Embossed Elements: Father's Day + a Giveaway

Greetings, friends! I'm here today with the May edition of my monthly Embossed Elements feature on the DeNami Design blog. Today I'm preparing for Father's Day with a pair of cards featuring the very cool Diamond Plate Embossing Folder from the DeNami store. It's perfect for those sometimes hard-to-create masculine cards!

My first card is a clean and simple one for Dad's Day. It uses just two DeNami stamps (Dad and Solid Block Border), two colors of ink (Habanero and Deep Lagoon), and two colors of cardstock. I used the Diamond Plate EF to emboss punched squares of cardstock. I love the bold, graphic look of this design. So easy to put together, too!

My second card is a little more involved, but really not too much more. And oddly enough, it has basically the same sketch as the first one! That was totally unplanned, but there you have it ;). For this one I used the Diamond Plate EF to emboss a panel of vellum as a background for my card. I diecut a few gear shapes (perfect for a guy card, right?) that go with that diamond plate background perfectly. Once again I used just two DeNami stamps in my design (Happy Father's Day and Stitched Rectangle) and two ink colors (Satin Red and Onyx Black). This design is perfect for any mechanically inclined dads!!

Thanks for taking a peek at my embossed Father's Day cards today. Be sure to take a peek below at my giveaway!

How would you like the chance to win this Diamond Plate 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 "GUYS." 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, May 28, 2014, and will draw one commenter at random. The winner will be announced right here on my blog on Thursday, May 29, 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

Good News!

Greetings, friends! I'm popping in here quickly to share a bit of good news: I just got word that I've been selected to be a member of this year's holiday design team for Purple Onion Designs! Over the next two months I'll be sharing holiday projects featuring Purple Onion Designs' fabulous rubber stamps. I have some fun decorations, gifts, and packaging all planned out and I can't wait to share them with all of you. I'm so excited to be part of it all!

Not familiar with Purple Onion Designs? I first discovered POD's unmounted rubber stamps a few years ago and have loved working with them. In fact, I've been published several times with POD stamps. Here are two projects featuring POD stamps that I had published in Northridge Publishing's Simply Handmade: Holidays 2012 issue last year:

Stamps:  USA map, star circle, and airplane from Road Trippin’ set by Purple Onion Designs

Stamps:  Vintage Journal Label by Purple Onion Designs

Purple Onion has tons of fabulous alphabet stamp sets, trendy subway-style noteblock stamps, cool vintage elements, and ultra-handy scrapbooking-themed stamps. Lots of variety! Sound intriguing? Be sure to head over to the POD website to take a look.

Right now Purple Onion Designs is promoting the release of a new line of holiday stamps from the very talented illustrator Stacey Yacula. Between them, Purple Onion Designs and Stacey Yacula are giving away two sets of her Winter Wishes collection and you can be a part of it! Check out the details on the Purple Onion Designs blog and Stacey's blog. The giveaway ends tomorrow (that's October 31, 2013) at midnight EDT. Be sure to swing by for your chances to win, and if you do, let them know that I sent you {wink}.

It's time for me to get back to work, so that's it for now. I hope you have a fabulous Wednesday!!

Thanks for stopping by and take care!
Emily

Happy Birthday, DeNami Design!

Did you know that DeNami Design turns 24 years young this month? It's true! That is really something to celebrate, don't you think? That's just what's going to happen, all March long, and YOU are invited to the party! Come celebrate along with the famous DeNami Chickie in a virtual birthday party.

Here's how you can join in:  simply download the free printable Birthday Chickie found HERE and print him out. Then take a picture of yourself with Birthday Chickie celebrating out on the town and share it on the DeNami Design Facebook page, or on Twitter or Instagram (using #DeNamiParty). One lucky photo will be chosen as winner and receive a special prize! We can't wait to see our Chickie celebrating all over the world with our best stamping friends!

I already treated Birthday Chickie to a celebratory trip to the Museum of Science in Boston. Here we are in the lobby:

and on our trip around the globe!!

Another great birthday contest that is going on this month over on the DeNami blog is an awesome Pin It to Win It contest on Pinterest!!

