Some CHA pics

Thank you all from your congratulatory wishes from yesterday's post. I appreciate all your kind and encouraging comments.

A quick post with photos from CHA! I know I said I would post pics of new products. But, my photos didn't turn out as well as I had hoped and...(silly me)... I just took photos of the products and now I can't remember which companies some of them are from. LOL. Anyway, by far, the best part has been meeting so many of my blogging friends, so here are some of them. (Please pardon my being in all these photos :-).

With the GinaK Designs peeps. I just love this team!

With Susan Opel and Cath Edvalson of Paper Crafts Magazine

With last year's Paper Crafts Idol, Rae Barthel

With two very talented ladies, Mona Pendleton and Brenda Chang Langner, this year's PC Idol Winner.

With Copic artist, Colleen Schaan, who patiently answered all my many marker questions.

With the fabulous, Ashley Newell.

With my SRM Sticker scrapbook and cardmaker expert friend, Amy Heller.

On a different note, Kris and I are having fun, but really missing our girls. :-(

My BIG News!

Greetings from CHA Chicago! I'm having a marvelous time meeting so many online friends, foremost of which is Gina Krupsky of GinaK Designs herself. It is such a treat for me and Kris to spend time with her and her husband, Tom. They're just as sweet as I had expected, so down to earth and just an all around wonderful couple.

I also got to meet my other "boss," Stacey and Jeff Caron. They are the genius behind the ever popular Spellbinders Paper Arts. And yes, this is the BIG news I've been dying to share with you all. I've been designing dies for Spellbinders!!! Can you just believe that? I'm still pinching myself. My first one was just released this CHA called Labels Sixteen. And wait till you see what other things I've designed to go with Spellbinders' new dies. I hope you will love them.

Here I am with the best two bosses around :-).

I did a lot of meets and greets today so I didn't get to take lots of photos of the new products. I will do better tomorrow. I'm having so much fun and wish you could all see the goodies through my eyes. I do feel like a kid visiting Disneyland for the first time. And what a treat t0 have my husband here with me too. :-)

CHA Chicago - bound!

I'm on my way to Chicago as this goes live. It's my first ever as a CHA Trade Show participant. I will be working in the SRM Stickers booth and another company that I can't wait to share with you all. Hubby and I are traveling sans kids, which we don't do very often. We're taking advantage of my kind parents who are watching them for 5 days while we enjoy the sights and sounds of Chicago! I hope to post pics here of the beautiful paper crafting goodies I'll find at CHA.

Today's card is about two weeks late. It was highlighted in the Paper Crafts Connection blog to kickoff their Card Styles magazine publication. I have 5 other cards in this magazine. The butterfly is from Hope is Faith by GinaK. The frame is from my Lovely Labels set die cut with Spellbinders Labels 4. The subtle music background is from Vintage Borders. The beautiful flourish is from Nature Walk by Layers of Color. Yes, I meticulously fuzzy cut the flourish and it's so worth it :-).


Have a good week!

Birthday Boy

Hello from HOT Central CA. We're here for a few days to see some friends As soon as we finish breakfast, I think we're going to hit the pools for a couple of hours. My girls always enjoy that.

Today's card is for this week's Card Patterns' sketch this week:

Here is my card using the robot image from our sponsor, Some Odd Girl Digital Stamps. The DPs are October Afternoon Report Card and cardbase is GinaK Sweet Mango. The sentiment is by SRM Stickers (Express Yourself Birthday).

I just couldn't resist...

...I had to use the Emboss Technique for my card today. I just love this technique. My latest set by GinaK Designs, Hugs and Prayers, is just perfect for it. The text background is from one of my mostly used sets, Vintage Backgrounds. I stamped it with Vivid Straw ink. I then white embossed the poppies from Hugs and Prayers and sponged the panel with Vivid Brick Red. The card base is Sweet Corn CS. The beautiful red stitched ribbon is also from Gina K.

If you want to know how to do the emboss resist technique, see the video below. (If you're reading this from a RSS feed, you may not be able to view it until you go to this actual blog post).

For more projects from the other designers participating in the hop tonight, please check out these links:

• GinaK
• Jessica
• Theresa
• Melanie
• Nina <<-- you are here!
  
• Tami
• Cathy
• Lee
• Donna
• Kurtis
• Emily
• Erika

Card patterns Sketch #73

I am now back in CA after a 12-day trip to WA and GA. We're here just for a couple of days before hit the road again. The last leg of our trip is Chicago for the CHA Trade Show. I can't wait. I got my badge info, so it's official...If you're going to be there, let me know. I would love to meet you. I'll be at the SRM Stickers booth for part of the time, and for another company, which I can't share yet!

Anyway, here is this week's Card Patterns sketch. There are some great Unity stamps up for grabs, so make sure you try out this easy sketch:

And here is my card using my latest stamp set, Hugs and Prayers. I layered the petals for added effect.

And some random photos from our trip to GA. My daughter is learning how to cross-stitch from Nana.

All sweaty from the GA humidity, but having a great time.

