Embellish Magazine Blog Hop

Hello!

I'm so glad you're joining me today for the first Embellish Magazine blog hop! We have tons of creativity, tips, inspiration, and prizes for you! I am honored to be able to participate with such talented ladies. If you're hopping along with us, you should have come here from Tiffany Johnson's blog. Your next stop is Leigh Ann Baird. If you haven't yet seen Embellish Magazine's premiere issue - what are you waiting for?? :) At $3 for a digital subscription, it is an incredible value and full of inspiration!

Embellish is offering four prizes for 10 lucky winners. The winners will be randomly selected from each of the blog hop participant blogs - so make sure to leave a comment on each participating blog! A comment left on each of the blog hop participant's web site will give you an entry to win one of the prizes, which include Lawn Fawn stamps, May Arts twine, a subscription to Embellish Magazine, and A New Design crinkly stained ribbon. Exciting, huh?

Here is what I created, using the magazine's premiere issue challenge: to use twine along with the colors red, brown, kraft, and turquoise.

I used the Roses In Bloom set from Waltzingmouse Stamps. I stamped the flower twice, cutting out the inner petals and layering them with foam dimensionals.

I added some knotted twine to the center of the rose and then swirled some pieces out from the flower. These were adhered in place with a small dab of liquid glue. Fun, huh?

Thank you for stopping by! Leigh Ann Baird is your next stop. Here is a list of the other blog hop participants - don't forget to leave a comment to increase your chances of winning a prize!

Embellish Blog
Ryann Salamon
Tessa Wise
Charlene Austin
Renee Van Stralen
Lori Roop
Julie Campbell
Sara Martina Parker
Tammy Fite
Heather Pulvirenti
Regan D'Agostino
Emily Niehaus
Maile Belles
Tiffany Johnson
Anya Schrier - me! :)
Leigh Ann Baird
Amy Rohl
Mariana Grigsby
Kelly Marie Alvarez
Michelle Woerner
Tina Fussell
Maureen Plut
Brenda Weaver
Julie Lacey
Ashley Cannon Newell
Embellish Blog

Have a great day!

#Anya

Recipe:
Stamps: Roses In Bloom - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Dark Chocolate, Kraft, Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink; Riding Hood Red - Stampin' Up!
Patterned Paper: Girl Friday Collection - Cosmo Cricket
Ink: Dark Chocolate - Papertrey Ink; Riding Hood Red, Sahara Sand - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger
Other: Linen twine - Stampin' Up!; Deco Scallop edge punch - EK Success

All My Love..

Hi! Have you seen this yet? :)

This is Card Creations Vol. 8 and now that it is on sale, I can share my first print-published card with you!

This sweet little one was made with Seasons of Love - Tags from Waltzingmouse Stamps. I stamped the decorative heart and then cut it out with the coordinating heart Nestabilities. I also used the scalloped hearts to create the card base.

I was excited this morning to see that Cath Edvalson featured my card on the Moxie Fab World Blog today, too. Eee!

The issue is overflowing with wonderful cards (273 of them!) and tons of inspiration. And speaking of publications, tomorrow I will be participating in the first Embellish Magazine Blog Hop! Trust me, you will want to stop back!!! Have a great night!

#Anya

Recipe:
Stamps: Seasons of Love - Tags - Waltzingmouse Stamps
Cardstock: Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Cardinal VersaColor - Tsukineko; Jet Black Archival Ink, Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger
Other: Classic and Scalloped Heart Nestabilities - Spellbinders; Gold elastic cord - Stampin' Up!; Vintage Cream twill - Papertrey Ink; vintage button

Thank You Kindly

Hello, my dears! How are you today?

It is heating up here in Pittsburgh! But the sun is shining and the sky is blue, so who can complain about that?

I needed a quick thank you card, so I decided to CASE myself - I really loved this card that I made for last month's WMS release and I thought it would be lovely in different colors.

I switched things up a bit, and used the polka dot image from Off Beat Backgrounds. I wanted to use green ink to tie the pattern into the green card base but didn't want it to overpower the card. So, I inked up the stamp and then stamped it off onto a piece of scrap paper so that the image would not be too dark. It gives it a bit of a vintage feel too, I think.

