Black Friday Sale

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

We're celebrating with a Black Friday sale that goes live later at 12AM EST!

The code BF2012 for 10% off your purchase is valid for one day only, so go get your wishlist ready for tonight!!!

Aim For My Heart

Hi all, sharing my last project for this release... and it's probably my favorite one!

It's simple and direct. On Target was designed to be bold and graphic at the same time.

On my card, I first stamped the arrow to create a soft background. On a separate white layer, I stamped the bullseye and inside heart image. A pink clip finished it off.

For some reason, it didn't feel quite all that complete yet. I mulled over it for a bit and then reached for my trusty Stickles glitter. Glitter solves everything!!

I love that the card is all pink and girly in color, but it has that cool factor that makes it appropriate to give to your S.O. :)

Angie and I are busy finishing designs for the next release. We are taking December off, so the next release is in January. But don't worry, we've got more projects to inspire you coming up as well as something you can all participate in (hint hint: stampede!) Stay tuned! 

Have a great Thanksgiving!!!

A No Peeking card

I was delighted at how differently all our designers used No Peeking. Our original vision was to have the cute animals peek from within the tag, but as you can see in our No Peeking highlights post, our designers had their own ideas. Love that.

I am getting a head start on Christmas gifts this year. Amazing, I know. I've already assembled a few and will be wrapping them soon with kraft wrapping paper. I'll be back to show you my real intent with the No Peeking stamp set then!

Before I go, I'd like to ask you what you want to see on this blog. Videos, tutorials, challenges, more of my ramblings, etc.? Thanks...

Oh Hello Friend!

Oh hello friends!

I've got a super CAS card today -- simple it may be, but it packs quite a punch using our Midnight Letters alpha stamp set. I love being able to create my own sentiments and I love the negative/positive die cut style of letters. The chevron border on the top is from On Target. A simple black twine finished it off nicely. 

I recently decided to buy one of these tracing wheel tools and finally put it to use.

I remember when I used to use a paper piercer tool to pierce each individual hole on my card stock. What a waste of time! All you need is this (I paid less than $3 for mine on eBay) and a ruler -- one swipe and you've got perfectly even spaced holes for your project! Be sure to use a self-healing mat or something similar on the bottom of your project. We don't want tiny permanent holes on our table now do we. :)

Cup of Wishes - Feminine + Masculine

Hi friends! So, did you get your orders in? All the new stamps are available for purchase in our store NOW!! :)

So, since we're still newbies, we've been trying and testing new things. Doing things a bit backwards this time I think. Over the next week or so, I'll be sharing the projects I created using our stamps. Hope you likes!

I thought it would be fun to show you just how versatile Cup of Wishes is! I challenged myself to make a feminine card and a masculine card! Here's what I came up with!

First I stamped the cup and flowers - 3 times. I then colored the flowers with Copic markers and cut them out. I used a finger xacto knife for the inside of the handle. Wasn't too bad. Didn't get a hand cramp so that's always good! I then stacked the cups onto the card and popped them up a bit using 3d foam. The Made With Love sentiment is from No Peeking.

I finished off the card with a bit of rustic twine. It really helped balanced the card and tied together the vintage chic feel I was going after. 

A little closer shot of my mediocre coloring skills. :P

Here's my masculine card also using Cup of Wishes.

I stamped the Warm greeting onto kraft cardstock then kind of outlined it a bit with a grey Copic marker. If you look closely you can see a little shadowing. I chose to use the THANKS sentiment to be tucked into my steam. (Can never have too many Thank You cards. You can always leave it blank and stamp in the tucked sentiment later -- depending on the occasion!) Moving along, the plaid pattern is created with Basic Borders. 

I stamped the cup image onto the kraft cardstock and again on white cardstock. Then I stamped the mustache onto the white cup and cut it out to adhere on top of the kraft base. White over kraft really pops! I freely swiped white ink over the edges of the kraft. I found that by doing this it played up the kraft and white design here specifically. Really like the results!

Fun, right? Two completely different cards from Cup of Wishes! I would love to see your take on it, once you get your stamps, of course! If you do, please link up and share with us on Flickr or Facebook. Nothing makes us happier than seeing your creations with our designs. So please don't deprive us of that simple joy! :) 

Have a great weekend, everyone! Happy stamping!

November 2012 Release Stamps Reveal

Release Day is here! Release day is here! Release day is here!

