Watercolored Vellum Wreath + VIDEO + GIVEAWAY // Altenew

Hey all! Today I have another card using vellum (I can't seem to stop!) and a video! To see my Hero Arts post, go HERE.

I knew as soon as I laid eyes on the Doodle Blooms stamp set that I had to make a wreath with those delicate leaf images! And of course, I had to gold emboss them, and do it on vellum - one thing led to another, and this card was "born" and filmed in the space of about thirty minutes! Unfortunately, it took me a lot longer to narrate it, since my one year old niece and three year old nephew are visiting, so the house is hardly quiet. ;)

The how-to video...

If you are having problems viewing this video, please try watching it HERE on YouTube.

Gah! I really need to cut back on the vellum! But seriously, how pretty are these images embossed, colored and die cut? Because seriously, if you're considering this stamp set (which you definitely should be), the dies are pretty much a must. It makes creating light, fluffy cards so much easier and so much more fun.

I stamped the background with the leaf images, and embossed a sentiment from Beautiful Day to complete the card.

Thanks to Nicole and Altenew for this opportunity - I had so much fun! Though I was a teeny bit nervous creating a video for something other than my own entertainment (as I always am ;)).

For all the details on this fun video challenge, and a chance to be the next guest designer for the Altenew video challenges, go HERE.

Because I love this company and their stamps so much, and to thank you for stopping in, I'm giving away a $30 gift card to Altenew. You have three ways of entering, for a total of three entries:
Just leave a comment on this blog post, the YouTube video, and THIS Instagram post.

This giveaway ends 2/28.

Thanks so much for stopping in and God bless!

SUPPLIES

Cardstock: Canson Bristol
Stamps: Altenew Beautiful Day and Doodle Blooms
Ink: Tim Holtz, Versamark
Other: embossing powder (Hampton Arts - gold, Hero Arts - gold)

Tools: paint brush, water, Cuttlebug, Altenew Doodle Blooms dies, heat gun

Giveaway winner!

Wow guys, I apologize - I am the worst at remembering to post giveaway winners lol, but better late than never!
The winner of the Thoughts and Prayers giveaway post is (according to Random.org)...
#4! And that is...

cghundley

Please e-mail me at ctprezzia15@gmail.com with your name and address, and I will get the stamps and dies shipped out asap! Thanks to everyone who left a comment!

Hero Arts Launch Party Blog Hop

Hello everyone, I'm part of an amazing hop today - the Hero Arts Launch Party Blog Hop! You should have arrived here from Nichol Magourik's blog, but if you didn't, no worries! The full line-up is listed at the bottom of this post, so you can start from there.

Today I'm sharing a card and video showing how I get smooth impressions from the awesome ombre ink pads.

...and the how-to;

Basically, when I use the ombre ink pads, not only do I do the little stamp "dance" recommended on the Hero Arts website (which is moving your stamp up and down the pad to get a more even ombre look), but I really ink up my stamp.
Like, really ink it.
I press my stamp pretty firmly against the ink pad until I'm sure it's completely covered with ink, then I lightly tap it against the ink pad to even out the ink and prevent the ink from pooling on any particular spot on the stamp.

Okay, now it's time to gush about the Deck the Halls by Lia stamp set - this is a tiny stamp set, but man, it really gives you bang for your buck! There's a beautiful sentiment, and then these two classic deer images which are not limited to Christmas or holiday cards - think how pretty they'd be in a spring scene!

Now, the whole deal about this hop - the new Hero Arts website!

Like I mentioned before, the new website is amazing - Lisa and the rest of the Hero Arts team really outdid themselves! But not only does it look amazing, but for a limited time, you can get a cute little rocket stamp set included free with any order (ETA - this sold out quick! you guys are awesome) Oh, and shipping is free on US orders of $50 or more, no code needed (which is pretty sweet)

BLOG HOP

Hero Arts will be giving away one GRAND PRIZE $100 Hero Arts shopping spree. The winner will be randomly chosen from all of the blog hop comments received by 11:59pm PST on Tuesday, September 8th. Check the Hero Arts blog for the announcement of the winner.

