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SSS Stamptember with SugarPea Designs

SSS Stamptember with SugarPea Designs published on 1 Comment on SSS Stamptember with SugarPea Designs

Happy Stamptember with Simon Says Stamp and SugarPea Designs! If you are not familiar with this, Simon Says Stamp has a month long celebration with collaborations and other amazing fun. Today is the collaboration with SugarPea Designs!

SugarPea Designs has designed the Everyday Home Stamp Set with coordinating dies for this exclusive release. And when I say exclusive, I’m not kidding. This will fly out the door and once it is gone, it is gone. Shop early and shop fast!

For my affiliate link to shop at no cost to you: EVERYDAY HOME STAMP SET AND DIES

This pretty set is just wonderful for making sweet scenes. I designed an entry, complete with shiplap, that would make anyone feel welcome. I stamped the images using Versafine Clair on Bristol Smooth paper and then colored with Zig Markers. I did not have the dies (but there are coordinating dies!) so I fussy cut the elements.

To add a bit more fun to the scene, I also included some images from a sister set called Let’s Stay Home. Knowing that these Stamptember sets go quickly, I wanted you to know about a similar one that is readily available. For the shiplap, I just cut the card stock into strips and glued it down to my base where I had already colored the floor section. Easy to do and it adds such fun detail.

Ok, that is it for today! Thanks so much for stopping in. I have my affiliate links below (at no cost to you) and I would love it if you considered shopping with me. Have a wonderful Saturday!

SSS Stamptember with Honey Bee Stamps

SSS Stamptember with Honey Bee Stamps published on 2 Comments on SSS Stamptember with Honey Bee Stamps

Happy Stamptember with Simon Says Stamp and Honey Bee Stamps! If you are not familiar with this, Simon Says Stamp has a month long celebration with collaborations and other amazing fun. Today is the collaboration with Honey Bee Stamps!

Honey Bee Stamps has designed the Be a Sunflower Stamp Set with coordinating dies for this exclusive release. And when I say exclusive, I’m not kidding. This will fly out the door and once it is gone, it is gone. Shop early and shop fast!

For my affiliate link to shop at no cost to you: BE A SUNFLOWER STAMP AND HONEY CUT DIES

This set is simply the sweetest and I love the row of sunflowers! And the sentiments really are true keepers! As with all Honey Bee Stamps sets, the sentiment dies help you cut the sentiments close to the words. I stamped my image onto watercolor paper so that I could play with water and distress inks. I love this splattered effect and it is so simple to do.

Using a clear block, I smooshed distress ink onto the block and then spritzed with a little bit of water. Then I just applied to the image where I wanted each color. Not very precise but that is the look. I used Fossilized Amber, Rustic Wilderness and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks.

All of these products are available at Simon Says Stamp and I have included them in my links below (again, at no cost to you). Thanks so much for joining me for this fun event! Hope you enjoy this wonderful reveal!

Stamptember – Shiver Me Timbers – SugarPea Designs

Stamptember – Shiver Me Timbers – SugarPea Designs published on 1 Comment on Stamptember – Shiver Me Timbers – SugarPea Designs

Happy Stamptember!!! If you are not aware of this monthlong celebration of crafty fun, head right on over to Simon Says Stamp to see!

We think STAMPtember is the most exciting part of the year and we’ve been counting down the days!! We know so many of you have come to love and collect our exclusive STAMPtember sets, and this year will not disappoint! Today we’re sharing with you the stamp set we created exclusively for this event called Shiver Me Timbers. There is also a coordinating die set and you can purchase them as a bundle or separately! This set is exclusive to Simon Says Stamp, so it’s the only place you will find it, and only while supplies last! Don’t wait too long to get yours, most of these sell out really fast! You can find it HERE.

I had such fun coloring the images from this set. And yes, I have that extra little monkey who just didn’t fit on the card but I had to show him anyway! So many ways to combine the images and sentiments. To create my window, I used the new Birch Forest SugarCut’s outline circle. The perfect size for the scene. And take a closer look to see that our little exploring monkey is bringing the rum for the party. Not sure why, but that rum just cracks me up! Of course there are coordinating SugarCuts for the set and you can buy it as a bundle. Did I mention that the sets sell out FAST?!! Once gone, they are gone.

I’ll be back in a few hours (posting this right at midnight when the set goes live!) with another project for SugarPea Designs and Freshly Made Sketches.

