Distinctive Touches

Potted Preview!

Are you enjoying all of the wonderful previews for March?  I sure hope so!  I've been hopping to all of the other designer's blogs and they are AMAZING!  Talk about inspiration...

Tonight I have a card to share with you using one of the images from the March Card Kit Stamp Set.  You are SO going to love this set... whether you are "wishing" for spring or "planting" some ideas, this set has 4 adorable line drawings (perfect for coloring in or for paper piecing) and 4 coordinating sentiments.

I used the potted seeds and the "you're my best bud" sentiment for my card.  I stamped the image twice on some Gina K Luxury white (leaving a space in between them) and colored them (sorry... I forgot to write down the colors... the pots are E90's I believe).  I then stamped and colored another pot and cut it out.  I popped it up in between for a "row" of potted seed packets. 

I used some Apple/Violet Happy Spring digital paper that goes so well with all of the new colors and sets this month.  Of course, I had to add a few well-placed embellishments (buttons and ribbon) to polish off the look.

There are a few changes to the Card Kit for this month... each kit will receive the Happy Spring stamp set and instruction sheet along with 4 sheets of pure luxury cardstock, 1 sheet of exclusive patterned paper with 4 different designs, 1 yard of ribbon, and brads.  The cardstock will NOT be pre-cut... this means you can either make the cards that are shown in the kit.. OR design you own! 

Are you ready for even more inspiration? 

Start with Gina's Blog

Then, find out more information about the new Card Kit here: Jessica Fick

Finally, check out these Designer's blogs: Asela Hopkins {Illustrator of By Your Side}
Melanie Muenchinger 
Theresa Momber
Nina Brackett
Cathy Tidwell
Lee Murphy
Kurtis Amundson
Emily Giovanni
Erika Martin
Bev Gerard
Colleen Schaan
Sankari Wegman
Valerie Stangle
Jennie Harper - our Guest Designer for this Month!

StampTV is celebrating it's first birthday and the festivities are in full swing with this month's release!  We'll be holding this month's Release Party on StampTV and couldn't be more excited about all that Gina has planned for everyone!  The party kicks off this Thursday, March 18th starting at 7pm and ends at 10pm (all times CST) when all the new products will be available for purchase in Gina's online store.

To keep informed of all the party plans and activities, check out this link:

Release Party Forum on StampTV

It's a Beautiful Life - Gina K Previews!

It was a BEAUTIFUL weekend and tonight I want to share a BEAUTIFUL card.  (Well, at least I think it's pretty pretty!  LOL) 

 
For tonight's Gina K Designs Preview Hop I chose to work with Melanie Meunchinger's stamp set called A Beautiful Life... and it is.. well... beautiful!  I love the extra large tulip frame; it's perfect for stamping and creating a whole card-sized image.  And of course, there are lots of pretty sayings and phrases included in the set.

I wanted to create a sort of diorama-type card, so I stamped the tulip frame twice.  I colored them both up with my Copics (V12/V15/V17 for the flowers and the framing, YG03/YG06 for the leaves, B000 for the sky, and Y00 and YR04 for the butterflies). 

I cut the center out of one of the stamped and colored frames, rotated it 180 degrees and then attached it over the first one with foam tape for dimension.  The butterflies are cut out and then applied with their wings bent up just a tad.  I even added a tiny bit of bling with my purple Spica Glitter pen. 

I (HEART) this card...

Here's a close up to show the dimension.  Notice that the flowers aren't blended perfectly smooth.  I wanted a "natural" look for my tulips, so I just did a very slight blend and left some areas white. 

Are you ready for even more inspiration?  

Start with Gina's Blog

Then, visit these Illustrator's blogs of these new stamp sets:

Melanie Muenchinger - A Beautiful Life

Theresa Momber - Sending Sunshine

Tami Mayberry - Fairy Tales

Finally, check out these Designer's blogs:

Jessica Fick

Nina Brackett

Carolyn King

Cathy Tidwell

Lee Murphy

Lynn Mercurio

Donna Baker

Kurtis Amundson

Emily Giovanni

Erika Martin

Colleen Schaan

Jennie Harper - our Guest Designer for this Month!

StampTV is celebrating it's first birthday and the festivities are in full swing with this month's release!  We'll be holding this month's Release Party on StampTV and couldn't be more excited about all that Gina has planned for everyone!  The party kicks off this Thursday, March 18th starting at 7pm and ends at 10pm (all times CST) when all the new products will be available for purchase in Gina's online store. 

