Hands, Head and Heart

Majestic Moments Now Available! And Two New Videos!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 00:32:00 +0000

You will love creating with my new Majestic Moments stamp set! Also available as a bundle with coordinating dies!

My first two video tutorials for this stamp and die bundle are now available on my Youtube channel. Check them out here!

Blend and Stamp a Night Sky with Majestic Moments

Scenemaking with Serene Seascapes and Majestic Moments

Please enjoy! Love reading your comments!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 19:01:00 +0000

I illustrated a children's book! This is so exciting not only because it is a first for me to illustrate someone else's story, but because it is by an author who lives in my neighborhood, based on an event that happened while I lived here in 2003! I know the streets, landmarks and community well, and it was a joy to recreate and reimagine so many places and scenes, along with details that are special to me and to others. It is sweet book for reading with elementary age children and includes a workbook for making community and connections, along with a fun "can you find?" list in the back.

Purchase Domino's Dots here

Video: Mini Slimline Card with Fresh Flowers!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Thu, 29 Jul 2021 18:03:00 +0000

Hello! Welcome to my first video with Fresh Flowers stamp set and dies! This was an on the fly card because I wanted to use the new Master Layouts 7 set for a mini slimline card, which was perfect for arranging a taller flower arrangement, and work in the color challenge #13 for our Gina K. Designs and StampTV Friends Facebook group! I think it turned out great, hope you enjoy all these tips for direct to stamp for your flowers and vases, blending, reverse masking a table top, etc! Please enjoy the video and I hope you will subscribe to my channel so you never miss a video or ideas for my sets.

Let me know which card is your favorite OR what you want demoe'd next in the comments below, I look forward to reading them! Full supply list in video description!

To see more of the color challenge I mentioned and play along, be sure to use #gkdfbchallenge13 We've moved along to Challenge 14, but it's not to late to view the gallery or try out this fabulous color combo! PS Oops! I forgot to add that rainbow heart before I wrapped it up! I darkened a pale orange one with the marker I showed and adhered it over the dot in the i in "hi" with Connect Glue. It's the little things that make a card extra special!

Video: Say "Happy Birthday!" with Beautiful Bee and Beautiful Wings!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 13:48:00 +0000

Hello! New video for you, thanks for your patience! This is a really fun one to make the balloons with the hexagon shape in each of the Beautiful Bees and Beautiful Wings sets! Look through your stash and see what other things you could have hold or be lifted up by this geometric bunch of balloons! Please enjoy!

Beautiful Birds Tip Sheet!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 00:50:00 +0000

Please enjoy the following tips! Beautiful Birds will be back in stock soon, be sure to get on the waitlist if you missed purchasing it on release night! Here are some samples illustrating some of the following tips to get you started planning and creating! Happy stamping!

Beautiful birds stamp set from Gina K. Designs contains 5 greetings, 5 birds, and 10 nest, leaf and floral elements, for a total of 20 stamps. They are sure to charm your recipients and provide endless fun in the creating!

How beautiful are birds? They are so unique in the animal kingdom in that they live on the ground, treetops, and air! Although this set doesn’t focus on flight (birds always evoke the freedom their wings equip them with)at rest they are in poses of gathering, nesting or singing, all of which will be lovely representing, love, community, ready for a new addition to a family, friendship, etc.

Two birds in this set were drawn to resemble chickadees and bluebirds, but the other (or all, really!) you can change up depending on the colors you use to stamp them or the colors you use to accent their heads, chest, wing and tail markings. An online search of common backyard birds will show how similar the profile of head wings and tail look for a robin, nightingale, bunting, warbler, etc. A little like a cat stamp will lend itself to all sorts of colors and patterns, so have fun! Another way is to use the color you'd like your bird to be to match your ink, cardstock or mood as your search term and go from there. “Pink bird” Will bring up stunning images of a bright pink robin you'll be certain was Photoshopped (it’s not!)

Ideas for how to put your birds together in a scene you only need look out your window or go for a walk or ride for inspiration!

Birds can fit sitting on the eggs or perched on the edge of the nest. They can also snuggle on the branch. Use the single branch image to build out scenes with branches keeping out your card mat for the left or right to create full treetops and interesting backgrounds for your birds.

Contouring and detail in the illustration make these birds extremely easy to color! Markers, pencils or brushed with ink or paint, you’ll want to pet their little feathers when finished.

The squiggly line with the space in between is made for the birds to hold in their mouths, the beak fills the gap! The space may be a little wider when you are using the smaller birds or depending on the position than you want to stamp it. Fill in any gaps with a pen or by touching a blending brush to the ink pad you stamped it with and connect it to the beak as you would use a pen or marker. Depending on the color you stamp or action you are trying to create, this can be a little worm, a twig for lining the nest, or a stem when you add the little flower to one end as a gift for its friend or mate. A busy bird is a beautiful bird!

Add dimension to your scenes by using the coordinating dies and popping up the bird or elements that are closest to the viewer. Pop up the bird to perch on the eggs or nest edge, or die cut the nest and pop it up over the stamped branch.

Stamp or pop up a die cut bird perched on top of a large stamped or die cut word or greeting.

