TSG May Release Sneak Peek - Day 1!!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Hello and welcome to Day 1 of the There She Goes May release sneak peeks!!

Melyssa and her ADORABLE characters are back this month with another SUPER AWESOME set!! Whether making a card for a boy or girl, young or old, this set will be PERFECT for congratulating them on a job well done, or letting them know how you REALLY feel! Scientifically speaking, it’s the perfect SOLUTION.

Cutie Pi is a 4x8 set that includes a total of 14 stamps and will sell for $18.

My kid might not be old enough to take on a complex science experiment now, but when she is, I'll have the perfect stamp set to show her how much she amazes me! I adore Melyssa's little kids and this set is another awesome one to add to the collection! I borrowed last week's Retro Sketches #7 for my layout.



Would you like to win the new Cutie Pi stamp set? Here is what you need to do- visit the Trendsetter’s blogs that are participating in each of the blog hop challenges and comment on their creations as you go. One of the Trendsetter’s blogs (from each hop day) will be randomly chosen as the ‘it’ blog and a winner will be picked using a random number generator from the comments left on that Trendsetter’s Blog Hop Challenge post.
You will not know which blog has been chosen so the more you comment on the better your chances are of winning new stamps! The Blog Hop Challenges will be open until 5 PM Eastern Time Saturday, April 28th, with the winner being announced during the release party chat.


Here's the blog list for you to follow!


Don't forget to come back tomorrow for Day 2!!

Supplies

Stamps: There She Goes 'Cutie Pi'

Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Going Gray, Buckaroo Blue, Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive, Creamy Caramel, Pretty In Pink, Morning Marigold, Cool Caribbean

Papers: Georgia Pacific, Bazzil Basics, PP - Crate Paper and Sassafras Lass

Access:  EK Success Corner Punch, Spellbinders Circle Nestie, Scissors, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

ATS Make It Monday!

Monday, April 23, 2012

Hi Peeps!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and got to squeeze some stamping time in! I got to work (my butt off) in the yard, cleaning up the grape vine that had overtaken the backyard for many years. We also built a small trellis for it to climb on this summer. Yesterday it rained all day, so it was the perfect day to stamp! Love it when that happens!

One of the projects I worked on yesterday was a fun mini clipboard for All That Scrap's Make It Monday! It's my turn this week and here's a little sneak peek at it...

If you want to see more, head on over to the ATS blog for all the details! ;)

TSG Mother Of All Blog Hops!

It's that time of the year again, when the TSG Trendsetters and their fans come together to create the MOTHER OF ALL BLOG HOPS! Just in time for Mother's Day too! 

 

If you're a fan and you want to hang out with us, head on over to the TSG blog post and sign up!

Search Not For A Friend...

Saturday, April 21, 2012

 Hi everyone! I felt bad about being absent most of the week, so I quickly whipped up something for you today! Don't say I don't do anything nice for you! ;)

My inspiration for this card came from some paper I bought yesterday. I spied the toile paper at Michael's and knew it had to come home with me! Why? Because it just so happens that today, There She Goes is sponsoring the challenge over at Crazy 4 Challenges and the theme - is to use black cardstock. Phhft! I can do that in my sleep! :)

So I grabbed Jen's Deconstructing Sketch #48 (EDIT: And I just realized that I goofed up the sketch - I forgot the vertical strip up the side....does stitching count?!), the toile paper and went to town! I kid you not - I whipped this baby up in under 2 hours! Laugh all you want, but that might be a record for me! (Is that sad?!)  On with the details, shall we? I sponged the edges of the toile paper (from Recollections) with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink, matted it with black cardstock then machine stitched them together. The vertical banner was made with some very old Crate paper, which I machine stitched to black cardstock and sponged the edges with Black Soot Distress Ink. I did the same thing with the Labels Four die cut panel, which was made with some paper from the La Creme collection (DCWV).

