Saturday, July 28, 2012

Monkeying Around!

Today I have a simple but cute card to share with you.  This is the last day of the Stampendous Reveal Week and I must tell you I have had a load of fun creating cards this week for your viewing pleasure!  Here's my card for today:

I used Cling Changito Pilot and Joy of Journey for my sentiment.  My card base is Bazzill and my patterned paper is Reminisce.  I used a little distress ink on my sentiment and on the bottoms of the clouds I cut using a die.  My image is colored with Copics, cut out and pop-dotted like the clouds onto my card front.  I just love the way this card came together!

Don't forget I am drawing my name today for my secret surprise blog candy and will post that on my blog tomorrow.  Be sure to comment today as you might win my candy or candy from Stampendous!  Check back tomorrow to see if you are MY winner.
A few of my teammates are showing off new products from Stampendous as well!  Not only do some of them have their own blog candy, Stampendous will be drawing a winner for these great prize packs.




How do you win it? It's easy! THREE of the bloggers today will be choosing a random commenter from their blog, and those lucky people will be announced on the Stampendous blog Tuesday, July 31 (please leave comments by Monday, July 30 at 11:59 PM PST). The more places you leave a comment, the better your chances are to win!   Below is the list of team members who are sharing inspiration today:

Stampendous Impressions
Kristine Reynolds
Lynn Mercurio
Jennifer Dove 
Taylor Usry (has additional blog candy)
Jan Garber
Lea Kimmel  (me)
Cyndi Bundy
Pam Hornschu
Rhea Weigand
Janelle Stollfus
Wendy Price
Tenia Nelson
Jennifer Ingle
Melinda Gleissner
Stephanie Lee
Susie Moore
Suzanne Czosek
Wendy Jordan
April Derrick
Tobi Crawford

Thanks so much for stopping by today and this past week.  Your comments have meant a lot to me and I appreciate each and every one.  See you later!

Hugs,
Lea

Friday, July 27, 2012

It's Magic...

...no, not Magic Mike, Halloween Magic,  one of the newest images from Stampendous.  I really like this image because it can be used for parties, Mardi Gras and other fun occasions, not just Halloween!  As you know, this is Release Week for Stampendous and we've been sharing new images all week long.  Tomorrow is the last day to celebrate and we are having a huge blog hop, you don't want to miss this!



Getting back to my card, I used Bazzill for the base, We R Memory Keepers for the patterned papers, and Neenah for my image that I colored with Copics.  Once I got all my layers put together I added some  Aged Aqua Embossing Enamel over some cool little gears I found in the bead section of Michael's.  Yep, the bead section!  Who would have thunk it!?  Anyway, that was my cool Steampunk Fran•táge addition to the card!



A few of my teammates are showing off new products from Stampendous as well! Not only do some of them have their own blog candy, Stampendous will be drawing a winner for this great prize pack.


How do you win it? It's easy! One of the featured bloggers today will be choosing a random commenter from her blog, and that lucky person will be announced on the Stampendous blog tomorrow. The more places you leave a comment, the better your chances are to win! Below is the list of team members who are sharing inspiration today:

Stampendous Impressions
Kristine Reynolds
Jennifer Dove 
Taylor Usry (has blog candy)
Jan Garber
Lea Kimmel  (me)
Pam Hornschu
Rhea Weigand
Wendy Price
Tenia Nelson
April Derrick

Please leave some love along the way as we've all worked really hard this week to showcase these images just for you!  Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the final hop for this week.  Don't forget to leave a comment if you want to be entered for my secret surprise blog candy!  See you tomorrow!

Hugs,
Lea

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Blooming Christmas

Well, it isn't December 12, National Poinsettia Day, but it is another day in our reveal week for Stampendous!  Today I'm sharing with you a card I made using Cling Jumbo Poinsettia.  The papers I used are Bazzill for my base, Reminisce for the patterned paper and Bo Bunny for the accent paper.  I also used a little Offray ribbon I picked up at Michael's.  My flower is pop dotted on and I bent the flower petals just a little for some added dimension.  Here's my card:
I have to say, I love how this card came out!  Here's a close up:

Don't forget I have secret surprise blog candy this week.  To be eligible, you must comment on my blog at least three days this week. A few of my teammates are showing off new products from Stampendous as well! Not only do some of them have their own blog candy, Stampendous will be drawing a winner for this great prize pack.


