Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Video: More Stately and Postage Fun!



Hello! Today I am sharing yet another way to use the postage frame from Stately Flowers 11 (back in stock, but limited quantity, more on the way soon), omitting portions and enlarging it to fit large stamps or greetings in the middle of your sketch! I showcase the hibiscus and butterfly from Stately Flowers 4, with simple Prismacoloring and blending. Hello, Summer! Aloha! :)


Supplies: 
Gina K. Designs Stately Flowers 11, Stately Flowers 4 stamp sets
Gina K. Pure Luxury cardstock
Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad
Prismacolor 72 pencil  tin-True Green, Grass Green, Orange, Poppy Red, 70% Cool Gray, Violet, and Imperial Violet
Gamsol, blending stumps, sanding block, scissors, adhesive foam and tape runner



Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Video: Mixing Foil with Stamps



Today I am showing this beautiful monochromatic design that I shared in our hop on Monday using Foil -Mates products, which coordinate perfectly with Gina K.'s fabulous inks and cardstock.   I share various tips and techniques in this demonstration including how to make the versatile script words and embellishment elements from Twine Time and my Pretty Patterns 2 borders virtually pop off the card with a simple drop shadow.  Please enjoy! I used black Onyx ink for the twine elements and greeting on Monday, but I only had the Turquoise Sea pad out for the video, so...you can see it two ways! :)



Supplies: 
Gina K. Designs Twine Time and Pretty Patterns 2 stamp sets
Gina K. Pure Luxury Turquoise Sea cardstock (A2 size)
Gina K. Turquoise Sea (and or Black Onyx) ink pad
Gina K. Fancy Foils-Turquoise Sea
Gina K. Foil-Mates-Polka Party (cut to 4” x 5 ¼”)
Sponge dauber, Spectrum Noir GG3 marker
laminator, adhesive

Thanks for visiting and watching!

Monday, May 22, 2017

Gina K Designs– Fun with Fabulous Foil-Mates Blog Hop!

Hi everyone! Gina K and the team have received such amazing feedback on the new Foil-Mates, Fancy Foils and dies that we have decided to put together a special hop for you today! This blog hop is a blend of a VIDEO blog hop featuring tutorials from Gina K and a few members of the team, and a traditional blog hop featuring beautiful cards from other members of the team. Over the past few weeks, the Foil-Mates products have been flying off the shelves at Gina K Designs. Please be assured that if they are out-of-stock, they will quickly be back on the shelves again soon. In fact, Gina just stocked the shelves with a fresh batch of Foil-Mates, Fancy Foils and dies and more will be on the way.


Please enjoy the gorgeous inspiration samples from the team and then comment on each blog. We will be selecting one lucky commenter at the end of the hop and that person will win a $50 Gina K Designs gift certificate! To see who won, check the Big News Forum at StampTV a few days after the hop. Ready for some inspiration?  Here we go! 
I've paired some of my different stamps sets , also from Gina K. Designs, with one of the Polka Party Foil-Mates patterns. I used the Passionate Pink and the Turquoise Sea Fancy Foils on this same Swiss dot pattern today.


 I love sponging and stamping with these Foil-Mates! You can stamp or sponge before or after foiling. The foil will show through, just wipe your ink away if necessary, like in a resist technique. After applying the foil to the pattern, I stamped the greeting from my Twine Time and then the button, bow, and straight twine elements from that same set below.  Trace a drop shadow below all this with a GG3 or other gray marker.  I hadn't pulled this set out in awhile, I love it so! It just needs to stay on my desk, all these twine bits look so real!



Sponge on the coordinating GKD Turquoise Sea ink to the lower half of the card, and then stamp on the border from my Pretty Patterns 2 set in the same turquoise ink.  Card base is GKD Pure Luxury Turquoise Sea.





For this next card, I stamped my Fun Year Round frame in GKD Passionate Pink ink to match the foiled dots.  Next, I stamped on some of the round floral and heart elements from the set in GKD Black Onyx, Passionate Pink, and Turquoise Sea ink. I centered all the flowers over foiled dots in the pattern, and YES, the pink foil spot shines right through, even through the black ink, POP!  The pink cut heart is from the new Gina K single stitch circle die set.
  
