BG is celebrating the release of two new lines – Paper Cottage and Clippings. And I fell in love with the Paper Cottage line. Look at how lovely this is…

Aren’t those fun colors and whimsical prints fun? Here is what BasicGrey has to say about the line…

Retire to this idyllic, cozy crafty cottage, located just a stroll down Creativity Lane. Enjoy an authentic English breakfast complete with homemade jam or stop for a spot of tea in our tucked-away parlor. Restore your stylish senses with a jaunt through the nestled garden, and return through the glen for a lovely lunch on the patio. Enjoy your restful stay here at the Paper Cottage.

And check out these must-have buttons…

Such fun. Now be sure to head over to Leeann Pearce’s spectacular blog. (Oh, and you can always hop back to the BasicGrey blog for a list of direct links to all the blogs in the hop.) There are lots of prizes to be won!

Speaking of prizes…

And the fabulous folks at BasicGrey are letting me share the love! A lucky winner will get a 6×6 paper pad and lovely buttons from this new Paper Cottage line. Just leave a comment by Wednesday at 11:59pmEST. Good luck.

See you soon.

Then my day didn’t go as well as planned. Wasn’t feeling great (this baby growing inside me is quite a little challenge). I had stamped my card and was going to color, cut, layer and play. Colin noticed I wasn’t feeling great and asked if he could do my work for me. I told him I appreciated the offer but needed to do it myself. He insisted, grabbed the card and colored away.

So today?

I have a card created by my Colin, age 6…

This is for his sister. He thought she would like the adorable house. (Do you like the smoke he added coming from the chimney?) I am in love with the clouds and sun. And the inside…

Sorry I didn’t create a card, but I hope you enjoyed Colin as a guest. This is a great idea – stamp some fun images and let your kids color them for family. Sweet results.

So Jane’s Doodle is releasing three sets. And since I didn’t get to play with them yet, I wanted to share the sets here. Aren’t they gorgeous? All available now HERE.

And please be sure to check out the marvelous creations the other girls created in this hop…

• Jane (me)
• Mariana
• Aga
• Courtney
• Amy
• Ange
• Jennifer (me)
• Judith
• Jane’s Doodles blog

Jane will be randomly giving 3 sets away to a lucky winner who leaves comments, so be sure to do so.

Enjoy. See you tomorrow…

I am also happy to be the first stop…

My Mind’s Eye is revamping their blog (today you can see the new look!) and really integrating into the world of Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. To add to the excitement, MME is revealing their three new mid-release lines this week, too.

As I said before, I tend to hoard MME 6×6 paper pads. They are fabulous. Simply fabulous. The small scale of the papers in these pads, along with the yummy colors they come in, make for quick and easy cardmaking. Here is a quick card I did using a few of these papers…

Fun colors, huh? I used the MME 6×6 On The Bright Side and 6×6 Be Amazing along with an EK Success Zig Zag border punch. The buttons from from MME, too. (I also am growing an addiction for their button packs – they are unique and fun.)

Fun colors = fun card = happy recipient.

The next person on the blog hop is my dear favorite friend, Nichol Magouirk. And in case you’ve lost your way, here is the entire hop list (each participant has prizes and sneak peeks):

• Jennifer McGuire
• Nichol Magouirk
• Rhonna Farrer
• Shimelle Laine
• Stacy Julian 
• Stephanie Howell
• Studio Calico
• MY MIND’S EYE (the last stop- look for several prizes here!)

Enjoy!

MME said I could giveaway a pack of their great buttons I was telling you about. And look closely, these are a peek at one of the new lines! You can see more on the My Mind’s Eye blog later this week. Just leave a comment by Sunday, April 8, for your chance to win.

MME Be Amazing 6×6	MME 6×6 On The Bright Side	MME Rosy Buttons	Zig Zag Punch
Good Gab Paper Smooches	Small Fiskars Trimmer	Snow Notecard	Tombow Stamp Runner Adhesive
Neenah White Cardstock 25 Sheets	Neenah White Cardstock 250 Sheets	Hero Arts Black Dye Ink

To celebrate, there are three prize packages with a total retail value of over $300. These prizes will be randomly given. To be eligible, just “like” Lily Pad on Facebook. If you would like to better your chances or don’t have a Facebook account, you can also leave comments on the blogs participating in this hop (including Lily Pad). For each comment, you get your name entered again (but only one comment per blog, please).

