Stamp Happy

Wanted....

If there's anyone out there that is good with blog banners, I would dearly LOVE to have something that looks more interesting and professional than the blog banner I have on my blog for the store....  Stamping at Toyrifix.  I'd prefer something that includes the photograph that's already there.  I'm not looking for anything fancy, but some added graphics might be neat!  If you like to play around with that kind of stuff, give me a holler, show me what you've already done, and I'll email you the photograph.  I don't really have a budget for this kind of thing, but maybe swapping a banner design for product would be a possibility?  Thanks!

Color Throwdown #44 and a Prize!

It's time for another Color Throwdown, and this week I am the hostess this week!  I recently got some of the gorgeous new Wisteria designer paper from Basic Grey, so I used it as my inspiration for the colors this week.  As always, remember that you don't have to use these exact colors... just whatever you have that's close.  As a matter of fact, none of the cardstock on my card is from Stampin' Up!  Also, please note that you do not have to make only a card!  Any project is more than welcome!

Have you been busy over at the Stampin' Out Alzheimers website, checking out and participating in the challenges?  Well, if you're registered at the site, and you participate in the Throwdown before Sunday, May 31st at 11:59 p.m. EST you'll be entered into a drawing to win a 6x6 pad of the Wisteria paper from Basic Grey!  So, get busy!

For my card today, I used what is quickly becoming a favorite new image from Penny Black, the Fresh Field flowers.  I colored the flowers and leaves with Stampin' Up and Tombow markers, then cut out the image with my Nestabilities.  I thought the stamped image and the designer paper I chose out of my 6x6 pad were a great match!

Check out the other fabulous creations from the Throwdown Girls!

Cathy Indelicato
Barbara Anders
Danielle Kennedy
LeAnne Pugliese
Broni Holcombe

Remember, everyone who participates also gets a chance to be chosen as our Featured Stamper next week!  AND we're picking one of the Featured Stamprs to be our Guest Designer for the whole month of July!  So c'mon... stamp, stamp, stamp!!!

Thanks for stopping by today!  Your comments brighten my day!

Stamps:  Fresh Fields (Penny Black), sentiment (Impression Obsession)
Cardstock:  Velvet (Bazzill), yellow, blue/gray (unknown), designer paper (Basic Grey)
Inks:  Elegant Eggplant (Stampin' Up!), markers

Accessories:  Nestabilities (Spellbinders), brads (Making Memories), ribbon (craft supply).

Stampin' Out Alzheimers - Making Memories

The big event has finally arrived!  The challenges have begun at the Stampin' Out Alzheimers website, and you do not want to miss all the fun and fabulous prizes!  If you haven't registered and made a minimum $5 donation (which will go 100% to the Alzheimers Association!) you can do so by clicking on the yellow "give" button in the Stampin' Out Alzheimers box on the left sidebar of my blog.  It'll take a little while to approve your membership, and then you're in!  This has been a true labor of love for Jen Tapler, and she's been buried under a ton of work to make this event happen, so don't panic if you don't get instant approval.

The Kitchen Sink Stamps Crew is sponsoring a challenge for this event!  With Alzheimers affecting a persons memory, and this being Memorial Day, we thought a fitting challenge would be remembering those who've touched our hearts.  Create a card, project or scrapbook page to... remember someone you love who is far away, remembering someone you love at a younger age, or in memory of someone you love are just a few examples of what you can do.  You'll see from my project that I've chosen to create something for my Mom to remember an event!

Stop by the Kitchen Sink Blog to see all the inspirational samples from the Crew Members!  When you have your entry completed, upload it to the Stampin' Out Azheimers site, using kss4soa as the "tag" so that all the entries can be put into the same album for viewing!  It's not necessary to use Kitchen Sink Stamps for this challenge, but if you've got 'em we'd love to see what you can do with them!  You have until midnight EST on Sunday, May 31st to complete and enter the challenge.  One random winner of this challenge will win "Everything BUT the Kitchen Sink!"  This prize will contain at least one Kitchen Sink Stamps set, plus some other goodies from the Kitchen Sink Store for a value of at least $75.00!!!

