Geometric Heart Card {Avery Elle}

Hello friends! As Valentine-Card-Creation season is upon us (wow, that was a serious mouthful. I promise, I'll never say that again,) I thought I'd pull another card out of my stash that fits the season. 

This is the very last card that I had published in Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking magazine, in the February issue. This isn't as difficult as it looks. . .the hardest part is laying the triangles out evenly and straight. Would you care to give it a try??? 

1. Trim1-inch squares of cardstock. (Three colors is a good place to start. I used black, aqua, and glittered cardstock.)  

2. Trim each square diagonally in half to create triangles. (You'll need 20 triangles to create this heart.) 

3. Use my card as a guide and assemble the triangles to create a heart. Play with the arrangement of colors. I tried to evenly distribute the colors, and avoid having the same color triangles next to each other. There are so many possibilities though - do what you like! You could even just do one color to start.

Here's another card I created using the same formula, but for this I used fuchsia, coral, and gold cardstocks. This is a larger 5x7 card. If you have any questions, just holler! I had fun figuring out how to make this project! Thanks so much for stopping by! 

Supplies:(Simon Says Stamp affiliate links below)
Handwritten Notes (Avery Elle) 
Many Thanks (Avery Elle)
Golden Glitz Delicata ink by Tsukineko 
Close To My Heart Glittered Cardstock 

You're a Real Gem {Lil' Inker Designs}

Hello friends!

Today I'd like to share a card I created using Lil' Inker Designs new Cover Up Die: Faceted as well as the Girl's Best Friend stamps and the Alphabet Gems stamps. 

To create this card, I used Stampin' Up gold cardstock, and I ran it through my Big Shot with the Faceted die. Very carefully I attempted to keep all the little pieces together when I took it out of the die cutting machine. I had to do a little bit of puzzle-piecing to put pieces back in, but I purposely left some shapes out. Then, I stamped my sentiment, inking up only part of the first stamp "You're a Real Gem" to substitute the alphabet gem letters in place of the original sentiment. I stamped it in Tsukineko's Delicata ink.  It's my favorite gold ink! It's difficult to see, but I used a water brush and swirled the ink across the letters just a bit to add slight color to them. 

Thanks so much for coming by today. YOU are a real GEM! xoxo

Go-to Gal Designer Challenge {Stampin' Up!}

Hello friends! It's a Go-to Gals Designer Challenge Day, and we're using some Stampin' Up! goodness today. When I saw this stamp set, The Newborn King, in the 2014 Holiday Catalog, I immediately saw so many fun possibilities for watercolors, paper-piecing, and chalking with this stamp set. On today's card, I embossed the images in white, and then watercolored over top, using an emboss resist technique. The premise of emboss resist, is that the embossed area will resist the color you place over top. I especially love using white embossing with a resist technique because the bright colors really make the lines pop.

And here's the actual stamp set image. . . isn't that just gorgeous? I'm excited to try out some other techniques with this set.

The other Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking Go-to Gals are sharing some fabulous Stampin' Up! projects today too. I can't wait to see what they've been working on! Be sure to bop around and check it out!

• Heather Campbell

• Kim Kesti

• Kimberly Crawford

• Teri Anderson

Thanks so much for coming by! xoxo

Cool Tools Vol. 2 {Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking magazine}

Hello friends! Have you stopped by the Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking blog this week? We're sharing the scoop on our newest special issue, which is on newsstands NOW! It's Cool Tools Vol. 2! I have a few cards in this issue, so I thought I'd share one of them with you. . .

I used Sizzix Banner Framelits to create these triangles. I die cut banners, and then die cut the center out with the smallest die. Then I layered the triangles into a fun pattern. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches, and the gold stripe of Stampin' Up gold paper was a fun finishing touch. 

Cool Tools Vol. 2 is all about inspiring you to use your tools. Those decorative scissors, and crimper at the bottom of your drawer? Yeah - it can totally do cool stuff. You'll find ideas for die-cutting machines, punches, scoring boards, stencils, and so much more. You can find it on newsstands where you buy crafty magazines, or you can pick it up in the Scrap & Paper Shop - in print form, or as an instant download! (Love that instant gratification, don't you!?) 

