Advent Calendar Extravaganza

Hi everyone! It's been a while since I blogged, but when Taheerah Atchia asked me to participate in her Advent Calendar Extravaganza, I wanted to join in the fun. :)

Advent Calendar Extravaganza is -the- festive event of the season! This ‘hop with a twist’ was dreamed up by Taheerah Atchia and features surprise destinations each day! Joining in the fun with Taheerah are ONE HUNDRED special guests - each serving up some fantastic Christmas inspiration! Just like an Advent Calendar, you’ll never know where you’re going to be visiting next until you ‘open the door’!


And that’s not all! With 25 *amazing* sponsors taking part as guests as well, your crafty wish list is bound to get a boost with a chance to win a prize EVERY SINGLE DAY!!

Here's what I came up with:

I made three cards using two stamp sets from The Stamp Market and paper, die-cuts, and chipboard from Crate Paper's Fa La La collection.

For the first card, I stamped the large flower from the Watercolor Bouquet set in poinsettia colors. The sentiment is from the Holiday Cheer set (I'm not sure if the set is still available?). 

For my next card, I did even more layering:

I stamped the same flower on linen cardstock to add texture as well as the smaller flower in the Watercolor Bouquet set. The background is stamped with the snowflake from the Holiday Cheer set. 

I also die-cut the flower in pink patterned paper and layered a white velvet flower from Maya Road. 

My last card used the same stamps in a more rustic way:

I stamped the flower in my favorite white ink and then embossed the panel with a woodgrain impression plate. The Crate Paper "falala" die-cut is entirely gold, but doesn't it look multi-colored in the photo below? :)

Here are the details about the Advent Calendar Extravaganza:

It’s not a party without a prize - and with prizes every day there are several chances to win! Today’s prize is generously supplied by The Stamp Market so you’ll definitely want to win! Simply leave a comment on this post - then head back to taheerah-atchia.com and leave a comment there too! You must leave a comment on Taheerah’s blog as well as mine in order to be eligible to win! Don’t forget to grab the other surprise destinations from Taheerah’s blog and head over to them to leave comments there as well to improve your odds even more! You have until 23:59 EST on 31st December 2017 to enter.

Don’t forget Advent Calendar Extravaganza runs from 1st-25th December inclusive so make sure you visit taheerah-atchia.com every day for fabulous inspiration and amazing prizes every single time! Merry Christmas!

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

Paper Smooches + Simon Says Stamp

Hi everyone! I'm up on the Simon Says Stamp blog today (yeah!!)! I made two spring Paper Smooches cards with mixed media backgrounds.

Here's a sneak:

If you have a chance, please check out the Simon Says Stamp post HERE. Thank you!!! Also, a big thanks to Stephanie for asking me to guest. :)

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

Paper Smooches Anniversary Hop Winner and Spring Cards

Hi everyone! Thank you for all of the really sweet and funny comments on the Paper Smooches 5th Anniversary Blog Hop card (HERE)!! You all are awesome!

Before I get to the winner of the hop, I thought I would share a few Paper Smooches spring cards I made last year (but never posted).

First up, an Easter tag:

I attached these tags to my kids' baskets. To make the tags, I used Paper Smooches' Easter Egg Dies (for the egg and bow), Sassy Letters Dies, and Toppers Dies.

Next, a spring greeting:

I used Paper Smooches' Luminous Spring stamps and Butterfly Duet Dies. The papers are (old) American Crafts' Dear Lizzy....it was a great way to use scraps and older papers!

Lastly, a welcome card:

I used Paper Smooches' We Adore You stamps, the We Adore You Icon dies, The Welcome Wagon stamps, and Welcome Die. The window was made using the negative space of the Duo Die 2. I used a welcome sentiment, but a Mother's Day sentiment would work well with these stamps, too.

***
Now for the winner of the choice of two Paper Smooches stamp sets and three dies is:

Dasa

Congrats!! Please send me your e-mail address (see Contact Me above), and I'll pass it on to Kim at Paper Smooches. She'll ship the prize from PS HQ. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Celebrating 5 years with Paper Smooches (and a Giveaway)!

Hi everyone! It's been a while, but today I'm excited and honored to be hopping along with some Paper Smooches guests for a special blog hop. :)

Paper Smooches in celebrating their 5th Anniversary this month! Woo hoo! I'm so happy for Kim! She is such a sweet and thoughtful person, and I know she's worked hard to make Paper Smooches a fab company. :) 

Please hop on over to these fabulous designers blogs to see their Paper Smooches creations…and see what you could win!

Paper Smooches blog

 Betsy Veldman

Jennifer McGuire

Jocelyn Olson

Kay Miller

Kristina Werner

Laura Bassen

Today I am using one of the NEW products released this month--the new Wine Glass Die. The die rocks!

