Winner of the Coffee Blog Hop

Hi, friends. We've had a family situation that I will be taking time off my blog the next few weeks. We're all fine, if you're wondering. I just need to get time to attend to non-crafty things the next few weeks. I'm also trying to catch up with home school stuff as we approach the end of the semester in about a month.

Thank you for wonderful comments from the Coffee Blog Hop . The winner of my giveaway is.... #41karenladd.  I sent you an email, Karen.

And I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Here's a great quote of what's amazing about Christ's birth!

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Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

I've been so busy with life and the added holiday goings-on. It's all good, but it's nice to take a little break to take part in today's blog hop. My friend, Amy Tsuruta, is spearheading this event with coffee-loving paper crafters like yours truly. And we have a ton of surprises and prizes for you. Make sure you comment to be eligible for my own blog candy below.

As I was planning my card, I realized of all the many stamps I own, I only have one that's coffee or tea-themed. It's a tiny 3x2 stamp set that didn't inspire me. So, since I've been loving experimenting with my watercolors, I decided to draw my own mug of hot yumminess and color it with watercolors. As you can see I'm still new at this, but the flaws add to the cup's character. :)

I wanted it holiday-themed as well, so I heat embossed a snowflake from Penny Black's All is Bright set right on the mug. The stamped tag was made using Papertrey Tiny Tags. I received that as a gift many years ago and just now it's being used. I added a Want2Scrap pearl in the center and also some fancy bling along the bottom. The panel and tag were attached using Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Foam Squares.

Now on to giveaways. The first is mine: some lovely Want2Scrap bling! Use these to decorate your coffee-themed stamped images like I did above. I will pick the winner from the comments below.

Here are the Super Sponsors of the hop. Some info about the giveaways:

• Everyone who links up with a newly created holiday coffee/or other favorite hot holiday drink project is eligible (No back linking). 
• You can add your project via inlinkz, which will be available on Amy Tsuruta's blog at 6 am PST on Wednesday, December 10th, until 11:55 pm PST on Friday, December 12th.
• 5 prizes will be awarded to people who comment on ALL of the linked blogs!
• Please make sure to turn off word verification.
• When commenting, please make sure you leave info on how you can be contacted, so we can notify you if you're the winner.
• The blog hop is open until Sunday, Dec 14th.
• Make sure you check Amy Tsuruta's blog for more detailed info.

Happy hopping!

17Turtles	Veronica Zalis	Chris Franco
Add a Little Dazzle	Butterfly Reflections Ink	Color Cast Designs
Create a Smile	Hero Arts	Kraftin' Kimmie
Kreative Kymona	Latina Crafter	Neat & Tangled
Newton's Nook	Pickled Potpourri Designs	Poppystamps
Reverse Confetti	Stamp Academy	Stamp Simply Ribbon Store
STAMPlorations	SugarPea Designs	Sweet 'n Sassy
The Alley Way Stamps	Two Paper Divas	Verve Stamps
Whole Wild World	Your Next Stamp	Paper Smooches

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Thank You, Paper Crafts Blog Hop

Today, a large group of paper crafters are expressing our thanks to our beloved magazine, Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking, that will be closing its doors early next year. I have had the honor to have several projects published through their beautiful magazines over the years. It's hard to believe that it will be no more.

Thank You, Paper Crafts Magazine and Staff. You have been my source of inspiration ever since I started paper crafting a few years ago. You have made my day many times when I received the acceptance emails from Susan that my projects would be published by you. You will surely be missed. My prayers are with you as you seek new adventures and adjust to life apart from our beloved PC Mags.

If you came from Heather's blog, then you're in the right spot.  My card today is pretty easy with a simple sentiment. I free hand painted the tree with watercolors. The sentiment is from Penny Black Sunny Hello. The panel was attached using Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Photo Corners.

To make the tree, I first loaded my brush with watercolor paint, then flicked it all over the paper with my fingers. I then smeared more water on the drops. When that dried, I painted the trunk and branches. Finally, I added the blue background and grass.

Your next stop is CLEARSNAP, makers of some of my favorite inks. Happy hopping!

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Peace Joy Tag Cards

Hello, friends. Sorry for my absence the last couple of weeks. Thanksgiving took all of my free time and I'm thankful for the much-needed break. Before I share my card, I have to ask you to come back tomorrow. I will be part of the largest blog hop I've ever been part of, I believe. You don't want to miss it! Also, I still have some stamps and dies for sale HERE. If there's anything your really want and the price isn't agreeable to you, please shoot me an email and let me know your best offer.

My card today has one of my favorite color combos (red, white and blue). I didn't use any stamping here. Can you believe it? The papers, buttons and tags are by Fancy Pants. The sentiment dies are by Penny Black Love & Joy.

I stitched around the white panel. The tags were mounted using Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L foam squares.

Challenges: Runway Inspired, The Card Concept, Just Us Girls, SSS Monday, Card Mania, Die-cut Divas, Vintage Stamping.

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Watercolored Swirly Background CAS Card

Hello, I have a simple card for you today.I first heat embossed watercolor paper with sparkly white powder using my Penny Black Dotted Fusion stamp. I then colored it with various Distress markers and wet them to blend the colors.

The sentiment is from Penny Black Amazing! which I stamped on a flag. The only embellishment the card needs is a little flower and some burlap string. Adhesives are by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L.

Challenges: Time Out Challenge (embossing) Paper Players (CAS Thank You), The Shabby Tea Room (Photo Inspiration with Burlap), Runway Inspired (Photo inspired colors), CASology (flag sentiment), Cardabilities (sketch), ATRS (Make Your Mark), Uniko Studio (anything goes and/or sketch).

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Golden Autumn Leaves

Gold has been trendy for a while now and I've resisted using it because it's just not me. The only thing gold I own is my wedding ring. But as I was organizing my craft room, I stumbled upon some old gold embossing powder that was just begging to be used. So, here's the result, which was inspired by so many lovely challenges going on right now. I used my Penny Black Foliage Fancy set. I inked the solid images with distressed ink spritzed then with a little water before stamping.

I then heat embossed the detailed images with gold. The sentiment is from Penny Black as well. I finish the card with a simple flag sentiment, button and a burlap string. Adhesives are by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L.

Challenges: Virginia's View, Shabby Tea Room, The Paper Players, Runway Inspired, Pals Paper Arts.

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Water Color Painting Card #2

I'm back with my 2nd card this week using a freehand watercolor painting. This is really easy to do. I just basically tapped my very wet brush with the paint directly onto the paper. I then spritzed just a tiny bit of water and let it dry before painting the trunk and branches.

I distressed the edges and sponged some ink to make it look vintage. The sentiment is from Penny Black's Foliage Fancy. I finish the card with a little bird sticker by Paper House.

I have two more cards using the same technique but with very different results. Challenges: Moxie Fab Trees, CASE this Sketch, colorQ, Addicted to Rubber Stamps, The Pink Elephant.

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