Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge

Hello! Have you heard about the Simon Says Stamp Flickr challenges yet? They post a card making challenge every 2 weeks and this week I was invited to be a guest designer. I'm so excited about this and want to give a huge shout out and thank you to the Simon Says Stamp team!

Here are a couple of sneak peeks of my cards.

If you'd like to view these cards and participate in the challenge, head over to the SSS Flickr group to check it out. You have the chance to win a $25 gift card to Simon Says Stamp! Can't go wrong with that!  Have a great day and weekend!

Hero Arts Holiday Challenge

So I finally had a chance to create a few cards for the Hero Arts Holiday challenge. If you haven't checked it out yet, you should!  :)  Here's what I came up with.

I used a HA leaves set along with the new Autumn ombre ink pad. I also used the Thankful woodblock stamp. The Autumn ombre ink pad is perfect for Thanksgiving cards.

This card is just a different version of the flamingo card I made in the post below. I love this HA palm tree die! I added a candy cane trunk to the tree and some colored sequins for fun. Oh and if you're wondering where I got the scarf from, I stamped the Polar Bear and shortened the scarf for the flamingo.  :)

Thanks for stopping by! 

Hero Arts Blog Hop

Welcome to the Hero Arts Hostess Hop, featuring fabulous stamps from the new 2016 release and winter catalog!

If you’ve been following along, you’ve just arrived from my talented friend, Cheiron's blog! Isn't she great?! Anyway, Hero Arts will be awarding a $25 Hero Arts shopping spree to the winner randomly chosen from all of the comments left on the blogs included on today's hop. A second bonus prize of Hero Arts product will go to one lucky winner who comments on today's Hero Arts post. Woohoo! Deadline for comments is Sunday October 30th by 11:59pm Pacific time. Also, if you find a broken link, you'll find a master list of the hop links at the end of this post and at the Hero Club Blog.

So let's move on to the cards, shall we? I typically make a few Halloween cards and when I saw the Hero Arts Witch Feet Stamp and Cut set, I knew I had to have it! I went a little crazy with the patterned paper on this card because it just seemed fitting for a whimsical Halloween card.  

Then I moved on to Christmas and holiday cards. I just love the layering stamp sets and the layering inks sets make it so easy to create pretty things.  :)  On the next 2 cards, I used the Cardinal stamp and die set for a traditional type of Christmas card. Don't you love the Snowflakes Bold Prints background stamp in soft granite ink? It's one of my favorite stamps.

For this cardinal card, I used a stencil with stencil brushes for the background. 

I then decided to "change it up" a bit and make a few non-traditional Christmas cards using the Flamingo stamp and die set. Who doesn't love a flamingo wearing a scarf? :)  These cards make me smile and I hope they make you smile too. 

I hope you're enjoying the hop today. Your next stop on the hop is the ever so fun, Anita! Below is also a list of all the bloggers for today's hop. Thanks for dropping by!

Donna Mikasa
Cheiron Brandon
Kathy Wade (that's me!)
Anita Recksiedler
Barb Engler
Kathy Racoosin
Lin Brandyberry
Linda Wetterlin
Sally Sherfield
Deborah Nolan
Cathy Andronicou
Hero Arts Blog

Supplies:
Snowflakes Bold Prints stamp
Witch Feet Stamp & Cut
Cardinal Layering Stamp & Die Set
Flamingo Layering Stamp & Die Set
Mid-tone Inks
MISTI

SSS Flickr Challenge #53

Hello! I'm participating in the Simon Says Stamp Flickr challenge again. The great thing about this week is that the theme is "Anything Goes!" I made a card using a stencil and the Clarity Stencil brushes (with 3 different distress inks) along with a SSS stamp set called Look for the Miracles and the hugs die.  All the supplies are listed below.

Hope you can play in the challenge this month. Go here to find out more! Have a great week!

