Darque Obsession – Are You Obsessed Yet?

I am SO happy to post about my lovely and very dear friend Tonya‘s new stamp line called Darque Obsession!! How is THAT for a cool name?   Tonya has just released three beautiful images, that you can see below, with more to come!  Click the image below to visit Tonya’s store, the Stamp Happens Shop, to get your own Obsession on!

I am really excited for Tonya and her new venture, so I was so happy to be able to use this gorgeous image today.  The one I used is Darcy, and she’s so elegant and beautiful.  And here is my card —

I colored Darcy with Prismacolor pencils and added lots of glitter to the image, with Stickles (blue and silver) and with a Sakura Gelly Roll glitter pen.  I started out coloring her with Copics, but I ended up preferring the lighter touch that I could get from pencils.  I embossed the starry background on deep blue metallic cardstock and added a few blue rhinestones.   A “beautiful” sentiment, a Prima flower, and done!   I hope you like Darcy – I hope to feature the other Darque ladies sometime soon. 

Thanks so much for visiting today – and Happy Mother’s Day to all the lovely moms out there!!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white cardstock; The Paper Company blue metallic cardstock

Stamps:  Darcy from the Darque Obsession line from the Stamp Happens Shop; Autumn Leaves/Rhonna Farrer sentiment

Ink:  Brilliance in Sky Blue

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Fiskars stars texture plate; Prima flower; dimensionals; Prismacolor pencils; Stickles in Waterfall and Silver; Sakura Gelly Roll pen in Clear Star; blue rhinestones.

Friends Having Fun and Some Little Cards

Have you heard the news about Friends Having Fun yet? It’s a brand-new challenge blog that is just about to debut!  And this one will be a little different – fun is the first priority for this site!  Challenges will be weekly, and will rotated among four teams – see below for the challenge themes and the team leaders:

Alison – Color Challenge (week 1)

Dani – Sketch Challenge (week 2)

Sarabeth – Recipe Challenge (week 3)

Erica – Pop Culture Challenge (week 4)

In addition, each team is looking for 3-4 friends (design team members) who would like to have fun!  All the details can be found here and the deadline for submission is this Friday, March 12th.  Details are still being worked out for the debut of the challenges, which is now tentatively scheduled for late March.  I will be sure to update here! 

Now, feel like seeing some little cards?  There are times when I seriously love making smaller-scale cards like the three pictured below.  They come together quickly and the size forces me to really keep them simple.  

This first one is my fave of the bunch – I absolutely loved using that sentiment stamp (by Verve Stamps) and that designer paper (by Pink Paislee).  Putting them together just made me happy!   I think I need to use that stamp again really soon – as a matter of fact, an idea is coming to me as I type this….hmmm….

The Twilighty card below went to the winners of blog candy prizes from the recent Twilight Tuesday Farewell Blog Hop.  It was a bit bittersweet making this final Twilight-themed project, but I HAD to use that sentiment from Beth’s StampInsanity Stamps set (called Otherworldly Loves).  Although I may very well make more Twilight-themed projects in the future, this definitely felt a bit poignant since I was officially done with my Twilight Tuesday duties when I mailed out the blog candy prizes and these cards.  I hope that the prize winners liked them!

And this last card also resulted from that Twilight-card-making session – exactly the same as the card above with a different sentiment and die cut shapes in the center. 

Thanks so much for visiting – see you again soon!

What I Used:

Anything is Possible Card:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white cardstock, Stampin’ Up! Ruby Red cardstock, Pink Paislee designer paper

Stamps:  Verve Stamps

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Ruby Red

Accessories:  Stampin’ Up! ticket corner punch, Kaiser red pearls, dimensionals

Twilighter and Thank You Cards:

Paper: Papertrey Ink vintage cream and black cardstock, Stampin’ Up! Riding Hood Red cardstock; K & Co. designer paper

Stamps:  StampInsanity Stamps Otherworldly Loves set (“Twilighter”); Verve Stamps (“thank you”)

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Riding Hood Red

Accessories:  Spellbinders Nestabilities labels dies, dimensionals, K&Co adhesive jewels

Stamp Happens Sketch Challenge, With a Chance to WIN!

My dear friends Tonya, of the Stamp Happens Shop, and Beth, of StampInsanity Stamps, are doing a joint Sketch Challenge, and this one has a PRIZE!  

A winner will be randomly selected from all challenge entrants and will receive a free StampInsanity set called Zeke & Maddie.  This set is adorable and perfect for Valentine’s Day – check it out here!

I love a good sketch – and this challenges happens to be all about love too!  That is the one rule to this challenge – to create something based on love or Valentine’s Day.  Oh, and to link back to the Stamp Happens Shop as well.  Click here for all the details and play along!

And here is my challenge card.  A very simple one at that, but definitely about love, in all its pink, Cupid-ish glory!   The designer paper on this card is BoBunny from their Persuasion line (and from Tonya’s shop).

Have a great day & thanks so much for visiting!

