Good News: I'm Guest Designing with TCM this month!

I'm SO happy to share that I'm guest designing for The Craft's Meow this month!! Somebody pinch me!! You can read all about it here. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!

And today is the first day of previews for the TCM October stamp release. The TCM design team members (and that includes me!) are sharing creations made with two new fabulous stamp sets for Christmas:  Christmas Angel and Hearth & Home.

Let's take a look at what I made with the Christmas Angel set:

I took an understated approach with this set to let that beautifully detailed Christmas angel really shine! I embossed her in gold on a Night of Navy SU cardstock base. The "Glory to God" sentiment also comes from this Christmas Angel set. I stamped it in Night of Navy ink on Vintage Cream PTI cardstock and embossed a beautiful label (from TCM's Season's Greetings set ) around it in gold.

My second card for today comes from the Hearth & Home set:

There's a great selection of images and sentiments in this new set! I chose to focus on the parts that "jingle" ;). I colored the jingle bells image with my colored pencils and blended with odorless mineral spirits and paper blending stumps. I just had to add some silver glitter for a bit of pizzazz!! The musical score background is digital paper that I recolored (it was originally black and white) and printed out from the Echo Park Hybrid Mini-Theme kit called Melody of Life. I would have loved to tie on some silver jingle bells with my button and bow treatment but discovered that all I had were gold!! Gotta put some silver ones on my shopping list . . .

Be sure to check out the fantastic creations that the rest of the TCM designers made for today's preview of Christmas Angel and Hearth & Home over on the The Craft's Meow blog. There's a giveaway going on, too, and you can find out all about that over there as well. :D

I hope you'll join me tomorrow for some more previews of new TCM stamp sets!

Until then, have a day filled with bliss!
Emily

Halloween Goblins

Whew! Here we are already on the 12th of September! The past week at our house has been a whirlwind of going back to school and figuring out what will work for our new school routine. Over the weekend, we took in a concert, went apple picking, had friends over for dinner, kicked off the new Sunday School year, and celebrated my hubby's birthday. And so far this week has been filled with appointments and hubby's travel for work. So, when I tried to catch my breath, I was surprised to realize just how far into the month we are already! Halloween is just around the corner ;), so I dove right in and made my first Halloween card of the season--one featuring some one-eyed goblins, no less!

I created these too-cute-to-spook guys using DeNami Design's Fuzzy Ball stamp, coloring with colored pencils and odorless mineral spirits, and drawing on long, skinny legs by hand. Each goblin's feet were created by snipping in half a small heart punched from coordinating cardstock. The background paper is some that I picked up at Target several years ago--I just love the colors in it! 

This adorable Fuzzy Ball stamp is our DeNami Featured Stamp this week! It will be on sale at 10% off all week. There are so many ways to use this fun little image! Be sure to check out the DeNami blog today for lots more creative ideas using the Fuzzy Ball.

Thanks so much for dropping by! See you again soon,
Emily

DeNami Back-to-School Blog Hop

Good morning, friends! And welcome to the DeNami Design Back-to-School Blog Hop! Today the DeNami Design Team and customers alike are showcasing projects that are just perfect for this time of year: anything having to do with going back to school!

Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Pattie Goldman's blog, Paper Silhouettes. If so, you are on the right track! If not, you'll want to head over to the DeNami blog to start the blog hop at the beginning. (And remember, if you get lost along the way, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction.)

Don't forget, there are some super-fun DeNami prizes to be won! Two lucky commenters will be drawn at random from among the comments left along the blog hop to win a $20 DeNami Design gift certificate! You have until Monday, September 10, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize.

So, for my back-to-school project I made packaging for a yummy back-to-school muffin! Perfect for surprising your favorite student or teacher with a good-luck breakfast send-off. :D

Isn't that DeNami Cupcake Boutique Box absolutely adorable? It's a 4.25" cube, the perfect size for packaging up decorated cupcakes or gourmet muffins. You can order them directly from the DeNami web store in packages of six. You can also purchase an awesome downloadable cupcake holder template from DeNami. It fits in the Cupcake Boutique Boxes perfectly! I printed my template directly on a sheet of white cardstock and trimmed it down. Then I used the DeNami Small Apple in red to stamp a background all over the cupcake holder.

