TCM Easter/Encouragement Blog hop

Good morning!

Today I'm joining the designers from The Craft's Meow for our monthly theme blog hop.  This month we are focusing on Easter and Encouragement - perfect for the spring that I hope is coming soon!  I you're following along on the hop, you should have come from Jennifer's blog. To see everyone's projects for today, hop over to TCM's store blog for all the links.

My first card uses Beautiful Spring (flower and leaf) and Hope Blooms (sentiment).  I used this month's sketch for the layout: 

My second card is for Easter and uses No Greater Love (sentiment) and God's Blessings (cross and flourish).

Now, hop over to Julie's blog for your next stop on today's hop!

TCM: Easter Blessings

Welcome to the second day of previews for The Craft's Meow February release!

Be sure to hop over to the TCM's blog for all the links and projects the designers have prepared for today using Karen Baker's new Easter Blessings stamp set!

Yesterday I mentioned that I like to use Stampin Up's ink for solid stamp images.  I didn't use that ink on these detailed silhouette images though because when I did, I lost the detail of the script on the animals' bodies.  Instead I used PaperTrey Ink's dye cube stamp sets and was pleased that I didn't lose the detail.

The sentiment on the first card is from No Greater Love, by the way.

I also used an impression plate on the vellum overlay on the card below...

I'll be back tomorrow with another couple of cards to share with another new TCM stamp set!

Have a wonderful day!

Jessica

SNSS: Jesus Paid it All

Good morning! 

Welcome to day 3 of the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps February Easter release blog hops!  Today we are showing my favorite of all the new stamp sets for this month: Jesus Paid it All.

Isn't it beautiful?  I love the sentiments Korin added in this set.  And, even better?  

There's a die to match it too!

My first card uses the sentiment from a favorite song celebrating what Easter is all about.  I stamped it on this tag and used a silhouette flower image from Nature Silhouettes as a background.

For my second card, I stamped the cross image on the sunburst embossed card stock (sorry, I can't find it on the PTI website to let you know the name of it) and then traced around the image with a W2 Copic marker.  

Once again, check out all the photos below for all the other designer's projects with today's stamp set.  They have outdone themselves again!

Have a wonderful day!

Jessica

SNSS: Easter Blessings Hop

Good morning!

Today, the designers from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps are joining together to kick off February's new release now available for purchase!  Check out the entire release right HERE!

We are having a daily blog hop so we can focus each day on one stamp set from the new release.  We are starting off with the beautiful Easter Blessings stamp set.   I love the cross Korin drew - it's so pretty colored.  Check out all the details in this image!

 

Look at how pretty it is embossed in gold embossing powder too -

Now, check out all the photos in the linky gadget below.  Aren't they beautiful!  If you click on the photos, it will take you directly to the designers' blog posts for even more details!

See you back here tomorrow for another new stamp set hop!

Jessica

No Greater Love

Good morning!

Today several designers from The Craft's Meow are joining together to showcase a new stamp set designed by Nina Brackett in honor of the Easter season that is quickly approaching.  (How did that happen, right?  Wasn't it just Christmas!?)  If you have been following along on the hop from The Craft's Meow blog and have arrived here from Jean's blog, you are right on track.  If not, I'd encourage you to start at the beginning with the TCM blog and start from there.  You are NOT going to want to miss the beautiful cards the design team has to share with you today!

On both of my cards today I used Authentique's Bundle: Blissful paper collection along with the sticker words that coordinate with the paper.  I liked the yellows and grays in this paper pack since I always think of the color yellow with Easter.  I stamped the main image on the paper, being sure to have a foam pad under the paper to ensure a good clean stamped image.  I find this is important with my finely detailed stamp images such as this one.  I did a bit of paper piecing with the ribbon banner and crown too - love this detailed stamp image!

Card Details
Stamps: No Greater Love (TCM)
Ink: Versafine black
Card stock: SU solid; Authentique Bundle Blissful
Other: Lace; seam binding ribbon; stickles; copics; wild orchid flowers; Punch Bunch leaf punch

In the corner, I added the delicate corner stamp and embellished with some work stickers from Authentique's Diction sticker sheet and another flower -

Next, is a bit of a simpler card with not quite as much going on....

