Creativity is a central source of meaning in our lives---when we are involved in it, we feel that we are living more fully than during the rest of life.

Saturday, December 22, 2012

12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop with Sean and Regina



WELCOME TO THE DECEMBER “12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS” BLOG HOP!
Hello everyone!  Happy Holidays from everyone at the Blog Hop for Sean & Regina!  Thank you for playing along in our December blog hop!  The Blog Hop with Sean & Regina features Gina K. Designs stamps only for our monthly blog hops!  
This month, we are featuring the “12 Days of Christmas”.  Each blog hop designer will be hosting a day from December 13 – December 24 that will feature Christmas/Holiday cards from a Gina K. Designs stamp set.  A list of blog hop designers are listed in this post with the day they will be hosting.  You are invited to take part in each of the twelve days. Subscribe and comment on the hop designer’s blog hop for the day and at the end, the person who has completed the entire twelve days will win a wonderful GINA K. DESIGNS PRIZE PACK! 
Enjoy yourself as you hop along for the holidays!  
OUR BLOG HOP PRIZE!
A Gina K. Designs Prize Pack including:
  • Gina K. Designs stamp set
  • Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury card stock
  • Gina K. Designs pattern paper
  • Brads
  • Ribbon
  • Embellishments  
I love Christmas and make quite a few different cards, so I thought I'd share three of them with you today. The first one was inspired by this video Gina did on Stamp TV. I changed up the colors but used the same embossing technique. The card base is GKD Pure Luxury Kraft layered with Pure Luxury Cherry. The patterned paper is some old Stampin' Up that I had from a couple of Christmases ago. The stamps are from the Stamp TV kit set called Merry Little Christmas. I stamped the Fa La La with Memento Rhubarb Stalk, clear embossed the trees and went over them with Memento Toffee Crunch. The sentiment is also stamped with Rhubarb Stalk and sponged with Toffee Crunch. A fairly straightforward card but one of my favorites of the bunch I made this year. Note that I try to keep embellishments to a minimum on these cards so they mail more easily.


This card was made using GKD Pure Luxury Pure White base weight layered with patterned paper from the GKD patterned paper pack "Blizzard." Then I layered with another piece of white that had been die cut and embossed with the Edgelits and Textured Impressions "Adorning Accents" from SU. The stamp set is Simple Snowflakes that I stamped using Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Festive Berries and Iced Spruce. On either side of the red strip I used 1/8" scor tape that I covered with glitter to add some bling. I love it that by using clear stamps I could curve the text along the embossing line!


Finally, another quick and simple card, this time using the Holiday Tags set. The card base is Pure Luxury Red Hot and the patterned paper is again some old SU I had in my stash. I stamped the little figures in Memento black and did minimal coloring with Copics. The snowflakes and tag were stamped with Vivid ink in Brick and the sentiment with Vivid ink in Taupe. Don't you just love those adorable little figures from this set??

I hope you enjoyed seeing a few of my holiday cards. Thanks for visiting and now . . .
LET'S GET HOPPING..... 
Now it is your turn to blog hop with all of our friends!   
The rules are simple:
  1. Visit each participating blog on the list below from December 13 – December 24.  
  2. Leave a comment for the blog host designer.
  3. Become a follower of each participating blog.
If you follow rules 1 – 3, you will be eligible to win the grand prize of a Gina K. Designs Prize Pack.
At the end of the hop, a random winner will be chosen for the Blog Hop Grand Prize using comments and followers from each blog. We will be posting the winner a day or so after the holidays!   
The blog hop designer this month and the designated date they are hosting are as follows:

12/13 Regina Hardy http://cardsbyregina.blogspot.com

12/14 Nancy Leppek
http://scrapperatheart.com

12/15 Patti Gilliam
http://www.cherisheachpreciousday.blogspot.com

12/16 Cheryl Wright
http://ideasforcardmaking.net

12/17 Lori McAree
http://smilingwhilestamping.blogspot.com

12/18 Penny O'Dell
http://pennyskrafts.blogspot.com

12/19 Alex Turner
http://prettypaperandinkyfingers@blogspot.co.uk

12/20 Suzanne Dean
http://scrapbitz.blogspot.com

12/21 Kyra Sanders
http://bunnynest.blogspot.com

12/22 Kay Simmons
http://livinlifeinthecreativelane.blogspot.com

12/23 Donna Bowman
http://thecraftycorgi.blogspot.com

12/24 Sean Fetterman
http://cardcraftyclub.blogspot.com


Please leave a comment for the blog hop design and sign up/follow each hop designer to be eligible to win the Gina K. Designs Prize Pack!

