Heart Hugs

EtsyInspired #62 Quiltish by Allisa Jacobs

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 07:59:00 +0000

This week's EtsyInspired shop is Quiltish by Allisa Jacobs. This is a really fun and cute shop specializing in zipper pouches, purses and baby gifts. What I really like about this shop is the amazing fabric selection she has! Cute and fun fabrics and even some that are organic. How awesome is that? I love the fun florals, the cute birds, the little ruffles she makes. And even the baby gifts are still really stylish, not too cutesy. Everything seems so fresh, I think it's the colors. There is definitely a lot of inspiration to be found here.

To play along with the challenge, all you have to do is go to the Quiltish by Allisa Jacobs shop and pick an item to be inspired by. Create any item that you'd like and post a link to your creation on the EtsyInspired 62 post on the EtsyInspired Challenge blog. Please link your entries by next Friday, Nov 20 by noon Pacific time. A winner will be chosen by random drawing and posted on the EtsyInspired blog that same day. If you upload to PCP or SCS, please use keyword EIC62.

This week, we have a VERY special sponsor! It'sMay Arts, the ribbon company! Eeeek! I am sooo excited! I would cover my house in May Arts ribbon and just bask in its beauty. Seriously, they have the most amazing ribbon. They have wide ric rac, scalloped edge ribbon, satin ribbon, silk ribbon, ribbon with cut outs, ribbon with pom poms, and the list goes on and on. Sigh...can you hear the dreaminess in my voice?? They are giving away this awesome back of Christmas ribbons shown here. How fun will this be for all your Christmas crafting?

Now, go be EtsyInspired!

I made two cards this week. Both of them are on Kraft card stock, both use the same May Arts ribbon, both have Amy Butler designer paper and both use Unity Stamps. (It's a little like stepping into AJ Otto's blog, huh?)

This first card is inspired by THIS zipper pouch. I had to make one of these cute paper posies. The sentiment is from Unity's Tiny Trinity. And the brad is Kaisercraft.

This second card is inspired by THIS Christmas Ornament. How perfectly does the stamp go with that ornament? The stamp is Unity's Trinity Trio.

Please check out the DT:
Ashley
De
Emily
Heather
Jackie
Joy
Kerry
Kristen
Lee
Shannon
Shemaine (November Guest DT)
Tiffany

Limelight Sketch Christmas Card

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:46:00 +0000

Here's a card I made for the Limelight Papercrafts sketch and product challenge. The product challenge right now is chipboard. I love me some chipboard! Originally, this card was for Noah (a little boy celebrating his last Christmas) however the family celebrated on Nov 8 and have asked that no more cards and gifts be sent. Noah is very sick and they just need peace right now. So, I will keep this card and just pray for Noah and his family.

Ok, this card uses Jolly by Golly from Cosmo Cricket, both the DP and the chipboard. The sentiment is from the OLD Unity Birds of a Feather kit. I don't think the new kit has words in it. And it was just that easy peasy. I wanted something I could send right away and not a lot of embellies that I child could choke on.

Happy Saturday everyone! :)

FWF: Plum Crazy

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Happy Friday everyone! Man, I am SO glad this CRAZY week is coming to an end! I'm hoping that we have a good weekend and that next week is a breeze. I cannot take anymore drama!

Anyhow, here's my card for this week's Friends With Flair post. Did you see the new kit released yesterday? It was pretty fantastic! Love Donna Downey and I love Unity. Anyhow, my card today is combined with the Moxie Fab Plum Crazy challenge. I used Bevy of Butterflies (I actually only have 2 stamps from this set that I traded with Rachel) and the Oct 09 KOTM for the sentiment. The background is the Cuttlebug Floral Fantastical folder. And the bling is from Michael's.

Happy Friday everyone! I hope this weekend brings you happiness and joy!

Apple of My Eye

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:32:00 +0000

Just to let you know, I'm going through some family issues right now and it's really difficult for me. So, if I don't get around to your blog or answer your emails, that's why. If you'd like to send a card my way, you can email me for my address.

Ok, so I made this card for this week's Inspiration Card Sketches and this coming weekend's EtsyInspired challenge BUT we have an AMAZING sponsor this week who sent me awesome products to work with and I forgot to use them. So, here's a sneak peek at the shop though it's really not gonna help you much. And I know that I'm late to the October Afternoon Cherry Hill party. But that's the DP and the little chipboard here.

Victoria Case Sketch Challenge Card

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:47:00 +0000

I have another Victoria Case card for you today. We were given a sketch to use and this is what I came up with. It was a little challenging for me.