Supplies:
Clarity Stencil Brushes
Distress Inks: Twisted Citron, Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers
TCW Mini Vineyard Stencil
Simon Says Stamp Look for the Miracles stamp set
Simon Says Stamp Hugs dies
Zig Clean Color Brush markers

30 Day Coloring Challenge

Hello and welcome to "The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge" blog hop. Kathy Racoosin from The Daily Marker loves to color and she is hosting her fifth 30 DAY COLORING CHALLENGE. The premise of the challenge is to color something every day even if it's just for 5 minutes. It doesn't matter what you color or what medium you use. Today Kathy has assembled a blog hop to give your creativity a jump start. Such a fun way to start the week! Kathy is one amazing colorer and I think we all aspire to color like her. I know I do! :) 

At the end of the hop, you will find an awesome GIVEAWAY from Hero Arts! Two shopping sprees of $25 each! Yay! Winners will be randomly picked from the blog comments.

So hopefully you've already visited Lin's blog - she's super talented, isn't she? If you have, you're in the right place! For my cards today, I used several Hero Arts stamps from the You're So Lovely set to create my cards. On the first card, I embossed the flowers in white and then used Zig clean color markers to color them. I then used the dies to cut them out. I also used the Zig markers to color the background and sprinkled some splatters to tie it all together. I ran it through the die cutting machine using the My Favorite Things Wonky Stitched Rectangle die. Once I adhered the flowers to the white panel, I added some sequins from Pretty Pink Posh, glued it to the pink card base and called it done.

On this 2nd card, I used Copic markers to color the Hero Arts Antique Rose Stem stamp. I actually started coloring the flowers a few weeks ago in one of Sandy Allnock's Copic marker classes that I attended. Then this past weekend, I finished the coloring, cut out the white panel with the Stitched rectangle dies, and added the Simon Says Stamp Hugs greeting. I also colored the flowers with a Wink of Stella glitter brush marker to add some shimmery goodness. :)

So we hope you will color something each day -- just for fun, no pressure. And if you skip a day or two, don't feel like you have to catch up.

Thanks for stopping by today. Enjoy the rest of the hop and don't forget to leave a comment because there will be prizes! Your next stop on the hop is the super sweet Arlene McClung.


Supplies Used:
Hero Arts Antique Rose Stem stamp
Hero Arts You're So Lovely
Copic Markers, RV02, RV04, RV17, YG95, YG97
Zig Clean Color Brush markers
Simon Says Stamp Hugs die
Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangles
My Favorite Things Wonky Rectangles
Pretty Pink Posh Springtime sequins
Wink of Stella Clear

I just miss your face!

Hey there.  Happy 4th of July weekend! Hope you're having a great long holiday weekend full of fun and festivities to help celebrate our freedom!

Yesterday I finally had a chance to make a card for the Simon Says Stamp Flickr challenge - Stencil it! I used the SSS Bold Flower Outline stencil for this card. First I blended 4 colors of distress inks and then I laid the stencil over that background and added more of the same colors of ink to make the colors bolder. That made the stencil come alive. :)

I also used the new stamp set from SSS called Shine On. The greeting is from the WPlus9 That is All set and has a lot of great sentiments. They also have dies to go with that set now too! yay!

That's all for now. Have a great rest of the weekend!

Summertime Fun Challenge

Hey there! I decided to play along with the Simon Says Stamp Flickr challenge again. The theme this time is summertime fun! And you've probably heard me say it before, but I'll say it again....I LOVE summer! It's definitely my favorite time of year. So, when I think of summer, I think of lots of bright flowers and chirping birds. I made this card using Zig markers and a few different stamp sets. I love this new Simon Says Stamp (SSS) Look for the Miracles stamp set that came in the June card kit. It's a great set for coloring. I also used one of the sentiments from the SSS Big Scripty Greetings set, and the bird is from the Dina Wakley Birdies set. So, here's what I came up with:

I hope you can play along in the challenge. Have a great week! We've been having summer temps this week, yay!  :)

Smiling Flowers and SSS Flickr Challenge

Hello! Just popping in to post a card I made for the current SSS Flickr challenge. This stamp set is such a happy set. It's called Happy Days and you can't help but smile when using it. I stamped the images on watercolor paper and then used Zig markers to color them in. I topped off the sun and flowers with some Wink of Stella to add some shimmery goodness. :)

I hope you can play along with the challenge. It's open until 5/12 at 9AM.  Have a great weekend!

