We had some guests yesterday and one of them sang in her cute chipmunk voice this song for our girls. They were, of course, amused and entertained. Tomorrow is Sept 1st, which means, only a few months until Christmas. It's hard to believe.
I will be posting several Christmas cards in the next few days. All of them were inspired by Moxie Fab's challenges last week. The first one is Clean and Graphic.
My second card doesn't use traditional Christmas colors, but that's the beauty of making your own cards - you can use whatever color strikes your fancy. :-) This follows the Fun & Cute style.
Stamps: branch from June KOTM (Unity), Jolly Christmas (Hero Arts)
Paper: Chocolate Kiss (GinaK Designs), Summer Sun, Aqua Mist (PTI)
Yay, I finally got some stamping done this weekend. These are two cards I made using Elegant Verses and Elegant Post stamp sets.
A CASE'd (copy and share everything from a card the current SU catalog) CAS (clean and simple). It took me no more than 10 minutes to make it. Ooh and I love that quote.
This one took more time and not really my usual style, but I'm glad with the results. I did handstitching on this one because I haven't had the time to take out my sewing machine and learn to sew on cards. I've had it for over a decade and maybe have used it three times. I'm really clumsy with it, but I love the stitching on cards, so I'm determined to learn.
Come again later this week as I share some Christmas cards I've been busy making as well.
Card Patterns is sponsored by Sherrod Studios this week. It's a fairly new company, but they have some great sets out already. I love their little girl stamps. One is even named Gracie, just like my oldest. One random winner will receive a stamp set of their choice from Sherrod Studios. And, check out Card Patterns' post HERE for a discount code from our sponsor this week.
Here's the sketch...
And here's my card. It's pretty straight forward.
Stamps: Vintage Picnic (PTI) Paper: My Mind's Eye, Pink Passion Ink: Memento Tuxedo Blk, Copic markers (RV17, YR38, YG Pale Olive) Others: ribbon (Michael's), button and string, MS border punch.
I decided to take a break from cleaning and unpacking to introduce you to my newest GinaK stamp set, Elegant Verses. I designed them to coordinate with my previous set, Elegant Post. One advantage of being a stamp illustrator is I can design something I really want in rubber for my own personal use. I just love these quotes and verses that can also coordinate with other stamps you have. There is a quote that is appropriate for sympathy cards and encouragement, one for wedding/spring (the book of Songs is all about celebrating married life), and another Scripture verse, which happens to be one of my favorites.
And here is my 5-minute card. Believe me it was hard to stop creating, but duty called and I still had much to do around the house.
The papers I used are Ruby Red and PP is by K&Co. I hope to share more with you next week when my work load slows down. By the way, our luggage made it and my chocolate chips didn't melt.Yay! God is good! Oh, another thing, we sold our old van. We've been trying to sell it for awhile now. And it died while my hubby and the buyer were in the process of payment. The guy still wanted it. So, we are relieved. God is good indeed!
Have a good weekend, everyone. Now, I'm off to see my Croatian friends at church.
First, I just want to thank you all for praying for our trip back to Croatia. We are now here after an uneventful trip. We are missing a few of our luggages, but they should get here soon. One of them has my stash of chocolate chips, so I'm anxious to get that as I'm afraid they will melt in the heat :-). Thankfully, most of my stamp supplies are already here. Now, I just need to unpack and organize them, so I can start creating again.
Second, I am excited to share that GinaK is previewing my newest set to be released this month, Elegant Verses. This set coordinates with my Elegant Post set and many other stamps you have. Since I've been packing and traveling, I haven't had time to make some samples, but make sure you stop by Gina's blog to see her cards. She's also previewing Tropical Blooms (the new free with three) as well as TheresaMomber, the illustrator ofAutumn Beauty.
Our Release Party starts Thursday night at 7 pm CST. Please join us for contests questions, challenges, lots of chatter as well as a ton more samples shared by the Senior Design team members and our CenterStage Spotlight team too. See you tomorrow night!
