I love how dainty the images are in the new Filigree set. So pretty! I decided to make some layers of bold-colored lace…

I used Copic Markers to color the lace in, and added highlights with a white pen. The greeting is from the Mama Elephant Smitten set. (Which is a must-have!)

Next, be sure to head over to the blog of the fabulously talented Jenn Biederman. (To start the hop again you can head to Kryssi’s site.) There are some amazing girls in this hop – be sure to check it out! ( Here is the hop order: Kryssi Ng / Mama Elephant, Me, Jenn Biederman, Mariana Grigsby, Iwona Palamountain, Alice Wertz, JJ Bolton, Lea Lawson, Samantha Mann, Geralyn Sy, Savannah O’Gwynn and Cheiron Brandon.)

To celebrate the new release, Mama Elephant is giving away 3 gift certificates worth $20.00 each to 3 lucky people! Winners will be chosen at random from the collective blogs in the Stampede. Winners will be announced on the blog on May 19th.

Here’s how to qualify to win (leave a separate comment for each):

1. Leave a comment on this blog post. (You can just do this if you want.)
2. Become a follower of the Mama Elephant blog.
3. Like/share Mama Elephant on Facebook.
4. Follow/tweet Mama Elephant on Twitter.

Good luck!

Mama Elephant Filagree Stamp Set	Mama Elephant Smitten Stamp Set	Hero Arts Black Decor	FAVORITE THING: Memento Tuxedo Black Ink	Copic Markers
Neenah White Cardstock 250 Sheets	FAVORITE THING: Neenah Classic White Cardstock 25 Sheets	Hero Arts Pool Notecards	FAVORITE THING: White Uniball Signo Pen

I am *so* very excited to be a part of the Hero Arts Stamp Your Story Blog Hop! I just love new stamps.

This new collection is very on trend and is perfect for stamping, cardmaking, and journaling. Faux painting… maps… geometric shapes… lots of good stuff. There are 43 new stamps and 27 new tools and accessories, such as stencils, dies, mint and peach ink colors, a notecard pad, and ink in a NEW Dauber format. Lots of good stuff! (Products are currently being shipped to stores around the world and will be in the Hero Arts Online Store on 5/15. Simon Says Stamps has many of the products already in HERE.)

I picked a few of the new clear sets to play with…

I am giddy about the many faux-painting stamps. It gives you the look of hand painting without the effort. Just stamp!

It is fun to be able to piece together your own greeting. Works great for many projects.

And a bit of shine is always nice, right? Really loving my the Wink of Stella brush/markers. It goes one smoothly and easily and you can get detailed areas or bigger ones. A great must-have! (I used clear but it comes in silver, gold, black and colors.)

I already shot a few more videos with other new stamps. Stay tuned!

By the way, there is a Stamp Your Story contest going on over on the Hero Arts Blog. For more information, head HERE.

I am the last stop on the blog hop! To start over, head to the Hero Arts Blog HERE. And there are giveaways! Just leave a comment here and at all the other blog hop stops for your chance to win some new goodies!

Hero Arts Notebook Essentials Stamp Set	Hero Arts My Words Stamp Set	Hero Arts Not Perfect Stamp Set	Hero Arts Painted Circle Stamp	Zig Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Brush Marker
Hero Arts Tide Pool Mid Tone Shadow Ink	Hero Arts Pool Shadow Ink	Hero Arts Green Hills Mid Tone Shadow Ink	Hero Arts Soft Green Shadow Ink	Hero Arts Black Dye Ink
Lawn Fawn Hearts Dies	Hero Arts Pool Notecards	Bazzill Heavy Weight Black Cardstock	Neenah White Cardstock 250 Sheets	Neenah White Cardstock 25 Sheets
Copic Markers	FAVORITE THING: White Uniball Signo Pen

These Distress Paints are such fun…

The marbleized look is great for oceans…

And this simple design is great for mass producing cards…

I also like to computer-generate my own greetings, too…

Be sure to now hop on over to Simon Says Stamp for some more inspiration. (If you want to start at the beginning, head to Operation Write Home.)

Let’s pick a winner! Leave your comment here by 11:59pmEST on 1/9/13  for your chance to win THREE Hero Arts and Operation Write Home stamp sets!