This time, I only popped up the band of the crown and used a few yellow Copic markers to color the ribbon banner and ornate crown.  A bit of stitching, a seam binding bow, and a sentiment tag and I called it done.

Card Details
Stamps: No Greater Love (TCM)
Ink: Versafine black
Card stock: Authentique Blissful Bundle; SU
Other: Corner rounder; sewing machine; seam binding ribbon; wild orchid flower; copic markers; stickles

I'm not sure which one I like better!  I think the second one is more my style but I like the shabby feel of the first one. What a fun stamp set to play with - I encourage you to think about adding to to your collection as the focal image doesn't just scream Easter to me.

Next up on the hop is Julie!  I've also included a list of all the designer's showcasing today's beautiful new stamp set for your reference in case there is a break along the way:

The Craft's Meow Blog
Amy Tsuruta
Ivana Camdzic
Iwona Palamountain
Jean Martin 
Jessica Fick (you are here!)
Julie Ranae

Karen Baker
Lindsay Amrhein
Michelle Bertuzzi

Happy Hopping!
Jessica

Easter Babies: Paper Pretties Stamps for a Great Cause!

 

Good evening!

Tonight I have 3 quick and easy cards that I made using Paper Pretties new Easter Babies digital stamp set.  The cards are quite clean and simple because I wanted the adorable images to take center stage!   Plus, all of the proceeds from the sale of this set (minus Paypal fees) will be donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  The digital file is only $7, so it's a great deal AND a great cause!

Easter Babies - click HERE to purchase!

When you purchase the digital file, it will be emailed to your email address.  You will need to unzip the file to be able to view all the images.  I'm a digital stamp novice, so for me it works best to open a new Word document in Microsoft Word and insert the image onto the document, resize it and print it out.  I always print out on Paper Trey's White card stock and have never had any issues with the ink being smeared with Copics or Odorless Mineral Spirits and Colored Pencils, which are usually my two coloring mediums of choice.

For the projects I am sharing tonight, I actually took it a step further and created text boxes within my document and inserted the photos and coordinating sentiments, resizing them as needed.  That way I was able to print out all the images I used on the three cards as well as another grouping that I'll use on a future card soon.  Again, I'm a total novice, but I really like how quick and easy it is to use digital images this way - no worries about ink smudging!  lol!

Here's a closer look at this adorable lamb - I just love the sentiment Heather included for her.  She was colored with only a few Copics: N0, N1, BG10, R00.  Doesn't get much simpler than that!

******

Next up are these adorable chicks - wouldn't this be a cute card to give to a girlfriend?

In order to get the chicks perfectly lined up, when I inserted each one in the text box, I made sure to count out the spaces between each image.  Then, for the far right image, I went to the format tool bar on Word and rotated the chick so she was facing the others.  When I'm all finished with the image and the sentiment, the last thing I do is to go to the Format Tool bar and click on the 'no outline' option in the 'shape outline' tab so that it erases the actual text box line. 

These chicks were colored with a couple of Copic markers too - Y21, Y32, YR65. N0, N1.  Again - super simple!  One note of interest:  the card size is 4" x 5 1/4" to make room for the ribbon tag, so that it will fit in a regular envelope without a problem.

*****

My last card is with three images - the two groupings of rabbits as well as the coordinating sentiment.

Once again, I created a text box, sizing it to 5 1/2" long to cover the entire length of a regular card front.  I inserted both of the rabbit images, allowing the last rabbit on the far right image to be outside the text box, so it wouldn't be included.  I had to do that to make the images fit together size-wise, at least in my mind.  As you can see from the digital image file at the top of my post, one rabbit image grouping is quite a bit smaller than the other.  That's another great thing about digital images, you can change the sizes to fit your needs as well as rotate them to mirror images, if you choose to for your projects!

Once again, very little coloring on this card - N0, BG10, R00.  Then, I added a layer of green Flower Soft under their feet as well as another line of glue for Doodlebug's green glitter (which I also sprinkled over the Flower Soft too to fill in any spaces).

So, there you have it - 3 very quick and easy cards that can be used for Easter, Spring, or really any occasion if the sentiments are swapped out!  We hope you'll consider purchasing this Easter Babies digital stamp set to add to your collection and help us support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.  Heather has been sharing several projects that the design team have made with the set, so if you're looking for more inspiration, please check out the Paper Pretties blog.

