Thinking of You + a WINNER!

Hello, hello, and a huge hello! I'm here on this bright and sunny and--dare I say spring-like?--Thursday to share a card and the winner of my washi tape and baker's twine giveaway from my April Ways With Washi!

First, I'd like to introduce you to today's card:

Diecuts are by K & Co. (thanks to my sweet friend Jessi!), and the stamps (Decorative Butterflies stamp set and Thinking of You Script cling stamp), brown/white dots washi tape, and baker's twine are all from DeNami Design

It's been a strange and emotional couple of weeks around the Boston area with the Marathon bombings and aftermath, followed by the tense manhunt at the end of the week. Many thanks to my sweet blogging friends who emailed me directly to check up on our status. Your concern touched me deeply! We quite thankfully were safe throughout. And aside from being glued to various media outlets for developments (which sucks up sooooooooooooo much of one's time and energy), we were largely unaffected, except for the day of Friday's manhunt. My husband, who works in one of the communities that was told to "shelter in place," headed out for work completely unaware of the overnight developments. He ended up turning around to come home again (all before sunrise!) once he heard the news on the radio. He wound up working remotely from home that day. Luckily, the kids were already home with me because of their spring break last week. It was good to be all together as events unfolded.

Anyway, now that things are starting to get back to normal, I'm just now hearing the stories of how some of our friends and acquaintances were affected. It's time to mail out cards! Having not nearly enough "thinking of you" cards in my arsenal, that has been my task this week. I made this particular card for a friend whom I've just learned had a harrowing Marathon Monday. I just want to let her know that she and her family are on my heart. More such cards are being added to my stash daily.

OK, now let's move on to finding a winner!

I used Random.org to draw a winner from all the comments left on my giveaway post and came up with lucky number . . .

. . . 42--and that was SHartl!!

Congratulations! I'm off to email you next so I can get your new goodies mailed out to you. :)

A huge thanks to everyone who played along in my giveaway! I always love reading your comments. You warm my heart!!!!

I hope you'll plan to tune in for another Ways With Washi feature in May--I'll be posting on Memorial Day. :) We'll definitely have another giveaway then!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Emily

DeNami Design Product Spotlight April Blog Hop

Thanks for stopping by today! The DeNami Design team is featuring a super sweet rubber stamp in our Product Spotlight today:  it's the Onesie stamp! And we're showing it off with a BLOG HOP!

Here's the card I made with this adorable stamp:

My card also features the Small Congratulations stamp, Yellow/White Dots Washi Tape, White Boutique Buttons, Tuxedo Black Memento Ink, and white cardstock, all from the DeNami store. If you look closely, yes, you'll see that I used washi tape to "color in" my onesie!!

You can purchase this sweet onesie stamp for 10% off the regular price for the next week. You also have the chance to WIN this fabulous product in today's spotlight blog hop! 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! Just check out the DeNami blog for all the details.

I hope you have a day filled with bliss!!
Emily

Ways With Washi: PLEATS + a Giveaway

Hello, hello, DeNami friends! Thanks for stopping by for another edition of Ways With Washi that I've created for the DeNami Design blog! Looking for more ways to use washi tape in your papercrafting and cardmaking? Today I'm sharing ways to add subtle dimension with pleated washi tape. I have four samples to illustrate how to incorporate pleats, so let's get started, shall we?

My first card is a rather simple and straightforward one. I used a single strip of pleated DeNami Black/White Dots washi tape as a design element right down the center of my card. Pleating washi tape is SO much easier than pleating ribbon! Plus, there's no need to consider how to adhere or attach it to your project as there would be with pleated ribbon. And while it adds more dimension to a card than flat washi tape, pleated washi tape is far flatter (and certainly more compressible!) than pleated ribbon.

DeNami Supplies: Small Happy Birthday, flower from Whimsical Flowers stamp set, Elegant Square Frame, Pearlescent Orchid Brilliance ink, Onyx Black Versafine ink, Iridescent Strawberry Freeze cardstock, and Black Rhinestones

Close-up of pleats

On my second card, I got a little more creative with the "single pleated strip" approach! After pleating a strip of DeNami Orange Stripes washi tape, I trimmed it into three long sections to create a wonderfully dimensional flame-tinged exhaust plume for the super fun DeNami Rocketship.

DeNami Supplies: Space Chickie, Rocketship, planet and moon from Outer Space stamp set, sentiment from Thoughtful Greetings stamp set, Teeny Star Background, Tuxedo Black Memento ink, Opaque Cotton White StazOn ink, Leaf Green Cardstock 

Now how about a girly card? Pleats are perfect for frilly, feminine designs, too. For my third card, I layered five different strips of narrowly pleated washi tape (DeNami Pink Stripes and Green Stripes washi tapes) as a base for my trio of DeNami Flower Blooms on this bright and happy Mother's Day card.

DeNami Supplies: Flower Bloom, Happy Mother's Day (cling), Tuxedo Black Memento ink, Leaf Green Cardstock, White Cardstock, Pink Rhinestones, Confetti Twine 3-pack 

Close-up of pleats

Pleating washi tape makes it oh-so-easy to adhere it along curves. So for my final card today, I'm showcasing pleated washi as a ruffled circular frame on my blue-ribbon card! For this card I used DeNami Blue/White Dots washi tape.

DeNami Supplies: You're the Best, Medium Thank You Circle, Sky Blue Cardstock, White Cardstock, Majestic Blue Versafine ink

Here's a hint for pleating washi tape: do your pleating while working on wax paper and then transfer it to your project. The tape will stick lightly to the wax paper while you work with it but will release easily (like removing a sticker's backing sheet) when you are ready to move it. If you'd like to trim a strip of pleated washi tape into long sections like I did on my rocket card, leave it adhered to the wax paper while you do your trimming with scissors.

