InStyle InSpiration Challenge

Hey all!  I know I have been a very bad blogger.  Life has gotten away from me lately and I haven’t had much time.  I apologize. 

Now, are your ready for some love?  Valentine’s day is really just around the corner.  Today on the InStyle Stamps Blog we were to make a gift holder and a card for someone special.

I used the Date Night image available in the InStyle Stamps Store now.  I’m so glad that I have a couple of these little red mailboxes stashed away.  They are cute for Valentine’s Day or maybe for a house warming gift too. 

InStyle Stamps December Sketch

Have you all seen the December sketch at the InStyle Stamps blog?  If you play along with our sketch you could win free images from us.  How cool is that????  I don't have a sample ready for you all today, but plan to get one to you soon.   :)

Now let's see whatchya got!

They Called It Puppy Love

I have had puppy envy for a while now.  I so miss my dear German Shepherd Maggie who passed last year, and it seems everyone I know has gotten a puppy this year, so maybe once I get Peanut potty trained I will be ready to start over with a puppy.  This card could be used as a welcome new puppy card or a Valentine or just for anyone who loves dogs.

This is my last card for November for InStyle Stamps (just under the wire ;) )   

Supplies
Copic Markers, Neenah white CS, Offray Satin Ribbon, Dog Bone Brads from Eyelet Outlet, BasicGrey Olivia DP

Paper Cupcakes-Anything Goes

This is my last week with the Paper Cupcakes team.  This month has flown bye and I have had fun coloring and playing with these adorable images.  This week our challenge was anything goes. 

I used “Oh Deer, It’s Christmas” as my image and paired it with some BasicGrey Eskimo Kisses dsp, Bravo Burgundy and Pear Pizzaz card stock compliment the dsp with layers.  I colored my image using Copic Markers. 

Now go to the Paper Cupcakes Blog to see what the Design Team has done.

InStyle Stamps Blog Hop

Happy Black Friday all.  You should have hopped here from Genevieve, if not you will want to be sure to go back and make sure you see all the great projects today.  Today at the InStyle Stamps Blog we were to make a project based on our favorite Holiday song.  My song is, “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas.”  I made this little note box filled with gift tags for Christmas gifts. 

 

I like this box because it holds 3x5” note cards that you could use to make your many Christmas lists, and since there are tiny dividers you could also keep all your receipts in one place. 

Now, your job is to go back to the InStyle Stamps Blog and vote for your favorite project and leave a comment for a chance to win a grab bag worth $25. 

Supplies:
BasicGrey Eskimo Kisses, Misc Ribbon, Bazzill Card Stock, Copic Markers, Note Box (Target)

Paper Cupcake Red and Cream

This week with Paper Cupcake’s challenge we were to make a card with a red and cream color pallet.  This was a bit difficult for me since my cs is all white and the colors in my dp were more on the white side.  I decided to offset the white with some kraft card stock and used cream ribbon to mimic the ribbon in the image.  I think it works.

Make sure you check out what the other designers have done with this challenge at http://theresmagicintheair.blogspot.com/  I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!!!

New Year’s Chloe

This is release week over at the InStyle Stamps Blog.  Today is New Year’s Chloe’s time to shine. 

  

Chloe is so sweet, I had to make her extra sparkly for New Year’s Eve.  I colored her dress with a silver gel pen to make it really sparkle.  I have always wanted to go to a fancy party for New Year’s Eve, I guess I am living my dreams through Chloe this year.  Haha.

Today is officially the new release day for this and the other images showcased this week, all orders placed today through Sunday will be filled on Monday November 22.  Thank you for your patience.

Friday Fun Anything Goes

Hi All!  Because we are all busy this time of year this week our challenge is ANYTHING GOES!  Yay!  I made this CAS card using Chucky from InStyle Stamps. 

I am so happy that this card came out well.  I used 110lb Neenah card stock so the bleed through from the Copics is minimized.  This just makes me giggle.  I love that little pink upside down chick, he’s truly unique.  Chucky will be released later today in the InStyle Stamps Store.  Please be patient though as orders will not be processed until Monday, so you have to wait a little while longer than usual.

