Embossed Elements: GRADUATION + a Giveaway!

Greetings, friends! I'm here today with the April edition of my monthly Embossed Elements feature for the DeNami Design blog. Today I'm gearing up for graduation season with two different cards using fun embossing folders from the DeNami store.

My first project features the oh-so-festive Graduation Hat Embossing Folder.  I used it (along with Congratulations Circle and the diploma and mortarboard stamps from the cling Graduation Set) to make a congratulatory card for the new graduate.

I chose the colors of my daughter's high school (including some fabulous DeNami Leaf Green cardstock for the embossed panel and the paper-pieced mortarboard) for this creation and went with a design that really shows off that awesome embossed sea of graduation caps. Doesn't it look like a crowd of grads has just tossed their mortarboards into the air at the end of the commencement ceremony? That image always makes me smile :). Not only is this embossing folder super for graduation cards, but it would also be perfect for making graduation invitations or graduation thank you notes.

I don't find myself needing graduation cards all that often (although as my kids progress further through school, I imagine that will begin to change!), so I was reluctant at first to invest in purely graduation-themed products. Just in case you find yourself in a similar situation, I wanted to show you another option for a fun graduation card using non-graduation-specific products. This project features the Bunting Embossing Folder.

After embossing my white card base with the Bunting EF, I embossed several scraps of patterned paper (once again choosing a color scheme inspired by my daughter's high school) and then paper-pieced each of the pennants. I love how it turned out! I completed my clean and simple design with a loopy bow tied in baker's twine from the Spring Twine 3-pack and a stamped Small Congratulations sentiment.

I love the festive look that the embossed pennant banner gives this congratulations card. It's so easy to personalize the bunting with the recipient's school colors. But I can also think of all kinds of other occasions--not just graduations!--that this embossing folder would be perfect for: birthday, baby, weddings, anniversaries, Independence Day, New Year's, . . . the list could go on and on!!

Thanks for taking a peek at my embossed graduation projects today. I hope I was able to inspire you!

How would you like the chance to win this Graduation Hat 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 "MORTARBOARD." 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 30, 2014, and will draw one commenter at random. The winner will be announced right here on my blog on Thursday, May 1, 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

Happy Birthday, Mom!

(Spoiler Alert:  MOM! If you haven't yet opened that package I sent you, do NOT read any further or you will spoil the surprise!!! OK?)

TGIF, my friends! This is the first time in what seems like eons that I've had any time at all to do (and then post about) even a little bit of recreational crafting all for my own personal purposes. Life on Bliss Road has been all kinds of crazy busy the past several months. Half the time I don't know if I'm coming or going! It's all good, but I miss creating regularly. So I positively welcomed the chance to do some personal crafting as my mom's birthday approached. I sent a package off to her earlier in the week (fingers crossed that it arrived in time!!), and I couldn't wait to share the fun birthday card I made for her. Without further ado, here it is:

and now for the punch line inside:

I hope this makes her laugh out loud!!! The image and sentiment stamps come from a hilarious stamp set called Gossip, Hot Flashes, and Crazy that I earned from Unity Stamp Co. back in June for being the Growing In Unity gal of the week. It's such a snarky collection! When I first saw this set, I started reading some of the sentiments to my husband and he told me that I absolutely needed to get this one. It kind of reminded me of Emerson Quillin's snarky "Listen Honey" cartoons, of which my mom has always been a fan, so my Gossip set was the first thing I reached for when it was time to make her birthday card. Those elegant retro ladies' dresses are such fun to paper-piece!

I also used a label frame from Unity's Season of Joy set, and the "happy birthday" sentiment is from How YOU Doin'? And a little red polka-dotted washi tape was just the ticket for dressing up the inside of this card.

Well, my To-Do list beckons and we have {yet another} busy weekend ahead of us, so I really must run. I'm linking up with Unity's Friends With Flair party today.