My other back-to-school accent for this first-day-of-school muffin box was made by stamping the sweet Chickie School Bus on white cardstock and then coloring it in with my colored pencils blended with odorless mineral spirits and a paper blending stump.

All that was left then was to pop in a yummy muffin and tie it up with some red ribbon! Perfect for getting the new year off to a great start with a special breakfast treat!


That wraps it up for me! Before you leave, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes and then you can be on your way to the next stop on the hop, the blog of Virginia Larsen, GinnyLou Studio. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Enjoy the blog hop,

Emily

Sending You Smiles

I know, it's been a while since I've posted, right? With company, appointments, doing stuff with the kids, and dealing with a tree that was blown down in our yard by a nasty thunderstorm last week, I've had my plate full to overflowing! But I'm here today to share a quick friendship card that features a brand-new sentiment from DeNami Design, "Sending you smiles across the miles." Don't you just love that? I know I'll be using it a lot :D!!

This fun sentiment stamp just happens to be the DeNami Product Spotlight this week, which means it's on sale for 10% off for the next week! Just drop it into your shopping cart--the savings has already been applied.

Be sure to drop by the DeNami Design blog today to see all the creative ways the rest of the DeNami Design DT used this awesome stamp!

Thanks for visiting!

Emily

Stamps: Sending You Smiles (cling), Race Car Chickie (cling), Retro Borders 1 Set (cling) by DeNami Design

Paper: DeNami Sky Blue cardstock, PTI white cardstock

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine, PTI Hawaiian Shores

Accessories:  Prismacolor pencils, odorless mineral spirits, paper blending stumps, scoring board, foam tape

Techniques: Gamsol Magic

DeNami Summer Blog Hop

Welcome to the DeNami Design SUMMER Blog Hop! Today the DeNami Design Team and customers alike are showcasing some fun summer-themed projects made with DeNami stamps.

Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Dana Seymour's blog, Kismet, Art, & Life. If so, you are on the right track! If not, you'll want to head over to the DeNami blog to start the blog hop at the beginning. (And remember, if you get lost along the way, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction.)

Don't forget, there are some super-fun DeNami prizes to be won! Two lucky commenters will be drawn at random from among the comments left along the blog hop to win a $20 DeNami Design gift certificate! You have until Monday, July 9, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize. 


Let's get on with the show! Nothing says "summer" to me more than bright colors and fun, outdoorsy activities--like catching butterflies! So I put my Chickie and Butterflies cling stamp to good use, and constructed this scene using lots of patterned paper:

Those sweet butterflies are from the Fancy Flutters Set, the little "hi!" is from the Everyday Greetings stamp set, and those dotty flight lines were made from the ultra-versatile Steam Curl stamp.


Well, I'm sure you're eager to see rest of the sweet SUMMER lineup! Before you leave, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes and then you can be on your way to stop number three on the hop, the blog of Carol Hartery, Carol Hartery's Creations.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Enjoy the blog hop,

Emily

PS This is also another entry for Kim Kesti's Crafty Month challenge--to create a card that combines at least one new item and one item from your stash (at least one year old). For this card, my new item is the Steam Curl stamp, and my old item is the BasicGrey Lime Rickey collection patterned paper I used. It has a copyright date of 2008--you know it's been in my stash for more than a year (or two or three!)

Stamps: Chickie and Butterflies, Steam Curl, Fancy Flutters Set, Everyday Greetings stamp set by DeNami Design
Paper: DeNami Celery and Iridescent Aquamarine cardstocks, patterned papers from BasicGrey's Lime Rickey collection, white cardstock from The Paper Company
Ink: Noir Black Palette and Onyx Black Versafine
Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, odorless mineral spirits, paper blending stumps, sewing machine, foam tape
Techniques: machine stitching, Gamsol magic, paper piecing

DeNami Sneak Peeks: CHICKIES

Welcome to Day 1 of the DeNami Design Fall/Winter Release Sneak Peeks!! Today DT Member Lisa Petrella and I are giving you sneak peeks of brand-new DeNami stamps about to be released in the always-fun CHICKIES category! Be sure to read all the way to the end of this post for details on a great giveaway :D.

