Monday, July 9, 2018

Inspiration, Day 1: This Girl Is and Unicorn Wishes

Good morning! Welcome to Day 1 of our Inspiration Hop! Today we are showcasing This Girl is and Unicorn Wishes.  Enjoy the cards and ideas from our design team and be sure to leave comments along the way-each one will give you a chance at wining a prize! We will give away a $50 gift certificate each day and they will be announced in the Big News Forum at StampTV a few days after the hops conclude.

Starting out with This Girl is!
I'd like to say a little about what this hands raised, eyes closed posture represents to me, and what I was thinking about when I drew it. This girl is at peace.  This girl has hands open, letting go of what's behind, and open and ready to receive good things and challenges ahead. An open hand reflects an open heart. She's being still. She's focused on what's true, and listening to an inner voice, instead of the noise and distractions of the world that can often overwhelm us or make us doubt. If you are a believer, you may recognize this as surrender and giving honor. If you are a seeker, you may recognize a desire and longing for freedom of burdens that weigh you down. If you've overcome something big, you may see this girl stands in victory. This woman, no matter her age, is enjoying the breeze and the carefree innocence, energy, and health of her youth. This girl is FREE. (What this means to ME anyway! Plus all the other words in the set) ;)



Here I gave her hair a little "trim" (by just masking off the image or cutting off the stamped hair and popping it up!)  Nice little summer cut, lol! I had a couple different ladies in mind as I colored the hair, one in her 40's and the other in her late 60's, who both really rock their silvery locks!  (I hope mine turns out as nice one day*) I used this embossing folder to create rays of light, which I sponged darker yellowink onto the Pure Luxury Wild Dandelion cardstock. and made a fun, dimensional banner with the words.  Did you notice her necklace?? Yep, you can add ANY small image from this stamp set (or another set) like a charm to either girl's necklace, and this cross is from the coordinating Women of Faith set! Love it!
Here is an example with NO girl, using just the words. I used ink cubes and a MISTI on both cards, the difference being I added some of the little doodly images from the set to the one on the right as accents!  I love both looks! I'll show this in a video. After coloring, add just a few tiny black dots around each with a fine line pen, gives it a little extra personality. :) I plan to do to recreate this on some larger mats to put in frames as wall art and gifts. I used this same configuration of words in the MISTI to create this watercolor background as well!
Now I have to tell you I didn't realize until I received the stamps how it looked like she was full stretched out swinging, with the sky behind her! 

 The seat of the swing is soooo easy to add, and I just pierced holes on either side of her dress and strung some jute through.  I'll definitely show you how to make this! 
And see the little flower I added to her hair? You can create garlands from the 10 flower images in this set to hold in either figure's hands or crowns of blossoms to wear. Love that sweet, romantic, flirty touch! It's the little things!  Cardstock is Pure Luxury White, Sea Glass and Kraft.

On this girl, I paperpieced with the GKD Pink Passion cardstock and stamped a flower from the set on her shirt. I love stamping stuff on her shirt because I sooo miss my Little Tees set! I colored in the center with a white gel pen, then just free cut a large heart from the same cardstock for my stamped birthday greeting. 

Adhere to a piece of contrasting paper like Black Onyx and then cut a border approx 1/8-1/4" inch all the way around.  Check the heart as you go to fit in between her hands.  I love cutting out hearts, but have a ton of dies this would work with an look forward to trying them out! You can also stamp just the hands so you know how much space you have in between, or lay your dies down over the image sheet to see what will fit.  Something that's a teensy too narrow can be matted to add extra width and stretch across. Card base is Kraft.

I hope you love this set as much as I do! Stay tuned for more ideas with the smaller images and words. I have another sample tomorrow with our new incentive set! Also, wait for it...Bible journaling! This girl is taking the plunge!





Next up we have Beth Silaika's Unicorn Wishes. This set is darling and magical! Plus lots of fun sentiments.

After stamping the little unicorn in Jet Black Amalgam ink, I drew a big cloud around him with enough room for one of the sentiment. I colored and shadowed everything with my Copics and then cut it out.  I used a piece of watercolor paper for the background, stamped on a few clouds and stars, then swirled on some Peerless Watercolor blues with a water brush. Base and mat are GKD Pure Luxury Black Onyx and Tranquil Teal.

I used a piece of watercolor paper for the background, stamped on a few clouds and stars, then swirled on some Peerless Watercolor blues with a water brush. Ad a little glitter and/or Crystalline Drops to the stars and hooves and horn for dimension and shimmer! Base and mat are GKD Pure Luxury Black Onyx and Tranquil Teal.