Freshly Made Sketches #413

Freshly Made Sketches #413 published on 3 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #413

**** Make sure to check out my Holiday Sales post pinned to the top. I’ll update it all weekend. ****

Hi everyone! So happy to be here today with the latest from Freshly Made Sketches. Our sketch designer today is the wonderful Cécile Ribon and her sketch is simply delightful! Her whimsical ‘squiggle’ lends itself to all kinds of creative ideas.

As soon as I saw it, I saw word die. And then shaker with a word die. Clearly I forgot the sentiment off to the side in this but I’m hoping that the pretty sequins distract from my sketch departure. I inked up a panel with Distress Ink and my Taylored Expressions Blender Brush (isn’t it PRETTY!!). I love the white bristles that show how much ink you have loaded. I used an old Stampin’ Up die (Wonderful Wreath) for the Joy and then splattered on some Smooch Moonlight and some water. For simplicity, I used the new to me Waffle Flower A2 Layer Dies to make sure my die cut was perfectly centered on the panel (I seem to miss when using my paper cutter) and used the same dies to cut my acetate behind the sentiment.

The sequins are from 29 Lilac Lane and it is the Aqua Dreams Sequin/Bead Mix. I wanted the base to have a little more dimension but still be white so I chose the Simon Says Stamp Glimmery White Card Stock. It has shimmer and texture and is oh so pretty!

For those of you in the United States, I wish you a very happy and safe Thanksgiving weekend. I know the traveling has been precarious and I hope that none of you have been impacted by it. I’m home with my boys and will be cooking up a storm starting later today! Blessings to you all and thank you for being a part of my life.

Freshly Made Sketches #407

Freshly Made Sketches #407 published on 6 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #407

Hi everyone! Sorry for the quiet on the blog lately. I’ll explain a bit more at the end of my post. But for today, I get to share with you the latest from Freshly Made Sketches! Our sketch designer is the talented Lee Ann Barrett and she has a winner of a sketch for us this week.

I’m all in on Christmas cards now and I thought it was perfect to pull out an old favorite for this sketch. The Be Merry stamps and dies from WPlus9 are always a winner in my book. I stamped the sentiment onto Ivory card stock and then cut it out with the dies. I stamped some of the accessory images too for layering. I thought the sentiment needed a bit more oomph so I added a bit of the olive ombré on the Merry. The flowers and leaves were quick Copic coloring but they really add so much.

I seem to be drawn to plaid this year and I found this old Stampin’ Up patterned paper in my stash. Perfect! I added a couple of little pearls for flower centers and popped up all the elements with foam squares.

Now for the rest of the story. I never really share too much about my “day job” here but in this case, I wanted to explain my sporadic posting. This picture is from the last day of flying on my beloved Airbus 319/320. I have been in the right seat of that fleet for a long time and I needed to make a change for scheduling. Last week I started training on the Boeing 757/767 fleet. There is a lot that goes into training. Studying, of course, but we also come to our training center in Denver for over a month. Needless to say, I had lots to do to make that happen at home. So I did get a few cards made ahead of time (not as many as I had hoped) and will be posting those over the next couple of weeks. And then you probably won’t hear too much from me until I can get back home and in the craft room. Once I’m back home, I should be able to settle back into the routine quickly and get back to creating.

So with that, back to the Freshly Made Sketches challenge! Make sure you hop over and check out all the inspiration from the team. Thanks so much for stopping in today!

Crafty Friends Blog Hop – Hero Arts

Crafty Friends Blog Hop – Hero Arts published on 10 Comments on Crafty Friends Blog Hop – Hero Arts

Welcome to our second month of the Crafty Friends Blog Hop! For those new to our hop, we are a group who had a similar beginning in the crafting world and had the good fortune to become friends.

We will feature a different company on the 20th of each month. I’m super excited that we are focusing on Hero Arts for September!

I chose to use some of their new Christmas products as I start to get more serious about making holiday cards. The Paper Layering Poinsettia Die is absolutely a dream to use. These were cut from Bristol Smooth paper and watercolored with Daniel Smith paints. The process is super easy to do but the look of watercoloring makes them feel special. Each flower is unique and you could make a stack of these super fast (no one needs to know it was quick!).

I combined the die set with a sentiment from the Color Layering Nordic Tree stamp set. It is stamped on black card stock with Versamark and heat embossed with white embossing powder. The patterned paper is from my stash but I like the little bit of texture that didn’t draw the eye from the gorgeous flower.