Hero Arts Operation Write Home Epic Love Stamp Set

Hero Arts Operation Write Home Happy Birthday Stamp Set

Hero Arts Operation Write Home Year Round Stamp Set

InLinkz.com

Hero Arts Operation Write Home Epic Love Stamp Set	Hero Arts Pinstripe Background	Distress Paints	Simon Says Stamp Mini Hearts Dies	FAVORITE THING: Sizzix Vagabond Die Cut Machine
FAVORITE THING: Sizzix Vagabond Wafer Thing Die Adapter Plate	FAVORITE THING: Ranger Craft Sheet	Mister	FAVORITE THING: Hero Arts Black Dye Ink	Hero Arts Tide Pool Mid Tone Shadow Ink
FAVORITE THING: Neenah Classic White Cardstock 250 Sheets	FAVORITE THING: Neenah Classic White Cardstock 25 Sheets	Best Creation 3-D Foam Adhesive	FAVORITE THING: Large Ranger Glossy Accents

Today I am happy to be part of the Simon Says Stamp Spring 2013 Blog Hop. Get ready – several artists have teamed together to bring you LOTS of ideas and giveaways! These products are delicious and great for card making and scrapbooking.

I decided to use one of Simon Says Stamp’s newest dies to create a die cut stencil to use with my Inktense Pencils…

I have always wanted to be a watercolor artist and I can totally fake it with the help of the stencil and Inktense Pencils…

Yummy, yummy colors. I used the Brights Inktense Pencil Collection. Yummy trendy colors. (For more ideas using these pencils, look HERE.) The greeting is made up of a bunch of different greetings cut up.

Fun stuff, huh? Full supplies are at the end of this post.

Here is a look at all the new Simon Says Stamp stamps and dies. The first few are the ones I used on this card…

Now it’s time to head over to the next person on this Simon Says Stamp Exclusive Spring 2013 Blog Hop – my dear bestie Kathy Racoosin. (If you encounter a broken link or would like to go to the start of the hop go to the Simon Says Stamp blog.)

Giveaway time! Leave a comment below and one lucky winner will receive a Simon Says Stamp Goody bag. A winner will be picked at 9:00amEST on 4/3/13. (Be sure to comment on each designer’s blog for 14 chances to win!)

SSS Full Card Triangles Die	SSS Happy Every Day Stamp Set	SSS Square Sayings Stamp Set	Bright Inktense Pencil Collection	FAVORITE THING: Sizzix Big Shot Die Cutting Machine
FAVORITE THING: Ranger Craft Sheet	T-Ruler	FAVORITE THING: Ranger Detailer Water Brush	FAVORITE THING: Hero Arts Black Dye Ink	FAVORITE THING: Bazzill Licorice Twist Black Cardstock
FAVORITE THING: SSS Watercolor Paper	Best Creation 3-D Foam Adhesive

Today I am happy to be joining a group of great artists who will all be using the Simon Says Stamp March Card Kit – Friendship Flowers. This kit screams spring… something I am SO very ready for!

I used the kit to create a colorful masked card… and have a video sharing the steps…

Bright, eh? I love bright. I love the Hero Arts Mid-Tone Shadow Inks. I love masking. And I love rainbowy cards. (Clearly, as I have been making them a lot lately.)

The font in the stamp set in this kit is divine…

Complete supplies are below. But you also need to check this out - Simon Say Stamp and Kelly Purkey just released some awesome new stamps and dies. You must check them out HERE! LOVE them! Take a peek…

Thanks for visiting! The next stop in the Simon Says Stamp March 2013 Card Kit Blog Hop is my favorite friend Kristina Werner. (You can also go back to the beginning of the hop for links to everyone who is playing.)

And now to the giveaway!  Leave a comment on this blog post and one lucky winner from my blog will receive a $50 E-Card to shop at Simon Says Stamp.  We will draw a random winner on at 9:00 AM EST on Saturday, 3/9/13 so be sure to leave your comment by then.

SSS Flower Friend Stamp Set	SSS March Card Kit	My Favorite Things Heart Stax Dies	FAVORITE THING: Sizzix Big Shot Die Cutting Machine	FAVORITE THING: Fiskars Stamp Press
Martha Stewart Small Footed Stamp Mount	FAVORITE THING: Eclipse Art Masking Tape Sheets	FAVORITE THING: Ranger Craft Sheet	T-Ruler	FAVORITE THING: White Uniball Signo Pen
FAVORITE THING: Hero Arts Black Dye Ink	Hero Arts Pale Tomato Mid Tone Shadow Ink	Hero Arts Soft Cantaloupe Shadow Ink	Hero Arts Butter Bar Mid Tone Shadow Ink	Hero Arts Green Hills Mid Tone Shadow Ink
Hero Arts Tide Pool Mid Tone Shadow Ink	FAVORITE THING: Neenah Classic White Cardstock 250 Sheets	FAVORITE THING: Neenah Classic White Cardstock 25 Sheets

And since Julie is so awesome, I knew just what to create…

Yes, she is awesome…

Lots of shine under that fabulous circle burst die…

HERE is the die and HERE is the stamp set. They are fabulous…

Be sure to head over to the sweet Kristina Werner’s blog next. And to start at the beginning, you can go to Ellen Hutson’s The CLASSroom blog. Enjoy!

