Simple Quilted card

I just love spring colors on my card. This one uses the new Stamp TV Kit, Spring Mix - the papers, images and sentiment! It's pretty straight forward, but let me know if you have any questions.

Don't forget to check out my BLOG ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY. Remember, I will send my Lovely Labels stamp set to a random winner from the participants and I'm still looking for a Guest DT.

Daffodils a la Theresa

Today's card features Theresa Momber's beautifully drawn daffodils in her Sending Sunshine set. They were colored with Copics and layered to get a more realistic effect. The papers are from the new Spring Mix Stamp TV kit. The card base is Ocean Mist.

Here's a close up of the layered flowers.

I'm entering this to the following challenges:

EBTKS to use string
Stampin' Sisters in Christ (tole technique)
The Pink Elephant (pastel colors)

Don't forget to check out my BLOG ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY. Thanks to those who entered already! A copy of my Lovely Labels, Country Morning SU set and a Guest DT spot are up for grabs.

Spring inspired cards

Here are a couple of cards from the Gina K Designs' March release. The first one uses Melanie's A Beautiful Life set. The cardstocks used are Green Apple, Lovely Lavender and Ivory. The DP is Basic Grey Nook & Pantry.

The second card uses the new Card Kit, Happy Spring. The DPs are from the new Stamp TV Kit, Spring Mix.

Don't forget to check out my BLOG ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY.

Happy Spring Bold Flower

We have another exciting week at CardPatterns #57 with our sponsor, Hero Arts. I love their stamps and am thankful I get to play with some of their newest designs. I used the big flower from their Big & Small Flowers set and colored it with Copics. The patterned papers are Farm Fresh by October Afternoon. The sentiment is from GKD Happy Spring set.

Hero Arts is offering two amazing sets for a prize this week. I hope you can join us at CardPatterns this week!

Don't forget to check out my BLOG ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAY.

You Make Me Happy

It's another Friends with Flair Friday and I'm so glad I get to participate this week. Go to Unity's blog for the list of participants. Find the hidden flair and get a chance to win some Unity stamps.

Here's my card. The sun and sentiment are from the A Pocket Full of Kit. The bird is from Birdie Inspiration. The DPs are Stampin' Up!, cardbase is GKD Little Boy Blue. The button is a gift from my friend Jane, who made it by hand!

I paper pieced the sun and bird using scraps, perfect for Moxie Fab's current challenge. Also, don't forget to enter my blog anniversary giveaways HERE. And SRM Stickers is featuring my tutorial on how to make quilted cards on their blog today.

How about some inspirations from my friend?

I am so happy to introduce you today to another of my Designing Friends, Melissa! She and I became friends through StampTV and she has been a source of inspiration and encouragement through her beautiful work and frequent visits to my blog.

Look at what she's done with my Nana's Needlework and Sentiments sets:

And she paper pieced this quilt! Wow, amazing, isn't it? I love her attention to detail.

1. How long have you been paper crafting and how did you get started?

I have been stamping for 18 years. I got started by taking a class at a little stamp store and the rest is history. As a little girl, I love coloring and playing with paper. Even then I needed to have every color of Crayon that was made. :) Kind of like my Copics today!

2. What are your current favorite:

• Techniques : I guess you could call me a layering junkie! I love, love cards that have lots of layers.
• Tools: I don't think I could make a card without my Cuttlebug, Spellbinders dies or my Scor-It. I consider good adhesive a tool as well and some of my favorites are my Scotch ATG gun, Scor-Tape and Glue Dots. Oh, I can't forget my Copics, Prismacolor pencils and Twinkling H20's either.
• embellishments : rhinestones, ribbon, glitter and buttons, I love them all!

3. What makes a "WOW" card, in your opinion?

A wow card to me is any card that I see either in person or online that I wish I could pick up and touch. Usually these are the cards that are layered and embellished alot such as cards created in a vintage style.

