Season’s Giving Blog Hop–Giveaway!

Happy New Year, dear friends!

I hope that you had a wonderful New Year’s celebration and that you’re looking forward to some amazing things ahead for 2013!  We had a fabulous celebration with some friends that involved a delicious dinner, some cocktails, games and a limousine, so my night was pretty great!

I am honored to be joining some other lovely and creative ladies and manufacturers in a special blog hop today.  The special thing about this blog hop is that each of the participants are giving something away.  Tis the Season to give, right?!

All of the product that I’m giving away is brand spankin’ new, in the package.  It’s been unloved in my collection, so I’m hoping that some lucky commenter will get some great use out of it.  I’ve filled a Medium USPS Priority Box with stamps, too many to list, but I’ve included a photo above.

All you have to do is leave a comment on THIS post (please leave me your email or blog address as well) letting me know what you’re looking forward to in the coming new year.  Commenting will close at 12:01 AM on January 3, 2013.  I’ll choose a random winner on Friday, January 4, 2013, and will post the winner here on my blog.
Each of the below links will lead you to other delicious goodies being given away, so hop your little hearts out!

Paper Crafts Magazine

Kelly Marie Alvarez/Lawn Fawn

Unity Design Team

Avocado Arts

GinaK Designs

Latisha Yoast

Lee Murphy

Laurie Schmidlin

AJ Otto

Michelle Woerner

Jocelyn Olson

Cindy Lawrence

Amy Tsuruta

Jessie Rone

Karen Baker

Lori Tecler

Jodi Collins

Kim Kesti

Tosha Leyendekker

Lisa Henke

Tonya Dirk

Ann Cox

Jimmi Mayo

Cristal (Pinky) Hobbs

Vera W. Yates

Jennifer Gallacher

Emily Leiphart

Lori Craig

Melody Rupple

Kim Hughes/Paper Smooches

Lynnette Kauffman

Beate Johns

Ashley Marcu

Becky Olsen

Jessica Diedrich

Alice Wertz

Joanne Basile

Carolyn King

Teri Anderson

Isha Gupta

Melissa Mann

Lydia Fiedler

Beth Pingry

Jaclyn Miller

Glenda Wyatt

Julia Stainton

Angie Blom

Sharon Harnist

Karolyn Loncon

Julie Overby

Tenia Nelson

Emily Branch

Windy Robinson

Keri Sereika

I’ll be back tomorrow with a VERY exciting announcement and a super special sneak peek, so I hope you’ll come back!  Before I go, I want to thank you for all of the wonderful comments and love that you have left me over the past year.  Your kind words mean the world to me, and I am ever so grateful that you stop by to visit when you can.  Wishing you and yours a very blessed New Year!

Mama Elephant Color Challenge–From Our House to Yours!

Hello my loves!

I told you I’d be back soon with some crafty goodies to share, so here I am!  Kryssi Ng asked me to join her and some of her other uber talented friends to help her launch the Mama Elephant Color Challenge.  Since I adore Kryssi and Mama Elephant Stamps, my answer was a resounding “DUH!!”  LOL

Look at that delicious winter color combo – my heart skipped a beat when I saw it and immediately went to work.  I stamped those darling little penguins from Polar Pals and colored them with Copic Markers (man, am I rusty at coloring since I hardly ever do it anymore!).  I used the stars and snowflakes image from the Believe In Magic set.  The igloo, snow banks and “Merry” banner were created using my Silhouette Cameo.  I don’t know if you can see it in the photo, but this project is very sparkly in real life – the igloo, snow banks and sentiment banner are dazzling!

PRODUCTS USED:

STAMPS:  Polar Pals and Believe In Magic (Mama Elephant)
INK:  Black Dye  and Unicorn Pigment (Hero Arts/Memories), Tuxedo Black (Memento)
PAPER:  Robin’s Egg CS, Strawberry CS, White CS (Bazzill), Solar White CS (Neenah Classic Crest)
OTHER:  Silver Elastic Cord and Dazzling Diamonds Glitter (Stampin’ Up!), Copic Markers, Silhouette Cameo (Silhouette America), Igloo Cutting File (Silhouette Online Store), Adobe Gothic Standard B Font

 

So, I know you want to play along with us, right?!!  I mean who can resist a fabulous color challenge?  Not me!!  Please click on through to the Mama Elephant Blog for all of the details and the InLinkz widget to link up your projects.  This is a two week challenge, so you have lots of time to brainstorm and create.  The winner will be announced on the Mama Elephant blog on December 31.  Oh, and if you don’t own any Mama Elephant Stamps, Kryssi has provided a delightful digital image for you to use!  How nice is that?!  You can find the free digi HERE.