This was the perfect size for stamping my round "thank you..." sentiment and heart button image inside!  I popped this up on another die cut circle from GKD Black Onyx cardstock with the Therm O Web foam squares.  Easy peasy, happy happy! Base is GKD Passionate Pink.




Passionate Pink Fancy Foil 


Turquoise Sea Fancy Foil

 We would like to thank Therm O Web for being such a great partner in the Foil-Mates line of products!

Ready for more awesome creations?! Just click on the links below for more from Gina and the Cast & Crew:

Melanie Muenchinger (you are here!)

Don’t forget to pop over to the Gina K Designs Store and check out all of the new products available this month in the “What’s New” section at http://www.ginakdesigns.com.


Thank you for stopping by!

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Video: How to Two Step Stamp Banners and Balloons with Holiday Frame Fillers



Hello! Today I am sharing how to two step stamp, fill and decorate fun custom banners with the various two step elements in my Holiday Frame Fillers set.   So celebratory for birthdays, graduation, or anytime you want to wish someone a happy day!  The banner fits perfectly across the circle opening in the coordinating Holiday Frame set if you choose one of those four layouts, but here I create a single layer scene, complete with the “eggs” for balloons! Please enjoy!


Supplies: 
Gina K. DesignsHoliday Frame Fillers stamp set
Gina K. Black Onyx, Jelly Bean Green, Wild Lilac, Passionate Pink, and Turquoise Sea ink pads or cubes
Gina K. Pure Luxury Heavy Base Weight White cardstock, 4 ¼”  11”, scored at 5 ½”
Sponge dauber, acrylic blocks
Optional: black pen, sticky notes or masking paper and scissors



Thank you for visiting today!

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Video: How to Use Gina K. Foil-Mates



Hello! Today I am sharing how to make two gorgeous foiled cards in less time than you'd think, and about the same amount it takes to make one quick one!  I'm demonstrating several go-to foiling techniques here while showcasing several of the new Gina K. Designs Foil-Mates products from Therm O Web , embellishing with my A Year of Flowers 3  (small) and A Year of Flowers (large) roses, which perfectly coordinate with this foiled Elegant Florals or Swirls & Flourishes Foil-Mate patterns! Please enjoy! Let me know which card you prefer, A or B in the comments below. I wish you could see these cards in person, the foil looks so amazing and the roses on this Red Velvet cardstock so rich!  


Supplies:
Gina K. Designs A Year of Flowers 3 (or A Year of Flowers) stamp set
Versafine Onyx Black ink pad
Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury Red Velvet cardstock (scrap for roses and 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4")
Gina K. Red Velvet Fancy Foil, Gina K. double or single stitched stitched Ovals dies, Elegant Florals (or Swirls & Flourishes) Foil Mates backgrounds, Foil-Mates True Friend Sentiments (or Wedding Invitations) set, and Gina K. black fancy ribbon
scissors, tape runner, adhesive foam, die cutter, laminator, Spectrum Noir DR6 marker, spray adhesive for negative version of card

 A Year of Flowers 3



A Year of Flowers

Thank you for your visit and feedback!  Have a great day!

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Gina K. Foil-Mates Day 3: Wedding Invitations and Save the Date!


Happy Wednesday! The Cast and Crew for Gina K Designs welcomes you back for our third day celebrating the new line of Foil-Mates products with Gina K Designs and Therm O Web, now available at www.ginakdesigns.com. We are so excited to show you our projects and inspire you to jump into the foil craze! Please enjoy the gorgeous inspiration samples from the team and then comment on each blog. We will be selecting one lucky commenter at the end of the hop from a combination of all three days of comments and that person will win a $50 Gina K Designs gift certificate!

Ready for more foil inspiration? Today we are featuring Wedding and Save the Date sets. 



Ack, so pretty!!!  If foil had been around back when I got married (well, and if I'd also been cardmaking back then, that came three years later!!) I'd have made my own invites, sooo gorgeous!!  Maybe we need to do a vow renewal, lol!