Tomorrow, Donna Bowman will be posting the next in the “12 Days of Christmas” blog hop!  Please visit her blog at: http://thecraftycorgi.blogspot.com

Have very Happy Holidays wherever you may be and whatever you may be celebrating! Peace and blessings to you this holiday season and in the new year!

Monday, December 17, 2012

Stamp TV CSS Holiday Inspiration Hop

Happy Holidays! Welcome to the CSS Alumni blog hop for December. This time our hop is a color combo hop, although the challenge Linda gave us was to create holiday cards without using any red or green; in other words, no traditional holiday colors.

If you came here from Joy's lovely blog, you are on the right path. If you didn't come via her blog and want to go through the whole hop, jump back over to Stamp TV where you will find the whole list of people participating.

I had a hard time with this challenge at first since I was in the groove of making my holiday cards and was using traditional colors. Once I got going on it, however, I was inspired and ended up making three cards! Here they are:

This first one is purple, black and silver using Gina K Designs Pure Luxury black onyx and vibrant violet along with silver sparkly paper from Stampin' Up. The stamp set is the Stamp TV kit "City of David" set.

This second one is black, white and silver using Gina K Designs Pure Luxury black onyx, pure white and the silver from Stampin' Up. The stamp set used is from Gina K Designs called "Blessed is the Season." The text is stamped in black and the dove is embossed with clear embossing powered. Then I went over it with Memento Gray Flannel to make the dove pop.


My final card is blue and silver using Gina K Designs Pure Luxury In the Navy and the sparkly silver paper from Stampin' Up. The trees and sentiment are embossed in silver and I added the stars or snowflakes (whichever you prefer them to be! LOL!) were created by making glue dots with a glue pen and the using Stampin' Up "Dazzling Diamonds" glitter. I added gray rhinestones for a bit of extra bling -- although if you look closely in the photo they seem to have picked up a reflection of red from something nearby when I took the picture.



Thanks for joining the hop today! Be sure to comment here and be sure to leave a comment on each blog as you hop along because on Friday morning (December 21), we will randomly choose one of the comments from all the blogs and that person will receive a huge grab bag of fabulous Gina K. Designs Stamps!


Now hop on over to Karen's blog to see what she has made in non-traditional holiday colors!

Friday, November 16, 2012

Christmas/Winter Wishes Hop with Sean and Regina


WELCOME TO THE NOVEMBER “CHRISTMAS/WINTER WISHES” BLOG HOP!
Hi everyone!  Thanks for playing along in our November blog hop!  The Blog Hop with Sean & Regina will now be featuring Gina K. Designs stamps only for our monthly blog hops starting this month!  A lot of us have started to create our holiday cards.  There are some amazing new stamp sets by Gina K. Designs that were released in October and we are sure to be inspired in the upcoming November release as well!  
This month, we are honored that we are joined by Rebecca Oehlers, a Gina K. Designs Illustrator who has created some beautiful stamp sets for Gina K. Designs available in the Stamp TV Store!
The blog hop designers have been busy creating a card or cards that we hope will inspire you to create some beautiful Christmas and winter themed cards for your family and friends.  Enjoy yourself as you hop along for the holidays!  
OUR BLOG HOP SPONSOR!

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Becky Oehlers is a member of the Gina K. Designs Illustrator Team! Becky’s style is really fun, crisp and clean.  They are used to make wonderful cards with just the right message or can be used to add some fun to your scrapbooking pages.  In addition, Becky is one of the best card designers and artists in the craft world.  Go to Becky’s blog to look at the great things she has been up to AND view the card samples she has created with her newest stamp set “Mistletoe Memories” that was released yesterday during the Stamp TV October Release Party.  Becky’s blog address is: http://hemidemisemiquaverdesignblog.com/
Here is the card I made for the hop. It is a somewhat different style than I usually make. I tend more toward the 'clean and simple' type cards, but this one just seemed to need more layers and action! I hope you like it!


