Valentine Love + a WINNER

Greetings and happy Thursday to you! I'm here with a quick card to show off a few more washi stripes along with some fun DeNami Design stamps. (Need some more ideas on incorporating washi tape stripes into your crafting? Be sure to see my Ways With Washi: STRIPES post from earlier this week.)

DeNami Design stamps: Love Flourish, Stitched Border, Small Swirl Corner, Hearts stamp set

I stamped on a journaling card from a digital collection by Carina Gardner and dressed up the background with some Smooch Spritz and Musical Notes Washi Tape from DeNami. I'm adding this to the stack of Valentine cards I'm collecting for sending out to family and friends.

Now, I've promised you a winner for my washi tape giveaway earlier this week. I used Random.org to draw a winner from all the comments left on my giveaway post and came up with lucky number . . .

. . . 3--and that was PAM!!

Congratulations, Pam! I'm off to email you next so I can get your new roll of DeNami pink chevrons washi tape mailed out to you. :)

A huge thanks to everyone who played along in my giveaway! I had so much fun reading all of your comments :). Be sure to check out my next Ways With Washi feature in February--it will be on the 4th Monday of the month (that will be Feb. 25). We'll do another giveaway then!!

Oh, before I go, I just wanted to mention that with today's card I was playing along with my friend Jessi's challenge to use MISTS over at Playing in Paradise Challenge #101! I love how the misting in my background turned out. Thanks for the inspiring challenge, Jessi!! I'm also playing along with the Anything Goes Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp!

Thanks for checking out my little slice of bliss today!
Emily

Ways With Washi: STRIPES + a Giveaway

Good Monday morning to you, friends! I'm so excited to be sharing my very first monthly feature for the DeNami blog: Ways With Washi! My goal for this feature is to inspire you to use washi tape in lots of fun and unique ways. Each month I will highlight a particular way to use washi tape and give you some project-based examples to show you what I mean.

This month we are starting with a pretty obvious use for washi tape: making stripes. We have to start somewhere, right? Washi tape is perfect as a replacement for ribbon on cards. It is much thinner, which is great for mailing, and so much easier to adhere. Plus, washi tape is removable, so it's easy to gently peel up and adjust the placement if it isn't straight.

Shall we take a peek at a few examples? I was in the mood to make Valentine's Day cards ;).

On my first card I used this sweet red stripes washi tape (available in the DeNami Design store) much the same way as I would have used ribbon in this card design. The advantage is that it is less bulky-- so easy to slide into an envelope--keeping this card nice and flat for mailing. No extra postage required here!

Squirrel, Nuts About You stamp set, Teeny Heart Background, Double Circle,
white cardstock, red cardstock, Satin Red Versafine ink, embossed bracket border punch

Now, how about a bit of a twist? On my second card, I've used the DeNami white/red hearts washi tape and set my washi stripes on a diagonal. I'm still taking a page from the ribbon playbook here, but the process of finishing off the ends is so much easier! Simply wrap the ends of the tape around the edges of the card. Done. If you've ever tried a similar maneuver with ribbon, you know what a pain it can be to secure ribbon ends that have been wrapped around to the inside of a card on a diagonal. And over the card fold? Forget about it!

Cupid Chickie, Elegant Square Frame, Love Sentiments stamp set, white cardstock, red cardstock, Satin Red Versafine ink, Onyx Black Versafine ink, Wildflower Boutique Buttons, clear rhinestones

Finally, here on my third card I've let my washi tape stripes take center stage. Don't these pink stripes washi and pink chevron washi tape stripes look awesome as the base for that stamped Valentine's Day sentiment? Together they create a unique focal point.

Happy Valentine's Day, Hearts stamp set, Small Scallop Heart, Decorative Flourish, white cardstock, petal pink cardstock, magenta cardstock

Well, that wraps up this month's Ways With Washi! But, how about a little giveaway before you go?