If you are a DeNami chickie lover, you will positively swoon over the chick-tastic new release! There are new chickies for Halloween, new chickies for Christmas, and some fun new chickies for everyday. I had SO much fun with my new chickie stamps getting ready for this fall/winter release! It was hard to decide where to start, but in the end I went with some of the new everyday chickies. Are ready to see them? OK, fasten your seat belts--here we go!!

What could be more fun than a racing chickie?!? For my first card I used the brand-new Race Car Chickie (CL-G154) and Make Way! It's Your Day! (CL-F224) stamps. My hubby is a huge car fanatic, so this will be for his birthday in September. I know he'll love it! I stamped the race car on watercolor paper in black Versafine ink and heat embossed the image with clear embossing powder. Then I watercolor-painted this fun little guy and his wheels with dye inks.

Up next I played with the new Swinging Chickie (CL-D146) on a pair of clean and simple cards. I wanted to make the swing ropes ultra long for this card design, so I extended them with a ruler and an ultra-fine tipped Sharpie. I paper-pieced the chickies on white cardstock so I could color them with Prismacolor pencils.  So, why two nearly identical cards? Well, I couldn't decide which I liked better: underlining my design with some scored lines, or tying on some baker's twine. This card was so quick and easy to make, that I did it both ways!

So are you starting to think that these new chickie stamps are just like potato chips? (You know, because you can't stop after just one--one card, that is!). Well, what I did with the new Business Chickie (CL-C92) would certainly make you think so! This little guy is SO cute! He made me think of some kind of bureaucrat or government agent--of the cutest, fluffiest kind, of course--that might come 'round to "chick" up on you. :D

And there you have it--my chickie sneak peeks for the new release!



Congratulations for making it to the end of this looooooooooooooong post :). I mentioned a giveaway way back at the beginning, and here's what's up for grabs: 

Paulina is giving away TWO of these Chickie-themed prize packages today, one on the DeNami blog and one from today's featured blogs (that would be my blog here and Lisa Petrella's blog). The winners will be randomly selected from the comments left on the three blogs, so be sure to comment in all three places to maximize your chance of winning!


I'm so glad that you dropped in to check out some of the new chickie stamps in the DeNami Design Fall/Winter Release! Be sure to tune into the DeNami blog tomorrow for more sneak peeks and another giveaway.


Have a day filled with bliss!
Emily


Race Car Chickie card:
Stamps: Race Car Chickie, Make Way It's Your Day, Steam Curl, Stitched Rectangle, Holiday stamp set--all from DeNami Design
Paper: Canson watercolor paper, patterned paper from BasicGrey's Wander collection
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Versafine Vintage Sepia, Versafine Crimson Red, various dye inks for watercolor painting
Accessories: sewing machine, foam tape
Techniques: watercolor painting, machine stitching


Swinging Chickie cards:
Stamps: Swinging Chickie, Hang In There--from DeNami Design
Paper: DeNami Iridescent Aquamarine cardstock, white cardstock from PTI
Ink: Noir Black Palette
Accessories: ruler, ultra-fine tip Sharpie, scoring board, Prismacolor pencils, odorless mineral spirits, paper blending stumps, baker's twine from DeNami's Summer Twine 3-pk
Techniques: scoring, Gamsol Magic


Business Chickie card #1:
Stamps: Business Chickie, Just Chickin' Up On You--from DeNami Design
Paper: DeNami Lime cardstock, patterned paper from BasicGrey's Green at Heart collection, white cardstock from PTI
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Noir Black Palette
Accessories: sewing machine, scalloped border punch, Prismacolor pencils, odorless mineral spirits, paper blending stumps
Techniques: Gamsol Magic, machine stitching

Business Chickie cards #2 and #3:
Stamps: Business Chickie, Just Chickin' Up On You, Retro Borders 1 Set (cling)--from DeNami Design
Paper: white cardstock from PTI
Ink: Versafine Deep Lagoon, Versafine Crimson Red, Noir Black Palette
Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, odorless mineral spirits, paper blending stumps
Techniques: Gamsol Magic

Surfboard Trio

How about a little something bright and summery today?

