Guest Designer: Libby Hickson

Today Libby Hickson rocked out an "ALL Boy" "Wee Tees" Card, literally, and I love how she shows us a great example of how to show off images in this set without using the onesie! This fabulous sketch is from Jen del Muro. I am just lovin' this layout, the colors, the popped up pieces and the little beaded all boy strung like a baby bracelet, it's too cute!! Libby, where'd you get those letters?? must have!! LOL!

A little more about Libby, in her own words :

Favorite:
Technique-- Is sewing on cards considered a technique? It's one of my favorite things to do these days! I also love the cracked glass technique, it's so gorgeous with flower images!

Colors/color combo-- Lately I seem to pull out various shades of pink more than anything, I guess it's my daughter's influence on me! One of my all-time favorite color combos was one for SCS a while back - Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue & Real Red. In fact, I used it on one of my Wee Tees cards! (<---click that for another totally cute sample-eeek!)

Gina K set by Melanie-- This is a tough one because I love so many of them - of course I love Little Tees and Wee Tees! But I also really love Cuddles and Hugs, the animals in this set are so sweet. Truly, everytime Melanie comes out with a new set (Have a Cookie, A Year of Flowers, A Charmed Life!!) I just marvel at how incredibly clever and talented she is!! (and I swear she's not even paying me to say this!) :-)

Gina K sets (from any illustrator)-- Again, so hard to narrow down. I am so in love with the orchid image in Asela's Botanical Dreams set. And another of my all-time favorites is an older one from Gina - Whimsical Valentine! I adore the mice, and bugs are so cute, and I just LOVE that she included "You complete me" as a sentiment!!

Craft supplies I can’t live without— My Copics!! What did I do before these came along? I'm also a wee bit of a polka dot fanatic, I am nearly always drawn to polka dot DP or feel the need to add some Cuttlebug Swiss Dots. It's really a bit of an addiction, I probably need to seek professional help...

I've been stamping for (how long)— I started out a scrapbooker, but got invited to one of those in-home parties (I think you know which one I mean!!) and so began my obsession! I actually still have the order form from that first party!!

So I know the exact date it began - March 24, 2001!!

I get my inspiration from-- I'm also a challenge junkie, I love playing them!! Both the wonderful challenges on Splitcoast, and the various blog challenges. It definitely gets my creative juices flowing!

The most important things I’ve learned about stamping/cardmaking/scrapbooking are— There are so many talented stampers out there, and it can get a little discouraging at times when you look at how talented they are, and start to think you just don't compare. But, you have to keep it all in perspective. As long as you enjoy what you do, who cares if you'll never be a Debbie Olson or Amy Sheffer (two of my idols, btw) :-) I have a quote at the top of my blog that pretty much sums it up best... "Use what talent you posess: The world would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best." - Henry Van Dyke

Some of my stamping/crafting goals are--. To get published in a magazine (but it would help immensely if I actually started SUBMITTING stuff!!!) and to be featured on some of my favorite blogs. I can check this one off the list, YAY!!!!

Some of my stamping/crafting accomplishments are— I've been lucky enough to be on two design teams.

Tell us a little about “Courtney’s Closet”! I started this challenge nearly a year ago, when my baby girl was three months old. I just kept looking at her clothes - baby clothes are THE CUTEST - and thinking "wow this would make such a cute card!!". So one day I went ahead and made a card inspired by her outfit, and invited others to play along. And much to my amazement, some wonderful ladies have played along! It's been so much fun this past year!! (and a little teaser - I think I'm going to have to throw a one year anniversary party for my challenge in a couple weeks - tune in for that!) :-)

Be sure to go check out Libby's blog today for more "Wee Tees" inspiration! Have a great day!

Dino-Mite!

Here's a quick and different card I created with "Wee Tees" and the little dino image(on of my faves in the set!) I pieced the onesie in some DCWV Spring Stack DP and then added some white spots to his body and spikes (and toes!) with my Inkssentials pen to match the polka dot paper. I also outlined the ribbing in white.
Then I inked up the jumbo sponge dauber Gina sells in Certainly Celery and made a spotted pattern on my Pure Luxury White base. Love how perfectly round the sponging comes out with that!

Then I framed it with some safety pins (cheap and cute "baby" embellishment!) adhered with glue dots and rounded the bottom of the base with my small corner rounder punch. That's it! Hope you like it!

Have great day!

Not Forgotten

Here is a card I made for my husband Paul this Mother's Day: although his mother passed away while he was in college, I think holidays are still a painful reminder of her absence and that especially on Mother's Day he misses picking up the phone to say hello. I cut the Always Artichoke card base with a Labels One Nestabilities die, embossed with the Cuttlebug Leafy Branch folder and made the focal mat from a smaller one out ot Paper Temptress white diamond CS. Asela's flowers from "Friendship's Garden" are stamped in SU! Basic Gray for a softer look, colored with Copics, and popped up in layers for a tole effect. I love doing a two tone effect with the greetings in Gina's "Not Forgotten", here I used the artichoke and Certainly Celery.