So, how about a birthday card idea to celebrate Lily Pad’s 1st birthday? Here is mine…

I used a fun mask, some white heat embossing, Distress Markers and a pearlized water mist to create this. Stay tuned – I will have a video here very soon explaining how this is done. I love how well Distress Markers blend with water. (Distress Inks and Stains would work here, too.) And that button? Love that button. It is from Close To My Heart.

Supplies are listed below.

Be sure to head over to Deborah Nolan’s blog next. If you hit a bad link, you can always go back to Lily Pad to view the master list of blog links.

Happy Sunday!

Today I am part of a Go To Gals Product Challenge Blog Hop and we will all be using goodies from Bazzill.

My favorite product from Bazzill is their Dotted Swiss Cardstock. This cardstock has a subtle raised dot pattern. Unlike do-it-yourself-with-embossing-folders embossed papers, you can stamp on this cardstock. And their pack of Dotted Swiss has three shades for each color – lovely!

Here is a card I created with some of this cardstock, along with a clear embossed background. I just love how well Bazzill cardstock works with clear embossing – makes such a striking image.

I also stamped a Technique Tuesday greeting from Ali Edwards…

Here is another one I did with these Dotted Swiss cardstocks. This time I used white embossing powder with the Hero Arts Newsprint Tulips… (This stamp is a new fave of mine!)

To be able to stamp with black over the white embossing, I used black Staz-On ink. Works well!

So next be sure to check out the other Go To Gal blogs, and the Paper Crafts Connections blog…

• Teri Anderson
• Julie Campbell
• Kim Kesti
• Windy Robinson
• Betsy Veldman
• Paper Crafts Connection

Over on the Paper Crafts Connection blog, I am sharing several more card ideas using these products. Be sure to check it out – we are also giving away a set of these cardstocks and the fun stamp. Here’s a peek…

See you soon!

The kind folks over at Operation Write Home are doing a Clean and Simple Blog Hop. I am happy to be part of it! And this is a good thing, as I was quite sad that I had to back out on attending the cruise they are on right now. (Cruises won’t let anyone part 24 weeks pregnant on anymore. Boo!)

Operation Write Home is a great organization that gathers handmade cards for soldiers to send home to their loved ones. Hero Arts has recently started selling stamps designed specifically for OWH, with part of the profits going to them. Love it.

So here is a clean and simple card I did that I can send in to OWH…

First, I used one of the OWH + Hero Arts stamp sets. Here are the three sets they have created…

Fun, huh? Oh, and I replaced the stamped kite string with real string, held in place with Glossy Accents.

And I used Echo Park papers on this. Their papers are fabulous. Such fun patterns and colors.

Now be sure to continue the hop… there may just be giveaways of our Clean and Simple Card Making Class along the way! So next head over to Dixie’s blog HERE. If you want to start at the beginning of the hop, go HERE.

Speaking of Echo Park papers, how about a giveaway? I have a pack of the 12×12 Echo Park Victoria Gardens Papers for a lucky winner. Just leave a comment here by Wednesday at 11:59pm EST for your chance to win…

Good luck. I will be posting other giveaway winners soon.

Today I am part of a Go To Gals Product Challenge Blog Hop. We will all be using goodies from A Muse Studios… and I love their products. And we are all doing the different takes on the same stamp, much like you see in the new Stamp It! 3 Ways Paper Crafts Issue…

I used the A Muse harlequin background stamp but added lines to it with a Silver (grey) Spica Glitter Pen to make it argyle. The little bit of shine is really eye-catching in person. I used a silver paper for the matting, too. The vintage textbook butterflies were die cut with A Muse butterfly dies – they come three in a pack. I inked them with Hero Arts Wet Cement Ink (a great gray ink) and sprayed them with pearlized water for shine. The body of the butterfly is made up of white pearls colored “silver” with a T5 Copic Marker. And I tore the antennae off an old craft project.