I do believe that wraps up my April Ways With Washi!

GIVEAWAY

Interested in winning a roll of washi tape for yourself? And how about some baker's twine, too? I have a brand-new roll of Blue/White Dots washi tape from DeNami Design (the same tape that I used on my blue ribbon card) AND a Confetti Twine 3-pack (which I used on my Mother's Day card in this post) 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 using the word "APRIL." 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, April 24, 2013, and will draw one commenter at random. The winner will be announced right here on my blog on Thursday, April 25, and if I'm able to find an email address, I'll be sure to contact the winner as well.

I'm so glad you dropped by for a little slice of bliss today!

Thanks for visiting!
Emily

April Pinspired at DeNami

Greetings, friends! Today I'm bringing you another Pinspired post along with a few of my other DeNami Design teammates. This month we were inspired by this photo:

I focused on re-creating those cool balls that make up the wreath and ended up with this thank-you card:

Everything I used on this card can be found in the DeNami store:

Thank You Script

Modern Borders Set

White cardstock

Celery cardstock

Desert Orange cardstock

Iridescent Aquamarine cardstock

Aloe Vera Versamagic ink

Versamark ink

Red Stripes washi tape

Green Graph washi tape

Be sure to check out what the other designers did with this inspiration photo on the DeNami blog today!

Thank you so much for visiting today!
Emily

Tool Talk

Good morning and Happy Monday to you, friends! I'm thrilled to be guest blogging over at the Confessions of a DeNami Addict blog today about one of my favorite and most-used papercrafting tools: the Stamp-a-ma-jig.

I show how to use it to nest a few fabulous DeNami Design stamps in a quick photo tutorial. So if you've ever been mystified by the Stamp-a-ma-jig, you may want to check it out. :D

A huge thanks goes to Tina for inviting me to share a Tool Talk with her readers! I had a blast getting it ready.

Thanks for sharing my little slice of bliss for today!
Emily

DeNami Fancy Favors Blog Hop

Hello and welcome, 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 featuring awesome ideas for some fancy favors. Get ready for lots of amazing inspiration!

Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Stacy M.'s blog, Sweethearts and Sweet Tarts. 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, April 15, 2013, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize.

Now, how about taking a look at the favors I cooked up for today's hop?

I created these little treats--perfect for party favors or last-minute thank you gifts--using the fabulous downloadable DeNami Gift Bag template. So easy to use! The template fits on a standard 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper or cardstock, so you can print it out directly on any colored or patterned paper--as many times as you'd like! Then you need only trim, score, adhere, and PRESTO! You've got an adorable little favor box. 

I prettied up my first fancy favor with stamps from the Solid Flower Accents cling stamp set, the Garden Accents Petit Four stamp set, and the Everyday Greetings stamp set. 

For this second favor box, I used these DeNami rubber stamps: Medium Thank You Circle, Medium Dot Circle Frame, and Cherry Blossom.

I hope you have collected tons of great ideas for making favors! 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 Summer Lovin'

I have another card to share for the Summer Lovin' release-week challenge over at Flourishes.

This one was inspired by the colors in the challenge graphic.

I used two Flourishes stamp sets for my creation: Strawberries and Tiny Flowers and Tags. That beautiful crocheted mat was handmade by my sweet friend Jessi. You can buy them from Jessi here. You'll love them--I know that I do :D.

It will be a busy day--I'm gearing up for the kids' Spring Break next week. Gotta run!

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily

Summer Lovin'

It's time for another stamp release at Flourishes, and this time the release week challenge is called Summer Lovin'--a challenge to create with summer in mind. So how about this for summery?

I used a fun silhouette stamp set from Flourishes called Country Road, which was a birthday gift from a sweet friend. It was so much fun to ink up for the first time! I stamped the pasture scene on watercolor paper and then colored in the grass and sky with some of my new Gelatos, blending them with water and a paintbrush. I LOVE how this scene turned out! The patterned paper is from a new Dear Lizzy Neapolitan 6x6 pad that I just picked up on sale at ACMoore last week. So fun to use so many new items at once!

The last few weeks have been sooooooooooooooooo busy for me. I've spent a lot of time tackling long-overdue projects around the house, getting the house ready for company, and hosting my parents from Ohio for a visit over the weekend. Today was the first time in quite a while that I've been able to do some crafting!

Thanks for taking a peek and stopping by!
Emily

Elegant Oval Frame for Mom

Howdy-hi, my friends! Today the DeNami Design Team is spotlighting a terrific stamp from the latest DeNami release. Introducing: the Elegant Oval Frame!

I paired it with the beautifully scripted Mom stamp to create an elegant card suitable for Mother's Day or Mom's birthday. I stamped the frame in Versafine ink (vintage sepia) and then trimmed it out. The card base (chocolate brown cardstock), patterned paper (Paisley Sampler), washi tape (brown/white dots), buttons (White Boutique Buttons and Bubblegum Boutique Buttons), and baker's twine (Pastel Twine 3-pack) all come from the DeNami store, too!

Need some more ideas for this elegant stamp? Be sure to check out the rest of the team's lovely designs today on the DeNami blog. Like what you see? Then you can score a great deal on this pretty stamp--as our Spotlight Product, it's on sale at 10% off for the next week!!
 

 
That's my little slice of bliss for today, friends. Thanks so much for dropping by!!
Emily