To keep informed of all the party plans and activities, check out this link:

Release Party Forum on StampTV

Stop back in tomorrow night for another preview.... you will be so happy you came and "seed" it! LOL

Come Join Me For Some HOT Copic Coolness... In Puerto Rico

What are YOU doing in June?  How does hot sand, warm wind, and shinning sun sound?  How about friendly people, cool classes, and awesome companies? All this... and more are available at the Puerto Rico Scrapbook Event.

Oh... and did I mention ME??? That's right!   I'm joining six other AMAZING teachers for this big event that pulls craft enthusiasts from all over the world.  I'm going to be teaching two of my most popular Copic workshops at the event and I'm personally inviting YOU. 

Registration is now open and classes are filling fast!  There are three great package options to choose from... Don't wait - once classes are full... they are full! 

I'll see YOU in Sunny Puerto Rico!

Getting Crafty with Creative Charms

Yeah... still running... thinking that this treadmill called "life" will slow down sometime in early April.  Until then, I'm gripping the handles bars and pumping my legs.  (After all... I'd hate to fall down and skin my chin on the belt... THAT would look silly now wouldn't it!)

Remember when I went to CHA?  Back before the move...you remember CHA?  Copics and classes and people and products... yeah, THAT CHA.  LOL

One of the companies that I "found" when I was there is called Creative Charms.  They had this cute little booth with all of these flowers and butterflies and adorable 3-D embellishments.  They were kind enough to let me snag some product to play with and see how it worked with my Copics.  

I finally had some time to play and created this.  Isn't it pretty!  Just look at those sparkly flowers!  They were pure white when I got them... perfect for coloring with Copics and creating matching embellishments for cards and scrapbook pages.  It was easy too!  The flower petals are made of these soft, interwoven threads... and the ink clings to them beautifully.  Here, I used my BV01 to color the petals and then I added a feather stroke of the B16 to the middle of them and blended it out.  (The blending works just as easy as on paper!)  I also used the B16 on the tinsel and I colored the tiny flower gems with BV04.  

The one thing that I noticed with these is that you need to use a darker color than you might expect - the color shows up just a tad lighter than on paper.

I wanted to showcase the beauty of the flowers, so I paired them with this beautiful sentiment from Verve and layered it with some embossed white paper to set off the color of the flowers. 

I really enjoyed working with these beautiful embellishments and I've already stalked the pretty butterflies they have in their store too!  Thanks Midori for letting me play with them!

Thanks for stopping in today and I'll be back soon.

Hugs,
colleen

Catching Up - (and a blog hop!)

Did you ever had one of those dreams where you are running and running and just don't ever seem to go anywhere?  That's what my world is like right now!  I'm trying and trying to catch up on everything... and it seems the faster I work, the more I have to do!  LOL 

But you know me... I'm a trooper and I'll just keep running... some time (hopefully soon) I'll reach that finish line. 

In the mean time, I want to share one of the cards I made for one of the MANY birthday's I've missed in the last month or two.  My MIL is always so good about sending cards for all of the special little occasions... and I couldn't even get a birthday card out to her on time this year.  I'm SUCH a bad DIL! (But she is the bestest and will forgive me...  because she loves me!)

I used one of the gorgeous flower images from the Feb. Card Kit over at GinaK Designs. I wanted a whole field of flowers, so I stamped the image multiple times (without re-inking) to get the feeling of depth.  I then colored them (it was so quick and easy with this image!) with my Copic markers (see the color photo below).  

I framed the simple image with Lemon Drop and Creme De Methe card stock (two of the soft spring colors that are now available). 

I stamped the birthday sentiment and cut it out with one of the label Nesties and then cut it so it hung on the bottom of the field of flowers.  I set it off with some buttons and ribbon also from the new Spring collection. 

This was SO easy and turned out so well... I may make a bunch of them (in different Spring colors) so that I'm ready for all of the birthdays I have coming up!  

For even more ideas with the Spring Florals stamp set, please check out these links:

Jessica Fick 

Bev Gerard

Colleen Schaan

Sankari Wegman

Suzanne Dean

Sharri Sevens

Tina Gilliland

Giovanna Smith

Melissa Cash

Carolina Buchting

Jennie Harper

Brenda Turner

There are many more projects that can be found in the StampTV gallery by clicking on this tag: springflorals

Enjoy all the samples tonight!  If you haven't purchased this stamp set yet, please take note that the free Card Kit will be included with each purchase until March 18th.  At that time, the next card kit stamp set will be released.