He is having a mighty big glass of wine. :) My friend Emily gave me the idea to use one of the Paper Smooches people with the Wine Glass die, and the chemist from the Great Chemistry set works perfectly with this die. I'm not sure if Kim designed the glass die that way, but they seem like they are made for each other. ha ha

I Copic-colored the kind of like Professor Plum instead of a chemist, and then die-cut him using the Great Chem Icon dies. I trimmed his thumb to add dimension around the glass:

The background is embossed using the PS Squared die. I added a punny sentiment from the Free Spirits set.

For the wine glass die, I created a shaker with two acetate windows. There is a mix of matte and sparkly sequins in different shades of red. Here's a close-up:

Want to get in on the giveaway? Kim (Paper Smooches) is giving away HUGE prizes! Here are the details:

·         Just leave a comment on any of the blogs listed above for your chance to win a prize! Each blog has a different prize to win! The prize from my blog is the winnner's choice of two Paper Smooches stamp sets and three dies. (Wowza!)

• Deadline: You have until midnight PT on Wednesday, February 24th to leave a comment. 
• Winners will be announced on each blog on Thursday, February 25th.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Next on the hop is the super talented Kay!

Getting Embellish-y with Maya Road

Hi everyone! Are you ready for the holidays? I wish I had one more month. :)

I'm on the Maya Road blog sharing three last-minute holiday cards. It's no secret I like to use embellishments, and I wanted to mix embellishments and the October Afternoon papers from the gorgeous Maya Road Holiday Treasures kit. In addition to the embellishments and papers, the kit has a beautiful stamp set. :)

I hope you'll check out the post (here)!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a happy holidays!

Advent Calendar Extravaganza with Taheerah Atchia

Hi everyone! If you're in the U.S., I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Today, I'm participating in a special Advent blog hop. :)

Here's a little about the hop:
Advent Calendar Extravaganza is -the- festive event of the season! This 'hop with a twist' was dreamed up by Taheerah Atchia and features surprise destinations each day! Joining in the fun with Taheerah are over 60 special guests - each serving up some fantastic Christmas inspiration! Just like an Advent Calendar, you'll never know where you're going to be visiting next until you 'open the door'!

And that's not all! With 25 *amazing* sponsors taking part as well, your crafty wish list is bound to get a boost with a chance to win a prize EVERY SINGLE DAY!! Join in the fun every day at taheerah-atchia.com to see what special surprises wait behind the door!

Fun, right? Here's what I made:

I had leftover supplies from the 2014 Ali Edwards December Daily kit, and I thought they would work for a card. When I saw the tissue paper, I decided to CASE one of my cards from a couple of years ago. 

I started by stamping the "magical" sentiment from the Hero Arts Fa La La La La set on a gold foil tag. The sentiments in this set are beautiful!

After stamping the tag, I tucked a bit of a doily underneath to add texture. I added the tissue circles, part of an acetate die-cut, chipboard pieces, and die-cut papers from the kit using the My Favorite Things Pierced Circles.

I finished the card with a few more embellishments. The velvet ric-rac ribbon was a last-minute addition...I love the fuzzy texture. :)

Here are the details about the giveaway:

It's not a party without a prize - and with prizes every day there are several chances to win! Today's prize is generously supplied by Hero Arts (hello, awesome!)! Simply leave a comment on this post to enter - then head back to taheerah-atchia.com and leave a comment there too to double your chances! Don't forget to grab the other surprise destinations from Taheerah's blog and head over to them to leave comments to improve your odds even more! You have until 7am EST on Thursday, December 31st to leave your comments (winner's will be announced on Taheerah's blog). 

Don't forget the Advent Calendar Extravaganza runs from the 1st-25th, so be sure to visit taheerah-atchia.com every day for fabulous inspiration and amazing prizes throughout the month! 

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

Holiday Flamingo

Hi everyone!

It's my last week guesting with the My Favorite Things Challenge and Inspiration team. What an awesome month! (A big thank you, Susan!) The new sketch is up, which you can see HERE.

I've been wanting to use my flamingos for a winter card:

I die-cut the Flamingo die in white cardstock and blended a couple of shades of pink. I love the versatility of these dies....they look good in cardstock. watercolors, Copics, inks, etc. Next, I made a teeny scarf from a scrap of felt. After I had her scarf on, I laughed every time I looked at her. :)

In the sketch, there are several circle elements. I used the Jumbo Dot Cover-Up die to emboss the background panel. The hearts are also from the Flamingo die set:

The sentiment is from the Santa's Elves set--I had to go with pink ink. ;) For the snow, I used the negatives out of the Snowdrifts die and added coarse glitter. Isn't it pretty?  Here's a close-up:




I love flamingos. :)

Well, that's it for me. I hope you'll swing by the Challenge and Inspiration blog to see what the fab team has made!

