DeNami Design Bright Blossoms Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the June DeNami Design Blog Hop! The theme of this month's hop is Bright Blossoms!!

Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Tina Milbourn's blog. If so, you are on the right track! If not, you'll want to head over to the DeNami blog to start the blog hop at the beginning. (And remember, if you get lost along the way, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction.)

Don't forget, there are some super-fun DeNami prizes to be won! Two lucky commenters will be drawn at random from among the comments left along the blog hop to win a $20 DeNami Design gift certificate! You have until Monday, June 9, 2014, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize. 

Here's how I interpreted this month's theme:

I had a great time using elements from the Solid Flower Accents Set, Garden Accents Set, Whimsical Garden Set, and Solid Petals Set to build my own bright blossoms for this large 5" x 7" card! I stamped cling versions of the Get Well Soon and Praying for You sentiments for the flower stems, and used a strip of Green Graph Washi Tape to ground the whole design. I also use these inks from the DeNami Design store: Fresh Green Versacolor, Pearlescent Orchid Brilliance, and Habanero Versafine.

Well, that does it for today's card! It's time for me to send you along on your way. But before you leave for more DeNami inspiration, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes.  Then you can head out to see the next blog hop participant on today's list: Ruza Rebel.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Enjoy the blog hop,
Emily

An Irish Blessing

Just a quick post to share another St. Patrick's Day card that I made recently.

The stamps are all from Flourishes' Irish Blessing set. The St. Patrick's Day embossing folder and Green Stripes washi tape are from DeNami Design.

I'm entering this card in the current Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge: It's a Wash, to use washi tape.

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily

Count Your Rainbows

Before we head off for church and Sunday School this morning, I'm posting another card that I made during my marathon crafting session yesterday.

The latest stamp release from DeNami Design included some really awesome new sentiment stamps! I've been waiting for just the right time to try out this new Count Your Rainbows sentiment, and I found the perfect sketch for showing it off. I'm playing along with this week's Tuesday Morning Sketches, where my sweet friend Jessi is this week's sponsor with a prize of her awesome crocheted mats! The challenge's "twist" this week is to make a monochromatic card, in addition to following the sketch. Done!

All of my stamps come from DeNami Design: the aforementioned Count Your Rainbows sentiment, Rainbow, and Small Cloud. I kept my rainbow monochromatic by coloring it with Copic markers from the Red family: R20, R24, R27, and R29. The patterned paper comes from an old, old DCWV mat stack. I made the fishtail banner  by covering a long piece of white cardstock with strips of red chevron washi tape that I picked up in the Target One Spot a couple of weeks ago.

Well, that's all for now--gotta run to get breakfast and herd everyone out the door on time!

I hope you have a fantastic Sunday today. Thanks for dropping by for a little slice of bliss!
Emily

Embracing Hope with FWF

Just a quick post this morning. A dear friend from church had breast cancer surgery earlier this week, a bilateral mastectomy. It sounds like the surgery was successful (so far, so good), which is such a relief. I've been mailing her a handmade card each day this week, just to let her know that she's on my heart and in my prayers. This is one of them.

Simple but heartfelt. Both stamps were from a Unity grab bag (good stuff in those!), but I don't know what stamp sets they were from originally. I'm linking up with today's Unity Friends With Flair.

I have much to accomplish both today and over the weekend, so I can't stay to chat. I hope that you have something good planned!

Thanks for dropping by,
Emily

Ways With Washi: FLOWERS + a Giveaway!

Good morning, DeNami friends! Can you believe that autumn has officially arrived? I can't believe that it's already time for my September edition of Ways With Washi! I thought that this time around we could take a look at using washi tape to create different styles of flower embellishments. Here, let me show you what I mean . . .

For my first project, I used strips of DeNami Red Stripes washi tape to create a cheery floral focal point for a clean and simple encouragement card. I started with long-ish strips of washi tape that I folded over on themselves, being careful to leave some adhesive exposed at one end. Then I used scissors to round one end of each strip and adhered them (using each strip's exposed adhesive tab) around a circle punched from cardstock to form the blossom. The last step was to add a pretty decorative brad in the flower's center and attach it to my card!

