Card Makin' Mamas - Anything Goes

Woohoo! The new challenge at Card Makin' Mamas Challenge Blog is Anything Goes!

Colored up with Distress Markers. Love these Autumn colors!

(12/13/2012 It appears that Squiggle Stamps is no longer in business.)

Thanks for stopping by!

Inky hugs,
Angi

Great Impressions - Masking the Mouse

Snowed last night.

 Only flurries, but the temperature dropped and out came the wool sweater and slippers! Guess it's time to dig in and get to some serious crafting in the studio!

One of my favorite things about using stamps is the ability to combine images by masking. Once you know how to layer your images (foreground to background), you can customize any project by mixing and matching.

This card uses two Great Impressions Stickables for the scene:

Harvest Mouse (F169)

Mailboxes (G465)

and part of the Just For You (C370) Stickable for the sentiment.

When I first saw Harvest Mouse I thought he should be gifting this sweet pumpkin to a friend...now he is! First I stamped Harvest Mouse. Make a mask by stamping on a sticky note (make sure part of the image is actually on the sticky part. Just sayin'.) and then trim out the image.

Place the sticky note image over your stamped image. Ink up the Mailboxes and stamp it once on the left. Ink it up again and stamp on the right. Lift up the mask and ta-da!

Harvest Mouse is on his way to the Mailboxes!

The edges are sprinkled with Frantage Bronzed Mica Fragments. I love the vintage glam. It's hard to see in photos, but I used Spica Pens to add shimmer here and there, too.

That little strip was a leftover from trimming the front panel. Works great here!

Time for a refill on my hot chocolate. There's still time to enter the monthly challenge. Can't wait to visit you!

Inky hugs,

Angi

WOYWW #26 (177) - A Mess & A Card

Gasp! It's been 4 months since I've posted a What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday...I had to do a search to find my last WOYWW pictures! (It was a good one...Anniversary ATC reveal.) I have missed  visiting Miss Julia Dunnit in all her queenly craftiness...and those that follow her. Sigh. Be sure to visit the WOYWW posts for a lovely adventure into crafty spaces. (You know you can't just visit one!)

Lately, the time I've had in the studio has been late at night, working mostly on design team projects. As soon as the project's done it's time to take pictures, edit, write the post, then sleep, get up and go to work the next morning. Not a lot of time lately to clean up...proof in the pictures:

The good news is that I'm still making stuff.

Thanks to my sweet hubby who takes care of dinner on those nights (sometimes with help from the awesome kiddos that reside here!)

Tomorrow "clean flat surfaces in the studio" is a priority!

I'm looking forward to reorganizing. The weather has turned cold and I'm feeling the need to clear space for holiday projects!

Here's a card that came from the mess that I created for the Card Makin' Mamas Challenge Blog...

The front of the pop up card.

 The bat is embossed. Love that Smash tape.

Sigh. Yes, the pop up is a little crooked. Another late night project/photo/edit. Didn't catch it in this photo. Obviously.

Close up of the clear embossed bat.

More Smash tape. It makes me happy.

This is Digital Delights Vampire Pippin. A not crooked pop up. The cobwebs are clear embossed, too.

It's 2300. That's 11:30pm. Time for me to get to the sleep portion of my day!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Inky hugs,

Angi

And the winners are...

Happy Tuesday! Hello, to my new followers!

Thank you so much for the lovely comments and tweets you wrote for the Echo Park & Great Impressions Stamps Blog Hop! It was so much fun to hop along, read the comments & tweets and visit YOUR blogs, too.

I'm pleased to announce my Echo Park & Great Impressions Stamps Blog Hop winners!


The winner of her choice of (one) Echo Park Collection Kit...

♥   #91 - Carla said "adorable bags! I love the design and of course, the papers!"

The winner of a set of Great Impressions holiday Stamps...

♥   #97 - Andrea said "Very cute bags, love the toppers with twine."

Congratulations! I've contacted the winners (check your email!) with instructions.

For a complete list of winners (and more crafty inspiration!) visit the Great Impressions Stamps blog!

Inky hugs,

Angi

Great Impressions - Pumpkin Envie, Got Your's?

The Echo Park and Great Impressions Stamps blog hop is still open! Find the details in THIS POST.

Now that the leaves are turning, I'm thinking about pumpkin pie and and homemade mashed potatoes (not together! lol) Lots of people in our daily lives to show some appreciation to: teachers, crossing guards, postman (or woman), coworkers, that thoughtful person at Starbucks who asks you if you want your 'regular' (that can't be just me...that's a chai creme frappucino with soy, whip and now pumpkin sauce, thank you!)

