Friday, September 30, 2011

Paper Crafts Magazine Presents: 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop

Hello! Welcome to Paper Crafts Magazine's 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop. Today we are celebrating the new issue of Holiday Cards and More, Vol. 6 and World Card Making Day which is tomorrow (yeah!!!) & the start of the holiday card making season (double yeah!!!).
I am thrilled to be participating in this blog hop because it truly is my favorite time of the year... what could be better than having your scrap space full of beautiful Christmas & holiday product and having your house full of the smell of pumpkin spice? I had a friend in college who always referred to a great blend of food as the "perfect bite"... this brew of fall time  & Christmas card making is the "perfect bite" for me.

Today 12 designers from Holiday Cards & More will be sharing new quick n' easy holiday cards. Quick 'n easy cards are often the way to go when making holiday cards in mass. My favorite part about working in this issue was putting together the Super Scraps Card (p. 156) and step-outs to show you how you can use your scraps to make quick and easy cards by the dozen.

My card design for today's hop is one that I will most likely give to my girl friends when we get together before Christmas. I like to make all my gal pals the same card, so I need a design that will quickly translate to 8 or 10 cards. And when I say quickly I mean... oh no!, its 4 o'clock and I need to make the cards before I leave at 6:30 pm... and feed the kids, and wash the dog... that kind of quick.
To create this card:
1) make card from cardstock
2) adhere decorative paper to face of card
3) stamp sentiment
4) tie on bow and embellish bells

My tips for making quick & simple cards is to use products that you are comfortable with and love working with, for instance my top 2 go-to products are satin ribbon and patterned paper. So I started by finding a patterned paper that I loved and made that the focus of my design along with a big bow.  Lastly I try to add one novel item to add which in this case is the silver bells.


So... do you want a copy of the new Holiday Cards & More? It is fabulous... chock full of cards & projects that are just genius & totally doable. This issue is a must!  You can leave a comment here for your chance to win it, or you can order yours on line HERE.  All comments must be posted by midnight (MDT) on Sunday, Oct. 2.


- - - ETA- contest closed. Winner has been notified. - - -

Lastly, don't forget to stop by Paper Crafts Connection today for your chance to win a festive holiday prize and visit the 11 other designers for even more inspiration.



Thanks for stopping by today... enjoy the hop!


Products: decorative paper (ANW Crestwood), ribbon (Schiff Ribbons), bells (Creatology by Michaels), stamp (Very Merry Christmas by Hero Arts), cardstock (Papertry Ink).

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Spellbinders and Core’dinations Blog Swap

Welcome to the Spellbinders™ and Core'dinations® Blog Swap!


This week Spellbinders™ has teamed up with our Core’dinations Color Core
Cardstock® to showcase the wonderful ways our products work together!



Here's a gift box that I made for the hop featuring Spellbinder's S4-351 Spiral Blossoms One Die Template and Core’dinations Core Impression Jenni Bowlin Studio Collection: Everyday. I thought I'd make a great little catcher for all of my daughter's pencils that she leaves laying around the house no that school is back in session:)


Sophistication, value and maximum versatility make Spellbinders™ die
templates #1. Beautiful Details Inspiring Creativity…Spellbinders unique
triple function die templates allow you to cut, emboss, and then stencil
through the die template for unlimited possibilities. The Spellbinders Grand
Calibur® machine and Spellbinders Grand Nestabilities™ die templates cut and
emboss up to 11¾”, taking die cutting to grand proportions. Follow
 Spellbinders on Facebook, Twitter
and the Spellbinders Blog!





Core’dinations ColorCore Cardstock is the only sandable cardstock with a
color core. Sand it, tear it, emboss it and so much more! The Core
Essentials line comes in over 160 colors with matching color families.

Or
maybe you are looking for something a bit more contrasting like the Black
Magic or Chocolate Box collections. The sandable core will shine through the
unique black and brown colors once it is sanded.

Core’dinations has also
teamed up with industry leading companies such as Pink Paislee, BasicGrey,
Graphic 45 and more to create new and unique pre-embossed cardstock that
perfectly accents their patterned papers.



But there is more! Check out Core’dinations website for the new Cardmaker
Series, Kraft-Core and various other wonderful cardstock lines.

 And Visit the Core'dinations Blog to see today's Core'dinations Blog Swap Designers!

Want to win?
Spellbinders is offering TWO winners, drawn from the comments left on the participating Designer's blogs, each a $24.99 value die template of their choice.

Stop by each Designer’s Blog and leave a comment to enter to win!  (You can find a link to all of the blogs HERE). Spellbinders will randomly draw winners at the end of the week from all the comments posted on the designers blogs, so be sure to check back on their blog.