I chose not to foil the Save the Date image (die cut with the single stitched rectangle) because it just looked so sharp in black, you can leave these gorgeous elements foil-less!  

I added some adhesive rhinestones to the wheels, which gives nice texture and looks really great with the Silver Sequined foil! I still can't get over how these printed foils look like solid color one way and then all these other colors pop out form the other, see the silver on bottom and rainbow at top? it's the same foil, same piece! Red Velvet die cut heart is popped up over the little flourish.



So many of our Gina K. stamps look amazing with these patterned Foil-Mates! Here I stamped two of one of the rose bud images from A Year of Flowers 3  in GKD Black Onyx ink on Red Velvet cardstock to match the card base, and then just added a little DR6 for shadows and cut out and popped up.  LOOK at how gorgeous those red foil roses look shining up through that black ribbon!  Looks *just* like burn out velvet!! I die!!

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(Burn out velvet) ;)

And finally here is a simple card using that negative piece of the foil form the previous card and spray adhesive once again! Easy peasy!
I am showing how to make these two RED cards in an upcoming video!  "Foil once, use twice!" lol That's my new motto!  Be sure to stop back by!  These cards just make me wanna go eat a slab of red velvet cake. Right. NOW! Who's with me? :)

To recap all the products in these samples from the Fancy Foils line, I used Silver Sequins and Red Velvet.
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Here are both those beautiful ribbons I used, white and black!

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Today I also used the double stitched ovals, single stitched Rectangles, and Large Circles set (for its chubby heart die!)

And here are links for the Elegant Damasks and Elegant Florals backgrounds I used to make all these cards.





Ready for more awesome creations?! Just click on the 
links below for more from Gina and the Cast & Crew.  Don't forget to comment along the way for more chances to win the $50 gift certificate!  To see who won, check the Big News Forum at StampTV a few days after the hop. 


Don’t forget to pop over to the Gina K Designs Store and check out all of the new products available this month in the “What’s New” section at http://www.ginakdesigns.com.


Thank you for stopping by! Video tomorrow!

Monday, May 1, 2017

Gina K. Foil-Mates Day 2: True Friend and Wedding & Anniversary Cards


Hello again! The Cast and Crew for Gina K Designs welcomes you to another very special blog hop celebrating the new line of Foil-Mates products with Gina K Designs and Therm O Web. The entire product line of Foil-Mates products is now available in the Gina K Designs Store at www.ginakdesigns.com. We are so excited to show you our projects and inspire you to jump into the foil craze!
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Please join us and discover ideas that you can take away for your own cards and projects! Today we are showcasing True Friend and Wedding & Anniversary sets, with various backgrounds from the Foil-Mates line, designer's choice what inspired us first! ;)

No automatic alt text available. We will be selecting one lucky commenter at the end of the hop from a combination of all three days of comments and that person will win a $50 Gina K Designs gift certificate, so be sure to visit all the stops on the hop! To see who won, check the Big News Forum at StampTV a few days after the hop. 

Ready for some inspiration? Here are a few of the projects I have created for today’s hop!

Well, hello!! In the lighting in the room I was creating this wedding card in, this looked tone on tone, like gold foil patterned with gold sequins... well, it IS, but when in a different light or angle, these sequins turn totally DISCO ball!! That is ONE festive wedding! :)

These dies are sooooo cool! I used one circle three times to cut out two of the Foil Mate images and greetings form this pack, and the hearts dies from her Rectangle pack to cut out a negative heart window on the third circle, plus extra hearts to pop up all over! The foiled hearts are cut out from the gold foiled background in those spaces UNDER my layered circles, you'll never see the cut outs! The black and white hearts? Well, I made these for two dear friends who  are getting married in October.  He is black, she is white. :) I know they will totally dig this card!

THIS is what I thought it looked like while I was designing it, GOLD sequins on gold, lol!! These foils are full of surprises, I tell ya!! All good ones, of course... :)  Foil-Mate background is from the Swirls and Flourishes background set. Such elegant patterns!