Having a few blogger issues today where I can't get all the fonts the same and same size! Sorry if that is distracting! My old computer crashed recently and I got a new one with a new photo editing programming that is my different from what I had previously, so  if the photos look a bit different than usual I ask for your patience while I adjust to that, too. 

Let's go see what the rest of the team has with these two sets!  Let me know in the comments which of these cards you'd like to see demo'd in this week's video! I appreciate it!

Gina K. 
Beth Silaika-Illustrator of Unicorn Wishes
Melanie Muenchinger-Illustrator of This Girl Is-you are here!
Arjita Sepaha Singh
Cathy Tidwell
Donna Idlet
Karen Hightower
Lisa Hetrick
Rema DeLeeuw
Sheri Gilson
Susie Moore
Theresa Momber
Laurie Schmidlin

* William said about the little grays around my hairline recently, "I love your little white hairs, Mom. They'll be as pretty as Miss Mary's! (Who is my mother in law, and she has been rockin' the *most*  beautiful white hair, for the 20 years I've known her, in her 80's now!) So clearly, not all men think we need to color! :)

81 comments:

  1. Sooo awesome on your creations, and so is the stamp set! My grandson says she is indicating a touchdown! lol!! (hes 11) LOVE how you created with the swing and the watercolor AND the unicorn in the clouds!

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  2. I really like your interpretation of these images, and love your creations.

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  3. So many wonderful cards to show how versatile this new set is!

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  4. I love love love this set! Those words are so encouraging and the girl looks so peaceful.

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  5. love your new set and thanks for sharing these fabulous samples:)

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  6. Such a creative set and so many things you can do with this! I think of my niece who is 18 and battling cancer since she was 15! I send her cards to help keep her strong in her battle because she is ‘Our Little Warrior’! This will be perfect for cards to send her!

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    1. Wow, that is long battle for anyone, let alone a teenager. I'm sure her character is as strong as anyone you know. I am lifting up a prayer for healing and peace.

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  7. Wow! is what comes to my mind!!! Love both sets, but especially the women. I have 2 children battling drug addiction for years �� and it reminds me that I am never giving up on them as long as God is still on the throne, and there is breath in my body! Can’t wait to play with these!

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    1. Oh, Pamela, I am lifting up a prayer for you all. As my mentor has encouraged me with my own kids, God has his hand on them and will never let them go. He loves them more than I do, and no matter what they go through or how much they rebel, he can restore and redeem and make something beautiful and new. It is ours to pray and trust His goodness and sovereignty and know the voices telling you it's too late or you failed or they're too stubborn for God to win them over are ALWAYS that of the enemy.

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  8. What great cards! Loved them all

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  9. Wow Melanie - I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your This Girl is set and all of your samples are just amazing. I think I will have to get this set. Love the grey hair comments too - I am a no die lady myself! I love the unicorns too!

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    1. Thank you, Wanda! So something I learned, (a bit late, ahem, but moving forward! the reason the grays I have are so wiry and corkscrew is form plucking them! That hair will always come back as gray but plucking damages the shaft so they don't behave when you style! So if you must remove one, snip it near the root. :D Just sayin!

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  11. I love the sentiments in this set and seeing all the ways you (and others) have used them, both with and without the girl as a focal point.

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  12. Wow! Amazing cards!!! Love them all ♥♥

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  13. Very versatile set. I like that you shared so many ideas with the set and the background of what you were thinking when creating with the set. I like the watercolor with the unicorn also.

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  14. Gorgeous cards, Melanie :) This new set you have created is very inspiring I just love the sentiments they are so very empowering :)

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  15. I love your creativity using these sets and the colors!

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  16. I love the first card, with the 3 women and the watercolored one as well. I can see sending both of them to family and friends. Love the affirmations they include. We all need that at times.

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  17. Love reading the reason behind why this set was created; it's so inspiring. I have 2 nieces who adore unicorn items, so this will be good for their cards, too.

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  18. Love the awesome ideas! Thank you!

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  19. Beautiful cards. The message is so great. And the unicorn is adorable.

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  20. Great stamp sets and the cards are awesome.

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  21. The versatility of this stamp is amazing- the things you can add (or subtract) to fit almost any occasion !!! Great set !

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  22. Fantastic card designs using the new stamp sets.

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  23. What awesome, inspiring cards. I really like the one with the swing. That is so clever.

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  24. Awesome job. Love how you added the cross

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  25. your cards look Awesome great colors too!

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  26. All of your cards are beautiful! So much inspiration. I would love to see you make the one with the cross and the sun's rays.