4. What inspires you to create?

• My love of stamping and papercrafting,
  
• All of the amazing blogs/designers on the internet. Everyday, I fall in love with a new card!
  

Define your crafting style. Oh wow, I don't know if I have a style per se. I like everything from cute to vintage. I am partiulary drawn to flowers and images that are timeless.

5. Tell us something about your family. Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Central California. I have been married to my best friend for almost 24 years and we have two sweet, wonderful sons. We also share our home with two terrier mix furbabies. We live in a rural area near Yosemite National Park and I am so blessed to be living the life I have been given. Other interests besides paper crafting. I like to read (although I haven't done much of it lately) and I aspire to be a world traveler some day. My hubby says " I have one foot in the road at all times", I like to say "have passport, will travel"

Or any random fact about you. I have never been to the circus, because I don't like clowns. I think clowns are so scary! Also, I am a tried and true warm weather girl, I am happiest when the sun is shining.

6. Do you have a favorite quote/verse that you live by?

I don't know if I have a quote that I live by, but I do have a couple that I really love. 1. “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; –Psalm 84:11 2. The better part of life, consists of its friendships; -Abraham Lincoln

Don't forget to check out my BLOG ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAYS.

Blog Anniversary Challenge and Giveaways!

Now how about some giveaways to celebrate my first blog anniversary. There will be two chances to win and two prizes up for grabs.

I thought I'd make it interesting by offering a sketch. I've been using the same sketch for some of my CAS cards lately.

The Sketch:
Here's a sample card. I made a couple more HERE. The sentiment on my card below is from the Lovely Shelf set.

The Deets:

• Leave a comment on this and every post I have until the deadline (April 10th at midnight). One comment a day please.
• Followers will be automatically entered twice.
  
• Make as many cards as you want based on the sketch above and leave a direct link to every card on the list below. One link per card please. If you include more than one card based on the sketch in your post, re-enter the same link to better your chances of winning.
• I ask that when posting your card on your blog, please provide a direct link to this post so that others can join, too.
  
• The link will remain active until the deadline, April 10 at midnight.
• I will announce the winners on Sunday, April 11th.
  

The Prizes:
From the commenters, I will be giving away Stampin' Up!'s Country Morning set to one random winner. This is a hostess only set, so it's hard to come by.
From the sketch participants, I will be giving away my Lovely Labels set.

If you already have this set, I will give another prize package that will include another stamp set and other goodies. I am also on a lookout for a Guest DT for my next release. (Hint: I tend to ask those who come to my blog regularly because I feel like they know my design style :-).

I hope you can play along!

Some Spring cards

I've had some extra play time lately and my mojo's been flowing. I've been able to finish many of my DT work for April already! I just love it when I'm ahead of schedule.

Here are a few I made yesterday. The first one was inspired by Moxie Fab's Tues Trigger. The photo inspiration has a butterfly, so I just had to enter :-). The butterfly is from Layers of Color Butterfly Collector. The sentiment is by Stampin' Up! The patterned paper is Cosmo Cricket Material Girl.
This next is a group of cards for Mother's day. I'm going back to my roots here and made them CAS. I started making my cards like this - easy, simple and not too many layers. I'm entering this to the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge.
Here is a close up. I used my brand new Nana's Needlework and Nana's Needlework Sentiments. The pp is Making Memories and the butterfly punch is by Martha Stewart.
Finally, SRM Stickers is featuring my baby cards on their blog today. I hope they inspire you to join us in this month's challenge. I hope you are enjoying beautiful spring weather. I know we are here in Croatia!

Look at what my friend made

My friend, Stephanie, is designing for me this month. I can't remember who visited whose blog first, but we "met" because our cards were published on the same page by Paper Crafts Magazine (Nov/Dec 2009 issue). I've been a regular visitor to her blog since then and just love her style. I'm so thrilled she agreed to design Nana's Needlework and Sentiments for me this month. Look at her gorgeous creations here:


1. How long have you been paper crafting and how did you get started?

I have been paper crafting for about six years now. It started when my best friend was having her first baby and I was asked to do the baby shower invites. I was hooked after that and there was no turning back. I entered a couple Paper Crafts Magazine contests and won and that gave me a little more confidence to put myself out there in the blogging world. I am so happy I did although I have only had my blog a couple years it has been an amazing experience with alot of great opportunities. More importantly I have made some amazing friends!!!

