DeNami Design's June Blog Hop: PATTERNED PAPER!

HAPPY BLOG HOP DAY!

I'm so excited about this month's theme:  Patterned Paper!  DeNami Design's stamps are so versatile that you can make your own patterned paper or you can easily pair up their images with patterned scrapbook papers!

You should have arrived here from Diana's blog.  I can't wait to see what she creates for us today!

To start from the beginning of the hop or to see a list of all the blogs, go to DeNami Design's blog.

Now, here is MY creation for today:

My apologies for the weird stripes across the photograph.  My camera isn't working, so I'm having to use my phone, and it just doesn't take the best photos.  *sigh*  Anyway...my wonderful niece just had surgery, and I wanted to create a happy and fun card to send her.  I saw this ADORABLE patterned paper by Carta Bella at a local store yesterday and fell in love with it!  I just LOVE those patterned clouds!  I instantly saw a chickie parachuting through those clouds in my mind.  I also used some buttercup yellow gingham cardstock from Memory Box and some hot pink swiss dot cardstock from Bazzil.  Lastly, I wanted some ribbon, but I couldn't decide which.  Then, I realized that I love how the clouds on the paper are all different patterns, so why not layer the checkerboard ribbon (from American Crafts) on top of the chevron ribbon (from May Arts)?!  

Next on the hop is Wendy Elliot's blog.  UGH, is there anything this woman can't do!?  She's incredible.  She is one of the main reasons I am addicted to DeNami stamps!  She's amazing.  I could stay here all day and ramble on about how awesome she is, but why don't we just go see what she's made, eh?

HAPPY STAMPING!

Amy

DeNami Design's May Blog Hop: FRESH FLORALS!

BLOG HOP TIME!

YIPPEE SKIPPY!

One of the things I love so much about DeNami Design stamps is how versatile they are!  They've got such fun and adorable stamps, but they also have many that are just downright GORGEOUS.  Their floral images are stunning and elegant!  So, this blog hop theme THRILLS me because it is all about highlighting their fabulous floral images!  YAY!

You should have arrived here from Greta's Blog!  Isn't she awesome?  Her creations are always fantastic!

If you are lost or just want to start the blog hop from the beginning, go to DeNami Design's Blog.

Now, on to my card!   YAY!   My favorite colors in the universe are green and blue, and I just felt like rocking out those colors.   Plus, I LOOOOOOOVE patterned backgrounds.  I'm obsessed with houndstooth, so you can imagine how much I freaked out when I saw that DeNami Design now has a Houndstooth Background stamp.  LOVE IT!  Then, I used this Water Lily stamp to create some blossoms.  I stamped the water lily several times onto white cardstock, colored them all with Copic markers, fussy cut them out, and layered them to create these full blossoms.  I thought I would finish them off with a pearl center and glitter pen outlined petals.

I also used the Decorative Flourish stamp to add some more flair behind the blossoms.  You can see it better in the close-up (and you can see how much the glitter pen adds to the card).  

Side note, if you don't already own this Decorative Flourish stamp, what are you waiting for?!  It is one of my faves!  It creates a perfect, stunning, elegant background every time.  It's great paired with embellishments like glitter, rhinestones, pearls, and even sequins (Paulina, I'm looking at you!  You're the QUEEN of Sequins!  I can only imagine how fabulous sequins could be with this stamp!!). 

I choose to use the "Just a note" sentiment from the All Occasions Trifle Stamp Set, but you could use pretty much ANY sentiment with this card.

Next stop on the blog hop is Emily's blog.  I can't wait to see what she's made for us today!  She is a true talent!  Cute, elegant, adorable, sophisticated...she can do it all!

Make sure to leave a comment on all the blogs for your chance to win a gift certificate to DeNami Design!  

Happy Stamping!

Amy

My Very First 10 Minute Craft Dash!