Position the bird to look like it’s pecking at or pulling the end of a scripty sentiment! Positions 2 birds, one on either side of a sentiment, to make it look like they are holding it up like a banner.

It is easy to extend the branch the singing bird is sitting on in several ways! Die cut and flip to put on the other side, stamp the single branch that face the opposite way at the top corner of the set on the other side. Trim the singing bird off to add the nest or other birds in the set.

Stamp birds of the same size to look like friends or a mated pair. Stamp a large and a small one to look like a parent and child. Color 2 of the same bird image in different colors, one in brights and other in earthly camouflage to look like a male and female.

Use blending brushes or sponges to make sunny skies or serene sunrises and sunsets.

Fill out your new bird scene with other silhouette branches or tiny birds in the background, which will add a lot of variety and interest to your scenes, and coordinate with the realistic bird shapes!

Add texture and embellishment by gluing on a bit of string, hemp or bakers twine in their beaks.

There is a little “highlight” built into the illustration of each bird’s eye. This is important in bringing it to life! If you find you’ve lost this highlight because of your coloring or a juicy pad after stamping, keep a white gel pen handy to add it back in after all your coloring is done. Refer to the image sheet to see where this goes, just a dot! This is the last thing I do on my bird cards. You can also use it to add just a few touches to the top of the head or breast, which will look like the sun has picked up a few wispy feathers to add some nice light and texture. If you find you’ve added too much white or don’t like the look of it, just go back over those parts with the same coloring media you used previously.

A white gel pen is also excellent for adding in those little white feathers on the edges of wings or other features that may be characteristic of your bird but different from the illustration. For example, the bird you want to represent may have an orange beak, but the beak looks dark because you stamped the illustration in black, brown or some other dark ink. Color in the beak with white, wait for it to dry, then add your orange coloring on top.

Adding a white highlight when you stamp on colored cardstock will make a huge difference, since we don’t always stamp on white. While the bird will look nice stamped in black on Kraft, you will not see a highlight of light hitting that eye unless you add a white dot. That dot will make the eye sparkle! On the tips of wings and the tail, white will really pop.

Stamp the large or small black capped chickadee in yellow ink and then fill in the open areas of the with a similar yellow to make an Easter chick! Add just a bit of orange for the beak and go over the eye with a black pen. Add the white dot last for a highlight. Chicks don’t really have a tail so stamp them with the tail going off your mat for a nice crop, omit inking the tail portion before you stamp, OR stamp the whole bird and either trim off the tail if you are fussycutting or snip it off your die cut. Refer to an image of a chick to round it off appropriately.

Stamping the birds with no coloring at all will create a very botanical look. Stamped in bright colors give a very graphic contemporary look. Embossed birds will look very elegant!

Most birds have a black or dark brown eye, but you'll need to add this back in if you stamp in any other color. For example, if you want your bird to be mostly gray, let your ink pad do the work and stamp it in gray, but fill in the eye with black so it pops if you want a more defined or realistic look. These birds look fabulous in any color!

Experiment stamping the nest in different shades to look like different materials they might build with: brown for twigs gray for moss, pale green for long reeds, bright green or pink for artificial Easter grass! Although the illustration already has shadows with the darker, more tightly woven part near the ground and more open, light part at the top, you can accent this further by rolling the bottom edge of the next in slightly darker color than what you inked up the whole nest with and stamping, boom, instant shadow! You can also take some different colored pencils, pens or markers and gently doodle, scribble through a few lines over the next material to look like other materials in the next for added realism.

You can leave the eggs uncolored, or really fun to dot with a fine tip marker or pencil for some speckles. If you look at the illustration, you can see bits of each egg peeking through the edge of the nest that is just below them, since the nest walls are not solid, they have some space to view the eggs behind them. Be sure to add a few speckles or the color you used to color them so it doesn’t look like one color above and “white eggs” below.

Use a piece of acetate to create a reflection of a bird looking in the water reading for a bath or to get a drink.

Add some whimsy to your card by going through your stamp collection and add elements like hats for birthdays, scarves for winter or props they can hold, like a flag in their beak! Even though the set is drawn in a classic, realistic style, your fun is only limited by your imagination, or creations by your fellow stampers!

Use these birds with other bush or tree flowers and branches for my Stately Flowers series, or other florals and plants in my or other illustrators in the Gina K. Designs catalog. Birds and flowers go together!

So do birds and butterflies and bees! Try stamping them all together for gorgeous botanical or vintage looking collage backgrounds and focal points.

Three of these sentiments can be found in The Bible, but are often heard written and spoken elsewhere. A” blessed nest” is a home filled with love and abundance, whether that be the arrival of new children, moving to a new home, or starting a new season or chapter.

“I will sing a new song” is all about hope! Turning a page or choosing joy, (good or better) feelings follow our actions and intentions. Lift yourself and someone else with this singing bird!

Use “rest in the lord” (or simple “rest” with the omission technique) along with one of the seated birds. This posture creates a sense of calm waiting, a lovely reminder to live in the moment or lay down a burden, very appropriate for someone who has earned some healing restorative time or is living through, or finishing, a hard season of life.