But before you go. . . . .I happen to have an extra copy of Cool Tools Vol. 2. I wonder what I should do with it??????? Maybe - just maybe, I should share it with one of my lovely crafty friends!? Leave a comment, and tell me about one of your most neglected crafty tools. I'll choose a winner on Monday, October 20th to win a copy of this issue, plus whatever other goodies I can fit in the envelope! :) GIVEAWAY IS OVER. THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING!

Supplies: (affiliate links)

Sizzix Banner Framelits

Paper Smooches Chart Toppers clear stamp set

Go-to Gal Designer Challenge {Tsukineko/IMAGINE Crafts}

Good day, sweet crafty friends!It's Go-to Gal Designer Challenge day! This is a just-for-fun challenge that the Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking magazine Go-to Gals toss out to each other, using some of our favorite products. This month we are playing with Tsukineko/IMAGINE Crafts products. If you hoard ink, then you probably have some of their great products in your stash. Tsukineko/IMAGINE Crafts makes VersaMagic, VersaFine, Memento and StazOn . . .just to name a FEW! I'll be honest, I had never really used a chalk ink until Tsukineko came into my life! And I've never crafted the same again! :)

For today's project, I had some brand new Stampin' Up stamps looking adoringly at me (Fall Fest and For All Things), just begging to be inked up. It still feels quite far from autumn around here, so I thought I'd do something different, and use some not-quite traditional colors on my pumpkins. I used Tsukineko/IMAGINE Crafts' VersaMagic inks in Pixie Dust, Pink Grapefruit, Mango Madness, plus Key Lime for the leaves and stems. The small Dew Drop sized ink pads are perfect for a project like this, because I was able to ink up the stamps with two colors, to create my green stems, all in one step. 

I paired my sweet pumpkins with Avery Elle woodgrain cardstock. (We discussed this in my last blog post. . .and here it is again, because I'm telling you - I LOVE this cardstock!) I also added my favorite May Arts twine, plus a wood embellishment from Close To My Heart. 

So, here's my not-quite-ready-for-fall, fall card. I am excited to see what the other Go-to Gals are up to, with their Tsukineko/IMAGINE Crafts products. They aren't just YOUR Go-to Gals. . .they are MINE too, and I am seriously turning to them for help, inspiration, and chit chat EVERY day. They're the best. So go see them, and give my Gals some love! 

• Heather Campbell

• Kim Kesti

• Laina Lamb

• Teri Anderson

Thanks so much for stopping by!!!! Have a fabulous day!

Glam gold ink and a Go-to Gal Designer Challenge!

Hello, hello! I love it when I have LOTS to share with you - and today is one of those days! First of all, I am posting over on the Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking blog today. We're glamming up our springtime palette with GOLD.  And as I promised in that blog post, I have some more GOLD to share with you here too, in the inky variety.

The Delicata ink pads from Tsukeniko came highly recommended to me, from my crafty advisors on Facebook. (Seriously - do you ask your Facebook friends for recommendations on EVERYTHING, like I do?!) These ink pads are amazing. There's something so buttery about this ink - it's easy to work with, it dries pretty quickly, especially for pigment ink, and it is absolutely GORGEOUS! So without further ado, let me show you how I used it!

On the first card, I tapped that wooden veneer heart in the ink, then into a clear, glittery embossing powder. I heat set it, and let it dry for a minute or two. Fun, right!? And that beautiful gold paper is from Stampin' Up, and it's another GLAM GOLD crafting material that I have been using a LOT lately!

Okay - next up. . . .on this card, I dragged the edges of the journaling card (from Close To My Heart) through the ink, and I stamped the sentiment. Then I stamped some gold circles on cardstock, trimmed them, and added dimensional glaze over the top to make some faux enamel dots. I adhered them to the card with glue dots. Super fun. (The smallest ones I used a hole punch to cut out, but the larger ones I cut by hand, because I'm crazy like that.)

