Hop Art Studio

Whatever Floats Your Boat - by Rupa!

I'm having so much fun with Rupa's adorable new set! Wait until you see all the fun and cute images and sayings. I know you will love them.

You know how much I love to color and these are just perfect for my new Copic markers.

I used my 3 Warm Gray markers to color in the elephant. When you are trying to blend the layers of markers remember to go back over the darker lines with the lighter marker to help blend all the layers together.

I found that cute little flower at Targets dollar spot (It's a brad, and darn it I only bought one set! I'm gonna run over there and purchase more.)

I added some Rhinestones that are available at Gina's store, some diamond glaze and diamond dust on the blanket on his back.

The front of the card is a panel that I hinged using 2 small pieces of black card stock. When you open it up you get another cute saying from Rupa's set.

I know it's hard to see, but I added some glue along the outer edges of the white front panel and some glitter.

You need to hop on over to see more wonderful samples from the design team

Emily_Giovanni

Erika_Martin

Faith_Hofrichter

Kurtis_Amundson

Linsey_Rickett

Melanie_Muenchinger

And you have a chance to win one of the new sets at

GinaK

Tomorrow I will be posting a watercoloring tutorial. So please check back....big hugs.

Flowers for Daisy

How to begin this post. I've typed it several times and deleted it. It's hard to type and not cry.

Daisy, sweet, beautiful, strong, faithful to the Lord, giving, loving, funny, wife, mother, grandmother and friend.

Daisy has touched everyone that meets her. Even now, during this difficult time in her life she is a pillar of strength and has an amazing positive attitude. Her faith is unwavering.

I don't know where to begin, I have a hard time saying what I want to say.

I think that the Lord uses each and everyone of us in a special way. I wanted to do something to let Daisy know how much she has touched my life. I wanted to use my gifts somehow.

The Lord kept pulling on my heart strings, kept whispering in my ear until I listened. I called Gina and we discussed what was on my mind. I wanted to do something in honor of Daisy. Something that would make a difference. Use my talents and create a set and donate a portion in Daisy's name to the American Cancer Society. Gina is so sweet and giving. She said "Let's do it!"

With the help of my friend Fran (in the pink shirt) and Daisy's husband we secretly started to create Flowers for Daisy. I included Daisy's 2 favorite bible verses, the ones that are giving her strength through this difficult period in her life and other sayings that have meaning to her. I wanted to draw something that represented not only Daisy but that would be timeless and that everyone would be able to use over and over again. Daisies! Of course what else could be better and more appropriate. Daisies come in many shapes and sizes and colors. Daises are beautiful and represent a New Day! Yes, daisies. That's it. I drew the set and Fran and I surprised Daisy with it. She loved the idea!

Cancer has touched so many lives. Each and everyone of us knows of someone who is battling against it. I wanted to be able to help out not only Daisy but others who are going through what she is going through. To help out in some way.

When you purchase this set $4.00 of every retail set sold will go to the American Cancer Society until the end of August through a donation of part of the proceeds from both Gina K. Designs and myself.

You will be getting lots of wonderful inspirations for this set, Flowers for Daisy, from some of our dear friends who jumped right in when we asked if they would like to help. Blessing and more blessing!

Check these talented blogs within the next couple of weeks for examples of Flowers for Daisy

Amy_Westerman

Anne_Sanborn

Debbie_Olson

Keri_Lee_Sereika

Lauren_Meader

Sharon_Harnist

Taylor_Van_Bruggen

I'm really not a good scrap booker. But I wanted to be able to share a picture of Daisy with you. I wanted for you to think out of the box with the set and use it in other ways. I have created lots of fun things that I will be sharing with you in the next couple of weeks. A watercoloring tutorial and something very different using my new set.

Until then, you can get even more inspiration today from our talented team of designers who are premiering Flowers for Daisy today.

Emily_Giovanni

Joanne_Basile

Julie_Koerber

Michelle_Giraud

And don't forget to hop on over to Gina's blog for a chance to win Flowers for Daisy stamp set

http://blog.ginakdesigns.com/

Thank you everyone for helping with your purchase of this new set.

To clarify any confusion on the proceeds:

Asela and Gina are both giving a portion of the proceeds to equal $4.00 on each set we sell. We added the words "retail sales" because our donation amount will be slightly less on those sets that we wholesale to stamping and scrapbooking stores.

Challenge Winners!

I placed all the names in a basket and had my son pick out the winners!

The winner of my new set is mbg10001 View_her_card_here. ! Congrats!!!

Winners of the goodies bags are Stamp-It-Up (Brenda Turner) View_Here

And emptynextstamper  View_here.

                    

Congratulations! Everyone's samples were gorgeous. Thank you for playing along.

Relax and Enjoy the Day

I made this card last week. What a cute image! You can find it at Hambo_Stamps.

I stamped the image twice and I colored it in using my Prismacolor Markers. For the skin I used Copics. I cut out the feet and the head.

For the bubbles. (Which were a blast to make!) I added some pearls. They come with adhesive on the back. A lot of different manufactures are making them at the moment.  I then surrounded them with Ice Stickles by Ranger (Crystal Ice Glitter Glue). It is so cool in real life.

I watercolored around behind the tub and drew in the line for the floor.

The saying is by Stampin' Up! I embossed it and then punched it out using Martha Stewart scallop circle punch. I placed a button on top to cover the small gift package in the center. The decorative edge is by Martha Stewart.

Have a wonderful weekend.

My First Challenge!

 

Sometimes simple appeals to my inner muse. KWIM? I want nice, clean, uncluttered. I loved all of the suggestions for a challenge. I thought for my first one I'd keep it simple. And of course I'll be including some goodies!

I used the Fern image from my set Botanical_Dreams by Gina K Designs. I created a mask on a scrap piece of copier paper. I stamped one leaf using Palette Noir Black ink and masked over it. I then stamped another fern over top of it. I continued this on down the piece of paper.

I started to add color to the leaves. First with Copic E31  and then Copic YG95. A lot of time people forget that you can use colored markers over top of colored papers. You can use any markers for this, they don't have to be Alcohol based. (I've done this before using  Prismacolor Pencils and SU! Markers.) Always test your marker colors out on a corner of the paper or on an extra piece of the paper  the same color as the one you will be coloring on. Remember that the color of the paper will affect the shade of the marker when you color in your image.

I next added Prismacolor Marker Eggshell around the inside edges of the leaves. This left the actual color of the paper as the highlighted areas.

I then added Prismacolor Marker Goldenrod around the outer edges and filled in between the leaves. I will then be filling in all the way around the outer part of the paper. I wanted the leaves to stand out.

Once I had everything covered I used my Coluzzle to cut out an oval shape. (Does anyone else still use their Coluzzle? I swear I can't seem to find templates or the blades in any store.)

The ribbon I used is actually the back side of the side you are suppose to use. Isn't it cool! Love how fuzzy it is.

Now for the challenge. Here's the sketch for the card I created.

Using this template as a guide, uupload a card to the Splitcoast_Galleryand  put AH01 in your keyword section. Please use Botanical Dreams, if you don't have Botanical Dreams then you can use any GinaK stamp set you may have. (Please, for this challenge use only GinaK stamps.)

(You don't need to stick with a card for this challenge, you can also create a scrapbooking page. Just make sure to include stamps.)

You have until Sunday July 21, 12 pm (EST) to post your card. I will go through the gallery and put all the names of the cards posted into a drawing.

The lucky person will win my next set! And that's not all. You will also win a set of Kohl i noor pencil, gamsol sample and blending stumps! Plus.......

I will be picking 2 more names and they will each receive a free surprise goodie bag.

I will announce the winners on Monday.

And please check back on Tuesday....there's something really special I'll be announcing.

Hugs and Smiles

Thanks everyone for all the sweet comments on my other card. I really enjoyed watercoloring  and hope to do more.

I found this really pretty paper at my LSS (Sorry I don't recall the brand) and thought Melanie's sweet Koala's would work beautifully with it.

I stamped them in using Archival Brilliance Black ink and colored them in using Prismacolor markers. I used a bit of Copic tans also.

I finally had to give in and purchase a set of Copics. I bought mine from Gina. Gina has a Copic marker club that makes it easier to build your sets. You can find information on it here. Copic_Markers_Club.

Now, you know me, I'm a big, big believer in using what you have and not jumping on the band wagon. I really don't believe in buying supplies just because it's a big trend and then using them only once or twice. Unfortunately, or fortunately (depends on how you look at it) I've had to purchase Copics to teach my next class. Why Copics and not Prismacolor?

I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee my Prismacolor markers. And I will continue to use them. However, the tips of the Prismacolor markers are more difficult for beginners to work with. A lot of stampers are already familiar with using similar brush tips as the Copics. Therefore, it will be easier for them to make the transition to working with alcohol based markers.

Primacolor has already introduced a set of smaller brushed tip markers that are fabulous! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this means that they will be making the transition to the larger brush tip.

Another reason for the purchase, information. Copics have more information available that is applicable to stampers. There is more step by step guides on how to use them to color. I already figured out how to use these guides and apply them to my Prismacolor markers. But for most, it's easier to use the information that applies to the tool it's written for.

