Winter Buddies

Good morning!

What a party last night, huh? I was truly blown away by all the amazing projects everyone shared last night in the thread!! Watch the StampTV gallery over the next several days as the cards from the party will be added to the gallery by everyone.

This morning, I do a quick blog post to share this winter card I made with Rupa's Winter Friends stamp set...

Everything was colored with Copics and I used some Polar White Flower Soft, Frosted Lace Stickles, and felt snowflakes to continue on with the winter theme.

I traced the sentiment with a Green Stardust glitter pen - that's why it looks a little greenish in this photo... lol!

Have a great rest of your day and weekend!

Jessica

Day 3 Previews: Winter Friends & Signed with Love

Welcome to our last day of previews before the big party tomorrow night!

Tonight we are showcasing the last two new GinaK stamp sets being released this Thursday, October 29th: Winter Friends by Rupa Shevda and GinaK's Free with Three Signed with Love. My first card shows off some of the adorable images Rupa has included in her fun Winter Friends stamp set. I have another card that I really wanted to share with you tonight with her set but decided to wait until tomorrow night to share at the party & here on my blog... you know, because I LOVE to be a big tease! lol!

This stamp set has such fun images in it that were made to layer all together to make the perfect winter scenes! I love those houses behind the penguin - they are actually 2 separate images that I masked and stamped together. And, that penguin?? How adorable!!

How about this penguin decorating the inside of my card...

My daughter Ashley went nuts for that cute little puppy and the little bird too. I love every image in her set and know you'll see some amazing projects on the design teams blogs tonight!

Next up is a stamp set that has been requested over and over by lots of people - and Gina decided what better time to do it than at Christmas when we are all busy making handmade projects as gifts for everyone. And, best of all - it's free when you purchase any 3 stamp sets from GinaK Designs this month! I LOVE that!

You've already seen a couple of 3D projects of mine that I have been sharing this week - but here's one I haven't shown yet that I made with Asela Hopkin's First Christmas stamp set that we featured yesterday...

Once again, this is a paper-mache' ornament that I covered with patterned papers. The bear is stamped on GinaK's new Tan Leather cardstock and then shaded with some Copic markers and paper pieced together to make it a little more 3D. The hat has some white liquid pearls on it. You can see the dimension a little better in this photo...

The front is adorable - isn't it? But, look at the back! It's just as cute (at least I think so! lol!)

Gina has included lots of different phrases in her Signed with Love stamp set - I had a lot of fun experimenting and using them!

Remember this ornament I shared yesterday on my blog? Once again, I used Asela Hopkin's First Christmas stamp set ...

and, here's the back - with two different sentiments from GinaK's Signed with Love set...

It's such a professional touch to add to any handmade project! I'm always getting reminded by my family to sign my cards & projects - which I rarely do - so, this set will make that a lot easier and 'prettier' now! Thanks, Gina!!

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Now, for even more Inspiration & Ideas:

We have a couple of our Center Stage Spotlight Designers joining in the previews tonight. Here are their blog links:

Karen Knegten

Sue VanDeVusse

Then, stop by these GinaK Designers' blog for even more projects with tonight's stamp sets:

Gina Krupksy
Carolyn King
Cathy Tidwell
Cindy Lawrence
Donna Baker
Erika Martin
Emily Giovanni
Jessica Fick
Kurtis Amundson
Lee Murphy
Lynn Mercurio
Nina Brackett
Melanie Muenchinger
Theresa Momber

Our Release party will be held tomorrow night over on SCS in GinaK's Forum from 7-10 pm CST. We'd love to have you join in the fun! There will be contest questions, challenges, chatter, and lots more samples from our designers throughout the party!

See you then!
Jessica

Day Two: First Christmas & Vintage Borders

Welcome to day 2 of our previews for GinaK Designs! Tonight we are showcasing two new stamp sets - so buckle up and get ready for a ton of inspiration from everyone on the GinaK Designs' team!

