Yummy!

I know it's only Spring, but it's hot here in Virginia (90s!), and I can't help but think ahead to summer. This one kinda, sorta fits with this week's SCS sketch challenge, which, so cool for Jen, came from one of her SFYTTs a while back (I thought it looked familiar). The watermelon and the sentiment are by H&M Stamps. Once again, I paired the Swiss Dots cuttlebug and Stampin' Up's Stitched background -- I just can't help myself!

Lady Liberty on this second card is also from H&M Stamps. She's such a sweet little thing! I stamped her on watercolor paper and colored her with reinkers.



A quick end note: I've realized recently I have too much on my plate (actually I've realized I have a small plate, lol!), so I've decided to cut back on design team responsibilities. It was with great sadness that I resigned from the H&M Stamps DT yesterday. But even though these are, for now, the last offical DT samples from me, I'm sure I'll still post fun H&M Stamps projects from the loyal customer role! I'm so grateful to Heather for the design team opportunity - I truly enjoyed my time at H&M Stamps! Best wishes for continued success to you, Heather!

Thanks for visiting today!



Summer:
Stamps: It's a Picnic (H&M Stamps); Stitched (SU!)
Paper: watercolor paper, Garden Green, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, Basic Black, Whisper White, Real Red
Ink: Jet Black Staz-On, Real Red, Certainly Celery, Garden Green, White craft
Accessories: classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities, scallop punch, red striped grosgrain, 1/4" circle punch, vintage brads, Swiss Dots cuttlebug folder, corner rounder

Lady Liberty:
Stamps: Celebrate the Day (H&M Stamps)
Paper: River Rock, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, River Rock prints, watercolor paper
Ink: Jet Black Staz-On, River Rock, So Saffron, Close to Cocoa
Accessories: classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities, word window punch, 1/4" black grosgrain, paper piercer

Dino Birthday Invitation

I'm the type of person that's always trying to squeeze out every last second in every minute of every day. As a result, I tend to operate last-minute and often run late. So I'm wondering if it really could be possible that I have my 13 1/2-month-old's 2nd birthday party invitation already designed, 10 1/2 months early?! Okay, a lot could change between now and then, he could wind up with a ferocious fear of dinosaurs, for example, but seriously, wouldn't this make a darling invitation for a little boy's dinosaur party?! The more I play with "A Dino Day" by H&M Stamps, the more smitten I become!



Stamps: A Dino Day and It's Picnic Time (H&M Stamps), wild animal print (small Saffron panel) (Pez-A-Doodle Designs, available Saturday, June 7)
Paper: Ruby Red, So Saffron, Ballet Blue, Old Olive, Certainly Celery
Ink: Old Olive, Ballet Blue, So Saffron, Certainly Celery
Accessories: classic and scalloped square Nestabilities, photo corner punch, sponge daubers, vintage brads, dimensionals
Size: 4 1/4" square

It's Picnic Time

Another quick peek today at a new H&M Stamps set coming on Sunday. This one is called It's Picnic Time, and it is SO fun!!! With a grill, kebabs, a margarita, watermelon, fun sentiments, and so much more, it just screams S-U-M-M-E-R! I stamped in Onyx Black Versafine on Papertrey White, heat set, then colored with an aqua painter and reinkers.

Stay tuned for a blog celebration announcement a little later on. Check out my counter -- 100K -- how'd that happen?! I can't even believe! Woo hoo!



Stamps: It's Picnic Time (H&M Stamps); Stitched (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Papertrey White, Wild Wasabi, Basic Black, Certainly Celery, Ruby Red
Ink: Onyx Black Versafine, White craft, Creamy Caramel, Close to Cocoa, Ruby Red, So Saffron, Certainly Celery, Old Olive
Accessories: paper piercer, ticket corner punch, black gingham ribbon, corner rounder, key tag punch, Ruby Red button, linen thread, sponge daubers

A Dino of a Day

H&M Stamps got off to a great start when it opened its doors for business last month, and I'm betting this month will be even better! Take a look at this adorable dinosaur stamp set, A Dino Day, one of three new sets coming this Sunday, May 25:

I couldn't resist pulling my papers from the Archaic line by Basic Grey. It's perfect for the dinosaur image! The layout is a slightly modified version of Jen del Muro's Sketch for You to Try from last Saturday.