Now go see what the other Friday Fun CHICKS did today. 

Kim
Jimmi
Christi

Paper Cupcake- Who's Candy

I am very excited to show you all my latest creation using Paper Cupcake's Who's Candy image which is the freebie image on the blog today.  Our challenge today was to make a card using ribbon and glitter, OH DARN, what a challenge.  Here is what I came up with:

I appologize that I am not sure the name of the dp, but I was thrilled to discover that the brads I got at Eyelet Outlet matched the image and the paper so well.  I added Stickles to the gumdrops and lollipops, and I used my Stardust gel pen to outline all the snowy parts.  This card is very shimmery.

Please be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team has done with this image at: http://theresmagicintheair.blogspot.com/

A Thanking We Will Go Blog Hop

I am pleased to be hopping today with a group of talented artists in the A Thanking We Will Go Blog Hop.  Our assignment was to make a grateful hostess gift.  I have had several wooden blocks laying around since I unmounted my stamps in the spring and this seemed like the perfect time to use some.

 
I painted the blocks with acrylic paint  and used ModPodge to add the Basic Grey paper from the Indian Summer line.  I cut the letters using my Cricut and the Jasmine cartridge on Pear Pizzaz card stock and used my favorite Neenah paper to print my image of Virginia from InStyle Stamps.  I finished off the piece with a few buttons I found on the clearance rack at Michael’s. 
Be sure to visit the other talented ladies in the hop.
Jessica - http://www.kinderstampo.com/
Alex - http://www.youhadmeatcraft.com/
Cheryl - http://www.Cheryl-gibson.blogspot.com/
Debbie - http://craftydeb-ddscrafts.blogspot.com/
Iva - http://ivarai.com/
Jessica Baker - http://thatzuneek.blogspot.com/
Kimberlee – You are here!!!
Linda - http://www.krazyquilling.com/
Liz - http://lizspaperloft.blogspot.com/
Madison - http://www.funkycards.blogspot.com/
Martha - http://dreamofcrafting.blogspot.com/
Meighen - http://scrappin3rdeeschik.blogspot.com/
Nicki - http://canadiannickelscrapn.blogspot.com/
Shelley - http://heartstring-designs.blogspot.com/
Sigrid - http://lovescrapreflect.blogspot.com/
Vickie - http://twochicksonalimb.blogspot.com/
Jessica - http://www.kinderstampo.com/p/thanking-we-will-go-blog-hop_12.html

FFC Accordion File

Fly by post today with just pictures, I am headed out the door and am running behind.  Our challenge was to make an accordion file.  I modified mine slightly so that it is actually bound on the bottom, if you are going to do that, I suggest you do it last as it made decorating the inside pages a bit more challenging.

 

  

I am imagining the inserts to be a place to keep your lists.  The tops of the inserts and the outside flowers were Anna Griffiths that I got at Michael’s and the papers were just some that I had in my supply.

See what some of the others have done today:

Kim 
Jimmi
Christi

I will be back later for VSN.  Please join us at Splitcoast Stampers for a fun weekend of chatting, challenges and creativity.

InStyle Stamps Color Challenge

It’s time for another challenge on the InStyle Stamps Blog.  This month we have another great photo inspiration to take our colors from.  It is a picture of Christmas Pudding (No, I didn’t know that was a real thing either.)   

And here is my interpretation using Sandy.

I wanted to keep it simple and let a lot of the Kraft card stock show through.  The sentiment is from SRM Stickers Happy Holidays. You know you have  a lot of ribbon when you can match the ribbon on your card with the ribbon in the inspiration piece EXACTLY.  No, it’s not a problem, it’s completely under control…I swear!! ;)

Please play along with us and show us what you did on the InStyle Stamps Blog. 