As part of our fun today, Hero Arts has generously offered a discount for shopping through the Crafty Friends for today and tomorrow (Sep 20 and 21). Click the coupon above and then use the code Craftyfriends20.

Now on to the rest of the hop. I’m thrilled to send you to Amy Kolling, who is next in the rotation. And here is the list in case you get lost along the way.

We hope you are inspired by this month’s hop and all of the Hero Arts products! Thank so much for stopping in!

Eighteen Years

Eighteen Years published on 14 Comments on Eighteen Years

I am here today with a card for Freshly Made Sketches, but even more with a look back. It has been a few years since I shared a 9/11 tribute. Somewhat because I don’t want it to feel forced. Last year, there was a lot of personal sadness happening and I just could not handle more. But this year, I felt compelled to create and share in honor of those lost.

Because it has been a while, and because I mostly don’t share about my “day job” here, I’ll clarify for those who are newer to the blog. I am a pilot for United Airlines. I currently fly an Airbus 319/320 but on 9/11/2001 I flew a B757. On that day. From Providence, RI to Chicago O’Hare. I have shared stories over the years if you are interested: 9th Anniversary, 10th Anniversary, 11th Anniversary, 12th Anniversary, 13th Anniversary, 14th Anniversary, 15th Anniversary.

As time goes by, I thought that the memories would ease a bit. I’m sure for all of us, we have found that isn’t really true with this particular event. But as I was talking with my now 16 year old son last night, and sharing my experiences of that day, there are so many things that still stand out as if it was yesterday. The fear, the confusion, yes. But really the strongest part is the coming together of people. All of us. I miss that. I tried explaining it to my boys. I feel like in trying to control our fear we have lost a bit of what makes us special. So many people worldwide simply stopped and took care of each other. They looked to neighbors and people that they had never met and found a way to come together. I reflect on flying that day and the feeling of that glorious sky and the darkness that came after. And I’m grateful for the light that returned because of love and kindness.

As in previous years, my color scheme seems to remain the same. Blue and gray (silver). The colors of legacy United Airlines. But as with the new United, the colors are a bit updated. A nod to our history but with an eye to our future too. Please know that there no matter how many years go by, the pilots of United do not forget. Our brothers, our sisters, our friends, our family, the passengers entrusted to our care….all were taken. We work every day to honor them. Today especially.

I “borrowed” this photo from a friend and Captain I fly with. The wings and jackets representing the crews of United and American Airlines. My friend, Brian, works daily protecting the legacies of the pilots of United lost that day. He and their loved ones bring light to the darkness. It is an amazing gift.

So today, as in the past, I hope for more of that. Kindness and love are the only solution to the tragedy brought by hate. I hope that today, and on other days, we give each other a little grace and work to find the light.

In memory of:

United 93:  Jason Dahl, LeRoy Homer, Lorraine Bay, Sandra Bradshaw, Wanda Green, CeeCee Lyles, Deborah Welsh

United 175:  Victor Saracini, Michael Horrocks, Robert Fangman, Amy Jarret, Amy King, Kathryn Laborie, Alfred Marchand, Michael Tarrou, Alicia Titus

American 11:  John Ogonowski, Thomas McGuinness, Barbara Arestegui, Jeffrey Collman, Sara Low, Karen Martin, Kathleen Nicosia, Betty Ong, Jean D. Roger, Dianne Snyder, Amy Sweeney

American 77:  Charles Burlingame III, David Charlebois, Michele Heidenberger, Jennifer Lewis, Kenneth Lewis, Renee May

Freshly Made Sketches #393

Freshly Made Sketches #393 published on 7 Comments on Freshly Made Sketches #393

I’m happy to share the latest sketch for Freshly Made Sketches today. Today our sketch designer is the lovely Lee Ann Barrett and I love this one.

I needed a card for a dear friend who has suffered at tremendous loss. These are truly the worst cards to make. Thankfully I had this new sentiment set called You’ve Got This by Pinkfresh Studios. This set was designed by my friend Caly Person and the script is Caly’s own writing. Elegant and gorgeous. I was even lucky enough to have the set sent to me by Caly…thank you so much!! I chose this pretty little flower from Serene Garden (Stampin’ Up) and did simple watercoloring on it.

The sketch is fabulous and I hope you will join us this week. Make sure you come over to see all the inspiration from the team too. Thanks for stopping in today. See you soon.