DeNami Products: Hang In There, Solid Block Border, Toffee Versafine Ink, Onyx Black Versafine Ink

Next up is a loopy washi tape flower. For this embellishment, I turned to DeNami Orange Stripes washi tape for the job. To make the petals for this beauty, I folded long strips of washi tape in half lengthwise before doubling them over and adhering them to a punched cardstock circle. I anchored everything with a pretty pearl brad in the center.

DeNami Products: Thoughtful Greetings stamp set, Onyx Black Versafine Ink

Finally, I pressed some DeNami Yellow/White Dots washi tape into service for a sunshiny daisy. I used an approach similar to the one I used for my first card, but trimmed each washi tape petal to a point this time around. For the daisy's center, I stamped a Circle Scallop on magenta cardstock, cut it out, and finished it off with baker's twine tied through a DeNami boutique button. I covered some wire with Lime/White Dots washi tape for a stem. And because you are so sharp, I'm sure you spotted some more Lime/White Dots washi tape used for the leaves and grass ;).

DeNami Products: Sending You Sunshine, Circle Scallop, white cardstock, Tutti Fruitti Boutique Buttons, Confetti 3-pack baker's twine,  Onyx Black Versafine Ink

I hope you've been inspired to pull out your washi tape to try making some flower embellishments for your paper-crafted projects!

GIVEAWAY

How would you like to win a roll of washi tape to try making some pennants and banners for yourself? I have a brand-new roll of Orange Stripes Washi Tape from DeNami Design--the same tape that I used on today's second project--that I'd love to give away to a reader of this post. Want to be in the running? Just leave me a comment on this post using the word "AUTUMN." There's no need to be a follower of my blog to enter, but if you are a follower (or become a new follower!), you can have a second entry in the drawing--just leave me a second comment telling me that you are a follower and how you follow. :)

I'll leave commenting open until 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, September 25, 2013, and will draw one commenter at random. The winner will be announced right here on my blog on Thursday, September 26, and if I'm able to find an email address, I'll be sure to contact the winner as well.

I'm so glad you dropped by for a little slice of bliss today!
Emily

DeNami Design Product Spotlight July Blog Hop

Thanks for stopping by today! The DeNami Design team is featuring a super sweet rubber stamp in our Product Spotlight today:  it's the Sand Castle stamp! And we're showing it off with a BLOG HOP!

Here's the one-layer card I made with this fun stamp:

I paired it with the perfectly complementary Seashells stamp and oh-so-appropriate Sending You Sunshine stamp. I stamped everything in Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored with Copic markers.

You can purchase this fun sand castle stamp for 10% off the regular price for the next week. You also have the chance to WIN this fabulous product in today's spotlight blog hop! All you need to do is hop along to each stop in the lineup, leaving comments along the way. Here is the blog hop lineup:

DeNami blog 
Lisa Petrella
Deb Wabbe
Wendy Elliot
Emily Keaton  <==== you are here!
Lisa Elton
Pattie Goldman
Dana Seymour
Tammy Hobbs

One commenter will be selected at random to win this month's prize! Just check out the DeNami blog for all the details.

I hope you have a day filled with bliss!!
Emily

DeNami Design Chickies Sneak Peeks

Welcome to Day 1 of the DeNami Design Fall/Winter Release Sneak Peeks!! Today brand-new DT Member Pattie Goldman, veteran DeNami DT member Lisa Petrella, and I are giving you sneak peeks of brand-new DeNami stamps about to be released in the always-fun CHICKIES category! Be sure to read all the way to the end of this post for details on a great giveaway :D.

Do the sweet DeNami chickies totally tickle your fancy? If so, you are positively in luck! The new release includes brand-new chickie stamps for summer activities, various sports, girlfriends, camping, gardening, Halloween, and Christmas. Whew!! That's quite a few! 

Are you ready to take a peek at what's in store for the chickie category? Let's get started!