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

Stay Cool

Hi everyone! Yeah for hump day. :) I'm still traveling (for work), and I'll be in my fifth hotel room tomorrow-gah! I'm looking forward to being home at the end of the week.

It's time for another My Favorite Things Challenge! You can see this week's sketch HERE. Lots of cool ways to use this sketch...

Here's what I made:

I can't take credit for the awesome ICEE (Slurpee) idea. My friend Miriam said the Cool Cup die from My Favorite Things was like a Slurpee. I technically went with an ICEE since it was easier to mask. ;)  I die-cut the Cool Cup parts and blended them with inks. For the lid, I used acetate.

The sentiment was made by stamping and clear embossing the "Stay Cool" sentiment from the Stay Cool set. Next, I foiled over the clear embossing using a technique I saw on one of Jennifer McGuire's videos (brilliant!). The sentiment was distressed, so the imperfect foiling worked. ;) Here's a close-up:

For the rest of the sketch, I die-cut the new Stitched Arch STAX out of patterned paper. I was going to add a vellum heart, but I thought the negative scrap was cooler.

I hope you'll get a chance to play along with this week's MFT challenge! You can link up your projects HERE.

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

Supplies

Stamps: Stay Cool

Die-namics: Cool Cup, Stitched Arched STAX, Flamingos (heart), Blueprints 20

Cardstock: Wild Cherry, Kraft

Other: Gold Deco Foil; gold heart from Freckled Fawn October Kit

Be Jolly

Hi everyone! Happy Wednesday! I hope your week is going well.

I'm positively thrilled to be guesting with the My Favorite Things' Card Challenges team this month. Woo hoo! This week's challenge is a sketch, which you can find on the Challenge Team blog.

I flipped the sketch to make this card:

I used the new Trim the Tree die to die-cut the tree from an "oops" watercoloring project. :) On the die-cut, I stamped the garland from the Trim the Tree stamp set in Gold and added a die-cut star from the same stamp and die set.

Next to the tree, I added one of the presents from the Trim the Tree set. The yellow really pops!

I used the new Radial Stitched Circle STAX and blended Sno Cone ink to add some blue. It's hard to see, but I stamped (and stamped off) snowflakes from the Trim the Tree set in the same light blue. I added a little glitter to the edge of the circle die-cut.

In the background, I embossed the Four Way Chevron die--love that die!

I hope you have a chance to play along with this week's challenge. You can see the sketch and details HERE. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Supplies
Stamps: (Trim the Tree) My Favorite Things
Dies: (Radial Stitched Circle STAX, Trim the Tree, Blueprints 13, Four-Way Chevron Cover-up) My Favorite Things
Ink: (Black Licorice Hybrid Ink, Lemon Drop Hybrid Ink, Sno Cone Premium Dye Ink) My Favorite Things; Delicata Gold Ink; (Black Velvet Color Shine) Heidi Swapp
Cord: (white) Hemptique
Sequin: (4mm Clear) Pretty Pink Posh

WCMD with My Favorite Things

Hi everyone! Happy World Card Making Day! I love this day. If you're a card maker, I hope you're getting a chance to make some cards today! :)

This month, I'm guesting with the My Favorite Things Challenge Team!! I'm so excited! This month's release is so wicked cool--I had a few squeals when I opened my package. ha ha

To celebrate WCMD, the MFT Challenge blog inspiration all day long, and I'm joining the fun. Yeah!! The theme is Christmas, old and new, and here's what I made:

Do you see the new stamps? The stamped images on the sweaters and the sentiment are from the new Winter Wonderland set. This set is adorable with fab scene-building winter images and awesome sentiments. I love this sentiment in particular and had to use it! This set will be released October 6th. 

For my "old," I cut the Comfy Sweaters out of white cardstock and stamped the Winter Wonderland images. I Copic-colored the sweaters. Here's a close-up:

For the background, I made my own stripe by inking Grout Grey through the All Lined Up stencil. After creating the panel, I die-cut it with the Inside Out Diagonal Stitched Rectangles. These dies are cool (and addictive!). I finished off the card with a Field Day card base die-cut using the Blueprints 13. 

Be sure to check out the MFT Challenge Blog--lots of awesome stuff!

Have a great day. Thanks for stopping by!

Miss You

Hi everyone! Ready for the weekend? :)

I'm on the Altenew blog sharing a couple of cards. I used the beautiful Painted Flowers set and watercolored them. It was the first time I had ever used this set (why??), but I loved it! I went pretty CAS with these cards. :)

Here's a close-up:

There is a picture of the other card and more details on the Altenew blog. I hope you check it out!