GIVEAWAY

I have a brand-new roll of Pink Chevron Washi Tape from DeNami Design--the same tape that I used on my third project--that I'd love to give away to a reader of this post. Want to be in the running? Just leave me a comment on this post telling me whether you've ever used washi tape. There's no need to be a follower of my blog to enter, but if you are a follower (or become a new follower!), you can have a second entry in the drawing--just leave me a second comment telling me that you are a follower and how you follow. :)

I'll leave commenting open until 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, January 30, 2013, and will draw a winner at random from the entries. The winner will be announced right here on my blog on Thursday, Jan. 31, and if I'm able to find an email address, I'll be sure to contact the winner as well.

Thanks so much for dropping by to visit today--it's always such a treat!!
Emily

To Everything There Is a Season

Last fall I completely decimated my stash of sympathy cards. Replenishing my supply has been an ongoing line-item on my to-do list. I just haven't been able to find time or inspiration to work on these, though. As I  contemplated a project for the Stamp With a Homemade Stamp Challenge in the Moxie Fab World,  a plan for a sympathy card came together.

I created my own stamp by hand-trimming a scrap of craft foam into the shape of a long flower petal. Adhering it to an acrylic block with some transparent two-sided poster tape made it very easy to "stamp around the rosie" to create my large blossom.

The sentiment comes from the Life Lines stamp set from Flourishes.

I'm also playing along with the Papercraft Star Challenge--Buttons.

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily

Cheers

Just sharing a little CAS card I made this morning that I think will do nicely as a girlfriend birthday card. I used a couple of fun stamps from DeNami design--a fun umbrella drink from the Tropical Drinks stamp set and the sweet little "cheers" sentiment from the Everyday Greeting stamp set. My pink-striped washi tape (used for the vertical stripes) is also from DeNami Design.

I'm playing along with three challenges:

• CASology, which has the cue card DRINK this week
• CASual Fridays, to use markers
• CAS(E) this Sketch, which offers this sketch this week:
  

It is a frosty Saturday morning here! We warmed up with some hot cinnamon rolls for breakfast {thanks, Dough Boy ;) !! }, fueling us up for a day of Pinewood Derby car-making for my son, homework for my daughter, and miscellaneous household stuff for my hubby and me. We're hoping to squeeze in a movie here at home this evening for a little family fun time, so it's time to head off into the fray!!

I hope you have a great weekend, too!

Thanks for stopping by for a little slice of bliss!
Emily

Juggling Too Much?

Recently I've been busy, crafty-wise, with design assignments. But once the kids were back in school again after their long weekend, I was finally able to turn my attention to a project I've had simmering on the back burner for a while now. Here's my result:

Does this feel like you, too? Well, except for the stylish pencil skirt and those high-heeled shoes, this card pretty much sums up my life these days. Juggling a million details that keep my family running smoothly without any major train wrecks.

This card was inspired by the Use 10 Embellishments Challenge in the Moxie Fab World, in honor of the release of the new Paper Crafts special issue, 75 Creative Card Challenges.

Yes, indeedy, you guessed it--the idea here is to use 10 different embellishments all on the same card in an innovative way. That last part had me stymied for a while. I mean any old fool (this one included!) can slap a bunch of googaws on a card and call it a day. But I wanted mine to mean something, to really tell a story, and not just look like some useless afterthoughts (which is what usually happens if I try to add more than one or two embellies)! Ten? I had my work cut out for me!

My very wise hubby is a big fan of consigning the solution of vexing problems to the subconscious. Can't see how to tackle something right away? Familiarize yourself with the problem and just walk away from it, sleep on it, do something completely different for a while. And that ol' subconscious just plugs away on it, chews it over, and pretty soon smacks you up side the head--completely out of the blue--with just the insight, answer, approach, or solution method that you need. That's just how it happened for me:  in the middle of brushing my teeth while thinking about something completely different.

