SRM Stickers and Die Cuts

My projects today were for the SRM Stickers highlight of die cuts and stickers on their blog last week. Here's the ensemble that I put together to welcome a little baby. I used the SRM Sticker Sentiments Baby on these. The labels are from my Lovely Labels stamp set by Gina K Designs. They were die cut with Spellbinders Labels 4. The papers are Webster's Pages.

Oh, in case you're wondering (a couple people asked before), this was not taken in my backyard :-). My girls would never leave our home if we had a pool. This was taken in Los Angeles when we were there visiting last year.

Here is a card.

And a tag

I already posted the bag here before. You can see it HERE.

Gift Bag for Baby

Today's project is something I had so much fun making. Even though this gift bag is a little shabby, I think it's still okay to give to a baby boy. It was made using GinaK's Lovely Labels stamp set, SRM Sticker's Baby Sentiments, Webster's Pages' Lullably Lane papers, and Spellbinders Labels Four dies.

This gift bag is for the following challenges: Moxie Fab's Gift Wrap Challenge, Shabby Tea Room (inspiration photo using doilies/lace), Simon Says Stamp (something for a child), Simon Says and Show (use distressing: on my labels).

Thank You Blog Hop

Welcome to the Gina K Designs team's special Spellbinders Thank You Blog Hop! I hope you're hopping along with us and arrived here from my talented friend Michelle Woerner's blog. To see the blog hop order, visit the StampTV site.

It is no secret how much I love my Spellbinder dies *wink* and I'm so excited to be a part of this hop as we showcase different projects featuring our beloved dies using the new Grand Calibur machine. When I was at CHA in January, I was able to demo the Grand Calibur to retailers and it was such a great experience. The machine works effortlessly. It is much easier to crank than my other die cutting machine, which I often have to hold still with my left hand as I crank with the right. Grand Calibur's suction works so well that you don't need to do this. It stays put as it cuts. I also love that the cutting area is HUGE! You can cut up to letter size, meaning you can die cut several shapes at a time.

Here is my first card for today's hop. I used the following dies for this one:

• Labels One
• Big Scalloped Circle - rolled up rosette
• Foliage - leaves
  

The label is from the Lovely Labels set and the verse is from my Christ is Risen set. The papers are American Crafts Enchanted.

And notice that border of bling? That's my favorite find at CHA called the Nestabling, manufactured by Want2Scrap. Bling and Spellbinder Nestabilities together...what more could a crafty girl ask for?

My second card features the following dies:

• Big Scalloped Circle - rolled up felt rosette
• Foliage - leaves
• Grommet Tags
• Butterflies Two
  

The sentiment is also from Christ is Risen and the papers are also American Crafts Enchanted.

From here, hop along to the Copic marker extraordinaire, Sharon Harnist's blog. I am sure you will not be disappointed. Thank you for joining us today.

Finally don't forget my 2nd blog anniversary giveaway. More details HERE. The winner will be picked from one of the commenters all week. And make sure you check out the Subscriber/Follower only giveaway, too!

Bright Thank You

Gina's colors for this week's Color Spotlight Challenge are perfect for this bright thank you card. The papers are October Afternoon Modern Homemaker and Seaside. The round label, which is die cut with Spellbinders Labels 9 (using my favorite new toy, Grand Calibur), is from Lovely Labels set.

The lace background stamp is from Vintage Backgrounds and the sentiment is from Christ is Risen set, which as you can see is not only for Easter cards. I used Memento Dandelion and Tuxedo Black inks.

Thank you for your kind comments yesterday about my girls' cards. SRM Stickers featured one of them on their Facebook fan page and that really made my little girls' day. Have a lovely weekend!

Simple Shabby

Today's card is for Stamp TV's Color Spotlight Challenge #13. I call the style simple shabby because it's much simpler than my usual shabby vintage cards.

The label is from Lovely Labels set. The cross and sentiments are from Christ is Risen. The papers are GKD Wild Dandelion and Creme de Menthe. The patterned paper is from Echo Park's Life is Good. The banner die is from Spellbinders Ribbon Banner dies.

