InStyle Stamps Blog Hop

It's the last Friday of the month, and you know what that means - it's time to go blog hopping with InStyle Stamps! The theme for this months blog-hop is Holiday Ornaments. If you've landed here from Raquel's blog than you are on the right track - continue on! If you've accidentally stumbled here on your own, take a moment go to the Instyle Stamps blog to start the hop off right. Trust me, you really don't want to miss any of the fabulous projects the design team has in store for you! Be sure to visit each stop on the hop and leave a comment so we'll know you stopped by.

I hope all my US readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday! Did you brave the cold and the crowds this morning to do some shopping on Black Friday? We normally do, but decided that sleeping in was a much better option this year. I don't know about you, but I'd rather shop in my pj's on the couch and avoid the crowds! LOL.

For my project for today, I created a double-sided ornament using the adorable Kimi. Double-sided, you ask, how'd she do that, you ask. Well, let me tell you. One of the benefits of digital stamps is that you can play with them with your photo editing program. I printed off one copy of Kimi as she comes, and then flipped the image so she was facing the other way and printed that off too. After coloring both images, I carefully cut them out and then glued the wrong sides together (sliding a piece of gold cord in the middle to make the hanger). Once the ornament was together, I added stickles to her wings (letting the one side dry before applying them to the other side, of course).

Kimi will be part of a friends Christmas gift this year, so I decided to make a card to hold her. I used  oval Nestabilities to cut a window in the front of the card and put a piece of acetate in between the layers.

Once I was finished decorating the card front, I used an exacto knife to cut a little oval in the back of the card to slide the ornament hanger through. A little bit of tape will hold it in place until my friend is ready to take Kimi off of the card and hang her on her tree.

On to the Blog Hop details...

We will be giving away a Grand Prize to one lucky Blog Hop participant and also have a prize for one lucky design team member. To enter, finish hopping through the design team’s blogs, (leaving a comment at each stop, of course!) and then go to the InStyle Stamps blog and vote for the designer who's project inspired you the most. (You're going to vote for me, right? LOL!) Then, in order to be entered into the drawing to win the grand prize, leave us a comment on that post.

Thanks for playing along with us today! Next you will head to Lysa's blog to see what she has in store for you! Thanks so much for stopping and good luck!

Happy Birthday Carly!

My niece, Carly, is celebrating her birthday next week. Carly is a high-energy child, so Abby Celebrating by Mo's Digital Pencil was the perfect image for her card.

Isn't she a cutie? Abby was colored with copic markers (colors below), and highlighted with a white gel pen.

 

When I printed Abby, I printed 2 additional copies of the balloons so I could pop them up off of the card to make them look like they are floating. I normally would add some crystal effects to the balloons for a nice glossy finish, but I've found that this makes my copic ink run. Waa! So instead, I added a touch of sparkle with a clear spica pen (which, of course, doesn't photograph well).

My card today does double duty as it uses the Charisma Cardz #46 sketch, and follows the rules for Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge #7.

Markers used:

Fairy Christmas...a color challenge

 

With only 35 days left until Christmas, I've really got to get cracking on my holiday cards. I get tired of using red and green on all my cards, so when I saw this weeks Digital Tuesday Challenge was to make a card using white, purple and silver (or gold), I thought it would be perfect for a non-traditional card.

My sister-in-law loves snowglobes, so I knew Christmas Fairy Holly by Mo's Digital Pencil would be perfect for a card for her family this year. Isn't she sweet?

Holly was colored with copic markers, and then I went over her wings and the bells on her sash with a Sakura Stardust pen for a bit of sparkle and silvery sheen. I dotted a bit more on the ruffle of her skirt for a little more oompfh.

For my snowflake accent, I punch 2 snowflakes out of vellum. I used my V95 copic to color the largest snowflake to make it stand out against the white background, and then covered both snowflakes with Twinklets (are you sick of hearing about them yet? LOL!). I just love how they sparkle!

Copics used:

Wishing you peace...

Meet Kimi, one of the adorable new holiday digital images by InStyle Stamps. Isn't she a cutie?


Kimi was colored with Copic markers (see photo below), and then had diamond Stickles added to her wings for a bit of sparkle. I dotted on a bit of gold Spica pen to her halo and sash as well for a little metallic shimmer. The pretty snowflakes are vellum coated with Twinklets Diamond Dust.