Happy birthday, Julie. Love you and so very blessed to call you my friend.

Below are the supplies used for this card. To find them at Simon Says Stamp, click on the SSS below the thumbnails. For Ellen Hutson, click on EH…

Technique Tuesday Awesome Stamp Set (SSS|EH)	Memory Box Large Circle Burst Die (SSS|EH)	Memory Box Small Circle Burst Die (SSS|EH)	Sizzix Circle Framelits Dies (SSS|EH)	Sizzix Big Shot (SSS|EH)
Memory Box Metal Adapter Plate	Hero Arts Bubble Gum Mid Tone Shadow Ink (SSS|EH)	Copic Markers (SSS|EH)	Be Creative Tape Sheets Double Sided Tape (SSS|EH)	Glitter Ritz Cool Highlight Microfine Glitter (SSS|EH)
Hero Arts Charcoal Notecards (SSS|EH)	Neenah White Cardstock 250 Sheets (SSS|EH)	Neenah White Cardstock 25 Sheets (SSS|EH)	Tombow Stamp Runner Adhesive (SSS|EH)	FAVORITE THING: Kool Tak Clear 3D Foam Squares Adhesive

Today I am putting some of these new goodies to good use for the Simon Says Stamp Valentine’s Day Blog Hop. After hanging out here (note the giveaway!), be sure to hop on to the next person.

Here is my first Valentine’s card. It uses lots of the new SSS goodies, along with some Hero Arts Shadow Inks. (Aren’t those ink colors delicious!? I used Soft Pink, Bubble Gum, Raspberry Jam and Soft Granite.)

By the way, don’t you just love that dotted background stamp from Hero Arts? Works with just about any project. I also adore that intricate “you” die (cut from the fabulous new Hero Arts Charcoal paper) along with the stamps to fit with it…

I used lots of the SSS heart stamps, along with the matching dies. I also cut 1” off the edge of the notecard so that the hearts hang off the edge and show a stamped piece peeking from the inside…

This card design could be changed up to have stars or other shapes.

Next I have a flower card made again with the heart stamps and dies. This one takes a bit of explaining…

I first cut a white panel and die cut one heart from it. I then die cut another heart directly across from it before filling in the space between to form a flower. I also used the heart to cut a leave and a craft knife to cut the flower stem.

Next I stamped the greeting in Hero Arts Charcoal Mid-Tone Shadow Ink. (This is the *perfect* grey!) I used Hero Arts new Pale Tomato Mid-Tone Shadow Ink (another must-have salmon color) to stamp some hearts on pink paper and Hero Arts Green Hills Mid-Tone Shadow Ink (yes, you need it) on green paper. After die cutting with the matching heart dies, I used clear pop dots to adhere them behind the die cut flower so they peeked through. I added all this to a Charcoal notecard (new from Hero Arts – love them) and embellished…

Here is a peek at a few of the products I used. Love them all so much. Those heart stamps and dies are must-haves because they can be used all year long for card making or scrapbooking. (You can see all the new goodies HERE.)

 
Thank you for stopping by. Next, be sure to hop over to my awesomely wonderful friend Kelly Purkey. (And remember you can always stop by SSS if you need other links.)

How about a giveaway!? Leave a comment for your chance to win a Simon Goodie Bag! (Knowing Heidi from SSS – it will be a good one!) Giveaway closes 1/31 at 9:00amPST. Good luck.

Simon Says Stamp Lots of Hearts Stamp Set	Simon Says Stamp You Stamp Set	Simon Says Stamp Just a Love Note Stamp Set	Hero Arts Tiny Ink Spot Background Stamp	Simon Says Stamp Large Hearts Dies
Simon Says Stamp Mini Hearts Dies	Simon Says Stamp You Die	Vagabond Die Cutting Machine	Sizzix Vagabond Solo Thin Die Adapter	FAVORITE THING: Martha Stewart Heartbeat Border Punch
Corner Chomper	Small Fiskars Trimmer	Hero Arts Soft Pink Shadow Ink	Hero Arts Bubble Gum Mid Tone Shadow Ink	Hero Arts Raspberry Jam Mid Tone Shadow Ink
Hero Arts Charcoal Black Mid Tone Shadow Ink	Hero Arts Soft Granite Shadow Ink	Hero Arts Pale Tomato Mid Tone Shadow Ink	Hero Arts Green Hills Mid Tone Shadow Ink	Hero Arts Charcoal (Dark Grey) Notecards
Neenah White Cardstock 250 Sheets	Neenah White Cardstock 25 Sheets	Hero Arts Small Pearls	FAVORITE THING: Plus Glue Tape Adhesive

First up, a card for my Colin. He will love getting this in his lunch…

Isn’t that dinosaur the cutest? It is from Jane’s Doodles‘ new set called Dino-Mite. I colored it with Copic Markers and made the spots with the colorless blender. (Love this look.) I added some Glossy Accents and Black Enamel Accents for shine. Finally, I die cut lots of diamonds and popped them up with pop dots to create a fun background. (See below for all the supplies.)

