Wild Hibiscus

Hi everyone! Can you believe it's the end of July? I'm glad we still have six more weeks before school starts, but time is flying!

I'm up on the Altenew blog showing three different projects using the new Wild Hibiscus set. It's one of the prettiest stamp sets I've seen! I hope you'll check out the post!

Have a great day. Thanks for stopping by!!

Altenew July Release Blog Hop

Hi everyone! It's Friday--woo hoo!

Today, Altenew is having a blog hop to celebrate its July Stamp Release! Yeah! The July release includes nine new sets, which are available now in the Altenew store. If you're hopping along, you should be coming from May's blog. Here's the complete list:

Altenew
Laura Bassen

May Sukyong Park 

Jocelyn Olson <-- You are here.
Agnieszka Malyszek

Marika Rahtu

Yana Smakula
Anna Kossavoskaya

Melania Deasy

I made two projects with the new stamps:

First up, I used the new Layered Lily set. This gorgeous flower has a whopping five layers (I only used four). Taking inspiration from Aga's card, I inked up the layers in lighter Altenew inks. I fussy cut the flower and inked up the leaf in the set.

I stewed over what to do with the background, but it dawned on me to stamp one of the lily layers in Frosty Pink. It made a cool background! I finished the card off with the sentiment from the same Layered Lily set. Here's a close-up:

For my second card, I went cute:

Seriously, folks, I think I would buy the set just for this sentiment. :) I used the new Halftone Happy set, which is full of fantastic and different sentiments (like the one I used in my card).

I stamped the "happy" in Coral Berry, fussy cut the word, and stitched it to the Studio Calico patterned paper. Next, I stamped the second sentiment (also from Halftone Happy) and layered it with foam tape. Here's a close-up:

I used two of the nine new sets, so be sure to hop along and see the other sets. :)

Prizes: There are two ways to win!

To celebrate this release, Altenew will draw three winners who will each receive a $50 gift certificate to their online store. Please leave a comment on the Altenew blog by Friday, July 31st 11:59pm EST for a chance to win. The winners will be announced on Saturday, August 1st.

Altenew is also offering a $30 gift certificate for comments on this blog post. For a chance to win this extra gift certificate, please leave a comment on my post by Friday, July 31st at 11:59pm.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Next up on the hop is the fabulous Aga. I'm sure you're in for a treat!

Supplies
Lily Thanks
Stamps: (sentiment, flower, leaf from Layered Lily) Altenew
Ink: (Frosty Pink, Coral Berry, Buttercream, Jet Black) Altenew; (Coral Brilliance) Tsukineko; (white Mister Huey's) Studio Calico; (gold mist) Lindy's Stamp Gang
Embellishments: (chipboard frame) Crate Paper; (sequins) Studio Calico; (white cord) Hemptique

Happy World
Stamps: (sentiments from Halftone Happy) Altenew
Ink: (Coral Berry, Jet Black) Altenew
Patterned paper: (cloud from a Studio Calico kit); (polka dot from Summertime) October Afternoon
Embellishments: (yellow and white cord) Lawn Fawn

Right at Home Stamp Launch Blog Hop

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a great week. :)

I'm participating in a special hop today! The Right at Home store is releasing a stamp set called Happy Mail! This super cute 3"x4" set is only available at the Right at Home store. Nicole asked some folks to help her with the release, and I'm happy to be participating. :)

Here's what I made:

Aren't those flowers sweet? The Happy Mail set is perfect for envelopes, but I wanted to show how the set worked for a card, too.

I stamped the Happy Mail flowers and centers in different colors and fussy cut them. Next, I stamped the "happy mail" sentiment and embossed over the panel. After arranging the flowers, I added some gold splatter and cord (the punched hole with the cord was inspired by the amazing Claudia Shadler).

Here's a close-up:

Right at Home sells Waste Not Paper Envelopes, and I used the Blossom for my project. I created a liner (see the first picture) and stamped the flowers and centers in a random pattern. As a tip, when adhering the liner, only use adhesive on the flap, not the entire liner (I've made that mistake before--ugh!).

On the envelope closure, I stamped the seal. Here's a close-up:




Want to see some other samples using the Happy Mail set?

Here are the links for the hop:

Nicole // Right at Home 

Kari // KW Card Design 

Audrey // Pink Ink Originals 

Jocelyn <--You are here!

Holly // Holly Beary Creations 

Michelle // Pinch Your Chic 

Laurel // Paper Crafts by Laurel 

Eva // @Eva.Montes.3 on Instagram 

There's a giveaway, too!

Nicole will be giving away three sets of the stamp on her Instagram account (@rightathome). The giveaway ends on Friday, July 24th at 8:00 pm EST. Be sure to see her Instagram post for details!

Next up in the hop is Holly!! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Summer (Non-Traditional) Mini Album

Hi everyone! We got back from our trip to the Black Hills. For years, I've wanted to see Devils Tower (I blame Close Encounters of the Third Kind), and I finally got to see it. My family and some of our friends met up to hike around it, and I *loved* it. If you have a chance to visit, it's worth the trip!

Anyhoo, I'm up on the Maya Road blog sharing a non-traditional mini album:

I started with the Wood ATC Box and altered it to make a tag/card/bag drawer as the album.

Here are most of the tags and cards:

For the tags and cards, I mixed lots of Maya Road products with October Afternoon Summertime patterned papers and stickers. The cute popsicle is from My Favorite Things' You're the Sweetest stamps and dies, and the star is a MFT Lucky Stars die.

I have to say, it was one of the most fun projects I've ever made--all of the scrappy layering and altering was a blast. I love these products!! :)

Here is a picture of the whole box:

I have several other pictures on the Maya Road blog. I hope you'll swing by and check it out! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

July Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights Challenge

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a great week! We went to the Badlands today and had perfect weather. If you ever have a chance to go, it's a great national park. :)

I'm very happy to be participating in the July Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights Challenge! The Pin-Sights challenge is a monthly challenge at Ellen Hutson based on a Pinterest-inspired photo. Laurel really hit it out of the park with this month's inspiration pin! You can see it over in The Classroom [Go check it out, but please come back! :)]

Here's how I was inspired:

My focus was the Twelve Days stamps set, but I used a total of five Essentials by Ellen stamp sets. :) All of the background squares are stamped or masked:

The top left was blended over the All Lined Up stencil. For the top right, I stamped the stars from the Cozy Christmas set, and the bottom right was stamped using the Bokeh Dots. I clear embossed the flowers from the Bold Blooms set and then blended the ink over the embossing. To get whiter blooms, I ironed off the embossing powder. It was the first time doing this technique, and it worked like a charm! My iron will finally get used for something. ;)

I hand-cut the squares and wonky-stitched around them. To emphasize the drums, I added a piece of vellum:

The cool drums are from the 12 Days set. I masked the number, Copic-colored the drums, and die-cut a star from the Home and Hearth dies for the the bass drum. The sentiment is from the 12 Days Companion Greetings. Here's one more close-up:

Want to play along? You can link up your projects over at The Classroom. Want to see what one random participant will win?

Yep, super awesome! I hope you have a chance to play along!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

To the Moon for You

Hi everyone!

I'm up on the Altenew blog with a card and a tutorial on making the nighttime sky. I hope you check it out! :)

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