“…Shelter under his wings” can be used literally or metaphorically as care and protection. Trim along the lower edge of one of the large bird’s wings and slide another cut bird underneath. Instant shelter!

Placing a bird nestle behind a larger arrangement of flowers adds even more life to your cards.

Put a pair of birds together after a large stamped or die cut “Love”. Instant LOVE BIRDS!

Omit or snip off the “birth” from a die cut “birthday” and add a bird image before "day" = happy bird day!! Pun stuff!!

Make different shaped die cut holes in your card fronts with birds stamped inside for the birds to peep through. Cut the card base top into a v to make a roof and stamp with my Perfect Pallet boards with a die cut hole in the middle round or heart for an adorable shaped birdhouse card!

The end bits on the branches can be all leaves or are drawn to look like new flowers budding at the tips. Keep this in mind to add more color to your cards than just greens for the leaves, and have them match or be in coordinating shades as the opened flowers you choose to add from the set by stamping or with the die cut images.

Put the die cut birds on small wooden clothespins or clips and perch on window blinds holding up photos or on a string nailed or tacked to a wall or inside an open frame for charming easy decor!

The size and realistic details of the birds lend themselves to other crafts like jewelry, painting etc! Stamp with Stazon on to leather and trim for a necklace or earrings. Stamp onto a canvas or wood and paint with acrylics, oils or watercolor.

Great Gina K. Designs sets to pair with Beautiful birds images: greetings from Winter Birds and Welcome Home.

More tips to come, plus videos from me demonstrating the ideas, tips and techniques above.

Please share your ideas, whether they be card samples or things you've learned through experience with our wonderful online community of stampers and crafters! Thank you in advance!

A Little Love Layered Stencil Bundle Kit

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 29 Dec 2020 16:23:00 +0000

Good morning, we've got a design team hop on Instagram today celebrating the new mini kit from Gina K. Designs! Get ready to blend, blend, blend because you are going to have some BIG LOVE for Gina's new A Little Love Stamp and Stencil bundle! I used the new layered stencils, stamps and blending brushes to create this beauty, and adorned it with an image from my Beautiful Butterflies stamp set amd coordinating dies! Don't delay, this bundle is gonna fly out the door!

Gina K. Inspiration hops, Day 3: Festive Fall Card Kit and Hey Boo

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Final day of the hops this week, thank you for coming back! Today we are showcasing a wonderfully Festive Fall Kit from Gina K. and gorgeous new greetings from Emily Loggans' Hey Boo set! Let's go!

Festive Fall Kit

Hey Boo

First, look at these beautiful and different sunflowers! I stamped them in Prickly Pear and Tangerine Twist, then stamped then again Chocolate Truffle on the coordinating cardstock, punched the centers out with a circle punch and lined them up over the opposite color on foam squares. I colored my bee to match the prickly pear card base and added an orange Rainbow Heart. The intricate details of these flowers will bee perfect with any of my detailed Beautiful Bees!

Next, you gotta have some nice leaves in your wheelhouse for making cards, these are wonderful, and I hadn't heard this sentiment but it really touched my heart. Obviously, the older we get, the more experienced we are of needing and learning to let go. My son just left the nest, and I am so happy to so this has been almost all "sweet" and no "bitter" because he (for now) is so happy and thriving...how can I be sad a season is over if that's what in store? Memories of him are all over my home and keep me company, that will never change...

Anyway, back to the card! I used GKD Prickly Pear and Dark Chocolate cardstock and this beautiful elegant stencil with the Lifechanging Blending Brush and Prickly Pear ink to add soft texture. The Chocolate Truffle ink gives it more aging and depth, almost like suede, and I popped up this falling leaf. I still had one butterfly from my Beautiful Butterflies set in my stash I colored before but hadn't used yet that was a perfect match and I though it meeting up with this leaf was appropriate: their lives are so short, but noticed, and appreciated for their quiet beauty. Can you tell I love everything about FALL? The rainy windy weather we are having this week makes me SO. Happy!

Moving on, now that I have kids, I can't do "scary Halloween" anymore, but I love "cute Halloween"! And the Halloween set in this kit is that, fo' sho! Get the googly eyes ready because these images and greetings were made to google!

I used one of Emily's Hey Boo greetings and the ghost trio from the kit stamped in GKD White pigment ink and a few strategically placed black and white hearts. Less is moe with these hearts, one or a few add so much! (Eyes from the dollar store.) Connect it all with my favorite Connect Glue!

You probably get tired of me saying, "I wish I could write like Emily." So I'll stop saying it. But just know, I am always thinking it. This..!

I love how different the kit's pumpkins are, so I gave them a modern spin with all the gray that is so popular now, and I love what that adds to the orange, a little contemporary and a little spooky, but all Fall! I added a little more pattern to the sections after coloring with alcohol markers, using a black pen and my white gel pen, for a little extra pop. I used the Master Layouts 2 dies on both of the above cards, love that stitched edge! Cardstock is Tangerine Twist and Moonlit Fog.

Last, how about one more bee pun? I noticed the "hey boo" kind looked like "hey BEE!" Is it just me? (I don't think so!) So with a little noodling, I made it happen. You could do some masking and write it in, or cover and add with black and a white gel pen. I stamped the Beautiful Bee directly on the single layer card and added a gray shadow with my marker for dimension There's that new kit stencil again, with the GKD Wild Dandelion ink this time. So purty.

