Monday, November 25, 2013

A couple of giveaway winners to announce!

Hi everyone!

I'm just popping in with a couple of giveaway winners to announce!

First, the winner of the fabulous seed paper and the card set is:
Anonymous Anonymous who  said...
What a great idea and love the cards!
Margaret K.
November 18, 2013 at 4:14 PM
Delete

The winner of the Simon Says Stamp December Card Kit is:

Anonymous Anonymous who said...
the sequins do look like snow! Great job Sarah.

Julie R.

Congrats ladies! Please email me with your shipping info so I can get your prizes out to you! Also be sure to check out the Sarah's Kitchen Garden facebook page to see if you won the seed paper and card set giveaway she had as well!

Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah


Friday, November 22, 2013

Gifts With Batteries (& GIVEAWAY)

Hi everyone!

I'm back to share yet another card using the Simon Says Stamp December Card Kit: Warm Holiday Wishes.


I was trying to figure out how I could use the battery stamp from the Big Holiday Wishes set that is included with this month's kit in a festive way. This is what I came up with...


... So what do you think? Does it look like a wreath? After stamping and paper piecing the batteries. I covered them with glossy accents to give them so shine. Once I got my wreath together I added some sequins and a bow (also from the stamp set).

Supplies:



Just a reminder that you can purchase this kit HERE at Simon Says Stamp for $24.95. The Simon Says Stamp monthly kits have been selling out so if you're interested you'll want to be quick! If you don't want to miss out on a month and want to take advantage of a discount too you can subscribe each month for only $19.95!! It's an amazing deal!

Now for the giveaway part! Just leave a comment on any (or all) of my Simon Says Stamp Card Kit posts for this month by Sunday November 24th at midnight for your chance to one for yourself and I'll announce a winner on Monday the 25th. :) I also have another giveaway ending the day which you can find HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

25 Snowflake Card (Simon Says Stamp December Card Kit and a chance to win your own!)

Hi everyone!

I'm back today to share another card and another chance to win a Simon Says Stamp December Card Kit: Warm Holiday Wishes.



Here's today's card:


I used the fabulous Simon Says Stamp Maryanne stencil with Colorbox Frost White ink and a dauber to create my snowflake. I then added some of the great Kelly Purkey number stickers to the center and covered them with Star Dust stickles. The sequins were a perfect fit for the tips of the snowflake. I then took a piece of the Doodlebug patterned paper (the one with the clear embossed glittery snowflakes) and using an ink blender and Mowed Lawn distress ink to go over it. Since the snowflakes are clear embossed they resisted the ink!

Supplies:


Just a reminder that you can purchase this kit HERE at Simon Says Stamp for $24.95. The Simon Says Stamp monthly kits have been selling out so if you're interested you'll want to be quick! If you don't want to miss out on a month and want to take advantage of a discount too you can subscribe each month for only $19.95!! It's an amazing deal!

Now for the giveaway part! Just leave a comment on any (or all) of my Simon Says Stamp Card Kit posts for this month by Sunday November 24th at midnight for your chance to one for yourself and I'll announce a winner on Monday the 25th. :) I also have another giveaway ending the day which you can find HERE.

Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Big Holiday Wishes (and Simon Says Stamp December Card Kit Giveaway)!

Hi everyone!

I'm back today to share another card and another chance to win a Simon Says Stamp Card Kit of your own. Also, just a reminder about this post with a card set and seed paper giveaway.

Today's card again features the Simon Says Stamp December Card Kit: Warm Holiday Wishes.



I'm having so much fun with this month's kit and the adorable stamps included in it.

Here's the card I'm sharing today:


Embossing paste has become a popular tool for card makers to use with stencils. I thought I'd try something a little different and apply it to some plain white cardstock and then press the Sending Big Holiday Wishes stamp into it. Once dried I die cut the sentiment with a Simon Says Stamp talk bubble die (shown below). 

Supplies:


Just a reminder that you can purchase this kit HERE at Simon Says Stamp for $24.95. The Simon Says Stamp monthly kits have been selling out so if you're interested you'll want to be quick! If you don't want to miss out on a month and want to take advantage of a discount too you can subscribe each month for only $19.95!! It's an amazing deal!

Now for the giveaway part! Just leave a comment on any (or all) of my Simon Says Stamp Card Kit posts for this month by Sunday November 24th at midnight for your chance to one for yourself and I'll announce a winner on Monday the 25th. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Sarah

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Missing You (& another Giveaway)!

Hi everyone!

I'm back to share another card today but before I do...did you see this post with a card set and seed paper giveaway? Fun, eh?!