And a greeting from the set on the inside, here I just stamped the flower in Always Artichoke and added some touches of yellow.

Have a glorious day! If you are missing someone, I hope you'll think on your happy memories...hugs!

Faking it: Leather and Other Stuff

SO I love Paper Temptress Leather CS (which is 40% off this month!!), and it is perfect for Theresa's new "Out West" set! Although Patricia doesn't currently carry it in brown, you can create a custom color by inking up her white or ivory leather CS and this will have a more realistic-looking patina than a solid brown finish would. The piece on the right is ivory, the piece on the left is ivory I sponged with Antique Linen and Rich Cocoa inks. I stamped the boots onto the same paper and shaded them with my Copics, the colorless blender moves the ink around so nicely on this paper.

I also used my Scor Bug to create a pierced outline around the mat, as well as just free-handing some curved pierced lines all over it to mimic the tooled design on the boots. (I had a moment of Uh-oh, I don't know this is going to look!) but I think it turned out really nice, yay! (whew!) I used the Labels One die and Fancy Corner punches, leaving them ivory for contrast and a two tone effect(labels One die was sponged a tiny bit with the stencil in place to make the outline pop. Base and oval frame are Gina K Pure Luxury Chocolate Kiss.

So how do you like the fancy edge on that brown frame? You can make it with the Scalloped Oval Nestabilites. Cut out a scalloped oval like you normally would (I also cut out a smaller classic oval to make the window) and then offset the scalloped die so it will cut into the middle of each hump, it gives you this super fancy edge when you cut it again! Because the oval is not symmetrical in the way a circle is when you offset it like this you get these small and large humps, but if you do it with a die like a circle, you can fake the "Pinking Circles" set of Nestabilities dies, see below.

Here I'm using the petite scalloped circle die. I've already cut my red paper and rotated it just slightly so I see a little "arrowhead" pointing inward between each hump.

After you run it back through, the little piece will fall out and you have a perfectly "pinked" edge! You can get this effect with the regular scalloped dies as well, you'll just have bigger points. Although I have MOST of the Nestabilities sets, the pinking edge is not a set I ever bought, although it really looks cools with certain images, so this way, I don't have to buy them! (and you don't either! that's $25 you save! ) :)

Here's to faking it!

Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut

I have a few friends who are due in a few weeks/months so I thought I'd make them cards using my new "Wee Tees" to show them have cute they are in their white tees complete with baby bumps! We called our boys"peanut" after we saw their ultrasound pics, even after because of the way they looked bundled up when sleeping. The arrow pointing to the "precious cargo" and the t-shirt are both from "Little Tees". Shade with a light gray marker to give it a nice round belly. :)

I used some Basic Grey Offbeat DP and DCWV Spring Stack paper for contrast and a layer of Creamy Caramel to match the little peanut. TIP: I pierced two rows of holes (there are severall "double tracks in the Scor-Pal perfect for this so you don't have to move the paper) along the top and bottom with my Scor-pal and Scor-Bug and flipped it over so I have rows of bumps (outies!) instead of holes ( innies)! Base is the new Gina K Pure Luxury Chocolate Kiss. "Wee Tees" also includes a set of numbers and "weeks" and "months" so you could stamp something on the inside like how many weeks they are along or how many weeks they have left to go! Those countdowns are a BIG DEAL LOL!;)

Have a great day! Off to play with my peanuts! (even at 6 and 4, they will always be...!)

PS Check out this fantastic sample and sketch from Jen Del Muro, she worked it inot this week's "Sketch For You to Try"!

It's Here! Wee Tees Tip Sheet

That party last night ROCKED!!! :)

Finally the BABY version of one of your favorite Gina K sets "Little Tees" is here! I had so much fun creating "Wee Tees" (now available for purchase!) with my little ones' favorite things and it brought back sweet memories of our nicknames for them (they were both "little peanut"s) This month you have 67 greetings and images to work with (I didn't think I'd ever be able to make one with more than "Just So Sporty" LOL!) Enjoy throwing a onesie and all these new sentiments and images into the mix as you match up new cutesy sweats or make sporty baby clothes! Above I made a "studly" card with the onesie on Black Suede paper with "Born to Ride" from my "Tee Talk" set. Notice the metal dots on the snaps and cuffs? I put the big heart behind it like a tattoo...(stopped just short of a set of wings) ;) Wouldn't this be fun to give to a proud new dad (or mom!) with the inside reading "My Daddy rocks!" " ?

Trimming tips, make straight cuts around the numbers so you have little square or rectangle stamps for sticking on on your acrylic block. Trim the words that are under the images with one straight cut between so you can use them separately or line them back up and stamp together at once! Or just keep them together for easy stamping!