Have a great night!
Jessica

Little Easter Bags

Good evening!

Tonight I'm sharing the project we made last weekend when my friends and I got together for an afternoon of stamping.  I have 3 similar samples to share tonight - they are all basically the same, just a bit different as you can see from the photo above. 

Project Supplies

Stamps: MFT Pure Innocence; SU polka dot wheel (unmounted for an easy background image!)

Ink: White craft; Memento Cocoa

Cardstock: GinaK; white; SU

Other: Sizzix Bag 2; Nestability oval dies; scor tape; SU flower dies; Fun Foam; Making Memories brads; SU ribbons; Copics, Spica pens

Aren't these fun foam flowers adorable with the button brads in the center?  Simply adorable, I think!

The flower dies are all from Stampin Up, by the way.  They are from Sizzix and are exclusive to SU, as far as I know.  They cut through the fun foam perfectly.

The last one is Ashley's favorite - and mine!  I love those big scallops... but, I didn't want to ask the girls to cut the thin brown border around the die, so we went with the layered Nestability dies shown on the first two samples.

I've been a good Easter Bunny, gathering items for the kids' Easter baskets... isn't being a mom so much fun sometimes?  lol!

Have a wonderful night -
Jessica

GKD Illustrator Blog Hop!

Happy Thursday!

Gina challenged the design team to make a card for tonight'a Illustrator Blog hop with one of the new stamp sets released a few weeks ago with at least 2 colors from the new Spring Assortment cardstock pack.  I decided to use 3 of the new colors: Lemon Drop (grosgrain ribbon), Creme de Menthe and Lovely Lavender cardstocks and paired them with the Spring Florals stamp sets.

I used a few FREE GKD digital papers on my card as well.  The woodgrain is a digital paper from Gina and the blue textured paper is from Emily Giovanni's Timeless Treasures Solid paper pack that you can find over on the StampTV Freebie page HERE

The flower image was colored with my Koh-i-noor pencils, Odorless Mineral spirits, blending stumps and then embellished with yellow, purple and green Stickles.  I haven't gotten out my colored pencils in ages and forgot how much I LOVE using them!  I'm thinking they need to get some more attention from me because they were so much fun and easy to blend with on Gina's Pure Luxury Ivory cardstock.

The inside sentiment and image are both from Rupa's Easter Blessing stamp set and worked well with the Easter theme of my card.

Are you aware of one of the best things about this stamp set?  It's the current Card Kit stamp set available through GinaK Designs!  That means that each purchase of the Spring Florals stamp set automatically includes a free card kit designed by myself that has enough pre-cut cardstock and pearls to make these three cards shown below.  The written tutorial with the measurements and instructions is also included in the packaging to keep for a handy reference guide.

This offer is valid until March 18th when the next Card Kit is released.  The stamp set retails for $19.95 and the card kit will be available for $9.95 after March 18th.  The card kits are a great way to purchase a beautiful stamp set, build your card stash, and get some of GinaK's fabulous Pure Luxury cardstock all at an affordable price!

************************

For all the details on tonight's exciting blog hop event, please check out GinaK's blog!  We'd love to have you join in the hop by adding your project's direct link to Gina's blog in the Mister Linkey box.  Gina will be hand picking our next guest designer from all the entries!  It's going to be exciting to see who will be our next CSS Design Team member!

PLUS - Gina will have all the exciting details on a HUGE sale she is starting tonight - you are NOT going to want to miss out on the awesome promotion she is running through Sunday night in her online store!

When you're done at Gina's blog, please stop by all the designers joining in the hop tonight featuring February's new stamp sets:

Jessica Fick *you are here!

Nina Brackett

Melanie Muenchinger

Theresa Momber

Carolyn King

Tami Mayberry

Cathy Tidwell

Lee Murphy

Donna Baker

Kurtis Amundson

Erika Martin

Happy Hopping!  I really hope you'll take the time to play with one of February's stamp sets and share your project link on Gina's Blog.  I can't wait to work with our next Guest Designer and welcome her/him to our GinaK and StampTV family!

Jessica

 

Easter Lily

Happy Easter!

