Taking a Tiny Bloggy Break - and a New Craft Room!

As many of you probably have surmised, I have died. 

Just kidding - I've been missing from the blogosphere for a little bit and I KNOW that you haven't seen me commenting on your blogs, as per usual. 

I have not died, I actually am in the process of moving. Sigh*
I'm just moving 5 blocks over, but all the work is still the same. I have one post scheduled for this Friday, but other than that, I'll probably be MIA until all these boxes are packed, moved, unpacked and everything is CLEAN at both places. 


Have I said, Sigh*, yet?


Anyhow, I did manage to move my craft room last night and I'll leave you with these photos of my new studio! 

The whole shebang! All put together, with my own artwork adorning the walls! (thank you panoramic setting)

The desk, where the magic happens! Patterned paper down below, cardstock up above and stamps sorted into bins! Along with some cards from crafty friends living up top! 

The Cricut/Printer station and the Embossing Station (dry and wet!)

 OOoooo - a mixed media shelf thingamob (I found the shelf at a rummage sale - it's an insert for a medicine cabinet) Front side holds Distress Spray Stains and texture pastes, back side holds Distress Paints and gesso/mod podge.

My coloring station/close up of my work space. 

My window of cards sent to me by blog followers/crafty friends from all around the world! I definitely feel blessed every time I look at this window and it will be fun to change it out with the seasons! 

So anyhow, this is what I've been up to, if you've been wondering. I'll be back in full force on October 1st to start the Hop to Stop! 

Thankful for Autumn - Special Release +GIVEAWAY

Well, the birdsong is beginning to fade, crispness descends on the morning air, and apples are falling from trees one by one - ready to be made into all sorts of yummy treats - it must be Fall! At least in this neck of the woods.

I, for one, LOVE fall. So I was super excited when Shery at STAMPlorations said she was going to release an Autumn-themed stamp set because, if Fall is good then Fall cards are better. They can be SO beautiful with all their rich reds and warm yellows. 

And that's exactly the kind of colors I wanted to pull in to my design, so I got out my Spectrum Noir reds and golds and set to work. 

There are so many fun stamps in this Thankful for Autumn set!

Here's my final product. I used some graphic chevrons and some rustic-looking fruit crate paper along with some red hemp twine. 

This card was inspired by the sketch over at the Sweet Sunday Sketch and am also sending it over to Addicted to Stamps - Autumn challenge. 

Hey! Do you want to win this cute Autumn stamp set?! Well there is a GIVEAWAY! Just go stop by the STAMPlorations blog to see how you can win it! 

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While I'm at it - I might as well give you all a gentle reminder that you can still play along in the STAMPlorations September challenge (you can use ANY stamps to play along - it doesn't have to be STAMPlorations brand to win!)

We have a theme and a sketch. You can choose to use one or the other OR both!

For my reminder card, I chose just to focus on the music theme. I used some patterned paper that had the lyrics to Happy Birthday. I added some fun mixed media elements, like a crocheted doily, spray splatters, metal pieces and acetate sentiments. 

I colored the daisy from the Bloom Sketches set with some scribbled on gelatos and smudged it around with my fingers. It's so pretty and joyful and I just love it. Sorry about the camera angle - you totally can't read the YOUR day sentiment fully. Woops! 

This is going over to play along in the Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes challenge and Love to Create - Anything Mixed Media Goes.

Come play along with us! The STAMPlorations challenge is open until the end o' the month!

One last thing before I go - you probably have noticed a lack of crafty comments on my end (I feel so bad!) But it is a necessary evil as I am packing up my entire house for a move at the end of this month. Please send all your good thoughts, prayers and love because I don't want to be bald and I feel like I'm pulling out all my hair! I. HATE! Boxes! ;) 

Thanks for your patience during this time! 

Featured Friday - Samantha Aguilera!!

Happy Featured Friday Folks, it's that fine time of the month where I get to spread around some bloggy love and showcase a blogger who's inspired me in some way.

Today's star designer is brought to you by the letter S for:

Samantha Aguilera of Designs by Sammy!! 

Although my style tends to be more mixed media-y, I admire designers for a host of different reasons. These FF segments have seen cardmakers who focus on shabby chic, masking masterminds, and yes - even clean and simple.

That's because even if I'm not particularly good at creating in that aesthetic, I still drool over well-designed cards in any style. And Featured Fridays are a GREAT way to get me outside of my comfort zone.

