Roses

Another card made with "A Year of Flowers". The roses were colored with Prisma colored pencils and OMS. The background papers are from a SU designer paper pack. Petite Oval Nestibilities were used for the frames. A Martha Stewart punch was used for the border. A pearl charm was added to the upper left corner and flat back pearls were added to finish off the design.

Gina from GinaK Designs revealed some new products she will be have in her store. Be sure to check out her blog. One of the new products is a beautiful cardstock you won't want to miss.

THE PREVIEWS BEGIN TOMORROW . . . Gina and her Design team will begin posting cards/projects made with the new June Release stamp sets. On Wednesday, as part of the Center Stage Spotlight Design Team, I will start posting cards I have made with some of the new sets. Be sure to check back. (There are links to all the Design Team Members on the sidebar of my blog.)

This is another card for Melanie's Blog Hop. The flower is from her "A Year Of Flowers" set available from GinaK Designs. The verse is from Gina's Elegant Flowers set. The flowers were black embossed with Detail Black embossing powder on Lovely Lilac cardstock. The leaves were stamped and colored with sponge daubers and Certainly Celery ink. The background is from a SU designer paper pad. The frames were cut using Label Four Nestabilities. A small Certainly Celery sheer ribbon and green pearls were added to complete the card.

Basket of Tulips

I had a hard time photographing this card because it is so pastel. This card is made with the tulip stamp from Melanie's "A Year of Flowers" available from GinaK Designs. The flowers and basket were embossed on glossy card stock using Detail White embossing powder. I love how it gives the tulips a "dainty" look. Sponge daubers were used to color the flowers. The leaves and stems were stamped with Certainly Celery ink on Certainly Celery card stock. Petite Oval Nestabilities were used to cut the frames. The white frame was scored with my Scor Pal then sponged with Sahara Sand ink. The background papers are a combination of designer papers from Basic Grey and SU. A Cuttlebug die border was used on the bottom with small flat back pearls added. Three larger pearls were added to complete the card.

Lillies

If you like to make cards with flowers, "A Year of Flowers" by Melanie is a must!!! For this card I used the Tiger Lilly stamp. The flowers were stamped on glossy cardstock using black ink, then colored using small sponge daubers. When using sponge daubers, you get a quick smooth coverage. The leaves were stamped with black ink on Always Artichoke cardstock then cut out. A Martha Stewart punch was used for the rust colored leaves. Long Rectangle Nestabilities were used for the frame. The top portion is So Saffron and the scalloped piece is Really Rust. The background paper is something I have had for a long time. The frames and flowers are on dimensionals. The jewels were purhased from Michaels.

You can join Melanie's Blog Hop here: http://melaniemuenchinger.blogspot.com/2009/06/year-of-flowers-blog-hop-come-join-fun.html

Sun Flower Pencil Holder

Donna is hosting the Monthly 3-D Challenge on StampTV this month. The challenge is to alter a recycled package. I decided to cover an empty frosting can to create a pretty pencil holder. I used Melanie's "A Year of Flowers". I stamped the flowers on glossy card stock and used sponge daubers to color. The background piece is Chocolate Chip card stock embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. Two different Martha Stewart punches were used for the borders on top and bottom. A piece of green trim was added along the bottom. The sunflowers are put on dimensionals.

You have until the end of the month to create something for this challenge and have a chance to win any GinaK stamp set valued at $24.95 or less. Hope you will join the fun.

Three Red Flowers

I am still working with Melanie's "A Year of Flowers" set. These flowers were black embossed on Real Red card stock then cut out. I cut between each of the petals and curled each petal. The background was created by first embossing a piece of white card stock in the Quickutz, Vine Label, embossing folder then both the top and the bottom were embossed with the Cuttlebug dotted Swiss embossing folder. The leaves were colored using reinkers. A piece of lace/ribbon was put across the label portion of the Vine Label. There are so many possibilities when working with the "A Year of Flowers" set available from GinaK.

I have many cards in my Gallery at StampTV made with "A Year of Flowers". You can see them by clicking on the "My Card Gallery on StampTV" icon in the right Column.

