Brick-at-a-Time and the Little Black Dress

Ready for more Hanna Stamps sneak peeks? Riley fans will love this brand new hard-working Mason Riley! I have a friend who has a masonry business and this would be a perfect stamp to use for him.  I don't remember seeing an image like this anywhere else, so I so happy when I saw this! Card stock is Neenah White, Yo-Yo Yellow, Sahara Sand, with background paper from Core'dinations. Accessories include brads and twill tape from  Stampin' Up!, Cuttlebug folder, and Nestabilities tag die.


The layout was easy... I used this awesome sketch from Our Creative Corner (OCC).

Here's another Hanna Five Little Dresses sneak peek, which I can't get enough of!!  The first thing that came to my mind when I saw this glamorous little dress was to make it into a "little black dress." To make it glamorous, I added bling: three Swarovski crystal charms, black lace and silver At You Spica for glittery eyes, lips, jewelry and trims. Paper consists of White, Mulberry and Silver papers.

Sketch challenges are the best when I'm in need of layout ideas for a card. For this card I used the layout from the Weekend Sketch Challenge (WSC83) and they'll even choose a winner on Tuesday from those who link their cards to their blog.

Please visit the Hanna Stamps Design Team to see their creations and don't forget to join us for the Hanna Stamps Release Party at our SCS Forum on Monday, June 1st from 9-11 pm (eastern)!

I have another set that is Jurassically awesome, so check back for it! Thanks for visiting! 

Two Little Dresses

Hanna Stamps has some fantastic sets available June 1st. This new one, Five Little Dresses, has quickly become one of my favorites. I thought I'd make one card for now, but I couldn't stop with just one. Here are two of the four that I made in one sitting.
 The layout for this first one is taken from Taylor's Cupcake Challenge #70 (TECC70).  Did you know that Taylor is giving away a free Tiny Twinkle to one random winner from among all the people who upload their sketch challenge cards to Paper Craft Planet using the TECC70 keyword? 

Okay, about this card, the layout is great, but then I saw that empty square on the upper left and I just had to add something there. After seeing the picture here, I realize now that I HAVE to remove it, so please imagine it gone because I'm removing it.

The image of this girl looks so much like my younger sister, except I should have added more highlights when coloring her hair. I was trying to find another picture, but my daughter thought this one looked  close enough.

This is another image from the set... isn't she lovely? Thank you, Miss Kristi, for this awesome new set!

Make sure you visit all the other Hanna girls (their links are on my side bar), because the next few days, we will be having sneak peeks for our new June Hanna's and new Riley's!  This coming Monday, June 1st, from 9:00 pm - 11:00 pm (eastern) join us at our SCS Forum for the Hanna Stamps Release Party.  As always, we have lots of prizes, chatting and fun!

Pull Treat Riley

What better way to give out In-n-Out gift cards than with BBQ Riley (Hanna Stamps!). Last Christmas I bought several of these gift cards to give out to the younger teens at my family's Christmas party in Northern California. Well, with all the craziness and fun, I forgot all about it. Now that I'm going back home to San Francisco for my niece's wedding and also for my nephews' birthday party, I told my sister that I would donate these as party favors for those younger teens -- so they'll get it after all!

The challenge for 3-D Tuesday at Paper Craft Planet is to make a pull treat card. It came at just the right time for my nephews' party favors! Go check out our gallery over at PCP to see all the fabulous pull treat cards from other crafters! Make one yourself and upload it there with the tag 3d13

In less than 24 hours, I'll be in San Francisco with my large family again! I'm so excited!!!

Wedding Card for Marie

I'm so excited about going home to San Francisco this Friday. My beautiful niece, Marie, is getting married Friday evening and on Saturday afternoon, two of my nephews (both brothers) will be celebrating their birthdays together with a party. The last time I went home in January of this year, it was for their older brother's funeral, so this time it's so nice that we're going for happier occasions.

I'm really looking forward to Marie's wedding and seeing the family again. She's my oldest brother's daughter and she is an excellent Polynesian dancer. Anyway, I'm just so happy for her and Mike!