And, Mom, I hope you are having a FABULOUS birthday today! Is there a decorated birthday cake (or some other sinfully good yummy) in your plans for the day? If not, there should be!! Get out there and celebrate like you mean it!!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!

Thanks for dropping by!
Emily

Feel Better Soon + my GIU WINNER!

Happy, happy Monday to you! I hope you had a great weekend. We were busy, busy little beavers here at my house, so the weekend just flew. We made a special trip to the Museum of Science in Boston to take in the special Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit on Saturday morning. It was absolutely fascinating!! We really learned sooooooooooo much.

Well, I'm here today to announce the winner from my week of posts as Growing In Unity gal last week! I had a total of 269 entries--WOW!! Thanks to everyone who came by last week. I really appreciate ALL of your comments! It was the best fun reading through every single one of them. I wish I could have given ALL of you a prize!! But, since I can't, I'll leave you with one last bit of Unity inspiration:  a little Feel Better Soon card made with a clear acrylic card base and LOTS of buttons. I think this will be perfect for someone who's feeling under the weather!

The sunshine image is from Unity's Quotes a'la HAPPY, and the sentiment is from the amazingly useful Just Wanted to Say kit. That fun cloud background is a digital paper printed out from the ultra sweet Baby Safari collection by Carina Gardner (available from JessicaSprague.com).

Allrighty then, enough stalling! On with the GIU winner:

I used Random.org to draw the lucky number.

That points to Carla from Utah!!!!

Now, Carla, I couldn't find any way to contact you directly*, so it is up to you to email me to claim your prize!! You'll find my email address by clicking on the "View my Complete Profile" link just under the "About Me" section in the right-hand sidebar of my blog; look for the "Contact Me" section. In your email, please include your choice of two Itty Bitty stamp sets from Unity (you may browse the selection HERE) as well as your shipping address, and I'll get that info sent off to Unity pronto.

Carla, if I don't hear from you by 10 AM EDT on Wednesday, June 12, I'll have to draw another winner so I can get my GIU week all wrapped up with Unity in a timely fashion.

Another huge thanks to everyone who participated in this awesome Unity giveaway! Have a great week! Thanks for stopping by,
Emily

* Carla, normally I'd reply to the email address associated with your comments, but you are a "noreply-comment" commenter on blogger! Click HERE to find out what that is and how to fix it. And you haven't included an email address as a way to contact you on your Blogger Profile page. My next step would be to leave a comment on your blog, but you don't have one!!! So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you come back to check for my winner post, find your name lit up in lights, and drop me an email ASAP!! Unfortunately, so many "noreply" bloggers don't realize they can't be contacted in the event of a win and never check back for winners' posts because they think "of course I can be contacted!" I hope you aren't one of those folks, Carla!!! Waiting eagerly to hear from you!!!!

Coral, Yellow, and Turquoise Challenge

Today a new CARDS Blog Color Challenge goes live over on the CREATE blog. The whole DeNami Design team is pretty excited about it because DeNami Design is sponsoring the challenge! It is all about coral, yellow, and turquoise--such a fun color combo for spring!

Here's how I combined these pretty colors with my DeNami stamps {Happy Mother's Day (cling), Sending You Love, Open Box, Whimsical Valentine stamp set} to create a Mother's Day card.

Want to play along with these fun colors for a chance to win a FABULOUS prize from DeNami Design? Be sure to check out all the challenge details in the challenge post on the CARDS blog.

Thanks for dropping in! Have a day filled with bliss,
Emily

Ways With Washi: BACKGROUNDS + a Giveaway

Happy Monday, DeNami friends! I am so happy to be checking in with another edition of my monthly feature for the DeNami Design blog, Ways With Washi!

Today I’m sharing ideas on ways you can use washi tape to create BACKGROUNDS on cards or other papercrafted projects. I’ve created three samples for your viewing pleasure, so let’s get to them!

