Thinking of You

I love Penny Black stamps. This card is made with a stamp from a new set from Joan's Gardens called "Enjoy Life".

The birds and butterfly were stamped with black Memento ink and watercolored. The ovals were cut with petite oval Nesties. Before taking out the smaller frame, I stenciled on some clouds. The birds were cut out and each layer is put on dimensionals. A Martha Stewart punch was used for the border across the middle. A cuttlebug corner die was used for the flourishes in the corners. Some green rhinestones were added to complete the card.

Toile Blossoms

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

This is a card I made several months ago, before starting my blog. It is a card I like so thought I would add it today since I don't have time to make another card today. To create the back panel, I used my ScorPal to create the grid then layered ScoreTape over the score lines. I poured gold embossing powder over it and the embossing powder stuck to the tape. I then heat embossed it. I used Classic Nestabilities to create the three frames and my Cuttlebug to emboss the two pink layers. A Martha Stewart punch was used for the border. The SU (retired) Toile Blossoms were stamped with Basic Black ink and colored with Colored Pencils and OMS. They were pieced along the side of the frame. The Verse is from Gina's "Elegant Flowers" and cut out with petite oval Nesties.

Hope you are enjoying your holiday. We are having a family gathering then going to the stadium to watch the fireworks show this evening.

Dreams Take Flight

I love to make cards with this butterfly from Gina's "Take Flight" stamp set, available from Gina K Designs. I used detail white embossing powder and watercolors for the butterfly. The designer paper is a piece of Basic Grey Porcelain paper pad. I cut two small flowers from this paper to add to the top corners. The celery green frame was cut with Labels Four Nesties. I used VersaMark to add a flower from the "Flower Gallery" stamp set by Penny Black. I purchased this set from Joan's Gardens. The white background was embossed using the Cuttlebug Devine Swirls embossing folder. A Martha Stewart punch was used to make the borders. Small flat backed pearls, also from Joan's Gardens, were added for a little more elegance.

ARRANGED WITH LOVE

Who do you think loves Melanie's flowers the most . . . the ladybugs or me????

I am so honored to be Melanie's Guest Designer this month for her new stamp set "ARRANGED WITH LOVE" available from Gina K Designs. Any of you who follow my blog, or view my StampTV gallery, know that I love to make cards with flowers and I have many cards with Melanie's flowers. Her "A Year of Flowers" stamp set is the coordinating set for this beautiful large background stamp. You can overlay flowers or add additional ones to change this arrangement.

I have two cards for this post.

The card above is very bright. The Arranged with Love was black embossed on Gina's Pure White, base weight (120 lb) card stock, then colored with Copic markers. It is layered on Gina's Black Onyx and Rocket Red Pure Luxury card stock. The little lady bugs are part of Melanie's "A Year of Flowers" and are all around smelling these beautiful flowers. A polka dot bow was added to go along with the polka dot ladybugs.

This next card is done in all neutral colors and is 5 1/2 inches square.



First the "Arranged with Love" and three roses from "A Year of Flowers", were stamped using Versafine Vintage Sepia ink on vanilla card stock. I then rubbed a Tim Holtz "Antique Linen Distress Ink pad" over the Arranged With Love image to give it an antique look and then cut out the design. The three roses were not colored.

I wanted the design to stand out so decided to mount it on a piece of white card stock. I used my ScorBug to create the diagonal grid lines to give it some dimension. This piece is layered onto a piece of Chocolate Chip card stock. A piece of SU designer paper was added to the left of the design as well as a piece of SU ribbon. The flower image was centered over the white grid background and attached with adhesive tape. The three ivory roses were layered with dimensionals over the roses in the bottom design. There was plenty of room so I did not cut off the edges of the roses but let them gently lay across the border.

In the tag, I used a saying from "A Year of Flowers" and two black rhinestones were added. The butterfly is from Gina's new Eclectic Summer set. It was stamped with Black Memento ink on glossy card stock and colored with Copic markers then added to the design with dimensionals. How can you help but use butterflies and ladybugs to flowers!

I love to read your comments.

Check out Melanie's Blog for more samples.

Many Wishes

Today is the Center Stage Spotlight Design Team farwell tour. We are all previewing the new "Buy 3 get one free" set from Gina K Designs.When you purchase any three stamp sets, you will receive "Many Wishes" FREE. It has been so much fun designing with this team this month. Thank you Gina for this awesome opportunity.

For this card I used Gina's new Luxury Soft Sand as well as her Black Onyx Pure Luxury cardstock. The background piece is a piece of Gina's "free download" Summer Fabrics Digi papers. The Many Wishes stamp was gold embossed on the Luxury Soft Sand card stock then cut out with the Long Rectangle Nestabilities. The verse is also from that beautiful set. The Wishing You was cut using the Petite Oval Nestabilities. Three black rhinestones were added to finish the card.




For this card I decided to use bleach to stamp the design on Pacific Point card stock and cut out the frames with Nestabilities. The back frame is Certainly Celery card stock. The background paper is from a Basic Grey paper pack. The Flourish is a Sizzix die. The middle border is a Martha Stewart punch.

There are so many possibilities with this beautiful FREE stamp set.

Be sure to check out the other Spotlight Design Team's cards. Their blogs are listed at the top of my sidebar.