I promise I'll be back later in the week with some updates on Certifications and some other fun and exciting news! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Is it SPRING yet??? CKC - Blog Hop

Seriously... I'm SO ready for spring!  We are in the midst of yet another winter storm and the temps just keep dropping.

Luckily, I've got something which reminds me that spring can't be too far away...  The new GinaK Designs Card Kit stamp set called Spring Florals. 

For a limited time*, a free Card Kit will automatically be included with each purchase of the Spring Florals stamp set. The entire kit includes the stamp set, a binder sheet, the instructions and materials to make 3 complete cards for $19.95.   

*This offer is valid until March's release, when a new Card Kit stamp set will be released.

Check out samples from this month's card kit on Jessica's Blog HERE... they are simply stunning!

I decided to do a series of my own cards showing just how versatile this set can be.  I stamped and colored all three flower images and then gave them a soft yellow glow by masking them off and airbrushing around them.  I cut each image out using a different shape and created a variety of card styles...

This first card is clean and simple. 

The second card I wanted to do something just a bit different, but I wanted the results to be soft and elegant... nothing too fancy.

This last card is my "layer it up" card...  and of course I added the doodled frames too!

You can check out more previews tonight... Nina's Lovely Labels - which coordinates beautifully with Spellbinders Labels 1, 4, 8, and 9, and a wonderful digital paper pack designed by Nina called Swing into Spring that compliments the new Spring Assortment paper pack.  For even more information on these new products, please visit the Lovely Labels Illustrator's blog Nina Brackett.

Then, check out these designer's links for even more samples made with Nina's stamp set as well as the new Free with Three stamp set called Inside & Out as well as the Spring Florals card kit:

Gina Krupsky

Jessica Fick

Theresa Momber

Melanie Muenchinger

Carolyn King

Tami Mayberry

Lee Murphy

Lynn Mercurio

Kurtis Amundson

Donna Baker

Emily Giovanni

Erika Martin

Bev Gerard

Colleen Schaan

We'd love to have each of you make plans to join us tomorrow night for the big Release party over in Gina's Forum on SCS! The virtual party starts at 7pm CST and is filled with contest questions from Gina, challenges from three of our designers, and tons more samples from the entire GKD team!

For some helpful tips on how Gina's Release parties work on SCS, check out this discussion on StampTV.

Copic Sparkle Winner an Our New Home

What?  It's Tuesday already?  What happened to the weekend? 

Oh yeah...that's right... I was busy buying a home!  LOL

In all the hustle and bustle of the "Big Move" I almost forgot to post the winner of my Copic Sparkle Blog Candy!!!  So without further delay... here it is...

Congratulations to Diane!!!  Diane wrote...

Wonderful blog, wonderful markers! Take care, ~Diane

Posted by: Diane | February 03, 2010 at 12:39 PM

Thanks everyone for the kind comments both about the blog and about the product.  Diane, your Spica Glitter Pens are on their way!!!  

Now for all of you who have been begging for pictures of the new place... here they are!!!  We closed yesterday and headed over for a few quick pictures... oh, and to drop off the new TV that we purchased already!  (Rolling my eyes... the boy's toys!)

Walk along as I give you a tour...

This is the outside front.  I can't wait for the flowers and bushes to start blooming!

This is the most important room in the house... it is my unfinished art studio!!!  I've been designing and planning all week. 

Here is the kitchen... it's pretty awesome!  Now I guess I'll have to learn how to cook.  LOL

Here is one of my favorite things about the house... just look at those windows!  It's the view of our living room from the upstairs balcony.  I somehow have to figure out what sort of curtains I want to use here...  hmmmmm...

Here is the living room from the main floor by the kitchen.  See... Nate's already playing with the new TV.  (more eye rolling)

Here's something pretty cool... our bathroom... or should I say "The Spa" as it has already been dubbed.

Guess what's just off the bathroom?  A walk in closet.  And I do mean walk in... heck... we could probably drive a car in here... it's HUGE!  I'm gonna have to buy more clothes!  LOL

And the bedroom... with a nice cozy fireplace... just flip a switch and ahhhhh - how romantic! 

The view from the bedroom... LOTS of wood!  I love how open it all is.  Our dogs will have a field day running in circles from one walk way to the other.