Supplies:  Kraft Card Stock, White Card Stock, Pear Pizzaz Card Stock, Eskimo Kisses DP- Basic Grey, Copic Markers, Nestabilities dies, Gold Ribbon, SRM Stickers

Method Monday - Clear Acetate Ornament

 

Materials:

Clear Glass Ornament
Printable Transparency Film (be sure to get type appropriate for your printer)
Markers (No water based markers, you need Sharpies, Copics, Vis-à-vis or other permanent markers)
Buffalo Snow
Ribbon
Glitter
Clear Glue
Round Die
Scissors

The process of making a clear ornament is much easier than you think.

*Print your image. You need to be sure that the transparency film you have is appropriate for your printer. I got an all purpose type which is 2 sided, a rough side and a smoother side. InkJet printers will need the rough side for the ink to stick while copiers and laser printers use toner which will print on the smoother side.

* Color your image on the BACK SIDE of the acetate. This will help keep the printer ink from smearing and also give more of a stained glass effect. Copics will work, but remember to use the darker colors in the spectrum, you are on a clear surface and not white so you need to go 2 shades darker than normal.

* Cut image using a circle die, but be sure to leave a little bit of tab sticking out the top. You can do this by cutting slits up to the area where the die will cut. Make sure your image and die are smaller than the size of your ornament. **Tip—I used scratch paper to make a sandwich between the die cut plates and the acetate to protect the image from scratches.

 

*Remove top from ornament and add Buffalo Snow

  *Carefully roll up the acetate and feed into the opening of the ornament. I used the circle cut from my scratch paper to protect the image as it is sliding into the ornament. The tab you left at the top will help make sure your image stays straight in the ornament. The acetate will unroll itself once inside. Use tweezers to pull the scratch paper out.

*Replace top of ornament.

*Decorate ornament with clear glue and glitter.

*Add decorative bow with ribbon

Paper Cupcakes - Non-traditional Christmas

This is my second week playing along with the Paper Cupcakes Design Team and this week the challenge is to make a Christmas card using non-traditional colors. 

Well, you can’t get too much more non-traditional than pink metallic.  There is red and green in the Eskimo Kisses Decorative Paper by BasicGrey, but I pulled out the pink and blue to use with Candy Cane Cupcake.  One of our favorite shows is Cupcake Wars and this sweet treat makes me think of something you would see on there.   Can’t you just see it, a mint chocolate chip cupcake with peppermint butter cream frosting and crushed chocolate bits sprinkled on top with a candy cane adornment.  Ok, now my mouth is watering. 

Most of this card is pretty straight forward.  I used the Eskimo Kisses designer paper paired with Bashful Blue and the metallic pink card stock.  I used an SRM sticker for the sentiment and added a sheer bow.  I really like the final element.  I cut out the border using a die from the Butterfly set from Spellbinders.  What did I cut it out of????  The plastic packaging from the die.  I store my dies on magnet sheets in my cabinet, so the packaging can be easily recycled.  It adds a nice element without being too busy.

Now go check out what the rest of the Paper Cupcakes Team has done with this weeks challenge at http://theresmagicintheair.blogspot.com/

Merry Kissmas

I told you I would be back with a sample for the InStyle Stamps Sketch this month.  So here is my sample using Kissmas Monkey available in the store now as a digital image. 

 

 

Supplies:

White Card Stock, Pear Pizzaz Card Stock, Pretty in Pink Card Stock, Eskimo Kisses-Basic Grey, Satin Ribbon, Ribbon Adhesive-Glue Arts, Copic Markers (N0, E31, E35, E39, G24, G28, R20, R85, R89), White Gel Pen-Gelly Roll

I hope you have a great weekend!!!

FFC-Donut Day

It’s FRIDAY!!!  YAY!!!!  That means it is Friday Fun Day.  This is our challenge from Kim, “Today is National Donut Day (seriously).  I want you to make a card with something sweet on it. (it can be an image, sticker, colorful ribbon).  Use your imagination!”  Ok, I am just not that imaginative, so this is what I came up with:

This was part of a Hostess set from Stampin’ Up! called Comfort Food.  Isn’t that little donut adorable.  And my girls would eat him right up since he has pink frosting (real men wear pink you know.) 