Picket Fence Studios June Release

Picket Fence Studios June Release published on 1 Comment on Picket Fence Studios June Release

I am so excited to share two cards that I have made for today’s June Release from Picket Fence Studios. I’m also on the company blog today!

Just To Say Hello by Jen Timko | BFF Claire Stamp Set and Dies by Picket Fence Studios, Copic Coloring

To start, the new BFF Claire could not be more fun. I love these “girls” to color and she is no exception. I chose a fun yellow dress and pink shoes. She looks like the kind of gal that can carry off pink shoes, don’t you think?! I pulled some old patterned papers from my stash to provide some extra texture and even a button and twine to match.

For my second card, I wanted something with a more masculine feel. So I grabbed the new Polka Dot Grunge stamp and the new Seriously die. Aren’t they great? You see, I needed to make an anniversary card for my DH and I had to avoid my normal girly tendencies. I love how this Catherine Pooler ink provides beautiful coverage on a solid image stamp. It keeps all the details! Audrey Blue is the card stock to coordinate and I cut a large circle out and popped it up on foam dots. I used clear foam under the vellum sentiment layer (still hidden under the word as much as possible) to allow it to be popped up invisibly.

And guess what I discovered? I went to the obvious set for the inside of my card, Ways to Say Happy Anniversary. Then I found this sentiment with the same script style as the die on the front! Also, a perfectly true sentiment for my DH.

If you want to see the whole release, make sure you click here and check out the Latest Releases section. Stamps, dies, word dies, stencils…something for everyone! Enjoy! Thanks for stopping in today. Have a great Friday!

Picket Fence Studios April Release

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Oh happy day!!!  No really, it is a happy day!  Release day for Picket Fence Studios starts now.  I’m going to share two stamp sets and a new die in today’s post but the design team will be working together to show you the whole release so make sure to visit each one of them.

Beautiful Peony by Jen Timko | Botan Peony Stamp by Picket Fence Studios, Hello Beautiful Stamp by Picket Fence Studios, Daniel Smith Watercolors, Watercoloring I’m starting with a new large flower image called Botan Peony.  Oh my.  When I say wow, I’m not kidding.  This is not a small image (my card is 5.5″ square) but it is detailed and seriously gorgeous.  I stamped the image in black in multiple times using my Misti onto Fabriano watercolor paper.  Then I heat embossed the image using clear embossing powder.  I like the extra dimension you get with the embossing and it is nice when watercoloring too. I got to work with watercoloring using Daniel Smith watercolor paints.  They are amazing!  If you are not sure about them, you can get dot sheets with actual samples of the colors to try (I linked it below).  Once you do, you’ll be hooked.  I combined pink, coral, gold and a little green and blue in a loose style.  No real plan, nothing formal, but it is such fun to do on these big petals!  Once done, I fussy cut the flower.

Beautiful Peony by Jen Timko | Botan Peony Stamp by Picket Fence Studios, Hello Beautiful Stamp by Picket Fence Studios, Daniel Smith Watercolors, Watercoloring For the background, I used the Random Dots Stencil as an embossing folder to add a subtle texture.  I then used this great sentiment from the new Hello, Beautiful stamp set.  Again I stamped in black and heat embossed in clear.

Beautiful Leaves by Jen Timko | Leaves Negative Die by Picket Fence Studios, Hello Beautiful Stamp Set by Picket Fence Studios, Tim Holtz Ranger Alcohol Ink, Concord and 9th Glimmer PaperNext up, I jumped on the alcohol ink bandwagon and used a background I created with the new Leaves Negative Die.  I used just one color of Ranger Alcohol Ink (Stream) and the Gold Mixative on Yupo paper.  I kept playing with the one colors and the gold and now have a few varied backgrounds that I’m sure you’ll see soon.

Beautiful Leaves by Jen Timko | Leaves Negative Die by Picket Fence Studios, Hello Beautiful Stamp Set by Picket Fence Studios, Tim Holtz Ranger Alcohol Ink, Concord and 9th Glimmer PaperI took the panel and cut it with the Leaves and decided that I’d use gold glimmer paper in the negative space to play off the gold in the ink.  Again I used the sentiment from Hello, Beautiful except heat embossed in gold.

I hope you like these two looks at the new release.  Everything is available in the Picket Fence Studios store now!  Thanks for stopping in to visit.  See you again soon.


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