My Embossed Elements Winner!

Happy day to all of you! And welcome to another wonderful Thursday. I'm announcing my Embossed Elements giveaway winner today. The brand-new Basket Weave embossing folder goes to lucky #10, which is Roey!! Congratulations, Roey! I couldn't find any way to contact you directly, so please email me (you can find my email address on my Profile page) with your mailing address so I can get your new embossing folder sent out to you right away. :)

I wish I could give all of my fabulous readers one of these lovely embossing folders. You are all so sweet! But that's just not possible, so I'm hoping a little eye candy will help soothe any disappointment ;) . I want to share another card that features the beautiful Basket Weave embossing folder, something perfect for spring:

I can't wait to see all the daffodils and tulips blooming this year! How about you? I am craving color in our dull and (still) frozen landscape. So I figured making a card featuring tulips and daffodils that I could color myself would be just what the doctor ordered. Here are the fantastic products from the DeNami Design store that I used for this card:

Large Spring Basket

Spring Flowers Cling Set

Spring Greetings

Yellow/White Dots Washi Tape

Pastel Baker's Twine

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink

I love how this card turned out!

Thanks so much for dropping by for a little slice of bliss with me today!
Emily

DeNami Design Product Spotlight March Blog Hop

DON"T FORGET!!

My giveaway for a 

Basket Weave Embossing Folder from the DeNami Design store

 ends tonight. 

Be sure to check out the details HERE to enter!!

****

It's the last Wednesday of the month and that means it is time to show off another awesome DeNami Design stamp with a blog hop! This month we are featuring the brand-new and absolutely beautiful Cross and Vines stamp. What a gorgeous addition to the DeNami Design rubber stamp collection!

I ended up making three different cards with this lovely stamp for today's blog hop.  Let's take a look at them in order from least to most elaborate. Here's my first creation:

I stamped the cross in black ink on kraft cardstock and left it uncolored. After a little fussy cutting it was ready to shine against the watercolored background I created with my Faber-Castell Gelatos. So easy!! I only needed one other DeNami stamp for this creation, the beautifully scripted Rejoice. Finally, I added some free-form machine stitching for a border, and it was done.

Here's my second creation:

For this one, I added DeNami's He Is Risen stamp to my design, as well as the Flowers and Vines Embossing Folder. Doesn't it tie in perfectly with the Cross and Vines stamp? To help the embossed pattern stand out a little more, I inked the debossed side of the embossing folder (as opposed to the raised side of the folder) with Fresh Green Versacolor ink, which perfectly accented the Celery Cardstock that I used.

And finally, here is the most elaborate card that I made with today's Product Spotlight stamp:

Lots more layers on this one, right? I used the same embossing folder inking technique, and again I'm quite pleased with the results. I dressed up my design by drawing on some pearls with a green Crystal Lacquer Pearl Pen.

You can purchase this beautiful 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
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 today--have a super day!
Emily

Embossed Elements: BASKET WEAVE + a Giveaway!

Happy Monday to you, DeNami fans! I'm here today with the March edition of my monthly Embossed Elements feature for the DeNami Design blog. Today I'm sharing with you two different projects featuring the oh-so-appropriate-for-Easter Basket Weave Embossing Folder from the DeNami store. Shall we take a peek at a few fun ways to use it?

First, I couldn't wait to try adding some realistic basket-weave texture to DeNami's Large Spring Basket stamp!

For this project, I stamped the basket on Iridescent Aquamarine cardstock in Jet Black Staz-On ink. After trimming out the basket, I embossed it with the Basket Weave embossing folder. When I glued down the basket to my card, I was careful to leave the scalloped top edge of the basket free of glue so I could easily slip in some brightly colored Easter eggs (trimmed from the Solid Egg Border stamped in Pearlescent Orchid Brilliance ink, Pearlescent Purple Brilliance ink, and Pearlescent Sky Blue Brilliance ink) and a {yummy!} little chocolate bunny (a trimmed-out, white-embossed version of the bunny from the Cuddly Pals stamp set). I rounded out this card with the beautifully scripted Small Happy Easter sentiment.

For my second project, I used the Basket Weave Embossing Folder as my background.

In this project, I used the debossed side of my cheery yellow panel. Don't you just love how richly detailed the weave pattern is? I know I do! With that basket-weave pattern and the Easter-Peeps-bright pinks, yellows, and purples, it's obvious that this card celebrates Easter! Here are the DeNami stamps that I used for this creation: Whimsical Garden Set, Summer Flowers Set, and Easter Blessings. I also used some gorgeous lavender cardstock and added those sweetly bright pearl accents with Crystal Lacquer pearl pens (I used this set and this set).

Once I got thinking about ways to use this lovely Basket Weave Embossing Folder, I just couldn't turn off the ideas! Wouldn't Easter Chickie or Chickie Easter Basket look marvelous with this embossing folder? Or how about "Hoppy" Easter Chickies? And just to show that basket weave isn't just for Easter, why not try pairing it with the gorgeous Apple Basket for autumn or hot-air Chickie in Balloon for summer? I think there are just so many possibilities :D.