I'm sharing this card to show off the DeNami Design Product Spotlight stamp for this week, the fabulous Surfboard Trio!

Like, cowabunga, dude! You can snag this totally rad stamp on sale this week. Just add it to your cart. That's so sick, right?

(OK, I can do surfer speak for only so long. I do believe I've just timed out!)

I stamped the surfboards on four different colors of DeNami cardstock (Golden Tangerine, Iridescent Emerald Green, Magenta, and Desert Orange) and cut them out to form a tropical frame for that sweet little Hula Chickie, which I colored with Prismacolor pencils and blended with odorless mineral spirits and a paper blending stump (you can find a tutorial on this method HERE). I just couldn't resist jazzing up the corners of my chickie frame with a few sparkly Robin's Egg Blue Rhinestones.

Be sure to paddle on over to the DeNami blog to check out what the rest of the DeNami dudettes cooked up with this surfin' safari stamp!

So glad you could catch a wave over to visit my blissful beach today! Mahalo!

Emily

PS This is also another entry for Kim Kesti's Crafty Month challenge--to create a card that combines at least one new item and one item from your stash (at least one year old). For this card, my new items are the Hula Chickie and Surfboard Trio stamps, and my old item is the scalloped square punch. I do believe that is the oldest punch I own!

Stamps: Surfboard Trio and Hula Chickie by DeNami Design

Paper: Golden Tangerine, Iridescent Emerald Green, Magenta, Desert Orange, Amethyst, and Sky Blue cardstocks from DeNami Design

Ink: Palette Noir Black hybrid

Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, odorless mineral spirits, paper blending stumps, Kaisercraft rhinestones, square punch, scalloped square punch, Corner Chomper

Technique: gamsol magic

Super-Star Dad

It's time for another DeNami Product Spotlight! This week we are focusing on the new cling-style Happy Father's Day sentiment to celebrate super-star dads:

 

And because all of the dads I know couldn't get along without their computers, I just had to feature the new cling-style Computer Chickie, too. Isn't he the sweetest? I colored him with my Prismacolor pencils using the blending technique I showed in my last tutorial for DeNami. Because my design is so star-studded, I also absolutely had to use the DeNami Teeny Star Background for both my Desert Orange panel and Leaf Green card base. A few star punches and star rhinestones were all I needed to round out my design!

 Because that awesome Happy Father's Day sentiment (isn't the font fantastic?) is our Product Spotlight this week, it's on sale for 10% off. Be sure to drop by the DeNami Design store in the next week so you don't lose out on the savings--just add it to your cart to get the discounted price. No coupon code required!

Don't forget to drop by the DeNami Design blog today to see how the rest of the DeNami design team used this fabulous Father's Day stamp! I know you'll get some awesome masculine-card inspiration. :)

Thanks for stopping by to check out my little slice of bliss for today!

Emily

Garden-Themed Congratulations

Today I'm sharing a garden-themed anniversary card I created for a two-fold purpose. It's not just for any anniversary, but for my sister and her husband's 14th anniversary! Happy Anniversary, Amy and Mike!

So that was purpose #1. Not long ago I was asked if I'd like to make a sample card for an exciting, brand-new card challenge. Of course, I said I'd love to, and that was purpose #2 for this card! That new challenge? It's called the DeNami Addict Challenge and it debuts today. The first challenge is to create a project with a garden theme.

How easy is that? Lots of room for interpretation I'd say, right? It was definitely the perfect theme for creating an elegant card to congratulate my sister and brother-in-law. And I'm betting there are plenty of upcoming occasions that you could make a garden-themed card for, too. I hope you'll try to play along! The requirements are easy--just make something with a garden theme and enter it over at the Confessions of a DeNami Addict blog. That's it! You can use any stamps and products you'd like, too. No restrictions! The prize is a $15 DeNami gift certificate. Isn't that awesome? So if you love the look of DeNami Design stamps, but don't have any yet, this is the perfect opportunity to win some and finally start your collection! Of course, if you are already addicted to DeNami stamps, then this is a wonderful way to continue to feed that addiction!

