Paper Smooches DT Blog Hop

Hello, hello!

It’s once again Pep Rally week in the Paper Smooches world, and the gang is banding together today to share a sampling of the NEW Paper Smooches April release with you!  FOUR new stamps and EIGHT new dies will be available to purchase on March 31st at 8:00pm pacific time. Once our release goes live, you will find our new products HERE.  

To add extra fun to our blog hop…we are offering up a prize! 

The prize – a $25. gift code to choose what you like at the PS online store.
Here are the details:

• FOUR winners will be chosen at RANDOM from any of the design team blogs and the PS Blog to win the $25. prize.
• Just leave a comment on any of the design team blogs listed below or the PS blog for your chance to win!  (you do not need to comment on all blogs to qualify but it increases your changes)
• Deadline: You have until midnight PT on Sunday, March 29th to leave a comment.
• Please check the Paper Smooches blog on Tuesday, March 31st to see if you are one of the FOUR lucky winners.

Ashley Marcu

Emily Leiphart

JJ Bolton

Jocelyn Olson

Kalyn Kepner

Kay Miller

Laura Bassen

Laurie Schmidlin

Michele Boyer

Pamela Ho

Teri Anderson

To increase your chances of winning:

• 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 three extra chances to win on each blog…. woot, woot!)

So I played with the new Shoes dies for today’s post. 

I cut both of the shoes using the Shoes dies. I cut the same shoe twice, flipping the second die over so they looked like a right and left shoe.

By the way, I also used a couple other new Paper Smooches products: the Frame 2 die (for the frame) and the new Kudos 2 and Hip Hands stamp sets (for the words).  I’m a mix and matcher so I love it when you can easily mix and match products together. I think that’s one of the really cool things about this release is that’s is easy to mix and match things.

OK. So that’s what I have for you today. I’ll be back again later.

And thanks again to all of you who stopped by today. I always enjoy reading your comments!

Today’s cards

Hi all!

Got a couple cards to share with you today. And I might as well just say it: Brace yourselves. MARKERS came out. Yes, my friends, Copic markers came out.

Yes, how many times have I told you I am not so savvy in the marker department? Yes. I know. Shocking. Yes. Indeed. Markers really did come out. So check this out… while you are still breathing. 😉

This is card #1.

And this is card #2.

Yes, I actually colored with markers. And…. I liked it. 🙂

So I actually was really inspired by the new Work Out stamp set (and coordinating Exercise Girls dies) from Simon Says Stamp! I saw this sweet girl and was like, “Yeah, I can only do this stamp right by trying to color her” so I did.

I think she turned out ok with purple and green hair do’s. 😉  I think I will be daring next time and try for a realistic hair color, but then again… I kinda like the non-traditional stuff.

By the way, I adhered the girls to panels I cut with Lawn Fawn’s Stitched Journaling Card dies. Let’s just put it out there: The dies haven’t been seeing much action in my scrapbooks lately, but they are still pretty darn awesome to use to make elements for cards with… in my professional opinion and all.

Alright, so that’s all for today. I’ll be back again later! Thanks for stopping by!

Today’s card

Hi all!

Another card to share today.

Another card made just for the fun of having fun.

Created this guy mostly with products from the Craft Market collection from Crate Paper. I’m a fan of Crate Paper so several pieces of the collection had to be mine when the collection surfaced at the local craft store. (Insert evil laugh here. Bahahahahahah!) Love it so much.

The thanks word was cut with a die from Studio Calico. It is a pretty thin die so I used an old trick from the Scrapbook Dark Ages to adhere it to my card. What’s that, you ask? Well, it’s this: Squeeze glob of glue on scratch paper. Use toothpick to pick up small dabs of glue to dab gently on die-cut. 😉 Works great for thin dies.

So that’s what I have for you today. I’ll be back again later, gators.

Today’s card

Hi all!

Just playing today! I haven’t really had a lot of time to just play in a few weeks.

Saw the Stripes challenge on the AEIHeartU Challenge blog  and really wanted to give it a go… so I did. 🙂 Here’s what I came up with.

So I cut the bottles with the Bottle It – Up Elle-ments dies from Avery Elle. I cut actually cut the bottles each two times and then I cut down the second one to make the stripes. Sorta kinda a different way to add stripes.

The words and the vegetation are from Bottle It Up stamp set.

So there you have it. 😉

And glad I played! I really wanted to play!

See you again soon, y’all!

Cover-Up Craze

Hi everyone!

I’m excited today to be taking part in another challenge with the My Favorite Things Design Team. We’re having fun … for the fun of having fun… with MFT’s Cover-up Die-namics!