Oh, and see how nice that pink ink stamped? That is the Hero Arts Bubble Gum Shadow Ink that dries smooth. Love…

A closer look at the shine – wish it showed up better…

So next be sure to check out the other Go To Gal blogs, and the Paper Crafts Connections blog…

• Teri Anderson
• Julie Campbell
• Kim Kesti
• Windy Robinson
• Betsy Veldman
• Paper Crafts Connection

If you are looking for someone who sells A Muse Studio products (you have to buy from demonstrators), I have heard great things about Lianna – you can shop online with her HERE.

When putting this card together, I realized I had two of these great butterfly die sets! (I loved it so much I bought it twice. Eek.) So… I am giving one set away. For your chance to win the A Muse butterfly die set, just leave a comment here by Friday at 11:59pm EST. Good luck…

Have a great day. See you soon.

InLinkz.com

The adorable Amy Tangerine asked me if I would participate in a blog hop in celebration of her newest product lines with American Crafts. I was happier to do so and even happier when I got to see the product shot I get to share. Love it.

Her newest collection is called Sketchbook…

(Side note: Dude. I want that dress. Love.)

“Vibrant colors drip off the page in the latest Amy Tangerine collection, Sketchbook. Featuring hand-drawn details and a bold watercolor effect, Sketchbook bursts with eclectic goodness for your everyday projects. Splash some color on life.”

And check out this great product shot. Yum…

Nice, huh? So, here’s a chance to win some goodies – the entire Sketchbook collection! Head on over next to loveable Kelly Purkey’s blog. Follow the hop along until you reach the American Crafts blog and you can leave a comment about what products you liked best. Good luck!

Oh, and we have some winners to announce:

• The lucky one who will get the bunch of Mid-Tone Inks is Susan McRae.
• The happy gal who will get the Paper Smooches set is Theresa Neubaum. 

Happy day.

I am here to share a card I did for my friend, Joy Taylor. It is her birthday and we have a mini blog hop in celebration of her. (Love ya, Joy!) And if you never have been to Joy’s blog, you must visit it. She has a ton of talent.

So here is my card for her. Cheery and happy. Has a clear window with the greeting (from a great My Favorite Things stamp set) and a green strip inside…

The background is the faux letterpress technique with Soft Sand Shadow Ink. Love the texture it gives.

Now be sure to head over to the blog of one of my favorite funny girls – Mary Dawn. (And if you want to catch the hop from the beginning, go HERE.)

See you soon! Happy birthday, Joy.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The actual hop doesn’t start until 10am Eastern/9am Central/7am Pacific time. But our previous two last hoppers (Ali and Tim) have some special things going on this week on their blog, so they posted early. So I am too! Therefore, if you are here early, be sure to come back again after 10am Eastern time to continue the rest of the hop. There will be prizes – so it will be worth it! (To start the hop at the beginning, go HERE.)

This hop is to celebrate the Catalog Debut that starts tomorrow in stores everywhere. Participating stores (click HERE to find out which) will be the first to have the newest 2012 Hero Arts stamps. (And be sure to come here on Saturday morning for links to my favorite new stamps and more!) I love this time of year…

For this hop, I decided to use two new sets I love – the cling Border Messages and the clear Truly Grateful. I also used Picket Fence Distress Stain and Ranger Foil Tape for some fun techniques.

I used the Fall and Winter Seasonal Distress Inks on these. (Complete supplies are in the thumbnails below…) LOVE the simple class the Foil Tape adds behind the stamped greeting.

To continue the hop, please head over to the fabulous blog of the adorable Kelly Purkey HERE. (Again – to start at the beginning, click HERE.)

While hopping, be sure to leave comments along the way for a chance to win prizes. Five winners will be randomly chosen from ALL of the blog hop comments received by midnight PST on Monday, December 12, and will be announced on the Hero Arts blog shortly thereafter. The prizes will include brand new 2012 Catalog stamps!

Enjoy!