Sneak Peek: "Tech Talk" and "Lovely Shelf"

Hello! Today we are previewing new Gina K sets from Nina and I, and I couldn't be more pleased that we are showcasing the two together, as you will soon see how perfectly they coordinate! :)
First, a little about my newest set "Tech Talk": the perfect set for making cards for the techie men in your life that they can really appreciate or for all your online "besties"! Whether a computer is more for work or pleasure for you, it's become a huge part of all our lives, and even if you don't consider yourself someone who is "technically savvy" (and I'm not certainly not!) if you think in emoticons or "LOL!", this set is for you! (I saw a funny quote recently on Selma's blog recently that completely captured the spirit of this set: "I love my computer, my friends live in it." SO! TRUE!!!) I've seen other computer stamps in the past, but none I felt were really suited for both masculine and feminine cards...you're going to LOVE all the options this one provides! :)

Here I made a card/Valentine for my husband, the greeting stamped onto the screen is one of many from the set. He, like most men, likes things really plain, so I used neutrals (Soft Sand base) and kept "his desk" very minimal. Isn't that fun making a quick scene with the mug and picture frame images?? I stamped the open frame over a photo of myself, trimmed it out and adhered over the center of stamped image as if I were paper piecing.
Now for the fun part inside of the card for a surprise reveal, a few changes to my new scene and a pop of red, I couldn't leave it that plain, could I?? I stamped this little heart from the set all over both desktops (hee!), changed out the "DAD'S" on the mug to a little smiley emoticon and substituted this photo of us nuzzling at our wedding in the frame. I love this Valentine! Hang on for a more feminine desk set in a minute... ;)

Next, I have a card using Nina's new "Lovely Shelf", she is just an illustrator after my own heart with these elemental sets she designs! It has, of course, a shelf and lots and lots of other lovely things to pile on top. Today I stamped the shelf upside down, this way the brackets can look more like bookends or turn the shelf into a serving tray, so I added a teapot, cup and vase. Super sweet and simple! And how do you like that beautiful card base color?? It's the new Gina K Pure Luxury Ocean Mist and I am in heaven!!! It freshens up any color you pair it with, here I went with clean Black Onyx and White. The scalloped mat behind it looks great with the all the curvy details in these images. I added just a touch of color to my pot and cup for shading and vase of flowers with pastel Copics.

Now do you see where I'm going with these two sets? Plunk another one of her vases next to my 'puter (pink!) from "Tech Talk" and add some fun and funky DP (Basic Grey Lime Rickey) and you've got a hip and cheery card for a friend! Don't these images look like they came from the same set?? The clean lines and open images make them all amazingly simple to color, too! There's that Ocean Mist for the base again! A little tip for creating some dimension for your "desk": use a straight edge and draw a line behind the computer and other images you've stamped into your scene with a pen (I did this on the hubby card above too) Now you've grounded all your objects in a snap! On this card, I cut out everything above the line so my DP would be like a wallpaper backdrop behind the images. Showing the DP below too makes for a more interesting layout and also makes the desk look like a more modern counter top. ;)

Something else simple and fun for inside: I cut out a second computer I colored, scored between the screen and keyboard, and adhered it to the card, adhering the back of the screen to a little "box I made with a strip 1" x 4 1/2", that I scored at one inch intervals and then adhered the little half inch left over. When you stick this into the scored middle of the card, the computer will open and close as you open the card and give you a 3D scene...

I also added lots of flowers from the vase to the screen with the masking technique, I love all the possibilities this screen provides go crazy making your favorite "screen savers" with stamps, DP, postcards, whatever!

So you don't have to drag out the Post Its every time, I recommend stamping the computer onto scratch paper and cutting out the screen. Now you can place this over your image stamped on CS and go to town adding whatever you like. Remove your mask and color as desired.

Below is one last pic of it so you can see the dimension and pop up mechanism. I added the vase and mug again more subtly to the background in Versamark this time and a couple more sentiments from my set above and below. Oh, BTW, I can't believe I almost forgot: how do you like my keyboard I designed? In my perfect world I wouldn't make any more typos: just send some love out with one click! LOL! Just another little bit of whimsy (as well as all the hearts hiding in the set!) that I hope you'll really enjoy when creating with this...

Would you like to win "Tech Talk"? Please leave a comment here telling me about an online friend you've made (I know you have some if you're reading this, and will need this set to make them some special cards!) I will draw a winner randomly and announce it Thursday before the release party. I have been blessed meeting hundreds of wonderful women online in the past two years of blogging, too many to mention here, but I will tell you about a special one later in the week who is guest designing with my set this month! ;)

For even more ways to use these fabulous stamp sets, please check tonight's featured Illustrator's blogs:

Nina Brackett {Lovely Shelf}
Melanie Muenchinger {Tech Talk}

Then, visit our Designer's blogs participating in the previews tonight:

GinaK,
Carolyn,
Cathy,
Cindy,
Donna,
Emily,
Erika,
Jessica,
Lee,
Lynn,
Tami,
Theresa

We also have two of our special Center Stage Spotlight Designer's joining us with samples as well:

Cheri Weston
Melissa Shultz

More previews tomorrow, thanks for visiting! :)