Weekend sales!

Just a few weekend sales I've heard about - I'll add more as I find them!

Whimsy Stamps - discounts and codes below!

Consumer Crafts

no code needed

$3 shipping all weekend

EllenHutson.com - 20% off $75

code: betterthan

Sizzix - up to 80% off selected products

no code needed

Spellbinders - various items up to 70% off!

no code needed

RubberMoon

Save $10 off any order of $40 or more today through Monday, May 28th at 11:59 pm CST!

Use the code MEMORIAL10 at checkout

Gerda Steiner - 20% off your entire order

Code: TWENTY

Gina K Designs - 20% off your entire order

Code: SAVE20

Kindred Stamps

click for a 10% referral discount!

Pink and Main - 15% off your entire order

Code: MD2018

Dina Kowal Creative - 20% off your $20 order

no code needed!

CraftyDoodleChick.com - 20% off sitewide

Code: PARADE

CraftinDesertDivas.com - 20% off your entire purchase

Code: Memorial

 Concord & 9th - 15% entire store

Code: C9MEMORIAL15

GraciellieDesign - 50% off entire store

no code needed!

Chipboard Coffee Tags

Just had to pop in with a project for the Coffee Lover's Blog Hop! I've been wanting to play with a few ideas using this Fresh Brewed die from Sizzix, and I'm really happy with how these chipboard ornament tags turned out.

The cup portion of each tag is made up of 3 chipboard die cuts - they're glued and layered, then pressed for a good bond. Once the basic tags were assembled, I coated them front and back with 2 or 3 layers of gesso... next time I make these, I'll paint the pieces before I put them together... that will be quicker, especially for mass production.

Both tags are hand painted, which was really fun - I will definitely be making bunches of these for Christmas craft shows and gifts!

Thanks for stopping by - remember to link up to the coffee hop to win prizes, and take a peek in my store for a great discount during the hop!

Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop - Super Sponsor!

I'm so excited to be joining up with the 

Coffee Lovers Blog Hop today, 

and honored to be a Super Sponsor! 

Link up your project for a chance to win 

one of these 3 art prints (2 winners!)...

 or one of these coffee pendants (2 winners)! 

You can find these and more handmade items 

in my store HERE... and while you're there, please enjoy a 

20% discount on orders over $20! No code needed.

For a chance to win prizes, you have to play along! Head over to the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog for all the details, and to link up your coffee, tea, or cocoa themed project! I'll be back tomorrow to link up to the hop again with a fun coffee project. Please enjoy a discount in my store below, and click HERE for even more weekend sales! 

Happy hopping!

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Funny Punny

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a project with a pun or a little humor. I pulled out my Llama Love set, just for fun - it's not really punny, but I love the double-L sentiments, and llamas are so cute!

My llama is stamped on matboard, and colored with pencils - the background is done with Copics and watercolor, with some emboss resist as well.

Here's that cutie set - these stamps are available individually in rubber as well.

Links: Llama Love clear set, Llama (rubber), Llovely Day (rubber), Llove Ya (rubber), Chainlink Texture

Be sure to check out these other designers' blogs for inspiration -

Anna @ Sassy & Sweet Notes
Dina @ Dina Kowal Creative
Giovana @ Believe
Ilina @ Creativity Within
Jeanne @ Inky Paws
Jenny @ One Krafty Kat 
Karen @ Paper Lilies and Ink 
Kittie @ Kittie Kraft
Remember you can enter these challenges too, using your Impression Obsession stamps! See the I.O. blog for all the details - you might even win a $25 gift certificate!! We'd love to have you join us.

Splitcoast Tutorial: Nail Polish Marbling

This week's tutorial is an easy marbling technique using nail polish!

I made my background following the instructions... I had a little trouble since most of my nail polish is old and didn't want to pour, but I ended up with a panel I was happy with.

I layered a couple of die cuts over the background, flipping the new Sea Life Frame die to layer for more depth. 

The marbled panels can be used for backgrounds, die cuts, and so much more - if you have some nail polish to try out the technique, I hope you'll share in the SCS gallery! 