I selected my embellishments very carefully, picking them for the kinds of tasks that we modern women must juggle.  I had to increase my card size to a mega 5" x 7" to get them to all fit comfortably! Anyway, starting with that ribbon rose on the bottom left, and then going clockwise, we have :

1. The red ribbon rose symbolizes time spent bringing happiness, thoughtfulness, and our thankfulness to others in the form of gifts, cards, phone calls, emails, and favors.
2. The paperclip symbolizes time spent at work.
3. The baseball brad symbolizes time spent managing (and chauffeuring!) kid activities.
4. The wooden clock face symbolizes time spent managing and planning the family calendar.
5. The sparkly apple cabochon symbolizes time spent on planning, shopping, and preparing tasks that keep the family well-nourished.
6. The mini wooden clothespin symbolizes time spent on housekeeping chores.
7. The shiny star brad symbolizes time spent overseeing and helping with the kids' schoolwork.
8. The Asian coin symbolizes time spent on all the myriad financial management tasks.
9. The wooden Bingo number symbolizes time spent on family fun activities and "me" time.
10. The shiny little key symbolizes time spent on home and auto maintenance.

Whew! I'm tired now just thinking of it all! But this little exercise has also been a great reminder of all the many blessings we enjoy. Life may be busy, but it's also quite good!

So, if you feel like you are juggling too much, too, I do believe I know how you feel. And hopefully knowing that will lift you up and make the juggling just a tiny bit easier to manage. :)

Thank you so much for joining me for a little slice of bliss today! It's always a joy to have you drop by!
Emily

Nuts About You

Today I am celebrating L-O-V-E (and, apparently, squirrels) with this little card.

I used the latest DeNami Design Product Spotlight stamp. This week we are featuring the brand new Nuts About You stamp set. Isn't it utterly adorable?

I also used the brand new DeNami Design Squirrel stamp, Teeny Heart Background, lavender card stock, amethyst card stock, brown kraft card stock, Rich Cocoa Memento ink, and Spring Pansy Versamagic ink to make this card.

I love looking for inspiration for my creations in the stuff of my everyday life. I was reading our February issue of Family Fun magazine last week when I was struck by the table of contents page, thinking it would make a great layout for a square card.

I thought the tiny images from this week's Spotlight set would be the perfect scale for giving this idea a try. I had to flip the sketch a bit to make it work with my images, but I like how it turned out. It ended up measuring4.25" x 4.25".

Now, WAIT!! Don't go yet! The DeNami Design team has always done two Product Spotlights each month. This term we are shaking things up a bit ;-). We are still doing two Product Spotlights, but the second spotlight of each month will be done as a DT blog hop! And what's a blog hop without a prize? You can comment to win the Spotlight product! And this month that means you could win this adorable Nuts About You stamp set :). All you need to do is hop along to each stop in the lineup, leaving comments along the way. Here is the blog hop lineup:

DeNami blog 
Lisa Petrella
Deb Wabbe
Wendy Elliot
Emily Keaton  <==== you are here!
Lisa Elton
Kanani Kawamura
Dana Seymour
Tammy Hobbs

One commenter will be selected at random to win this month's prize! But don't worry--if you don't win, you can still snatch up this sweet stamp set for 10% off during the next week.

Thanks for stopping by today! It was great having you visit!
Emily

PS I'm playing along with the Playing in Paradise Challenge #100, which has the theme of " Let's Celebrate"  this week. I am celebrating LOVE!!

A New Photo Tutorial

Happy Friday, everyone! I am so excited to have a new photo tutorial up over on the DeNami Design blog today. I am showing how to make gathered ribbon flowers. Here is a little sneak peek.

I hope you will swing by the DeNami blog to get the whole story. Feel free to ask me any questions about the tutorial right here on this post. :-)

Have a super day!
Emily

DeNami Wonderful Washi Blog Hop

Good morning, friends! I am so excited to be a part of today's DeNami Design blog hop! Today the DeNami Design team and DeNami Design customers are showing off wonderful ways to use washi tape. If you have heard my news about my new monthly blog feature {Ways With Washi} over on the DeNami Design blog, then you know that this is right up my alley!!

I am the last stop on today's hop. Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Donna Bowman's blog, The Crafty Corgi. If so, you are on the right track! If not, you'll want to head over to the DeNami blog to start the blog hop at the beginning. (And remember, if you get lost along the way, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction.)