Stamped together they will fit in the SU! Tag punch, adorable way to quickly dress up a little gift!

Try out the cutesy images from Wee "Tees" on a "Little Tees" shirt or sweatshirt from "Just So Sporty", for a fun old school vintage style comic tee. Add the "Tee Talk" or "Just So Sporty"Sport words to the onesie for a budding sports hero! (Born to Run, Football Star, etc)

The onesie is perfect for paper piecing! Try two different prints so the inside is lined with a coordinating pattern like those upscale ones you see.

Draw a line through the middle and color or piece the bottom differently for a two piece outfit!

Cut off the sleeves to make a little strappy baby swimsuit (to go with those swim stamps from Sporty and Tee talk!) It'll be adorable on those beach and swim lessons pages for the summer!

Not just for pastels, make onesies with attitude! Think bold prints, distressed papers, fabulous colors!

Try the "Little Tees" images on the onesies, like the lightening bolt with "Super Baby" or smiley face with the shades...

Use the "I heart" from "Little Tees" with Mommy or one of the Wee tees images teddy bear, dinosaur, or any of your favorite images!

Punch the images out with a circle to look like an iron on for your colored, plain, or paper-pieced onesie.

The onesie will fit on the "Little Tees" hanger.

Draw a straight line across the bottom of the onesie just above the leg holes to make a shirt that is perfect for little boys and girl, this set will take them through several years of life!

Use the tiara and DIVA on the onesie from Little Tees or crown and little princess or prince from "Hip Hop Accessories". There is also a pacifier, rattle, party hat and safety pin in this set, perfectly sized!

You are going to love "THE BLOCK"! Stamp the numbers you need on the two front sides for your onesie or scrapbook page tags to say "I am 13 days old", "15 months old", "14 lbs", "6 lb 9 oz" etc!

Write in your baby's initial to the block sides for a monogrammed shirt. Stamp them if you have a mini but hand-drawn works so well with this set! :)

The tiny images are perfect stamped on the onesie, little tags, or to stamp quick monochromatic baby DP(think pink, blue or celery) or in black and colored in with just a few primaries!

Create a patterned DP to match your focal point using the images and words.

Make fun toy borders ( see Theresa's sample) or mask them into pile them into a corner to look like a kids closet)

Create a little bib with punches and Nestabilities you can stamp the sentiments onto for an adorable layered look!

Lots of fun images for the BOYS in this set: a doodle bug, peanut, digger, car, dino, train, space ship and piggy bank. They work for girls too of course! :)

Use the little "whoosh" stamp from "Jumping for Joy" or draw your own underneath the spaceship or behind the vehicles for some extra "go-go!"

Make a card for a new mom or parents with a two onsies on it little devil and little angel to let them know what they're in for! Fun for twins! ;)

Make a "progressive" card or page with the different sets to represent your child at different ages. A fun birthday card would show the onesie, then a tee to represent them as a child, and finally a sweatshirt with their favorite sport to represent them at present time as a tween or teen!

"Spit happens" can be a fun any time card or pick me up, just because it's cute!

Stamping on your photos:

Try taking a pic of your baby laying down wearing a plain onesie. Stamp the images onto the onesie in the photo for a fun addition to a card, announcement, or page!

Take a pic of your child with their arms outstretched or hands on hips. Print and cut out then make little shirts to go on him or her you can attache with magnets, a personal paper doll or magnet set for the fridge(I'm still working on ours , will share soon!)

Stamp the little halo in white StazOn over your little angel's head, beautiful on a sleeping pic!

The onesie is the perfect size to accent that beautiful phoot of a baby in frame or scrapbook page.

Create precious altered boxes or tins with the onesie for a little box to hold a hospital bracelet look of hair, etc!

add the animals from our other Gina K sets, click here to see the options!

Use the "party at my crib", "bring your own bottle" for invites. "Jumping for Joy" has time date, RSVP etc stamps perfect to finish out the invitation!

Add "bug" to "lady" and "doodle".

Add "baby" to "super" and "fly"

"Little" can be trimmed to go with Stinker, Devil , Angel, brother, or sister.

Cut out or use the fancy corner punch to create little wings to put on the back of the onesie to use with "Little Angel".

"I'm here!

super!

out of this world!

dino-mite!"

Gina's "How Sweet it Is" has several coordinating longer phrases in the same font for the inside or soutside of your card! and even a STORK, how perfect is that?!

Use Carolyn's Nurse Feelgood with the onesie to thank the hospital nurse or on announcement to share the news of a special delivery! :)

Send a family member a card from your baby with the onesie on it letting them know that "My Grandma/Grandpa etc rocks!" Looking for more relations stamps? cousin aunt uncle are in "Hip hop Accessories" and the fonts blend beautifully!

projects:

baby showers-try the onesie as cute cupcake toppers, tags for party favors etc

stamped onesies (real ones I mean!) of course!
birthday invites or announcements

calendars showing important dates , weigh ins, etc

scrapbook pages

So much more you can do with this set, I look forward to sharing more soon! :)

Party Time!