Which ones did I buy? I chose the Ciao. Reason. I'm cheap! LOL. Naw, actually I thought about how I will be using them. I won't be airbrushing with them. (Sorry did airbrushing way back in the old days and won't be cutting all the masking needed.) And  I won't be teaching how to airbrush with them. I already own a lot of Prismacolor (will use them to fill in the colors I don't own with Copics), and I don't have the room to store each and every shade that is available in the Sketch Markers.

So that's my story. And I'm sticking with it! LOL

Pretty lace edge is a punch by Martha Stewart. I have a few Fiskar and now a MS border punch. MS seems easier and sturdier to work with than the Fiskar. I'm really getting a lot of use out of both brands! FUN

Long Time Friend

Happy Tuesday everyone! I actually had some stamping time yesterday. Yippee!

I haven't had lots of time to watercolor lately and it was really nice to be able to.

I used one of my older Stampin' Up! sets (one I couldn't part with) and my dye inks to watercolor it. I stamped the image twice on watercolor paper using Stazon ink.

For this image I decided to give it a dimensional look and therefore cut out the second watercolored in stamp image (I only colored the water can, one pot and shovel before I cut them out.)

I used acrylic paints to color in the leaves and flowers. Stickles were added to the flowers to give them extra shine. (For the leaves, I first painted them using a darker green and then highlighted them with a lighter green on top.)

The saying is from this same set and it is embossed in black.

I'm patiently waiting for my next set to arrive! I can hardly wait to start stamping with it and being able to share with you.

Secret Sister

            

Look at the beautiful gifts I received this weekend from my secret sister Krista Smith! Aren't they gorgeous?!!! I love everything about them. The altered notebook is fabulous, I will be ordering this stamp set from Gina, it's just the cutest . I love how she layered the owl and the leaves. and the layouts are beautiful.

Thanks Krista!

  

A Friday Challenge:GinaK

Wow, is it really Friday? Hard to believe. What a long week I had. I had very little me time. I like my me time. I'm not a happy camper when I don't get "me time". You know what I mean.

So I took a few moments and tried Gina's challenge that was posted on her blog.

The fun part of this challenge is that Gina will be picking from all the cards loaded to http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/ a lucky winner of some fun goodies. For all the details go here  GinaK.

Here's the sketch that Gina posted for the challenge. Remember to go to her blog for all the details about uploading.

You must use a special keyword in order for her to find the card you posted on SCS.

I sooooooooooo rushed this card. And at the last minute I had this crazy idea that I should stitch raffia around the oval. Hmmmmm...oh well. Sometimes an idea works and sometime it doesn't. But after all this stitching I was not gonna throw it away.

I do like the coloring and the dimension on the orchid. I'll do that again. I used Prismacolor markers and I also watercolored around the outside using dye inks. I just bought a Palette Noir black ink pad, which I used on this card. Like it so far.

So don't forget to work on a card this weekend and post it on SCS using the keyword from Gina's blog.

Good luck!

Bleached Leaves!

Get out!!!

Well don't actually leave, lol.

But stay here and click on this link

http://blog.ginakdesigns.com/2008/07/07/bleached-leaves--a-bleaching-tutorial.aspx

Is this card not the coolest?!!!!

I haven't used this technique in a long while and I absolutely love what Gina created using my fern leaf.

Thanks Gina!

Blog Candy for a Cause

Follow this link for a chance for some wonderful Blog candy. 

http://kaputkrafts.typepad.com/kaput_krafts/2008/07/how-you-can-win-fabulous-blog-candy-from-your-favorite-companies.html

Thanks!

Swamped

Yep, a 3 day weekend and mom's swamped!

I have tons to do. Stamping, laundry, cleaning, errands to run, boys are in VBS this week, I'm teaching my very first coloring class at our local stamp store and my to do list is a mile long!

But you know Super Mom! She's faster than a speeding bullet, able to flip 3 pancakes at one time, never needs sleep and can clean up the house in a blink of the eye! (Ya I wish!!! LOL)

And to top it off, I'm getting sooooooooooooooo excited...I can barely stand it.

I really hope you have been enjoying my new set. I can hardly wait to share the next one with you. I'm counting down the days!

But until then.....I'm thinking....

The wheels are spinning....

And maybe, just maybe.....

I'll have to think of a way....

To give away the new stamp set....

Or maybe 2!

So if you have any cool ideas....contest, drawings, challenges....

Please share them with me.....

I love giving away stuff!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

How we spent our 4th of July. By Asela Hopkins....lol.

Kind of reminds me of when you got back to school and teachers always wanted a recount of your summer vacation, usually mine went something like this - We drove down the coast of Florida, no seat belts or air-conditioning, with my feet hanging out the window, until we ended up at Disney!. Ah the good ole' days.

