Fun with Stamps!

Hello everyone! I've been playing with the Queen & Co. Summer Fun collection and thought it would go great with some of the new Inkadinkado Clear Mini Stamps! I just love stamping and thought of a fun summertime card to make with these fun new products!

Check out my card!

I used the Queen & Co. Summer Fun Beach Balls and Combo paper as well as the Inkadinkado Sun Mini Stamp for this fun summertime card! Isn't my sun great? Want to see how I made it? I'll show you!

First I got my stamp, ink, block and paper that I wanted to use:

I then stamped my image (in this case the sun image) on my paper and punched it out using a 2 1/2" circle punch:

See the rays on the sun? These were the perfect guidelines to make my cuts. I cut on each ray all the way to the "face" on the sun image:

After you make all of the cuts, your circle will now resemble a pie shape. Remove every other "slice" of the pie and you will have your sun!

I assembled my card and adhered my sun with foam tape for dimension:

Then I stamped another sun image on the same color paper. I used a 1" circle punch to just cut out the face. I punched a coordinating color (the lighter yellow) with a 1 1/4" circle punch and used foam tape to adhere both layers to my sun on the card:

Can you see the dimension? Then I stamped my sentiment and I was done! I just love how it turned out! You could easily use different border strips from the Combo paper to achieve different looks, but I just fell in love with those fun palm trees!

Well, what do you think? Want to win some and give this a go? Just leave me a comment about your favorite part of summer and you can win the following:

One of each sheet of the Queen & Co. Summer Fun papers (6 sheets total), 1 Inkadinkado Mini Clear Stamps - Sun, 1 Tim Holtz Black Soot Distress Ink, and 1 Inkadinkado Mini Acrylic Block!

The winner will be announced on the blog on Monday!

Happy Crafting!

Even more Basic Grey!

Well, I must admit I've never created anything outrageous with Basic Grey myself. I do love to alter though and I think I would cover just about anything with paper if I could! Thanks for all of your kind words for my mom's gazebo! She'll be happy to read all of your wonderful comments!

Did you know the new Basic Grey is in the store? You didn't? That's because I haven't mentioned it just yet. We have something extra special going on with a certain Basic Grey collection starting tomorrow, May 1. The newsletter will be going out shortly... you are definitely going to want to watch for it!

In the meantime, I'm going to share with you two layouts I created using some of the new Basic Grey collections!

Happy (birth) Day - by Me!

This is from my youngest daughter's (Ericka) 10th Birthday. I used Basic Grey Max & Whiskers! This collection is very versatile! You can still use it even if you don't have pets! I used the back side of Mittens and Elvis as the base of my layout. I also used the front side of Gretchen and Patches and punched the flowers from scraps of all of papers I used! I just love how it turned out - the colors are fantastic!

Cousins - by Me!

Another very versatile collection - Cappella! This is a picture of my daughters and my nieces taken at Christmas. I printed the photo in antique to soften the colors a bit for the vintage -inspired papers. Sepia and black-and-white photos would work really well with this collection as well! I used the back of Sonata as my base and added strips of Interlude (front & back), Mezzo (back) and Venetian (back) for the photo mat. The flower stickers are from the Cappella Element Stickers that I layered together and adhered with foam tape. Both layouts are adaptations of Basic Grey sketches.

What is your favorite thing to scrap about? Or are you like me and prefer to make cards and alter various items you find around the house? Let us know below and you could win:


Basic Grey Nook & Pantry 6x6 Paper Pad, Element Stickers, Stitched Brads; Basic Grey Offbeat Painted Brads; Basic Grey Origins Micro Mono Stickers.

Don't forget you can sign up for all the contests this week! We will have our final drawing this weekend and let you know Monday, May 3 on the blog. You can sign up for all of them if you'd like (April 27, April 28) Good luck!

Don't forget to be watching for that newsletter...

More Basic Grey!

Wow! It's interesting to see all of your favorites! I've not thought about it, but I don't think I can pick a favorite either! Let's see... Mellow was one of my favorites, Bittersweet, Figgy Pudding, Sultry, Lily Kate, Lemonade, Green At Heart... okay, I'll stop there! I think it's safe to say that we've all loved Basic Grey for quite some time!

Let's see some more Basic Grey projects!