Are you ready to party?! The Gina K Designs release party is about to start, which means the full reveals and stamps available for purchase in just a few short hours!!

Here is a card I made for the StampTV sketch challenge (as well as Carolyn's STV color challenge this week! I had fun taking a few images from my other sets that coordinate so well with "Wee Tees": the little party hat on the onesie is from "Hip Hop Accessories"(I did a happy dance when my stamps arrived and I saw just how many images and words from that set will work with this new one!!!), and the balloons (which I masked and popped up) are from "Just So Hoppy".

I colored everything with Copics, the onesie is pieced from Basic Grey Cupcake DP. I sponged a little blue ink onto the die cut Nestabilities oval to look like clouds. This little greeting (in the same font as the Wee Tees!) is from Gina's Stamp for a Cause "How Sweet it is", and I am so darned excited to be able to use all these greetings with it!

To find out the winner of the "Wee Tees" giveaway, click here!

See you in a bit at the party (7-10PM CST, but just pop in for as much as you can!! :)

Sneak Peek: Not Forgotten

You're going to be so moved when you see the full set reveal for Gina's "Not Forgotten" tonight, a new set from Gina K Designs that will be a must in any stampers collection. Sometimes we need to hear fro people the most on days when we are missing our departed loved ones, and those times can be the hardest to find the right words for or right card. This set has you covered.
This DP is one of my favorite prints from the Basic Grey Offbeat pack, aren't those colors and pattern amazing?? The brown in it is a perfect match for the new Gina K Pure Luxury Chocolate Kiss CS I used for the base and mat. The greeting is beautiful enough to be it's own focal point when paired with a pretty DP or stamped background, here I framed it up in Petite Classic and Scalloped Nestabilities, sponging some bordering blue on before removing the die. The chocolate gingham I strung through the slit and tied is from the Floral Frenzy kit.

What's this? Did I sew for you today? No, that was using my new favorite tool, the Scor Bug, I went all the way around the card using that and my Scor-Pal with three quick turns and faux- stitched it with a brown pen! I LOVE IT!! (and you will, too!

Inside I added the strip of DP I had left after cutting the mat for the front and pierced and faux stitched across the top and bottom. I used the same shimmery CS from Paper Temptress for the inside, adding a greeting from the same set, along with a white paper flower adhered with a glue dot. Although many of the sentiments in the set are appropriate for those difficult "firsts", (anniversaries, holidays without a loved one), this greeting is a great one for any time you want to convey "I'm thinking of you both today, for no reason other than I love you..."

For more inspiring sneak peeks from our team, please see: Carolyn King, Donna Baker, Emily Giovanni, Erika Martin, Gina Krupsky, Jessica Fick, Theresa Momber and our "In the Spotlight" designer Beverly Cole!

Tonight is the party!!! I hope you can all join Gina K and her team ffrom 7-10 PM CST for one of our best and biggest releases ever!

Sneak Peek: "Nurse Feelgood" and "Notes for Mom"

I've been saying it for over a year, "Dr Feelgood needs a nurse!" , and, at long last she is here, thank you Cammie for creating this set to go with our favorite resident physician!! Along with lots of other hospital "stuff", of course... I had a "get well card" all ready to peek with this set, but then spent more time playing and really loved how this altered "teacher" card turned out!

Here I cut the hat off "Nurse Feelgood" and altered her hair a bit to give her a perky ponytail like my son's music teacher. I made a chalk board from Gina K Pure Luxury Black Onyx CS and stamped the "i {heart} my Teacher" from the set in Cream White Ink and wrote in "Music" with the white Inkssentials pen. This handwritten font in this set is really nice because it is pretty easy to write in the subject of your choice for a close match! :) Then I Googled "musical score" so I could draw a an accurate staff just using my white pen again with a straight edge. For fun, I drew little hearts on instead of notes, in no particular arrangement, if you really tried to play this it would probably sound like my singing! The pen takes a while to dry so I did smudge it a bit in places, fortunately that adds to the realism of my chalk board LOL! I backed it with some Metallic Crystal paper from Paper Temptress and scored it a couple times so I could make a little chalk rail and added some metal dots at the top to "hang it". Base is also Black Onyx and the Vermilion Sparkle CS is also from Paper Temptress, has a bit of a glitter to it, very pretty!

Click on the pic above for a closeup, did you see the score I doodled onto her papers? That's a little "personalization opportunity" I love about this set, a blank canvas to fill in whatever is appropriate for this lovely lady to hold. I'll be sharing some other ideas for that little stack of papers at at the release party, can't wait!!