Next up? One for Audrey. It uses Jane’s Doodles‘ new Food On the Go set.

I colored this with Copics and added some shine with a glitter pen and Glossy Accents. I used the My Favorite Things Dainty Bow die set to create the layered bow. Since I wanted a subtle background, I stamped the Hero Arts Tweed Background with Hero Arts White Dye Ink. (This white ink gives a vellum-like stamped image that is awesome.)

Here is a closer look at the adorable stamp sets Jane’s Doodles has coming out…

   
Now it is time to hop to the next blog – go to see Ange HERE for more fun card ideas. For more information on Jane’s Doodles, head HERE. Be sure to leave comments along the way – they will be giving away stamps to some lucky winners!

Below are the supplies used for this card. To find them at Simon Says Stamp, click on the SSS below the thumbnails. For Ellen Hutson, click on EH…

Janes Doodles DinoMite Stamp Set	Janes Doodles Food Stamp Set	Hero Arts Tweed Background (SSS|EH)	Crafty Cutts Diamonds Dies (SSS|EH)	My Favorite Things Dainty Bows Dies (SSS|EH)
Vagabond Die Cutting Machine (SSS|EH)	Sizzix Vagabond Solo Thin Die Adapter (SSS|EH)	Simon Says Stamp January Card Kit	Hero Arts White Dye Ink (SSS|EH)	Memento Black Ink (SSS|EH)
Copic Markers (SSS|EH)	Glossy Accents (SSS|EH)	Black and White Enamel Accents (SSS|EH)	Neenah Desert Storm Kraft Cardstock (SSS|EH)	Neenah White Cardstock 25 Sheets (SSS|EH)
Neenah White Cardstock 250 Sheets (SSS|EH)	Clear Glitter Pen	Glitter Pen	EK 1/16 Thin Foam Dots (SSS|EH)

I am excited to be a part of TWO blog hops today in honor of TWO talented girls. So be sure to check out both below – and visit both links to the next blogs. There are prizes to be won!

This industry has some great people… and Amy Tan and Maggie Holmes are two of the best. Amy has had an awesome product line with American Crafts for some time and has a great new release coming out next week at CHA. And Maggie? She is lauching her NEW product line with Crate Paper! (Who is part of American Crafts.) Love seeing awesome things happen to awesome people.

So, first up…

Maggie‘s new line with Crate Paper is gorgeous… filled with soft florals, vintage pieces, glitter and more. Although it was designed with the scrapbooker in mind, I can see it fitting perfectly with cardmaking, too. I simply can’t wait to get my hands on it.

I get to share a couple sneak peeks with you today, too! I could so see these on cards…

 
Lovely, eh?

If you want to see more, you are in luck because Maggie has arranged an entire blog hop with lots more photos of the products and also some peeks at the very first layouts she made with the line! Be sure to next head over to the blog of the dear Julie Campbell HERE to see more. Be sure to check out all the blogs on the hop and then make your way to Maggie’s blog because she is giving away the ENTIRE COLLECTION to one lucky winner. Good luck!

Next up…

Amy‘s new line with American Crafts is called “Yes, Please” and sounds incredible. With her trademark hand-drawn playfulness that I love so much, this line has 24 patterned papers, stamps and embellishments such as wood veneer tags. And the line even has an embroidery stencil kit – how fun is that? And of course, I am most excited about the stamps… so here is a peek…

Fabulous, eh? Perfect for personalized greetings on cards!

To see more, please be sure to head to the blog of the talented Paige Evans HERE. After you have completed the hop, go over to Amy’s blog and American Crafts’ blog and leave a comment about what you’re most excited about. You will have TWO chances to win the entire Yes, Please collection!

Oh, and if you leave a comment here, I may just have to share some of these new goodies with a lucky winner…

Maggie’s new line with Crate Paper is gorgeous… filled with soft florals, vintage pieces, glitter and more. Although it was designed with the scrapbooker in mind, I can see it fitting perfectly with cardmaking, too. I simply can’t wait to get my hands on it.

I get to share a couple sneak peeks with you today, too! I could so see these framing a card…

And these? Perfection…

Lovely, eh?

If you want to see more, you are in luck because Maggie has arranged an entire blog hop with lots more photos of the products and also some peeks at the very first layouts she made with the line! Be sure to next head over to the blog of the dear Julie Campbell HERE to see more. Be sure to check out all the blogs on the hop and then make your way to Maggie’s blog because she is giving away the ENTIRE COLLECTION to one lucky winner. Good luck!

See you again soon for more new goodness.