Video: Clear & Simple Creating with Inspiration Mosaic

Hello! In today’s video, I will show you tips about how the frame and clear image sheet for our new clear photopolymer offering of my bestselling Inspiration Mosaic can be used to help you create interesting layouts for your photos, postcards and even pictures from a magazine, elevating them into art.  I also demonstrate a simple card with the frame and the new StampTV kit Made with Love stamps and cardstock. Please enjoy! Be sure to watch the whole video even if you know how to make the cards above so you can see a few other photo card I peeked. ;) Thanks for watching and visiting today! :)


Supplies:
Stamps: Gina K. Designs Inspiration Mosaic, StampTV Made with Love kit (image and greeting from the Better with you set in the kit)
Gina K. Pure Luxury White ( 3  7/8” x 5 1/8”), Black Onyx (4” x 5 ¼”), White and Lipstick (scrap) cardstock (all cardstock to make this is in the kit!)
Gina K. Black Onyx ink pad
Scissors, adhesive and foam squares

Gina K. Inspiration Hop: Made With Love StampTV Kit

Hello and good morning! Welcome to our January hop! Today we are showcasing the new StampTV Kit Made With Love.  Please enjoy the gorgeous inspiration samples from the team and then comment on each blog for your chance to win an awesome grab bag of GKD goodies! To see who won, check the Big News Forum at StampTV on Thursday after the hop.

Here are some new cards I created with the Made With Love and Better With You stamp sets in the kit. And I just had to use all the new ink and cardstock colors, too!

There are some really fun two step floral elements in this kit. Look how the new GKD Lipstick ink pops! POW! This one uses Massive Messages for the greeting, Gina's new incentive set. Yep, you need 'em both! Add a drop shadow under everything with BG3 Spectrum Noir marker for dimension.

Here I used one of the card fronts from the foiling element page in the kit, but I don't have a laminator so it works really well as just a printed frame. I colored the stamped image as well as the loops in the frame and border with Spectrum Noir markers to jazz it up. LG shades look good with the new GKD Applemint cardstock. I like the look!  The bird house is popped up.

Aren't these kitties fun?  I noticed they are the same width apart as the tandem bike's seats, so...Voila!  Stamp the cats in an ink other black and you an draw in some simple faces, like they are facing forward.

And finally, here is an easy one with no images, just showing off the new colors and patterned paper with one Massive Message!  I colored a white button with the F1 Spectrum Noir marker, this is a great match for the new GKD Lipstick cardstock.

These next two cards were in the release party, but wanted to point out some details.  The heart stencil in the kit is really pretty, and sponged in a similar color ink as the flowers, they remind of petals more than hearts. I used GKD Peach Bellini over the stencil and then just a bit of the Lipstick at the corners. I swiped some Wink of Stella glitter pen over the flouncy flowers for some sparkle.

It may be hard to see it in the photo, but I did the glitter thing on these butterflies also.

I really like them stamped in the new colors and then shaded like a gradient with two or three shades lighter of the Spectrum Noir markers in each color group (GT and BT for Blue Lagoon and CR shades for the Lipstick).  The flourish in the kit makes a nice trail.

Here are the pieces in the kit:

And the Incentive set Massive Messages, when shopping don't forget to get enough to qualify for that if you can!


Now please enjoy the rest of our hop and get some more inspiration from our fabulous Gina K. Designs team!

Gina K

Beth Silaika 

Melanie Muenchinger (you are here!)

Cathy Tidwell

Karen Hightower

Kendra Wietstock

Sean Fetterman

Silke Ledlow

Susie Moore
Laurie Schmidlin
Allie Gower

Have a blessed day, thank you for making us a part of it!

Video: Creating Easy Tags with Twine Time

Hello! Today I will show you how to make adorable tags with ease using the eyelet and twine elements in my Twine Time set.  Embellished tags like these are so versatile, and the stamps make it faster and simpler than ever!  I also share additional tips and tricks for creating this two layer greeting and stepped up card design. Please enjoy!

Supplies:

Gina K. Designs Twine Time, Triple Play Frame* stamp sets

Gina K. Wild Wisteria, Grass Green, Dark Chocolate and Kraft ink pads

Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury White (4 ¼” x 11”, scored at 5 ½”, plus scraps), Kraft (3 5/8” x 4 7/8”) , Dark Chocolate (3 ¾” x 5”) cardstock

Scissors, foam squares and adhesive, white gel pen and Spectrum Noir BG3 alcohol marker

Optional: Cropodile or hole punch

* You can make this without the "have" from Triple Play Frame, but it's a fun addition, works with most of the twine script words!