The flowers are from Big Blooms - Chrysanthemums. I thought in yellow they might look a little like sunflowers. I added some Antique Bronze Distress Stickles for the flower centers. The sentiment is from Fancy Phrases. Have I mentioned that I love that font? ;)

Hope you have a wonderful evening! We are going to grill out for dinner and then I have big plans for being crafty! Thanks for your visit!

#Anya

Recipe:
Stamps: Off Beat Backgrounds, Big Blooms - Chrysanthemums, Fancy Phrases
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi - Stampin' Up!; Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: So Saffron, Wild Wasabi - Stampin' Up!; Summer Sunrise, Dark Chocolate - Papertrey Ink; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger
Other: Antique Bronze Distress Stickles - Ranger; Labels Small Nestabilities - Spellbinders; sewing machine

Happy Day!

Hi everyone!

I hope you had a great weekend - I did! Yesterday, I took the Copic Certification class taught by the very talented Sally Lynn Macdonald. It was a great time!

Today I want to share a card I made using some new (to me) goodies. Raspberry and chocolate - yum!

I used this week's Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge for this card. I really missed those sketches! I've been writing them down every Tuesday, but just haven't had much time to use them. But, hopefully I can get back into participating regularly.

I needed to make a birthday card, so I picked out an appropriate Embellie from Volume 1 of the Color Couture collection from PTI. These are *fun*. Honestly, when they were first released I didn't think I would get much use from them. But there are so many possibilities! And I love the color combination suggestions.

I matted my Embellie with some Raspberry Fizz felt that was cut with my Petite Scalloped Oval Nestabilities. I love the texture the felt adds - its just fun! The Kraft base was stamped with Background Basics: Woodgrain and the Raspberry Fizz base was stamped with Background Basics: Diamonds.

Just a fun little card for a dear friend on her birthday! It will soon be on its way to her.


Thank you all for participating in Prickley Pear's Blog Hop last week. I hope you enjoyed seeing the new clear stamps and coordinating dies. All the contest winners have been chosen, so please be sure to head over to Prickley Pear's blog to see if you were one of the lucky ones!

Have a great night my friends!

#Anya

Recipe:
Stamps: Background Basics: Diamonds, Background Basics: Woodgrain - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Kraft, Raspberry Fizz, Vintage Cream - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: Dark Chocolate from the 2008 Bitty Box Basics Collection - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Versamark - Tsukineko; Melon Mambo - Stampin' Up!
Other: Embellie from Color Couture Volume 1, Raspberry Fizz felt, Ric Rac die - Papertrey Ink; Petite Scalloped Oval Nestabilities - Spellbinders

Hey There!

Hey there, girlies!

Happy Friday to you! Do you have any big plans for the weekend? I am going on a little road trip with my hubs to take a Copic Certification class. I am looking forward to it.

Today I wanted to share another card I made inspired by Jessica Witty's phone book challenge. I've been wanting to make these flowers a la Betsy Veldman for a while now and thought it would be fun to combine both.

Here's what I came up with.

More orange goodness, too! The background was stamped with one of the patterns from Background Basics: Retro. Then I made my little plaid pennant using Distressed Stripes and lots of different colors. My phone book flowers were matted with the Mat Stack 1 die and a strip of Berry Sorbet cardstock. Isn't it cute? I think so - I sure love those flowers.

Hope you have a fantastic weekend! I'm so glad you took the time to stop by today - thank you!!

#Anya

Recipe:
Stamps: Background Basics: Retro, Distressed Stripes, Say It With Style - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Rustic White, Berry Sorbet, Orange Zest - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Orange Zest, Berry Sorbet, Raspberry Fizz, Spring Moss, Lemon Tart - Papertrey Ink; Jet Black Archival Ink - Ranger
Other: Mat Stack 1 Die, Melon Berry Vintage buttons - Papertrey Ink; Scalloped circle punch - Stampin' Up!; Flower cuttlebug die - ProvoCraft; phone book

Prickley Pear Blog Hop

Welcome to the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps Blog Hop! Today it is my pleasure to introduce a new line of clear stamps and coordinating dies.

Visit the Design Team’s daily releases and the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps Blog from May 18 until May 21 to have the chance to win one of four prize packages worth $50 in PPRS products. Each of the prize packages will feature one of the new release sets: Build a Bird, Hibiscus, Build an Owl, and Butterfly.

Today, I am featuring the Build an Owl set and coordinating die.