Well, well, well....I was in a crafty mood today.  Felt like making a card...or earrings...or something.  That's when, as I was getting caught up on emails, I found the current 10 Minute Craft Dash.  For those of you who don't know, this is a challenge where you have to make a card/project in 10 minutes or less.  I don't know about you, but I can barely decide which stamps I want to use in 10 minutes, let alone create an entire card!  Anyway, the great thing about this challenge is that you CAN have a plan in place before you start.  You can set up all your supplies, but then you start the timer as soon as you start crafting.   Here is a picture of my pre-set area:

Well...I like to think that I have many skills....crafting under time constraints?  That may not be one of them.  My plan of attack was to stamp and color my image first and get that out of the way.  Rookie Mistake #1:  picking an image with lots to color.  Oops.  I figured I could allow myself one minute to stamp and color.  TRY 3.5 minutes!  I looked up, and WHAM!  Three and a half minutes...GONE!  ACK!  PANIC MODE!  I quickly punched my image and set it aside, but then realized I needed some other plan.  I wanted to use some Wondertape and glitter to create some awesome diagonal stripes, but...Rookie Mistake #2: don't attempt techniques you've never tried before.  This requires a little more time and precision than I had.  So, I had to settle for a couple quick horizontal stripes instead.  At this point, I had almost no time left, so I adhered the stamped circle and TADAA!  9 minutes 48 seconds....and one highly disappointed Amy.  This was NOT the card I envisioned in my head.  And, my craft area was a disaster!

But, here is the finished card:

Well, I have to remind myself that it WAS my very first attempt, and I learned some very valuable lessons.  BUT, being OCD, I still had a vision of a card in my head, and I was desperate to see it completed.  So, I decided to set the stopwatch again and see how long it would take me to finish the card as I wanted.  The result?  40 minutes and 23 seconds.  LOL!  BUT, I'm quite pleased with the result.  

Please note that only the card completed in less than 10 minutes is eligible for the challenge, but I wanted to share this card with you, too.

A little side by side comparison:

9:48          vs         40:23

All in all, this was a fun little challenge, and I am bound and determined to master the 10 Minute Craft Dash...but I'll have to save that for another day.  ;)

Happy Stamping!

Amy

DeNami Design's April Blog Hop: FANCY FAVORS!

Ok, this is going to be REALLY FAST!  It is almost 4am, and I had to work late, and it is REALLY down to the wire with this post so here goes...

You should have arrived here from Lisa Elton's blog.  Not only is Lisa incredibly talented, but she is also super sweet and awesome!  She hosted a blog giveaway last month, and I won the world's cutest jar of DeNami Design boutique buttons!  You can see one of those buttons on my project today!  THANK YOU, LISA!!!

If you're lost on the hop and/or need to start from the beginning, go to DeNami Design's blog.

So, the theme this month is FANCY FAVORS, so we were to make some sort of gift/party favor.  One of my all-time favorite gifts was my Keurig coffee maker, so I thought it would be cute to make a little gift bag for a Keurig K-cup!  It just so happens that THIS TEMPLATE from DeNami Design totally works!  The K-cup stretches the bag a bit so it's more rounded than flat on the sides, but it still works.  See?

I used glittery paper and my Sakura Glitter Pens to add lots of glittery touches.  Here's a close-up of the adorable little chickie!

FYI:  I printed this template directly onto cardstock so I could just stamp and cut!  Voila!  However, may I suggest that you do your stamping on the opposite side of the paper that the guidelines were printed on.  Oops. Silly errors happen at 3am!

The stamps I used for this project were PF09 Espresso Stamp Set and CL-C91 Coffee Cup Chickie.  I also layered some glitter ribbon on top of some grosgrain ribbon to make the bow extra special.  I was on a roll with glittery sparkle!

Next stop on the blog hop is Ruza Rebel's blog!  She's so creative!  I can't wait to see what she's made!  Let's go check it out!

Thanks for stopping by!  Make sure to leave comments on all the blogs for your chance to win a gift certificate to DeNami Design!

Happy Stamping!

Amy

DeNami Design's March Blog Hop: BIRTHDAY BONANZA!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DENAMI DESIGN!  This month marks their 24th Birthday!  WOW!  24 years of creating some of the most adorable, elegant, and whimsical stamps EVER!  CONGRATS!

To celebrate, it's BLOG HOP TIME!   Also, I must share with you that today is the 7th birthday of my 2 kitties, Sophie & Izzy.  I met them when they were just over 2 weeks old, and I fell madly in love with them.  They've been the best fuzzy babies ever since!  

Happy Birthday, Izzy & Sophie!

As for the blog hop, you should have arrived here from Tammy's blog!  She always has awesome creations!  If you are lost and need to start from the beginning, make sure to go to DeNami Design's blog. 

Now, as for my card...well, if you've visited my blog for the past 2 hops, you probably know that I've become obsessed with washi tape, and today is no exception.  I couldn't help but use two new washi tapes that I recently bought to create fun background layers.