For our next peek, we have Gina's "Free with Three" set "Notes to Mom", a very special any-time set with a gorgeous mix of greetings and fonts, both classic and modern at the same time! To create a soft look on this Mother's Day card, I stamped two of the flowers from Asela's "Friendship's Garden" all over a piece of Vellum CS in Memento Rich Cocoa and adhering to this Cameo Coral Base on the left with glue dots (hidden under the white grosgrain) ;)

I stamped the flower again on this Cryogen White CS from Paper Temptress and colored it with Copics. I cut this out and then popped it up on another piece of the same CS I die cut with a Petite Oval Nestabilitie and sponged on some Cameo Coral ink, using the die as a stencil, love how the shimmer shows through!

For more sneak peeks of today's sets, please see: Carolyn King, Donna Baker, Emily Giovanni, Erika Martin, Gina Krupsky, Jessica Fick, Joanne Basile, Kurtis Amundson, Theresa Momber, and our In the Spotlight designer Beverly Cole!

Tomorrow is the last sneak peek day and the party!!! I hope you can all join Gina K and the team for one of our best and biggest releases ever! REMINDER: Don't forget to leave a comment on Monday's post for a chance to win "Wee Tees!"

Sneak Peek: Friendship's Garden and Out West

Today I have a simple but elegant card with Asela's new set "Friendship's Garden". A tall graceful plant like this called for a simple layout, and I kept it texture free to mimic the smooth leaves and lily. I love the classic yet modern combo of white, chocolate and green, just says "luxury" to me! Image is colored with Copics, on Gina K Pure Luxury White plus the new Pure Luxury Chocolate Kiss , it is most the beautiful bittersweet brown! The greeting is a peek of a peek, stop back tomorrow! ;)
Now, I expect you'll also be seeing LOTS of classic cowboy imagery in our hop today, beautiful Western landscapes, gorgeous saddles and majestic steeds, .... so I thought I'd mix things up a bit...

BWAHHHHHHHH!! I couldn't resist putting the horse in boots when I saw the sentiment "Wanna Horse Around?" in our new illustrator Theresa Momber's debut set for Gina K Designs: "Out West". (Can I get a hip hip hurray for my girl Theresa??! I know none of you are surprised she can draw after seeing all the amazing art on her blog)

Anyway, Western sets lend themselves to a ton of fun techniques I love, although I've never had one before! and I'm a NATIVE TEXAN, too, go figure! Expect to see me using this set a LOT(most of them using leather paper from Paper Temptress, wait til you see!!) After coloring the images with Copics I did lots of sponging with Ranger Antique Linen ink on Gina K Pure Luxury Ivory to give it this warm patina, distressed the edges, added a woodgrained gate with the Cream White Pad on Chocolate Kiss card stock again and made ridges for the boards with my Scor-Pal (watch Gina's video on how to do this here!) I popped up the right side of the door to look like it's going to swing open and added some brads from the Floral Frenzy kit to the left to look like it was attached the stall. (Don't worry, I didn't have to mask out his hooves, you have just the horse head and separate boots image to play around with to your heart's content. :) Again, can I say how excited I am for Theresa and that we all get to play with her designs?! woo-hoo!)

BONUS PEEKS: I had lots of people commenting and emailing hoping for "boy stuff" in the "Wee Tees" set: well, I can't wait til Thursday to let you know I've got it covered (I've got two boys , remember? LOL!), here are just a few more images to tide you over 'til the full reveal! :)

Some simple cards with a little "one sheet wonder" action I stamped up to make my own custom little boy DP! How do like those tiny tees? it's the onesie cut in half! So this set can grow with you as the kids get older, I love that! PLUS...one more peek from one of my stamping idols Jen Del Muro, can't wait to see what magic she's worked up with this set! :)

Please enjoy more sneak peek samples of "Out West" and "Friendship's Garden" from our team: Asela Hopkins, Carolyn King, Cindy Lawrence, Donna Baker, Emily Giovanni, Erika Martin, Gina Krupsky, Jessica Fick, Joanne Basile, Kurtis Amundson, Theresa Momber
plus our "In the Spotlight" Designer Beverly Cole!

Sneak Peek: Wee Tees and Guiding Light

The giveaway for Wee Tees is closed. The winner of the "Wee Tees" set is:

Michelle said...
I love the superbaby! My fave of the sneaks I've seen are the peanut (because mine is sleeping beside me) and My mommy rocks (because I do, of course). I would love to see a monkey face. The onesie is adorable!

