A New Ink on Life

Let's Go Do the Hop!

 

Welcome to the UStamp with Dawn and Friends!! World Showcase Blog Hop. If you have been following the Blog Hop from the beginning, you have just been wowed by Monika's beautiful Hope and Strength Luminary. I will definately be giving that a try!  Wasn't it just stunning?! If you are just joining the Blog Hop, no problem as you can start at any point. All the Designer's Blogs are linked together so you will be able to see ALL the super projects we have for you.

 

For my project I just couldn't help but to pull out the Perfect Polka Dots Simply Scrtappin' Kit.

Pinwheels are all the rage right now in paper crafting so I just had to add some to my project. I love the fun and sunny colour combo of Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Rose Red. You can't help but to smile, especially when it is paired with super cute pictures of my adorable kids:)
 

 I also created a super cute little 3x3 card:

 I love finding different uses for punches and the Postage Stamp Punch makes it super easy to create fun mini pinwheels. 

As a Special Thank You for stopping by my blog I am giving away BLOG CANDY!! Please leave a comment before midnight June 12th, about my project to be entered for a chance to win a FREE PASS to the next UStamp with Dawn and Friends!! session - I ♥ the Holidays!! I will randomly select a winner to be announced on Monday June 13th, so please check back to see if you are the lucky recipient. If you have already joined I ♥ the Holidays!! for the Special Party Pricing and you are selected as the winner, you will get a FREE Pass to the NEXT event after I ♥ the Holidays!! which will launch in the Fall.

AND now for the really cool part!! You will NOT want to miss out on THIS!!

By clicking this really cute blinkie...yeah...go ahead and click it!!...

you will be taken to

THE WORLD SHOWCASE BLOG HOP WEBSITE!!

Of course it's ***FREE*** to join and there you will find the tutorials for all the blog hop projects,

PLUS live chats, challenges and more prizes!!

You will even have an opportunity to be considered for a spot as a Guest Designer!!

Yes!! It is all FREE, so tell all your friends and join the fun with UStamp with Dawn and Friends!!

Well I am the LAST stop on this fun little hop of ours. I hope you enjoyed all the amazing projects  and be sure to check out the next blog which will take you right back to the beginning of it all at Dawn's site. 

Thanks again for stopping by!!

You Always Do.......

......the Nicest Things! I have been so overwhelmed by all the wonderful comments and emails congratulating me on winning the Stampin' Up Artisan Award. Thank you so much:)

Anywho today we have an awesome Colour Challenge over at Stampin' Royalty. Now I do find it hard to keep to only 3 colours when creating so I just had to sneak in a little Early Espresso Ribbon for just a touch of contrast:) Be sure to check out the Design Team's Samples and we would love to have you play along with us this week!

 
 
These are some of my favourite colours so it was fun to put together a quick card. The base is a 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 Daffodil Delight square and I embosed it with the Perfect Polks dots Impressions Folder. I wanted to give some interest to this very Clean and Simple Layout so I punched out some Melon Mambo Textured Card stock with the super fun Blossom Bouquet Triple Layers Punch and layered it behind a piece of Wild Wasabi DSP. 
   
For the image I just used the brush end of my markers to ink it up and then stamped it on Whisper White Card stock. I then took the pen end of the marker and outline the words "always"and "nicest". The sentiment is from the Summer Mini Catalogue and the stamp set is called Happy Greetings (definately a must have set).
 
Supplies Used:

Stamps: Happy Greetings

Paper: Subtles DSP Paper Stack, Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo Textured

Ink: Early Espresso, Melon Mambo, Wild Wasabi, and Daffodil Delight Markers

Accessories: Brights Brads (Daffodil Delight), Early Espresso 1/8 Taffeta Ribbon, 1 3/4" Circle Punch, 2 3/8 Scallop Punch, Blossom Bouquet Triple Layers Punch

A Beautiful Smile with Playful Polka Dots

So I just couldn't let the last day of May and National Scrapbooking month go by with out posting one last scrap layout. This time I created a page of my oldest daughter and used pictures from a few weeks ago when she was getting ready for the last big dance of the year:)

 Isn't she just gorgeous?! I know I am bias but I just love this photo of her:) I mostly used elements from the Simply Scrappin' Kit Playful Polka Dots. I really am loving the vibrant colour combo of Rose Red Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive. I wanted to do something a little different with the title so I used the individual petal die cuts from the kit then stamped the letters using Jayne's Type Alphabet on Whisper White card stock and punched each one out with the 1" Circle Punch. The word "smile" is from my go to set Fabulous Phrases.
I ruffled some Pretty in Pink Wide Striped Grosgrain Ribbon  by snipping an end and pulling a loose thread then attached to the page with some Sticky Strip. I forked an end and then tied on some White Baker's Twine and a Whisper White Button.

