Hop Over to the Lily Pad to Win Hero Arts

I became a Member of Lily Pad Cards today! Go become a member for a chance to win a collection of Hero Arts stamps. Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, July 15.

This is a new site I've grown to love. The little blue guy is a hoot and there are lots of fun videos and challenges to enjoy. I hope you check it out...you can click on the blue frog and it will take you there. Easy peasy!

OWH & WE R Memory Keepers Event

OWH and We R Memory Keepers have a month-long event planned for July. Be sure to stop by We R Grateful for details and prize info. There are lots of cool prizes with a grand prize cruise. You have until August 5th to send cards to qualify.

For those of you who don't know about OWH, it is an nonprofit organization that sends cards to our deployed troops. These blank handmade cards are made by American crafters (like me) who wish to help the troops stay in touch with home.

It's so worthwhile and rewarding...I hope you'll consider helping!

Magnolia Tilda Summer Stamp Kit 2011

There is much controversy over Magnolia's latest stamp kit for summer 2011. I thought it would be fun to re post the image from our Magnolia Yahoo Group for my visitors to check out and comment.

I have to say, I'm so glad I didn't get around to ordering this kit which would have been the first time for me. Last summer the kit was so much fun with summer stamps from the Bon Voyage collection. Ironically, I visited Magnolia's site and had it in my cart and something stopped me. Boy! I'm really happy as I'd have been very disappointed. They are cute stamps but none are very summery. However, sometimes these unusual stamps net the best cards. I'm still pining for Edwin's Town and Edwin's Fish which I never got around to ordering.

Here are some helpful links I visit so you may explore Tilda's wonderful world:
The Official Magnolia Inspiration Challenge Blog (TOMIC)
Stamp Club Kits
Magnolia's Online Store
Magnolia-Licious Store
Tilda's Town (free shipping)
CC Designs Magnolia Department
7 Kids Kollege Fund Stamp Store

Wowzers...Loads of Card Sketches!!

Looking around the internet today I came across Card Positioning Systems indirectly from OWH and am I tickled. If you're like me, you love sketches or recipes since they make cardmaking so much easier. Haven't tried one yet? Be sure to check this site out and have a look around checking sketches. There are lots to see!

For those of you who are unfamiliar, "sketches" are digital puzzles of a sort that give you a guide to follow when designing a card. Check this one out and you'll understand what I mean:



Each geometric shape represents an element ie. the narrow strip across the middle could be ribbon or lace, the top square a white block with a stamped image, and the 2 background pieces could be patterned paper to coordinate with your image or focal element. I'll toss a quick one together so you can see how it all works! Check back in the a.m. to see what I put together for OWH.

Stamper's Dream Blog Hop

I rarely suggest a bloghop or blog about one (other than OWH) but this one was so enjoyable I wanted to share it with my visitors. If you have a few minutes and want lots of terrific inspiration Stamper's Dream is sponsoring a hop and has some terrific candy to share. Check their blog to get started. I promise, the cards and projects you see are very inspiring!
Here's a peak at their candy:

You have until Thursday, June 16th to comment for a chance to win!

Lily Pad is Tres Cool...a little blue too!!

I used a tiny stamp set from those $1 bins at the craft store for this card!
This cool set of stamps was my first purchase from Papertrey Ink.
I love them and the great dies!
I found a cool place to share...the Lily Pad. I've been enjoying their Youtube videos for ideas for fun quick cards for OWH. The cards are two I made for their challenge which will soon head off to OWH for our troops. I hope you enjoy and take a moment to stop by the Lily Pad too.

I'm A Cover Girl...Woohoo!!!

This cute little card is the cover shot currently at the Yahoo's "Magnolia Card Kit and Swap" group. Thanks to Melanie for adding her! If you want to learn more about the group and join us please be sure to hop on over HERE. If you love Tilda and company you'll want to join us soon!

This card dates to when I was first teaching myself to color with Copics so I won't even go into the color selections! The dock stamp is not a Magnolia stamp and was just quickly stamped on brown Bazzill cardstock. I added a couple simple fish cut from the Cricut Doodlecharms which I pop-dotted and added a bit of twine to make them look to be hanging. Tilda's toes are dipping in a bit of water I deco'd with diamond Stickles. The sun is an ancient Sizzix diecut I purchased on eBay.

That about does it for this post. I hope you'll stop over and join the fun with our little group on Yahoo!

Bling It Emerald Faery Challenge

Hurry over and check out the 2nd challenge on the new Emerald Faery Garden challenge blog. You have until June 15th to upload your entry which could win you a terrific prize. The theme they've chosen for this challenge is "bling".

To "bling" my 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" card up a bit, I added several faux pink crystals with lots of diamond Stickles. The sparkly circle around Ally & Beeble was first given a rub down with a pale pink stamp pad then slathered it in tons of Stickles and allowed to dry. I moved on to my Whimsy Sentiment Tickets which were stamped with Ranger Distress Ink in fired brick and outlined in more Stickles. I handmade the large cardstock rose and gave it a dousing of diamond Stickles too. It always turns out my preferred form of "bling" is wonderful Stickles...I just LOVE the stuff!
To add a little more sparkle and shine I added Glossy Accents to give Beeble some dimension & my pink daisy a dewy look. The wings had a coating of Stickles and Glossy Accents! I used dimensional foam tape and squares to give Ally and my glittery circle a little interest and "lift".
The digi image was colored using the following Copic markers:

skin - E0000, E50, E00, R11, R20
hair - E0000, Y00, YR21
flower - R00, R11, R20, R22, G20, G82, YG00
clothes - B91, B95, C1, C3, RV25
wings - E0000, BG0000, RV000, B00

...a couple tiny Prima rosebuds nicely accent my handmade rose!
I'd also like to enter this in the following challenges:
Crafty Catz #84 Pink & Green Challenge which ends June 2nd.