How do you win it? It's easy! One of the featured bloggers today will be choosing a random commenter from her blog, and that lucky person will be announced on the Stampendous blog tomorrow. The more places you leave a comment, the better your chances are to win! Below is the list of team members who are sharing inspiration today:

Stampendous Impressions
Jennifer Ingle
Kristine Reynolds
Jennifer Dove 
Lynn Mercurio
Taylor Usry (has additional blog candy)
Jan Garber
Susie Moore
Lea Kimmel
Rhea Weigand
Wendy Price
Janelle Stollfus
Suzanne Czosek 
Tenia Nelson 

Be sure to back tomorrow for another little peek!  Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs,
Lea

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Special Delivery!

How about a little Christmas in July!  Today I'm sharing two new stamps from the Stampendous new release!  Featured here are Cling Special Delivery and Cling Christmas Background.  I love these images as it takes me back to my childhood in their styling.  I used to patiently wait for the animated Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV show as that was always a sign that Christmas was almost here.  Right after that Frosty the Snowman would come on.  Wow, those were the days!
So the paper I used also has that vintage flavor these images were calling for, it's from Reminisce and was an instant favorite of mine.  My card base is Bazzill and my images were stamped on ivory Neenah.  I also used a little Tim Holtz distress ink and some twine I "aged" with distress ink.
I love the Cling Christmas Background stamp and can already see some major usage for that one!  What a versatile stamp!  I can use the whole thing or pull out just one portion which gives me lots of options.  It's a simple but cute card and I do hope you like it.  Here's a close-up of my images:
Don't forget about my secret surprise blog candy that you MUST comment on my post to be eligible for.  Also, you must comment at least three days of the release week to be eligible for my candy.
A few of my teammates are showing off new products from Stampendous as well! Not only do some of them have their own blog candy, Stampendous will be drawing a winner for this great prize pack.


How do you win it? It's easy! One of the featured bloggers today will be choosing a random commenter from her blog, and that lucky person will be announced on the Stampendous blog tomorrow. The more places you leave a comment, the better your chances are to win! Below is the list of team members who are sharing inspiration today:


That's it for today!  Be sure to stop back by tomorrow for another little look see of something wonderful!

Hugs,
Lea

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Trick or Treat!

Yes, I know it isn't Halloween yet, however, when you have an image this cute, you wish it was!  It's Release Week at Stampendous and boy do we have some cute images to share with you.  I love the new Stampendous Kiddos; they are just totally adorable!  Here's my card for today:
 

Cling Kitty Candy Kiddo and Cling Autumn Words are the new images I've used for this card and I love them both!  I stamped the kiddo stamp on Neenah with Memento and colored it with Copics.  Next I stamped the image again without reinking on a piece of scrap paper that I cut out to use for a mask.  Once my kiddo image was masked, I stamped the background stamp over her.  I trimmed my image and used Antique Linen and Rusty Hinge Tim Holtz distress inks on my stamped images.  I added a length of ribbon that I poked a hole through with a jump ring and then added the Tim Holtz Halloween token that says Jack O' Lantern.  I thought that was just the perfect touch for this card, what do you think?


The base of my card is Bazzill, the patterned papers are Graphic 45's Happy Haunting.  My ribbon is May Arts.  I also used the Drippy Goo edge punch from Martha Stewart.  I think that makes the jack-o-lanterns look a little like they are melting into the clock paper.  A fun card for sure! 

Don't forget I have secret surprise blog candy to give away this week but the winner must comment on my blog posts at least three days this week.  A few of my teammates are showing off new products from Stampendous as well! Not only do some of them have their own blog candy, Stampendous will be drawing a winner for this great prize pack.


How do you win it? It's easy! One of the featured bloggers today will be choosing a random commenter from her blog, and that lucky person will be announced on the Stampendous blog tomorrow. The more places you leave a comment, the better your chances are to win! Below is the list of team members who are sharing inspiration today:

Stampendous Impressions
Lynn Mercurio
Jan Garber
Jennifer Dove
Taylor Usry (has blog candy)
Janelle Stollfus (has additional blog candy)
Lea Kimmel (that's me!)
Steph Lee
Tenia Nelson
Wendy Price

Be sure to check back tomorrow for another image release.  Until then, have a lovely day!

Hugs,
Lea

Monday, July 23, 2012

Who's New?

Steampunk Owl!  That's who!  What's new?  Tons of cool stamps at Stampendous!  Yay!  This week those of us on the design team are sharing a few of our newest stamps with you just to whet your appetite and leave you wanting more.  Hmmm...almost mean, huh?  I said almost! 