2. What are your current favorite:

• Techniques - I love paper piecing.
• Tools- this is a good question with so many new tools coming out all the time there is alot of stuff I love such as punches,spellbinders dies, and embossing. I also have really gotten into sewing on my cards.
• Embellishments - Ribbon and buttons almost always have to have both of these or at least one of them on my creations.

3. What makes a "WOW" card, in your opinion?

A WOW card for me is when everything matches like it was meant to go together. Or there is something that I would never think to put together. There is alot of amazing talent out there and I see a WOW card on a daily basis.

4. What inspires you to create? Define your crafting style.

I love to blog and look for inspiration and also love the paper crafting magazines I could look at them for hours. This is a hard question I'm not sure if I really have a style there are days that I love CAS and there are other days that I love layers. I really just love to try new things.

5. Tell us something about your family. Where are you from? Other interests besides paper crafting. Or any random fact about you.

I am married to a wonderful husband who supports this wonderful hobby of mine. I am a SAHM of two beautiful children Mackenzie 6 and Codey James 4. We live in the Northwest Corner of Connecticut out in the country love it it's nice and peaceful. As a family we love to go camping, fishing and hiking all those fun outdoor activities.

6. Do you have a favorite quote/verse that you live by?

"When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses."

-Joyce Brothers

More doily and lace cards

It's no secret how much I love doilies and lace, so here are a few more cards I made for the Caardvarks Lacy Days Challenge and Moxie Fab Diggin' on Doilies Challenge.

The first card uses my new Nana's Needlework set (doily background), Inside And Out (sentiment), and Layers of Color's Nature walk set (flowers). The papers are Webster's Pages.

My next card uses my friend Jane's latest digi (now available at Squigglefly). The sentiment is from GinaK Designs Spring Florals.

Spring cards

Here are a couple of springy cards. The first one is for the Moxie Fab Diggin' on Doilies and Lace Challenge and for the Caardvarks Lacy Days Challenge. The prize for the Caardvarks challenge is a Guest DT spot with JustRite stamps. I've always wanted to try them. I see so many beautiful creations using them in blogland.

I used my brand new sets, Nana's Needlework and Sentiments. The card base is GinaK Designs Innocent Pink. Other cardstocks used are Creme de Menthe and Smoky Slate.

This card is for Card Patterns sketch this week. The sponsor is SRM Stickers and they're offering a very generous prize package. I hope you can join us.

The card base is GKD Green Apple, the patterned papers are Oct Afternoon Weathervane. The watering can is from GKD Spring Has Sprung set. The stickers I used are Freestyle Spring and Express Yourself Easter.

Winner! Winner!

Thank you all who commented this week as I celebrated my 100,000 blog hits. I was surprised that not many of my subscribers commented twice as was allowed, but we still got a good number to draw from. So here are the numbers:

Mar 12 - 93 comments
Mar 13 - 161
Mar 15- 45
Mar 16 - 27
Mar 17 - 23
Mar 18 - 39
Mar 19 - 16

Total: 404 comments

According to Random.org, the random winner is ... Kathy H. Please email me so I can get your prize package out to you.

I decided instead of giving away a huge package for one winner for my first blog anniversary next week, I will spread them out in the next few weeks, so be watching out for my other giveaways here on my blog. It will include stamps and other goodies!

Have a good Saturday, everyone!

Introducing Nana's Needlework and Sentiments

What a fun party last light. It was great to do it at StampTV for the first time. There was even a bloopers video by Gina. Fun, fun, fun!!!