The first projects I'm sharing tonight are from Asela Hopkins' new stamp set called First Christmas. It's an adorable set with lots of fun images to color and experiment with! As you can see, I made another paper-mache` ornament with this bird image. Yes, I realize it's 'supposed' to be a Cardinal, but my almost 9 yr. old daughter Ashley insisted that it was a blue jay... so, I made this ornament just for her. (After all, I'm not sure how many people would really WANT a blue jay ornament, do you? lol!)

As you can see from this photo, I edged around the ornament with some elegant cording that I've been holding onto for some time now - see, it does pay off to be a hoarder sometimes! I also used some green flower soft and lots of stickles to embellish the bird's perch.

I'll show the back of the ornaments that I've made for this release tomorrow because there is a special stamp set that Gina made just especially for signing our projects ... but, more of that tomorrow, okay?

Next, is a coordinating card and gift tag - also made with some images from Asela's First Christmas stamp set ....

and the card - as you can see, I paper pieced the ornaments and layered them on some of my long nestability dies. The pearls are from GinaK and are colored with Copics to match.

Next, let's move on to Nina Brackett's new stamp set called Vintage Borders. This set is so elegant and very true to Nina's style - which I happen to love! I used a couple of images from her set on this Christmas card...

The embossing was done with the Textile Cuttlebug folder with Vellum and then layered over GinaK's All Spruced Up cardstock. It's an interesting look - I'm not sure if I'm wild about it being over the green cardstock, but I think it's okay.

and, here's the inside with a couple more images from Nina's set all embossed in Silver Fine Detail embossing powder ...

Finally, I have a fun 3D gift project to share - this is made with a little paint bucket that I've had in my stash for awhile.

Isn't that fun? The bucket is filled with a bag of Hershey's kisses... well, it WAS filled with it! I promised Ashley that once I got the photos of my project done, she could have the kisses to add to the kid's snack bowl. My kids LOVE chocolate - just about as much as I do! lol!


For even more inspiration, please visit the Illustrators of the stamp sets featured tonight:

Asela Hopkins: First Christmas
Nina Brackett: Vintage Borders

Tonight, we have several of our Center Stage Spotlight Designers joining in the previews. Here are their blog links:

Deb Felts
Sharri Seffens
Melissa Cash

Finally, stop by these GinaK Designers' blog for even more projects with tonight's stamp sets:

Gina Krupksy
Carolyn King
Cathy Tidwell
Cindy Lawrence
Donna Baker
Erika Martin
Emily Giovanni
Jessica Fick
Kurtis Amundson
Lee Murphy
Lynn Mercurio
Melanie Muenchinger
Tami Mayberry
Theresa Momber

Our Release party will be held Thursday night over on SCS in GinaK's Forum from 7-10 pm CST. We'd love to have you join in the fun! There will be contest questions, challenges, chatter, and lots more samples from our designers throughout the party! See you then!

Jessica

Festive Frame Preview

Good evening!

Tonight we are kicking off Preview week with Melanie Muenchinger's gorgeous Festive Frame stamp set. It is another large card-front sized image that works with so many different techniques! I'm sure you'll see a ton of awesome ideas on the blog hop tonight - I know I can't wait to see what everyone will be sharing.

My first card is a shaker card that I made with some Martha Stewart Glitter I picked up over the weekend at Michaels. Have you seen it? There are several different types there - I bought the shapes and the tinsel assortment packs.

I had such a hard time taking photos of the card so you could see the glitters, sparkle of the stickles, and the images - so bear with me with all my photos tonight... Remember, you can always click on my photos to make them larger.

After I completed the Shaker card, I went over the outer frame with a layer of silver Liquid pearls... which I ended up hating! Don't you hate it when what seems like a good idea turns out not to be! But, I shared the card with my mother-in-law this weekend and she loved it (so, it looks like this will be her Christmas card! lol!) and encouraged me to go ahead and share it with you all tonight.

Next, is a paper-mache ornament that I bought at Hobby Lobby. I painted the entire ornament with Tim Holtz's Peeled Paint Crackle paint - that stuff is so much fun! The brush is included in the bottle and after you paint it you can zap it with your heat tool and it dries and cracks in seconds! That's my kind of paint!

I just used a portion of the stamp set and then layered the flower so that it is a little more 3D. Then, I added lots of stickles to the entire image. The bow was made with 3 ribbons and my bow-easy. Gina has ordered a ton more of those little treasures and they should be arriving soon! Hopefully in time for the release Thursday night!