The new chickie stamps I was most excited about are the camping ones! Not only do I have my very own Girl Scout and Cub Scout in my family, but our family loves to go on camping road trips. This card uses the brand-new Campfire Chickies stamp and Chickie in Tent stamp. I thought this would make a perfect thank-you card for my daughter to give to her Girl Scout leader! Her troop LOVES to go camping. :) I also used the ultra versatile Small Cloud and Thanks A Bunch sentiment, and threw in a couple of Sand Boutique Buttons. (All of the patterned papers are digital prints from the digital Campout collection by Design by Dani, available from JessicaSprague.com.)

Now how about taking a gander at a pair of stamps that are perfect for the rockers in your life?

This card shows off the new Rock Band Chickies stamp and the fun You Rock! sentiment. I added some chipboard alphabet stickers to spell out "dude," the perfect touch for a teenager-bound card. A bit of Black Curly Loops washi tape and some red DeNami cardstock round out my design.

Next I'm shifting gears to autumn and Halloween!

For this creation, I paired the brand-new Pumpkin Patch Chickies stamp with the cling-style Trick or Treat sentiment stamp. Aren't those chickies sweet? I made my background from an assortment of DeNami washi tapes: Lime/White Dots, Black Curly Loops, and Orange Stripes. I also used some Desert Orange cardstock and black baker's twine from the DeNami store.

And finally, let's have a little Christmas in July!

Don't you just love those sweet little Caroling Chickies? And I am completely captivated by the tiny sentiments in the brand-new Christmas Greetings petit four stamp sets!!! This is a set that I have been waiting ever so patiently for :D. They are just the perfect size for Christmas tags, and that's exactly how I put them to use.

The DeNami To and From stamps are perfect for completing these festive tags. I also used some red DeNami cardstock and red baker's twine from the DeNami store. 

All of the new stamps I used today in my sneak peek projects will go live in the DeNami online store on July 10 at 9am PST.

OK, are you still with me? Thanks for hanging in there through this long post. :-) I mentioned a giveaway way back at the beginning of this post.

DeNami Design is giving away two gift certificates today! Be sure to leave a comment here on my blog post, Pattie's chickie sneak peek blog post, and Lisa's sneak peek blog post, too. Then head over to the DeNami Design blog and leave a comment there, too, for another way to win today!

I'm so glad that you dropped in to check out some of the new chickie stamps in the DeNami Design Fall/Winter Release! Be sure to tune into the DeNami blog tomorrow for more sneak peeks and giveaways.

Until then, have a day filled with bliss,
Emily 

DeNami Design Product Spotlight June Blog Hop

It's the last Wednesday of the month and that means it is time to show off another awesome DeNami Design stamp with a blog hop! This month we are featuring the summery Tropical Drinks set.

When I was thinking about what approach to take to this project, it occurred to me that the middle drink in the set could be a soda. Then I wondered who or what in DeNami World would drink it? So I pulled out all of my DeNami animal stamps and immediately noticed that the squirrel is facing the right way and is the perfect size. Thus, my lime-and-Diet-Coke-drinking squirrel was born! Have a Coke and a smile! :D

My card also features these great items from the DeNami store:

Squirrel

Heartfelt Greetings Set

Modern Borders Set

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink

Smokey Gray Versafine Ink

Celery Cardstock

Charcoal Cardstock

Lime/White Dots Washi Tape

Brown/White Dots Washi Tape

Bakers Twine

You can purchase this fun Tropical Drinks stamp set for 10% off the regular price for the next week. You also have the chance to WIN this fabulous product in today's spotlight blog hop! All you need to do is hop along to each stop in the lineup, leaving comments along the way. Here is the blog hop lineup:

DeNami blog 
Lisa Petrella
Deb Wabbe
Wendy Elliot
Emily Keaton  <==== you are here!
Lisa Elton
Kanani Kawamura
Dana Seymour
Tammy Hobbs

One commenter will be selected at random to win this month's prize! Just check out the DeNami blog for all the details.

I hope you have a day filled with bliss!!
Emily

Feel Better Soon + my GIU WINNER!

Happy, happy Monday to you! I hope you had a great weekend. We were busy, busy little beavers here at my house, so the weekend just flew. We made a special trip to the Museum of Science in Boston to take in the special Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit on Saturday morning. It was absolutely fascinating!! We really learned sooooooooooo much.

