The Craft's Meow January 2013 Release Blog Hop

You made it! Welcome to The Craft's Meow January 2013 Release Blog Hop! How did you like the January Release Previews? I hope you're super excited about the new stamp sets! Before things go back to normal, please join us for the Blog Hop! 

If you're coming from Ivana's blog then you're right where you're supposed to be! If not, head on over to The Craft's Meow Store Blog and start from there!

For today's card I used Happy as a Lark and Many Thanks. I don't think I'll ever get over my love for woodgrain. lol. I LOVE the woodgrain stamp in Happy as a Lark. I used it as my background for this card. I made a Thank You card for a little girl's cowgirl party! 

I also used Giddy Up to continue my Cowgirl Party theme. I just love the damask imprint on the horse's back. Beautiful! :)

The die cut behind the horse is supposed to be a snowflake. But I combined to together and hopefully it doesn't look too much of a snowflake anymore. I wanted it to be a star, but with more points! :) I needed something to highlight the center piece.

 I hope you enjoyed that! Would you like a chance to win ALL 5 January Release stamp sets?! All you have to do is leave a comment on each blog hop participant's blog! The deadline to comment is 9:00pm PDT, Wednesday, Jan 23rd. Also, TCM is giving Lark Additions as a gift for purchases $50 and above. 

If you're all done here, please head on over to Jen's blog for more! Thanks for stopping by today! I'll see you all again soon! :)

Simon Says "Use Washi Tape" and Play Date Cafe 165

Hi there! I had some time this morning to get a little inky on my craft table. I played a little tennis yesterday after 4 years of not playing. And I threw my back! Oh my goodness!!! I had never felt so old. EVER. I didn't know if I was going to laugh at myself or cry because it hurt a lot. But because of it I'm stuck at home today. (Hence the time to make a card.) Hopefully it goes away soon.

Anyway, there were two challenges that I wanted to try out since I saw them. Play Date Cafe - A Study In Beauty has a wonderful color combination this week! I HAD to give it a try. Simon Says Stamp also has one, it's a "Use Washi Tape" challenge. I LOVE washi tape. Even if at times I don't know what to do with them. lol. I just love to look at them! Haha!

   

Here's my take on these two challenges. When I saw the color combination on Play Date Cafe this came to mind. I had seen something similar in Pinterest and really wanted to try it out. I used WPlus9 Folk Art Florals to make the decorative flower element on my card. I had to add the chartreuse leaves though otherwise the idea wouldn't work. 

I masked some of the flowers using Eclipse masking tape and started stamping away. As I got to the ends of the "vine" I stopped masking and just let the colors blend in one on top of the other. I think it looks ok though. 

The sentiment is from WPlus9 Cupid's Arrow. I kept it black to even out all the colors I had used with the vines. I also added washi tape on the top left and lower right portions of the card. I thought it looked like something was missing there. The washi tapes filled it in beautifully. I actually made a FLAT card!!!! Can you believe it?! Yay! :) lol.

 My back feels terrible, but I'm glad I had some time to join in these challenges. It's been a long time since I just made a card for fun and not a DT assignment. Well, that's it for me. I need to rest my back now. Thanks for stopping by! 

The Craft's Meow January 2013 Release Previews - Day 4

The weekend goes so fast. I wish it would last a little longer. Before it ends The Craft's Meow has one more set to introduce to you. Today, we're featuring Many Thanks by Kaitlyn Ord.

Many Thanks is a sentiment set that I think you're going to be using a lot. With so many different ways to say Thank You, this set is a keeper! :)

I kept things simple and combined three different patterned papers. Then I heat embossed a floral image from Flower Garden.

I stamped my sentiment on the side and added some embellishments. I placed some buttons side by side to separate the lower portion of the card. And I sewed a ribbon up top to do the same. Finally, I added some chipboard leaves to balance things off.

Would you like to win this set? All you have to do is go to The Craft's Meow Store Blog and leave a comment! :) Come back tomorrow for the Blog Hop!!! Thanks for stopping by today. I see you again tomorrow!

The Craft's Meow January 2013 Release Previews - Day 3

Yay! It's finally the weekend. It could not come any sooner. I have more crafty time on the weekends so I'm really glad to have some time to play. I still have some DT projects that I have to finish but hopefully I'll have time just to join in on some challenges. 

