Saturday, April 30, 2011

JustRite Stamps Elegant Frames: There's No One Like You.....

Hi Everyone,

This weekend has zipped by so quickly that I am suddenly surprised that it is almost May?! Wait when did that happen? I wanted to make a card for one of my friends who is also my tango dance teacher who has been tirelessly teaching us a routine for an upcoming performance. As I thought about her - I wanted to create a card that was mainly red and black and slightly tilted just like the one side slit on a tango dress. I had to use this gorgeous sentiment: "There is No One Like You" from the Elegant Frames stamp set from JustRite Stamps (cling stamp set). 

Card Ingredients:
Paper: BG and Bazzill 
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: prima flower, upholstery ribbon trim, spellbinders, liquid pearls, sponger and dimensionals

This stamp set is so versatile - you can use the sentiments with the frames, the frames with other JustRite sentiments or just use the sentiments by themselves. This sentiment is sooo right for her - because she is so amazing and one of a kind - and she is very adored by all of her students. I can't wait to give this to her and thank her for all her hard work teaching her students.

Please stop by the JustRite Stamps blog to see all the new stamps and for more inspiration and to participate in all of the different challenges!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Big hugs,
Sankari :)

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

You Are In My Thoughts....

Hi Everyone,

I love that this month, Taylor had a surprise Mid-Month release - full of fun ways to create labels and pennants - and all kinds of other creative ways to display sentiments. One of the stamp sets released this mid-month was the Labels of Love stamp set that coordinates with the Ribbon Trio 3 dies from Spellbinders (you can check out how to get both of these here). I used one of the labels from the Labels of Love stamp set and into that I stamped the sentiment: "You're in My Thoughts". I used the coordinating Spellbinder's die to cut out the label from a black piece of cardstock and then I cut the label out and popped it on dimensionals after the ribbon was slid through the label (hope that sentence read better than it sounds :)

Card Ingredients:
Paper: Echo Park/MME
StampsLabels of Love stamp set (label and sentiment), Rose from the New Beginnings Stamp set
Ink: Ladybug Red and Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Gray ribbon from stash, black pearls from Want2Scrap, liquid pearls, Spellbinders, Ribbon Tag Trio, Leafy Branch die from Taylored Expressions and dimensionals.

This card was so much fun to make - and a really easy one for mass producing - so I can't wait to make more with different sentiments. 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Big hugs,
Sankari :)

PS - Here is a pic and link to the Leafy Branch die from Taylored Expressions that I used today:


Sunday, April 24, 2011

Easter Greetings


Hi Everyone,

Hope you had a wonderful Easter - it was a most perfect sunshiney Spring day here and the kids really had a wonderful time finding Easter eggs hidden all around the lawn - the pure excitement and joy in their faces was just precious! 

When we got home, I realized that I hadn't posted an Easter card that I made yesterday to give to their aunt and uncle today. I used the super cute little guy named Chaz from the Chicks Rule stamp set with the lovely sentiment from the Egg-stra Special stamp set from Verve stamps.
Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Egg-stra Special and Chicks Rule from Verve Stamps
Paper: Black and red scraps of paper from stash
Inks: Ladybug Red and Tuxedo Black from Memento Inks
Verve Dies: Eggs were made using the Charming Oval die set from A Cut Above dies from Verve
Accessories: EK success border punch, circle and scalloped nesties, Cuttlebug embossed folder, liquid pearls, corner rounder, baker's twine and dimensionals

I love the beautiful Charming Oval dies from Verve Stamps - they can not only be used for sentiments - but also the eggs are perfect for cutting eggs out of DP. I loved this beautiful card that Amy created and was inspired to create a similar one with hanging eggs. I love little Chaz from the Chicks Rule stamp set peeking out from the corner :)

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and have a wonderful start tomorrow for a great week!
Thank you so much for stopping by!
Hugs,
Sankari :)

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Blast From the Past Blog Hop #10 from Taylored Expressions - CAS challenge


Hi Everyone!