You can take a peek HERE at Impression Obsession's new summer dies - I live in a lake area, so I'm excited about these! 

Splitcoast Tutorial: Skyline Stamping

Today's tutorial over on Splitcoast is called Skyline Stamping - our tutorial author has several beautiful samples using a Stampin' Up set, but I put my own spin on it, as usual, and hopefully this will give you some ideas as well! Here's my card:

The background I used was already prestamped on my desk - it's done using the stamp below with some misted ColorBox dye inks (one of my summer stamps).

I don't have the set used in the tutorial, so to stamp my buildings I used the back side of a clear sentiment stamp that had a sort of blocky shape.

To add windows to the buildings, I used this stamp, masking off a couple of the rows for the correct width.

Here's a closer look at the card - my gel pen wasn't working so I added highlights and reflections with a white Prismacolor pencil.

The sentiment and airplane are from the set below, also one of my designs.

Stamps I used: CAC Reverse Sunburst, Grunge Map clear set, Extra Fun clear set, Dot Border

Hope you'll give this a try! Thank you for visiting me - remember my silent auction that ends Saturday! (Above are just a few of the cards I have available!)

Mother's Day Sale!

Save 20% off your order at Ellen Hutson May 13-15 using code MOMSDAY18 - 

Happy Mother's Day!

Impression Obsession DT Challenge: Stamp a Background

The Impression Obsession team's challenge today is to create a project with a stamped background, no patterned paper. I've got a simple card for you!

For my background, I stamped a large floral image several times to fill the panel. I then misted the panel, and added in some loose watercolor painting in just 2 colors!

Stamps I used: Rose Bouquet, To Love

Be sure to check out these other designers' blogs for inspiration -

Anna @ Sassy & Sweet Notes
Daniela @ For the First Time
Dina @ Dina Kowal Creative
Giovana @ Believe
Ilina @ Creativity Within
Jeanne @ Inky Paws
Jenny @ One Krafty Kat 
Karen @ Paper Lilies and Ink 
Kelli @ Stamping with a Dream 
Kittie @ Kittie Kraft
Laura @ Laura's Stamp Art Journal
Vicki @ Summerthyme Studio


Remember you can enter these challenges too, using your Impression Obsession stamps! See the I.O. blog for all the details - you might even win a $25 gift certificate!! We'd love to have you join us.

Stamps and cards for sale!

I've got a huge pile of cards, unmounted stamps, and other supplies that want to be used! I've set up a silent auction on my Facebook business page - please come and take a peek, and comment to bid!

Art show weekend!

Over the last 2 months I've been working on some of my own art between commissions - I've really enjoyed stretching my skills and working on some larger pieces! I had this past weekend as my deadline, so I could enter both pieces in a regional art show - 

I loved the process of this piece, and recreating the expression of joy on each face! Many of you know that we were missionaries overseas for 9 years... the two boys in the picture are my "little boys" who are now 12 and 14. The girls are the children of some of our students. This was the largest piece I've done to date (18"x24"), and it was wonderful to be able to work on a larger scale with a higher level of detail. I'm excited to be able to add larger family portraits to my commission offerings as well!

When I finished the first piece I had a little over a week until the show so I powered out one more... not sure I would recommend that pace, but I did finish and was able to enter it as well. This piece is 16" square, done mostly in colored pencil, with the underpainting and added details done in watercolor.

There were about 150 pieces total in the show, ranging from textile art to oil painting and all mediums in between. After the initial judging I was pleased to have 2 ribbons - one for artistic merit (honorable mention) on the succulent piece, and an artistic excellence ribbon on "Pure Joy". The final award of the weekend is the People's Choice award, which is by popular vote. It was a thrill to be the winner of that ribbon as well!

 Prints are available of both of these pieces in my store in your choice of size... I'm back to commissions this week with a secret memorial commission that I'll share in June. Below is my most recent commission, who's on her way to her mama in California with a custom glass pendant!

I hope you're having a great week!