Many of you remember that two weeks ago, my family left early in the morning and drove 3 hours to surprise my Mom at church for Mother's Day!  So for my "Memory" project today, I used the photo taken of all of us at church, and created this frame for my Mom using a sentiment from the 3-Step Daisy stamp set, and my 3-Step Pansy stamp set.  My Grandma Frances' very favorite flower was always the pansy, and therefore my Mom is pretty fond of them, too.  She always plants them at Grandma's grave each Spring, so I know she'll love the little scattering of pansies on this frame.

So, I hope you'll set aside some stamping time for yourself this week, and join in the fun and challenges at the Stampin' Out Alzheimers site!  It's so awesome that even before the event began, we surpassed the goal of raising $2500, so many, many, MANY thanks to all of you for helping to make that happen!  A new goal of $5000 has been set, so let's see what we can do to reach higher!

Any questions about the activities on the site, please don't hesitate to shoot me an email and I'll do what I can to get you some answers!

Stamps:  3-Step Pansy, sentiment from 3-Step Daisy (Kitchen Sink Stamps)
Cardstock:  Velvet (Bazzill), designer paper (Bo Bunny)
Inks:  Lavendar Lace, Vintage Violet, Elegant Eggplant, Summer Sun, Marigold Morning, So Saffron, More Mustard, Mellow Moss, Always Artichoke (Stampin' Up!), Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko).

Bellarific Sketch Challenge

Hey everyone, I hope you're having a great Memorial Day weekend!  I'm sitting here Sunday morning, waiting for my daughter to get out of the shower so I can get in there and get ready for church, so I thought I'd quickly share this card with you that I made for the Bellarific Friday challenge on the Stamping Bella blog!  It was a sketch challenge this past week, and those are always my favorite so I had to play along!

I used some new Autumn Leaves paper that I got recently at the store with poppies all over it, and knew it would go perfectly with the Poppy Bittybloom!  Isn't she the cutest?  I applied some Angel Wings Shimmerz over her dress.  It didn't photograph well, but looks better in real life!

Don't forget, the challenges and all the fun at the Stampin' Out Alzheimers website begins tonight at midnight!  You'll be able to view all the challenges, make a list of which ones you want to participate in, and get started stamping!  The Kitchen Sink Crew will be hosting a great challenge with a fabulous prize of "Everything BUT the Kitchen Sink!" so please be sure to check it out!  I was also scheduled to host a color challenge, but there's such an abundance of challenges already that another one wasn't needed.  Instead, you'll want to tune in to the Color Throwdown as usual on Wednesday, the 27th!  I'm the host this week, and I've used some Basic Grey paper as my inspiration for the colors.  If you participate in the Throwdown, and you're also a member on the Stampin' Out Alzheimers site, you'll go into a drawing to win a 6x6 pad of the Basic Grey paper I'm using on my card!

Have a great day, and thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  Poppy Bittybloom, sentiment (Stamping Bella)

Cardstock:  Berrylicious, Green Tea OP, Black OP (Bazzill), designer paper (Autumn Leaves), white (Neenah Classic Crest Solar White)
Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)

Accessories:  Swiss Dots embossing folder (ProvoCraft), black brads (Doodlebug), Threading Water border punch (Fiskars), Angel Wings Shimmerz.

Stamp Simply #88 - Three Cheers for the Red, White and Blue!

It's Friday and it's time again for Sharon Johnson's Stamp Simply challenge!  This being Memorial Day Weekend, patriotic colors come to mind, so let’s create today using red, white and blue; HOWEVER, you do NOT have to use the traditional flag shades of these colors - you may use ANY variation of these colors you like, as long as your creation contains some shade of red, white and blue.  That’s easy enough!!!  Hope you have fun!!! 

I chose to make this card using one of the newer releases from Digital Stamp Oasis called Flying High!  Sammy the Squirrel thinks he's the Red Baron, as he soars above the clouds!  My card actually isn't stamped simply at all!  In fact, I didn't use a single stamp!  The image and sentiment are both digital!  There are a few blogs I read that are not stamping related.  One of them is The Geswein Family.  If you've been around SCS for as many years as I have, you may remember someone named MamaKimberly?  Well, Kim and her husband and their two cutie-patootie girls now live in China, and I just love to read of the adventures on their family blog.  While reading a few days ago, I discovered that Kimberly has some fonts that she created and they're available for free!  So I downloaded this one called Joyful Juliana, and used it for the sentiment on my card.  To check them out, go to her blog, scroll down the right side and look for the heading My Free Fonts.

