Thursday, January 8, 2015

JustRite's January Release-Spring Wishes

I am home with the kiddos once again!  Part of me is happy, and the other part is dreading having to make up these days in June. 
Guess I will worry about it in June. ;)

I have another new set to share with you today from JustRite, called, Spring Wishes. I love sentiment sets because I can incorporate them in numerous ways, and let's be honest, can you ever have enough sentiments?
Since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I decided to make a sweet Valentine slice of cake. 
The cake was cut using my Silhouette.  
I added liquid applique to the frosting and finished it off with a bit of glitter while it was still warm.
I then added glossy accents to the cherry.  The sentiment was stamped in hot pink and tucked under my ribbon/flower combo. I added a few sequins to finish off the card. 
Here is the entire set.  Covers just about everything, doesn't it?  ;)
For more inspiration using this fantastic set, be sure to pop on over to these ladies' blogs!







Thank you so much for stopping by! 
 I truly appreciate your visits!
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Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Season's Giving Blog Candy Winner!

I am so sorry to be posting my winner from the Season's Givings blog giveaway so late! So without further delay, Random.org selected number 108!
That means the winner of my crafty stash is Memaw Dell!


Blogger memaw Dell said...
Enjoying my very first Blog Hop. Nice to find you.

Please e-mail me and I can ship your goodies out to you!
Thanks so much everyone for participating! I am so glad to have "met" so many new crafters! 
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JustRite's January Release, Celtic Lattice

Good morning! I am home with the kiddos for a COLD day!  The wind chill is way below freezing so the schools are closed.  Gotta love Chicago weather! ;)
JustRite has been showing their new releases for January/CHA all week.  I am so happy to show you two sets today.  One set is a pretty background stamp called Celtic Lace.
I cut the Lori Whitlock teacup card using my Silhouette, stamped Celtic Lace with Versamark and embossed it in white. I sponged a bit of pink ink around it for a bit of soft color. 
The sentiment is part of the Caring Thoughts set.  It was also stamped in Versamark and heat embossed in gold.  I cut it into a banner shape.  The flower was cut using the Rose Creations Spellbinder's die and felt.  I added a bit of twine, and a couple of tiny paper daisies I had in my stash from K & Company.
Here is a side view of what the card looks like. It does lay flat when not propped on the brad. Perfect for mailing.  



Be sure to hop on over to the other talented ladies' blogs for more inspiration! 


Have a great day my friends!!!
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Monday, January 5, 2015

Winner of Top Ten Blog Hop!

It is time to announce the winner of my Top Ten Blog giveaway! 

 Using Random.org.......
Number 44!!

 The winner is.....
Blogger Savanna Lea said... love all your projects but the flag card is my favorite!! 


Savanna, please e-mail me and I will mail your goodies out to you!  

 Today is the last day to enter the Season's Giving Blog Hop giveaway! Scroll down for your chance to win.  ;0
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Crafty Secret's Design Team Challenge and Tutorial on How to Take Pictures of Your Cards!

Good morning! 
It is the start of a new month and that means it is time for the Crafty Secret's Design Team Challenge and Linky Party!
I am showcasing a new set today called, Bedtime Kids AND showing you how I photograph my cards!  But first lets talk about the card. :)  I printed the image and colored it with my Copic markers. The dark blue paper behind the image is a digital paper from Crafty Secrets. I used various Spellbinder's dies to create the circular background.  (Scalloped Circles,Pierced Rectangles, and Crisscross).  I also added Spellbinder's feathers, ribbon, and a Prima flower.  
I added a bit of lace and a scattering of sequins to finish off the card. 
I've had several people ask how I take my pictures of my cards. So here is my attempt at a mini tutorial! 

When taking pictures you want to find a good light source.  My living room can be quite dark due to the dark furniture I have.  But fortunately for me I have a large picture window and a side window.  (One faces west and the other south)
I have determined that taking pictures behind the couch you see here, is the best place in my house. 
My family thinks I am a bit goofy when I am sprawled out on the floor with my camera.... ;) 
I also use this particular lens, a 50mm.  I love it because I can set the apperature as low as 1.8 if I want to get a nice blurred (bokeh) background.  
For the card above, my settings were a 2.8 aperture, an ISO of 100 (the lower your ISO the less grainy your photo will be), and a shutter speed of 200. 
And one more VERY important item....I ALWAYS shoot in RAW format.  
You have WAY more control when you edit the photo when it is shot in RAW format!
So here is my little set up behind my couch in front of the picture window.  To be sure the flowers were blurred, I put some space between the card and the flowers.  The further back I place the flowers, the more blurred they will be.  As you can see it is nothing fancy.  The white foam core you see on the right helps to reflect the light from the window and fill in some of the shadows.
If you have any other questions or anything I can show you that would be more helpful, please leave a comment and I will address it in my next post. :) 
For more crafty inspiration, please be sure to visit these other talented ladies!


