The Twinery & Serendipity Stamps Blog Hop (Prizes Too)

**You should have arrived here from the fabulous blog of Melania Deasy, but if not, a complete list of Blog Hop participants is listed below.**

As an alumnus of Serendipity Stamps Design Team, I was lucky enough to be asked to participate in a very special 3-day event sponsored by both The Twinery and Serendipity Stamps.  What could be more fun than using beautiful Serendipity stamps and colorful twine from The Twinery to create something twice as spectacular?  I own lots of great Serendipity Stamps and The Twinery was generous enough to supply a package full of all kinds of twine.  All those choices made it extra difficult to decide what stamps and twines I wanted to work with, so I ended up making two cards for todays hop.
First up, a card using my all-time favorite image from Serendipity Stamps.

I love that sweet cow jumping over the moon (Serendipity Stamps Cow).  It makes the cutest baby card for either a boy or a girl depending on the colors.  I wanted my card to be for either sex, so after I hand cut the half moon, I stamped Serendipity Stamps Baby Boy Small and Baby Girl Small over it to create my own patterned paper.  I punched a few circles and ran them through my xyron machine so they would be good and sticky.  I wound some colorful lilac/white twine from The Twinery (Lilac Stripe) around each circle, popping them up to form soft, fluffy clouds.  I also stitched around the outside edge of my card with more Twinery twine (Marigold Stripe).  I used a big, fat needle and the twine really adds great dimension.

My second card uses one of Serendipity Stamps dies (Ladybug Die) and more beautiful twine from The Twinery (Maraschino Stripe) to make a fun black/red/cream ladybug card. I added tape to the holes in the ladybug and rolled black/white twine from the Twinery (Charcoal Stripe) around each circle.   I stamped my background with butterflies using one of Serendipity Stamps background stamps (Butterfly Background).  I cut notches in the four cream panels with a circle punch and tied Maraschino Stripe Twine around them to add a punch of color.  The sweet Serendipity Stamp sentiment (Ladybug Hugs) perfectly fits a butterfly and ladybug themed card.

There are prices up for grabs from both Serendipity Stamps and the Twinery...Here's the details:  

The Twinery is having a giveaway...just check out the details on their blog.

Serendipity Stamps is offering one lucky person a $25 gift certificate to Serendipity Stamps.  All you have to do is visits the Serendipity Stamps Facebook page, like the page and leave a comment.  You must do both to be eligible for the gift certificate.

Time for you to hop along to the next designer on the hop...Suzanna Lee!

Here is a list of the other designers playing along today with The Twinery & Serendipity Stamps Blog Hop:
                                                     Serendipity Stamps 
                                                     The Twinery

                                                     Tifany DeGough 

                                                     Anya Schrier           

                                                     Rebecca VanDeMark 

                                                     Vickie Zimmer

                                                      Stacey Schafer 

                                                      Julie Warner 

                                                      Melyssa Connolly 

                                                      Karen Amidon

                                                      Melania Deasy

                                                      Suzanna Lee

http://www.serendipitystamps.com/product/740A.html	http://www.serendipitystamps.com/product/738A.html	http://www.serendipitystamps.com/product/216G.html	http://www.serendipitystamps.com/product/017GDCL.html	http://www.serendipitystamps.com/product/231E.html	http://shop.thetwinery.com/product/maraschino-stripe-mini-bundle-15-yards
http://shop.thetwinery.com/product/marigold-stripe-mini-bundle-15-yards	http://shop.thetwinery.com/product/charcoal-stripe-mini-bundle-15-yards	http://shop.thetwinery.com/product/lilac-stripe-mini-bundle-15-yards

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Card Concept Challenge: Monochromatic Purple

Did you know that monochromatic colors are one of the characteristics of a Classy and Elegant card?  I know I didn't realize it, although I found myself shades of one color many times on the cards I created.  This week, the challenge over at the Card Concept is to use monochromatic purple on a card... and did I ever!