When the Wrong Number is the Right Number

Something really blessed me today, I had to share with you. I apologize first to any of you are missing the the lack of more personal posts from me, I have just not been able to get them typed up in between videos and middle school woes!  This happy accident was too good not to make time for.

I was sitting in church today and was getting some really good nuggets of truth from our pastor Dr. Bowman.  Many people, myself included, look up the passage of scripture on our smartphones rather than the good "book" as we follow along (as he refers to his own iPad), so it's common to have phones out.  My teenager and younger son were in youth group and Sunday school that morning instead of the worship service so I decided to text a few takeaways to my own phone number to discuss with them later that I thought really speak to some things going on in my sons' peer groups right now  (Don't ask.  But you can pray, thanks in advance).  Well, as I went to put my phone away, imagine my surprise when one minute later it buzzed alerting me I had I received a reply. (From my own number? Huh?) saying, "Ain't that the truth." 

Well! I have to admit, my first thought was, "God??"  but after a few seconds of processing, fear crept in that I must have sent it to someone in my contact list by mistake (Ack!  Not that that would be wrong, but without a even a "hello" or "how are you?" to lead in, I get that the message could sound a *bit* condemning, just sayin'!). Sheepishly, I replied along the lines of, "Um...who is this?", and got a reply that it was a woman who lives in my same city, the number was just one digit off.  Oops! Our convo, numbers and names removed (and a tiny bit of small talk trying to figure out what happened in between), is below.  

Now, you wonder: who knows how either of these things spoke to her or were needed  or will be used this morning?  For her own son? A friend? For her, herself? You just never know. After our pastor finished his message, I followed him out to quickly tell what had happened before he made his way to our other campus to preach the 11 o'clock service, asking for 30 seconds of his time! After sharing, being the cool, "current" guy he is, I got a big smile, a high five, and a promise to share that story and a picture of me and (more importantly) the phone on Facebook (he is all about Facebook! You can also follow him on Twitter, as he reminds us every Sunday! ) 

I went back inside and just felt crazy good as we wrapped up the service worshipping with The Robin Wymer Band, and rejoicing about how God works.  I could have sent it to a fax machine, or the electric company, or someone in another state if  that one wrong digit was in the area code instead, you know? And most certainly nothing of my own doing, other than listening to the prompt of the Spirit to take that note, and God used it.  (I have since been informed I don't really need to text myself grocery lists and the like, as Jonathan says my phone has something called "Notes" ?  But you all know how I roll with technology. I think I'll continue with the texts...who knows who we'll* reach?

By the way, I also like how the person couldn't call it anything but "the truth"! Not just an "I know, right?!" or "Makes sense..." or "Food for thought", or "WTH?**".  His word never returns void.  Amen!  Have a blessed Sunday!  

Oh, one last thing! If you happen to be in the Austin area, you are welcome to attend our church's free screening at 5PM tonight of The War Room, popcorn included, at both campuses, here is the Quarries link!  (Of course, I also invited "Wrong Number")  Maybe I 'll see you? :)

* God and I 

**Heck

Video: Creating Faux Twine Borders

Hello!  Keeping all your resolutions so far? :) In today’s video, I will show you how to use the scallop twine element from my Twine Time stamp set to create amazing borders and custom frames for any shaped dies you have!  Quick and simple, this little stamp and technique make fabulous accents that will enhance any project. Please enjoy!  (Apologies for all the head shots and (ack!) *confetti* in my hair!! My son and I celebrated with some cascarones earlier...)



The trillium I color in the video is from Fabulous Frame .
(The pink flower shown in the sample at beginning is from my Stately Flowers 9 set, currently out of stock, or I would have demonstrated it today!  On order and back in stock soon!)  I will definitely be making and showing twine frames in more shapes since I have oodles and oodles of dies! You can try this with the loop in the set as well, which I showed in the last video for a straight border, but it's a little trickier to line up around an irregular shape since one leads into the other, know what I mean?

Supplies:
Gina K. Designs Twine Time, Fabulous Frame stamp sets
Gina K. Pure Luxury White Heavy Base Weight cardstock (4 ¼” x 8 ½”, scored at 4 1/4”, or 4 ¼” x 11”, scored at 5 ½”) and scraps for die cuts
Gina K. Jelly Bean Green, Black Onyx ink pads
Spectrum Noir BG3, CG1, CG4 markers
Oval die and die cutting machine
Scissors, pencil, button, foam squares

Stamping Realistic Twine Elements: Tips & Tricks! Video

Hello!  My last video of 2015! Today I'll show you a ton of tricks for stamping the many elements in my Twine Time set: flowers, leaves, buttons, eyelets, borders and more! Grab your favorite colored ink pads and this minimal supply card goes together in no time. Have fun copying the design exactly, changing it up, or using these pieces to embellish any project!  Which pieces are your faves? :)

This set and all other products at Gina K. Designs are 25% off through December 31, 2015 only! You must use the code SAVE25 and hit apply when checking out for this discount. Happy shopping!