Yellow Rose

This yellow rose is from Melanie's set "A Year of Flowers" by GinaK Designs. It was colored with Koh-I-Noor pencils and OMS. The background paper is from Basic Grey's Porcelain Paper Pad. The yellow background paper on the top is a a small piece of designer paper from my scrap box. The center band was created with a Martha Stewart Punch. Petite Oval Nestabilities was used to create the frame and the white piece was embossed with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder. Small flat back pearls were added for accents.

Yellow Roses

I think I could make cards all day with this set. Here is another one I made as soon as I finished the Red Roses card below. It is also made with the "Year of Flowers" set from GinaK. The roses were colored with colored pencils and OMS. The top designer paper is from Basic Grey and the bottom is a piece of Certainly Celery cardstock embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. A Martha Stewart punch was used for the fern type leaves and a couple of flat backed Apricot pearls added to the top.

Red Roses

Just a quick and easy card using one of my favorite stamp sets. This card was made using the rose from "A Year of Flowers" available from GinaK Designs. The roses were colored using colored pencils and OMS. The Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder was used to emboss the background and a Martha Stewart punch was used for the center border. The border along the bottom is a Cuttlebug embossing border. A Martha Stewart punch was used to add the little fern leaves. Two flat back red pearls were added to the top corners.

Little Slugger!

This set was designed by Melanie Muenchinger for GinaK Designs. The name of the set is "Sporty Accessories". It contains 28 coordinating images and greetings. It was released just a few weeks ago and I have been anxious to make this card. I have two little grandsons who are always on the championship baseball team and I thought this would make a really cute card to send to them.

The card colors are Brilliant Blue and Real Red. Markers were used to color the larger stars. I used reinkers to color the ball and the shoes. Long rectangle Nestabilities were used for the frame. The blue bottom background piece was embossed with the Houndstooth Cuttlebug folder and the top piece was from my scrap designer papers. The center border was stamped using another new set from GinaK called "Ribbon Stripes". There are six different stripes in this set and the stars worked perfect for this card. The larger stars, ball and shoes are on dimensionals as well as the frame. The words on the card are part of the Sporty Accessories set.

Upsy Daisy

I have missed a few days posting to my blog because I have had a great friend visiting. We could spend all our time stamping but were trying to fit lots of other things too, such as touring this area of the country she has not been to, cooking, and just visiting. She loves to learn new things about stamping so had lots of things she wanted me to show her. We always have so much fun when we get together. Late last night, (I mean really late for me, it as midnight,) she was going through my tray of completed cards and she found the above card and fell in love with it. She really wanted to make one similar to it so we stayed up until she could completed one. She is very creative and made a lot of other very beautiful cards including one using Flower Soft that she fell in love with.

The above card is one I wasn't sure I liked, but since she loved it so much, I decided to post it today.

The stamp set used was Upsy Daisy from Stampin' Up!. Markers were used to color the image on the solid stamp. Two different shades of lavender was used on the flowers and Garden Green was used on the stems. The image was cut out using Classic Rectangle Nestabilities. The bottom of the card was created using a rubber band ball rubbed on Lavender Lace stamp pad then pounced on the card stock. The upper half of the card was embossed with the swirls Cuttlebug embossing folder and a Martha Stewart punch used for the border across the middle. The "Thanks" was stamped then cut with a Petite Circle Nestie and sponged prior to taking it out of the die. I love these Kaiser lavender flat back pearls purchased from Joan Fricker (Joan's Gardens).

Come Join my Challenge on StampTV

Hope you will come participate in my first StampTV challenge. As one of the Center Stage Spotlight Designers, I get to host the Potluck Friday Challenge. I hope you will join in on the fun. I will do a random drawing next Friday and someone will win any GinaK stamp set valued at $24.95 or less.

