January Paper Smooches DT Blog Hop

**This is my second post of the day. For my Maya Road post, please click HERE. 

Hi everyone! 

It's Pep Rally week and we are here today to share a sampling of the NEW Paper Smooches February release with you! FOUR new stamps and EIGHT new dies will be available to purchase on January 31st at 8:00pm PT. Once our release goes live, you will find our new products HERE.

To add extra fun to our blog hop...we are offering up a prize! The prize - a $25 gift code to choose what you like at the PS online store. Here are the details:

• FOUR winners will be chosen at random from any of the design team blogs and the PS Blog to win the $25 prize. 
• Just leave a comment on any of the design team blogs listed above or the PS blog for your chance to win (you do not need to comment on all blogs to qualify, but it increases your chances). 
• Deadline: You have until midnight PT on Sunday, February 1st to leave a comment. 
• Please check the Paper Smooches blog on Monday, February 2nd to see if you are one of the FOUR lucky winners. 

Here's the order of the hop:

Ashley Marcu
Emily Leiphart
JJ Bolton
Jocelyn Olson <--You are here
Kalyn Kepner
Kay Miller
Laura Bassen
Laurie Schmidlin
Michele Boyer
Pamela Ho
Teri Anderson

To increase your chance of winning:

• Tell us that you Facebooked about our blog hop (leave another comment) 
• Tell us that you Tweeted about the hop (leave another comment) 
• Tell us that you posted on your blog about our blog hop (leave another comment) 

I made a card set using Religious Words dies. Here's one:

I used the "faith" die from the Religious Words dies and glittered it with white glitter. I layered it over the huge butterfly from the new Graceful Beauties stamps and a left-over Roses die-cut from THIS card. I was going to double-stamp the butterfly, but I kind of liked the more rustic look. The papers are hand-cut...my paper cutter isn't that bad. ;) 

Here's the set of cards:

Each card has a different color scheme. They weren't really meant to match...I just used a bunch of left-over die-cuts and scraps to determine the colors. :) I figured they would work as sympathy or encouragement cards.

See the "God" die-cut? That's from the new Religious Words, too. I used Reflections stamps and Reflections Leaves dies on two of the cards, and the "loves you" from the new Have Faith set.

Here are close-ups of each:

Thanks for stopping by! Next up is my sweet and very talented friend Kalyn!

Supplies

Dies: (Faith, God from Religious Words dies; flowers from Roses dies; leaves from Reflections) Paper Smooches
Stamps: (butterfly from Graceful Beauties; sentiment from Have Faith; leaves from Reflections) Paper Smooches

Cardstock: (Rustic White) PTI; (White Solarcrest) Neenah; (vellum) Hobby Lobby

Digital: (script papers, navy/light blue papers from Paislee Press) The Lilypad

Patterned papers: (stripes) My Mind's Eye
Ink: (Versafine Onyx Black) Tsukineko; (Grass, Lemonade) Fresh Ink; (Red Hot Hybrid) My Favorite Things; (Grass Chalk) Hero Arts
Glitter: Martha Stewart
Clip: (yellow star) Freckled Fawn

Go and Do Amazing Things

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

It's day 4 of Neat & Tangled's release week! Today we're sharing projects using the Origami Map stamp set, which was designed by Miriam Prantner. Danielle is sharing pictures of the set on the Neat & Tangled blog.

This set is fun and very versatile! Here's what I made:

This card took time, but it was pretty easy to make. I stamped the Origami Map, got out a bunch of Copics, and started coloring. I skipped the shading--otherwise, I'd probably still be coloring. ;) Once I was done, I fussy cut the map and trimmed off the edge.

The sentiment and airplane are also from the Origami Map set. I stamped them on the MME Just Sayin' paper:

Since the map had so many colors and is graphic, I decided to keep the card pretty CAS.

There's a giveaway! Comment on the Neat & Tangled blog to win the Origami Map stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by!


Supplies
Stamps: (sentiment, map, airplane from Origami Map) Neat & Tangled
Cardstock: (white) PTI; 110lb. Neenah
Patterned paper: (stripe paper from Just Sayin') My Mind's Eye
Ink: (Tuxedo Black Memento) Tsukineko
Copics, Copic Multiliner

Paper Smooches August Releases

Hi everyone! Ready for the week? We did a quick, final getaway to Minneapolis before school starts. We stopped at Ikea (yeah!) and I finally bought a Raskog cart (yeah!).

I wanted to share a couple of cards from the Paper Smooches August release. Kim released one new stamp set and five new dies. :)

First up, I used the Chum Pals dies and Bosom Buddy stamp set:

The bear and moose are from the Chubby Chum Pals set, and I used the Chum Pals to die-cut them. Am I the only one who doesn't know what a moose nose looks like? I had to Google it (the things we do for crafting), but I ended up going with lighter colors. Anyhoo, I played around the positioning, and I finally liked how the bear has his arm around the moose--like friends. :)

 I die-cut a window using the Duo Die 4 and added the sentiment from the new Bosom Buddy set:

Next up, I used the new Great Chemistry dies:

The professor, beaker, and sentiment are from the Great Chemistry set, and I used the Great Chemistry dies for the beaker and professor. Instead of a lab coat, I paper pieced him with a plaid shirt--pretty snazzy for a professor.