Finally, there is a darling incentive set this month, check it! Free with a qualifying order of $75 or more. (As if you needed another reason to treat yo'self!)

Love these products, find them all here in What's New! Please tell me in the comments what you liked best today before you LEAVE (leaf)!

Next stop in the hop is Mindy Eggen!

Gina K. Inspiration Hops, Day 2: Timeless Poppies and Bloomin' Wild

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome back, Friends! ready for some more stamping inspo! We've got two more gorgeous new sets to showcase today, from Lisa with Bloomin' Wild and Arjita with Timeless Poppies!

In addition to beautiful flowers and leaves, Lisa always adds a new large element to every floral set that will be very useful on cards of all kinds, and this ribbon/banner/pennant thingy (yes, I'm sure that's what it's called) does not disappoint! I had a bunch of ideas for making patterns with it, but I also noticed it was the perfect width to go with the hexagon die in my Beautiful Bees set, to highlight a greeting or make something like a medal or award! This is a color combo I love, the yellow black and white are so fresh and cheery and the gray gives it elegance! I added a button from my Gina K. stash to the flower of that big, frilly flower and popped up a bee! I stamped this one on Wild dandelion cardstock and the colored the wings white, love that yellow border all around, really pops!

Bloomin Wild die set

Bloomin' Wild

Timeless Poppies

I adore this greeting! I don't have a sister, but thankfully many who feel like one (I mean, I imagine) Thick and thin, true blue. And of course my sisters in Christ. So I have a long list of people I would send a card like this to... That's me and my bee! I'm the one on the right) ;) Cardstock is Pure Luxury Kraft and White. Even uncolored, these flowers shine...

But, colored, drop the mic! And how gorgeous are fall colors?! I wanted it to look more graphic so I kept the colors more solid rather than blending. Card base is GKD Pure Luxury Coral Reef and sentiment is stamped on GKD Kraft.

And of course if you wanted, you could replace the word "be"...with a stamped BEE. just sayin!!

Love these sets, great job, illustrators! Please tell me in the comments your favorite card today!

Here's all the new stuff in What's New!

Next on the hop is the amazingly talented Mindy!

Gina K. Designs Inspiration Hops, Day1: Beautiful Bees and Innocent Orchid

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Hello! Today we are hopping with the new release sets and kicking it off with my Beautiful Bees stamp set and Hannah Drapinski's Innocent Orchid! The design team has worked so hard to share fun ideas with these fantastic sets and look forward to reading your comments as you hop through, the more you leave the more chances you have to win a $50 gift certificate to Gina K Designs! Winner announced a few days after hops conclude.

As soon as I finished up drawing the Beautiful Butterflies set a few months ago, I got busy (pun intended) drawing BEES! Having pretty winged things and coordinating dies to adorn all your cards and stamped floral arrangements made gorgeous cards in no time a breeze, I just had to make a fun follow up! BEE-lieve me when I say these honeybees of various sizes and poses will BEE so versatile year-round! I also included huge dahlias for them to pollinate and you to color, leafy bits to build out arrangements, punny sayings, and some hexagon elements that allow amazing patterns and take these bee creations to the next level! You'll see from samples to come it is is *such* a playful set, I am having a blast with it!

In the first video, I show how quickly you can color the die cuts and add a bit of sparkle to the wings before popping them up on foam adhesive. Isn't this hexagon background fun? I stamped off to create 4 shades with 2 ink pads, Wild Dandelion and Sweet Mango (didn't not end up sing the Sweet Corn ink I mentioned in video, no need!). I used the Master Layouts 2 dies for my mats, the dashed border is perfect with the flying, busy bees, always on the move! All the small greetings in the set fit inside the solid hexagon image or die, which is perfect of really spotlighting your sentiment or making little bee themed tags.

I just love how quickly this honeycomb comes together stamping off! And some black and white hearts in the centers for dimension and cuteness. TIP: The white hearts in the assortment can all be colored with your markers as you go to match your inks and cardstock, perfect coordination, yay! Cardstock is Wild Dandelion, White and Black Onyx.

This video dropping soon! UnBEElievably cute! I love how the wonky layer gives the impression the whole mat is about to lift off!

And one that is simply BEE-autiful! Look at this dahlia!

BEE sure to buy some Rainbow Hearts! (and attach with GKD Connect Glue) The bees may BEE little, but their hearts are BIG! This is one of a series of cards I created using the bee image to stamp in for the word "Be", along with different words from my "This Girl Is" set, so many options, you're recipient will BEE so empowered and encouraged! Bee strong! Bee joyful! (I'll show you those in the video) Of course, another video! It's all in the details, I decided to draw this line with a pen and ruler to extend the die's dashed border (Master Layouts 2 dies) as well as it give it a confident straight trajectory, bravely "into the unknown"! This kind of flight is very un-bee-like, as they are kind of in and out all over the place, but they have their good reasons. I just love how its little heart is leading it, truly knows where its going! #beegoals

So this set sold out last night, but please BEE patient, it will BEE back in stock soon! Thanks SO much for your support and love for the bees! Be sure to click "notify me" on the dies and stamps' links below if you missed it and you will be the first to get an alert when its back!

