Yeah! Bling! Here's my card for the current DeNami Design challenge. It's a product challenge using glitter! I love putting sparkly stuff on my cards...it adds just the right finishing touch! I just knew I had to participate in this challenge as soon as I heard about it. I also had the chance to use one of my new DeNami stamps I purchased at the CHA show last month-Elegant Floral Circle. It's one of my favorites! It's beautiful and is very versatile, as you can see on my card. I stamped and embossed the image several times and then cut out the smaller flower to use as accents. I thought, what better way to use glitter than to 'color in' the flowers themselves! I love how it turned out. Very sparkly! ;-) Thanks for visiting! Hope you return again!

Supplies:

Stamps: DeNami - Elegant Floral Circle, Curly Garland Border

Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Perfect Plum, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Rose Red, Sage Shadow

Glitter: PK Glitz Glitter Glitz - Orchid, Sunset. Stickles - Platinum

Other: Embossing Powder-Sparkle N Sprinkle Black, Nestabilities Big Scalloped Circle, Marvy Uchida 2" Round Scallop Punch

CHA & Birthday Goodies

It's been a couple exciting weeks for me. First, my birthday was in July and I got a Spellbinders Wizard and the Nestabilities Labels One template! So exciting! I've been considering getting some kind of embossing/diecutting machine for quite awhile, and decided to put the Wizard on my birthday list. I've tried it out a little, but haven't actually used it to make anything yet. Hopefully that will change soon.

Happy Birthday to me!

I also went to the CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) show in Rosemont last Friday! It was my first time attending, and I'm so glad I did. There were SO MANY vendors there with stamping and scrapbooking products (and other stuff too). I sure did my share of shopping! My favorite booths were DeNami Design Rubber Stamps, Papertrey Ink, Sparkle N Sprinkle, Gary M. Burlin & Co., and Endless Creations. I got some more DeNami stamps to add to my collection, 4 more Spellbinders Nestabilities and one Impressability, a few embossing folders, Papertrey ribbon and stamps, and a few other stamps and supplies. I can't wait to sit down and start making stuff!

These are all the goodies I walked away with from the CHA show!

(minus the 2 Papertrey stamp sets - I forgot those cuz I had been playing with them!)

Embellish Magazine Color Challenge with Ric Rac

One of my favorite sites to visit for stamping inspiration is embellish magazine. The challenges are great and I love to see what everyone comes up with! This time I am actually submitting a card myself! Now that my place is finally on the market, I have more crafty time ;-)

When I saw the color combo for the current challenge, I thought it was a very interesting combination, and I don't recall ever making a card with these colors. I really liked it, and I even went out and bought some ric rac so I could participate! I had a great time making this card. Continue reading to see what new technique I tried.

I decided to do a square gatefold card. I used the Little Yellow Bicycle patterned paper on the left side, and wanted to put something else on the other side. I've had Pearl Ex powders sitting in my stash for a few years now, but have only played with it once! I found a tutorial on Splitcoast called Pearl Ex - Poppin' Pearls. It's so easy! So, I took the dotted flower stamp, inked it with Versamark, stamped the vanilla cardstock and then used sponge daubers to apply the Pearl Ex to the stamped image! I started with the orange/copper color in the center, then applied the blue. Afterwards I took a kleenex and gently wiped off the excess powder. Since I didn't have acrylic sealer to seal it, I gave it a few squirts of hairspray and that seemed to do the trick. You can see some of the shiny pearl in the close-up shot on the right. Thanks for visiting and I hope you like my take on the challenge!!

I also added some of the patterned paper and kraft cardstock to spice up the inside of the card!

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin' Up - Baroque Motifs, Polka Dot Punches
Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Chocolate Chip, Kraft, Very Vanilla

Patterned Paper: Little Yellow Bicycle - Traveler
Ric Rac: Joann's Brown Papercrafting Ribbon

Other: PK Glitz EP Max- Aquamarine, Pearl Ex - Duo Blue-Green & Super Copper

Check out this Blog Candy!

I found this great giveaway and wanted to share with you all! Hurry though, because it ends tonight. Paulina is giving away 5 different EK Success Border Punches!!! Yipeeeee! I absolutely would love to win them...I just love punches! Click here to see the post on her blog, Pretty Pink Posh. All you have to do is leave her a comment on the post and you get to leave another comment if you become a follower (or already are one). Wish me luck! ;-)

DeNami Giveaways!!

