Melanie's Two Year Anniversary Hop!

Melanie Muenchinger is celebrating two years of blogging and illustrating for Gina K Designs, and ringing in the new year with a huge blog party!

I am featuring A Year of Flowers, one of my all time favorite stamp sets. I especially love to color and this is one of my favorite sets to color. Details about how I made the card are below.

Today Melanie has invited 25 designers and YOU to join the party! First hop through the following designers' blogs using every set she has created since January 2008, from the first to the 25th! Then go to Melanie's' blog to leave a comment for a chance to win a number of different prizes! So let's get hopping!

Here we go!

Just So Hippy-Charmaine

Just So Hoppy-Donna

What’s in Your Tin 1 & 2-Donna

Hip Hop Accessories-Bee

Jumping for Joy-Barb

Cuddles and Hugs-Jessie

Little Tees-Cat

Just So Sporty-Pam

A Year of Flowers-Theresa (you are here!)

Say it with Flowers-Selma

Have a Cookie-Carolina

Tee Talk-Gabby

Hand in Hand-Ally

The Best Things in Life-Shannon, Sankari

A Charmed Life-Cathy

Wee Tees-Libby, Laura Jean

Arranged with Love-Selma

Sporty Accessories-Tina

Inspiration Mosaic-Jennie

School Sports Spirit-Melissa

A Year of Leaves-Geri

Hip to Be Square-Karen

Festive Frame-Linda

Tech Talk- Lee



Finally, Nina and Jessica from the GinaK Senior Design Team have joined in, too! You can also get in on the hop yourself and increase your chances of winning a prize by creating your own project with any one of Melanie's sets and linking it in the Mr. Linky in her post, see full details here. Hope you can join the fun! Enjoy your first hop of the year!

To do the reflection technique, I first stamped a partial image of the rose on my mirror image stamp. Then I stamped that on my cardstock.

Next, I used my stamp positioner to stamp the rose above the reflection.

Then I stamped the stem and leaf, first in Tuxedo black for the main image, then in London Fog for the reflection. I didn't bother using the mirror image stamp for these two images, since they were easy to flip around the other direction and appear to be a reflection.

I used Copics to color, starting with R29 in the darkest areas.

Added R22.

Filled in with R20.

For the reflected rose, I started with R27 in the darkest areas, so the reflection would be just a bit lighter.

Added R22.

Filled in with R20.

Next, I used some grays to add some shading under the rose, starting with N3.

Added N5.

Added N7.

Used G24 on the leaf and stem.

Used YG95 to add some shading to the main stem and leaf.

Next, I heat embossed the entire image and reflection with clear embossing powder. I used my Versa Mark pen over both images so the embossing powder would stick.

I masked off the bottom portion of my cardstock and then sponged Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

Removed the mask and did some more sponging with black, this time more lightly, to make it look like the rose was placed on a table or counter.

Here is a look at the inside of the card. The sentiment is from Say It With Flowers. I stamped it with Tuxedo Black ink and then stamped the rose over it, using Memento Ladybug Red, stamped off once.

And here is the finished card again. I layered with Pure Luxury White, Black Onyx and Rocket Red and used a Rocket Red cardbase. I used Pure Luxury Organdy Ribbon to accent and used an EK Success slimline border punch.

Have fun hopping! I hope you have a safe and fun new year!!!

Moonlit Water

This card gave me fits. Well, really just one big fit. I dropped my black ink pad on it when I was about half finished. I had enough time invested in it already, so I decided to just go for it and try to incorporate my ink stains into the card design.

Before I get to the card details, I want to thank everyone for all the birthday wishes yesterday! I had a great day. DH gave me an air compressor, so now I just need to get Copic airbrush system and I'll be all set to do some airbrushing with my Copic markers. I think it is too funny that my husband will never buy me anything for stamping, but I mentioned an air compressor one time and he went and researched what kind I would need and got one that should be just perfect. I guess an air compressor is something he can relate to. LOL

I'm really excited to practice air brushing, but I won't give up sponging, my all time favorite technique. I'm having way too much fun sponging with my new Memento ink pads. This is my favorite ink to sponge with so far.