Well, I'm here today to announce the winner from my week of posts as Growing In Unity gal last week! I had a total of 269 entries--WOW!! Thanks to everyone who came by last week. I really appreciate ALL of your comments! It was the best fun reading through every single one of them. I wish I could have given ALL of you a prize!! But, since I can't, I'll leave you with one last bit of Unity inspiration:  a little Feel Better Soon card made with a clear acrylic card base and LOTS of buttons. I think this will be perfect for someone who's feeling under the weather!

The sunshine image is from Unity's Quotes a'la HAPPY, and the sentiment is from the amazingly useful Just Wanted to Say kit. That fun cloud background is a digital paper printed out from the ultra sweet Baby Safari collection by Carina Gardner (available from JessicaSprague.com).

Allrighty then, enough stalling! On with the GIU winner:

I used Random.org to draw the lucky number.

That points to Carla from Utah!!!!

Now, Carla, I couldn't find any way to contact you directly*, so it is up to you to email me to claim your prize!! You'll find my email address by clicking on the "View my Complete Profile" link just under the "About Me" section in the right-hand sidebar of my blog; look for the "Contact Me" section. In your email, please include your choice of two Itty Bitty stamp sets from Unity (you may browse the selection HERE) as well as your shipping address, and I'll get that info sent off to Unity pronto.

Carla, if I don't hear from you by 10 AM EDT on Wednesday, June 12, I'll have to draw another winner so I can get my GIU week all wrapped up with Unity in a timely fashion.

Another huge thanks to everyone who participated in this awesome Unity giveaway! Have a great week! Thanks for stopping by,
Emily

* Carla, normally I'd reply to the email address associated with your comments, but you are a "noreply-comment" commenter on blogger! Click HERE to find out what that is and how to fix it. And you haven't included an email address as a way to contact you on your Blogger Profile page. My next step would be to leave a comment on your blog, but you don't have one!!! So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you come back to check for my winner post, find your name lit up in lights, and drop me an email ASAP!! Unfortunately, so many "noreply" bloggers don't realize they can't be contacted in the event of a win and never check back for winners' posts because they think "of course I can be contacted!" I hope you aren't one of those folks, Carla!!! Waiting eagerly to hear from you!!!!

Growing In Unity~Day 4

 Thanks for coming back for Day 4 of my week as Growing in Unity gal!

Today is a two-fer day! I've got two little Unity projects that I've been just itching to share with you. Let's get started!

The sentiment is from Unity's {my thoughts are with you} kit. Definitely a must-have! It is loaded with a great variety of "thinking of you" types of sentiments that are perfect for cardmakers. I love how this one in particular fits perfectly in my Stampin' Up! modern label punch.

The patterned paper is a digital print from the Beautiful Moments collection by Carta Bella (available from JessicaSprague.com).  I built the gilt frame around the portion I printed out using some really cool gold washi tape. It totally looks like a fancy picture frame, right? I think the effect is awesome.

Now, switching gears a bit.

This card pulls together two different Unity Stamp kits. The doily stamped in the background in white on kraft and the fancy label are from the Generations kit, and the fantastic "You are fabulous" sentiment is from the Where You Should Be kit. Quick and easy and perfect for dropping in the mail to a fabulous friend!

And I think that does it for today!

Please leave a comment on this post to be in the running for two free Unity Itty Bitty kits, one comment per person please. But if you are a follower of my blog (or become a new follower), you can leave a second comment--for a second chance to win--on today's post:  just let me know that you are a follower and how you follow my blog!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for my last GIU post. If you haven't already commented on my GIU Days 1, 2, and 3 posts, you should check out and comment on those as well to maximize your chances of winning in the random drawing. I will leave commenting open through 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 9, 2013, and will come back on June 10 to announce the winner here on my blog. If I can find a way to contact the winner via email, I'll be sure to do that, too. :)

I'm so happy that you stopped by to visit today!
Emily 

Growing In Unity~Day 2

Welcome back to Day 2 of my week as Growing In Unity gal!

Today I'm sharing a little clean and simple number. It measures 6" x 3 1/2", so it fits perfectly in a #6-3/4 size envelope. I love how this card turned out!
 