Well now I have the vacation spots in my backyard, well sort of!

We took a drive down to see Fort Matanzas. Matanzas means massacre. It's at the southern tip of the inter-coastal waterway and the first line of defense for the city of St. Augustine. There are gorgeous beaches and natural habitat everywhere you look. While waiting for the park ranger ferry to take us to the other side of the shore the boys took a look about. Wow, the water and the sky were beautiful! Look just beneath the largest cloud and you can see the fort.

Once at the fort we were greeted by 2 re-enacters wearing Spanish uniforms of the time period. They gave a a brief history of the fort and then we were able to go anywhere we pleased. We walked to the tippy top, on the roof, through a very narrow hole, up the steep ladder. Wow, what view! 

Funny part, I was heading back down the ladder with my sunglasses clipped on my shirt. And they fell!  All the way down to the floor and out the second story door and right down to the foot of the cannons. The men in uniform watched as one of the lens popped out and shattered right in front of them. Oh how embarrassing. Luckily it didn't shatter much and they swept up the pieces using a replica broom of the time period.

Can you just imagine being a soldier out on this remote outpost? The heat, the bugs and the solitude.

Talking about bugs. If you are squeamish you may not want to follow along with the rest of my adventure.

After the tour of the fort we rode the ferry back to the other side of the waterway. We decided to take the self guided nature walk. We picked up a leaflet and started our walk.

Along the way we came across Banana and Orchid spiders. From the moment we began the trail these HUGE spider webs were stretched between the trees and above our head, from one side of the trail path to the other. YUCK!!! If you are scared of spiders this definitely would not be the nature walk for you. The Banana spiders are big. And I mean BIG!

This is a picture of the female that greeted us as we began the trail. Yes, I actually had to get  up close and personal to snap this shot. She's really pretty and always hangs looking down at you as you walk by. I asked my hubby if she was poisonous. "Well, the pamphlet say's, nope!" Okay, well......I did a bit a research when I got home...ahhhhhhh.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_spider  Guess the park service wasn't gonna say that 'cause who'd ever walk down the trail! LOL.

They call them Banana spiders because of their yellow coloring. Hello, I never saw a banana look like that! Creepy!!!! See hubby's hand behind her web? Well, shall I just say this, he's 6'3" and has really big hands. Ahhhhhhhhh, yep, that's one big spider.

The other spider was small, only about 1/2". Small....right! LOL

They said in the brochure it was an Orchid spider. But I can't find anything like that on the web. So your guess is as good as mine. They were really pretty little guys. Their webs were everywhere also. (Looking on line, apparently Black Widows are out here...oh that looks pretty darn close!)

Funny thing, I've hiked and lived in Florida for years and I never came across these spiders. That's a good thing, huh?

Okay, are you grossed out yet?  I know I am. I just about freaked out when I got home and looked at the pictures. They were creepy in real life, looking down at us from their webs, ready to pounce at us, but looking at the pictures, YUCKY!

Now there were other things to look at on the trail, native plants and flowers. So it wasn't all that bad. And it lead us to the site of the massacre of the French by the Spanish. 250 slaughtered. Sad.

It's nice to be able to not only have beautiful beaches, native trails but early history to learn about here in Florida. There's definitely more to the state than Disney World!  

So, this is how we spent our 4th of July.

Hope you had a wonderful day too.

Happy 4th of July!

            

Have a wonderful and safe 4th of July!!!

 

Missed Ducky

Living next to a new pond has it's challenges and rewards. One thing is the explosion of growth! Shall I just say the frogs have been busy! LOL.

And Cattails. My hubby and boys were thinning them out the other day. Messy, messy!

As time goes by the pond will come to it's own. The fish will grow and there will be less frogs. And eventually the ecosystem will be balanced.

I love Tim's illustrations. I'd give anything to have his talent for drawing cartoons. Wow! You can find this cute duck at Hambo_Stamps. I stamped him using Archival Brilliance Black and colored him in using my Prismacolor markers. (I actually bought 2 Copics at Hobby Lobby last week. Hmmmmm...)

I drew the background and colored it in using my markers and outline them in black. I used SCS sketch challenge for Wednesday the 2 on this card.  I stamped the word "missed" and punched it out using a Martha Stewart punch.

I found the little pearls at JoAnns.

A Little Birdie

I love our new study. It has 4 large windows.  When I sit at the computer I have  a wonderful view of the wooded area in front, of the yard and  the oak trees. Everyday I have fun watching the cardinals fly about and the butterflies fluttering around the flowers. One treat was a hummingbird that flew up to one of the windows, looked in and flew on by.