Ink Blending and Happy Kites

Hi there. I'm posting a card I made the other day for the current Simon Says Stamp Flickr challenge - Ink blending. I used a new stamp set from SSS called Happy Days and the "awesome" word die from Waffle Flower. I used distress inks to create the blue sky, and for the bottom section, I used a stencil with distress ink.

 You have until April 28th to play along. I hope you'll join in the fun! :)

Spring is in the Air

Hey there! I made a quick card the other day that reminds me of spring. Birds chirping, flowers blooming, etc. :)  Spring and summer are my favorite time of year and spring is way overdue for us!  Anyway, I used a couple stamp sets from Simon Says Stamp. I love the birdhouse from the Springtime Critters set and these Game Tile Letters  make for a fun sentiment. I plan to give this card to my Mom since she and I play Word with Friends online all the time.  

I hope spring is in the air wherever you are!  :)

SSS Challenge

I had a little time, so I thought I'd play along with the Simon Says Stamp Flickr challenge this week. These are a couple cards I created using some of the new stamps from the SSS Reason to Smile release. Aren't these chicks adorable? :)

I love this bunny too.

Hope you're having a great week!

By Your Side Birds

Hello! I'm just popping in quickly to post a few card pics using a new die I recently purchased. It's the Concord & 9th By Your Side Bird die and it's super adorable! I first used it for a quick birthday card.

Then I thought it would work well for an anniversary card so I paired it with some patterned paper with lots of hearts.

And lastly, I basically lifted this design from the Concord&9th site for this card. I just changed up the colors of the birds.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you're having a great week!  :)

SSS Die cutting Challenge

I've been super busy lately and my poor blog has been neglected. When life gets in the way, sometimes, it has to be put on the back burner. Anyway, I haven't had a chance to play in any of the Simon Says Stamp Flickr challenges lately, but I had just received some new dies, so I knew I had to play along with the current Diecember challenge. If you haven't seen it, check it out here.

One of my new SSS dies is this Clustered leaves die. I've been eyeing this die for quite some time and finally purchased it during the black Friday sales. I die cut the leaves out of vellum and then went to work with my distress inks for the background. I also die cut the oval in the panel and the flower. When all was said and done, I came up with this.

The greeting and the flower on this card are also SSS stamp sets. Love them both!

I hope you can play along with the challenge. Thanks for dropping by and have a great week!

Succulent Hello

Hi! I have a quick post today, as usual. :) I made this card to send to a friend as part of the share handmade kindness campaign that Jennifer McGuire has been doing. If you want to learn more, check out her blog.

I used the Simon Says Stamp Cups and Succulent set and colored all the images with Copic markers. I cut out the five succulents in the front to give the card a bit more dimension. The greeting is from a Hero Arts set and the sequins are from Pretty Pink Posh.

Hope you have a great weekend!

CASEing Kelly Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the CASEing Kelly blog hop! I hope you are enjoying the hop so far. I'm sure you can all tell how much we all love Kelly and her cards.

This first card of Kelly's amazes me....although I should say that all of Kelly's cards amaze me. :)  I love the colors and the modern look of it.

This second card is so vibrant and the touch of black really makes those beautifully colored flowers pop, doesn't it?

And this third card is another beauty. Look at those pink flowers on that gorgeous background. What's not to love?!

The CASE: 

I love the watercolored background that Kelly created on the first card so I did something similar on my card. I also love how she always colors her flowers with such vibrant colors so I added a bright pink flower to my card, along with the bright pink die cut greeting. I couldn't resist. And lastly, I love the touch of black she adds to make the other colors pop so I added a black border and stamped part of the greeting in black ink.

Thanks Kelly for your awesome CASEing Genius blog posts. You and your cards inspires us all! :)

What is a blog hop without some fun prizes?! Leave a comment by 11:59 pm EDT on Thursday, October 29th along each stop in the hop to increase your chances of winning a prize from one of our sponsors: a2z Scrapbooking, Altenew, Create a Smile Stamps, Dee's Artsy Impressions, djkardkreations, Hero Arts, Ink Road, Lia Stampz and Simon Says Stamp! Winners will be notified by email after October 29th.

