Blog Hop Winner

Hello all! Thank you for your wonderful support during the Christmas in July Blog Hop I participated in. There were so many wonderful comments. I could only choose one though. Through a random generator the winner is:

penny said...
You did an amazing job coloring all those gingerbreads, frame is wonderful
PennyG
moosecollector17@yahoo.com
July 24, 2010 7:31 AM

Congratulations Penny! Please go to Shelley Bean Stamps and choose the stamp you would like to own.  Email me your choice and your mailing address to shelldian@hotmail.com

Once again, thank you all for your participation!!

Kinderstampo Christmas in July Blog Hop!!

On the Fourteenth day of Christmas ...

There were gingerbread boys!  Lots and lots of gingerbread boys!  I purchased this wooden frame at Michaels for a mere $1.50.  I covered it with paper, framed the picture opening with a button garland on wire and made a woven ribbon background..... and my fun garland of gingerbread boys.  Fourteen to be exact!  The gingerbread boys were colored with Copic Markers (of course) and the stamp was a retired D.O.T.s rubber stamp.  You could use any stamped image or embellishment of your choosing to get the same effect.  The following is a short video on coloring my little gingerbread boy.  I hope you enjoy!!

Copics Markers used:

Gingerbread:  E99, E35, E53

Green:  YG67, G99, G20

Red:  R29, R22

Gold:  YR24, Y15, Y00

To add to the fun...I am giving away ONE FREE STAMP OF YOUR CHOICE to one lucky winner.  Just leave a comment here in the next couple of days, become a follower and you may win a free stamps from my own personal line at Shelley Bean Stamps!!  But wait....there's more....

Please stop by and check out my original and one of a kind rubber stamp designs.  If you make a purchase this weekend, during our blog hop I will also throw in a surprise! Just leave a comment there or shoot me an email when you order.

(and as always...free shipping within the United States!  Canadian friends..I will charge you actual shipping fees.  Email me if you want more info)
And now...the last, but by no means least stop, on this wonderful hop is here:

click me!!

Design Team Wednesday-Cute Critters!

Hello!  Welcome to our Design Team Wednesday where we will showcase some of the stamps available at our sponsor, My Heart Stamps for You.  Our theme for this time is "Cute Critters".  To start things off, here is my offering:

My little bear is lightly colored with Copic markers, and then I applied a coating of Fun Flock by lightly adding zig 2-way glue and sprinkling the fun flock onto the image then tapping the extra amount off and back into the jar.  It created a fuzzy surface.  So fun!  I also applied many, tiny flowers that I purchaced from Paper Patch Crafts and topped them off with a variety of bling.  I really like this card!

Over at Scrapbook Flair, Pam has another adorable creation to share.  Check her out for all the details.

Anne at Paper Patch Crafts has made a very colorful and fun card.  Follow her link to learn more about this and many other helpful and fun tutorials.

Please check out Beth's adorable creation at Stinkin' Sweet Scrappin'.  She also is offering a giveaway!  We all LOVE giveaways!!

Madison has been busy creating something special to share.  Please check out her fun blog at Funky Cards.

Mariam has another cute card to share with us.  Please check her out at Mariam Satchell!

And last, but certainly not least, Gaby is sure to have something fun to share with us.  At the time I put this post together she was still keeping it a secret...but you can go find out now at Scrapbookaholic.

I am sure you have enjoyed all of these designs as much as I have!  We don't have a challenge to issue this time, but if you become a new follower, you will keep updated on all the challenges and giveaways we have going on.  Plus, if you would like to become a facebook follower, I have something special coming up with a prize involved for those that want to participate.  Stay tuned!!!

Blog Hop Winner

I am happy to announce the winner of the Rubber stamp sheet was Jenny.  Send me your address and I will send your rubbersheet out to you this week.

What a day!  My grand daughter arrived into the world today.  Brinnsen weighed in at 7lbs 1oz.  She's so beautiful...I am absolutely in love!