I had fun creating this card. I used one of the images I drew for my last stamp sets for Cornish Heritage Farms and stamped it using Archival Brilliance Black. I then colored in the birds using my Prismacolor markers. When finished I added some glitter to the wings.

For the flowers I took off the prongs from the back of the flower brads and used my Crop A Dile to punch a hole in the center. I then inserted a brad.

Come back tomorrow, I will be posting my list and photo album of stamps I have for sale. I will be taking Paypal this time around. Please make sure to include your mailing address (with zip code) when you email me.

Dreaming of Orchids

I love Orchids. But alas, I'm terrible at keeping them alive. I'll see them at the store and will be tempted to purchase one.

I colored in my image using my Prismacolor Markers.

Here are more wonderful samples to inspire you, using my Orchid stamp

Trena, Michelle, Beestamper, Jessjean, Melanie, Amy and Emily.

To create the background I scored the paper. I used my paper cutter for a guide. One day I'll get a Score it Pal. But for now, this will do.

I stamped my Dream stamp on paper and using a SU! oval punch punched it out.

I placed it on black paper and with a white pencil drew around it. I then cut around the outer edge using postage stamp scissor. Flip the black paper over and adhere the word oval on top.

I have tons to do this week. Plus I would like to put my Stamps For Sale list up by Wednesday. So if you are looking for SU! and other stamps come back and see if there is anything you would like.

But save a bit of your money. There is something special coming in July!

Cajun Shrimp and a Winner!

Before I tell you who's name we drew I wanted to share with you one of my favorite recipes. I made this yummy Cajun Shrimp last night. Mmmmmm....mmmmmmm! It's a bit spicy, however the recipe is easy so you can adjust it to your own taste.

Cajun Shrimp

1 1/2 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined (If I can't find the large I'll substitute smaller ones but just increase the quantity of shrimp used.)

1 tsp paprika

3/4 tsp dried thyme

3/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 -1/2 tsp ground red pepper

1 Tbs vegetable oil

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal bag and shake to coat. (I like to let it sit in the refrigerator for a while, hour or so, to let the herbs get better absorbed.) Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. (I usually use my metal large skillet and increase the amount of oil used a bit. Works just as well.) Add shrimp; saute 4 minutes or until the shrimp are done.

Now for the name we picked.....

The winner of my giveaway......

Is.....

"Your style is soooo great - I think it's because you change things up, your cards don't all look the same.  I get computer time roughly 3 or 4 times a week now that summer has us so busy but I'm always sure to stop in and see what you've done.  Thanks for always inspiring me."

DeniseLynn

Congrats Denise! Email me your mailing address and I'll get these gift out to you.

 

 

Kitty Candy!

Awwwwww aren't these cats adorable?! I'm not really a cat person however, I love the way they look. And these two cute cats drawn by Melanie made me smile.

I colored them in using my Prismacolor markers. I brought out my SU! marker Old Olive and inked up my Salvia stamp from my new set Botanical Dreams and stamped around the outer edge of the square I had cut out.

With a pink marker I added the flowers.

I took out my SU! marker, Mellow Moss (I believe it was) and started to color in the grass. I dipped a sable paint brush into water and spread the areas colored in by the marker all over the bottom half of the square. I continued to add more color to the wet paper and spread more marker out. (Yes, the paper may curl. Take out your heat gun and dry it. You may have to place the panel under some heavy books to flatten it out. I didn't have to.) This creates a watercolored look. (SU! markers are dye based and adding water to the colored in areas will make the ink spread out.)

I used my 2 inchie square punches to create the even square panels behind the main image.

You can find my new set and Melanie's new set at Gina K Designs.

Now, I just couldn't leave this Friday with out a bit of candy for everyone. It's not a lot, but I just wanted to say thank you so much for helping me make my first release with Gina K such a fun one! If you create anything with my new set send me a link, I'd love to post it on my blog. While going through all my stuff I found these 2 issues of Cards magazines I had bought last year. I know they aren't current, however they are still full of wonderful ideas. And I'd love to pass them on to a good home.

I have a brand new set of Koh i noor Colour Pencils and a sample of  Gamsol with blending stump to also send your way. Plus, I will be including a few sheets of a variety of wonderful stamped images for you to practice your coloring on!

Just leave me a comment by Saturday June 28 (12 PM EST) and I'll announce the lucky person on Sunday.

Wild Thing

Just so you know that I'm a goody two shoes- I was thinking of the song that goes -Wild thing I think I love you!  Ahhhhhhhhh ...ummmmmmmmm..not the lions doing the.....ahhhhh...ummmmmmm lol when I created this card. It wasn't until after I had finished it that I took a second look and thought- oh my goodness! Hope no one thinks I was thinking that!

This is a new stamp from Melanie's cute set Cuddles_and_Hugs.