On my first card, I used not one, not two, but EIGHT different washi tapes (all available from the DeNami store) to create a rainbow-striped panel perfect for backing these sweet St. Patrick’s Day chickies. To create the panel, I simply trimmed a piece of white cardstock to the desired size and adhered strips of washi tape to it, side by side, wrapping the tape ends around to the back. I know that some folks prefer their washi tape to look neat, and this is an easy way to hide ragged, jagged ends.

DeNami Supplies: Shamrock Chickies, Leaf Green cardstock, Red Stripes washi tape, Red Graph washi tape, Orange Stripes washi tape, Yellow/White Dots washi tape, Green Graph washi tape, Lime/White Dots washi tape, Blue Stripes washi tape, Purple/White Dots washi tape, Confetti Twine 3-pack

On my second card, I took a more artsy approach to my washi background, letting those ragged, jagged tape ends all hang out. I created this background by adhering strips of washi tape directly to my card base and overlapping the edges slightly. Did you notice that I stamped the sentiment directly onto the washi-tape background? Jet Black Staz-On ink is your best bet for that.

DeNami Supplies: Small Heart Outline, Happy St Patricks Day, Iridescent Emerald Green cardstock, Jet Black Staz-On ink, Green Graph washi tape, White Boutique Buttons   

Finally, on my third card I’ve used three different washi tape patterns to create a unique, almost quilt-like background. I simply cut a 4” x 4” square of white cardstock and adhered strips of washi tape in a concentric square pattern. The overlapped tape ends at the corners create subtle squares in the design that add to its overall visual interest!

DeNami Supplies: Heartfelt Greetings stamp set, Elegant Floral stamp set, Garden Accents stamp set, Magenta cardstock, Black Curly Loops washi tape, Pink/White Dots washi tape, Black Stripes washi tape   

And there you have it—three different approaches to using washi tape to create your own custom backgrounds!

GIVEAWAY

How would you like the chance to play around with some washi tape of your own? I have a brand-new roll of Green Graph Washi Tape from DeNami Design--the same tape that I used on my 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 "SHAMROCK." 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, February 27, 2013, and will draw one "SHAMROCK"-using commenter or follower at random. The winner will be announced right here on my blog on Thursday, Feb. 28, and if I'm able to find an email address, I'll be sure to contact the winner as well.

Thanks for popping in, and have a super day!
Emily

Happy Whooooo-lidays Treats

Yesterday I shared the owl gift sets that my 13YO daughter made as Christmas gifts for her friends. Today I'm sharing the Santa owl treat boxes (filled with holiday M&Ms--yum!!) that I made for her to give along with her owl gift sets. Ready?

I used the little girl owl from DeNami Designs' Owls stamp set and DeNami's Double Circle stamp. I "borrowed" the Santa hat from Santa Chickie ;) . The clear boxes also come from the DeNami Design store. The sentiment was computer-generated. I sealed the boxes with a little bit o' washi tape (taped all the way around the box) and dressed up the scalloped circle with a bit of glitter glue. Here's a close-up, you know--just in case ;).

I'm playing along in the new Lawnscaping Challenge, Make It Shine! My shine for this project comes from glittery Stickles.

I'm also entering these in the Simon Says Stamp Challenge, which has a "What's Your Favorite?" theme this week. I'd say that punches are my favorite tools--and I used a bunch (OK, well, three) to make these little treat boxes!

Thanks so much checking out my little slice of bliss today!
Emily

I {heart} Nature

Just a quick post here to play along with Market Street Stamps' November Block Party!

I had so much fun making this card! I used stamps from the oh-so-adorable MSS Woodland set. I paper-pieced the sweet little birdie with papers from the BasicGrey Nook and Pantry collection, and I colored the whimsical MSS branches with markers.

I'm also playing along with the Do You Stack Up? Challenge, to use a Leaves/Trees theme.

Thanks so much for taking a look! I hope you are having a great weekend. Come back soon!
Emily

It doesn't suck to be Friday

(This is my second post for today.

