More Valentines

Continuing on my quest to switch gears from Christmas to Valentines, I have a few more cards I've made in the last few days to share with you.

This first one is Piper, a Moonlight Whispers stamp from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps. She's not necessarily a Valentine image, but paired with some Basic Grey Bittersweet paper, and the "You Warm My Heart" sentiment from another stamp set, it turns into a Valentine. On this card, I also used some of my most favorite (and most often hoarded!) gingham ribbon from Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply store! For the layout on this card, I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch #54 (but I forgot to add the pretty little punched border at the bottom!)

This second card uses an image from Whipper Snapper Designs that I just HAD to have! My sweet hubby and I have a daily ritual of sending a text message that says "I love you!" Typically, the response is always "I love you more!" so when I saw this stamp, I knew it'd be perfect for a Valentine for my awesome husband. I'm not sure if I'll save this actual card for him, or make a new one but it will definitely use this image. For the layout of this card, I used Karen's Sweet Sunday sketch #49 from last week, and I used some new K & Company paper that I picked up recently.

Hope you like my Valentine's! Take a peek at my Etsy shop... you might see these and others there available for sale very soon!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Switching gears....

Even though I didn't make a whole lot of Christmas cards this year (didn't mail a lot either, since they're still laying here on my desk!) I'm definitely ready to switch gears and start working on cards for the next holiday... Valentine's Day! I ordered some new release stamps from Whipper Snapper recently and couldn't resist getting a few of them inky!

This first card uses Mercy's Tuesday Sketch #53, the Wheelbarrow of Love stamp, and a computer generated sentiment. I pulled out some Basic Grey Bittersweet paper from last year to use on my card, and embellished with an acetate heart and button.

This second card uses some new Valentine paper from My Mind's Eye and the Just One Kiss stamp from Whipper Snapper. The X's and O's stamp is from Kitchen Sink Stamps. My froggie's crown is accented with some sparkle from my Spica glitter pens.
I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! We had a perfectly lovely day in the Hershberger household, and the girls are anxious to do some after Christmas shopping today, so we'll be headed for the mall! I'm hoping to squeeze in a stop at Archiver's while we're out and about!

Have a great weekend!

Stamp Simply #119 - Thank You

"For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Evelasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

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Merry Christmas everyone! If you're lucky enough to squeeze in some stamping time today or during the weekend, you could play along with Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply challenge! This week we're making clean and simple thank you cards! These can be of any style or theme, but if you're like me right now, you've got plenty of Christmas thank you's to send! Remember that Sharon has Mr. Linky on her blog now, so when you have your card created and uploaded, be sure to put your link in the Mr. Linky!

For today, I created six very simple and clean designs using my beautiful Snowflakes & Stardust stamp set from Rubbernecker (which incidentally is on sale right now!) The tree was stamped in Old Olive ink, the second layer in Certainly Celery, and the stars in Encore Gold. I then stamped some snowflakes around the top in Encore Gold, stamping second generation for a more subtle look.

Hop around and see what the other Stamp Simply girls have created for today! You're sure to be inspired!

Barbara Anders

Janine Orchard

Jenny Gropp

AJ Otto

Julie Koerber

Barb Schram

Deb Saaranen

Michelle Woerner, December Guest Designer

Thank you for stopping by, and I wish you all a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

"Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:9

Peace!

Paper Craft Planet Sketch Challenge (with a prize!)

Hey everyone! There's less than a week until Christmas.... are you ready??? If you're not scrambling around trying to get all those last minute things done, why not play along with the sketch challenge today at Paper Craft Planet! I'm hosting the challenge, and I'm going to give one lucky participant a Christmas present, too! I recently won 12 sets of mini clear stamps from Basic Grey, and while they're all great stamps, most likely I'll never use them. So enter a card for this sketch challenge at Paper Craft Planet, be sure to tag your upload with sk121909 (just like that... no spaces, all lowercase letters) before 11:59 p.m. on Friday, December 25th and I'll draw one winner at random to win the stamps!

Because I've been busy with the last minute stuff too, I don't have a sample to show you (yet!) Maybe later this weekend, if I'm not too pooped after working all day today (the last Saturday before Christmas in a toy store.... anyone wanna' trade places with me?) My fellow PCP Super Nova Lori Tecler has a great sample on her blog already today, so go check it out for inspiration!

Happy stamping!

Stamp Simply #118 - Let It Snow!