Every month, Taylor hosts a Blast from the Past Challenge customer blog hop, where we all get to play with previously released stamp sets from Taylored Expressions. This month's blog hop's theme is to go CAS (Clean And Simple) and I think these are the most difficult kind of cards for me - who knew that a CAS card could be extremely difficult?! Well, it was also hard because I wanted to make some sympathy cards for my DH's family - its hard to make a sympathy card to begin with - but it was much more difficult to create this set of sympathy cards for my DH's family. His godfather passed away this weekend - and it is hard to believe - I always felt like he could live forever. I created this set of cards using the sketch provided for this month's April Blast from the Past and using the absolutely beautiful stamp sets Summer Afternoon and  Care & Comfort. 



I kept everything very simple - I hope this still counts as CAS (?) I layered the butterflies from the Butterflies die trio (from Taylored Expressions) using some of the new MME papers and adding a pearl to the center and ribbon to the side and embossed the the beautiful poppies silhouette with some StarDust EP. The image panel was then cut out with the wonky rectangle nestie and then matted again with a pinecone bazzil paper. The sentiment was cut with the Nested pennant flag and before I adhered it to the kraft cardstock after scoring and sponging it.
Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Taylored Expressions: Summer Afternoon and : Care & Comfort. 
Papers" MME Stella Rose, kraft, Bazzil brown and Choice White cardstpcl
Inks: Chalkbox Aquamarine stamp set
Accessories: Butterfly trio dies from Taylored Expressions, wonky rectangle nestiepearls from Want2Scrap, nestabilities, button from stash, Baker's twine, Spellbinders' Label Tao trio. 


It was hard to make these cards - and its going to be even harder to write the inside -but I feel so happy that I was able to create this for my family - something from our hearts during this difficult time.


Please check out all the wonderful artists who have participated in this customer blog hop! One random hopper will receive a FREE Taylored Expressions stamp set of their choice and another  will be featured in the TE newsletter! And stay tuned to Taylor's blog to see when you can sign up for the next one! 


Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Hugs,
Sankari




Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Taylored Expressions Special Release


Hi everyone,

Today we have something exciting and totally awesome over at Taylored Expressions: A Mid-month Release! Woo-hoo!!! The stamps, dies and papers that were released earlier this month were so lovely and today there is MORE!- we are sneaking peeks from 3 stamp sets today - all of which also coordinate with Spellbinders dies! AND the best part is that it is available for purchase: TODAY!!! 

Both stamp sets are made of deeply etched red rubber on EZ cling mount - already trimmed and ready to get stamped! Here are the sweet stamp sets that we are releasing today:

1. Labels of Love - which coordinates with the Ribbon Tags Trio 3 from Spellbinders. 
2. You're My Type Upper/Lower along with the Nested Pennants/ Lacey Pennants.


GET WELL SOON:

The first card that I did today uses the Labels of Love stamp set - which I totally have fallen in love with! This stamp set was designed and illustrated by Taylor as part of the "te" collection and is a full sized stamp set featuring 31 images (WOW!) and has 7 frames, 6 flourishes and 18 sentiments for every occasion and frame styles that can coordinate with the sentiments within this stamp and also with the stamps that you already have! These dies coordinate perfectly with the Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio 3 and cuts out 2 die slits at either end to slide the ribbon through! Here is an example of one of the Tags - and how to slide a ribbon through:

This makes it super simple to have a sentiment sit ontop of a ribbon and also to tie a bow at the end of the tag. For my first project today, I paired the the Labels of Love sentiment: "Get Well Soon" with the bottom die from the Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio 3 . I used the Brand spankin' new April Key Ingredients that are filled with soft colors and super sweet embellishments (you can read all about Taylor's Key Ingredients feature and this month's Key Ingredients HERE). I stamped the label in Rose Bud ink and then stamped the sentiment in Bahama blue  in the middle. It is so quick to line up the coordinating tag and then cut it out. I ran the Leafy Branch die through and then added some roses from the KI kit and finished it off with a little butterfly from the Butterfly trio dies that I adorned onto a die cut square:

