Cheery Cherries...

*Blogger Note: Have you just had one of those days when you realize your crafty time is a train wreak?? Today was that day for me! I made a card to enter in The Shabby Tea Room Challenge and when I went to link up this morning I noticed that not only did it call for the red, white, twine, & cherry pie theme, but it called for aqua too!! Crap...how did I not see that in the requirements before?? This little post had already published, I even had a comment or two. Nothing to do but scramble and do a little "nip & tuck" work to my little card! And of course it's stormy out this morning so after rushing and acting like a mad woman to re-do this card, I had to take pictures in a less than mediocre light...uggg! I think I'll leave the before picture up...just something to laugh about.

I'm also going to take Jo's (from Jo's Scrap Shack) advise and enter this in the Jo's Funday Friday challenge!

Hi all! Today is yet another challenge submission...I'm full of them this week, ;) there will be one tomorrow too!

 

This is the first time I've enter here at The Shabby Tea Room. I happen to puffy heart LUV shabby chic, but have a hard time pulling it off. I wasn't going to start entering challenges on this blog but was slightly sternly ;) told that it didn't matter if I "did shabby or not". So, lol, here it is, my first entry into their challenges! 

 

This weeks inspiration photo...

They've aptly named this little challenge, "cherry pie"...LOVE it! I'd love to have an old country kitchen just like this one...sigh.

This is also my first time entering the Funday Friday challenge over at Jo's Scrap Shack:
This week's Challenge:

"Anything Goes"

Create a card, layout or project of your choice!

Starts: Friday, July 5th 12:00AM

Ends: Friday, July 12th 6:00PM

(central time)

 

Here's my original card before I had to take it to the "emergency room" for a serious nip & tuck procedure...

 

Now that I'm looking at it, it seems kinda blah...just too much red and white. I'm glad it HAD to have the little overhaul!

 

 

Here's what I'm submitting to the two challenges:

 

What a tremendous difference, right?!?! Now I'm really liking this little card!!! Sometimes a mistake can be a good thing!



 

I was giddy over finally getting to use my new stamp set from Hot Of The Press. It's a fairly large canning jar and comes with a TON of accessories! I love the little "material" lid covering and several different label options that let you build a perfect label for your creation...too darling!

I started out making my patterned paper stamping the large dot swirls in a light pink then filling it all in using the mini cherries and the double leaf from the elegant florals stamp set. I stamped out my jar, label and "material" then did a bunch of fussy cutting. I layered all of that over a die cut doily and a piece of edge punched lime cardstock from DeNami.

 Now the best part...did you notice the little cherries under the yummy bow? I made them!!! A dear sweet friend and I were talking about her making some fun clay doo-dads for her cards. She was using a little set of  molds from Martha S., and was telling me how adorable it was! I got to wondering if I could use the paper clay I had left over from my candle wrap tutorial in a mold like that so I pulled out a button mold from Mold Muse (on Etsy) and tried it out...it worked perfectly so I went out and got the cute little mold set my friend had. I liked using the paper clay because it lets me create things in a wide range of colors. After it was all dry I simply colored it in using my Copics and TomBow markers. I'm so happy with my little cherries...they make me smile ;)

 

Have you had a chance to read all about our birthday celebration here on at the Addict blog?? I'm giving away a yummy DeNami gift certificate to a random winner. All you have to do to enter is follow one little rule...make a birthday themed card of your choice! No DeNami products have to be used & no special color palettes. Link up to the birthday celebration and at the end of the month I'll be drawing a random name for the prize package!

 

That's it for me today, hope you like my little card and I will see you back here tomorrow with another challenge entry...this time for Paper Sweeties! If you'd like more info on my mold or the paper clay, just drop me an e-mail!

Shine like a star

Hi everyone! Did you get a chance to read yesterday's post...hope that I have inspired YOU to take a chance and join in on some challenge fun or to start submitting your work to magazines. :)

The comments from yesterdays post brought tears to my eyes...ruined a good make-up day ;)  Ya'll are just so sweet (hugs)! I greatly appreciate you and the time that you take to read my blog and Facebook posts. You play a big part in what keeps me going!! I better get to today's post before I tear up again...ya'll have me overwhelmed!!

Today's card is a challenge submission, lol, plus the next 2 days will be challenge submissions too! See, I don't give up! ;)

I've had the idea for this card in my head for quite a while, however, I planned in using hearts because I was actually going to try the layout for a shower card during my wedding theme week. I ended up making too many cards so this idea got shoved back, lol. When I saw the 10 Minute craft Dash's current theme this layout immediately came to mind.

