Blissful Card Set

I have a set of 4 cards today that uses the Penny Black's Blissful stamp set. I love this huge background stamp. This set took no more than 40 minutes to make.

For my cards, I made a watercolor-mosaic background. I don't know if this technique is something new, but it is new to me. I first dabbed various Distress inks onto the stamp, making sure I don't overlap the inks too much. (*TIP: start with the light colors and move on to the darker ones so you don't contaminate the ink pads too much) I stamped it on white cardstock, then spritzed a little with water and let it dry. I mounted them in coordinating cardstocks for the card bases.

Here are closeups of two of them. This one uses Blue China, Fired Brick and Mustard Seed Distress inks. The sentiments is by SRM Stickers.

This one uses Peeled Paint, Spun Sugar and Spiced Marmalade. I embellished the cards with buttons, lace and coordinating Twinery twine (well, except the red because I forgot to do it before adhering the stamped background :).

Tomorrow is a holiday here in Croatia (yay!). Can you believe it's already May? Time goes by so fast. Until next time, friends!

Some Mother's Day Cards

Mother's day is just around the corner and I've been busy making these that were posted in the product manufacturers' blogs. I am so blessed to work with these companies. I'm especially thankful for their kind and generous owners whose products are so fun top play with.

The first one was shared on the Want2Scrap blog previously.  The sentiment is TCM's Mother & Father set. I did some stenciling on this with a Want2Scrap silhouette shape.

My next two were on the SRM Stickers blog s few days ago. The papers are Carta Bella.

I used some new Twinery shimmer twine and Want2Scrap flourish bling on this one. More info on the SRM blog.

Have a great week!

Paper Wishes Feminine Card Sets

I have a card set of 8 for you today using some more of the Hot Off the Press products (available through Paper Wishes) they generously sent me to play with. I used the brand new Rosemary & Thyme 6x6 Paper pad, the coordinating 22 Flowers 3-D Papier Tole and Pink Jewel Border Dazzles™. The first 4 are for the upcoming Mother's Day. The gorgeous papers are from this collection. The sentiments are from The Craft's Meow's Sweet Sentiments set, which is this month's Free with $50 purchase.

The butterflies are die cut using Spellbinders Wonderful Wings dies. I adorned my cards with Want2Scrap's Beautiful Bling Border, lace, doily and some paper roses.

The next 4 cards also use the 22 Flowers 3-D Papier Tole to create these layered flowers. I put a small Want2Scrap pearl in the center of the flowers and on the corners of the cards.

The sentiments are SRM Stickers. I love the white on dark patterned papers, don't you? The strips on the bottom are from Pink Jewel Border Dazzles. Some delicate doilies and pretty pink seam binding finish the card.

As with most of my mass-produced cards, I follow a basic sketch to make the process easier. Feel free to use the sketch if you're feeling inspired.

Have a great rest of the week, friends!

Birthday Card, Spring and Winners

Hello, friends! I hope you are enjoying beautiful weather where you are. It's been gorgeous here in my little corner of the world and we're taking advantage of it by spending a lot of time outside. Here are my girls being creative with "weeds" yesterday. They made these wreaths using only ribbon and tape.

My card for today is for October Afternoon's sketch challenge. As soon as I saw it, I knew that my Penny Black Embellishments stamp set is just the perfect to use for it. This set enables you to add different elements (staples, clothespin, paperclip, washi tape, buttons, flag, twine, stitches, etc.) without the bulk. I stamped the washi stamps in coordinating colors that match OA's Cakewalk. The scalloped on the side was die cut using Spellbinders Classic Scallop Edgeabilities, which was embellished with Want2Scrap pearls.

I fussy cut the party image from the patterned paper. Also cut were the banners and the mini clothespin image as you see below.

Here's the stamp set I used, Penny Black Embellishments:

Now the winners of the NinaB Designs blog hop...

Prize Package #1: from Lea's blog is...Mary-Anne V

Prize Package #2: from Jennie's blog is...Sue D

Winners, please email (via Contact tab above) me with your info within 4 days (till April 26) in order to claim the  prize. Please put under Subject, "April 2013 NBD Hop Winner." This will help with organization and avoiding confusion since I have to depend on my mom to do most of my mailing for me. Thanks for understanding and thank you all for hopping along with us!

Mother's Day Butterfly

Welcome to the last day of The Craft's Meow's Non-Release Festivities. Today, the team is blog hopping and following a simple sketch for our projects. If you came from Lin's blog, then you're at the right spot. If not, check out the line up of participants on the TCM blog.