We will have another Design Team showing this Wednesday.  Stay tuned for more info.  Also, if you haven't already joined my facebook page, please do.  I will be offering a challenge and giveaway there very soon for my facebook followers.

Also, watch for the big Christmas in July Blog Hop going on this weekend.  Yours Truly will be contributing her spot in the hop.  We hope you will join us!

When you can't find the perfect sentiment...

...just make one up.  I love my computer for that very reason!  Someone I know is feeling kind of blue, and to be honest...I have felt that way myself ALOT lately...so I thought we needed some cheerful thoughts.  I wasn't really feeling very crafty when I made this, but decided to make it anyway.

When I bought the Paperdoll Dress Up cricut cartridge, I thought all the little characters looked like they were either trying to say "it wasn't me!" or getting ready to hug someone.  Since I am going for optimism and the glass is half full mentality today, let's vote for hugs!

Items Used:

Paperdoll Dress Up

Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder

Assorted bling

Paper scraps

Paper Patch Crafts Challenge

Anne over at Paper Patch Crafts is having a fun challenge on her facebook fan page that I thought I would participate in.  I have really been missing the opportunities to play in my craftroom and thought this morning would be a good time to do so.  Anne's challenge was for us to create a layout that is inspired by a logo or ad of a product.  I really was stumped on this one and thought about it for a few days.  It really opened my eyes to advertising and what we take for granted when we look at the work that goes into making a product appealing to the consumer.  But, what it came down to for me was when I started having my own children and discovered that I was going to be blessed with sons and no daughters....I missed the opportunities I would have had playing with little girls and all the foo-foo stuff that I love, but of course my sons were not interested in.  So, with a grand-daughter soon arriving...what speaks GIRL any more than Barbie?  (I love Barbie)  And, here is what I came up with.

I am sure I will be buying her some cute little pink and purple polka-dot outfit to go with this page!!

Items used: 
Font: Makin' the Grade Cricut Cartridge
Butterflies:  Simply Sweet Cricut Cartridge
Paper:  Making Memories, Paper Pizzazz, Bazzill

******************************************

Don't forget!!  You still have time to participate in our "Fun In the Sun" challenge going on now through the 18th of July.  Submit ANY summer inspired creation you have made recently.  Use any of your favorite tools.  One randomly picked winner will receive a full sheet of unmounted stamps from My Heart Stamps For You (our design team sponsor)

********************************************

Please check out my Shelley Bean Stamps rubber stamp company.  I now have available my own line of original art rubber stamps for purchase.  I offer free shipping within the United States.  Check it out and become a follower.  Even better, check it out and make a purchase!  I have some how-to videos available there for using the stamps as well.  Please drop by and leave me a message.

Design Team Blog Hop!

A quick note before I start off the blog hop...there has been some confusion about challenges we issue as the Design Team.  So, let me clarify.  Challenges are open to everyone.  You are not required to use rubber stamps in your entries.  You can use any creative tools that you like.  We only ask that you follow the theme suggested.  We also ask that you enter only 1 time.  If you have more designs that you would like to share with us, we welcome you to upload them on the facebook page.  I LOVE seeing what others are creating.  So...without further ado....let's start the hop!!

Hello!  You have arrived at the Heartstrings Design Team Blog Hop!  Yay!!  You are in for a treat because not only are there some fun projects to take a look at, but there are also some free giveaways to enter.  Not only on this blog...but as you hop along, you will find some more!

Our theme is "Fun in the Sun".  We utilized stamps from our very wonderful sponsor, My Heart Stamps For You...and using our varied imaginations....made something unique and wonderful to share.  But, that's not all...we also want to invite YOU to create right alongside of us.  After you have hopped through all the blogs, come back here to enter our Challenge!!  We would love to see what YOU can create that follows our theme.  The challenge will run until July 18th...so you have a little time to get crackin'!

