Sneak Peek: Hand in Hand

A few months ago, I was going through my drawings trying to decide which of my planned sets would be most appropriate for my December release, and Gina reminded me to start thinking about Valentine's Day on the way. Now at the time, my mother was doing hospice care for my grandfather, so my mind was very focused on family and relationships. Over and over I kept coming back to connecting with someone by holding hands, and started sketching pair after pair of clasped hands. When I finished, I felt I had something very special and unlike any set I had or had seen before. Gina agreed it would make perfect Valentines , but when we reveal all the images and greetings included, you'll see it's much more than that. In this month's set "Hand in Hand", you will find vignettes celebrating two people bonded in this simple, intimate touch, in every stage of life: happy ones like birth, friendship, love, marriage, and hard ones when someone is sick or needing help and support.

For today's peek, I chose a "happy" one, with a sentiment I am so excited to bring you: "Soulmates"! (fits in the SU! oval punches) You'll find other words in this set that are sure to give you warm fuzzies and I doubt you have in your stamp collection... yet! :)

Although the "woman" is not wearing a glove in the image, it is fun and easy to add one to make it look like a formal wedding by piecing a silky glove from white shimmery CS as I did above. Just draw a line across the arm at the desired length, cut out (fingers, too!) and attach to your first stamped image with a Quickie Glue Pen for those small parts, doesn't that look real? The image is colored with Copics (Skin White, Baby Skin Pink, c-3, Black, all from Box A) I went over the underside of the shimmery CS as well with my gray marker to give it a shadow. The little cuff link dot is filled in with my Stardust glitter pen. I blinged up my black fancy corners to match with self adhesive rhinestones.

Now that little winged heart is made from the other half of the Fancy Corner Punch, I told you I had something special planned for it! :) Punch out two of the thicker corners from the punch in Real Red and White CS. Now snip off each top of the corner with a rounded cut on each side and down into av to connect and make the heart. On the white one, snip down between the "wings" a little deeper so you won't have the "little diamond" sticking up above your heart. layer the red and the white, and add a little shadow with a gray marker under the wing if I desired. On my card, I punched out one more in black and layered it behind the two just to make it a little more dimensional and show up against my Black Market Ebony and Alabaster DP.

Last you can see the inside of my card which I dressed up with more of the DP under my white layer that I punched with Threading Water. I made this card with my husband in mind, but you could change the greetings out to make an anniversary card or wedding day card (where it can say "the journey begins...") with this image as well.

There's something about all these hands that reminds me of a special, different moment in my life each time I look at them, and evokes such strong images and sensations: the one above I hear the wedding recessional (LOL!), another reminds me of meeting my sons and smelling "new baby", one I hear crunching leaves on walks with my mother and father when I was young, and still another makes me feel the warmth and safety friends and family have offered when I needed it most...I would love to hear about a favorite "hand in hand" moment of yours below...! (chances are GOOD I have an image to match for you!) ;)

I hope you all will love this set as much as I do. They are such simple images to color and will be one of my "go to sets" when I need a quick card to let someone know, in good times or bad, I'm here for them, or how grateful I am to have them in my life! ( And, I really am going to try to tackle my neglected scrapbook, this set is so appropriate for the many occasions I need to journal!!)

Would you like to win this set? Please create a card, page or 3-D project inspired by a favorite "hand in hand" memory of yours (it does not have to use hands, can have any stamped images, photos, found objects you choose, go nuts!) and upload the pic to Papercraft Planet with the tag GKDMMSJ, I will pick one winner randomly and announce it tomorrow night at 6:30 PM before our release party tomorrow night (7-10PM CST) in the SCS Gina K forum! I will ALSO pick a favorite project and that person will receive be a guest designer for me NEXt month and receive my January set(which you will LOVE!) Good luck, I want everyone to play and I hope you join us for more peeks at the party!!

Let's go see more samples with this set from:
Carolyn King
Donna Baker
Emily Giovanni
Erika Martin
Jessica Fick
Joanne Basile
Theresa Momber

Kurtis Amundson

Gina K

and Carolina Buchting, our In the Spotlight Designer this month!