Origami Love {CHA 2017 release from Richard Garay}

Hello friends! It's that time of year! Christmas, then New Years, and then new craftiness coming our way from CHA! The Craft and Hobby Association's big show is coming up on January 19, and I'm thrilled to sneak you a peek at some new goodies from Richard Garay's RG brand. Richard is releasing four brand new collections, Origami Love, Media Venture, Silver & Gold, and RG Days. 

I'm excited to introduce you to the Origami Love collection. The colors are RIGHT up my alley - bright and bold, with pops of black and white. (HELLO, did he create this just for ME!?) 

I created two bright cards using the papers, stamps, and dies from Origami Love. Both these cards feature the Birds stamp and die combo set. 

Before you go, have I mentioned there's a BLOG HOP, and YOU have the chance to WIN prizes!? One grand prize winner will receive $100 of RG products from his NEW collections + RG Messenger Bag—Total value of $150

Plus two more lucky winners will also receive one of the RG messenger bags. (I have this bag, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. The quality is fantastic, and it's SO cute!)

So, how to win?! First, leave a comment here on my blog. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this brand new Origami Love collection! That'll be your first entry into the prize drawing. 

Earn another entry when you head over to the RG blog and post a comment, plus earn an additional entry for each design team blog you comment on! Ready? Set? GO!

Laura  {THAT'S ME!}

http://lauralooloo.blogspot.com/

Michelle

http://stopandstamptheroses.blogspot.com/

Tania

http://throughtrialsiambeingpurified.blogspot.com/

Isha

http://hobbyandideas.blogspot.com/

Mariana

https://marianagrigsby.wordpress.com/

Beck

http://beckbt.blogspot.com.au/

Mou

http://collagecollagecollage.blogspot.com/

Tenia

http://jazzypaper.blogspot.com/

Patricia

http://roebuck-adventures.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Happy New Year my friends!! xoxo

Contest ends on January 10^th at 6:00 PM EST. The winner will be chosen and announced on Wednesday, January 11^th on the RG blog.

January, where did you go!? {CHA 2016 recap}

Hello friends! How are you!? My January was an absolute whirlwind - anyone else? I had THE most amazing time at the Craft & Hobby Association Megashow. Seriously. So much fun. I was able to HUG friends who I hadn't ever met in PERSON before. People I've worked with for years, and people I consider REAL LIFE FRIENDS but I had never seen their faces in real life, and hugged their necks. So we did just that - we hugged, and laughed, and drank coffee together, and there may have been a few moments of squealing and jumping up and down. It's just the way I roll. The whole thing was kind of epic, and it made my heart SO happy!

Gotta have the obligatory photo op in front of the giant sign! 

I was practically jumping up and down at this point, I was so excited! 

After two days of WORK and SETUP to make the magic happen, we were ready to roll! 

(I'm sparing you from all the hot-mess setup shots!) The booth was STUNNING. Seriously. 

In the Celebrations section of the booth with Patricia Roebuck, Michelle Woerner, and Kim Kesti!

The Hilton lobby was THE place to be. We look SO tired in this photo....because we ARE.

Being together with my Paper Crafts magazine chickies was one of my favorite things.  (I tried not to let them see me getting teary-eyed just having them all in front of me! It made me SO happy!) And we may have inadvertantly started a rumor that the rest of the Go-to Gals are coming to work for Richard, in addition to Kim Kesti and I....but its just a rumor. (For now. I'll keep working on them!)

THIS GIRL. Keri Lee Sereika. . .friends, this girl was one of my biggest blessings! She was on my flights to and from Anaheim to Atlanta - which ended with an overnight in Atlanta because we both missed our connecting flights. I would have fallen apart without her calm and easygoing, travel-experienced self. She is a GEM. (And it was crazy fun to catch up after not seeing her in quite a few years!) 

So there you have it - a VERY brief (sort of brief) recap of my CHA adventures. Really, there is so much more - but I just can't even. :) I am thankful for my first trip to California, and my first CHA in Anaheim! Despite these fun photos, we really did work our tails off - but it was FUN work, and I loved it! It took me out of my comfort zone enough to be a growing experience, 

and it was SO worth it.  (Thank you, Richard!!!) 

Richard Garay's RG retail line releases March 1st. Visit richardgaray.com for the scoop, plus sneak peeks, project inspiration, and more! 

RG Sneak Peek CHA Reveal {Lumberjack Days}

If you're looking for the Season's Givings Hop, click here or scroll down! 