The sentiment comes from Unity's Quote Bundle Pack.  Perfect for an encouragement card, or even a graduation card! I stamped the quote over top of some paint strokes digital elements from the Gouache Painte Strokes kit by Nancie Rowe Janitz (available from JessicaSprague.com). I simply recolored the paint strokes in image editing software and printed it out on cardstock. I'd originally intended this to be a one layer card, but in the end I decided to cut out around the paint strokes and mounting this free-form panel with foam tape. I love the extra dimension that gives the card!

So, part of the deal with being GIU gal is that I get to randomly select someone to receive some free stamps from Unity Stamp Co.!  To be in the running for two free Unity Itty Bitty kits, be sure to leave a comment on this post, one comment per person please. But if you are a follower of my blog (or become a new follower), you can leave a second comment--for a second chance to win--on today's post:  just let me know that you are a follower and how you follow my blog!

And then come back the rest of the week for more Unity inspiration and more chances to win in the random drawing! And if you missed my post on Monday, be sure to go back on comment there, too. I will leave commenting open through 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 9, 2013, and will come back on June 10 to announce the winner here on my blog. If I can find a way to contact the winner via email, I'll be sure to do that, too. :)

Thanks for stopping by today! Wishing you a day filled with bliss,
Emily

Summer Lovin'

It's time for another stamp release at Flourishes, and this time the release week challenge is called Summer Lovin'--a challenge to create with summer in mind. So how about this for summery?

I used a fun silhouette stamp set from Flourishes called Country Road, which was a birthday gift from a sweet friend. It was so much fun to ink up for the first time! I stamped the pasture scene on watercolor paper and then colored in the grass and sky with some of my new Gelatos, blending them with water and a paintbrush. I LOVE how this scene turned out! The patterned paper is from a new Dear Lizzy Neapolitan 6x6 pad that I just picked up on sale at ACMoore last week. So fun to use so many new items at once!

The last few weeks have been sooooooooooooooooo busy for me. I've spent a lot of time tackling long-overdue projects around the house, getting the house ready for company, and hosting my parents from Ohio for a visit over the weekend. Today was the first time in quite a while that I've been able to do some crafting!

Thanks for taking a peek and stopping by!
Emily

Ways With Washi: BACKGROUNDS + a Giveaway

Happy Monday, DeNami friends! I am so happy to be checking in with another edition of my monthly feature for the DeNami Design blog, Ways With Washi!

Today I’m sharing ideas on ways you can use washi tape to create BACKGROUNDS on cards or other papercrafted projects. I’ve created three samples for your viewing pleasure, so let’s get to them!

On my first card, I used not one, not two, but EIGHT different washi tapes (all available from the DeNami store) to create a rainbow-striped panel perfect for backing these sweet St. Patrick’s Day chickies. To create the panel, I simply trimmed a piece of white cardstock to the desired size and adhered strips of washi tape to it, side by side, wrapping the tape ends around to the back. I know that some folks prefer their washi tape to look neat, and this is an easy way to hide ragged, jagged ends.

DeNami Supplies: Shamrock Chickies, Leaf Green cardstock, Red Stripes washi tape, Red Graph washi tape, Orange Stripes washi tape, Yellow/White Dots washi tape, Green Graph washi tape, Lime/White Dots washi tape, Blue Stripes washi tape, Purple/White Dots washi tape, Confetti Twine 3-pack

On my second card, I took a more artsy approach to my washi background, letting those ragged, jagged tape ends all hang out. I created this background by adhering strips of washi tape directly to my card base and overlapping the edges slightly. Did you notice that I stamped the sentiment directly onto the washi-tape background? Jet Black Staz-On ink is your best bet for that.

DeNami Supplies: Small Heart Outline, Happy St Patricks Day, Iridescent Emerald Green cardstock, Jet Black Staz-On ink, Green Graph washi tape, White Boutique Buttons   

Finally, on my third card I’ve used three different washi tape patterns to create a unique, almost quilt-like background. I simply cut a 4” x 4” square of white cardstock and adhered strips of washi tape in a concentric square pattern. The overlapped tape ends at the corners create subtle squares in the design that add to its overall visual interest!