Now, here is my project:

Yes, gardening!  My little bunny is gathering up her freshly picked carrots to share!  Here are the tools I used to make this fun little card:

Copic Markers

Plantin Schoolbook (for the garden border)

Sizzix Dots & Vines Texture Plate

Ribbon and bling for the little carrots

If you decide to join our current challenge and share with us your "Fun in the Sun" inspired cards, layouts or creations, you will become eligible for the most amazing prize!  One lucky (randomly drawn) winner will receive a FULL sheet of rubber stamps from our sponsor, My Heart Stamps For You.  This is a tremendous opportunity.  The entire sheet, ready to mount (with mounting foam I will personally include) will include all these images!

Now it is time to hop over to Mariam Satchell and see what she has to share! (hop...bunny...get it?)  Don't forget to hop back over here when you have visited the last one and join us in the challenge.  I can't wait to see what you create!!

In case you lose your place in the hop...here is a link of our order:

1. Shelley (that's me!)

2. Mariam

3. Pam

4. Gaby

5. Madison

6. Anne

7. Beth

Another Copic Video

Even though we have our big Design Team Blog Hop tomorrow, I thought I would sneak in another copic video tutorial I made recently, and also share with you a very cool product.  First of all, the product:

When I started acquiring my copic markers I was sort of at a loss as to how to store them so they were readily available to use and still managed to stay organized.  After some searching online I found the coolest storage item ever!  Studio 3 Solutions has figured out the best table top copic marker organizer I have found.  It only measures abt 4.25" wide and 5.5" deep and a height of only 14".  At this size, it can easily fit into a small area; even if you wanted to own more than one.  (I am considering that too).  It has a very cool feature of slanted shelves that are perfectly angled to keep the pens on the shelf, and the pen number easy to view.  One shelf will hold 120 Copic Sketch markers!

And now, for another video. This one has been requested alot lately, and though I did something similar a couple months ago, it is worth repeating.  I hope you enjoy it.  The image used in the video is one of my rubberstamps ready to be purchased at my stamp site: Shelley Bean Stamps.  Please come check me out! 

Sometimes....

Yes, sometimes it just has to be said....

I actually colored this image a couple weeks ago when I took a Copic marker class the evening before my certification.  The stamped image is from Loralie Stamps and we all decided it looked an awful lot like Tori Spelling.  I liked the humor of my verse...simply because so often it rings true!  She is kind of glamorous...what do you think?

I Was a Winner!

I was pretty surprised to discover I won a prize for my submission awhile back at Haunted Design House for my woodland girl stamp design.  I am feeling slightly embarrassed that I just discovered it today!  But never late than never!  I also now get to sport this fun button on my blog.  :)

I want to give a big thank you to all the private emails and facebook messages I received today.  I consider you all my friends and I appreciate your thoughtful words.  Things continue to be rough going, but it is always hard to get through these rough times while we wait for things to get better.  Tonight, I think I am going to craft until late...so hopefully I will have more things to share later on and into the weekend.  Crafting is good therapy. :)

Life is A lot Like a Garden

This week has been really tough for me and my family.  Between my husband and I, we have had more stress this week than I can ever remember.  Sometimes it can be really hard to stay positive as those slings and arrows keep hitting at us from all sides.  We both know that things and events will likely improve; as these sorts of tests in life usually run in cycles.  In the meantime, I have been trying to find little things I can focus on that cheer me up and make me remember the positive things in life that are all around if I only realize them. 

This morning before I went to work, I was looking over my stamp site Shelley Bean Stamps and wondering what I had gotten myself into.  Business is not as booming as I had hoped, and I wondered if I had ventured on a fool's whim in trying to sell these designs with my limited networking and business skills, not to mention second guessing if they were even up to par with other designers out there.  But, when I looked at one stamp in particular, she just jumped out at me and told me to "cheer up!"  So, I started working with her before I left for work and finished it up tonight.  It is by no means perfect, but I had to at least smile a little at the cheery colors and message. 

Life is a lot like a garden, and with good seeds sown, a flower will surely bloom with patience and care.  And in turn...in life, it is important to sow good thoughts and deeds so they too will return to you when you need them most.

(Now for my personal and shameless plug:  And, I almost hate to add it)

If you like this stamp or the sentiment used, they are both available for sale at Shelley Bean Stamps.