Don't forget, there are some amazing DeNami prizes to be won! Two lucky commenters will be drawn at random from among the comments left along the blog hop to win a $20 DeNami Design gift certificate! You have until Monday, January 14, 2013, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize.

So, shall we get on our wonderful washi way? Here is what I created with some wonderful washi tape from DeNami Design.

You can click on this photo for a better view!

It's a set of mini note cards for my 10YO son! They all measure 3" x 3". I used DeNami Design's super awesome Road Washi Tape for these. And a bunch of DeNami Design rubber stamps, too, if you can believe that! The Cars & Trucks stamp set, Medium Double Line Square, Birthday Celebration Set 1, Make Way! It's Your Day!, Sending You Smiles, and You're "Wheel" Nice all made it to my crafting table. I was inspired to make these by the Make an Itty Bitty Card Challenge in the Moxie Fab World, celebrating the release of the new special issue, 75 Creative Card Challenges.

Anyway, my mini cars were fun, quick, and easy! All that was left to do then was package them up in a DeNami Design boutique box and tie them up with some baker's twine.

I hope you have collected tons of great ideas for using washi tape! I am the last stop on today's hop. Be sure to leave a comment before you go to be in a drawing for a Denami Design gift certificate.


Thanks for hopping along today!
Emily

More Love Letters

I did my civic duty yesterday and reported for jury duty. I arrived at the courthouse prepared for lots of sitting and waiting (no moss grows under me!), and, boy, it's a good thing I did. I stamped a stack of images to take along with me and spent five hours coloring in the jury pool (which sounds pretty splashy, tropical, and fun, doesn't it? I can assure you, however, that it is none of these!). I love it when I can turn potentially wasted time into productive time! (That's not to say that serving on jury duty is a waste of time--I'm happy to do my part, and I take pride in upholding my privileges and responsibilities as a U.S. citizen.)

Anyway, when I returned home, I put together this Valentine card with one of the images I worked on at the courthouse. It's perfect for this week's Flourishes new release challenge, Love Letters.

I used two Flourishes stamp sets: A Year in Flowers 2 and  Tag Lines. I was lucky to find a scrap of lace trim on my work table that was just the right length to add to this card :).

Even though I did a lot of sitting around, jury duty really exhausted me. I'm plum worn out today! I do believe there is a nap in my future ;). That sounds like a pretty big slice of bliss to me!

Thanks for dropping by for a visit! Have a super weekend,
Emily

Light and Airy Birthday Card

When I saw the current Tuesday Trigger inspiration photo (Sweet Dreams) over in the Moxie Fab World, I was struck by how light and airy the pictured bedroom was. I thought it would be fun to try to translate that feel into a birthday card (since I am running low on birthday cards in my stash).

Here's my card

and here's the photo that inspired it.

I used background stamps, heat-embossed in white, from three different companies: Sweet Lace from Market Street Stamps, Gingham Background from DeNami Design, and Quatrefoil Background from Unity Stamp Company. I thought these designs were good matches for the patterns on the bedspread, bench, and rug. I took my colors for this card from these items, too. The sentiment is from Unity's How YOU Doin' set, and the resin flower is from Stampin' Up!

I really enjoyed the creative process involved in making this card, and I am quite satisfied with how it turned out. I'm also happy to have a Unity creation to share with my Friends With Flair today!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Emily

From the Heart

Greetings and salutations, my friends! Today I am sharing a little Valentine's Day card that I cooked up for this month's Flourishes release week challenge. The theme is Love Letters.

I went with a pink and red "love colors" palette and focused on a sweet little sentiment that says "from the heart."


I used two Flourishes stamp sets: the retired Spring Botanicals (I used the bleeding heart silhouette to stamp my background and embossed as my focal image) and Tiny Flowers and Tags.