Congrats Michelle! Please email me by Saturday, 4/25 with your mailing address so I can send you the stamps! :)

I am so excited about this latest tee set,"Wee Tees": for babies and beyond! We've been waiting to release this one because spring just feels like babies (and a good thing, because I have some showers now to stamp for! LOL!) and if you're a fan of any of the "Little Tees", "Just So Sporty" and/or "Tee Talk" , these must-have stamps open a whole new set of mix and matchy possibilities! (possibilitees!)
Here's a more traditional one: "baby" images, colors and sentiments! Cut 4 2" squares from coordinating DP, this uses Basic Gray and DCWV and adhere to a 4.25" square Gina K Pure Luxury White Base. Punch scalloped corners from DP for the corners and add some matching buttons. The onesie is paper pieced (if you love paper piecing you will love this set!) and I used a marker in s lightly darker shade to color in the neck and leg holes to give it dimension. Hanger is from "Little Tees." You can see here how nicely a little image and greeting from the set will fit on a small tag, too, not just the onesie, here I used SU!'s large and small tag punches. I added an eyelet with my Cropodile and a little piece of tied hemp attached with a glue dot above the hanger. I also used the new Scor-Bug tool with my Scor-Pal to pierce holes around the border like a quilt, love how quickly and easily you can add that detail!

Now this card uses less traditional images and colors on the onesie (but every parent thinks their baby is SUPER, right?!) Here I sketched a really simple cape on the sides of the onesie image to match the tiny one (you can do this!), colored it with Copics, love that pop of red on the sleeves and ribbing! Then I made it into a "tilt card" so it wobbles back and forth, see below...

Constantly on the go, just like baby!! ;)

This next project showcases Rupa's new "Guiding Light", the perfect nautical set, just in time for Father's Day! I love this rope image you can use to make frames, I stamped it in Not Quite Navy on the Brocade Blue and layered the navy CS underneath. I made two nested cut outs through the layers to frame the light house image, which I cut out to make dimensional.

I love to do this technique of creating a beam light, simply place a long triangular strip of paper down where you want the ray, sponge around it and remove! Here it spotlights "Dad" :) last I added the wheel with a little brad in the center and put it all on this shimmery Cappuccino Metallic CS base from Paper Temptress. probably one of my favorite masculine cards ever!

For more peeks of today's sneak preview sets, please see the rest of our Gina K Designs Team's blogs:

Asela Hopkins, Carolyn King, Cindy Lawrence, Donna Baker, Emily Giovanni, Erika Martin, Gina Krupsky, Jessica Fick, Joanne Basile, Kurtis Amundson, Theresa Momber

my two guest designers:

Laura Jean Nygaard and Libby Hickson

plus our "In the Spotlight" Designer Beverly Cole!

More sneak peeks tomorrow, and release party, Thursday! can't wait! Would you like to win "Wee Tees"? Please visit all the sneak peeks and let me know which "Wee Tees" images you are most excited about or hoping to find in the reveal, it's my biggest set ever! One comment will win a copy of the set, I will announce the winner before the party Thursday! Have a great day, enjoy blog hopping! :)

Guest Designer Cathy Edgar

This week, Cathy used "A Year of Flowers" and "A Charmed Life" to make a wedding present. Candles are inexpensive and easy to stamp on and always make a great gift. (I'm sure her niece enjoyed receiving it this weekend, it's always so wonderful the first several times you hear the word "couple" after you get married!) ;) Little heart brads are pressed into the candle for some added bling. The wedding colors were pink, black and white, so the color choices here are very appropriate!

She added the date of the event to the bottom, along with the diamond ring charm "with this ring, I thee wed..." what a sweet reminder of the event! For a tutorial on stamping candles, please see this link. Expect to see a few more projects from Cathy and "A Charmed Life", thrown in between all our new release sets you'll be seeing over these next few weeks!

First sneak peek of our new Gina K Designs release (TWO sets tomorrow!) is just a few hours away, can't wait, can't wait! :)

Masked and Altered Book

I used to belong to a book club, it was a lot of fun. I would love to start my own, but until I can get one going (if!) I thought this blank journal form Hobby Lobby (altered a bit!) would be a wonderful way for place for me to make notes on books I've read, would recommend to others, jot down books I want to read based on other's recommendations of the book reviews I browse, ideas of what would make a good book club reading selection and questions to follow up with, as well as copy down some favorite quotes or passages from the book! (that's enough to fill this right? LOL! I stamped the glass on Gina K Pure Luury Vanilla and colored the wine with peerless watercolors ,then covered it with a cut out mask of the glass so I could stamp the "Live well, laugh often, love much" sentiment also from " A Charmed Life" all over my background with Antique Linen distressing ink, and sponging this same ink around the edge.. I just love that scripty background it creates! Don't forget the book charm on the glass! I also knotted a piece of long black ribbon from the Floral Frenzy kit to the coil binding for a built in book mark.

I'll be back with another sample that would be perfect for a book lover. :) My potluck winner is up at Stamp TV, check to see if you won! Lee has a glittery challenge for you to take this week, sounds like fun to me! Right now I am busy, busy creating for our Gina K release next week and having a blast with these new sets!! peeks start Monday! (guess what, MINE's first!!! eek!)

