Inspiration Week Winners!!!

Thank you to all of you who stopped by this week and left sweet comments here and on our social media pages.  I appreciate each and every one and truly wish I could mail you all something.  Without further ado, the winners of this week's giveaways are...

 

Tropical Paradise & Island Getaway Stamps Winner

Carol Hintermeier

 

Fresh & Fruity Stamps & Wavy Border Dies Winner

Taunya Butler

 

Stars & Stripes Stamps & Star Border Die Winner

Brandi R

 

Summer Picnic & Comfy Creatures Stamps Winner

Jeanne Jordan

 

Woo Hoo Stamps & Dies Winner

Migdalia Rodriguez

Congratulations ladies!  I've emailed you...  ;)

Inspiration Week: Woo Hoo, Birthday Smiles & School Time Dies

Hello there!  Today's the big day!  You can now purchase all the new stamps and dies featured this week in our online store.  Yay!!!  

Before you head over I hope you will take a quick look at all the fun ways you can use our new Woo Hoo Stamps and dies.  ;)

Up first is a graduation card using the set in a straightforward way.  The set comes with both a large diploma and a little shrunken down version for the owl to carry.  For my blue background I stamped a tone-on-tone print using the "Happy Graduation" sentiment and some clear VersaMark ink.  For the yellow portion I used the star border from the Sunny Borders stamps to stamp a continuous pattern.

To round out my little scene I die-cut some clouds from white cardstock using the Rain or Shine dies and used the Fishtail Banner dies for my sentiment strip.

My next card uses the larger graduation cap and diploma in the set without the owl for a slightly more sophisticated design.  To create the red star print, I used the three smallest star stamps from Stars and Stripes to create a random pattern.

Up next I thought it would be fun to show how you don't have to be limited to graduation cards with this set.  For this one I created a special thank you card for teachers. Using my MISTI I stamped a random alphabet letter border using our Sweet Script stamps stamped onto black cardstock and heat embossed in white to evoke the feeling of a chalkboard and to help reinforced my school theme.  I completed my card with the banner from Sunny Borders and the "Thank You" sentiment from Stars & Stripes.

My last card goes patriotic with the cute owl from this set, adding the little hat & sentiment from Stars & Stripes. To create my background I cut 3 to 4 of the Star Borders from red, white and blue cardstock and layered them on a kraft panel.  Because I alternated their position on my panel and the border is only 5.5" long, I cut my finished panel apart and hid the gap under my blue panel (inked up in Stormy Sky distress ink).  I finished off my card using the Fishtail Banner dies to create my little pennant for my sentiment.

Here's a closer look at the 3x4 stamp set and dies featured on today's cards...

 

Unfortunately I didn't find the time to create some new projects with these, but I'm super excited to finally offer the Birthday Smiles and School Time dies that so many of you have been waiting for as well (the Happy Home dies are expected to follow in July).  ;) 

 

Would you like to win some of these fun products?  Today we are giving away the Woo Hoo Stamps and coordinating dies to one lucky winner using the Rafflecopter below.  You still have time to win the products featured earlier in the week as well.  ;)

Winners will be announced here on the blog on Sunday, April 3rd.  :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I hope you've enjoyed all the ideas this week and will stop by our shop to pick up some of our newest items.  For a limited time we are offering two different exclusive bundles to save you a little extra money and save you some time at checkout.  Don't forget you can also use the code "SAVE5" to save an extra $5 off all orders over $49.  ;)

Inspiration Week: Introducing Summer Picnic & Comfy Creatures

Hello there!  Today is all about ideas featuring our Comfy Creatures and Summer Picnic sets!  I hope you will take a look at all the fun ideas and sign up for today's giveaway.  

I found myself turning to Comfy Creatures over and over again while working on my cards for this release.  It has so many versatile images that compliment our other sets for fun scene building options.  While I sadly forgot to use them together for my cards this week, the new Comfy Creatures set was designed to mix and match with our previously released Sending My Love stamp set for endless combinations.  I also added two tails to the new set which can be added to either side of the body which work great for the cat and monkey faces.

Up first is a fun scene using the Summer Picnic stamps and the grassy border stamp from Sunny Sentiments.  I might have gone a little overboard with all the images I layered on this card, but it was hard to stop with all the cute choices available in this set! 

My second card features the boy body in swim trunks and the hula girl body from Comfy Creatures.  I decided to turn them into monkeys using the two different faces provided in the set and stamping their tails so that they could intertwine with each other.  