- - - ETA- Winners from blog hop have been announced HERE - - -
Core'dinations will be giving away prizes too so be sure to visit their Scrapbook Blog for details.
Have fun and good luck!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Go-to Gal Designer Challenge... World Card Making Day

Hi all & welcome to the Go-to Gal's Designer Challenge!

On the last Wednesday of the month Paper Crafts Magazine's Go-to Gals take turns picking a manufacturer and then we challenge each other to create something using those products. Its a fun little hop to see how we put some of our favorite goodies to use. There are really no rules... some times we all play, some times we don't.

Today everyone's playing along so you are certain to see some fabulous cards along the way. A little holiday inspiration... because World Card Making Day is just 3 days away... 

...and World Card Making Day is the kick off for the holiday card making season. So put on your favorite holiday music & and enjoy the hop!


Today we are all using Hero Arts - BasicGrey's Nordic Holiday collection of stamps and we all have give-a-ways! Yep, you'll find that we are each giving away a different stamp/set from the Nordic Holiday collection... all you have to do is hop & leave a comment on each blog.


Here's what I've got for you...
To create this card start by making your card from cardstock and cover the face with patterned paper (I used BasicGrey's 6x6 Nordic Collection pad). Stamp image on kraft, cut down to smaller size, mount on cardstock and adhere to face of card with foam tape. Stamp image on kraft (using red ink), cut into tree shape and ink edges & adhere to card with foam tape. Lastly, embellish with ribbon, bells and a sentiment tag.

Ok.. want to win this stamp that I've used on my card today?
And (if that's not enough to get you ready for World Card Making Day) the awesome folks over at Paper Crafts Magazine have thrown in a copy of Holiday Cards & More, Vol. 6.  Can't beat that for holiday paper crafting inspiration! Comments must be received by Thursday evening at 5 PM MDT.
- - - ETA- contest closed. Winner has been notified. - - -


Ok, so what are you waiting for... go visit Betsy, Julie, Jennifer, Kim & Teri:) Have fun!


P.S. If you want more ideas for you WCMD party... Jump over to Paper Crafts Connection & Moxie Fab World because they are celebrating both World Card Making Day & the new issue of Holiday Cards & More all week! 

Sept. Zva Blog Hop Winners



We'd like to congratulate the FIVE June Zva Blog Hop winners! Their names will be found on the following blogs:
Windy Robinson*** That's here... yeah!
April W.... you are the winner from this blog! Here is the comment that you left:

What a gorgeous card! LOVE the colors...
- April W

Congratulations! Please send your mailing address to me at windyrobinson@gmail.com.
One winner from each of the 4 other blogs + April will receive a Zva prize package worth $30.00. Congrats winners!

Zva Products: Supplies Used: FL-04CA-125 (Dual Frosty Flowers/Soft Blue), FL-04CA-138 (brown graceful rose), PE-03CA-113 (Soft Blue Double Flourishes)

Monday, September 26, 2011

Zva Creative Sept. DT Blog Hop!

Zva Creative and our talented Design Team welcomes you to join us this month for a blog hop that we feel is always extra special!  We thought it would be more fun to add even more chances to win our blog hop prize!  See details below.
The summer trade show was in July, which means brand new Zva Creative products.  So please keep an eye out for them at your local craft stores.
As you know, Zva offers so many beautiful color groupings for pearls, flowers and crystals.  We want to make sure that they shine bright for you, so each designer was asked to share a creation using a specific color or color combination on their blog hop project.  

The Blog Hop begins at 
Kim Hughes' blog. She will have the complete list of all blogs that are participating in case there is a glitch along the way. If you would like to play along, just follow along the blog path.  I am linking to one of the Zva designers and that designer is linking to the next and so on. Be prepared to be inspired along the way. Hidden on FIVE of the blogs is a Zva Creative prize package...YAY! Winners will be randomly chosen after the hop is over, so it's important to leave a comment on as many blogs as you can along the way.