For the main panel, I used this endearing sentiment from the TSG Dream A New Dream set. It was perfect for the toile paper! I wet embossed the sentiment with Versamark ink, StazOn Jet Black ink and clear embossing powder. Next, I cut out the sentiment with an Oval Nestie and lightly sponged the edges with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. Then I matted it with more black cardstock and machine stitched the two together. I don't use a lot of embellishments (you could say I'm embellie-challenged) but I do like my buttons! So I added a couple and for the last element in Jen's sketch, I used some ruffled black lace (which I got at my LSS).

Now head on over (or back to!) the C4C blog to check out the inspiration there! Thanks so much for putting up with me this week! :)

Supplies

Stamps: There She Goes 'Dream A New Dream'

Inks: Versamark, Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap and Black Soot'

Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Black Cardstock, Bazzil Basics - Vanilla, PP - Crate Paper 'Crate Avenue Collection - Trendy', Recollections 'Toile' and Die Cuts With A View 'La Creme' 

Access: PTI Buttons - Black, PTI Rustic Button Twine - Cream, Spellbinders Oval and Labels Four Nesties, Sponges, Stampendous Clear Embossing Powder, Black Lace, Machine Stitching, Dimensionals

Happy Father's Day

Friday, April 20, 2012

Happy Friday everyone!

I had planned to blog a bit more than I have this week, but that turned out not to be the case. All that fresh air last weekend got the best of me, I think! My little girl has also been on Spring vacation, so I've been shuttling her to various places where she's hung out this week, while I work. Although, I did mange to take yesterday off work, but it was not a day of relaxation. I suggested a sleep over with 2 of her friends and spent all of yesterday at parks as well as taking our cat to and from the vet....never again. I'm pooped!

One card I managed to get done this week was this one for There She Goes (Again!) week. All week long, Jess selects 3 of the older sets to highlight. This week those sets were Dadisms, LOL Taglines and Under The Weather. Since Father's Day is only a couple of months away, I thought I'd get a little ahead of the game and make my card now! :)

Not a lot going on with this card, I know, but if you knew how long it took me to color up that image....you'd have probably kept the card simple too! ;)

To color this card, I used SU's Creamy Caramel for the floor boards, Soft Sky for the wall color, Close To Cocoa for the chair, Chocolate Chip for the table and his boots, Buckaroo Blue for his shirt and Distress Inks 'Frayed Burlap' for his pants. Oh! And Pumpkin Pie for the radio. And because I used a digi stamp (sometimes Jess gives us those when some of the Trendsetters don't have the sets), I had to print this on Georgia Pacific (Walmart) cardstock, which doesn't play nice with my choice of coloring. It soaks up the color really quickly, so you have to be sure of where you're putting it and how much you're applying. But I still like how it turned out!

Thanks so much for your patience this week! I hope you have a lovely weekend and get some stamping in! I know I will! :)

Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'Dadisms'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', Various SU ink and reinkers, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen'
Papers: Georgia Pacific, Bazzil Basics, PP - Crate Paper and K&Company
Access: PTI Button - Brown, PTI Rustic Button Twine - Jute, Machine Stitching, Sponges, Dimensionals

Smile

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Good morning!

Well, we had a very productive weekend in our yard. We cut back out huge - and I mean HUGE, Forsythia bushes, transplanted a creeping vine that was strangling the Lilacs, reduced the number of Daylilies in the front garden and transplanted some wayward tulips to another area of the garden. Oh, and we rototilled an area of the backyard ready for our veggie garden! And that was just on Sunday! I was a little sore yesterday but it was worth the effort.

I'm sorry I was a little quiet last week, but after returning from my work trip to Sacramento, I was busy trying to get the last few cards done for April's Dirty Dozen gallery - which, by the way, opened last Sunday. This month's theme is Let The Sunshine In and you should see some of the samples in that gallery! Whoa mama! I made a couple of cards using some recently released stamps and dies from All That Scraps too!

Speaking of which, today is review day over at the ATS's blog and the girls and I have changed things up a bit this week - literally! You'll get to see all sorts of new cards made from any one of the new stamps released a couple of weeks ago! Since I did a ton of gardening over the weekend, I decided to use the cutie pie from the Laugh Lines Garden stamp collection!