To start my card, I cut a piece of Pure Luxury White cardstock to 3 1/4 by 4 1/2 inches. I masked off the bottom portion of the cardstock with post-it notes. Then I used a 1 3/8 inch circle, punched from a post-it note, to mask for a moon.

I began sponging with Memento Cantaloupe ink.

Sponged some Angel Pink ink.

Sponged Summer Sky.

Sponged Bahama Blue.

Removed the circle mask and sponged London Fog.

Sponged Potter's Clay, in a splotchy manner, to look like clouds.

Next I used one of my mom's tricks to use a stiff paint brush to give my clouds some definition. I used both Potter's Clay and London Fog and stipple brushed the colors toward the bottoms of the clouds. To ink up the brush, I just gently touched it to the ink pad.

I removed the bottom mask and sponged a tiny bit of Cantaloupe along the horizon line.

I placed the mask over the sky, overlapping a fine line of the Cantaloupe I just sponged. Then I sponged Summer Sky.

Sponged Paris Dusk.

Sponged London Fog.

Removed the mask and stamped the left side bank from Life is Good.

Dropped the Tuxedo Black ink pad on my project.

Cursed profoundly.

As I mentioned before, I decided to try to work my mistake into the scene, so I continued on by stamping the right side bank and filling in the top of the images with my Tuxedo Black Memento marker and the reflection with my N5 Copic marker.

I pulled out the same stiff paint brush and tied to soften the black marks to make them look like clouds. Then I used a marker to add some wave marks, to distract from the accidental marks in the water.

Stamped the cattails from Life is Good with Tuxedo Black.

I used the SCS challenge sketch from this week to assemble the card. The layers are Pure Luxury Black Onyx, Kim Hughs Mocha Chica designer paper (sponged) and Pure Luxury In the Nave for the card base.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a great day!

Guest Designer - Jenny Charboneau

Hello! Today I am featuring the second of my two Life if Good guest designers, Jenny Charboneau (aka Miss Boo on SCS). You can see last week's feature of my mom here. I've admired Miss Boo for a long time for her wonderful design style, the contribution she makes to the stamping community by hosting the CAS challenge at SCS and the wonderful encouragement she gives to other stampers.

Jen showed me several cards to choose from to feature on my blog today, all beautiful, and this one in particular really caught my eye, because it is a clean and simple card that looks like it took a long time to make. I love cards that can be put together quickly, but pack a lot of punch. I also love the layout on this card, with the square and circle elements, especially how the extra large button actually acts as an additional layer! Isn't that clever!!

I asked Jen a few questions to get to know her better...

How long have you been stamping and how did you get started?
I've been stamping for 6 years, but it wasn't until I discovered Splitcoast, 4 1/2 years ago, that I became addicted to it. It all started when I began a new job and a co-worker found out that I was a scrapbooker. She invited me to a monthly stamping club. I was only going for the alphabet stamps so I could save money on stickers for titles. LOL! Whoa... has my scrapbooking changed since then! And it turned out that making cards wasn't so silly after all! LOL!

What are your favorite kinds of projects/techniques?
My motto has become: "CAS. Embellished. It's all good!" My favorite techniques are ones that don't require special tools. My favorite technique is to punch out a circle or square to get just a portion of a stamped image. Using circle and curves in general has been a fun and favorite thing to do recently. I mostly make cards. My scrapbooks have been getting lonely... which reminds me that I have to get to work. Mom and Dad will be expecting an updated scrapbook of my son by the end of the holiday season. (They get updates twice a year... and they remind me! LOL!) I just discovered making Christmas ornaments is great fun and I love to alter items that can be "used at school" such as clipboards and notebooks.


