New 2018 Color Chart pdf, Free Download!

 Hey everyone! Here is a chart I made for myself with the new Gina K. Designs inks and I wanted to share it with all of you!  It includes two extra rows for stamping off versions of each ink so you can see how many additional shades each will give you.  The pdf chart for you to print out (I added a title after taking this photo) is linked here.  The extra spaces can be filled with other pads you have Distress Oxide ink, or perhaps you'd like to leave them open, wishin' and a hopin', for more colors soon! :)

To fill in my chart, I used the large butterfly image from Triple Play Frame for full strength version and the polka dot heart from my coordinating Triple Play Fillers for the stamped off versions.  If you missed it, here is the pdf of the chart with all Gina's previous colors before these newest additions.  (Here is the video I did, giveaway is over, though!) I used the tiny butterfly on the other chart to match, but it wasn't on the sheet when I made the new one, and I didn't feel like looking for it, had to test drive those new gorgeous colors stat!  It IS around here somewhere, case in point, I found the "YOU" stamp* from Fabulous Rose Frame set yesterday under the blanket in the box my cat likes to sleep in on my desk by the window! (So it's good to shake the hair out once in awhile, you never know what you'll find!)

Triple Play Frame

 Triple Play Fillers

Have a glorious day!  Still waiting on my shipping notice for all the new color stuff (the design team got samples to make previews for you, but I had to go grab full packs and cubes!) and I promise it will be worth the wait!

* No, I didn't even know it was missing...

Gina K. Designs 2018 New Colors Release!

Hello!  We have a *virtual rainbow* of new ink and cardstock colors at Gina K. Designs, just in time for spring and beyond, oh, how I love them! Aren't these glorious?!  The team is sharing some color inspiration in today's hop, and we are also giving away a $25 gift certificate to the store, winner announced Friday on StampTV!  Comment on the hop blogs today to enter, the more comments you leave, the more chances you receive! :)

I got so much wonderful feedback from you all after posting my video last week with Fabulous Flowers (almost sold out, but we can order more!), so I wanted to get out the coordinating sets A Year of Flowers 2 and Pressed Flowers 2 to test drive the new hot colors on these year round bold florals and their line art 2 steps!  After stamping out several flowers and leaves in a variety of colors and combinations, I die cut them with the A Year of Flowers 2/Pressed Flowers 2 die set (the one die set cuts both sets of stamps) and laid them out in some different ways to make three designs for today. 


Stamped in Sea Glass, Tranquil Teal, Tangerine Twist, Key Lime, Lucky Clover, and Coral Reef shown, with their coordinating cardstocks. I used the new Slate ink to stamp the line art over the bold leaf images, for a pop a little more subtle than black but more defined than tone on tone, which I did with the flowers stamping bold in Sea Glass and Tangerine Twist, and line art with Tranquil teal and Coral Reef on top.  There are so many ways to mix these sets and colors!  Notice, too, the variation of green on the leaves! They are inked in Key Lime and rolled in Lucky Clover, the two blend so beautifully! Sentiment stamped in Amalgam.

Stamped in Tangerine Twist, Plum Punch, Tranquil Teal and Lucky Clover, shown with their coordinating cardstocks. Slate outlines, once again! Sentiment stamped in Amalgam.


Stamped in Coral Reef, Plum Punch, and Lucky Clover, shown with their coordinating cardstocks. I LOVE the contrast of this plum outline over these bright coral flowers, really striking in real life! Sentiment stamped in Amalgam. Hope these clean and simple designs inspire!!

Now I was going to do a video for this hop, but my kids have been passing around stomach virus cooties since last FRIDAY (yes, right after my birthday, I sure appreciated that!) so between laundry (oh, so much laundry) and holding hands, and taking temps, and mopping brows, I have samples only for now, but I have a tip I want to share until I get one done! When you get your new colors, cut an A2 sized card or card front with *each* color and then instead of making cards with them (for now), keep them in a pile you can use to check which color will give you the most pop or subtle effect you are going for. Sometimes I spend more times choosing these final colors than I do the actual stamping!  And, sometimes "your final answer" might surprise you because the combination of colors reflect a little differently off one another, no matter how good you are at visualizing! This works so much better (for me) than holding it up against a sample or a full sheet of cardstock. I intentionally haven't committed to a particular card base for each of the above (and may still add mats behind the focal points), because I want to know, which do you think you'd like best?