For my challenge, I thought it would be fun to see how creative you can be making a cover for a small tablet or any size Post-It Note pad. For my sample I covered a small tablet. I used a piece of Purley Pomegranite card stock for my cover and used my ScorPal to score the folds. The design is a stamp from the new Showtime Stamp Kit, Eclectic Summer, by GinaK Designs. I stamped the design with black ink and used reinkers to color. I used the gold Copic glitter pen on the bands of the basket. The design and scalloped layers was cut out using Petite oval Nestabilities. I used a piercing tool on the white scalloped layer. A corner punch was used on the top flap of the cover then a white piece of card stock attached along the edge. Three large flat backed pearls were added and a small ribbon finished it off. On the inside I added a Basic Grey Magnetic Snap, available from GinaK Designs.

I hope you will join in on my challenge. Just click on the StampTV challenge icon in my sidebar and go the the Potluck Friday Challenge.

Looking forward to seeing your entry.

Bean thinking about you!

This card was made for Melissa's Sketch Challenge on StampTV. The stamp set is Rupa's "My Cuppa Joe" available from GinaK Designs. There are 21 coordinating images and greetings in this set. So many possibilities!

The three images were stamped then colored with Certainly Celery, Tempting Turquoise, and So Saffron reinkers. I picked the colors up from the designer paper. A little bit of glitter was added to the cupcakes. Square Nestabilities were used for the three frames and a petite circle Nestie used for the salutation. The designer paper is retired from SU. Turquoise rhinestones and ribbon were added as part of the sketch design.

Hope you check out the challenges on StampTV. There are five fun challenges a week. A random drawing is held to select the winner. You get to select any stamp set valued up to $24.95 from GinaK's store.

Amethyst Flower Basket

This beautiful basket of flowers is from the new Showtime Stamp Kit "Eclectic Summer" from GinaK Designs. The flowers were colored with an Almost Amethyst marker and the basket and leaves were colored with Prisma pencils and OMS. The cardstock color is Almost Amethyst. Petite Nestabilities were used for the frames. Two different sizes were used for the scalloped frames and a piercing tool was used to make the holes in each scallop. The Quickutz Vine Label embossing folder was used for the background. A piece of amethyst dotted swiss grosgrain ribbon was placed across the label section of the embossing. The flat backed white pearls were added to the flower centers and larger ones on the background. These pearls were purchased from Joan Fricker at "Joan's Gardens".

My Nestabilities/Cuttlebug Embossing Folder Storage System

Last week I showed you the area where I do my stamping. This picture shows the entire area I work in. It is not fancy, but it works for me.

This picture is a better view of the area I use my Cuttlebug/BigShot, my ScorPal, and my larger paper cutter.

I told you I have a filing system for my Nestabilities and embossing folders that I love. I have tried several ways to store Nestabilities but I am the kind of person that likes things right at my finger tips so when I get an idea, I can just reach and get started with my idea. I tried storing my Nestabilities in CD cases but did not find that satisfactory, so I knew I had to dream up a system I would be happy with.

Below is a close up picture of how my Nestabilities and embossing folders are stored. They are all in a long wire basket which is very easy to flip through. It is so quick and easy to find what I need. There is also a small basket with quarter sheets of cardstock ready to use. I have both a Big Shot and a Cuttlebug. I started with the Cuttlebug, which I love, but because I broke my hand last fall, I decided to purchase a Big Shot because it is sturdier and easier to use with one hand.

This is a close-up of my Nestabilities storage system.

What made me decide that I wanted to store my Nestabilities this way is because, as many of you know, I love to use embossing folders, a lot, and I had them stored in that wire basket. I thought that would also be a perfect system for my Nestabilities. I had my husband go with me to Home Depot to purchase a piece Plexiglas. It comes in many different larger sizes. We also purchased some packages of magnetic vent covers. I had him cut the Plexiglas the same width as the embossing folders but a little longer so I could add a label on top. I cut the magnetic sheets the same size as my embossing folders on my larger Carl paper cutter. They were attached with two strips of ScorTape.

With this filing system, it is easy to flip through and find the set you are looking for. I used a labeling machine for the labels.

You can pull a set out so you can measure and decide which die to use for the next layer.

Since I like everything close, I have my Cuttlebug embossing folders filed behind my Nestabilities. In case you are wondering, these are not my hands. My granddaughter loves to come over and stamp and when she came over to make a card, I asked her to help me so I could take pictures.

