Mint Monday

“I have never been able to think of the day as one of mourning; I have never quite been able to feel that half-masted flags were appropriate on Decoration Day. I have rather felt that the flag should be at the peak, because those whose dying we commemorate rejoiced in seeing it where their valor placed it. We honor them in a joyous, thankful, triumphant commemoration of what they did.” ~Benjamin Harrison

Happy Memorial Day and my deepest thanks to those that serve or have served our country!!

And a quick link to some fabulous projects from some fabulous card makers using Mint Motif! Enjoy!

• Ida Krause
• Eli Harlan
• Bonnie Rose

Have a wonderful Memorial Day! thanks for stopping by!

hello from the heart

This is a mini card, about 3”x3”. The card base was made using a Classic Scalloped Squares Large die template. If you are curious how to make your own shaped card bases, I have a video tutorial HERE.

A short and sweet post today. We are going to escape this weekend. Nothing to do with buying a house, selling a house, moving, packing, or life changes. :) Just a good, family, get-away. Hope that you have wonderful plans for the long weekend. See you on Mint Monday with a scheduled post. thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Papertrey Ink, Patterned paper-American Crafts, Cork-Creative Impressions, Button-Papertrey Ink, Twine-May Arts, Spellbinders-Classic Scalloped Squares Large, Classic Squares Large

a little off season

Yes, a little odd to post cards for New Year’s and Christmas, but the publishing world is always many seasons ahead. I thought I would share a couple of cards with you that didn’t get picked up. And I am ok with that. I learn a lot from my cards that don’t get chosen. Like this one. Yep, its a little odd for New Year’s, with the whole kraft-y look. But, I love this patterned paper with the star bursts. And I loved playing with some tape from 7gypsies. Tape is hot and fun and comes in so many fun patterns.

Supplies:Patterned paper-Jillibean Soup (Black Bean Kraft Chopped Celery), Cardstock-Papertrey Ink, Core’dinations, Stamps-Hero Arts (Holiday Sayings,) Ink-Versamark Watermark, Embossing Powder-Stampendous (Detail Black), Ribbon-Michael’s, Tape-7gypsies, Button Sticker-Creative Cafe

And this one too. Its ok. I am happy with the card. Its cute, simple, and I am proud to say that I cut those holly leaves out all by myself. :) And once I see the issue, I will know exactly why my cards weren’t chosen. The color could be off from the article, someone else used the same products but with a more interesting twist, or, it just wasn’t what they wanted. It doesn’t make me give up. It makes me want to keep submitting more and more. If you are interesting in being published, try it! Go for it! Submit! You never know what the editors are looking for. Oh, and be sure and have Christmas music ready to play in April! LOL!

Supplies: Stamps-Hero Arts (Holiday Sayings, Write Your Own-Cling), Patterned paper-Cosmo Cricket (Material Girl), Felt-Creative Cafe, Chipboard button-Jenni Bowlin, Ink-Palette (L’Amour, Landscape), Cardstock-Papertrey Ink (Spring Moss) World Win (Canvas), Twine-May Arts, Spellbinders-Classic Scalloped Rectangles Large, Classic Rectangles Large

thanks for stopping by!

ice cream!

We need ice cream here in Iowa. Wow, its been SO hot here. Shocking for a Minnesota girl, a northern Minnesota girl. I don’t even have clothes appropriate. In MN, we wear sweatshirts and shorts all summer! :)

I adore these Limited Edition dies from Spellbinders™! These are the smallest dies in the Nested Ice Cream Cones set. And they easily cut the stamped backgrounds from Very Square. You can see a closer look below. And yes, there are two “scoops” of ice cream. :)

One more thing to point out-the scalloped border on the bottom was made from die cutting circles from the polka dotted background. Fun!