I also made up a new color chart with full strength (butterfly from Triple Play Frame) and stamped off versions (heart from Triple Play Fillers) of the 10 new inks, (8 new colors, plus Sandy Beach which coordinates with our current cardstock offerings), and the new "Amalgam", a fabulous black all purpose detail ink!  I'll be demoing some coloring and other techniques with this versatile ink in upcoming videos, so stay tuned!

Check out the collection below! Coal Reef, Tangerine Twist, Key Lime, Lucky Clover, Sea Glass, Tranquil Teal, Plum Punch, and Slate! A really gorgeous, saturated full spectrum that is great for starting or expanding your collection! I love how they look together and am eager to mix them with our current offerings for new and fresh palettes!


Oh, and cubes if you are so inclined!

I'd play favorites buuuut I know you'll probably end up collecting them all. ;) My favorites are the Tranquil Teal and Plum Punch, because teal and plum are two of my favorite colors regardless, and because they are so unlike any other colors we currently have and I have been waiting literally years and YEARS for colors like these!  I'm also freaking out to have some new greens, which are so bright and fun and will be so fabulous for LEAVES! Finally, the Sandy Beach and Slate are the most gorgeous neutrals, I will be using these ALL. THE TIME.  I'll also show in my video comparisons with existing cardstock so you can see the differences more clearly.  Looking forward to sharing!

SO! What colors are the most MUST HAVE for YOU? Tell me below, and then let's go see what the rest of the team has with these be-yoo-ti-ful new hues:


Gina K.
Beth Silaika
Cathy Tidwell
Donna Idlet
Emily Schroepfer
Karen Hightower
Laurie Schmidlin
Lisa Hetrick
Melanie Muenchinger-you are here! Thanks for visiting!
Rema DeLeeuw
Sheri Gilson

Susie Moore
Theresa Momber

Shake, Tap, Drop! Sponged Embossing

Hello! Today I am demonstrating a simple design that pops with all my Stately Flowers! Grab your embossing powder for this fun “sponged gold” technique using your daubers!  I promise you’ll look at your powders in a whole new way after this for adding artistic, one-of-a-kind elements to your cards!  Today I am using the Mock Orange from Stately Flowers 11. My inspiration for today's card was the gold and turquoise packaging I saw for a bottle of perfume at Ross! Inspiration is everywhere if you get out and look! Please enjoy!

Supplies:

Gina K. Pure Luxury Good as Gold (3 ¾” x 5”), White (3 7/8” x 5 1/8” and scrap approx 7/8” wide by 2-3" long), and Blue Lagoon or Passionate Pink (3 5/8” x 4 7/8”and A2 sized cardbase, 4 ¼” x 11”,  scored at 5 ½”) cardstock

Tsukineko Versamark pad, Gina K. Blue Lagoon or Passionate Pink ink pad

gold embossing powder

Adhesive, MISTI or acrylic blocks, heat gun, sponge dauber, scissors, adhesive foam squares

Thanks for stopping by!

Stamp-n-Foil Hop!

Good morning, everyone!  Welcome to our Stamp-n-Foil Hop with the Gina K. Designs team! The new colors, patterns, and collections of stamps, dies and detail sheets are unbelievably fabulous! The coordinating stamp images and detail outlines that can be foiled really take foiling AND your stamping to another level! Please enjoy our inspiration today and comment for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to the Gina K. store.  Winner will be announced on StampTV in the Big news Forum a few days after the hop!

Here is one with the Time to Celebrate collection! The stamped and foiled two step pieces for festive cakes, balloons and gift boxes are SO fun!! 

  

The details here are all foiled with Gold Sequins Fancy Foil. I recommend die cutting the cake and gift images first before stamping just so you see where to place the bold stamp, it's a little different than stamping inside the balloon outline for example, which makes the exact placement more obvious. I was a little off I realized when I die cut them after stamping, because I hadn't seen them layered before.  (Used them anyway, it's all good!) Cardstock is Ocean Mist to match the stamped cake and balloon, part of greeting and remaining balloon are stamped in GKD Bubblegum to match the foiled, patterned Bold Backdrops (the new Bubblegum Fancy Foil!), I LOVE these big dots!

When I ran the details page through my laminator for this next card, I gasped at how gorgeous these floral elements from the Where Flowers Bloom Collection were when they came out the other side! Like, the way you gasp the first time you see metallic embossing, but so. Much. Better!

 I used the Sparkling Silver Fancy Foil for the outlines (after I stamped my bold colored images on the detail sheets, per the instructions on pack), and the shimmery outlines look ULTRA luxe!! Flowers are stamped in Bubblegum, Blue Raspberry with Blue Denim on the centers, and Peach Bellini with red Hot for the two step.