Be sure to scroll down to check out my 

Bazzill Basics Paper GIVEAWAY in this post.)

Hello, friends, and Happy Friday! I needed to make a few birthday cards and got stuck on what direction to take. What's a gal to do? Dive into some challenges for direction, of course! This is what I ended up with, making two copies of this same design.

I used the {ippity} Itty Bitty Sucks to Get Old and a rick-rack stamp from Unity's Homemade 6-Bean Soup kit. I stamped and heat embossed the lollipop head on watercolor paper so I could paint the image in just the right colors. Then I paper-pieced that portion, as well as the bow.

These are the challenges that helped my card take shape:

• I took my layout from one of the two sketches featured over at Chick Challenges with Ippity this week, taking a CAS tack with it by doing all the layers in white.
  
• I took my color scheme from this week's ColourQ challenge: Basic Black, Tangerine Tango, Daffodil Delight, So Saffron, and White.
  
• I took the theme of my creation from this week's CASology challenge cue.
  

And finally, because it's FRIDAY and I'm showing off my {ippity}/Unity stamps, I'm linking up with Friends With Flair over on the Unity blog.

Well, it's been a busy morning, but it's time to take stock and move on. Can't wait to be inspired when I make my rounds on the Friends With Flair lineup. I hope that all of you have a fabulous weekend!!
Emily

Get Well Soon for FWF

Happy TGIF, everyone! Whew, it's been a busy week here, but I've been looking forward to linking up with Unity's Friends with Flair all week long. Last week was the first linkup I'd been able to do in a long, long time and I loved being back!

Today I'm sharing a card that I had published in the July issue of CARDS magazine. It was for a feature on using felt in a card design. My "twist" on this theme was to literally twist a thin scrap of ivory felt into a corkscrew ribbon. So easy! All I had to do then was tack it down to my card with two brads. Of course, my card used all (and only!) Unity stamps: the sentiment is from {ippity}'s Just Wanted to Say, and the flower and leaf are from {ippity}'s Now & Always. I paper-pieced that gorgeous flower using papers from Lily Bee's Picket Fence 6 x 6 pad, which I'd won as blog candy from my wonderful blog friend, Pam. Thanks, Pam!

Have any good plans for the weekend? My kids have an early release day today, so after a quick lunch here at home, we are heading out to spend some Kohl's Cash (my daughter needs new sneakers) and some CVS ExtraCare Bucks (I figure the kids can pick out some fun snacks or treats for themselves--why not? It won't be money out of my pocket, and it's a fun way to celebrate their half school day!). Then the kids are going to work on decorating their Halloween pumpkin. They have the cutest plans! I'll be sure to share photos soon so you can see how it turned out.

Other than that, I think it will be a quiet weekend at home just catching up on around-the-house stuff, homework, and relaxing. Although all this news about "Frankenstorm" may necessitate a bit of battening down the hatches!! I sure hope that a lot of what we're hearing is just hype. Fingers crossed!!

Thanks for dropping by to share a little slice of bliss with me today!
Emily

DeNami Bright, Bold, & Beautiful Blog Hop

Welcome to the DeNami Design Bright, Bold, & Beautiful Blog Hop! Today the DeNami Design Team and customers alike are showcasing some beautifully bright and bold projects made with DeNami stamps.

Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Pattie Goldman's blog, Paper Silhouettes. 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, August 13, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize.

OK, so on to my bright, bold, and beautiful project! When I think "bold and bright," I think NEONs, which are so totally hot and on-trend this summer. So I reached for a pack of neon-hued cardstock and my trusty, summery, bold, bright, and, dare I say, "neon-y" 6 x 6 pad of Lime Rickey  patterned paper from BasicGrey.

I just LOVE paper-piecing this giant DeNami butterfly! It certainly is beautiful, isnt' it? And bold and bright, too, right? The dotted scallops border that I stamped in white comes from the very useful Retro Borders 1 set (cling-style). 