 

For the smaller picture I just simply punched it out with the 1 3/8 Circle Punch and matted it on to a Rose Red circle that had been cut out using the Circles #2 Die and my Big Shot. The Pumpkin Pie Flower was also cut out using the Big Shot and the Fun Flowers Die. I also used the Paper Crimper on the piece of Pumpkin Pie Pattern Paper. It just gave a little bit more texture and interest to the page. 

I plan to create another page with some other photos from the same day so hopefully I will be back with that later this week :)

Supplies used:

Stamps: Fabulous Phrases, Jayne's Type Alphabet

Paper: Playful Polka Dots Simply Scrappin' Kit

Accessories: Big Shot, Circles #2 Die, Fun Flowers Die, Rhinestone Jewels, Pretty in Pink Wide Striped Ribbon, 1 3/8" Circle Punch, Paper Crimper

Have a great day,

Thinking of You with On the Grow

So it is Tuesday already and that means it's time to get sketchy with Try Stampin' On Tuesday. The design team has come up with fab samples for this week's sketch so be sure to check them out :)

I love having a circular focal point on cards, it's fun and a little different than the normal rectangle or square.

Here's my card:

 
 
I have been pining over this stamp set since it was first released in the Summer Mini Catalogue. I just love this beautiful little image of flowers in a mason jar. I am also trying my best to improve upon my watercolouring skills. I first punched out some Watercolour Paper with the 2 1/2" Circle Punch then stamped the image using Staz On. For the actual watercolouring of the image I used a combination of Markers, Inks and my Aqua Painter. I then add some mini Pearls from the Pearl Jewels to the center of the flowers. The card base is Crumb Cake and I used the Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel and Crumb Cake Ink to create a tone on tone pattern all over the card. The piece of Designer Series Paper is from the Sweet and Sour Specialty Paper pack. I created the parial circle cut out using the 3" Circle Die and my Big Shot, and basically sponged everything with Soft Suede Ink.
 
To create the larger paper flower I used the Flower Fusions Sizzlet die and cut out the medium and smaller flower with Very Vanilla Textured Card stock. I then sponged them with Peach Parfait and Blushing Bride Ink, sprayed a little shimmer mist (made by combining alcohol  with Champagne Shimmer Paint), and crumpled them up. Using my Heat Tool I dried and then shaped them. Again I used a little Pearl Jewel in the center. For the small flowers I used one of the punches from the Bitty Punch Pack and Blushing Bride Card stock.
 
Supplies Used:

Stamps: On the Grow, Very Vintage Jumbo Wheel

Ink: Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Peah Parfait. Markers: Tangerine Tango, Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake, Bashful Blue, Melon Mambo and Wild Wasabi

Paper: Sweet and Sour Specialty DSP, Very Vanilla Textured, Crumb Cake, and Water Colour Paper

Accessories: Big Shot, 3" Circle die, Flower Fusions Sizzlet, Very Vanilla 1/8 taffeta Ribbon, Pearl Jewels, Bitty Punch Pack, 2 1/2" Circle Punch, Aqua Painter.

Have a wonderful day,

 

Fabulous Florets SR#70

We have a fabulous colour challenge for you over at Stampin' Royalty today! To me these colours screamed Spring and flowers. It's good thing that the 2011 Summer Mini Catalogue is just full of fantastic products that make creating a quick beautiful card easy :) This card literally took 10 minutes! I actually drew a lot of inspiration for my card from a layout in the mini. I love looking through all of the Stampin' Up! catalogues; they are such a great source of inspiration. Just Add Ink is also having a great challenge to "just add a flower" so I thought I would play along.