My desk before starting:

The carnage as a result of working within the 10 minutes ;)

Here's my creation...

The time was pretty close - 9min. 57sec. - those stars took forever to punch out! I wanted the stars to have motion so I cut the patterned (stripes)by hand  in a swoosh (starts up then goes down and back up again) and attaching them went quickly since I didn't want them uniform. I made the pattern paper at the top using the teeny star background stamp from DeNami. I originally wanted a little bling between the sentiments but all the ones I had were too big so I ended up using a marker for the separation of the words. Unfortunately I was running low on time so I had to make the decision to just add the twine bow instead of threading it through a button. However, I like the plain bow and the button may have just been a distraction from the stars.

Have you had a chance to read all about our birthday celebration here on at the Addict blog?? I'm giving away a yummy DeNami gift certificate to a random winner. All you have to do to enter is follow one little rule...make a birthday themed card of your choice! No DeNami products have to be used & no special color palettes. Link up to the birthday celebration and at the end of the month I'll be drawing a random name for the prize package!

That's it for me today, I'll see you right back here tomorrow with a card for The Shabby Tea Room challenge! Thanks for joining me today :)

Take it on the chin and keep going...never give up on YOU!

*Blogger Note: I wrote and scheduled this post before Friday's announcement by DeNami. I'd like to congratulate Pattie on  her new position as a DeNami Design Team member and am looking forward to seeing her beautiful creations!!!


Hello everyone!! Today's subject is one of mixed emotions for me. I'm still flying high over being chosen the June sketch challenge winner over at Paper Sweeties, but at the same time am a little bummed about receiving yet another "thanks but no thanks" letter for something else.We'll get to that letter in just a minute.

It's no secret that I love entering card challenges online whenever I get a chance and that I have branched out into submitting to magazines. Most of the time when it comes to challenges and being published I feel like I'm on the outside looking in. It's almost like being in High School again and I'm the nerdy little girl in the corner reading a Stephan King novel while all the "kool kids" are hanging out in the smoking area laughing and having a great time talking about last weekends party. I see the same names winning/published over and over again...it's almost like a private club and no one else is allowed in. I'm going to let you in on a little secret, I. Don't. Care.! Okay, I do, but just a little.  I may not be one of the Kool Kids and don't have the secret password to gain entrance to the "club", but I refuse to let that hold me back! That being said, even when you know going in that you don't stand a chance you'll be chosen you still feel deflated, that's only natural. Do I get a little down...yes. Do I shed a tear or two sometimes...yes. A sweet friend mentioned to me the other day..."you know how us girls are". Sometimes I'm all girl and my feelings get the best of me, I cry, pout and even get angry, then I work through my feelings to get over it. But nothing is going to stop me from applying to design teams or submitting to challenges and magazines. My son has a tattoo that reads "To move on is to grow". I LOVE that saying. I will move on, grow and keep trying! Yes, my feelings get hurt and deflated, but I pick myself up and keep trying! Someday this nerdy girl will break through the barrier and kool kids will notice me and ask me to join in the fun!!

For about a year and a half now I've been wanting to be on a design team. There are a small handful of blogs that I have my eye on. I'm sure that ya'll can easily figure out that one of them is DeNami. I'd give my left arm and lets be real here...I'd give a leg too, lol, to be on the DeNami team. However, DeNami doesn't do an open call for their design team members, it's just by special invitation...sigh. Luckily the others I have my eye on do an open call!

 I know my work is nothing special when compared to the gals that enter the challenge that runs on the particular blog I'm referring to, however, after talking with the blogs owner and her encouraging me, I decided to heed my own advice that sometimes in life you just have to take chances and frankly, it would be good to have one application under my belt. So, last month I applied for my very first design team position. My resume is pretty lacking and I have nothing big to bring to the table. With that being said, I like to think of myself as being friendly, out going, willing to learn and very dependable. Someday those attributes will out weigh my lack of challenge wins and overall popularity, until then, I'll take it on the chin and just keep plugging along. I can't let a rejection stop me from doing something that brings such joy to my life. I LOVE creating cards and being able to share them with you. I also LOVE getting to meet such wonderful people out here in bloggy land...you gals are amazing, an inspiration and just plain ole' rock!!

Many of you know Paulina from DeNami Design runs a personal blog called Pretty Pink Posh and hosts the fun 10 Minute Craft Dash. The entries for that challenge always blow me away...there are some amazingly talented people out there and they even come from all over the world!! She had a Design Team call and as part of the application we were to tell a little about ourselves and submit 4 pieces of work that we've created in under 10 minutes. I knew back on June 11th that I wasn't picked (received my thanks but no thanks e-mail) but didn't want to talk about it until after her new DT was announced. Not sure that it matters, but it felt wrong to talk about it until then.