I hope you are enjoying the hop and gather lots of bright and bold ideas along the way! Before you leave, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes and then you can be on your way to the next stop on the hop, the blog of Stacy M., Sweethearts & Sweet Tarts.  

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Enjoy the blog hop,

Emily

Stamps:  Large Butterfly (cling), Retro Borders 1 set (cling), Everyday Greetings set by DeNami Design
Paper: neon cardstock from The Paper Company, patterned paper from the BasicGrey Lime Rickey collection
Ink: Onyx Black Versafine, Colorbox Frost White
Accessories: Robin's Egg Blue Rhinestones, circle punches, Corner Chomper, foam tape
Techniques:  paper piecing

Blue Skies Thinking of You

Today I have a high-flying "thinking of you" card to share.

This clean and simple card features the super-fun Fly A Kite stamp from DeNami Design. Today the entire DeNami design team is sharing creations made with this stamp to give you some great ideas for using it as part of this week's product spotlight. For the next week, you can snag a 10% discount on Fly A Kite just by dropping it into your shopping cart!

I chose to paper piece the kite's body with some bold Red DeNami cardstock, but it would be a ton of fun to color with your favorite method, too. I colored in the kite's tails with a red glitter pen, which worked beautifully, even on the shimmer surface of the Iridescent Blue Ice cardstock I used as my background. I thought DeNami's Small Cloud stamp paired perfectly with this fun kite, and the cling-style Thinking of You Script sentiment was just what I needed to finish off my design.

I hope you'll take a peek at what the rest of the team cooked up with this week's spotlight stamp over on the DeNami Design blog. I love seeing everyone's different take on the same stamp!

Thanks for dropping by!

Emily

Stamps: Fly A Kite, Small Cloud, Thinking of You Script from DeNami Design

Paper: Iridescent Blue Ice, Red, Amethyst cardstock from DeNami Design; white cardstock from PTI

Ink: Noir Black Palette hybrid ink

Accessories: Sakura red glitter pen, foam tape, sewing machine, EK Success Dotted Scallop border punch

Techniques: paper piecing, machine stitching

DeNami Summer Blog Hop

Welcome to the DeNami Design SUMMER Blog Hop! Today the DeNami Design Team and customers alike are showcasing some fun summer-themed projects made with DeNami stamps.

Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Dana Seymour's blog, Kismet, Art, & Life. 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, July 9, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize. 


Let's get on with the show! Nothing says "summer" to me more than bright colors and fun, outdoorsy activities--like catching butterflies! So I put my Chickie and Butterflies cling stamp to good use, and constructed this scene using lots of patterned paper:

Those sweet butterflies are from the Fancy Flutters Set, the little "hi!" is from the Everyday Greetings stamp set, and those dotty flight lines were made from the ultra-versatile Steam Curl stamp.


Well, I'm sure you're eager to see rest of the sweet SUMMER lineup! Before you leave, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes and then you can be on your way to stop number three on the hop, the blog of Carol Hartery, Carol Hartery's Creations.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Enjoy the blog hop,

Emily

PS This is also another entry for Kim Kesti's Crafty Month challenge--to create a card that combines at least one new item and one item from your stash (at least one year old). For this card, my new item is the Steam Curl stamp, and my old item is the BasicGrey Lime Rickey collection patterned paper I used. It has a copyright date of 2008--you know it's been in my stash for more than a year (or two or three!)

