Video: Simple Valentine with Stately Flowers 12

Hello! Today I am sharing a lovely valentine with the mayflower image from my Stately Flowers 12 set. This clean and simple design requires very minimal supplies, can be whipped up in no time, and adapted to any *season* or occasion switching out your main color. The gray stamping is soft and elegant and lends extra drama and punch to your colored flower. I also have a few tips for borders with the days of the week for the calendar and bold butterfly to create LACE, just in time for Valentine’s Day! Please enjoy!

Be sure to watch to the end for a peek at the Distress Oxide card I'll be demonstrating with this set in my next video, along with a fun mani score from Dollar Tree (mo' money for craft supplies, woo hoo! You're welcome!) ;)

Supplies: Gina K. Designs Stately Flowers 12 stamp set Gina K. Moonlit Fog and Memento Tuxedo Black ink pads Gina K. Pure Luxury Red Velvet 4 ¼” x 11”, score at 5 ½”) and White (4” x 4 ¼”) cardstock Spectrum Noir DR2 (optional DR3) marker Gina K. Connect glue, acrylic block

Have a good one! I really do think about you-my readers, customers,friends and viewers, every day!

Hugs,
Melanie

Video: Vintage Calendar with Stately Flowers 10 and 12 and Amazing Inspiration!

Hello! Today I am sharing another beautiful way to frame the mini calendar from Stately Flowers 12: the seed packet from Stately Flowers 10!  I also demonstrate quick coloring for this new violet from Stately Flowers 12 with Zig Clean Color markers, incorporates greetings from both stamp sets, and show a simple way to decorate the inside, back of your card, and envelopes for perfect coordination.  Please enjoy, and PLEASE watch to the end for a short story about why I made today’s special card*. You will LOVE it!

Supplies:

Gina K. Stately Flowers 10 and Stately Flowers 12 stamp sets

Gina K. Jellybean, Lovely Lavender and Memento Tuxedo Black ink pads

Gina K. Pure Luxury Lovely Lavender or Wild Lilac (A2 sized card base) and White (4” x 5 ¼” and scraps for butterfly and packet image) cardstock

Zig Clean Color markers: Yellow, Lilac, Light Violet, Emerald Green, Light Green

Gina K. Connect glue, scissors, foam tape, MISTI and acrylic blocks, envelope (Gina K. Jellybean in the video)

 Stately Flowers 12

Stately Flowers 10

* Did you watch? I want to also share a few more things about meeting Lori, not in the video, because I was running out of battery, finished nick of time!!  I'd been crying with a friend a few hours earlier that morning in a cafe because I was SO down from recent tragedy, perceived slights, and maybe hormones. We prayed together and my AMAZING friend Andrea asked God for miracles in all areas of my life that need help and healing and for me to know and feel how much people love me and how "amazing" I am.  (Her words, I just want to feel loved, I don't have to hear "amazing!") Later I went in to volunteer afterwards because I knew the thrift store needed extra help, and am usually energized by being there, but had to leave because it was so hard for me to focus and a few situations almost had me in tears again.  Again, my AMAZING friend/assistant manager Heather gave me a huge hug and told me to go home and rest, and if I felt like it, and ONLY if I felt like it, to come back because they would be short staffed from 4-6 PM.  Well, I did go home and rest, and although not sure if I was "feelin' it", I always want to help them out, so I went back up to the store. I met Lori at 5 PM.   If I hadn't gone BACK, to serve, I would have missed that great blessing, divine appointment, and answer to my prayer.  When WE show up, GOD SHOWS UP!  Isn't He AMAZING?! <3 font="">

Have a blessed day and week!  Go bless someone and you will be doubly blessed!  Again, here is Lori's Instagram to read about all the ladies she met the past year! Could you help me wish her a happy birthday by leaving some love for her over there? :)

January New Release Blog Hop- Day 3

Hello, everyone! Welcome to our third day of hops with the design team for our January release stamp sets, thanks for coming back! Today we are featuring Gina's newest StampTV Kit-Hearts & Flowers! (It's like my favorite kit ever I think!) Be sure to comment on each of the blogs as you hop because we will be going away three $25 gift certificates to Gina K. Designs, one each day!  Comment for more chances to win! Check StampTV Big News Forum a few days after the hops conclude where the winners will be announced. Here we go!

Isn't this flowering guitar pretty?  I wanted a vintage looking background to go with this romantic image and sentiment, so I stamped the guitar in Kraft and sponged the edges to age it.  Next I embossed the guitar in gold on the GKD Black Onyx cardstock die cut. I had some heart eyelets that I knew would be perfect to add to the guitar, popped it up with foam squares, and then stamped a bunch of bold hearts in GKD Red Velvet swirling out and around the greeting.  These stamps are music to my eyes!