DeNami Supplies: Heartfelt Greetings stamp set, Elegant Floral stamp set, Garden Accents stamp set, Magenta cardstock, Black Curly Loops washi tape, Pink/White Dots washi tape, Black Stripes washi tape   

And there you have it—three different approaches to using washi tape to create your own custom backgrounds!

GIVEAWAY

How would you like the chance to play around with some washi tape of your own? I have a brand-new roll of Green Graph Washi Tape from DeNami Design--the same tape that I used on my second project--that I'd love to give away to a reader of this post. Want to be in the running? Just leave me a comment on this post using the word "SHAMROCK." There's no need to be a follower of my blog to enter, but if you are a follower (or become a new follower!), you can have a second entry in the drawing--just leave me a second comment telling me that you are a follower and how you follow. :)

I'll leave commenting open until 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, February 27, 2013, and will draw one "SHAMROCK"-using commenter or follower at random. The winner will be announced right here on my blog on Thursday, Feb. 28, and if I'm able to find an email address, I'll be sure to contact the winner as well.

Thanks for popping in, and have a super day!
Emily

Juggling Too Much?

Recently I've been busy, crafty-wise, with design assignments. But once the kids were back in school again after their long weekend, I was finally able to turn my attention to a project I've had simmering on the back burner for a while now. Here's my result:

Does this feel like you, too? Well, except for the stylish pencil skirt and those high-heeled shoes, this card pretty much sums up my life these days. Juggling a million details that keep my family running smoothly without any major train wrecks.

This card was inspired by the Use 10 Embellishments Challenge in the Moxie Fab World, in honor of the release of the new Paper Crafts special issue, 75 Creative Card Challenges.

Yes, indeedy, you guessed it--the idea here is to use 10 different embellishments all on the same card in an innovative way. That last part had me stymied for a while. I mean any old fool (this one included!) can slap a bunch of googaws on a card and call it a day. But I wanted mine to mean something, to really tell a story, and not just look like some useless afterthoughts (which is what usually happens if I try to add more than one or two embellies)! Ten? I had my work cut out for me!

My very wise hubby is a big fan of consigning the solution of vexing problems to the subconscious. Can't see how to tackle something right away? Familiarize yourself with the problem and just walk away from it, sleep on it, do something completely different for a while. And that ol' subconscious just plugs away on it, chews it over, and pretty soon smacks you up side the head--completely out of the blue--with just the insight, answer, approach, or solution method that you need. That's just how it happened for me:  in the middle of brushing my teeth while thinking about something completely different.

I selected my embellishments very carefully, picking them for the kinds of tasks that we modern women must juggle.  I had to increase my card size to a mega 5" x 7" to get them to all fit comfortably! Anyway, starting with that ribbon rose on the bottom left, and then going clockwise, we have :

1. The red ribbon rose symbolizes time spent bringing happiness, thoughtfulness, and our thankfulness to others in the form of gifts, cards, phone calls, emails, and favors.
2. The paperclip symbolizes time spent at work.
3. The baseball brad symbolizes time spent managing (and chauffeuring!) kid activities.
4. The wooden clock face symbolizes time spent managing and planning the family calendar.
5. The sparkly apple cabochon symbolizes time spent on planning, shopping, and preparing tasks that keep the family well-nourished.
6. The mini wooden clothespin symbolizes time spent on housekeeping chores.
7. The shiny star brad symbolizes time spent overseeing and helping with the kids' schoolwork.
8. The Asian coin symbolizes time spent on all the myriad financial management tasks.
9. The wooden Bingo number symbolizes time spent on family fun activities and "me" time.
10. The shiny little key symbolizes time spent on home and auto maintenance.

Whew! I'm tired now just thinking of it all! But this little exercise has also been a great reminder of all the many blessings we enjoy. Life may be busy, but it's also quite good!