I stamped them using Brilliance black and colored them in with my Prismacolor markers. I first colored in the yellow areas then colored in the brown. To achieve a more blended look I went back over the areas where the yellow met the brown with the yellow marker to blend in the line created where the 2 colors met. I used my blender to remove some color to create highlights in the fur. I found that African inspired print in one of the multi-packs of paper I have, I think it's Provo?

Botanical Dreams Inchies

I resisted for as long as I could. But as the Borg say, "Resistance is Futile!" I just had to make some more Inchies .

I want to give everyone as many creative ideas as I can think of with my new set. I want you to look beyond just using them one time and putting them up on a shelf. Check Gina's Gallery often to see when samples are up with Botanical Dreams.

Mix stamps up. Use my stamps with other stamps you have, think out of the box. I'm definitely going to grab some of Melanie's cute little animals and use my stamps with them.

I stamped on white smooth paper using Archival Brilliance Black and then I took out my Inchie punches. One is exactly 1' square the other is slightly smaller. I created a template where I punched out all the punches I have that will work within the 1x1 inch parameters. I took the smaller 1" punched out template and placed it over the images I stamped. This is how I decide what  will look best as an Inchie.

I punched out the square and I colored in all the images using my Prismacolor Pencils. (You may want to use a pencil and with the template over the stamped image draw within the square. Lift up the template and then color in your image. Once colored in you will place your punch over the drawn in pencil lines and punch it out.)

I used Prismacolor marker Cool Grey 20% to go around the outer lines of all the images.

All my Inchies are attached to the front of the card using dimensional foam tape. 

If you look at the right of my blog you will see lots of fun links. There's a new title "Purchase My Stamp Sets". I will list my stamp sets there as I create them. If you click on the name it will take you right to GinaK's page where you can purchase it.

I'm so excited about being able to create Inchies with my stamp set! I'm addicted now. I'm looking at all my stamps in a new way. Mmmmmmmm.....

Retro Boutique

I love Rupa's new set for GinaK Designs called Retro_Boutique.

How adorable are these purses! I stamped the image on white paper and then again several times on scrapbooking papers.

Once stamped on the scrapbooking papers I took a gold pen and added some fun details. I also added some shading using my Prismacolor markers. Then I cut them out. I added them to the stamped image using dimensional tape.

Look at those cute rhinestones. Gina has them in her store. They added that extra bling, don't you think?

Now I couldn't stop here. I had to make some ATC's. Oh yea, I'm still an ATC fanatic. But I have to confess.....I made some more inchies. I think I'm hooked! Expect to see a few in the future.

Stick around till the end of the week. June is still my blog-anniversary month, soooooooooooooo....there may be some more blog candy!

A Fern and a Peach

I was inspired by the gorgeous card Gina created using my Aster stamp using the technique Crayon_Resist. I loved it!

I used my Fern leaf stamp and stamped it onto white paper using Versamark and embossed it using clear Detail powder. Then I used a wax crayon (I saved those clear wax crayons that came inside an Easter egg dyeing kit) to color some of the areas of the leaves. I dipped a sponge into Old Olive and began applying ink from the inside of the leaf  to the outside.

I added a band, stamped friend on it and added some Faux stitching.

I love the cute basket stamp! It's from the stamp set called "Friendship Blooms" and you get it for free when you order 3 stamp sets from GinaK Designs.

Okay I'm a serious Longaberger basket hoarder. LOL! I love my baskets and use them all the time. And this stamp is so Longaberger. I decided to fill it with yummy sweet Georgia peaches. Mmmmmmmmmm.

I used my Prismacolor markers to color in the image. It's easy to blend the colors. I work from light to dark and use my lighter marker to blend the darker colors I've added into the lighter colors. Oh so pretty!

I hope you are enjoying all of the cards I have been showing with my new stamps. Use them as inspiration to start creating your own beautiful cards. Take bit's and pieces from this and that. And you'll have a blast!

Lavender Gift

A girl should never have this much fun!

I had this idea in my head since I received my stamps. I was dieing to create a soap gift set and I just couldn't wait to make it. And it came out exactly how I pictured it! Don't you just love when that happens!

I took pictures again as I created it (I'm finding that keeping my camera near by me when I'm making something is a good thing!)

I had this soap starter kit I had bought at Michaels last year. All you need do is melt the soap squares in a bowl in the microwave and then pour it into a mold. Really easy.

You can add fragrance or herbs or anything you want really, while it's in liquid form.

Now the first step may be a bit scary for some of you. So only follow along if you have a the nerve!