Thanks for stopping by, and do have yourself a dino of a day!



Stamps: A Dino Day (H&M Stamps)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss, and Whisper White card stock (SU!); Archaic (Basic Grey)
Ink: Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip
Accessories: vintage brads, photo corner punch, dimensionals, sponge daubers, corner rounder

Little Cabin In the Woods

I need to interrupt this regularly scheduled post to bring you some exciting news from Verve: two previously sold-out sets, Thankful Blossoms and Anniversary Birds, are available for order again (they'll ship early next week). And in case you missed out on the "AmyRocks" discount the first time around, you can use it again! Today and tomorrow, just put AmyRocks in the coupon code field and you'll save 15% on your order. Also, sneak peeks for Verve's two April releases have begun on the Verve blog, so be sure to head over there to see what's coming on Friday AND to enter a giveaway of today's featured set - "Great Expectations." I love what the designers have done with this one! Tomorrow we'll have peeks (and another giveaway) of a set called "Father Figure."



Back to today's card. I created this little fishing cabin using a set called Dad's Outdoors, available on Friday from H&M Stamps. I just love these super cute images - perfect for all my guy cards. I used today's SCS sketch challenge (#173) for the fun layout. The images are all stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Papertrey's Stamper's Select White cardstock and colored with reinkers and an aqua painter. I added crystal effects to the cabin windows for a realistic, glasslike shine. The background trees are stamped with Stampin' Up's Lovely as a Tree. All the edges are roughed up and sponged to add to the overall rustic effect.

Here's another card with the exact same image. (And I mean the EXACT same image, lol! ... I was playing around with different layouts, had this one finished up and ready to go, then saw the sketch challenge last night. I just pulled the cabin off this one to use on the sketch challenge card until I can color a second cabin.)



If you haven't already, check out my blog candy post from two days ago. On Friday morning, I'll be giving away an H&M Stamps stamp set, an April Cards magazine, and an April/May Paper Trends to three different winners. And while you're there, you just might find tonight's dinner!

Last, I promised an H&M Stamps coupon yesterday, didn't I? This is good for $5 off your order of $25 or more! But here's the thing -- it's only good for the first 200 orders placed. Store opens at midnight on Friday. For those of you who are midnight "challenged," that's the midnight between Thursday and Friday, not the midnight between Friday and Saturday ;)

Here ya go:


Tomorrow, I'll be sharing a really cool, must-have (for me, anyway) new "tool" I acquired for my craft room yesterday. I'm not usually a "you MUST have one" kind of blogger, but I just may make an exception this once. Is that a sufficient tease? ;)

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

Beach Decor

I hope you didn't see that title and expect to see some tired, cliched coral and seafoam green something or other!

Heather Rolin, owner and illustrator of H&M Stamps, challenged her design team to create non-card projects showcasing the new stamps that will release on Friday. I had a lot of ideas, but settled on this monochromatic piece of beach decor using two stamps (sand dollar and shell) from the set called Sea Life. The quote (computer-generated, Mistral font) reads:

Those who live by the sea
Can hardly form a single thought
Of which the sea would not be part.
--Hermann Bloch

The sand dollars and shells are stamped in Timber Brown Staz-On, then watercolored with Creamy Caramel classic ink refill using an aqua painter. I added some glitter to the sand dollar centers using a Sakura Stardust glitter pen.

If you haven't entered for my blog candy, be sure to see yesterday's post). Among other things, I'll be giving away one of next month's H&M releases (winner's choice). Want a peek at those three? You won't see all the images, but enough to get the idea.