Have a terrific weekend!! :)

Friends and Family

Here is a quick project I shared at the release party, a nice way to spruce up your guest room and welcome visitors, stamp the wreath from this month's Free with Three set "Wreath of Wishes" at the top of a piece of CS and then cut a hole through the middle of the wreath with a punch or in this case circle Nestabilities die. Snip across from the edge to the circle cut out so you can slide it over the knob and round the corners with a corner rounder punch. The image is colored with Copics and the greeting is created with "The Best Things in Life" sentiments.

Just a reminder, please get your Potluck Friday paper piecing entries in by 8 PM CST Thursday night 4/16 to Stamp TV, winner announced Friday morning! I will also be hosting the sketch challenge this weekend for Paper Craft Planet, hope you'll come check it out and play along! :) Tonight I am busy trimming up our new release sets for next week, did you read the hints and that we have SEVEN new sets for you?? Can't wait, can't wait!

Shaped Wine Tag

Here is a little shaped card that measures about 3 1/2" x 1 1/2", simply made by stamping the wine glass on a piece of folded CS, the top of the glass just above the score so it holds together when cutting out through the two layers. I thought it would be perfect for attaching to a little gift bag or looping around the neck of a bottle of wine you are gifting with a piece of metallic cord! I like how it stands on it's own. :)
I made this quite a while ago but hadn't shared yet because I had such a difficult time getting it photographed properly! I used Vintage SilverLuster CS from Paper Temptress, click this link to see the finish, it was the most beautiful swirl texture, something like mother of pearl which I though be gorgeous with the image but can't really get the detail to show up in the photo Becca's of it's reflectiveness and texture, as well as that camera wants to focus on that greeting inside! grrr! LOL! I stamped it with Memento Black and colored with a Cardinal Copic.

When you open it, I stamped the "like fine wine..." quote from "A Charmed Life" under the bowl of the glass. If the bottom looks a little flat here, it is, I trimmed along the bottom to leave a flatter edge so you could stand it up.

Another thing I like about this paper, as with many of Paper Temptress's textured offerings, the inside is smooth white, perfect for the inside of cards! :)

Paper Temptress is currently offering all her touch papers (plastic, suede and my fave: VELVET!) this month at 25% off and the LEATHER line at 40% off, so be sure to go shopping before the end of April, these would all be great choices for you Mother's and Father's Day projects coming up.

Hope you enjoyed this simple project, despite the not so great pics!

PS A GREAT set is coming out next week from Gina K Designs you could use those leather papers with, can't wait can't wait! :)

I Gotta Hand it to Her...

Tina Gillaland, whom I've met through blogging, is someone who really lifts me up. Through comments she leaves on my blog, but also through private messages on SCS and STV letting me know my posts and my stamps are helping her become a better stamper, that is priceless to me! She also sent me this card for my birthday, and I was so tickled by how she used these two sets, had to share this clever idea with all of you!

After cutting out the "A Charmed Life" wine glass and one of the hands from my "Hand in Hand" set, she lightly sketched in the fingers by looking at the original image to look like they were behind the glass and colored before adding Crystal Lacquer, and I think she did a fabulous job! Tina, I'm raising a glass to you as I type LOL, your design is just brilliant! I'm also really digging that pretty ribbon treatment too, going to have to borrow that! ;) Thanks for making my day, again!

I'll be back with more BRAKS I received, they were all so appreciated, thank you everyone who remembered me with your cards, emails and comments! I'd like to say too while I'm thinking about it, there are many of you faithfully leave wonderful feedback for me or have questions, but you don't have a return email or blogger profile with contact info so I can write you back, and I'd really like to! So if there is some way you can add that, I'd love it (and I'll be in touch!) :)

Have a terrific day!

Another Sketch!

I completely missed sharing this card and sketch with you recently, my bad! (but I'm kinda glad because have nothing Easter-y to share at this time, busy doing Easter things LOL!, have to upload some pics of that tomorrow!)

I love this sketch of Ally's, something about the circle in the square and the stars inspired me to use these earthy papers from Basic Grey Granola, and I love the kind of western/dude feel it has! I turned my clasped hands from "Hand in Hand" upside down to look like a "hip hip hurray moment", the stars and worn denim-like paper just make me think "rodeo" LOL! I don't make enough guy cards and I think this would work pretty well...Image is colored with Copics, sponged with Antique Linen distressing ink and I used a piercing template and marker to make the dotted detail around the edge.

Be sure to check out Allison's sketch and more samples with it here!

Have a blessed Easter!

So Sketchy!

I created this for Ally's So Sketchy blog. Instead of coloring the liquid I paper pieced the wine from "A Charmed Life" with this Basic Grey print. The wine glass was stamped in StazOn onto Acetate and cut out I love how you see the other patterns color and textures through the glass this way! Background is Cuttlebugged with D'Vine Swirl, which kind of evokes a "magic potion" vibe with the drink!