Beautiful Bees stamp set

Beautiful Bees die set

Next up, Hannah drew a ginormous orchid corsage! When I saw this greeting in the set "You don't have to do anything alone", I knew two little bees working together side by side on the flower would give it even more meaning, really bring that message home, don't you love it? Such a beautiful message, love these sentiments

FUN FACT! It takes about 556 worker bees to gather 1 pound of honey from about 2 million flowers. It takes about 55,000 flight miles per gallon of honey!

I inked the orchid in GKD Ocean Mist, Turquoise Sea and finally Blue Raspberry to create the gradient when stamped, and then blended on just a bit more Ocean Mist with a Life Changing Blending Brush. I layered the White mat onto the coordinating Blue Raspberry cardstock a Heavy Base Weight White card base. Greeting and bees are stamped in GKD Obsidian Amalgam ink. For this card, I die cut my bees from the Wild Dandelion cardstock for a different look! Just a bit of yellow to shadow the belly and white gel pen on the wings (and the glitter if you wish), and boom, done!

Innocent Orchid stamp set

Thanks for visiting today! Please tell me in the comments, which card is your fave? Do you have a favorite bee, or image in this set? Hit me up with a bee pun! It will BEE interesting to read all your opinions!

View all the new products here!

Next stop on the hop is Hannah!

Get ready for some lovely!

Exclusive New Stamptember set from Gina K. Designs!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 04:01:00 +0000

Drumroll, please, it’s Stamptember at SimonSaysStamp! I love Gina’s exclusive new Snowflake Cascade, and you will, too, while supplies last!

Here are some simple cards I made with these lovely flakes and border, would be easy to mass produce! I embellished them with Gina's gorgeous clear quartz solid sequins!

Which is your favorite?

Last year's set sold out in a flash, so don't delay! I'm so excited for cooler temps and Christmas stamping, aren't you?

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

Day 3: Peace Love and Sushi Kit and Take Care Incentive

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome to our final day of blog hops for our August release, please know there will be continued inspiration throughout the month and beyond! Thanks in advance for your comments, we really appreciate knowing what you liked best and really want you to win one of those $50 gift certificates! The more you comment, the better your chances! You should be coming from Lisa's blog.

So the sushi in this Peace Love and Sushi Kit kit is so stinkin' adorable, I just had to cut and stamp and color them ALL as soon I opened the box. ( I know the lotus is great and all, but this is SUSHI! With FACES!) I made a pile of cards in no time, some bold colors, clean lines and minimal details make for quick cards and really give these such a zen feel! Add a silly face, and you can't help but smile!

Squiggle on a bit of brown with a marker to the top of the rice for a drizzle of soy (much love!) Accent the bottle with white gel pen to make the surface look super shiny and dimensional. I used Lisa's wheel die from Wildflowers and Wheels set and the HELLO caps die. I said it the last two days and I'm saying it again: The caps dies are all amazing! Click that link to see them all and add as you are able to your collection. You're welcome.

TIP: When adhering letters, put the die just below like a template where you are gluing to put each letter above for perfect spacing. Or, if you haven't already used the the negative part of your cutting (I had on another card) drop them into the letter holes with glue and then remove the template, easy peasy! I lined these up with the bottom of my card to keep them straight and it looks so clean and graphic along the edge.

"Shrimply the best"! SHRIMPLY!!

I doubt I'll ever just say "simply" again...

The punny sayings are so great for the younger peeps,

or anyone who loves good sushi or a good pun!

Master Layouts 2 dies above and below make professional looking layouts a snap!

Smiling faces, happy places!

Have you gotten your RAINBOW HEARTS yet?

Originally I was going to use the I like the way you roll greeting with the circle die cut above, in reference to a wheel, but just changed my mind on layouts. It's still rolled sushi! Leave some white on the side when coloring for a shiny nori wrap! I love the GKD Lucky Clover as a base, like hot wasabi! It's also easy to make larger chopstick accents with those skinny trimmings of cardstock you have a ton of, just snip at an angle! Here the Coral Reef cardstock really brings out those matchstick carrots in the roll and just give some added energy for a dynamic layout.

Peace Love and Sushi Kit

Have we given you enough ideas to create a cart that totals over $75 so you can get this adorable set? I hope so! Treat yo'self!

Take Care

Next on the hop is Mindy's blog! Thanks for hopping, happy shopping!

Day 2: Welcome Home, Love Conquers and Delightful Booms

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome back, everyone, it's Day 2! Today we are featuring Welcome Home by Beth Silaika, Love Conquers by Emily Loggans, and Delightful Blooms by our newest illustrator, Arjita Singh !! You know the drill, please leave us some comments as you hop, we love your feedback and each one gives you a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Gina K. Designs, there are 2 up for grabs! Winners announced after hops conclude.

You should be coming from Lisa's blog!

Please come see what I made with these lovely new sets....