Here is a close up of the butterfly, the label and the leafy branch dies (i hand cut the innter oval and popped it up a little more and added one of the many flourishes to the center of the sentiment:



Card Ingredient:
Inks: Rose Bud, Bahama Blue from Memento
Spellbinders: Ribbon Tag Trio 3, Lacey Rectangles
Accessories: roses and ribbon are from the April Key Ingredients kit, liquid pearls, dimensionals, pearls, Butterfly trio dies from Taylor, Leafy Branch die


Taylor is also offering a Labels of Love Bundle with the coordinating Spellbinders Ribbon Tag Trio 3 die - you can check it out here!

CONGRATULATIONS

The second project today features the super awesome You're My Type Upper/Lower along with theNested and Lacey Pennants. The You're My Type Upper/Lower : are 2 separate Mini Stamp sets (mini means that each stamp is on a 4.75 square sturdy storage full color panel). 

Both the Upper and Lower sets includes 26 images from A-Z - the Lower set has another additional 10 sets which include the numbers 1 -0 for a total of 36 stamps!!!.  These stamp sets work perfectly into the Nested and Lacey Pennants - and are beyond awesome for personalizing messages, names, events, and so many more occasions! They are a wonderful size and such a fun font! They coordinate perfectly with the 1/2" circle punch - but I used the 1/2" square punch and matted it onto the 3/4" circle punch - so how ever you want to do it - its the perfect way to create your own sentiments - whether punching them out individually - or stamping them out as a lined sentiment! love the versatility!

For my second project, I wanted a slightly different shape and so I used the Grand Nestabilities Labels 1 with my Grand Calibur - which I have to say is just awesome - I love that it can cut the large die shapes and at the same time you can also run all of the regular die shapes in them all at once!


Here is a picture of all the nesties that I used for this project and a pic of the mini sets and how easily all of them can go through the Grand Calibur:



I used the  Grand Nestabilities Labels 1 and sandwiched it and ran it through:


After running this through - I cut the Labels 1 in half - I wanted to use this half shape on my card and can save the other half for a future project :)


It's also easy to run all the dies (you can stack so many dies and run them all together) and so it made creating a pennant much easier/faster. I wanted to tweet my "Congratulations" to two of my friends who decided to finally get engaged over the weekend (yay!) - so I stamped the word congratulations using the You're My Type UpperYou're My Type Lower stamps and then punching it out with a 1/2" square and matting it onto a 3/4" inch punched black circles and popped them up onto the nested and lacey pennants that I strung into a little banner and tied little twine ribbons at either end. In the middle I put a little heart and used the the sweet little birds from the Tweethearts stamp set in the middle. 


Here is a close up of the letters that I punched out with a square 1/2" punch and then popped up on a 3/4" circle that was then popped up on the pennant (nested matted onto the lacey pennants) and then popped up onto the cardstock (needless to say - this will be handed over in person :D)







Card Ingredient:
StampsYou're My Type Upper, You're My Type Lower and Tweethearts
Papers: Schoolhouse from OA
Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black and Colorbox Chalk Ice Blue and Colorbox Chalk ink Warm Red
Accessories: 1/2" square punch, 3/4" inch circle punch, dimensionals, sponger, liquid pearls, ribbon from stash, heart punch from Fiskars, pearls from Want2Sxrap, EK success scallop punch


I hope you are as excited as all of us are about this month's Mid-month Release! There are seriously SOOO many options with all of these labels and sentiments and then the fact that you can create your own sentiments with the new type stamps!!! Please hop on over with me and check out the amazing creations from the Baker's Dozen with all of today's releases!!



