InStyle Stamps guest designer call

It's time for the monthly Club Anime sketch challenge with InStyle Stamps, and this month, a spot on the guest design team for January and February is up for grabs! If you'd like to play along, head over to the Club Anime blog to check out all the details and get the sketch.

For my card, I took a break from all the holiday cards I've been working on lately to make a birthday card for a friend. I used Ava Sitting, one of my all time favorite images from InStyle Stamps, as the main image for my card.  Ava was colored with copic markers, and then I used Pearl Ex with Future Floor Wax to color in her wings. I just love the effect this gives you, and the way the floor wax seals in the Pearl Ex so it doesn't get all over everything. You can find a tutorial here if you aren't familiar with the technique.

Don't forget, you can save 5% off of your purchase at InStyle Stamps by following this link. Happy Shopping!

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.

Blog Hopping with InStyle Stamps

It's the last Friday of the month, and you know what that means - it's time to go blog hopping with InStyle Stamps! This month, the design team has been challenged to show you some Treats! And as usual, we will have some great prizes to give away, so make sure to read all the way down to the bottom of the post to see how you can get entered into a drawing for some great goodies!

For my project, I decided to use the adorable new Anime image, Patches. Isn't he a cutie?


My little nephew, Ryan, dressed up as a pumpkin for his first Halloween last year, so every time I see Patches, it makes me think of him (he's a cutie, too!).

I love using the Staples brand gel pens for work, and they come in clear plastic boxes that are just too nice to toss once the pens are gone. I re-purposed one into a treat container by making a new insert for it and tying a little ribbon around the outside. (Please excuse the slight waviness at the bottom of the box. The clear plastic kept picking up all kinds of reflections.)



Patches was colored with copic markers, and then layered using Rectangle & Scalloped Rectangle Nestabilities. The pretty orange polka-dotted background paper is from an ancient DCWV paper stack that I've had for 4+ years. Have I mentioned that I hoard paper? LOL!


For the back of the box, I downloaded Meltdown, a Halloween-appropriate font from dafont.com and printed off my sentiment. The center of each letter was colored in with a YR14 copic marker.

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, hop 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 answering the following question:

"What is your favorite fall treat?"

My favorite fall treat is fresh apple cider from The Cider Mill in Endicott, NY. Mmmm. If you are ever in the area, make sure to stop by to get a gallon of it. It is freshly squeezed, and is so much better than that stuff you can get at the grocery store.

Thanks for reading my ramblings. Now what are you waiting for? Get hopping!

Jennifer http://www.kiyomikrafts.com/
Jodi-Ann http://inkedinspirations.blogspot.com/
Joy http://daiseyfreak.blogspot.com/
Kim http://www.craftsbykim.blogspot.com/
Lysa http://lysaq.blogspot.com/
Mary http://mycardz.wordpress.com/
Maylee http://mayleescreativecorner.blogspot.com/
Piali http://touchofcreation.blogspot.com/
Raquel http://raqode7.blogspot.com/

CD Sleeve tutorial, and a chance to win...

I thought you might like a peek at one of the 3 cd cases you can win as part of the InStyle Stamps Over the Hump candy I mentioned earlier today. Be sure to pop over to the InStyle Stamps blog to see the two other cute designs that are up for grabs, and of course, to enter to win.

Now on to the instructions...

Easy Peasy CD Sleeve

*See template for visuals.*

-Cut a piece of 10x6 card stock.
-Score down the middle of the 10 inch side.
-Rotate the paper, and score in 1/2 an inch on each end of the 6 inch side of the paper.
-Cut out the 1/2 inch tabs on one side of the paper as shown, and dispose of them.
-Fold the paper in half on the 5 inch score line and punch out the half oval with a circle punch. This is optional, but it makes it easier to get your cd out of the finished project.
-Fold in your 1/2 inch tabs on each side and glue in place.
-Decorate as desired.

Told you it was easy!

Blog Hoppin' with InStyle Stamps

It's the last Friday of the month, and you know what that means - it's time to go blog hopping InStyle Stamps! Our theme for this month is Back-to-School, and of course, we have some fabulous new images to help you celebrate getting the little munchkins out from under your feet! As usual, we will have some great prizes to give away, so make sure to read all the way down to the bottom of the post to see how you can get entered into a drawing for some great goodies!

For my project, I made a cute little backpack for a co-worker with two children who will be returning to school soon.
You can find the pattern for the backpack here. I used Circles and Posies and pink gingham (coming soon!!!) digital paper for my pack. Isn't it pretty? Here's a side view so you can see the ribbon "straps".


Now, what's a backpack without something to go in it? When I was in grade school, my mother would always tuck little notes into my lunch box, so I've included four little 3x3 notes inside the backpack for her to use for her children.


I used Janice and Jacob, and the soon to be released school house for her cards. Aren't they cute? I hope she likes them!