I made this Mother's day card using the new Free with $50 purchase, Sweet Sentiments (frame and sentiment). The butterfly is from Beautiful Spring and colored with Copics. 

The frame is die cut with Spellbinders Labels 10. The papers are October Afternoon Cakewalk. A small Want2Scrap pearl adorn the seam binding bow.

Don't forget, TCM is having a HUGE sale! From now through Sunday, April 21st, take 21% off of your entire order, including already low sale prices on retiring stamp sets, by entering the code April21 at checkout! If your order net of the discount exceeds $50, then place in your cart this month's free gift with purchase, Sweet Silhouettes! As always, orders of $65 or more receive free shipping within the US (discounted shipping for our International customers).

Introducing Sweet Sentiments by TCM

Welcome to the release of the new free with $50 purchase by The Craft's Meow,, starting April 21. Make sure you check out the TCM blog for more info! The set is called Sweet Sentiments, which coordinates with the Sweet Silhouettes set. Sweet Sentiments include a wooden frame and sentiments that can go inside or with the Sweet Silhouettes set.

For my card, I die a small piece of cardstock with Spellbinders Labels 10 die. I used the negative cut as a window for the Sweet Sentiments frame. I stamped the frame on a patterned paper. The silhouette from Sweet Silhouettes was fussy cut.

The sentiment is also from Sweet Sentiments. The papers are October Afternoon. The bow is adorned with a tiny Want2Scrap pearl.

Sweet Sentiments (Free with $50 purchase, starting April 21)

 

Don't forget, TCM is having a HUGE sale! From now through Sunday, April 21st, take 21% off of your entire order, including already low sale prices on retiring stamp sets, by entering the code April21 at checkout! If your order net of the discount exceeds $50, then place in your cart this month's free gift with purchase, Sweet Silhouettes! As always, orders of $65 or more receive free shipping within the US (discounted shipping for our International customers)

The Craft's Meow's Non-Release Festivities Catch-Up

Hello, friends! Thank you for your sweet comments on yesterday's post HERE and HERE. I have been blessed by your love and prayers. Thank you!

I have missed the last two days of The Craft's Meow's festivities, so here is my catch-up post. First of all, TCM is having a HUGE sale! From now through Sunday, April 21st, take 21% off of your entire order, including already low sale prices on retiring stamp sets, by entering the code April21 at checkout! If your order net of the discount exceeds $50, then place in your cart this month's free gift with purchase, Sweet Silhouettes! As always, orders of $65 or more receive free shipping within the US (discounted shipping for our International customers)

Today's theme is Masculine. I used my Sweet Silhouettes to make this birthday card. I distressed this quite a bit. I've been playing around with my Distress Inks as well. I'm still not good at it and prefer the "cleaner" distressing, if that makes sense :). I die cut the frame using Spellbinders Labels 10. I know lace and Want2Scrap pearls are girly, but I thought I roughen them up enough here to fit in a masculine card. I stapled the messy lace and colored the pearls black with Copic markers. What do you think?

My next card is for Tuesday's hop with the Card for a Child theme. I used TCM's Sweet Birthday on this. The papers are October Afternoon. I also used Spellbinders' Lacey Circle die, Copics and Twinery twine. The cake is adorned with Want2Scrap pearls.

This next one is for yesterday's Feminine/Mother's day theme. I used Beautiful Spring and Mother & Father stamp sets. The papers are Penny Black's Madison. I colored the butterfly with Copics. I also used some Want2Scrap bling on this card.

Finally, the NinaB Designs team is hopping right now. Check out HERE for more info and giveaway!
This is it for me today. Thank you for your visit and I hope you're all enjoying a beautiful spring day!

My Grandpa's Amazing Story

In case you've been wondering where I've been...my grandfather passed away on Saturday, peacefully in his sleep. He was 96 years old. He was a WW2 veteran and one of the very last Bataan Death March survivors. Though he was Filipino, he served in the US Army, but somehow was never recognized for his service during the war. Perhaps this little tribute would bring to light his amazing story, which is definitely worth telling.

Below is his short autobiography, written many years ago. He had a sharp mind till the end. He was the one who introduced me to the Bible. He was always curious about spirituality and I remember him taking us from one church to another. He finally found his "home church" in a small church plant where I attended Sunday School for the first time. I will forever be thankful to him for not accepting the religion of the masses, but looked for the truth on his own. I'm glad he found it in the Bible, which has changed so many lives in our family. 

Please read the full story on my Taste and See the Lord's Goodness blog.

NinaB Designs April 2013 Blog Hop, Giveaway and Winner!