First up, Welcome Home! All the little houses in Beth's set were so cute, I wanted to make a background with them, not exactly collage stamped but in rows to create a little community, just keep the bottom of each parallel with the mat's bottom edge to help ground them. I perched one tiny bird to go with the baby sentiment and a few hearts! Super sweet! Colors are GKD Barely There cardstock, Chocolate Truffle, Tranquil Teal and Passionate Pink. Very easy single layer card.

I'm glad she added an anniversary greeting, this would make a really nice card for my husband who is continually working on our nest. I'm the one on the left in Passionate Pink, natch! I used a life changing blender brush with the same pink ink to create a simple cloudy sunset, stamped the branch in Chocolate Truffle, then added my birds. I die cut one house from GKD Ivory cardstock (Welcome Home dies), stamped a heart, then "hung" it inking just part of the dotted trail stamp that goes with the birds to look like it's connected to the branch with a chain. Pop up with foam squares!

Next up Emily's Love Conquers! Wouldn't the world be a much better place if we could all write like Emily?? For now, we just have to settle for her stamps, and I am glad to do that if "settling" means embossing and stamping these babies in every color times infinity! I had to throw a butterfly on both, of course! The first I blended on some blue inks and dropped on a little water to create more texture, then stamped the sentiment a few times with Obsidian Amalgam ink and the Mini MISTI. I used the Beautiful Butterflies dies to cut out the images on both cards.

The next one I emphasize the LOVE in the greetings with the huge new LOVE caps die! These are the letters from yesterday's card, popped up over a butterfly background I collage stamped with Peach Bellini, Red Velvet and Passionate Pink inks on Warm Glow cardstock. I love using round (ish!) objects as a substitute for the O in LOVE on projects (or something pointy for the V like a heart) to add some whimsy, and this perching butterfly on her script greeting does not disappoint! I like how it was roughly the size of the letters, correct scale to blend seamlessly. Once again, sentiment is stamped with Obsidian Amalgam and the MISTI to get a nice crisp impression.

Finally we have Arjita's new Delightful Blooms! Didn't it follow if she could paint such gorgeous flowers, she could probably also draw a few (hundred) that would take our breath away? Oh, yes. It did! This set *also* sold out, so be sure to click notify me so you know as soon as it's back to place an order! My copy of this set just arrived last night so I only have one sample so far for today, but will share more later for sure! I just love the style of these flowers and fonts. It is has been such a pleasure and privilege to work with Arjita and get to know her personally, she is as kind as she is talented and unbelievably humble. I am so happy for her getting this well deserved opportunity to share more of her art with the world!

I wanted to show something easy to make that would still be very elegant. I like monochromatic cards for sympathy, it is soft and calming but not overly cheerful. I stamped this one of two GINORMOUS flower bunches in GKD Blue Raspberry and blended the ink same ink around the top with a Life Changing Blending Brush, no need to mask. The greeting is stamped in Chocolate Truffle ink a few times using the Mini MISTI. I used another die cut butterfly from the pile I made, always love chocolate with blues. Finish with a rainbow heart adhered with GKD Connect Glue. Cardstock ins Pure Luxury Ivory. The gentle reminder of a butterfly's life cycle I've found is great comfort to people who are suffering a loss, and of course once can't help but be cheered by beautiful flowers. I can't wait to color both of her floral images and do loads of other techniques, but I'm really happy with how this card turned out! Her illustration captures the beautiful simplicity and complexity of flowers, no doubt a result of the countless paintings she has expertly, meticulously and lovingly created.

Here are all the stamp sets and die sets showcased today:

Now let's go see what the lovely and talented Mindy Eggen has for us! Thank you for visiting today!

Day 1 Beautiful Butterflies, Wildflowers and Weeds, and Grow Positive Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 17 Aug 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Good morning! Welcome to the first day of our August release inspiration hops! Today we are showcasing my new set, Lisa Hetrick's Wildflowers and Weeds, and Hannah Drapinski's Grow Positive Thoughts! Be sure to comment along the way because there will be two $50 gift certificates up for grabs! Winners will be announced a few days after hops...

Beautiful Butterflies is...out of stock, I'm sorry! It will be back soon and I'll post that video I promised you shortly! We moved my firstborn son into his dorm this weekend so the only positive thing about running out so early is it bought me a little more time!

Here is my little butterfly at age 3 with a butterfly on our front porch. Now he's 18. And almost 6'3". Unbelievable! Where did the time go? It's been such a blessing to have him in my life and I'll look forward to him drifting in and out during this next season... "Nothing gold can stay..."

For me, butterflies have always been so much more than beauty and change. To spot one seems so rare and special, for one to rest long enough to capture a photo magical, that to have one light on your hand allowing you to gaze at all the intricacies of their wings before flying away so lucky you should go buy a lottery ticket! They are stolen moments. It was such a privilege to draw and capture each of these, preserving them forever. I hope you feel the same creating with the set and adding that extra bit of wonder to your art.

For example, here are two cards I grabbed from my stash from a past hop and video (you may remember them if you watched, if not totally cool)...

And here are the same cards after adding a butterfly! Which would you want to send? Receive? I know, right? Serious level up!

Okay, now that's settled, on to new cards!