For today's Stamp Simply challenge from Sharon Johnson, we're going to make it snow in cyberland! Some of us may have snow for Christmas, and some of us may not, so for today we'll bring in some snow! Everyone can play along with this challenge... just incorporate something snowy in your creation, and while you're at it, we're trying for clean and simple designs, too!

For my card, I was lucky to have this wonderful Antoinette image from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps already colored! So I paired her with this snowflake paper from Basic Grey, and thought a pop of cranberry red would look good with the brown and aqua-blue! I kept a fairly simple design to my card, choosing to keep all my cuts straight and embellishing with a simple ribbon/button combo.

For an added snowy element, I decorated Antoinette's coat with some Polar White Flower Soft.
Sharon has a fabulous sample for you to see on her blog, along with all the challenge details! And Sharon has started using Mr. Linky for the Stamp Simply challenge, so be sure to go leave a link to your creation at the end of her post so we can all take a look! (Remember, direct links to your post, not just to your blog! It helps everyone find your post immediately rather than having to sift through anything else you might post afterward!) Then be sure to hop to the blogs of the Stamp Simply team members and see their snowy creations, also!

Barbara Anders

Julie Koerber

Jenny Gropp

Jennifer Buck

Barb Schram

Janine Orchard

AJ Otto

Deb Saaranen

Michelle Woerner, December Guest Designer

Thanks for stopping by today! Please check back tomorrow... I'll be hosting the Sketch Challenge at Paper Craft Planet, and I'd love it if you play along! There may even be prizes involved!

Happy stamping!

Color Throwdown #73 with There She Goes Stamps

It's time for another Color Throwdown, and we're up to #73 today! This will be the last one for 2009... the team is taking a well-deserved break after this!

Our challenge today is being sponsored by There She Goes Clear Stamps! Stop by the Throwdown blog for all the details, including a prize for one random player!

I chose these colors for today based on the 'Tis the Season paper from Bo Bunny! It's a great combination for a fun Christmas card, but is also perfect for something playful like I've done today! I got to use the set You're So Punny from TSG for my card, and just love all the characters and sentiments available in this set. I know I'm going to get a lot of use out of it!
My little whale was colored with Copics, and popped up on foam tape for dimension. I also applied a thin layer of Glossy Accents to his body. I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch challenge #52 for my layout, turning the sketch on it's side to accomodate my image.

My Throwdown sisters have had some fun with their There She Goes stamps this week too, so be sure to stop at their blogs! And don't forget our December Guest Designer, Carol Longacre! Carol has rocked out some awesome designs this month, and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her entries for the Throwdown challenges in 2010!

LeAnne Pugliese

Broni Holcombe

Cathy Indelicato

Barbara Anders

Danielle Kennedy

Be watching for Color Throwdown #74 on the first Wednesday in January, which will be hosted by a new member of our team! She's one of my most favorite people in the world, and I'm so happy she's joined our team!

Happy stamping!

Stamp Simply #117 - Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace

We have another fun Stamp Simply challenge today from Sharon Johnson! Today's challenge is quite different... alter a store-bought card! If you don't have your Christmas cards done yet, this might be a good option for getting them done. Use a store bought card and add a family photo, some embellishments, or a stamped image. Or take an old card and cut out some portions from it that you like to create a new card. The possibilities are endless!

I don't save my Christmas cards from year-to-year so I was totally at a loss for what to do with this challenge. Of course, since it's the Christmas season my only thoughts were of Christmas cards, but you can of course make a card for any occasion. I found an old box of store-bought cards that I sent out years ago (before I was a stamper!) and had a few cards left in the box. So I cut off the top portion of the card, the part that has the most important part... the part that declares the true meaning of the season! I added a ribbon across the bottom of this panel, layered it on a piece of gold cardstock, and then on a piece of hunter green cardstock. I also used a Quickie glue pen and some chunky gold glitter on a few of the holly berries, and I'm totally happy with how this turned out!

My Stamp Simply Sisters have some great inspiration for you, so be sure and stop by their blogs!

Barbara Anders

Deb Saaranen

Barb Schram

AJ Otto

Janine Orchard
Jenny Gropp

Michelle Woerner, December Guest Designer

Please give this challenge a try! I promise, you'll have fun!

TGIF!!! Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by my blog!

Holiday Cheer, anyone?

Just a quick blog post this morning.... this is a card I made while I was at work the other day. I have always thought this cute "Minty Coffee" stamp with accompanying sentiment from Stamping Bella is so cute, but it isn't selling. So I made up this card, hoping it sparks some interest from customers.