DeNami Addict Challenges will run monthly, starting on the second Monday each month. This first challenge will end on June 11 at 11:59 p.m. CDT. You can find all the details about this new challenge, and see some more great garden-themed cards contributed by some of the other DeNami DT gals, over on the DeNami Addict blog. I know you'll love playing along!

Thanks for dropping by!

Emily

Card Details:

Stamps: all from DeNami Design: Elegant Floral Vine, Ornamental Vine, Small Congratulations
Paper: all from DeNami Design: Lavender, Celery
Ink: Palette noir black, Versafine onyx black, Versamagic aloe vera
Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, Doodlebug lilac boutique trims, Martha Stewart Cherish PATP set,
Techniques: Gamsol magic

Graduation Congratulations

Hey, everybody! It's so hard to believe that we are already {over} a week into MAY, right? And that means that the Congratulation Season is upon us--you know, the time of year for graduations, weddings, and anniversaries. It's the perfect time for focusing on ideas for congratulations cards, and this week's DeNami Product Spotlight is just that: we are spotlighting the beautifully scripted Small Congratulations sentiment, which I've featured on a fun graduation card.

I've also used the mortarboard and tassel from the DeNami cling-style Graduation Set. I used a black gel pen to add a dotted line to show the path taken by a mortarboard thrown into the air by a celebrating new grad! Some clouds digital patterned paper made the perfect backdrop for my happy scene.

Curious as to how the rest of the DT used this lovely sentiment stamp? Be sure to swing by the DeNami blog to see their fabulous creations! And don't forget that you can get this stamp on sale in the DeNami store for the next week.

Thanks so much for dropping by today!

Emily

A DeNami Happy Mother's Day

Good morning and happy Monday! Here's a little something bright and cheery to wake you up and get you going today:

I'm sharing this Mother's Day card that I made with some fabulous DeNami Design products for the brand-new DeNami monthly challenge. This month we are challenging folks to use this cool sketch by sweet and talented DT member Lisa Petrella:

I know, I can be such a literal Lucy when it comes to sketches! Sometimes I can tweak them and make them my own, but this one? Forget about it! But when you're working with a downright cool-looking sketch, I think it's fun just to see it come to life in color exactly the way it is!!

Curious about the DeNami goodies I used in the making of this project? My butterfly focal point (colored with colored pencils and blended with odorless mineral spirits) comes from the Fancy Flutters cling set. I also used the Teeny Heart Background and the Happy Mother's Day cling sentiment. In the DeNami cardstock department, I used some gorgeous Amethyst (have you seen the fabulous texture on this richly colored cardstock? Amazing!), cheerful Magenta, and peaceful Sky Blue.  And I used my go-to Onyx Black Versafine ink for the sentiment. Even that fun baker's twine can be purchased in the DeNami Design store! The magenta, emerald, and purple twines from the Confetti 3-pk, and the sky blue twine comes from the Pastel 3-pk.

This month's DeNami challenge runs through Monday, May 28. All you need to do is use at least one DeNami stamp and incorporate this sketch! And then be sure to link it up over on the DeNami blog. I can't wait to see what you create :) . Please plan to play along!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

You're Special (and a photo tutorial)

A very happy Friday to all of you! Thanks so much for dropping by.

As some of you may know, I tend to take a budget-minded approach to my papercrafting. Rather than invest in pricey alcohol-based markers for coloring stamped images, I've had a lot of fun exploring cheaper options for coloring, including watercolor painting with dye inks (you can find my photo tutorial here) and coloring with colored pencils. When I first started using colored pencils, I was disappointed by how you could see pencil lines in the colored areas, often with white areas showing through. It wasn't long, though, before I discovered "Gamsol magic," a method of blending colored pencil coloring with odorless mineral spirits (OMS) and paper blending stumps. ("Gamsol" is an OMS brand name, just like "Band-Aid" is an adhesive bandage brand name.) OMS is a painting solvent that evaporates completely and leaves behind no residues. It dissolves the wax in colored pencil lines so that the pigment may be lifted and spread. OMS blending of colored pencil coloring allows nearly effortless shading and results in a beautiful, smooth finish.