Is she not the cutest?! I looooove her boots! I so want a pair now! Hehe

To make this card, I stamped out the image onto some Strathmore Bristol Vellum cardstock with my StazOn Jet Black ink, then colored the image up with my SU reinkers and aquapainter brush. I used Creamy Caramel for her skin, Pretty In Pink for her blush, Buckaroo Blue (retired) for her overalls, a combination of Pumpkin Pie and Regal Rose for her boots, Sahara Sand and Blushing Bride for her bucket and a combination of Really Rust and Chocolate Chip for her hair. Oh, and I copied something that I saw Amy Young doing with her Laugh Lines girls - I gave her some green eyes! Awesome idea Amy!! I meant to give her hair a bit more shine, but I'm breaking in a new aquapainter brush and the thing leaks too much water for my liking! I prefer my brushes a little bit more worn! ;)

The card's layout is based on this week's Deconstructing Sketch #47, which I ADORE! I just turned it on it's side to suit my image. I sponged every edge with Antique Linen and Tea Dye Distress Ink, them machine stitched them to some matching cardstock. The card looked a little bare with just the twine and button on the side, so I added a little more detail by adding a border made with the Curly Q die, also from ATS! The sentiment is one of Amy R.'s ones from her So Wordy collection. I really love the fonts she uses!

Ok, now you're free to pop over to the ATS blog to check out everyone else's cards! ;) Enjoy!

Supplies
Stamps: All That Scraps 'Laugh Lines Garden' and 'So Wordy'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Pretty In Pink, Buckaroo Blue, Really Rust, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie, Regal Rose, Sahara Sand, Blushing Bride, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen and Tea Dye'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics, PTI Kraft Cardstock, PP - Cosmo Cricket's Material Girl'
Access: ATS Curly Q die, PTI Rustic Button Twine and Button - Cream, Sponges, Machine Stitching, Dimensionals

TSG151: Ribbon Challenge

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Good morning!
I hope you all had a lovely weekend. I think I've finally got over my jetlag. I took a nap Saturday afternoon and took it easy on Sunday. I don't think the long hours helped, but I'm glad to be back on my regular routine, that's for sure!

One thing I did do on Sunday was make a card for this week's There She Goes challenge. Corinna McGregor is our Trendsetter of the week and she has issued a ribbon challenge!

I finally got my hands on the Fairy Good Day set the other week, so I was itching to color this set in!

TSG is also sponsoring Jen's Sketch For You To Try Challenge this month, so of course, I had to use it this week! (And probably next week too!)

I have used these MME and Crate papers sparingly since I bought them, but at some point, you just have to let them go, right?? I thought they looked good together and I was trying to avoid going with a lot of pink - which typically would have been my first choice!

Do you notice anything different about my card?? No sewing!! Not a lick of stitching anywhere! Shocking, I know. And it was EXTREMELY HARD to resist getting my sewing machine out! But I managed to put the card together, put it on my card shelf and actually like it! :) (That's a big step for me!) As always, I colored my the fairy with my SU and Distress Ink reinkers and an aquapainter brush. I used Pool Party and a tiny bit of Tempting Turquoise on her dress and layered Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo for her hair. SU's Creamy Caramel was used for her skin and Pretty In Pink for her cheeks. The flowers and belt were colored with Rich Razzleberry and Regal Rose.

To be eligible for the giveaway, create a project using ribbon, and then go to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (April 16th). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the lookout to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG151 so we can check out your beautiful work!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!


Supplies
Stamps: There She Goes 'Fairy Good Day'
Inks: StazOn 'Jet Black', SU's Creamy Caramel, Pretty In Pink, Pool Party, Tempting Turquoise, Distress Inks 'Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo'
Papers: Strathmore Bristol Vellum, Bazzil Basics - Bitter Chocolate, PP - MME and Crate Paper 'Paper Doll Collection'
Access: Twine, PTI Button - Cream and White, Seam Binding Ribbon, Spellbinders Scalloped Circle Nestie