Hands, Head and Heart

New Videos and a Gina K. Special!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:48:00 +0000

Today I created a new video for you to show you a new pattern with Pretty Patterns 2, and how I also incorporated two of our newly released sets,
Carolyn's Stamp it BIG! 2 and Tami 's Simple Flowers.

Supplies:
Stamps: Pretty Patterns 2and Only God single
Ink: GKD Sweet Corn, Black Onyx, Memnto London Fog
Cardstock: Pure Luxury White, Sweet Corn, and Black Onyx

Gina has a video for you today as well, showing a very special she made with the dots and squares borders from Pretty Patterns 2, as well as the beautiful sentiment stamp Only God you see below: this stamp is FREE this weekend only when you place an order of $25 or more
This is a huge stamp, as you will see in Gina's video! Promotion ends Monday night.

CardMaker Tip

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

I have a post up on the Cardmaker Blog today. I hope you'll check it out!

You can find the post HERE !
Thanks for stopping by! I hope today's tip helps you design when you are planning a card or find that your design still needs a little something!

CardMaker Flourishes Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Good morning! Today the CardMaker team is featuring the company Flourishes, along with their own designers, and I hope you have been enjoying the hop thus far! I got the adorable set Simply Charming. The fun thing was, a sweet friend gave me a lovely charm bracelet for my birthday around the same time i received the stamps, so I was able to make her a super customized thank you card!

This set includes a long bracelet (which can bend a bit to change the orientation on the card) plus lots of charms to add to it, depending on the occasion. I added a greeting to the heart locket, and of course some bling! I colored the bracelet and charms with Copics C-3,and BV23, accented the heart with R22 and R27, and then used a pale blue B21 instead of gray for the shadows so it wouldn't run together as much with the grays in the bracelet.

Now please continue on to Flourishes, the final stop on today's hop and see what they have in store for you, a nice giveaway of their May release, valued at more than $70! :)

Thank you Flourishes for sponsoring!

A Sale at Annie's, Oh My! (and an Anouncement)

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:57:00 +0000

Look what I just spied: Annie’s Catalog Spring Clearance Sale!

"Everybody loves a good sale, especially one where items like paper-crafting books and products are discounted up to 60% off ! The Annie’s Spring Cleaning Clearance SALE is going on right now. You’ll find products such as Elmer’s adhesives, various stamps, fine-point pens, the Sew Easy stitching tool and more. There are 700+ products on SALE! Here are some of our favorite paper-crafting books you can purchase at a discounted price now, but remember that quantities are limited and when they are gone, they are gone."

So...may I strongly recommend...only $9.95 for a limited time...my book ? ;)

A Year of Flowers

Also, while you're there, you might want to add this

BRAND NEW one to your cart:

my new book

Fabulous Stamped Frames!

{eek!}

So of course this being new is NOT on sale, but you'll be one of the first to get it and love the value! Just released, this book features new samples and tutorials for my seven frame stamp sets from Gina K Designs (click this link for list of sets). I will be sharing a video shortly with a peek inside of more projects (36 total)! So excited it's finally available for purchase after so much work last year and months of waiting! Notice you can also download this copy and have it instantly, pay no shipping! So many readers have written saying how much they love having a digital version, to zoom in, display larger etc. :)

Thank you for visiting today and letting me share my happy news! Please help me spread the word!

More soon!

A Little Something: Ombre

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:03:00 +0000

Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend! I will be sharing some of the highlights of mine in a bit. For now, here is a card I made with the new Free with Three A Little Something set (don't you love this font?) stamped in black and colored with Copics. I used one of my Silhouette Studio cut files (Rings and Herringbone) to make this cut out card front and stamped the herringbone border from Pretty Patterns 2 in this order after cutting: Gina K. Sweet Corn, Sweet Mango, Red Hot, and Cherry Red for the ombre effect.

I kept the coloring loose on the flowers and vase, and pulled in the warm colors of the background with the red flowers, but went with the cool aqua shade for the vase to add more pop and contrast. Image and sentiment stamped in Gina K. Black Onyx. I used Pure Luxury White, and Kraft for the base.

If you have not yet watched my video from this weekend, please be sure to scroll down and check it out for the first of many videos with this set. In addition to sharing how I create one background, I have some more tips about these stamps so please enjoy! If you like it, please give it a thumbs up or share it with your friends! Thanks! :) Have a great day!

Pretty Patterns 2: Video #1

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Sat, 11 May 2013 16:44:00 +0000

Yay, my video for Pretty Patterns 2 is now working! Please check it out! And more videos soon to come for this set, since there are a zillion and one pattern possibilities. :)

And here is the card I made, which also uses Blessing from Above.

Friend is having a little boy, praise!

Please write if there are specific patterns you need help with or would like to see, as well as coloring requests, of course. Now that I have my new lights, the conversion software, I'm set to do these regularly! Have a terrific weekend!

Pretty Patterns 2: Roughed Up!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:57:00 +0000

Well, I finished my new Pretty Patterns 2 video for you, think it turned out pretty good minus a blooper but unfortunately the format is not one that Youtube recognizes, so I can't upload it without converting it. And I am sketchy on how to convert it but do have directions, so...! (Not sure why my other videos worked and this one didn't, but anywho...! Boo hiss!) Hopefully this weekend!

Anyway, until then! Here is a card I made with one of the new duos Time and Pretty Patterns 2. I was trying out these border stamps with some of the inks when they first arrived, wanting to do something a little unexpected. The two yellowish brown shades are both Gina K. Honey Mustard, the lighter one is stamped off. This is a quick way to fill up a mat with this particular pattern, to stamp again without re-inking. I used the individual diamond element inked in Ocean Mist to fill in random openings. However, I noticed I messed up on that one at the top right being half inked and half not, from when I stamped off the corner of the mat and restamped, ya know?), so I quit without finishing. Something about it, though, kept me from wanting to scrap it, so the other day I decided to leave the pattern "as is" and just sponged more of the Honey Mustard ink around the edges to make it look like a timeworn, artsy paper. Perfect for this stamp duo! The fact that my brand new stamps were resisting the ink a little so they had a little texture to them, too, was kind of serendipitous!

Doesn't that detailed watch look sharp stamped in the Black Onyx ink over this modern pattern? I kind of love it! I used some Tim Holz findings I had in a drawer from a CHA make and take years ago but had never used, think the hanging chain and charms are perfectly in keeping with the theme. Cardstock is Pure Luxury White and Ocean Mist.

So glad you are lovin' the new patterns! :) Thanks for all your wonderful feedback about my samples this week!

Day 4: A Little Something and 3 Darling Divas

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Good morning! The Gina K. Designs Team welcomes you to the final day of fabulous Inspiration Blog Hops this week! We hope you are inspired with many beautiful ideas, and as you hop through our blogs, make sure to leave a comment on each of them because Gina will choose a few random comments and those stampers will each win a grab bag of Gina K. Designs products! To see the full list of winners check the Big News forum at Stamp TV a few days after the hops.

First up, we have more Darling Divas from Debbie Corbari! I was so instantly charmed by this little couple Mr. and Mrs. Diva! I must say, I'm in a stage of life where I don't seem to know many people getting married, but I am excited about this image for anniversaries, no matter how many years, keep the romance alive and never forget that wedding day and how crazy the bride and groom were for each other! Think I may just leave this out on my hubby's nightstand... :) Actually looks a lot like him, but he did not pick me up at our wedding ;)

I outlined the edges of her dress and slippers with Sakura silver glitter pen, Cinderella style!
Don't forget to add a big ol' rhinestone to bling up her married hand!

White and Black Onyx Pure Luxury cardstock, Gina K. Designs Love Letters designer paper.

Oh, and I *really* love this trench coat on Rainy Day Diva!! Paper pieced with Gina K. Hello Sunshine patterned paper pack. Bring on the rain!!

Finally, we have the new Free with Three set, A Little Something, free *this month only* with the purchase of any three stamp sets valued at 19.95 or more.

(Three divas or duos count as one set toward this promotion)

What's more festive than brightly wrapped presents? I love how you can color these to match any season or holiday. This a very versatile free set! Don't forget to outline the details with just bit of glitter for sparkle! Cardstock is Pure Luxury White, Black Onyx, Passionate Pink and patterned paper is from the Gina K. Designs Birthday Hoot designer paper pack. BTW, looks like this is one of the most pinned cards I shared for our release, and I suspect it has something to do with the curling ribbon! To do this, cut a long piece, arrange, and tack down the curls with some glue dots and the bottom edge with Scor-Tape. That's it! Easy peasy!

Here are the stamps we are showcasing today:

Green Thumb Diva

Rainy Day Diva

Mr. and Mrs. Diva

A Little Something

Now please enjoy continuing the hop with our Gina K. Designs design team! Thanks for visiting!

Gina K
Debbie Corbari - Illustrator of The Darling Divas
AJ Otto
Becky Oehlers
Beth Silaika
Carolyn King
Cathy Tidwell
Latisha Yoast
Laurie Schmidlin
Lee Murphy
Sean Fetterman
Sharon Harnist
Tami Mayberry
Valerie Stangle

Inspiration Hop, Day 3: Weather or Not and By the Sea 2

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Good morning! The Gina K. Designs Team welcomes you to another fabulous Inspiration Blog Hop! Today we hope you are inspired with many beautiful ideas, and as you hop through our blogs, make sure to leave a comment on each of them because Gina will choose a few random comments and those stampers will each win a grab bag of Gina K. Designs products! To see the full list of winners check the Big News forum at Stamp TV a few days after the hops.

First up we have the lovely By the Sea 2 by Theresa Momber.

I sponged in this order on Pure Luxury White, using all Gina K. ink pads: Sweet Corn, leaving the very center of the white mat open, Sweet Mango layered around the yellow, Red Hot out to the sides, and finally Cherry Red on the edges. To create the horizon, I placed a piece of scratch paper across the middle and sponged on more Cherry Red along the mask's edge, leaving the center unsponged (is that a word?), to create a huge, bright reflection of the setting sun. Before removing the paper, I carefully sponged the teeniest bit of black over the Cherry Red to deepen the color, but so this *very* sparingly. Next stamp the silhouettes: look how crisp and opaque the new Gina K. Black Onyx ink is!! TIP: To reflect the pier, I inked the stamp up in Memento London Fog and stamped it on acetate to create a reverse image, then lined it up below the bridge and pressed. I added just a few a wavy lines for waves with Memento Rhubarb Stalk marker and Ranger Picket Fence White. Base is Pure Luxury Black Onyx.

Here is a simple card I showed at the party. You don't have to make a sponged scene or do a lot of coloring to enjoy the images in this set. Paired with more graphic elements you have quick and easy CAS!

Next up we have Weather or Not by Beth Silaika. Like these big puffy clouds and all the weather sayings you know and love. You can use these images and sentiments in any season.

I added some tiny rhinestone precipitation (wouldn't raining diamonds be amazing? but maybe hurt a little?) I also used my silver Sakura Glitter pen to go over the dots around the clouds (silver lining, of course)

I used my new Pretty Patterns 2 set to create this colorful background with Gina K Grass Green, Red Hot and Innocent Pink pads, and Memento Tangelo and Danube Blue. These colors were inspired by a super bright chevron dress I just bought. (Yep, you can totally see me coming!) It's fun to use this border to imply lightning or precipitation in a very stylized way. I also used the ginormous arrow from Carolyn's new Stamp it BIG! 2 set to accentuate the greeting and for an extra pop of color, cute right? I love arrows, have I said that?! (And I love mixing sets, all three being from this release!)

Here is another, with the umbrella, pieced with a pattern I stamped from the herringbone in my Pretty Patterns 2 sets and stamped onto one of the cut files backgrounds. The umbrella (and boot) is such a great image for paper piecing.

Here are the sets we showcased today:

By the Sea 2

Weather or Not

Now please enjoy continuing the hop with our Gina K. Designs design team! Thanks for visiting!

Gina K
Beth Silaika - Illustrator of Weather or Not
Theresa Momber - Illustrator of By The Sea
AJ Otto
Becky Oehlers
Carolyn King
Cathy Tidwell
Debbie Corbari
Latisha Yoast
Lee Murphy
Sean Fetterman
Sharon Harnist
Tami Mayberry

Inspiration Hop, Day 2: Simple Flowers and Stamp it BIG! 2

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Here is a single layer card using all these big honking brackets and arrows! Isn't that fun? I colored in every other line after stamping the patterned arrows, and traced the outer edge of each to make them look dimensional. Love this little birdie, he can perch anywhere! I snipped out the heart from his wing to accent the "o" in You. I used the Gina K. Black Onyx ink for my brackets and bird, Ocean Mist for the greeting, and Sweet Corn, Grass Green,Turquoise Sea and Passionate Pink for the arrows. All these new ink pads are getting a workout, love!!

I've used the large greetings and butterflies on several cards so far that I've made with my new Pretty Patterns 2 borders, but I hadn't used her house yet and thought it might be fun to try to use the patterns in some different ways...this card was so fun to make! I thought the herringbone border stamped onto the roof (I masked off the scalloped roof line and chimney before stamping) would make great shingles, and stamped it again in Gina K. Grass Green and trimmed to make a nice strip of grass to anchor it.

I stamped my row of dots from my set to make a Red Hot Swiss dot pattern on the house, and then cut out the heart window to place the bird inside. Finally, I wanted to show how great these big bold words will pick up texture when you kiss them! TIP: Choose a tighter pattern with more details like this herringbone pattern to get more of the textured effect when kissing and pick up more of the letters so it's readable. After kissing it in brown, it was still a bit light after stamping, so I stamped it again inked up in Gina K. Red Hot over the first stamped image. You can do that with clear stamps, yes! :) I love how that pattern on the word ties in the stamping on the house and grass. Card uses Wild Dandelion, Black Onyx and White cardstock.

Hope you like it, Cammie!

Stamp it BIG! 2

Next up we have Simple Flowers from Ms. Clean And Simple herself, Tami Mayberry! :)

I managed to use every image in the Simple Flowers set AND EVERY *new* Gina K. Designs Premium dye ink pads (all 8! Turquoise Sea, Blue Raspberry, Grass Green, Passionate Pink, Sweet Mango, Sweet Corn, Bubble Gum, Black Onyx) that we just released on this card, how ya like them apples? Don't they all go so well together? I love stamping my own patterns, simple indeed. :) Cardstock is Pure Luxury White, Black Onyx, and Sweet Corn. I added a few small bling to the centers for sparkle.

I also was looking at these floral elements again last night and realized how lovely they would be stamped over some of my Pretty Patterns 2 for even more versatility,
I could put flowers with anything! ;) Isn't that so fun and girly?!
I I also stamped the individual Moroccan images on either side of the her punched tag to go with the border. Cardstock is Pure Luxury White, Cherry Red. Ink is Black Onyx, Chery Red, and Memento London Fog. Victoria Cuttlebug folder. I have so many ideas for these round elements paired with my square tile pattern border, too, eek! So many patterns, so little time!

Simple Flowers

Now please enjoy continuing the hop with our Gina K. Designs design team! Thanks for visiting!

Gina K
Tami Mayberry - Illustrator of Simple Flowers
Carolyn King - Illustrator of Stamp It Big! 2
AJ Otto
Becky Oehlers
Beth Silaika
Cathy Tidwell
Debbie Corbari
Latisha Yoast
Lee Murphy
Michelle Woerner
Sean Fetterman
Sharon Harnist
Theresa Momber

Inspiration Hop, Day 1: Pretty Patterns 2 and Bold Blooms

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 06 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

First up we have my new Pretty Patterns 2! Oh, the things you can do with this set!

Today I thought I'd first share how Debbie made the background for one of the cards she shared at the party. I love the illusion of the circles in the negative space.

To begin, make sure your stamp is properly aligned on your block (a 6 or 8 inch block works for these 4 3/4" borders). You'll notice that other than the herringbone and tile pattern border, the remaining 5 border strips all have 6 repeating elements. This allows them to be centered over one another when you stamp to make all sorts of two step and three step combinations. You'll want to center the 3rd and 4th elements in the border on either side of the crosshairs at the center of your grid line block (so, three on each side). The points of these will be pointing to that spot.

Stamp the border in the middle of your mat in Gina K. Passionate Pink. Working outward this way keeps you from having a full pattern on one edge and just a sliver on the other.* You can easily find the center by placing your cardstock on top of a ruled mat like the Scor-Mat. TIP: I'm going to make this card portrait style, but I always stamp long images left to right since it is easier to hold, and then just turn the mat after stamping.

Next, ink up the border in Gina K. Sweet Mango and line up below the first stamped border, hovering over the mat until you see circles "appear" between the concave diamonds (so cool!) and then press down.

Now stamp the third row above in Gina K. Turquoise Sea in the same manner. It's okay if you get a little bit off and one row of circle spaces is a bit "taller" or "fatter" than the other. Note: to get a "perfect" circle, the diamonds borders will *not* be touching, but please don't worry about being perfect! Just sayin' for you perfectionists! ;)

The open space created with this stamped pattern is perfect for placing a greeting (I used Theresa's By the Sea 2) stamped in the new Black Onyx ink. I stamped some tiny circle elements from the set on either side of the sentiment (switch the colors putting the orange and turquoise on opposite sides of their stamped borders for balance) and inside a few of the openings in the new Gina K. Bubblegum ink. Some tiny rhinestone bling and a Black Onyx Pure Luxury base make this card complete. Easy peasy, under 10 minutes! Two layers, three stamps!

I hope this helps show that you don't always have to cover the entire mat with pattern, and can use just a few images for dramatic effect and get a bold CAS. Love these colors!

Here is another quick sample I stamped up with the new Gina K. inks (Sweet Mango, Passionate Pink, Grass Green, Turquoise Sea, plus Memento Rich Cocoa) using the smaller elements collage style to make a whimsical background. You don't always have to make a pattern, this looks so magical and "sparkly" to me, like fairy dust! Greeting is from Carolyn's Stamp it Big! 2.

Finally, some cards mixing up the "fancier" patterns from this set to go with the next set we are showcasing today: Becky Oehlers's new Bold Blooms. Below is a step by step for the diamond pattern I created on one of the cards I showed at our release party. I stamped this up before the new Gina K inks arrived, so I used Memento Lulu Lavender, Sweet Plum, and Elderberry (but I hear "the Gina K. purples" are coming soon, yay!) I knew I wanted to have my greeting at the top, plus some white space to add the flower, so it wouldn't get lost on top of the pattern, so I stamped the tile border avbout 1/3 of the way down my Pure Luxury White card front.

Next I inked it up again and stamped it below, lining up the points and leaving a space for stamping some of the smaller square elements in between. Repeat one more time, going off the bottom edge. I know that stamp looks so much darker than lavender (but it just has staining on it from previously being inked with darker colors, no worries!)

Repeat one more time, going off the bottom edge.

Next I inked up the 4 square image in Elderberry and stamped into every other open white space. Follow up with the smaller open square inked in Sweet Plum in a few of the remaining spaces.

Last, I inked up the tiny diamond in Sweet Plum and stamped it at most, but not all, of the intersections between the tiles.

You can keep the pattern completely symmetrical or random. Keep stamping until you are happy with the look! If you get a smudge, make a boo boo, or get a little "off with the pattern, you can hide it with your focal point of sentiment tag over it! ;)

That's it! I love how the different purples in this monochromatic pattern pick up the dark and light shades I added to the petals in Becky's Bold Blooms flower. The addition of the smallest diamonds adds such a "sparkle" to the pattern and goes nicely with the tiny seeds inside the bloom. These step outs are a re-creation of the pattern from my card from last week, so you will notice below I had more space in between the borders and elderberry stamped squares on the finished card.)

I colored the flower with Copics, BV00 , BV02, V17, YG03 and G99. The purples aren't exact matches for these Memento ink pads, but thy blend nicely, no need to always worry about the matchy matchy. Cardstock is Pure Luxury White and Lovely Lavender. Greeting is from Tami's Simple Flowers.

Here is one more I made with Pretty Patterns 2 and Bold Blooms, this time using one of my Studio cut files I simply stamped the four rows of the Moroccan pattern in black on the cut mat, and then added the diamond border. I wouldn't have thought to put these borders together when I was designing the set, but I like it!

Copic colors are Y19, Y21, Y23, YG03 and G99. I love how the stamped pattern and cut out resembles a trellis. Greeting is from Tami's Simple Flowers.

I was hoping to have a video complete for today's hop, but no. Soon! Be sure to come back for moe inspiration and some pattern making videos! And definitely a tip sheet for this set with so many possibilities, so stay tuned!

Here are the full sets we are showcasing today.

Pretty Patterns 2

Bold Blooms

Now please enjoy continuing the hop with our Gina K. Designs design team!

Gina K
Melanie Muenchinger - Illustrator of Pretty Patterns 2
Becky Oehlers - Illustrator of Bold Blooms
AJ Otto
Beth Silaika
Carolyn King
Cathy Tidwell
Debbie Corbari
Latisha Yoast
Lee Murphy
Michelle Woerner
Sean Fetterman
Sharon Harnist
Tami Mayberry
Theresa Momber

* TIP: An easy reference, however, is 4 of the large borders will stamp on a mat with layers for an A2 card. Refer to card in this post. If I'm planning to do that, I start at the top or bottom and work my way to the other side since there won't be a "middle" row when you are stamping four. All the border strips are 4 3/4" inches long with is perfect for centering on a card front. On a portrait layout, they will go off the edge when you stamp them horizontally. If you want to extend these borders beyond 4 3/4" they will nest or stamp together easily. You can also use just one of the individual matching elements to stamp just one or as many as you need on the ends to add to the length.

New Stamps Now Available for Purchase!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:49:00 +0000

Fun party last night, thanks everyone for turning out and supporting, it was great!

New products now available!

I can't wait to show you some videos and step by step tutorials of making different trendy patterns with these Pretty Patterns 2. Many are intended to work together, but I also found how beautifully several of them looked layered over one another that I didn't even realize would go together when designing, they all work so well!

Here is one card I shared at the party last night, using that middle pattern you see above, known in textiles as "Moroccan", along with the smaller version of the border and the dotted border. I also used one of my new cut files (but you can achieve a very similar look without if you don't have a Silhouette, I was just testing all my cut pieces!) Die cut is the Spellbinders A2 Filigree set. Cardstock is Pure Luxury Tomato Soup, White, Black Onyx, and Smoky Slate and ink is Gina K Red Hot and Black Onyx.

I will upload the step by step photos shortly to show the order I stamped everything in as soon as I get the photos edited and saved (hint, big, to small!)

How many stamps did I use on this card, can you tell?

Here is the full reveal of my new Pretty Patterns 2. Which is your favorite?

Don't forget to check our GKD Silhouette Store for new cut files, listed alphabetically, scroll down to P for my newest files!

Have a terrific weekend!

Our inspiration hops start Monday!

You're invited to a Party! Illustrator Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Good morning! I am so excited to give you a sneak peek of my newest set Pretty Patterns 2, a follow up to my one of my bestsellers, Pretty Patterns, even more trendy and classic borders and pattern-making possibilities abound! Today we have just a few more peeks from our illustrating team before everything is revealed tonight at out party!

Supplies used: Pretty Patterns 2 and Stamp it Big! 2, Gina K Ocean Mist ink, Memento Espresso Truffle., Gina k Pure Luxury Dark Chocolate, Ocean Mist, and White cardstocks, adhesive pearls.

And a few more quick stampy patterns! Totally customizeable...

I also have some Silhouette Studio cut files I am SO excited about! Not only can you cut out individual elements and strips for borders, I have some wonderfully detailed card fronts and mats that make stamping these new pattens look absolutely incredible!:) Just peeks now, mind you! The finished cards, coming up! They all go so well with our other new sets which I've incorporated, but I don't want to show too much before tonight... :)

Pretty Patterns 2 Moroccan

Pretty Patterns 2 Rings and Herringbone

Now please enjoy hopping with the team for more peeks of what new stamps will be available tonight at 7PM CST for purchase in the Gina K. Designs store!

See a special video invite from Gina K herself explaining a little about the party if you have never been to one. :)

Gina K

Melanie Muenchinger-you are here!

Tami Mayberry

Theresa Momber

Hope you can join us for the party in the StampTV forum from 7-9PM Central! Even if you can't come for the full time, hop you'll pop in for a look and chat! Tell your friends!

So excited!!

Spellbinders Giveaway Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Wed, 01 May 2013 22:28:00 +0000

Thank you all for entering the Spellbinder giveaway and your comments and pins. I loved reading about *your* favorite dies, and found it interesting almost 95% of you said OVALS are the best! (They are great, I must say)

The winner of the prize pack is

Sharyn Polesel who said...

Wow! That's a hard one because I use Spellbinders dies all the time. If I had to choose one, I would say that I probably use the Classic Ovals the most. They are all great, and I'm always on the lookout for a new one.

April 29, 2013 at 8:40 AM

Congrats Sharyn, please email me with your snail mail addy ASAP so I can put your package of diess and M-Bossabilities in the mail.

Thank you again Spellbinders for sponsoring!

Are you ready for an illustrator hop tomorrow and a formal invite to the party Thursday evening?? (you don't need an invite, but we like to) ;)

See you in a few!

Sneak Peek!!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Good morning! How'd ya like that sneak peek on Gina's blog today? I am so stinkin' excited to share the full reveal of all the images in my newest set, a follow up to one of my personal faves and best sellers, Pretty Patterns 2! But for now, a look at this pattern I've been so obsessed with for awhile, that is so hot on textiles, signage, stationery, crafting and even quilting.

It looks so clean and fresh on cards, and I am so happy to be able to create these patterns in any colors I choose! There are so many ways to customize them, too, if you wan to add more color with smaller elements included in the set, I'll be sharing examples of those at the party and in our hops! Here is a simple sample (that also gives you a peek of Carolyn's new set, tune in tomorrow for a sneak peek snippet from that set!) Patterns are stamped in Gina K. Innocent Pink and Red Hot on Pure Luxury White. Base is Pure Luxury Dark Chocolate.

Only 3 more sleeps til the party and new stamps, can't wait wait!!

Be sure to scroll down to read a very special post I am doing with CardMaker today,
which includes a fantastic blog candy from Spellbinders. :)

Favorite Product: Spellbinders Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Good morning! I have a post up on the Cardmaker Blog today sharing some information and inspiration for one of my favorite products, Spellbinders dies, as well a giveaway! Please check it out the CardMaker blog for my full write up (raving about what I love about their products!) and then come back HERE to enter below for an awesome prize pack! :)

I love how beautiful and professional their dies always make my stamped images look, and how special the finished card or project ends up being.

Supplies used: Stately Flowers 1 stamp set, Pure Luxury White and Powder Blue cardstock, white oraganza ribbon and adhesive pearls from Gina K. Designs, Memento Tuxedo Black pad from Tsukineko, Copic markers, Butterfly Kisses M-Bossabilities EL- 024 and Labels Twenty Nine S5-156 from Spellbinders .

Spellbinders has provided a wonderful package of brand new dies and embossing plates used on the card above, PLUS the ones you see below!) for one lucky reader, so that you can use the same products I showed today (as well as few more!) to recreate this project and come up with your own wonderful die cut projects.

Butterfly Kisses

Labels Twenty Nine

Labels Thirty

Whimsical Flora

To enter this contest, tell me below which is your all time favorite set of Nestabilities dies
by leaving an answer in the comments section below.

For an extra chance, pin the card above to one of your
Pinterest boards and include in the description:

Melanie loves Spellbinders!

For a third chance, sign up to follow my blog!
Edited to add: Followers get an extra entry as well. :)

Thanks for participating, tell your friends, and good luck!

I will announce a winner Wednesday.

And come back in just a bit, because I will have a peek of my new stamp set for you! :)

CardMaker/Gina K. Designs Hop!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Good morning and thank you for joining us today for a fabulous joint blog hop with the CardMaker and Gina K. Designs/StampTV design teams! Today we are working with the new Spring Parade StampTV kit. I love all the colored cardstock and patterns in this kit, but since I have done several posts using those colors and papers already, and I know you will probably see several using them during the hop, I went with a different color palette of Pure Luxury colors, and the one mini stamp set I have not yet worked with in the kit, Sweet Friend with this cute birdie and branch.

I used my Copics to add a few accents to the hearts and leaves and Sakura glitter pens for some sparkle. I hand cut the sentiment with scissors to create the speech bubble.

Green ribbon is also included the kit.

Supplies used: Spring Parade Stamp TV Kit, Pure Luxury Bubblegum, Dark Chocolate, and White cardstock, green organza ribbon, Memento Rich Cocoa, Bubblegum and Grass green ink pads, Copics, Sakura glitter pens from Gina K. Designs, Copics, Spellbinders A2 Curved Borders One.

Now please enjoy hopping with the rest of these talented designers and see what ideas they have in store for you! Be sure to leave comments because Gina will be drawing one winner on her blog to receive a $50 gift certificate to purchase the Gina K. Designs products of your choice from the online store! Good luck! Happy hopping (and shopping!)

Next up on the hop is the the lovely and talented

Debbie Corbari!

Outside the Box

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:00:00 +0000

I have a post up on the Cardmaker Blog today, recreating a card from a past issue,
this one being from Gina K herself!
I hope you'll check it out!

You can find the post HERE !
Thanks for stopping by!

Pin it to Win it Blog Hop!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the Gina K. Designs "Pin it to Win it" Blog Hop! Today, the Illustration Team has put together a special hop featuring many of our beautiful new stamp sets enhanced by the Gina K. Designs patterned paper! As you visit each blog, "Pin" the project to one of your Pinterest Boards and use the words, "Gina K. Designs" in your description. We will search Pinterest for your pins and choose 3 winners who will each win a fun grab bag of stamps, patterned paper and embellishments.

Don't have a Pinterest account? That's okay! Leave a comment on each blog and we will choose 3 winners from all the comments, too! Wanna' do both? You'll double your chances of winning some fun Gina K. Designs stamping goodies!

To make this card, you need the new Spring Parade StampTV Kit, A Year of Flowers 2 stamp set, a black ink pad, and Copics B02, B12, YG23, and Y38. That's it! The kit has all the brads, patterned paper and colored cardstock you need. I used a card layout from my book A Year of Flowers, replacing the stamped flowers form the original set with images and a greeting from my new A Year of Flowers 2, and replacing the featured technique faux linen papers I created for the card in the book with some this new kit's patterned papers. Easy peasy. The stripes and floral pattern are so fun with these! Color scheme on the book's card was similar (which is what reminded me to this design as I looked through the kits contents) but I swapped out the Pure Luxury Ocean Mist and Red Hot for the StampTV Kit's Turquoise Sea and Tomato Soup. I didn't bother to mask the images for this one, as the sketchy images look just fine (to me anyway) overlapping. :)

I love how this turned out, and am so glad I had a design from the book to help me since we had company in town this weekend and my mojo has been thrown off the last couple weeks.I also turned it on its side and turned the sentiment tag to share how nicely this layout also works landscape style.

AND, from now through Tuesday night, Gina K. Designs is running a special sale- 50% off all stamp set duos, including 6 new ones AND 25% off ALL Gina K. Designs 6 X 6 Patterned Paper packs. Don't miss out on this great sale!

Enjoy the hop!

'Nuff Said

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 15:21:00 +0000

What a sale! Are these new duos cute or what? Be sure to browse all the sale duos and new sets and then bring your total up to $50 or more free shipping, such a deal! Don't forget to throw A Year of Flowers 2 in your cart if you haven't already!

Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes, it has been a crazy busy but fun week with lots of relatives vistiing. Week 1 down with the cast, 2 more to go!

And DON'T forget that ...

Hugs and blessings,
Melanie

Broken Wing

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

What a week! Well, I turned 40 today, cough, but have barely had a chance to plan anything fun or prepare for this milestone or reflect on years past because my younger son William fractured his elbow Tuesday night, poor sweet child! First time we've been to the outstanding Dell Children's Hospital , ever, never needed an x-ray for either boy before this. Ever. I'll have to stop bragging now that my husband's fine, strong German stock has given my rough and tumble boys unbreakable bones (as well as the Lord's protection of course). To add to the drama, unbelievably, someone rear-ended William and I when we were on our way to the hospital for x-rays! William blurted out, "Did someone just HIT us?? I'm going to have bad dreams tonight for sure!" :( (The first time I have been involved in an accident in more than 6 years, the last being when both boys were in the car with me and someone ran a red light and broadsided us in the intersection.) Anyway, there have been many tears shed, but I think we are turning a corner with the pain being managed pretty well now by meds, and today we go to get the permanent long arm cast from the orthopedic pediatrician to replace the splint from the ER. Happy birthday to me!!! This photo is of him just after they wrapped it, passed out at 11 PM, waiting to be discharged. We are really hoping for waterproof glow in the dark something super cool for his cast, or at least William's "light blue" request. He got to convalesce with me at home Wednesday and stressed about returning to school Thursday, but, of course, his friends gave him tons of love and attention are clamoring to see the new cast and sign it.