Ok, this is the last card from all my playing when the stamps first arrived. Are you liking your stamps? Make sure you share your projects with me because I cannot wait to see!! :) I am busy getting ready to teach a class at All About Pictures in Cedar Rapids, IA tonight. Its a monthly Spellbinders class. Each month we will make a different project featuring a new technique with the Spellbinders products. If you are in the area, I would love to see you in the next class! (the 4th Tuesday of every month)

Oooh-cute card alert!! Check out what Mint Motif design team member Charlene Austin made!

thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Mint Motif (Very Square, Very Square Sentiments), Patterned paper-October Afternoon (Fly a Kit, Thrift Shop), Ink-Palette (Sunflower, Burnt Umber, Beaux Arts Blue, Landscape), Twine-May Arts, Spellbinders-Big Scalloped Squares Large, Nested Ice Cream Cones, Classic Circles Small

Mint Monday

Today marks the start of Mint Mondays! I thought it would be fun to feature techniques, projects, videos, and paper crafters, all revolving around the Mint Motif stamp line.

Project by Julie Masse:

You can see why I had to feature this project from the wonderfully talented, Julie Masse! She made this gorgeous card using Very Square and Very Square Sentiments.

And while she stamped the backgrounds and sentiments, those flowers were also stamped with Very Square! Check out her tutorial HERE. What a way to kick off Mint Mondays!

Check out these fabulous projects I found online using Very Square and Very Square Sentiments:

• Geny Cassady
• Heidi Blankenship
• Kate Baldwin
• Kendra Wietstock
• Cathleen Torina
• Lori Tecler
• Bonnie Rose
• Jeannette Ledin

I cannot wait to see more projects from all of you!! If you have projects to share, please email them to me at the address listed at the upper right side!! :) thanks for stopping by!

Mint Motif FAQ

Just a quick post to answer some of your email questions.

Where can I purchase Mint Motif stamps?

• Exclusively at iheartpapers.com

Where did the name Mint Motif come from? What does it mean?

• From hours of searching through a thesaurus. :) The word mint meant fresh, new, modern, classic. Definitely what I want my stamp designs to be. Motif (mo-teef) meant images and the alliteration was good. Nothing significant, just fun!

How often will Mint Motif be releasing new images?

• About every other month. There may be exceptions, but we will keep you informed.

How can I share my projects made with Mint Motif stamps with you?

• Please email your blog links to Kimberly at Kimberly1Crawford@gmail.com
• Load photos to the fan page at Facebook, which can be found HERE.
• AND please tag or label your projects with ihpmm so we can find them in galleries

Does Mint Motif have a blinkie I could put on my blog?

• Not yet, but if requests start piling up, we can make one. :)

Does Mint Motif have a Fan page on Facebook?

• Yes, you can find it HERE.

banners

When I saw the cloud background from Very Square, I knew I wanted to make little banners. (This is the first card I made with my stamps when they arrived. :)) I was happy with how the sentiment fit so perfectly! Just so you know, this card is not standard size. The length is 6 inches.

To create the banners, I stamped the polka dot image from Very Square onto white cardstock. Then I die cut the banner shapes, using the Classic Long Rectangles small. The top edges were folded over the string. The string truly is attached to the card with the little clothespins.

**There is now a fan photo album for Mint Motif at Facebook!! Simply become a fan and you can share all your fabulous Mint Motif creations with other fans! Click HERE.**

**And starting Monday, on my blog it will be Mint Mondays! I will be featuring projects from other paper crafters, the design team, techniques with the stamps from the Mint Motif line, and lots more!**

Thanks again for all your support and all your purchases!! You have all made this new adventure such a wonderful time!! Many hugs, have a wonderful weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Mint Motif (Very Square, Very Square Sentiments), Ink-Palette (Giverny, Belle Rose, Orangerie, Paris Lights, Water Lily), Twine-May Arts, Clothespins-Creative Impression, Spellbinders-Classic Long Rectangles Small, Long Classic Scalloped Rectangles Large

another thank you

I apparently have a thing for crocheted flowers these days! :) Another simple card that shows how easily the sentiments from Very Square Sentiments fit inside the background images from Very Square. The card base got a little bit of scoring to mimic the image.

still in MN, but thanking you for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Mint Motif (Very Square, Very Square Sentiments), Ink-Clearsnap (Colorbox Chalk-Sour Apple) Palette (Noir), Flower-American Crafts (Dear Lizzy)

thank you

Sorry! This project has been removed for publication. Look for it in the May 2011 issue of CARDS Magazine.