I cut my card base using the Stitched Heart Dies and masked off my beach and waves using Post-it Tape and our new Wavy Border dies featured on Monday (inked up from top to bottom in Tumbled Glass, Tea Dye and Salty Ocean distress inks).  After the ink was dry I heat embossed my greeting using the "aloha" sentiment from the new Island Getaway stamps.

Up next is another card featuring the different critters from Comfy Creatures.  I inked up each rectangle in my grid design using Twisted Citron, Mermaid Lagoon, Mustard Seed and Peacock Feathers distress ink.  I then stamped a subtle print in the background of each using some of the smaller images from the set (borrowing the leaf from Island Getaway).  When the distress ink was completely dry I heat embossed my sentiment in white.  

These critters were designed to be able to stamp together in a single layer, but I accidentally made a coloring mistake on my little monkey's head so I ended up stamping a second head and layering over the top with foam tap.  I love the dimension it gives him.  To bad he didn't fall in the center to make things look a little more balanced.  ;)

My next card uses the tree from Summer Picnic (LOVE the versatility of that tree), the monkey and sentiment from Comfy Creatures, the grass from our Sunny Sentiment dies and our Fishtail Banner dies.  

I was inspired to color my grass using a technique similar to the one shared by Nina Trapani in her tutorial HERE.  I included two different bananas in the comfy creatures set: one by itself and one for the creature to hold.  I used the extra banana in the set to stamp a random pattern in my background to reinforce the sentiment.

My next card is a simple take on the Summer Picnic set.  I paired the fun little ant images with the trail from the Backyard Bugs stamps.  I then cut a simple frame from patterned paper on my paper trimmer and stitched it to the perimeter of my card.

My last card uses the squirrel and tree (cut in half) from Summer Picnic, the birthday sentiment from Comfy Creatures, the banner and "let's celebrate" sentiment from Stars and Stripes and the grass border from Sunny Sentiments for a fun birthday card.  I think this would be super fun done up with a Fourth of July take too!  ;)

And here's another look at the new products featured on today's cards...

 

 

Would you like to win some of these fun new products?  Today we are giving away the Summer Picnic and Comfy Creatures stamps to one lucky winner using the Rafflecopter below.  If you're just joining us, make sure to check out our giveaways earlier in the week.  We will also be back tomorrow with one last prize featuring our graduation set.  

Winners will be announced here on the blog on Sunday, April 3rd.  :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I hope I've helped jump start your creative juices.  I can't wait to see what fun projects you create with all these set.  Just a reminder that all our new products will be available for sale first thing tomorrow morning in our online store.  ;)

Inspiration Week: Introducing Stars & Stripes Stamps & Star Border Die

Hello there!  How are you doing today?  I'm really excited to share ideas using our new Stars & Stripes stamps and the new standalone 5.5" star border die coming out on Friday!  While you're here be sure to sign up for our drawing of the day for your chance to win them!  ;)

My first card uses the featured Stars & Stripes Stamps, along with the panda and koala bear from the Comfy Creatures set being featured tomorrow, the shadow image from the Sunny Borders stamps and the new Star Border die.  I cut the star border from two different colors of blue cardstock and then added the stars back into the border using a Zig glue pen.

The little hat from the Stars & Stripes stamp set was designed to fit all our various creatures.  Using that as my jumping off point I went fully patriotic on this set.  I love how depending on the way you color the little clothes from Comfy Creatures and what you have them hold, you can create a completely different look!

Up next is a card using the stars from the set, along with the star border stamp from our Sunny Borders stamp set which I used to create a tone-on-tone background with VersaMark ink.  After I arranged the stars, I adhered them with a glue pen and popped some up with foam tape for extra dimension.  I also added some clear Wink of Stella glitter to all the smaller stars and a little glossy accent to a few random ones.

For my next card I used that same star border stamp from the Sunny Borders stamp set, alternating between red and blue ink.  I then sponged on festive berries and mermaid lagoon distress ink over the top using mini sponge daubers.  I colored my rocket pops in coordinating colors with Copic Markers, stamped little faces on them using the faces from the set and then covered them in glossy accents to make them shiny.  I think you could get a little extra life from this image by coloring it in fun happy colors for summer too.

For my next card I wanted to create a special card perfect for giving to a loved on Veteran's day or for putting in the mail telling our military men and women how much they mean to us.  I used the bunting image to create a little banner and paired it with the flag from the set.

Before I go, I wanted to share a couple of everyday ideas using this set just to show how versatile it can be.  I love blue, black and yellow together and I couldn't wait to create a fun scene using this little rocket and matching sentiment.  The set comes with 4 different curly trails that are perfect for pairing with the rocket.  I think with a little creativity you might be able to use them to create your own firework image too.  ;)

To color my images I used Copic Markers in Y15, Y17, Y19, Y38 and YR04.  For my background I sponged on Mermaid Lagoon and Blueprint Sketch distress inks trying to create an ombre effect where my die-cut window was.  To add a little variation, I heat embossed three of my tiny stars in white, along with my sentiment and rocket trails.

For my last card I used the pinwheel image along with a pocket die-cut on my Silhouette.  The bunting image from the set can be colored in patriotic colors, but it also looks great colored in fun rainbow colors!  On a side note, I needed the lengthen the stick on my pink pinwheel so I stamped an extra stick and tried to hide the seam behind the yellow pinwheel.  ;)

To create the fun shape of my card I used our Fishtail Banner dies in front (leaving it flat in back to make it easier to stand.  I then filled the bottom inside of the card with some fun coordinating patterned paper (not shown).  

And here's another look at the new products featured on today's cards...

  

Would you like to win some of these fun products?  Today we are giving away the Stars & Stripes stamps & Star Border die to one lucky winner using the Rafflecopter below.  Come back everyday this week for another chance to win the products featured that day.  

Winners will be announced here on the blog on Sunday, April 3rd.  :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I hope I was able to inspire you today.  We're more than half way through our inspiration week.  Check back tomorrow for ideas using our Summer Picnic and Comfy Creatures sets. Until then...  

Inspiration Week: Introducing Fresh & Fruity + A Giveaway

Hello there!  We're back today with lots of ideas using our new Fresh & Fruity stamps and dies coming out this Friday along with another GIVEAWAY!  

Up first I have a card using a number of the different fruit images from the set, along with the pineapple from the Tropical Paradise stamp set shared yesterday.  All of my images were colored with copic markers and then I stamped the texture on my lime and lemon using the extra image in the set with inks a bit darker than my copic coloring.  I also used a white gel pen to add shiny marks to my orange and watermelon slices.  

I finished off my white cardstock panel by die-cutting the bottom edge using a border die from the Sunny Border dies (the patterned paper is from an older Doodlebug collection called Fruit Stand).

Up next I have a card using the strawberry image from the set.  I started by coloring my strawberries with Copic Markers.  This image has a fun companion image with the seeds that can layer over the top of the main image.  I created these as a separate stamp to increase flexibility with your designs.  It can either be heat embossed in white or left off so that a cute little face from the set can be stamped instead.  I love both versions, but I am especially smitten at how the seeds pop when heat embossed!

Up next is a card focusing on the watermelon images.  I thought it would be fun to use the watermelon slices to create a scalloped border.  I cut another little scallop from coral cardstock using our Sunny Borders dies and then stamped a subtle tone-on-tone background using Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn distress inks along with the wavy stitched stamp from Backyard Bugs.

My next card uses the citrus slice from the set.  I stamped several citrus slices onto masking material, fussy cut them out and then used them to mask of the areas where the images overlapped.  I stamped my citrus slices with clear VersaMark ink onto white cardstock, heat embossed the images with white embossing powder and then colored them in with my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, a little water and a spare paint brush.  

I really struggle with watercolors, but I love how the heat embossing gives you a raised line to color within.  I am also in love with using the Strathmore Bristol paper with these Zig markers.  I love the smooth surface and the way the pens blend on the paper.

My next card focused on the pears and coordinating sentiment.  One of my favorite color schemes is pink and green so I thought it would work well for this card.  I paired Doodlebug's new swiss dots petite prints paper with the scalloped border stamps from Sunny Borders and the Sunny Borders dies.  I used the two faces from the set to add a little personality to my two pears and cut out the strips of paper for my sentiment using the Fishtail Banner dies.

For my last card I used the cherries and sentiment from the set and the sprinkles image from the Birthday Smiles stamp set which I heat embossed in white to create my tri-dot pattern.  I actually cut and colored two of the cherry images and then popped the second image up over the first with foam tape, offsetting the leaves to create dimension.  I also added some shine to my cherries using glossy accents.  :)

And here's another look at the new stamps & dies featured on today's cards...

 

Would you like to win some of these fun products?  Today we are giving away the Fresh & Fruity stamps & Wavy Border dies featured yesterday to one lucky winner using the Rafflecopter below.  

Winners will be announced here on the blog on Sunday, April 3rd.  :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway
I hope you enjoyed all the ideas today.  Come back everyday this week for more ideas and for another chance to win the products featured that day.  ;)