Here is a gazebo my mom decorated using Basic Grey Porcelain, Kioshi and Green At Heart!



My mom found this gazebo in the clearance section of a craft store and decided to cover it with some great spring BG papers! The bird on the top was cut with a Sizzix die and glitter paper. I know I keep saying this, but I absolutely love how all of Basic Grey's collections match so well with each other! It makes them so versatile!

Here is a plant box I decorated using the Basic Grey Green At Heart collection, some Prima Bling, leaves and buttons from my stash!



The planter was originally white and I painted it green. I used a Sizzix die to cut the flowers and layered them together with foam tape. I curled the petals under a little with a pencil for added dimension before layering. Then I added some bling with Stickles! The stem, butterflies and photo corners are from the Green At Heart Element Stickers. I think I'm going to add a plant and use this as a Mother's Day gift! Shhh... don't tell my mother-in-law!

What is the most outrageous thing you've decorated or created with Basic Grey? Be honest! I want to see how crazy you get with crafting! Leave a comment below! You'll be entered into a drawing for:

Basic Grey Marrakech 6x6 Paper Pad, Olio Rub-Ons; Basic Grey Two Scoops Alphabet Stickers; Basic Grey Cupcake Glazed Brads; Basic Grey Bling It Rhinestones - Ladybug (Sky).

Don't forget to sign up for yesterday's post if you haven't done so already! Yes, you can sign up everyday! Winners will be announced Monday, May 3. Good luck!

Basic Grey!

I loved reading all of your comments about recycling and being GREEN! It even gave me a few more ideas of ways I can better help the environment! Thanks ladies for your input! CONGRATULATIONS to: Anna Jordan! You've won the Basic Grey Earthy Granola collection! Send us an email with your shipping info so we can send out your goodies!

Speaking of Basic Grey... We are expecting the new Basic Grey in stock very soon! Have you had a chance to get your hands on the "springy" collections of Green At Heart and Kioshi? I just love the colors of both collections and love how they pair so well with each other!

Designer Andra Hoffman has been working with both of these collections and I just love what she has done with them!

Cute - by Andra Hoffman

This is a picture of Andra's adorable granddaughter at 3 months old! I love how the Basic Grey Green At Heart papers really match with the photos of Ella!

Giggles - by Andra Hoffman

Andra used both Green At Heart and Kioshi for this layout and I absolutely love how it turned out!

Break A Leg Layout - by me!

I used Basic Grey Kioshi for this layout of my daughter in her high school musical - Honk. The colors were perfect for the theme! I used a Basic Grey sketch and modified it slightly to make it my own (as usual!)

Stay tuned for more Basic Grey projects! To celebrate the new collections coming soon, we are going to have Basic Grey giveaways this week! Leave a comment below about your favorite Basic Grey collection - old or new and you will be entered into a drawing to win:


Basic Grey Ambrosia - 6x6 Paper Pad, Element Stickers, Alpha Stickers, Glazed Brads; Basic Grey Eerie - Painted Brads; Basic Grey Bling It Rhinestones - Lotus (Tangerine).

There will be more giveaways this week so be sure to check every day! Leave your comments after every post and we will have random drawings each time. All winners will be announced on May 3! Good luck!

Design Team Work, Spring Break and more!

Our first design team has been busy with all the great new products! I'm impressed by their talent and feel very lucky to have such a great group of ladies designing for the store! Their work is being posted in the Project Ideas category first before I show it off on the blog. Also, be sure to check their blogs (links on the right under Design Team Blogs) for more of their work!

Check out these great cards created by Designer Leah Schaeffer using the wonderful, Limited Edition Bo Bunny Jazmyne collection!


Leah distressed the edges which can be done with an edge distressing tool or just with a pair of scissors. Next she stamped with Bo Bunny Flourish Acrylic Stamps in Aged Mahogany distress ink (and did a bit of faux stitching with a brown marker). She used a small circle punch to punch out the small white flowers and then popped the Jazmyne Wellspring to give some dimension. From a scrap of the Jazmyne Wellspring, she hand cut the center of another flower and popped that with dimensional foam and tied a small bow with embroidery floss.


Leah stamped over the Jazmyne Symmetry with the Bo Bunny Flourish stamp set and Aged Mahogany Distress Ink. She also inked the edges of the paper with a brown ink. For the flowers, she punched a few circles from Jazmyne Mist and layered those, popping the smaller circles with dimensional foam and distressing the edges. She used just a few punches from a Martha Stewart leaf punch for an accent.