When I started making her wedding card, I had no idea what to design. Luckily, I had just received my new Ever After set from SU! (complements of participating in the Sale-a-Bration event!). I took the heart image and embossed it on shimmery paper with white ink and clear embossing powder -- didn't like that. Then I embossed it on Blush Blossom -- still didn't like it.  I embossed it with white EP, didn't like that either. Finally, I just stamped the heart image onto Vanilla card stock with Blush Blossom ink and laid a piece of Mulberry Paper over it cut to the same size. I inked the edges and distressed it a little. After the image was done, it was easy to add the embellishments: Prima Flowers, Vintage Embellishments by Melissa Frances and Half Pearls from SU!'s Pretties Kit. 

This card is also for the Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge (FTTC16), which is to make a square card. Go check out their samples -- their designers have some beautiful ones over there!

Well, I've gotta run. I'm off to attend my daughter's Academic Achievement Awards Ceremonies for her High School. I'm so proud of her! Thanks for stopping by -- it means a lot to me.

I Love LA ~ If Only It Would Stop Shaking!

We just had another earthquake tonight, but I love living here in Southern California anyway.  The sun, the coast with all the beaches, the mountains with snow, the desert -- we have so much here that I love. Oh, by the way, when we were "shaking" during the quake, our cat was sitting under our living room table looking really worried and didn't leave until it stopped shaking. Yes, even our pets know what to do! Our dog, on the other hand, stays very close to me and would follow me everywhere for the following hours afterwards. Love those two!

Here's Mr. Sun again from the Molly Stamps set Out of this World from my previous post. I guess I'm still in that summery mood and he just makes me happy! The colors I used is from the SCS Color Challenge (CC218) -- Only Orange, Summer Sun and Old Olive or Kiwi Kiss.  The layout is from the SCS Sketch Challenge (SC228). I added a piece of Cuttlebugged Vellum and a pom-pom in the center of the flower for a bit of texture.

Thanks for dropping by, I always appreciate your visits and comments! Have a wonderful week!

You Are My Sunshine

Around my house, the girls and I are anxiously awaiting the end of the school year, and it can't come soon enough! Everything around us tells us summer is already here, except for that alarm that wakes us up at 6:15 in the morning!  Ugh!  We're just not morning people... at least, I'm not.

Here is a very easy and simple project that I made with the Match Box Sizzix die using the new Out of This World stamp set by Molly Stamps! I love this friendly looking sun from that set. That look on his face is how I'll feel when I won't have to hear my alarm clock in the early mornings!

To make the cover for the match box, I simply stamped Mr. Sun onto a piece of acetate using StazOn and centered him where I wanted him to be before cutting the piece. Score and fold -- use the bone folder to help keep that fold nice and neat -- and secure with two mini glue dots on the end corners.

As a simple embellishment, I stamped "you're my sunshine" and punched them out with the window punch Hold the left ends on top of each other and punch a 1/8" hole through both thicknesses; set aside. Wrap natural hemp around the width of the box and knot once. Put one end of the hemp through the 1/8" holes of the tag and tie a bow. With each loose tie ends, pull through each button holes and tie two knots to secure. Fill the box with yellow candies (like Jelly Beans -- I used yummy lemon drops!) and slide close.

I showed this to my younger daughter and she loved it! She wanted to know if she could give it to one of her BFFs. They take Spanish class together and they like to sing the song, "You Are My Sunshine" in Spanish... very cute, because the words they didn't know in Spanish they kept in English, which were most of them.

It's Graduation Time!

Kristi Ferro, of Hanna Stamps, announced yesterday that the Graduation Riley and Graduation Hanna was now available for purchase at the Hanna Stamps online store.  We didn't do the usual release for these stamps since graduation is just around the corner, and I'm glad she didn't wait!  Isn't Hanna just oh so pretty? The set also comes with another male in his cap and gown, a huge sentiment and a couple of other items. Oh, and wait 'til you see Riley in his cap and over sized gown! Too cute!

Stamp: Graduation Hanna, Things Hanna Would Say

Paper: Neenah Classic White, Barely Banana (SU!), Core-dinations, Katie (Melissa Frances PP)

Ink: Bravo Burgundy, Copic Markers

Acc: Border Punch (Martha Stewart), Label Die (Spellbinders), Pin Trinket (Maya Roads), Ribbon (Wight), Dew Drops, Prima Flower (Ivory), Silk Flower (Dark Red), Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

Pool Party Birthday!