With friends and family scattered across the globe, gift cards are a lovely alternative, but they can be a little low on the 'WOW' factor when you receive/give one, right?

Spoiler: I'm planning on giving quite a few gift cards this year! ;)

How about a decorated envie (aka envelope) to dress up that drab little card?

Cardstock stickers have become a new favorite of mine. Alphas and sentiment stickers, especially!

The faux scallop border was made using punched circles and scrap patterned paper. I added glitter to the pumpkin tag and to the scallops. I attached cardstock to the top and bottom side of the flap.

(What's normally the back of the envelope is the front of my gift card dressing!)

I prefer not to leave the inside of my cards nekkid.

(Yep, I know it's misspelled...hiding from the nasty searches...)

Same went for my envie! I used Pumpkin Flourish (F500) to stamp the die cut tag and the inside.

The A2 envelope is large enough to hold multiple gift cards, a handmade card, money, even a wrapped cookie! (My 9 year old made a German version of Mexican wedding cookies today (are those really Mexican?). ..they were so yummy!)

Have you entered our Monthly Challenge - Fall? There's still time to link up your project!

What are you doing to make your gifts a little more special?

Inky hugs,

Angi

Playing along with these challenges:

Oozak - Die Cuts

Frilly and Funkie - Anything But a Card with a Twist

Catered Crop - Circle Round

Simon Says Stamp & Show - Your Favorite

Great Impressions Stamps & Echo Park Hop

Welcome to the Great Impressions Stamps and Echo Park Paper Design Team Blog Hop!

Today the Echo Park Paper Design Team and Great Impressions Stamps Design Team are showcasing projects from our latest collections. You should have arrived here from Lowri's blog...if you did you're right on track! If not, be sure to follow the blog hop list at the end of this post as you hop from one blog to the next, so you don't miss anything! ONE winner will be selected from EACH blog to receive an Echo Park Paper collection kit of their choosing, and a set of two stickable stamps from Great Impressions Stamps. To qualify for the drawing for the Echo Park kit and Great Impressions Stamps, comments will be due by midnight EST, Sunday, October 21st. The winner will be announced on each blog Monday, October 22nd, so be sure to check back to see if you've won! With Halloween just around the corner, the holiday season is about to be in full swing. It's not too early to start thinking and making Christmas projects! This project started out as an advent calendar. I love counting down to something fun! As I started making up the bags, I realized these little decorated bags would also be great for giving gift cards, candy...anything that doesn't require a full gift bag, but needs some dressing up! I used the Echo Park Very Merry line for these cute bags! (These brown paper bags are smaller than regular lunch sacks. I picked these up at Costco awhile back.) I'm not usually one for stickers, but these EP cardstock stickers were perfect to layer over the patterned papers.! These Great Impressions Christmas Stamps topped off the gift bags with a bit of color and glitter!  Magical Deer (H220) Jingle Reindeer (G438) Jolly Snowman (H215) a Rafflecopter giveaway Thanks so much for stopping by! Your next stop on the hop is Mary! The Design Teams List * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Echo Park Paper Kandis Erin  Wendy Sue Jenny Susan Sue K. Lowri Angela - You are here. ♥ Mary Linda Shanna Tamara Jennifer Great Impressions Stamps Enjoy the hop! Inky hugs, Angi

Card Makin' Mamas - Halloween or Spooky Challenge

Time for a new challenge at Card Makin' Mamas - Spooky or Halloween cards! This challenge is sponsored by Digital Delights.

This card is a pop-up! Who doesn't love an interactive card?! The embossed trees panel is a patterned paper. I added the purple bat using metallic purple embossing powder. The washi tape is always a fun addition, too!

And the inside...yep, the pop-up is a little bit wonky, but I think it adds to the card! lol

I repeated the embossed bat motif on the inside. This bat is clear embossed.

This chubby-cheeked mouse is Digital Delights - Pippin. Don't you want to pinch his cheeks?

I stamped the spider web onto the tombstone and clear embossed it.

More spider webs and washi tape!

Inky hugs,

Angi

Great Impressions - Blessings Abound

[ETA: Sorry, folks! This post should have gone live 0600 this morning. Not sure what happened, but hitting the 'publish' button right now! Inky hugs!]

I just love Release Week at Great Impressions Stamps! Lots of inspiration and fun stuff! I'm waving today from my hotel in Burlington, NC.

((( Hi, Everyone! )))

Hubs and I are on a business/pleasure trip. This week I have been thinking about how blessed I am to be able to work and play with truly wonderful people...and wouldn't you know it, Great Impressions Stamps had the perfect stamps for me this week!

