From the Heart Stamps Blog Hop and My Big News

Welcome to our From the Heart Stamps blog hop!

We are welcoming fall today as well as welcoming some new team members!  And my big news is....drum roll please...I'm one of the new design team members!!!  I've admired Faith's drawings for quite awhile, and have participated in a few of her monthly free image challenges.  When she issued a call for new DT members, I waffled over entering, but could not resist the urge.  Yippee!  I was chosen to serve a 6 month term, and it begins today with this blog hop!

As you hop along, please leave a comment on each entry. One random commenter will be selected on each blog to win the image that the designer used. And additionally, one commenter on the From the Heart Stamps blog will be selected to win a $5 gift voucher to the store!

If you have arrived from Lyn's blog, you are in the right place, if not why don’t you start on the From the Heart Stamps blog, so you don’t miss anything.

Here is my project, using Happy Harvest which you can find here in the shop.  This card is a bit of a departure from my norm.  I printed the image on a marbled cardstock rather than Copic X-Press and in medium brown rather than the standard black.  I also used Prisma Pencils rather than my Copics.  The muted tones give the card more of an Autumn vibe, in my humble opinion.

Now head over to Wendy's blog and see what she has created.

Thanks for hopping with us today. The hop will end on Monday October 7th at 6am, EST. Winners will be posted on the From the Heart Stamps Blog on Wednesday October 9th.

Outlawz Fridays Alcohol Markers Challenge - Here's a Bear Hug

Hi!  This is the first of two posts for me today.  Can you believe I have two posts for today?  Yes, it's true!  This post is for the Outlawz Fridays Alcohol Markers Challenge where our theme this week is World Animal Day and featuring an animal.  Of course Pandas immediately came to mind, and this image by A Day for Daisies, Comfort, was a favorite the minute I saw it.

For the background paper I used a bamboo stalk image.  After replicating it multiple times, I altered the color, shrunk, enlarged, flipped, and digitally layered the images to create a bamboo thicket.  I also printed out several pieces, fussy cut them, and adhered them over the top of the background to create some additional dimension.

Please join Carla, Dawn, Jen, Linda, Penny and me over at the Outlawz for this week's challenge, and show us your animals!  

Sweet November October 2013 Release Preview - Day Three

Today is a sniffle day.  These are the final two Gingerbread Men, Gingy Icing and Gingy Rolling Pin....sigh, sniffle, sigh.  I've had so much fun coloring and creating with these stamps, I'm sad there are not more.  However, I'm going to buck up, celebrate my good fortune at being a part of this release preview, and smile at the happy little faces on these two Gingys!

I did something a bit different for Gingy Icing.  I printed him in brown on a cream background rather than printing him in black on a white background.  With the yellowed antique look of the October Afternoon Very Merry paper, I thought the brown would create a softer look.  The holly was made using a Joanna Sheen Signature Die.

There is a story behind my choice of colors for the rolling pin on the next card.  My grandmother's rolling pin had tealy green handles, so I used teal for Gingy Rolling Pin.  While my grandmother's rolling pin (which my mother used while I was growing up, and I've used, and will be passed to my daughter....when I can bear to part with it) has a tan barrel, I took some liberties with the color.  To pop the Gingy, I used light teal rather than the tan.  The cookie patterned paper is from K&Company.  A red ribbon, red bow, and red twinkle goosebumps complete the card.

Please visit Amy's blog and Nancy's blog to see what they've created with these two sweet gingerbread men.  We adore reading your comments, and Amy, generous as always, has candy!  She'll be drawing names from a hat, and you can increase your chances of winning by commenting on all three of our blogs.  These two cuties, along with three others will be available for sale tomorrow at C.C. Designs.
 

Sweet November October 2013 Release Preview - Day Two

How about a "two-fer" today?  Yep, you get to see two previews today!  Gingy Gumdrop and Gingy Popcorn Garland are our stars today!  For Gingy Gumdrop, to coordinate with this awesome paper from the American Crafts' Merrymint collection, I used more yellow tones.  When my mom saw the card, she exclaimed, "he's unbaked!"  Lol, no, he's a sugar cookie rather than a gingerbread!

For Gingy Popcorn Garland I created a popcorn and cranberry strand to use as an embellishment.  The popped corn kernels were hand cut and the cranberries were punched out.  I glued them on a length of black thread, then attached the whole strand to the card with glue dots.

Please visit Amy's blog and Nancy's blog to see what they've created with these two sweet gingerbread men.  We adore reading your comments, and Amy, generous as always, has candy!  She'll be drawing names from a hat, and you can increase your chances of winning by commenting on all three of our blogs.  These two cuties, along with three others will be available for sale at C.C. Designs on October 3rd.

Sweet November October 2013 Release Preview - Day One

Hello, and welcome to the first day of the Sweet November October 2013 Release Preview!  Are you ready for some Christmas Cuteness?  Just look at the adorable Gingerbread Man Amy has created for you!  Introducing, Gingy Candy Cane Heart.  I couldn't wait to get this little guy colored up and placed on a card! 

The candy cane drops and the green striped paper are from a Martha Stewart paper pad.  A Spellbinders label die was used to create the frame for Gingy and a base for the sentiment.  I added some rub-on stitches to the frame after printing the sentiment.  Using a scrap of the patterned paper, I cut out three of the candies to use as embellishments.  Gingy was fussy cut and popped up with foam dots.  Adding two white pearls finished the card.

Please visit Amy's blog and Nancy's blog to see what they've created with Gingy Candy Cane Heart.  We adore reading your comments, and Amy, generous as always, has candy!  She'll be drawing names from a hat, and you can increase your chances of winning by commenting on all three of our blogs.  This Gingy and four others will be available for sale at C.C. Designs on October 3rd.

Thank you for visiting and commenting.  I truly do appreciate you taking time from your day to brighten mine!

From the Heart September 2013 Stamp of the Month Challenge

How is everyone on this Sunday night?  Did you have a good weekend?  Hubby and I spent time researching items for our kitchen renovation.  And today I actually was fortunate to watch two of my favorite football teams play...and they both won their games!!  Yippee!!

This evening's card features the From the Heart September freebie, Bobbing for Apples.  I also used the i {heart} sketches #26...rotated one quarter turn to the right.  The color red was prominent in so many of the cards I've been working on this week that I decided to go a different route with the apples in this image.

Btw, has anyone noticed a new item on my blog?  I'll have a bit of news for you on Friday.  In the meantime, please stop back by tomorrow, and the rest of the week, as I'll have some Sweet November October image previews for you!

Outlawz Fridays Alcohol Markers Challenge - Joy

Yep it is once again Friday, and time for the Outlawz Fridays Alcohol Markers Challenge!  Being the last Friday of the month, the theme is Anything Goes with an optional Christmas twist.  I can be a procrastinator, so making at least one Christmas card each month is helping me make a dent in my list!  Today's card features a freebie design from Mary Corbet's Needle and Thread.  This image is an embroidery pattern entitled Holly and Joy.  When looking for card images, sometimes looking beyond the traditional digi or rubber stamps can provide new and exciting designs. 

While it is difficult (okay, impossible) to see in the photo, the trim around the letters was colored with a Spica Pen.  As usual, with the image being so busy, I kept the card very CAS.

For the month of September our sponsor is Digi Stamps 4 Joy.  Our very creative Jen is an illustrator for them, and through her connection has secured five, yes 5, digi stamps for our winner this month!  Please join Carla, Dawn, Jen, Linda, Penny and me over at the Outlawz for this week's challenge, and give yourself a chance to win FIVE digi stamps.  Also, you could get a jump on your Christmas cards for this year!

Enjoy your weekend!