Last Night of Gina K Designs Previews

Tonight is the final night of previews and the release party is tomorrow! Do you have it on your calendar? Be sure to join the fun starting at 7:00 PM (central) over at Stamp TV.

Tonight's preview features two more sets. The first one is fabulous! It is so much fun to play with and has a million possibilities! This set was illustrated by Nina Brackett and is called, "Fine Furnishings." There is an accompanying set that is, "Fine Furnishings Additions" and together these two sets will make for some unique cards. Here is my first card using these two sets.

I started with a Pure Luxury Black Onyx base for the card. The patterened paper (which reminded me of wallpaper) is from October Afternoon. I cut out the black background piece using the Top Note Bigz Die and the Ivory piece using a Nestabilities Labels die. I stamped the chandelier onto the ivory piece in Memento Tuxedo Black and all the other furnishings are paper pieced and popped up with pop dots. Very fun to make! It reminded me of furnishing my doll house when I was little!

The second set for tonight is the One Free with Three set by GinaK, called Friends are Forever. This set has some very pretty stamps and the greetings are all things you could use to make cards for friends or even your significant other. The card I made with this set is a simple little card, but I wanted it to focus on the lovely flowers and the sweet greeting so I purposely kept it simple. I chose the new Pure Luxury Wild Dandelion paper as the base for this one and layered it with a piece of digital paper from the "Bright Botanicals" pack available tomorrow night over at the Gina K Designs store. The oval scallop is made from the new Pure Luxury Sweet Mango and the plain oval is Pure Luxury Ivory. I stamped the flowers in Mememto Tuxedo Black and colored them with my Copics. Do you see that little piece of ribbon tucked behind the sentiment? That is one of the ribbons from this month's Stamp TV kit! It is gorgeous and brings in the new Dandelion and Mango colors! Love it!

For more samples with the stamp sets being previewed tonight, check out these Designer's Links:

• Gina Krupsky   *Friends are Forever designer
• Nina Brackett  *Fine Furnishings and Fine Furnishings Additions designer
• Jessica Fick
• Theresa Momber
• Melanie Muenchinger
• Cathy Tidwell
• Lee Murphy
• Donna Baker
• Lynn Mercurio
• Emily Giovanni
• Erika Martin
• Kurtis Amundson
• Sankari Wegman
• Kay Simmons *May's CenterStage Spotlight Team Member!* (You are here!)

Please make plans to attend our Release party tomorrow night, Thursday night, May 27th from 7-10 central time which will be held at StampTV.  There will be contest questions, challenges, samples from several designers and lots of chatter all leading up to 10pm central, when all the new products and stamp sets previewed this week on our blogs become available online through GinaK Designs store!

Gina K. Previews Continue

Hello again and welcome to the third night of the Gina K Designs May release previews! Tonight the latest Stamp TV Kit is being previewed and I have to tell you, this kit is going to knock your socks off!! It is HUGE with tons of stamps, loads of cardstock, ribbon, brads, and those fabulous new easy set eyelets. The Stamp TV Kit is called "Enjoy the Sunshine" and here is what you get in your kit:

Cardstock: (26 total sheets)

• Black: 3
• Heavy White: 3
• Layering White: 3
• Red Hot: 3
• Turquoise Sea: 3
• Grass Green: 3
• Sweet Mango: 3
• Wild Dandelion: 3
• Navy: 2

8 Yards of Ribbon - assorted 5/8" and 1/4" widths and colors

Silver Brads

Silver Eyelets (easy set)

Assorted Patterned Papers

And, of course, the fabulous stamp set, which if purchased alone would be valued at $34.95!

You can make so many cards with this kit! You will love it! (and did I mention that the ribbon in this kit is fabulous! Great colors and lots of ribbon!)

Here is the first card I made with the set. Summer is my favorite time of the year and sweet, fresh strawberries are to me one of the first signs that summer has really arrived so, of course, I had to use this image for my card!

The card base is Pure Luxury Red Hot. The ivory layer is Pure Luxury Ivory that I embossed with the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder. The patterned paper is from October Afternoon and was cut out using the Top Note Bigz Die for the Big Shot. That piece of green paper you see peeking out from under the focal image is a new Pure Luxury color called Grass Green. The ribbon is from the Stamp TV kit. I stamped the strawberries in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored them with Copics. They are coated with Crystal Lacquer to make them shiny and juicy looking! The sentiment is stamped in Memento New Sprout.

The second set for tonight's preview is Stars by Tami Mayberry. This fun little set is going to be a favorite for making lots of different types of cards. Of course, it will be perfect for the Fourth of July but you will see that it can be used for other things as well. Here is the card I made with it. (The colors are coming through a bit wonky in this photo for some reason. The stars and the green background really do match in real life!)

