It's all about the flowers...

Hi everyone! Well today is my last post as a guest dt member for Kraftin Kimmie stamps and I have to say they have been great challenges, wonderful images (just lovin those fairies!) and the girls have made all of us feel very welcome. Thanks everyone! The challenge for this week is to use flowers on your cards. I love flowered paper and rarely use actual flowers on my cards but really like this look so am trying to step it up a bit and use them more. Especially since I keep buying flower dies I better get to using them!

I used my new fleur de lis rectangle from Spellbinders and my image is Posy. She is one of my favorites and I have used her several times. My ribbon is American Crafts that I picked up at Archivers this weekend. Ok everyone, here's your chance to win a free stamp by playing along and posting your card at Kimmies blog so off you go!

Ladybug Blog Hop!!!

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Hello everyone - well it's another big day today here at the Ladybug Crafts Ink Challenge blog!  Kerry has a new release of stamps and we are having a Blog Hop to celebrate!! 

Lots of chances to win a prize!!

Firstly the Hop.. all the DT have not only had to use the challenge theme, but they have also each used one of the new images. There are 4 in all and you'll agree when you see their creations the new images are just fabulous! (None of the DT have seen each other's cards either so we can't wait to hop either!)

So onto the rules of the Hop - which are...

a) Visit each of the DT members in order and leave a comment on each of their blog hop posts.

b)  leave a comment on the challenge blog once you have finished the hop.

c) Display the blog hop banner which is at the top of this post on your blog, either in a post or on your side bar.

The First Prize is all 4 images in the new release

and we have 4 Runner up prizes of one new image each.  Winners will be chosen at random!

Easy eh?

The hop will close 12pm midday GMT on Monday 2nd MAY and the winner will be announced at 9am GMT on Tuesday 3rd MAY

Now onto the challenge - which is the other way you can win a prize.. and this week its KERRY who has chosen the theme which is  ....

FASHION

 So you have 2 ways to win a prize .. you can just play along with the hop or enter the challenge .. and for the brave you can do both! 

And if you don't win.. you can still enjoy the stamps at a discount price as the stamps will be on sale from Tuesday with a special price of £5.50 until Monday May 2nd 

Have fun.. and cant wait to see your fabulous fashionable creations

Wow! What an introduction! You should have arrived here from one of my "card idols" Jeanie aka "The Spotted Chick". Nothing like trying to follow the best! Here is my card with just one of the new stamp releases.

I guess I am really hoping for some warm sunny weather cause I just had to go with the flip flops. This image comes with 3 sentiments and the one I chose got all stickled up around the edges to add a little bling to the card. I have a palm tree charm dangling from the ribbon and tried to use some bright tropical colors on my card. Alright everyone, the next person on the hop is the fabulous and multitalented Lisa!

New digi site to check out!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope the Easter bunny was good to you and that everyone remembered the true reason for the holiday also. I cannot say I am an overly religious person but I do believe in a higher power and the importance of doing the right thing to make this world a better place and to treat others with respect and courtesy.

I wanted to let everyone know about a new digi site that has some adorable images. Just look at this happy van. I also bought some neat surf board digis but didn't size the right when I printed them to put them all on the card together but that is in the plans! My buddy Lisa and her daughter Beth have opened this new site called "Squidgi Digi" and the link and badge is on the side of my blog. They also have a contest going on to win some blog candy by picking a name for this cutie and if Beth picks your name, you win!

The paper is called Cafe Mediterranean, I have added some recollections lace and flower and then applied a layer of glossy accents over the windshield. She is also mounted on kraft cardstock which I never use to use but have kinda started liking.

Ok, that is it for me today. Back to work tomorrow and more rain. Oh well, April showers bring May flowers, right? Lordy I hope so.

Lace and frills for Kraftin Kimmie!

Ok gals, this week at Kraftin Kimmies the challenge is to use lace and/or frilly ribbon on your card. That should be easy peasy right?!  The image I have chosen is Princess Petunia and I have chosen to do her in shades of orange. Not my favorite color to work with but love the paper so I went with it.

I really need to work on my shading for ruffles, just can't seem to get the hang of it no matter how many youtube videos I watch but it's not bad. I added lace from the Recollections line along the side of the image and some lace I had sitting on the shelf in the back, stickled the edge of her dress and on the mini roses and backed it all with dark brown paper. I know it looks black in the photo but I thought that was too harsh so I used dark brown instead. So here is your chance to win, play along with the challenge and you could win the stamp used on Kristas card, she used the new Diana image and it is so sweet!

All that scraps challenge

I need to work on my blog post titles, very boring but I am just not that imaginative, usually. I have several designs from All that scraps but haven't used them nearly enough. I love this little Birgitta on stump and the challenge this week is to make handmade flowers. Mine are pretty simple, a stamped and colored image in the corner and a rolled rose in the center of the ribbon but they are both handmade so I am good to go.