Be sure to check out her awesome sketch! I changed it just a touch, can you find what's different??

Easter is almost here, I'm off coloring eggs or doing something crafty with the kids, hopefully I can get some pics of it all that will be blog-worthy! See you soon! :)

Potluck Friday: Paper Piecing!

So everyone is super excited about paper piecing after Joanne's fabby tutorial this week on STV, so why not make it the Potluck Challenge this Friday? You have all have TONS of paper, I know!
Create a card any patterned paper on your stamped image, see the tutorial here if you have no clue what paper piecing is, it's easy and is sure to become one of your favorite techniques!

Here is my example of paper piecing, I pieced the T-shirt from my "Little Tees" from Basic Grey Cupcake, then stamped my smiley face from the same set on white AND black CS. After cutting out the white face, I trimmed just above the eyes on the black face to make the top of the "Mouse ears" hat so it would be a perfect fit, and glued that to the face. (So I guess that's an example of how you can piece something just partially LOL!) Ears were made with Black CS and the 1/2" circle punch. "Classic" is from my Tee Talk set, I thought that was appropriate for a iconic mouse ears, just makes you feel like a kid again, doesn't it?

TIP: when you paper piece, a great way to add dimension is to create shadow onto the patterned paper with a marker or pencil that's just a shade or two darker than the color of the paper, see how I outlined the shirt and drew in some wrinkles? (click the pic for a closeup) I made this for my son William, he is just the smiliest guy I know (hence the happy button treatment I gave it with a doodle half circle under each pair of holes!)

So back to the challenge! We ask that you make and upload a brand new card for this challenge and if you use Gina K. Designs stamps, you get your name in the pot twice! (Although I used acetate on this card, that is NOT part of or required in this challenge, just making sure you know!) :)

Post your cards using key/tag word- STVPF8 in the StampTV gallery. You have until next Thursday, night, 4/16 at 8:00 PM CST to upload your challenge cards. Next Friday 4/17, I will announce the randomly chosen winner from all who played along and that winner will receive a stamp set of their choice valued at $24.95 or less!

Have fun and thanks so much for playing! Have a great weekend!

Floral Guest Designer: Selma Stevenson

Selma is just one the talents I've discovered since the inception of StampTV, she has been making the most to die for cards with "A Year of Flowers", I just had to share of my favorites here with you! (with her permission, of course!) Please go check out more of Selma's other photos for some fabulous arrangements with these stamps on STV and leave her some love, you'll feel like you received a special delivery after perusing her gallery!

There are lots of other ladies over there who I think may have missed their calling as florists LOL! (but I'm sure glad they're stamping and coloring instead!) Check back to see more samples I love from our Gina K fans! (Maybe you're one of them??) :)

Tomorrow is the Potluck Friday Challenge, and I'm hosting! Hope you'll play this week, see you soon! :)

Ladies Night!

This was my first try with the Peerless Watercolors and the wine, it colored quickly and like a dream! Be sure to leave a big white spot for a highlight. I added a little gray Copic to the glass to give it more dimension. This HOT raspberry and eggplant paper is from Emily's "Rich and Shabby" digi pack, I blinged it up by adding some adhesive metal dots to the middle of the circle I just love working a favorite embellishment into the pattern this way. I pierced a hole through the punched out tag I made for the "girls night out" sentiment and added a jump ring to make my tag look a little more charming. Don't forget the screaming red pump on the wine ring! :) That'll get the girls fired up for your night out, for sure! ("did someone say "shoes?!" ") To give it an extra "modern" twist, the opposite corners of the DP and Elegant eggplant base are punched with a small corner rounder, works nicely with the circles.

Have a great day! (BTW There is one effect I did on this card that didn't really show up well in the photograph, so instead of explaining it here, I will do it on another project (and I think you'll really like it!)

Wine Tin with Cards and Charms

Today I have a little Altoid tin I quickly altered to hold all the wine charms I made from the glass image from "A Charmed Life" and Polyshrink) colored with Copics before heating and embellished with adhesive rhinestones after). First I stamped the label border from "What's in Your Tin? 2" onto Natural Antique Parchment from Paper Temptress and then added the "Live well..." quote from "A Charmed Life" to the middle.

Then I printed out some different wine descriptions in a format that would fit my labels stamp on the same paper, stamped the border around them and added a few charms from the wine set to go along with the wine theme, and trimmed. Now I have a set of wine cards to describe the different varietals to go with the charms so the recipient has suggestion for what to buy as well as meal pairings for menu planning.

I plan to make more cards like these and convert it to a pdf to upload here so you can print them out and make your own cards, stay tuned! Really rounds out the gift with something practical and "educational". :) The inside has another quote from the set: "I love everything that's old, one friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wines." Can't wait to gift this set! :)

Hope this inspires you to create some fun gifts with these stamps!