So, if you feel like you are juggling too much, too, I do believe I know how you feel. And hopefully knowing that will lift you up and make the juggling just a tiny bit easier to manage. :)

Thank you so much for joining me for a little slice of bliss today! It's always a joy to have you drop by!
Emily

Turn Your Face to the Sun

Yesterday was such a hectic day for me. I spent most of the day running errands (that I thought I could wrap up before lunch--HA!), and then our evening was rushed so we could attend our daughter's middle school holiday concert (thoroughly enjoyable--she really shone!). But all of yesterday's busy-ness left me in need of some quiet time for myself today. Here's what I did with my bit of "me" time:

I made this card for Flourishes' Let's Hop Progressive Challenge, which requires 8 components:

1. NOT an A2 size (my card is 5" x 7")
2. Use some type of floral (mine is this beautiful hollyhocks image from the Flourishes Hollyhocks stamp set)
3. Add ribbon or lace (mine is from May Arts)
4. Be inspired by this beautiful photo (I drew my colors from it)
   
5. Add a tag (used it for my sentiment, which comes from the Flourishes Sunflowers stamp set)
6. Add a rounded corner (check!)
7. Add ink distressing or sponging (which I did around my sentiment tag, main focal panel, and card base edges)
8. Use a die cut or punch somewhere (I used medium and large tag punches)

This is was such a fun challenge, and putting my card together was so relaxing. Just what I needed today! Now it's time for me to head out to do my weekly grocery shopping, so that's all for now.

Thanks so much for checking out my little slice of bliss today!
Emily

DeNami Sneak Peeks: CHICKIES

Welcome to Day 1 of the DeNami Design Fall/Winter Release Sneak Peeks!! Today DT Member Lisa Petrella and I are giving you sneak peeks of brand-new DeNami stamps about to be released in the always-fun CHICKIES category! Be sure to read all the way to the end of this post for details on a great giveaway :D.

If you are a DeNami chickie lover, you will positively swoon over the chick-tastic new release! There are new chickies for Halloween, new chickies for Christmas, and some fun new chickies for everyday. I had SO much fun with my new chickie stamps getting ready for this fall/winter release! It was hard to decide where to start, but in the end I went with some of the new everyday chickies. Are ready to see them? OK, fasten your seat belts--here we go!!

What could be more fun than a racing chickie?!? For my first card I used the brand-new Race Car Chickie (CL-G154) and Make Way! It's Your Day! (CL-F224) stamps. My hubby is a huge car fanatic, so this will be for his birthday in September. I know he'll love it! I stamped the race car on watercolor paper in black Versafine ink and heat embossed the image with clear embossing powder. Then I watercolor-painted this fun little guy and his wheels with dye inks.

Up next I played with the new Swinging Chickie (CL-D146) on a pair of clean and simple cards. I wanted to make the swing ropes ultra long for this card design, so I extended them with a ruler and an ultra-fine tipped Sharpie. I paper-pieced the chickies on white cardstock so I could color them with Prismacolor pencils.  So, why two nearly identical cards? Well, I couldn't decide which I liked better: underlining my design with some scored lines, or tying on some baker's twine. This card was so quick and easy to make, that I did it both ways!

So are you starting to think that these new chickie stamps are just like potato chips? (You know, because you can't stop after just one--one card, that is!). Well, what I did with the new Business Chickie (CL-C92) would certainly make you think so! This little guy is SO cute! He made me think of some kind of bureaucrat or government agent--of the cutest, fluffiest kind, of course--that might come 'round to "chick" up on you. :D

And there you have it--my chickie sneak peeks for the new release!



Congratulations for making it to the end of this looooooooooooooong post :). I mentioned a giveaway way back at the beginning, and here's what's up for grabs: 

Paulina is giving away TWO of these Chickie-themed prize packages today, one on the DeNami blog and one from today's featured blogs (that would be my blog here and Lisa Petrella's blog). The winners will be randomly selected from the comments left on the three blogs, so be sure to comment in all three places to maximize your chance of winning!


I'm so glad that you dropped in to check out some of the new chickie stamps in the DeNami Design Fall/Winter Release! Be sure to tune into the DeNami blog tomorrow for more sneak peeks and another giveaway.