The Cover-Ups are awesome! They are designed to fit on a standard A2 size card! They are great to use on their own and to pair together with other products.

So I’ve got a couple cards to share with you today that I used multiple Cover-Up dies on. Can you handle it? (Wink!) OK, let’s do this.

This is card #1.

So I made the background by layering together dies cut with a couple Cover-Up dies – Stripes and Jumbo Dot. Put the Dot one on the bottom and the striped one on top. I tried a couple different color combos before I eventually landed with the hot pink and black combo.

And this is card #2.

Once again, I layered a couple panels cut with Cover-Up Die-namics. This time, I brought together the Grid and Pegboard Cover-Up Die-namics. I love how they look together.

I wanted the sentiment to look somewhat unique so I die-cut it twice and then layered it together, slightly off-setting it as I adhered it to the card.

And this is card #3.

I wanted to do something different with this one so I used the Proof Positive Cover-Up with the Square Grid Cover-Up. I think they look pretty fun together.

OK, so here’s a list of MFT supplies I used to make this card:

• Stripes Cover-Up Die-namics
• Square Grid Cover-Up Die-namics
• Pegboard Cover-Up Die-namics
• Jumbo Dot Cover-Up Die-namics
• Proof Positive Cover-Up Die-namics
• Pierced Star STAX Die-namics
• Fishtail Flags STAX Die-namics
• Happy Hellos Die-namics
• Pierced Fishtail Flags STAX Die-namics
• Pinking Edge Rectangle STAX Die-namics
• Blueprints 19 Die-namics

Be sure to check out the MFT blog to see who else from the team is sharing today.

Thanks for stopping by today, all!

Creative Challenge: Stylin’ with Stencils

Hi all!

Woot! It’s for another Creative Challenge with the My Favorite Things Design Team. And this time, we’re playing with stencils!

Woo-to-the-hoo! MFT carries a ton of fantastic stencils, and they are awesome.

I used a couple of my favorites to make today’s cards: Stencil Stripes and Stencil Large Polka Dots. Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.

So meet Card #1.

I used the Stripes stencil to make that white, pink and orange panel. So what I did was set the stencil at an angle part way onto a piece of white cardstock. I inked over the open portion of the stencil with pink ink.

Then I flipped the stencil over, lined it up with my inking and applied some more ink. This time, I used orange ink. See how the lines kinda run together? You can get an idea of how I shifted the stencil when I set it onto the panel.

 

I think I like how this one turned out… a lot! Hope you do too. (Insert: Pressure! Hee! Just kidding.)

And this is Card #2.

I brought out my sweet friend, the Large Polka Dots stencil, for this one. I made that white panel with it. I just set the stencil down and then applied orange and pink ink to it.

Now, you might wondering about that orange strip that goes right over it? Yes. That one. I got a little carried away by applying too much ink so it covered up the messy spots. Yes. Secret’s out. I’m not perfect. Dude. Tragedy. 😉

So that’s what I have for you today, friends!

Here’s a list of MFT products I used to make these cards:

• Stencil Stripes
• Stencil Large Polka Dots 
• Sequins Die-namics
• Many Thanks Die-namics
• Happy Hellos Die-namics
• Pierced Star STAX Die-namics
• Stitched Rectangle Frames Die-namics

Be sure to hit the MFT blog to see who else from the Design Team is taking part in today’s challenge! Thanks, as always, for stopping by!

Today’s card

Hi all!

This is today’s card!

Ta-da!

The scoop behind this year? Yeah. I was cleaning up my desk earlier and had a few things out from Simple Stories’ Say Cheese II collection left on it. So, of course, I had to procrastinate (<—– Yes, just had to) and make a card. 😉

Every single thing on this little guy is from the collection – stickers, die-cuts, papers… the works.

By the way, I had a few other cards the other day over on the Simple Stories blog that were made with this collection.  I’d be plum tickled if you’d check them out.

Thanks for stopping by today, guys. I’ll be back again later.

MFT: March Release Rewind

Hello again!

The March release from My Favorite Things is now live, and the design team is celebrating with a couple days of Release Rewind activities!

Today, I get to contribute. And I’ve got a couple more cards to share with you that I whipped up with the new stuff.

Please give it up for card #1.

And the crowd goes wild. 😉

OK, kidding aside, I whipped this guy together with the Circle Scribble Flowers stamp set and coordinating Circle Scribble Flowers Die-namics.

The color scheme? Well, I’m a big fan of bold pinks with black and a pop of green.

To make that happy word (cut with the Happy Trio Die-namics, which just happen to be free right now with a $60 purchase) stand out, I cut it twice and then stacked the words on top of each other.

And this is card #2.

