I created two cards inspired by this style image…

I used the outfit on the left for my inspiration. I really like the navy background with bold pops of white and colorful flowers. On the first one, I also stamped a plaid image over the whole card… inspired by the plaid on the other dress…

(Sorry – forgot to warn you to put on sunglasses. LOL.)

I used one of my favorite techniques here. I first stamped all the floral images on navy cardstock with Hero Arts Unicorn Pigment Ink. (This is the best white ink for stamping on dark colors. Colorbox Frost White Pigment Ink works well too.) After heat setting it, I colored very heavily over the images with colored pencils – lots of pink, blue, green, yellow and white pencils. This color pops on the navy background. I also added some of the awesome My Mind’s Eye Enamel Dots to the flower centers. LOVE those.

I then decided to stamp over it with a subtle image – the Hero Arts Envelope Background. However, this time I used Hero Arts White DYE Ink. This is more subtle than the pigment ink and gives a softer, ghost-like look. Perfect for stamping over other stamping…

And don’t you just love that new stamp set? It is from Simon Says Stamp. You can get it HERE, or as part of their awesome March Card Kit HERE.

This next card shows the same technique, just in a simple design…

Pops of color on a dark background? Yes please. And by tracing with the pencils, it looks like it was hand drawn. Even though I couldn’t draw this by hand to save my life…

Be sure to visit the Runway Inspired Challenge blog. It is one of the very best challenge blogs I have seen!

See you soon.

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…

SSS Flower Friend Stamp Set	SSS March Card Kit	Hero Arts Envelope Pattern Stamp (SSS|EH)	Prismacolor Colored Pencils	Hero Arts Unicorn White Pigment Ink (SSS|EH)
Hero Arts White Dye Ink (SSS|EH)	FAVORITE THING: My Minds Eye Together Enamel Dots	Hero Arts Snow Notecards (SSS|EH)

I have a few fun things to share today. First up is my second card for the Lawnscaping Challenge. These folks have the happiest blog – you can find it HERE. This is their photo challenge:

So this stunning photo inspired me to actually create a holiday card… using the browns and reds…

I used Lawn Fawn stamps for the ornament and greeting. Love the playfulness of them. Used a new favorite background stamp on the dark brown notecard. For the string on the ornament, I had a bit of fun. First, I stuck some Ranger Foil on some white cardstock for stability. Next I used the Memory Box Crisp Bows die to cut it before adding it to the card. I cut the notecard short so that I could allow the bow to reach above the top and still fit in the envelope. Love the unexpected. Oh, and I used my new favorite Corner Chomper – it rounds corners in the smaller sizes of 1/8″ and 3/8″.

Supplies are below! Be sure to check out the Lawnscaping Challenge, too.

My dear friend Jill Foster has started a great new site with the owner of her LSS, Lisa Joy. Jill is a very talented gal, and this new blog and online store is great – www.ilovemementos.com. I am so impressed by what they have created that I asked to feature them here. Here are some of the great things about Mementos:

• Their blog is fabulous. Jill shares tons of projects including step by step video and photo tutorials.  Check out the blog HERE.
• If you are looking to shop, they have a create rewards program – for every $250 spent you receive 25% off a future order of your choice. (More info on that HERE.) They also have free shipping on all US orders over $75 and Canada orders over $100. And if you want to shop in the month of November, use the coupon code, Be Thankful, it gives customers 10% off of their purchases made through the month of November. (Does not apply to classes DVDs and Bundle of Savings offers.)
• Jill also has created some great DVD classes, with two new DVD classes each month. These projects are amazing and what really impressed me. Here’s a peek at this month’s Mementos Copic Club class. (It is really great if you are just beginning or have been contemplating purchasing your first Copic Markers).

• And Jill also offers a Stamp Club DVD class in which students receive the featured stamp as part of their class fee. (For more info on these classes, go HERE.) Here’s a look at this month’s class.

So how about a giveaway? Just sign up to follow the Mementos blog HERE and leave a comment on this post for a chance to win.  I’m giving away a $50 gift certificate to Mementos AND a special release class DVD by Jill “Holly Jolly Stampin’ Party” loaded with techniques and showing the creation of 10 never before seen holiday cards. If you’ve already purchased the DVD and you win, Mementos will provide you with a refund.  More info on this DVD HERE.

Good luck!

I also have a winner from a past giveaway… Helen Schneiderman won the Holiday Card Boot Camp class spot. I emailed you!

I am honored to be the guest designer over a Lawnscaping. This is a great challenge blog with fab prizes and even more wonderful designers. I recommend checking it out – sweet girls over there! And Lawn Fawn stamps are so fun to use. Sure to make the recipient of a card smile.

The challenge was to create a thank you themed card with Lawn Fawn stamps…

Here is the card I created. Simple and playful.

Covered all the snow areas with Rock Candy Distress Stickles.

Be sure to head over to the Lawnscaping Challenge blog for more fun and a chance to win a gift certificate from Simon Says Stamp.

I hope I will see some of you over at the Holiday Card Boot Camp. Class starts today (Monday the 7th), but you can join in anytime. The class and all the videos, pdfs, etc will be around forever! For more information, visit HERE.

We have a winner! The winner of the Holiday Cards and More giveaway is Mary Beth Hudson. I emailed you.

Today we will both be using the Hero Arts Cling Dots and the Paper Smooches Sunny Side Up sets:

Lots of simple stuff here. Perfect for my airplane-obsessed hubby…

Be sure to also check out what Kim created with these stamps. Her cards simply rock.