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  27. Thank you so much for all the ideas for using your new stamp set, Melanie! Love your little unicorn, too!

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  28. As always beautiful cards! Love the ones with the women and the inspirations. Great job!!

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  29. I love “This Girl Is” so much!! I think she should be delivered to me today!
    Thanks for sharing
    Kellie

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  30. Another great creation. Thank you. Love the cards.

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  31. I love the girl stamp; so many ways to use the stamp. I have the Woman of Faith stamp set and have used it so much already...

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  32. You did it again Melanie - I love this stamp set! Your samples are so different and creative. Saving my $ for this one to go along with my Women of Faith.

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  33. You did a beautiful job on all the cards. Thanks for sharing.

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  34. Beautiful cards Melanie! I love this new set that complements Women of Faith.

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  35. Awesome. I love your style!

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  36. Look at all of those gorgeous colors!!!! I feel like leaving this page open so I can go back during the day to gaze at it. :) I'd like to see her dress paper pieced with a pattern. She reminds me a lot of doodles I used to do in school. I loved designing my wedding dresses. Have I mentioned how much I love all of the bright colors? Cheers! Glad you are home from camp. Hope you don't have too many bug bites. -Shala

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  37. Oh, and, her in a white dress would be perfect for baptisms.

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  38. Fabulous cards you created with these new stamps. Love the cross necklace and the just for the swing. I have been rockin it with silver/grey hair for quite a while now.

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  39. Wonderful cards! I like the “haircut” - you always have great ideas!

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  40. What an incredible blessing your 'faith ladies' have been already! I have always loved your designs, Melanie, but I feel this girl hits it out of the park! I also LOVE the rainbow cards with the sentiments. Thank you for always sharing of your talents! <3

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  41. Love your cards! Thanks for sharing!

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  42. luv the open hands of This Girl. very versatile

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  43. Beautiful cards and very inspiring set.

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  44. love your cards with your new set.

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  45. What an amazingly beautiful set you designed, Melanie! I think This Girl Is should be in everyone's collection because of all the wonderful girls/women in our lives we need to celebrate! Your cards are all so inspiring, thank you.

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  46. love the details on this girl! Beautiful sentiments that match her expression as well!

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  47. Wow! These are all wonderful! I love the swing and can't wait to see your video on that! :) Your Unicorn card is just so precious too! <3

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  48. This girl is! has got to be one of my most favorite stamps ever! So many cute ideas you have using it!!

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  49. Your cards are wonderful as is your new stamp set!!

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  50. Wow !! You’ve designed a great set ! I love your girl on the swing ! So many possibilities !!
    [margessw(at)icloud(dot)com]

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  51. Such awesome stamp sets! Love the girl stamp set so so much!

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  52. Wow, what a gorgeous stamp set and cards! I love your creativity in applying the images to cards, really shows the versatility of the set. Love your sweet unicorn card too - so happy.

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  53. Melanie,
    Thank you for creating a card set that is great for bible journaling as well as gifting. The "free" card is so inspiring! Thanks for sharing and creating!

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  54. Such beautiful creations! My favorites are the woman on the swing - fantastic!, and the watercolor background behind the words.

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  55. Awesome cards, I especially love the girl on the swing!

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  56. Your have so many wonderful ideas
    for highlighting the cheerleader.
    Beautiful cards.
    thanks for sharing.
    txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  57. Gorgeous cards! I love the woman on a swing! Great way to show how versatile this image is!

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  58. Fab cards and a wonderful stamp set.

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  59. I wish I would of had this set. My niece last week committed suicide-funeral was yesterday. I need it now for the mom!!

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  60. Lovely cards !! Beautiful way to use those new goodies

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  61. love your new set...nice job

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  62. Love your art! So many beautiful examples. Thank you for sharing!

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  63. Melanie, I love this set. You have give so many different ways to use it. I love the swing card.

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  64. Congrats on your beautiful set!!! Gorgeous cards!!!

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  65. Melanie, I just had to tell you how beautiful this new set is. These images really speak to me. As a believer, I can think of so many options and scenarios that these images and words would apply to in my own life and in my desire to touch other women's hearts. Thank you for creating it and for the gorgeous cards you have shared showcasing it.

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  66. finally back to the land of wifi and love each and every creation Mel!

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  67. Nice creation. This woman, no matter her age, is enjoying the breeze and the carefree innocence, energy, and health of her youth and feeling FREE. Share some more inspirational ideas with us.
    October Calendar Printable

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Your generous feedback helps make my work and this blog better! Thanks for inspiring and motivating me! :)