25 Days of Christmas Tags

If you've been following along in bloggyland at all, you'll know that there is a HUGE event going on over at Tracey McNeely's blog called the 25 Days of Christmas tags! 

All sorts of different talented crafters are showing off their tag game, and working to inspire all of you in prep for the Holiday season. 

Today, STAMPlorations girls are taking the reins. Here's my creation: 

Those adorable penguins and accompanying scene came from the brand new Winter Chill set, which I LOVE! There's also a bunch of great die cuts in the shop, and I used Manila Nesting Dies to create a base for my design, along with Stitched Snow Hills to complete my landscape.  

Big news!!! Practically EVERYTHING in the STAMPlorations shop is on sale for 40% off. So after you get done hopping at the 25 Days of Christmas tags, go treat yourself to some goodies! 

Giving Thanks Blog Hop + Prizes

It's one of my favorite times of the year!! I love thanksgiving because it's a perfect time to reflect on all the things I'm grateful for and to just sit with the knowledge that I am so blessed.

STAMPlorations is having their annual Giving Thanks blog hop and linky party and you all NEED to participate in this!

Since it's a blog hop, I'll keep this short and sweet and tell you that there are some AMAZING new stamps being released in honor of this event. I made this card using a brand new sentiment set called Words of Gratitude.

This past year has definitely seen its up and downs. It's been so rewarding for me with my career, but personally --- well my life was thrown for a shambles earlier this year.

One thing that's always remained a constant is my outlet in the bloggy world and the AMAZING team of creators who make up the STAMPlorations design team.

Shery Russ, the owner of STAMPlorations, is one of the most fantastic human beings I've ever had the pleasure to "meet" and each one of my STAMPsisters is so supportive, talented and encouraging. I know there are so many bloggers out there who can attest that when you get involved in the STAMPlorations brand by playing along with our challenges, you will ALWAYS feel like your artwork matters. We love commenting and admiring.

Speaking of, check out the prizes for this awesome hop:

Prize Info

Prizes for commenting on the STAMPlorations blog and participating designers blogs:

• THREE (3) winners randomly drawn from all comments left on the STAMPlorations blog and participating designers blog will each receive a $25 certificate to the STAMPlorations store

Prize for liking, commenting, tagging a friend, and sharing our post on the STAMPlorations Facebook page post:

• ONE (1) randomly drawn winner will receive a grab bag consisting of new products (valued at $25 MSRP) + another grab bag of the same value to the person he/she tags

Prizes for linking up to the STAMPlorations Wishlist Linky Party:

• TWO (2) randomly drawn winners will each receive products in their wishlist (up to $40 MSRP)

Prize for commenting and re-posting our Giving Thanks Blog Hop and Wishlist Linky Party post on the STAMPlorations Instagram page:

• ONE (1) randomly drawn commenter will win her choice of Giving Thanks stamps (Thankful & Blessed; Wonderfall Time; Words of Gratitude; OR any 2 Typografia Thankful stamps)

Commenting on the blogs and linking up to the Wishlist Linky party ends on November 30 at 11:55 p.m. Pacific

To get the full deets on the Giving Thanks blog hop, check out the STAMPlorations blog today. Now get to hopping!! 

InkaGold Mixed Media Card for Guys

When I found out the latest challenge for Seize the Birthday was Circles... well my mind started spinning. 

You see... I'd been working on an art project a couple of months ago and had cut out an excessive amount of die cut circles. Like WAY more than I wound up needing. So now I have a bag full of a gazillion circles that make me mad every time I look at them because they were SO MUCH WORK. 

Well, they came in handy because I'm guest designing for Seize the Birthday through the end of the month. 

Their Toppings theme this time around is "Circles". You can really make any kind of birthday card you want and link it up to their challenge, but they give you an optional theme every time, too.

I created a shiny background using a wet paintbrush and some InkaGold. I'm definitely going to be making more backgrounds like this because, in the end, it looked like brushed copper. So pretty! 

I ran my painted background through my embossing machine, using an embossing folder with a clock print. 

The circles were cut out on white paper, then I used my fingers to slather some green, gold and copper InkaGolds all over. Looooove the textural look of the circles. 

I stamped a sentiment and old-fashioned car from a Unity kit to complete my design. 

I'm going to play along at:

More Mixed Media Challenge - Anything Goes (option of black)

I also used the color scheme from The Color Throwdown.

So. What's circling in your brain? Give the latest challenge over at Seize the Birthday a try!

Elegant Autumn Leaves Thank You Card

Happy Thursday! 
This weekend, I'm off to a concert series down in the Twin Cities area and I can't wait! 

But before I go, I get to show off the design I made for the latest Fusion challenge. I loved the warmth of the inspiration image and I took a stab at the sketch, too. 

I've had these gold leaf stickers from Martha Stewart for so long. They're just so lovely and I haven't been able to bring myself to use them. I finally found the perfect design that would let me part with them. 

My little design is also going to go play along over at
Die Cut Divas - Autumn 
Little Red Wagon - Harvest Time

I hope you'll come play along at Fusion this fortnight! 

Cheers!

Happy Birthday Artsy Masculine Card

Hi Friends!
It's a brand new month and that means a brand new challenge over at STAMPlorations Theme & Sketch.

I'm not usually a 1-layer card kind of girl, so when I saw this sketch, I was a little intimidated.

For this challenge, you can either use the theme OR the sketch OR both. It's really up to you. :)

I faced my fears head on and decided to tackle the sketch. I pulled out some funky little gear shapes from the Artsy Tribal Doodles set and stamped away using Distress Inks. 

Once I had the stamps alinged, I used some Distress Spray stains and dabbed them on, spritzing them with water so they bled onto my card. 

I added a sentiment using the CUTplorations Celebrate Word Die and some little Tim Holtz sticker sentiments to complete the look. 

If you want to check out any of the products I used, or wind up adding anything from the STAMPstore to a shopping cart, make sure to use code STAMPGIRLBECCA for 20% off your purchase. woot! 

I hope you'll go check out the Theme & Sketch challenge and play along this month. You could win some AWESOME prizes.