Stamps: Chickie and Butterflies, Steam Curl, Fancy Flutters Set, Everyday Greetings stamp set by DeNami Design
Paper: DeNami Celery and Iridescent Aquamarine cardstocks, patterned papers from BasicGrey's Lime Rickey collection, white cardstock from The Paper Company
Ink: Noir Black Palette and Onyx Black Versafine
Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, odorless mineral spirits, paper blending stumps, sewing machine, foam tape
Techniques: machine stitching, Gamsol magic, paper piecing

Wherever You Go

I needed a card for some friends who are moving away. I had such a hard time deciding what kind of sentiment to use. Goodbye? Farewell? We'll miss you? Thanks for sharing your lives with us? Wishing you all the best? Don't go? I kept waffling. Nothing seemed quite right. So I started cruising through my {ippity} and Unity stamps sets, which can always be counted on for insightful quotes and sayings. I knew I'd found my "it" quote as soon as I opened up my Quotes a'la HAPPY set from {ippity}. Then it all came together!

This is perfect! It's just what I wanted to say. And inside I can write something like "thanks for sharing your sunshine with us these last 8 1/2 years. Wishing you all the best!" Yup, couldn't have said it better myself.

I finally got to put my Bazzill Card Shoppe cardstock (see HERE for more) through my last tests for it: heat embossing and stitching. I give it high marks on both! I stamped the ric-rac element in red Versafine ink and then heat embossed it with red embossing powder. The cardstock did warp a bit from the heat, but nothing that couldn't be tamed with some edge stitching :). And I must admit that this cardstock holds up ever so nicely to machine stitching! The yummy colors I used on today's card are Peppermint, Banana Split, and Gumball. So fun! I can thoroughly recommend this new line of cardstock formulated specifically for card makers, and can't wait to give away a 56-sheet sample pack of it to one lucky My Little Slice of Bliss reader. Check back Thursday for my giveaway post!

I've been itching to play in a few challenges, but haven't had much time, so I crammed them all in here. This is for Chick Challenges #33, the new summer-themed Unity Challenge, the new "bright colors" {ippity} challenge, and Kim Kesti's Crafty Month challenge--to create a card that combines at least one new item and one item from your stash (at least one year old). My new item is my new Bazzill Card Shoppe cardstock, and my old items are the buttons and black crochet thread from my stash.

Thanks so much for sharing a little slice of bliss with me today! And don't forget--my giveaway starts on Thursday, June 21.

See you soon!

Emily

Stamps:  Quotes a'la HAPPY from {ippity}, Homemade 6-Bean Soup from Unity

Paper:  Peppermint, Banana Split, Gumball cardstock from Bazzill Card Shoppe collection; PTI white

Ink:  Versafine black and red, Colorbox Frost White, SU So Saffron

Accessories:  red EP, heat tool, foam tape, American Crafts button (yellow), We R Memory Keepers buttons (red, blue), black crochet thread, sewing machine

Techniques:  machine stitching, paper piecing, heat embossing

Calls for a Toast

It's been waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long since I've been able to play with my Paper Smooches stamps. I needed to make a congratulations card (for our pastor, who has just become a published author! The book he co-authored came out in May, so I'm a bit late. Oops!), and I knew I wanted to use the "this calls for a toast" sentiment from Wake Up. So I peeked at this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS challenge for some inspiration, and found it in spades.

I was inspired by that pretty piano to feature a turquoise toaster on my card. I went with lots of blank space in my design to honor the blank wall in the photo. I tied the color of my toast to the color of the floor in the photo, and the patterned paper strip under the toaster was selected because its polka dots reminded me of that wall of plates in the photo!

All of my patterned papers in this card are digital papers. The cork pattern for the toast comes from the Note to Self collection by Echo Park, the turquoise chevron print for the toaster comes from the Splash collection by Echo Park, and the dotted pattern comes from the Chit Chat collection by Betsy Tuma (a part of the free October 2010 Crop Collab available at Two Peas).

I hope you are having a good weekend! It's rainy here, so we're trying to get caught up on indoor stuff. 

Thanks for swinging by!