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

Celebrating Cath + Technique Tuesday Blog Hop

Hi everyone! Happy Monday! I'm in a very special blog hop today:

I am super-duper thrilled to be sharing projects using the new Technique Tuesday stamps and dies by Cath Edvalson! :) You can check out the new stamps and dies HERE. Aren't they fabulous?

To celebrate the release, there's a special hop today. You should be coming from Kimberly's blog, or if you want to start from the beginning, the Technique Tuesday blog.

Here's what I made:

I made a set of cards with the inlaid die-cutting technique. First, I die-cut the Garden Flowers dies in white and trimmed down the base flower to make  a backing. Next, I used old Mint Julep BasicGrey papers to die-cut the outline flower. My Big Shot got a work-out! I know Cath likes homespun designs, and these papers reminded me of her. :)

I in-laid the pieces and made a couple of flowers at once. It's not a 10-minute card, but this technique is great for card sets (and using up 6x6 paper pads).

Next, I stamped a leaf from the Garden of Life stamp set and stamped a few yellow flowers in the background. The sweet sentiment is also from the set. This die is *perfect* for this technique!

Here's my next card:

This card uses the same stamps and dies for a very different look. I started by stamping the leaves from the Garden of Life set. I partially colored the leaves with Copics and fussy cut them. I love the boldness of these stamps! Next, I die-cut the Garden of Life flower base die on vellum and heat embossed the flower.

I layered a Citrus Bliss paper and a chipboard frame. For the sentiment, I die-cut the "friend" sentiment from the Garden of Life set in charcoal grey. Here's a close-up:

Giveaway
Technique Tuesday is giving away three prizes! One winner will receive all five of Cath's new products (wow!). The other two winners will receive $25 gift certificates to Technique Tuesday. The winners will be randomly chosen from all of the comments left during the hop.

To enter, leave a comment here and at each of the blog hop stops. The more comments you leave, the more chances to win! You have until midnight PST on September 16th to leave comments, and the three winners will be announced on the Technique Tuesday blog on September 18th. 

Here's the whole list:

Technique Tuesday

Julie Ebersole

Laura O'Donnell

Heather Campbell

Julia Stainton

Daniela Dobson

Kimberly Crawford

Jocelyn Olson <-- You are here.

Tobi Crawford

Laurel Beard

Melissa Phillips

Laura Williams

Jaclyn Miller

Donna Mikasa

Birgit Edblom

Kalyn Kepner

Laura Bassen

Julie Campbell

Lisa Adametz

Linda Barber

Teri Anderson

Cath Edvalson

Thanks so much for stopping by! Next on the hop is the awesome Tobi. Have a great day!

Marinade for Each Other

Hi everyone! I'm sorry I've been MIA....we went on vacation. :) School starts next week--ahhhh!!

I'm up on the Altenew blog today with a set of cards using the new Raise the Steaks set and Crate Paper's Open Road papers. I hope you'll check out the whole set here. :)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Stamping on Patterned Papers

Hi everyone! How's your week going?

I'm up on the Altenew blog today with a card using the Wild Hibiscus stamp set. I also have a few tips for stamping on patterned paper. I hope you'll check it out! :)

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

Neat & Tangled Birthday Blog Hop

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

Neat & Tangled is celebrating its third birthday! Woo hoo! I'm so happy for Danielle--she is such a sweet and talented lady. :) I'm honored to be hopping along with Neat & Tangled for a special blog hop to celebrate! :) Each day this week, there has been a short hop, and today's hop includes:

Neat & Tangled blog

Jocelyn Olson <--That's me!

Teri Anderson

Virginia Lu

There is a mini release of two stamps and two dies. They are fab! Here's my first card:

Isn't the new Heart of Gold die wicked cool? I love it! My buddy Miriam designed the die and the corresponding Heart of Gold stamps. I die-cut the heart out of white-ish glitter cardstock and layered it over an extra background I made a few weeks ago.

I masked off part of the sentiment and heat embossed it in gold. Doesn't the heart look like a constellation? The die is very versatile.

Here's my second card:

The new little bear from the Happiest Birthday set is too cute! I Copic-colored and fussy cut him, and popped up the present to look like he's holding it. I layered him over a Studio Calico journaling card.

After staring at the card for a while, I decided it was missing something. Ever do that? I die-cut the stars from the new Seeing Stars die from linen vellum for another layer. I also added some of Lucy Abrams' fab Flamingo Shaker Mix--these are awesome! I may have added too much, but hey, that's how I roll....

As part of the hop, there is also a giveaway!

There are two gift certificates to the Neat and Tangled shop: 1) A $100 gift certificate; and 2) A $50 gift certificate. Winners will be chosen from comments the hop all week long. You can find each day's list on the Neat & Tangled blog.

Next on the hop is the incredibly talented Teri! I can't wait to see what she made.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!!