Good Monday morning! Thank you all so much for a fun release last week and for being so patient through all the computer glitches! :) We are in MN packing up our house this week, so the posts will be short and sweet.

I stamped the quilted looking background from Very Square onto cream cardstock. They were cut out by hand and mounted onto a Long Scalloped Rectangle Large. I love how the sentiments fit perfectly onto the square background images. Makes card making easy! :)

Hope that you had a wonderful weekend! thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Mint Motif (Very Square, Very Square Sentiments), Ink-Palette (Sunflower, Noir) Clearsnap (Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown), Patterned paper-Basic Grey (Origins), Flower-American Crafts (Dear Lizzy), Brad-Basic Grey (Origins), Rub-ons-DCWV (Stitching), Spellbinders (Long Scalloped Rectangles Large)

Mint Motif Release Day!

Its here! Its here! Its finally here! Release Day!! Mint Motif stamps are now available for purchase at iheartpapers.com!!

Very Square $10

• 6 images
• each image measures 1.75” x 1.75”

Very Square Sentiments $10

• 11 sentiments
• each sentiment fits perfectly inside each square background image

SORRY! This project has been removed for publication. It will appear in the April 2011 issue of CARDS magazine.

Today’s card was inspired by Melissa Bickford. She layered stamped pieces of paper together, to look like pleated ribbon. Pure genius. I KNEW it would be perfect with Very Square! I stamped the polka dot background 5 times onto cardstock with Deep lagoon ink. Each square was hand cut in half. I put a piece of tape down on the card base and placed some of the pieces down upon it. Then another layer of tapy was added and the next row was off-set. I bent the top row of pleats upward just a little.

For the center of the flower, I stamped the quilted looking background onto cardstock with Sunflower Ink. Then die cut it with Classic Circles Large. The sentiment was stamped in the center with Noir ink. There are two layers of flower petals. Both were cut with Big Scalloped Circles Large. The back set of petals got red ink on the leaves. Every layer of the flower was foam-mounted together.

Be sure and check out all the design team’s fabulous projects!

• Charlene Austin here and here
• Geny Cassady
• Julie Overby
• Latisha Yoast
• Kazan Clark
• iheartpapers.com (store blog)

I hope you are as excited as I am! Thank you for all your wonderful emails, comments, Facebook comments, and support!! I am completely amazed, once again! thank you SO SO SO much for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Mint Motif (Very Square, Very Square Sentiments), Ink-Clearsnap (Colorbox Chalk-Deep Lagoon, Warm Red) Palette (Sunflower, Noir), Patterned paper-Cosmo Cricket (Material Girl) Basic Grey (Basic Kraft ), Spellbinders die templates-Classic Circles Large, Big Scalloped Circles Large, Classic Scalloped Borderabilities Petite

Once again, I am so very sorry about the mix up with the block template link, so let’s try this again for my wonderful, patient, and understanding email subscribers, and, at this point, everyone! :)

BLOCK TEMPLATE PDF

Mint Motif template and video

Today I have a fun template and video to share with you! With the square images in this set, I thought it would be fun to create blocks or boxes. So, I designed a template just for you to use. The template allows you to perfectly place your stamped image on each side of a box.

You can download your own template HERE. And it is working correctly! :)

Here is a direct link to the video, for those that need it. VIDEO

Here is what I made with the template. Before assembling the boxes, each side was stamped with one of the Very Square images.

I stamped another set of squares with the polka dot image onto cardstock and cut them out by hand. Circles were then die cut out of each one and each square was mounted to the front of the blocks. The letters were die cut from another stamped background, along with the butterflies. Aside from the template and the dies, Very Square was used to create the whole project!