Supplies:

Gina K. Designs Twine Time  stamp set

Gina K. Peach Bellini, Moonlit Fog, Ocean Mist, Dusty Rose, and Black Onyx premium dye ink pads

Gina K. Pure Luxury  Peach Bellini (5 ½” x 8 ½”, scored at 4 1/4”), Black Onyx (4” x 5 ¼”) and White (3 7/8” x 5 1/8”) cardstock

Spectrum Noir BG3 alcohol marker, adhesive, sticky notes for masking

Happy New Year!!

Last Post Before Christmas!

Hello all! Just a few Twine Time cards from the party that  I haven't yet shared on my blog, plus two new ones! 

You stack these spools on a portrait layout, or make a long rod like this one using the top and bottom of the spool for end caps. Fun, crafty card for all your stampy friends! (If only my stamp room was this organized! Refer to photo below for a reality check) ;)

 Can you relate?!

 Love these twine flowers and tucking the scissors into the spool for a different look!

Super CAS. Good for a guy.  Maybe minus the bow for your guy ;) Next video I think is tips for "setting" my faux eyelets!  Lots of possibilities and layouts with these, I'm excited! 

Thanks for weighing in on my team spool or clothespin post, ha! the next few videos will not *not* use either of this elements, because in truth, these were last minute addition to a set of twine sentiments, lol!  It's really "all about the twine", and I have a lot to share. Stay tuned! :)

In the busyness of the season, I hope you've had time, or will soon find time, to reflect on 2015. I pray you are able to enjoy a wonderful weekend with family and or friends, or if you are far from both, that there is a neighbor nearby you can seek out to fellowship with! My family and I are so grateful for the blessings of this past year, but most importantly the gift of Jesus.  Looking joyfully forward to 2016! Grateful for all of your business, love friendship and support! ]Hugs to you and yours!

Video: Two Step Stamped Clothespins

Hello! A new video just for you! You will love having ready-made twine greetings to stamp on all your cards with my new set, Twine Time!  Such a simple way to add pops of color and realistic looking embellishment, this set also includes lots of twine elements to dress up your projects, like buttons, knots, sewing props, tag accents and more. Whether you want to make a crafty sewing themed card or just use the large script sentiments for any occasion (which is what I really designed it for, but then couldn't resist throwing in a few extra images to accompany the sentiments!), this set is a must have.  Today I show two step stamping the clothespins and simple coloring and shadowing to make this CAS card come to life. I recorded this before I saw Gina's video! Just sayin'  ;)

Supplies:

Gina K. Designs Twine Time stamp set

Gina K. Pure Luxury White base weight cardstock

Gina K. Basic Red Hot, Kraft, Ocean Mist, Fresh Asparagus, Black Onyx ink pads

Spectrum Noir BG3, EB1, EB2,GB8 markers

So tell me: are you Team Spool or Clothespin? No fair not choosing! :)

Gina K. Designs Inspiration Hop: Twine Time and Hippo Bird Day

Good morning! The Cast and Crew for Gina K Designs welcomes you to another fabulous Inspiration Blog Hop, this time,  for our December Release! We hope to inspire you with some beautiful card projections as you hop along. Please enjoy the gorgeous inspiration samples from the team and then comment on each blog for your chance to win an awesome grab bag of GKD goodies! To see who won, check the Big News Forum at StampTV on Thursday after the hop.

I hope you are loving my new Twine Time set as much I am! 
ATTENTION: NO TWINE was used in the creation of any of the following cards! (Some make it easy to forget, so just sayin') :)

You can put together a ton of different greetings with the twine script words in this set, and make that the focal point of your card. Here I stamped the twine in GKD Black Onyx and Cherry Red, and then used a white gel pen to dot or dash inside the twine to really make it pop off the Kraft. I love this look! If it looks or sounds like that would be time-consuming, it's really not, the same amount of time or less than having to color an image, and its like doing "dot to dot", no shading or blending, you know? I thought it would be fun to use the knot and crossed stitch to serve as XOXO hugs and kisses, just came to me while I was deciding how to finish the card! Use a BG3 Spectrum Noir or other gray marker to trace the underside of all stamped images.  Cardstock is GKD Black Onyx and Kraft.