Thank you so much for stopping by today!
Hope your day is filled with butterflies, birdies, sunshine and love :D
Sankari

Here are the Taylored dies that I used to create my card today:


 

Monday, April 18, 2011

All things Grow with Love

Hi Everyone,


Happy Monday! Hope that you had a sweet weekend - its hard to believe that we are half way through April - too fast - I tell you - just too fast. Speaking of fast - the April Release Verve Party moved so fast it was hard to keep up and to savor all the yummy creations that everyone sneak peeked! Today over at the Verve Blog, Laurie has put together the April Verve After Party post where each of the Verve Divas has shared one of their favorite creations :) It's hard to pick a favorite - I loved creating with this month's new stamps - each are so beautiful - so many beautiful sets!'


For today's post - I picked this card created with the gorgeous Bloom & Grow stamp set - I adore these beautiful flowers - there are so many flowers in this stamp set (and there are so many different things that you can do with them (layer them, stamp over them, etc.) I stamped and cut out three of the flowers along with using the brand new Elegant Leaves die that was also released with this month's Verve Stamps, along with the previously released Jotted Hearts die:




Card Ingredients:
StampsBloom & Grow by Verve StampsPaper: MME , kraft and PTI cardstockInks: Memento Tuxedo Black, Rich Cocoa, Bamboo leaves and Angel PinkVerve Dies: Elegant Leaves Die and Jotted Heart Die (A Cut Above by Verve)Accessories: liquid pearls, dimensionals, glass glitter from Martha Stewart, brads from stash, satin gray ribbon, butterfly punch from Martha Stewart and sponger

I loved creating this creation - and can't wait to make more with all these  lovely Vervey stamps!

There is also a fantastic sale that is going on - from now through the end of April,  you can save 15% when you purchase the April 2011 Stamp Collection! And there is also another way to win some yummy new Verve - everyone who enters and does all the April Viva la Verve Challenges will be entered to win the ENTIRE next release! How awesome is that?!

Please stop in and check out all the different favorites that were posted up on the Verve Blog today - and thank you so much for stopping by today!

Big hugs,
Sankari

Friday, April 15, 2011

Verve Stamps: New Release Spotlights Day 4


HI Everyone

 Today is the last day of the Verve April Release Spotlight hops - which means that TONIGHT is the release party (from 9-11pm EST)!!!! But in the meantime - today we are sneaking peeks from the gorgeous stamp set: Hope Blooms and the Plain Jane: Proverbs 16.9

The Hope Blooms stamp set is sooo gorgeous- holy smokes the sentiments in this set is just divinely Font-a-licious as well as inspiring!!! The flowers in this stamp set are open - so its perfect for coloring or paper piecing :) I had this idea to create a happy little line of flowers - and so I paper pieced them and added some button and twine to the centers.


StampsHope Blooms (Verve)
Paper: Basic Grey and PTI cardstock
Inks: Memento Ladybug Red and Tuxedo black
Verve Dies: Embossed Oval Die and 
Vintage Oval Die (A Cut Above by Verve)
Accessories: buttons from stash, twine, Nestabiliteis, butterfly punch from Martha Stewart, red grosgrain ribbon, bling from stash and dimensionals



I used the Vintage Oval Die and cut a hole out with the Embossed Oval die and then popped up the framed. The little tab at the top was also created from one of theVintage Oval Die. I loved making this card - it just feels so happy and lovely :) Speaking of lovely - please check out these amazing girls peeking their last creations before the release party tonight! 

1. Julee
8. Jackie
2. Tosh
3. Amber
10. Janelle
4. Amy
11. Teresa
12. Laurie
6. Cresta
13. Sankari
7. Andrea
14. Melissa

TODAY'S PRIZE:
Hope Blooms, Proverbs 16:9 Plain Jane and Floral Circles Die Set

Check out those prizes!! - and don't forget to leave some love from the previous blog hops because you could win some amazing prizessssss!!! (Note: comments close on Friday April 15th at 6pm!!! ) The winners will be announced at the Release Party at SCS thread: 
Please check out the Verve blog for some details!!!