But first, would you like to win a $40 gift certificate to our store? Of course you do! :) We have many chances to win, leave a separate comment on this post for each task you complete for a total of 6 entries!

• Leave a comment on this post letting us know which is your fave!
• Become a follower of our blog HERE
• Like us on Facebook HERE 
• Follow us on Twitter HERE
• Join us on Flickr HERE
• Follow us on Pinterest HERE

Commenting for this post will be closed at 7PM EST. Be sure to comment on all our Stamp Highlights for a chance to win as well! All winners will be announced tonight at 8PM EST. Stamps will be available for sale in the store by 9PM EST. Thank you all again for your enthusiasm and support! <3

Here's the full reveal of our November release!

Cup of Wishes

Midnight Letters

No Peeking

On Target

Commenting is now closed. Check back soon to see if you're a winner! 

Stamp Highlight: Cup of Wishes

Welcome to our last stamp highlights feature for our November release! We've saved one of the best for last! Cup of Wishes is a fun wordplay on the word 'Warm' and steam!  We've paired the scripty, steamy font with a basic font and the look is classic! The sentiments works for many ocassions -- holidays, love, thank you, welcome -- it's all there! Also included are a ton of cute design building elements to make your Cup of Wishes truly unique and special.

Sooo, today's guest designer hardly needs an introduction, she is someone who I've admired as a stamper from the very beginning of my own stamping career, ha! She is none other than the super cute and enormously inspiring Julie Ebersole!!! Woot woot!!!

A former high school teacher, Julie was first introduced to stamping over 20 years ago and quickly fell in love! Over the years, her designs and project articles have appeared in popular trade publications, such as Paper Crafts, Stampington and Cards magazines.
In addition to design work, demonstrating and teaching classes in retail stores, she went on to become the Design Team Coordinator for Splitcoast Stampers, the world's largest rubber stamping community, from 2005-2008, and also served in creative/administrative capacities for A Muse Studio (formerly A Muse Artstamps) from 2003-2011 as the company's Creative Teams Director.

On her blog, Paper Trufflez, Julie regularly shares creative projects in her signature simple-yet-smashing style, interspersed with a good deal of humor and fun! She continues to enjoy independent design work, and teaching classes, both live and online, is still her favorite thing to do!

And here's beauty that Julie created for us



*swoon*
To read more, visit Julie's blog HERE.

And now onto our Design Team!

Warm Wishes card by Alice Wertz

Warm Thoughts card by JJ Bolton 

Warm Wishes card by Mariana Grigsby

Warm and Cozy shadowbox by Pearl Lui

Thanks card by Savannah O'Gwynn

Thank you again to Miss Julie Ebersole for joining us today! And big thanks to our fabulous Design Team for their beautiful work here. Leave a comment here and visit all their blogs and leave some love for a chance to win Cup of Wishes yourself! All winners will be announced tomorrow!

Oh yeah, full reveals tomorrow! Products will all go on sale by 9PM EST tomorrow at the store too!

And not to worry, I didn't slack off this month. Come back for daily doses of inspiration by yours truly!!

Stamp Highlight: On Target

Today's Stamp Highlight feature is none other than On Target - a set that I'm especially excited about! On Target is a must have if you're into cool, modern graphics. It's simple, but hits the bullseye in trendiness! It's really a fun take on the love theme but can be used for many other occasions as well. Our designers came up with so many different ways to use this fun set!

But, first I want to welcome back one of our favorite friends and arguably one of the hottest card makers around -- the fabulous Joy Taylor! 

Hi I'm Joy, a true blue Aussie gal, who loves to craft, especially with paper and stamps and have been doing so for over 17 years.  I live in a small town in Southern New South Wales, working part time and crafting in my spare time, my wonderful partner Darryl has customed built all my crafting furniture and I have a room that is solely dedicated to my passion.

In the time that I have started blogging I have met the most amazing and wonderful people in this industry and have had the blessed opportunity to be apart of many fabulous design teams and also many guesting positions, this has also allowed me to form many great friendships along the way and ones that I would call my closest of friends.

This one beautiful industry that I am so fortunate to be apart of.

Joy created two beautiful cards for us to google at today! Take a look at these beauties!





To read more from Joy, visit her blog HERE.

And as always, let's look at what our Design Team created with On Target!

You're The One card by Alice Wertz

Love card by JJ Bolton

You're The One card by Mariana Grigsby

Love Love Love layout by Pearl Lui

That's all for today! Heartfelt thanks all the way to Australia to our fabulous guest, Joy Taylor! We love having you here!! And big hugs to our Design Team for another inspirational day!