For the sake of comparison, the chickie on the left (below) was colored with colored pencils only, but the chickie on the right was colored similarly then blended using OMS and a paper stump. See how much smoother and more even the coloring is? The colors even seem more vivid!

The new cling-style Computer Chickie stamp from DeNami

Anyway, the reason I'm sharing all of this information about colored pencils and the OMS blending technique is because I have a new photo tutorial on this technique debuting over on the DeNami Design blog today. In it I show how I did the coloring to make this card:

Isn't that DeNami Armchair Chickie the cutest? I thought this would make a cute card for Father's Day! I stamped the "You're special" sentiment from the Thoughtful Greetings stamp set on the outside and the new cling-style Happy Father's Day stamp on the inside. The patterned paper is from the new Handmade collection by Lily Bee Designs.

Now before I go, I wanted to share a few more tips on materials for this technique that I wasn't able to include in my tutorial on the DeNami blog.

• Look for odorless mineral spirits in the oil painting supply section of your favorite craft and hobby store. You can look for Gamsol or any odorless paint thinner containing 100% odorless mineral spirits. I was able to get Mona Lisa brand for an awesome price at my local A.C. Moore store.                  
• Rather than juggle a huge container of OMS in my crafting space, I pour a more manageable ounce or two into a small lidded glass moisturizer container to keep handy on my work table. OMS is flammable, so be sure to keep it covered tightly.
• You can find paper blending stumps in most arts/crafts stores; look in the fine arts supplies with the graphite pencils, charcoal, and pastels. They look something like this:
  
• The paper stumps are pretty cheap, and the double-ended stumps give me even more bang for my buck. So I dedicate one stump tip per color to avoid unintended color mixing. What happens if the tip wears down? You can sharpen it again quite simply with a sanding block or emery board.

I hope that I've been able to take some of the mystery out of the so-called "Gamsol magic" technique in today's post and that you'll take a peek at my tutorial on the DeNami blog.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great weekend!

Emily

Easter Baskets

Have you seen the new DeNami Design cling stamps? The new release includes some of the cutest stamps for spring, and today the design team is featuring the brand-new Large Spring Basket cling stamp as our Product Spotlight for this week. It was so much fun thinking of ways to use this unique stamp! I couldn't decide whether to go with flowers or eggs, so I made one of each with Easter in mind. :)


My sweet little peeps were made from two different sizes of oval punches! The cracked eggshell portion gets its shape and design from the chevron border stamp in the new Modern Borders Set, and each chickie gets its sweet features from the Animal Faces stamp set. I've used the Small Happy Easter stamp for my sentiment and a bunch of supplies from the DeNami shop:

Petal Pink cardstock
Sky Blue cardstock
Iridescent Emerald Green cardstock
Celery cardstock
Lavender cardstock
Golden Tangerine cardstock
Onyx Black Versafine ink
Vintage Sepia Versafine ink
Habanero Versafine ink
Aloe Vera Versamagic ink
Sea Breeze Versamagic ink
baker's twine from the Pastel Twine 3-pack

I took more of a clean and simple approach to my basket of Easter flowers (although you can see I still couldn't keep from tucking in a couple of Easter eggs!).


All of my flowers (colored with Prismacolor pencils and blended with odorless mineral spirits and a paper blending stump) come from the Whimsical Flowers stamp set, and the egg comes from the Easter stamp set. Other DeNami goodies used on this card include:

Small Happy Easter stamp
Petal Pink cardstock
Lavender cardstock
Onyx Black Versafine ink
Vintage Sepia Versafine ink
Sea Breeze Versamagic ink
EK Success Dotted Scallop Border punch
baker's twine from the Pastel Twine 3-pack

Now I just need to find a little time to create some more cards just like these and I'll be all set for Easter!