(But don't miss THIS post either!) 

Welcome to the fourth and final week of the RG blog hop, showcasing the four new collections by Richard Garay, being released at CHA . . . in just a FEW SHORT DAYS!!! I'm excited to hop on a plane to Anaheim and help share all of these new products! 

This week we are happy to present Lumberjack Days. 

Did you notice that argyle sweater embossing folder? It. Is. GORGEOUS. I created a fun little corrugated gift box, embellished with the Lumberjack Days stamps and papers- this would be fun for a masculine Valentine's gift, wouldn't it!? I had a blast stamping and coloring this sweet lumberjack, and playing with the new papers. 

Enjoy visiting the designers participating in this week's hop! Remember to comment for your chances to WIN! 

Kathy Martin

Tania Willis

Isha Gupta

Vanessa Menhorn

Mariana Grigsby

Alice Wertz

Beck Beattie

Mou Saha

Michelle Werner

Tenia Nelson

Patricia Roebuck

And if you're at CHA next week don't forget to stop by the RG booth! I'd love to see you!

RG Sneak Peek CHA Reveal {Noteworthy Collection}

Hello friends! Welcome to week 3 of the RG Blog Hop, featuring new products being released at CHA in just  a few short weeks! This week we're sharing the Noteworthy Collection.  Noteworthy is the opportunity to reach out to a friend, a family member or a special someone in your life. 

For this week's blog hop, I've created a fun card featuring some of the new Noteworthy stamps and paper. I REALLY love this collection, and I can't wait to get every single bit of it! 

Thanks so much for hopping with us this week! I hope your holiday week has been festive, fun, and filled with love! Enjoy the blog hop! xoxo

Stephanie Barnard and Sizzix NEW goodies from CHA!

Hey there, friends! I have a fun little sneak of some great products designed by Stephanie Barnard for Sizzix. I have three cards to share with you today, featuring Stephanie's Flip-it cards and some fun new dies and stamps. I'm focusing on some new flower dies today. . . but soon  I'll pop back in with *the* cutest car to share with you!!!

There are quite a few Flip-it dies in assorted shapes already available - you can find them on the Sizzix website.  I believe the first two flip-its I'm sharing are new Flip-it's dies but the circle one is already available! 

So here we go. . .all of these images show the front, and then the inside. Flip-it's are a little tricky to photograph, but SO much fun to play with! (You can learn lots more about them, by watching Stephanie's YouTube video!)

Stephanie has a fun new set of coordinating flower dies and stamps, called Flower Layers  Leaf Framelits. On this first sample I die cut the flowers from patterned papers and paired a simple sentiment on the inside. The card base was created with the Elegant Flip-its die. 

On this card I die cut the flowers from tissue paper - seriously fun. I die cut nine flowers, then I folded them into fourths, adhered them together in layers and fluffed it like crazy. I also die cut the leaves from felt. 

This last one is my favorite . . .if you know me, you know why. Black and white with pops of color? Yes PLEASE! :) I used brads layered over small card stock circles to create those little dots. The flower was first negatively die cut from black, and then I die cut the petals from colored cardstock and adhered them in the center of that negative space. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE the way this turned out. The card base for this card is the Circle Flip-its die. 

Thanks so much for joining me today! Sizzix has been sharing TONS of photos from CHA on Instagram and Facebook! It's been fun to be glued to my computer watching the action and crafty goodness from home! Have a TERRIFIC week! xoxo

Supplies:

Elegant Flip-its die - find it at Sizzix, or at Scrapbook.com 

Flower Layers & Leaf Framelits dies - find it at Sizzix or Scrapbook.com

Circle Flip-its die - find it at Sizzix

POP! {popcorn gifts and goodies from TSOL}

Hello, hello! I've been quiet around here during this first part of January. Lots going on, and my husband has been traveling for the past two weeks, so combined with the holidays, the days have just been passing me by! But I'm here today to share a few popcorn projects, featuring some of the January stamps from The Stamps of Life, popcorn2stamp and words4popcorn. 

This set is fun for cards, but I've also enjoyed making some quick treat wraps and packaging ideas with these stamps and dies.  On this first project I used the Sizzix milk carton die to create the box. (I cut the top off of it!)  Then stamped and die cut the popcorn box shape, and adhered it to the front of the box. It's a fun little gift box, perfect for movie tickets, a gift card, or a candy bar. 