AND tomorrow is the day! Release day! At 3:01 AM EST you can head to iheartpapers.com and purchase Very Square and Very Square sentiments!! The design team and myself will all have projects on our blogs tomorrow and you really don’t want to miss what they created!! Wow. I still cannot believe that it is real!!

Have a super day, enjoy the template, and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Mint Motif (Very Square-available May 14th), Ink-Palette (Paris Lights, Landscape, Water Lily, Belle Rose), Spellbinders die templates (Classic Circles Small), Punch (Martha Stewart)

Wednesday

Whew! What a week! :) Only two more days until Very Square and Very Square Sentiments will be available for purchase!!! :) So, until then, projects will keep coming! :) Today’s card is based on this week’s CPS sketch. I stamped the background image several times on a strip of grey cardstock. And then heat embossed them with clear powder. I then stamped and heat embossed the sentiment. Yes, it bleeds a little, but if I popped it into the freezer first and made the gun very hot, it worked out better.

Here is a little close up shot of the background images. This image can be lined up, to create one continuous background. You have to be a bit careful or use a stamp positioner, but even with a little space between them, it works! :)

Today’s Mint Motif Sightings:

The oh-so talented, creative, and funny Teri Anderson has a project, or maybe two on her blog today! Can’t wait to meet them!! :)

My dear, sweet, Minnesota friend, Heidi Blankenship, has made a beautiful card to share with you today! And did she show off using Spellbinders with the images! Wow! She is awesome!

Jennifer Kinney is a new and wonderful friend who lives in our new town. We met when I first moved here. She has been so helpful and kind AND she is a fantastic paper crafter!! She made some lovely cards and posted them on her blog.

Design team members, Julie Overby and Geny Cassady also have a couple of projects for you! You already know how great they are!

I am one blessed girl!! thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps-Mint Motif (Very Square, Very Square Sentiments-available at iheartpapers.com ), Patterned paper-Pink Paislee (Queen Bee 6x6), Ink-Versamark (Watermark), Embossing Powder-Stampendous (Detail White and Detail Clear), Flower (American Crafts-Dear Lizzy), Brad-Basic Grey (Sultry)

flowers and a video tutorial

One of the fun discoveries I have made with Very Square images, is the ability to cut images from the backgrounds and make your own embellishments. Each of the squares measures 1.75” x 1.75,” giving you some space to cut or punch shapes, on the small side, but as you can see in my card above, perfect for card size! :) I made a video to show you how to cut shapes from your images. I am calling it Placement Cutting, for lack of a better term! :)

Here is a direct link to the video HERE.

And sorry about the view of my arm and of my favorite old t-shirt! :)

Here is another peek at the same technique. On this flower, I cut into the center, like on the video. It gives the flower some more dimension. Oh and just to note-the scalloped border is felt cut with a Borderabilities. Loving that! :)

Happy Birthday today to my wonderful, supportive, helpful, and amazing hubby!!!! We get to go to the home inspection on our new house!! I think that is two fabulous things to celebrate!! :) Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies You Are Such a Good Friend: Stamps-Mint Motif (Very Square, Very Square Sentiments), Ink (Versamark Watermark) (Palette-Seascape, Belle Rose, Giverny, Burnt Umber), Spellbinders die templates (Classic Scalloped Circles, Classic Circles, Classic Rectangles Large), Cardstock, Twine, Button

Supplies Thank You So Very Much: Stamps-Mint Motif (Very Square, Very Square Sentiments), Ink-Palette (Noir, Belle Rose, Landscape), Clearsnap Colorbox Chalk (Creamy Brown), Patterned paper-October Afternoon (Thrift Shop), Felt-Art Craft (Ivory), Brad-Basic Grey (Origins), Spellbinders die templates (Classic Scalloped Borders Petite, Blossom, Big Scalloped Circles, Classic Circles)

just thinking of you

I hope that you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day! My hubby and son spoiled me all weekend. And I am very grateful!!