The Blog Hop starts today, September 26th and runs through midnight US Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, September 27h and the 5 winners will be announced on Wednesday, September 28th on each of the five winning blogs. The full list will be found on Kim Hughes‘s blog as well (linked above). We will do our best to notify each winner, but it's best if you can pop in to all of the blogs once again on Wednesday...plus, you never know what kind of inspirational creation that you may find there. All you need to do is leave a comment on this Zva Blog Hop post...you do not need to leave a comment on each and every designer's blog post to qualify. The more times you leave a comment along the blog hop path though, the more chances you will have to be one of the lucky winners.
To increase your chances of winning:
* Comment to let us know that you posted on your Facebook page about our hop (link to any of the blog hop posts)
* Comment to let us know that you "tweeted" about our hop (link to any of the blog hop posts)
* Comment to let us know that you asked your local store to carry Zva creative products.  If they already do, that's fantastic, maybe you can suggest other products that they don't carry

Sooo, you have FOUR chances on each blog to win one of our FIVE prizes!  That's technically OVER 50 chances :)
The card that I'm sharing today uses Zva's Lime Crystal/Pearl Flourish (CR-04CA-132), one white sweet rose (FLBK-03CB-133) and two rosy transition mini roses (FLBK-03CB-144).  It is my farewell to summer... a commemoration of the last round of blooms that are now starting to bud on my rose bushes.

The blog hop begins here: 
Kim Hughes if you want to start hopping from the start. Your next stop is here: Tara Orr's blog (you are going to love what Tara has to share today).

Thank you SO MUCH for joining us!

Saturday, September 24, 2011

The life of a project...

So I'm here today to share how projects are often birthed, changed and purposed in my creative life. The mini album that I'm about to share was initially made as a project for Donna Salazar as a design team requirement for GCD Studios. We were given some inspiration photos to serve as a source for our monthly projects. I fell in love with and selected this one...
Wow! As I look at it, I think... everything in it inspires me... from the color palette to the dimension and texture of the flower to the opaqueness of the lace of the class candle holders. All of it stunning. 

So here's my project that resulted from this inspiration...
To create this mini album I used Donna Salazar's One Sheet Wonderful, Spring Blooms, and Spring Skies patterned papers from her Spring in Bloom collection by GCD Studios.  All of those papers are perfectly suited to imitate this inspiration piece. To create the flowers I used Spellbinder's die template LF-005 Grand Peony Creations (which are also designed by Donna). After cutting multiple dies on my Grand Calibur die cutting machine, I inked crumpled and layered them the flowers and leaves.
I added some linen tinted tape from Vintage Street Market to mirror the candle wraps.
Ultimately, this project ended up sitting on my desk for a few weeks waiting for its purpose... and then along came the need for a baby gift and luckily something pink was just what I needed. So I added a few mini letters to personalize it...
That's it... how this project came about. It started as a project for a design team assignment and turned into a darling baby gift. Some times I'm so glad that I'm crafty....its fun to give these kind of gifts. 

Well, I'm signing off for the weekend. Next week will be pretty busy around here so be sure to stop by... I'll have lots of new projects and give-a-ways to share. Take care & thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Inspired by...

this...

... to create this...

I'm keeping it short & sweet today. The patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye, stamp by Hero Arts, flowers by Petaloo, pearls by Zva Creative and pink domes by Mark Richards. I'm hoping to get a linking program up and running here on the blog so I can link products for you & make it easier for you to find anything you may love:)

Have a fabulous day!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A little enabling...

... because my all time favorite stamp set is now available at 2 Peas in the Bucket. Its a little one... but the price is little too... only $6. I first got it in a kit for a stamping class that I took from Technique Tuesday a few years ago & used it to create these chipboard frames for my husband's desk at work...
 

... love them! He did too because they were gone the next day & he never takes his stuff off the table that fast...lol. The stamps are a clear set called Live in the Moment by Technique Tuesday.  Here's the image...

My favorite part if the set is that decorative flourish... stamped multiple times it really make an impact (both of these frames are fairly large measuring around 8" x 8" and 5" x 7"). The sentiments are cool too! It may be a small stamp set, but its mighty!

That's all I have for today... hope you are having a good one!

Monday, September 19, 2011

A Busy Mom's Sampler

Hello! I'm dropping here today to share a technique that will help you simplify those ever so trendy samplers that all over the internet right now. Here's an example of one of those extremely detailed, gorgeous samplers...


That beauty makes me yearn for life before kids... for the days when I had the time to do needlepoint... strike that! Reverse it. I'm having too much fun as a mama to my girls, so I'll just skip the authentic sampler making for now and use my scrapbooking supplies to create a "Simplified Sampler."

How about this?
I still get my trendy sampler fix, but I can finish it in one evening and give it as a gift for a girl friend who's expecting a little girl. 

Here's how I made it:
1) Start with a pre-made canvas and lay down letters from Animal Crackers for Girls collection rub-ons.
2) Use a clear ruler to make certain that letters line up straight.
3) Use rub-on tool to apply rub-ons to surface of canvas. Note: place a book under the canvas so you have a hard surface to work on.
4) Embellish with stickers, ribbon or other embellishments that you may have on hand.

