Holiday TAGplorations Party

Over at STAMPlorations, we are partying down with a Holiday TAGplorations event. Since there's such a great lineup of beauteous tags, I am gonna keep this post short and sweet! :) 

I created this tag using a patchwork of holiday patterns that I pieced together to make the background. Then I used Trendy Christmas Trees stamp set and coordinating dies to create my Christmas tree and the accompanying sentiment. 

My tag is inspired by this gorgeous tag designed by Naki Rager for at Tracey McNeely's 25 Days of Christmas Tags Challenge. I loved the rosette feature, and the traditional Christmas colors. 

So what is the STAMPlorations Holiday TAGplorations event? For the next 5 days, our talented design team will be showcasing tags and also giving YOU the chance to link up a tag of your own through November 25. You can use any stamps you want! There are 10 prizes up for grabs, so link early and often!!  Go check it out HERE! Now get to hopping!

Bring on the MistleDoe Christmas Card

My mind is switching over to the holiday season, and my brain is panicking at the sheer lack of Christmas card creation I've done over the past year. GULP! 

Never fear, though, I took the opportunity to use the new STAMPlorations Theme & Sketch challenge to create my first <-- yep you read that right, Christmas card of the season.

To play along with the STAMPlorations challenge, you can use the theme OR the sketch OR both. And you can use ANY stamps that you want!

I used my Reindeer Games stamp set because I can't even handle how goofy that reindeer is and it comes with a TON of punny sentiments!

The rest of the card is made with patterned paper and a 3D sticker from Jolene's Boutique. I guess I must be feeling my patterned paper lately because my normal inky techniques have been missing - ha!

I'm going to link this up to:
Aud Sentiments - Cute + a Sentiment Challenge
Moving Along with the Times - Cute Animals
Addicted to Stamps & More - Holiday

Hop to Stop 2016 Winners!!

And now, the time is here, and we shall face the final curtain. 

...if you now have this song stuck in your head, I am terribly sorry (but also not sorry because misery loves company - or so they say). 

Well my friends, the Hop to Stop is officially over. I drew the winning names two nights ago live on Periscope but am just now getting a chance to put the winners' post together. 

Without further ado, here they are: 

Concord & 9th donated two $25 gift cards

Winner 1: #133 - Maria Rodriguez

Winner 2: #50 - Becca Yahrling 

DecoArt donated a prize package valued at nearly $200, which includes Decoupage paper and a mixed media starter kit.

Winner: #116 Maria F

Happy Little Stampers donated a $20 gift card

Winner: #33 Christine Miller

Unity Stamp Company donated over $200 of stamps

Winner: #112 Joyce (Cards by the Sea)

Verve Stamps donated a $30 gift code

Winner: #37 Monika

Jessica Lynn Original donated a $20 gift card

Winner: #17 Carly Pool

STAMPlorations donated a $20 gift code

Winner: #23 Jerrie 

Uniko Studios donated a stamp set of choice

#108 - KT Fit Kitty

Tattered Angels donated purple Glimmer Mists

Winner: #115 Andrea W.

DCWV is donating two paper stacks for every 75 linkups

Winner 1: #100 Julie B

Winner 2: #40 Scrappamondo

Newton's Nook graciously donated a $25 gift card

 Winner: #7 Oh You Made Me Ink

Simon Says Stamp donated 6 of their purple ink pads

Winner: #99 Fiki (Bad Kitty)

Our sponsors are AMAZING! AMAZING! (and did I say AMAZING?) I am blown away by their generosity and kindness. If you haven't done so already, would you mind visiting their blogs and leaving a little note of thanks?

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Ok. Whew! Now that that's out of the way, I can get to what I REALLY wanted to tell you all: 

THANK YOU!!

I don't think I have adequate words to express what this Hop means to me, and how much it touches me to see all the purple washing the web and bringing awareness to domestic violence. 

Through this hop, I've seen survivors of domestic violence build connections and friendships of other survivors. I've read through stories of victims who have finally decided to voice their experiences for a first time. I seen such talented creators supporting this community through their art. 

You all are the heroes here. 

You all are contributing to a culture of awareness.

You all are reducing the stigma. 

I also want to take the time to give a BIG shout out to those of you who've donated cards for the card drive for the domestic violence shelter in Grand Forks, ND. 

Toni from Frankie Helps Craft

Lori Kobular from Lori's Kreations

Samantha Aguilera from Designs by Sammy

I know several other people have requested my address, so I'm keeping an eye out for the mailman. :) 

I will be waiting through November 15 to deliver them, so if you still have some you want to send please email me at bexcruger@gmail.com for my address. 

With that, and one last THANK YOU, the Hop to Stop 2016 is officially over. If you've won a prize, please email me at the above address and I will tell you what the next steps are to claim your prize! 

Layers and Layers of Fun - Birthday Card

Hello All!
I'm going to keep it short and sweet for you today, because I'm playing catch up with the closure of The Hop to Stop and trying to get the final post together.

BUT - there's a new challenge starting today at Fusion Card Challenge and I wanted to show off how I was inspired by it!

 I chose to go with the sketch - mostly so I could use these fun little rosettes that I bought at a garage sale. I love the "crinkly circle" (as my little six-year-old niece called it).

