Tis the Season

Christmas in July is less than a day away from being over (already?!) but that doesn't mean I can't squeeze in one last Christmas card! 

This card is for the new Whimsical Designs challenge - create a project featuring a bug or animal. Originally I had a bug in mind, but saw this adorable "Christmas Moose" stamp from our sponsor, QKR Stampede, and couldn't pass up its cuteness!

The plaid paper is from Recollections, and I used some ribbon and lace to embellish the card. I colored the moose with my Copics and added Christmas Red and Green Stickles to the light bulbs. The Tis the Season sentiment is from Whimsical's "Snow Much Fun" stamp set. Love this set!

As stated earlier in the post, our sponsor for this challenge is QKR Stampede, and the winner will receive 5 digital stamps of their choice!

Hope to see you joining in the fun! :)

Sending Love

Told ya I'd be back today with another post! Two posts, actually, as it's Wednesday and there's a new challenge at Whimsical Designs, which you can read all about here. :)

On to my project for Heartstring Designs today! Using a piece of Kraft cardstock and chipboard embellishments for their Summer Lovin' kit, I created a CAS card:

I created the background using Tim Holtz Distress Inks (I believe in Tumbled Glass, Broken China, and Pine Needles) and water. I put some ink in each color on wax paper, misted it with water, and then pressed my paper onto the wax paper to let it absorb the ink, then helped it dry using my heat gun. Super easy and fun technique! There's also some enamel dots on there from My Mind's Eye, and the 'sending love' sentiment is from Sweet Stamp Shop's "Packaged Pretty" stamp set.

As this is my last post for Heartstring Designs, I'd like to give a quick shout to Madge for giving me this awesome opportunity and thank the design team for being so warm and welcoming! It was truly a pleasure creating with your kit and being inspired by all your projects. :)

To the Beach!

Oh how I'd love to be on the beach right now! Especially after this unusually chilly summer weekend. At least crafting a summer project provides sort of a mental getaway, right? :)

I'm having such a good time guest designing for Heartstring Designs that not only do I have a project to share with you today, but I'll have another one tomorrow, too!

Today's project is a card featuring Peachy Keen Stamps and of course, items from the July Summer' Lovin kit!

Items from the kit include the light blue base paper, the anchor paper, and all the embellishments. The striped and patterned papers aren't from the kit, however they are from the same Fancy Pants line that is included by the kit, called Down by the Shore. Such a fun summer collection!

The octopus is just too excited to be headed to the beach! He's from Peachy Keen's June stamp set of the month, and I colored him with Copics Y11, Y13, Y17 and Y67. I'm also linking up this card to their photo inspiration challenge this week:

 Don't forget to check out the new Heartstring Designs Ning site, and stop back here tomorrow for another post using this month's fabulous kit!

Use What You Have Challenge #10

Happy Monday! How was your weekend?! Mine was okay, it was pretty chilly for late July here in Illinois - our highs were only in the upper 60's/low 70's! Talk about a fall-like weekend. I was able to get a bit of crafting done since the weather wasn't all that great, and whipped up a card for the current Use What You Have challenge over at Sweet Stamp Shop:

The background papers, enamel dots, and Memories flag are all from Teresa Collins' "Memories" collection. Love the color combo! The twine and ribbon are from my stash, and the gray polka dot card is actually a Project Life card! I've got quite a few of those around here and thought it would be fun to use one on a card for a change. :)

From my stash, I pulled a couple of My Mind's Eye tags - the arrow and the teal tag - I bought a huge lot of them months ago thinking I'd use them all the time on my projects, and have really only used a couple. So this week I gave them some love!

The 'Miss You' stamp is from Sweet Stamp Shop's "Simple Sentiments" set. I just ordered a few more sets from their awesome collection and can't wait to get them!

Christmas in July New Release Blog Hop!

Welcome to The Paper Nest Dolls' Christmas in July New Release Blog Hop!

Today the very talented and creative design team of The Paper Nest Dolls has put together this hop to share with you projects made using our 10 new holiday stamps!

Digital versions of these stamps regularly sell for $3.00 each, but from today through Tuesday July 30th you can get ALL 10 images for only $20 HERE in our shop!

I made a fun and bright Christmas card using the new Snow Girl Emma stamp:

She was super fun to color! The papers are scraps from an old Recollections Christmas collection that I used a few years ago for Christmas cards. I wanted her to be the focus of the card, so I didn't over embellish and only used some lace and pearls. The 'Waiting For Santa' sentiment is from Whimsical Designs, and I added some Diamond Stickles to her outfit.

Copics Used:

Skin - E00, E11

Hair - E13, E19, E21, E25

Outfit - R24, R20, G05, G09

We couldn't host a blog hop without fun giveaways! One lucky winner will receive our entire set of new images, one lucky winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to our shop, and another lucky winner will receive the prize pack pictured below!

Christmas in July Prize Package!

Participants must comment on every stop of the hop and be a follower of our blog for a chance to win! We also encourage you to become a fan of our Facebook page!

Winners will be announced on Wednesday July 31st over at

 The Paper Nest Dolls blog!

You're next stop is Lori Ann's blog. 