Do you enjoy challenges and, if so, what are your favorites and why?
Do you enjoy challenges? ROFL! I was a member of SCS only 2 months when I started guest hostessing the Limited Supply Challenge and eventually became the full-time hostess a few months later. I was the hostess for almost 3 years when I had to take a short break from the paper crafting world for personal family reasons. During my time as the Limited Supply challenge hostess, I invented the Featured Stamper challenge and got it up and running before I found a full-time hostess. I currently hostess 2 challenges; the Clean & Simple Challenge (CAS) on Splitcoast and the Color Monday challenge on Christian Paper Crafts. I love all kinds of challenges and play as often as time permits. People who know me best on crafting sites know when school is out for the summer because I go crazy with challenges for about a week before settling down to a normal pace. LOL! You can find a list of weekly challenges linked on my blog that I have discovered on the web. I know I am missing many as the challenge world grows and I need to update it!

What inspires you in your crafting?
What inspires me in my crafting? That answer would have to be other stampers. I love to cruise galleries and leave comments. I have a feature on my blog where I list my favorite cards and projects that I found during the day. If I miss a day, I have been busier than usual. I really don't like it when that happens because I'm sure I missed something awesome! (Thank you, Jen!)


For more inspiration, be sure to stop by Jen's blog to see what else she has to share, then pop in and say "hi" to my other guest designer, my mom, Geri.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day!

Considerate Cattails

Hello! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I got a chance to play along with the Featured Stamper challenge at SCS today. SmilynStef is the featured stamper this week. I chose this card from her beautiful gallery for my inspiration card. Participants are to change at least two things. I changed...

Different stamps
Moved the ribbon
Sponged background

I started by sponging Memento Summer Sky ink.

Sponged Memento Danube Blue ink.

Sponged Memento Grape Jelly.

Sponged Memento Paris Dusk mainly just in the lower left corner and the very edges on all sides.

I stamped the cattails from Life is Good, first with a pigment white ink, then with Summer Sky, followed by Danube Blue and finally Tuxedo Black. I stamped two to four times with each color.

For the lower layer, I sponged Danube Blue and pierced around the edges. The sentiment is also from Life is Good. After stamping, I cut it out with circle Nestabilities, layering with Pure Luxury Black Onyx, cut with scallop circle Nestabilities. I layered the panels with Black Onyx and used a Smoky Slate card base.

Thanks for visiting. Have a great day!

Take Flight

Well, I can never let this stamp go un-inked for long, can I? It calls to me in my sleep. LOL. I made this card for the inspiration challenge at SCS yesterday. I used the colors from this photo for my inspiration.

My brand new Memento ink pads came in the mail today. I bought the entire color collection as a Christmas present to myself.

The butterfly is from Take Flight and was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copics. I started with YR02.

Added Y17.

Filled in with Y23.

Added YR16 for some deeper color around the edges and a little more Y17. Then I used my blender pen to scrub in some lighter areas in the centers of the wings, to give them a little more dimension.

I used my Versa Mark pen to go over the entire image, then heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

Sponged Memento Cantaloupe around the butterfly.

Sponged Angel Pink from the edges, working in all the way to the yellow.

Sponged Rose Bud.

Stamped some images from Tropical Flowers with Rose Bud, Angel Pink and New Sprout.

I stamped the sentiment in the top right corner and totally messed it up, so I had to cover it. I stamped it on white, then cut it into a strip and used a circle punch to round the ends. Cut a larger black strip and rounded the corners again.

I layered with Pure Luxury Black Onyx and White and used a Regal Rose (SU) card base. I also used an opaque white gel pen to outline the butterfly and then added dots and faint lines to make it look like the butterfly was in flight.

Have you seen this? To send 2009 out in style, Gina K. Designs is giving away a free stamp set with every purchase of $35.00 or more. (Valued up to $20.95)

And, starting tonight, Gina will be showing snippet peaks from the new release!

Thanks for visiting. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!