I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch challenge #51 for the layout, flipping it to a mirror image. I did that because I wanted the tag to hang on the right side, so flipping it allowed me to put the brads on the left side to balance things better. The cardsdtock is Bazzill, and Neenah Solar White, and the designer paper is from the Eskimo Kisses 6x6 pad.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope everyone is safe and warm from all this crazy weather we're having! Mother Nature is trying to blow us away here in Northeast Ohio, but here an hour south of Lake Erie we don't have much more than a dusting of snow (I'm sure they have more up along the shore!)

Have a great day!

Color Throwdown #72 with My Favorite Things

Here's another Color Throwdown for you! Can you handle it? I'm sure you can! We've got some cool Christmas colors for you today, inspired by the Basic Grey paper Eskimo Kisses! Broni picked a winning combination this week, and we're all using stamps from one of my favorite companies, My Favorite Things!

I chose to use the Pure Innocence Flurry of Love stamp set for my card today, and used the Sweet Sunday sketch #47 from Karen Giron's blog. My sentiment is from another MFT set called Sassy Sayings. I don't see it on their website, though so maybe it's sold out.
I colored my image with Copic markers, then masked the main image and airbrushed the blue background. I used a white gel pen to color in the snowflakes after airbrushing, and I applied some Polar White Flower Soft to the pom-pom on her hat and the cuffs of her boots.
Stop and see what my Throwdown sisters have created for today, and please join us! My Favorite Things is offering a $15 gift certificate to one lucky participant!

Broni Holcombe

LeAnne Pugliese

Cathy Indelicato

Barbara Anders

Carol Longacre, December Guest Designer

(Danielle is sick this week... we hope she's feeling better soon!)

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you're having a great week!

Stamps: Flurry of Love, Sassy Sayings (My Favorite Things)Cardstock: light blue (Bazzill), Wild Wasabi, Riding Hood Red (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah), designer paper (Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses)Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)Accessories: Airbrush System (Copic), Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder (ProvoCraft), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), border punch (Martha Stewart), Polar White Flower Soft, ribbon, button (craft supply).

Season's Greetings

Please stop at the DRS Designs blog today and see the snowy Season's Greetings card I have to share with you!

Thanks!

BIG Sale at Rubbernecker!

Rubbernecker Website

Hang in There, Charlotte!

It's been a week since the Kraftin' Kimmie stamps I ordered arrived, and so I thought it was high time to get them inky this weekend! I just love this Charlotte image, with her dollies! Isn't she a cute little mommy? I broke out my Nook & Pantry paper pad for this design, and just love the unusual color combos in this collection!

I was inspired by the dolly hanging from Charlotte's left hand, so I thought this "hang in there" sentiment for the inside would be good. I can save this for a time when I know a friend needs a pick-me-up card!
Hope you had a great weekend, and thanks so much for stopping by today! I appreciate all your comments!

Stamps: Charlotte (Kraftin' Kimmie stamps), sentiment (Inkadinkado)

Cardstock: blue (Bazzill), Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah), designer paper (Nook & Pantry by Basic Grey)

Inks: Memento Rich Cocoa, Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)Accessories: Threading Water border punch (Fiskars), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon, button (craft supply).

Bella's 3rd Birthday Bash Blog Hop

Welcome to the Bella Birthday Bash Blog Hop sponsored by Stamping Bella! Did you know that Bella is officially 3 years old? We're celebrating Bella's birthday with a giant blog hop today, and there's a lot of fun to be had! If you just happened across my blog, you'll want to hop back to the beginning at Blogabella! If you just arrived here from Kathleen's blog, then you're right on track!

For my card for the Bash, I chose to use this adorable new Lollipop stamp that I just got this week from Stamping Bella! All the Lollipop stamps are adorable, but as soon as I saw Gracie here, I knew I wanted to stamp her and paper-piece her dress! And I did just that with some paper from the Cosmo Cricket Early Bird mini-deck. This is actually a thank you card for a very special friend!
There are 3 Gift Certificates worth $100 each in Stamping Bella Bucks along the blog hop route! Can you believe that? Three gift certificates worth $100 each!!! How exciting! It's a big undertaking, but you'll want to leave a comment on each blog to try to win one of those awesome chances to shop to your hearts content at Stamping Bella! You never know where it might be hidden! Even I don't know! The winners will be announced on Monday, December 7th on Blogabella! So hurry on over now to Laurel's blog to continue hopping, and good luck trying to win one of those wonderful prizes!