For my Butterfly Kisses card, I foiled all the butterflies with Gold Sequins after I did my stamping (these butterflies are GKD Wild Dandelion to match the Pure Luxury card base). I used a patterned piece from the new Foil Mate Vibrant Vines pack to make a border (foiled with Grass Green Fancy Foil)  Aren't these butterflies so pretty cut with the matching dies?  Last I added a few Nuvo Drops in Ebony Black and Dandelion Yellow around the stamped sentiment.

Finally, because I already had the pieces foiled and cut (and where flowers bloom, so do butterflies!), I made a 4th card to show how nicely the flower and butterfly collections coordinate. 

Where Flowers Bloom detail sheet was foiled with Sparkling Silver Fancy Foil.  Cardstock is Peach Bellini, Black Onyx and White. Stamping for flowers and leaves was done in GKD Peach Bellini, Red Hot, and Jellybean Green.  Butterfly is foiled in the Gold Sequins Fancy Foil and stamped with GKD Jellybean Green to match the stamped leaves.

Here are all the yummy new goodies now available in store and the collections I used today!




Let's go see what the rest of the design team has for us with these lovely products!  Remember to comment along the way for more chances to win the gift certificate!  (It is NOT necessary to comment on every blog to win the prize, but we appreciate your feedback and every comment you leave is an extra chance for you!) :) Thanks for hopping with us today!


Gina K.
Beth Silaika
Cathy Tidwell
Donna Idlet
Karen Hightower
Laurie Schmidlin (coming soon!)
Lisa Hetrick
Melanie Muenchinger-you are here!
Rema Deleeuw
Sheri Gilson
Susie Moore
Theresa Momber

Video: Distress Oxide Lilac Background

Hello all! I'm baaaack with a new video!  It's been awhile, I'm so sorry!  Been broadsided with a few things last few weeks that were making it so so hard for me to create and turn the camera back on! I really missed it though and am looking forward to the ones to come!  Today I have a card I made when my set Stately Flowers 12 set first came, using a couple Distress Oxide ink pads to create this glowing distressed floral background in no time! Greeting and  hearts are from the current Incentive set You Get Me.  Also a peek of a new product coming this week to Gina K. Designs, the Tidy Towel! Please enjoy!

Pardon me for getting a little flustered at the end: I usually ask you to tell me *which* card you like better, but I looked down at my cards and noticed they were the same lol!  I guess because, no coffee this morning, it wasn't until I turned off the a camera that I realized I forgot to turn the layout sideways and change it up for another option! Doh!  That ever happen to you? (You can totally picture it though, right?  Just turn the card and greeting!)  I'll be back on my game next week, I promise! (Or try harder, at least!)

Supplies: 
Gina K. Stately Flowers 12  and You Get Me stamp set
Gina K. Pure Luxury White (4" x 5 1/4") and Black Onyx (4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2") Cardstock
Gina K. Memento Tuxedo Black ink pads
Distress Oxide ink pads
sponge daubers and Distress Sprayer, Gina K. Tidy Towel

So like I said, coming this Thursday to Gina K. Designs: The Tidy Towel is a lint free towel that measures approximately 6" X 8". The color is called slate and when wet, it turns black. It can be used with just water or you can add a little stamp cleaner when necessary. The Tidy Towel is packaged damp and can be stored damp however, if it is left out and gets completely hard, it will reactivate by soaking it in water for a few minutes. 


 

Frisky Felines and Playful Pups Hop!

Good morning! Welcome to our February inspiration hop, featuring awesome sets from Gina K.'s daughter, Alicia Krupsky! Ready to get your cat and pup on?  Here we go!  As exciting as it is to get to that next blog for more eye candy, be sure to comment on the blogs as you hop because Gina has a $50 gift certificate to give away!  Winner will be randomly drawn from all comments and announced on StampTV a few days after the top! Check the Big News Forum.

The first card features Frisky Felines.  (Love the dies for both these sets to quickly make a dimensional critter!) I stamped up a background with the paw and yarn, stamped my sentiment and cat, and added one peeking out, ya know, the way cats DO! Cat lovers recognize these little cat "quirks" and behaviors and will make your cards extra fun!  Cardstock is GKD Pure Luxury White and Innocent Pink.

 Frisky Felines

The second card features Playful Pups. Playful, indeed!  I stamped the Inspiration Mosaic frame to give me a nice layout for these little guys and a perfect spot to pop in the darling greeting.  Just add puppy treats!  I masked these stamped dog bones in GKD Kraft ink into 4 of the mosaic sections, and then colored and popped up the stamped and die cut puppies.  Cardstock is Pure Luxury White and Kraft.

