Wednesday, December 31, 2014

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps January Release #2: Tic Tac Toe and 3 in a Row!






Eeek! I'm back with Day #2 of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps January Release...

Meet the "3 in a Row" stamp set and "Tic Tac Toe" Fri-Die!

I bet you are going to fall in love, just like I did! 

If you've played along with Michele's super popular CAS-ual Fridays Challenge Blog, this Tic Tac Toe may look familiar...it's based on one of her most popular challenges, click here. What great timing with the new 2015 kick-off and new Girl Fridays over there!

There are so many possibilities with this set and die, you won't believe it! 
You'll find little word sentiments, big word sentiments, and a great set of four dies!
Check out the work of the other designers over at the CFS blog!
You'll want to leave a comment there for a chance to win these for yourself! :)

I'll be back tomorrow at midnight with the final day of the January Release!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


P.S. In case you wonder, when you use your big Tic Tac Toe die, the center square will be empty with the square separated. I just saved the square piece and put it in the center and attached the whole thing to the card front with foam dimensionals. You can't even tell, right?! I love being able to use the negative and positive pieces of the die! :)


Recipe
Stamps: CAS-ual Fridays Stamps 3 in a Row
Cardstock: SU Gray and red polka dot paper, Studio Calico text & pink polka dot paper (note: I layered gray cardstock under my patterned paper to make the die cut outs a little "chunkier".)
Ink: Memento Black, Versamark
Accessories: CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Tic Tac Toe Fri-Die, Big Shot, hole punch, corner rounder, red jute, black embossing powder, heat tool, foam dimensionals.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps January Release #1: Mwah



Who doesn't like smooches?! 


I love the smooches in the new Mwah stamp set from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps

Michele really outdid herself here! There's a great mix of block and curvy, graceful sentiments.

In my card above, I repeatedly stamped the smooches using a little tone on tone with the pink, then heat embossed the "mwah" with Cherry Cobbler embossing powder for a little drama. 

In my next card, below, I went for a more old-fashioned look I thought would be perfect to send to my mother. I heat embossed the block sentiment "with all my" using silver embossing powder, then heat embossed "heart" using white embossing powder. Isn't that scripty "heart" awesome?! Can you tell in the photo I used the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Heart Board Fri-Dies? Love that die and stamped right on top of it! 



You'll want to head over to the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog now to see all the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team, so many different styles and looks! Plus, leave a comment for a chance to win this new stamp set!

I'll be back tomorrow for day 2 of the new January release!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!



Recipe #1
Stamps: CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Mwah
Cardstock: SU Blushing Bride
Ink: SU Blushing Bride, Versamark
Accessories: Heat Tool, SU Cherry Cobbler embossing powder, Pink Posh Designs sequins.

Recipe #2
Stamps: CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Mwah
Cardstock: SU Pool Party, stripe paper Studio Calico, red paper Carta Bella, floral paper from my scrap collection.
Ink: Versamark
Accessories: CAS-ual Fridays Stamp Heart Board Fri-Dies, Big Shot, SU doily, silver amd white embossing powder, heat tool, white heart from Studio Calico kit.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps: Naughty or Nice, Candy Cane Style!



Happy Saturday! 

Happy because I'm officially on Christmas vacation from school for two weeks AND 
I'm up today on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog!

I had some with one of my favorite Christmas stamp sets, Naughty or Nice
The name says it all, right?! :)

I was inspired by the Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge: Candy Cane for these projects. I knew the "Candy Cane Ready" was the perfect sentiment for the challenge!


For my card, I used two of the sentiments from the Naughty or Nice set, along with some washi tape and patterned paper. For my little holiday peppermint holder, I used another sentiment for the flag, then I used the fun polka dots punched into circles and sewed them into a little garland! So fun and easy! I got the cute red berry box at Michael's for 50% off, a set of 8 I think, and it was very reasonable. Love those things, I may  have a problem!

Hope you enjoyed today's CAS-ual Fridays Stamps projects! 

Thanks for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


Card Recipe
Stamps: CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Naughty or Nice
Cardstock: SU Whisper White
Ink: Memento Red
Accessories: Washi Tape, Pretty Pink Posh red sequin, Michaels silver sequins, Jenni Bowlin sticker label, SU silver cord.

Berry Basket Recipe
Stamps: CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Naughty or Nice
Cardstock: SU Soft Sky
Ink: Memento Red and Black
Accessories: 3/4" Circle Punch, sewing machine, red stripe paper straw, Michaels berry basket, Walgreens yummy peppermint candies.

Friday, December 12, 2014

Coffee Lovers Blog Hop!



Holidays and coffee?! Yes, please!

I'm linking up with a very special Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop
put together by the infamous and lovable, highly-caffeinated Amy Tsuruta! 

For my card, I used a sentiment from the Very Merry stamp set from a-muse studio, plus some great "Santa list" paper from Heidi Swapp and the most important part for this blog hop, of course, the steaming hot cup of 'joe (or maybe cocoa, but it's all good!) paper from Cosmo Cricket. I added a little washi tape and a star sequin and that was it, so easy! I used the great sketch below from CAS(E) this Sketch #103.



Now let's talk about you! 
There is still time for you to link up and join in Amy's Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop (until Friday, December 12 at 11:55 pm Pacific time) and get a chance to win a prize from one of these amazing sponsors:

Holy moly for all those sponsors, right? Amy's got some street cred in this industry! haha!



But that's not all! 
Amy is giving out 5 prizes to folks who leave comments on all of the blogs on the hop! 