This shows a picture of the Cuttlebug embossing folders which are behind the Nestabilities. There are also a few of the Quickutz embossing folders in there. The drawers behind the Nestabilities storeage holds all the smaller Cuttlebug embossing folders, dies, and Cuttlebug supplies.

My system for storing my Nestabilities is just something I "dreamed" up but it works really well for me. My husband didn't think it was such a fun project having to cut all that Plexiglas but he knew how excited I was to develop this filing system. I am so happy he helped me with it.

You raise me up

Have you ever been up in a hot air balloon? I went straight up in one once, but didn't actually go for a ride. It was very noisy, but fun. I think it would be fun to really go for a ride. When we go to visit our son, down in Del Mar, CA, there are lots of hot air balloons out every day. We love to watch them.

This card was made with another stamp from the StampTV Eclectic Summer Kit and the verse is from the Eclectic Summer Verses. This all comes in the fantastic new kit just released - everything is there to make lots of beautiful cards. To give you lots of ideas, be sure to check out Gina's tutorial over on StampTV. You receive two stamp sets, sheets of red, white, and blue cardstock, designer paper, ribbons, brads and a storage case to keep everything in. There is also a free digital paper download on StampTV that works well with these stamps. Get your free download here: http://stamptv.ning.com/page/freebies-2

To make this card, I first stamped the hot air balloon on a piece of white cardstock then cut it out with the petite oval nestabilities. I used a piece of the navy blue cardstock for the scalloped background. The sky was first sponged using a large sponge dauber and Bashful Blue ink. I then stamped one of the trees from Gina's "Tree Silhouettes" on the left side and added some grass to the bottom of the frame.




To create the hot air balloon, I stamped it twice -- once on the red/white stripped digi paper and once on the navy with stars digi paper. I did this different than Gina did on her tutorial on StampTV. I cut out the entire balloon part from both pieces. I then cut out the four strips of blue and glued them to the red strip. (You can see I'm working on that Tan Teflon Craft Sheet I talked about in my blog on Monday.) I then stamped the top portion of the balloon, just to get the red band that goes across the top, and cut it out then glued it to the balloon. I then pieced all that onto the hot air balloon stamped on the oval frame. A brown marker was used to color the bottom of the balloon frame and the basket.

For the card background, a piece of white cardstock was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder then layered on a piece of the red cardstock. A piece of ribbon from the kit was attached to the bottom and the verse attached on it with dimensional glue dots. Red rhinestones were added for a little sparkle.

Our family is going up to Canada early in the morning to spend the weekend, so I will not have any posts until next Monday. Have a fun weekend.

You're Quite a Catch!

This card is made with another image from GinaK's Showtime Stamp Kit "Eclectic Summer". I used the Spectrum Creole Spice ink pad to stamp the sea horse on white cardstock. I cut it out with the long rectangle Nestabilities. Before taking it out, I sponged Pacific Breeze and Night of Navy ink around the edges. The back frame is a piece of shiny gold cardstock. The background was created using blue alcohol inks and a gold metallic pen. This technique is called "Polished Stone". "You're quite a Catch!" is from the Eclectic Summer Sayings set, also in the Stamp Kit. A petite oval Nestie was used for the scalloped frame. A gold shell button and brads were added to complete the picture.

Hope you have had time to go to GinaK's store to check out all the new stamps!

Beautiful Day

This has been a beautiful day for me. I had my last eye checkup since my surgery and everything has healed well -- hooray!!! I had had a few complications but it is all great now! I got to order my new glasses so soon I will be able to see much better up close. My vision is now 20/20 in both eyes for distance. I hated having my eye appointment today because I knew my new GinaK stamps would be arriving. I ordered all the new sets and have been so excited to receive them. These are all fabulous sets -- I didn't know where to begin but you guessed it -- the first one I stamped was a FLOWER! I have to admit though, it was a tough decision as to where to start. If you haven't seen these new sets, check them out here: http://www.shop.ginakdesigns.com/category.sc?categoryId=16.

This flower is from the new Showtime Stamp Kit, "Eclectic Summer". I love every stamp in this kit. The verse is also from that kit in the Eclectic Summer Sayings. I think this is such a beautiful verse and so excited to have it in my collection now. The flowers were colored with colored pencils and OMS. The center of the flower was colored by using a small sponge dauber and Barely Banana ink. The dauber is exactly the size of this center so I just swirled it around in the center. So quick and easy. The cardstock used is Pink Pirouette and Basic Black. The pink was embossed with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder and the black border was made using a Martha Stewart Punch. The Labels Four Nestability die was used for the frame. Before removing it I sponged on Certainly Celery around the edges. The designer paper is from the Porcelain Paper pad by Basic Grey. The white flat back pearls, by Kaiser, were purchased from Joan's Gardens. The ribbon was a scrap from my ribbon box.

Now I'm off to cut out the rest of my new stamps!

First Blog Award

I received my first blog award today from Sue (Tillymint) who is a StampTV friend with a fabulous blog (go check it out http://a-consuming-passion.blogspot.com/ ).
The rules for this award are...
*comment on this blog
*cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog
*nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude
*link to your nominees within your blog post
*comment on their blogs to let them know they received the award
*link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation

I nominate the following fabulous blogs. They are all members of StampTV.

Geri http://geriscards.blogspot.com/

Tina http://tinastampsup.blogspot.com/

Jessica http://iembellish.blogspot.com/

Sharri http://istamp4u.blogspot.com/

Brenda http://stamp-it-up.blogspot.com/

Melanie http://melaniemuenchinger.blogspot.com/

Pam http://paperandribbonsandstampsohmy.blogspot.com/

Wild Ride

The Color Challenge this week on StampTV is to use Red and Blue without making it patriotic. For this card I used the elephant from "Whatever Floats Your Boat" available from GinaK Designs. He was colored with colored pencils and OMS. The stripe on the ball and the pad on his back were paper pieced with a piece of the new Stars and Strips digi paper from StampTV. The same paper was used for the larger frame. A piece of the blue stripped digi paper was used on the bottom portion. These papers are a free download listed under "Freebies" on the StampTV Home page. There are 10 different designs. The Real Red cardstock was embossed with the Cuttlebug Hounds tooth folder. A Martha Stewart border punch was used for the Red border. Petite Oval Nestabilities was used for both the frames. The white frame under the elephant was sponged with Barely Banana before removing it from the die. A little star button was added to finish it off.

Center Stage Spotlight Design Team

Wow, has this been an exciting day. Gina, from StampTV, selected 6 members to serve as her Center Stage Spotlight Design Team for June. CONGRATULATIONS to Pam, Carla, Carolina, Melisa and Jennie and guess who else was on that list -- I was!!!! How exciting this is. See the cards selected here: http://stamptv.ning.com/photo/photo/listFeatured.

I love being a member of StampTV. It is a great community of very talented ladies. I want to thank Gina for this great honor. There is so much going on at StampTV you must check it out. Gina has lots of really fabulous tutorials, showing lots of techniques in detail on how to make beautiful cards. Check it out here: http://stamptv.ning.com/. Be sure to check out that long list of tutorials on the right side of the page. I am sure you will want to check out the beautiful card gallery and the daily challenges. This is a great way to win free stamps! It is a random drawing for any set of GinaK stamps valued up to $24.95, so everyone has an equal chance. You just have to submit a card.

Well I'm off to celebrate this great honor.

Butterfly

In my blog post below I embossed this butterfly on my Teflon craft sheet so this is the card I made with it. This butterfly set is called "Take Flight" from GinaK Designs. You notice in that picture below there are two butterflies. I seldom stamp just one image. While I am at it, I usually stamp many and have them ready for the next time I want to come up with a new card using that design.

This butterfly was black embossed then Peerless watercolors used. Blues and purples were mixed. The Designer paper is from Basic Grey Wisteria paper pad. Long Rectangle Nestabilities were used to cut the frame for the butterfly and Petite Oval Nestabilities used for the verse. The two cardstock colors used under the butterfly are Basic Gray and Sarah Sand. The colors are picked up from the designer paper. The color of the Kaiser pearls is "Latte" and can be purchased from Joan Fricker at Joan's Gardens.

Hope you will read the post below and leave me a comment.