Emily

Stamps: Paper Smooches Wake Up

Cardstock: Rustic Cream by PTI

Patterned Paper: (all digital) Note to Self collection by Echo Park, Splash collection by Echo Park, Chit Chat collection by Betsy Tuma

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine

Accessories: Corner Chomper, sewing machine

Large Butterfly Happy Birthday

Greetings, friends! I know it's been a while since my last post. My kids were out of school on spring break last week, and it was go, go, go! We enjoyed a visit from my parents for a few days, took some day trips, and reveled in being away from our regular school schedule. But I also must admit to a bit of burnout for a couple of weeks.  Don't you just hate it when one of the things you enjoy so much just doesn't appeal? I'm trying to give myself some extra space and a change of pace so I can come back to enjoy some of the things I like most.

Well, today I'm trying to get back in the swing of things by sharing a birthday card that uses the new Large Butterfly stamp from DeNami Design.

This stamp is so versatile! I am beyond pleased that it is this week's Product Spotlight stamp at DeNami. It's your chance to snap it up at 10% off. :)

I leaned toward clean and simple for my card, stamping the butterfly off-center (and off-page!) in Vintage Sepia Versafine ink and paper-piecing portions with prints from the Vanity Fair pad from the Six by Six collection by My Mind's Eye. I punched some more Vanity Fair paper with the fabulous Dotted Scallop border punch (EK Success) available in the DeNami Design store and layered on some DeNami chocolate glitter ribbon. I absolutely adore the new cling-style Happy Birthday Script stamp, finding excuses to use it more and more! I ramped up the sparkle factor with some rhinestones on the butterfly's body and antennae, rounded a corner, and I was done!

I also thought this stamp was the perfect image to capture this week's Tuesday Trigger at the Moxie Fab World.

I hope you'll swing by the DeNami Design blog today to check out what the rest of the DeNami DT has created with this fun new stamp. I know everyone will have awesome ideas for using it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Emily

Growing In Unity ~ Day 4: A Two-Fer

Is it just me, or is this week absolutely flying?? Here we are at Day 4 of my Growing In Unity Week, already! As I was creating projects for my five days of GIU, I somehow ended up with six projects to share. So today you get a bonus project!

And we're off . . .

This "Sweet 16" card is for my husband's niece who, quite unbelievably, is turning--you guessed it!!--16 next week. Unity's Sweetest Day Itty Bitty stamp, a co-brand with Jillibean Soup, takes center stage. This adorable strawberry is ideal for paper piecing, and I think that sentiment is just perfect. I know I'll be using it a lot, with or without that fat berry. :) And do you know what else is perfect? That fabulous two-toned sheer ribbon from May Arts (a huge thanks to Jessi!), which looks amazing with some ivory rick-rack layered over top. I'm entering this in the Anything Goes Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp.

Up next: a little something different for me. After slicing off a panel of the pink striped paper I used on my strawberry card, I happened to flip over the piece that was left and thought it would make a fabulous frame:

I just needed a little something for the middle, and thought I knew just what it should be: a sentiment from Unity's Quote Bundle Pack. I added some matting and stitching, plus some buttons and rhinestones and paper flowers for dimension. Ta-da! A quick, easy, colorful, and inspiring card. And lots of flowers qualifies it for the current {ippity} challenge: Flowers.

So, now you may be asking "How are you doing on your personal patterned paper challenge?" Well, I can add two more collections to my utilized-papers list: My Mind's Eye Lost & Found--Madison Avenue 6 x 6 paper pad (dots and dark rose print on the strawberry card) and My Mind's Eye Fine and Dandy--Tickled Pink 6 x 6 paper pad (leaves and stripes on the strawberry card, plus the entire panel on the second card). That should bring my total up to five different paper collections so far, and it's just Day 4 ;).

And there you have it--my Unity two-fer day! Come on back tomorrow for my last {sniff} GIU post. I can't wait to show you my creation!

Thanks for sharing a little slice of bliss with me today,
Emily

DeNami Sneak Peek: BUTTERFLIES!