PRIZE:  You’ll be playing for a guest designer spot for an upcoming Mama Elephant release!!  Woohoo!  There will also be one random winner of a Mama Elephant Gift Certificate – fun!!

There you have it, friends!  Please click on through to the Mama Elephant Blog to see the other inspirational projects that Kryssi’s friends have created for your viewing pleasure.  I know you’ll be blown away!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!  I’m winging my way to Seattle to celebrate the holidays with our family today.  But I’ll be back again soon.  Wishing you and yours a very blessed holiday season!

CAS(E) This Sketch #9–Sparkle With Happiness!

 

Happy Thursday, friends!

Phew!  Are you all as bogged down with holiday details as I am?  I love the holidays, but somehow I always get caught up in the details and forget to enjoy all of the wonders of the season.  I’m close to being done with those annoying details though, so I should be enjoying the seasonal fun very, very soon.  How about you?  Are you done shopping yet?

Well, I’m happy to be back with this week’s CAS(E) This Sketch challenge.  Jackie designed this one, and oh my goodness – it’s a fun one!  I feel like this one has some amazing possibilities for interpretation, don’t you?

Here’s my answer to the sketch – this is actually the third amalgamation from what I started with.  I’m very happy with the end result.  Clean, simple, and sparkly – what more could you want?  I used three different Martha Stewart snowflake punches, punching two out of the fuchsia panel, and one from the white panel.  The sparkles behind the snowflakes come from some delicious glitter paper – I’ll be hoarding this stuff as much as I can because it’s gorgeous!

PRODUCTS USED:

STAMPS:  Winter Wonderland (Taylored Expressions)
INK:  Fuchsia (Fresh Ink)
PAPER:  Solar White CS (Neenah Classic Crest), Razzleberry CS (French Poptone), Silver Glitter Paper (American Crafts)
OTHER:  Snowflake Punches (Martha Stewart)

 

The other ladies on the team have created some phenomenal projects for your inspiration, so be sure and click on through to the CAS(E) This Sketch blog to see for yourself, and link up your answer to the sketch there, too.  I know it’s a busy time of year, but we’d so love for you to play along with us!

 

That’s it for me, kids!  I’m heading out to a yummy cookie party tonight, and another party on Saturday.  Then we’re off to Seattle for the holidays.  I’ll be popping in now and again throughout that time, so I hope you’ll come by to visit again soon.

CAS(E) This Sketch #8–Peace On Earth

Hello Friends!

I’m popping in today to share the latest CAS(E) This Sketch Challenge.  This week’s sketch was created by Lisa, and I think it leaves whole lot of room for interpretation, don’t you?  I had a ball with this one.

 

I used a stamp set from A Muse Studio that I’ve never inked up before.  The swirls on either side of the sketch reminded me of birch trees in the winter.  I stamped the silhouette of the deer in VersaMark.  The snow on the outside is also a new A Muse Studio snow backgrounder.  I cut the aperture in the card front with my Silhouette Cameo . . . oh how I adore my Cameo!

PRODUCTS USED:

STAMPS:  Peace on Earth and Snow Day Background (A Muse Studio)
INK:  Unicorn Pigment and Black Dye (Hero Arts/Memories), VersaMark (Tsukineko)
PAPER:  Going Gray CS (Stampin’ Up!)
OTHER:  Silhouette Cameo (Silhouette America)

 

The other ladies on the CAS(E) This Sketch team have created some stunning interpretations of this sketch for your viewing pleasure, as well – be sure and pop in to see for yourself, and leave them some love while you’re there.  I know they’d really appreciate it!  Can’t wait to see what you come up with for this sketch!

That’s it for me today, kids!  I so appreciate you stopping in and hope that you’ll come by again soon.