This card will also fit perfectly with the rest of the Supernova's creations in the May Birthday Album at Paper Craft Planet!  Be sure to check out the album sometime, especially if you need some birthday card inspiration!

Check out Sharon's fantastic sample, and these samples from the rest of the Stamp Simply team for inspiration!

Julie Koerber
Jennifer Buck
Janine Orchard
Becky Oehlers
AJ Otto
Deb Saaranen

Barbara Anders, May Guest Designer

Give this challenge a try, if you have time!  And don't forget, the awesome challenges leading to fabulous prize giveaways begin on Monday, May 25th at the Stampin' Out Alzheimers website!  Be sure to get your stamp area cleaned up and ready to go!  The Kitchen Sink Stamps Crew is hosting a challenge, and I'll also be hosting a color challenge, so be sure to get your minimal donation made in order to join the site, and get hooked up so you're ready to go!  We're so thrilled to see the donations already rolling in even before the challenges start and hope that we'll surpass the $2500 goal to donate to the Alzheimer's Association!

Thanks for stopping by!  I appreciate your comments so much!  TGIF!

Stamps:  Flying High digital image (Digital Stamp Oasis), sentiment (Joyful Juliana font courtesy of Kimberly Geswein)
Cardstock:  navy (unknown), Maraschino (Bazzill), white (Neenah Classic Crest Solar White), designer paper (Scenic Route)
Inks:  markers (Copic)
Accessories:  Nestabilities (Spellbinders), brads (Stampin' Up!).

Tommy Turtle

Just wanted to share a quick card I made using another fun digital image from Squigglefly!  I dubbed this guy Tommy the Turtle, and he's ready to start the summer AND he's super fun to color!  Check him out by clicking the link above!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a fabulous day!

Stamps:  turtle (Squigglefly), sentiment (Impression Obsession)
Cardstock:  red (Hollo's), Green Tea (Bazzill), white (Neenah), designer paper (Rubber Soul)
Inks:  Night of Navy (Stampin' Up!), markers (Copic)
Accessories:  Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon (craft supply).

Color Throwdown #43

It's Wednesday and that means it's time again for another Throwdown!  This week Broni is our hostess and she's chosen a very classic color combo that I'm sure everyone will find some inspiration with!  For my card, I chose to use this sweet little girl from the Hero Arts Chinese Dolls stamp set.

Check out all the details for the challenge by visiting the Throwdown blog.  Upload your creation to your blog or online gallery using CTD43 in your tag.  Then leave your name and a direct link to your creation on the Mr. Linky back at the Throwdown blog so we can all check out your creation!  I admit to not having time to check everyone's entries out last week but I'm hoping this week will be a little less hectic for me and I'll have more time to see all the fantastic cards you create!

See these links for fabulous creations from my fellow Throwdown team members!

Broni Holcombe
Cathy Indelicato
Barbara Anders
Danielle Kennedy
LeAnne Pugliese

Happy Wednesday, and happy stamping!  Thanks for stopping by!

Stamps:  bamboo branch, China doll (Hero Arts), sentiment (My Favorite Things)
Cardstock:  Velvet (Bazzill), Old Olive, Lavender Lace (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah Classic Crest Solar White), designer paper (Deja Views)
Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black (Tsukineko), Old Olive (Stampin' Up!), markers (Copic)
Accessories:  ribbon (Stampin' Up!), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), dew drops (Robin's Nest).

P.S.  Thought you'd like to see a picture of Kelsey holding her new cousin this post Monday....

Stampin' Out Alzheimers

Today I want to mention an awesome opportunity to help stamp out Alzheimer's disease. My friend and fellow Paper Craft Planet Design Team Members Susanna Boyd and Jen Tapler have teamed up to create a special, short-term community where challenges, tutorials, free kits and more will be offered by over 30 generous sponsors to help our efforts to raise money for Alzheimer's disease research. Watch this short video as Susanna explains...