Be sure to check out what the other Friday Fun Chicks have done today:

Kim
Sara
Christi
Jimmi
Sherry is still on a break but we hope to see her creating again soon.  Miss you Sherry!

Now go out and celebrate National Donut Day in style :)

InStyle Stamps Sketchy Wednesday

Today is sketch day at the InStyle Stamps Blog.  I do not have a card for you YET but will get one up soon.  I did want you to see the sketch so you can play along for a chance to win some cute images. 

Show us what you’ve got!!!

Paper Cupcakes – Be Thankful Challenge

I am thrilled to be the Guest Designer for Paper Cupcakes this month.  I will be joining the Design Team with all their challenges for November.  This week the challenge is to make a Thank You or Thanksgiving card. 

I love this Ladybug Cupcake, I actually made similar cupcakes for Peanut’s second birthday party.  As soon as Peanut saw this card on my desk she claimed it as her own.  She has stolen it more than once and just held it and looked at it.  It combines her two favorite things, “Love Bugs” and “cupa-capes,” that makes it a winner to me. 

Be sure to check out the Paper Cupcake blog and see what the Design Team has done.

Supplies:
Basic Black CS, White CS, Pink Piroette CS, Bella Rose DSP, Black Button, Spellbinders Daisy Die,  Circle Die, Scallop Circle Die, Copic Markers.

Miss Ewe

So I have been feverishly creating this month and really bad about blogging what I’ve made.  Sorry about that. Today I want to show you what I did with Sylvester.

I made this card for the HYCCT challenge to use stitching on your card.  I used stitched ribbon and hand stitched around my main panel of dp.  I like the way Sylvester looks like he is thinking, so I added the sentiment above him as if it were a thought bubble.  You may not be able to tell from this shot, but I actually pulled out some flocking and used that on his body, tail and the top of his head to give him a little texture and fuzziness. 

Supplies:
Sylvester-InStyle Stamps, Printed “Miss Ewe”, Granola DP-BasicGrey, Kraft CS, Close to Cocoa CS, Ballet Blue CS, White CS, Circle Nesties, Scallop Circle Nesties, Copic Marker E000, White Thread, White Gel Pen, Chocolate Chip Stitched Ribbon

InStyle Stamps Blog Hop

It is the last Friday of the month which means that it is time for the InStyle Stamps Blog Hop.  You should have hopped here from Cyndi’s blog, if you are starting here you want to go back to the InStyle Stamps Blog and make sure you don’t miss a thing.

This month the theme was Giving Thanks.  I decided to make this cute little basket to go with the Easter Basket stamp.  Just because baskets are associated with Easter, doesn’t mean that’s the only time you can use them. 

I put my sentiment on the lid of the jar.  Last week my kids and I made and jarred our own apple sauce and I thought this would be a cute way to package some up to give as a Thanksgiving treat. 

Now hop on over to Kerry’s blog to see what she has done.  After you have completed the hop be sure to go back to the InStyle Stamps Blog and vote for your favorite project.  One lucky voter will win a $25 prize pack from InStyle Stamps. 

Products Used:  Easter Basket-InStyle Stamps, Indian Summer-Basic Grey- Copic Markers, Crinkle Ribbon, White Prima Flower, Corduroy Brad, White Gel Pen, White CS, Chocolate Chip card stock, Circle Nestabilities, Circle Scallop Nestabilities.

Friday Fun- A Sweet Treat

This week we were to make a project inspired by candy.  I am still plugging along and doing all the Hope You Can Cling To Challenges at SplitCoast Stampers, so I wasn’t able to make a new project, but I’m not going to leave you empty handed. 

Have a great Halloween weekend.  Don’t forget to check out what the other Friday Fun Chicks have in store.

Kim
Jimmi
Christi
Sara

I will be back a bit later with another treat for the InStyle Stamps Blog Hop.