Homey update: after almost two weeks of corticosteroids and a new found appetite, he really has a new lease on life! He’s always in the same room I’m in now, and he came outside on Saturday with us in the backyard and hunted in the bushes and ate a lizard.

He got in my lap on his own the other day. He lays on the kitchen floor when I cook dinner and next to the dining table while we have dinner. I'm taking pictures of everything, kind of like a brand new baby with all the first (that seem like "firsts" since it s has been months since he's been doing all these things we've been taking for granted).

The last couple nights he wanted to spend the night outside and seemed confident and decided on going out, perhaps he's visiting his old friends! Some bad manners, though, thinks he knows he’s going to get some slack, with his sudden interest in food and burst of energy, he got up on the dining table and was eating at our drumstick bones when we were listening to Jonathan play keyboard. We’d already finished, just hadn’t cleared the dishes yet. Same thing with when I had a friend over for lunch Tuesday, who happened to be allergic to cats, he kept jumping in her lap to try to nibble off her plate. Ack! (And sounded so pathetic when I closed him up in the office after doing so to keep him away from her, so of course I had to let him our again. My friend was such a good sport!) So that has been a nice gift all week long, getting my little shadow back :)

StampTV Kit Spring Parade Available Now!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

The Design Team for Gina K Designs welcomes you to another blog hop! This time we are featuring the brand spanking new StampTV kit Shine On, whihc is now available for purchase at Gina K. Designs! We are hoping to inspire you with many beautiful creations and ideas for this fabulous collection of stamps and supplies! And as you hop along, be sure and comment on all blogs because on Friday we will choose one Winner to win this awesome StampTV kit!

Here is super simple card you can make in 10 minutes that was inspired by the colored dragonflies on a piece of patterned paper in the new Gina K. Designs Spring Parade pack. I stamped them in Gina K. Ocean Mist, Red Hot and Honey Mustard (stamped off shade) I also traced around the dotted line of the biggest image with a black marker to make that detail stand out. Add dimension by layering the largest ones by stamping it again and cutting out just the wings, folding and popping them up with a foam square. I added two silver nail heads to the top and body and accent wings with Stickles or a glitter pen. Draw a simple dotted trial with a black pen.

And here is the card I shared on the CardMaker blog last week using the mini Blossom set in this kit.

These four mini sets are just adorable!

I love love this paper!!

Check out all of the amazing creations by the Design team below!

StampTV Kit Sneak Peek : Spring Parade

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:00:00 +0000

The Design Team for Gina K Designs welcomes you to another blog hop! This time we are featuring the brand spanking new StampTV kit, and we are hoping to inspire you with many beautiful creations and ideas for this fabulous collection of stamps and supplies! And as you hop along, be sure and comment on all blogs because on Friday we will choose one Winner to win this awesome StampTV kit!

The "In any kind of weather..." sentiment inspired me to make three weather patterns with the stamp images and the different colored stripe patterned papers in the new Spring Parade pack. I placed the mats running vertically for the falling rain, love, and sunbeams. I colored the image with Copics Y35, Y38, YR07, G00, BG23), just be sure to use the Heavy Base Weight White so your coloring won't show through! I used Turquoise Sea and Black Onyx Pure Luxury included in the kit. This kit will be available for purchase tomorrow, enjoy getting more peeks today!

Check out all of the amazing creations by the Design team below!

Today's hop we are dedicating to our dear friend and fellow design team member Sean Fetterman, who suffered a heart attack yesterday. My heart goes out to Sean and what he's going through. The power of prayers and Sean's incredible, shining optimism in every circumstance will be the medicine that pulls him through this, I know it. This card is for Sean. Please lift up Sean in your thoughts and prayers, and if you are able, you can send cards to:

Sean Fetterman
c/o Gina K Designs
4916 Triangle Street
McFarland, WI53558

CardMaker!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 12:45:00 +0000

I have an organization tip today on CardMaker blog. Check it out!

PS Did you read their post yesterday? I was so surprised and excited to see one of my cards (and a peek of one of Carolyn's!) on the new Quick and Easy Cards Special issue!

Can you spot and name the Gina K. Designs sets??

CardMaker Team

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:08:00 +0000

Happy Monday, and I hope you all had a blessed Easter weekend! I'll update you on ours in a bit, but I have a lot of catch up work to do on the blog and stamping for our kit release and blog hops this week, but I wanted to point out that two new designers have joined the CardMaker blog team,

please go check the blog and give them a warm welcome!

I was honored to be asked to remain on the CardMaker team for another four months, so please continue to look for more of my tips, techniques and designs over there.

Coming this Wednesday... a storage tip!

(for your crafting supplies, what else?) :)

Have a terrific day!