Happy Saturday!  I'm so glad you decided to stop in to the cafe today.  Grab a hot brew and hear the news...

There's a new stamp shop that's now open!  If you haven't heard...

 ...has opened and offers some super cute, unique stamps and stencils!

My first card features Miss Ink's Brewtiful stamp set - very pretty!  I created the background by first taking watercolor paper and embossing it with a coffee bean embossing folder.  I then took several colors of Distress Ink and applied it to the paper with a watercolor brush.  The speckles were added using Tim Holtz Distress Splatter Brush and Picket White paint.  The images were all copic colored

The next card is using Miss Ink's Java Joe's stamp set - so cute!  I created a background by embossing the bottom half with a stone embossing folder and blended Pumice Stone Distress Oxide ink.  For the top portion, I blended Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink and stamped houses in a light ink.  The images were all copic colored.

Hope you'll check out Miss Ink Stamps - you'll be so glad you did!

It's a Jungle Out There

I'm up today on the Butterfly Reflections Ink blog sharing a sweet and wild card!  Stop over to see all the details!

 

STAMPlorations Spring Fling Hop + Giveaways!

 Is it Spring yet?  It certainly is at STAMPlorations as we are celebrating a Spring Fling with 12 days of giveaways and specials!  You can leave a comment below, on the STAMPlorations blog and/or the blogs of the Design Team to be entered to win -- the more you enter, the better your chances!

Prizes: There will be one prize awarded each day between April 1-12th. Commenting ends on Friday, April 19, with winners announced in a special post on Monday, April 22.

Day 1 - $15 gift certificate

Day 2 - Choice of 3 in-stock 3x5 stamp sets ($21 value)

Day 3 - $25 gift code

Day 4 - Choice of 3 Sanna Lippert Designs stencils ($15 value)

Day 5 - Choice of 1 in-stock 4x6 Dee's Artsy Impressions stamp set ($15 value)

Day 6 - Choice of 1 cover plate die ($25 value)

Day 7 - Choice of 1 in-stock 4x6 The Bee's Knees stamp set ($15 value)

Day 8 - Choice of 1 in-stock Big Grins by Becca Cruger stamp set ($15 value)

Day 9 - Choice of 3 in-stock CUTplorations word/phrase dies (up to $30 value)

Day 10 - Choice of 1 4x8 stamp set ($20 value)

Day 11 - Choice of 1 in-stock 4x6 Shery Russ Designs stamp set ($15 value)

Day 12 - $15 gift certificate

Day 17 (extra prize) - three winners of $10 gift codes

April store promotion: All throughout April, products in the SPRING FLING section will be 25% off instantly.  If you use my code below (StampGirlKathy), you'll receive an additional 20% off !!

Let me start by saying that I struggle with mixed media.  I'm awed by the beautiful projects the STAMPlorations mixed media girls create and keep trying to make this style/technique work for me.  I have to admit, I'm pretty happy with how this card turned out (you don't want to see what some of the others looked like!)

 To start, I created a background with alcohol inks in bright, spring colors and mixed in some gold.  Then, I used STAMPlorations Foiled Again Mini Stencil and a creamy pearl embossing paste to add texture to two corners.  The butterflies and sentiments are from Trendy Butterflies which I stamped in black then blended distress oxide ink over them.

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Be sure to leave a comment below, on the STAMPlorations blog and/or the blogs of the Design Team to be entered to win -- the more you enter, the better your chances!

Birthday Celebration

Pink & Main celebrated its 5th birthday last month and the party continues!  The newest release is filled with super fun goodies!

I can't get enough of the new Pull and Flip dies! There are adorable dies included to decorate the panels or to use alone.

The new It's A Party paper is so festive and colorful - guaranteed to bring a celebration card to life!  The Party Balloons stamp set and dies added a little something festive to my card.

Be sure to follow us via email/blog, Facebook and/or Instagram so you won't miss any projects the design team shares...not to mention, you'll be among the first to hear about deals and specials!

Divinity Design April Release!

Wait til you see Divinity Designs' April Release!  Today I'm sharing two projects featuring some of the fabulous products that are now available!

My first project is 'exploding' with fun!  The new Explosion Box dies make creating this box super easy!  Using the new Explosion Box Pockets & Layers dies adds fun little pockets to tuck in notes, treats, photos, etc.  With the new Mini Box die, you can put a little gift right in the center of the Explosion Box.  You can also use this Mini Box to hold a present or treats all by itself! 

I used the Alphabet Flag dies to create little banners for the inside.

For my next project, I used the Scallop Rectangle, Scallop Square and Rectangle dies to cut different patterns from the new Pretty Pink Peonies paper to layer. The pretty flower image and sentiment are from the new Daughter's Best Friend set which I stamped on white cardstock cut with one of the Square dies.

You'll want to stop by the Divinity Designs blog to view the entire release complete with video and special bundle offers!

New products used in the above projects:

 

 

Additional Divinity Designs Items Used: 

 

 

STAMPlorations April CUTplorations Challenge

Welcome Spring and a new STAMPlorations CUTplorations challenge!  Here's this month's inspiration photo...

 Here's the challenge scoop:

• You can link up as many projects as you want (1 project per blog post)
• You must use at least 1 STAMPlorations product (stamp, stencil, die, or coloring page, or grab a FREE STAMPloration digi stamp)
• To qualify for the prize, players must display challenge graphic and link back to the challenge post (blogs only)

Prizes: $15 GC for the winner (voted by the team); $5 GC to three (3) randomly picked players.

The inspiration photo this month made me think of spring things and a rainbow of colors and that's how I went about creating my card.

After layering cardstock and a wood grain pattern paper to the cardbase, I used STAMPlorations Cup of Blooms 2 that I copic colored with pretty spring colors.  I then added the butterfly using Flutter Zen 2 Layering Dies.  The sentiment is from Fond Expressions 2.

Looking forward to seeing what you create for this month's challenge!

Reverse Confetti April Stock Your Stash Challenge - Moms, Dads and Grads

April has arrived and so has a new Reverse Confetti Stock Your Stash challenge!  This month's theme...

Check out all the details on the Reverse Confetti blog and click on  The Play To Win button.  There will be a winner each month and that person will receive a $20 gift certificate to the Reverse Confetti store and claim the title of ‘Fetti Fave. The winner of the monthly challenge will be posted on the Reverse Confetti blog at the end of the month.

For my card, I layered Buttercup cardstock onto a Premier Polar White cardstock base then a pattern from the new Darling Dots paper pad.  Using the Dashed Line Tag die to cut Dark Roast cardstock, I created a backdrop for the "Mom" word die cut (from Mom & Dad Duo Dies) using Buttercup cardstock.  

I'm continuing to work on no-line coloring and this image from Hatbox Florals seemed like the perfect one to try using the technique (I used copics).  To finish, I gold embossed the sentiment from Hatbox Florals onto Dark Roast cardstock then added some gold sequins.

Looking forward to seeing YOUR lovely creation in the challenge gallery this month!