WINNER!

Sorry for the late winner's post. What a busy day--and it isn't even close to being done yet!!

The winner of my washi tape giveaway from Monday is Sue D! Congratulations! I've emailed you.

Thanks for playing along, everyone!
Emily

DeNami Design Product Spotlight September Blog Hop

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

I absolutely could not wait to put these new paisley designs to use in making my own bandana print. Whaddya think?

I stamped a pattern in Onyx Black Versafine ink using paisleys from this set as well as a solid flower from the Garden Accents set and a leaf frond from the Elegant Floral set. Then I simply added doodles around each black element with a white gel pen to give my design the look of a bandana. Super easy! And speaking of easy, finishing off my card design was a snap with DeNami's Whimsical Oval Frame and Howdy stamps for a Western-style sentiment and a bit of baker's twine for an accent.

Falling in love with the new Pretty Paisley set? You can purchase it 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
Pattie Goldman
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.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a day filled with bliss!!
Emily

Ways With Washi: FLOWERS + a Giveaway!

Good morning, DeNami friends! Can you believe that autumn has officially arrived? I can't believe that it's already time for my September edition of Ways With Washi! I thought that this time around we could take a look at using washi tape to create different styles of flower embellishments. Here, let me show you what I mean . . .

For my first project, I used strips of DeNami Red Stripes washi tape to create a cheery floral focal point for a clean and simple encouragement card. I started with long-ish strips of washi tape that I folded over on themselves, being careful to leave some adhesive exposed at one end. Then I used scissors to round one end of each strip and adhered them (using each strip's exposed adhesive tab) around a circle punched from cardstock to form the blossom. The last step was to add a pretty decorative brad in the flower's center and attach it to my card!

DeNami Products: Hang In There, Solid Block Border, Toffee Versafine Ink, Onyx Black Versafine Ink

Next up is a loopy washi tape flower. For this embellishment, I turned to DeNami Orange Stripes washi tape for the job. To make the petals for this beauty, I folded long strips of washi tape in half lengthwise before doubling them over and adhering them to a punched cardstock circle. I anchored everything with a pretty pearl brad in the center.

DeNami Products: Thoughtful Greetings stamp set, Onyx Black Versafine Ink

Finally, I pressed some DeNami Yellow/White Dots washi tape into service for a sunshiny daisy. I used an approach similar to the one I used for my first card, but trimmed each washi tape petal to a point this time around. For the daisy's center, I stamped a Circle Scallop on magenta cardstock, cut it out, and finished it off with baker's twine tied through a DeNami boutique button. I covered some wire with Lime/White Dots washi tape for a stem. And because you are so sharp, I'm sure you spotted some more Lime/White Dots washi tape used for the leaves and grass ;).

DeNami Products: Sending You Sunshine, Circle Scallop, white cardstock, Tutti Fruitti Boutique Buttons, Confetti 3-pack baker's twine,  Onyx Black Versafine Ink

I hope you've been inspired to pull out your washi tape to try making some flower embellishments for your paper-crafted projects!

GIVEAWAY

How would you like to win a roll of washi tape to try making some pennants and banners for yourself? I have a brand-new roll of Orange Stripes Washi Tape from DeNami Design--the same tape that I used on today's second 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 using the word "AUTUMN." 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, September 25, 2013, and will draw one commenter at random. The winner will be announced right here on my blog on Thursday, September 26, 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!
Emily

September Pinspired at DeNami Design

Welcome to Wednesday! 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:

There is just so much to be inspired by here, right? I picked up on the peacock feather, the colors, and those little beads of white frosting on the cake (yum!) to create this:

And I couldn't have made it without these items from the DeNami Design store:

Peacock Feathers set

Let's Get Together set

White boutique buttons

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

Thanks so much for visiting today! May you have a day filled with bliss!
Emily

Photo Tutorial: Pencil Toppers

It's my turn to share another tutorial over on the DeNami Design blog today! This time around I'm showing how to create fun little pencil toppers, perfect for back to school or as kid-friendly (non-candy!) favors for birthdays or holidays. Be sure to check out the DeNami blog to see how to create these:

Have a fabulous weekend, and thanks so much for dropping by!
Emily 

Friendly Robot

Friendly robot? Why, yes, indeed!!! Isn't this little character just the sweetest? Today the DeNami Design team is featuring this fun little stamp:

I think his smile is just adorable, so I paired him with the "Smile" sentiment from DeNami's Heartfelt Greetings stamp set to make this card:

See the polka-dotted corner embellishments? Those are SO easy to create with strips of Lime/White Dots washi tape--just wrap the ends around the edges!

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

Thanks for stopping by today!
Emily

DeNami Krazy for Kraft Blog Hop

Welcome to the DeNami Design Krazy for Kraft Blog Hop! Today the DeNami Design Team and customers alike are featuring projects that feature--what else?--kraft products!

I am the last stop on today's hop--so, hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Paulina Nakamura's blog. 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 super-fun 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, September 9, 2013, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize. 
 
Let's get ready to meet today's project!  

I just HAD to use that fun RV Chickies stamp again! And, as I'm sure that every RVer will agree, DeNami's "Home Tweet Home" sentiment is a perfect match for this stamp 'cause "home" is wherever the RV is parked, right? I rounded out this card with DeNami's Small Cloud, a metallic Crystal Lacquer Pearl Pen, and some Road Washi Tape.

As I said before, I'm the last stop on today's hop. Thanks so much for hopping with the whole lineup up of DeNami friends today! Before you leave, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes.

Thanks for dropping by!
Emily

Good Teaching

Yesterday was my kids's first day of school for the 2013-2014 academic year. The summer went by so fast! And that's not the only thing going fast--my first-born started high school yesterday. Eek!! I can't possibly be old enough to be the parent of a high school student, can I???? {apparently the answer to that is "yes," but it sure doesn't seem possible!}

I expect my children to write thank you notes to their teachers at the end of the year, and I figure it's never too early to start accumulating a stash. So, here's my first teacher thank-you note of the year (it's also being featured over on the DeNami blog today):

I printed that awesome quote by Josef Albers directly on the card base, and then added a sweet teacher-appropriate decoration made with the Small Apple stamp and "thanks" sentiment from the Everyday Greetings stamp set, both from DeNami Design.

I heat embossed the image with clear embossing powder and then watercolor painted it using dye inks.

Thanks so much for dropping by today. I hope you have a fabulous day! :D
Emily