Stamps: Take Flight Paper: Plum Pudding by PTI, PP by K&Co Ink: Palette cream, Memento Tuxedo Blk, Copic markers Others: Ribbon by PTI, buttons by Michael's, Pearls by Martha Stewart
I just recently came across a brand new challenge blog, Stampin' Sisters in Christ, which celebrates our Christ-centered faith. I am glad to take part in their very first challenge, which is to use food items on your card.
It was so much fun to color this little cake dome and cupcake. I colored glass dome with Copic Warm Grey #5 and Colorless blender marker.
Stamps: Aug09 KOTM by Unity, Birthday Messages by HeroArts Ink: Memento Blk, Copic markers (YG11, WG3, RV10, RV17) Papers: Pink Passion, Berry Sweet by K&Co Others: Raspberry Fizz by PTI, Apron Lace border punch by Fiskars, pearls by Michaels
Tomorrow, we leave for our home in Croatia after a full summer of traveling and visiting lots of friends and family. We are looking forward to being home, but will miss so many dear friends and family who have all touched our lives one way or another. God has really enriched us through these wonderful people. We cannot thank Him enough for you all. Pray for our 15-hour trip back to Croatia and for our family as we are parted from our loved ones. I can't wait for heaven when we don't ever have to say goodbyes anymore and enjoying perfect fellowship with Christ Himself.
Here's another take on Card Patterns' sketch this week with a different color scheme. I used soft pinks and greens this time. The red, pink and hearts theme is inspired by a challenge I just found out about, Copic Creations. The colors I used are RV10, RV13, RV14, YG93.
Stamps: Take Flight, Eclectic Summer Sayings by GKD, Paper: Pink Passion, Certainly Celery, PP by K&Co Ink: Memento Tuxedo Blk, Copic and Sharpie markers Others: Ribbon by PTI, MS border punch, Heart bling by Colorblok, pearls by Michael's
I'm so sad to have to do this, but I'm on a tight schedule. I didn't hear from my previous winner, so I got random.org pick another one and the winner is...Sharri C who said:
Lovely cards! Can't wait to play with this set. I'm thankful for my health; so many have lots of health issues. SharriC
Please email me your mailing address, Sharri, so I can mail this package out on Monday. I leave for Croatia on Tuesday, so I have to hear from you ASAP. If I don't hear from the winner by tomorrow midnight, I will have a back-up winner on hand. Thank you all for understanding.
Oh, I haven't forgotten the tutorial for the gift box on this post. I am almost finished packing and by tomorrow, I should have more time to write it on my blog. I have a few card creations to post, too, for a couple of challenges I just found out about. I hope you are having a relaxing weekend.
Before I show my card, I just want to remind the winner of my blog candy, StampQueen, to email me your mailing address by 8PM today. I have your package ready to be mailed :-). Otherwise, I will have to pick another winner by 9PM Saturday night. I hate to rush you, but I have to mail this out by Monday because I'll be out of the country starting Tuesday. Thanks!
I made this gift box using a digital pattern, generously donated by our sponsor this week, The Cutting Cafe. I didn't cut out the heart from the pattern because I don't have the proper tools to do that with while I'm in the US. They are sitting in Croatia, collecting dust, while I'm enjoying my time in America :-). Instead of cutting the heart, I put a little heart bling on the butterfly. The flowers on the sketch are represented by the 3 silver pearls on the butterfly.
I'm using my favorite GinaK Designs stamp set, Take Flight. I think I've made more cards with this set than any other in my stamp collection. I just love that butterfly and it's so fun to color. I filled this box with my favorite Lindt Dark Chocolate truffles for a friend. Yum!
Stamps: Take Flight, Eclectic Summer Sayings by GKD, Flourishes by StampCat Paper: Black Onyx by GKD, Aqua Mist by PTI, PP by K&Co Ink: Memento Tuxedo Blk, Copic and Sharpie markers Others: MS border punch, Heart bling by Colorblok, pearls by Michael's
Have a great weekend, everyone! I'm off to pack the chocolate chips and other goodies I bought today to take back to Croatia.
If you downloaded the freebies, please leave me a comment with a link to your project, so I can see. And if you liked them, consider donating. All proceeds go to my church in Croatia.