Now, for the blog hop list;

Hero Arts

Jennifer McGuire

Kelly Rasmussen

Laura Bassen

Debby Hughes

Amy Tsuruta

Kristina Werner

Yana Smakula

Suzanne Dahlberg

Nichol Magouirk

Clare Prezzia

Lucy Abrams

Mariana Grigsby

Libby Hickson

Thanks so much for stopping in, and now pop on over to the amazing Lucy Abram's blog to continue the hop fun!

GIVEAWAY

I'll be giving one random commenter here a little goodie pack of my own, which will include some of the new goodies from the new Holiday catalog from Hero Arts. :)

SUPPLIES

Cardstock: Hero Arts Snow Layering Paper, kraft paper,
Stamps: Color Layering Wreath,  Deck the Halls by Lia, Color Layering Christmas Tree, Dot Moire Bold Prints
Ink: HeroHues Metallic Cubes 4-Pack, HeroHues Black, Versamark
Other: Sunshine Mixed Accents, embossing powder (Hampton Art)

Tools: heat gun

Giveaway week: Day four

How about some tools and alterable objects now? :)

Maya Road Scroll Frame Chipboard Accordion Album, Maya Road Mason Jar Chipboard Album, Maya Road Tags Mini Chipboard Set, Orange and Cotton Candy Tattered Angels Chalkboard Mists, Silver and Waterfall Stickles, Tim Holtz Ideaology Mask Borderline, EK Success Cupcake Punch set, and (my favorite) a Fiskars Large Squeeze Cloud Punch.

1. Leave a comment.
2. Become a follower and leave another comment (if you're already a follower, leave a second comment)
3. Post the above photo on your blog with a link and leave a third comment.

Steps two and three are NOT optional today.

...

...

...just kidding. ;)

Giveaway week: Day three

And giveaway week is continued, and we're on to the embellishments!

 

So in case you're wondering what's all in there, here's the master list: Tattered Angels Antique Keys, K&Company Handmade Alphabet Cards, K&Company Amy Butler adhesive flowers, Maya Road Sunshine Buttons, Maya Road Gingham Blossoms, Maya Road Velvet Jewel Flowers, SEI Claire Designer Brads, SEI Morning Meadow Epoxy Stickers, two different packages of Boutique Fleur flowers, two different My Little Shoebox Mini Alphabet Stickers, three Pebbles felt stickers packs, two different My Little Shoebox, Glitter Alphabet Stickers, and my fave, two different sheets of pretty fabric stickers by Colorbok.

1. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite kind of embellishment is.
2. Become a follower and leave another comment (if you're already a follower, leave a second comment)
3. Post the above photo on your blog with a link and leave a third comment.

Steps two and three are still optional. :)

Giveaway week: Day two

6x6 papers - over 105 papers (including, but not limited to) - Crate Paper, Basic Grey, Studio Calico, Sassafras, and Websters Pages. A dozen or so papers are 'oldies' (Restoration, for example), but goodies. The rest are papers that came out in Summer CHA '11.
And then, there's my favorite - a brand new My Minds Eye Stella and Rose paper pad. This is a unique pad in that it has most of the papers from all of the S&R collections, so you don't need to get all four individual paper pads.

Yikes! Please forgive the terrible photos!

So totaled up, that's 150+ designer papers, at least a third of which are double sided.

To enter;

1. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite paper collection of all time is.
2. Become a follower and leave another comment (if you're already a follower, leave a second comment)
3. Post the above photo on your blog with a link and leave a third comment (if you've already posted Day One's giveaway, you don't need to do this step again - just leave a third comment)


As before, steps two and three are totally optional (well, the first step is actually optional too, but...)
This giveaway ends March 1st as well. :)

Giveaway week: Day One

Uck! That word pretty much sums up today's weather - it's been looking nasty all day. :( On the bright side of things, I've stopped procrastinating and finally gotten around to this post! 