And, since it's all about sharing and giving at this time of the year, I'm giving away a little blog candy if you leave a comment here on my blog! The winner will receive a 6x6 Heidi Swapp Holiday paper pad with 36 sheets and a $10 Starbucks gift card! Woot! Woot! 

Winners will be chosen from comments made by Sunday, December 14 at 11:59 pm PST.




Thank you so much for stopping by! Wishing you hugs, happy stamping, and hot coffee!

Updated! MariLynn, you are the lucky winner! I sent you an email, so please reply back with your address and I'll get this sent out to you ASAP!

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Magazine Special Thanks Blog Hop!


Welcome to the Special Thanks Blog Hop for Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Magazine!

If you're following along with us on the hop, you have arrived from Tenia Nelson's blog, one of my dear virtual friends, and awesome talent in the papercrafting world, not to mention in the music, teacher, and mommy world as well!

This is a hard post to write, because we are here to express our love and gratitude to the amazing staff at the magazine for all of their support and friendship through the years, but another part of me wants to baaaawwwwwl like a baby, because I can't believe their wonderful magazine is coming to an end. There just aren't words to describe how this magazine has brought so many paper crafters together and helped form so many friendships.

Below is the special card I created for this blog hop.
Yes, there is a story behind it. Isn't there always? lol!



My first card published in the January/February 2009 issue of Paper Crafts Magazine is shown below.  Oh, I still remember the excitement of that first publication email! It was like Sally Field winning an Oscar, "You like me! You really like me!" And getting an email from Susan Opel is like Meryl Streep herself is presenting the Oscar to you! :)


For that first published card, I used some brand new (at the time!) Amy Butler paper. I love Amy Butler (uh, see the quilt my mom made me below from Amy Butler fabrics!) and still have that 4" x 6" paper pad, and the majority of the paper has even been used, go me! So for my special card today, I took the same sheet of paper and fussy cut the flower out and added a "trendy" little Maya Road Deer Resin charm. I used the "recycled" back of the paper pad, but "blinged" it up with some Heidi Swapp Gold Shine mist and sequins. I really needed some cream embossing powder (better get that ordered stat!) for the sentiment, but it says "Don't let anyone ever dull your sparkle." That's great advice for our amazing friends at Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking magazine as they head out on new adventures. 


So thank you, Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking magazine, for your dedication to the papercrafting industry. Thank you for the inspiration and creativity you've shared with us. Thank you for believing in us, for lifting us up as artists, for being our cheerleaders. Most of all, thank you for your friendship, for being real with us, for taking the time to get to know us. We are grateful and we love you!

Whew, that was my sniff, sniff part. Where's the Kleenex..

Keep those Kleenex handy as you head over to the next stop on the blog hop, the fantastic Lawn Fawn!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs and happy stamping!


p.s. I finished this card and blog post the same way I finished every Paper Crafts magazine publication call and project deadline...at the last possible minute! I bet they won't miss that! :)



Sunday, November 30, 2014

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Cyber Monday: Christmas Carols!




Welcome back to the finale of the November release for CAS-ual Fridays Stamps!

I hope you enjoyed the last 3 days of new Fri-Die releases:


They are all in stock at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps and 15% off through Cyber Monday!

Michele has one more Cyber Monday special for us, 15% off the Christmas Carols stamp set! 

The design team has worked up some super cute projects using this set, so be sure and check them out on the store blog!

I had a lot of fun playing with this set, I hope you can tell! On the card above, I used the fabulous Bubble Box die again and used the smaller 4-leaf stamp to create a wreath. Down below, I got really crafty and made an ornament from a vintage tart tin I picked up at an estate sale. I have 8 of them, and I'm so proud of myself for actually using one and not hoarding them all! lol! I used the coordinating 4-Petal Set Fri-Die with some metal from Add a Little Dazzle; I love using that stuff with the Fri-Dies, such a cool effect! I think this looks cuter in person, and if I had my Christmas tree up like I'm supposed to, I could have photographed it there! Doh! :)



Hope you've enjoyed the projects the last 4 days, it's back to school tomorrow!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs & happy stamping!

Saturday, November 29, 2014

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Sofa Sunday Release: Truth Blooms Fri-Die!




Welcome back to another new release day for CAS-ual Fridays Stamps! Yay!

Today we have the Truth Blooms Fri-Dies that coordinate with the Truth Is stamp set!

And you guessed it...the dies are in stock now and on sale 15% off through Monday!





**Edited to add: I played along with the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #246!

The design team had a lot of fun with these dies and thinking outside the box! You have to check out their creativity over at the store blog! I used the large die upside down as my "inchworm" and the smaller die to make my Oreo cookies. Of course, my husband had to point out that an inchworm would not eat an Oreo cookie. He's crazy! What kind of creature would not eat an Oreo cookie?! haha!

For my card, I paired the new Truth Blooms Fri-Die with the other newly released Bubble Box Fri-Die and the Rad stamp set. And yes, I made another gift card holder, couldn't resist! To make the "flap opening" I placed the die on the patterned paper, but I placed a piece of scrap chipboard between the die and the patterned paper along the bottom (1 1/2" x 4 1/4") so that the die would not cut through the patterned paper. It leave a perfect little line for a pull-down flap. (Don't ask how I learned this...it was from a reject project yesterday!) After that, I cut the woodgrain patterned paper with the Bubble Box die too, then glued it on top of the cloud paper, so it would look like a tree. The cloud paper piece got attached to a Kraft cardstock base, just adhere a small line of adhesive along the bottom so the gift card will slip inside. 

That was a lengthy explanation, sorry, but let me know if you have any questions about it! 

I'll be back tomorrow at midnight EST with one last CAS-ual Fridays Stamps special for Cyber Monday! Yay! Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs & happy stamping!