Today's card features the Simon Says Stamp December Card Kit: Warm Holiday Wishes.



This month's kit is so much fun!! I <3 the Big Holiday Wishes stamp set! It's perfect for Christmas (and Valentine's too)! Some adorable Doodlebug papers, thin silver striped washi tape, sequins, a fabulous Simon Says Stamp snowflake stencil, and 2 sheets of Kelly Purkey sticker round it out.

Just a reminder that you can purchase this kit HERE at Simon Says Stamp for $24.95. The Simon Says Stamp monthly kits have been selling out so if you're interested you'll want to be quick! If you don't want to miss out on a month and want to take advantage of a discount too you can subscribe each month for only $19.95!! It's an amazing deal!

Here's the card I'm sharing today:


I love that the mittens and string are all separate stamps so you have more options in how you use them. Don't the sequins look a little bit like snow?

Supplies:


Now for another giveaway! Just leave a comment on any (or all) of my Simon Says Stamp Card Kit posts for this month by Sunday November 24th at midnight for your chance to one for yourself and I'll announce a winner on Monday the 25th. :)

Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah

Monday, November 18, 2013

Cards You Can Grow! (and a GIVEAWAY with TWO chances to win!)

Hi everyone,

I'm back today to share a little project I've been working on! I'm quite excited about this one as it's a collaboration with Sarah Hemingway of Sarah's Kitchen Gardens. Sarah is a friend I went to university with... I don't think I've actually seen her since but we've kept in touch through facebook and I'm totally in awe of her and her creativity, both in the garden and the kitchen. (I kind of want to be her when I grow up.) :) Along with her blog, Sarah has a facebook page where she also shares what she's up to in her kitchen garden. If you follow her blog, you'll see that she has free resources for growing your own food organically, including a spreadsheet calculator where you can just enter your frost dates and it will calculate when to plant everything for you! (I SO need this)!! Sarah also hosts local workshops and sells seedlings in the spring. I hope you'll check out her blog!

Anyways, we got to talking a few weeks ago and the end result was that she was going to make some seed paper for me to play with. I thought that was pretty cool! I'd have some pretty paper to play with and we'd both have a little giveaway. It wasn't until we talked some more that I realized that you can actually GROW stuff from this paper! WHAT!?!? Sarah wrote all about it here. Isn't that incredible?!

using homemade seed paper

I thought it would be fun to make some card sets for various occasions by die cutting some of Sarah's seed paper. The seed papers can all be easily removed from the cards by untying the tags or removing the seed paper from the envelopes. They can then be used to grow various plants (see descriptions/ instructions for using the seed paper below).

Here are my cards:

White: Basil and Curly Parsley

Blue: Calendula

 Brown: Old Fashioned Annual Flower Mix
 Pink: White, Pink, and Burgundy Cosmos
 
Brown, White, Pink, Blue

(Copied from Sarah's Kitchen Garden) 
Here’s a list of what seeds are in the different papers:
   Brown: Old Fashioned Annual Flower Mix
The brown paper mix is best grown outdoors, but it can be started indoors in April or May. You can keep it moist as is, or you can plant the paper in soil after wetting it so the roots can establish themselves in soil before being transplanted outside.
   White: Basil and Curly Parsley
The white paper mix can be grown indoors for winter herb production, but you’ll need lots of light if you choose to grow indoors. You can also start this one indoors in April or May, using the methods mentioned above.
   Pink: White, Pink, and Burgundy Cosmos
This is an outdoor plant – Cosmos are big and bushy annual flowers! Again, see above for instructions.
   Blue: Calendula
Calendula is an edible flower that looks like an orange daisy. It grows best outdoors as well, but can also be started indoors for a head start on the season.
   Grey: Broccoli, Radish, Red Clover, and Alfalfa
‘Spring Salad Mix’ was the description on the seed packet for this blend of sprouts. Definitely intended to be grown indoors, and no need for soil! You’ll be eating them about a week after planting them, so they’ll use the nutrition stored in their seed flesh to grow into a nutritious snack.
 
I didn't end up using the grey seed paper because when I ran it through my die cut machine it squished the seeds and wet the paper. Now that I think of it, using a punch with that one would work really well. :) Also, I made sure to save all my little scraps of seed paper so I can grow them myself. ;)

Now for the giveaway part! Sarah and I are BOTH giving away a set of the 4 cards you see here along with two 4" x 5" sheets of EACH color of seed paper (so you can play with it yourself)!!! To win my giveaway just leave a comment on this post by midnight Sunday November 24th and I'll announce a winner on Monday the 25th. To win Sarah's giveaway like her Sarah's Kitchen Garden facebook page and follow her giveaway instructions there.

