Guest Designer: Donna Mikasa

Donna Mikasa is back with us today with 3 cards featuring Make a Wish. Make a Wish will be back in stock later this week along with a huge restock of everything else. Thanks for all your patience!

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Hello! Today I’m sharing some cards using Make a Wish, my favorite set from the new release. Using Post-It Tape, I masked off a square area on the front of the card, and ink distressed several colors of Distress inks inside the square. I also flicked some water, and dried the inked area thoroughly with a heat tool.

The sentiment and stars were gold embossed and on all three cards, they were placed in different areas, giving them three different looks.

I love the collaboration between Pauline Ibarra and Mama Elephant and look forward to future sentiments from her. I know they will be awesome!

Designer Series: Make a Wish with Nichol Magouirk + Video

Hello stampers! Nichol here today with a new card featuring the On Point Borders Stamp Set.

Border stamp sets are some of the most versatile stamps you can have in your collection. For my card today, I created a custom rainbow background with one of the border stamps from On Point Borders using the Mama Elephant Apple, Orangeade, Sunshine, Mojito and Ocean Inks. I stamped the border on a piece of cardstock cut using the Femme Frames Creative Cuts stitched border die.

I die cut some vellum using the Femme Frames Creative Cuts scallop border die and stamped a greeting and stars from the Mama Elephant Make A Wish Stamp Set. I embossed the greeting with a sparkly black embossing powder and the stars with bright embossing powders to coordinate with the stamped background.

I finished the inside of the card with an additional greeting and stamped stars from the Make A Wish Stamp Set.

VIDEO TUTORIAL

Thanks for hanging out with me today!

Designer Series: Just Hatched with JJ Bolton

Hi there!  It's JJ stopping by the Mama Elephant blog with a card I made with the adorable new set Just Hatched!  Seriously who doesn't love baby animals?  Plus this set has a bunch of sweet little sentiments to mix and match.

The moment I saw the teeny animals in this set, I knew I would use this technique.  Replacing a letter with an image is a favorite technique of mine and the animals in this set are the perfect scale to work with the Inline Letters dies!   This technique is super easy to do with just a little bit of planning.  The first step is choose your stamp image.  The image should be a similar scale of your letters to work best.  I usually lay out my dies with the stamp and do some practice cuts to play with spacing and make sure the letters are straight.  Once you've got the spacing correct, tape your dies together with some low tack washi tape or repositional tape.

For this card, I used some patterned paper with a cloud design.  (I'm trying to get better at using my patterned papers;)  As a little detail, I die cut the top edge of my die cut panel with the clouds die from Landscape Trio.  Here's a little close up of that cute chickie:)

That’s it for me!  Thank you so much for stopping in!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

ONE DAY TRUE STAMP SALE!

Hi everyone! For one day only, we're rolling back the early bird price on True Stamp for the special price of $49! That's nearly a savings of 50%!

 There are only 50 spots available for the discount. Once all 50 spots are claimed, the doors for True Stamp 2014 will be closed! Sold out! All 500 spots are filled. Wow, what a great event it will be! :)

To sign up go here and enter code ROLLBACK

http://www.truestamp2014.com/mama

Here's another peek at the class Nichol Magouirk and I are teaching together.

Designer Series: Laura Bassen and her cute kids!! MUST WATCH VIDEO!!!

OMG, you guys! The talented Laura Bassen is with us again today plus a few more special guests!! Gotta watch and LISTEN to the video! Haha, had me cracking up, I love her and her gang!!

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Hello there! Laura Bassen here and today I have a fun card featuring the new Everyday Greetings stamp set. I really love this new set with it's fabulous combination of handwritten and vintage looking typewriter fonts.



I also used the critters from the Up and Away stamp set as well as the balloons from the Good Times set.



I have a VERY special video for you today. You are gonna bust your pants right open when you listen...enjoy:)

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Designer Series: Everyday Greetings with Elena Roussakis

Hey there! Elena here, just stopping by with a card I made using some of the new sets.

I started out by creating my card base, simply stamping the triangle pattern from on point borders to cover the entire area.  I sponged around the edges in a dark grey ink and set it aside (I can't help it, everything looks unfinished to me without sponged edges. Is there a support group for that?)

Then, I set about creating my focal panel.  I used post-it strips to create a random geometric pattern, and sponged on different colors, really working them in to make sure that I got saturated color. I wanted the colors to really pop in contrast to the black and white card base.

Then, using sketchy letters, I spelled out "you are" to compliment the wonderful script font of the everyday greeting sentiment. I overlapped them a little, so that they looked like one cohesive unit.

I didn't want the whole card to be flat, so I cut out a "smile" speech bubble and popped it up over the sentiments.  In passing, the speech bubble die from just hatched matches the hello speech bubble from everyday greetings, but not this smile one (which is facing the opposite direction.)