You won't want to miss this one :). There will be six winners who will win six of their must-have items drawn randomly from their "DeNami Birthday Wish List" on Pinterest. Be sure to check out all of the details on how to enter on this post on the DeNami blog. I had so much fun pinning my wish list! Need some ideas for what to pin onto your DeNami Birthday Wish List? Feel free to take a gander at my DeNami Birthday Wish List for inspiration--or just to see what's currently on my must-have list, 'cause, you know, curiosity killed the cat and all that {wink}.

Be sure to check out the "official party page" for all the latest on DeNami's birthday celebrations, all month long!!

Thanks for chickin' in today!
Emily

My Favorite PTI Project

Papertrey Ink is celebrating its fourth anniversary with a huge giveaway! To enter, all you need to do is post your own very favorite PTI project from the past year. Here is my own very favorite from July 2010, using PTI's Everyday Button Bits:

Details about the card may be found here.

You may enter the giveaway drawing by checking out this blog post.

Thanks for taking a look--and thanks to Nichole Heady for the chance to win!!

A Flock of Flap Cards

Happy Saturday to all of you!! Yesterday's Free for All challenge on Splitcoast Stampers was to make a card that incorporates a flap in some way. I've never made a card with a flap before, so I cruised the SCS tutorials and found instructions for making an awesome flap card. I couldn't believe how easy these are! I was inspired to make a whole flock of these fun flap cards. I am hosting the SCS Gallery Comment Contest again this month and in just a little over a week will be sending out prize packages to the winners. I will need enclosure cards to send with the prizes and discovered that these will be perfect for that. And I won't even need envelopes for them since I've found ways to secure the flaps!!

Green Sparrow Flap Card

The SCS tutorial suggested using magnetic snaps as the closure for a flap card. Having nothing like this, I devised a little string clasp closure using baker's twine instead. I watercolored this adorable bird image from a Mark's Finest Papers stamp set called Speedy the Cat's Friends. I'm entering this in the Caardvarks challenge to create a new stamped card that is decorated inside and out! I paid special attention ;) to the inside of this flap card. The color combo comes from this week's Off the Wall Craftiness challenge.

Tangerine Kite Flap Card

This flying-high flap card takes its colors from one of the two current ColourQ #55 palettes and its layout from the current Repeat Impressions' What If Wednesday sketch. That cute little kite image is from Repeat Impressions. I decided to use a photo turn as my flap closure for this card.

Pink and Black Fleur de Lis Flap Card

This girly pink and black card takes its colors from the second of the two ColourQ #55 palettes. I used another little photo turn for securing the flap on this. That sweet fleur de lis image comes from the Mark's Finest Papers Regal & Proud set. This is the first time I've used this fleur de lis but it won't be the last. I love it!! I can't believe how detailed it is.

After all this crafting fun yesterday, I was ready to cap off the day with some autumn fun. After school, the kids and I visited a local orchard as a treat. Once DD and DS had each chosen a small Halloween pumpkin, we picked up a half dozen apple cider donuts and a gallon jug of orchard-made apple cider. It was quite chilly, so we couldn't have our snack at the picnic tables near the orchard (without freezing off our fingers!), so we sat in the car to munch our donuts with swigs of fresh apple cider. The kids saved the rest of the donuts (plus one for Dad!) for breakfast this morning. Fun!

The October Gallery Comment Contest is still going strong--right up until 11:59 p.m. on October 31. Anyone is welcome to join in at any time!! I'd love for you to play along. You can find all of the details right HERE.

Thanks for stopping by to check out my little slice of bliss for today!! I love to see you here. :)

Card Details:
Green Sparrow Flap Card
Stamps: MFP Speedy the Cat's Friends, MFP Tweet Blessings (sentiment)
Paper: Mark's Finest Papers spring leaft CS, SU chocolate chip CS, SU DP, Canson watercolor paper
Ink: Palette burnt umber
Accessories: SU scallop circle punch, EK 1.5" circle punch, SU scallop trim border punch, SU scallop border punch, CM petal multi-maker, watercolor brush, brad, button baker's twine, rhinestones
Techniques: watercolor painting