I removed the EzMount foam from the back of my Salvia stamp! Yep, I sure did....I figured if the foam came apart in pieces I could always add more back on. Why pull it off, well I wanted the impression of the Salvia (Faux Lavender...lol) on my bar of soap. And it needed to be thin. I lay the rubber piece onto the bottom of the plastic mold, stamp side up. I sprinkled some lavender around it and then poured the liquid soap on top of the stamp. When it harden I removed the soap and just peeled the stamp away. Rinsed it off, dried it and put the foam mount back on. Didn't hurt one bit!

I pulled out my Twinkling H2O's by LuminArte' (Forest Green and Black Cherry). Added a few drops of water into the little pots and with a small paint brush I applied green  and then the cherry directly onto the indentations that the rubber stamp left. (I'm not worried about the H2O getting on peoples hands when they wash....seriously who would ever think of using something so cute! And if they  ever did I'm pretty confident it would wash off.)

I measured around the outside diameter of the bar of soap and cut a piece of pretty purple scrap booking paper I had  and some fun natural handmade paper to wrap around the bar.

I wet my brush and started adding color directly onto the, now mounted, salvia stamp. Once all the color was on the rubber I huffed, a lot! To get it really moist again.

I then stamped it directly on to the handmade paper. I huffed again and stamped it a couple of times on an extra scrap I had, just in case, for later use. I love the way the extra ones stamped!

Oh my, the H2O's are so pretty and sparkle so nicely. I wish you could actually see how beautiful they look on the bar of soap and the card.

You can always buy a pretty bar of handmade soap and just create the band for it. You can stamp Friend, Dream, or Believe from my set. Maybe even make one of each! How cute would that be.

I created the front of my card in a similar fashion as I did the band for the soap. I just put the purple paper on top of the handmade paper and added some hemp cord.

I hope you like me sharing these ideas with you. I'm pretty excited to be able to create these things for you to use my stamps on.

Here's a chances to win goodies from GinaK Designs....

1- http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=357245

2- http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=357261

3.- http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=357237

4- http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=357259

Have a wonderful day!

Believe in Yourself

What a wonderful time we had last night at the reveal party for the new stamp sets at Gina K Designs! I'm so not a night person, but I stayed up - I was not missing out.

I hope everyone enjoys the new stamps I designed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I can think of so many ways to use them.

I have some more fun ideas in my head for them and I'll share them as I create them.

I made this card just before the party began. Someone said it reminded them of a coffee house. Mmmmmmmm...Starbucks!

I used my SU! markers to color my Orchid stamp and then huffed on it to moistened the ink. I stamped it onto SU! Kraft paper. After it was stamped I added a bit of color using Kohl_i_noor pencils . Gina is now carrying these wonderful pencils. They are a great way to get started using pencils without the investment of Prismacolor Pencils.

I used my white gel pen to color in the petals of the flower. For the word Believe I inked it in brown and then added a bit of green ink here and there.

The background is a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

I hope everyone will use all the wonderful samples that all the design team provided this week to inspire them to create with the beautiful stamp sets.

Believe in yourself when you ink up that stamp and press it onto the paper. I know you can make something beautiful. All it takes is practice!

I believe you can.

Winner- Botanical Dreams!

I had Ben pick a name....

And the winner of my very first GinaK stamp set is.....

"I'm loving this set! It would fit right in here at my house too. LOL
Can't wait to see everything eles.

Jannette D."

 

Congrats Jannette! Email me your mailing address and I'll ship the set right out!

Don't forget - Hop on over to SCS to  GinaK_release_Party tonight for more sneak peaks and lots of fun and give aways! See you there.

Blog Candy and More Fun!

Today's the day! All the new stamp sets are available at 10:00 PM Central time. I'm so excited. I love all the new sets that Gina has available.

There's going to be lots of fun tonight.

Usually, evenings are family time, and I'm not available. But since hubby's away I get to play! LOL. So I'll be at the Release_Party tonight. It starts at 7 pm central time. I've never been to a GinaK release party but I've heard it moves quickly and there a lot of fun giveaways. Come and join the fun. I can hardly wait to chat with everyone!

So you get the chance to win my drawing here, on my blog, for this stamp set and you also have a chance to win more goodies at the party!

Today you can get a sneak peak at Melanie's cute new set Cuddles_and_Hugs. Such an adorable new set! I've been having a blast coloring in all the images. I'll do my best to share the card I created with one of the images tonight!

Sooooooooooooooo....

Leave a comment on my post by Today, Friday 20th 7pm (EST) and I'll announce the winner later this evening!

Don't forget to hop on over to the release_party tonight! I can't wait to join in the fun.

Salvia-Botanical Dreams

Thank you everyone for your well wishes. I read each one on my site and all the ones on Gina's site! Boy over 500 post on yesterday's page on her blog. I was very touched by the comments. And just as excited to be able to be a part of her team.