Well, I hope that I've given you some useful ideas for embossing with this installment of Embossed Elements!

How would you like the chance to win this gorgeous Basket Weave Embossing Folder? I have one up for grabs in an Embossed Elements giveaway! Want to be in the running? Just leave me a comment on this post using the word "SPRING." 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, March 26, 2014, and will draw one commenter at random. The winner will be announced right here on my blog on Thursday, March 27, and if I'm able to find an email address, I'll be sure to contact the winner as well.

Thanks for joining me today!
Emily

March DeNami Inspired By

Welcome back to the March edition of DeNami Design's Inspired By feature! Each month we feature one talented DeNami customer's work, and then honor that wonderful artist with a host of DeNami DT projects inspired by it! This month we were inspired by Kim S.

Isn't that the sweetest? You can read all about it right here on Kim's blog.

Kim used the delightful Woodland Friends stamp for her creation (and added in the new Balloon Trio stamp). I don't have that sweet scene {yet!}, but I do have most of the new individual Woodland Animals stamps, so I decided to recreate the scene with those. Here's how my card turned out:

I was inspired by Kim's lovely color palette and spare CAS design. Instead of replicate the design, I decided to do a riff on it: I incorporated the clean, uncolored aspect of Kim's background by keeping all of the stamped elements uncolored and incorporated her color scheme in the busy patterned paper that I used as the backdrop for my plain-brown-wrapper critters. I love how this "inverse" design approach really made those sweet critters pop!! Plus, this is a great way to use stamps that feature line art images quickly--no coloring required!

Here are the products that I used from the DeNami Design store:

Woodland Logs Set

Woodland Mushrooms

Little Fox

Little Beaver

Little Fawn

Little Hedgehog

Balloon Trio

Square Word Bubble

Thoughtful Greetings stamp set

Teal Chevron Washi Tape

White cardstock

Be sure to head over to the DeNami Design blog today to see how the rest of the team was inspired by Kim's sweet card!

Thanks so much for visiting today. May your day be filled with bliss!
Emily

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Top o' the mornin' to you, my friends! It's St. Patrick's Day! Today I'm sharing a St. Patrick's Day card that I made for a dear friend who also celebrates her birthday today. I had so much fun making a new-to-me Z-fold card last month that I just had to try another, and I thought it would be perfect for the elegant birthday/St.Patrick's Day card I had planned for my friend. Z-fold cards just seem so cool to me, but their one drawback is they are rather difficult to photograph, so I had to capture it with a series of shots. Anyway, here's how it turned out:

All of the stamps are from various Flourishes sets (including Irish Blessing, Hollyhocks, and Tag Lines). I used some Spellbinders (Beaded Ovals and Ovals) to die-cut the focal label, the St. Patrick's Day embossing folder from DeNami Design to emboss the background panels, and a green Crystal Lacquer Pearl Pen from DeNami to embellish the beaded oval frame. And that lovely green Prima flower has been hoarded in my stash forever--I'm so glad I finally had the perfect project to let it shine!

I love how the design for this Z-fold card leaves a little hidden panel inside for a message for the recipient!

Well, I hope the birthday girl is having a great day today, and that all of your are having a fabulous St. Patty's Day! Make sure to put on a little bit o' green to keep the pinches at bay today {wink!}.

Thanks for visiting!
Emily

An Irish Blessing

Just a quick post to share another St. Patrick's Day card that I made recently.

The stamps are all from Flourishes' Irish Blessing set. The St. Patrick's Day embossing folder and Green Stripes washi tape are from DeNami Design.

I'm entering this card in the current Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge: It's a Wash, to use washi tape.

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily

Birthdays are like purses . . .

Hi, and happy Saturday! I have a lot of March birthdays to make cards for and squeezed in this little ditty yesterday afternoon. (Taking the time to make it was a little treat to myself after surviving a busy, busy week. Some days you've just GOT to take a little time for yourself for the sake of sanity, right?)

I was inspired to make this girly card by the current challenge over at Just Punch It: Make It Girly. I made that cute little purse with the Stampin' Up! round tab punch and two of the SU oval punches (to make the handle). The purse flap is just a snippet of patterned paper trimmed from the end of a scalloped-oval punch (again, from SU). These punches came together to create a rather stylish little handbag, don't you think?? I searched through some of my old stamp sets and came up with one from Skipping Stones with a bunch of purse-related sentiments. So, you saw the first part of the sentiment ("Birthdays are like purses"), and here's the wink-wink punchline inside:

Tee--hee!!

And since I've used washi tape on my project, I'm linking this up to the current Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge: It's a Wash, to use washi tape. I love my washi!

Thanks for dropping in for a little slice of bliss today! Have a great weekend,
Emily

Guess what I'm doing today?

I'll give you a little hint . . .

Yes, it's true--I'm getting my St. Patrick's Day cards ready to mail out! I'm working on signing those cards, jotting quick notes, and addressing/stamping/sealing those envelopes in between working on my current freelance project, planning menus for the next week, compiling a grocery list for said menus so I can do our weekly grocery shopping this evening, and snagging my fifth grader from another early release due to parent-teacher conferences this week. It's a full day :).