What paper crafter WOULDN'T want a chance to win free stamps, glitter, and rhinestones?!?!  I'm happy to inform you that DeNami Design is having a super duper exciting giveaway of some items in their new Fall/Winter 2010 Rubber Stamp collection! Just click HERE to see the post on their blog for the details. The new stamps are adorably cute....my wish list is growing and growing now....it will be a dangerous trip for my wallet when I visit their booth at the CHA show in a few weeks, LOL!

VISIT DENAMI DESIGNS BLOG!

Caardvarks DRS Designs, June Card Challenge

We are certainly in the prime of wedding season, and I needed a card for a wedding we attended last weekend. So, I decided to incorporate wet embossing so I could submit it for the June Caardvarks Challenge. I had a great time making this card, and I'm proud of myself for really thinking outside the 'Nicki Box' and doing something a bit different than my normal style. I just LOVE how it turned out!

The flowers and sentiment are embossed with silver embossing powder. It's been a while since I've used embossing, and I realized how much I miss it and love it! Maybe you will see more of my cards with embossing now. I folded the ribbon repeatedly which gives this card a lot of dimension. For the background, I used a piece of cardstock that has a metallic, shimmery look to it, and I'm so glad it showed up well in the photo. To add just a little more character, I included the small piece of patterned paper on the right edge and punched it using the Open Scallop Edger punch, one of my new favorites! Thanks for stopping by my blog and hope you visit again soon!

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin' Up - Ever After
Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Going Gray, Very Vanilla, DCWV - Latte Premium Stack: Metallic Blue

Patterned Paper: Sandylion Sticker Designs: Floral Crochet-Blue

Ribbon: Stampin' Up Baja Breeze 1" Double Stitched Grosgrain Ribbon

Other: Joann's Essentials Flower Brads, SU Silver Embossing Powder, EK Success Open Scallop Edger Punch, Marvy Uchida 2" Round Scallop Punch, Recollections Light Blue Pearl Sticker

DeNami Product Challenge #2: Gifts and Favors Templates

Hi everyone, I'm back! After a busy six weeks or so, I am excited to get back into my stamping again - WOOHOO!!!!!! Dave & I were busy moving stuff out of my condo that finally sold (another woohoo!), and painting our current place to get ready to put on the market. I'm so glad to be participating in this challenge! Although now it's going to be quite the challenge for me to keep my small stamping area clean while our place is up for sale. Anyone have any tips??!!

I decided to download the free purse template from DeNami's website for this challenge. I used white cardstock as the base, and used just one stamp over and over again! The flower vine on the front flap of the purse is stamped on a separate white piece, and carefully cut-out and placed using foam dimensionals. I love the little pink pearl added to the middle of the flower...I think it's the little things that give it that special touch! I also stamped the flower with white craft ink on the Sage Shadow cardstock, which is on the edge of the flap, and also used for the handle. I added Stickles to the center of each flower on both of those pieces. This was a fun challenge! Thanks DeNami Design for the free template!

Supplies:

Template: DeNami - Small Purse Template

Stamp: DeNami - Flower Vine Swirl
Cardstock: Stampin' Up - Whisper White, Sage Shadow
Ink: Stampin' Up - Sage Shadow, Pretty in Pink, White Craft Ink
Other: Recollections Pink Pearl Sticker, Dimensionals, Stickles-Star Dust

Lee DeWyze Comes to Town!

Wow! Lee DeWyze's hometown visit last Friday was so crazy!!!  His day was filled with so many stops, and finally ended the day with a concert at Arlington Park Racetrack in Arlington Heights, IL. Like I mentioned in my last post, Dave & I had VIP tickets to see him. The view was great and we got some pictures and a few videos. Lee showed so much emotion and was so humble, it made me like him even more! Hearing him sing live was also incredible. He sang about 9 songs, but was originally only supposed to sing 3! He was so grateful for all the support, and he has touched so many people, I think that's one of the reasons he's doing so well on American Idol. His performances tonight were PHENOMENAL!! I am such a huge fan. When the show is over, I will really miss seeing him on TV every week! Check out the videos below! I will post some pictures soon.