To make this card, I layered and layered and layered some more. Then I got out some Bo Bunny papers and... oh did I mention I layered? 

Haha - I just kind of used an explosion of colors and patterns and every time I thought it was too much, I added a little bit more. The "happy" is a die cut from Winnie & Walter. 

I hope you all will head over to Fusion and check out what the other design team members made and then play along!

I'm going to send my card over to play in the following challenges:
City Crafter Challenge - See a Star
Addicted to Stamps - Lots of Layers
Just Us Girls - Make the Sentiment the Focal Point

Thanks for popping by! I'll be posting the Hop to Stop winners shortly!

Mixed Media Card Challenge - Thanksgiving

Fall is slowly fading here in North Dakota. The first frost planted its icy breath all over my windshield and flower bed late last week. All of the leaves have been blown from the trees and are scattered atop my unraked lawn - a leafy standout amongst my neighborhood's block of well-kept lawns. 

Even though fall is fading, that doesn't mean I can't MAKE my own dang fall scenery. And that's exactly what I did for my card for The Mixed Media Card Challenge this month. I watercolored up a super sweet little autumnal scene.

Our theme is Thanksgiving and our optional element is table. I used the colors from the inspiration image, and also decided to make a sweet thank you card to go along with the theme.

I muddied up a piece of patterned paper by applying a coat of gesso and then adding random drops of Distress Spray Stain in Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, and Fossilized Amber tones. I dabbed some of the color off while it was still drying to tone down the vibrancy. I shaded the edges and added a big ol' bow.

The deer and the tree are from the Stampendous Winter Trees set. I've probably owned this set for a good 10 years or so. It's a classic and definitely one I turn to when the Holiday season approaches. The sentiment is from the STAMPlorations Grateful Beyond Words set - love the bold lettering! 

I'm going to send my card over to play in the following challenges: 

Simon Says Stamp Monday - Thinking of You 

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - Watercolor (I know, I know, I'm lacking in the snark department, but I wanted to support my girl, Lauren B!)

I hope you'll join in the Mixed Media Card Challenge this month! 

 Psssssstttt - I'll be drawing names for the winners of the Hop to Stop prizes tonight around 9 p.m. CT on my Periscope Channel @damselofdistressed is my handle. 

It's my NEW STAMP RELEASE: Funny Kinda Love + GIVEAWAY

AAAAAhhhhh! I'm beyond excited to share my latest stamp set release for STAMPlorations with you all today!

I wanted to design something with a little bit of snarky attitude (who me?!) and I also was lacking in the love department. Well... let me rephrase that... my stamp collection was lacking in the love department. With all of the weddings I've attended recently and with Valentine's Day on the horizon, I thought this would be the PERFECT set.

Introducing: A Funny Kinda Love!

The great thing about this set is that you can choose to have nice, elegant cards, or you can choose to add a little spunk to your sentiments with the sentiment builder format.

Here are some examples:

Nice, elegant design:

This card is going to the Try it on Tuesday: Handmade by You challenge 

To snarky and sassy design: 

This card was made using the DCWV stackaholic challenge card sketch, the Violet Leaf and Foiled Vellum paper stacks.

I also had fun playing with rainbow splashes of color: 

 

This card is going to Come and Get It's Make Um Laugh challenge

 And this card is going to: Tuesday Throwdown: Add a Border challenge. 

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!
Want a chance to win this set for your very own OR a $20 gift certificate? Leave a comment below AND a comment on the STAMPlorations blog by November 1 for an entry to win!  

While you're at it - check out the other 3 AWESOME stamp sets being released this week and - hey! - if you purchase this set this week in the STAMPlorations store, you get 10% off your order which means it's only $10.80. Can't get much better than that!

I Bought My First Set of Ken Oliver Colorburst Watercolor Crystals!

I don't know if you all may have deduced this from the title...but I bought my first set of Ken Oliver Colorburst watercolor crystals! I have to tell you that I have struggled against the urge to buy these for sooooo long mainly because I KNEW I'd need them in every color once I bought a single bottle. 

You guys... I think I'm in love. 

And now 

Sighhhhhh* 

Well anyhow, I can tell you what I did to make my pretty card.

I began by embossing the swirly flowers from the Verve Poppy Birthday stamp set. I definitely had to experiment with the Colorbursts in order to get it right. After some playing around, I found out that if you put the crystals on first and spread them around, it's MUCH easier that spritzing the paper with water and THEN sprinkling the color.

See that back panel? That was a direct result of trying to spray THEN sprinkle because I used way too much water and WAY too many crystals. I had to sop it up with another panel altogether. 

I edged the background panel with a shimmery green and then I added stems to the flowers with a Zig Cleancolor watercolor pen.  

Lastly I added a big ol' bow using Verve's Signature Ribbon collection. 

I'm going to enter this into the following challenges: 
Love to Create Challenge - Anything Mixed Media
Creative Artiste Challenge - Anything Mixed Media


So yeah.. now I need to go consult with my budget. 

Wondering why I'm loving purple so much on my blog? Well that's an easy question! The HOP TO STOP is happening through the 30th of October. It's a blog hop that raises awareness for victims of domestic violence. Some AMAZING sponsors (including Verve) have ponied up over $700 in prizes for those who link up! 

Head on over to check out the Hop!