Birthday cards are always in demand, especially when you come from a big family like I do. In June alone, I have at least six relatives with birthdays!  This card is made especially for a young boy with a summer birthday. The image is so cute! Leave it to Hanna Stamps to come up with this adorable Pool Party stamp set, which was released just this month. 

The Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge this week is to make a birthday card. This card is one of the ones that I'll submit to that challenge. If I have time, I'd like to use the set that I received from Flourishes when I won their challenge in April.

Stamp: Pool Party (Hanna Stamps), Sentiment by Taylored Expressions
Paper: Neenah Classic White, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, East Coast Prep DSP
Ink: Pitch Black (Adirondack), Copic Markers
Acc: Baja Breeze 1" Stitched Ribbon, Making Memories Brads, Nestabilities and Label Dies (Spellbinders), Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

It's Shoe Time!

It's Shoe Time! Well, actually it's 3D Tuesday Challenge time and this week our challenge is to make a "shoe" out of paper!

A few weeks ago I asked a very talented crafter who often participates in our 3D Tuesday Challenges at Paper Craft Planet if she would like to host one of our challenges. Lucky for us, she was thrilled and this week is her week and she has done a great job with it! Her name is Lyn Bernatovich. She has a couple of samples in the 3D Gallery at PCP if you'd like to see it. A template of her shoe is also available in the 3D Tuesday Challenge Group. If you'd like to play along, please upload your photo to PCP with the tag 3d12.

For my open-toe pump, I used a soft pink with a soft faux alligator top and a vintage Victorian button. Hope to see your shoes in the gallery!

The Elegant Bride and The Wedding Day

The Elegant Bride

Isn't she a beautiful bride? This has to be my favorite bridal stamp... it's so soft and sweet. To add to the softness of the image, I used my shimmery white cardstock and one of my Melissa Frances pattern paper in soft pink. The lace and organdy ribbon just adds to the look of elegance.

Stamp: Bridal Hanna (Hanna Stamps)
Paper: Neenah Classic White, Shimmer White, Pink Pirouette, Melissa Frances PP

Ink: Pitch Black (Adirondack), Copic Markers

Acc: 1" White Organdy Ribbon, Lace (Joann), Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

The Wedding Day

What can I say -- Riley and Sophie G finally tied the knot! So, I went from the soft traditional first card above to this bright nontraditional colored wedding card. I couldn't resist making this one -- I love these two colors together and I thought it would be fun to show you both Bridal sets from Hanna Stamps.

Stamp: Wedding Moose (Hanna Stamps)

Paper: Neenah Classic White, Apricot Appeal, Riding Hood Red

Ink: Pitch Black (Adirondack), Copic Markers

Acc: Cuttlebug Folder, Nestabilities, Dew Drops, Mini Glue Dots, Stickles, Dimensionals, Silk Flower

Don't Quote Me, but... It's Caardvarks Challenge Time!

Wow! Caardvarks has a terrific challenge for ya, along with a fabulous sponsor! Unity Stamp Co. graciously supplied the Caardvarks Crew with stamps to use for our sample cards, and they will be providing a stampy prize to the winner of this challenge!

THE CHALLENGE

Create a *NEW* card incorporating a verse or quote and link it to the Caardvarks blog by Midnight on May 17th, PST. Be sure to link us *directly* to your blog post or gallery card! Good luck and we can't wait to see your entries! You want to take a peek at Unity's verse and quote stamps, right here.

THE PRIZE

How's this for a generous supply of Unity goodness? The winning card creator will receive this assortment of Unity stamps.

Here is the sample I made for this challenge using this stamp I just love from Unity Stamp. Instead of just making a card, I decided to create a whole stationery set.

The Bag: I cut muslin fabric to size and sewed it. But, before sewing the sides together, I stamped the Unity verse with StazOn then colored the flowers in with Zig permanent markers. (Copics would have been great, but it does not work well with StazOn.) 

After sewing the bag together and attaching the ribbon handles, I realized that it was too "floppy" to stand on its own. So, I took two empty Stampin' Up stamp containers, removed the covers and one of the sides, then joined the two compartment pieces together. After slipping it inside the bag, the bag held up pretty well.

The Cards: The cards are not the typical folded cards. It has three layers for the base with the top one to write on. Instead of having a folded card to cover what's written "inside" the card, I made another set of layers just big enough to cover a personal note. Stamp the sentiment, add a belly band and decorate. To see what's written inside, simply slide the belly band off.