***Don't forget to enter one of my giveaways below!***
One ends tonight and the other ends tomorrow night!
:)

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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Season's Givings 2015 Blog Hop!


Happy New Year Everyone!!

Welcome to Seasons Givings Blog hop!!!

I can't believe it is 2015 already!   That means I have been crafting for over 15 years and blogging for 8.  And since then, I have acquired a lot of craft supplies. I am talking A LOT! So......the sweet and talented Latisha Yoast, came up with the idea to just... give. We will end the year and start the new one with a gift. So every single blogger on the Seasons Givings Blog Hop is giving something of their own away. Every. Single. One. No sponsors, no one knows what other bloggers are doing - we all are just choosing a gift from our hearts to yours and doing this thing!

So grab your favorite Happy New Year beverage and settle in for some beautiful art, and tons of chances to get a gift to make your New Year brighter.

I have a few favorite tutorials from this past year I thought would be worth showing again.  :)
I created these Christmas ornaments for a Krylon paint challenge and won!  They were also featured in December's Woman's World Magazine.  It has also had over 11,000 repins on Pinterest.  (Which is a record for me) :) You can see the entire tutorial HERE. 

I usually host a tutorial once a month for the Crafty Secret's Design Team Challenge.  This Halloween card was one of my favorites.  A fun shaker card! You can see the complete set of instructions HERE. 

How about a summery card....mermaid style?  The tutorial can be found HERE.

Or maybe a masculine card?  Instructions can be found HERE to make this little number.

I also have decoupaged Easter eggs to make.  Click HERE for full instructions!

I also created a stained glass church window perfect for a wedding, communion, or confirmation.  I give step by step instructions HERE.

Okay, I can't show you every single tutorial I've ever had, so I will make this my last one! But if you are interested in seeing more, head over to my right side bar and scroll down to the tutorials heading.  You can see all of them there. This last project recycles the Bath and Body Wallflower into a Christmas ornament.  I created about 4 different ones and now I never throw them away! For all of the details click HERE. 

Now on to my Giveaway!! 
I am giving away an assortment of products from my favorite companies!
All of this goes to ONE winner! All you need to do is become a follower and tell me what you would like to see in a future tutorial. I will pick a winner on January 6th at 10:00 CST.  (Because I can't stay up later than that! LOL!)
I hope this awesome blog hop brings some sunshine into your life today. Enjoy the journey and Happy New Year! :)

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Monday, December 29, 2014

My Top Ten of 2014 Blog Hop and Giveaway!



Edited on 1/6/15
*****Giveaway Now Closed*******
I am so excited you decided to visit me today! I am taking a walk down memory lane and reviewing my ten most favorite projects from this year.  (Which by the way was very difficult narrowing down!) I am participating with many other talented bloggers who are doing the same thing....and that's why it has turned into a blog hop! ;)Be sure to make it to the end of the post where I will be hosting a fun giveaway! 

 So here it goes! (click on the picture to see the original post!)
1.  I created this doughnut shaped card for Splitcoast Stampers, when I was part of the Dirty Dozen design team.   
 
2. I actually had TWO cards for the Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L and Spellbinder's blog hop. But this one was my favorite.  :)

3. I told you I loved the water coloring trend! Beautiful rose stamp by Crafty Secrets and my Inktense pencils.  

4. And yes, every now and again, I actually create a scrapbook page.  ;)  I took inspiration from Christina Aguilera for the title.  It seemed to fit perfectly for this page about my daughter. 

5. I was so excited with how this card turned out! It uses foam adhesive squares from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L covered with glitter and glossy accents to create the flag.  

6. A BBQ invite.....hot dog style! 

7. Can you tell that I LOVE shaped cards?  This card uses a Christmas set from JustRite and my Silhouette! 

8. And yes ANOTHER shaped card! It uses background stamp from JustRite, my Silhouette, and Tim holtz Distress markers. 

9. I had created this altered muffin tin for a contest over at Favecrafts.  I won first place with it! 

10. This was a little cupcake box that I had made with my Silhouette and stamps once again from JustRite. :)

And now to my giveaway!  
What do you have to do to win? Just become a follower (If you aren't already) and leave me a comment telling me which top ten project was your favorite!  The deadline to enter is January 5th 2015 at 11:59 PM.  I am able to ship to United States and Canada. One winner receives everything you see here!

There is also a group prize up for grabs as well!
By leaving a comment below you have the chance to win 
the Top 10 Blog Hop Grand Prize... 
a $75 Gift Certificate to Paper Issues!!!

Make sure you leave a comment on each blog to increase your chance of winning the Grand Prize! You have until January 4th to leave your comment! A random winner will be selected and announced on January 5th. :)
Cathy Harper

 Thanks so much for taking the time to visit!
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