I'm doing quintuple duty with my card today. I made a holiday card using a digital image for this weeks Digital Tuesday Challenge, I've got glitter for Cute Card Thursday, coloring with gold for Copic Creations, I used the sketch by Friday Sketchers, and finally, the snow theme goes with InStyle Stamps Over-the-Hump Blog Candy Challenge. How's that for multi-tasking?!? LOL!

If you'd like to purchase Kimi, or any of the other adorable images from InStyle Stamps, click HERE to recieve a 5% discount on your purchase.

Markers used:

Happy Birthday Paul!

When I saw this delectable image, Western Heat, by Victoria Case Art Designs, I knew it would be perfect for a birthday card for my friend, Paul.


I colored Western Heat with copic markers, and then used a silver spica pen and a sakura stardust gelly roll pen on the belt buckle for a little metallic sparkle. Paul is a simple and clean kind of guy, so I kept my embellishments to a minimum with just a few brads and an embossed layer for a little "oomph". On the inside, I used the computer to print "May all your birthday wishes come true." I know mine would if this guy showed up on my door step! LOL!

Copics used:

We've moved, and you get the house warming gifts!

InStyle Stamps has moved to blogger, and to celebrate our move, we have presents for you! The first 150 people to subscribe to the new InStyle Stamps blog by 6 pm, Monday, November 9th will be given a free digital image or free digital paper of their choice. You must subscribe by the time frame given and leave a comment on this post on the InStyle Stamps blog with your email address. So what are you waiting for? Go check it out!

Spread the Love blog hop for Jaimie

Welcome to the “Stamp Something…for Jaimie, Spreading the Love & Hope” blog hop. If you came here from Jaime Schlangen’s blog, then you are right on track. If not, then please start at the beginning of the hop at Katharina Frei’s blog.

Jaimie and her mother were the victims of a senseless crime that resulted in the death of Jaimie’s mother, Kimberly, and left Jaimie seriously injured. (See details below.) We want to flood Jaimie with love and well-wishes, and are asking everyone who reads this to take the time to join our special Card Drive Challenge and send Jaimie a card. We have generous sponsors who have kindly offered up some prizes to anyone who makes a card, posts it on their blogs, and lets us know they mailed it out.

A little about the cause of our hop:

On October 4, 4 teenagers armed with knives broke into a home in a small town in New Hampshire. Alone and sleeping inside were a mother and her 11 year old daughter. These 4 boys broke into this home with the intent to rob and kill anyone inside. They stabbed the mom, Kimberly Cates, to death and left her daughter, Jaimie, for dead in their driveway. It was a completely random act, their home was chosen only due to its secluded surroundings.

Our hope is that everyone hopping around today will stop for a moment and think about Jaimie and her father and what life must be like for them now. One moment in time has changed their lives forever. We are asking that everyone reading this message please take a moment to make a card and send it off to Jaimie. You can make something very simple or much more involved, but please share some words of hope and love and let her know that people do care and want the best for her. Please send your card to the address below:

Jaimie Cates
c/o Mont Vernon Fire Station
Main Street
Mont Vernon, NH 03057

The hop will run until Monday, November 9th, so you have a full week to participate and make a card for Jaimie. Once you’ve sent your card, pop on over to the Stamp Something…for Jaimie blog and leave us a comment for a chance to win some fabulous prizes generously donated by our sponsors.


For my card, I decided to use Vanessa, one of the adorable anime images by InStyle Stamps. I had pj's just like this when I was a teen (mine were blue and red), so this image always brings back memories of slumber parties with my friends. You know, the ones where you pigged out on Mountain Dew and Doritos, and stayed up all night giggling over boys. Those were the days! LOL.

Jaimie's favorite colors are hot pink and black, so that determined the colors I used for my card. I colored Vanessa with copic markers (see bottom of the post for the colors) and then went over the LOVE on her pj's with a silver Spica pen for a little sparkle. (There is a close up below so you can see the sparkle better. It is really pretty IRL.)

My card layout is from the Club Anime sketch challenge for this week. Jaimie is not a girly-girl, so this layout was perfect for a non-fussy card. I just added a prima flower and some flat-backed gems for a little bling. I'm not sure of the brand of the patterned paper. It was in a stack of loose sheets a friend gave me a while back and the name slips my mind.


Now what are you waiting for? Head over to Erin Bailey's Blog to see what she has made especially for Jaimie.

Markers used:


**I noticed after I uploaded the photo that my RV02 marker was turned the wrong way, so that is the mystery pink ciao.