Don't forget that that as our Product Spotlight stamp, the Large Spring Basket will be on sale for the next week!
And be sure to swing by the DeNami blog today to check out the rest of the ideas the talented DeNami DT cooked up with this stamp!

Thanks for dropping in!
Emily

DeNami Birthday Blog Hop

Welcome to the DeNami Design Birthday Blog Hop! Today the DeNami Design DT and customers alike are sharing birthday creations made with DeNami stamps.
Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Wendy Harrill's blog, Confessions of a DeNami Addict. If so, you are on the right track! If not, you'll want to head over to the DeNami blog to start the blog hop at the beginning. (And remember, if you get lost along the way, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction.)

Remember, there are DeNami prizes to be won! Two lucky duckies will be drawn at random from among the comments left along the blog hop to win a $20 DeNami Design gift certificate! You have until Monday, March 12, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize.

OK, who's ready to {birthday} party? Let's get started!!

Have you seen the huge variety of stamps in DeNami's birthday category? If not, you should definitely check it out. All I can say is "WOW!" And the latest stamp release added some more fabulous birthday stamps in cling form, so those are the ones I wanted to show off with my projects for today's birthday hop. I couldn't decide which direction to take, so I ended up making two different birthday projects to share. My first is a birthday party favor packed with my favorite kind of treat, chocolate!

This project features not only some of the new DeNami cling stamps (Cupcake Chickie and Birthday Celebration 1 set) but also a new cellophane bag that's perfect for treats: the Clear Gusseted Bag, sold in packs of 10 with the steal-of-the-day price of $2.50. I also used the Polka Dot Background stamp, Petal Pink cardstock, and Vintage Sepia Versafine ink from the DeNami store.

Wanna know my secret for getting those yummy little truffles to line up so perfectly? Just stick them down on the stamped cardstock backing sheet with a bit of strong two-sided adhesive (like ScorTape). :D

My second project is a birthday gift tag using the same stamps as those for my party favor:

I'm also showing off a bit of the new baker's twine from The Twinery that's being carried in the DeNami store now! This bit of pink/white twine comes from the Pastel Twine 3-pack, so perfect for spring and Easter projects!

Well, I'm sure you are just chomping at the bit to head off and collect more fabulous DeNami inspiration for birthday projects. Before you leave, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes and then you can be on your way to the next stop on the hop: Pam Wendt's blog, Handwerk by Pamela.

Thanks so much for dropping by to check out my happy birthday creations!
Emily

DeNami Cute Chickies Blog Hop

Welcome to the DeNami Design Cute Chickies Blog Hop! Today the DeNami Design DT and customers alike are sharing creations made with cute DeNami chickie stamps.

I am the first stop on today's hop! I'll give you directions on where to go next at the end of this post. If you get lost at any point along the hop, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction. Remember, there are DeNami prizes to be won! Two luckies will be drawn at random from among the comments left along the blog hop to win a $20 DeNami Design gift certificate! You have until Monday, February 13, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize.

OK, let's get down to business and talk Cute Chickies!!

For my card, I decided to use my very first DeNami Chickie to stamp a totem pole of chickies partying down (or maybe partying up??) to celebrate a birthday! I sketched a party hat on my top chickie, giving it a chickie-like fluffy pom-pom on top :). The chickies were so easy to stack up with my Stamp-A-Majig. I colored each one with my Prismacolor pencils and did some blending with Gamsol and a paper blending stump.

I inked up my brand-new DeNami Polka Dot Background with an old spectrum ink pad to stamp some multi-colored confetti for the birthday celebration. A quartet of scored lines at the bottom grounds the whole design. Done!!

Here's a run-down on all the products from the DeNami Design store that I used for my creation:

Chickie stamp
Polka Dot Background
Solid Scallop Dot Rectangle
All Occasion Sentiments stamp set
Aloe Vera Versamagic ink
Onyx Black Versafine ink

OK, be sure to leave a comment and then skedaddle on over to the next stop on the hop: Tina Milbourn's blog, A Timeless Treasure.

I always have a great time creating with my DeNami stamps. Thanks so much for dropping in to share my little slice of happy!
Emily