So, from all the comments from this week, I picked a lucky winner of a Paper Smooches Word Up set – my favorite of theirs. The winner is Deb in Cincinnati.

AND! Kim said I could pick another winner… who will get to pick TWO Paper Smooches stamp sets of their choice! Just leave a comment here by Sunday night for your chance to win. Good luck!

And Kim is giving away some Hero Arts goodies on her blog, too….

Today we will both be using the Hero Arts Many Dots and the Paper Smooches Word Up sets:

And, boy… did I keep this one simple.

These circle stamps are perfect for stamping on buttons. So I decided to do some messy white embossing…

Plain and simple. Sometimes that is all ya need.

Be sure to head on over to Kim blog next!

Have a good one!

Today we will both be using the Hero Arts Lauderdale Floral and the Paper Smooches Pretty Phrases sets:

I decided to make a set of simple thank you cards…

I embossed the greeting on vellum and adhered it to the card by hiding dots of Glossy Accents behind the pearls and folding the ends of the vellum back.

Simple and fun. Oh, and I used lots of Jenni Bowlin inks from Ranger on these. These inks are *fabulous* – you can find them all HERE.

Be sure to go to Kim’s blog next to check out her creation. Oh, and remember that we will be giving away some goodies…

Bye!

For day 2, we will both be using the Hero Arts Get Merry and the Paper Smooches Swanky Snowdudes sets:

Here is my card. The photo isn’t the best – sorry…

The background papers are from the Basic Grey Nordic 6×6 pad. Love them. Oh, and the top of the snowdude’s hat is a Blush Dot. These are a great way to add a little something without the loud bling of gems.

Be sure to hop over and see what Kim created with the same stamps. Her card yesterday was so adorable.

Did you miss out on my Inspiration Showcase class?

We had such fun – people seemed to enjoy all the techniques. You can now sign up for the class as “read/watch” only. You still get lifetime access to it all. The only difference between now and when the class was live is that you can’t leave comments or load in the gallery. Everything else is the same! Click HERE to sign up.

See you soon.

I haven’t done a challenge week in awhile – a week where I team up with someone and we take on the same challenge. I decided to change that.

I emailed Kim Hughes – the creator of Paper Smooches stamps. I love how her stamps are so original and fun. So, this week, we are doing a Hero Arts + Paper Smooches Challenge.

For day 1, we will both be using the Hero Arts Happy Halloween and the Paper Smooches Your Halloween sets:

Here is my card. I decided to use the pumpkin from the Paper Smooches set, but I masked the face out and drew in my own. Makes it look like three different stamps…

Love stamping with black on dark brown cardstock…

The background is one Hero Arts greeting stamped repeatedly with Frost White Pigment Ink on a Kraft notecard. Awesome ink.

So be sure to head over to Kim’s blog HERE to see what she created with the same stamps.

Oh, and a little hint: We will be giving some goodies away this week.

See you soon!

(PS: The winner of the Studio Calico giveaway was Angie in Utah. I emailed you.)

Today I am part of the Paper Crafts Go-To Gal Designer Challenge. This is a fun challenge we do the last Wednesday of the month… where we use goodies from a favorite manufacturer. I was bummed to not play last month, so I had to this month! Be sure to hop on to the next Go-To Gal when you are done here. The links are below.

Today we are all using some delicious Cosmo Cricket. I adore Cosmo Cricket papers. (Especially their 6×6 pads. They are l.o.v.e.l.y.) Their colors are always perfection.

I decided to challenge myself to try to do something I find really hard to do: Create a simple card with colorful patterned paper. I just am not good at simple cards or using patterned papers, so this is a challenge for me! Here is what I came up with…

I love patterned papers that have several patches of patterns/colors on one. These papers are perfect for punching or die cutting little shapes… and they all will easily match when you put your card together. (I call this “creative cheating.”) So, THIS is the Cosmo Cricket paper I die cut my birds from…

(Oh, and I forgot to photograph it, but I put a strip of the reverse side of the paper on the inside of the card for fun.)

After die cutting the birds with THIS die from My Favorite Things, I inked the edges with Distress Ink and my Ink Blending Tool. I drew lines with a black pen and a ruler and stamped the bird legs and greeting (both from the My Favorite Things die/stamp set). Oh, and to make it pop, I used Black Enamel Accents for their eyes. This works so well!

Oh, and here is the MFT die and stamp set I used…

So, that is my simple patterned paper card. Thank you to Cosmo Cricket for creating that gorgeous paper – making it easy for me to make this happy card for my daugther.

Be sure to check out what the other Go-To Gals created with Cosmo Cricket, too: the gorgeous Julie, the super kind Windy, the classy Betsy, the lovable Kim and so-very-funny Teri.

Go vote

Oh, and the winner of the goodies from Ellen Hutson was Brenda B. I emailed ya.

Card Supplies:

This challenge is to use some fabulous new products from October Afternoon. Honestly, this isn’t much of a challenge, as I adore their papers.

I used papers from the 5 & Dime October Afternoon line, making it effortless to pull together. They are so delicious that I hoard every little scrap of them! Look…

For the butterflies, I used Amuse Studio butterfly die cuts (contact Mary Dawn if you are interested in ordering). And here is a fun tip for creating antennae on butterflies: wrap a piece of string around the butterfly’s body a few times and then tie into a double knot at the top. Trim… and you have the perfect body and antennae…

Oh, by the way… I also added a butterfly to the flap of my Hero Arts envelope so it matches. I have found that if I glue it flat really good, it makes it through the mail ok. Love the decorative edge of the Hero Arts envelopes…

Be sure to check out what the other Go To Gals created with October Afternoon goodies, too: