YNS New Release Blog Hop!

Hello everybody! Thanks for joining us for another super fun and fabulous Your Next Stamp Blog Hop! YNS just released a bunch of new stamps and dies so the DT (and our awesome guest designers!) have whipped up some eye candy using many of the new images.

The Hop Starts on Sunday, March 11 at 8:00AM (EST) and ends on Tuesday, March 13th at midnight (EST). And it wouldn't be a YNS Hop without prizes, so one lucky winner will win the new Tags Galore One Stamp and Die Combo!

Plus, there will be a secret blogger prize for another lucky winner! You can link up on the last stop of the hop, but you must comment on all blogs to be eligible for the big prize! Winners will be posted on the YNS Blog on March 14th.

Of course there are also Hop Specials for you: There will be some awesome bundle deals and there are still lots of unbelievable steals in the YNS Bargain Bin.

I'm the start of the hop and here's the full order just in case:

Maureen
Jen D.
Veronica
Maylee (Guest DT)
Jenny P.
Dana
Wendy
Kerri
Susan
Jen R.
Amy
Diana
Crystal (Guest DT)
Peggy
Karen

*****And now on to the show!*****

I'm extra excited about this release because I had a hand in coming up with some of it!! I suggested a dress up set for Fhiona and Karen made it come true!! I'm just so thrilled about seeing my ideas in rubber! AND Karen also made a whole set of matching dies so you don't have to fussy cut out all the pieces - genius!

My first card uses the Furry Dress Up Fhiona stamp set and dies. You can make a bunch of different animals with this set - cats, dogs, bears, mice, monkeys, and even frogs! I made a dalmatian for this card:


And just so you can see how it works, here's a picture of all the pieces before I glued them together. You can see that I didn't bother coloring the whole head because the top will get covered up anyway. And when I cut out the face (the only part that has to be cut by hand because it's so simple), I just made a rough cut around the edges and even cut off her ears! There are little tabs on the small pieces to make them easier to glue to the bodies.


My second card uses the Cute with Wings Dress Up Fhiona stamp set and dies. With this set you can make bees, butterflies and dragonflies - fun!! I chose to make a purple dragonfly with Stickled wings:


The shaped card base and bottom layers were cut with my Zing using Make The Cut and a super awesome FREE cutting file from Monica. I used Layered Doily 20 with some alterations that I did in MTC - I took out all the inner cuts so that there would be a solid background for Fhiona.

I hope you liked my projects and thanks for hopping along with us! Your next stop is the incredibly talented Jen D..

YNS Sneak Peek

Hi everybody! Today is Day 2 of our Your Next Stamp sneak peeks for March and I have a card to share with you using the new Furry Dress Up Fhiona set:


There's also a set coming out called Cute with Wings Dress Up Fhiona that's just as cute and fun and they have matching dies so you don't have to fussy cut out all the pieces! Yay - I *love* die cuts!!

Today I made a panda bear using the body, the face with open eyes, and the round ears - very simple. The sentiment comes with the set (and a bunch of other fun ones too!).

We'll be having our New Release Blog Hop on March 11, so I hope you join us! And don't forget to stop by the YNS Blog so you can see who else has a sneek peak for you today.

This is also for Top Tip Tuesday - Stitches, and Divas by Design - Favorite Things (I love stitching on my cards and using die cuts!). TFL!

Happy Easter Shaker Card

Hey everybody! Thanks for visiting me for another Your Next Stamp Fun Friday! Today I have a shaker card for you (I just love making these!):

I used the Fancy Frame Stamp and Die combo and a sketch from Card Positioning Systems. The shaker portion has clear micro beads and a tiny bit of confetti.

This is also for Simon Says Stamp - use 3 different papers and Delightful Challenges - use patterned paper.

My tip is to use craft foam when making your shakers. It cuts really easily (I actually die cut mine) and comes in a lot of different colors to match your project. It's also easier to use than a whole bunch of foam tape! I hope you like my card and tip and TFL! BTW, don't forget to check out the YNS Blog to see everybody who is participating in this Fun Friday!

Just Because

Today's card was made using FTL #178 from Clean & Simple Stamping:


The flowers are from Prima, the ribbon is from May Arts, the sentiment is from Papertrey Ink and the swirl die is from Sizzix.

This is also for C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - No designer papers and Secret Crafter - BINGO (I used swirls, flowers and pearls). I hope you like it and TFL!

Bear Hug

Today's card was made for a few challenges:


I used the Bear Hug image from Sugar Nellie and the sketch from the Sugar Bowl.

The image was colored with Copics and her dress was paper pieced. I stamped/colored/cut out an extra bear to go over the paper pieced dress for realism. Then the whole image was cut out and stuck on with foam boosters. In case you're wondering about the little twine bow, it's tied to a little tag that comes out with the sentiment "Just because" on it (sorry I didn't take a pic of it). The swirl die is from Sizzix.

This is also for:

• Truly Scrumptious - All Creatures Great and Small
• PaperPlay - Critters
• Delighful Challenges - Use your scraps
• Do You Stack Up - Layers

I hope you like it and TFL!

Fun Friday - Large Postcard Gift Card Holder

I have another Fun Friday post for you today! I made a pull-out gift card holder using the new Large Post Card stamp and matching die:


This is similar to the pull-out gift card holder I showed before HERE and you can find the tutorial on how to make it HERE.

I simply stamped the large postcard onto a fun piece of patterned paper and cut it out using the matching die. I also cut another piece of plain white cardstock for the back using the same die. I glued the front and back together on the sides and bottom then added my sentiment from the Fancy Frame stamp set tied on with hand-dyed baker's twine.

Here's a shot of it with the gift card pulled out:



And here's my Fun Friday tip for you: I love using baker's twine on my cards, but even with all the different twines out there, sometimes I still don't have the exact color that I want for my project. The solution - dye your twine to match your project! I used a piece of red/natural twine and dyed it with a mixture of water and Distress reinkers then let it dry. And now I have a piece of twine that's perfectly matched to the paper I'm using - yay! You can dye all sorts of embellishments like seam binding, ribbon, and crochet or embroidery thread. Hope this tip is useful to you and don't forget to check out the YNS blog to see all the other Fun Friday players and for a fun giveaway! TFL!

Summer Swing Birgitta

This is my second post for today. Please scroll down if you'd like to see the first card. :)

Today's card was made for the Day 9 sketch at Card Positioning Systems (I finished all 15 - woohoo!):


I used the Summer Swing Birgitta digi image and a sentiment from Papertrey Ink.

I colored Birgitta with Copics, mounted her on foam boosters and stuck her over the ribbon (from a·muse|studio) and finished it off with 4 small half pearls. I hope you like it and TFL!

Copics used
Skin: RV10, E000, E00

Hair: C1, C7, C9, 100

Hair ribbons and top of dress: R12, R14, R17

Bottom of dress: BG01, BG02, BG05