This card was made using Becky's set, "Mistletoe Memories." I used Gina K Designs Pure Luxury card stock and patterned paper, including White, Warm Cocoa, Cherry Red and Dark Sage along with "Merry Little Christmas" patterned paper. I embossed the base with the Cuttlebug folder called "Mistletoe Kisses." I used the text stamp and the Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays stamps to create the rectangle and square layers. The rest of the pieces are stamps from the Mistletoe Memories set including the 'mistletoe memories' circle, the 'sealed with a kiss' sentiment and the mistletoe and berries. All ink used on the card is Memento.

I had fun making this rather non-traditional holiday card. I hope you enjoyed seeing it. And now . . .
LET'S GET HOPPING..... 
It is your turn to blog hop with all of our friends!   
The rules are simple:
  1. Visit each participating blog on the list below.  
  2. Leave a comment for the blog host designer.
  3. Become a follower of each participating blog.
If you follow rules 1 – 3, you will be eligible to win the grand prize of a Becky Oehlers stamp set for Gina K. Designs.
At the end of the hop, a random winner will be chosen for the Blog Hop Grand Prize using comments and followers from each blog. We have decided to keep the hop open from Friday – Monday.  We do this because some people that want to participate need more time to get through the entire hop. 
The deadline for leaving comments is Monday, November 19 at 8pm CST.  The winner will be chosen and announced on Tuesday, November 20, 2012
The blog hop designer this month are as follows:

Sean Fetterman 
Regina Hardy
Lee Murphy
Becky Oehlers
Lori McAree
Kyra Sanders (Ky)
Kay Simmons
Penny O’Dell
Ina Grehan
Sherian Dixon

Please leave a comment for the blog hop designers and sign up/follow each hop designer to be eligible to win the grand prize stamp set!

Thank you for visiting my blog.  Now, go to Penny's blog at:


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Show Me The Stamps Holiday Kick Off Blog Hop


Welcome to the Show Me the Stamps holiday kick off.  Several of the Gina K Designs Illustrators have brought together their design teams and guests for a lineup of fun and exciting things to share using their stamps. We also want to help you celebrate the holidays in style with some Gina K Designs stamps!

PRIZE #1: For this hop the Gina K Designs Illustrators will be giving away a $50 gift certificate to the Gina K Designs store!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on each Illustrator’s blog.

Want an extra entry?
Become a blog follower of any of the illustrators and leave a comment letting them know you did. That’s up to 8 chances to win if you become a follower of each illustrator and leave a comment!!

You can find the complete list of Gina K Design Illustrators participating on Theresa Momber’s blogBe sure to read below to find out how to win a Prize #2!
Here are the cards I made for the hop. Both were made using Theresa's newest set called "Joyful Holiday". This is such a fun set to play with because there are so many different options for making very different cards. My first card is made using Gina K Designs Pure Luxury Cherry Red as the base. I layered PL Dark Chocolate on that and then used a piece of patterned paper from the newest Gina K Patterned Paper Pack, "Merry Little Christmas." I did a free hand cut around the tree, used some Liquid Pearls to decorate it and then popped it up on the cherry red die cut.
 My second card is a bit more whimsical. I started with a white card base (GKD Pure Luxury White) and layered with GKD Pure Luxury Blue Raspberry and Red Hot. I stamped the ornaments onto the red layer with versamark and embossed with Winter Wonderland EP from Stampendous. Love that EP because it is white with silver mixed in so it is sparkly. I put silver brads through the top of each ornament to hold the silver cord in place and the put the cords up over the top of the red layer. Added some bows and the fun patterned paper layer from the Gina K Designs pack, "Winter Whimsy" to finish it off.
I hope you enjoyed seeing my cards made with Theresa's fun holiday set. Here is your chance to win another prize.
PRIZE #2Theresa will personally be sending out a Vogue Vases 2 Clear Stamp Set to someone who comments on our blogs as well. Here is the complete list of Theresa’s designers...

Kay Simmons (you are here!)

When you get done be sure that you hop on over to Theresa Momber’s Blog to get the complete list of Gina K Designs Illustrators participating and enter for a chance to win that $50 gift certificate!