Basket of Pink Flowers

This is a quick and simple card made with one of the stamps out of the new Showtime Stamp Kit "Eclectic Summer" by Gina K Designs. I love this little basket of flowers. I made this card for a challenge Lee Murphy was hosting at Gina's Preview Party last Thursday. The challenge was to use brown and pink.

The image was stamped on Gina's Pure Luxury White Card Stock with Black Memento ink. Copic markers were used to color and Stickles was added to each of the flower centers to give it a little sparkle. The card stock colors used on this card are Chocolate Chip and Pixie Pink. The three frames were cut using Oval Nestabilities. Two Cuttlebug die cut corners were added as well as a couple of pink pearls to finish it off.

Twin Fish

This is my first card using the fish from the new Gina K Showtime Stamp Kit "Eclectic Summer". Aren't they cute. They were stamped on Glossy cardstock with VersaFine black ink and clear embossed. I used sponge daubers to add Brilliant Blue, So Saffron and Apricot Appel inks. The designer papers are from the kit. The Brilliant Blue background was embossed with the Cuttlebug Spots and Dots folder. I thought it matched the designer paper really well. The Only Orange cardstock was embossed with the Swirls embossing folder. This layout is one Theresa Momber used for the Sketch Challenge on Gina's Party over on SCS Thursday evening. A few rhinestones were used to complete the card.

Additional Preview cards for "The Journey"

These are two more cards I made with my preview set "The Journey". The truck was stamped with Black Memento black ink then watercolored using Peerless Watercolors then cut out. The scene was created by masking and sponging on the clouds, road, and grass. The grass stamp from the set was then used as well as one of the trees from Gina's "Tree Silhouettes" added in the background. The frames were cut out using Label I Nestabilities and the verse is also cut out with a Nestabilities tag.




The door was stamped with Black Memento ink and colored using colored pencils and OMS. The frames were then cut with the Classic Rectangle Nestabilities. For the background, I used a piece of Gina's new Pure Luxury Heavy Base Weight "Soft Sand" card stock and layered a piece of designer paper on the lower portion. The border across the middle was cut using a Martha Stewart border punch then embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. Black brads, also from Gina K Designs, were used to complete the card.

I hope you have had time to go to GinaK Designs and check out all the new stamp sets. Link is on my sidebar. Thanks for visiting my blog.

The Journey

This is day three of the Gina K Design June Release. Two more new sets are being previewed so I know you will want to check them all out. I am very excited to be a part of the Center Stage Spotlight Design team this month. The set I am previewing is "The Journey" by Asela Hopkins. She always designs such fabulous sets. This set has a total of 12 coordinating images and greetings. I couldn't decide which card to preview, so I am previewing two today.

My first card uses two of the images from this set. The door was stamped, using black Memento ink on Gina's Pure Luxury White card stock. I used Copic markers and chalk to color. Label Four Nestabilities was used to cut a frame in a piece of Sage Shadow cardstock. The verse, which is part of this set, was stamped in black at the top. The children were stamped and colored with Copic Markers then cut out. The grass from this set was stamped on the bottom below the frame. The frame is on dimensionals and placed over the door. The children were place on the outside to appear approaching the friends house. A piece of Basic Grey designer paper was placed on the left side of the card then a piece of paper lace used along the side of the frame. To finish the card, flowers were added as well as some pearls. Now, for the next card.





My second card is also from this set. The chair and verse were embossed with Detail White embossing powder, which is available from Gina. Baja Breeze and white card stock were used for the frames cut with Petite Oval Nestabilities.The flower is also from Gina K Designs and was colored with reinkers. Small rhinestones were added for a little bling.

Don't miss the rest of the previews by Gina and the other Design Team members. Pam Imholz, another Center Stage Spotlight Designer, is also previewing a beautiful set. Be sure to visit each of the following blogs.


Gina, Carolyn, Cathy, Cindy, Donna, Emily, Erika, Jessica, Joanne, Kurtis, Lee, Lynn, Melanie, and Theresa
Another CenterStage Spotlight Design Team member Pam Imholz is joining us this morning with previews as well!

ARRANGED WITH LOVE

I am so excited to join Gina and her Design Team in the June Blog Hop. It has been so much fun to be on the Center Stage Spotlight Designer Team. I will be previewing another new set by Asela tomorrow, so be sure to check back to see this beautiful set.

Melanie asked me to be her guest designer when her new, "Arranged with Love" set came out. I was so honored to have her ask me. One of my favorite stamp sets is Melanie's "A Year of Flowers" and this new set is an awesome addition using the same flowers.

This new stamp will fit an A-2 size card. It is perfect for making beautiful cards, decorating gift boxes, covering tablets and or journals. There are so many possibilities. This set comes with 10 coordinating greetings.

The image on this cover is embossed with detail black embossing powder on Gina's Pure Luxury White card stock. The design was colored with Peerless Watercolors, also available from Gina K Designs. I stamped one additional rose, from "A Year of Flowers", to pop up on the top rose. The back white panel was embossed with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder.The second layer is Rose Red card stock. A lace border was added at the top. I finished this cover by adding a large bow, silver heart and flat backed pearls. Isn't this a gorgeous stamp set!

There are a lot more previews for the two new sets revealed today. Be sure to check out all the Design Team's Blogs below.

Gina, Carolyn, Cathy, Cindy, Donna, Emily, Erika, Jessica, Kurtis, Lee, Lynn, Melanie, and Theresa
and, be sure to check out two other CenterStage Spotlight girls joining in Previews today: Carla Suto and Melisa Waldorf

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.