It's a busy week for us here on Bliss Road. The kids have lots going on after school this week. Our son just started two different after-school enrichment classes. One is Lego Robotics and the other is a cool course called Get Smarter, a look at how our minds make sense (and nonsense) of our world. Both courses  last for an hour, once per week, for six weeks and are taught by teachers at his school. He is so pumped to be taking them! And I'm happy that he can take advantage of these without my having to provide additional carting around. I show up to fetch him after school like normal, except a little over an hour later. A win-win all around! It's nice for him to have a little something extra to do during these dark winter months.

Thanks for checking out my little slice of bliss for today!
Emily

DeNami Design Western sneak peaks

Welcome to Day 3 of the DeNami Design Spring/Summer Release Sneak Peeks!! Today DT Members Lisa Elton, Lisa Petrella, and Wendy Elliot are giving you sneak peeks of brand-new DeNami stamps about to be released in a category that's totally new to DeNami: WESTERN! Be sure to visit each of these three DT gals for lots of inspiration, and then head over to the DeNami Design blog for details on some great DeNami gift certificate giveaways.

All the winners from all of the DeNami gift certificate giveaways will be announced on the DeNami blog tomorrow. You'll want to be sure to check that out!

Thanks for stopping by, 
Emily

DeNami Sneak Peeks: CHICKIES

Welcome to Day 2 of the DeNami Design Spring/Summer Release Sneak Peeks!! Today DT Member Tammy Hobbs and I are giving you sneak peeks of brand-new DeNami stamps about to be released in the always-fun CHICKIES category! Be sure to read all the way to the end of this post for details on a great giveaway :D.

If you are a DeNami chickie lover, you will positively swoon over the chick-tastic new release! There are new chickies for Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and some fun new chickies for spring and summer. I had SO much fun with my new chickie stamps getting ready for this release! It was hard to decide where to start. Well, let's dive right in, shall we?

Valentine's Day

That adorable Cupid Chickie stamp is brand-new, but that's not the only new stamp I used on this card. You can also drool over the new Love Flourish stamp, the Houndstooth Background stamp, and the Elegant Oval Frame stamp.  Aren't these awesome? I also used some petal pink card stock from DeNami Design,  Satin Red ink, and some red baker's twine from the DeNami Design store as well.

St. Patrick's Day

I don't know what you look for in the pot at the end of the rainbow on St. Patrick's Day, but I am only too happy to find chocolate in that pot ;-). My next project is a little St. Patrick's Day goodie bag. I started with a clear gusseted bag from the DeNami Design store and filled it with green wrapped chocolates. After tying the bag shut with some emerald grosgrain ribbon from DeNami Design, I tied on a Leprechaun chickie "for you" tag with more baker's twine. The chickie comes from the new Shamrock Chickies stamp which is a large scene; I just clipped out the single chickie that I wanted for my small tag. Doesn't he look sweet surrounded by the For You Circle stamp and the Medium Dot Circle stamp? I also used DeNami Design's desert orange card stock and iridescent emerald green card stock, along with Habanero ink and Olympia Green ink.

And what if you would rather give a card for St. Patrick's Day instead? Well, I've got that covered too. ;-)

This is a small card, only 3.25" x 4.25". I clipped another leprechaun chickie from the new Shamrock Chickies stamp to layer over a shamrock that I created using the new Solid Flower Accents cling set. That sweet sentiment also comes from the new Shamrock Chickie stamp; I just masked it out to create a banner.

Sweet, Fruity Summer

We write a lot of notes and letters at my house, so I like to have some stationery on hand and as well as note cards. For my last project I made a stationery set featuring the brand new Fruit Chickies stamp set. So perfect for a fruity summer!

I simply cut 8.5" x 11" sheets of printer paper in half to make the sheets of stationery.

That "Thanks chickie" sentiment is another new stamp in this release.

To contain and protect all of my new sheets of stationery, I decorated a 6" x 9" manila envelope. I stamped a background using that adorable pineapple chickie and the orange slice stamp from DeNami Design's Tropical Fruit stamp set. The circle frame stamps are also from DeNami Design, as well as the emerald grosgrain ribbon.

