Society of Stampaholics

June, 2012, Card Chain Challenge Sign-Up!

Welcome to the June Card Chain Challenge!

I am so happy to have the CCC back on my own blog and to have the proper amount of time to devote to it. I had moved it to the Lily Pad, but it never got the time and attention it deserved. And I don't think I got to participate in a single CCC, and that's just wrong!

I have made minimal changes to the CCC now that it's back here at SOS. Namely, a participant will no longer sign up with a link to her finished card. She will sign up using her name and a link to her blog or photo gallery and then email me a photo of the card she created.

Please review the Revised FAQ's for further details. (You can also reach these FAQ's via the CCC FAQ's link located immediately below my blog banner.)  

CCC defined. For those of you who are new to the CCC, this is a card exchange with a twist: you make and send a card to the person immediately above you on the list and receive a card from the person immediately below you on the list. (The last person on the list receives a card from the first person on the list.)

Creative options. Make a card that uses at least one of the following three options. You can actually use two or all three, but you are only required to use one of them.

Color Palette

OR

Sketch

OR

one of the following themes:

Independance Day

OR

Cook-Out

OR

Friends

You have until Friday, June 15, 11:59 p.m., EST, to sign up below and email me a photo of your card (please include a link to your blog/photo gallery). Please sign up using your first name and your state, province or country. EX: Ann from Texas; Betty from Ontario; Cathy from Wales; Darla from Italy.

THUMBLINKZ

All cards exchanged will be revealed here on Sunday, July 1, so stay tuned!

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!

The Silver Lining (a Giveaway)

They say every cloud has a silver lining, so I look at the end of the Lily Pad as an opportunity to get reaquainted with my cardmaking community on a more personal level again and a chance to play more with my stamps and make some videos. (I had just gotten my snazzy little HD video camera two months before we launched LPC and it's been gathering dust ever since.)

I also see this silver lining as extending to y'all. To celebrate the resurrection of my blog, I'm offering a rather nice little parcel of stamping swag! 

The prize package. Stamps and other crafty items with a retail value of over $200.

The requirements. To be eligible to win these goodies, you must:

• Subscribe to this blog; 
• Post my badge on your blog (or online photo gallery if you don't have a blog); AND
• Add your name to the list below with a link to your blog post/photo gallery showing my blinkie.

The deadline. 11:59 p.m., EST, Saturday, June 30th.

The winner. A winner will be selected via random draw and revealed here on Monday, July 2. The winner will need to contact me via email by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, July 9th to claim her prize. If I don't hear from the winner, I will select a new winner.

The fine print. This contest is global. However, if it will cost me more than $15 to mail the parcel to your country, I respectfully request that you split the cost of postage 50/50. I doubt it will come to that, but I think that sharing the cost of postage is a very small price to pay for getting all this great stuff! ;~D 

The blinkie. I just taught myself how to make a blinkie! Just this very minute. (Or NINETY minutes, I should say.) It won't win any awards, but I'm still proud as punch that I figured it out! Leave me a comment if you would like for me to do a tutorial on this.

S I G N   U P!

Thanks for dropping by and have a blessed day!

Farewell to the Lily Pad

Today is the last official day of Lily Pad Cards (although we will have two or three more posts to announce prize winners). See the particulars.

It's a sad day, in many ways, but a peaceful one, too. We worked very hard on the Lily Pad - 316 posts, two massive blog hops with giveaways, over 50 challenges, 56 videos, and who knows what else in 14 months - yowza!

And that's just the stuff readers saw. What people didn't see was the amount of work it took to line up guest designers, edit interviews, find sponsors, coordinate product for the Dream Team, get the prizes out, answer emails... yowza again!

Yes, I loved what we created and accomplished, but I have missed being able to hang out at my favorite online communities, visit blogs, leave comments, and post here on my own blog. (I feel like I owe my blog a written apology and a steak dinner for neglecting it so badly this last year.) But there is only so much time in a day, so SOS took a back seat to the Lily Pad.

I've also missed being able to enter card challenges or just having the time and freedom to make whatever card I wanted without having to adhere to challenge and/or product restrictions. 

Of course, I will miss many things from the Lily Pad as well: my lovely partner, Vicky, our amazing Dream Team, and the many people who participated and emailed and gave us all a big kick! Thank you all so much for making it a fantastic year. I'm also very grateful to our generous sponsors and all the company owners and artists who let me interview them and the amazingly talented Guest Designers. 

