Thursday, January 30, 2014

Flower power birthday card

Hi everyone!  I have a fun birthday card to share using the soon to be released Flower Power 2 die set (you can pre-order now with shipping early March).  This is part of the new In'spire line of dies which is a a smaller, hipper style of dies and they are right up my alley!  I love all four flowers in the 2 Flower Power sets.  They just make me happy :)
Here is how I made the flower colorful inserts, I die cut the flower in different colors and used the negative pieces to go inside the black flower.  I taped the pieces down in the back with regular clear tape so they wouldn't fall out.
Here is the set Celebration
 and here is the set Flower Power 2
 Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Card Deets:Spellbinder dies: IN-012 Celebration, IN-021 Flower Power 2 Shapeabilities®, S4-114 Standard Circles LG Nestabilitie  
Cardstock: Bazzill Paper Basics Marshmallow, Licorice, Red Hots, Sour Lemon, Gum Drop, Candy Hearts and Cotton Candy card shoppe
Embellishments -  Cartwright's Sequins 4, 5 and 6mm sequins; Red/white baker's twine; Stardust Stickles

Adhesive - Tombow USA Mono Multi liquid glue; Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 3D Foam Tabs


You are also able to pre-order these dies at The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store


Photobucket

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Zutter Magnetic and Cling Stamp storage

Hi everyone!  Like all of you, I am ALWAYS in search of die and stamp storage.  So while I was at CHA, the Zutter Inovations booth really caught my eye.  The gentleman in the booth was showing someone their new large sized, double sided die/stamp storage combo and I just had to check it out!!  

I loved what I saw and he generously gave me a package to try out myself.  It's called the Magnetic and Cling Stamp Storage System and I really love it!  They have 2 systems, the pink system is for dies and stamps and the purple system is for stamps only.  

I have the pink system and here is what I have done.  I have 3 sheets in my box at the moment, but you can see that many more will fit (they say 9 sheets depending on your stamp thickness).  I labeled each of my divider sheets with my Brother label maker
Here is my first sheet.  The front side is magnetic for the dies.  The magnet is strong and the dies WON'T fall off -don't get me started on the pack of magnet sheets I bought online that can't hold a die to save it's life! 
Anyway, these measure 12" across which is large enough for the long border dies and Spellbinders Grand sized line of dies.  You can see that I fit 5 die sets easily on it.  These are Spellbinders new Imperial Gold Series dies, aren't they pretty!?!  P.S. stamps will also stick to this side! 
 Here is the back side.  This side is not magnetic and is for your stamp sets.  In the top corner I printed the names of my dies that are on the front and I fit 3 stamp sets.  At first I took my acrylic stamps off it's original backing and put them on the sheet, but I quickly discovered the stamp's back side would stick just as well AND that allowed me to keep them on the packing so I can see the stamps!
 Here is a picture of my JustRite Papercrafts dies (I fit 6 die sets here)
And on the back side are the coordinating stamp sets for all my JR dies.  The sheet fits 2 large stamp sets on each.  Again, I kept the stamps on the original packing so I could see/read the stamps.
The box is thin enough to easily fit on the floor below my bottom shelf under my stamp area.  I even have room for 2!
It looks like this system is on pre-order for the next couple of days and will begin to ship at the end of January!  You can buy sheet insert refills, they come in packs of 3 including plastic divider sheets.  I'm going to get 2 more of the die/cling refills, I think all of those will fit in my 1 box :)

Here is the link to a CHA review video that Scrapbook.com made of this system:


Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!
Photobucket

Monday, January 27, 2014

Amusing challenge -anything goes

Hi everyone! My friend Chris is an AMuse Studio consultant (and a fantastic one at that!) and she has monthly challenges that I never seem to have time to play.  But today I made a couple of easy cards.  I have quite a few AMuse stamp sets that have *gasp* never seen ink.  So, I really need to play along more often.

This month's Amusing Challenge theme is "Anything goes" which was to follow!
I used the pretty flower outline stamp from the Floral Duet set (note, this is the smaller flower in the set) and the sentiments are from the set Friend to Friend.

This first card uses Bermuda cardstock and polka dot pattern paper.  I added yellow and aqua sequins and some mini twinkles stickers as accents.
This one uses Slate and sugar cardstock, Slate gingham pattern paper.  I added red and yellow sequins and some mini twinkles stickers as accents.

Lastly this one uses some Fancy Pants pattern paper I had lying around with a metal flower I had in my stash for the center.
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

All my cards use Spellbinders Classic Squares LG and Standard Circles LG
Photobucket

Friday, January 24, 2014

Some Valentines cards and a winner

Hi everyone!  I have a couple Valentines cards to share today.  One is super duper simple and easy and the other is a bit more detailed.
First up is the easy card.  I put this together quite literally from items left over on my desk.  
The pattern paper looks like this
I just flipped it on it's side, trimmed and matted it to black cardstock, used a heart die cut and added some flowers, pearls and a sentiment.  Boom.  Done.  Cute and a fun way to use those sunburst pattern papers we find in the paper pads.
Next up is a card a bit more detailed.  I love the look of die cutting into the card front.  You can stamp (or write) a message on the inside that will show through.  This card uses basic and scalloped circles, hearts and a bitty blossom rose.