OK, now it's your turn. Be sure to stop by the Caardvarks blog to see what the other Crew members have made and to enter your name with Mr. Linky along with the link to your project. 

3D Tuesday Challenge - It's in the Bag

This week, our challenge is being sponsored by Kelleigh Ratzlaff from The Digi Chick! Kelleigh has generously offered a $20 gift card to her store for the best bag! In addition, the winner will also get a $5 gift card to ANYTHING on the Digi Chick store! These templates are AWESOME and so easy! You just print the design onto your patterned paper, cut, score and glue! Presto, you look like Martha Stewart in minutes! If you want to get fancy, you can use digital papers and print it that way, then you always have an instant, printable, bag on hand!

After downloading this template from The Digi Chick site and printing it out onto pattern paper, I could not believe how fast and easy this project was to make! This was probably one of the easiest projects I've ever made! I think tying the bow just right is what took the longest.

OK, to take the challenge -- create a small gift bag, and upload it to Paper Craft Planet. Use the tag 3d11. You do NOT have to use one of Kelleigh's templates to win -- but they are so easy and fun, we know that you'll want one :) We'll pull it into the album and pull a winner next Tuesday. I can't wait to see what you make!

Check out what the other Supernovas have made: 

• Melanie Muechinger
• Lynn Mercurio
• Diana Gibbs
• Kim Burmeister
• Wendy Price
• Jen Tapler
• Tammy Hershberger
• Erika Martin
• Lori Tecler
• Jessica Fick
• Sankari Wegman
• Susanna Boyd

Take the 3D Challenge.
Check out the 3d11 Gallery
Get more inspiration by joining the Hybrid Chick group, here on PCP!

Paper: Melissa Frances, White Cardstock, Vellum Cardstock

Ink: Ruby Red

Acc: Flower Ribbon - Single Piece (Joann), Raffia (Emma's Paperie), Button (Walmart), Sponge Dauber

Bodybuilders and a Bride

When I was in my late teens/early 20's, I used to visit several different beaches here in Southern California and one of them was Venice Beach, also known as Muscle Beach. I guess it got its name from the outdoor "gym" right on the beach where bodybuilders showed off their muscles by lifting weights in public. I remember walking by those men lifting weights acting like no one was watching them.

One of Hanna Stamps' new sets to be released tonight, To the Beach, immediately reminded me of those bodybuilders on Muscle Beach. I wish I knew where those pictures were that I took the first time I visited that beach. I would have loved to share them with you!

Be sure to join us this evening at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, at the Hanna Forum for the Hanna Stamps Release Party. Who knows, you might even win one the new sets like this one!

This month, Hanna Stamps is re-releasing Bridal Hanna as their "Retro" Set. This is such a beautiful set. The bride is gorgeous, the flower girl is adorable, the bride's maid is pretty, not to mention all the accessories that come with this set. One of the challenges tonight at the Hanna Release Party is to create a card that's "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." Let's see... Something old would be the Crystal Effects I used on the champagne glasses. Something new would be my Copic Markers. Something borrowed... I don't think I have that. Something blue is very obvious: the ribbon and paper.

Well, thank you for your visit and I hope you have a fantastic week!

MyGrafico PCP Challenge and Hanna Sneak Peek #3

This week, we are thrilled to have MyGrafico sponsor our weekly Paper Craft Planet sketch challenge. While you don't have to use any particular stamp sets or products to win the sketch challenge, MyGrafico wanted you to be able to play along. To celebrate National Scrapbook Day, they are offering 40% off all digital downloads until May 3rd! They also have two really great sets that you can download for FREE! (Here are the freebies: Baby Silhouettes and Vases and Flowers.) Plus, if you play along during this week's sketch challenge, you can win the Butterfly Garden set!

Check out this amazing sketch by Melanie Muenchinger!

The card I made above is made with an image from MyGrafico from the set called Butterfly Garden. I've only used digital stamps once or twice before and I have to say, it really is convenient if you need to resize an image.

Want to play along? Create a card using Melanie's sketch and then upload it onto PCP. Use the tag: sk050209 That's all there is to it!