I used the Kisses stamp which can be found in the middle of the page HERE. I colored it to look like a young Ashley and Dustin. LOL! From back in the day when I used to wear nice clothes instead of t-shirts every day. :) I should find an old picture to show you all.

Alright, have a great day everyone!

Softpencil Thursday: Digi Paper and Tag

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:44:00 +0000

Hooray for Softpencil Thursday! Elizabeth comes out with the CUTEST stamps! She has a ton of new ones in her shop right now! You should check them out! Lots of fun stuff for the upcoming holidays! This week we got to work with New Butterfairy. Isn't she pretty?

This week, we were given a digi paper and a little digi tag to use as a sentiment. The tag says "Hello" and has some pretty scroll work on it. I'm not sure if you can tell but my card is actually burgundy. I was asking Tiff for colors that went with pink and I picked the one that was most "out of my box." The ribbon however is a sheer brown.

Don't forget you can play along with the challenge over at the Softpencil group on PCP. And check out all of the design team, they are in my side bar. <<<<

Please VOTE for me and a Card

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:32:00 +0000

So, Savitri opened up the voting on her blog to see who has the messiest room. People are supposed to vote. If you could please pop on over to THIS POST and vote for me (Ashley Nguyen Newell) that would be SO awesome! Thanks to anyone who votes!

And here's a card I made for the sketch over at the Rubber Romance blog right now. I changed the sketch up a little since I don't have a ton of Rubber Romance stamps and I need something that would work. I used Robin the Dog Lover for my card. Isn't she pretty? I imagine this is named after the lovely Robin Ireland. :) The DP is Basic Grey. I colored with Copics and Bic markers. The sentiment is hand written since I only have one RR sentiment and it was way too big. I hope you enjoy my card!

Have a good Wednesday everyone! And thank you to all the Veterans out there for their amazing service to our country!

Victoria Case New Release Again!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Woohoo! More new releases over at Victoria Case! That lady is a STAMP MAKING MACHINE! :) She's releasing a bunch of new stamps today:

* Lil Mouse
* Pumpkin Fairy
* Robby
* Sitting Boy
* Sitting Girl

I got to play with Pumpkin Fairy. Isn't she darling? I really love her sweet face and she's just perfect for fall since she's sitting on a pumpkin. The green paper here is SU and I'm not sure what the purple is, it's from my stash. The felt ribbon is from Michaels. The brads are from Making Memories.

Check out Victoria Case's blog today to see sample of all the new releases from the amazing design team!

QKD Review and BLOG CANDY!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:26:00 +0000

Today, I did a little something different and made a video for you all. Please watch and let me know what you think. Should I make more videos?

Also, there's blog candy involved! Vicki from Queen Kat Designs is offering up a surprise grab bag of stamps! For one entry each:

~leave a comment, can be anything

~blog about this giveaway

~tweet about this giveaway

~post this giveaway on Facebook or other social networking page

Please leave a comment with a link to each thing you did. And if you want to follow me, that would be SO awesome! Blog candy will close next Tuesday Nov 17 and winner will be posted Wednesday Nov 18.

Royal MONDAY: Owly Sketch

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 06:59:00 +0000

Hooray for Royal Monday blog hop! :) At least there's one thing to be happy about on a Monday, right? If you are just stumbling in, just go back to the QKD blog to start the hop. If you came her from MY SARA's blog, then you are in the right place!

This week, we were given a sketch to use. I tweaked the sketch a bit to suit my needs. I'm not super good with multiple image panels so I changed one into a sentiment panel. I combined this challenge with the current Embellish Magazine challenge to use green, coral, brown, and owls. For my card, I used the Hooter Stamp Set. The designer paper is SU.

Now, hop on over to the QKD store and pick yourself up some awesome stamps. :)

Here's the hop list in case you get lost:

QKD blog

Alex's blog
Vicki's blog
Kelly's blog
Helene's blog
Penny's blog
Meredith's blog
Linda's blog
Anita's blog
Sara's blog
Ashley's blog (you are here)
Queen Kat Designs Store

WIS Challenge: Butterflies

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Did you see my challenge over at the Whimsical Ink Sorority this week? It's super simple, just add a butterfly or two or more. I made the challenge in honor of the new release, Monarch Mia. I used her on my card, isn't she beautiful? You can see the details and enter the challenge HERE.

I colored my image and matted it. Then I adhered it to a card base covered with this DP from Paper Adventures. The butterflies I added are from a Martha Stewart punch. The rhinestones are actually Kaisercraft. I thought they were a different company before, but these little ones are definitely Kaisercraft.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Another Stamp for Henry

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:45:00 +0000

My dear friend, Katie Cotton owns Paper Makeup Stamps. She is one of the sweetest people I know. She's always looking to help out.