I've been having a lot of fun with all the stamps. I love them all. Gina has some wonderful illustrators working with her and all the stamps are beautiful!

I wanted to share another card I created using my new set Botanical Dreams.

This is a Salvia bloom. But I can see it as lavender or another herb. Lots of possibilities.

I stamped the Salvia several times on Vanilla card stock using SU! Old Olive. Then I stamped it one more time using Versamark and sprinkled a combination (one pinch at a time) of pink, red and purple embossing powders. I heat set it.

I took my Coluzzle and carefully cut an oval around the image. I was careful not to cut out the blooms. I used my scissors to go around the blooms that extended outside of the oval.

Next I dipped a toothbrush into the lid of Creamy Caramel (SU!) ink pad. I had squished some ink onto the lid and added a few drops of water. I used my finger to flick the toothbrush and this causes splatters of ink all over the paper. I then sponged around the edge. Gives it a really nice look.

I've also been using my markers to color up Gina K's new stamps Kindred Kids!

They are so darn cute. I've made  7 ATC using them.

ATC's are a lot of fun. I've traded them and I love collecting them.

Check Gina's_Blog for more sneak peaks and links to her design teams.

Here's a couple of the kids I colored using my Prismacolor Markers. (Opps! Forgot to color the bee and flower...gonna get right to it)

Remember, check back tomorrow. I'll have a  Botanical Dreams set to give away!  

Botanical Dreams

When I left Cornish Heritage Farms I had no intentions of getting back into illustrating again, atleast not for a while. I really needed to step away, evaluate my goals and take time to really think about what direction I wanted to go. My family is always first. I left my career 16 years ago to become a SAHM. Being a full time mother and wife was more important to me than making money. And it still is. We sacrificed a lot for me to be able to stay home. And it hasn't always been easy making it on only one income. But the rewards, oh my goodness, are so many that I could never list them all. We are blessed beyond blessed. I'm happy that I made that decision years ago.

Did you know that I was Gina's first guest designer on her blog, April 2007? Did you know that I'm a part of Gina's Stamp for a Cause Design team? Well, it didn't surprise me that Gina called me, we have maintained contact over the past year. She's not only my friend but is such a sweet, talented and inspirational lady. I really think highly of her. We talked for a long time. She mentioned to me if I ever wanted to illustrate again she'd love to work with me. Gina is a very understanding person and said she'd be there when I'm ready.

Well, I'm ready!

My very first stamp set for Gina K Designs will be available June 20th.  I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.

Here's a sneak peak and a tutorial to boot!

This is one of the stamps from my new set called "Botanical Dreams". I had fun illustrating the Aster flower. They are so pretty.

The saying, well need I say more, touches my heart. It has a lot of meaning for me right now. I know that I will be using it over and over again.

After you read my blog you have to hop on over to the other wonderful design team members who will also have previews on their blogs of my new set - Joanne, Erika, Emily, Michelle and Melanie.

Let's get busy!

First I inked up my Aster flower using my Versamark pad on Prism paper. I sprinkled clear embossing powder over the image and heat set it. Oh so pretty!

I did this one more time but on my green paper.

I love discovering new products, expecially if they are affordable. Now you know I looooooooove my Prismacolor pencils. But I realize that a lot of people, especially now, can't afford them. Well, Gina is now carrying a very affordable alternative. Kohl_I_Noor Pencils.

I pulled out the white pencil to color in the flower petals on both the flowers I had embossed. It's super easy to color within the lines since they are raised up on the paper. Plus, the Kohl-i-noor pencils have soft lead so the pigment has no problem covering over the paper.

Next, I used the yellow pencil to color in the center of the flower. After the coloring was done on both flowers I carefully cut them out.

Do you own Shrinky Dink plastic? I love the stuff. It's always so fun to stamp something on it, color it in and watch it transform when heated up.

I stamped the flower twice using Stazon black and colored in the flowers using my Sharpie markers.  Before I heated up the plastic I made sure to punch a hole in the flower. I used the piercing tool (through the hole) to hold the flower down while I heated it.

Look how adorable it is! So tiny...

I attached some O rings to the flowers and then made earrings out of them. Now to place them inside the card as a gift.

I punched 2 holes on the white and also on the green paper. I adhered the 2 panels together and attached  black eyelets in the holes.

I needed the earings to pop out from the card a bit so I added some foam tape to the back. I love this type of tape. It can be used for so many things.

Seriously! Who wouldn't love a pair of these. I can see them in yellow, blue, green, orange, etc.

Oh and how about placing a cute rhinestone in the center for extra sparkle!

Once the panel was finished I attached it to the inside of the card.