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, hop through the design team’s blogs (you can find them in my sidebar), 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!) The leave us a comment on that post in order to be entered into the drawing for the grand prize.

InStyle Stamps Wednesday Challenge - Summer

This Wednesday on the InStyle Stamps blog, the challenge is to make a summer themed card. I decided to use the adorable new digital image, Leila, for my card. Isn't she just perfect for a summery card?

If you'd like to play along, just make a summer themed card using an InStyle Stamps image, and link it to this post. One lucky winner will receive a digital image of their choice! Hurry, because you only have until Tuesday night to enter!

Day 8 of M&DC's Mothers and Daughters Traditions Blog Roll

Today is the regular “Thursday Card Challenge” at Mothers and Daughters and our blog roll continues with a special treat. Giovana is hosting the challenge so hurry on over to her blog for all the details – challenge, blog candy, and a stunning card to inspire you.

Today's challenge is to make a Mother's Day card using at least 3 flower. I decided to go for a sweet and simple layout for my card:

The pretty flowers are made from dp from BoBunny's Dot to Dot line in Tutu, Blush, and Decaf.

After punching out each flower, I pressed them in my palm to make the petals bend up. The BoBunny paper is nice and heavy, so it holds the shape really well. The centers are popped up on pop-dots, and I added a touch of Cinnamon Stickles to the dots on the Decaf paper to make them stand out a bit more.

Be sure to check out the blogs of my fellow DT members to see their lovely creations!

Links:

Cathy http://seasiderosecottage.blogspot.com/

Dawn http://dawnsrubberroom.blogspot.com/

Leah http://paperblossoms.blogspot.com/

Giovana http://giovana-believe.blogspot.com/
Melita http://www.calonghorn.wordpress.com

Thanks for stopping by!

Day 7 of the M&DC's Mothers and Daughters Traditions Blog Roll

This is lucky Day #7 of the Mothers and Daughters Traditions Blog Roll. *Be sure to read down to the bottom of the post for details on how you can win today's prize!*

For today's challenge we’re getting away from cards and scrap pages to take a crack at recipe cards. Robin, Cathy, Giovana, and Laurie have come up with some adorable recipe cards for your viewing pleasure, and since today is my turn to host, I am going to show you how to put together this cute little recipe book to put them in.


I don't know about you, but to me Christmas just isn't Christmas unless the house is filled with the smells of holiday baking. When I was a child, my siblings and I would get so excited when Mom took Grandma Soper's sugar cookie recipe out of her recipe box, because that meant that the holiday season had officially started. LOL. Now that we are all adults and starting our own families, I thought it would be nice to collect all of our family Christmas recipes in a little book and give a copy to each of my siblings.

Supplies:

1 piece of 11 x 4.75 card stock
1 piece of 6.5 x 4.75 card stock in a contrasting color
photo album inserts (pick one up at the $1 store and tear off the cover - you only need the photo sleeves)
crop-a-dile
ribbon
scor-pal or scoring tool of your choice
large needle

Instructions:

Using your scor-pal, score the 11 x 4.75 piece of card stock at 7.5 and 8.5. Fold the creases to look as shown in the photo below:


(I embossed my 2 pieces of card stock with Cuttlebug embossing folders at this point, but this is completely optional.)
Line your second piece of card stock up against the shorter scored edge of your first piece of card stock (as shown below) and glue in place.


Insert your photo sleeves, lining them up with the longer scored edge. Use a few pieces of double sided tape to hold it in place.
Close the album, and use your crop-a-dile to punch holes along the folded edge. (I punched 5 holes, but the number is completely up to you.)
Cut a 24 inch section of ribbon and thread it through your holes in the pattern of your choosing to bind the layers together to make your book. Alternately, you could skip the ribbon and use brads, binder rings, etc, to hold your book together.


Decorate the front as desired. (I used Skating by Stampavie with Decaf Dot dp by BoBunny.)


For the first page of my album, I made a simple "recipe" card with the "Recipe for Christmas Joy" on it. I thought it would be a cute way to start the album.

Now go hop through the design team's blogs to get some inspiration for recipe cards to fill your album!

Cathy http://seasiderosecottage.blogspot.com/

Leah http://paperblossoms.blogspot.com/

Giovana http://giovana-believe.blogspot.com/

Robin http://www.rwade1969.blogspot.com/

Laurie http://www.lovinmylife.typepad.com/

MDC Challenge Blog: http://mdcchallenges.blogspot.com/

Now for the part you have been waiting for - the details on today's prize! LOL. Today we will be giving away a package of SEI Morning Meadow epoxy stickers! To be entered into to win today's prize, you will need to make a recipe card and then leave me a comment below with a link to your project.

