CSS Inspiration Hop and Farewell

Today is a CSS Inspiration Hop, and it is also a farewell because this is the last of the blog hops by this group. The Stamp TV Center Stage Spotlight alumni are crafters who were selected to be guest designers for Gina K Designs monthly stamp releases. While the CSS ended quite some time back, those who had been part of it were asked to do blog hops from time to time. It has been a great deal of fun since I was selected back in the fall of 2009. I nearly fainted when I got the email from Gina saying I had been chosen and was sure she must have gotten the wrong person! LOL! I've met a lot of very talented and lovely people through this group and will miss our hops. We'll all still be around at Stamp TV (and might even have a few blog hops of our own, you never know!). Now it's time to get on with this last hop …

I hope you came here from my super talented friend Karen's blog. I'm sure she had something fabulous to share with you! If you didn't and would like to start the hop at the beginning, just head back over to Stamp TV to find the list of all the participants.

Here is the inspiration photo we used to get our creative juices flowing.

Isn't it gorgeous? I had an idea the minute I saw it, and here it is in the form of a card.

For some reason, when I saw the inspiration photo I immediately pictured a snow covered tree outside a window. I hope you can see the "snow" and the sparkle on the tree. I stamped the tree in Gina K Designs Christmas Pine ink and heat set it. I added colored "ornaments" to the tree with my Spica markers and then took a glue pad and pressed it down over the tree (that was why I heat set the ink. Didn't want it to smear when I used the glue over it). I sprinkled Stampin' Up Iridescent Ice glitter over the entire thing to make it look like a snow storm outside the window. The card base is GKD  Pure Luxury Christmas Pine, the sparkly layer is some glitter paper I had in my stash, and the patterned paper is from the GKD pack called Blizzard. The window is the Grand Madison Window die from Poppy Stamps. Greeting and tree stamps are from the Gina K Designs set called Cheers.

Thanks for hopping by today and for the many other hops we have had. Enjoy the rest of the hop by heading on over to see the beautiful creation(s) Linda has for you, but before you go be sure to leave a comment here (and at each of the blogs) because we will choose a random comment and that stamper will win a grab bag of Gina K. Designs products! Look for the announcement on Tuesday, December 24.

Happy Holidays!

Thankful Challenge

Today is another CSS alumni blog hop, and since Thanksgiving is just around the corner (can you believe it is next week??) we are sharing cards of gratitude and thankfulness in our hop. I hope you came here from Linda's blog where I am sure she shared a gorgeous creation or two; however, if you didn't start at the beginning of the hop and would like to, jump back to Stamp TV for the full list of participants.

Here is my card for the "thankful challenge":

I used Gina K Designs Pure Luxury Faded Brick and Honey Mustard card stock and layered a piece of patterned paper on that from the Gina K Designs patterned paper pack Grateful Heart. I stamped the leaves from the GKD stamp set Grateful Heart onto Ivory paper with Versamark. After clear embossing the leaves I sponged Gina K Designs Faded Brick and Honey Mustard ink over them. The sentiment is from an older Gina K Designs set called So Grateful. I added some Honey Mustard ribbon and copper railheads to finish it. (All Gina K Designs products can be found here)

I am grateful that you stopped by and am thankful for you and this great crafting community! Please be sure to leave a comment before you hop on over to Joy's beautiful blog because we will choose a random comment from one of the blogs and that stamper will win a grab bag of Gina K. Designs products! Look for the announcement on Tuesday, November 26.

Happy Thanksgiving and blessings to you and yours!

Color Combo Hop

Welcome to the Stamp TV CSS Color Combo Hop. I hope you came here from the fabulous blog of my friend Cheri. I'm sure she had something beautiful to share! If you didn't start the hop from the beginning and would like to go back to the start, hop on over to Stamp TV where you will find the full list of participants.

Our hop is a color combination challenge using the following Gina K Designs Pure Luxury colors as our guide: Dark Chocolate, In the Navy, Tomato Soup, Honey Mustard and Ivory.
Here is my card using the color combo. For some reason the Tomato Soup paper is showing up much more orange than it really is. It should be more of a rust-orange color!

My card starts with a Pure Luxury base of Dark Chocolate and then a layer of Tomato Soup that was embossed with a Sizzix Square Lattice folder. The In the Navy strip is embossed with a Cuttlebug Swiss Dot folder and layered with some Honey Mustard sheer ribbon. The center panel is Dark Chocolate, Honey Mustard and Ivory (all GKD Pure Luxury). I stamped the wheat image from the Gina K Designs stamp set duo called Friendship, Family, Love in Honey Mustard ink. The greeting is stamped in Tomato Soup ink and is from the GKD Harvest of Wishes mini stamp set.

(All of the Gina K Designs Pure Luxury paper, ribbon and ink can be found here.)

I hope you enjoyed seeing these wonderful fall colors! Now hop on over to Melissa's blog to see what she has done with these gorgeous colors.