Playful Pups

I made a third card for today's hop because I couldn't resist mixing the two sets when I saw how perfectly the belly rub pup and standing pose cat went with the "...when I knead you" greeting for the cat set! I die!!

Nothing like those two little paws kneading accompanied by contented purring to make all your troubles melt away!  I colored in the borders of my stamped Holiday Frame with Spectrum Noir markers and masked in some paw prints at the bottom and top.  Base and die cut heart (from Gina's Double Stitched Circle die set) are Pure Luxury Red Velvet.

Bundle Frisky Felines-dies and stamps

Bundle Playful Pups-dies and stamps

Ready for more furry inspiration?  Let's see what the rest of our talented Gina K. Designs team has today!
Gina K.
Beth Silaika
Cathy Tidwell
Donna Idlet
Karen Hightower
Laurie Schmidlin
Melanie Muenchinger- you are here, thanks for visiting!
Rema Deleeuw
Sheri Gilson
Susie Moore
Theresa Momber
Lisa Hetrick

Share the Love with Foil-Mates Blog Hop!

Good morning, all! How about a quick hop to inspire with the new Fancy Foil and Foil-Mates products from Gina K. Designs? :) Please enjoy our ideas showcasing all the fabulous products and leave a comment on each blog as you hop for more chances to win a $50 gift certificate to Gina K. Designs.  Winner will be drawn randomly and announced on StampTV. Check the Big New Forum a few days after the hop.

I just love the XO design as a background and these new tags! I used the Gina K. Designs Fancy Foils™ 6" x 8" • Bubblegum Pink and coordinating Pure Luxury Bubblegum cardstock for my card base.  The fun XOXO background is included in the 

Foil-Mates™ Backgrounds • Love and Kisses.   Round tag is from the Gina K. Designs Foil-Mates™ Sentiments • Sweet Expressions  pack. I cut it out with one of the Double Stitched Circle dies, and matted both on Pure Luxury Black Onyx to really POP!

 Gina K. Designs Fancy Foils™ 6" x 8" • Bubblegum Pink 

Foil-Mates™ Backgrounds • Love and Kisses. 

Gina K. Designs Foil-Mates™ Sentiments • Sweet Expressions  pack. 

Double Stitched Circle dies

I also want to point out how much I like how Gina has spaced these Foil-Mates designs.

Not just with dies in mind, you can quickly crop the sentiments into rectangular mats with just a couple swipes of your paper cutter, and they are ready to make some quick foiled cards!  Foil once, then cut twice, so easy! The background pieces you see here are from one piece of foil and one Foil Mate sheet.  Ready to go on 3 cards!

Last, I want to share something fun I discovered, a happy accident! I love the smooth, shiny looks that foil creates, which is so amazing on these designs, but found by mistake you can create some really cool gungy or weathered looks if spots of the toner are showing through!  With proper use, you should not get spots, and I knew my Foil *should* work because it always had for me before, but when I wasn't getting good results for the first time when I started making some cards for this hop, I thought, maybe my laminator (Scotch) wasn't working properly anymore?   Thankfully, before I ran out and got another laminator, I realized I must have accidentally flipped the switch when I was getting off the shelf, from 5 to 3mm!  Well! This makes a HUGE difference (and it does say 5mm on the back of the Foil-Mates pack in the instructions, thank you, Gina)! So glad I figured it out, BUT no way am I throwing out the spotty pieces!   Spotty design below:)
I think they look TEErrific with these tags and greetings, especially since I almost always use black in my designs!  Kind of like, "foil for guys"! "Distressed foil"! Anyway, be sure to check that if you are suddenly ( or have never!) not achieving good results with your laminator.  It is NOT the Fancy Foil's fault! And hopefully just a setting like in my case! :)

Foil is hard to photograph, but hopefully you can see the spots and texture in the foil in these two photos of this pink and red card.  These are the "goofs"! The Red Velvet sponging adds another layer of texture and interest,  and in my mind, makes the imperfect foiling make more sense, if you will. Cardstock iS GKD Pure Luxury Red Velvet and Bubblegum Pink.

Ready to see more from the team? Let's go!

Gina K.
Beth Silaika
Cathy Tidwell
Donna Idlet
Karen Hightower
Laurie Schmidlin
Melanie Muenchinger- you are here, thanks for visiting!
Rema Deleeuw
Sheri Gilson
Susie Moore
Theresa Momber
Lisa Hetrick

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