Thanks so much for stoppin  by today!
Big hugs,
Sankari :)

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Verve Stamps: New Release Spotlights Day 3


Hi Everyone,

Today is Day 3 of the Verve Stamps New Release Spotlight hop - where today we are sneaking peeks from the amazing, versatile and beautiful stamp set: Love Deepens and the lovely Proverbs 31:28 Plain Jane! 

I can't even tell you how much I adore the Love Deepens stamp set - Julee has thought of all the combinations and the sentiments in this stamp set are so versatile with each other to create the perfect greeting or message for your beloved ones.

Speaking of beloved ones, our daughter's birthday was over this weekend and she was soooo happy - I think she knew that it was her special day and I don't think I have seen her so happy and excited :) I wanted to create a special scrapbook page to commemorate this special moment:


Here is a close up of the picture and the sentiment - I love her sweet smile - I call her my wee little bird - and so I wanted to add some paper birds and little flower accents around her: I snapped this picture of her at her party - I love that she wanted to wear a rose in her hair and I love the yellow of the dress. It's amazing that just when you think that you couldn't possibly love someone anymore ... you do - more than you ever thought you could....  :) I knew I wanted to use the gorgeous sentiment: My love for you deepens over the years."  that I stamped into the Sweet Scallop die from Verve Stamps. 


 Here is a close up of the banner that I strung through with some embroidery ribbon - I popped up each one and then curled it a little bit and layered it over the DP. I added a little rosebud to the sweet scallop frame with the sentiment and added some tiny liquid pearls around the edges:



FRAMED

I can't even tell you how much I loved making this page for my wee one - I kept thinking of how quickly life changes - how one minute you are holding a wee one and then next second - they are getting too heavy to hold - amazing how fast time flies!
I finished off the page with some flower and birdies from Prima and some heart puncbes from Martha Stewart and tied a little banner across the top of the page with some bling in the middle. And after I was finished, I put it in an 8x8 Shadowbox frame - I love that I get to see her sweet smiling face everytime I walk by :) Here is a picture of the framed page :


Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Love Deepens from Verve Stamps
Paper: Bo Bunny and Bazzill cardstock
Inks: Chalkbox inks: Dark Brown
Verve Dies: Sweet Scallop die from A Cut Above Verve Stamps
Accessories: liquid pearls, dimensionals, ribbon from stash, flowers/birds (from Prima), EK success scallop punch, Nestabilities (Labels 16) and pennants, bling from Bo Bunny, Heart punch from Martha Stewart.

My daughter really loved it when she saw it this morning and now my son is asking me where his scrapbook page is... lol! I can't wait to make one just for him :)

I can't wait to see what everyone has created with this gorgeous stamp set! And don't forget that every single day of the Spotlight Hops - there are some SERIOUS prizes that can be won by just leaving a comment :) Woo-hoo!!! You gotta love that - You can check out all the details over at the Verve Stamps Blog and check out all these gorgeous creations that the ladies have created for today!


1. Tosh
2. Teresa
9. Jackie
4. Laurie
11. Andrea
5. Julee
12. Amber
6. Cresta
13. Melissa
14. Amy


Thanks so much for stopping by today!!! Please stop by tomorrow for Release Day Sneak Peeks :)
Big hugs, 
Sankari :)

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

JustRite Stamps Introducing: Faith stamp set

Hi Everyone,

Today over at the JustRite Inspiration blog - we are introducing the beautiful and elegant cling stamp set from JustRite stamps called: Faith. This stamp set is full of gorgeous sentiments and frames filled with such beautiful sentiments that inspire faith and hope. These stamp sets come in a sheet of cling rubber that is quick and easy to trim and can be positioned in so many different ways. 

Today - my project is a little present that I made for my mother - I think my mom is one of the most strongest women that I know and this last week she has had to take care of my dad who had to be admitted to the hospital (everything is now okay).  My mom always takes care of everyone - and I wanted to make something special for her after everything that she has done this week..... I created this little faith giftset - by decorating a small notebook and then adorning the sentiment with some liquid pearls. 