The deadline for all challenges is Saturday, May 16th at 12 noon. We’ll announce winners the next day on the various blogs with a complete list on the MDC Challenge blog. Remember, there will also be random prizes for just posting on the different blogs!

It's Blog Hop Time!

Today is 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 month's blog hop is "Contain Yourself!". The design team was challenged to make or alter some sort of container. I love the English toffee flavored cappuccino drink mix by Hills Bros, so I have a ton of empty containers just waiting to be re-purposed. I decided to use one to make a container for a "Girl's Night Out Fund" (grown-up speak for "piggy bank," LOL) to give to a friend of mine.


I used Joyce and Marcy for my image, and colored them in with copic markers. I layered the image using the Nestabilities Label 4 dies, and attached it to my container with pop-dots. The fun dp is Colorful Disco Fever by KI Memories (try saying that 5 times fast!). The crocheted edging was a dollar bin find at Michael's. It was originally this awful shade of fuschia, but I colored it with my copic markers to coordinate with the rest of the project.



Now back to the Blog Hop details...................

The blog hop will run from 12pm to 11pm EST on the InStyle Stamps forum. There will be contests with prizes throughout the day on the blog hop thread on the forum, so be sure to stop by and stay to chat a while!

After you've hopped through the design team's blogs, don't forget to go to the InStyle Stamps blog to leave us a comment and vote for me. Oops! I mean, vote for your favorite project. LOL. By doing so, not only will you be entered to win the grand prize, but you will also be helping us decide which design team member wins a prize too! You have until 11:59pm EST on Saturday, April 25th to enter, and the winners will be announced on Sunday, April 26th.

What are you waiting for? Start hopping!

Cathy http://www.cathy-cunningham.blogspot.com/
Jodi-Ann http://inkedinspirations.blogspot.com/
Joy http://daiseyfreak.blogspot.com/
Kim D. http://craftymakes.blogspot.com/
Kim G. http://www.craftsbykim.blogspot.com/
Maria www.stampininspirations.blogspot.com
Mary http://mycardz.wordpress.com/
Michelle http://www.donkeysmiles.blogspot.com/
Risa http://malieta-lifessimplepleasures.blogspot.com/
Sandy http://stampinsandy.blogspot.com/
Silke http://bastelzauberin-bastelzauberin.blogspot.com/
Taylor http://musingsofanaddict.wordpress.com/
Vicky http://vickygina.typepad.com/

Thanks for stopping by!

InStyle Stamps Blog Hop!

Welcome to the first InStyle Stamps blog hop! The blog hop will be held from 11:30 am EST to 10pm EST on the InStyle Forum. Come join the fun, and be on the look-out for contests to win some great prizes throughout the day! Plus, make sure to vote for your favorite DT member project, as well as play “Meet the DT Trivia” to be entered into our drawings for the grand prizes to be held at the end of the hop!

This time around, the design team was challenged to create a home decor project. For my project, I decided to alter a frame for a special someone (who shall remain nameless as she hasn't received the gift yet...). She had her first child recently, so I thought that making her a special frame for her favorite photo of her and her son would make the perfect gift. After all, what new mommy doesn't want to show off photos of her new little munchkin? LOL!



Do you think she'll like it? The photo I put in it is one of my favorites, but of course, mommy can switch it out if she likes.

I stamped Jasmine with Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and colored her in with copic markers. Isn't she just the perfect image to go with the photo? What a proud mommy she is!

The sentiment is one of my favorite quotes by Victor Hugo - "A mother's arms are made of tenderness, and her children sleep soundly in them." I used my word processing program to print it out, and layered it with my nestabilities.

The dp used on the frame is scraps that were leftover from some other baby projects I made for this particular mommy, so it will coordinate with everything else I've made for her. Neat, huh? I knew there was a reason I never toss my scraps! LOL! I layered the dp onto SU lavender lace cs, and used a glue stick to attach the paper to the frame. You wouldn't think so, but I've found that Elmer's glue sticks are the best thing to use for attaching paper to any wood or plastic surface. I always stock up on them when the stores do the big back-to-school sales.

Here are my answers for the "Meet the DT Trivia." Pay attention, there will be a quiz later! LOL!

1. What is your favorite color combination for crafting? pink and brown
   
2. If you were stuck on a deserted island, and a box washed up on shore, what 5 craft supplies would you most want to find inside? copics, stickles, designer paper, memento ink, stamps
   
3. What is your favorite coloring medium? copics
   
4. What embellishment can you not live without? It is a toss up between ribbon and stickles.
   
5. What are your hobbies (other than papercrafting)? reading, photography, baking, indoor gardening, jewelry making, painting, just about anything computer related
   
6. What’s your favorite spring time activity? I look forward to taking photos of spring flowers. We have apple and peach trees in the yard, and they are always lovely in the spring.
   