And that's it... easy but doable! Thanks for stopping by today:)

Products used: rub-ons (Animal Crackers for Girls collection by GCD Studios), sticker (Funhouse collection by GCD Studios), ribbon (Michaels Inc.), canvas (Canvas Corp.)

Saturday, September 17, 2011

World Card Making Day 2011


World Card Making Day is just a few weeks away!  Any one have any plans yet? I'm thinking of hosting a little card making night for my girlfriends on Friday. My 13th wedding anniversary is on October 2nd so I'm hoping to be on a date night on World Card Making Day:) But I will be participating in Paper Crafts World Card Making day blog tour & you can too... check out the details HERE. Its always tons of fun!


Thursday, September 15, 2011

Indian Summer

Indian Summer by Emily Dickinson

These are the days when birds come back,
A very few, a bird or two,
To take a backward look.

These are the days when skies put on
The old, old sophistries of June, --
A blue and gold mistake.

Oh, fraud that cannot cheat the bee,
Almost thy plausibility
Induces my belief,

Till ranks of seeds their witness bear,
And softly through the altered air
Hurries a timid leaf!

Oh, sacrament of summer days,
Oh, last communion in the haze,
Permit a child to join,

Thy sacred emblems to partake,
Thy consecrated bread to break,
Taste thine immortal wine!


Love this poem... it inspired this card. It's a simple card to make...

  1. make card from cardstock and cover face of card with patterned paper
  2. adhere band of coordinating cardstock to face of card
  3. ink edges with ink & foam blender
  4. apply pearl flourishes 
  5. adhere flowers
That is it for today... I love how Zva's bling and flowers make a simple card stunning. Thanks for stopping by today!

Source for poem. Products: patterned paper (Webster's Pages), pearls & flowers (Zva Creative).

Friday, September 09, 2011

Want to make it Fabulous?



Want2Scrap™, Spellbinders™ Paper Arts and JustRite® Stampers Designers have teamed up to bring you an amazing four day Blog Hop Event Sept 6 -9, filled with fabulous designs that are sure to inspire all!! Each day we will be sharing a link list with you for the featured designers! 
What would a blog hop be without prizes? Yes, we will also be giving away prizes!! 
The winners will be drawn from the blog commenter so be sure to visit them all and leave a comment on each to increase your chances of winning. The contest for the prizes will be open until midnight Saturday, September 10th. Winners will be announced on Monday September 12th on the company blogs.


SO here is the card I made using fabby products from each manufacturer...

Are you new to
Want2Scrap Spellbinders Paper Arts or JustRite Stampers? Here is a little information about all three of these amazing companies. Each company offers a unique line of products that work wonderfully together to make some fabulous designs. 



Sophistication, value and maximum versatility make Spellbinders die templates #1. Beautiful Details Inspiring Creativity… Spellbinders unique triple function die templates allow you to cut, emboss, and then stencil through the die template for unlimited possibilities. The Spellbinders Grand Calibur® machine and Spellbinders Grand Nestabilities™ cut and emboss up to 11¾”, taking die cutting to grand proportions. Follow Spellbinders on Facebook , Twitter and the Spellbinders Blog !

Want2Scrap™  manufacturers rhinestone lines including the specialty Nestabling™ line along with the newly released Nestaboard™ chipboard line that coordinates perfectly with the Spellbinders Nestabilities® die templates. Want2Scrap also manufacturers their own line chipboard albums and accents, acrylic albums, and multi-layered laser designs and other fine scrapbooking products. Want2Scrap brings ease of use and flexibility in their product lines by offering products uniquely tailored to its customers’ needs. Follow Want2Scrap on Facebook and the Want2Scrap Blog!



JustRite Stampers entire collection of stamps are designed to be compatible with Spellbinders die templates. JustRite Originals interlocking stamp system allows you to mix and match borders and centers to create dozens of design possibilities. Since the spring of 2008, JustRite Original stamps have been designed to coordinate with the Spellbinders NestabilitiesDecorative Elements and Basic Shapes. In January of 2011, JustRite began introducing Cling Stamps Sets designed to coordinate with Spellbinders Nestabilities LabelsJustRite Cling stamps are deeply etched pre-cut red rubber mounted on Static Cling Foam made in the USA . Cling sets come on a colored 8 1/2 x 6 1/2" Storage Panel for easy storage in our Cling Mini Binder Box. For thousands of ideas on projects using JustRite and Spellbinders die templates visit the JustRite Design Gallery and the JustRite Blog. You can also follow JustRite's blog by following on Facebook and Twitter .

Subscribe to each company’s blog!



Today’s featured bloggers are:





Thank you, we hope you enjoy the Blog Hop. Your comment will count as an prize entry!