And that's where Samantha comes in. We "met" when she asked me to be a part of the Crafty Gals Design Team (which I served a term on). I always drooled over Sammy's ability to create fancy fold cards, but her greatest skill (in my opinion) is coloring. Holeeee snapdragons can this girl color!

By why let me tell you all about her, when she can do that herself? Here's 7 things you should know about Samantha:

1. How did you get your start in card making?

My mom is actually the one who got me started! In December of 2009 I got a Cricut and I have just expanded from there. I've always been into crafty things though. Before I was into card making, I use to paint and scrapbook as well.

2. You're an amazing colorist! Have any tips for people interested in learning to color like you?

I invested in some of the Kit & Clowder technique classes and those are worth every penny! I feel like those classes defintely help me perfect some of my coloring techniques and I've learned so many new ones along the way as well. The biggest tip, I would have to say though is PRACTICE!

3. If you could buy any craft supply/product right now, what would it be?

A MISTI! I've been eyeballing that thing out for a while now. I have a couple stamp sets that are meant to be layered and with MISTI it looks like it would be a breeze.

4. If you were a color, what color would you be and why?

I would have to say Magenta. First off it's my favorite color, second off I love how fun, loud, and pretty it is!

5. What are your favorite card making challenges?

I'm completely biased but Crafty Gals Corner (which I run for those of you who didn't know) is one of my favorites! I also really like Faery Ink, Scrapper's Delights, Sassy Studio Designs. Some of those are blog challenges but nevertheless - still fun!

6. How do you stay organized?

I attribute a lot of that to my need for organization. My craftroom has to be oragnized, I'm a little OCD about it. Every box is labeled with what it's side, things are alphabetized, color coded, etc. My dies and stamps are in Stamping Up! Storage boxes and are colored coded by occasion. I can't stand not being able to find something - so with this crazy organized way I hardly ever loose anything.

7. What is your best advice for new bloggers?

Explore other people's blogs, find some inspiration, and show us what you got!

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I just got a MISTI and, although I haven't had much time to test it out, I can tell it's going to be amazing! 

For those of you who haven't seen a Featured Friday before, it's all about CASEing. I'll find one creation on the featuree's blog that made me fall in love, and then we BOTH get to CASE the creation! 

THE ORIGINAL

Oh my goodness golly - this card is actually displayed in my dining room right now because Samantha sent it to me for my birthday. I was BLOWN AWAY. That gorgeously colored ombre hair, the netting, and the pearl "bubbles" It's so creative and something I never would have thought to design!

SAMANTHA'S CASE

MY CASE

 

So my very first thought was to do  Janna Prosvirina's Oak Fairy

with ombre hair like the awesome Samantha - ummmm yeaaaaahhhhh I'm going to need some practice withthat because, as you can see - this is NOT ombre hair. Snicker*

I forgot how relaxing coloring could be!! I colored this girl up with a whole HOST of Spectrum Noir Markers. ANNND! After one rather unsuccessful attempt at scoring, I fancy folded! *Takes bow* Taaa daaaa! So thank you Samantha, for pushing me out of my comfort zone because I LOVE what I created! 

I'm sending this gal over to:

Crafty Gals Corner - Bingo Challenge (I chose the middle row down - ribbon, colored digi, sentiment)

Aud Sentiments - ATG + a sentiment

One Sweet Challenge - Anything Goes using Sweet Pea Stamps

Darnell's NBUS - Everything on this card is new. I won this digi stamp back in March and haven't used it yet - woops! I also used some brand new May Arts adhesive ribbon, and the wooden chippies have been idling in my drawer, too. 

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Pssssssssssssssssssstttt: Here's special sneaky peeky for my bloggy followers - As we were going through the conversation for Featured Friday, Samantha said "Gosh, I love what you do with mixed media." and I gushed "Thanks! But I WISH I could do what you do with coloring." and so an idea curdled in our brains. 

So on the last Thursday of the month we'll be bringing you

The BS Sessions! Basically, I'll ask Sammy one question about coloring, and SHE will ask me one question about mixed media. And then we'll share tutorials on our blog. The first BS Sessions will be held September 4th! Stay tuned!

PLEASE - if you could spare a minute of your day would you mind popping by Sammy's blog and telling her hello? I'm sure it would make her day!