Have a day filled with bliss!
Emily


Race Car Chickie card:
Stamps: Race Car Chickie, Make Way It's Your Day, Steam Curl, Stitched Rectangle, Holiday stamp set--all from DeNami Design
Paper: Canson watercolor paper, patterned paper from BasicGrey's Wander collection
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Versafine Vintage Sepia, Versafine Crimson Red, various dye inks for watercolor painting
Accessories: sewing machine, foam tape
Techniques: watercolor painting, machine stitching


Swinging Chickie cards:
Stamps: Swinging Chickie, Hang In There--from DeNami Design
Paper: DeNami Iridescent Aquamarine cardstock, white cardstock from PTI
Ink: Noir Black Palette
Accessories: ruler, ultra-fine tip Sharpie, scoring board, Prismacolor pencils, odorless mineral spirits, paper blending stumps, baker's twine from DeNami's Summer Twine 3-pk
Techniques: scoring, Gamsol Magic


Business Chickie card #1:
Stamps: Business Chickie, Just Chickin' Up On You--from DeNami Design
Paper: DeNami Lime cardstock, patterned paper from BasicGrey's Green at Heart collection, white cardstock from PTI
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Noir Black Palette
Accessories: sewing machine, scalloped border punch, Prismacolor pencils, odorless mineral spirits, paper blending stumps
Techniques: Gamsol Magic, machine stitching

Business Chickie cards #2 and #3:
Stamps: Business Chickie, Just Chickin' Up On You, Retro Borders 1 Set (cling)--from DeNami Design
Paper: white cardstock from PTI
Ink: Versafine Deep Lagoon, Versafine Crimson Red, Noir Black Palette
Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, odorless mineral spirits, paper blending stumps
Techniques: Gamsol Magic

Wherever You Go

I needed a card for some friends who are moving away. I had such a hard time deciding what kind of sentiment to use. Goodbye? Farewell? We'll miss you? Thanks for sharing your lives with us? Wishing you all the best? Don't go? I kept waffling. Nothing seemed quite right. So I started cruising through my {ippity} and Unity stamps sets, which can always be counted on for insightful quotes and sayings. I knew I'd found my "it" quote as soon as I opened up my Quotes a'la HAPPY set from {ippity}. Then it all came together!

This is perfect! It's just what I wanted to say. And inside I can write something like "thanks for sharing your sunshine with us these last 8 1/2 years. Wishing you all the best!" Yup, couldn't have said it better myself.

I finally got to put my Bazzill Card Shoppe cardstock (see HERE for more) through my last tests for it: heat embossing and stitching. I give it high marks on both! I stamped the ric-rac element in red Versafine ink and then heat embossed it with red embossing powder. The cardstock did warp a bit from the heat, but nothing that couldn't be tamed with some edge stitching :). And I must admit that this cardstock holds up ever so nicely to machine stitching! The yummy colors I used on today's card are Peppermint, Banana Split, and Gumball. So fun! I can thoroughly recommend this new line of cardstock formulated specifically for card makers, and can't wait to give away a 56-sheet sample pack of it to one lucky My Little Slice of Bliss reader. Check back Thursday for my giveaway post!

I've been itching to play in a few challenges, but haven't had much time, so I crammed them all in here. This is for Chick Challenges #33, the new summer-themed Unity Challenge, the new "bright colors" {ippity} challenge, and Kim Kesti's Crafty Month challenge--to create a card that combines at least one new item and one item from your stash (at least one year old). My new item is my new Bazzill Card Shoppe cardstock, and my old items are the buttons and black crochet thread from my stash.

Thanks so much for sharing a little slice of bliss with me today! And don't forget--my giveaway starts on Thursday, June 21.

See you soon!

Emily

Stamps:  Quotes a'la HAPPY from {ippity}, Homemade 6-Bean Soup from Unity

Paper:  Peppermint, Banana Split, Gumball cardstock from Bazzill Card Shoppe collection; PTI white

Ink:  Versafine black and red, Colorbox Frost White, SU So Saffron

Accessories:  red EP, heat tool, foam tape, American Crafts button (yellow), We R Memory Keepers buttons (red, blue), black crochet thread, sewing machine

Techniques:  machine stitching, paper piecing, heat embossing