Isn't this Sunflower Background (G472) stamp, just gorgeous? It's stamped on kraft cardstock in Versamark Watermark ink, embossed in copper and then colored with Copics. I used it several times on this tag. See the stamped image on the distressed heart? It's also stamped in Versamark Watermark ink. Versamark produces a tone-on-tone effect, if you just let it dry after stamping. (It does take a little longer to dry than regular dye inks.)

Can you see where else I used the Sunflower Background stamp?

Look along the top edge of the tag. This time it's stamped with Versamark and then embossed with clear powder. Love it!

The Blessings (D452) sentiment is also part of this release and just what this tag needed. I forgot to write down what paper I used, but I think it's a Simple Stories line...added a little torn muslin and a few tiny staples and ribbons to finish it off.

I think I may have to make a few more of these along with a few loaves of something yummy. Are you in the baking mood? Fall is in the air!

Inky hugs,

Angi

Great Impressions October Challenge - Fall

Happy Sunday! (I know I say "Happy ___day" a lot. Most of the time it is!) The October Challenge on the Great Impressions Stamps blog is up! Have you had a chance to stop by and see the inspiration? The theme is "Fall" and the Design Team had some fun to share!

I like to put together little treats for my kids' teachers for Halloween. Pillow boxes are a cute way to gift  candy.

I used vellum and a couple of punches to showcase these Great Impressions Halloween stamps:

Ghoulish (F501)

Spooky Tree (G432)

You can enter the monthly challenge for a chance to win your own Great Impressions Stamps!

Inky hugs,

Angi

World Card Making Day 2012

Happy World Card Making Day!

I know. It's 10:20pm, tomorrow on the East Coast. Well, better late than never, right? I hope that you had a great day with lots of inspiration and fun! I had a chance to stop by a few sites while I was waiting on uploads and edits.

Did you travel the World Card Making Day 2012 blog tour ? I'm going to visit a few more blogs tomorrow.

I have been riding the forever long roller coaster of learning today. iMovie, YouTube, PSE, Blogger stuff, putting together furniture and more...

So, without much fanfare...the Autumn Leaves tutorial - a (pseudo) video tutorial for your viewing pleasure!

Really, it's my first video, so I'd appreciate any feedback, especially if you have a favorite tutorial on how to use iMovie, how to set up a filming area (lights?), etc. No more slideshows. Reality TV all the way, Baby!

Want to see what you can use this cardstock for? I used this same technique to color cardstock for leaves that I die cut and used on THIS card.

Inky hugs,
Angi

Card Makin' Mamas - Fall is Here!

I just spent the last 20 minutes typing up this post...sigh...clicked 'save', left the page to check on a link, came back and...poof!...the post was gone! So frustrating...

I think the blog move may be closer than I thought!

Anyhoo...I've got some good news to share!
I'm one of the new Design Team members of the

Card Makin' Mamas (CMM) Challenge Blog!

Challenges are posted on Friday, twice a month with an inspiration post in between.

The current challenge "Fall is Here" is sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps.

I've used Stella - Birthday Reaper.

Isn't she feisty? Definitely my version of a "Red Hat" lady!

She's been colored with Copics and glossy accents have been added to her glasses and the blade.

Gatefold card (did you expect anything else? lol) held closed by her scythe. Sparkle added with Spica pens to the cake frosting, flowers and her shoes.

Check out the sentiment...so true, right?!

Stop by the CMM blog, check out the other DT members projects and then play along! Looking forward to seeing your projects!

Inky hugs,

Angi

Great Impressions - Creative Notebook

Do you ever have one of those crazy creative ideas in the middle of the night? I keep notebooks on my nightstand, in my purse, in my car...just in case. I know if I don't write an idea down as soon as possible, when I get a chance to make something I'll have forgotten that great idea.

The other day, I had an idea...

It involved the Great Impressions Stamp Very Creative (G439),

a few Copics, a Spica Pen or two, and some paper scraps...

a rub-on and a notebook!

Can't have too many of these. They make great gifts. I've been having fun using up paper scraps, stamps and orphaned rub-ons and stickers to make a few more notebooks.

Choosing colors for this project was easy-peasy...used The Color Throwdown Challenge this week:

(If you've been looking for my leaf tutorial for the leaves on THIS card

and my RMH card, stop by my blog on Saturday...)

Okay, I'm off to clean up the studio...after all this Saturday is World Card Making Day!

Inky hugs,

Angi

Playing along in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp - Glimmer & Sparkle
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes