Thursday, November 29, 2012

[DYSU] Challenge #100 - Thanks


Good morning, DYSU-ers! If you celebrate Thanksgiving last week, did everything come together as planned? I hope so, because we had a lovely fest with friends. In the meantime, we are giving you a chance to say thank you to those that you haven't had a chance to meet...

We are asking you to make something that expresses Gratitude: Time to say Thanks

My little card uses a Little Claire Design image that is just too cute...

Thanks
Stamps: (Mouseflower) Little Claire Designs
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Rustic Cream) Papertrey Ink; (Nightfall Autumn Collection) American Crafts
Ink: N/A
Embellishments: (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor; (Point 88) Stabilo; (Martha Stewart: Writing Pen - Sepia) EK Success; (Nightfall Autumn Collection: Accents & Phrases Stickers, Delights Spice Flowers) American Crafts


I decided to color the mouse and flower in the same hue of the Nightfall Autumn Collection. This way I could try to make a dent into this stash...

Thanks

Quick and easy this time around...You may have ready that we're going to close DYSU done. Yes - the girls were all very sad over this, but we can understand that Alison has her hands full with The Alley Way Stamps store. We are going to finish out the year, so I hope you will join us all the way up to Challenge #104.

I'd like to invite you to hop on over to see the amazing creations by the rest of the DYSU team. Please leave them a loving comment, because they do appreciate some blog love :)

This week's sponsor:

*Free Digital-Stamp Club membership for a year
Read here for more information: http://www.brokenboxstock.com/item/Digi_Stamp_Club/725/c46


Monday, November 26, 2012

[The Ribbon Reel] Challenge #42 - Pastel Christmas


Hello everyone! I'm rounding out my guest designer spot with The Ribbon Reel with my second and last post for this November. It really has been fun creating projects for this group. Keilly and I had a little bit of a mail schedule mishap, so I wasn't able to showcase all of her trims in full glory last time. But this time you get to see some of the beautiful, lovely trim that I received. 

This week we're prepping for Christmas + The Colors (Baby Blue, Pink & Cream) + some Bling. 

I decided to ink up some of my older Brilliance ink pads for this one, and pull up some shimmery blue card stock.

Merry Christmas
Stamps: (Nutcracker Sweet) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Blue Shimmer; Perfect Match Card Stock - Vintage Cream) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (15mm Sheer Ruffle Edge - Pink, Small Pom Pom Trim - Ivory) The Ribbon Reel;
(Brilliance - Pearlescent Orchid; Memento - London Fog) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Nestabilities - Picot Edge Circles) Spellbinders; (Stickles - Baby Blue) Ranger; (Pastel White Gel Pen) American Crafts


I inked up this fun little Christmas tree with some Brilliance pink ink (which in reality isn't as saturated magenta as on this picture). It has a nice shimmer sheen that matches the blue shimmer card stock. The bling to the tree is a bit of baby blue glitter accents. The trim is a combination of two trims from The Ribbon Reel, that layers the Small Pom Pom onto the Sheer Ruffle Edge ribbon.

Merry Christmas

The background is stamped in Versamark with some flourishes. I love the soft but elegant look that the background leaves. The trim is the perfect shade of aqua that I found in my stash. A bit of twine & button topped with a pearl and a beautiful pearl swirl, and the whole card is kinda done. Just a quick, elegant sentiment to tie the whole card together...

Merry Christmas

Make sure to stop by the rest of The Ribbon Reel's team...These girls have a lot of talent! And thank you again, Keilly, for letting me part of this fun experience!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

[Uniko Studio] November 2012 Release Day

Good morning, everyone! What an exciting day for all of us at the Uniko Studio family. If you have been following along Bev's blog, then you've been seeing the many sneak peeks. Are you excited? I am...

For the Digital Product Line up, here are the following goodies being released today...Hold on to your hats, because it's a long list.

Stamps (in .png, .abr files)
  • Holly Jolly Christmas (3 sentiments, 6 different digis, each with different patterns; total: 14 .png files)
  • Sparkling Snowflakes (6 different digis)

Digital Papers & Digital Elements (in .jpg file; all in 12x12, A4, and US Letter format)
  • 'Tis The Season
  • Classic Christmas
  • Classic Winter
  • Eclectic Mix Christmas
  • Eclectic Mix Winter
  • Text Style Christmas
  • Test Style Winter
Each of these papers come usually at least 8 or more designs and some with additional colors; The Christmas collections are color schemed to green & reds (but have unique twists); whereas the Winter collections are color schemed to blues, purples (with also an interesting twist: hello aqua, hello pink!) All quite very lovely...

Cut Files (in .png, .studio, .svg files)
  • Christmas Polaroid (5 polaroids)
  • Decorative Doilies (4 doilies to go with the Stamp Set)
  • Sparkling Snowflakes (6 to go with the above digial stamp set)
  • On The Edge (6 sentiments)
I have a few cards today to show you how I used a variety of these products. I don't have a digital cutter, so I manually cut them (yes, with an X-acto knife). So if you see any manual imperfections or some rough edges and you are a proud owner of a digital cutter, bear in mind that your results will be much nicer, cleaner (and faster!) :)

This first card uses a cut file called "On The Edge." This product comes with six sentiments: Merry, Christmas, Celebrate, Let It Snow, Sparkle, and Winter. I printed off the .png file and manually cut out the sentiment (to give you an idea what it looks like). I combined this with a paper from the Eclectic Mix Christmas collection.


Christmas
Stamps: (Eclectic Mix Christmas, On The Edge) Uniko Studio
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - White) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - White) Recollections
Ink: N/A
Embellishments: (3/8" Basic Narrows Ribbon - Red) Celebrate It; (Rhinestones - Strass) Recollections


After making this previous card, I had a brilliant idea to make a set of these cards as a gift. However, I underestimated the time it took to cut each sentiment. But I hope the idea inspires those (who have a digital cutting machine) that this makes a quick & easy gift. Just a few embellishments here and there - and you have yourself a set to gift (or a bunch of quick cards made up for the approaching holidays).

This one also uses one of the "On the Edge" sentiments combined with the Text Style Christmas digital papers. Instead of putting a little ribbon on the bottom, I decided to punch out some of the woodsey branches out of some very glitttery green paper. Keeps the whole traditional red & green Christmas color scheme in tact...

Merry
Stamps: (Text Style Christmas, On The Edge) Uniko Studio
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - White) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - White) Recollections; (Pow! Soiree Kit) American Crafts
Ink: N/A
Embellishments: (Woodland Branch Punch) Martha Stewart


This next card also showcase "On the Edge" (can you tell what I really liked in this release?) with a combination of Classic Christmas digital papers. I upped the bling on this one by creating the whole sentiment in glitter. Let me just say that this adventure still has me trekking bits of gold glitter through all areas of the apartment. Glitter is quite evil that way (which is why I love the POW! glitter papers), but it came out quite lovely...

Celebrate
Stamps: (Classic Christmas On The Edge) Uniko Studio
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - White) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - White) Recollections
Ink: N/A
Embellishments: (Essential Glitters - Florentine Gold) Martha Stewarts


In case you want to see an up-close look, here is the sentiment in it's full glittery glory (it also hides any messy cutting ;)

Celebrate

For my forth and final project for today, I am showcasing something different other than "On the Edge." Surprise, surprise! How about "Christmas Polaroid"? If you're thinking, "another cut file" then you're right. Polaroid pics have been on the trend watch for a while now (see here or here for some of my favorite products), and I love how they make nice windows. Polaroid frames are great for scrapping, journaling, Project Life, or carding...they add a layer without even trying. See what I mean?

Snow
Stamps: (Holly Jolly Christmas, Christmas Polaroid, Eclectic Mix Winter) Uniko Studio
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Vintage Cream, Shimmer Blue; Stamper's Select Vellum) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Antique Linen) Ranger
Embellishments: (Wood Veneer - Stars) Studio Calico


I cut out the Polaroid picture frame and added the Eclectic Mix Winter paper behind it. To mute the colors within the frame, I also added a layer of vellum. This gives the paper showing through the sentiment a little bit of a contrast. Since we're working with stripes, I thought it'd be fun to give it a matching stripey Christmas tree from Holly Jolly Christmas. The star is a wooden embellishment from my stash.

Snow

I could have played with all of these products without end. I wished I got around to playing around with Sparkling Snowflakes for the release, because I have some interesting silhouette cards in mind. But alas (as the Terminator would say) "I will be back." I hope to post up a few more creations later this week...