___________________________________________________
And finally I want to thank everyone for the lovely comments on my CHA giveaway post.  Random.org helped me chose #15 as the winner.

catdidit January 20, 2014 at 3:04 PM
How fun! One of these days I want to meet everyone too! :D Thanks for sharing Michelle!

Congrats Cat!  I'll mail your goodies out right away!!
___________________________________________________
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.  Here is a close up of the details on card #2.

Card Deets:
Spellbinder dies:
 
S4-136 Classic Hearts, S4-116 Standard Circles SM, S4-125 Classic Scalloped Circles SM Nestabilities®
S5-086 Bitty Blossoms, MD1-005 Hearts One Shapeabilities®
E8-001 Classic Scallop Edgeabilities®  
Stamps: JustRite Papercrafts, Sweet Hearts stamp set
Cardstock: Amuse Studio, Seattle, Cherry, Blush, Onyx and sugar cardstock
Ink: Tsukineko, Versafine Onyx Black
Pattern paper - My Mind's Eye, Cupid's Arrow 6x6 paper pad 
Embellishments - Kaisercraft, rhinestones and pearls; May Arts red/white baker's twine;
Prima Abby flowers in white
Adhesive - Tombow USA Mono Multi liquid glue; Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 3D Foam Tabs

You can also purchase these dies at The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

Photobucket

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Gina K Journey of the Heart StampTV Kit Inspiration Blog Hop

Hi everyone!!  Welcome to the Journey of the Heart StampTV Kit Inspiration Blog Hop where we hope to inspire you with many beautiful ideas with the Stamp TV kit!  This kit is retired. You can find all the current stamp sets for Gina K Designs here.
My first card uses the adorable birdie and balloons for a colorful congratulations card. I colored everything with copic markers and used coordinating sequins as accents.  This card measures 4"x4 1/2".
Next up is a couple of 3x3 sympathy note cards.  I stamped the flowers with GKD Color Companions Ivory pigment ink.  With the note card on the left, I took a wipe and removed the ink from the centers and lightly colored them in with yellow marker.  These note cards are simple and understated with only rhinestones and twine for embellishments.  Sympathy cards are hard to make, sometimes I think less is more.
 
The last card didn't turn out like I wanted at all, but I thought I would post it anyway.  From time to time we all have "card fails".  Am I right? -lol!!!!!
  I wanted this get well card to be cheery and used spring colors and glitter.  The flowers are stamped with GKD Color Companions Sweet Corn and the sentiment in Charcoal Brown.
I'm not sure where I went wrong, but here it is...
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Monday, January 20, 2014

CHA pics and a small giveaway

Hi everyone!  I have a couple CHA pictures to share and a small giveaway of some stuff I picked up at the various booths.  I have to say this year the show felt much smaller.  Not only in size and amount of booths, but with attendees as well.  In years past, the isles were so crowded it took a long time to make your way through the popular booths.  This year, you could literally look down one end of the isle and see the entire way down!  I also noticed the size and scale of the booths displays were smaller and not as extravagant - with the notable exception of Spellbinders booth!

But it was still amazing and I had a wonderful time.  Here are some pictures.  I'll share pictures of people because if you follow manufacturers FB pages or blogs you have seen many pictures of the various booths.

Here is me and Lynn Mercurio, my roommate.  She is such a sweet person, I've known her for years online and it was so much fun to spend time with her in person.  Fun fact, she watches as many TV shows as I do!!
Here is me and Kelly Purkey posing in front of her new collection, Mon Ami with Basic Grey.  She was doing make and takes at the GB booth and graciously posed for pictures with anyone who asked!
Here is me and Bev (owner extraordinaire) in the Technique Tuesday booth.  Fun fact, I was a fan of TT's stamps for years before I learned they were located in the SAME TOWN AS ME!
Here is me and my lovely friend Summer Fullerton in the Jillibean Soup booth.  Summer and I met last year at CHA and became instant friends when we found out we live less than 20 minutes from each other!
Here is a pic I took of Lynn when were eating outside one day for lunch.  Yes, it was hot and sunny in LA, I think it was almost 80 degrees that day!
And last but not least, when I went to the Paper Creations booth, it took me a minute or so to realize there was a life sized poster of the new Spring issue, which features MY paper cake project AND new series of articles called Trend Watch!  So I just had to pose for a pic with it!!