Today’s card is a simple peek at Very Square and Very Square Sentiments. I inked the diamonds and square image with Deep Lagoon pigment ink and stamped it onto cardstock. The square was easily cut out by hand. I added Liquid Pearls to each intersection. The square was placed inside a Labels 9 frame. And then I die cut a smaller Labels 9 and stamped the sentiment inside. I have been thrilled to discover how many different Spellbinders shapes the sentiments fit inside of. And how many shapes the squares work with.

My super sweet and talented friends, Becky Oehlers and Denise Marzec, have another little peek of Very Square and Very Square Sentiments for you on their blogs today. Pop on over and check them out!

have a wonderful start to your week and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies-Stamps (Mint Motif-Very Square, Very Square Sentiments-available at iheartpapers.com starting May 14th), Patterned paper (Pink Paislee-Bayberry Cottage 6x6), Cardstock (World Win-Canvas) (Core’dinations-Bermuda), Ink (Clearsnap Colorbox Chalk-Deep Lagoon), Liquid Pearls (Ranger-White Opal), Pearls (Creative Impression), Spellbinders die template (Labels 9)

**Just a little FYI, I will spend more time talking about cutting out the Squares later in the week, but the squares are made to be cut with Spellbinders Classic Squares Large or Small, or a Marvy Uchida Mega Square Punch. **

Winner!

Thank you ALL for your sweet comments!! Isn’t the design team fabulous!?!?

And the winner, from Kazan’s blog is:

Julie Masse said...

Very very pretty card - so elegant and special!! Congrats on the new team! :)

May 7, 2010 8:25 AM

CONGRATS Julie! Email me your address, so I can send you Very Square and Very Square Sentiments!!

Stay tuned for more projects and ideas ALL WEEK, ending with stamps being available for purchase on Friday, May 14th! :)

thanks and more peeks

Thank you SO much for your overwhelming response to the announcement of Mint Motif, the team, and what you have been seeing so far! I am amazed, grateful, excited, and humbled!!

Just a little heads up on the chance to win stamps-I will give you until Sunday night at 10 pm CST to visit thedesign team’s blogs and leave comments for a chance to win Very Square and Very Square sentiments.

And if you are just visiting and need to catch up, check out my new stamp line, Mint Motif and the announcement HERE and the design team announcement HERE. :) :) :)

For today’s peek, I went shabby. Very shabby. I love it! Can I say that? :) I stamped the quilted background from Very Square right onto patterned paper. The heart was cut from the diamond and squares background using a Spellbinders™ Classic Heart die template. I also added lots of distressing, some tape (oh, so hip right now), and a pearl.

For all of you moms, have a wonderful and Happy Mother’s Day!!

thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps (Mint Motif-Very Square, Very Square Sentiments available at iheartpapers.com May 14th), Ink (Palette-Landscape, L’Amour, Noir) (Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown, Chestnut Roan), Patterned paper (October Afternoon-Fly a Kite) (Graphic 45), Tape (7gypsies), Pearl (Jenni Bowlin), Spellbinders die templates (Classic Heart)

Introducing the Mint Motif Design Team

Charlene Austin: Willow and Paisley

Charlene Austin lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with her husband Mike and 2 little dogs, Willow and Paisley (which her blog is named after). She's been paper crafting since November 2006 and in that time has made some wonderful friends and discovered just how important card making is in her life.

She works part time in the insurance industry. During her free time (is there ever really enough free time?) she loves creating cards and is always looking for inspiration in her surroundings. She has a passion for submitting to publication calls and tries to include a touch of uniqueness to each project she creates.

Geny Cassady: Madison Avenue

Geny discovered her love of paper crafting in college, roughly 10 years ago. Stamping is her favorite medium, she loves to make hand stamped backgrounds and combine stamps in fun, unexpected ways. She has served on the design team for Papertrey Ink and currently works with My Time Made Easy, in addition to Mint Motif. Look for her work from time to time in the pages of Cards and Paper Crafts magazines.
Geny is married to a very understanding husband ;) who encourages her crafting in every way. She also has two little boys which keep her very busy. She lives in the beauty of Northern California and finds inspiration in her surroundings everyday.