My 10 Minute Craft Dash Design Team card entries:

Time: (can't remember the time but it was 8-something!)
Colors: blue, green & kraft



Time: 9min 40 sec
Colors: teal, orange, golden yellow



Time: 9min 03sec
Colors: green, orange, golden yellow, teal

Time: 9min 59sec (that was a close call!)
Colors: charcoal, light grey, pink

Well there you have it, my step outside of the box. But like I said, I WILL NOT give up. When I don't win a challenge or when I receive the "no thanks" e-mail from a magazine, I may have a moment of sadness, I am only human after all, but will chalk it up to a learning experience and keep going! Don't give up on your dreams and keep doing what makes YOU happy!! Winning or losing doesn't define you, it's how you react to that win or loss that does. Take the experience and learn from it and don't be scared to put yourself out there again.

HUGS to all of us nerdy girls!

Birthday Celebration!!!!

 Guess what...DeNami Addict is turning 2!!!

 

I can't believe that I've been doing all of this for 2 years...wow! I don't even want to think about all of the time and money it has cost to run this blog...I'd probably have a small stroke! It's kind of a money pit and pretty much a thankless job since I rarely receive comments, but I love running the Addict blog and hope that you enjoy visiting with me now and again! I'm passionate about keeping small business' going and when you have one like DeNami Design it's easy to be extra passionate. The Nakamura family is amazing, the product they produce is top notch quality and there's nothing to not love about the sweet images of their stamps!!

 In celebration of this months most festive occasion, I thought a little fun was in order! ;) Not only is DeNami Addict celebrating a birthday this month, I am too (we won't discuss my age...I'm way old, let's just leave it there, hehehe)! With all that in mind, I decided to have a fun birthday themed challenge giveaway!

 

 

I thought it would be fun for everyone to make a card that is always great to have on hand at any given time...a birthday card! If you'd like to join in on all the fun all you have to do is make a birthday themed card or project and link it up at the bottom of this post. At the end of the month I will select a random winner for a DeNami Design gift ceritficate!

 

 

 



For this challenge, there is only two requirements:

1) Create a new card/project based off of the theme/palette/sketch.
You don't have to use  DeNami stamps or other DeNami products, but if you have some, we'd sure love to see them!! You may enter 1 card/project and please link this challenge along  in your post.

2) Upload a photo of your card or project to your blog OR if you don't have a blog, you can upload your card to an online gallery (i.e. www.splitcoaststampers.com, www.flickr.com, etc.) then come post the direct link / url to your photo in the link widget box below. Please do not leave your links in the comments section.

*if you have never linked up a project before, it's quite easy. Click on the "add your link" button below. A small window will pop up asking for your "URL". That's where you paste in the blog / Flicker / Splitcoast Stamper address where your card can be found. It will also ask for your name and e-mail address. After submitting that info it will bring up another window where you can select the picture of the card/project you're entering. It may or may not give you a third window concerning Facebook...you can just click "skip" there if you'd like. That's all there is to it...easy peasy, promise ;)

After the challenge ends, I will randomly select one person to receive a $25.00 DeNami gift certificate!

Challenge ends July 31st at 11:59 PM central time.

Happy 4th of July!!!

Hello everyone and Happy 4th of July to you!!! Normally I'd skip posting on a day like today sine I'm betting there aren't many of of you looking at your computers and following blogs on this wonderful celebratory day. How many of ya'll took off tomorrow to have a 4 day weekend??? I'm raising my hand!! Well, I'm going in for an hour to do payroll then I'm outta there so it counts as not working! ;)

 

When I made my 4th of July cards for the theme week I made one little extra one to share with you today. When I made this card I was just smitten with the rustic look I achieved and decided to see if I could do it again. I think I pulled it off....

The star patterned paper was already kind of rustic looking since the stars were cream but the striped paper was kinda bright and had white stripes that just needed to go! ;) After toning them down with Tea Stain distress ink I layered it onto the cream cardbase that I had distressed using the same ink. After distressing a piece of kraft cardstock I stamped the Brushed Stars in white and then on top of the white re-stamped it in the Tea Stain distress ink giving it a shadow. I layered it onto a panel of the star patterned paper and attached it to my card base. I stamped out my sentiment and made a little flag, attaching some pretty fibers before popping it up on foam tape on my card. For my large star I just simply turned a piece of crap paper over back side up and drew a freehand star then cut it out...it's not even close to being even so I'm going with the excuse that it has character ;)  Good thing I liked it because there was no way I could ever draw one that was even close to being perfect, lol! 