For even more inspiration tonight, please visit the Illustrator of the Festive Frame stamp set Melanie Muenchinger's blog. Then, check in on our Center Stage Spotlight Designer, Diana Queen who has prepared a project for us tonight too.

After that, check out these GinaK Designer's joining in on the Preview blog hop tonight:

Gina Krupsky
Cathy Tidwell
Cindy Lawrence
Erika Martin
Emily Giovanni
Kurtis Amundson
Lee Murphy
Lynn Mercurio
Nina Brackett
Theresa Momber

Greetings, Earthling!

Good evening!

I hope your weekend has been an enjoyable one! I've been stamping up a storm - previews start tomorrow night for the new stamp sets that GinaK will be releasing this Thursday, October 29th. But, until then - how about a fun 'alien' card I made recently ...

Aren't these aliens hilarious? The stamp set is from Stampin Up (sorry I can't remember the name right now) and I think I actually used all the images from the set on this bright and busy card. I used Basic Grey's Cupcake papers & fibers as well as copic markers to make it.

Have a great rest of your night and we'll see you back here tomorrow night at 10pm CST with Melanie Muenchinger's newest Christmas stamp set... you're going to LOVE it!!!!

Jessica

Enjoy the Day!

Happy Saturday!

It's my turn this weekend to host the Sketch challenge over on PaperCraft Planet, so I thought I'd share my card here on my blog to see if anyone of you would like to join me in the challenge. We're also celebrating Susanna Boyd's birthday (the founder of PaperCraft Planet), so if you make your sketch card a birthday card, you can be entered to win an assortment of fabulous papercraft prizes!

My card actually came together quite quickly because I made it completely with scraps on my table that were left over from the Friendship box I shared here on my blog yesterday. Gotta love that, right?

Here's the sketch and here's the discussion to check out over on PaperCraft Planet! I hope you can join in the challenge!

I've been busy the past few days working with GinaK's newest Release stamps and products... watch for previews to begin Monday night on GinaK's designer's blogs!!

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!
Jessica

Card Details
Stamps: Signs of Autumn, Thanks a Million
Cardstock: GinaK chocolate, pumpkin, white; Basic Grey Indian Summer
Ink: Memento; Vivid
Other: Sizzix Leaf & bookplate dies, Nestability scallop square, SU ribbon, Copic markers, Judikins speckles

Friendship Box

Happy Friday!

This morning I'm sharing a fun little box I made last weekend with a new Sizzix Die (Box #2) I found at my local Scrapbooking Store (Scrapbook Superstore for my Madison friends). I was so happy to see the size of it when it was completed - it's nice and big; perfect for a gift, I think. You can tell by the size of the die cuts and the sentiment.

I used Basic Grey's gorgeous new Indian Summer patterned papers to decorate the entire box along with some other Sizzix dies.



Here's the inside of the box...

I'm not sure what I'm going to put in the box yet - but I'm happy to have another handmade gift in my stash all ready to go when I need it!

Have a great rest of your day!
Jessica

Project Details
Stamps: Thanks a Million
Cardstock: SU Saffron (12x12 for die cut box); GinaK pumpkin, chocolate, white; Basic Grey Indian Summer; lightweight chipboard
Ink: Vivid; Memento
Other: GinaK Buttons & Ribbon; Sizzix Box #2; Sizzix Book Plates; Sizzix Leaves

Warm Winter Wishes Blog Hop!

Good evening!

Welcome to another GinaK blog hop event! Tonight we're showcasing Carolyn King's adorable Warm Winter Wishes stamp set! Have you heard the story behind this stamp set - and Cammie's other Alzheimer's Awareness Stamp set Whimsical Autumn? If not, check it out in Cammie's own words HERE on GinaK's Idea Center.

My first card was made with Cosmo Cricket's Jolly by Golly paper - doesn't it look like it was made for Cammie's coffee cup?


Next up is a Treat tin that I made for my chocolate loving daughter, Ashley... see all the sparkle for the Stickles on this adorable snowman?