Deadline to enter for the gift certificate drawing is 5pm Central time on Thursday. November 15, 2012—release party day! AND just in time for someone to do some exciting release party shopping when the new stamps become available at 7pm!

Friday, November 9, 2012

CSS November Inspiration Hop

I can hardly believe it is November and time for another CSS blog hop! Where does time go?? The holidays are nearly upon us, and I am in no way ready yet!

I hope our hop today will inspire you to make some cards for the fall holidays. You should have come here from Karen's blog, which is always filled with inspiration. If you didn't, you can go back to Stamp TV and start at the beginning of the hop.

Our hop this time is based on these inspiration photos.

Aren't they lovely? Definitely very fall/thanksgiving oriented but not traditional colors. I was inspired to make these two cards based on the colors, pumpkins, and overall fall theme of the photos.


This one is very CAS, which isn't my usual style, but I was inspired by the photos to do something very clean. The base is Gina K Designs Pure Luxury base weight ivory that I scored along the sides and top and bottom. I used a layer of Pure Luxury Good as Gold and stamped the pumpkins on a piece of Pure Luxury layering weight ivory, which I also scored as a way to emphasize the greeting. The pumpkins and greeting are from the Gina K Designs set called So Grateful by Rupa Shevda. I stamped the pumpkins and the little flourish with versa mark and embossed them in gold (the flourish is from the GKD set Seasonal Labels). I colored the pumpkins a bit with Copics and that was it. Quick and easy, but I really like the way it turned out.


This card used stamps from several Gina K Designs sets: The basket is from Holiday Basket by Melanie Muenchinger; the pumpkins are from Heartfelt by Theresa Momber; and the leaves and acorns are from A Year of Borders by Melanie (I cut it apart to make it fit the basket and to go on top of the pumpkins. The base is GKD Pure Luxury Dark Chocolate with a layer of Pure Luxury Ivory on top that was embossed with the Cuttlebug folder "Grace's Frame." I colored everything with Copics and popped the basket and contents up with pop dots. The greeting is from the GKD set, "Autumn Beauty."

I hope you have been inspired by the photos and/or the cards. Be sure to leave a comment on each blog as you hop along because on Tuesday morning (November 13) we will randomly choose one of the comments from all the blogs and that person will receive a huge grab bag of fabulous Gina K Designs stamps. Hop along now to see what Linda has waiting for you; I'm sure it will be beautiful!

Monday, October 22, 2012

October CSS Alumni Blog Hop

It's time for the October CSS Alumni Blog Hop! Hope you didn't get thrown off by the change in day and time; just trying to keep everyone on their toes! You should have arrived here from Joy's blog (I'm sure she had something spectacular for you!). If you didn't come from Joy's blog and would like to get in on the hop from the beginning, please jump back to Stamp TV where you will find the whole list for the hop.

We are doing a sketch challenge this time based on this sketch from Melissa C. I had fun playing with this sketch and created two very different cards using it.


The first card I made is a sympathy card and I flipped the sketch the other direction for this one.


I used some of the gorgeous Pure Luxury Blue Raspberry card stock from Gina K Designs as the base. The second layer is Pure Luxury White. I stamped the butterfly border from Gina K Designs A Year of Borders three times with Versamark ink. I embossed the butterflies with Stampendous Winter Wonderland EP, which is sparkly in real life, but I couldn't capture it in the photo. I then sponged that layer with Memento Bahama Blue. I stamped the flower from the Gina K Designs set Stately Flowers 1 and the greeting from Heartfelt (also GKD). I cut that out using the Spellbinders long ovals and I sponged the edges with Bahama Blue.  The flower was colored with Copics. The extra butterfly is from the GKD stamp set A Beautiful Life and was also embossed and then sponged. All of the Gina K Designs items for both cards can be found by clicking here.

The second card I made follows the sketch a bit more literally. Here is the Christmas card I made.