Snowflake Chloe

Every release I say the same thing…..I LOVE Chloe.  She is the cutest darn stinkin’ thing, besides my own kids, that I have ever seen.  What is she doing now?  Playing with a snowflake.

 

 

I KNOW you can’t wait to get your hands on her, well you wont have to wait much longer.  Snowflake Chloe and all the new releases will be in the InStyle Stamps Store TODAY.  Make sure you are subscribed to the InStyle Stamps Blog or are a friend on FaceBook so you will know right away when the store opens with the new images. 

Friday Fun Challenge- Santa’s On His Way

We had a fun challenge today, in honor of the full moon tonight we were to make a round card or tag.  I pulled out my Circle Nesties and got to work.  I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do yet when I looked down and saw the cutest little Santa looking up at me begging to jump onto this card.  Once I got St. Nick on the card I knew it needed something else, so I went into my sticker drawer and found these pop up snow flakes.  The perfect embellishment for this card.  I was thinking that I could add a little ornament hook to the top and this card could be a little ornament.  So there we go.  A 5 minute card with no stamping. 

This card is for my FFC this week and Hope You Can Cling To challenge 17 to pop something up on your card.

See what the other Friday Fun Chicks have done:

Kim
Jimmi
Sherry (I think she may have actually stamped this week.  Yay!)
Christi
Sara

I’ll be back later with some InStyle Stamps samples :)

October InStyle InSpiration

The air is getting a little bit crisper and our pumpkins are carved and out on the front step.  My house kind of looks like the InSpiration piece over at InStyle Stamps Blog. 

 

photo credit: http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/pumpkins#slide_1

OK, not really.  BUT I have learned a handy tip from Ms Martha.  When you carve your pumpkins, rather than cutting off the top and then it shrinks and falls in and you have to stick your hand all the way in to light your candle or light…slice off the bottom,  the pumpkin will be even and you can light your candle and THEN put the pumpkin over it.  Now why didn’t people think of that sooner? 

Now to my card. 

I used Tilly and she will be available in store on Friday, October 22.  Look how cute she is swinging from the flowers.  I used lighter colors to represent the yellow light in the Inspiration piece and stair stepped my dies to mimic the stairs.  I guess my grouping of the light orange ribbon is kind of like the jack-o-lanterns. 

Play along with the InSpiration Challenge this month and you could win a grab bag from InStyle Stamps worth $25.  Check out the details on the InStyle Stamps Blog.

Knocking out Breast Cancer

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness this month InStyle Stamps has something very special for you. 

Because we love our fans and care about cancer awareness, we are giving these images away to anyone who wants them. That's right - giving them away! To get an image for free, all you have to do is shoot us an email telling us which image you'd like and share a link to your project here on the InStyle Stamps Blog within 10 days. If we don't see a project from you, you'll get an invoice from us for $2 per unused image. All of the proceeds will go to cancer charities, so either way it's a win! You are welcome to just outright purchase the images, too - let us know that in your email.
The images will be available for free until October 31st. A full preview of all available images are available on the InStyle Stamps Blog.

Here is what I did with a few of the images.

 

I made these key chains using some fabulous beads from www.JesseJamesBeads.com and printed the images on some shrink plastic.  I LOVE these.  I am so happy with myself.  I plan on making many more and selling them. 

Now go get these images and show us what you can do with them!!!

FFC- Five for Friday

Hello hello hello!!!  Today’s challenge from Christi was to make a card with FIVE layers on it.  ONLY FIVE!  Oh my goodness, that is very limiting, BUT the base doesn’t count.  Ok, that’s a little bit better.  I was still getting anxious about it when I was going through all the Hope You Can Cling To Challenges and realized I hadn’t done the 4x4 challenge yet.  I needed to make a card with 4 squares and 4 embellishments.  I immediately had an idea and was able to complete both challenges.  YAY!!!

