is from last week's Card Patterns sketch using my Fine Furnishings and Melanie's Arranged with Love sets. The papers are Cosmo Cricket DeLovely and Pink Paislee.

Speaking of beautiful friend... my Guest DT, Jennie, created this gorgeous card using my latest Grand Damask and Fanciful Tags sets. You can read more about it on her blog post HERE.

Introducing Grand Damask and Fanciful Tags

We're busy organizing and packing (including my craft supplies) for our upcoming departure for Croatia. It has been hectic, so it's nice to get my mind off that for a short while and introduce you to my latest stamp designs, Grand Damask:

And Fanciful Tags, which coordinate well with Spellbinders' Fancy Tag dies.
I have a beautiful card by my friend, Carla, to show you using these sets. You can find more info on her StampTV post.

We're taking a day off and enjoying the day with my parents and girls today. It's always good to take a break once in awhile. Stay cool and enjoy your day.

Lean on Me Card Kit

Thanks for joining the Gina K Designs crew for today's blog hop featuring the new card kit, Lean on Me. I made another card set using the silhouette flowers and sentiments from Lean on Me and Fanciful Tags sets.

I used GinaK Designs' Pure Luxury Ivory, Passionate Pink and Lemon Drop. The ruffled ribbon is by May Arts. Please click on the photo for a larger view.

For more samples with the stamp sets being previewed tonight, please check out these participating designer's links:

• Gina *Illustrator of Lean on Me and You are Not Alone*
• Jessica *Designer of Lean on Me card kit*
• Melanie
• Theresa -
• Tami -
• Cathy
• Lee
• Kurtis
• Suzanne
• Bev
• Colleen
• Valerie
• Sankari
• Miesje - *our CenterStage Guest Designer!*

You are invited to join us for our Release party tomorro night, August 26 from 7-10 central time for contest questions, challenges, and chatter along with tons more samples! The party leads up to the new products featured this week on our blogs being available for purchase online through GinaK Designs at 10 pm.