I started with Pure Luxury White base weight card stock and layered this fabulous patterned paper from the Gina K Designs Blizzard pack. Isn't it just perfect for making holiday cards? I stamped the ornaments from the GKD set Joyful Holiday onto PL White paper. I used Memento markers direct to the stamps to color the details on the ornaments and stamped the ribbons in silver ink. I cut that out with a Spellbinders oval and layered it onto a scalloped oval of PL Red Hot and then onto another white oval. The poinsettia was made using the Spellbinders Shapeabilities Layered Poinsettia and I added a glittery gold brad to the center. I think the ribbon I used is some old Stampin' Up stuff I had in my stash.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my cards. Be sure to leave a comment at each of the blogs you visit because on Tuesday morning (October 30), we will randomly choose one of the comments from all the blogs and that person will receive a huge grab bag of fabulous Gina K. Designs Stamps! Hop on over to Linda's blog now to see what she has waiting for you.

Friday, September 21, 2012

September CSS Blog Hop with Something Special

Hello, and welcome to a special hop  -- a color combination challenge blog hop hosted by members of the Gina K. CSS Alumni team, which is also featuring hand drawn sets designed by Melanie Muenchinger and Theresa Momber. As you hop along make sure to leave a comment because on Tuesday morning (September 25), we will randomly choose two comments from all the blogs and two lucky individuals will each receive a Gina K. Designs Stamp Set (the winners will receive either a set designed by Melanie Muenchinger or Theresa Momber).

I hope you arrived here from the blog of the very talented Joy. If you didn't and would like to start the hop from the beginning, you can go to Stamp TV for the full list of participants.

I have two cards to share with you and both are made using stamp sets that were drawn by Theresa Momber. I chose to use Fanciful Fall and Heartfelt, both of which include stamps that are perfect for fall cards. I love fall, especially the colors, so I was super excited to combine these fabulous stamp sets with Sharri's color challenge, which was to use the Gina K Designs Pure Luxury colors of Pumpkin Spice, Fresh Asparagus and Sweet Corn plus neutral colors (white, ivory, black, and brown).

Here is my first card using Fanciful Fall.



Now for the second card featuring Heartfelt


I adore all of Theresa's sets, but these two are definitely among my favorites. She creates such beautiful stamp sets and, if you haven't seen her gorgeous cards be sure to visit her blog to enjoy her works of art (and to learn from her fabulous tutorials!).

Now hop on along to see what the always inspiring and talented Linda has waiting for you. Enjoy!

Friday, August 24, 2012

Stamp TV CSS August Hop

Hello, and welcome to the August CSS blog hop! If you came here from Joy's blog you are on the right track, but if you didn't and would like to start the hop at the beginning, please jump back over to Stamp TV for the full list of participants.

Today's hop is an inspiration hop based on this beautiful photo that Geri provided for us. I love the colors and the fall theme. I wish someone would come and decorate my front porch like this!

Here is the card I was inspired to make. I don't always get quite a literal with my card, but this time I couldn't help but pull out this door stamp from the Gina K Designs set "The Journey" by Asela Hopkins. It just fit so perfectly with this inspiration photo that I had to use it.


Card materials:
Cardstock: Gina K Designs Pure Luxury Cranberry Tart, Soft Sage, Ivory
Stamps: Gina K Designs: The Journey by Asela Hopkins; Autumn Beauty and Country Roads by Theresa Momber
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Toffee Crunch and Espresso Truffle; Copic markers; Distress Ink Summer Sky
Other: Flower Soft - Autumn
(All Gina K Designs items are available here.)

I hope you enjoyed seeing my little fall scene and are inspired by the inspiration photo to make your fall cards. Now hop along to Linda's blog to see the gorgeous creation she has waiting for you. But, before you go be sure to add a comment here and at all the other blogs as you hop along, because on Tuesday morning (August 28), we will randomly choose one of the comments from all the blogs and that person will receive a huge grab bag of fabulous Gina K. Designs Stamps!


Thursday, August 16, 2012

August Blog Hop with Sean and Regina


WELCOME TO THE AUGUST BLOG HOP!

Hi everyone!  Thanks for playing along in our August blog hop!  The Blog Hop with Sean & Regina is featuring cards and sentiments celebrating the fall season this month! After a very hot and humid July, most of us are looking forward to a cool and colorful fall! When we think of fall, our minds swirl like we are surrounded by falling leaves and a crisp cool breeze in the air. Each host/hostess will have a card creation posted that is his/her representation of what fall means to them.