Now, keep on hopping.  :)  Here's the complete list:

a2z Scrapbooking

Amy Tsuruta

Ardyth Percy Robb 

Brandi Hall 

Char Kochensparger 

Cindy Chiu 

Darnell Knauss 

Dawn Turley 

Debra James 

Deepti Malik 

Donna Idlet 

Elizabeth Campau 

Ellen Haxelmans 

Heather Ruwe 

Jennifer Loftfield 

Joan Bardee 

Kara Vrabel 

Kara-Lynne 

Kathy Wade (You are here)

Katie Gehring 

Kristie Goulet 

Kristina Beagle 

Kymona Tracey 

Laura Jane 

Leigh Penner 

Lin Brandyberry 

Linda Trace 

Lindsay Amrhein 

Lydia Evans 

Maria Sabina Raita 

Marika Rahtu 

Martha Lucia Gomez 

Michele Cunningham 

Michele Ferguson 

Michelle Lupton 

Michelle Williams 

Monica Maier 

Niki G. 

Nina-Marie Trapani 

Rubeena Naz 

Shelly Kurth 

Taunya Butler 

Thordis Dogg 

Vera Yates

Have fun and have a great day!

Hero Arts Holiday Challenge

Hello! Have you seen the new Holiday challenge over on the Hero Arts blog? I didn't have a chance to play in the last challenge so I thought I'd play along in this one. I love the Color Layering Christmas Trees set so I whipped up a few cards using it.

I stamped the card base with the Hand drawn Snowflakes Bold print background cling stamp (love!). I used 3 different colors of green mid-tone inks for the trees along with the Red Royal mid-tone ink for the greeting. I added a couple strips of glittered card stock on the 2nd card and then added some Hero Arts gems to the trees for a festive and finishing touch.  

If you haven't played along yet, you have until November 12th, so you'd better get busy.  :)

Crazy Birds and Boss's Day

Hi there! So I needed to make a Boss's Day card last week and thought, what could be better than the Crazy Birds stamp set for this?  Here's the card I created.

Each bird "sort of" represents each person on our work team. :)  I love this Crazy Birds set. They just make me laugh every time I use them. Anyway, I used Zig markers for the background and then colored the birds with Copic markers. I also used the Sizzix dies to cut them out and arrange them on the card.

Hope you have a great week!

CASEing Genius

Hello! I just found out some fun news!  You all know Kelly Latevola, right? If not, you really need to check out her blog You and Your Big Dreams. She' s a coloring genius and her cards always amaze me! Well anyway, she contacted me a while back and asked if I wanted to play along with the CASEing Genius feature she does on her blog. I was honored and thrilled and of course I said yes! So I'm featured on her blog today and you can check out the post here.   

I've met Kelly in person and she's not only hilarious, but she has such a big heart. We bonded instantly. Thank you so much Kelly. You made my day.  :)

Hot Dog, It's Your Birthday!

Hi there! I'm finally back to post a few cards. I needed some birthday cards and I recently bought the Lawn Fawn Critters at the Dog Park stamp and die set so I created this Fall-themed card using that set. Love this LF set! The person I gave this card to is a dog lover, so she really enjoyed this card. :)

 

On this second card, I used a combination of Hero Arts stamps from the Love Jar set and the Butterfly and Flower stamp and cut set.

Well that's all I have for today. Have a great week/weekend!

More Birds...yet again

So, apparently I've been ignoring my blog lately.  :)  I've just had a lot going on, but I'm going to try to post more often. Can't make any promises though. 

Anyway, I've been loving the Tim Holtz Crazy Birds set so much that I had to get the dies for the birds and the Crazy Things set to go along with it. The Crazy Things set includes all kinds of accessories for the birds,like hats, balloons, ties, and holiday accessories too. Love it! So here's a card I made using all my new supplies.

I've made a few others too, so I'll be back to post those in a few days. Hope you're having a great week!