This next card I am featuring a sentiments from the True Friend set with one of the Dots & Strings Foil-Mates Backgrounds. Well, always being the "flower-minded person" you *know* that I am, and *since* Gina said it was fine to show fun ways to use the stamps with the Foil-Mates, all I saw in this particular twisty pattern was flower centers and vines, natch!! :) I used my Fabulous Flowers stamp set to stamp my leaves next to the vines in Grass Green ink (to match the foiling I was about to do) and my daisy and sunflower images in GKD Sweet Mango and Red Velvet over most of the dots in the pattern, also stamping the sunflower over the foiled flower in the sentiment.  Card base is Red Velvet. View with to show off the fgorgeous foil shine and color below!


HERE you can see the gorgeous foiling with the Grass Green pack!  Die is from double stitched circles.

NOW! If you visited all the spots on the hops yesterday, you already know that foils work like a "two-fer"!  This is thriftiness at it's best, y'all!  If you just invest (and I'm talking a couple of bucks that will last and last and last, when I say "'invest"!) in a can of spray tack adhesive, you can use the negative parts of your peeled away foils for entirely new and fabulous projects!  
 How's that for stretching your product?! Here I used a piece of the negative Grass Green Fancy Foil piece I'd used for the greeting on the previous flower and vine card, adhered it to a piece of white cardstock by spraying on just a bit of adhesive (do this outside, please!!  No getting everything sticky from the glue or headaches from the fumes!), and gently smoothing on the foil, then die cut with Gina's new circle dies I also used on the card above.  The negative greetings look SO crisp and sharp, right?!  (BTW, if you see a dark line on green circle above, it is reflecting the line between those planks of wood, NOT a mistake! These shiny Fancy Foils are SO mirror-like!)
I will show some more "negative" bits tomorrow, plus more stamped tie-ins, so stay tuned!  Card base is GKD Pure Luxury Wild Dandelion and these fun flowers are cut using the flower element dies in the pack using GKD Pure Luxury Passionate Pink cardstock, and the leaf dies are from that same pack, BUT the leaves from those extra foiled Grass Green bits!  These big and  little flower dies both have a hole in the center, too, perfect for layering or using with brads (these white brads are from a past StampTV kit), no need for an extra punch. Love!!

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Ready for more awesome creations?! Just click on the links below for more from Gina and the Cast & Crew:

Melanie Muenchinger  you are here!

Don’t forget to pop over to the Gina K Designs Store and check out all of the new products available this month in the “What’s New” section at http://www.ginakdesigns.com.


Thank you for stopping by!

Gina K. Foil-Mates Day 1: Birthday Essentials and You're Invited!


Good morning! The Cast and Crew for Gina K Designs welcomes you to a very special blog hop celebrating the new line of Foil-Mates products with Gina K Designs and Therm O Web. As of Monday, May 1, the ENTIRE product line of Foil-Mates products are available in the Gina K Designs Store at www.ginakdesigns.com. We are so excited to show you our projects and inspire you to jump into the foil craze!
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Creating cards is never more easy and beautiful when you work with this new line of foil products. From beautiful pre-printed Foil-Mates, to stunning colors of Fancy Foils, when you combine them together the outcome is stunning! Discover how many various combinations of different cards and invitations you are able to create with Gina’s Foil-Mates products. With many of Gina’s most popular signature colors now available in foil, coordinating with Gina K Designs card stock and ink has never been easier!


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 AND!!  Die sets!!! Ahhhh! 
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Join us and discover ideas that you can take away for your own cards and projects! Today we are featuring backgrounds form the various sets and "Birthday Essentials" and "You're Invited" packs.

I'm just gonna say it, FOIL is EVERYTHING right now, and I am a little late joining in the foil game. I bought a couple foil packs  after seeing Gina demo them last October, just a basic gold and a silver, and it was very "wow!", but  I cannot stress enough how amazing and professional this stuff looks in person and how if you are going to delve into foil how much you'll be glad you started with products that ALREADY coordinate with the ink and cardstock colors and motifs you already use and love from Gina K. Designs!  Like, Turquoise Sea foil?!  Yes, please!!!