Next, what a gorgeous floral image and die! I stamped it in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored it with Spectrum Noir markers. After stamping the greeting, I trimmed out the birthday in Dusty Rose cardstock, and popped up this and the flower on a White GKD Pure Luxury base.

I loved all these heart images so much, so I stamped a collage background on Ivory in GKD Red Velvet, Black Onyx, Turquoise Sea, and Innocent Pink.  I left a space to stamp one of the sentiments, and added the birds perched on two of the hearts. Cardstock is GKD Pure Luxury Turquoise Sea, Black Onyx, and Ivory.

Finally, I wanted to play with these lovely floral layering stamps.  I used Innocent Pink, Red Velvet and Black Onyx for the flower elements, and Jellybean and Grass Green for the leaves. Chevron patterned paper is from the GKD Bold & Blooming pack, and I used the Gina K. Black Fancy Ribbon to make a bow. Card base is GKD Pure Luxury Dusty Rose.




Finally, one more sample from me with the "You Get Me" Incentive Set. Love thee two fonts and the messages so I will be using these a LOT, as you've seen throughout our hops this week!  Here is one I made with my Stately Flowers 12 set. 

I stamped the violets in GKD Applemint and the colored them in pinks, for a subtle no line colored look. See the tiny hearts in the flower centers?  So fun for a valentine, and to go with this "you have my heart" sentiment!  

I added some of Gina's  Black Fancy Ribbon to balance out the greeting, and make it *extra fancy*.  Cardsotck is GKD Pure luxury White, Black Onyx and Innocent Pink. Sentiment is stamped in GKD Black Onyx. I just adore this little border of whimsical hearts that's included!  This set is free for a limited time, with a $75 order!


Ready for more inspiration from our design team?  Let's hop to it!

Gina K.- Introducing the Hearts & Flowers StampTV kit and the new Your Get Me Incentive Set
Beth Silaika
Cathy Tidwell
Claire Brennan
Donna Idlet
Karen Hightower
Laurie Schmidlin
Lisa Hetrick
Melanie Muenchinger -you are here! Thanks for visiting!
Rema Deleeuw
Sheri Gilson
Susie Moore
Theresa Momber
Guest Designer Sean Fetterman

January New Release Blog Hop- Day 2

Hello, everyone! Welcome to our first day of hops with the design team for our January release stamp sets! Today we are featuring sets from Theresa Momber, Claire Brennan, and our brand new illustrator, Lisa Hetrick!  Be sure to comment on each of the blogs as you hop because we will be going away three $25 gift certificates to Gina K. Designs, one each day!  Comment for more chances to win! Check StampTV Big News Forum a few days after the hops conclude where the winners will be announced. Here we go!

The first set we are showcasing today is Theresa's Framescapes- Enchanted Forest. How I love these fairy tale images!

This is the first card I made with this new framescape.  I free cut a large round moon mask and then sponged over some GKD Lovely Lavender for a dreamy, evening sky and grass green below.  I intentionally didn't mask a horizon because I wanted them to run together.  The tiny star/fairy dust image is great for adding some rising/falling pollen/magic, take your pick! After coloring, and adding a few vines and the bold grass in GKD Fresh Asparagus, I covered the fairy's wings with some of the new GKD Crystalline Drops and dusted them with Gina's Frozen glitter before it dried.  Enchanted, indeed! I curved the sneitment on my block to go along the tree root and outlined parts with a white gel pen so it was easy read next to the stamped grass.

There are a LOT of ways to use this set, but pardon me while I focus on the perching fairy for awhile, I just love her!  I realized later I totally could have used the bold grass image under the mushroom, but it is easy to make a little patch of your own, too!  Dandelion is stamped in GKD Jellybean. I thought this pair would be sweet with one of the greetings "Hey Soul Sister"  from the new Incentive set "You Get Me". Finally, just add a little pixie dust! (GKD Innocent Pink) Card base is GKD Pure Luxury Red Velvet.

Next up we have this lovely set of wreath, floral elements and stylized greetings called "You Are", from our newest illustrator, Lisa Hetrick! So many combos to make and fun bits to color and watercolor! 

 Here I stamped the wreath in Jellybean, and then filled few of the leaves with a bold leaf in GKD Applemint. I added a heart, flower and greeting in Memento tuxedo Black and did some simple coloring with Spectrum Noir markers.  Keep your coloring loose and your markers look like watercolor!  I stamped the berry clusters in Red hot and added a few dots of darker red to them as accents. last I added some Crystalline Drops for shine and dimension. Card base is GKD Wild Dandelion.

Love these big "you are" greetings!  You can stamp them just about anywhere on a clean white base, add a few of the sketchy images, and bam! Your card is good to go!  I stamped on a few of the dot trios after coloring and accented with GKD Crystalline Drops. Love Lisa's style and look forward to more sets from her!