I'm finally able to share with you in full my latest stamp designs, Nana's Needlework and Nana's Needlework Sentiments. These are now available at the GinaK Designs store.
It was so much fun designing these stamps, in honor of my mother-in-law, who's an expert in all these types of needlework.

Here are sample mini cards (3" squares) I made with this set. These would make perfect gift cards or just because cards. The patterned papers are Cosmo Cricket Early Bird. The baskets were colored with Copics.

GKD March 2010 Previews, Day 4

Today is a special post because I'm previewing a set that I dedicate to my mother-in-law, Jimmie Ann. It's not only because it's her birthday next week, but because she is the true inspiration behind all the images I included in this set, which is aptly called, Nana's Needlework. (She is lovingly called Nana by my girls.)

Mom Brackett is a skilled needleworker. She helped me make my first and only quilt 12 years ago. She's an avid cross-stitcher. Just this summer, she taught my girls how to knit and gave them each a basket to keep their knitting yarns and needles in. Their home is a real treasure trove because it's filled with her handiwork, her labors of love of many years. So, Mom Brackett, if you're reading this, thank you for being an inspiration to me, for passing on your gifts and talent to my sweet girls, and I hope you have a happy and blessed birthday!

Here is a card using Nana's Needlework and Nana's Needlework Sentiments. The patterned paper is Cosmo Cricket Material Girl. The cardbase is Innocent Pink.

And here's one that matches my new sets with a pot of plant from an earlier set, Elegant Post. This shelf will go together with many of my older sets. The images are colored with Copics. The patterned paper is again Material Girl by Cosmo Cricket.

We are also featuring Rupa's newest set today called, Spring Has Sprung. And true to Rupa's style, this set is chock full of cute images that are fun to color and perfect all year round. The papers are Webster's Pages, card base is Green Apple.

For even more inspiration with tonight's new stamp sets: start with Gina's blog.

Then, visit these Designers' blogs:
Jessica Fick
Melanie Muenchinger
Theresa Momber
Carolyn King
Cathy Tidwell
Lee Murphy
Lynn Mercurio
Donna Baker
Kurtis Amundson
Emily Giovanni
Erika Martin
Bev Gerard
Jennie Harper - our Guest Designer for this Month!

The Release Party is tomorrow night Thursday, March 18th starting at 7pm and ending at 10pm (all times CST) when all the new products will be available for purchase in Gina's online store. To keep informed of all the party plans and activities, check out this link:
Release Party Forum on StampTV

I am entering the cards above to Moxie Fab's Moxie Fab Diggin' on Doily Challenge.

GKD March 2010 Previews, Day 3

Two more lovely new releases today with the new Spring Mix StampTV kit and the new free with 3 set, Friends. These two coordinate so well together.

You saw a sneak peek of the STV papers yesterday, here are some more. Aren't they lovely? It matches many GKD papers so well. I used to think I'm not a fan of lemon yellow, but ever since GinaK released the Lemon Drop paper last month, I can't get enough of it. The mailbox, which was colored with Copics, and sentiment are from this kit.

This next card uses one of the lovely sentiments from the Friends set. The papers are Webster's Pages and Basic Grey Nook & Pantry. The card base is Ocean Mist.

For even more inspiration with the new Spring Mix StampTV kit and the new Free with Three stamp set: Check out Gina's Blog first.

Then, visit these Designers' blogs:
Jessica Fick
Melanie Muenchinger
Theresa Momber
Carolyn King
Tami Mayberry
Cathy Tidwell
Lee Murphy
Donna Baker
Kurtis Amundson
Emily Giovanni
Erika Martin
Jennie Harper - our Guest Designer for this Month!

Tune into StampTV for this week's video from GinaK featuring the new Spring Mix StampTV kit! Mark your calendars for the Release Party this Thursday, March 18th starting at 7pm and ends at 10pm (all times CST) when all the new products will be available for purchase in Gina K Designs online store.