Katie just released this stamp and all the proceeds will go the Henry's family. A snow angel, how perfect. I absolutely adore it and this sweet stamp will be finding its way into my collection very soon.

I just wanted to tell you about another way to help out a little. Hugs!

EtsyInspired #61 ~ Jared in Kansas

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

This week's EtsyInspired shop is Jared in Kansas, fine art nature photography. There are so many beautiful photographs in this shop, so much to be inspired by. I really love how Jared captures nature's beauty. There are picture of such simple things but with a close look, they are truly phenomenal. I love the way he uses beautiful natural light for the photos. The colors are vibrant and beautiful. And the depth of focus really makes the photos breath taking. The shop offers prints from 4x6 inches all the way to 20x30 inches and ACEOs. These would be a lovely addition to any home and also a great gift. He even has free shipping right now.

To play along with the challenge, all you have to do is choose any item in the Jared in Kansas shop to be inspired by. You can make any thing you'd like ie card, layout, cake, jewelry, song, dance, etc... Post a link to your creation on the EtsyInspired #61 post on the EtsyInspired blog by next Friday Nov 12, noon Pacific time. You will be entered in a random drawing to win. If you upload to PCP or SCS, please use keyword EIC61.

This week our prize comes from Whimsie Doodles. They are a shop that has ADORABLE digital stamps and really fun Whimsie Cuts which are cutting files so you can make shaped cards. Check them out, the whole site is SOOO cute! The prize for this week is either one (1) stamp set OR two (2) stamp singles of the winner's choice.

Here's my card for this week. It was inspired by Konza Prairie Grazz at Dawn photo. The designer paper is Basic Grey Indian Summer which I LOVE (thanks Mandy!) and there's no stamping. Also, this is the current 2 Sketches 4 You Challenge.

Please check out the DT:

Ashley Newell (that's me!)

Shemaine Smith (Nov Guest)

Tiffany Johnson

Friends With Flair: No Creative Title This Week

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

What can I say? I am SUPER tired and thinking of a title for the post is just too much for me tonight. It's a lot of working having an infant and a toddler!

Anyhow, did you see all the new and exciting stuff happening at Unity? It's super fun! They finally explained what Ippity is. And they are having a big sale!

Anyhow, here's a quick card I made that I was going to use for last week's FWF post but I changed my mind. I'm a bit tired and busy so you get it this week. :) The bottom of the card base is stamped with Believe Background, it's pretty and florally. And the words come from Butterfly Beauty. The pink paper is SU and the ribbon is from Michael's. The bling is Darice.

Happy Friday everyone!

A Tree For Sweet Henry

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:21:00 +0000

I copy and pasted this:

This week has been a very sad one as a fellow stamper, blogger, and friend Sarah Anderson's 3 year old son Henry passed away. Little Henry was unable to overcome a virus that made him ill last week.

Lorie Ames has organized a way to donate for a memorial for Henry. Henryloved his local zoo and visited it almost every day in the summer. As a memorial, trees will be planted there in his honor. Melissa at Pink Cat Studio has created a digital stamp to help raise funds for a tree for Henry. All proceeds from the sale of the digi stamp, minus Paypal costs, will go towards the tree. If you would like to donate towards the tree, please visit this webpage to purchase the digi stamp:
http://www.pinkcatstudio.com/Digital/DigiStamps/Animals/Zoo/GiraffeAndMonkey.htm

Please click on our DT blog members' links to see a couple of cards created with this adorable stamp.

Another way to donate to the memorial is to print out this form and mail in your donation directly:
http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/Parks/PDF/MemorialTreePamphlet.pdf

Please write on the form that the donation is for Sarah Anderson's son Henry. Once all of the money is collected, a tree and location will be selected. If you have questions about the form please contact our former Limelight DT member Lorie Ames. Lorie will be in contact with Sarah along this memorial journey to ensure that her wishes are followed. To contact Lorie, please visit her blog at
http://www.live-love-laugh-create.blogspot.com/

If you don't know Sarah and would like to learn more about her, please visit her blog: http://scrampinmama.blogspot.com/

Thank you for your help to raise money for a tree in memory of sweet Henry.

Softpencil Thursday: Flowers!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Hooray for Thursday! I love Softpencil day! :) This week, we were given the adorable Michu and His Happy Flowers to work with. Isn't he darling in his overalls? The challenge this week was to use flowers on our card (designer paper, embellishments, etc...)