CSS Sketch Challenge Hop

Welcome to another Stamp TV Center Stage Alumni hop. I hope you visited Linda before you came here, because you wouldn't want to miss her fabulous creations! If you want to start at the beginning of the hop so you don't miss out on anything you can pop back over to Stamp TV to find the list of all the participants.

Today's hop is a sketch challenge using this sketch.

 I love using sketches for cards, especially when I'm not feeling the creative mojo! It helps give me a jump start -- so much so that I have two cards for you!

 This card was made using Gina K Designs Pure Luxury heavy base weight white card stock. I created the background by stamping it with the small flower from the Gina K Designs stamp set Bold Blooms in GKD Powder Blue ink. I used it full strength and stamped off to create the variety in the colors.  I used GKD Pure Luxury Powder Blue card stock for the frame and cut it out using Spellbinders Decorative Labels Eight. The focal image is also from Bold Blooms and was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and the sponged with GKD Powder Blue. It is hard to see here, but the centers of each of the tiny flowers on the bloom are filled in with a clear stardust pen to give a bit of sparkle. The sentiment and the blue frame around it are from the GKD set Fanciful Tags. The pearls and ribbon are from my stash, and I colored the small pearls at the bottom with a Copic marker to make them match the blues in the card.

And now for something completely different! Here is a fall card made with Gina K Designs Pure Luxury Kraft card stock that I embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder. I also used Pure Luxury Faded Brick and Ivory on this card. The stamps are all from the Autumn Blessings set, which was part of the Grateful Heart Stamp TV Kit. I used Memento Espresso Truffle for the tree, the swirly lines and the sentiment. The leaves are stamped with GKD Faded Brick, Prickly Pear, and Tomato Soup; perfect fall colors! I also used three strips of patterned paper from the Grateful Heart patterned paper pack. The leaf buttons are from my stash and seems just perfect for this card.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my two cards. Now it's time to hop on over to see what Joy created for you! Before you go take a minute to add a comment (and be sure to add one at each stop along the way) because we will choose a random comment and that stamper will win a grab bag of Gina K. Designs products! Look for the announcement on Tuesday, October 15.

Thanks for visiting! Enjoy the rest of the hop!

September Inspiration Hop

Hello, and welcome to the Stamp TV Center Stage inspiration hop! You should have arrived here from Karen's lovely blog, but if you didn't you can go back to Stamp TV to find the full list of hop participants and start from the beginning.

This hop is an inspiration hop based on this beautiful photo provided to us by Joy.

I love the colors and textures of fall, so that is what I took from this photo as my inspiration. I had to use some of the new papers, inks and stamps from the latest Stamp TV kit.  (Sorry my photo isn't better. I had to take this one outside instead of in my studio and the lighting wasn't great).

I chose the pumpkin from the gorgeous Harvest of Wishes stamp set and the sentiment from one of the free incentive sets from Gina K Designs called Friendship Family Love. I also used one of the leaves from the Grateful Heart set to create a subtle background. The card stock is Gina K Designs Pure Luxury Kraft, the new Faded Brick (love this new color!) and Ivory. I used a strip of patterned paper from the Grateful Heart pack. Ink used on this was the gorgeous new Faded Brick from GKD, and Memento Tuxedo Black and Espresso Truffle. The ribbon and brads are from the Stamp TV kit also. I colored the pumpkin with my Kohinoor colored pencils and gamsol. I haven't used colored pencils and gamsol in ages because Copics have become my go-to coloring tools. I forgot how much I like the look of the pencils. They are very soft looking and somehow just seemed appropriate for this pumpkin.

Hope you were inspired by our inspiration photo and my card! Next along the hop is Linda who will have something beautiful to inspire you!

Stampin' Up and More - For Sale

Hello Crafty Friends - I am doing some cleaning of my craft room and have a number of stamp sets and other craft items for sale. The list of items with condition (if applicable) and price is below. If you are interested in purchasing any of the items I have for sale, please email me at klsimm922@aol.com (don't leave me a message here). The prices do not include shipping costs. I will let you know what the postage is at time of sale. I hope you find some things you like! Happy shopping!