For this first card, I used one of the stamps from the set to create a patterned background. Then I added my three owls - these make me giggle. It makes me think of three girlfriends gossiping and laughing. I die cut the owl parts and then stamped them - with the clear stamps it is a snap to line them up.

My second card is a Halloween one. I created the background using different colored Distress Inks. I perched my spooky little owl on its own branch. Cute!

So here are the blog hop details: each day you have more than one chance to win! The hop starts at the Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps Blog. Leave a comment on the blog for one chance to win. Then hop on over to the day’s release blogs and leave comments there for more chances to win. So easy! AND you will get to see some fabulous paper projects featuring the new sets.

For each release, you will have until midnight the night AFTER the release day to enter comments (that is two days!). Only comment per blog, please.

Here is the release schedule:

May 18th Build a Bird Clear Stamps and Die Cut featured on PPRS Blog, Frillions by Eli and Tesa's Scrap by Tesa

May 19th Hibiscus Clear Stamps and Die Cut featured on PPRS Blog and One Krafty Cat by Jenny and Paper Talk by Leslie

May 20th Build an Owl Clear Stamps and Die Cut featured on PPRS Blog, (here!), and Random Vintage Finds by Jennifer

May 21st Butterfly Clear Stamps and Die Cut featured on PPRS Blog and Frillions by Eli

Good luck! Thanks for stopping by!!

#Anya

Recipe:
What a Hoot Card
Stamps: Build an Owl - PPRS
Cardstock: Rustic Cream, Hibiscus Burst - Papertrey Ink; Pretty in Pink - Stampin' Up!
Ink: Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Close to Cocoa - Stampin' Up!; Antique Linen Distress Ink - Ranger
Other: Build an Owl die - PPRS; Apron Lace edge punch - Fiskars; Brown satin ribbon; sewing machine

Woo Hoo Halloween Card
Stamps: Build an Owl - PPRS
Cardstock: True Black, White - Papertrey Ink; Going Gray - Stampin' Up!
Ink: Peeled Paint, Chipped Sapphire, Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord Distress Ink, Jet Black Archival Ink - Ranger
Other: Build an Owl die - PPRS; Spiderweb edge punch - Martha Stewart Crafts; Spica glitter pens

Serendipity Stamps Memo Pad Challenge

Good morning!

It is Serendipity Stamps challenge day here. This week the Design Team was challenged to decorate a notepad.

I found this notepad at Michaels and liked it immediately because of its fun, bright colors and large size (6 3/4" square). It is labeled a 'mousepad notepad' and was in the $1 bin.

I took inspiration from the design of the notepad - the bold images on the left side, the olive and pink combination, and a flower and butterfly image. Here is how I decorated the cover using one of the new sets released by Serendipity, the Sweet Pea Cling Set.

Remember, you can always click the picture for a larger view.

I love to use Serendipity's stamps to create a collage image - I stamped some of the other sentiments and images I have all over the paper. I usually ink up the stamp and stamp it off once or twice on scrap paper before I actually stamp it on my project. If it is uneven or crooked I think it just adds to the overall vintage feel to it :) After I had most of the background stamped, I stamped the Sweet Pea image a few times. I masked the butterfly so that I only stamped that image once. I highlighted the sweet peas with Copic markers, not really going for a perfectly colored image but more of a color wash type look. I stamped the butterfly on a piece of scrap, colored it, cut it out, and added it to the notebook with foam dimensionals. I tied a piece of silk ribbon around the front and added the sentiment.

Isn't it pretty? I was really pleased with the way it turned out - Serendipity's stamps are so elegant and perfect for this look. I hope you like it!

I am so glad you could stop by today, check out the other DT members, too!

Amy
Jennifer
Kathie
Lynda

Have a great day!

#Anya

Recipe:
Stamps: Sweet Pea Cling Set - Serendipity Stamps
Cardstock: Ripe Avocado, Sweet Blush, Rustic White - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Rich Cocoa Memento - Tsukineko; Victorian Velvet, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo Distress Ink - Ranger
Other: Silk ribbon - Papertrey Ink; Pinking blade for rotary paper trimmer - Fiskars; Notebook - Michaels; Copic markers; sewing machine

WMS May Blog Waltz

Good morning, friends! It is a dreary Monday morning here - perfect for a little blog waltzing!