I colored my image and matted it. I used silver gel pen on the watering can so it would look metallic. Then I just covered a card with some DCWV paper. I love this bright happy paper! I just finished with some Prima flowers with dew drop centers!

Be sure to check out the DT for their lovely creations! They are in my side bar to the left. And you should check out the PCP group and play along with us.

Getting Sketchy with Some Toilet Paper

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:53:00 +0000

Yes, you read correctly. Toilet paper. The adorable Kelly Marie (I like to call her "lil Lawnfawn") came up with the CRAZY challenge to make a card using toilet paper for the Everything But the Kitchen Sink challenge this month. Off the wall and crazy but since she's such a doll and so encouraging, I gave it a go. And I'm pretty happy with it, actually.

I paired this challenge with this week's GetSketchy challenge. The DP is all Basic Grey Sugared. The "stitching" is actually the OBP Noel's Zigzag Stitch stamp I got over at Limelight. And the sentiment is from my Unity Oct 09 KOTM which I finally got on Monday. :) And the butterflies are die cut out of toilet paper.

Hope you all are having a great day!

Victoria Case New Release

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:20:00 +0000

I'm guest designing for Victoria Case this month. :) Can I just tell you that beyond the adorable images, Victoria is one of the sweetest people I've ever talked to? She's a doll! So, if you are looking for amazing customer service and to support a sweet, kind person, you should definitely buy stamps for her.

Anyhow, onto the new release. You can see all of them HERE. I got to work with Fairy 5. Isn't she a sweetie? I love her big eyes! This is a simple card. The DP is DCWV, I added a scalloped border to it that I made with my decorative scissors. I matted the main image and adhered it. The wings have Stickles on them. And I finished with some dew drops.

You can check out samples of the entire new release on the Victoria Case blog today too! Happy Wednesday!

Join Me for My WIS Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 02:29:00 +0000

Just in case you didn't see my Saturday post on the Whimsical Ink Sorority blog, I've put up another challenge! This week's challenge is to use embossing (any kind) on your card. You can view the details by CLICKING HERE.

For my card, I used Pearl. Isn't she pretty? She's all dressed to go to a ball! :) I embossed the light blue paper with the D'vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder. The ribbon is a really pretty irridescent. And then I finished with some dew drops.

On a side note, Parker and I are sick AGAIN. Hubby brought home something from work so I'm not sure how much I will be posting and creating. Sigh...

Wanna Win One of These?

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:40:00 +0000

I know I do! My fabulous friend Heather of Angel Face Designs (you might remember this shop from an EtsyInspired Challenge) is giving away two of her new Simply Charming necklaces. I shouldn't even be telling you about this so I can win but that would be mean and selfish. ;) So, go HERE to Heather's post and enter to win yourself one of these awesome necklaces!

QKD November Release Previews

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:59:00 +0000

I can't believe it's already November! Are you here for the Queen Kat Designs November release previews? You should have started at the Queen Kat Designs blog, if not, hop on back there! There's lots of AWESOME new releases to see! If you are coming from the delightful Sara's blog, you are in the right place! These stamps will be available in the store starting on November 4. Isn't that exciting?

My first project uses Monarch Mia. She's a mermaid that has characteristics of a butterfly. Super pretty! You can't really tell in this photo, but I did color her tail a buttery yellow color. I started coloring her and thought that she stood out more without the background colored in. You know, like those photos that are black and white with a touch of color?

Next up is Lydia. She's a pretty little mermaid with jewels on her forehead and flowers on her tail. I had her colored in and I asked Dustin what color I should make her hair. He said blue. I said "are you sure? Not brown or blond." He was sure and since I asked, I went with it. The background paper here is DCWV, the flower is a Prima, and the little rhinestone is Darice.

And I had my own little guest designer this week. ;) This is Brady's creation, showing that ANYONE can use QKD stamps! He was watching me while coloring in his coloring book. He tried to "help" me color so I gave him his own Lydia image to play with. I let him pick some paper scraps and some stickers to use on his card. This was the FIRST card he ever made, now he wants to make cards everyday. He comes up to me and says "CARDS!"
Now, hop on over to the Queen Kat shop and pick yourself up some yummy stamps. The special right now is buy 2 stamp sets and get 1 separates for FREE or buy 3 separates and get one FREE (valued at $3.99 or less). If you really want to, you can wait until Nov 4 to buy stuff. Also, if you want to WIN a FREE mermaid stamp, don't forget to enter my challenge HERE.

AND don't forget to come back on Nov 19 for the AWESOME BIRTHDAY BLOG HOP AND NEW RELEASE!

