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.

Lila Grace was born on the afternoon of Mother’s Day. Baby is doing great, as is Mommy… despite Lila weighing almost 9 pounds. (Yikes!)

Not the greatest photos, but we are focusing on leaving the camera aside and just enjoying the time with her. And to say that Colin is madly in love is an understatement. I just can’t describe it…

Lila (pronounced Lie-La) is a name Ken has had his heart set on for a long time. And I have always wanted the name Grace for a middle name. I look forward to Kay and Audrey meeting her soon, and then our little family will be complete. God is so very good.

Back to crafting soon. Thanks for the prayers!

In fact, I did this video almost two months ago! But I didn’t want to share any love for this product until they were back in stock at stores. There was a storage on them for awhile, but now you can get your paws on them again.

I am thrilled to be able to play with them all I want now! Here is a video showing one of the many ways you can use them – to create a fun background with the Hero Arts and Studio Calico Lattice background…

I love that you can get little spots of color with the marker tip, and then can spray them like mad to get blending like watercolor…

When I showed this card to Tim awhile back, he asked me how long it took to color all those shapes. Honestly? 5 or so minutes. And that is nothing compared to what I normally spend on a card – ha. (I am slow.) So I think it is worth it.

Here you can see the pearlized look you get since I used water with Perfect Pearls mixed in. (If you don’t want that shine, you can just use regular water. Both are lovely.)

So many people have asked me if I really love these markers. The answer is yes. They take all the things I love about Distress Inks and puts them in a marker form – so I can get detailed spots of color. What could be better? And this background is just one of many ways to use them. (The best of which is for multi-color stamping – more on that another day.)

You can get the Distress Markers individually (get the colors you like best and just try them out) or go ahead and take the plunge to get the whole set…

I love new toys. Almost as I love giving them away…

And I have a set of Distress Markers to give away! YAY! (Thanks, of course, to the fabulous Heidi at Simon Says Stamp.) Just leave a comment here by Sunday at 11:59pmEST for your chance to win. Good luck – this is a great giveaway!

Distress Markers	Hero Arts Studio Calico Lattice Stamp	Hero Arts Studio Calico Wonderful World	Memory Box Heart Delights Die
Sizzix Big Shot	Perfect Pearl Pigment Powder	B&W Enamel	Versamark
Hero Arts Black Dye Ink	White Embossing Powder	Mister	Heat Gun
Hero Arts Snow Notecards	Best Watercolor Paper	Neenah White Cardstock 25 Sheets	Neenah White Cardstock 250 Sheets
Craft Sheet	Small Fiskars Trimmer	EK 1/16 Thin Foam Dots

This one features the Simon Says Stamp June Card Kit of the Month. This is a lovely kit. And the best part of it? The stamp set in it. So fabulous. I used this kit along with THIS great flip die to create this…

So when you open this card, it flips…

… revealing the message inside…

Cool huh?  And stamping with that fabulous stamp set on the front…

So you can find this great June Kit HERE (which includes the amazing stamp set). You can also subscribe to the monthly kit to save a few bucks HERE.

Here is the stamp set inside. Amazing, huh? (My girl Kristina created it.)

And how about that cool flip card design? Just cut with THIS die and add your papers and embellishments. So easy and it can be used with all the die cut machines. (My Christmas card this year had this design, but I didn’t have this die yet. This makes it easy.)

(And it comes in a square flip design, too, HERE.)

Yay! I have a June Kit to give away, thanks to the kind folks at Simon Says Stamp. Just leave a comment here by Friday at 11:59pmEST for your chance to win. Good luck.

SSS June Card Kit	SSS Card Kit of the Month Subscription	Vagabond Die Cutting Machine	Sizzix Circle Flip-Its Card Die
Heart Border Punch	Ink Blending Tool	Distress Inks	Hero Arts Black Dye Ink
Neenah White Cardstock 25 Sheets	Neenah White Cardstock 250 Sheets	Studio Calico Wood Veneer Hearts	Hero Arts Pearls
Glossy Accents	Tombow Stamp Runner Adhesive

But it is nice to have tags on hand for gifts, right?

So those squares were stamped with THESE Hero Arts stamps in Versamark and white heat embossed. I then colored over them with Memento Markers. Easy and fun.

I love reverse stamps like these where you can white emboss and add color with markers. Results in some great texture. I also used this set on THIS card.

See you soon. Hopefully with a smaller belly and a baby in my arms. Night!

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…

Hero Arts Untitled Love Stamps (SSS|EH)	Hero Arts Dot Flower Pattern Stamp (SSS|EH)	White Embossing Powder (SSS|EH)	Hero Arts Pool Shadow Ink (EH|SSS)
Memento Markers	Green Memento Markers	Yellow Memento Markers	Versamark (SSS|EH)
Hero Hues Cards etc

Sorry I am not creating much to share right now. I hope to play a bit very soon.

But in the meantime, we have some winners! The winners for Julie’s class spots are Leslie (Crooked Stamper), Susan C and Shari S. And the lucky one who will get the new Distress Inks is Miranda. (I emailed you all.)

Off to rest. This whole creating-a-human-being thing is exhausting. Night.

Just have some fun (and totally random) links for you…

• Remember THIS card? That great stamp set is now available outside of the card kit HERE. Love this set.
• Looking for a baby name? (Ha – I AM!) I love THIS site. Type in a name and it shows it’s popularity over the years. Pretty cool.
• Are you a Hero Arts fan? They just announced a new My Monthly Hero program HERE. I love THIS new birthday set from it. Fun.
• If you are on Facebook, I would love to have your vote for a belly photo contest. Each vote they get gives a dollar to the March of Dimes – awesome. If you are interested, click HERE.
• One of my new favorite cardmakers, Danielle Walls, has a new video series called “Shhh… Mommy’s Hiding.” So cute. Check it out HERE.
• Wanna see one of the best design teams ever? Truly. This is a strong group of artists. Go HERE – it is the A Blog Name Hero design team. Wow.
• I have gotten a few emails asking about our die cutting class, A Cut Above. The first half was traditional die cutting (Big Shot, Cuttlebug, etc.) and the second half is the Silhouette. Lots of fun techniques, a ton of videos and great prizes. You can still sign up HERE. Class is underway but you can catch up anytime as the content never goes away.
• Are you a mom? Proud of your kids? Wanna have a good cry? Go watch THIS.

I think that was enough random for tonight. On to the giveaway…

I have a great giveaway! THREE lucky winners will get a spot in my friend Julie Ebersole‘s upcoming class, Fold It Pop It Flip It Zip It. (If you have taken any Online Card Classes, you will be familiar with her work. She also does classes with Ellen Hutson… and they are fab!) Here is more info and it looks like fun…

Ready to take your standard card to a whole new level?  Learn how to incorporate specialty folds, shadow boxes, pop-ups and other fun interactive elements into your greetings!  Join long-time instructor Julie Ebersole for Fold It, Pop It, Flip It, Zip It! and learn more than a dozen different ways to add an extra element of fun and surprise to your card designs!

The two week course features video tutorials, complete step-by-step instructions, diagrams & patterns, along with project photos in downloadable PDF format.  Also included in the class are: A gallery, private forum, additional projects contributed by special guest designers, exclusive shopping discounts and prize drawings!

Come and go to the classroom on your own schedule, and, as always, enjoy lifetime access to all class materials! Class begins May 7-18! For more information, head HERE.

So here is your chance to win one of three spots. Just leave a comment here by Friday at 11:59pmEST. Oh, and if you have any baby name ideas, I would love to hear them. Good luck!

See you soon.

Ranger just released a new set of limited edition Spring Distress Inks – Peacock Feathers, Squeezed Lemonade and Shaded Lilac. When I saw the colors, I knew I needed in Peacock Feathers. But I wasn’t sure on the other two colors. Until I played with them…

So Peacock Feathers it the perfect teal color. A little more green than Broken China. A little more blue than Evergreen Bough. To me, it is the color of the Caribbean ocean. Just perfect. (More on this in a moment.)

Then Shaded Lilac. I thought I could pass on this since I am not huge on purple. But I was wrong. It has a lovely blue tint to it. It is like a happy indigo that makes me want to color easter eggs. A fun color.

And finally Squeezed Lemonade. Yes, we all need a happy sunshine yellow and this fits the bill. A great color that will be great for watercoloring.

So, yes, we need these. We all need these…

And for those of you who emailed asking how the Peacock Feathers compares to the other blues and greens in the Distress Ink family, here you go… (fancy inking I did for you here, huh? ha.)

Told you it is perfect. The color difference is a bit more intense in real life.

And if these new colors weren’t fab enough, Ranger also just release reinkers for all of their special edition sets. First, they have reinkers for the Spring set above. I am over the moon thrilled about reinkers for the previous limited edition sets as I love Gathered Twigs from the Autumn set and Evergreen Boughs and Festive Berries from the Winter set. Yay for reinkers!

So there you have it. Love these inks. Oh, and I love to share. So…

Let’s give a set of the Spring Distress Inks away! Just leave a comment here by Wednesday at 11:59pmEST telling me your favorite Distress Ink color for your chance to win. Good luck!

Sorry I haven’t posted in a few days. Between these last few days of (not-so-comfortable) pregnancy, a remodel (we lose our whole first floor on Monday) and Colin’s activities, I haven’t had much energy to create. But I promise to be back to sharing soon. (Unless, of course, this baby is on time and makes an appearance!)

Thank you for the nice emails. I love this hobby and the amazingly kind people in it.

See you soon.

PS: The winner of the Lawn Fawn Paper Pad was Mlightner.

The wonderful folks at Lawn Fawn are having a big Inspiration Week. There are TONS of card shares, prizes and more each day. Be sure to head HERE to check it all out.

I decided it would be fun to play along and use a few products I have been itching to use. After using THIS new awesome set of hexagon dies to cut pieces from the adorable Lawn Fawn 6×6 papers, I added a cute Lawn Fawn Flutter By. Oh, and that butterfly? He pops out and shakes thanks to THESE fun doodads. (More on that in a bit.) The greeting is from their Claire’s ABC’s set – it is perfect for creating your own greetings.

So, about those doodads. They are Action Wobble Springs – little soft springs that make an element pop up and shake. They flatten nicely to go in an envelope, but then pop up and shake when they are free to…

See the “spring” under there? Such a fun surprise to add to a card. And I promise it flattens nicely…

And here card is another I did at the same time. Thanks to the many hexagon nesting dies in that die set, I easily made some extra pieces and created this a-bit-too-funky background. Oh, and that butterfly pops out and shakes, too…

I wanted to show the fun movement these cards have, so I did a quick video with my iPhone. It is a pretty pathetic video, but you get the idea.

These were such fun to create. That is what I love about Lawn Fawn stamps – they make me happy.

So this is what that hexagon die set looks like:

And these are the springs (you can trim some of the excess around the edge to make them smaller)…

And this is the cute Lawn Fawn 6×6 paper pad. Great tone-on-tone prints in there…

Be sure to check out all the other fun Lawn Fawn is having for their Inspiration Week HERE.

Off to have some ice cream. Baby wants some. Night.

And I have a giveaway! Leave a comment here by Thursday at 11:59pmEST for your chance to win a Lawn Fawn Bright Side 6×6 Paper Pad! (I am off to order for myself, so I will order an extra for the winner.) Good luck.

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…

Lawn Fawn Flutter By Stamp Set (SSS|EH)	Lawn Fawn Claires ABC Stamp Set (SSS|EH)	Hero Arts Year Round Sentiments (SSS|EH)	Lawn Fawn Bright Side 6×6 Paper Pad (SSS|EH)
Lifestyle Crafts Hexagon Dies	Action Wobble Springs	Hero Arts Black Dye Ink (SSS|EH)	Versamark (SSS|EH)
White Embossing Powder (SSS|EH)	Heat Gun	Hero Arts Snow Notecards	Tombow Stamp Runner Adhesive (SSS|EH)