Welcome to the NinaB Designs Blog Hop! The theme of this month's hop is Stamping Techniques. I challenged the team to do a technique, which could be as simple as coloring, die-cutting or more involved like emboss resist, making your own embellishments, etc.

I have two cards for you today. The first one uses a few techniques: fussy cutting, Copic coloring on the flower (Penny Black's Dahlias set), die cutting, embossing and stenciling the jar (Spellbinders' Homespun dies). I also made a background and tag for my sentiments using stamps from Penny Black's Embellishments set.

The sentiment is from PB's Treemendous set. The paper strip is from PB's Madison. A little bit of twine and button on the jar finish the card.

My second card uses my new The Craft's Meow's Take the Cake set. The techniques I used here are die cutting, fussy cutting, and 2-step stamping.

The papers are October Afternoon. The pearls are Want2Scrap. The die cut doily is Spellbinders' Persian Motifs dies.

Here are the products I used:

The NinaB Designs team is giving away these TWO PRIZE PACKAGES:

Prize #1

 Prize #2: TCM's Crafty Shelf and Retired LOC Elegant Labels set

Winners will be picked randomly from 2 of the designers' blogs:

Nina Brackett * Clare Buswell * Heather Jensen * Jennie Harper * Jessica Fick * Lea Lawson * Linda Lucas * Rae Barthel

Everybody is welcome to comment and be eligible to win. The winners will be announced on April 22 on My Blog. International commenters are welcome.

***Before I leave, here is the winner from my previous post...Leanne! Please email me via tab above with your info. Finally, please consider liking the following Facebook pages that are represented on today's hop, so you don't miss the latest news and happenings:

NinaB Designs

Spellbinders Paper Arts

The Craft's Meow

Penny Black Inc.
 Want2Scrap 

Thank you for joining us today!

Changes to the NinaB Designs Team!

Hello, dear friends. As you know, I have been so fortunate to have a group of talented ladies who help promote my designs on our (somewhat) monthly blog hop. I still pinch myself for having such a fantastic group that supports me in my design endeavors and makes my designs shine! I don't believe you can find a better team out there than these dear friends who have joined me in my creative journey.

I'm sad to say that we will be saying goodbye to two of these ladies, Julie Overby and Beatriz Jennings. They have been an invaluable part of our team this past year. Their unique style and jaw-dropping creations have been a source of inspiration to me and I'm sure for you all. So, Julie and Beatriz, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for gracing our group with your lovely work, for supporting me in my design work and for being patient with me as I fumbled my way through organizing a team! You will be missed, but I support your decision wholeheartedly to leave in order to spend more time pursuing "life" and all those wonderful blessings that are more important than our beloved hobby.

I want to introduce you now to two lovely ladies who will be joining our little NBD family. Not only are these ladies among the industries' best, but they have also become dear friends of mine in my short paper crafting career. They both design for many manufacturers, so I'm humbled to have them join me as well. I have had the privilege of meeting them both at CHA 2010. I'll share more about them in future posts, but first let me introduce you to the new team members.

When Rae Barthel and I first met, we immediately hit it off! She had her sweet mom with her and we talked non stop about another mutual love, Croatia. As you know, Croatia is my current home and Rae is Croatian by heritage...instant connection! I was just excited to meet THE Paper Crafts Magazine Gallery Idol winner of 2009! That is no small feat, my friends. And she is one of those truly sweet people who are down to earth, warm and makes you feel loved.

Here is one gorgeous card she made using some of my designs:

This next lady is another dear friend, Jessica Fick. We go a long way back. In fact, she was there when I first arrived in the amazing world of paper crafting! We have worked together for a few companies, including currently The Craft's Meow. I have learned from her as a designer and have shared life experiences with her as a friend. You know the kind that either makes you miserable or a better person. She has been a source of encouragement and support and for that I will always be thankful to her.

 Here's a beautiful card she made using one of my TCM stamps.

So, am I blessed or what? Please join me in welcoming them to the team. In honor of their joining the team, let's have a giveaway, shall we? Just leave me a comment below and I'll pick a random winner on Monday, when we have the NinaB Designs April blog hop. I hope you can join us! Until then, have a great weekend!

Happy Colors, Happy Cards

I have two cards for you today. I love the bright colors and the twine just shouts happy, don't you think? :) The first one was posted on the TCM's blog previously uses my new Take the Cake stamp set. The papers are October Afternoon. You can see details HERE.

I am not sure if I have shared the card below, but here it is anyway. It uses TCM's Geometric Foundations. I colored the Chevron stripes with Copics. The heart bling is from Want2Scrap.

I have exciting news to share with you tomorrow! And maybe we'll even have a giveaway...stay tuned!