Welcome to Day 1 of the DeNami Design Spring Release Sneak Peeks!! Today DT Members Laurie, Lisa, and I are giving you sneak peeks of brand-new DeNami stamps about to be released in the Butterfly category! Be sure to read all the way to the end of this post for details on a great giveaway over on the DeNami blog :D.
First, have you heard the news? Starting with this spring release, DeNami stamps will be switching over to cling-mounted rubber stamps! They will use the same high-quality DeNami rubber but will only be available in the cling-cushion form designed to be used with clear acrylic handles. Not only will the stamps be less expensive, they'll be so much easier to store! And I just LOVE being able to see through my handle as I stamp. So easy to "eye-ball" alignment for quickly stamped designs! (More on that in a minute.) And just look at the new ultra-cute packaging for the cling stamps. Fabulous!

Enough chit-chat, right? Let's look at some cards I made with some of the new DeNami butterfly stamps!

What is it about hot pink and bright orange that just look so good together? I love this hot color combination, and I thought it was perfect to show off three stamps from the new release: the largest butterfly of five in the new Fancy Flutters stamp set (CL-GD001), the gorgeous border stamp in the four-stamp Spring Garden stamp set (CL-GD002), and lovely Happy Birthday Script sentiment stamp (CL-F216).

Additional DeNami products on this card:
Magenta cardstock
Desert Orange cardstock
Habanero Versafine ink
Onyx Black Versafine ink

Now, how about a peek at one of the eight new chickies joining the DeNami family on March 1? Behold, I give you the Chickie and Butterflies stamp (CL-D142)!!

Additional DeNami products on this card:
Teeny Heart Background stamp
Everyday Greetings stamp set
Celery cardstock
Desert Orange cardstock
Onyx Black Versafine ink
Aloe Vera Versamagic ink

You won't believe how quickly this 4" x 4" card came together, all thanks to the new cling-mount stamp design. I simply looked right through my clear acrylic handle to line up the {curved} bottom edge of the chickie stamp with the curve of the cardstock circle already mounted on my card.

After stamping the butterfly chickie at the 12-o'clock, 3-o'clock, 6-o'clock, and 9-o'clock positions {eyeballing it the whole way!}, I went back and filled in between the chickies. The clear handle makes it easy to center the stamp between the already-stamped chickies.

By lining up the bottom edge of the stamp with the curve of the circle for each chickie, they are all {approximately} the same distance away from the circle, all the way around. Perfectly positioned chickies (well, good enough, anyway) in less than five minutes!

And finally I'd like to share a shaped card I made from the new Large Butterfly stamp (CL-P96). I am SO excited about this one!! So many fabulous possibilities for it.

Additional DeNami products on this card:
Polka Dot Background stamp
Celery cardstock
Sky Blue cardstock
Lavender cardstock
Onyx Black Versafine ink
Deep Lagoon Versafine ink
Aloe Vera Versamagic ink

Do you spy some trendy chevrons on my butterfly? That's also a new DeNami stamp! It's a chevron border that's included in the new Modern Borders stamp set (CL-BD005). DT members Michele, Dana, and Paulina will be giving sneak peeks of all the new border stamps tomorrow--be sure to drop by the DeNami blog to catch those!

But I'm getting ahead of myself! Don't forget to check out all of today's BUTTERFLY sneak peeks made by Laurie and Lisa, as well as Paulina's sneak peek video on the DeNami blog.

Let's see . . . one last thing before I go. I did mention that there is a giveaway on the DeNami blog today, right? Here's what's up for grabs:
Aren't these new butterfly stamps beautiful? Be sure to check out the DeNami blog for details on entering. (Pssst . . . but be sure to leave me a comment here before you go--I understand that will give you a chance at a second butterfly prize package! And leaving comments on Laurie's and Lisa's posts will increase your chances!) The deadline to enter is February 29th at 6:00 am PST. The winners will be announced on the DeNami blog later that day.

I think that should do it for now. Thanks so much for bearing with me during this long-winded post! I had a blast sharing some of DeNami's newest stamps with you!!
Emily