Finally, we have Claire Brennan's Geo Thanks, and I am really feelin' the chunky bold and delicate outlines in this geometric set!  I had to use all the hearts! I stamped a little rainbow of the bold heart in GKD Red Hot, Sweet Mango, Wild Dandelion, Jellybean, and Turquoise Sea, then tamped the outline over two of them in Versamark and embossed in gold.  Lots of different thank you greetings to put together, this was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black.

 For this one, I used both the large and mall heart and stamped them in  GKD Red Hot, Bubblegum, and Peach Bellini, then two step stamped their outlines in Memento Tuxedo Black. After adding the large "Thanks" and the smaller conversation heart sentiments to the centers, I added lots of GKD Crystalline Drops and glitter! Super sparkly in real life!

Awesome set, Claire!  I'm inking up the feathers next! :)

Ready for more inspiration? Let's see what the team has for us!

Theresa Momber-Illustrator Framescapes-Enchanted Garden
Lisa Hetrick-Illustrator of You Are
Claire Brennan-Illustrator of Geo Thanks
Beth Silaika
Cathy Tidwell
Donna Idlet
Gina K.
Karen Hightower
Laurie Schmidlin
Melanie Muenchinger-you are here!
Rema Deleeuw
Sheri Gilson
Susie Moore
Guest Designer Sean Fetterman

January New Release Blog Hop- Day 1

Hello, everyone! Welcome to our first day of hops with the design team for our January release stamp sets! Today we are featuring sets from me and Beth Silaika!  Be sure to comment on each of the blogs as you hop because we will be going away THREE $25 gift certificates to Gina K. Designs, one gift certificate each day!  Comment for more chances to win! Check StampTV Big News Forum a few days after the hops conclude where the winners will be announced. Here we go!

First up we have my Stately Flowers 12 set! (We are almost to the end of the series!)  It has been such an awesome journey, and I love the elements I've been able to add in addition to the flowers that will work with all the previous sets as well as being really versatile for other projects, like the mini calendar this month! It's sized with A2 cards in mind, and fits so many different orientations, die cuts and frame stamp images.

This is the first card I made when my set arrived!  (Shout if you love purple!)  These violets are so fun to color.  After stamping and coloring them with Spectrum Noir markers on Gina K. Pure Luxury White cardstock, I used two die from the set, popping up the center on my card. I offset it just the tiniest bit to let more of the Lovely Lavender mat show through like a drop shadow, it looks so gorgeous in real life! I stamped the calendar underneath in Black Onyx, then stamped the violet again in Wild Lilac along the sides to create fancy borders, and then tapped my darkest purple marker several times to create the speckles you see on the die cuts and mat.

Also sharing a sample with the lilac image (I used the lilac in last week's video).  No calendar here, but I thought using the days of the week as a border, as a decorative element or to define masked off areas that you stamp, would be really cool with the different "every day" greetings in this set. I stamped the lilacs several times, colored, and instead of sponging, used two different green Spectrum Noir markers to color the background. (Maybe a little fussier in some regards than sponging, but not as fussy as masking all those lilacs, imho!) You can blend the center area where the two greens meet with tip to tip coloring. :)  Card base is GKD Black Onyx.

I also wanted to show a few samples uncolored! I love the detail in all these flowers and how elegant they look stamped monochromatically or embossed.  Here I used GKD Pure Luxury and stamped the violet twice in GKD Moonlit Fog. Butterfly is stamped, cut out and popped up and coordinating strip under popped up mat is GKD Black Onyx. This thank you design could work just as easily be a sympathy card (Praying for you...) or birthday or wedding card (There is something to celebrate...) or anniversary (I think of you...) Yep, I'll be putting this layout in heavy rotation for when I need a quick CAS card!

Here I stamped the mayflower in Sweet Corn, Innocent Pink, Grass Green, and Turquoise Sea. Don't these classic images look so fresh and modern in bright colors paired with a graphic black and white chevron print? (GKD Bold and Blooming. I cut two thin strips for top and bottom so I wasn't wasting that gorgeous pattern under my stamped mat!)  Sentiment and hearts (both stamped in GKD Black Onyx) are from the new incentive set You Get Me", which is free for a limited time with every purchase of $75 or more. (You need this set, we'll be showing more inspiration for it in our hops the next few days and featuring it Wednesday!) Card base is the coordinating GKD Pure Luxury Turquoise Sea.  

This card makes me so happy (and ready for Spring!)

Stately Flowers 12
So many ideas and videos to come for this set! And I know our team will dazzle with it, too!

Next up, we have the adorable Emmy and Riley Flamingos by Beth Silaika. Love these feathered friends!  Here are two samples I made  one balancing and the other snuggling! So nice for Valentines, kids cards, sports themed, and just fun and friendship.

I used the tiny heart outline to create a border on the GKD Red Velvet card base.  Gina's Crystalline Drops make the hearts look like puffy stickers! Aren't these two darling?

This one I showed at the party. I covered their bills and hearts with Gina's new Crystalline Drops again for shine and dimension, great detail on these birds!  Chevron patterned paper from Gina's "Bold and Blooming" pack again, because I always love black and white with pink!  (When editing my photo I questioned whether it would have been better to point the chevron *up* to emphasize the spirit and visual of "stand tall", but the reason I turned it downward while creating was to use the "v" to make a little heart embellishment. Sticking with it!) Since the patterned paper is 6 inches square, I had a trimmed piece I was able to color a little heart over the striping with a pink alcohol marker, and then cut it out to line up  and pop up over the patterned strip with foam.  I love it!

Emmy and Riley Flamingos

Now please enjoy more inspiration from our creative team for both these sets!

Melanie Muenchinger- Illustrator of Stately Flowers 12 - you are here!
Beth Silaika- Illustrator of Emmy and Riley Flamingos
Cathy Tidwell
Donna Idlet
Gina K.
Karen Hightower
Laurie Schmidlin
Lisa Hetrick
Rema Deleeuw
Sheri Gilson
Susie Moore
Theresa Momber
Guest Designer Sean Fetterman

Thanks for stopping by!  Check back tomorrow as we hop with new sets from Theresa, Claire and Lisa!

New Gina K. Designs Sets Now Available for Purchase!

Good morning! What a fun party we had last night!  Here is a link to the new Stately Flowers 12 set (it is flying off the shelves!), and here is the image sheet for the full set.  

Inspiration Hop with the Gina K. Designs design team on Monday for loads of ideas with these images and more! Tell me in the comment which images are your favorite! Cooking up some new videos for you right now!  It works beautifully with so many of my past sets, not just in the Stately line, I'm having a ball mixing and matching!  What are some sets you might guess me using with it?

Here is the card I shared at the party if you missed it!  The calendar is stamped on a die cut made from  the largest die in Gina's Decorative Tags die set.  I have to carve out some time to make a list of all the GKD dies that work with this set, there are a bunch, so watch for that!  And to be sure there will be lots of non-calendar ideas shared next week, too!

Hugs, have a fabulous weekend, friends! Thanks for visiting and your comments!

Video Sneak Peek: Stately Flowers 12 Calendars

Hello!  Today I am sharing a preview of my newest set coming out Thursday from Gina k. Designs, Stately Flowers 12!  What an amazing journey this tour through the states has been, one that started in 2011! (What??!  That's a LOT of flowers!!) I am so thankful for all of you who came along for the ride or hopped in along the way! :)
In each of the Stately sets, in addition to trying to honor these gorgeous flowers, I also strive to provide elements that will work with all the sets in the series, as well as be versatile tools for your other cardmaking and papercrafting projects.  To start out 2018, I thought nothing would be more appropriate than a mini calendar, sized with cards in mind! I know you will love customizing these for your own space and sharing with friends.  While optional for the design, I love the structure and elegance the frame from Fabulous Frame provides and how nicely it spotlights both the dates and the flower or other image you showcase for the month!  You can put the calendar above or below your image in portrait style also to vary your layout. Love it!!

Be sure to watch to the end of the video for another option for framing, from one of my other sets, Stately Flowers 11!  Postage!! Eek! With these two sets, you'd have six flowers for all the months. :) Just sayin' ;)

Stately Flowers 12 will be available for purchase Thursday night, January 11^th, at 7PM Central at ginakdesigns.com . Can't wait to share more samples with the design team and for the rest of our new sets! See you all at our party!

Supplies:
Gina K. Designs Stately Flower 12 and Fabulous Frame (or Stately Flowers 11) stamp sets
Memento Tuxedo Black and Gina K. Sweet Corn ink pads
Kuretake Zig Clean color markers- Lilac, Purple, Deep Violet, Green, Yellow Green, Light Gray
Gina K. Pure Luxury  cardstock- Heavy Base Weight White or Ivory  (1 and 1/2 sheets, cut into six 4 1/8" x 5 3/8" panels) and Black Onyx ( 4 1/4" x 11" scored at 1/4" and 5 3/4") 
Scoring board, scratch paper and scissors to create a mask, sponge dauber, MISTI or acrylic blocks (4" x 6" and 3.5"), Scor-Tape

Which elements in this set are you MOST excited about? What kind of calendar are you going to make first?  Tell me in the comments below!

Have an excellent day! Every day there is something to celebrate!

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things and the God of peace will be with you” (Philippians 4:8)