For this card, first I stamped the largest butterfly in Peach Bellini ink on Warm Glow cardstock, love all these images for subtle, elegant coordinating butterfly backgrounds. I used one of the Master Layouts 2 rectangle dies for my mat and ran one of the cap dies at the same time. Punch out the letters (which you'll save for another project), your mat die cut behind it will show through and really pop! Such a sharp tag!! I inked up just the YOU from the "lifting you up" greeting in the butterfly set to stamp next to the LOVE, and accented the center of the O with one of the smaller butterflies in the set. Finish with one of the rainbow hearts and pop up your mat! Image is colored with alcohol markers and accented with glitter pen for sparkle. You'll see these LOVEly letters on a card in tomorrow's hop!

By the way, the caps dies are ALL amazing! Click that link to see them all and add as you are able to your collection, you can thank me later!

Again, I am so sorry if you missed out on purchasing this set on release day, it literally flew off the shelves Thursday night (please pardon the pun), but will be back in stock soon! Click the notify me button to get on the Beautiful Butterflies wait list and get an alert as soon as it's back! You will be seeing more butterflies inspo throughout our hop with the other sets and of course videos in the weeks to come to tide you over and get your ready to get busy, this is one of my favorite all time sets I have illustrated, I hope yours, too!

Next up is the wonderful Wildflowers and Weeds!

I was sure this wheel image would be very popular with our design team and sure to make wonderful scenes with it, (so unique but lots of applications), so I hoped I might come up with something a little different for this and grabbed the set after I'd been coloring all my stained glass butterfly panes, how cool would it be to color in the spaces between the spokes and intersections with rainbow colors! I used the coordinating Wildflowers and Weeds die set, and to be completely honest, that flower is strategically placed because I accidentally colored the section opposite yellow *blue*, doh!!! I'd almost finished and didn't want to start over so here is another tip for the day: cover the boo boo with WHITE GEL PEN, let dry, then color with the marker you *meant* to use! This wouldn't have worked as well with a very large section, but I could fake it just having a bit peeking out from under the die cut, ha! We do what we can...

This next one I had to add one of my side view butterflies enjoying these lovely pansies! I used my butterfly dies (a few sets left!) plus one of the pansies from Lisa's coordinating Weeds and Wildflowers and Weeds die set again. Cardstock is Barely There, Lipstick, and Lovely Lavender. Stamping is Obsidian, Plum Punch, Lovely Lavender, Wild Dandelion and Fresh Asparagus. Images are stamped on Pure Luxury White and stitched die cut mat using Master Layouts 2 in GKD Barely There. I am down to small scraps of white only, but am loving this Barely There as my mat color with the lavender and lipstick! Greeting is from the new Incentive set Take Care. Spend more than $75 and get that adorable set for free!

Next we have Hannah's Grow Positive Thoughts set! This first card I stamped the woman onto Kraft cardstock and did some simple coloring on the flowers and leaves with colored pencils. Fel free to change up your position of the woman to change it up, go out of the box and off the card! Next I die cut some of my butterflies from Beautiful Butterflies and the coordinating dies to pop up over the flowers. I thought coloring each side with completely different colors went so well with the sentiment about creating change, and the butterflies themselves of course, metamorphosis and all.) The affirmations Hannah included are just wonderful!

This next sample is going to date me a bit, I hope you recognize the inspiration! I wanted to try modifying the woman by cutting off the flowers (which I saved of course, for a flower card that will be in our Instagram hop later!) Just add a bright red mouth and you've got the beginnings of an iconic 80's album cover, fun square card to send to a friend who'd remember! You couldn't go anywhere for a few years without seeing graphic art prints of beautiful women by Patrick Nagel, and I was pretty obsessed with Duran Duran!!

Anyway, even if you weren't a Durannie, I hope this opens your mind to different ways you might make this gorgeous lady for your own. Cardstock is Pure Luxury Passionate Pink, Lovely Lavender, Plum Punch, Black Onyx and White. I layered all the cardstock and used white and black gel pens to draw simple folds, and Lisa's *wheel die* to cut out a vinyl record from black cardstock to slip in! Write your note on the back...

Grow Positive Thoughts

Now let's go see what else the team did with the new goodies, I myself can't wait! Shop all the new stuff and more here!

Gina K.

Melanie Muenchinger-Illustrator of Beautiful Butterflies, you are here!

Lisa Hetrick-Illustrator of Wild Flowers and Weeds

Hannah Drapinski-Illustrator of Grow Positive Thoughts

Thanks for visiting today!

Beautiful Butterflies Now Available!

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 14 Aug 2020 02:02:00 +0000

Hey, everyone! I hope you were able to check out our live release on facebook! If not you can go back and watch! We'll be hopping with the team next week, too, be sure to come check out all the ideas and inspo with our new sets starting Monday!

Beautiful Butterflies is now available for purchase, and I think this one is gonna go fast!

I hope you love it as much I am creating with it!

Have a beautiful weekend!

We are leaving in the morning to take my son to his new dorm at LSU! I had no idea when I turned in this set how close it would be releasing to when I am literally releasing my butterfly into a big new world! Soar! Bittersweet, but so exciting!

Any of you been following this blog since he started school?

It has been 13 years for him, almost a lifetime!

Sunrise, sunset...