Here's the hop list in case you get lost:

QKD blog

Alex's blog
Vicki's blog
Kelly's blog
Helene's blog
Penny's blog
Meredith's blog
Linda's blog
Anita's blog
Sara's blog
Ashley's blog
Queen Kat Designs Store

Messy Room Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:46:00 +0000

Honestly, it should just be called the Ashley contest. I am sooooooo messy. So messy. I was never taught how to organize and though some people think that it's just something intuitive, for me, it's not. I just don't know how to get everything I have into a workable area. Also, I'm HORRIBLE at putting things away between projects.

Savitri is having a messy room contest on her blog. Oy! I don't know if you people are ready for this. Also, I tried to take more pictures but my camera and I are having a fight right now and it's winning. :( So, here's what you get and try not to vomit.

Happy Day After Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:11:00 +0000

Wow! I can't believe it's November already! Hope that you all had a happy Halloween! We had lots of fun. It was our first time going out since we all got well again, I didn't want to expose the kids to any illnesses. But I HAVE to do Halloween.

We went to a Halloween party with our little friends. Everyone was soooo cute! I love little kids on Halloween, they are just darling. Then we went trick or treating, which was also super fun. Parker stayed awake the whole time and everyone thought he was just too cute. And Brady had a blast even though he refused to say "trick or treat" which I had been working on with him all week!

To go with my Halloween post, I'll show you the LAST Halloween item you'll see on my blog for a while. Don't get me wrong, I love Halloween but I'm just ready to move on. This project was made for the Unity Bachelor Challenge. I'm calling it a GIANT tag. Teehee! We were to make a treat bag, box or tag and use the colors orange, purple, green and black.

This uses the spring card technique. I put some extra little pop ups at the bottom. All the stamps are from Unity's Trick or Treat Peeps. Aren't they cute?

Happy November everyone!

EtsyInspired #60 ~ Vivikas

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:59:00 +0000

This week's EtsyInspired shop is Vivikas. Now, I know I say this A LOT but I love this shop! I mean, I really really love this shop. It's one of those shops where if I had tons of money, I would just buy the whole shop out and arrange everything in it in my studio. They call the items in their shop "toy art" and it truly is art. I would NOT let my kids play with these plushies, they are too cute! These are the kind that sit on a shelf and get treasured! Everything is made from felt, stuffed and then 100% hand stitched. You can see how much love goes into each one of these creations. Along with traditional plushies, they also offer ornaments, magnets, keychains, and kitty toys.

This week, Vivikas is offering up BOTH the owlies pictured here to a lucky winner. I wish I could win! ACK! So cute! All you have to do to win is choose any item in a the Vivikas shop to be inspired by. Make any creation your little heart desires and link it up to the EtsyInspired #60 post on the EtsyInspired blog. Please have your creation linked by Friday Nov 6 at noon Pacific time. A winner will be drawn that day and posted on the EtsyInspired blog. If you upload to SCS or PCP, please use keyword EIC60.

As if that weren't enough, we have a WONDERFUL sponsor this week! Unity Stamp Co! Unity makes the BEST red rubber foam mounted stamps. Their images are super cute. The customer service is amazing. And the prices are fantastic! This week, they are giving away the awesome Birdie Inspiration set to one lucky winner! This set is so cute! I wish I could win. I really should resign from the team so I could play along and win! :)

Here is my card for this week. I was inspired by the ADORABLE Mr Penguin. I used Unity's Jolly Little Winter set for my card. The background paper is Cosmo Cricket. On the white "ground" part of my card, I used Frosted Lace Stickles to give the appearance of snow.

Please check out the DT:

Ashley Newell (that's me!)

Mandy Chesire (Oct Guest)

Shannon Bracken

Tiffany Johnson

M's Sketch, Brady Style!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley Nguyen Newell) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 17:28:00 +0000

Savitri Wilder has a new challenge on her blog. Her daughter Emma draws a sketch for everyone to use. But not just that, they encourage people to have their kids make cards based on the sketch. There are prizes not just for the big crafters but also for the little crafters. :) For details on this challenge CLICK HERE.

Ok, I haven't gotten a chance to make a card for this sketch yet but Brady wanted to make a card this morning. He's quite the little card maker now, obsessed like mommy. I asked him what he wanted to use for the card and he told me "monkeys" and so I helped him stamp a monkey and he said "two monkeys." I let him pick out of some paper I have set aside for him and he liked these animals. Then I asked him if he wanted a blue or green card base, he picked green. Then he went into my embellishments and picked out some bling, ALL on his own. He is SOOOOO much like me! Clearly, he's been watching what I do.

Anyhow, Happy Halloween everyone!