This holiday is such a special one - filled with meaning and emotion to me personally as well as to all Christ followers throughout the world. I hope you are able to enjoy this day with the ones you love, celebrating the One who loves us with an Everlasting Love.

My card today is a very simple one in design, because I wanted the image from Easter Blessings to take center stage. Using Mono Multi adhesive, I added some mini beads to the stamens - I love the dimension this adds. This glue works great - the beads won't go anywhere!

Here's the markers I used to color this image...

And, the view of the inside...

We have been on Spring vacation for a few days, but I'm anxious to get back to work on Monday and start shipping out the Fun with Flowers Class Kits. If you haven't seen the details for my first online class with GinaK Designs, check out this link: StampTV Online Classes

Have a blessed Easter!

Jessica

Easter Eggs

My daughter Ashley can't wait until Easter - she's already planning out what is going to be in her Easter basket and has informed me that there had better be an Easter bunny in there! She already made me a thankyou card for the bunny that she is convinced will be in her basket... lol!

But, even more than that she wants to decorate Easter eggs. Our kids have spring break next week, so we'll be sure to pick up some eggs and a dye kit over the weekend to do this annual spring project. Who cares if the weather man says we're going to get up to 5" of snow this weekend, right? Spring is here!

I made this card a while back and thought I'd share it today with you. I used the Martha Stewart Border punch and tucked the SU Large Oval punchout eggs behind it. To spruce up the eggs a little, I ran it through the cuttlebug dots folders and sponged turquoise ink around it. The images are all from Rupa's Easter Blessings stamp set. Prima flowers decorate her beautiful vine image.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Jessica

StampTV Challenges...

Have you jumped on the StampTV Challenge wagon yet? If not, come and join us! We have a different challenge posted each week day by someone from GinaK's Design Team. Here's the schedule of challenges for the week...

Monday - Color

Tuesday - Scrapbook

Wednesday - Technique

Thursday - Sketch

Friday - Potluck

The challenges run for an entire week and when the new challenge is posted the hostess/host of the previous week's challenge randomnly selects one project as the 'winner.' That person gets to pick a stamp set of their choice for free valued at $24.95 or less!! If you use GinaK's stamps in your challenge you get your name through in the basket twice with double the chance to win!

Monday night I had a chance to play along with two challenges going on right now over at StampTV. The first card actually qualifies for both challenges. Theresa's Color Challenge this week is Lavendar Lace and Old Olive and Gina's Technique Challenge is to use your Nestabilities on a card.

I love the colors that Theresa picked for this week. Purples and green scream Easter to me - so I pulled out Rupa's beautiful new Easter Blessings stamp set, my Stampin Up solid cardstocks and my Scallop Tag nestability dies to make this Easter card.

The background is embossed with Stampin Up's Sizzix Texture plates. I used cardstock weight Vellum (also SU) and layered it over this Lavendar Lace cardfront. It was then attached to the card with Silver Eyelets.

The sateen flowers were originally white but I shaded them with a couple of Copic markers and put a pearl (SU) in the center of each flower with a glue dot. I used CraftT's Holiday Rub-on Paste for the subtle Silver shine on the edges of the dies and Detail Silver Embossing powder for the images. The white cardstock is all GinaK's Pure Luxury paper.

Here's the inside view. I covered both sides of the inside because I wanted to hide the silver eyelets...

The lilies were shaded with Copics and Copic Spica pens. I didn't use Copics on the front of the card where I embossed with Silver embossing powder because the colored embossing powder reacts to Copics and smears it. So, I colored the tiny images in with the Spica pens.


Next up, is my card for Gina's Nestability Challenge...

The card itself is pretty simple - just lots of little touches to make it special. The stamps are from Gina's Best Fishes stamp set. This adorable Sea Horse was colored with Copics and stickles were added for lots of sparkle. The buttons are from Archivers (Foofala brand) and the border punch is from EK Success. The thick vellum and patterned paper is from Stampin Up along with the silver eyelets, Brocade Wide Grosgrain Ribbon, and Sizzix Texture Plate.

Here's the inside view...

I will be hostessing this week's Sketch Challenge, so I hope you'll be able to play along with me! I'll share my card and my sketch here on my blog tomorrow morning. See you then!

Jessica