Julie Overby: Mini Moments

Julie Overby and has been happily married to the love of her life for 15 years. Together they have three beautiful children (and one big ol’ puppy) that are often the source of her inspiration! For over 13 years, paper crafting has been one of her greatest hobbies. Only in the last few years has it become a daily passion. Her creativity is also expressed through her love for photography and keyboarding. She has been blessed to be a part of several manufacturer design teams and her work can be seen in Scrapbook Trends Magazine, CARDS magazine, and several Memory Makers books.

Latisha Yoast: Busy Little Craftee Bee

Latisha Yoast was born and raised in a small town in Northern California. Around 11 years ago, her husband joined the Navy (he is a Helicopter Pilot) and they have had the opportunity to live in some fabulous towns and cities in this wonderful country. Her two children, ages 14 and 9 years, keep her very busy. However, in her spare time you will find her creating, something. Paper crafting is a passion, and she is constantly amazed at where she finds her inspiration.

Kazan Clark: Nunu Toolies

Kazan is originally from Pretoria, South Africa but now her family calls Denver, Colorado home. Although she enjoys all forms of crafting, scrapbooking and card making seem to dominate her time and passions right now. She is fortunate to have been published in various magazines both here in the United States and overseas and she thoroughly enjoys a challenge where she can both inspire and expand her own crafting horizons.

Kazan said, “This is going to be one exciting ride as we embark on the maiden voyage of Mint Motif Design and I am more than thrilled to be part of it and to share my designs with all of you. Thank you
Kimberly :)”

Each of these women amaze me. Not only are they amazingly talented paper crafters, but they are women to admire outside of the card making world. I could never express my thanks to each of them for joining me on this adventure. They will inspire you in so many ways. I hope that you will follow their blogs, I do. Everyone has a project on their blog today, a sneak peek of the upcoming sets that will be released on May 14th at iheartpapers.com!!

AND from all of the comments left on each of their blogs, I will be drawing a name and giving away one of each of the very first sets-Very Square and Very Square Sentiments!! :)

• Charlene Austin
• Geny Cassady
• Julie Overby
• Latisha Yoast
• Kazan Clark
• iheartpapers.com (blog of store where Mint Motif Stamps will be available on May 14th)

For my sneak peek project, scroll down to the next post. thanks for stopping by!

Very Square and Very Square Sentiments

I wanted to share with you where the idea for this set came from. It came from this sketch I drew out, almost a year ago. It has been hanging on a cork board in my stamping room ever since. I wanted to create that card. But, I had a problem, I was sick and tired of masking straight-line sentiments into the right shape. I thought, there has got to be something out there. But there wasn’t much. As I pondered that, my husband suggested, again, that I start making my own stamps. (mostly so I quit complaining about what I *need* in my stash of stamps :)) The next thought was, well, if you make the stamps, maybe some backgrounds need to go with it. And while I was at it, make the sentiments fit in the backgrounds. And there you have it, the beginning of my very first stamp sets. Very Square includes 6 background squares. Very Square Sentiments includes 11 sentiments that perfectly fit inside the squares.

And I am thrilled that I have finally been able to make the card in my head! This card measures 4.25”x8.” It will fit into an A7 envelope. The diamond and squares images were stamped with Belle Rose Palette ink. The sentiment was stamped in Charcoal. The butterflies were stamped onto a separate piece of cardstock. I used the diamond and circles image with Landscape Ink. Using a Martha Stewart butterfly punch, I was able to get two butterflies out of one square. Some gems were added to the butterfly’s center. Two small strips of grey cardstock were cut and added to the top and bottom of the row of squares. And for a little more glitter, I added Stickles to each of the little spaces on the squares.

I think that is the thing that I love most about these images. You can stamp them and make a beautiful one-layer card. Or you can use the images as backgrounds to create beautiful little accent pieces. I cannot wait to show you all the ideas running through my head! And I know the rest of the design team has some amazing ideas too!