Finally, Katy was scared of my BIL's dog, Bella Mocha, because it liked to jump on her and lick her. She finally warmed up to Bella on our very last day there. That was a big step for her.

A Very Special Weekend

What a great weekend we've had so far. On Friday, as my husband and kids enjoyed swimming with some old friends in Atlanta, I was able to meet three of my blogging friends: JenMarie, Tami and Mandy (who owns Limelight Papercrafts) and took a trip to Archiver's. It was so fun to meet them and talk about not only this papercrafting hobby we all love, but our faith as well. I shared about how God has blessed our life and ministry in Croatia and they patiently listened :-).

On Saturday, we had a family get together. But before the rest of the family arrived, I took the girls to get their haircuts. They've been growing their hair for a long time and wanted to donate it to Locks of Love, which is a "is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children." We finally did it this morning. Here are the before pictures.

And here they are in their new do with the sweet Nellie Ann who cut their hair for free. I'm so proud of my girls.

And here's Katy who just had to dress up for a ball using Nana's collection of hats and scarves. Don't you just love that blue lipstick (from the Icee she enjoyed just prior to the fashion show) :-)?

Tomorrow will be the highlight of our weekend as we join our friends and family at Faith Community Church. I miss worshiping in English so much that I really cherish these special times whenever I can.

A thing of Beauty

I've been enjoying family in HOTlanta. I've done some outlet shopping, too, and got great deals. I'm also planning to teach a card class for 50 ladies in August and I'm busy planning. It's a little bit of a challenge because my budget is small, but I know it can be done. That is part of the challenge. :-)

Today's card uses Asela's newest Pretty as a Peacock set. I used the emboss resist on this card using the feather image and the quote with Vivid Aqua ink. I love that fancy tag by Spellbinders.

Card Patterns Sketch #72

I am currently traveling and have scheduled my posts. Here is another Card Patterns sketch card:

Here's my card using SEI Claire Papers and a cute image from Lauretta Sue Designs, this week's sponsor.

Card Patterns Sketch #71

Here is my card for this week's Card Patterns' sketch:

And my card using a digital image from Prairie Fairy Designs, this week's sponsor. The papers are October Afternoon.

Shabby notecards set

I've been enjoying making note cards sets lately. I love giving them away as gifts to friends and family. Here's a set using SRM Stickers Thank You Sentiments and October Afternoon Papers Thrift Shop:

Here's a close up:

I'm still here...

We are having a great time in the US, but it's been very busy. We're slowly adjusting to the time, and enjoying lots of family time. My girls are getting spoiled by my parents, and so am I :-). It was a treat to spend 4th of July in the US, too, with BBQ and lots of fireworks. We leave again on Thursday to visit several friends in many states until the end of July. Our last stop is Chicago for the CHA Show. I am so excited. I hope to meet many of you there.

Thank you for stopping by my blog even when I have no new posts :-). I have a new one today using my latest Hugs and Prayers. I layered the butterfly using the tole technique. The label is from my Lovely Labels set that coordinates with the Spellbinders Labels 4, which I used here. The papers are October Afternoon,

I hope you are enjoying a nice summer. I appreciate your visits!

Introducing Hugs and Prayers

Here is my latest set by Gina K Designs, Hugs and Prayers.
And the my digital paper pack, Sizzlin' Summer.

As I write, I'm still getting over jetlag. But, it's good to be back in SoCal to be with my parents, friends and family. We are excited to see them again. I can't wait to hit some craft stores too while here :-).

Lovely Note Card Set

I have another set of note cards to share with you today. This one uses the latest GinaK Designs Free with Three set called Versatile Verses. You get this set free if you purchase 3 stamp sets or more.

The rows of poppies are from the Sizzlin' Summer digital paper pack. They are already in quarter size sheets, so you just need to print them out with 4 colors in one page. The card bases are from the Summer Paper Sampler that includes Turquoise Sea, Wild Dandelion, Red Hot, Grass Green, and Sweet Mango. As you can see, the digital papers coordinate very well with the cardstocks. Because the layout is all the same, this set was very easy to mass produce.

1. Print out the quarter size poppies paper without borders. Trim to 3.75" x 5.5". Adhere to card base.
2. Stamp oval frame with coordinating inks. Stamp sentiments with black ink. Die cut.
   
3. Die cut scalloped oval with coordinating papers. Adhere labels to scalloped oval. Mount on card front.
4. Tie ribbon into a bow.
   

For even more samples with the stamp sets being previewed tonight, check out these designer's links:

• Gina Krupsky *illustrator of Blessed is the Season and Versatile Verses
• Jessica Fick
• Theresa Momber
• Melanie Muenchinger
• Nina Brackett
• Cathy Tidwell
• Lee Murphy
• Carolyn King
• Donna Baker
• Kurtis Amundson
• Emily Giovanni
• Erika Martin
• Asela Hopkins
  

We'd also like to invite you to attend our Release Party tomorrow night starting at 7 pm central on StampTV. There will be challenges, contest questions, and more samples from our designers on all the new stamp sets being released this month. See you then for all the fun!