Before I get to any of that, welcome back! Today is Day 3 of The Craft's Meow January 2013 Release Previews. We're introducing two sets today, Happy as a Lark and Lark Additions from Karen Baker. Lark Additions will be given out as a free gift for purchases of $50 and above.

I made two coordinating cards for the two sets we're introducing today. First up is my Wishing You Happiness card. I stamped the flourish image from Beautiful Hymns onto the card. Then I adhered a strip of patterned paper from My Mind's Eye on the left side of the card. 

I also stamped 6 hearts in two shades of pink and die cut it into two sizes. I put the smaller one on top of the larger one and sewed it on.

 Then lastly, I stamped my sentiment on the side and rounded the edges of one side of my card. 

 I made another card and wanted it to coordinated with the first. So I used similar color tones and patterned papers.

 I adhered a big panel of patterned paper onto my card. Then I stamped the wood grain background, cut it and rounded the edges. Then I stamped the bird image and hand cut it. I adhered it on the woodgrain panel and stamped a sentiment on the bottom.

 I finished off the simple card by adding some twine and lace. I also added strips of washi tape on the side and adhered a flower over them. 

That's it for me! I'll be back with more TCM goodness tomorrow! Don't forget to check out what the other DT ladies made for you! And you'll have a chance to win this set on The Craft's Meow Store Blog. All you have to do is leave a comment! 

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll see you all again tomorrow! :)

The Craft's Meow January 2013 Release Previews - Day 2

Hello again! Welcome back to Day 2 of The Craft's Meow Release Previews. Today we're introducing Crafty Shelf by Nina B Designs. It's a cute little set with a lot of crafty images. :)

 I combined a few stamp sets for this one. I stamped this jar with spools several times and made a border/background pattern. Then I adhered a light blue cardstock above it and stamped my favorite doily image from Simply Delightful.

Then I took a strip of vintage cream cardstock and stamped the chevron pattern from Good Times. I adhered the strip to separate the two sections of my card.

 I stamped a label from Timeless Tags and hand cut it. Unfortunately I don't have the coordinating die for it. Afterwards, I stamped the sentiment from Craft Shelf and a few buttons on the label. I did it very lightly, it's a little hard to see in this picture though, sorry for that.

I tied a ribbon around the card and added baker's twine and a button from Sew Lovely.

 Well, that's it for me! Head on over to the other DT girls and take a look-see what they have in store for you! Would you like a chance to win this set? All you have to do is leave a comment on The Craft's Meow Store Blog!  Come back tomorrow for more! :)

Thanks for stopping by today! I'll see you again!

Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Party

It's time for a Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Party!!! Every 17th of the month, Claire from Waltzingmouse Stamps hosts a blog party over at the Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog. Everyone is invited to join in and get their WMS stamps inky! 

The theme for this blog party is LOVE and HEARTS. I'm ashamed to say that I still don't own the new WMS heart stamps. I had used up all my budget for the month when the new sets came out. So I have to wait it out until the next month to get them. Hopefully I'll have them in before Valentine's Day!

I used Nordic Spring, Text It, Way Out West, and Compact Sentiments on my card.

 I stamped the heart from Nordic Spring in two colors and layered the red strip onto the brown heart. I heat embossed the woodgrain pattern from Way Out West for my background. I love how that turned out.

I also punched out these leaves/branches. I'm not sure what they are!!! lol! But I thought they looked pretty. :)

Claire is giving away a stamp set for one lucky winner! Come and join the Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Waltz! I can't wait to see how you'll use your love/heart stamps for your project! See you there! 

ps. One more thing before I go! Moxie Fab World is featuring Waltzingmouse Stamps in their "Stamp of Approval" segment today!  Make sure to head on over there for a chance to win some great prizes!!! :)

The Craft's Meow January 2013 Release Previews - Day 1

It's finally time for another release! I love releases! I love using stamp sets for the first time. Specially that moment when you open up your package and start bringing things out onto your craft table. And you get so excited you don't know which one you want to use first! That always happens to me. lol. I also love seeing how the rest of the DT used their stamps in their projects. Also, please help us welcome our guest designer this month, Jennifer Ingle! :)

So welcome to The Craft's Meow January 2013 Release Previews - Day 1! We have some wonderful stamp sets in store for you for the next few days. :) Today we're introducing Beautiful Hymns. 