Next, my good friend loved this one I made especially because of the scalloped stamped edge I added to the wavy cut DP using the long twine piece and half circle.  I'll show you in a video an easy way to do it!) I also stamped out and cut out some of buttons to use on the Prima flowers.  Don't forget to two step stamp the twine stitches into the buttons! Also, the spool looks really different when you stamp it in different colors. Patterned paper is from the GKD Love Letters pack.  (I'm not exactly ready for Valentine's Day yet, but it is around the corner and this would work with the "love" greeting!)

Finally, I know you're all done making your Christmas cards (Right? Right?? No, neither am I!) but here is a fun design with the clothespin, using the top of the spool as a halo, isn't that sweet? (The twine double bow fits just right around the pin, love it!) You can adapt this angel design to cards after the winter holidays using the "...angel's hands" sentiment in the set. :) Cardstock is GKD Pure Luxury Cherry Red, White and Fresh Asparagus.

This one you can also change to a birthday or thank you simply by swapping out the greeting and the patterned paper. I love how many wraps and borders you can make for your cards with the single twine piece and the little pieces!

Next, some super cute little (er, one not so little!) critters in this Hippo Bird Day set by Beth Silaika! Images are stamped in GKD Black Onyx and colored with Spectrum Noir markers, BG3, BG4, CR3, IB2, GB. To embellish the card, I stamped the twine and bow from my Twine Time set in GKD Innocent Pink, drew on a shadow with BG3, and then added a real button. Cardbase is GKD Pure Luxury Jellybean Green.

And since I managed to get every image from Hippo Bird Day in the card above, I wanted to use a greeting from the set that contains neither birds nor hippos, just a simple "Happy Birthday"! This one I showed at the release party, but wanted to share some details. I inked it carefully with three pads (GKD Wild Wisteria, Grass Green and Powder Blue) and then stamped up a little scene with my Twine Time set. (It goes with everything!) I love that you can use that one loop in the set to make a row of loop-de-loops the way I did on this tag, so fun as a trim!  And see the little tie for it? That's stamp two! Stamp it on the edge of your tag, ink it up again and stamp it underneath to make the tied part hanging off and pop the tag up. Easy peasy!  No eyelets used here, either! I love being able to add these stamps and then mask the single piece of twine in any length I choose to connect them! TIP: Punch through the center of the stamped eyelet image for added realism to reveal the layer underneath.

Twine Time

Hippo Bird Day

Ready for more awesome creations?! Just click on the links below for more from the Illustrators and Design Team!!

Gina K

Beth Silaika – Illustrator of Hippo Bird Day

Melanie Muenchinger – Illustrator of Twine Time (you are here!)

Allie Gower

Cathy Tidwell

Karen Hightower

Kendra Wietstock

Sean Fetterman

Silke Ledlow

Susie Moore

Thank you so much for stopping by! Picked up your new sets yet? The shopping cart awaits! :)

New Sets from Gina K. Designs Now Available for Purchase

Twine Time is now available for purchase at Gina K. Designs! Thank you everyone for checking out our StampTV release party last night! I haven't completed my tip sheet yet because with 46 images in the set, there is just a lot to say! (Some I haven't even come up yet lol!) ;)We saw some wonderful ideas executed by my fellow design team members that will knock your socks off like the scissors cutting through a layer of paper by Beth , or using the clothespin and bow to make a little angel by Cat, and much much more!  See what i mean? 
Super fun, right??!!! by Beth Silaika


Stinkin' cute!!!  by Cathy Tidwell

Here is the party thread to check out the chatter and all the beautiful samples shared if you were not able to make the party. And these were just a peek! We have an inspiration blog hop with the whole team and the new sets next Monday. So mark your calendar!

Here is a short list, though, of sentiments you can make with the large twine greetings (and their cute little two step add ons!) to get you started, but I know I am probably missing a few combos (let me know if I did):

for you
happy for you
so happy
so happy for you
i love you
love you
love you so much
love you so
miss you so
miss you
i miss you
miss you so much
thanks so sew much
love and stitches!
peace on earth
thanks 
thank you
happy birthday to you

happy happy happy

Have a great weekend and I will see you on Monday! (New video with my set on my Youtube channel if you can't wait! ;) I made it before Gina shared hers, lol, but there are several differences!  I like how give different tips, always different ways to do things.
Hugs!

You're Invited: Gina K. Designs Release Tonight!