I mixed in some October Afternoon All Boy papers and a journaling card:

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

A Die-Cutting Bonanza

Hi! I hope you're having a great weekend, and if you're in the U.S., a great Fourth of July. We went over to a friend's house in the country for a cook out, go-kart rides, and fireworks. It was great, well, until my little guy burned his hand when he grabbed the tailpipe of the go-kart. Ouch! He's okay now.

I'm on the Scraptastic Club blog today sharing a couple of cards using the gorgeous Either Way Kit and Add-On. These kits have great embellishments, and I wanted to combine them with die-cuts.

First, I die-cut several of the papers from the kits. I tried to keep it to just a few colors--coral, aqua, pink, and gold. I used Paper Smooches' Hearts, Cardbooking, Stars, and Pinked Circles, and MFT's Circle STAX.

Next, I went to work layering the different shapes and several of the embellishments from the kits. I decided to go with a simple grid for the card:

Here's a close-up:

For the sentiment, I used the Either Way Stamp Set. I flipped over one of the circle stamps and stamped with the backside in a pink. I stamped over that with the "hello" sentiment:

I had quite a few leftover shapes, so I made another card using the same die-cuts, but other kit embellishments:

I used the Either Way Cut Aparts for the sentiment. Here's a close-up:

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!


Supplies
Cardstock: (white linen) Ellen Hutson, (Watermelon) The Paper Source; (Rustic White) PTI
Kit: (Either Way July 2014 kit) Scraptastic Club
Stamps: ("hello" and circle from Either Way) Scraptastic Club
Ink: (Melon) Fresh Ink; (Pale Tomato) Hero Arts; (Dewey, Opaque White Mister Huey's) Studio Calico

One Box, Three Ways

Hi everyone!

I'm up on the Scraptastic Club blog today, and I'm sharing a trio of gift boxes. I often have leftover supplies from the Scraptastic kits, and I thought it would be fun to use some of the extra papers and embellishments.

Here's what I ended up with:

I wanted to share my process. First, I gathered my supplies. These are from The Best Day of My Life kit and Add-on:

Aren't those awesome left-overs? These kits are jam-packed! I didn't use all of the embellishments here, but I pulled out all of the pink, dark pink, aqua, and neutral supplies. I wanted to keep one simple color scheme to make it easier to pull and layer the supplies.

Next, I die-cut my boxes and a rosette:

I used THIS Silhouette file and a My Favorite Things Rosette die. After assembling the boxes, I started layering the different embellishments from the kits.

Here's the first box:




In addition to the Crate Paper and Heidi Swapp die-cuts, I added some pink twine and stamped one of the sentiments from The Best Day of My Life stamp set. This stamp set is super cool!

Next...

I used one of the Best Day of My Life Cut-Aparts as the tag base. I punched a hole in the acetate ticket to layer underneath and popped up the heart die-cut.

Here's the last box:

The kits come with cardstock, and I used one of the sheets of kraft cardstock for this box. I flipped over the pink rosette and used the aqua side of the paper. The rosette is layered over a vellum doily.

If you want to check out the Scraptastic blog, there are other great ideas for this kit. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Great Love

Hi everyone!

It's the end of May and the end of my guest spot at i {heart} papers. :(  I wanted to share one last card using supplies from the store.

I wanted to use this awesome sentiment from My Favorite Things:

I stamped the Be Your Best Self sentiment and colored it with Copics. It took a steady hand for some of those tiny areas. ;) The color inspiration came from the new My Mind's Eye Asbury Heights papers.

Here's a close-up of the sentiment:

The tiny heart comes from the Red and Goldie dies. I layered some of the Asbury Heights papers and a layer of tissue, and I added some mist on top.

In the other corner, I stitched a mix of sequins at the top. I messed up on the stitching, which was pretty frustrating. But, rather than remaking the card, I added an enamel dot and just decided to go with the wonky sequins. ;)

Here's a close-up:

I wanted to give a big thanks to Kate and Tracy at IHP for having me as a guest these past two months!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!


Supplies
Cardstock: (white) PTI
Patterned paper: (Asbury Heights) My Mind's Eye
Stamps: (Be Your Best Self) My Favorite Things
Ink: (Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko; (Dewey, Opaque White Mr. Huey's) Studio Calico
Copics
Embellishments: (blush, mint sequins) Studio Calico; (coral sequin) craft supply; (clear sequin) Neat and Tangled
Die: (heart from Red and Goldie) Avery Elle

Celebrate

Hi everyone! Happy Thursday. :)

I wanted to share a card I made using the Scraptastic Club Daylight kit:

I die-cut the paper and vellum layers on my Cameo. All of the papers are from the May 2014 Daylight Kit and Add-On. The sequins are from the This Life Noted kit. To enclose the shaker, I die-cut two layers of Ellen Hutson Craft-a-Board...it was easy to adhere the layers. 

For the sentiment, I used some new Little B Block Out dies. The pictures look like the dies are strips, but they aren't...I was pleasantly surprised! Here is a close-up:

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!!