And many, many thanks for stopping by today! Have a great weekend!

Stamps: Gracie Lollipop, sentiment (Stamping Bella)

Cardstock: Close to Cocoa, Riding Hood Red, Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up!), cream (Neenah), designer paper (Early Bird by Cosmo Cricket)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)

Accessories: ribbon (Offray), flower (Prima), button (Stampin' Up!), Nestabilities (Spellbinders).

Stamp Simply #116 - Tag, You're It!

The Stamp Simply team is in the holiday spirit, and Sharon Johnson is challenging you this week to create a tag! That's it... just create a tag, or multiples if you want that you can attach quickly to a gift!

Earlier this week, I saw the prettiest card on Carol Longacre's blog. She stamped snowflakes on kraft cardstock and embossed them with this gorgeous embossing powder called Winter Wonderland. I just loved how pretty the aqua blue was against the kraft cardstock. Since I don't have any of that embossing powder, I tried to come up with my own way to make a tag as gorgeous as Carol's card. I stamped the Interlocking Snowflake background from DRS Designs onto my kraft tag using Celadon Colorbox pigment ink, then embossed with clear embossing powder. The sentiment is from Hero Arts. Then I rubbed the edges of the tag on my Stampin' Up! kraft white inkpad.

I also spritzed the whole tag with Silver Metallic Glimmer Mist, and added some bling to the snowflakes for more sparkle. The tag was then finished off with a ribbon, Creative Impressions felt snowflake, a button and some linen thread. I just love the combination here of sparkle and glimmer with the rustic-feel from the kraft cardstock and the linen thread.
Be sure to stop by Sharon's blog for all the challenge details and to see her fabulous sample! And help us welcome a new Guest Designer for December, Michelle Woerner! Then stop and see what the Stamp Simply team members have to inspire you today!

Barbara Anders

Deb Saaranen

Barb Schram

Jenny Gropp

Julie Koerber

Janine Orchard

Jennifer Buck

AJ Otto

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Color Throwdown #71 with MAGNOLIA!

Yippee, it's time for another Color Throwdown, and I've been so anxious for this one to arrive because our sponsor for today is Magnolia-licious! I just love Magnolia stamps, and unfortunately haven't had the chance to indulge and purchase any, so I was thrilled to get the Tilda with Candy Cane stamp I used on my card to work with! (I can't find this particular stamp on the website... perhaps it is currently sold out.) Danielle is our hostess for the Throwdown today and she chose these fabulous colors, inspired by the Wassail paper line from Basic Grey. Use all the colors or just use a combination of them for your creation! One lucky person is going to win some stamps from Diana at Magnolia-licious, and someone else is going to be chosen as Featured Stamper, so put your best foot forward! Be sure to stop by the Throwdown blog for all the details!

So here's my sweet Tilda with my favorite of all Christmas candies... a candy cane! She is colored with Copics, and little Stardust Gelly Roll pen on her wings for sparkle. Since she is stamped on cream cardstock, I used a white gel pen to color in the stripes on the candy cane and make them stand out more. I took inspiration from Mercy's Tuesday Sketch challenge #50 for my layout, but had to change the circle to an oval to accomodate my image.
We have a new Guest Designer for the Throwdown for the month of December and she is Carol Longacre of Our Little Inspirations. Carol has been a very faithful participant in many, many Throwdown challenges and we just always love the great detail she puts into her designs. We're thrilled to have her joining us this month!

My Throwdown sisters have some wonderful Magnolia-licious inspiration for you today with these colors, so be sure to stop by and check them out!

Danielle * Barbara * LeAnne

Broni * Cathy

I hope to see your name in Mr. Linky for this week's Throwdown! Thanks for stopping by today!

Stamps: Tilda with Candy Cane (Magnolia-licious)

Cardstock: Kraft (Bazzill), Always Artichoke (Stampin' Up!), cream (Neenah), designer paper (Wassail by Basic Grey)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)

Accessories: ribbon (Creative Impressions), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder (ProvoCraft), scalloped punch (EK Success), button (craft supply).

Weekend Designs

My Mom and step-Dad were visiting this past weekend, and we had our Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday. It was delicious! Thanks to the fact that my stamping room is back upstairs and not down in the basement, I still managed to do some stamping while they were here, and even had the pleasure of having my Mom sit beside me to watch and chat with me while I stamped and colored! (Hi Mom! Are you reading this?)