The camera really picked up the glitter - I promise it doesn't look that gaudy in person! lol!

I was so happy to see the my Scallop envelope die fit perfectly within the Altoid tin ... it's little things like that that make me happy! lol! I trimmed off the envelope flap and rounded the corners and glued it right to the top of the tin.

Then, using a couple of Circle punches, I decorated the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup tops (mostly because the autumn wrappers didn't match my theme very well). Here's the little note that I included in the envelope...

Lastly, I have a card that was really fun to color - I paired Cammie's snowman with Gina's Gingerbread House from the Holiday Cheer stamp set. There are ton of stickles on this card too!

It felt kind of weird stamping the snowflakes in black, but since I covered them with stickles I don't think they ended up too bad. Here's the inside...


For even more inspiration visit Carolyn King - the Illustrator of Warm Winter Wishes and the Idea Center gallery HERE.

Then, check in with Carolyn's special guest designers:

Charlene Merrick

Tina Gilliland

Deb Anton

And, finally stop by these GinaK Designer's blog participating in the hop tonight:

Cathy Tidwell
Cindy Lawrence
Emily Giovanni
Erika Martin
Jessica Fick
Kurtis Amundson
Lee Murphy
Nina Brackett
Melanie Muenchinger
Tami Mayberry
Theresa Momber

and our CenterStage Spotlight Team:

Joy Hadden
Kay Simmons
Linda Payne
Lori McAree

GinaK will be giving away a copy of Warm Winter Wishes on her blog tonight - so pop over there to leave your comment on her blog for your chance to win the set for free! (If you've already purchased the stamp set, we can swap it out for another GinaK stamp set valued at $19.95 or less.)

Thanks for checking in tonight and enjoy the rest of the blog hop!
Jessica

Projects Details

Coffee Cup Card
Stamps: Warm Winter Wishes, Giga Oval Scallop Frames & Doodles
Cardstock: GinaK; Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly
Ink: Memento
Other: Marvy scallop punch; Button; Copics; Nestabilities: tag & snowflakes; SU ribbon

Snowflake Tin
Stamps: Warm Winter Wishes; What's in Your Tin; Giga Square Scallop Frames & Doodles
Cardstock: GinaK; DCWV Christmas stack
Ink: Memento
Other: SU Sizzix Scallop envelope die; SU mini clip; Copics; Stickles; Marvy Giga Scallop Punch; EK Success circle punches

Gingerbread House
Stamps: Warm Winter Wishes; Holiday Cheer; Giga & Mega Square Scallop Frames & Doodles
Cardstock: GinaK; DCWV Christmas stack
Ink: Memento
Other: Copics; Giga & Mega Punches; Stickles

I'm feeling Green...

Good evening!

Yesterday I shared several projects I made with Tami's stamp sets - all with the black, white & green color scheme. When I sat down tonight to make this card, I decided to go with those same colors again to make a quick and simple Christmas card to share with you.

I must be drawn to the brightness of these colors since we've had what seems like one day of sunshine this whole month of October so far. I know that's not really accurate... but, it's been a cold and dreary month with another full week of rainy, cloudy weather - so, I need some brightness somewhere!

I pulled out my Poinsettia Nestability dies and cut several flowers out to layer together for this card. I haven't had a chance to play with them yet and was really pleased with the sizes included in the set and how nicely they layered together to make a full poinsettia flower.

I cut the flowers out with SU's Green Galore cardstock and sponged with Green Galore ink before removing the dies - it really adds nice shading to the petals.

Have you had a chance to see the newest edition of the Stamping Lifestyle Magazine? You can download it HERE - which I KNOW you'll want to do, since Gina has a coupon in it!

I hope you'll be able to check back in with me tomorrow night as we'll be featuring Carolyn King's Warm Winter Wishes stamp set on yet another GinaK blog hop event!

See you then!
Jessica

Card Details
Stamps: Holiday Greetings
Cardstock: GinaK white & black; SU green galore
Ink: Memento, SU green galore
Other: Poinsettia & ribbon tag nestability dies, dauber, pearls, copic marker (to color the pearls black), ribbon, Cuttlebug Victoria embossing folder, Ticket Corner punch