Love is in the Air - Crazy Bird Style

Love love love. September is usually the month when I reflect upon love, because the 15th is my anniversary to my wonderful boyfriend. 

Today, I'm going to show off the card that I made for him using the Crazy Birds stamp set. 

I just love these stinkin' birds. They are so expressive and I keep seeing crazier and crazier cards with them. Especially now that there's an expansion pack with fun accessories. 

I've not got to use the bird before and so they are perfect for Miss Darnell's NBUS challenge. What's NBUS, you ask? Well I will counter your question with one of my one: WHAT ROCK HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING UNDER?! It's only the coolest challenge this side of the interwebs. It stands for Never Been Used Schtuff and it gives you incentive to use that crafty thingamabob you've been hoarding. 

You can find all of the details and the awesome list of sponsors over on Darnell's blog. 

Here is my full card:

I colored these critters with some Copic markers and then I added a 3D heart sticker (also NBUS) before "stitching the whole thing with a Pitt Artist Pen. 

Did you notice that I masked the birds so their beaks were touching? They're kissing, of course! ;) 

And then for the sentiment: As many of you know, I may be a bit *ahem* quirky, crazy, funky, silly... So this seemed like the perfect way to say HEY! It's me! And I love you! 

I'm also sending this over to the Craft Stamper Magazine Take it Make it Challenge - Anything Goes and Little Red Wagon Challenge - Clean and Simple.

We just spent the weekend up on Minnesota's North Shore celebrating. :) 

Thanks for popping by!!

Discover CAS - STAMPlorations Sketch and Theme Challenge

First of all. Ho. My. Gooot-ness. 

You all are >>AMAZING<<. Seriously. My heart is overflowing with joy after all the LOVELY comments you left on my last post, introducing my own stamp line. 

Thank you. <-- that seems so insufficient, but I truly, truly mean it. I'll be getting around to leaving you all replies shortly. 

Today, however, is a new day. And that means a new post. STAMPlorations is starting their monthly challenge. We've switched things up at the challenge and we're now doing a theme and sketch combo. You can choose to use either the sketch OR the theme OR both.  And the great thing is, you can use ANY products that you want to participate!

The theme is Stamps and Music and the sketch is funky cool. 

For my design team project, I just chose to use the sketch. And folks, it was interesting. Lining things up perfectly is NOT my strong suit. And this has a whole lotta lining up. All you CASxperts out there have some genius magic in you, that's all I'm saying.

Here's my card:

I used one of the new stamp sets, which has some beautiful typography and is perfect for cardmaking or art journaling. This set is called BOLD SENTIMENTS: Discover. The goal was to leave everything black and white, but then I just felt like the JOY needed to jump off the page, so red it was. And then, since I couldn't leave it QUITE as bare as I wanted to, I had to stamp some chevrons from the Mixed Media Grunge set. 

My card was very heavily inspired by the PINspirational challenge image and also fits nicely with the AAA Cards challenge, which is to use embossing. ALL the words on this card are heat embossed. Last, but certainly not least, I'm going to send it over to House of Cards for their Stitching challenge.

As for you, go check out the STAMPlorations challenge!

We've got some AWESOME prizes! 

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Now. For one last thing. As many of you who are my facebook friends already know, I'm putting on a blog hop October 1-14 right here, at my place. It's called the Hop to Stop and you can read all about it and get more information on the 

FACEBOOK EVENT.

 

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and this hop is designed to raise awareness about domestic violence, an issue that impacts 1 in 4 women, and the resources that are available to assist victims of domestic violence.

A linkup for the hop will be posted on October 1 and will close October 14. Prize winners will be announced October 17.

Any type of papercraft/mixed media art project is welcome, as long as it *features* the color purple (domestic violence awareness color).

There are TONS of amazing sponsors for this blog hop, so you don't want to miss out!

For more information about domestic violence, its impacts, and available resources, visit the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence. http://www.nrcdv.org/
 

Introducing My Stamp Line - STAMPlorations Big Grins by Becca Cruger!!!

On yesterday's post, I had some fun with numbers, recapping my year of blogging, and I finally got to share my secret - Shery Russ from STAMPlorations asked me to design my own stamp line for STAMPlorations. 

EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

After doing about nineteen happy dances, I calmed down enough to breathe and to accept her offer and my line was born. It's called Big Grins by Becca Cruger, because that's what I hope to bring through my stamps. I'll be trying to bring fun, eclectic, and often funny stamps your way!