Now, please hop on over to the other lovely ladies to see what inspirations they have in store for you...
I hope you like what you're seeing. If you have any questions regarding the cut files or the print files, feel free to email me. Otherwise, I can't wait to see what you create with these great products. Please remember to share on our Uniko Studio Flickr Gallery. If we see a lot of traffic, perhaps we can convince Bev to draw a random prize? Can't promise anything, but we can try ;)

Thursday, November 22, 2012

[Paperplay Challenge] Week 47 - Sweet Angel

Note: If you are looking for DYSU Challenge - please keep scrolling :)

Hi there! It's another fun challenge at Paperplay Challenges. We are getting ready for the winter holidays & Christmas season by making Sweet Angels. One thing I realized is that I actually do not own many angel stamps or digis. I managed to find this one from my digi stash and am so grateful I ran across it.

Peace on Earth
Stamps: (Barry Angle) The Stamp Fairy; (Say It Loud - Winter Holiday) Waltzingmouse Stamps
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Spring Rain) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Card Stock - White) Recollection
Ink: (Memento - Tuxedo Black; Brilliance - Pearlescent Sky Blue) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Premium Ribbon - Baker's Twine) American Crafts; (The Sweetest Thing - Honey "Love" Decorative Tape) My Mind's Eye; (Stamp & Stick Glitter Ultrafine Prisma) Palette; (Point 88) Stabilo; (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor


I colored this cute little bear in the gray & blue color scheme, to make the halo, stars and cloud stand out. What do you think? This angel bear wings is also dusted with some fine iridescent glitter...

Peace on Earth

I decided to give this sentiment a two stamp treatment: stamped the sentiment "Peace" first in black, then with pearlescent blue pigment ink. Then I divided the image and sentiment space with a bit of twine. Lastly, since the card was a little plain, I moved the front panel to the right, and then ran a bit of washi tape along the left.

Peace on Earth

That's all I have for you now. Go see what the other PPC girls did on this challenge. They will absolutely knock your socks off...! Hope you will be playing along with us this week...!

Our sponsor this week:

[DYSU] Challenge #99 - Make it Count


Good morning, DYSU-ers! It's that time of the year...Thanksgiving is today and I am making turkey this year for the first time. Pray that I don't burn down the kitchen, the turkey, or the sides ;) We're going over to friends later today to pop this huge 20-lb bird into their oven. Hopefully by now, the turkey has had all the brining and treatment it needs to be a succulent, juice little bird. 

In the meantime, we have a fun challenge for you today. We are asking you to Make it Count, or add a number to your project.

Birthday 35
Stamps: (Birthday Cupcake) The Paper Shelter; (Leica Add On) Studio Calico + Hero Arts
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Dark Chocolate, Rustic Cream) Papertrey Ink; (Basic Cardstock - White) Recollections
Ink: (Jenni Bowlin - No. 11 Brown Sugar) Ranger
Embellishments: (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor; (Point 88) Stabilo; (Glitter Letter Stickers - Bliss) Dear Lizzy + American Crafts; (Signo White) Uniball; (Corrugated Cardstock) recycled stash; (Impression Plate - Linen) Papertrey Ink; (1 1/2" Round Punch) Marvy Uchida


A bunch of friends just had birthdays, and I am running a little behind, as usual. So I printed off this cupcake and knew this was the perfect image for one of my friends. Since he loves chocolate, I thought a nice ode to chocolate would be this little chocolate cupcake. It is colored with a mixed of color pencils and fine point markers.

Birthday 35

I ran the rustic cream card stock through some linen to give it some texture. The corrugated card stock is from my big box of recycled stash (it's a box where I dump things into that I want to use on cards or scrapbooking, which I should raid more often). And even thought I have a huge rule of "no glitter" on boy cards, I made an exception on this one, since I thought it was very befitting...

Birthday 35

I guess I will see if my guy friend protests the glitter ;)

That's all I have or you now. I'd like to invite you to hop on over to see the amazing creations by the rest of the DYSU team. Please leave them a loving comment, because they do appreciate some blog love :)

This week's sponsor:
* Winner's Choice of 4 Images

*$20 gift certificate

*Winner's Choice of 5 Digis

Thursday, November 15, 2012

[Little Tangles] Challenge #1 - Hello

Note: If you are looking for DYSU Challenge - please keep scrolling :)

Hi there! Today is an exciting day, because our first Little Tangles challenge is going live. I missed out on the brilliant blog hop that happened on Nov 1, when the announcement went live, but I am happy to finally be part of the team.