I'm so excited about this release that I'm going to do a first, I'm going to offer up some secret surprise blog candy.  Now, here's the deal, in order for you to be eligible for MY blog candy, you need to comment on at least three of my posts this week.  No comments, no candy!  Stampendous is offering up daily prizes but you have to comment to be eligible for those too.

So, without further ado, here's my card for today:


This is the new Cling Steampunk Owl, isn't he absolutely owl-some!?  I love this image and if you're an owl fan, I'm sure you will too!  I stamped him in Memento's Rich Cocoa on Bazzill and colored him in with Copics.  Using my VersaMark pad I also stamped some watch and clock faces from Time Flies and Steampunk Gears and embossed the images with clear EP.  I layered my image piece on black Bazzill and added those layers to  my base of Bazzill and patterned papers from KaiserCraft (the black and gray) and Graphic 45 (the clocks).  Next I threw on a little Fran•táge with a mix of Aged Taupe, Aged Copper and Chunky Black embossing enamels along with a smidge of Tea Stained Mica Fragments.  A simple card, but, oh so fun to create!  Here's another view that shows the Fran•táge elements a little better:


So, just to recap, if you want to be entered for my blog candy, you know what to do!  If you want to be entered to win the daily prize from Stampendous, well, you have to comment to be eligible for that too!  A few of my teammates are showing off new products from Stampendous as well!  Some of them have their own blog candy, too. Stampendous will be drawing a winner for this great prize pack.


One more time, how do you win it? It's easy! One of the featured bloggers today will be choosing a random commenter from her blog, and that lucky person will be announced on the Stampendous blog tomorrow. The more places you leave a comment, the better your chances are to win! Below is the list of team members who are sharing inspiration today:

Stampendous Impressions
Cyndi Bundy (has additonal blog candy)
Kristine Reynolds
Jennifer Dove
Taylor Usry (has additional blog candy)
Jan Garber
Wendy Jordan
Lea Kimmel (that's me!)
Rhea Weigand
Wendy Price

Leave us some love and you might just be a winner!  Be sure to check back tomorrow for another awesome image that's sure to be a treat!

Hugs,
Lea

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

CHA is happening now, but....


Release week is next week and the Design Team will showcase new stamps all week long!  See you soon!

Hugs,
Lea

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Howdy 'Tex!

EnviroTex, that is!  I hope you are enjoying your Saturday! We've had so much fun crafting with our stamp images and EnviroTex Jewelry Resin from Environmental Technologies. A huge thank you to Carmi Cimiata of the Resin Crafts Blog, she has helped us learn how this product works and just what it can do. We're so appreciative of her and the folks at ETI who sent us all some resin to play with. {big round of applause!}  

Today I have three projects to share with you before you hop along to the next designer's blog.  Here's my first project.  This is just a simple little magnet for the fridge.  It started out as an oversized button that was a very bright, almost neon, orange.  The first thing I did was cut some paper out for the center of the button.  I flipped the patterned paper I chose over and cut a smaller square for the middle.  I stamped my image from the set, From The Kitchen Perfectly Clear™ Stamps on Neenah, colored it, cut it out and coated it with Glossy Accents.  I snipped three small pieces of wire for my "steam" and adhered it to the back of the cup.  Next I poured my resin over the whole thing.  This was one of the first pieces I actually did so I learned very quickly that I should have coated the whole insert, not just the cup I colored with Copics.  The resin changed the vibrancy of the paper I used.








Next I did a card using Grasshopper FlufflesFoliate Quad Cube and a really cute cheetah bottle cap that Carmi sent.  This just begged for something fun and from the jungle!  Sweet little Fluffles is daydreaming of being a wild jungle cat!  I really like how this came out!  For the resin piece, I colored the image with Copics, added a coating of Glossy Accents and when that dried, I poured resin on top.  The papers are Bazzill, Neenah and Reminisce.  I also added a little Tim Holtz distress ink around the edges of both stamped pieces.



Here's a side view of the bottle cap!  Pretty cool!