However, for this first card, she was not at my side because I did not sleep a WINK Saturday night, and finally gave up trying at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday. So I got up and checked out the Featured Stamper challenge on SCS, and decided to play along. MrsBoz is the Featured Stamper this week, so I chose this card from her gallery to CASE and create my card. I used a new stamp set I recently got from Papertrey Ink called Everyday Button Bits and some fun new paper from October Afternoon.

I started making this card because I have this stamp at the store and it isn't selling. But then I got carried away and used items on the card that I don't have at the store, so.....
I made this one instead! The Mary & Joseph stamp is from Whipper Snapper Designs. The "O Come" sentiment is from Inkadinkado, and the "Celebrate the Season" sentiment is from Hero Arts. Papers are from Imaginisce and Basic Grey "Eskimo Kisses" respectively.
And finally, here's another card made because the stamp is gathering dust on the store shelves, so I decided to make a sample card to hopefully inspire people to buy! This one is from Impression Obsession, and the papers are from the Belle 6x6 pad from KaiserCraft.
Thanks for stopping by!

Pure Innocence meets Christmas Carnival

I just could not resist some of these new Pure Innocence images from My Favorite Things! I created this card on Thanksgiving evening. This set must be sold out, as I don't see it on the MFT website. I also used Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday sketch #45 for the layout, changing the circle to an oval to accomodate my image.

Hope you're having a great weekend! We are having Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday at noon, and I am ready for turkey and all the fixin's!

Stamps: Snow Day (My Favorite Things)Cardstock: Real Red (Stampin' Up!), light blue (Core'dinations), white (Neenah), designer paper (Christmas Carnival by KaiserCraft)

Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)

Accessories: Nestabilities (Spellbinders), white liquid applique (Marvy), twill ribbon (SU!), button (Papertrey Ink), snowflake punch (Martha Stewart), airbrush system (Copic).

Stamp Simply #115 - Mass Production

Today's Stamp Simply challenge is Mass Production! Thanksgiving is officially over, and if you're mailing out Christmas cards this year, you ought to be pretty close to having them done by now! In case you're not ready, the Stamp Simply team will show you a variety of designs today that will inspire you to set up your own assembly line and get crackin' on those last few dozen cards you need to get done!

My card was designed, and eight cards created in a little over an hour. This included using the Cuttlebug to cut out all the white circles, the red scalloped circles, and using the Cuttlebug embossing border on the aqua blue strips!

My stamps are all from Hero Arts. For the snowman, I inked with Versafine in Onyx Black then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I used a marker to quickly color in the carrots, and a red band on the top hats. I stamped a snowflake randomly in the background on the kraft cardstock bases using Versamark Dazzle Frost ink. And the sentiment is also stamped with Versafine in Onyx Black.

Stop by Sharon Johnson's blog to see her fabulous mass-producted creation! And be sure to stop by Bethany Paull's blog to see her creations as well. We're sad that our month with Bethany as a guest designer has come to an end already!

My Stamp Simply sisters have more inspiration for you on their blogs!

Barbara * Jenny * Deb * Barb

Janine * Julie * AJ * Jennifer

Thanks for stopping by today, and happy Friday!

Color Throwdown #70

It's another great color combination for the Throwdown this week, and Barbara was inspired by the beauty of Fall when she picked these colors! I hope you'll be inspired enough to join us this week! Remember, you don't have to have these exact colors... just use whatever you have that is similar!

I chose to go with a Thanksgiving theme for my card, seeing as how we'll be celebrating tomorrow with food and family! My beautiful "Horn of Plenty" stamp comes from Whipper Snapper Designs, and I used the "thanks" sentiment from Melanie Muenchinger's "A Year of Leaves" stamp set. I also used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch challenge #49 for the layout.
We're sad that today marks our last day with November Guest Designer, Elise Durenberger! Elise's enthusiasm is so wonderful, and I've enjoyed getting to work with her and getting to know her better! Please stop at her blog to see her wonderful creation for today! Then stop by and see what the other Throwdown designers have created to inspire you!

Barbara * Danielle * LeAnne

Broni * Cathy

I wish you all a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving holiday, filled with good food, loving family and wonderful memories! God bless!

Stamps: Horn of Plenty (Whipper Snapper Designs), sentiment (Melanie Muenchinger for Gina K Designs)Cardstock: Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah), designer paper (My Mind's Eye)Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), So Saffron (Stampin' Up!), Tea Dye distress ink (Ranger), markers (Copic)Accessories: ribbon (Stampin' Up!), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder (ProvoCraft), button (craft supply).