The strings and dots in this "Dots & Strings" patterned Foil Mate were perfect to suggest a sky full of balloons! Up, up, and away!  I sponged on just a hint of the Turquoise Sea ink for a cloudy sky. I had to use the Circle small set (which are still quite large!)  for this one, too perfect!


 The Passionate Pink foil is SO gorgeous and coordinates perfectly with her ink and cardstock! I snipped some tiny triangles out of the pink and White Pure Luxury to pop up for the "tied parts" of the front balloons.  Foam adhesive is also from Therm O Web. I love how THICK this foam is, creates so much dimension in a snap! 
Here are some different views.

Balloon You're Invited greeting is done with the solid Pink Passionate Foil on the "You're Invited" Foil-Mate. Star pattern on both balloons is the Silver Sequins foil. See how the stars look all rainbow-y and sequined from one angle....?
...and then solid silver from another?!  That is a LOT of look, you don't get all that from just wet embossing! And although it looked black from my top card view, as you can see, the Dots and Strings pattern is ALSO all foiled with the same pink! Yummy!!

Cardstock is Gina K Pure Luxury Passionate Pink, Turquoise Sea, and Wild Lilac.  Foil-Mate background (the white layer) is from Dots and Strings pack and the balloons are die cut with the Circles Small set pack out of the Stars background pack. I sponged on the coordinating Wild Lilac and Passionate Pink inks onto the toner printed cardstock before running it through my laminator with the Silver Sequin Stars foil. 

Next here is a birthday card, I did with *several* foil colors: Wild Lilac, Grass Green, and Turquoise Sea, using just the extra strips that were trimmed from other pieces of foil when I made full mats for other cards! More pics in a sec, but can you see the different colored sections across the bottom in the pic below?



I placed these strips over the Polka Party Foil Mate background, leaving some of the black dotted pattern in between, to mimic the dotted candle pattern in the focal image from the birthday pack, then heated.  I also sponged on some GKD Wild Dandelion ink  to bring in the candle flame color (filled those in with the ink as well) and really make the different foil strip colors contrast and pop.  The candles image looks black from one angle...but then BAM! Turquoise Sea, just like the card base!  I used some of the black gold lined ribbon Gina carries, and tied it to look like a big wrapped package on a card.  The transparent center section of the satin will let all these awesome patterns show THROUGH, so now you have coordinating patterned ribbon, I love that!! 

Birthday Essentials image is cut with one of the new Large Rectangle diesAnd, and! How cute are those star die cuts?? They come with this same rectangle set and are perfectly matchy match with the stars in the greeting, ack!!  I own about a hundred nested die sets, (ahem, I know, don't say it, I've been collecting a loooong time) and I think these are the first to include one or more versatile tiny shapes in the center you can use over and over as embellishments to work with so many designs and occasion, I love it!!  And obviously, she planned these to go with the stars she works into her Foil Mates!  Love the thoughtful planning and even more coordination for all of us!
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More goodness to come TOMORROW using all the new dies, foil, Foil-Mates and cardstock in ink cube packs from Gina K. Designs and Therm O Web! Truly the start of a bee-you-ti-ful partnership and amazing products that take out the extra time and guesswork, enabling us to get busy creating fabulous works of heart and amazing, pulled-together projects!  Tell me how much you love all this stuff below!! :)  I'll show you how to work in some of our stamps tomorrow and Wednesday, stay tuned! 

Please enjoy the gorgeous inspiration samples from the team and then comment on each blog. We will be selecting one lucky commenter at the end of the hop from a combination of all three days of comments and that person will win a $50 Gina K Designs gift certificate! To see who won, check the Big News Forum at StampTV a few days after the hop. Ready for more awesome creations?! Just click on the links below for more from Gina and the Cast & Crew:


Don’t forget to pop over to the Gina K Designs Store and check out all of the new products available this month in the “What’s New” section at http://www.ginakdesigns.com.

Thank you for stopping by!