Please stop on over at the Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking blog if you haven't already, because my generous friends at Tsukeniko have helped me put together a glam, gold giveaway. You'll have the chance to win both the Golden Glitz and the Silvery Shimmer Delicata pads, plus some other golden goodies, when you comment on the Paper Crafts blog post! 

BUT WAIT. . .there's MORE! (I told you it was a big day. Go refill your coffee if needed. . . it's okay. I'll wait. . . . .) Ready?

Today is also Go-to Gal Designer Challenge day. On the last Wednesday of the month us GTG's like to throw out a challenge to each other and get creative with some of our favorite companies' products. Today we are showcasing Echo Park. It's also an important day because it's the first time our NEWEST Go-to Gal is joining us. Did you see the news that Laina Lamb has joined us? I am thrilled to get to know her better, and I hope you are too! (Show her some extra love today, okay!?) 

So I sort of accidently fudged the challenge on this card. I realized just as I was posting it, that I used a Carta Bella collection for this card. . .Carta Bella is the sister company to Echo Park. So it's sort of the same. . .and sort of totally different. At any rate, this card is using the new "It's A Celebration" collection. And I just love the colors - the navy and mint with yellow and coral are so pretty! 

Now go and visit the rest of the girls, and see what Echo Park lovelies they've created!! Thanks so much for coming by! (And if you made it to the end of this LONG post - kudos to you!)

• Betsy Veldman

• Heather Campbell

• Kim Kesti

• Kimberly Crawford
• Laina Lamb

• Teri Anderson

Summer snowflakes {Gina K Designs}

Well? Are you ready? The days are ticking by at warp spread - seriously, how is it already December 12th? No - how is it already December 13th!!??? Funny how I thought my son had a week, plus a half before school gets out. Turns out it's only the HALF of a week. Umm - YIKES. Thanksgiving being so late this year has REALLY messed with me. I finally got the rest of my calendars printed, that we give to our families, but I am not exactly sure they will be here in time to mail to our long-distance relatives! (OOPS.) 

But onward to a card for the day. . . .

I absolutely love this snowflake stamp from Gina K Designs set, Blessed is the Season, and for today's card I paired the snowflakes with some not-so-snowflaky colors! Kinda fun, huh? I used two different colors of ink (Stampin' Up Calypso Coral, and Tsukeniko Mango Madness I think!) and blended them together on my stamp with a sponge dauber (basically a little sponge that fits on your finger.) When stamping more than one color on a stamp, always start with the lightest color first. Then tap the edges of the stamp in the darker color, and blend with the sponge. When I was done, I used the remaining ink on the sponge dauber to add color to the edges of my cardstock block. 

Have a beautiful day! Thanks so much for stopping by, my friends!!!!

Go-to Gal Designer Challenge {The Craft's Meow}

The Go-to Gals are having fun with products from The Craft's Meow today! Once a month we plan to have our own little crafty challenge, featuring some of our favorite products.  I created a card using the stamp set, Easter Blessings. As you can see, this stamp set will allow you to create much more than just Easter cards!  I used Tsukeniko's VersaMagic chalk inks in Mango Madness, Pixie Dust, and Pink Grapefruit. It was fun to overlap the images and allow some of the color to show through. I finished off the card with some May Arts ribbon, and Hero Arts jewels. (And that gorgeous coral cardstock is Calypso Coral from Stampin' Up!)

The Craft's Meow sells terrific high-quality clear stamps, that are made in the USA. They stamp beeeeeeautifully!

Be sure to check out what the other Go-to Gals created, with goodies from The Craft's Meow!

• Betsy Veldman

• Heather Campbell

• Kim Kesti

• Kimberly Crawford

• Teri Anderson

If you haven't been by Paper Crafts Connection today, go stop by and meet Kimberly Crawford! She's making her Go-to Gal debut on the blog today!