Avocado Arts: Project Share (2-1)

Hello all!

Meet today’s card.

Whipped out the new Special Delivery stamp set from Avocado Arts to make this bad boy.

Wanted to make the card more masculine appropriate this time so went with more Fall’ish, manly colors.

I think I could get away with sending this one to one of my guy friends without being given a hard time for using the totally cute chick stamp. 😉

I’m not the only one playing with stamps from Avocado Arts today.

Be sure to check out the blogs of these lovely girls because they are, too!

• Cristal
• Ashley Harris
• Vera Wirianta Yates

And be sure to drop by the Avocado Arts blog, too. They love hearing from good folks, plus they are introducing two new Pit Crew members today (Welcome, mystery ladies!)!

Paper Smooches: January DT Blog Hop (1-31)

Hi all!

It’s blog hop time again! It’s Pep Rally week in the Paper Smooches world, and the crew’s here to share a sampling of the Paper Smooches February stamp release with you! The four NEW clear stamp sets will be available to purchase at 12:01am, Eastern time…on February 1st.  Our CHA (trade show) release will also be available.  Including stamps, wood mount stamps and DIES!  You will find them HERE.

To add extra fun to our blog hop…we are offering up a prize!  Just leave a comment on any of the eight design team blogs listed below for your chance to win one of the four new stamp sets!  (you do not need to comment on all blogs to qualify)  You have until midnight MT on Friday, February 1st to leave a comment.  Please check all design team blogs on Saturday, February 2nd to see if you are one of the lucky winners.

• Emily Leiphart
• Heidi Van Laar
• Kalyn Kepner
• Karolyn Loncon
• Kim Kesti
• Laura Bassen
• Laurie Schmidlin
• Teri (<—– here you are!)

To increase your chances of winning:

• Leave a comment on this blog post
• Tell us that you Facebooked about our blog hop
• Tell us that you Tweeted about our hop
• Tell us that you posted on your blog about our blog hop

(which means that you have up to four chances to win on each blog)

Alright so let’s get on with the project! 🙂

Meet today’s card.

I used the new I Heart Art set. (I also used the Clipboard stamp set and a couple dies that were part of the CHA release from PS.)

I wanted a somewhat artsy look so I stamped the paint splatters with watercolor crayons and water.  Here’s a rundown.

First, I brushed water onto the stamp.

Then I liberally brushed the watercolor crayon on top of the wet stamp to add a little color. (And I didn’t worry that the stamp was super wet. That’s part of the effect.)

I stamped it out and got something like this.

And just for kicks, here’s how the stamp looks when stamped with ink vs. a watercolor crayon and water.

And here’s how the watercolor looks close-up on the project.

Pretty cool!

That’s all I have got! Be back later, friends.

Julie’s 50th Birthday Celebration Blog Hop (1-30)

Ever have one of those days when you can’t wipe the crazy smile off your face?

Today is one those days because it is this lovely lady’s birthday, and I’m taking part in a special blog hop in honor of her!

Yep. Word on the street is Julie’s celebrating the big 5…0 today. Must be in dog years, ya know. Because … man… I tell ya… 😉 🙂

Anyway, happy, happy birthday, Julie! You are truly one of the kindest, nicest people I’ve ever met. And you are one amazing card maker to boot!

In honor of your big day, I made this card just for you.

Just in case you are wondering what stamp set I used here, it’s Old Faithful. 😉 I mean, Bright Idea from Technique Tuesday.

Did a little bit of heat embossing to make the lamp shades. Then tossed on some gems and pearls. And… just for good measure…. added a stamped, embossed and fussy cut heart, too!

Ok, that’s all I have got! Hope you have a wonderful birthday, Julie!

Next stop on the hop is the blog of the lovely Julia! Take it away, Julia!

By the way, if you get lost during the hop, head to the CLASSroom for a list of everyone taking part in the hop.  (And, friends, please consider leaving a birthday wish or two… or three… or four… over there for Julie, too!)

Giveaway: Journey Into Card Making (1-29)

Hi all!

How about another giveaway? My good friend, Julie Campbell, is teaching a new card making class called Journey Into Card Making over on 2Peas. Julie said I could give away a slot to one of you. Woohoo!

Here is some more info on the class:

“Whether you’re a seasoned card maker or have yet to make your first card, this workshop will take you on a journey to create handmade cards that your friends & loved ones will cherish. Julie will start out by teaching you card making basics; you will create a card organizer to file away all the new cards you’ll be designing! You’ll then travel on to gain greater design skills. You’ll dive into design principles and learn how to create an eye pleasing design. You’ll learn all about composition & balance in a way that will take your cards from good to great! 

Become adventurous and explore some of the hottest trends in paper crafting! In this workshop, you’ll also learn how to incorporate colors in your projects & how to create cards in several unique styles. 

Included in this workshop are over 30 brand-new card samples from Julie and her contributors. The three chapters contain a printable PDF for a total of over 40 pages, and 80 minutes of coordinating video tutorials. Julie’s talented contributors include card makers Laura Bassen & Michelle Wooderson. 

At the end of this journey, you’ll find a BONUS chapter filled with souvenirs! Create a trendy card set with the card making kit designed by Marcy Penner of Hello Forever. The kit will be available for download as a PDF and as a cutting file you can use with your Silhouette machine. 

The content of this workshop will be available immediately upon purchase. The lessons are available for you to work at your own pace and upon purchase can be accessed in the “Workshops” section under “Classes & Events.” A private message board forum is also available to ask questions for Julie and to connect with other participants.”