A Dino Day:


Celebrate the Day:


And my favorite, It's Picnic Time:


Tomorrow I'll have another H&M project, along with a coupon you can use on opening day (this Friday). Good stuff!



Beach Frame Supplies:
Stamps: Sea Life (H&M Stamps)
Paper: Confetti Tan, Very Vanilla, Kraft card stock , Magenta Brown Mesh 12x12
Ink: Timber Brown Staz-On, Creamy Caramel classic
Accessories: aqua painter, edge distressor, sewing machine and thread, paper piercer, photo corner punch, vintage brads, Sakura stardust glitter pen

Take A Peek And 'Sea' What You 'Sea'

Last night, I took a look at yesterday's color challenge and went down to my stamp room to get started. I stared at my stamps and the Real Red/Glorious Green/Night of Navy color combo, and my mind just wouldn't go there! That's when I thought, "Hey, maybe tomorrow's sketch challenge is already posted." And it was. Good thing :D

The sketch uses an offset, or tilted, oval as the focal point. I had fun with this one, and did two cards. Both use stamps from a set called Sea Life, which is one of three upcoming releases by H&M Stamps. The design team has been busy working on sneak peeks, and the response has been so enthusiastic that Heather (the owner and illustrator) has moved up the launch date to April 25! Check out all the sneak peeks HERE.

Here's another card for the sketch challenge:



Speaking of new releases, Verve Visual will be coming out with two new sets, also on April 25. You'll begin getting peeks of those on the 23rd. In the meantime, to "prime the pump," Julee has put together a "Vervalicious Challenge." It's open to anyone, and there's a prize! Go HERE for all the details and a peek at what Shannan cooked up with the inspiration piece. Each day for the next week and a half, another design team member will post another sample. Sure to be lots of fun! (And don't forget about the Honored Guest Sketch Challenge at Verve, where the winner gets to be guest designer for the month of June.)

A Cheater Color Challenge

It's been almost a week and a half since I participated in an SCS challenge - no wonder I was feeling a little peckish yesterday! This week's color challenge is Mellow Moss, Apricot Appeal, Cameo Coral, and Creamy Caramel. So I got the first three in, but cheated a bit on the Caramel. It's there, but barely -- I used an aqua painter to add a thin outline in Creamy Caramel around the image.

Speaking of the image ... isn't that crocodile chomping on the birthday cake the cutest?! It is from one of the first sets to be released by H&M Stamps in May. Can't wait to show you some of the other fab images over the coming days and weeks!

A couple of details and how-tos on this one: I colored the crocodile with an aqua painter, then added some glitter to his belly and to the candle flame. I stamped the image a second time, trimmed out just the head with hat, then popped it up on a dimensional. The "bite" out of the focal image panel was done with one of the classic circle nestabilities. I used pinking shears on one edge of the large white panel to echo the croc's teeth.

One more thing -- it's also been more than a week since I "blurfed" in my Google Reader or scooted around SCS leaving comments (other than last week's FS challenge, which I'm still slowly working my way through). Most of my blogs now have more than ten unread posts, some WAY more. My favorite blogs right now are the ones that aren't updating ;) I'll be catching up soon, but slowly. Please don't take it personally!

Stamps: Wild Birthday Wishes by H&M Stamps
Paper: Apricot Appeal, Whisper White, Mellow Moss, Cameo Coral, watercolor paper
Ink: Palette Noir inkpad; Mellow Moss, Cameo Coral, Apricot Appeal & Creamy Caramel reinkers
Accessories: aqua painter, dimensionals, sponge daubers, classic circle nestabilities, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8" circle punches, ticket corner punch, pinking shears, Heidi Swapp bling, 'Diamonds in the Rough' Cuttlebug folder, spring moss and apricot grosgrain, 'Sweet Shop' ribbon collection (retired SU)