And don't forget to comment on my PREVIOUS POST for a chance to win these stamps to celebrate Card Patterns' 2nd anniversary:
Have a great weekend!

CHA Chicago - bound!

I'm on my way to Chicago as this goes live. It's my first ever as a CHA Trade Show participant. I will be working in the SRM Stickers booth and another company that I can't wait to share with you all. Hubby and I are traveling sans kids, which we don't do very often. We're taking advantage of my kind parents who are watching them for 5 days while we enjoy the sights and sounds of Chicago! I hope to post pics here of the beautiful paper crafting goodies I'll find at CHA.

Today's card is about two weeks late. It was highlighted in the Paper Crafts Connection blog to kickoff their Card Styles magazine publication. I have 5 other cards in this magazine. The butterfly is from Hope is Faith by GinaK. The frame is from my Lovely Labels set die cut with Spellbinders Labels 4. The subtle music background is from Vintage Borders. The beautiful flourish is from Nature Walk by Layers of Color. Yes, I meticulously fuzzy cut the flourish and it's so worth it :-).


Have a good week!

I'm still here...

We are having a great time in the US, but it's been very busy. We're slowly adjusting to the time, and enjoying lots of family time. My girls are getting spoiled by my parents, and so am I :-). It was a treat to spend 4th of July in the US, too, with BBQ and lots of fireworks. We leave again on Thursday to visit several friends in many states until the end of July. Our last stop is Chicago for the CHA Show. I am so excited. I hope to meet many of you there.

Thank you for stopping by my blog even when I have no new posts :-). I have a new one today using my latest Hugs and Prayers. I layered the butterfly using the tole technique. The label is from my Lovely Labels set that coordinates with the Spellbinders Labels 4, which I used here. The papers are October Afternoon,

I hope you are enjoying a nice summer. I appreciate your visits!

OWH Memorial Day Blog Hop

EDIT: The drawing has concluded for this giveaway. The winners are announced HERE. Thank you for your participation.

Welcome to the Operation Write Home's Memorial Day Blog Hop. I'm so glad you could hop along with us. I am thrilled to have this opportunity to honor both God and our troops. I want to honor Christ for His goodness in allowing us to enjoy our freedom, which we sometimes take for granted and that many people in this world can only dream about. May we not forget how blessed we are!

And of course, I want to thank all the men and women and their families who faithfully and sacrificially serve our country for the sake of our freedom. You will always have my never ending gratitude and prayers. Thank you and may the Lord bless you and keep you.

Here is a precious photo of my Grandparents. My grandpa served in the US Army during the Second World War and is one of the very few living survivors of the Bataan Death March. My dear Grandma passed away 2 years ago, but he's still as sharp as a tack living in the Philippines. You could write a book about his life experiences. I thank God for him and am honored to have him as my Grandpa.

I have lots of cards, freebies and blog candy to give away, so make sure you scroll all the way down ;-). I suggest you start the hop at Operation Write Home so you don't miss all the beautiful cards everyone is showing. I have 5 cards to show you today. They highlight two companies that are offering some generous discounts or prizes here on my blog in honor of this hop and Memorial Day.

The first card uses the GinaK Designs' Fine Furnishings Additions stamp set. It's one of the newly released stamp sets (along with new cardstock colors and beautiful patterned papers). All the cardstocks, buttons and most ribbons and patterned papers I used below were purchased from GinaK Designs.

This one uses the Lovely Labels and Elegant Post stamp sets by GinaK Designs.

This card uses a sentiment from GinaK Designs' Spring Mix set. The embossed background is a sneak peek of an art stencil by Layers of Color. The art stenciels are beautiful and have ornate designs that I love. They will be released in mid-June. I dry embossed the stencil here using my Cuttlebug, then sponged some ink.

Next up is a card using Layers of Colors' Touch of Elegance set (background) and the same sentiment and Lovely Labels from GinaK Designs.

And another card using the Touch of Elegance again. It also includes a digital patriotic verse that you can download for FREE at the Layers of Color website. You will find other free digis there.