So without further ado, here the introduction to our first challenge


I am showcasing a few of Danielle's brilliant stamp sets with this challenge; actually three, but who is counting ;) Let me know if you can spot them right off the bet...

Just Saying Hi
Stamps: (Little Tangles, Kindness Matters, Just Hello) Neat & Tangled
Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - White) Papertrey Ink
Ink: (Jenni Bowlin - No. 1 Chewing Gum, No. 2 Cough Syrup, No. 14 Speckled Egg) Ranger; (Memento - London Fog, Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko
Embellishments: (Inkssential Glossy Accents) Ranger; (Mister Huey - Mint Julep) Studio Calico; (Duo Washi Tape - Hinter'n Horizont) Scrapbook Werkstatt; (Indie Chic "Pictures" Tapes) My Mind's Eye


I was trying to create my own huge washi tape strip by stamping off the chevrons from Little Tangles. I colored in using inks & water for the diluted water color effect. Ripped (uncleanly) the piece of washi stamped paper to give it that washi tape effect and then started layering by either washi taping something down, or stamping those cute border hearts...

The specks of paint is from Mister Huey Mint Julep. I thought it was quite befitting to the whole color scheme...

Just Saying Hi

Easy, peasy card... :) Hope you like it. And we hope that you will play along.
So what are you waiting? :) This is at stake...


In the meantime, go hop on over to my other teammates creation. It will get anyone's mojo flowing... ;)

A few helpful things to remember:

  • Challenge ends Nov 25, 2012, 11:59p EST
  • Prize is ONE Neat & Tangled Stamp set of your choice
  • Neat & Tangled stamps are not required on your entry, but we would love to see you use them. If you would like to use some Neat & Tangled products but haven't had a chance to buy any, we have a couple of freebies on the Little Tangles site. Enjoy!


    [DYSU] Challenge #98 - Rainbow


    Good morning, DYSU-ers! I'm back! Miss me? ;) I missed you! It's been a long haul here in New Jersey. Lots have been fixed, but there is still so much repair to be done.

    Today I am showcasing some delicious Uniko Studio digital products.


    Hey
    Stamps: (Eclectic Summer Mix, English Country Garden) Uniko Studio
    Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Sweet Blush) Papertrey Ink
    Ink: N/A
    Embellishments: (Stamper's Select Vellum) Papertrey Ink; (Soft-core Color Pencils) Prismacolor; (Point 88) Stabilo; (Elf Chipboard Letters Stickers) American Crafts + Studio Calico; (Signo White) Uniball


    I printed off this gorgeous butterfly on top of the Eclectic Summer Mix and colored it in with two mediums: color pencils and fine-tip pens. I was going for a stained glass but colorful polka-dotted butterfly. After all this is a rainbow challenge, and I thought the spirit of it all is to have as many colors as possible!

    Since I didn't want the background's colors to fight with the butterfly I pulled some trusty vellum to help mute the colors. Brilliant, isn't it, what a little bit of opaque layering can do. I must remember this more often. And I bet one can mess around with monotonic themes quite well with vellum...note to self... but I digress...

    Hey

    Another quick element to tie this together was a little bit of faux white stitching along the vellum as well as putting together a quick sentiment with thickers.

    Hey

    That's all I have or you now. I'd like to invite you to hop on over to see the amazing creations by the rest of the DYSU team. Please leave them a loving comment, because they do appreciate some blog love :)

    This week's sponsor:

    * $20 Gift Certificate


    *£15 gift certificate

    Tuesday, November 13, 2012

    Updates, Announcements & Catching Up

    Hello everyone - what a crazy whirlwind of days. As you can see, I have managed to start posting again, but I thought I better post up a summary of what's been going on. 

    First things first - we weathered Hurricane Sandy and we have power. We count ourselves quite lucky and blessed since we didn't have any damages (although our place is surrounded by trees). Others were not as lucky. I have heard of garages, cars and other parts of their houses being damaged...and many are still without power. It was especially trying, since we knew a cold front was coming our way in the form of a snow storm! Some people were barely back with power, and gone it was again. 