My last project for today is one that I decided to create at the last minute!  This is a bit of a sneak peak of one of our new fall/Halloween images.  This one is called Raven Background and it's so new you can't even find it on our web site just yet!  How cool is that!?  I stamped my image on a clear piece of acetate with Staz-On ink in Jet Black.  I had this neat little wooden piece that had been sent to me a short while back.  I hadn't known at the time what I could do with it but this one just popped into my noggin!  I used some Tea Dye distress ink to stain the piece of wood.  I laid my piece of acetate with my image on it down and then covered that piece with another piece of acetate creating a kind of sandwich.  Next I took Gilded Mica Fragments, Tea Stained Mica FragmentsBronze Crushed Glass Glitter and Black Crushed Glass Glitter, mixed them all up and glued them around the edge of the board with Glossy Accents.  Once that had dried I added my resin.  There are still a few areas where the fragments stick out of the resin but I love how it turned out!  I hope you like the projects I created to share with you today.
The rest of the design team has prepared some fantastic projects to inspire you today. We hope you'll run over to your local Michaels or other craft store and pick up some resin and some Stampendous stamps and get playing. If you make something fun, please take a picture and put it on our Facebook page! We'd love to see what you're doing! As you visit each blog, you'll be entered in our drawing for a great prize package when you leave a comment! If you don't tell us you were there by commenting, we can't include you in the drawing! We'll pick a winner from today's comments separate from the commenters throughout the week. Get hoppin!

Lea Kimmel (that's me!)
NATURALLY you want to hear about the Prizes!! Carmi has 3 prize packages that can be won by our fans in Canada where she lives. She will draw three Canadian winners from the comments on her blog all week. We have 3 prize packages for our friends with US mailing addresses.
  • We'll draw one winner from the weekly comments on our blog.
  • We'll draw one winner from the comments on Saturday's Big Blog Hop
  • We'll draw one winner from Facebook - You need to SHARE one or more of our posts about this project on your Timeline **
Each prize package from us will include a Jewelry pack of Resin, a bottle cap, bezel and button to try, and the Stampendous Charm Collection Perfectly Clear Stamps - perfect jewelry sized stamps for your crafting pleasure! ** Why do I need to SHARE the post ? Because Facebook has changed the way they show posts from a Page to that Page's fans. (There are millions of posts a day now!) When you "share" a post it lets Facebook know you want to see posts from us. It also tells your friends what we're up to and extends our "reach". Maybe they will come like us, too! That IS why we're doing this, to meet more people! How do I SHARE a post? Visit our page on Facebook - Stampendous - We'll keep an EnviroTex post pinned at the top this week - just find it and click on SHARE underneath the post, it's blue. It will pop up a window that says Share On Your Own Timeline. You can write a message in the box if you like then click Share This Link. That's it...easy!!

Thanks for hopping with us today!

Hugs,
Lea

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Resin-ating with EnviroTex!

Hey everybody!  This week those of us on the design team for Stampendous are playing with EnviroTex Craft Resin. Carmi over at the Resin Crafts Blog generously sent us some jewelry resin to create with and has shown us some cool techniques to try out. We've all jumped in with both feet and created some awesome things to inspire you to try this craft yourselves. The possibilities are infinite with all the wonderful micas, glitters, etc in the Fran•táge Essentials Collection.  Stampendous images are just perfect for jewelry and home decor, from the really big ones right down to the little bitty ones! Here's what I've created!







My first project here was created using a fragment charm from Tim Holtz for a base.  I stamped my piece using my Jet Black Staz-On pad and three stamps from the Charm Collection Perfectly Clear Stamp Set from Stampendous.  I punched out a small heart with red Bazzill paper and adhered it to the back side with Glossy Accents.  Next it was time for Resin!  On the front side, I added a little sprinkle of Black Crushed Glass Glitter and added my resin.  Once that side cured, I flipped it over and added a layer of Multi Ultra Fine Crystal Glitter then covered it with resin.  When that side cured I added a jump ring, some black satin cord and a few more charm findings from Michael's.  This is going to be a really cool necklace to wear!  My next project was equally fun to create using a bezel sent by Carmi. First I put down a layer of Royal Ultra Fine Jewel Glitter for my water, then I added a little Taupe Color Fragments for my sand.  Next I stamped just the seahorse from the Cling Mermaid Kiddo stamp on Neenah Classic Crest with Memento Tuxedo Black ink by Tsukineko.  Next I colored it with Copic markers, cut it out and added a layer of Glossy Accents to keep the ink from blotching.  Once my Glossy Accents were good and set, I place the seahorse where I wanted it, added three seed beads for "bubbles" and added my resin.  Once cured, all it needed was a jump ring and a chain to wear it with!



Yet another cute piece of jewelry I can wear for years to come.  Just knowing I created it myself will make it that much more special!







Come see what the others playing along today have done!  Visit them, leave some love! Win cool stuff! If you get brave and try this, leave a photo on our Facebook Page so we can see what you've done!