Now for the Goodies...Layers of Color is not only giving away free digis, but they are also offering 10% OFF ALL ART STAMPS on Memorial Day weekend, May 29 - 31 only! They will also DONATE 10% of ALL SALES during this 3-day weekend to Operation Write Home, where you can send those cards to be distributed to American men and women serving our nation. Check out the Layers of Color blog for more info.

My Blog Giveaways:

A Layers of Color stamp set of the winner's choice.

And on behalf of GinaK Designs, I have three stamp sets to give away to one winner:

Welcome Home

Gone Fishing
Quite A Catch

How do you win:

All you need to do is leave me a comment below. If you want two more chances to win, you may:

• visit the Layers of Color website and leave me a comment which stamp set is your favorite
  
• visit the GinaK Designs website and leave a comment here which stamp set catches your eye.

I will pick the two winners from all the comments below and announce them on my blog on Tuesday! If you've made it this far, thank you! Now, I will send you to the next stop of the hop:

TONI
http://kharliebug.typepad.com/the_digi_shack/2010/05/owh-blog-hop.html

HAPPY HOPPING!

I love note cards...

...don't you? I think they are not only fun to make, but also to give away. It doesn't need to be for a birthday or whatever occasion, just to let someone know you're thinking of them.

These cards were made using the Cosmo Cricket Material Girl collection. The label stamp is from my Lovely Labels set that coordinates perfectly with many Spellbinders Labels dies. The sentiments are by SRM Stickers (Sticker Sentiments - Love, Sticker Sentiments - Thank You, Sticker Sentiments - Thank You). The cardstocks I used are PTI Melon Berry, GKD Lemon Drop, Ocean Mist and Creme de Menthe.

And look at what my friend, Justine, made with Vintage Backgrounds (the lace on the bottom). This is just the inside. Wait till you see the outside. It's hilarious and makes this sentiment even funnier. I don't know if I agree, though...haha. I'm dreading the day my youngest goes to school. I have one more year with her at home :-(.

You have to go check out Justine's post to see the rest of the card. Don't you just love all the vintage touches she put on this card? She does it so well.

Finally, did you know that I have two stamp set designs that were released before I joined the GinaK team? I will be back tomorrow to feature one of them for the There She Goes' Mother of all Blog Hops. There are lots of prizes to be won, so don't forget to hop along with us.

I've been busy creating and designing for many projects that I can't share yet, and we have guests from America coming on Sunday (woohoo! conversations in English). I am also teaching my second card class on the 15th that needs a lot of prep. So, I haven't been able to visit you all and your beautiful blogs. I just wish I don't need to sleep :-). But I am thankful for rest and that my being busy is because I'm doing something I love. God is good!

My Challenge Winners!

First, I just want to let you know how blown away I was with your beautiful creations. There were so many fantastic cards and each one was a feast for the eyes. Just in case you missed them, here are some of my favorites from the challenge participants.

Lynn - I love that ribbon rose.


Justine - another fabulous handmade embellishment flower.


Jennie - all the different elements just come together so well here and she used several of my Gina K stamp sets, Nana's Needlework and Vintage Backgrounds.


Amy - her color combo is one of my favorite and who wouldn't love a blinged out butterfly trail?


Janice M - I love the trail, too, but even more, I love the crocheted butterfly!

Janice W - another beautiful handmade flower and it's so clever how she did her ribbon. She used two of my Gina K sets, Lovely Shelf and Nana's Needlework.


Heather - I love her stitching, subtle backgrounds, fantastic color combo and lovely design. She used my GinaK sets Nana's Needlework, Vintage Borders, Lovely Shelf.


Last, but certainly not the least...Carla with this beautiful vintage card. I love her muted color combo, and the simple elegance of it all. She used my Lovely Labels set.


I am so glad I am picking the winner by random, or I wouldn't be able to choose one favorite. The winner of the $20 gift certificate from Lisa Walsh (Stampin' Up! demo) is...#4 Janice Whiting.