Tangerine Kite Flap Card
Stamps: Repeat Impressions
Paper: SU DP, SU basic black, assorted CS from The Paper Company
Ink: Palette noir black
Accessories: SU scallop circle punch, EK 1.5" circle punch, SU scallop border punch, brad, photo turn, fibers, scissors
Techniques: paper piecing

Pink Fleur de Lis Card
Stamps: Mark's Finest Papers Regal & Proud
Paper: SU regal rose, Su pretty in pink, SU basic black, SU whisper white, Miss Elizabeth's DP
Ink: Palette noir black
Accessories: SU scallop circle punch, EK 1.5" circle punch, EK 1.25" circle punch, SU 1" circle punch, EK chain of hearts punch, CM corner rounder punch, brad, photo turn, pink grograin ribbon, Bow-Easy

Midnight Madness Sketch and Another CONTEST!

Happy World Card Making Day, everyone!! I was so pleased to be able to squeeze in some card-making time for myself today. So without further ado, let's meet today's card!!
I have been dying to do some watercoloring for several weeks now, so I was so pleased to finally take some time to do what makes me happy!! The stamped leaf image is an old stamp from The Angel Company. I've never really used it much because I was so intimidated by coloring the wide open space inside the lines. But watercoloring is a game-changer!! So easy, and I love the look I ended up with. It's kind of a big image, so this is a big card--it measures 5"x7".

The text panel behind the image panel was cut from a vintage book I bought specifically to hack up for paper crafts and then sponged with pumpkin pie ink.

Challenges that I incorporated into this card:

• Midnight Madness: Sketch Challenge#73
• Simon Says: It's Autumn, use this photo for inspiration AND use beautiful autumn colors
• Color Throwdown: color combo #112
• Tuesday Taggers: All About Autumn
• Stamptacular Sunday: use as many colors as you’d like BUT only colors you’d see in the FALL
• City Crafter Challenge Blog: week 24, Flowers and Frills, include at least one flower and some lace or a doily

In other news, the September Gallery Comment Contest I was hosting over on Splitcoast Stampers ended just before midnight on Thursday. We had an unbelievable 634 entries--which translates into awarding 8 prizes!! I'm having fun assembling all of my prize packages and hope to have everything ready to mail out to my winners by Monday morning :) .

I decided to host the CONTEST again for October, so if you are interested in finding out more, please check out the October 2010 Gallery Comment Contest thread over on SCS. You can enter as many times as you like and comment on whatever cards you like!!! The contest closes at 11:59 p.m. on October 31. I'd love to have you join us!! Just let me know if you have any questions. :)

Well, that does it for today! Did you get in any card making or supply shopping for to celebrate World Card Making Day? Leave me a comment to tell me how you celebrated!! See you soon! :)

Card Recipe:
Stamps: The Angel Company
Paper: SU pumpkin pie, SU old olive, SU rose red, Canson watercolor paper, DCWV Indian Summer Stack DP, page from vintage book
Ink: Palette burnt umber, SU pumpkin pie, SU old olive, Rubber Stampede scarlet
Accessories: SU scallop trim corner punch, SU boho blossoms punch, MS maple leaf punch, watercolor brush, sponge, lace trim, olive brads, orange rhinestones
Techniques: watercolor painting, sponging

Stampin' B's Red, Black, and White Color Challenge

Welcome to another Thursday and another challenge from the Stampin' B's DT. This week Joanne is our hostess and she has challenged us to use her favorite color combination: BLACK, WHITE, and RED. I can see why it is her favorite combo--it's so classy!!

This is the last of the 3 x 3 enclosure cards I needed to make to send out with prize packages from the September Gallery Comment Contest I am hosting over on Splitcoast Stampers. The contest ends tonight at midnight, and I'll be busy the next few days getting prizes ready to mail out to the randomly selected winners. Such fun!!

This tiny CAS card is pretty simple. It started with a studio g die cut mini card, and I just added some pretty red buttons from my stash and a bit of red ribbon that I'd saved from a gift. Then all I had to do was add a simple sentiment, and DONE!! I am entering this in the current Caardvarks challenge, clean and simple.