What I Used:

Paper: Papertrey Ink white cardstock, Stampin’ Up! Regal Rose cardstock, BoBunny Persuasion designer paper

Stamps:  Pink Paislee

Ink:  Stampin’ Up! Regal Rose

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Sizzix embossing folder and Spellbinders Nestabilities curved rectangles dies; dimensionals, Kaiser pearls

A Day Filled with Possibility

Ahh, doesn’t “a day filled with possibility” sound nice?  That’s the sentiment on this birthday card, which turned out to be one of the simplest cards I’ve made in ages. (Clean and simple doesn’t always come naturally to me…)And the main reason for this card to be clean and simple? This gorgeous Bo Bunny paper.  I just could not pile more layers on top of that paper – I just needed to leave it be and allow it to be seen!  This paper is from a Bo Bunny line called Snowy Serenade that is just jaw-droppingly gorgeous, and the entire line is available at my dear friend Tonya’s Stamp Happens Shop!  Go and grab yours!

And speaking of Tonya and Bo Bunny Snowy Serenade paper, check out this gorgeous card that she recently sent me. (Click to enlarge!)

Thanks so much for visiting and have a great day! What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white cardstock, Stampin’ Up! Elegant Eggplant cardstock; Bazzill Bling Diamond; Bo Bunny Press Snowy Serenade designer paper

Stamp:  Verve Stamps

Ink: Stampin’ Up!  Elegant Eggplant

Accessories:  Cuttlebug: snowflake die and embossing folder; border embossing folder from Organic Flourish set; Stampin’ Up! Hodgepodge Hardware; Michaels/Recollections brads; Stickles in Diamond; dimensionals

Wildflower Kids New Stamp Release

Two new Wildflower Kids stamp sets are being released today and are available at the Stamp Happens Shop!  Check out these little cuties – the girls’ set is called Pretty In Pink and the boys’ set is called No Girls Allowed. 

And here is my card that features the Pretty in Pink set – this little one is Ivy.  

This card is also loosely based on a Twilight Tuesday Sketch Challenge (TTSC9, to be specific).  We’re doing a review of all 15 of the past sketches this week – click here to check them out!   And while you’re clicking away, be sure to visit the members of the Stamp Sistahs Design Team to see what they have created for today!

Jen, Deconstructing Jen; Owner, Wildflower Kids Stamps

Tonya, Stamp Happens

Alyssa, My Addiction

Donna, Donna’s Diary

Gayle, Little Bird Design

Leigh Ann, Stamping With Annie B.

Sarabeth, Scrap Happie

Stephanie, A Paper Buffet

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white cardstock; Bazzill Bling (peach) and Bazzill cardstock (pink); Chatterbox designer paper

Stamps:  Wildflower Kids Pretty in Pink stamp set, available at the Stamp Happens Shop

Ink:  Versafine Onyx Black and Stampin’ Up! Cameo Coral

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Floral Fantasy embossing folder & Spellbinders Nestabilities flower die; dimensionals; ribbon; Prima flower

New Stamps! StampInsanity Release Day

It’s a big stamp release today for StampInsanity Stamps!  StampInsanity owner Beth Schultz has come up with three, count ‘em, three, new rubber stamp sets, available today!  They’re sold exclusively at the Stamp Happens Shop – go and grab yours!  The three stamp sets are called Morgan’s Star, Henry’s Snowman, and Naughty and Nice.  I used the latter wicked cute set on my card for today – more on that below.

The Stamp Sistahs Design Team will be displaying their projects using these stamp sets today as well – check them out!

Senior Design Team Members

Tonya, Stamp Happens; Owner, Stamp Happens Shop

Beth, Stamp Insanity; Owner, StampInsanity Stamps

Jen, Deconstructing Jen, Owner, Wildflower Kids Stamps

Design Team Members

Alyssa, My Addiction

Donna, Donna’s Diary

Gayle, Little Bird Design

Leigh Ann, Stamping With Annie B.

Sarabeth, Scrap Happie

Stephanie, A Paper Buffet

And here’s my project – my first holiday card of the season!  It was FUN to break out that red and green combo for this one!  The two stamps used on this card are from the Naughty and Nice set.  And the cheeky nature of these images informed the design of the card.  The designer paper that I used, from Bo Bunny’s Tis the Season line (also from the Stamp Happens shop!) is a bit distressed, and I was just about to start distressing away on everything else on the card.  But I realized that using the “Jingle Bell Rock Star” sentiment called for some bling on the card, so I went in that direction, with lots of glittery touches on the stamped images, rhinestones, and glittery red snowflakes.  You know, that classic sign of Christmas.  And Morgan is SO fun to color – look at her cute little winking expression! 

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink Rustic Cream and Vintage Cream cardstock; Stampin’ Up! Riding Hood Red and Garden Green cardstock; Bo Bunny Tis the Season designer paper

Stamps:  StampInsanity Stamps Naughty and Nice set

Ink:  Versafine black

Accessories:  Cuttlebug: Spellbinders Nestabilities long rectangle and square dies; Kaiser rhinestones; Martha Stewart snowflake punch; Sakura Gelly Roll pens (clear, white, red, and gold); Copic Ciao markers; dimensionals

Halloween, Vampire-Style

Happy Halloween everyone!  This is a good day to share a project I made with Beth’s StampInsanity Stamp set called Halloween Henry.   This set, along with all of the other stamps in the StampInsanity line, are available exclusively at Tonya’s Stamp Happens Shop.