I've been promising a giveaway for quite some time now; lots of little yummy's have been making their way into the giveaway box over the months, and now that it's full, it's time to pay it forward! I wanted to have the goodies spread out over a couple months, but since I actually haven't ever done a blogversary or post milestone giveaway, I thought I should just have week of giveaways.
Due to the yucky weather, the photos are absolutely crummy, but I hope you can look past that. ;)

Day One giveaway includes, but is not limited to {always wanted to use that phrase!},;

Hero Arts 2012 Catalog, Bold Blooms stamp set, Dots and Flowers stamp set, Hearts Accent Pearls, Medium Accent Pearl, and a secret brand new 2012 Hero Arts stamp or stamp set (no hints ;)).

To enter:
1. Leave a comment telling me what your favorite stamp company is.
2. Become a follower and leave another comment (if you're already a follower, leave a second comment)
3. Post the above photo on your blog with a link and leave a third comment.

Steps two and three are totally optional. :)
Giveaway ends on March 1st, 11:59 PM EST, day after Leap Day!

I don't do color combos

...but I did this one from Moxie Fab World. Too yummy to resist. :) I also combined it with Lucy's sketch.

Don't you just love those clocks? It's from Hero Arts "Cuckoo" which I wanted ever since I saw Dawn McVey's card using one of the clocks in the August issue of CARDS.{swoon}
Now that I have the set (thank you, HERO ARTS!!)....

...it's time to celebrate. ;)

To thank Hero Arts for their super awesome-ness, I am going to give away a NEW 2011 Hero Arts stamp/set. Not telling ya what set/stamp it is, but it's awesome. Well, I guess that's kinda obvious, since it's Hero Arts, but anywho...

To be entered, just leave a comment. Oh, and you just might get an extra entry if you become a follower...just maybeeee. ;) I'll leave this open till...hm...when I'm done celebrating, how 'bout that?

Anyways, thanks for stopping in and for all the sweet comments! I hope to return them all this afternoon! :)


ps - how do you like the new blog look? Blogger has new fonts (I just discovered them yesterday), and there are TONS of great ones, so you might want to check it out. :)


********************************
Card recipe
Cardstock: Bazzil
Stamps: Hero Arts "Cuckoo"
Ink: Staz-on
Ribbon: Seam binding available HERE
Pearls: Kaisercraft

Tools: trimmer, adhesive, scissors, sewing machine

Handknit shawl giveaway

Hiya!

Thanks for all the sweet, kind comments you have left me throughout the week - cardmaking wise I'm feeling fine, but everything else is just crazy, so those helped calm me down. :)

And now...
check out what my sister made..(yes, more bragging)

On a person (yours truly):

Don't you just love the dogwood?

So why am I showing this to you? Because my sweet sister gave this shawl to me, and since I'm not much of a shawl/pink person, I want to give it away to one of you! All you have to do is leave a comment, though you can get an extra entry by becoming a follower (if you do, let me know in your comment). Not too much to ask for a free beautiful handknit shawl, I hope. :) I'll leave this open for two weeks (Sunday, May 16th) FYI, the yarn is acrylic, though it isn't scratchy.

Well, tournament tomorrow, so I'd appreciate it if you'd say a prayer my team does well. :)

Thanks!

DT call!

Hey all!

I'm sure you might be wondering why I haven't posted in awhile; simple, my camera has taken it's last shot. :( I don't know how long I'll be out...I'm waiting for my check to come from the local fair.

But, good news! Simply Scrapping is looking for some new Design Team members! Here's the link, except the call is open till the end of November.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to participate in our weekly sketch, go here. For more fun, join our online community!

Also, I'm thinking about having a giveaway here soon, so you might want to stick around. You may want to give me some ideas, such as "I'd love to see Making Memories included in the giveaway". ;)