When I saw the "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" sentiment I knew I would have to use this set for a baby card because it reminded me of my son when he was very young and loved to sing, "Twinkle, twinkle, 'tar."  As luck would have it, I have to attend a baby shower this week so this card is perfect for it! The card base is made with Pure Luxury Innocent Pink and the patterned paper is from a new digital paper pack being released tomorrow night, called Double Dots and Plaids by Tami Mayberry. This set has a variety of patterned star stamps; I've used four of them here and cut them out using my Nestibilities Stars. It is a bit hard to see in the photo but I used a fifth star stamp in the center over the sentiment. I used five different stars on this card and I didn't use all of the star stamps included in this set! There are a number of different sentiments in this set that allow for lots of types of cards. I think you will find this one surprisingly versatile.

So are you ready to see more previews of these sets? Check out these Designer's Links:

• Gina Krupsky  *Enjoy the Sunshine StampTV kit designer
• Tami Mayberry  *Stars designer
• Jessica Fick
• Theresa Momber 
• Melanie Muenchinger 
• Nina Brackett
• Carolyn King
• Cathy Tidwell
• Lee Murphy
• Donna Baker
• Lynn Mercurio
• Emily Giovanni
• Erika Martin
• Kurtis Amundson
• Colleen Schaan
• Kay Simmons *May's CenterStage Spotlight Team Member!* (You are here!)

Please make plans to attend our Release party this Thursday night, May 27th from 7-10 central time which will be held at StampTV.  There will be contest questions, challenges, samples from several designers and lots of chatter all leading up to 10pm central, when all the new products and stamp sets previewed this week on our blogs become available online through GinaK Designs store!

Gina K.Designs May Release Preview #2

Happy Monday and welcome to the second preview night for the Gina K Designs May stamp release. I love the fact that the sets in this month's release are really varied, providing loads of possibilities for a wide range of cards. The first set I am previewing for you tonight is made with the beautiful set called, "Hope Grows" by the always talented Theresa Momber. As you will see, I created a sympathy card with this set but there are many other types of cards you could use this set to create.

This card was made with Pure Luxury white base weight with the sentiment stamped directly onto the card base in Memento London Fog. The scalloped circles are punched from Pure Luxury Moonlit Fog and the plain circles are from Pure Luxury In the Navy and Pure Luxury White. The images were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black. I colored the owl with Copic markers and sponged around the images with Memento London Fog.

The second card for tonight is a completely different direction from this one! Isn't that part of the fun of making cards -- all the different types of cards you can make in the span of an hour or two! This card is made with Melanie Muenchinger's new set, "Candles on Your Cake." How perfect given that yesterday was my birthday. I had a lot of fun making this card and it felt like I was making my own birthday card since I made it on my birthday. Fun way to celebrate, huh?

Now if all those bright colors don't make someone's birthday cheery, I don't know what will! I made the card base with Pure Luxury Passionate Pink and layered Pure Luxury White base weight on top. The striped designer paper is from the new Basic Grey pad, "Delovely." I stamped the candles with Memento Rose Bud, Dandelion, and Pear Tart and the flames are Memento Cantaloupe. The blue candle  was stamped with an SU color. The cake was stamped on white paper in Memento Rich Cocoa and cut out. I stamped pink sprinkles in Rose Bud and then added a bit of pink glitter just to bling it up a bit! The gorgeous green ribbon is from the new Stamp TV Kit, which will be previewed tomorrow night so be sure to check back for that and another fabulous set on preview night #3!

For more samples with the stamp sets being previewed tonight, check out these Designer's Links:

• Gina Krupsky
• Theresa Momber * illustrator of Hope Grows
• Melanie Muenchinger * illustrator of Candles on Your Cake
• Jessica Fick
• Carolyn King
• Cathy Tidwell
• Lee Murphy
• Donna Baker
• Lynn Mercurio
• Emily Giovanni
• Erika Martin
• Kurtis Amundson
• Bev Gerard
• Kay Simmons *May's CenterStage Spotlight Team Member!* (You are here!)

Please make plans to attend our Release party this Thursday night, May 27th from 7-10 central time which will be held at StampTV.  There will be contest questions, challenges, samples from several designers and lots of chatter all leading up to 10pm central, when all the new products and stamp sets previewed this week on our blogs become available online through GinaK Designs store!

Gina K.Designs May Release Preview #1

Tonight is the first Gina K Designs May Release preview and I am SO excited to be participating as this month's Center Stage Spotlight Guest Designer!! I am always excited about each new stamp release but this one is fabulous!! The stamp sets are amazing!

Here is the first set being previewed tonight. It is by Rupa Shevda and it's called Beach Bum. This is the perfect set for making fun, fun, fun summer cards! We are having record high temperatures today in southern Wisconsin -- around 90 -- so it is the perfect day for previewing this set! Wish I were at the beach!