Want to win an On Target set for yourself? Just comment to win! Be sure to visit all the designers featured here today to increase your chances of winning. One winner will be chosen from the collective blogs and announced right here on the 15th!

By the way, have you liked us on Facebook yet? What are you waiting for?! Find us HERE! And thanks! :)

Stamp Highlight: Midnight Letters

Hey welcome back to the second day of our Highlights feature! Today we are highlighting our first alphabet set named Midnight Letters. I'm not normally an alphabet junkie myself, but I do love the look of die cuts letters -- the positive and negative pieces either cut from the dies or the leftover pieces. I think they really make quite an impact, especially when stamped in various colors. And with the holidays coming up, a cute alphabet stamp set is just what you need to personalize tags and gifts!

Before we get started, I want to introduce to you our guest for today -- joining us for the first time is Garden Girl and super scrapbooker -- the majorly talented and sweet, Lexi Bridges!

I'm Lexi Bridges, a midwest girl married to my high school sweetheart for 13 years and a stay at home momma to two crazy, sweet boys. I tried several hobbies (feather tree making anyone?) before discovering scrapbooking about five years ago. I create in the messiest scrap space ever, most often in the quiet wee hours. I'm not sure how I would describe my scrapping style, but a project doesn't feel complete to me until I have used my sewing machine. I currently design for October Afternoon and Two Peas in a Bucket. Thanks, Mama Elephant, for having me! 

And now check out the super sweet layout Lexi created for us!

Please check out Lexi's blog HERE for more details!

And now we move on to our Design Team!

I Love You card by Alice Wertz

Snow card by JJ Bolton

Happy Birthday card by Mariana Grigsby 

Stamped ornaments by Pearl Lui

Dude Happy Bday card by Savannah O'Gwynn

That's it for today!! Big, big thanks again to our guest designer, Lexi Bridges for joining us! 

Now here's your chance to win your own set of Midnight Letters! Just leave a comment here letting us know what you think and visit all the designers featured today for your chance to win. One winner will be chosen randomly from the collective blogs! All winners will be announced here on November 15! Go, go, go!

Stamp Highlight: No Peeking

Hi everyone! Welcome to our November release party! Over the next few days, the design team will be highlighting our stamp sets. We'll also be joined by some majorly talented guests! The full stamp reveal will happen on the 15th and they will go on sale at the store by 9PM EST. So, set your clocks!!

Today we are highlighting No Peeking!

No Peeking is a fun take on traditional tags. It was designed especially for my love of kraft wrapping paper for the holidays. Do you know which part I love/hate the most? The tags! We all love kraft paper so why let all that beautiful blank space go to waste? You can stamp your tags directly on the kraft paper and we've even included a little string! You will be just over the top delighted with the cuties we designed peeking from the set as well as the cute font! So, so excited about this set so let's get at it!

To kick off our highlights, we welcome back our super swell friend, the one and only, Teri Anderson!

I'm Teri Anderson. I am a 30-something, camera toting, travel loving, John Mayer fan. I'm a long-time paper crafter and scrapbooker. I've crafted since I was a kid and kept a scrapbook since high school, but I really caught the bug bad when I moved away to a small town after college where I knew no one. It was a great way to get to know folks and to keep my mind off my real world job. Paper crafting came for me during that time. I am currently one of the Go-to Gals a for Paper Crafts magazine. I'm on a couple different design teams. I have spent a good chunk of the last year teaching at conventions across the country. When I am not crafting, I am: spending lots of time with family; heading to the beach; spoiling my two fluffy dogs; going to concerts and taking lots and lots of pictures.

Now let's take a look at the goodies Teri created for us!

Second card

Here's the inside

And now onto our fabulous Design Team!

Made With Love card by Alice Wertz

A Gift For You card by JJ Bolton 

Special Delivery card by Mariana Grigsby

Made With Love tags by Pearl Lui

No Peeking gift box by Savannah O'Gwynn

That's all for today, folks! Big thanks to our guest, Teri Anderson for joining us again and as always, big cheers for our Design Team for a fabulous job! 

How would you like to win a No Peeking set for yourself? Leave a comment here and all our designers showcased here today for a chance to win. One winner will be chosen randomly from the collective blogs! See you back here tomorrow for our next Stamp Highlight feature with another fantastic guest! You'll never guess who it is! :)