Supplies

Cardstock: (white, Linen Vellum) PTI; (Craft-A-Board) Ellen Hutson

Patterned paper: (from the May 2014 Daylight Kit and Add-on) Scraptastic Club

Dies: (Block Out) Little B; (Circle STAX) My Favorite Things

Sequins: (May 2014 This Life Noted kit) Scraptastic Club

Silhouette Cameo

I Believe in You

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a good week. We're getting down to the wire--8 more days of school. Woo hoo!

I'm blogging on the Scraptastic Club blog today with a card and a tutorial. On the post, I've shared 11 different ways to alter wood veneers. You can check it out HERE.

Here's a card I made based on the tutorial:

I used the Scraptastic Club's May Daylight Kit and Daylight Kit Add-On for this card. I punched circles from the papers, two different types of vellum, and used one of the pre-made circle die-cuts. On top, I layered the altered stars.

Here's a close-up:

For the green star, I inked it, painted on Multi Matte Medium, and sprinkled glitter on top. For the yellow star, I painted it and added Glossy Accents. I also added one of the Studio Calico stars, enamel dots, and Simple Stories sticker that came in the kit.

I stamped on the last star with one of the stamps in the Scraptastic Club's The Story I Heard set. Their stamps are super cute! For the sentiment, I used a stamp from the SSS You Can Do Anything set. 

Here's another close-up:

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Supplies

Cardstock: (white) Avery Elle; (vellum, linen vellum) PTI

Patterned papers: (Daylight Kit and Daylight Add-On) Scraptastic Club

Stamps: (flower from The Story I Heard) Scraptastic Club; (sentiment from You Can Do Anything) Simon Says Stamp

Ink: (Grass, Pool) Fresh Ink; (Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko

Dies: (Circle STAX) My Favorite Things

Embellishments: (enamel dot, sticker die-cut, chipboard, wood veneer from Daylight Kit and Add-On) Scraptastic Club

Make a Wish

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

Today, I have another GDT card for i {heart} papers. I've been dying to use my new Storybook stamps, which are available at IHP. The stamps were designed by my friend Heather Campbell, and I think she knocked it out of the park! They are such sweet designs. :)

Here's my card:

I stamped, colored, and die-cut the duck and butterfly using the Storybook stamps and dies (thanks Heather!). It took me pretty much forever to come up with the design...I must have nudged those papers 100 times. ;)

I used the WPlus9 Pinking Squares Die on the bottom of the My Mind's Eye striped paper. The pretty floral is from BasicGrey's Fresh Cut collection. On the vellum, I used the Paper Smooches Borders 2 die for a scallop. Here's a close-up:

The sentiment is from the Storybook set. I stamped it on a label from the MME Izzy paper and fussy cut the label from a larger sheet.

For the clustering at the top, I dripped too much mist on the heart. Oops! Usually I'm pretty haphazard with my misting and am okay with the randomness, but these splotches looked bad. :( To cover them up, I die-cut a Paper Smooches Stars heart and put the negative on the top. Yeah for saving the project! Wa hoo!

Here's a close-up:

I'm linking the card up to the Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes Challenge!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!


Supplies
Cardstock: (white, vellum) PTI
Patterned paper: (floral from Fresh Cut) BasicGrey, (stripe and label from Izzy collection) My Mind's Eye; (turquoise from Oh Darling) Crate Paper
Stamps: (duck, sentiment, butterfly from Storybook) Avery Elle
Dies: (duck, butterfly from Storybook dies) Avery Elle; (scallop from Borders 2; star from Stars) Paper Smooches; (pinking from Pinking Squares Dies) WPlus9; (heart) Silhouette America
Ink: (Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko; (Opaque White, Dewey Mister Huey's) Studio Calico
Embellishments: (sequin) Webster's Pages; (chipboard star from Daily Flash) October Afternoon

Love Machine

Hi everyone! I'm blogging on vacation at my mom's house in Maine. We went hiking up a mountain and I kayaked in a bay today...it's been great.

This week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge is:

Easy peasy, right? Use buttons on your clean and simple projects. I had an inspiration image from THIS pin on Pinterest that I've been wanting to try. Here's my take on the robots:

I raided my scrap pile--these papers are from the Kate & Co. collection. I added a sentiment from Paper Smooches' Squeaky Clean set and then did some stitching. I love how the blue looks like a huge mouth. ha ha

Then, I made a second one in some awesome plaid paper:

It's a little imperfect, and that's okay. :) I hope you can join in this week's CAS-ual Fridays challenge. The winner will receive a gift certificate to Ellen Hutson.

You can link up your projects HERE.

Just a reminder, it's Anything Goes week Paper Smooches SPARKS. If you use Paper Smooches, too, be sure to link up.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!


Supplies
Cardstock: (Rustic White) PTI; (green) Avery Elle; (Night) Paper Source
Patterned paper: (Kate & Co.) My Mind's Eye
Stamps: (sentiment from Squeaky Clean) Paper Smooches
Ink: (Gumball Green) Stampin' Up
Buttons: (red, Whipped Cream) My Favorite Things