I'll be there, will you? :) Challenges, chat, prizes and lots of samples from the design team with the new stamps! So stinking excited for the release of my Twine Time  set! Thank you all for the wonderful feedback!

Video: Interactive Knot Tying Card with Twine Time

Good morning! Today’s knot tying card is so fun and easy to make, and your recipients will be completely charmed when they open it! Perfect to go with this sweet sentiment of friendship in the  Twine Time set, or for a Valentine or to announce or congratulate an engagement or wedding, this interactive technique is a great use of your twine and these coordinating stamps. Releasing on Thursday, December 17th at Gina K. Designs, that's in two days, eek!  You are so gonna LOVE this set! It's one of my favorites, ever!

Supplies:

Gina K. Designs Twine Time stamp set

Gina K. Pure Luxury White base weight cardstock 4 ¼” x 11”, scored at 5 ½”

Gina K. Basic Red Hot, Kraft, Moonlit Fog , Black Onyx ink pads

Spectrum Noir BG3, EB1, EB2, IG3 markers

Scissors, hole punch, Gina K. Red Hot Twisted Twine 12-13”, adhesive rhinestone or metal dot

Hope you enjoyed seeing the new set in this video! I am having a blast stamping with it and have lots more videos and ideas planned. And if you 're not a sewer it's really *not* a sewing set, these greetings and fun little bits provide so many possibilities, just wait! What are you most excited about in this set fro the walk through that you saw? Tell me below! :)

Thanks for stopping by and your comment today, and please plan to attend our release party Thursday at StampTV!

Video: Two Step Stamping Friendship Pins

Hello, new video this week! I hope you all enjoyed the simple diaper card last week! Click here if you missed)!  Today's card using the pin again (from Triple Play Holiday) shows you you do't have to wait for a friend who's expecting to make use of these fun images! looks pretty darn real, right?? This card just reminds me of all my sweet besties! The long greeting is from Triple Play Fillers. 

 

Stock is getting low for the both of these sets, so order soon if it's on your wishlist (but we will of course reorder more!)

Triple Play Holiday

Triple Play Fillers 

Have a fabulous day! 
Hope you enjoyed the video, 
and that you find some time to play! ;)

Create Flowers Inside & Out: Cutaway Technique Video

Hello! In today's video, I will show you how to do a very simple cutting and stamping technique with my A Year of Flowers sets to bring your floral designs from the outside to the inside of your card for a beautiful reveal.  These sketchy floral images for all seasons in A Year of Flowers 2 will be some of the easiest in your collection to color. You can do this! Please enjoy. 

Tip: Be sure to use a heavy sealed cardstock when doing this technique if using alcohol markers to prevent bleeding through when coloring on both sides. 

(Apologies for all the stumbles.  Too much caffeine today! Doesn't take much, as I am naturally caffeinated) ;)

Supplies:
Gina K. Designs A Year of Flowers 2 (or A Year of Flowers) 
Gina K. Pure Luxury Base Weight White (4 1/4" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4") Passionate Pink (3 3/4" x 3 3/4") and Cranberry tart 4" x 4") cardstock
Gina K. Back Onyx ink pad
Spectrum Noir markers: BG3, DR4, DR6, CG2, DG3
scissors, adhesive

 A Year of Flowers 2

A Year of Flowers

Thank you for visinting and your comments! Have a blessed Thanksgiving! I am thankful to God for making all my dreams come true. Every one!

Video: Gift Card on a Card with Beyond Baskets 2

Hello! Today I will show you how to make a fun gift card holder on a card!  The container images in my Beyond Baskets 2 set are perfect for presenting gift cards for the upcoming  holidays, a birthday or any gift-giving occasion.  (And this set coordinates with all of my other basket stamp sets, just sayin'!) This is great way to use your designer patterned papers, and I also show you a thrifty tip for creating gift tissue on the fly.  Please enjoy! You can do this gift card on a card using the cardboard box pieces in the set, great for masculine cards. Bonus design in the video showing how to adapt this gift card design using the box and wrapped lid images in the set also, so be sure to watch to the end :)


Supplies:

Gina K. Designs Beyond Baskets 2 stamp set
Gina K. Pure Luxury White (4” x 5 ½”) , Kraft (3 7/8” x 5 1/8”),  Cherry Red (4 ¼” x 11”, scored at 5 ½”) cardstock
Gina K. Knitted Patterns designer paper
Gina K. Cherry Red and Black Onyx ink pads
Spectrum Noir DR5, DR6  markers
Scissors, craft knife, adhesive, foam adhesive squares, tissue or copy paper, bakers twine