I hope you've been inspired to play along with the Stampin' B's!! If you do make a card, post it on your blog or SCS gallery, and link it up to the Inlinkz tool on the Stampin' B's blog. We'd love to see what you create!! :)

Thanks for dropping by to check out my little slice of bliss today!!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: SU Vintage Labels
Paper: studio g mini cards & envelopes, SU whisper white CS
Ink: Palette noir black, Palette l'amore red
Accessories: SU curly label punch, dimensionals, Stamp-A-Majig, rescued red ribbon, buttons from my stash

Stampin' B's Piercing Challenge

Hi, all!! It's Thursday, and that means another challenge from the Stampin' B's DT. This week Vicki Dutcher is challenging us to use piercing on our cards. How fun!! I think that piercing is such an easy way to add subtle design and texture to paper projects.

I am hosting the September Gallery Comment Contest over on Splitcoast Stampers this month. At the end of the month, I'll be awarding prizes and mailing them out to randomly drawn contestants. And, of course, I'll need enclosure cards to send along with the prizes!! So, I'm getting a start on my stash of tiny cards. I bought a couple of packs of studio g mini cards and envelopes at A.C. Moore recently during a Midnight Madness sale. They were already die cut; all I had to do was decorate them! I loved the scalloped edge on these green mini cards and thought the scallops would be perfect for piercing. I think I was right!!

I had such fun finding just the right images to feature in the circle windows of these cards. My Button Bits sets from PapertreyInk were perfect! The flower was inked in Versamark and daubed with Cameo Coral chalk. The strip of striped DP is paper pleated. Both sentiments come from Mark's Finest Papers stamp sets.
Challenges for this project:

• Stampin' B's DT Challenge 76, piercing,
• Tuesday Taggers, It takes all sorts,
• Flourishes Timeless Tuesday FTTC85, celebration cards (if a congrats card for winning a prize isn't a celebration card, I don't know what is!!),
• Tuesday Throwdown Challenge #18, paper pleating,
• A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge 122, anything goes.
  

I hope you've been inspired to play along with the Stampin' B's!! If you do make a card, post it on your blog or SCS gallery, and link it up to the Inlinkz tool on the Stampin' B's blog. We'd love to see what you create!! Thanks for dropping by to check out my little slice of bliss today!!

Card Recipe:
Stamps: PTI Everyday Button Bits (apple), PTI Blooming Button Bits (flower), MFP Tweet Blessings (sentiment), MFP Regal & Proud (sentiment)
Paper: studio g mini cards & envelopes, SU DP scrap, SU rose red CS
Ink: Marvy LePlume II brown marker, SU certainly celery, Versamark
Accessories: SU word window punch, SU modern label punch, piercing tool, Stampin' Pastels, sponge dauber, buttons, scoring tool (for paper pleats), dimensionals, alphabet spiral clip
Techniques: piercing, Poppin' Pastels

CONTEST!!!

Hi everybody, and Happy September!! Can you believe how fast time is flying by?? Me neither!!

I wanted to share some information about a contest I am hosting this month over on Splitcoast. It is the September Gallery Comment Contest!! If you like to browse the galleries on SCS and make comments, then this contest is your chance to win a prize for what you already love to do!!

All you need to do is make five comments on cards in the SCS galleries and then make a post in the September Gallery Comment Contest thread with links to the five cards you commented on. Each time you post in the September Gallery Comment Contest thread (with links to your five commented-upon cards), you get one chance in the contest prize drawing at the end of the month. You can enter as many times as you like and comment on whatever cards you like!!! The contest closes at 11:59 p.m. on September 30. At that time I'll use random.org to choose prize winners!! There will be 3 winners drawn if the total number of entries is 100 or less. I will add one additional winner for every additional 100 entries.

This will be so much fun!! I'm already collecting some fun papercrafting goodies to award as prizes at the end of the month, and I'm sure I'll be adding to the prize stash over the course of September, too. Please feel free to jump in and play along with the contest at any time and for as many times as you'd like!!

All the contest details are included at the top of the September Gallery Comment Contest thread on SCS, but feel free to ask any questions you might have. I'm happy to answer them!!

I hope you'll play along!! GOOD LUCK!!!