I hope you like it! Thanks for stopping by!

♥, elena.

Designer Series: On Point Borders video with Emily Leiphart!

Hi, it's Emily here and today I'm showcasing the On Point Borders stamp set. When I use border stamps, I typically use them as accents and this is exactly what I've done here. I used it to stamp a background pattern on to patterned paper.

Then I cut the larger of the Femme Frames dies from crepe paper, scrunching it in the centre and adhering it to the stamped background. I stamped the happy birthday sentiment from Make a Wish directly on to a panel cut from the smaller of the Femme Frames dies.

After adhering the top panel to the crepe paper layer, I die cut some woodgrain stars using the Confetti dies. I added a foil cardstock layer behind those stars to create a shiny shadow. See how it all came together here:

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Guest designer Allison Kreft!!!!!

Meeting like minded creative people is hands down my favorite part of my job. One of my favorite people in this industry is none other than Allison Kreft. I have followed her work from when she was designing for Hambly and now Webster's Pages and Echo Park. I have especially swooned over her lines for Webster's Pages! Check out Sprinkled With Love and Hello World.

Allison is one of those multi-layered talented people that I completely admire! I had bugged her about something a couple years back (she was super nice even then) and finally met her at CHA! I'm so happy to get our products in her hot little hands and feature her work today!!! Check out her beautiful layout below!

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When I first saw the Mama Elephant sequins stamps (from the Confetti set) I had so many ideas of projects to use them on. I decided to create my own patterned paper using the sequin stamps with a simple color combo. I used the bubblegum, lollipop and Hazel stamp colors for the design. I also used the stamps on my wood veneers with the pigment inks. I was pleasantly surprised how easily they stamped on the veneers and I love the results. The hazel color is great for wood, it makes it look engraved.

Products used: For this layout I used a selection of Mama Elephant Confetti stamps & pigment inks, Amy Tangerine Plus One thickers and my new collection Sprinkled with Love from Webster's Pages

STAMP HIGHLIGHT : EVERYDAY GREETINGS

Today we end our Stamp Highlights with Everyday Greetings. This set is a mixture of Kryssi's beautiful handwriting and a vintage typewriter font. This combination is just magnific!  These sentiments are fierce and wonderful in every way! Enjoy!

EVERYDAY GREETINGS

Our Design Team did good!

Donna colored the two cuties from Love Quotes and paired it up with an strong sentiment from Everyday Greetings to make a love card.

Emily cashed in on the true meaning of the sentiment by putting the little birdie from Love Quotes in the umbrella from Up and Away, still smiling despite the perils of being tossed in the waves at sea.

Elena used three out of four new sets on this card! The sentiment from "everyday greetings" is framed on either side by cloud panels that were stamped with the triangles strip from "on point borders." I love how she slightly overlapped the sentiment onto either side. The little bird from "just hatched" is looking pretty fierce there, isn't she?

Jenn created a CAS card using the "smile" speech bubble stamped several times in different colors, then fussy-cut to create a border. This card is sure to put a smile on the recipient's face!

Nichol stamped the greeting and small heart speech bubble on vellum with Versamark Ink and heat set them with gold embossing powder for an elegant looking wedding card. The little birdies from Love Quotes sitting in a die cut wreath complete this love-themed card.

JJ used the rays of sunshine from Sunny Skies as a background for one of the beautiful sentiments from Everyday Greetings. We love the way the little shaker sun sits on top of the green rolling hills (created using the Landscape Trio dies)!

STAMP HIGHLIGHT : ON POINT BORDERS

Today's Stamp Highlight is On Point Borders. I absolutely love this border set. The patterns are simple but it is right on point! Use it to make great a background or your very own patterned paper! We are very happy to add this to our collection of borders!

ON POINT BORDERS

I love what the Design Team has done with it!

Donna was going for washi tape look with small square border. She stamped in Delicata Gold and then with two colors of mid tone inks. She then watercolored a small portion of the card behind the sentiment. Last but not least, die cut gold stars were added.

 Laura used one of the borders from the On Point Borders stamp set to create a rainbow panel down the side of the card. She stamped the sentiment and stars using the Make a Wish stamp set.

Jenn was inspired to use the On Point Borders stamp set to make a banner full of patterned flags set on a sweet, cloudy scene. Makes for a dreamy escape from this long winter!

Elena's tag is a "hoot!" It packs a punch, with the rainbow-stamped "on point" squares, and the adorable "just hatched" owl, tucked into the negative space of the tag.

JJ used On Point Borders to create a fun white-on-kraft full background pattern! We love how the baby dinosaur from Just Hatched is peeking out from behind the custom stitched panel!