And here is Henry himself, in full vamp regalia.  One thing I love about this guy is that he seems so happy to be a vampire!  He’s quite pleased about the whole situation.   Another thing from Tonya’s shop, used in this card – my new of Copic markers!  I’m not sure, but I believe this might be my first Copic-colored card.  It honestly didn’t occur to me to record the information on which colors I used, but I will definitely work on that for future posts.

Have a great weekend, and thanks so much for visiting!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink Vintage Cream and Black cardstock; Stampin’ Up! Riding Hood Red cardstock; Jenni Bowlin designer paper

Stamps:  StampInsanity Stamps Halloween Henry set (vampire, sentiments, and bats)

Ink:  Versafine black and Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tea Dye

Accessories:  Cuttlebug:  Swiss Dots embossing folder, and Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels and tag dies; Making Memories black brads; black adhesive jewels, Copic Markers;  Sakura Gelly Roll pens

Release Day for Wildflower Kids Holiday Stamps!

Today’s the day for the release of a brand-new digital stamp set from Wildflower Kids Stamps, available exclusively at the Stamp Happens Shop!  Go check them out – they’re as cute as can be!  This digital set, called ‘Tis the Season, is holiday-themed and the images can be seen below. 

I am having some technical difficulties with my printer and don’t have a project to share at the moment.  I will have something to display using these stamps as soon as I can; in the meantime, go and visit the talented members of the Stamp Sistahs Design Team to see what they have to show off today!

Senior Design Team Members

Tonya, Stamp Happens; Owner, Stamp Happens Shop

Beth, Stamp Insanity; Owner, StampInsanity Stamps

Jen, Deconstructing Jen; Owner, Wildflower Kids Stamps

Design Team Members

Alyssa, My Addiction

Donna, Donna’s Diary

Gayle, Little Bird Design

Jacquie, Family and Crafting

Leigh Ann, Stamping With Annie B.

Sarabeth, Scrap Happie

Stephanie, A Paper Buffet

Looking for a Free Broom Ride?

Well…I might just be able to help you out with that.  Or, more specifically, Lily can help  – she is always up for a free broom ride!  Lily is one of the Wildflower Kids, and her stamp, along with the broom rides sentiment, is available in the new stamp set called Free Broom Rides.  This set, along with the other new sets from Wildflower Kids Stamps, is available exclusively at the Stamp Happens Shop. 

I stayed with traditional Halloween colors for this card, and colored Lily with Prismacolor colored pencils.  Lily is really fun to color – go grab your own set and get coloring too!

What I Used:

Paper:  Papertrey Ink white and black cardstock; The Paper Company peach shimmer cardstock

Stamps:  Wildflower Kids Stamps Free Broom Rides set, from the Stamp Happens Shop

Ink:  Ranger Archival Ink in jet black; Stampin’ Up! Pumpkin Pie

Accessories: Cuttlebug: Boo to You and Swiss Dots embossing folder; Spellbinders Nestabilities oval, scalloped oval, and tag dies; Making Memories brad; dimensionals; ribbon; Prismacolor pencils with gamsol;

Journal for the Breathings of Your Heart

I totally stole those words.  They’re not mine…but I can tell you where you can get ‘em!  That line is from a quote by William Wordsworth, and comes courtesy of a beautiful new stamp from Beth Schultz’s StampInsanity Stamps.  The stamp is from the set called Meet Henry & Morgan and is available exclusively at the Stamp Happens Shop.

Because I am totally obsessed with making Bind-it-All books lately, I thought of using this stamp on a journal as soon as I saw it.   This one is an 8”x8” journal covered with one of my all-time favorite papers from K & Company.   I know from past experience that carrying books around is really hard on any embellishments that are on the covers, so I like to keep books that will actually be regularly used (rather than displayed) really simple.  So to reinforce the die cut labels on the front of the journal, I backed them with a lightweight chipboard and then ran them through my Cuttlebug.  I think I ran them through twice to be sure they cut properly, and that resulted in a really clean cuts and embossing – see below: Here’s a view of the entire front of the journal.  For the labels, I used Papertrey Ink’s Rustic Cream cardstock, which is really nice with its flecks of fiber, and the green shade is Stampin’ Up’s Sage Shadow, a really lovely color. 

The inside covers of the journal were done in Sage Shadow and the back is covered with Stampin’ Up! Creamy Caramel, one of my all-time fave colors.

What I Used:

Paper:  K & Company designer paper; Stampin’ Up! cardstock in Sage Shadow and Creamy Caramel; Papertrey Ink cardstock in Rustic Cream

Stamp:  StampInsanity Stamps, Meet Henry & Morgan set, from the Stamp Happens Shop

Ink:  Versafine in Vintage Sepia

Accessories:  Cuttlebug with Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Four dies; Zutter Bind-It-All machine, covers, antique brass o-wires