This was made with Pure Luxury Ivory base weight paper from Gina K. and the that yummy orange paper is new one coming to the store on Thursday as part of the May release. It is called Sweet Mango. Doesn't that sound like summer? I paper pieced the surf boards with some designer paper I had picked up a long time ago at a local store. The towel is paper pieced using a new digital paper by Nina Brackett,  and the umbrella is made with the new Pure Luxury Wild Dandelion paper, both of which are also coming in the May release. The "sand" is from Flower Soft. It is called sand and it truly does look like sand!

The second set being previewed tonight is called Botanicals by Gina K. You are going to love this set for it's wonderful versatility. There are so many different ways it can be used and Nina's gorgeous coordinating digital paper pack will really help to make this a favorite for making a variety of cards.

This card is made with Pure Luxury Turquoise Sea paper and the background paper is part of the digital paper pack called Bright Botanicals. One of my favorite things about this set is that it has a script background stamp. I used it on the yellow strip and on the kraft focal image. There are various flowers and some really great sentiments. I forgot to take a photo of the inside of this card but the rest of the sentiment is in a super fun script and says . . . for being such a good friend.  That gorgeous turquoise ribbon is a little sneak peek from the Stamp TV kit this month. I can't wait to make more cards with this set to share at the release party!

Thanks for stopping by tonight! Don't forget to come back tomorrow for more previews.

For more samples with the stamp sets being previewed tonight, check out these Designer's Links:

• Gina Krupsky
• Jessica Fick
• Theresa Momber
• Melanie Muenchinger
• Nina Brackett
• Cathy Tidwell
• Lee Murphy
• Donna Baker
• Lynn Mercurio
• Emily Giovanni
• Erika Martin
• Kurtis Amundson
• Bev Gerard
• Colleen Schaan
• Sankari Wegman
• Suzanne Dean
• Valerie Stangle
• Kay Simmons *May's CenterStage Spotlight Team Member!* (You are here!)

Please make plans to attend our Release party this Thursday night, May 27th from 7-10 central time which will be held at StampTV.  There will be contest questions, challenges, samples from several designers and lots of chatter all leading up to 10pm central, when all the new products and stamp sets previewed this week on our blogs become available online through GinaK Designs store!

Gina K. Designs Center Stage Spotlight Designer for May! That's ME!

I've been doing a happy dance all weekend long! Ever since Gina K. announced the May Center Stage Spotlight Designer on Friday, I have been on cloud 9, along with bouts of anxiety! I could hardly believe my eyes when I opened my e-mail and there was an e-mail titled, "Congratulations" from Gina K. I didn't believe it at first! I had this momentary thought flash through my mind that she must have sent the e-mail to me by mistake, but, no, it was MY card that she had chosen. (See my post from May 11 to see the card)

I cannot tell you what a honor it is to have been chosen as the May Center Stage Spotlight Designer! I am so excited and nervous all at the same time! I can't wait to get the new stamps so I can start making some cards for the sneak peeks that will be starting soon. You are going to love the new sets! I know -- we say that every month but there are some really fun, unique sets in the May release! Can't tell you anything more right now but just wait, you'll see what I mean!

Thanks to everyone who has sent their congratulations and support! I hope you will enjoy my creations this month . . . and who knows, maybe next month it will be you in the spotlight! Be sure to watch for the challenge from Gina in a few weeks when you can enter your card to become the next spotlight designer. If I can do it, so can you!

Gina K. Movie Inspired Challenge

Gina K.'s challenge for this month's Center Stage Designer search was to make a card using one of the stamp sets from the April release based on a favorite movie. One of my favorite movies is a recent one -- Julie and Julia -- starring the always wonderful Meryl Streep. In case you haven't seen this delightful movie, it is about a young woman in New York who is unhappy with her job and decides to start cooking her way through Julia Child's famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She decides to cook a recipe every day from the cookbook and blog about it. The movie follows her cooking adventures and shares the story of Julia Child's life and how she became a famous chef.
This is the cover of that famous cookbook and it is the inspiration for the card I made.
I used one of the stamps from my favorite set in the April release, called Sew Pretty. I just love the retro look of these stamps and thought this very 60s looking woman in her pearls and apron fit well with the Julia Child era. The card base is Pure Luxury Ivory and the polka-dot background, apron, skirt, and oven mitt dps are from Cosmo Cricket. The red squares are Pure Luxury Red Hot. I paper pieced the apron, skirt and oven mitts, and I colored her sweater, hair, face, arms and jewelry with Copic markers. I used Spica markers on her pearls and earrings to give them some sparkle.


This was a fun card to make and it made me think again how much I enjoyed the movie Julie and Julia. I just may have to rent it and watch it again some day soon! I hope you enjoyed seeing my card and that it inspires you to see this light-hearted, funny movie, or inspires you to find a new recipe and give it a try! Bon Appetit!