New Year's Inspiration

It's hard to believe that we are less than two days away from 2015!  It seems like we were just doing the whole 1999 2K thing and now it's 15 years later--crazy.  Well over at Hand Stamped Sentiments we know how to ring in a new year.  We are doing it with an inspiration challenge.  I love the black and white with gold and silver in the photo collage.  And for some reason the pictures inspired me to use stars.  So I grabbed my Stars Framelits and went to work making a NYE card.  I think I will sign it and add a cool gift card for my son Logan.  He gave me a sweet thank you note yesterday, so today I will give him a you're welcome note :0)

My card base is Shimmer White cardstock and I have added a strip of gold washi tape, a Tea Lace Paper Doily, and then a small piece of Typeset DSP.  I surrounded my greeting image from Mingle All the Way, which was stamped with Silver Encore Ink, with a handful of stars cut with the Stars Framelits.  Last but not least and totally my favorite I added a few Rhinestones!  Pop over to Hand Stamped Sentiments and enjoy the inspiration challenge!  Happy New Year to all.

Playful Sketch

I have always said "straight equals stress!" So, with this playful slanted offset sketch challenge from Hand Stamped Sentiments there is no pressure to be sure layers are perfectly placed. I chose to place my focal element in the circular layer. The stamp image is a new one from a set called "Big Day" which is coming out in this year's Sale-a-bration event. 

Product List

Big Day Wood Stamp Set [139109] $0.00	Lullaby Designer Series Paper [133695] $10.95	Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [120953] $6.95	Whisper White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [100730] $8.50
Bermuda Bay Stampin' Write Marker [131899] $3.50	2014-2016 In Color Stampin' Write Markers [133654] $14.95	Crumb Cake Stampin' Write Marker [120967] $3.50	2-1/2" Circle Punch [120906] $16.95
Polka Dot Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [133739] $7.95	Decorative Dots Textured Impressions Embossing Folder [133520] $7.95	Vintage Faceted Buttons [127555] $5.95	Old Olive Baker's Twine [134579] $2.95

Three Ways to Mingle

"Mix and mingle with a jinglin' beat..."  Is the Christmas music playing at your house?  It is at mine.  My favorite stamp set from the Holiday Catalog is by far Mingle All the Way.  I love the sayings and the mix of fonts and hand drawn lettering styles.  The set perfectly suits my style of stampin'.  So, for our Monday Montage Blog Hop I thought I would share three of my ways to mingle ;0)

From Dara

To Julie

Weekly Deals!

130985 $7.77	134551 $6.71	133432 $7.46	133431 $7.46
134099 $19.46	131946 $17.21	129392 $4.46	129376 $5.96

Cool Winter Colors

It's color challenge time at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  This challenge offers a cool palette of trendy hues perfect for a chilly winter themed card.  I decided to start with preinking my TIEF with Pool Party ink.  Then I ran a piece of Whisper White cardstock through the Big Shot and the mottled effect turned out perfect for my liking.  Last, I added a layered focal point of shimmery "joyful" goodness.  I just love the heart boarder paper ribbon.  I seem to be adding it to lots of projects lately.

Watercolor Wicking

Can you believe it's almost here?  Thanksgiving is this week and I can't wait to sit down and eat with a fork and knife.  Life gets so busy that I often eat food you can grab and go like tacos or sandwiches.  So, I am anxious to have hot food that is served on a plate!

In honor of this week's holiday I pulled out some fall tones to stamp a watercolor card to say "hello." For this technique I stamped images in Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, and Wild Wasabi on Watercolor Paper.  Then with a Stampin' Mini Mister filled with water I squirt the images just enough to get the ink to wick and blend.

From Dara Gloden

To Julie Warnick

Hand Stamped Sentiments Sketch Challenge

Hello Hand Stamped Sentiments fans!  We have a super cool sketch challenge you're going to want to check out.  Click on over and see how each member of the Design Team has interpreted the sketch--I've seen them and they are AWESOME.

For my take on the sketch I chose to mimic the snowflake by using the Snowflakes Thinlits.  To get the larger snowflake cut a 3 1/2" square piece of DSP or cardstock and place it over the snowflake portion of the main thinlit in the set.  Run it through the Big Shot then reposition the partially cut snowflake by turning it 90 degrees and aligning in the first cuts.  Once all aligned run it through the Big Shot again to finish cutting the remaining arms of the snowflake.

Snowflake Thinlits

Welcome to another fun, friendly, and fabulous Monday Montage Bog Hop.  This hop I am sharing my Snowflakes Thinlit card in Real Red and Lost Lagoon.  When making cards with the Thinlits I like to add an extra panel.  It gives the card a bit more stability and presence.  For these cards I included the Mingle All the Way stamp set embossed with gold powder.

From Dara Gloden

To Julie Warnick