I hope you will stop by Stampin' Out Alzheimer's and become part of this week-long fundraising event. 100% of the proceeds go to The Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.org . To donate, I have a Stampin' Out Alzheimer's widget up in my left sidebar, and it is simple to do, just click on the $5 and a little box will drop down so you can choose how much you would like to donate, then click the give and it takes you to Paypal, and it's as simple as that. Thank you so much for helping. Even if Alzheimer's disease has not touched your family personally, I am sure you know someone that is affected by this horrible disease in some way or another, like Susanna and Jen. THANK YOU!

Kitchen Sink Monday

Today I wanted to share with you a card I made using the 3-Step Hibiscus stamp from Kitchen Sink Stamps!  I ran across this designer paper from Die Cuts with a View sometime ago, and knew it would be perfect for a tropical, Summery card using the KSS hibiscus stamps!  And orange has been my "new" favorite color for quite awhile now, so I really love how this card turned out!

It's Kitchen Sink Monday so all the other Crew members have some great designs for you to see today!  Stop by their blogs for a visit!

Angela Knopf
Lori Tecler
Connie McCotter

Lisa Somerville
Lynn McAuley

Julie Masse
Makiko Jones
Maria Colosimo

And please keep Crew Leader Dee Jackson in your prayers as she continues to recover from some recent health issues!  We miss you, Dee!  :)

Don't forget, if you'd like to order the 3-Step Hibiscus or any stamps from Kitchen Sink you can tell them "Tammy sent me!" and receive a 10% discount on your order by using TAMMY10KSS in the coupon code when you check out!

We're celebrating the birth of a new baby in the Hershberger family this week, as niece Alana and her husband Todd welcomed their second daughter last Monday.  Aliyah Mariah finally came home from the hospital last night after spending some extra time under the lights for jaundice.  Big sister Tana is so excited, and I'm making supper to take over later today!  I can't wait to hold the little peanut!

Have a great Monday!

Stamps:  3-Step Hibiscus (Kitchen Sink Stamps)

Cardstock:  Parakeet, Jade (Bazzill), white (Stampin' Up!), designer paper (Die Cuts With a View)
Inks:  Apricot Appeal, Groovy Guava, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Certainly Celery (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories:  Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon (craft supply).

Copic Creations Challenge #4 - Blonde Hair

(If you're looking for my Stamp Simply challenge card for today, please click here!)

It's time for another challenge from the team over at Copic Creations!  This week the challenge is being sponsored by Magnolia-licious and one lucky participant is going to win three Magnolia stamps!  Stop by the CC blog for ALL the details along with some great links to tutorials on blonde hair coloring how-to's!  The other Copic Creations designers have some great samples to inspire you.  You can check them out on the blog, or by visiting their individual blogs below (and show them some love while you're there!)

Mary Giemza

Karen Witter

Jane Wetzel
Jami Bova

Suzanne Dean

Claudia Rosa

Jodi Lee

I don't actually own any Magnolia stamps, but I was lucky enough to have my good friend Danielle stamp some off for me a few weeks ago and mail them out!  I must own some of these stamps soon.... they're so darn cute and fun to color!  The layout for my card started out being the Sketch for You to Try from Jen del Muro, but the need to place my Tilda at the base of my oval kept me from following the sketch to an exact T.  :)

I hope you'll find some inspiration from my card, or the other Copic Creations designers and give this challenge a try!  I personally wish I could participate so I could win those Magnolia stamps!  LOL

Have a FABULOUS Friday, and thank you for stopping by today!  I've noticed quite a few new commenters on my posts lately and I appreciate you all so much!  That validation keeps me going, and always makes me smile!

Stamps:  Tilda with Bee (Magnolia), sentiment (Taylored Expressions)
Cardstock:  Parakeet, Black OP (Bazzill), Cool Caribbean, So Saffron, designer paper (Stampin' Up!), white (Neenah Classic Crest Solar White)
Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko), markers (Copic)
Accessories:  Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder (ProvoCraft), Nestabilities (Spellbinders), ribbon (American Crafts).