For my first stamp set, I decided to go with something I know and love - coffee and books! I'm an avid participator in the quarterly Coffee Lover's Blog Hop (which is coming up again September 25 - October 2. We actually have two coffee-themed stamp sets we're releasing: Literary Caffeine-ations designed by yours truly, and Sketchy Coffee Cups by Shery. If you love coffee, you're going to want to play with these sets!

and

 

Aren't they beautiful?! Ok, I'm probably a little biased and over-the-moon, but I'm SOOOO thrilled to release this. 

My card for today uses both sets and is super funky with lots of texture and splattery goodness! 

I started out with a background that I made using some Distress Inks and the double-dipping technique. Then I added some splatters using Black Soot Distress Spray Stains. 

 

Then I used some bits and bobs I've collected, including a fabulous doily from my friend, Lizzy Hill. (thanks, Lizzy!) I used my Faber Castell Pitt Artist pen to do some doodling around the outer edges and on a hexagonal cutout. 

I stamped one of the mugs and colored it with Spectrum Noir Markers GB2, GB4, GB5, GB7). 

This card is going to play along in Through the Craftroom Door - Anything Goes challenge, Virginia's View - Geometric Challenge, Unruly PaperArts Reader Art Quest challenge, and House of Cards - Stitch it up - Use real or faux stitching.  

I'll have even more cards from this set to share later, but for now guess who is helping me with the big release?! THEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Amy Tsurata, who's name is now silmultaneously connected with all things coffee and stamping. 

Amy has made some incredible designs and I hope you'll pop by her place to see them! 

GIVEAWAY ALERT:

We're giving away BOTH sets of these stamps! 

Leave me a comment, go visit the STAMPlorations blog, and go visit Amy for a chance to win!

Also, for those of you who just gotta have these sets, Literary Caffeine-ations and Sketchy Coffee Cups are now available in the shop and for one week only (until September 9), they're 10% off!

Friendship Smiles Card - Mixed Media Card Challenge

September 1st!!!
Now I am an English major, so that means I don't often like to touch, come near to, or otherwise think about numbers, but today I am making an exception. 

I have a few numbers that have come about all because of YOU lovely people:

9-1-14 - The date I posted my very first blog post

4 - The number of design teams I've had the privilege to be a part of

176 - The number of blog posts I've shared with all of you!!

241 - The number of people who've made my day by signing up to follow me

6606 - The number of comments that have made me blush and grin from ear-to-ear THANK YOU!!!

It's been exactly a year since I had my first blog post and I'm getting a little nostalgic thinking about all that has happened... I can't help but to be grateful when I think about all the experiences I've had, and the friendships I've made in this bloggy world. 

I know it seems crazy, but I truly think that I was meant to start this blog when I did... My Grandma was my longtime crafty companion and the person I shared everything with. I began this blog in September, and in November my Gram passed away. I truly mean it when I say that if I didn't have my blog and all of you lovely folks... I really don't think I'd be stamping. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you. 

Coincidentally, the theme over at Mixed Media Card Challenge is Friendship and my card was definitely inspired by all of you and by my Gram.

I used a wood patterned background and sprayed it with some white picket fence Distress Spray, and then I added a piece of watercolor paper that I'd sprayed with various Distress Spray Stains before sponging the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Inks. I added a piece of my Gram's vintage lace and a proliferation of flowers.

Then I painted a white frame with golden Perfect Pearls and brushed some on the flower leaves as well. I embossed a sentiment. 

 

In addition to the Mixed Media Card Challenge Friendship theme, this card was also inspired by this image from Anything But Cute. And I'm going to send it over to Pile It On - Friends/Friendly Hello challenge, Frilly and Funkie - A Touch of Gold, and That Craft Place - Mixed Media Anything Goes challenge. 

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In other news: I have one more BIG number to share. 

1 - The number of companies I design stamps for

WHAT?!?! Yep, you read that right. I am now officially the designer of my own stamp line. 

Shery from STAMPlorations floored me by asking me to be a stamp designer for her company!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can read all about it on the STAMPlorations blog and TOMORROW my first stamp set gets released under the line Big Grins (because that's what I hope to bring through my stamp line). EEEEE!!!! 

Like I said... grateful. Just grateful. 

Thank you all for being on this crazy awesome journey with me!