Stampin' Up background stamps 

Canvas (some staining on rubber and block) $6

By Definition (clean - like new) $8

Geometric (clean - like new) $8

Harlequin (clean - like new) $8

On Safari (clean - like new) $8

Paisley (clean - like new) $8

Sanded (clean - like new) $8

Stampin' Up stamp sets

A is for Adorable $10

Ageless Adornments (minor stains on rubber) $10

Alphabet Soup (staining on one block and rubber) $10

Autumn Harvest $10

Awash with Flowers (double set of clear-mount stamps) $20

Big on Christmas $15

Blooming with Love (minor staining on one block) $15

Blossoms Abound $10

Bold Alphabet Upper and Lower $15

Bold Greetings $5

Christmas Gift Tags $20

Christmas Peace (light stains on one stamp and block) $10

Delight in Life $10

Dream Come True (minor stains on two blocks)$10

Easy Elegance $10

Embrace Life $15

Enjoy Every Moment $10

Essence of Love $10

Fabulous Four $10

Fall Whimsey $10

Fanciful Flowers $10

Favorite Greetings $10

Festive Fall (minor stains on blocks) $10

Festive Four $10

Fish Frolics $15

Flowers in Silhouette (this is a single stamp) $3

For A Friend $10

Fresh Fillers $5

Garden Whimsey $15

Gently Falling (this is the retired set with four square stamps)$5

Gingerbread House (this is an old and rare set) $20

Happy Heart Day $10

Happy Fall Y'all (bought this used; some staining and writing on blocks) $15

Home is Where the Haunt Is $15

Itty Bitty Backgrounds $5

Lexicon of Love (slight stain on one stamp) $10

Little Hellos $10

Little Pieces $5

Little Shapes $5

Looks Like Spring $15

Lots of Thoughts $10

Love and Joy (minor stains on block) $10

Loving Memories (slight staining on rubber) $10

Merry (minor stains on two blocks) $10

Mini Messages $10

Painted Poinsettias (this is an old, rare set. Staining on blocks and minor stains on rubber) $15

Paris in the Spring $10

Peaceful Wishes $15

Perfect Plaids $10

Pick A Petal (stain on one stamp) $10

Pocket Full of Posies $5

Polka Dots and Paisley $10

Polka Dots and Petals $10

Polka Dot Punches $10

Punch Pals (damage to one corner of box; stamps/blocks are clean) $15

Season's Greetings $15

Seeing Spots $5

Send a Celebration (staining on one stamp) $5

Shapes and Shadows (stains on one block) $10

Sidekick Sayings $10

Snow Flurries $5

So Very $10

Solemn Stillness (minor stains on rubber of one stamp) $15

Sparkling Summer $10

Terrific Tulips $10

The Fine Print $10

Too Terrific Tags $10

Very Punny (stain on one block) $10

Vogue Verses $5

Wee Watercolors $5

Wonderful Words $5

Stampin' Around - regular (r) and jumbo (j)

Daisy Dash (j) $5

Ho Ho Ho (r) $3

Hot to Dot (r) $3

Petals (j) $5

Pine Bough (r) $3

Sandy Shells (r) $3

Springtime (r) $3

Star Studded (r) $3

Under the Sea (r) $3

Stampin' Up In Color paper - new in packages-$5 per package

Buckaroo Blue

Cranberry Crisp

Cool Caribbean 

Cranberry Crisp

Marigold Morning

Vintage Violet

Stampin' Up Rub-ons - Love and Happiness $2

Non-Stampin' Up Stamps and Other Tools/Accesories

Hero Arts set of 5 stamps - Wavy Holly, Wavy Ornaments, Wavy Snowflakes, Wavy Stars, and Wavy trees - $10

My Sentiments Exactly - clear alphabet set called Romantic Caps $5

Northwoods Rubber Stamps - background stamp - snowflakes $5

A Muse single stamp - Wild Blossom $1

All Night Media single stamp - Happy Birthday with flowers $1

Hero Arts square shadow stamp $1

EK Success circle scissors - new in package (I believe this is their original style) $10

QuicKutz Red Squeeze Tool and full upper and lower case alphabet and number set (I believe the alphabet is 'Eliza' but haven't been able to confirm the code on it, which is QMAR 15) $20 as a set; I do not want to sell them separately.

Tim Holtz Distress Ink pad - Antique Linen (new in package) $2

Making Memories Tag Maker include tool, aluminum rims (squares, circles, tag shape) in various sizes $10

Store in Style - ribbon storage box $5

Fiskars Portable Paper Trimmer - this is the original portable cutter that is gray and orange with the blade that slides in the track. $5

Color Combo Hop

It's time for the second Stamp TV Center Stage hop for June. We are doing a color combo challenge this time using red, white and blue. Did you see what Linda made with this color combo? If you didn't stop at her blog before coming here, you can jump back to Stamp TV and start the hop at the beginning.

I decided to make a fun, bright card with this color combo. Here it is!

This was a fairly quick card to put together using the Gina K Designs Poster Board Sentiments. I used the banner, the frame and one of the sentiments from the set. I stamped the banner in Gina K Designs Red Hot and Blue Raspberry inks and the sentiment in Gina K Black Onyx ink. (The bottom banner is in blue raspberry but the lighting made it look lighter!) The card stock is Gina K Designs Pure Luxury Blue Raspberry and White Layering Weight. The brads were in my stash -- I think they were Stampin' Up.

I hope you enjoyed my red, white and blue card. Now it is time to hop along and get inspired by Karen's fabulous creation, but before you go be sure to leave a comment here and on each blog you visit because we will choose a random comment and that stamper will win a grab bag of Gina K. Designs products! Look for the announcement on Tuesday, June 25.