What a week it's been! I've had to get an emergency root canal and during one of the dental visits, the infection hadn't cleared, so the Novocaine didn't work all that well. Man, I'm thankful God made me to have a high tolerance for pain. It was still awful, though. My mouth is still sore and I have one last appointment on Friday before we head home to Croatia on Thursday.
I've also been taking my girls to see their dermatologist. All three of them have/had eczema and my youngest has it the worst. We just want to make sure we've all stocked up on all the creams, medicines and lotions before we leave. And today, I'm off to see another doctor about my sinuses. I was supposed to have sinus surgery, but because I don't have the recommended recovery time (I was told about 2 weeks before we are supposed to leave) anymore, I opted out of it until next time we're stateside. For now, I will just have to spray my nose regularly to keep my sinuses healthy.
Okay, enough medical talk ;-)...here are a couple of cards using my Elegant Post stamp set. The card bases of both cards are from My Mind's Eye.
Ink: Ruby Red Paper: Ruby Red, GKD Pure luxury white, So Saffron Other: red button by Michael's, string, Martha Stewart Punch and pearl
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Blk, Sage Shadow Paper: Black Onyx Other: Aqua Mist button by PTI, ribbon by Michael's, Marth Stewart Punch
Finaly, here's the winner of the Elegant Post blog hop...and random.org gave me number #73 and that's STAMPQUEEN who said...
This summer I am thankful for a little extra time with my kiddos - both are teenagers now....sometimes I feel like the days are just flying by...Love this stamp set and the cards you did withit!!!!
Please email me your mailing address ASAP, so I can send you the Elegant Post stamp set and other goodies. Thank you all for playing along.
Here are a couple of cards I made using my Elegant Post set from GinaK. The papers I used are from the Simple Elegance digital paper pack. Though I still love actual papers, I do enjoy working with digital papers, which provide a few benefits over pre-printed ones.
1. You will never run out of digital papers (as long as you have ink, of course :-)). 2. You will keep the digital file forever and print them as needed, which saves natural resources. 3. You save precious storage space, too. 4. If you have a photo-editing software, you can even manipulate the colors and effects of the digital paper designs that suit your preference. You can also change the size of the design. If you look closely on the papers below, I printed the red bigger than the yellow.
This is how I print my digital papers. With these two sheets, I was able to make several cards. And I don't waste paper. I have a Canon Pixma printer and it's pretty efficient in printing these. I don't notice that I'm changing the ink more often and we do use our printer quite a bit at home.
Stamps: Elegant Post by GKD Ink: Ruby Red, Summer Sun Paper: Ruby Red, Summer Sun Others: So Saffron ribbon, brad by Michael's, corner rounder, scallop punch
First, the Elegant Postblog hop is still going strong. You can go directly to the post THEREand make sure you leave a comment to be entered in the blog candy that includes the Elegant Post stamp set and other paper goodies. Make sure you follow the links as there are so much inspiration in everybody's creations.
And second, have you seen my latest exciting news? I'm now designing for my favorite sketch blog, CardPatterns. I was a guest designer for them a few months ago and I thought that was exciting...being asked to be in the DT is a million times more! I couldn't believe my eyes when I read CardPatterns' sketcher extraordinaire, Michelle's email asking me to be in the design team. I am so honored to follow her easy-to-work-with sketches with some of my favorite cardmakers in the world. Make sure you go check out CardPatterns' blog and join us for this week's challenge.
Thanks, Michelle, for giving me the opportunity to be part of your super talented team. I know I will grow a lot as a paper crafter just by getting to know everybody in the DT.
The sponsor this week is My Grafico where you can find many beautiful digital stamps/images. I used one of the flower images in the Mix and Match Stems set. I printed it 4 times on a 6 x 6 piece of patterned paper, then cut the outlines to create the layered flower. I stamped the text stamp several times on Soft Sand CS to make the background.
Stamps: Mix and Match Stems by My Grafico, Birthday Messages by HeroArts, Text background by PTI Ink: Versamark, Pink Passion Papers: Soft Sand by GinaK, cardbase and DP by My Mind's Eye Others: lace by Wrights, Hibisucus Burst buttons by PTI
Thank you for hopping with us today featuring my newest GinaK set, Elegant Post. The project I will show you today is a box of cards I'm giving away as a gift. I used both the Simple Elegance and Grungy Elegance digital paper packs on these cards. The color combos on these paper packs will coordinate with SU's Bravo Burgundy/Purely Pomegranate, Kiwi Kiss/Old Olive, Basic Grey, Summer Sun/Crushed Curry, and Pacific Point/Tempting Turquoise.
I went with the simple, yet elegant, look and it took me no more than 2 hours to make 10 cards (2 of each style) and a box altogether. Here are the cards close-up. For this one, I used Bravo Burgundy.
This one uses GinaK's Black Onyx cardstock. I don't have a grey inkpad, so I repeat stamped the bird cage using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and I think it matches perfectly with the paper.
This one coordinates with Summer Sun and the new In-Color, Crushed Curry.
It was hard to make a monochromatic card using this next color since I don't have a Pacific Point/Tempting Turquoise inkpad. So, I went complementary and used Pumpking Pie.
I made a box to go with the cards. Here are the front and side views. I plan to write a simple tutorial on how to make this box on a future post. It was so easy. I've made about 20 of these all summer that I either gave away as gifts or sold as a set with cards inside.
Now, for some blog candy. I will be giving away a copy of Elegant Post, GinaK Pure Luxury Cardstock sampler, ribbons, and other goodies that I love to use on my cards. All you have to do is to leave a comment below stating what are you most thankful for this summer. I have lots to list because God has been so good to me. The one thing I'm most thankful about is the chance to see friends and family in the US after almost 4 years of being away.
I will be traveling a lot until Wednesday, so I will announce the winner on Thursday. For more inspirations, please visit my super talented friends, Silke Ledlow and Melissa Czapor, who are joining us on this blog hop tonight. Several of GinaK's Senior Design team members, including Gina, are also participating: Cathy,Donna, Emily, Erika, Jessica,Lee,Melanie, Kurtisand Theresa.
And finally, be sure to check out our CenterStage Spotlight Design team members' blogs: Brenda Turner,Shannon Bracken, andSue Walshfor even more great projects! Happy hopping!
...to my first ever blog hop with GinaK Designs, featuring my new stamp set, Elegant Post.
With the hop, I will also be celebrating 5 months of blogging, 28,500 hits and having 100+ followers on this little blog of mine. I will be offering a fun blog candy that includes some of my favorite products, so don't miss it. The deets will be on the blog hop post tomorrow, starting 10PM CST (11pm EST, 8pm PST).
And guess who has agreed to join in this hop? My very talented friend, Silke, will be joining the hop. If you've been to her blog, you know she will not disappoint. I've been her fan ever since I found her blog several months ago looking for butterfly punches. I've been privileged to see her create with my illustrations that There She Goes produced. Tomorrow, she'll be showing off her talent using Elegant Post. I had the privilege of meeting Silke during our trip to Savannah just recently. It was such a treat for me to meet one of my stamping inspirations. And she was kind enough to take time off her busy schedule to visit with me. We were so comfortable instantly like we've known each other for so long. Thanks, Silke, and I hope God will allow our paths to cross again either here in the US or in Croatia!!!
Thank you so much for coming over to visit me here regularly. I hope you will always find something inspirational here. Have a blessed day! Now I'm off to create...
I love butterflies and GinaK's Take Flight set contains my favorite butterfly images.
Papers: Eggplant, So Saffron by SU, patterned paper by PTI Ink: Copic markers, Pallete cream pigment ink, Eggplant Envy Others: pearls, MS border punch
I have a blog hop coming up featuring my new GinaK set, Elegant Post. I hope you can participate. Now, I'm off to the dentist. My family try to do all the medical and dental necessities here before we head back to Croatia in two weeks.
Stamps: Stylin' Stars (Unity), Jolly Christmas (Hero Arts)
Stamps: branch from June KOTM (Unity), Jolly Christmas (Hero Arts)