Here is a closer image of the notebook: This notebook is about 4 x4 and I used the gorgeous sentiment: "Each new day is a blessing". I thought that I would create this notebook and write in some beautiful prayers that she she can read everyday whenever she needs a boost. I finished it off with some Primas and some liquid pears.


Here is a closer picture of the card - I tried to keep the designs similar between the notebook and the card. For the card, I chose the sentiment: "Faith makes all things possible." This last week has been full of prayers and emails from friends and families who have all kept my father in their prayers - thank you - so happy that my father is back home! yay! I have another card for him - but wanted to make sure that my mother was also nourished and taken care of - and so I really loved making this giftset.
I love how simple the elements are in this card and love how easily they all came together - the sentiments just spoke to my heart and I can't wait to see my mother's face when I give this to her! :)

Please check out what some of the JustRite design team members have created with this gorgeous stamp set: 
Thanks so much for stopping by today! 
Big hugs,
Sankari 

Verve Stamps: New Release Spotlights Day 2 !


Hi Everyone,

Welcome to Day 2 of the Verve release Spotlights for April, where today the Verve Divas are featuring the gorgeous stamp set: Bloom and Grow - along with 2 brand new "must-have" dies to die for:  the gorgeous leaves die called: Elegant Leaves and the beautiful flower trio die called: Floral Circle dies.

First of all - the number of flowers in this set is AMAZING - for real! And the sentiments are soooo inspiring, elegant and simply heartfelt!. I decided to keep the focal area simple and stamped one of the medium flowers in a light pink around the frame with the sentiment: " You, make a difference in my life" as the focal sentiment. I also added a little Flutterby butterfly die from Verve stamps (March release) to the top poof of the card and kinda went a little "layer" happy :))))


Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Bloom and Grow by Verve Stamps
Paper: MME and Bazzil pink
Inks: Angel Pink and Tuxedo black
Verve Dies: Flutterby butterfly die 
Accessories: corner rounder, liquid pearls, nesties, cotton candy stickles, rhinestones from Prima, dimensionals and ribbon from stash.


Okay - seriously - I think I might have gone a bit overboard with the layering - but it was so much fun to pair up the gray and pink and brown tones all together :).


 I couldn't help making another card with the awesome Elegant Leaves die - it perfectly cuts the beautiful leave stamps in the set and quickly makes the perfect accent. I used the sentiment: "Thanks a bunch" and paired it with a few flowers that I had cut out and popped up on dimensionals. I love how all the flowers work with each other and make it so easy to create fun layers of flowers :)
Card Ingredients:
Stamps: Bloom and Grow by Verve Stamps
Paper: MME and PTI cardstock
Inks:Colorbox Chalk Aquamarine and Tangerine & Memento Desert Sand and Pear Tart
Verve Dies: Elegant Leaves
Accessories: liquid pearls, Bo Bunny bling and pearls, EK success scallop punch, Nestabilities (labels), circle punch, ribbon from stash and dimensionals.



I can't wait to create a ton of cards with this beautiful stamp set - there are SOOO many options for how to layer all these flowers and leaves and sentiments! This stamp set is a big one - and there is a HUGE prize today for one lucky commentator: Hop along with us and leave a little shoutout in the comments at each Diva's blog for a chance to win! One lucky commenter on today's hop spots will win today's featured set AND dies!!! ACK!! how awesome is that?

  Deadline for commenting is 6PM Mountain on Friday, April 15. Winners will be announced during our Release Party this Friday night {4/15} from 9-11pm Eastern.

Please check out the gorgeous creations from the Divas and Guest Designers! They will seriously knock your lounge pants off! :D


1. Amber
8. Julee
2. Amy
9. Laurie
3. Andrea
10. Maureen
11. Teresa
5. Cresta
12. Tosh
6. Jackie
13. Sankari
14. Melissa

TODAY'S PRIZE:
Bloom & Grow, Elegant Leaves Die and Floral Circles Die Set



Thank you so much for stopping by today!
Big hugs,
Sankari :)