Here's something strange...  can you say, "Arrrrrrrh"  (This is in the guest bathroom off the living room... it REALLY doesn't fit with the rest of the style of the house... I'm thinking of doing a pirate theme complete with Parrots in there.) 

And some more outside... 

The deck off the kitchen.

 

From the lot line corner... so happy to have some wooded area! The pups will LOVE that.

The back.  Yup... just look at all those windows...   who wants to come help me wash them?

Here's the side with the walk out where my studio will be.

And here's a final shot of the house...  I can't believe it's all ours... (well... it's all the banks... but we will just pretend it's not!  LOL)

We are so incredibly blessed! 

The movers and packers will be here (in OK) this week and we drive back to Atlanta on Saturday.  Then the hard work begins!

Thanks for hanging in there with me though the house tour... I've got some more sneak peeks of beautiful stamp images tomorrow - so make sure to stop back!

Hugs,

colleen

Hope is Faith - A Special Announcement

Announcing...  The GinaK Designs Hope Is Faith stamp set..

The Hope is Faith mini stamp set retails for $9.95. It was created to raise money for the Red Cross to help with the devastation in Haiti. $2.00 of every purchase of this stamp set will be sent directly to the Red Cross throughout the month of February.

As the first responders to disasters around the world, the Red Cross is there to help with the basic needs of these people who have suffered so much. By purchasing this mini set, you will help to make a difference to people who are desperate by supporting an organization that works tirelessly to feed, clothe, comfort and care for those in need.

Here are two cards I made with this beautiful set.  The first one features Theresa's digital paper Wings of Hope.  It is a stunning combination of light pinks, bright pinks, and dusty mauves... absolutely gorgeous and the perfect compliment to the new Hope if Faith stamp set. 

I stamped the butterfly onto both the light and the dark pink word papers. I then heat embossed them with clear EP and cut them out.  I folded the wings slightly and layered them so it gave some added dimension to the piece. 

I was on a 3-D roll and decided to make a graphic B&W card using the same set... and here is the result. 

I fell in love with this Mother of Pearl metallic card stock and knew I wanted to use it on a simple and elegant card.  The Faith is Hope set is the perfect fit...  I embossed the butterfly image and the sentiment in black and then cut out the butterfly, bent up his wings, and attached him to the card.  The jeweled brads are just the right amount of bling to finish off this card.  (Oh I wish you could see the shimmer and shine!!!)

Next on the preview list - I just about CROAKED when I saw this adorable set called Hang In There by Theresa Momber!  She has just the cutest images with just a touch of charm and sass.  I decided to whip out my Copics and color up the tree frog.  I just love the way he looks like he is about to launch himself off of the branch!  I paired some Basic Grey patterned paper with some Chocolate Kiss and Fresh Asparagus card stock and tied it all up with a twill bow. 

For more information on these two fabulous sets, please see Gina's Blog. (linked below)

Check out some more amazing previews at the following sites...

Hope is Faith Illustrator: Gina Krupksy
Hang in There Illustrator: Theresa Momber (Wings of Hope Digital Paper designer)

• Jessica Fick
• Melanie Muenchinger
• Nina Brackett
• Carolyn King
• Tami Mayberry
• Asela Hopkins
• Cathy Tidwell
• Lee Murphy
• Lynn Mercurio
• Kurtis Amundson
• Donna Baker
• Emily Giovanni
• Erika Martin
• Bev Gerard
• Colleen Schaan
• Suzanne Dean
  
• Valerie Stangle
  

Thanks for stopping by - Stop back in tomorrow to see if YOU won the set of Specia Glitter Pens!

- Colleen

What's Glittery, Bright, and full of Bling?

Our newest Copic Regional Instructor - that's who!!!

While at CHA last week Marianne Walker surprised Jennie Black by inviting her to join the team of Regional Certification Instructors.  It was awesome...  after the first shocked, "WHAT?"  and the, "Are you serious?"  came the, "YESSSSSSSSSSSS!" and applause broke out around the table.  (The rest of the team was in on the surprise and we had been very careful not to  spill the beans.) 

Jennie will be supporting the Southwestern Region of the US... and she is already busy setting up certification classes all around her region. 