 I used a variety of purple patterned papers cut into sun ray strips stitched together to create my background and a beautiful and elegant tea pot from Serendipity Stamps for my focal point.  Mary over at Serendipity really outdid herself with the design of this teapot...the gorgeous rose cut-outs and the beautiful pierced details make this officially my favorite die from Serendipity so far!

But wait...there's more!  At the risk of sounding like an informercial...I also finished the inside of the card with the companion die to the teapot...a matching tea cup and inspirational sentiment from Serendipity Stamps.    All of these products are part of the latest Serendipity Stamp release and make a Classy and Elegant card or a Clean and Simple card...the saucer can easily be snipped of and you have a beautiful tea cup all on its' own.
Have you seen all the beautiful (and purple) cards over in the Card Concept gallery?  There is still lots of time left to create your card and link it up...the challenge ends next Monday at noon PST...hope to see you there!

Card Concept #7: Butterfly Theme

Have you started seeing butterflies around your home yet?  If not, be prepared to see a lot of them in the next two weeks here on the Card Concept Challenge...our theme for Challenge #7 is to use a Butterfly somewhere on your card!   

I hope you have been playing along with our fun, new challenge...for Challenge #6, we had 116 cards submitted...seriously, 116!  Want to see who were the winners?  Here's a link to to see the favorites.

I am one of the designers who represents the Classy and Elegant style.  

Definition:

Polished

Shiny Finish

Sparkling Embellishments

Rich Color Scheme

Sophisticated Sentiments

Regal

Sweeping

Dramatic

Monochromatic

Layered Textures

Awe

Impress

I never really thought my style of card making was Classy and Elegant, but I  have found that you only have to use one or two of the descriptions for your card to be considered in that category.  You can have a CAS or Clean and Layered card and still have it be Classy and Elegant!  Here's my take on the Butterfly theme:

It always makes me happy when I see a butterfly...so I used some a cheerful, happy new die from Memory Box with cute musical notes as my background.  I also used a very elegant 6 x 6 embossing folder from Embossalicious to add that swirly background in the corners of my base.  The butterfly is a die from Serendipity Stamps...probably the most elegant die I have.  I cut it once in glittery paper and once in a teal colored vellum.  I wish you could see how pretty it is in person!  I added some really shiny stick pins and a few more little butterflies to tie in the teal color.  I am saving this card for my son and daughter-in-law who have their first anniversary in April.  

Are you ready to see some more butterfly inspiration?  Make sure you check out all the cards made by the Card Concept Design Team...there are 6 different styles, something for everyone!

Clean & Simple

Tracey McNeely 

Deanna Dean

Clean & Graphic

Ardyth Percy-Robb

Geri Greening

Clean & Layering

Kay Miller

Kerin Sylvester

Shabby Chic

Narelle Farrugia 

Debbie Marcinkiewicz

Freestyle Collage

Karen Davis 

Cindy Lovell 

Classy & Elegant

Lee Ann Barrett

*PREORDER S4-383 Spellbinders MARVELOUS SQUARES Nestabilities Dies NEW 2012	*MD1-008 Media Mixage Spellbinders SQUARES TWO Die	*s4-322 Spellbinders GROMMET TAGS Dies Shapeabilities	*Crafter's Companion Embossalicious REGAL FRAME 6 x 6 Embossing Folder 755444	*Memory Box MUSICALITY COLLAGE Craft DIE 98749
Serendipity Stamp & Die	Damask Designs

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Fusion Card Challenge #6

Welcome to Fusion Card Challenge #6.   We have had so many people playing with our challenge...it is almost impossible to choose a favorite, much less a winner!  Have you seen if your card was a winner for Challenge #5?  Here's a link to find out...I sure hope you see your card there!
Today's challenge is going to have you thinking GREEN.  Check out the sketch and photo we have for you to work with this week:

What do you see?  Those green flowers stamped in the pretty pattern...or do you see the square frame of the sketch?  Even better...do you see a combination of both, because that is all you have to do to play the Fusion Card Challenge.  Make a card based on either the sketch, the photo, or fuse them together and make a combination of elements of both.  Easy, right?  Here's what I came up with:

I went graphic this week and fused both the sketch and the green color from the inspiration photo.  Who couldn't use a little good luck card to give them some encouragement when they need it the most?  This card was made using a cut file from the Silhouette Store (Checkerboard Edge Shadow 2).  I added one of the newest dies from Serendipity Stamps (Shamrock Die) as my focal point.  Isn't that the greatest detail on the shamrock die?  The sentiments are from Lil Inker (Rainbows and Clouds Sentiments), just right to let someone know you are thinking of them and wishing them well.  