This is my second post for the day, please scroll down to see a little sneak peek of some new stuff coming from PPRS.

In honor of Waltzingmouse Stamps' first birthday, we're having a birthday-themed waltz this month. To get started, head to the WMS Forum to link up your creation and hop along with the other participants. There is also a thread for chatting about what you've seen and participating in our little contest! The DT members are each hiding little teacup images on their cards. Keep track of their count and a correct guess could win you a stamp set of your choice!

Here is my card - don't forget to look for the teacups. You can always click the photo for a larger version.

I stamped a few different backgrounds from Off Beat Backgounds and Picnic Patterns onto my cardstock and then punched them out with a large and small star punch. The background was stamped with the 'Happy Birthday' and 'Its Your Day' phrases from Free Spirit - Sentiments. I adhered my stars using foam dimensionals - I was going for a cascading stars look - and I really like how it turned out. I used Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge as my starting point. It has been ages since I've been able to participate and I hope to get back to joining in regularly! This card is 3.5 by 6.5 inches and would be great for a girl or guy. I love the bright, fun color combination.

Have fun waltzing, I know I've seen lots of posts already! It is so great to see all of you joining us! Don't forget to head back to the WMS Forum to chat and join the contest.

Thanks for visiting, my dears!

#Anya

Recipe:
Stamps: Free Spirit Sentiments, Off Beat Backgrounds, Picnic Patterns - Waltzingmouse Stamps Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, White - Papertrey Ink; Wild Wasabi - Stampin' Up!
Ink: Wild Wasabi, Cool Caribbean - Stampin' Up!; Aqua Mist - Papertrey Ink
Other: Small and Large Star punch - Stampin' Up!; Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers

PPRS Sneak Peek

This month Prickley Pear Rubber Stamps is releasing four sets of clear stamps with coordinating dies. The four sets, which include Build a Bird, Butterflies, Hibiscus, and Build an Owl, will be available for purchase on May 18th. Sold separately, these sets coordinate beautifully to create stamped images that can be die cut perfectly around the shape. How cool is that?

It’s so cool, in fact, that they want to give some away. So they’re hosting a Blog Hop, May 18th-21st. You’ll have the chance to share what you think of the new products and of course, the chance to win!

Here's a little sneaky peek of one of the cards I made using the Build an Owl set.

Be sure to come back on Thursday, May 20th to see the cards I've made featuring this stamp set and coordinating die. You won’t want to miss it!

Hope to see you back here later today for the WMS Blog Waltz!

#Anya

Butterfly Cutie

Thank *goodness* it is Friday. I need a happy, sunny, stress-free, relaxing weekend (do you hear me, universe??)

I was totally inspired by Jessica Witty's post on the Paper Crafts Connection blog the other day about using phone books in your paper crafting. I thought it was a great idea seeing as 1) I love the light, tissue-paper texture of the pages, 2) I have yet to have luck finding an old book to cut up to get that vintage print look and 3) Three of them were just delivered to my porch. So I was all over the idea of using a phone book.

Here's my first project. I've only got 1,638 pages left to use.

I cut a stack of pages with the Butterfly Die from Papertrey Ink. I think I wish I would have used pages from the phone numbers, but I do like the look of these. I stapled my stacks together and then mussed them up a bit, scrunching and folding the wings. I inked the edges with Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, and Orange Zest ink.

The patterned paper is from a few different Cosmo Cricket collections, seeing the colors together made me happy.

I stitched them to a card base of Orange Zest - I feel an orange kick coming on, totally loved Carly's orange card here - and added the sentiment using K&Company stickers. Happy, happy.

I hope your weekend is great! I'm so glad you stopped in today!

Don't forget that Monday is the May Blog Waltz for WMS! I will also be sharing a sneak peek of a new product line from Prickley Pear - you won't want to miss it!

#Anya

Recipe:
Stamps: Little Lady - Papertrey Ink
Cardstock: Orange Zest - Papertrey Ink
Patterned Paper: From the Material Girl, Early Bird, and Nutmeg Collections - Cosmo Cricket
Ink: Hawaiian Shores, Raspberry Fizz, Orange Zest, True Black - Papertrey Ink
Other: Handmade Mini Alpha Embossed Stickers - K&Company; Butterfly Die - Papertrey Ink; sewing machine; stapler; phone book