Scrapbook Stamp Society is our blog hop sponsor!  The overall winner will receive digi’s from our sponsor.  Please visit them at http://scrapbookstampsociety.com/index.php?

Also some of our blog hop host/hostess designers will be offering blog candy as prizes on their blog sites, so please do not forget to visit his/her blog (and leave a comment) to be eligible for bonus blog hop prizes!

Here is my fall card. I love fall, mostly because of the beautiful colors. I love seeing the gorgeous fall leaves and the pumpkins that start showing up everywhere. So, I had to incorporate both into my card.


My card is made using Gina K Designs Pure Luxury brand new Tomato Soup card stock as the base. (Love this new color!). The a layer of Pure Luxury Dusty Sage. The strip on the left side is PL Honey Mustard with a piece of patterned paper from the new Gina K Designs Sun-kissed Autumn patterned paper pack. I used stamps from the new Gina K Designs set by Theresa Momber called Country Roads and from her set called Autumn Beauty stamped on PL Ivory paper. Inks used were Memento Espresso Truffle,Toffee Crunch and Summer Sky. I colored the trees, grass and pumpkins with Copics. The ribbon and the nail heads are from Gina K Designs also.  I hope my card inspires you to think of your favorite fall things.

Now it is your turn to blog hop with all of our friends!  The rules are simple:

Leave a comment on Regina’s blog first (and become a follower to enter a chance to win the grand prize from Scrapbook Stamp Society)!  :) 

Go down the list of blogs visiting all of them (see below).  Leave comments on their blog pages to be eligible for bonus blog candy from select blog hosts. The blog hop host/hostee offering bonus blog candy will indicate that he/she has a bonus blog candy prize so read their blog post carefully.  Each blog will have the name and blog address for the next host/hostess in line for the blog hop.  

At the end of the hop, a random winner will be chosen for the Blog Hop prize from our sponsor and select blog hop hosts for Bonus Blog Candy.  The deadline for leaving comments is Monday, August 20, 2012 at 8pm CST.   Winners of the Grand Prize and bonus Blog Candy will be announced Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Blog Hop with Sean & Regina participants are as follows:
Thanks for visiting and joining in on the hop! Now jump on over to Donna's blog to see what she has created.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Stamp TV CSS Sketch Hop

Time sure does fly! I can't believe it is almost the middle of July already, and I haven't had a blog post since early June! Yikes! Today's post is another fun blog hop from the Stamp TV Center Stage Spotlight Alumni bunch. If you didn't arrive here from Joy's lovely blog, jump back over to Stamp TV, so you can start hopping at the beginning and won't miss anything.

We are doing a sketch hop today using this fun sketch created by Melissa. I like working from sketches because I can focus on the fun stuff like the colors, images, and embellishments instead of fussing about the layout/design. LOL! I do plenty of that, so it is nice to use someone else's idea sometimes to create a card, especially when the mojo is lacking as mine has been lately. Must be the summer heat!



Here is my card made from this sketch.

My photo isn't the best because my good camera was not working, so I had to use my iPhone for this photo. I used two of the new June release Gina K Designs stamp sets for this card. The main image and the palm fronds that are on the background (they are a bit hard to see in the photo) are from Theresa Momber's new set, Tropical Nature. This set is fabulous for summer or vacation cards. The sentiment is from that set also. I used the Pretty Patterns set that Melanie Muenchinger created for the latest release. Such a fun set to play with, and I tried it in the clear stamps so I could easily line the patterns up. I've not been a fan of clear stamps until now. I really love the high quality of the new "Clearly Gina" stamps. Give them a try if you haven't already!

Other card ingredients:
Cardstock: Gina K Designs Pure Luxury Lime, Wild Dandelion, and White
Ink: Memento Dandelion, New Sprout, Desert Sand, Tuxedo Black, Summer Sky, Toffee Crunch
Ribbon: Carnival Ribbon Assortment from Gina K Designs

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to leave a comment at each blog as you hop along because on Tuesday morning (July 17), we will randomly choose one of the comments from all the blogs and that person will receive a huge grab bag of fabulous Gina K. Designs Stamps!


Now head on over to Linda's beautiful blog to see how the sketch inspired her.