Time for you to check out the rest of the cards made by the Fusion Design Team and then you can get going on your own card based on this week's sketch or photo.   You have two weeks to play...the challenge ends on Tuesday, March 25th at noon PST.   I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Betty J

Dannielle Robeson

Deepti

Geri Freeman

Julia Aston

Katie Brooks

Kelly Griglione

Kimberly Wiener 

Lyndal Higgins

Lynn Mangan

Michelle Folland

Michelle Lupton

Sindu

Stephanie Severin

Serendipity Shamrock

Rainbows & Clouds Sentiment Stamp Set

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Happy Birthday Christina!

Today we are celebrating the birthday of one of the sweetest people I know...Christina MacLaren of SeaGlass Papercrafts.  I have come to know Christina through our 12 Kits of Christmas and then 12 Kits of Occasions group.  Christina is not only a fabulous card maker, but she always leaves the most heartfelt and sincere comments on my blog, the kind of comments that make you feel good all day!  Joyce of Cards by the Sea has once again organized a birthday blog hop for Christina and I am hoping she will enjoy all of the cards her friends have made for her today.

I have been wanting to make a card using my new Serendipity Owl die with a Fall birthday theme.  Christina's special day was all the incentive I needed.  Isn't that the most detailed owl die cut?  I perched him on the Impression Obsession Bare Branch with leaves cut from Fall patterned papers.  The sentiment is also from Serendipity (Everyday Words, large) and the background layer is a Spellbinder die.

Make sure to stop by Christina's blog and wish her a Happy Birthday...here's a link to all of other crafters who have made cards to wish Christina happiness on her special day.

Joyce

Darnell

Jeanne

Jill

Kara

Kim

Lynn

Marybeth

Renee

Sharron

Tracey 

Serendipity Owl Die

It is my favorite time of the year...mid October is when my husband and I always go to our little cabin in Montana and enjoy a week of true Fall weather. It's always a little bit of a shock when we first get there. We are almost always leaving hot, dry CA and walking off the plane to 50 degree weather, but what a nice change for us. This trip, I carried on a bag full of craft supplies...had my bag fully inspected for possible hidden bombs and gunpowder residue while my husband just breezed right through security. It was worth the pat down though because I have lots of fun things to keep me busy while my husband works outside preparing the cabin for winter.

Today I am sharing a card I made with a new die I just received from Serendipity Stamps. If you've never tried their dies...you SHOULD! They are so detailed and elegant, yet cut so well...perfect edges every time. Here's my card:

The new owl die has such great detail, just look at the chest area (not sure what that part of an owl's body is officially called) with the intricate cut outs. My card is CAS, but this owl could just as easily be used with a card decked out with patterned papers, ribbons and bling. I will be sharing one of those types of cards later on this month. The sentiment is also from Serendipity (Happy Birthday).

Here is a link to the Serendipity store...you should check out all of their dies and most of them have matching stamps to go along with them.

 

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Bats & Broomstick Frame

(Carly's birthday post is always a long one, I apologize in advance!)

As my daughter Carly's birthday is on Halloween, October 31st is pretty important at the Weber house.  Not only did my kids love decorating the house with all things scary, we also added in some birthday decor to go along with it.

I didn't become "crafty" until my kids were grown, so I was a little late to the game when it comes to making my own decorations, but the last several years I have made some type of Halloween project with Carly and her past birthdays in mind.  Two years ago I made this:

Witches Wardrobe

This was actually a card, but we saved it and will set it out every year.

Last year I made a birthday frame:

Halloween Birthday

This was Carly's first Halloween

This year, Carly turns 22 years old.  I know!  How old does that make me?  Way too old, but at least I have a lot more time to play with all of my crafty goodies than I did when Carly was 8 years old as she was in the picture below.  As I looked back at Halloween pictures, I realized Carly was a witch for Halloween at least 4 times...so this year I focused on one of her "wicked" birthdays for my project. 

 Here is my 2013 tribute to Carly's Halloween Birthday:

I just received my new Lil' Inker September release stamps and dies and used them to make a dimensional frame.  I took out the hologram image that came with the 10 x 12" frame and created a scene of my own.  First I cut a frame border on my silhouette.  I scaled it so that the three boxes were the right sized to match a Lil' Inker Stitched Mat Square die (detailed picture of Lil' Inker's trademark stitching below).
For the largest square, I used Lil' Inkers new Bats and Broomsticks stamp set as well as the matching die.  Isn't the lined pattern on the stamp a great touch for the witch silhouette?

The bats also have that great lined pattern too.  

I also used a great sentiment from Bat's and Broomsticks.  All of the sentiments from this set a so different from the typical "kiddy" type Halloween sentiments and are perfect for us "older" witches.  I also added a scary looking tree using the Memory Box Grand Willow Tree die which I embossed with a woodgrain texture and used black ink to shade it up a bit.  The moon is die cut from cream glittered cardstock using Lil' Inker Stitched Mat Circles and the tombstones are also from Memory Box (Graveyard Landscape).  Several of these dies are popped up with dimensional foam and adhered to cardstock from MME (Wicked collection).

For the decorated squares along the side, in addition to Carly's picture, I used Lil' Inker's Rainbows and Clouds die to make a Halloween type rainbow cut from glittery cardstock.  

You can see the great stitched detail on the Stitched Mat Squares and cloud in this one.  I also added a few more bats.

For the last square, I had to add a spiderweb and black widow spider.  That story is much too long to tell, but Carly was bitten by one when she was 9 months old and it was a very scary time for us.  I always add something spider-related to her birthday projects.  

I even cut out Carly's picture with the Stitched Mat Square die...adds a little extra something to such an old photo.

That's it for this year...the frame is all ready to display when I drag out all of my Halloween decorations for the month of October.  Yes, even at 22, the entire month of October is still birthday month for Carly.  One of these days that will change and she will dread adding that extra year, but for now, her Halloween birthday is something we all look forward to.  Thanks for sticking with this very long birthday post.

Pumpkins and Sunflowers

Have you even seen a stamp that made you wish it was a different time of year? As much as I love the warm days of Summer, I was really wishing for some nice, crisp, cool weather with the stores full of pumpkins and sunflowers when I received a new stamp from Serendipity Stamps called Pumpkins and sunflowers that totally changed my mood from Summer to Autumn. I got busy with my copics and came up with a card that makes me wish Autumn would hurry up and be here soon.

I realized that the Pumpkins and Sunflowers stamp is exactly the same size as the PTI die, Take Three so decided to use that die as a frame for the cute images on the stamp. My coloring is not the greatest, but wow, is it easy to color this stamp. There is so much detail, you really only need a few copics to achieve a nice mix of color. I also used a sentiment from Serendipity, Autumm and added a little bit of burlap and woodgrain for texture. The sentiment is stamped on a Lil Inker stitched banner...just the right size for the sentiment.
Are you in the mood for some Autumn inspiration? Serendipity stamps has some new stamps out that will make you wish it was Autumn and Winter...here's a link to their store, you will love the new stamps!

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Serendipity Stamps Blog Challenge #14 "Basket Case"

Time for another Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog posting...and a very fun theme this week too!  SSCB#14's theme is Basket Case.  We were challenged to use one of Serendipity's many, many basket stamps as our focal point.  When I say many, many, I really do mean it.  Here's a link the the basket section of the Serendipity Store, Lots and lots to choose from.  Everyone on the Serendipity Design Team chose a different basket to show you the wide range of baskets just waiting to be stamped and colored.  I chose an image that isn't specifically a basket, although there is a basket on the stamp.  Wonder what I chose?