I also used a little charm I picked up last weekend and hung it from the ribbon, it is a little mushroom and just fit this image perfectly. The butterfly is clear green plastic but I added some light green stickles to the wings and brown stickles to the body so it actually came out pretty well. The paper is called the Cotton Stack that I picked up at Michaels a few days ago. Don't know why I didn't get it before, the papers are nice and bright with glitter on quite a few. Right up my alley.

Okay, that is it for tonite. Check back in the morning for my next kraftin kimmie guest dt card, purty purty!

Yeah, the sun is out!

Morning ya'll! I'm not southern at all (my mother in law is from Alabama but I don't think that counts) but I am so happy to see some sun today that I just had to throw that in. Of course it is suppose to rain again for the next 5 days but I will take what I can get!

Today's card is for a friend who just had some oral surgery done so I thought I would make her a little card and pop it in the mail. This image is from Zlatoena on etsy, enabled by Jeanie at The Spotted Chick who also did a card but with a different bunny image.

I have used a spellbinders die for both the butterfly and the sentiment cut out, then I washed over the patterned paper on the butterfly with some twinkling h2o's so it has a little glimmer then added some liquid pearls down the center. The antenna are flower stamens. The blue die behind the sentiment is from MFT. The inside of the card says "You're feeling better soon"

Ok, need to go and make my card for next week cause the Ladybugs are having a blog hop and these designs are VERY different from what we normally have. Make sure you come by Tuesday to see what we have in store!

Paper shelter challenge

Afternoon everyone in blogland! I am on vacation this week so have managed to make 2 cards (so far), one of which I can show you now, the other has to wait a few days. I am also going to show you how I keep track of some of my craft items so I don't buy multiples of things.  Ok, first off is a card for The Paper Shelter which is a sketch.

Their images are just so darn cute and whimsical! I mean, look at the happy dragon he gets to ride. I wanna fly a dragon to work too! Can you just imagine the look on my patients faces if I landed in their front yard on a dragon? Probably best not to do that, could induce a coronary!  I am sorry I don't know who this paper is by, I have had it set aside with the partially colored image for awhile now but the sentiment is from lotv (thanks Elaine!) and the folded flower behind it is a die from The Cats Pajamas, much easier to use than the long folded strips I think.

Ok, here is my second item which I made about a year ago but took apart to put one of the new kraftin kimmie images on it and took to the stamp show this past weekend.

It is just a small book made with my bind it all, I added dividers to section into areas (stickles, spellbinders, twinkling h20's etc) and then used Graphic 45 paper and the new Clarabelle fairy on the front to decorate it. I added a little bling but nothing that stands out much as I carried it around in my purse. Excuse the handwriting, pretty sloppy I know but it works.  Ok guys, that is it for me for today but stay tuned, I have a feeling I just might be back tomorrow! Oh how I love vacation time...

It's Anything goes for LCI !!!

Well today is Tuesday and you know what that means, time for a new Ladybug Crafts Ink challenge and this week is a free for all...anything goes! I went shopping this weekend and saw the cutest little treat holders so I tried my hand at making one. My image is a Cupcake Cutie from Ladybugs Crafts and I added a flower in the corner for a little pop.

Not the best job but my 4 year old niece will enjoy it. It is basically an 8 x 3 sheet of paper with a scored 1 inch base that I trimmed on the top with a border punch, added the candy in a little plastic bag and stapled it shut. I need a smaller image so when my new ladybug images come I am gonna try again. These would be fast and cute for favors at a shower or birthday party. You could use all types of images on them, very versatile. Ok, that is it for me for today. Let's see some creativity this week guys, there is a free stamp and a banner for the top 3 up for grabs!

And now for some more exciting news....Next week we are having a blog hop for Ladybug Crafts!

 Wait til you see the new designs, something a little different from the ladybugs!  Hope to see you there!

My weekend haul!

Please scroll down for my kraftin kimmie post.

Happy Sunday guys! As you know, this weekend was the Akron stamp show and I have to tell you I had a great time but for all the money I spent, it sure doesn't seem to be as much as I thought but I am happy with what I got. I know it is probably hard to see my picture, can't really climb up much higher to look down on it and I had to take it on my back porch cause my craft room counter is already covered in stuff. Here is a basic lowdown, 4 spellbinders dies, a marianne die (really surprised to see a few things from the UK), a nellie snellen corner die, a mega mount from impression obsession (I have the hardest time getting my images to stamp completely no matter what I try) a half dozen stamps, a few papers, an epiphany button maker, some liquid pearls, viva decor pearl pen and a couple of paper pads. A few other odds and ends but that is the majority of it. Now to find a place to put it all....

Release Day is Here!

Today Kraftin’ Kimmie Stamps is releasing their new APRILstamps! 

As you’ve seen over the last few days in our Krafty Peeks, we have AMAZING new stamps for you to play with this month!  We have some beautiful FAIRIES just in time for spring, from Annie Rodrigue!  There are some more adorable Dress Up Kids from Steven Leary and we have a super fun new set of Krafty Quotes for you as well!!

You will get to see most of the new images while you sit back and enjoy our Krafty Hop!  You’ll see all the Krafty Girls, as well as some very special Krafty Guests along the way!! If you want to start from the beginning, just head over to the Kraftin Kimmie Challenge Blog!  As you hop from blog to blog, be sure to leave a comment at each and every stop because some lucky stampers will win packages of stamps from the new release!!  And when you’re done hoppin’, be sure to head over to the Kraftin Kimmie Store, because ALL the new images are NOW available! 

Today I am showing off Tallulahbelle in her beautiful tutu. These images are a dream to color and so much fun to add sparkle too cause every fairy needs her bling! 

I have used some stickles on the inside of her wings and added some pearls to the corners of the card. Make sure you go to each girls blog and leave a comment for your chance to win some stamps. Next on the list is ANGIE so off you go! 

Let the fairies fly!

Well today is the preview for the new Annie Rodriguez stamps for Kraftin Kimmie and can I say they are probably my favorites so far out of all the releases. My image for today is called Isabelle and I went outside of my comfort zone and used blue papers and colored her hair pink. I have also followed the challenge for this week which is to use 3 consecutive squares on the bingo card I will post after my card.

I have again stickled her within an inch of her life on her wings, the ruffle on her dress and even some spica glitter pen in her hair, unfortunately you just cannot catch the beauty of it with a camera so you will have to trust me that she sparkles irl. The sentiment is included and I have used the new Crate Paper line of papers and some pink satin ribbon along the side. So that is my 3 elements, glitter, ribbon and accessory stamp. Make sure you check out the other krafty girls cause there are several more images to be seen and I will be back tomorrow for the blog hop. Today I am shopping so will try to post my haul later in the week. Enjoy your weekend!

Kraftin Kimmie previews Day 2

Good morning everyone! Today starts the new release from Steven Leary for Kraftin Kimmie stamps and I am featuring Dancing Dylan. Make sure you put on your sunglasses cause this photo came out sort of bright! Although with the rain we are having and expecting more of bright is sort of nice! 

I have uses a Marianne die from my buddy Elaine and some lace I have had laying around for awhile, trying to use up some stuff before getting more and since this weekend is the big stamping show in my area I am trying to behave prior to going. My name is Amanda and am a paper and embellishment hoarder. First step is admitting you have a problem!  I don't think you can see in the photo but I also added some of my twinkling h2o's to her wings and skirt to give them a little sparkle but it adds a little something irl. Ok, make sure you check out the rest of the team and hold on to your seats cause what is to come the rest of the week is gonna blow your socks off!

Kraftin Kimmie Sentiments 3

Today is all about sentiments and I LOVE the way my card came out today. And since I don't drink coffee (quit rolling your eyes) but I do love tea this sentiment is right up my alley. This is from the Krafty Sentiments 3 collection which you can purchase at Kraftin Kimmie stamps.

I find it amazing how much women actually do accomplish at times between work, family and trying to take care of themselves. Paper is My Minds Eye "so sophie" and the border punch is new from MS. I do have some viva decor anthracite pearls on the punch also but they don't show up, black against black just doesn't photograph well. Two more days left until the new Annie Rodriguez images and tomorrow is Steven Leary!

TGF birthday card

Happy Hump Day everyone! Countdown to the weekend has started! I enjoy my job but I do still love my days off. I whipped this card up this morning for a wonderful friend of mine, Renee. She loves the color orange so that was my jump off point and I love TGF so there ya go. I tried a new hair combination which is similar in color to Renee's, it is the E50's and I think I am liking it although could use just a bit more contrast. I haven't decided what saying to put on it yet but something like "Birthdays are nice but new carpet rocks!" The story behind that is Renee got new carpet a few weeks ago and was so excited she said the carpet installers were looking at her like she was crazy. She said something like I am old and don't get out much. Ha Ha!

The paper is Mabel by My Minds Eye, buttons are PTI and the flower is felt cut with a PTI flower die. I am loving all of the new metal dies out there, they cut so beautifully. Oh, and do you see the flower frog I used? I am trying to improve my photo taking skills and thought this might lift the card a bit. Under $4 at Michaels if you want one. My husband gets so mad when I tell people how much I paid for something but if it is a good deal ya gotta share, right?! Ok, off to work on another card, don't forget the kraftin kimmie new releases start tomorrow!

Celebrate good times c'mon!

Happy Tuesday everyone and especially for me cause tomorrow is my day off, Woo Hoo! Todays challenge for ladybug crafts is celebration, does my title take you back a bit? That song just popped in my head so I "rolled with it". See, I am hip no matter what anyone else says! I have used a Nikki image today sipping a martini. The paper is the new Paper Crate, love those flowers and the sentiment is by lotv, a little gift from my buddy Elaine. I have used viva decor pearl cream pen for the pearls on the sides and the border die is from MFT's.

Ok, now it is your turn and your chance to win a stamp of your choice or be chosen as one of the top three. So "fly" on over to to the ladybug challenge and post your card. You can't win if you don't play!

Sketch time at Kraftin Kimmies!

Happy weekend everyone! I am working today but will hopefully get a chance to peek in on everyone later. Today is my second week as a guest designer for Kraftin Kimmie stamps and can I tell ya, these girls are great! Always checking on one another and supporting each other, aren't we lucky to be part of this big circle of things? Amazing how we can touch one anothers lives yet quite likely never even meet. Okay, enough blabber out of me, onto my card. This week we have a sketch to follow by Michele at http://papercuts.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/. I will post it after my card for you, it was a wonderful sketch to work with and since I am a "sketchaholic" I will be saving this one to use again. Do you notice my restraint with the exclamation points? I'm tryin!

This image is called Mae and can be purchased at http://www.kraftinkimmiestamps.com/. I have colored her with copics, the paper is by Cosmo Cricket called Delovely. Aren't these bright colors just gorgeous! I have used some flowers I pulled off a stem down the side, I think they are from the bridal section at Michaels, and a large rose in the corner. Sorry I don't know who the sentiment is by, was just sitting in my drawer and seemed to fit. I need to check out kimmies store and get some more sentiments, the ones she puts together are so cute. I layered everything with black cardstock to make it pop and used my new Janome sew mini for all the stitching. LOVE that little sewing machine. FYI, I got mine from overstock.com really reasonably, refurbished and it works like a dream. Ok, I think that is it for today. Don't forget next week is our blog hop and trust me when I say I think this latest release is probably my favorite of all times. Wasn't I lucky to be chosen to be a guest designer this month?!!!!  Ok, here is the sketch so let's see what ya got girls

Sketch correction

Good morning everyone. This post is an update and to correct an  error for our challenge on Tuesday. We posted a sketch and inadvertently the name of the designer was cropped off. We want to give credit where credit is due and let you know that the author is Maya Stenshagen at http://mayas-hobbyblogg.blogspot.com.     Thanks for your understanding and please know this was not intentional.

Ladybug challenge... a sketch!

Tuesday again and time for my ladybug card! This week is a sketch by Tams which you can find over at http://ladybugscraftsinkchallengeblog.blogspot.com. Remember you can use any stamp now to win and there is a free stamp up for grabs plus the chance to be picked as one of the top three and be able to display the ladybug banner on your blog. My card today uses Magnum and some new of the My Minds eye paper, I believe this one is Gertie plus some brads from the Mattie line. Ribbon was hanging on my wall, no idea where it came from! I applied viva decor pearl pen drops to the side of my design but there was a cream color and you could barely see them so I sprinkles some glitter on them and voila! brown glitter pearl thing a ma bobs! Technical aren't I? Hey, anyone going to the Akron Ohio stamp show next weekend? I can't wait to get my hands on some more new stuff and hop on over to Archivers while I am there.

Ok, that is is for now, I need to head out to work. Lets see what you got guys!

Kraftin Kimmie Challenge!

Well, here is my Kraftin Kimmie debut and the challenge this week is "Stripes". My card is pretty simple so the stripes stood out on the card and even though the weather here is glum the colors on my card are bright and cheery! You will have to forgive me for putting exclamation points after pretty much every sentence, that is just how excited I am this week! My image is colored with copics with glossy accents on the glasses for some shine. Ribbon from stash and the paper is Making Memories Flutter line.

Ok, zip on over to  http://kraftinkimmiestamps.blogspot.com/ for a chance to win a free stamp! Better get use to all the exclamation points, I think the thrill is gonna be here for a bit!

WooHoo!!! More exciting news for me!

TGIF guys and this week really couldn't be going any better! As you guys saw yesterday I am thrilled to be able to say I am now a design team member for ladybug crafts and today I get to let you know that for April I will be a guest designer for Kraftin Kimmie stamps! I better go and play the lottery with all the good luck I am having! Can I just tell you guys I am (almost) speechless with the changes that are taking place for me lately. Barely a year ago when I really started getting into card making, not even a year since I started my blog and look at me now, could never have imagined it in my wildest dreams. Well, maybe fantasized about it but never thought it would really happen. Ok, enough blabbering and patting myself on the back. I still have a dayjob to do. Hope everyone is safe and warm and have a great weekend!