Lea Kimmel (that's me!)
NATURALLY there are Prizes!! Carmi has 3 prize packages that can be won by our fans in Canada where she lives. She will draw three Canadian winners from the comments on her blog all week. We also have 3 prize packages for our friends with US mailing addresses.
  • We'll draw one winner from the weekly comments on our blog.
  • We'll draw one winner from the comments on Saturday's Big Blog Hop
  • We'll draw one winner from Facebook - You need to SHARE one or more of our posts about this project on your Timeline **
Each prize package from us will include a Jewelry pack of Resin, a bottle cap, bezel and button to try, and the Stampendous Charm Collection Perfectly Clear Stamps - perfect jewelry sized stamps for your crafting pleasure! ** Why do I need to SHARE the post ? Because Facebook has changed the way they show posts from a Page to that Page's fans. (There are millions of posts a day now!) When you "share" a post it lets Facebook know you want to see posts from us. It also tells your friends what we're up to and extends our "reach". Maybe they will come like us, too! That IS why we're doing this, to meet more people! How do I SHARE a post? Visit our page on Facebook - Stampendous - We'll keep an EnviroTex post pinned at the top this week - just find it and click on SHARE underneath the post, it's blue. It will pop up a window that says Share On Your Own Timeline. You can write a message in the box if you like then click Share This Link. That's it...easy!!

Don't forget to come back on Saturday for more eye candy and more chances to win as the entire team is playing along.  Woohoo!  Now, leave me some love! Your comment might just be the winning comment.

Hugs,
Lea

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Happy Fourth...

...of July!  Today our country celebrates it's Independence and being the patriotic soul that I am, I had to make a card in honor of the good ol' United States of America!  When I was a child I had a love/hate relationship with this day.  My mother passed away on this day in 1965 when I was four years old.  This has always made today a bittersweet holiday in my little world.  As I grew older and became more and more patriotic my love for our country eased the hurt.  Now I look at it as a celebration of our country and a celebration of the life of a wonderful woman who was taken from us all far too soon.  So, with that being said, here is my clean and simple card made in honor of my mother and our country.


Dedicated to
Shirley Ruth Cheek Quick
October 24, 1936 - July 4, 1965

I would like to believe she is looking over my shoulder when I create and that she approves!
I miss you and love you so! 

 My card is really a simple one.  The base is Bazzill and the patterned paper is from Bo Bunny's Liberty collection and I used May Arts Ribbon.  I also used a little Fired Brick Distress Ink from Tim Holtz.  Using Memento Tuxedo Black ink from Tsukineko I stamped the Happy 4th on Neenah Classic Crest.  I used two different Stampendous stamp sets for the sentiment.  I used the "Happy" from Party Invite Perfectly Clear™ Stamps  and the "4th" from Fifteen Candles Perfectly Clear™ Stamps.

As you can see, both sets are very versatile and there aren't very many celebrations    these two sets don't cover!  There's truly a myriad of things to do with each one.  Think of all the calendars you can create with Fifteen Candles; all the numbers are there!  You can do a lot of cute cards with the present or the party hat or candle using Party Invite.  That doesn't even include the words or the confetti and streamers in both!  And the cake, oh my, there's a lot you can do with that cake.  Just thinking of all the cute ways to decorate that cake gets all sorts of wheels turning in my creative little head!

I hope you all have safe and happy day today!  May the Fourth be with you!  (Sorry, simply couldn't resist that one!)  Thanks for stopping by for a look!

Hugs,
Lea

Sunday, July 1, 2012

United We Run!

Welcome to our Sweet Gothic Kids Olympians Blog Hop Kick off!

Today we open with an awesome Blog Hop, and every day there after until Friday Simply B Stamps is previewing a new SGK Olympian!   You should have landed here from Katrina's blog.
Are you all ready to cheer?  Betty has some special guests on this hop to help "run" it!  I'm one of them!  I was so excited when Betty asked me to help out with this blog hop since I'm a huge fan of her awesome images so, of course, I said yes!  Here's my take on Track Alex, I hope you like him!


I kept it pretty clean and simple.  My base is Bazzill and my patterned paper is Bo Bunny's Liberty line from last year.  Of course my image is on Neenah and colored with Copics.  The sentiment is actually from Stampendous but I "modified" it for the play on words.  I took my craft knife and cut a few places to slide the ribbon through to create my "Finish Line."  A couple of pop dots later and a little layering and here you have it!


Leave a comment on each of the blogs (ya never know where the winner will be chosen from) for a chance to win today's Sneak Peek guy, Track Alex!!  Isn't he a cutie!  From here you should be headed to Kathy's blog.

Here's the complete blog hop list for your hopping convenience!







Lea  (Me!)






Thanks for stopping by!
Hugs!
Lea