 

That's it for me today! Remember that tomorrow DeNami starts releasing sneek peaks of the new reslease on their blog!!! I'll be checking my phone every five minutes waiting for Paulina's post to go live...sigh, I can't wait!!!!!

 

I have a special surprise to tell you about tomorrow so make sure you stop in!!!

For all of the girly girls...

Believe it or not, this is a card I created LAST JULY!! I've been trying to show this to you gals forever, but something else just kept getting in the way, lol. I wanted to create something for a friend that spoke of her fun and bubbly personality, not to mention her love of pink! She has been a life saver in more ways than one; weather it be techie help, spiritual help or just me keeping my sanity help...she rocks and I wanted to let her know I was thinking of her and appreciate her a lot! I think I may have captured her with this little creation. I'm glad I was at least able to send it to her when I created it and not a year later. lol!!!!

 

There's a lot of DeNami stamps that could easily reresent my friends personality and I couldn't decide on which stamps to use and the thought of individual panels all with different images finally kicked in. I love panels but when I start to make a card I never think about incorporating different sizes & shapes of them together like this. I used quite a few stamps on this card not to mention that it's basically a giant ball of glitter! Hmm, scallops, polka dots, glitter, purses (even if they're not from Coach), flowers, ribbon/bow and my fave color...everything I puffy heart love! No wonder we get along so well, lol, maybe I should have kept this little cutie and horded it, lol! ;) The only thing it's missing that we both love is a button...I sould have found a tiny one for the daisy center or maybe for the bow, too late now though.

 

 

 That's all for today, thanks for stopping by!

 



DeNami Happenings - July 2013

 

 

Hi everyone!! Can you believe it's July already...holy cow! The year is half over already and July promises to be a busy and fun month for me. Not only is my birthday this month, but the sweet and uber talented Paulina, my twinkie...Wendy, my sister, my BIL, my nephew, someone I grew up with and think as a brother AND DeNami Addict's birthdays are this month too!! I feel like I've forgotten someone...hmmm. Well, in honor of all of our birthdays I've decided to have a little giveaway. What's the prize you ask...a DeNami GC of course!!! I'll be posting about all the details a little later this month. With DeNami's new release this month I'm betting a gift certificate will come in handy!! ;)

 

 

 

And speaking of DeNami Addict having a birthday, have you ever want to know how all this got started or just how many DeNami stamps I actually own?? All of that information can be found right "here". Or you can simply click on the DeNami Collections tab at the top of the page. A while back I took pictures of my collection and shared them with all of you. Since then I've added a lot of new goodness to my collection (it's all been added to my pictures). The linking thread I set up at that time is still active, so feel free to visit the DeNami Collections page and to add your collections too, I'd love to see what you like about Denami!

 

And since I'm talking about the page tabs at the top, have you noticed the one marked "Tutorials and Tips"? It's an easy referance page with links to all of the start to finish card videos, the Tips & Trick segments, Project Corner segments and the ever popular Tool Talk segments.

 

We also have our own blinkie (made my the talented Paulina!!) that you can nab for display on your blog! Let me know if you place it on your blog...I'd love to be able to list you as an honary DeNami Addict too!

 

DeNami has some big news this month too! They are moving their warehouse...I can't even begin to imagine such an undertaking! I'm sure the DeNami family would appreciate your patience in their answering e-mails and phone calls a little slower than normal while this process is taking place. Unfortunately there are no shows scheduled for this month due to the move. However, next month has me WAY excited because they will be in Collinsville, ILL and that's just a hop, skip & jump from St. Louis, MO!!!! Woo-Hoo!!

 

Also, the summer release is set to go on sale next week!! This week starts the sneak peeks and some yummy eye candy using the new images from the design team...I can't wait!! My finger is already itching to click on the "I want it all" button even before I've seen it all!!! Did you get a chance to check out the DeNami Facebook page...in June we had a little tidbit of new Chickie cuteness by the way of them changing their page's banner and profile picture. Those rocker chickies are FAB!!!

 

 



That's all for me today. Stay tuned for a fun DeNami Addict birthday announcement :)

PS: I just found out some awesome news this morning...I won the Paper Sweeties sketch challenge with this little cutie.

DeNami Stamps Used:

• hello friend
• brushed bee
• small sunflower (I fussy cut just the flower part & right now it's on sale!!)