I just had way too much fun imagining this chickie jumping out from a cupcake on the top of this tower!  I stamped the Cupcake Tower stamp without inking the top cupcake layer so I would have room for the Cupcake Chickie.  Lastly, the sentiment stamp comes from the Thoughtful Greetings petit four set. 

Oh, and Izzy wanted to pose for the camera with the birthday card, so here she is:

Your next stop on the hop is the sweet and talented Tenia's blog.

Happy Stamping!

Amy

DeNami Design's February Blog Hop: ADORABLE ANIMALS

Guess what time it is, boys and girls!  It's BLOG HOP TIME!  YAY!

You should have arrived here from Kanani's awesome blog, but you can also start from the beginning at DeNami Design's blog.

I just love the theme this month: Adorable Animals.  All of DeNami Design's animal stamps are, indeed, adorable!  So many cute li'l guys to choose from!  So, which one to pick?  Hmmm...decisions, decisions...  Well, I have to admit, I saw a new paper my local scrapbooking store here in Michigan, Scrappy Chic, and I immediately pictured a chickie scene.  So, here's my finished product:

The "postcard" is from the new "Summery" paper from Kaisercraft's Tropicana Collection.  It is a page of vintage-looking tropical postcard images, and I knew when I saw it that I wanted to create a chickie postcard image.  The "Wish you were here!" sentiment was already printed on the paper!  All I had to do was stamp the chickies, color them in, cut them out, and glue them onto the scene.  After last month's Wonderful Washi blog hop, I've been obsessed with using washi and other decorative tapes, and I have a confession to make.  I recently saw this woodgrain tape by Glitz at Scrappy Chic and thought, "Hmm...that's interesting, but what would I do with it?"  Well, the next day, I woke up and thought, "I'VE GOT IT! I know EXACTLY how to use that tape!"  So, I had to rush back to the store and buy some so I could create this wood paneling look.  I covered basic white cardstock with the tape.  The red, white, and blue twine is from Divine Twine, and every time I see that kind of twine I think of international postage, so that's why I added it, to give it a "postal" feel.  Lastly, I curled the edges of the "postcard" for a little added dimension.  

Next stop on the blog hop needs no introduction, but I am going to give her one anyway.  I've prided myself for several years now as being one of DeNami's biggest fans.  I have a collection of HUNDREDS of their stamps, almost all their grosgrain ribbons, and some of their awesome cardstock, too.  Well, this next blogger has me beat, not only in the inventory department, but her dedication to DeNami and blogging about DeNami is unmatched by any other fan.  And, I haven't even mentioned her incredible talent yet!  On top of all that, she is one of the sweetest, funniest, most genuine people I've met in blogland!  I honestly cannot wait to see what this remarkable woman has created for today's blog hop!  Without further ado, have fun hopping over to see Tina's brilliance at Confessions of a DeNami Addict.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!  I can't wait to read your comments!

Happy Stamping!

Amy

DeNami Design's January Blog Hop: WONDERFUL WASHI

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and I'm thrilled to be a part of DeNami Design's first blog hop of 2013!

Before I go any further, have you SEEN the new release stamps?!  SO CUTE!  Check them out and order yours HERE.

You should have arrived from Kanani's blog.  She is so fantastic!  Can't wait to see what she's made for today!  If you want to start the blog hop from the beginning, go to DeNami Design's blog.

Now, here's my creation.  I LOVE this theme, and I have a confession.  I've bought washi tape, and I just haven't gotten around to using it, so this blog hop forced me to dive right in, and I'm SO GLAD!  I bought some adorable film strip washi tape a few months ago, and here's what I came up with for today:

Here's a close-up of some of the details:

I stamped the chickie face from the Animal Faces petit four set inside every other film square, and then I colored them in with Copic markers.  I also stamped the word "Smile" from the Heartfelt Greetings petit four set.  Of course, I had to add some sort of ribbon-like detail, so I created the rolling wave of film strip, accented by some Diamond Wrap I found last year at The Container Store.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today, and I hope you'll leave a comment and hop along to the others.  Leaving comments gives you chance to win fabulous gift certificates from DeNami Design. I know that I am keeping my fingers crossed for one because my wishlist of new stamps needs addressing!  The next stop on the blog hop is Greta's blog.  She creates STUNNING and elegant cards, so I am really looking forward to seeing what she made.  Let's go check it out!

Happy Hopping!

Amy