I can't claim much Irish heritage in my family tree (unless you count Scots-Irish, which fits in there somewhere!), but just as I love to celebrate Valentine's Day, I have an affinity for St. Patrick's Day for many of the same reasons. It's a bright spot in a still frigid March, with festive St. Patty's Day greens promising that spring may finally be around the corner. It's a pick-me-up, a little something to look forward to, and a great excuse to drop a colorful and cheery card in the mail to far-flung family and friends. I love the parade of holidays and seasons that makes our calendar whirl around from January to December each year, and I love how each of these gives me an excuse chance to keep in touch with the folks who mean the most to me.

It's snowing here (again) today. I'm hoping that this will be the last snow storm of the season, but I've lived in New England long enough to know that's not likely. I'm tired of seeing frozen banks of dirty snow piled everywhere. I long to (finally) see something green in the landscape we travel through daily. And if I can't yet see my neighborhood green up, then at least I can enjoy the greens that St. Patrick's Day brings and smile, knowing that spring is on its way, even if it takes its own sweet time.

It's time to keep on moving down my to-do list for today, so I really must run. Thanks for stopping by to visit today and sharing a little slice of bliss with me!
Emily

St. Patrick's Day Critters

It's time for another DeNami Design Product Spotlight! Today the DeNami design team is featuring a super cute stamp set called Cuddly Pals.

Aren't these little guys adorable? I'm still on a St. Patrick's Day kick, so I put my little menagerie to work on yet another St. Patrick's Day card :). Here's how that turned out:

I also used these items from the DeNami store:

Retro Borders 1 set

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Leaf Green cardstock

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 Cuddly Pals set--as our Spotlight Product, it's on sale at 10% off for the next week!!

Thanks for stopping by today!
Emily

DeNami Design Fuzzy Friends Blog Hop

Welcome to the March DeNami Design Blog Hop! This month's hop is all about Fuzzy Friends!!

Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Linda Monroe's blog, Stampin in the Suburbs. 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, March 10, 2014, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize. 

DeNami Design has SO many cute stamps that would qualify for the "Fuzzy Friends" description! Have you seen all the awesome new stamps in DeNami's new Woodland category? If not, you should definitely take a peek--so adorable!

I just had to use the new Little Hedgehog stamp for my creation for today's hop! Here's what I made:

I combined him with four other DeNami stamps--stump from Woodland Logs set, Balloon Trio stamp, party hat from Birthday Celebration 1 set,  and Happy Birthday Script stamp--along with the utterly fantastic Wood Grain embossing folder and orange baker's twine from the DeNami store.

It's time for me to send you along on your way. But before you leave for more DeNami fuzzy friends inspiration, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes.  Then you can head out to see the next blog hop participant on today's list: Tenia Nelson. 
 
Thanks so much for stopping by today! Enjoy the blog hop,
Emily

DeNami Design ~ Lots of Washi

Hello there, friends! It's my turn to share a project over on the DeNami Design blog today. I made a colorful "love you" card featuring lots of washi tape from the DeNami Design store. I hope you'll swing by to take a peek and tell me what you think! Here's a little preview:

Thanks for dropping by! Have a super day!
Emily

Happy Fat Tuesday!

It's hard to believe that Ash Wednesday is just about here--even though it is soooooooo late this year. It always seems to sneak up on me! Anyway, that means that today is Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras. My HS freshman daughter's French 2 class is celebrating Mardi Gras today at school. She took on the "culinary expert" role for her group's project (another group member is researching the history of French Mardi Gras traditions, and someone else is reporting on some other aspect which completely escapes me at the moment!). Her assignment: research and bake a King Cake to share with the class. She and I worked together last night to bake the cake and had such a blast doing it! The Gulf Coast-style King Cake that we made is a cinnamon-filled coffee ring, and while it baked, the house smelled heavenly!! She was so pleased with how it turned out. We cut it into small wedges for sampling (as well as to make it easier for her to carry it to school). After we'd cut 36 wedges for sharing and completely filled the plastic container for transporting them, we still had about 1/4 of the cake left. Guess what we're having for dessert after supper tonight!!!!

We were so thrilled, we just had to take pictures (even though the post-sunset lighting conditions in the kitchen were less than ideal). Here's what it looked like:

Yum!! The recipe my daughter found (you can find it HERE) was really simple--it's based on Pillsbury Crescent Rolls!! I think we'll be adding this recipe to the "keepers" file ;).

And while I'm sharing non-crafting photos, I thought I'd share a photo of some visitors we had last week. Last week I noticed that a lot of deer have been hanging out in our neighborhood. One morning I saw about 20 deer amble down our road just before sunrise. Just before bedtime that evening, we spotted five or six deer bedding down in our neighbors' yard. I was stunned the next morning to see them still there, right out in the open! I grabbed my camera for this shot, taken right through the sidelight windows of our front door, not quite 30 feet away. The sun was just starting to come up, and they were just getting ready to move on.

Well, I have tons to do today, so I've got to be moving along. I hope that my daughter's Mardi Gras celebration goes well today--and I hope that you have a fabulous day yourself!

Thanks for visiting!
Emily