If you're wondering what I'll be doing here, I'll be hosting a monthly card challenge sponsored by Simon Says Stamp, the Card Chain Challenge, (see tomorrow's post to sign up for June) and a combination of the Guest Designer interview with the Wednesday Wonder spotlight. 

I'm also having a fairly substantial giveaway. Go here to enter for a chance to win over $200 in stamps and other related swag!

Thanks for dropping by and have a blessed day!

Welcome, Baby Lila Grace

 

As you should know by now, Jennifer McGuire had her much-anticipated bundle of joy earlier this month, and her name is Lila Grace.

Welcome, Baby Lila!!!

Jana Millen, Jennifer's best friend, decided it would be nice to collect cards for her that can all be viewed on Jana's blog, This Little Card of Mine. Jana came up with this great idea while we were all attended a stamping retreat in Cncinnati (and all watching Jennifer's stomach, waiting for that baby to make a break for it - which she didn't, obviously).

Jana is displaying the cards using InLinkz so Jennifer can see all of her cards in one place since her free time is kind of non-existant these days and doing a hop is out of the question. It also makes it easier for the would-be hoppers, as well, so you definitely want to check out Jana's blog for an awesome collection of cards made by some of the industry's finest card makers!!!

Also, please feel free to leave Jennifer a comment in Jana's comment section.

Here's my card. (Yeah, yeah, shoot me for being a traditionalist - lol!)

 

S U P P L I E S:

Card: Cougar 80 lb white; Papers: Bubblegum, Bubblegum Gingham (Memory Box); Stamps: Bubba Elephant, Welcome Little One (Memory Box); Ink: Black Onyx (VersaFine); Other Mediums: Black Pen (Sharpie); Dies: Nestabilities Scalloped Circle, circle (Spellbinders), Bubba Elephant (Memory Box); Accents: Black dots (Mark Richards); Fibers: satin ribbon (Offray); Other: pop-dots, toothpick; Tools: Vagabond, small hole punch, Swiss Dots embossing folder (Cuttlebug)

 

Bubba Elephant Stamp (Memory Box)	VersaFIne Black Onyx Ink	Earth Dots (Hero Arts)	Foam Dots (American Crafts)
Bubba Elephant Die (Memory Box)	Nestabilites Circle Dies (Spellbinders)	Nestabilities Scalloped Circle Dies (Spellbinder)	Vagabond Die Cutting Machine

InLinkz.com

I N S T R U C T I O N S: 

1. Make card base.
2. Stamp elephant on patterned paper and sentiment on cardstock.
3. Color Dots with Sharpie; adhere dots to eyes and bow to tail.
4. Die cut elephant, circle, and scalloped circle.
5. Dry emboss circle.
6. Layer and adhere scalloped circle and circle to card. 
7. Cut rectangle around sentiment, then cut "V" into the right end and punch holes in the left end.
8. Thread banner onto toothpick. 
9. Adhere elephant and banner with pop-dots (add a drop of adhesive to the toothpick bottom, if you like). 

Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!

Star Challenge at the Lily Pad!

Simon Says Stamp is sponsoring a month-long Star Challenge over at the Lily Pad, and the prize is a gift certificate worth $25!  

All you have to do to is make a card and feature a star - It can be in the form of a stamp, patterned paper, stickers, accents, gems, you name it!

Here's my card:

Yes, I know it's a bit of a sleeper. Although I'm the one who had the bright idea to do stars this month, I seem to have no star power.

Ba-dum-BUMP!

S U P P L I E S

Card: Memory Box; Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned Paper: Doodlebug 6x6 (Snips & Snails); Stamps: Hero Arts (Galaxy of Stars - CL318); Ink: VersaMark; Gems: Darice; Ribbons: Michaels; Sticker: K & Co (Rowdy Boy)

Make sure you enter this challenge before it closes on Thursday, June 28, 2012, 11:59 p.m. EST. Who doesn't wanna win a $25 GC from the best supply store on the Web?! Thanks for visiting and have a blessed day!

Vera's View Challenge at the Lily Pad!

It's time for Vera's View - an inspirational challenge over at the Lily Pad! This challenge offers an inspiration photo by our Design Team member Vera Yates and is sponsored by Stamp Camp (where art meets rubber)! 