OK, are you still with me? Thanks for hanging in there through this long post. :-) I mentioned a giveaway way back at the beginning of this post. DeNami Design is giving away multiple gift certificates today. Be sure to leave a comment here on my blog post and on Tammy's chickie sneak peek blog post, too. Then head over to the DeNami design blog to find out the other ways you can win today!


I'm so glad that you dropped in to check out some of the new chickie stamps in the DeNami Design Spring/Summer Release! Be sure to tune into the DeNami blog tomorrow for more sneak peeks and giveaways.

Until then, have a day filled with bliss, 
Emily

DeNami Design Garden Elegance sneak peeks

Welcome to Day 1 of the DeNami Design Spring/Summer Release Sneak Peeks!! Today DT Members Kanani Kawamura, Deb Wabbe, and Dana Seymour are giving you sneak peeks of brand-new DeNami stamps about to be released in the GARDEN ELEGANCE category! Be sure to visit each of these three DT gals for lots of inspiration, and then head over to the DeNami Design blog for details on some great DeNami gift certificate giveaways.

I will be back tomorrow with my sneak peeks for this new Spring/Summer stamp release. I can't wait to show you what I have up my sleeve!

See you then, 
Emily 

{washi} Bliss

Woo–hoo and happy Saturday! I couldn't be more excited to announce a new monthly feature I'll be writing for the DeNami Design blog. It's called… drum roll please…

Have you heard the news? DeNami Design is now carrying washi tape. You should definitely check out the collection. So many cute designs, right? I am hoping that with this feature I can inspire you to use washi tape in lots of fun and unique ways. Please plan to join me on the DeNami Design blog on the fourth Monday of every month. I'll give you a heads up here on My Little Slice of Bliss so you'll know it's time. You never know, I might even throw in a little giveaway right here so you'll want to stay tuned in. ;-)

How about a little washi tape inspiration right now? Here's a little ditty I made up for Christmas.

This couldn't have been simpler! I used DeNami's Polka Dot Background stamp, Whimsical Merry Christmas stamp, Versafine Satin Red ink, and Red/White Dots washi tape, all from the DeNami Design store. That sweet birdie tree is a premade dimensional sticker I picked up on clearance at A.C. Moore after Christmas last year. See how that simple strip of washi tape grounds the tree and sentiment?

I'm working on lots of inspiring ideas for ways to use washi tape in your papercrafting. My first official Ways With Washi post debuts on Monday, January 28. So be sure to check in then! In the meantime, we have a brand-new stamp release, with sneak peeks kicking off tomorrow. I'm so excited about all of the new stamps. You are going to love them!

Thanks for stopping by today for a little slice of {washi} bliss!
Emily

DeNami Design Team

Happy New Year, my friends! And welcome to 2013. I hope that everyone had a fantastic holiday. I know that my family did. It was great to relax and just be for a while. And now I'm all re-energized and ready to tackle this new year.

My first bit of blog business for 2013? I'm happy to report that I will be serving on the DeNami design team for another term. Huzzah!! The new team will have a great group of returning ladies, and I am so happy to have two great blog friends and DeNami lovers joining us as well. These gals are as sweet as pie! You are going to love this term's team. I'm so excited for us to get started! Be sure to check out the entire team over on the DeNami blog today.

And what better way to start off a new term than to play with a brand new stamp release? That's exactly what we have coming up next. The new design team will be showing off sneak peeks of the new release starting January 6. There will be lots of great new stamp designs to drool over and lots of awesome giveaways. It's going to be a super fun week! I'll keep you posted on all of the special events.

I will see you again soon!
Emily

A few nontraditional tags for FWF

Happy New Year to all my Friends With Flair! Today I am sharing a few tags made with non-traditional holiday colors to link up with the current Unity Stamp Company Challenge.

How about blue and red for nontraditional?

And hot pink with lime green?

I used the awesome Greetings of Christmas stamp set from Unity Stamp Company and some fun papers from My Mind's Eye.

Have an awesome Friday! Thanks so much for stopping by,
Emily