Here's the complete lineup:

The Paper Nest Dolls

Ashley

Lori Ann

Michele

Valerie

Nikki

Jasmina

Lydia

Katrina

Kelly

Tina

Thanks so much for hopping with us! :)

You Make Me Smile All Over My Face

It's time for another Whimsical Wednesday challenge at Whimsical Designs! This week we are piling it on and using at least three layers of paper and two or more embellishments on our projects. Fun! I created a card using papers from Authentique's "Grace" collection (graciously provided by our sponsor this week - The Paper Parade) and a stamp from The Greeting Farm.

Here's a close up of the stamp, which I colored with Copics:

The embellishments I used on my card are crinkle ribbon, pearls, and Liquid Pearls. 

The sentiment is from the Whimsical Fun Vol. 1 stamp set.

The Paper Parade is also sponsoring this week's challenge with a $15 gift certificate to their store!

Hope to see you piling it on with us!

With Liberty & Justice For All

Happy Tuesday! I'm back with another project for my guest designer stint at Heartstring Designs! This week I decided to create a couple of tags using their July bonus kit, which includes patriotic papers by Authentique!

I was so inspired by these gorgeous papers that I made not one, but two tags! All papers and stickers are from Authentique.

I used 3 Girl Jam crinkle ribbon to add the finishing touches to each tag.

I was a little intimidated by this paper collection at first since it's a bit vintage for my style, but it really started to grow on me when I was making the tags! I'll definitely be saving my leftover scraps to make more 4th of July projects next summer.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Christmas Money Holder

Happy Monday! Just a quick post today as I've got a lot of running around to do. Gotta hit the pharmacy, the post office, Hobby Lobby, and both jobs. Thankfully I was able to finish my project for Peachy Keen's money card holder challenge before the craziness of the day begins!

The file for this card came from the Silhouette store, and I cut the base using Kraft cardstock. Then, I pulled out July's stamp set of the month and got to work! I used the coordinating SVG files to cut out the penguin, the sign, and the light post/lamp. I stamped my images, and colored them with Copic markers. The penguins scarf looks orange in this picture, but I promise it's red. :) I embossed the snow with my Cuttlebug and gave it some sparkle using Diamond Stickles, and also added Waterfall Stickles to the penguin's earmuffs. I embellished the snowflake paper with some White Opal Liquid Pearls for extra dimension. 

And here's the inside! I added more wintery papers, and used the SWEET! stamp from the July stamp set as well. Who doesn't think it's sweet to get money?! 

Thanks for reading! I've gotta go get that twenty dollar bill out of the money holder before I forget I put it in there. ;)

Surf, Sun, & Stickles Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Surf, Sun, & Stickles Blog Hop brought to you by the All that Stickles design team!

We're in the midst of a heat wave and what better way to cool off then indoors crafting with some Stickles?! This month's hop is all about using Stickles on those fun, summer-themed projects we all love to create. 

I created a fun, summer beach bag using a file from the Silhouette store and some Peachy Keen Stamps:

The palm tree and the beach ball are stamps from Peachy Keen. I cut out their coordinating SVG files and stamped them, then colored them with Copic markers. 

I accented the flower using a piece of CANDi embellished with Star Dust Stickles, and I added Cotton Candy Stickles to the creases of the flower. 

The sentiment is attached to the bag with twine (made to look like a shopping tag) and is also from Peachy Keen's June Stamp Kit of the Month set.

We have blog candy for those who are a follower of All that Stickles and leave a comment on every stop of the hop! Winners will be announced Wednesday July 24th at All that Stickles.

Wunder's Creations

Winner's Choice of a Cricut or Cameo cover

Fresh Brewed Designs

$15 Gift Certificate

SKdigis

$6 Voucher

Bugaboo Stamps

10 Digis of Winner's Choice

QKR Stampede

5 Digis of Winner's Choice

Your next stop is Chas's blog!

Here's the complete lineup:

All that Stickles

Tonya

Ashley

Chas

Julie

Karen

Cathy

Ann

Thanks for hopping! :) Don't forget to check out our Waterfall Linky Party!

Yummo!

Happy Hump Day! (Mike Mike Mike) Has anyone seen that commercial? Cracks me up every time :) If you haven't seen it I probably sound like a complete loon, but look it up online and you'll understand what I'm talking about! :)

Hump Day means it's time for a new challenge at Whimsical Designs, and this week it's all about using your favorite colors! Now, I'm one of those people whose favorite colors are constantly changing, but lately I've been really loving a soft peach/aqua/brown color combo.

Using some beautiful paper from Authentique, sponsored by The Paper Parade, I created a recipe card holder! These cute bi-fold cards came with the collection and they hold index cards perfectly, which led me to the idea of a recipe card holder. Paired together with the "Yummo!" stamp from the Whimsical Fun Vol. 1 stamp set, I think it's a great fit! I embellished it with some Distress Ink, flowers, pearls, crinkle ribbon, and a sentiment from the paper collection.

Our sponsor this week is The Paper Parade and one lucky winner will receive a $15 gift certificate! 

So I have to ask, what's your favorite crafty color combo? :)