This next project is a cute little bitty card. I folded a small top-folding card base and adhered the die cut popcorn box and a few little pieces of popcorn "spilling" out. 

 Next up, and clean and graphic popcorn card. . . . .

On this microwave popcorn wrapper I just folded a piece of cardstock around the package and embellished. This was SUPER quick and simple. I thought it could be a fun little pick-me-up gift to slide into a coworker's desk. 

How about a popcorn party favor? This is just a plain old zip top bag, with cardstock folded over the top to make a bag topper. 

I hope you like today's projects! I'll be back tomorrow with a sneak peek of some fun new Sizzix dies and stamps that Stephanie Barnard created, which are being debuted at the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) winter show this week in Anaheim! See you tomorrow!!!

Hugs! 

xoxo

more Flip-it card love!

A few weeks ago I told you about the Flip-it card contest at The Stamps of Life, and I have a few more Flip-it's to share with you, that I created for the Sizzix booth at CHA. 

You can get the whole scoop on the contest, over on the TSOL blog. You have until the 10th of February to get in your entries! 

For this first card, I turned this to an up-and-down card from the direction that these cards generally flow, so you pull it UP to open it. Fun, huh!? 

 It was fun to play with these new Stephanie Barnard stamps from Sizzix, because many of them are variations of stamps from The Stamps of Life.  You see, Stephanie Barnard owns TSOL, but she also designs for Sizzix. It's a really fun combination of coordinating products, and I LOVE working with them!  All of these stamps have coordinating dies.  If you've been with me for a while, you know that I am fairly new to diecutting. . . but it has sucked me in, in a major way.  (I have Stephanie to blame for most of that! ha!)  It's so EASY to knock out a bunch of cards when you can diecut them speedy quick!   The perfectionist in me LOVES it.  Perfectly trimmed lines every time.

Okay - I think I better get my kiddo to school.  Mommy blogging is probably NOT an acceptable excuse for his tardiness! 

But before I go, here are some links for you. . .first off, my dear pal Tami did a GREAT tutorial on the Flip-it's dies.  Check it out and tell her that she's fabulous, kay? ;)  

And if you'd like to see all the new Sizzix/Stephanie Barnard stamps and dies that were just released at CHA, you can find them on the Sizzix website! (the newest goodies are on page 2-3) 

xoxo

PS. . .check this out! I just found a great video of Stephanie teaching one of the other card samples that I created for CHA!  Fun stuff!!!

CHA, cards, winners and such!

 If you are a die-hard crafter (like yours truly) you are glued to social media this weekend, living vicariously through all those who at CHA.  And if you are NOT a die-hard (ahh hem, crazy and obsessed) crafter, then you have no idea what CHA is or why we would care.  CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association, and twice a year companies, designers, store owners, and magazine editors converge on a major convention center to see all of the new goodies coming out this season.  I've been glued to Instagram, Facebook, and blogs catching sneak peeks of new product and the who's who of some of my favorite crafters having a blast.  Granted, most of them are working their tails off, and completely exhausted - (but it still looks like a heck of a lot of fun!)  The only time I made it to CHA, I was seven months pregnant, and as big as a house.  Not ideal, my friends. :)

A few of my projects are in the Sizzix booth at CHA right now, with Stephanie Barnard . . . I wonder if I can show you a sneak peek of a few of them? These two cards are made with Stephanie's Flip Its dies.  The first photo shows the front of the card, and the second is what happens when you FLIP the card to see the inside.

 This second card stands up sideways so when you FLIP, you actually flip it UP. I really like the way this one turned out.  Both of these cards feature stamps and coordinating dies that will be available from Sizzix.  Super fun stuff.

Okay, onward to other things. . ..the winners of the Paper Smooches laundry-inspired cards, as well as the Purex Baby coupons! 

I had my little guys choose numbers, and the winners are 

comment number 8 and number 21. . .Sevin, and Jillian!

 Sevin said...

This is great! I love purex...and the card is super cute, too! :)

Jillian said...

This is my 1/11 entry. Yay!

Hooray for Sevin and Jillian! I have sent you both messages, but be sure to get me your addresses and I will mail your cards and coupons out! 

Thanks so much to everyone who commented and participated! I wish I had coupons to give to EVERYONE!!! The good news is, that I have a Borax coupon giveaway coming up shortly (next week perhaps!?) And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I am chosen by Purex to receive Purex Baby Crystals to give away too.  So stay tuned and keep checking back! I'll always post here and on Facebook when I have goodies to share!