And now for my giveaway, like I mentioned things were much smaller and I didn't find as many little free chachies in the booths as in years past.  But there were a few fun things I found and thought I would pass on to one of my readers.  
Goodies include:
Craft Ideas (formerly Crafts n' Things) and Paper Crafts Stamp It magazines, Little B post-it notes, Prima flower and brown edge inker, Pink Paislee catalog, Graphic 45 and Pebbles flair, Littl' Inker pen, 3 plastic charms (from a Martha Stewart mold), washi tape roll (I think from Cosmo Cricket), and Spring themed 3D shapes pack from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L.

I will chose and post the winner Friday the 24th.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!
Photobucket

Friday, January 17, 2014

New Spellbinders dies and must have tool

Hi everyone! I'm back from CHA and WOW I had an amazing time!  I love seeing all my friends in person, visiting all the wonderful booths, seeing the amazing projects, and getting a peek at all the new products and tools!  Over the next few days I will have a couple posts to sharing pictures, new products and even a small giveaway!

But today, I have a card showing off some of the newly released dies from Spellbinders.  Have you checked out all the new dies yet?  There are some really amazing dies you HAVE to see!  You can find them all in the What's New section.  Most of these will be available to ship early March and you can pre-order them now.

I am so so so happy that Spellbinders has several FEATHER and WORDS dies this release!!  Along with some whimsical flowers, new label shapes and a new MUST HAVE TOOL -the Tool 'n OneThis was BY FAR the coolest thing at the show.  It's a little roller brush that you roll over your intricate die after you use it and it pokes all the little left over bits of paper stuck inside. WOOHOO! No more using your paper piercer! And the tool does double duty because there are little tools in the handle that can interchange, like a mini spatula (to help pry out your die cuts), a piercer, and more to come!
But I digress...
Here is my quick and easy card.  I used the new Feathers and Celebration sets.  I inked the feather veins and edges with a touch of ink to match the washi tape.  I love that this sentiment has cool little embossed dot details!  So fun!
Here is the set Celebration
 and here is the set Feathers
Let me know what you think of the new stuff!!
Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! Here is a close up pic of the feathers, such details!
Card Deets:
Spellbinder dies:
IN-012 Celebration, S4-428 Feathers Shapeabilities® 
Cardstock: Bazzill Paper Basics Marshmallow and Taffy card shoppe
Embellishments - MME Washi Tape; Cartwright's Sequins 4, 5 and 6mm sequins; Silver cord; Stardust Stickles

Adhesive - Tombow USA Mono Multi liquid glue; Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L 3D Foam Tabs

You are also able to pre-order these dies at The Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

Photobucket

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Belly Band gift set tutorial

Hi everyone!  Welcome to Day 4 of the Spellbinders Paper Arts Diamond Anniversary Sneak Peek and Giveaway.  I am excited to show you one of the new die templates being released at the
Winter 2014 Craft and Hobby Association trade show! 
The die set I'm working with today is the S5-212 Belly Band One!

Supply List for Gift Card ensemble:
 S5-212Belly Band One
 S5-185 2013 Snowflake Pendant

Tutorial how I made the belly bands for the bottle and gift card holder:
1.  Trim cardstock to 8 1/2" x 2 1/2"
2.  Tape die down with the bottom line of the die parallel to the bottom edge.  For this layer, I used Belly Band Die #2 (with #1 being the smallest).
This is what it will look at once it's cut and embossed.  You'll notice the left and right sides are open ended.  This allows you to trim your "band" any length you want.
3.  To make the band cuts, I put the cardstock in my trimmer and lined it up to the die cut lines.  You could also do this step freehand or even with decorative scissors.
This is what it will look like after all four cuts are made.
 4.  Next I trimmed 2 pattern paper pieces and slipped them inside the pre-cut openings.  Note, you can also use ribbon as I have shown on my second project below.
5.  Once the accent paper is in place, I taped the ends down in the back.  Then I wrapped the entire band around my bottle/gift card holder, trimmed any excess and glued the ends together.
Here's a close up picture of the bottle.  For the second layer, I die cut and embossed pattern paper with Die #1 and turned it into a nesting label shape instead of a band by cutting the sides.


Here's a quick tutorial on how I made the gift cardholder:
1. Trim cardstock 8 3/4" by 4 1/4"
2.  Score lines at the 3" and 6" marks
3. For the diagonal opening, trim off the top right corner.  I made my cut marks 1/2" in from the left at the top and 1" up from the bottom.
4.  Add adhesive along the bottom and up the short side (I used 1/8" Scor-Tape).  This will allow a gift card to fit inside.
 Here's a picture of the ensemble with the belly band slipped off.

Here is another project I made with the Belly Band One die templates.  I decorated a clear stationery box with two nesting bands with the top layer threaded with ribbon.  I accented the layers with an oval from Classic Ovals SM, a letter from the Font One Uppercase, and flowers from the Blooms Four set.
Thank you for stopping by and have a great day!