7. If you could visit any place in the world, where would you choose to go? New Zealand
   
8. When you were little, who was your favorite super hero and why? Superman. Amazing super powers combined with a young Christopher Reeve in a form fitting suit. Enough said. LOL! I so wanted to be Lois Lane!
   
9. What is one item that you really should throw away, but probably never will? The sweat shirt from the softball league I played on as a kid. It is totally ratty, and will never, ever fit me again, but I just can't bear to part with it for some reason.
   
10. If you were an animal, what would you be? A dragon. Hey, no one said it had to be a real animal! ;)
    
11. If you could have an endless supply of any food item, what would you get? Haagen-Dazs Fleur de Sel Caramel ice cream. Seriously. It is that good!
    
12. What is your favorite movie? Serendipity
    
13. Who is your favorite actor/actress? Hugh Jackman / Natalie Portman
    
14. Do you have a pet? If so, what do you have? I have 2 very spoiled Siamese cats. And a husband - he counts as a pet, right?
    
15. How did you first get introduced to stamping? At a Stampin' Up! party.
    

Now that you've finished reading my ramblings, be sure to check out the blogs of my fellow DT members to see what they came up with! And don't forget to high tail it over to the InStyle Forum for all the details on how you can get entered into the prize drawings!

Jen B.
Jennie H.
Joy S.
Kim G.

Latrice
Maria B.
Mary G.
Michelle O.
Risa W.
Sandy B.
Shary N.
Silke H.
Taylor U.
Vicky C.
Virginia

And introducing our newest team member, Cathy! Cathy didn't make a project for the blog hop as today is her first day on the team, but stop by and tell her "hi!".

InStyle Stamps Thankful Thursday Sketch Challenge

InStyle Stamps will be hosting a Thankful Thursday sketch challenge every, you got it, Thursday. The design team will be taking turns coming up with a fabulous sketch for you to play with, and this week happens to be my turn. How fun is that?

If you want to play along, all you have to do is create a card based on the provided sketch and post a link to your creation in the comments section of this post on the InStyle Stamps blog. But here's the catch... the card MUST contain the word "thank you" ("thankful," "thanks," etc, do count). You don't have to use an InStyle Stamp to play, but if you've got it, why not flaunt it? LOL!

Your entry with a link to your creation must be posted by Wednesday, January 14th, 11:59 PM P.S.T. The design team will look at all the entries and come up with their top 3, and Virginia will make the final decision. The winner will be announced the following day. You will have 48 hours to claim your prize. If the lucky winner hasn’t come forward after 48 hours, another winner will be selected.

If you upload your card to Splitcoast Stampers or Paper Craft Planet, please use the keyword ISSTT1-8 for ease in viewing.

Now I'm sure you are asking yourself what the lucky winner will receive. This week's prize is a pack of Making Memories Ribbon Charms! Aren't they fabulous? I love how they dress up even the plainest of ribbon!

Ready for some inspiration to get those creative juices flowing? Here is my card, using the fun and sassy Roxy.

Roxy was colored in using copic markers, and had Orange Views Dog Days collection. The rest of the papers are Peel stickles added to glam her up. Not that she needs it! LOL! The dp is "Big Polka Dots" from the DejaSU black, Really Rust, and Bordering Blue.

Here's a tip for creating the circle for this card if you don't have a circle cutter that is large enough: I used an old cd, and traced along the edge with a sharp exacto knife to cut out my shape. Easy peasy, and no expensive equipment needed!

For more inspiration, be sure to check out what my fellow DT members came up with.

Jennie

Jennifer

Sandy

Shary

Virginia

Thanks for stopping by! Good luck!

We have a winner!

DH picked a name out of the bowl, and our lucky winner is....

Shannah - who left me this lovely comment:

Hi Melissa! I've never seen these stamps before - and they are fabulous! My favourite is Marti... but I'm a new Auntie so maybe Jasmine!
Here's the link for you on my Blog...
http://photoholic-sb.blogspot.com/
Congrats on a wonderful Blog and your success, and thanks for the chance for some yummy candy!!
Hugs, Shannah

Congratulations Shannah! Send me an e-mail with your address, and I'll get your goodies right out to you!

Thank you to all who participated! It was such fun to read all of your comments and check out your blogs!

Something borrowed, Something blue

There was a bridal shower on the Stamping Bella forum on SCS the other night, and I had fun participating in the card challenges. Below is the card I made for the Something Traditional challenge. You had to use "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue".

Here are my "somethings":

Old: the "celebrate" stamp from SU's Wonderful Words set
New: the pretty yellow and pink striped paper I bought this week
Borrowed: I cased the layout for the card from this adorable card by llevans
Blue: I used SU's Soft Sky ribbon, paper, and ink on the card

Leave me a comment, telling me what your favorite "something" is (this can be anything - doesn't have to be wedding related) by 8pm EST on July 4th. I will randomly select a winner to mail this card to.