Supplies used:


Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah

Friday, November 15, 2013

Rainbow HB2U

Hi everyone,

I'm popping by to a share a birthday card I made using some fun Simon Says Stamp exclusives.
 



If you know me you know I love my background stamps...well I love background dies just as much! I die cut the chevron background using kraft cardstock and then again using white cardstock. I then colored in the little white pieces with my Marvy alcohol markers, adding some white Wink of Stella before adhering them in place. The HB2U stamp was inked up with Hero Arts shadow inks. Once stamped I went over the image with some more Wink of Stella.

Supplies:


Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah



Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Brand New My Favorite Things

Have you seen the brand new My Favorite Things Release?

Some fun stuff! These are my favorites:


Be back soon with a card. In the meantime here something I'm working on and will be sharing in the next little bit:


Hugs,
Sarah

Monday, November 11, 2013

New Hero Arts at Simon Says Stamp!

Quick! Have you seen the new Hero Arts over at Simon Says Stamp? They are part of the early release from the upcoming 2014 catalog.

Here they are:



And these are the ones that are on the top of my list:

Fun, eh? I'm a sucker for patterns so I love the triangles. I'm also excited to see some great sets for kids and men! Will definitely be using the Lil Hoot set for my kids (and I'm sure they'll be wanting to play with it too). ;) And the Missing You set? I'm all ready to pull out my googly eyes with that one.

Will be back soon with some publication shares.
Hope you have a great week!
Sarah

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Let's Celebrate!

Hi everyone,

This post will be short and sweet. Just popping in real quick to share a card I made a couple of weeks ago using some wonderful new(er) Hero Arts along with some paper piecing. Love this Vertical Arrows background stamp!



Supplies:


Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Moxie Fab Thanks! Blog Hop!

Hello!


Welcome to the Moxie Fab Thanks! Blog Hop! You should be arriving from Jen del Muro's blog. If you've made it this far...CONGRATS!!!...lol. This is a MASSIVE blog hop to say *thanks* to Mrs. Moxie Fab Cath herself for inspiring so many of us with her posts over at Moxie Fab World over the past number of years. Although I was more of a lurker than anything, I always appreciated Cath's fun, trendy, and informative posts. Her Tuesday Trigger Challenges were always inspiring and I loved getting to know other crafters through her Moxie Fabber of the Week posts. I was honoured on occasions when she shared some of my published cards and found it so helpful that she would go into detail as to why she thought they were Moxie Fab.

Cath, thank you for being so Moxie Fab!



 
For my card I used the Simon Says Stamp Falling Snow stencil, an ink blending tool, and Hero Arts Charcoal Ink to create my background. I then went over the individual circles with a clear Wink of Stella marker to glitter them up. I then die cut the Wrapped Mailing Label, white heat embossed it with Hero Arts Bursts background stamp, and colored it in with Inktense pencil crayons and my Wink of Stella marker. The 'thanks' diecut had glitter added to it before adhering it and a few embellishments to the card.

Supplies:


Thanks so much stopping by and special thanks to Cath for all the inspiration she has provided for so many of us! Your next stop is Laurie Willison's blog.

Here is the full list of participants:

Friday, November 8, 2013

Caring Hearts Blog Hop

Hi everyone!

I'm excited to be participating in the Caring Hearts Blog Hop today! You should be arriving from the blog of Anita Recksiedler.


The Caring Hearts Card Drive is once again organized by Vera Wirianta Yates and Jennifer McGuire to collect cards to send to residents of nursing homes. The Christmas season can be a difficult time of the year for many people, including those living in nursing homes. For more information about this great cause please go HERE. I hope you'll consider making some cards to send in. It's amazing the impact one little card can have on someone.

Here's my card for the hop using a fun Christmas tree die set from Simon Says Stamp:



Supplies:



PRIZES!!!!

There are lots of prizes to be had! Prizes will be randomly drawn from comments on the blogs participating in the Caring Hearts Blog Hop and even more/bigger prizes for participating in the card drive itself!!! To be eligible for the blog hop prizes please comment by midnight Tuesday, November 12. 

CARING HEARTS PRIZE SPONSORS

Avery Elle
Clearly Besotted Stamp
Ellen Hutson
Fresh Squeezed Stamp
Hero Arts
Inspiration Emporium
Lawn Fawn
Li'l Inker Designs
May Arts
My Favorite Thing
Newton Nook & Design
Online Classes
Paper Smooches
Simon Says Stamps
Studio Calico
Tim Holts
There She Goes Stamp
The Twinery

CARING HEARTS BLOG HOP PARTICIPANTS