I chose the cutest little bicycle which coincidentally has a great basket on the handlebars.  I have a bicycle just like this at home now and I would love to have a basket in front to carry all the odds and ends I take with me when I ride.  The stamp is Bicycle and was colored with copics and cut by hand.  I also shaded the basket with a brown copic and added those cute balloons and balloon string by Lil Inker.  The patterned papers are My Mind's Eye (Come Away With Me).  The great sentiment that was stamped on a speech bubble die cut is also from Serendipity (Everyday Sentiments, small).  I added a tiny bit of bling just because I felt like it.  Ready to see some more baskets in action?  Make sure to check out all the other Design Team members posts and when you are done, I hope you will play along with this week's challenge.  You can get all the details over at the Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog.  If you are the lucky winner, you can win $20 off your next Serendipity Stamp order.  That's it for me...enjoy the other cards!

Jeanne

Marybeth

Anya

Jenny

Miriam

Pauline

Bicycle

Everyday Words Horizontal, small

Serendipity Stamps Blog Challenge #13 - Zentangle

**This week's sale at Serendipity is Buy 3, get 1 Free and is good through June 12th.  There are still a lot of wood mounted stamps left at 50% off**

Have you ever heard of Zentangle?  Don't feel bad if you haven't...I had never heard of it and when I found out it had to do with doodling, my heart started to race and I must admit I panicked a bit.  I actually don't even like to sign my cards with my poor handwriting and I never get further than a stick figure when I draw.  I won't even play Pictionary, it is that bad, but this week's challenge on the Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog is all about doodling, but in a very deliberate and controlled fashion as that is what Zentangle is all about.  If you want to see some examples of what Zentangle "should" look like, here is a link that explains it all.

This a picture of what someone with lots of talent can do with Zentangle.

Now prepare yourself.  Here's my attempt at Zentangle along with a Serendipity Stamp.

I think I can hear you laughing all the way to California!  Why do you think I like the nice, crisp, precise stamps from Serendipity...because they look nothing like my doodles!  I used Serendipity Stamps Half Sun because it reminded me of something hand-drawn.  The sentiment is also from Serendipity (Just Living).  I popped up the large panel and added a little bit of yellow stickles to the flower centers and sentiment.  When you have recovered from your fits of laughter, I hope you will follow the links to the rest of the Zentangle projects by the Serendipity Stamps Design Team.  I have had a peek at them, and believe me, you will see much, much better examples of zentangle than I have shown you.  After you see them, I am certain you are going to want to break out the pens and give zentangle a try.  Make a card using at least one Serendipity stamp or die, add a little bit of doodling to it and enter it into the Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog #13.  There is a special prize this week: A set of 30 alcohol ink based markers donated by Marvy Uchida.  Isn't that a great prize for a little bit of doodling?

Jeanne

Marybeth

Anya

Pauline

Miriam

Jenny

Half Sun

Just Living

Serendipity Stamps Blog Challenge #12 - Victory Garden

It's time for another Serendipity Stamps Challenge Blog post...this week we are up to #12 and the theme is Victory Garden.  We were challenged to make a garden themed card without using a strictly floral image.  That is a tough one as Serendipity has so many beautiful flower stamps.  

I ended up choosing a Seed Packet stamp (Daisy Seed Packet) for my main image.  Lots of detail on this stamp and I actually tried coloring it in a variety of colors, but ended up using the first image I made with only brown ink and lots of tea dye stain on the edges.  I think it gives a much more rustic, vintage look to the stamp.  I layered it over some Spellbinder labels and used a couple of red rhinestones for the flower centers.  I have been making myself tie a lot of bows these days (to use up the tons of ribbon I have been hoarding) and added a pretty stick pin for just a little more sparkle.  

Why not play along with our Victory Garden challenge?  You can win $20 off your next Serendipity stamp order if you are the lucky random draw winner.  Just make a card using any of the Serendipity stamps or dies that remind you of the Victory Garden theme.  Here is a link for all the details!

Jeanne

Marybeth

Anya

Pauline

Jenny

Miriam

Daisy Seed Packet