Vera's inspiration photo is extremely versatile - if you can't find something here to goose your mojo, we need to get you to the doctor!

You're going to have to bear with me on my card. I had some allergy issues where yeast, an apple, a spider bite and my allergy shots came together to form the perfect storm. I've had my eyes swollen almost shut for half of this week, so I have no idea if my card looks okay, if the photo is in focus, etc.

 

S U P P L I E S: 

RUBBER STAMP: Floral Silhouette (#S409) (Stamp Camp); CLEAR STAMP: CL476 (Hero Arts); INKS: Black Onyx (VersaFine), Broken China, Barn Door, Shabby Shutters, Wild Honey, Faded Jeans (Ranger Distress); PEN: Sharpie; CARD: Memory Box, Cougar 80# white; EMBELLISHMENTS: heart (Darice); RIBBON: Black satin (Ribbon Boutique)

T O O L S:

Vivienne butterfly die (Memory Box), Craft Mat and Mini-Mister (Ranger) 

T E C H N I Q U E:

I'm not sure what this technique is called - lol! Apply DIstress Inks directly to the craft sheet, put your stamp down into it, mist the inked stamp with water... and stamp onto your paper. Very easy and very cool, I think!

The lucky winner of this challenge will receive a  $25 Stamp Camp Gift Certificate good toward any in-stock stamps. In addition, Stamp Camp has a new Facebook page. If you like the page between now and Monday, May 28, you will be entered in a separate drawing for a $25 GC! This challenge closes on Thursday, May 30, at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Thanks for looking and have a blessed day!

Kathy's Lily Pad Palette Challenge for May

Hey, there! You have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from Globecraft Memories if you enter Kathy's Lily Pad Palette Challenge for May! Globecraft Memories has been creating some very cool new products - my favorites are their Piccolos!

Globecraft sent us frames, Piccolos and enamel powder to play with, and here's Kathy's palette:

Here's my card:

S U P P L I E S:

Paper: Ivory cardstock, Cardstock Bubble Frame Kit (Gloebcraft Memories); Stamps: All Booked Up (Papertrey Ink), S5050 (Hero Arts); Inks: Pistachio, (Color Box), Peeled Paint, Worn Lipstick, Vintage Photo, Embossing, (Ranger Industries) Sepia, (VersaFIne) Embossing plates (Papertrey Ink); Accents: flowers (Prima), pillow sticker (K & Co), ball chain (Ranger Industries), Piccolos (Globecraft Memories); OTHER: enamel powder (Globecraft Memories); Adhesives: Beamons 3-in-1 glue, Glosy Accents, Pop-dots

T O O L S:

Heat tool, Ranger ink applicator tool, post-it notes, Vagabond, Mcgill punch

I N S T R U C T I O N S:

1. Apply Pistachio ink directly to frames and heat set.
2. Adhere stand to kit's backplate.
3. Apply Vintage Photo to embossing plate with ink applicator tool and emboss large oval with large letters; repeat process on small oval with text plate.
4. Apply Worn Lipstick to ovals with ink applicator tool.
5. Ink larger oval's outer edge with Peeled Paint. 
6. Heat set both ovals.
7. Stamp sentiment with Sepia and punch out.
8. Edge outside of smaller oval with embossing ink and role edge in enamel powder; heat to emboss. Repeat on sentiment panel.
9. Place Piccolos on sticky portion of Post-it, (to keep them from blowing away) apply glue, enamel powder, and heat emboss.
10. Stamp vine background on ivory cardstock with embossing ink; apply enamel powder and heat emboss.
11. Cut embossed cardstock into an oval (I used the kit's bubble dome as a guide) and adhere to the front of the backplate.
12. Assemble flowers and adhere with pop-dots; adhere butterfly and Piccolo flowers.
13. Adhere bubble dome to front of backplate with Beason's glue; adhere large oval to backplate.
14. Adhere sentiment panel with pop-dots and Piccolos with Glossy Accents to front of small oval; adhere small oval to large oval with pop-dots.
15. Cut ball chain to size and adhere around edge of bubble dome with Beacon's glue (I used a toothpick for precision placement of the adhesive.)

TIP: You can remove excess or stray glue from the bubble dome by gently rubbing with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol.

Thanks for visiting and have a blessed day!