STAMP HIGHLIGHT : MAKE A WISH

Today we have the gorgeous Make a Wish by Pauline Ibarra for our Stamp Highlight. As you can see these sentiments are bold and beautiful. This set is great for all celebrations!

Make A Wish

Let's see what our Design Team have for us today.

Donna watered down three distress inks and applied to white cardstock.

Then let dry and stamped sentiment and stars in archival ink.

Jenn created a circular card by repeatedly stamping the Happy Birthday sentiment onto various sized circles. She distressed the edges and inked them up. The glitzy stars add a bit of sparkle to this shabby-chic card.

Geralyn loved the beautiful handlettered sentiment in Make a Wish so she made it the main focus of this card. She surrounded the bold sentiment with soft florals from Water Blooms. Together these stamp sets make quite a pretty pair!

Emily used one of the sentiments to create an encouragement card. She created a ladder to enable the fox from Up and Away to reach for the stars.

Elena double-stamped the happy birthday sentiment: once in our blush ink, and then embossed in gold over the top. The shadow effect is lovely. The no-line coloring technique that she employed to the Up & Away bunny and the balloon (good times) gives the card a more vintage twist.

JJ took advantage of all the loops and swirls of the handwritten sentiments from Make a Wish. She paper pieced the loops of the words with a variety of pattern papers. So cute and such a great way to use up little paper scraps!

Laura used the Trifecta stamp set to create a subtle background for the large sentiment in the Make a Wish stamp set.

Nichol stamped and embossed the large script greeting onto watercolor paper and used Distress Inks diluted with water to create the pretty resist watercolor background.

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Some ME Updates...

Today is the last day to save BIG with True Stamp!!! I'm really excited for this one because it's our first big online class contribution. Our own Nichol Magouirk will be taking the lead for Mama Elephant! Our class is all sorts of fabulous!!!

Use code LOVE at checkout to save almost 50 percent off your registration. With your exclusive discount, you'll get over six hours of stamping classes from Mama Elephant, Simon Says Stamp, Paper Smooches, Technique Tuesday, Lawn Fawn, and Raisin Boat, plus full replays of the whole shebang for less than fifty bucks.

Click HERE to sign up and save!

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We're gearing up for our workshop collaboration with Kelly Purkey this Saturday in New York City! It is almost sold out. Registration ends tomorrow.

Click HERE to sign up and get ready for a fun filled day!

In the past, I have always lamented that the East Coast never have any fun crops or classes, so we worked really hard with Kelly to make it happen! Thanks to everyone who signed up already from near and very far! So excited! :D

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Thank you for the tremendous response to our newest release. We are working very hard to get your orders out as fast as humanly possible. Those of you who ordered Make a Wish, your orders will be shipping out Wednesday or Thursday. There was a bit of a booboo in one of the sentiments and we worked with our manufacturer to get a replacement right away. Thank you so, so, so much for your patience and understanding!

The Stampede and giveaways is still going strong. Click HERE to stampede with us!

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Are you on Instagram? You can find us here:

http://instagram.com/heymamaelephant

We want to share your work! Share your Mama Elephant projects or your happy mail with us! Use hashtag #mamaelephant and we'll check you out and possibly feature your work!

STAMP HIGHLIGHT : JUST HATCHED

Today we start our Stamp Highlights with Just Hatched. We had so much fun designing this set and it looks like the Design Team had a lot of fun creating with them too! I am in total awe with what they have created! Just Hatched also has a coordinating creative cut set which will allow you to slip the baby animals right into their eggs! These little sweet babies just cracks me up!

Just Hatched

Brace yourselves, there is a sweetness overload with our Design Team's projects.

We will start with our Guest Designer, Donna Mikasa's project.

In her card, distress inks were brushed on a white cardstock panel in rainbow fashion.

Little chicks were stamped in a pattern and the sentiment was added beneath.

Some creative masking helps Elena make a tight focal image on her graphic card. The little heart speech bubble from "everyday greetings" works perfectly with the images from "just hatched."

Emily popped a die cut panel over all four animals from Just Hatched to create depth and further the illusion of them sitting inside the eggshells.

Geralyn created a cute card using the new Just Hatched set. She cut out the egg shells to create a simple scene and added a bit of foam adhesive behind the speech bubble for some dimension.

Nothing says "Welcome Sweet New Baby" like sweet little stamped and colored chicks and pastel eggs. Nichol created a scene of chicks and eggs from Just Hatched along with the Landscape Trio, Femme Frames and Bold Banner Creative Cuts.

Laura used the Just Hatched stamp set to create a cute tag for a new baby. She masked the mama chick off so that the baby could peek out from behind her. The tag was made using the Embellished Tag die as well as the Dainty Bow die.