 I stamped my sentiment on a piece of vintage cream cardstock and added the flowers above and below it. Then I matted that with a light gay polka dot patterned paper. I added a die cut of a branch and a butterfly for contrast and dimension. And also because I just love these dies from Memory Box. :)

I used the flourish image from the set and stamped it around the sentiment to make a beautiful frame for it.

 I added a ribbon and more die cuts to balance out the card.

 That's all I have for today's sneak preview. But I'll be back again tomorrow with more! Make sure to head on over to the other DT members' blogs! There's more inspiration waiting for you there! Thanks for stopping by today! :)

The Craft's Meow January Blog Hop and a SALE!

Hi there! Welcome to The Craft's Meow January Blog Hop! Our theme for this month's Blog Hop is to use TCM Retiring Sets on our cards. If you've just come from Ivana's blog then you are in the right place. If not, please start from The Craft's Meow Store Blog.

I chose I've Got Your Number to use on my card. I know this isn't my usual style, but my friend's miracle premie baby just turned 8 months. (And this was a perfect excuse to try and made a masculine themed card for a little tot.) Their family went through so many things last year and through it all, they're just so happy that little Ollie is doing so well. So I made a card to celebrate his 8th month-sary...or should I say 8th month birthday? I wasn't sure, so I hope this is ok.

For the background, I used Typically Teen. Here's a great comparison by the way on three inks that I've used. Same image, different inks. The red, which turned out to be the smoothest is from Hero Arts Shadow Ink, the light blue is Color Box Chalk Ink, and the navy is from Papertrey Ink.

 By the way, did you know that TCM has a SALE going on? And aside from what's already on sale, Lisa has decided to give you a bit more! Take an additional 15% off the already reduced prices of our retiring stamp sets, many of which have been marked down up to 50% off! The code to enter at checkout is Winter15. The sale goes through 11:59 pm Pacific on Friday, January 11th.

And not only that! She's also offering a prize... a retiring stamp set of choice (in stock only)... drawn from one comment left on the store blog hop post. The competition will go through 9:00 pm Pacific on Wednesday, January 9th.

What are you waiting for?! Come join us for a chance to win! If you're all done here, you can head on over to Jen's blog for more inspiration! Thanks for stopping by today! I'll see you again next time! :)

Tuesday Trigger - Sweet Dreams (and some product recommendations.)

Hello there! Apologies for the long absence. I was still enjoying the after effects of the holidays and was just lazy to make any cards or posts. :) Did any of you feel the same way? Well, after that long hiatus I needed something to spark my creative mojo. So I turned to Moxie Fab World for some inspiration. I have always loved their Tuesday Trigger challenges. It's sad that I haven't been able to join as much as I did before. But I'm hoping I'll have a bit more time these days. So here's Tuesday Trigger - Sweet Dreams.

I decided to pick up the colors of the inspiration photo as well as the patterned theme going on. Here's what I came up with...

 The stamps are from Papertrey Ink - Do Me A Favor Tags, Harvest Berries and Mehndi Medallion Mini. 

 The patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye - Breeze. My new favorite online store is Simon Says Stamp! My only complaint is that shipping takes 2 weeks. :( I think Papertrey Ink has spoiled me because I usually get my packages from them in 3-5 days. Although I usually find everything I'm looking for in Simon Says Stamp, I couldn't find a link to it there. Another MME pad with the same name keeps popping up. Anyway, I got mine at Michael's, by accident actually, I just saw it as I was walking by. My Mind's Eye is my go-to for patterned paper. They are just awesome! :)I don't think I use any other patterned paper as much as I do MME.

Also I wanted to share with everyone something that I've discovered, tried and tested, and LOVE!!!! It's Hero Arts Shadow Inks! By far the best ink I have used! The images dry on smooth and perfect ALL the time! They're specially great for big images that have huge surfaces. Staining is minimal. I have started to collect them and am hoping that they can come up with more colors! So go ahead and give them a try! I'm positive you'll be replacing the inks that you already have with them! :)

 Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back again tomorrow for some TCM love. :)