Snowflake Chloe is on one layer with a blue background which makes 2, the squares are dsp 3, mounted on Bashful Blue 4, all layered on Pretty in Pink 5 on the Bashful Blue card base.  YAY!!!!!!  I did it…..what?  The sentiment?  That’s not a layer.  I mean it’s so small.  It’s….it’s…. it’s an embellishment!   Yes, an embellishment from a sheet of die cuts.  So THERE!

Chloe will be released later this month by InStyle Stamps.  Isn’t she adorable.  She’s always adorable, she reminds me of my kids….you know when they are sleeping and cute and stuff.  Now, go see what the other Friday Fun Chicks have done:

Kim
Jimmi
Sherry ( no time to stamp :( )
Christi
Sara

And please continue to play along with the Hope You Can Cling To Challenges and send your cards to MD Anderson. 

Hope You Can Cling To ~ HYCCT14 ~ Ribbon, Ribbon, Ribbon

Good morning!!! I am hosting today’s Hope You Can Cling To Challenge over at SplitCoastStampers.  Can you believe it?  I am thrilled to be part of this set of challenges.
Challenge Title: Ribbon Ribbon Ribbon
Hostess: MelenaPrincess aka Kimme
Keyword: HYCCT14
Date: Thursday, October 14th, 2010
We associate the pink ribbon with breast cancer awareness. My challenge to you is to use a ribbon (any color) on your card, use as much as you like in any way you like.


VIEW THE GALLERY FOR THIS CHALLENGE HERE
View the Hope You Can Cling To Gallery HERE
View the Hope You Can Cling To Master Challenge Thread HERE
UPLOADING INSTRUCTIONS:
1. All Hope You Can Cling To Challenge Entries must be uploaded to the Hope You Can Cling To Gallery, with the specific challenge keyword, no later than November 7th, 2010 at 12:00 Noon Central Time to be eligible for our fabulous prizes! Post a link to your entry in this thread.
2. You may not combine challenges, but you are welcome to create multiple cards for each challenge.
3. Please remember to put in the correct keyword, HYCCT14, when uploading your image. Copying and pasting the challenge keyword is recommended to avoid typos.
4. Please package all challenge entries with an envelope, protected with a clear cellophane bag or clear envelope per entry and mail them to our partner at the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center to benefit patients being treated for breast cancer and their family.
The Department of Volunteer Services – Unit 115
Attn: Maggi Suttles
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
1515 Holcombe Boulevard
Houston, TX 77030
(Please note - because MD Anderson is part of the State of Texas, they ask that no religious sentiments be used on cards sent to the Cancer Center)
Thank you for participating in this card drive!

InStyle Stamps October Color Challenge

I can’t believe it is October already and time for our color challenge at InStyle Stamps Blog .  The leaves are just starting to change colors here, and I think we are getting our pumpkins this weekend.  Aaaaahhhh Fall. Our color challenge this month comes from the inspiration in this photo:

Aren’t those colors wonderful?  So rich and lovely.  I want to sit at that table.  You know whatever is coming out of the kitchen will be just divine.  Here is my card using Virginia available in the InStyle Stamps Store now.

I tried to go with the same colors in the photo and used the picture as inspiration for the layout as well.  The ribbon is supposed to mimic the table runner and the sentiment is the plate at the head of the table.  The dew drops are inspired by the other plates on the table. 

As always, we would love to have you play along with our challenge. 

FFC Just for you

This week we were told to make a card just for us.  I took that to mean that we could do anything we wanted.  My goal is to make cards for all the Hope You Can Cling To challenges at SplitCoastStampers.  So the following cards are just because I want to do them not because I have to make them for an assignment.  In the end I will be sending all these cards to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for their patients to use.

Pink Holidays HYCCT02A

Lingerie Inspired HYCCT02B

 

 Twine Time HYCCT05

 Some Kind of Hope I - HYCCT06

Some Kind of Hope II -  HYCCT07

 

Now go see what the other FFC Chicks have done just for them. 

Jimmi
Sherry
Kim
Sara
Christi