This card is a fun combination of the other two. The part that was a new experience for Leah was stamping across glitter paper... the glitter part did not hold the ink and because distress ink dries more slowly, she just wiped off the ink and it left only part of the stamped image showing! She loves how that turned out! She used a large circle punch to show the flower on the background paper. Cut another flower to layer on top and used brads for the flower center.


Wow, Leah! These are great cards and what a fun way to use stamps! Thanks so much!

Spring Break - Don't forget we are now closed for Spring Break. You can still place your orders online and shipping will resume on March 24. I hope to create a mini-album of our vacation to display on the blog when we return - after the shipping is all caught up, of course!

We've extended the deadline on the Easter Pinecone Press drawing. Be sure to leave a comment (to that post) and you may win some fun Easter papers and die-cuts from Pinecone Press! We'll have the drawing when we re-open on March 24!

Happy Crafting!

More Pinecone Press Cards and A Winner!

Easter is right around the corner - can you believe it?! Here are a few fun Easter and Spring designs from the Sweet collection from Pinecone Press. Check out these darling papers and die-cuts:

Spring Stripe

Spring Frames - the perfect backgrounds for cards!

Bunny Die-Cuts - No fussy-cutting, it doesn't get better than this!

Here are my cards - again, scraplifted from Pinecone Press, but modified slightly to make them my own! Egg die-cuts from my Big-Shot, bling and fibers are all that I added to these super-easy cards!


Pinecone Press Spring Frames, Bunny Die-Cuts. Pink sheer ribbon and bling (on the wheels) from my stash.


Pinecone Press Spring Frames, Spring Stripe, Bunny Die-Cuts. Eggs die-cut from Sizzix Eggs Die and Big-Shot Die-Cut Machine. Bling and Stickles from my stash.


Pinecone Press Spring Frames and Bunny Die-Cuts.


Pinecone Press Spring Frames, Bunny Die-Cuts. Bling from my stash.


Pinecone Press Spring Frames, Bunny Die-Cuts. Tulle and Bling from my stash.


Pinecone Press Spring Frames, Bunny Die-Cuts. Bling from my stash.

Now for our winner of the Pinecone Press Birthday Hoot Papers and some bling! Congratulations to Wendy Crowe! Send us an email with your shipping address and we'll send out your fun goodies!

Want to win the Sweet papers and die-cuts? You know the drill! Leave us a comment about what your Easter plans are and we'll have a random drawing on Monday! We'll give you 2 each of the papers (Stripes and Frames) and those cute Bunny Die-Cuts! Don't forget the bling! Good luck!

Calling All Card Makers!

Do you love to make cards as much as I do? If so, we have some great new papers from Pinecone Press just for you! The Birthday Hoot collection is super-cute and I couldn't wait to fussy-cut all of those great cupcakes! Take a look at these great papers:

Birthday Hoot Party Games - Perfect background paper!


Birthday Hoot - Party Hat - Perfect background paper (let's not leave out the boys!)


Birthday Hoot - Say Cheese! - The perfect sized card backgrounds or mini-album backgrounds!


Birthday Hoot - Time to Party - The perfect sentiment for everyone!


Birthday Hoot - Cupcakes - Doesn't this make you want to get out your scissors?


Here are the cards I made with these papers and very little of anything else!


Party Hat, Cupcakes, Time to Party


Party Hat, Cupcakes, Time to Party


Time to Party, Cupcakes, Say Cheese!


Time to Party, Cupcakes, Say Cheese!


Party Games, Cupcakes, Time to Party


Cupcakes, Party Games

I did use some Stickles, pearls, rhinestones and markers from my stash to add the definitive bling that must be on ALL of my projects, but that is all I used! They were super-easy to put together and I made all of them in about an hour (fussy-cutting does take some time!) I did copy some of the ideas from Pinecone Press, but modified them slightly to make these cards my own!

Do you want some of these papers for your own birthday projects? Leave me a comment about what you would make with these fun papers! On Thursday, I'll have a random drawing and the winner will receive one of each of these fun sheets of paper! I'll even throw in some bling so you can "bling-it-up" too! Good luck!