It’s somewhat the same color-wise. I just swapped Lemon Drop cardstock for the green…. and added a light pink to the mix.

The TV was created with the Television Die-namics and the Stay Tuned stamp set.

Now because I did say there is a gift card inside, I did include a gift card slot inside the card. I cut this guy with the Gift Card Grooves Die-namics.

For good measure, I stamped a couple diamonds onto it and added a die-cut star.

Finally, this is card #3.

Made it with my favorite friend, the Blueprints Die-namics series. Specifically, the Blueprints 23 Die-namics. I also used the Inside & Out Stitched Rounded Square STAX Die-namics to cut the square. Love it when things work together.

All the stars and words were stamped with the Totally Happy stamp set. To make those big stars stand out a little more, I used a marker to just add a little shading to the center.

Here’s a list of MFT supplies I used to make these cards:

• LJD – Circle Scribble Flowers Die-namics
• LJD – Circle Scribble Flowers Stamp Set
• Blueprints 23 Die-namics
• Inside & Out Stitched Rounded Square STAX Die-namics
• LLD – Television Die-namics
• LLD – Stay Tuned Stamp Set
• Totally Happy Stamp Set
• Happy Trio Die-namics – Free with $60
• Pierced Star STAX Die-namics
• Gift Card Grooves Die-namics

And, once again, be sure to check out the MFT Blog to see who else is playing today. Thanks again for stopping by!

Winner + Today’s Card

Hi all!

The winner of the blog candy from my blog for the Winter Essentials by Ellen Blog Hop is in. And that lucky winner is:

Cheryl Sampson-Dutro

Congrats, Cheryl! I’ve sent you an email about your blog candy!

And just because…. I’ve got a little card to share with you all today!

I created my own background here by splattering diluted pink paint with a paintbrush onto a cardstock panel.

The flowers were die-cut with the Bold Blossom by Julie Ebersole dies. I die-cut them a couple times and then stacked them up. To make the flower stand out, I applied a layer of Glossy Accents to it. I also added a second flower, die-cut with white cardstock, under the pink one, and kinda offset it.

The sentiment was created by mixing together words from the Fancy Thanks by Julie Ebersole stamp set with the You Rock dies.

So that’s what I’ve got! Be back again later, gators. Talk to you again soon.

MFT: Launch

And we have lift-off!

The March release from My Favorite Things is now live. Can I get a woot? Yeah! That’s what I am talking about! 😉

And guess what? I’ve got a few projects to share with you that I made with the Stitched Speech Bubble Edges Die-namics (and a bunch of other new MFT products).  I’ve got lots to get through today so… come on… let’s do this!

Meet card #1.

I created the speech bubble with the new Stitched Speech Bubble Edges Die-namics.

I cut two different pieces of cardstock, lined them up and then whacked off the edges to fit them both on the card. The die-cutting process looked a bit like this.

I love the die because you can  use either the top or bottom! Or you can just go to town and use them both. It takes a little more thought to use them both, but they look really cool together when you do.

And this is card #2.

Does that little dog look familiar? Kinda of reminds me of my dog, Marley, when he sleeps. 😉 Only, he’s usually holding a hedgehog toy and not a bone.  Anyway, the little guy on the card is from the You Make My Tail Wag stamp set. And the words? Well, they are from the I Knead You stamp set.

By the way, I used a different speech bubble edge for this one. And I just used the top and not the bottom.

And this is card #3.

I used the same speech bubble edge to make the conversation bubble for this one, only I used the bottom this time.

Oh and how did I stamp on that heart? Well, here’s the secret! I stamped the sentiment on the kraft cardstock and then I stamped it again just on the section of the heart, where I wanted it to appear. Then I glued the heart right over the stamped sentiment.

Finally, this is card #4.

I once again used a stitched speech bubble edge. This time, I used just the top of the edge.

And let me tell you a little secret! I used actually used it twice. See that hill the dogs are on? Well, friends, it was cut with the edge. Seriously. Check. This. Out!

I simply hid the dip (well… with a little strategy and all) by plopping one of the dogs over it.

It worked out pretty good, if I do say so myself!

So here’s a list of MFT supplies  I used on these cards:

• Stitched Speech Bubble Edges Die-namics
• BB – You Make My Tail Wag Die-namics
• BB – You Make My Tail Wag Stamp Set
• BB – I Knead You Stamp Set
• Pet Accents Die-namics
• Paw Print Background
• Small Brick Background
• Swiss Dots Background

And be sure to check out the MFT Blog to see who else from the design team is sharing projects today!

And thank you to all of you for stopping by today! I appreciate your comments and kind words! Have a great day, guys!