I'm SO excited to have Jennie join the team.  She is bright, fun, giggly, and full of energy... get the two of us together and it's a non-stop chatter and motion-fest!  LOL  I'm thinking they have us on opposite sides of the US so that we don't get into too much trouble...  (wink)

(Colorful Copic gals!  Top row from left - Lori Craig, Sally Lynn MacDonald, Sharron Harnist and Debbie Olson.  Front row from left - Nancy Zenke, Sherrie Siemens, Marianne Walker, Jennie Black, and me.)

So... our team is celebrating... and you know what that means... BLOG CANDY! 

To help us celebrate the addition of such a fabulous, sparkling personality, each member of the Regional Certification Team and the Blogging Team will be giving away a Spica Glitter Pen Set!  These glitter pens are AMAZING...  so sparkly and so easy to use! 

Make sure to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win.  I'll be drawing the winner on Friday at 10:00 pm...and we will announce the winners on Tuesday.  

To visit the other members of the Copic team... check out the links below!

Northwest: Sherrie Siemens / Marianne Walker

Southwest: Jennie Black

Northern Midwest: Debbie Olson  

Central Midwest: Lori Craig

Southern Midwest: Sharon Harnist

South: Colleen Schaan (HEY - THAT'S ME!)

Northeast: Sally Lynn MacDonald

Western Canada: Sherrie Siemens

Eastern Canada: Sally Lynn MacDonald

Floater: Marianne Walker

Blog Team Member: Michelle Wooderson

Thanks for stopping buy today!  I've got some sneak peeks coming up later in the week - so make sure to come back for a visit then!

Colleen

CHA Recap - from a newbie!

As many of you know, I attended my very first CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) Trade Show last week in sunny Anaheim, CA.  I can't begin to tell you what a wonderful experience it was for me.  I knew going in that it was going to be busy, but I had NO idea how CRAZY busy it really would be.  LOL

 

(I assisted at a Copic Certification class - Sherrie Siemens was demonstrating the ABS.)

My flight left Tulsa on Friday afternoon and I arrived safely in CA later that evening.  There was a tiny snafu with my room (they didn't have me on the list???) but that was quickly settled.  I hauled my jumbo suitcase (almost as large as I am) up to the room and was greeted with smiles and hugs from Debbie Olson and Lisa Strahl.  After I got over my giddy idol worshiping - I realized they were two of the most genuine, down-to-earth, sweet gals. 

 

(Our booth all set up and ready to go... before the bagpipers let the crowds in.)

During CHA it's up early for a quick breakfast before heading over to the show.  Our booth seemed to always be buzzing with excitement, whether it was a group of people learning about Copics for the first time or a number of folks who just wanted to ooh and aahhh over the coloring demos by Debbie and Sherrie (I ooh-ed and aah-ed a lot too!) 

(Sherrie demoing a coloring and blending technique.)

Talk, talk, talk is all it seems I did for 4 days straight!  LOL  By the end my voice was hoarse and I sounded like a elderly chain smoking guy, but that didn't stop anyone from wanting to stop by and listen. 

I was able to sneak out of the booth for a bit and roam the show floor... it being my first time there and all.  I didn't do the photo thing... sorry... I was sort of in awe of the whole thing and didn't think to unearth my camera from my bag.  LOL 

 

(I met TexasGrammy!!!  Bev is the sweetest - we recognized each other at a dinner one night and both jumped up and hugged.  She is as adorable in person as she is on-line.)

I met so many amazing people...  from all walks of life.  I was finally able to meet many of my "imaginary" friends from on-line... it was GREAT to finally meet them all in real life.  I made contacts with a lot of manufacturers and even found a new (to me) product line or two (you'll see more about this in future blog posts.) 

 

 (OMG... I got to meet Kendra and Sankari - GORGEOUS girls... the lighting was bad so I B&W the photo.)

After the show each night it was off to dinner (and sometimes meetings).  And even though we managed to get back to the room at a decent hour each night, sleep just somehow never seemed a priority as new friends chattered into the wee morning hours.  We all decided sleep is over-rated and we would catch up on it when we got home.

 

(Fall colors were a hit in our booth with Marianne Walker, myself, Lori Craig and Nancy Zenke)

And now that I'm home... I'm catching up...  on phone calls... on emails.... on classes...  on the preparations for the move... and yes... I've even managed to sneak some ZZZZZZzzzzs in there too.  

 

(A night out with friends!  Nancy, Sherrie, Marianne, Jennie and myself...all very tired, but still smiling!)

Thanks for stopping by to visit!  Come again soon.  I'll have some sneak peeks, some exciting news, and some blog candy to celebrate with!

Colleen