To keep informed of all the party plans and activities, check out this link:
Release Party Forum on StampTV

GKD March 2010 Previews, Day 2

Are you all enjoying the preview blog hops? I know I am. Today, we are featuring the new Card Kit, Happy Spring, and Asela's latest, By Your Side.

My first card uses Asela's beautiful koi fish illustration. It's detailed enough that it looks good stamped on its own. I used GKD Soft Sand, Chocolate Kiss, and Ivory CS. The patterned paper is Basic Grey's Nook and Pantry.

My second card uses the new Card Kit, Happy Spring. These gorgeous papers are a sneak peek of the new papers included in the new Stamp TV kit. I just love them, so you will be seeing more of them in my other preview cards. The images are colored with Copics.

Please note that each card kit will receive the Happy Spring stamp set and instruction sheet along with 4 sheets of pure luxury cardstock, 1 sheet of exclusive patterned paper with 4 different designs, 1 yard of ribbon, and brads. The cardstock will NOT be pre-cut, as with previous kits.

Are you ready for even more inspiration? Start with Gina's Blog.

Then, find out more information about the new Card Kit here: Jessica Fick

Finally, check out these Designer's blogs:
Asela Hopkins {Illustrator of By Your Side}
Melanie Muenchinger
Theresa Momber
Cathy Tidwell
Lee Murphy
Kurtis Amundson
Emily Giovanni
Erika Martin
Bev Gerard
Colleen Schaan
Sankari Wegman
Valerie Stangle
Jennie Harper - our Guest Designer for this Month!

StampTV is celebrating its first birthday and the festivities are in full swing with this month's release! We'll be holding this month's Release Party on StampTV and couldn't be more excited about all that Gina has planned for everyone! The party kicks off this Thursday, March 18th starting at 7pm and ends at 10pm (all times CST) when all the new products will be available for purchase in Gina K Designs' online store.

To keep informed of all the party plans and activities, check out this link:

Release Party Forum on StampTV

GKD March 2010, Previews, Day 1

The Gina K Designs and StampTV crew has some fantastic things planned with this month's release. Today, we are featuring 3 sets by 3 talented artists.

This card uses Melanie's newest set, A Beautiful Life, and it is just beautiful. It includes her signature big floral stamp and several lovely sentiments. For my card, I used the butterfly, which I stamped in several pastel inks. The "hello" sentiment is also from this set. I used GKD Creme de Menthe, Lovely Lavender and Ivory CS. The DP is from Basic Grey Nook & Pantry pack.

My second card features Theresa's Sending You Sunshine set. It includes so many amazing images that you can use for both feminine and masculine cards. I colored the tree with Copics. The cardstocks used are GKD Green Apple, Innocent Pink and Ivory. The ribbon is from the STV kit.

Last, but certainly not the least, is Tami's new set, Fairy Tales, which is perfect for those who have girly girls like me. :-) I decided to make a notebook for my daughter using the cute flower image from the set and some images from the Organize It STV kit. The patterned papers are Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird.

Are you ready for even more inspiration? Start with Gina's Blog

Then, visit these Illustrators' blogs of these new stamp sets:
Melanie Muenchinger - A Beautiful Life
Theresa Momber - Sending Sunshine
Tami Mayberry - Fairy Tales

Finally, check out these Designers' blogs:

Jessica Fick
Carolyn King
Cathy Tidwell
Lee Murphy

Lynn Mercurio

Donna Baker

Kurtis Amundson

Emily Giovanni

Erika Martin

Colleen Schaan

Jennie Harper - our Guest Designer for this Month!

StampTV is celebrating its first birthday and the festivities are in full swing with this month's release! We'll be holding this month's Release Party on StampTV and couldn't be more excited about all that Gina has planned for everyone! The party kicks off this Thursday, March 18th starting at 7pm and ends at 10pm (all times CST) when all the new products will be available for purchase in Gina K Designs' online store.

To keep informed of all the party plans and activities, check out this link:

Release Party Forum on StampTV