Blogs For Boobies - Check it Out!

Today, I'm showcasing a set of cards I made in honor of a cause that affects 1 in 8 women: Breast cancer. 

I'm one of over 60 bloggers who were invited to participate in a hop that raises awareness and funds for breast cancer. It's called Blogs 4 Boobies and is the brainchild of the amazing Skipping Stones Designs stamp company.

 

Now, to me breast cancer isn't about the boobies (although it's a fun word to say). It's about the women (and men) behind the disease. Over 40,000 women will die in the U.S. this year because of breast cancer. 

So a group of bloggers got together and decided to do a Hop that will raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. 

I'll be auctioning off a set of 3 cards. 

Card 1

Card 2

Card 3

Want to help raise money for this awesome cause?!

Here's how the auction works:

Bid Process Very easy!

To my  blog visitors and followers make a bid, for the card set, in the comment section of this  blog post. Bidding starts at $5.  Put your email address next to the bid as a way of "signing it" or authenticating the bid. 

Winner Process

The winning bidder will receive a paypal invoice from Skipping Stones Designs aka Heather Engebretson and she will collect the money. All of which will be donated on July 1, 2016. to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Shipping Process

Once the winning bidder pays via PayPal  and I receive notice from Skipping Stones Design I will ship your Card Set to  you. I will ship anywhere in the world!

BIDDING WILL END 6/12/16

Now get to hopping! Here's today's amazing lineup:

Skipping Stones Design >> Susie Bentz >> Penny Cunnigham Ward >> Nazeema Thompson >> Chris Dayton  >> Becca Cruger <-- YOU ARE HERE  >> Mary Maison >> Kim Sherrod 

 

A Flowery Set of Cards - +Prizes+

I want to say a BIG woohooo to all of the fine folks who've been playing along in my birthday bash linkup and who wished me a happy birthday here or on facebook! I can't seem to wipe the smile off my face! You all ROCK! And a >>GIANT<< shoutout to my latest bloggy followers - you've made my day!

If you haven't played along - don't worry! There's still 10 days to link up for your chance to win one of 7 - Yes SEVEN! - prizes that I'm giving away.

Today I'm going to be sharing with you a set of cards that I made using my Birthday Bash Linkup Moodboard. Haven't heard of it? Well here it is:

In order to win one of the prizes, I'm asking you artists to link up a card that's inspired by one of my favorite things.

Let me break it on down for you. Here are a few 
of my favorite things:

>Purple and teal color combos

>Watercolor washes

>Fun, bright, eclectic clean and simple cards 
>Polka Dots

>PUNS!! :)

>Typography

>Distressed, vintage cards full of texture

...You can use one, two, all of these things... 

Whatever inspires you!

Today, my cards are inspired by the purple and teal color scheme with a little bit of watercoloring thrown in.

Last month, I got a new stamp set to play with - Blooming Buds by Dee's Artsy Impressions for STAMPlorations. I LOVE this set and I sort of got carried away when I busted it out because I couldn't stop making cards!

I started by stamping a big flower. Did you know that you can achieve a watercolor effect with gelatos? It's easy! Start by scribbling some gelatos onto your image:

Then - just add water! I used a water pen and blended. Since I was goign for an artsy feel, I let it bleed all over. You can also wet your finger with a baby wipe or water, too. Oooooo pretty!

Sticking with my mood board, I made a purple card and then I made a teal card.

And then I just couldn't help myself - there were THREE different sentiments included with the set, and I didn't want to make the third one feel lonely, so I made a pink card, too!

I just love the set and how pretty they all look together! :) I'm going to enter my trifecta into the following awesome challenges:
 Hiding in My Craft Room - Lots of Layers 
The Corrosive Challenge Blog - To "Die" for (use a die)
 Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes

So. I mentioned prizes earlier. Let me tell you what they are - 
I'm giving away ALL of these sets PLUS Shery from STAMPlorations is throwing in a $10 gift card, too! (Isn't she the very best!?!)

PRIZES!!!

 


If you click on the image, it will take you to the STAMP shop to view these and other birthday-related sets. I want to spread the wealth around, so I will be doing a drawing for >>7<< different winners! Woohoo!

Oh - before I leave - a couple of people had asked me to share some birthday pictures, so I'll be brief (because I know this post is already long!)

Highlights included:

1 - Lunch with my cousin and her little girls (I'm pretty much their auntie - it's just a technicality) and a surprise visit from my aunt. In this picture we were supposed to be doing silly faces but Phae didn't get the memo. :) 

2 - My amazing boyfriend got me a KITCHENAID!!! I asked him why he spent that much money on a birthday gift and he said "Babe, I don't think of it as JUST a birthday gift; I think of it as an investment in my cookie future." :)

3 & 4 - My coworkers "trashed" my office with balloons and streamers and left me a sweet pair of flamingo sunglasses. Ummm yes please!

5 - We went to the late night comedy improv show. I was up on stage for awhile, but I cannot talk about details. ;) This was my favorite scene - a man in a blindfold and a floor full of loaded mousetraps - use your imagination :)

6 - We went to the new wine bar in town - they have wine DISPENSERS on the wall. In the process of taking a photo, the neighbors on the table over totally photobombed us! haha! :)

Lots of smiles! Ok. I'm done now!  

RULES:
>You MUST use an image from my mood board to inspire you
>You MUST display the mood board graphic in your post
>Although being a follower of my blog is not required, it would be a really AWESOME birthday present to me. :D
>You may enter as many projects as you like (cards, scrapbook, ATCs, Mixed Media projects)
>You MUST link back to this blog post
>Deadline to submit cards is July 31, 2015 at midnight CST

Link up your mood-board inspired cards here:

An InLinkz Link-up

Thank you for stopping by! 

You can Stand Under my Umbrella

Whew... I'm finally winding down from the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, which was AMAZING. But in fairness to the rest of my stamp sets, which have been looking longingly at me all week, I feel I must move on.

I would like to say THANK YOU to all the amazing crafty people who commented during the hop and to everyone who followed me (14 of you!). I am blown away and have done several happy dances. If I haven't made it to your blogs to follow you back yet, I promise I will soon!

If you haven't heard of Muse - it's a really cool blog where your card making peers vote on the submissions every week. Such a cool concept! As a side note, I entered the Design Team call over at Muse and would love if you would pop over there to vote for me.

At the Muse blog, you're given an inspiration card each week and this week's card comes from the always-inspiring Therese Calvird of Lostinpaper. Her sad little monster is completely adorable. 

 

What's the second card, you ask? The submission gallery never ceases to amaze me and I was gazing at the entries this week, I saw this sunshiney gorgeousness created by Ardyth Percy Robb. I probably am cheating a little bit, because my finished card was inspired by BOTH designs and I feel like I have to give credit where credit is due.

You see, I recently purchased Verve stamp's Rain or Shine set and I have been struggling with how to use it. It's so adorable, but I just haven't taken it out of it's shiny package. I'm a new Verve user and this set is my favorite from their collection (hence why I purchased it!) 

After seeing Ardyth's design I got an insta-idea!

I loved the slight sadness in Therese's design and knew I wanted to create that feel, too. So I used this sentiment and tried to incorporate both the sad rainy day and the bright sunshine. I masked off areas and sponged some Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks. Lastly, I used some felted cloud stickers and made them peek through the framed sentiment in areas. 

This is my card for the challenge: 

In addition to Muse, I'm sending this on over to Sentimental Sunday's "Anything Goes" challenge and to Verve's Diva Dare - Favorite Things. 

Thanks for stopping by! Leave me a comment and follow my blog and I'll be sure to return the favor!