 Here's my card:

Okay I am sooooo loving this set, the possibilities are endless! I know, I know another flower set; but this one I really can see the versitility in :) I kept the card very CAS and used absolutely no ribbon, brads,bling or Big Shot! The card base is Wild wasabi and I stamped the leafy stem image tone on tone using Wild Wasabi ink. For the main image panel I used all four of the challenge colours and stamped the 3 flower images and the leaf outline, the setiment was stamped using Early Espresso.

 I also stamped the inside of the card (as I usually do but rarely remember to take a picture:) I love this quote and it is in one of my favourite stamp sets,Hope Happens. I thought it was the perfect sentiment for the inside of this card.

 

 

 

 Supplies used:

Stamps: Fabulous Florets, Hope Happens

Card stock: Wild Wasabi, Pacific Point, Real Red and Whisper White

Ink: Early Espresso, Real Red, Rich Razzleberry, Pacific Point, Wild Wasabi

Accessories: Dotted Ribbon Border Punch

Hope you can join us this week. Happy stampin'

 

Strength and Hope TST#13

It's Tuesday and time for a great sketch at Try Stampin' on Tuesday! I wanted to make a special card for a friend that recently lost a family member and I knew I wanted to use a butterfly image as it has a special significance to her. I also wanted to choose a soft colour combo and I found the one at Create with Connie and Mary to be perfect for the occasion. Wild Wasabi, Perfect Plum and So Saffron.

Here is this weeks Sketch:

 Here's my card:

 
I used the new Strength and Hope set from the Summer Mini Catalogue. Not only is this a truly beautiful set but Stampin' Up! will donate $2 from every set sold to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, definately a worthy cause. You will also be seeing a lot more projects from me using it as I am in the process of designing a class around this set.

                                                                                   
For the butterfly I did the Rock and Roll technique. I first inked it in So Saffron and then rolled the edges in Perfect Plum and stamped it on a scrap piece of Whisper White. Next using my paper snips I carefully cut it out and attached it tothe card using a Dimensional.

Supplies used:

Stamps: Tiny Tags, Strength and Hope

Ink: Early Espresso, Perfect Plum, So Saffron

Card Stock: Perfect Plum, Wild Wasabi, So Saffron

Accessories: Big Shot, Elegant Lines Impressions Folder, Scallop Trim Border Punch,Vintage Trinkets, Jewlery Tag punch, Whisper White Taffeta Ribbon 
 
Have a great day,

 

Bold Blossom Bouquet

Wow it is May already! That means that the new Stampin' Up! Summer Mini Catalogue is live :) It if full of some really great fun new products. I decided to play with a few that were on my must have list and also got inspired by a some of my favourite challenges. The Paper Players are having a fun theme challenge this week (Birds, Bees, Flowers and Trees), over at PPA they are challenging you to use some buttons on a CAS card and at Stampin' Celebration they have a fantastic Inspiration Challenge.

So here is what I came up with after being inspired :)

The new Triple Layer Punches are soooo cool! I used the Blossom Bouquet Triple Punch on this card. These punches actually punch out 3 diferent shapes that can all layer together. The one that I used also matches perfectly with the Bold Blossom Stamp set-LOVE IT! So I decided to use the bright fun colour combo of Melon Mambo, Tempting Turquiose, Wild Wasabi and Daffodil Delight. I also used the super adorable Bitty Buttons and matching Itty Bitty Shapes Punch pack (again matching punches-what could be better?!) and I topped 3 of the buttons with little Rhinestons. I have be seeing a lot of cards lately with the "inlaid embossing" technique and I thought it woul be fun to give it a try.  So I glued my punched pieces down then ran it through the Big Shot with the Square Lattice Folder-so quick and easy :)
 
Supplies Used:

Stamps: Bold Blossom

Ink: Early Espresso, Wild Wasabi, Melon Mambo

Card stock: Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight, Wild Wasabi, Tempting Turquoise

Accessories: Blossom Bouquet Triple Layer Punch,Itty Bitty Buttons, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack, Rhinestone Jewels, Large Oval Punch, 3/4 Circle Punch, Scallop trim Border Punch, Big Shot, Square Lattice Impressions Folder.

Have a great day,