And before I give you the winner from the commenters and followers, I have to explain how I pick my winner. There were almost 400 comments and over 300 followers, so it's a little daunting to count them. What I do is I assign a number per day and the followers get two days:
#1 Followers
#2 Day 1 comments,
... Days 2 - 15
#17 Followers again

I picked a random number 1-17 (via random.org)...I got #7, so the winner will be picked from Day 6 comments. Using the random.org site again, from the comments the winner of some paper crafting goodies from me is... #17 Lynn! I will be in contact soon, ladies, to get your goodies out to you.

A Special Hop for Some Special Friends

Tonight several GinaK Designs designers are joining together to host a special thank you blog hop to our recently retired StampTV Challenge Hostess Team. The four designers we're honoring tonight have provided weekly challenges for the STV members for the entire months of December, January, and February and we are so thankful for their inspiration and hard work!

• Shannon Bracken: Monday's Color Challenge
• Carolina Buchting: Tuesday's Anything but a Card Challenge
• Jennie Harper: Thursday's Sketch Challenge
• Selma Stevenson: Friday's Blast from the Past Challenge

Each participating designer was asked to choose one challenge shared during the past 3 months and make a card to share on their blogs tonight as well as to send that card to the hostess.

Here is my card for my lovely friend, Jennie, who has been a true source of inspiration and encouragement through her kind comments and beautiful artwork. I have been blessed by her in so many ways and I made this card as a token of my appreciation for her, not only for being a StampTV Challenge Hostess, but for being a friend. Thank you, Jennie. I hope someday God will allow our paths to cross and I can thank you personally.

I followed her STVSCJH02 sketch for my card. I used Lovely Labels and Inside & Out stamp sets and Innocent Pink for my card base. The dp is by K & Company, flower by Prima and ribbon by Michael's. The little butterfly is a Stampin' Up sizzlit die.

Visit these links to see all the projects we've prepared for our alumni hostess team:

• Jessica Fick
• Theresa Momber
• Cathy Tidwell
• Lee Murphy
• Melanie Muenchinger
• Carolyn King

And, the new StampTV Challenge Hostess team is also joining in on the hop tonight!

• Tina Gilliland: Monday's Color Hostess
• Karen Knegten: Tuesday's Anything but a Card Hostess
• Vicki Dutcher: Thursday's Sketch Hostess
• Sharri Seffens: Friday's Blast from the Past Hostess

To see all the challenges the Retired Hostess team has shared during their term, visit the StampTV Idea Center.

Cardmaking Afternoon

I had fun making crafts with my girls this afternoon. Gaby, my 8-yr-old, wanted to make a card just like my entry to the Moxie Fab Floss Challenge, so I printed out another butterfly for her to stitch. Isn't this card amazing? I know I like it better than the one I made. I will enter this, for sure, in Cath's contest.

She picked the colors, patterned papers (Cosmo Cricket Early Bird), and everything she needs to make this awesome card. She made the bow using the bow-easy and stamped the sentiment (which she picked herself because it's "so cute to go with the butterfly") with white pigment ink. The only thing I did for her was cut the card base.

Here she was hard at work with stitching.

And of course, she has to model with the card. She asked me to enter this to other challenges, so it'll be in Stamp Something and Cute Card Thursday.

This is my 10-year-old, Gracie, who adores horses. She made a girly card and did everything on the card you see here. I love the color combo she picked.

Here's a close up of her card. I'm also entering this to the Cute Card Thursday challenge. The horse stamp is by Inkadinkado, senitment from Lovely Labels.

Last, but certainly not the least is my 4-yr-old, Katy, who made me a pop-up card.

Here's the inside...a butterfly that she cut out herself.

But the most impressive thing about this card is how she made the butterfly and circle pop. Just take a look at how resourceful my Katy is. She rolled some regular scotch tape and used it to adhere the layers. How very clever. So, now I know what to do next time I run out of pop dots!

Thank you for letting me share about my girls. I am so glad they love crafting as much as I do. I am so proud of them and their creativity.