Want to win the slot? Well, leave a comment for me by midnight on Thursday (1/31), and I’ll pick one of you to win the slot!

Good luck!

Today’s card (1-28)

Hi all!

Meet today’s card.

Just a “just for fun” one today.

Made this with the super duper cute Good Fortune stamp set from Lawn Fawn that debuted at the CHA-Winter trade show. You can see it in this post here on their blog.

I know people, you know. Really kind people who shared the set with me so I can have my wicked way with it. (Thank you, secret friends!)

I don’t know what really to say, but I sorta kind am head over heels about sweet little stamp set. 🙂

That’s all I have, but before I go, I need to announce the winner of the slot in the CAS Card Making 2 class from Online Card Classes. That winner is Marie/Legojenta (1/26 at 9:51 a.m.)! Congrats, Marie! I just sent you an email! Thanks to all of you who left comments. I appreciate all of them.

See you again real soon!

Giveaway… Giveaway… Giveaway! (1-26)

Online Card Classes is back with an all-new take on one of their most popular classes: Clean & Simple Card Making 2! Join Kristina Werner, Jennifer McGuire, Julie Ebersole and friends to discover the “secret” to minimalistic and fabulous cards. Learn new techniques and be inspired by 26+ videos and 34+ clever and creative card designs. Gather inspiration from your fellow students and Online Card Classes teachers in the forums and galleries. Then print out class PDFs to take Clean & Simple Card Making 2 with you wherever you go. Plus, with lifetime access, random giveaways and shopping discounts galore, you’ll be able to outfit your card making stash in clean and simple style.

I am super excited because they are using some Technique Tuesday stamps in the class, including the Bright Idea set that I designed. (Thank you, OCC! I can’t wait to see!)

For more information on the class, go here  HERE. The class runs January 28 – February 8, but you can join any time and have lifetime access to it!

And guess what? I get to give a slot away for the class. Yeppers. I do! (Thank you, OCC friends!) Leave a comment for me by midnight Sunday! I’ll pick one of you to win the slot.

Today’s card (1-24)

Hello again!

Meet today’s card!

This is one I worked up for the CHA-Winter trade show with Party Lights, one of my new stamp sets for Technique Tuesday.

I embossed all the lanterns with white embossing powder and then cut them out. Seriously love the look. Got to admit that I fell in a pretty bad white embossing powder rut for a few weeks there. 😉

The polka dots were stamped and heat embossed with clear powder. They are from another stamp set, called Passion for Polka (it’s a much used classic around these parts… ha!).

Alright, that’s all I have. Be back again later, gators.

Thanks for stopping by.

Ps… I generally keep the blog to crafty things, but I wanted to share something personal today. Just a picture from a long time ago… in honor of my dad.

One year ago today, I stood in a hospital room and told the doctors (on behalf of my mom, dad and I) that it was time. His heart stopped two days earlier after a rollercoaster ride of a month in the hospital with emergency surgery and lots of lows and few highs. 20 minutes of CPR brought him back (the heart pumped again, but the brain chose not to). His body was rapidly shutting down that day when I had to say it was time.

I remember those final moments so vividly – standing with my mom, rubbing his hand and telling him we loved him and it would be OK. It was so, so fast.

My dad had always prepared us for the moment when the moment came. He’d been diagnosed with a terminal illness many years earlier and had outlived the diagnosis. He never dwelled on the illness. It was just part of life.

One of the last things I told my dad before he had emergency surgery (and before all the lows and highs leading up to those final moments), was to be strong. I like to think he came back at the end so he could leave how he wanted to: With us by his side.

Avocado Arts: Project Share (1-22)

Hello again!

Meet today’s card!

Just a simple little card today. Whipped out Avocado Arts’ Perfect Blend stamp set to make it.

Did a little stamping and fussy cutting again with the set. Mounted the little circles to the cups with foam tape.

 

By the way, I’m not the only one playing with Avocado Arts stamps today. Head to the blogs of these girls to see what they made with The Perfect Blend set:

• Emily B.
• Kelley
• Emily L.
• Julie

Swing by the Avocado Arts blog, too. The Avocado Arts gang always love to hear from good folks, too.

Be back again later.

Thanks, as always, for stopping by.

Today’s Card (1-15)

So we meet again!

Meet today’s card.

I had a lot of fun here, mixing together a bunch of different Ali Edwards stamp sets from Technique Tuesday’s CHA-Winter release. I used her Just Awesome Tabs, Beautiful and Good Day sets.

Just had a lot of fun stamping lot of stuff from the three sets here.

Can’t wait to see what Ashley’s cooked up for today!

See you again soon!

Avocado Arts: Project Share (1-15)

Hi guys!

Another day. Another card.

Meet today’s.

Made this one with a couple stamp sets from Avocado Arts: Sunshine & Smiles, Perfect Blend set and February’s set.

The chick is from the February set.  The cloud is from Sunshine & Smiles. And everything else is from Perfect Blend.

For good measure, I tossed on a few pearls and gems.

To see more Avocado Arts projects with the Perfect Blend stamp set and February’s set, head to the blogs of all these great chicks:

• Emily B.
  
• Kelley
  
• Ashley
  
• Cristal
  
• Emily L.
• Julie
• AJ
• Vera
• Latisha

And, of course, Avocado Arts. Be sure to tell them howdy just because. 🙂 It would make their day.