If you missed the first post today, make sure and visit all of the design team’s blogs for SO much eye candy!! :)

Charlene Austin

Geny Cassady

Julie Overby

Latisha Yoast

Kazan Clark

iheartpapers.com (blog of store where Mint Motif stamps will be available May 14th)

thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps (Very Square, Very Square Sentiments-AVAILABLE at iheartpapers.com on May 14), Ink (Stewart Superior, Palette-Landscape, Belle Rose, Charcoal), Punch (Martha Stewart), Stickles (Ranger-Star Dust), Gems (Hero Arts-Olive), Cardstock

Announcing: Mint Motif

Today I have the huge pleasure of announcing my very own stamp line, Mint Motif, that will be available exclusively at iheartpapers.com, starting on May 14th!!

Its hard to believe that this news has been in the works since last November sometime. Its amazing. Completely amazing! Every minute has been surreal. And while its exhilarating, it is oh, so scary at the same time! :) I cannot thank Kate enough for this opportunity!

Seeing the stamps for the first time, sent me over the moon. To see the idea that had been in my head for so long become real, was wow. And then, to start seeing the first cards made by amazing designers, was even more WOW! Sorry for the rambling, I am so excited, this talker cannot even get the words out in order!

The design team will be announced tomorrow and each of these fabulously amazing women will have the first peeks on their blogs!! And I will give you some insight into what inspired this first set and will have my own peek!! (and of course, a chance to win my first sets! :))

thanks for sharing in my excitement and for stopping by!

a happy mother’s day card

Another day of just playing around with fun things. You know, the I want to try this idea out, or that paper. :) The piece that the flowers and the sentiment is resting on is a Spellbinders™ Labels 8 shape. To make the stitched stems, I used a Bazzill In Stitchz template. The templates have holes on them that allow you to make different shaped flourishes. (there are many other styles too) I thought they would be perfect to have flowers upon. The flowers are layers of the Spellbinders™ Dahlia. The buttons in the center of the flowers are backed with patterned paper. (You can see a quick tutorial on how to create your own custom buttons HERE.) The rest of the card is topped off with some ribbon that actually came from the Christmas clearance section :) and a Spellbinders™ Lattice Borderabilities®.

Have any big plans for Mother’s Day? What traditions do you have? And yes, Mother’s Day is this Sunday, in case you need the reminder. :) I always do. Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Patterned paper (Basic Grey Nook & Pantry), Cardstock (Papertrey Ink-Rustic White, Melon Berry, New Leaf), Ribbon (American Crafts), Stitching Template (Bazzill), Ink (Clearsnap Colorbox Chalk Creamy Brown) (Palette-Burnt Umber), Stamps (Papertrey Ink), Spellbinders (Lattice Borderabilities, Dahlia, Labels 8)

And tomorrow is the big day, with HUGE NEWS!!!!!!! Be sure and stop back!!! :) :) :)

a happy birthday card

Can you ever have enough birthday cards? This card is just some playing around. If I had to pick a starting place, it would be the rose trim. I picked it up a long time ago at a fabric store. Isn’t it beautiful? I paired the trim with papers from Basic Grey and Anna Griffin. The stamps are from Waltzing Mouse and Papertrey Ink.

Its once again been crazy around here. We sold our house in MN (yayayay!!), I did Spellbinders demos at the local scrapbooking store for National Scrapbooking Day, and I came down with some serious crud and spent a couple days in bed. Which all of you moms know, just isn’t good. On the positive side, the little man has started to “read” me books. He has them memorized and what isn’t memorized, he is using the pictures to fill in the rest of the story. This former reading teacher is very proud!! And my special news is coming this week! I cannot wait until Thursday!!

Enjoy your day and thanks for stopping by!

Supplies: Stamps (Waltzing Mouse-Very Vintage Labels No. 4), Papertrey Ink (Turning a New Leaf), Patterned paper (Basic Grey-Boxer, Anna Griffin), Cardstock (Papertrey Ink-Rustic White, Enchanted Evening), Ink (Palette-L’Amour, Jardin Moss, Burnt Umber), Trim (Hancock-Laura Hancock Collection), Pearls (Hero Arts), Spellbinders die templates (Labels 4)