    The most amazing part of all this is watching the power line trucks pull 24/7 shifts. I have seen trucks from Florida (Thank you, FPL), Illinois (Thank you, Amaren), Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and many more.

    Let me just say, many of these crew men themselves were restoring powers to other people's home when they themselves didn't have any at home. My neighbor who works for PSE&G was in charge of coordinating all the out of town crews. He'd leave at 6a and come back past 1030p. That is dedication...

    I am still weeding through pictures, but when I am have them done, I will have to post a few up.

    Ok in the meantime here a quick update and set of announcements on what I missed on blog land:


    Vera is hosting a lovely card drive. This is Year 3 that Vera is hosting this, and I have been the lucky recipient of those beautiful cards, that I can bring to the Assisted Living Pavilion at Forrestal. It's a cause and tradition that I hope will continue on for many years to come with Vera's dedication and all of your help. I had to sit out on the wonderful blog hop, but please check it out to get inspired to make a few winter holiday and Christmas cards.

    If you haven't heard, I am also guest designing this month with The Ribbon Reel. I hope you can join me and these fabulous girls!

    And if you haven't heard...the final blog-o news that I missed out on, yours truly is a Design Team member for the Little Tangles team.


    The Little Tangles team is the perfect challenge complement to the Neat & Tangled (big sister) team. We hope to bring you lots of inspiration and fun challenges. We had a blog hop (which I had to missed), but please check it out, because there is plenty of inspiration! I hope you will join us in our first (of many) challenges on Nov 15th!

    Lastly, to my Smallhanded Question, Answer & Create challenge... I ran into a slight technical problem (le sigh). I used Blogger's poll widget, made the mistake of opening the widget and then canceling out of the menu. Before you know it, all the data (and people who participated in the poll survey) was wiped. So I am currently looking for another widget - a better one - where this won't happen! And then we'll have another go at it. I hope you will you come join me? :)

    Monday, November 12, 2012

    [The Ribbon Reel] Challenge #41 - Crochet


    Hello everyone! My first post back since Hurrican Sandy... and I'm here with a treat for you. I'm here guest designing with The Ribbon Reel. Keilly and the rest of the team have been so generous to offer me a spot. This challenge demands (Crochet Lace or Crochet Flower) + Button + (Ribbon or Lace). 

    So I decided to try my hand at creating a lace dress as a card for a wedding greeting card.

    Best Wishes
    Stamps: (You're Lovely, Fancy Flourishes & Scallops & Dots, Big Day Additions) Waltzingmouse Stamps
    Paper: (Paper Basics Card Stock - Dark Chocolate, Aqua Mist) Papertrey Ink
    Ink: (Versamark) Tsukineko; (Jenni Bowlin - No. 11 Brown Sugar) Ranger;
    Embellishments: (Lace Tape - White, Cream) Decollections; (Vintage Button - Dark Chocolate; Bakers Twine - Dark Chocolate) Papertrey Ink; (5th Avenue - Sophia Trims) Making Memories; (Precision Pen 05 - Brown) American Crafts; (Crystal Stickers - Pearls) Mark Richards; (Say It With Crystals - Swirls Cream) Prima Marketing


    I inked up a piece of scrap card stock and stamped on the dress. Then I layered the crochet trim one row by row on with the cream, and the top with the white. Brilliantly, the top corset portion is the same as on the dress form, so I was able to stamp off the top part of the wedding dress with it. Then I carefully inked the crochet lace again with the ink and added some pearls to the top.

    Best Wishes

    The background is stamped in Versamark with some flourishes. I love the soft but elegant look that the background leaves. The trim is the perfect shade of aqua that I found in my stash. A bit of twine & button topped with a pearl and a beautiful pearl swirl, and the whole card is kinda done. Just a quick, elegant sentiment to tie the whole card together...

    Best Wishes

    Make sure to stop by the rest of The Ribbon Reel's team...These girls are a whole lot of talent! And thank you again, Keilly, for letting me part of this fun experience!


    And since Linda over at Catered Crop is having an "Arsenic & Old Lace Recipe Swap" challenge, I would like to add my little card into this challenge round. Thanks for peeking!

    Catered Crop

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