To get you excited, the rest of our DT is showcasing the sketch challenge prize set Butterfly Garden. Check out their blogs sometime today to see what they made :)

Adela Rossol

Melanie Muechinger

Lynn Mercurio

Kim Burmeister

Wendy Price

Jen Tapler

Tammy Hershberger

Diana Gibbs

Erika Martin

Lori Tecler

Jessica Fick

Sankari Wegman

Susanna Boyd

Check out our sketch challenge entries for this week

Join the Sketch Challenge Group.

Hanna Sneak Peek #3 - Pool Party

Here's another card I made using the same sketch layout. I used another Hanna Stamps sneak peek set called Pool Party. Just in time for summer, this set is perfect for invitations to a pool party or birthday party. Don't forget, Monday, May 4th at 9:00 Eastern at the Hanna Forum is our Release Party where you'll find lots of chatting, challenges and prizes. Who knows, you might be a lucky winner of one of our newly released sets!

Thanks for visiting me and as always, I enjoy hearing from you! Have a wonderful day!

Out of This World - Molly's New Release!

It's here! The long awaited new release from Molly Stamps is finally available and it's Out of this World! Seriously, that's the name of the new set, Out of this World, and it has the cutest little alien in a spaceship image. Also, if you're a big fan of the older set, Today's Forecast, you'll love what Russ (owner of Molly Stamps) has included in this new set.

With this new set, I made a birthday invitation with a pocket. I really like the "earth" stamp with that cute face on it. You can even coordinate this stamp with the Today's Forecast set. There are lots of other cute images in this set, so make sure you check out the blogs of other Molly Stamps Design Team members to see what they've come up with. You can find their links on my sidebar on the right.



Stamp: Out of this World (Molly Stamps)
Paper: Neenah Classic White, Real Red, Barely Banana, SU! DSP
Ink: Pitch Black (Adirondack), Copic Markers
Acc: 1-1/4" Circle Punch, Oval Punch, Corner Rounder Punch, Nestabilities Label Die, Dimensionals, Thread and Sewing Machine

Thanks for dropping by and I hope your weekend is going well!
Adela

Hanna Sneak Peek Day 2 - Old Hawaii

The look of this card reminds me of "Old Hawaii" -- I think it's the off white and brown color that makes me think of it. This card may look "tame," but if you saw the whole set, you won't believe how different and hilarious the images are! It's another fun Hanna Stamps set.

For some reason, I thought that yesterday's Hanna Stamps Challenge was to make a "sand" card -- in other words, make a card with real sand, or use a cardstock which has been sanded. Since this was a beach scene, I wanted to use sand, but when I started to look for my bottles of craft sand, I couldn't find them. I had the "clever" idea of taking Kraft cardstock and my mini cheese grater and grate the cardstock to make "sand." Instead of it turning out to resemble sand, it resembled "Flower Soft" instead. But I used it anyway.

Stamp: To the Beach (Hanna Stamps)
Paper: Very Vanilla, Kraft, Chocolate Chip DSP
Ink: Pitch Black (Adirondack), Copic Markers
Acc: 1/2" and 1-1/4" Circle Punches, Natural Hemp Cord, Cheese Grater

Thanks for stopping by... more to follow.  Have a wonderful Saturday!

Sneak Peek - Day 1

Hanna Stamps is releasing some very "hot" stamp sets on Monday, May 4th, just in time to help you welcome in the summer!  When you see the beach set, "hot" is rather a mild term... Right now I have two of the new Riley's to show you, BBQ Riley and Fins Riley.

First here's adorable Fins Riley. I think this is one of the cutest Riley's. Just look at him... no need to explain why!

This is BBQ Riley and I see lots of uses with this one. Here, I made a special bookmark for a cook book. Why is it special, you ask? Well, do you see those blank lines? I put them there for jotting down my "Fave" recipes and their page numbers for easy reference. Pretty neat, ehh?

Stay tuned because everyday I'll have something new to show you from the new Hanna Stamps! May releases. These sets will be available on Monday, May 4th, right after Hanna Stamps! Release Party over at the Hanna Forum. The party goes from 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm Eastern. Don't forget to check out the other designers' sneak peeks -- I have their links listed on my right sidebar.

I'd also like to announce Hanna Stamps' two Guest Designers for May: Nikki Fairbairn of Bunny-Zoes Blog and Pam Varnell of The Stamping Addict. 

I have some other things to share with you today, so you'll want to come back later. But for now, thank you for stopping by! As always, your visits mean so much to me!