Macramade with Love Video: Making Backgrounds and Borders

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 13:46:00 +0000

Hey, everyone! Let me show you how to create easy borders and backgrounds with one of the smaller knotted images in my Macramade with Love set. Whether you choose to use multiple ink pads to create a rainbow or gradient, or one pad with the stamping off technique I demonstrate to create multiple shades from one ink pad, you'll get lots of helpful tips and ideas for layouts and small details you can change, watch to the end! Please enjoy, and I hope you will subscribe to my channel. Tell me in the comments which card, color combo or layout you like best!

Supplies:

Gina K. Designs Macramade with Love stamp set

Gina K. Pure luxury White 4" x 5 1/4", Innocent Pink 4 1/4" x 11, scored at 5 1/2"cardstock

Gina K. Passionate Pink, Jet Back Amalgam ink

MISTI, acrylic gridline block, tape runner, Gina K Connect Glue, Gina K. rainbow hearts or clear solid quartz sequins

Inspiration Hop, Day 3: Nature's Touch Kit

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to our last day or hops (for now!) Today we are featuring the Nature's Touch kit and what a fabulous one it is! Hope these ideas inspire if you already purchased your and if you are waiting for the reorder to come in, click on this link and then hit the "notify me" button so you get a message as soon as its back! Let us know you favorites along each stop of the hop today because we are giving away a $50 gift certificate to the store to one lucky commenter! You should be coming from Lisa's blog!

I was so intrigued by this long bold stamp in the kit. It can be a cloud, sandbar, snow, water depending on the color you use, has a lot of applications. I stamped this in GKD Tangerine Twist and masked a setting sun behind the trees (stamped and stamped on in Jet Black amalgam) with GKD Wild Dandelion and the tangerine ink using a Life Changing Blending Brush. I used the Master Layouts die set for my mats. (again, click notify me in that link if you want these later!) Don't forget the heart!

The Hands of Love set included is so fun! I used GKD Peach Bellini to make a square card base and the stencil for a subtle border with coral Reef. This really echoes the colored in heart (I used alcohol markers) that the hands are making. I used the I, love, and you words from my Macramade with Love set to stack the sentiment, I LOVE how the "love" fits perfectly inside! Isn't that cute? Finish with a rainbow heart using Connect Glue. I can't even how adorable and effective these teeny TEENY embellishments are!

One more with the hands! I used the greeting from the Baby Girl set and the kit's pretty stencil again. Cardstock is Warm Glow. One of the rainbow clay hearts inside the kit's hands went so well with the little/fierce sentiment. I have really come to appreciate over the years how measuring my words and seasoning them with grace makes the strongest impact on others. <3 font="">

For this last card, I used the flower dies included in the kit and stamped them in Jet Black Amalgam ink and colored with alcohol markers. I used some of the new clear solid quarts sequins and without a hole in them like traditional sequins, they really like dew drops on the petals and leaves, allowing your gorgeous coloring to show through! I also dotted the I in the greeting with one of the rainbow clay hearts. Base is GKD Pure Luxury Heavy Base Weight White.

I hope you enjoyed all these cards and ideas today! Have a few more for our Instagram hop, coming up!

Nature's Touch kit

Next on the hop is Mindy's blog! Full list on Gina's blog.

Here are all the new products, happy shopping!

Thanks for stopping by! Sharing another video an my tip sheet for Macramade with Love next, plus Instagram hop with the design team coming up!

Inspiration, Day 2: Baby Boy, Baby Girl, Graceful Greenery, and Free to Flourish

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome back, it's Day 2! Thanks for returning for more fun idea and inspiration with new Gina K. designs products! Comment as you hop for more chances to win a $50 gift certificate to the store!

You should be coming from Karen Hightower's blog!

First is Free to Flourish from Lisa Hetrick. Sometimes simple is best! Start with Kraft for an elegant textured base. Then stamp the images an sentiment with Jet Black Amalgam and create some depth adding the fern with GKD watermark embossing ink to create a shadow. Filling the daisy with the white pen makes it pop! Boom, this card is DONE.

Step it up and make a fancy card now! I used GKD Fresh Asparagus, Lucky Clover, Watermark, and Plum Punch for my stamping. Cardstock is GKD Whisper, White and Plum Punch. I used the Free to Flourish dies to die cut the frame and flower and colored both with alcohol markers to match.

Next up some baby cards with Emily's lovely greetings and images!I used the stencil from the new Nature's Touch kit for this first Baby Girl card, but any pretty cutesy one will do! I blended on a gradient with GKD inks and a Life Changing Blending Brush and then stamped the flower and sentiment over it in GKD Chocolate Truffle Amalgam. A drop shadow on the flower with a gray Arteza Everblend marker gives them more dimension and looks so pretty with soft gray of the GKD Pure Luxury Soft Stone cardstock base.

For this next card, I made a background with three images from my Macramade with Love -the circles piece stamped end to end, the heart underneath, and one of the tassels, all in GKD Innocent Pink on Pure Luxury White. I stamped Emily's cute greeting in the center in Jet Black Amalgam, and then accented where each circle met with a rainbow heart, just picked out the yellow, orange, white and pinks from the mix and adhered with Connect Glue. Two step stamp the heart from my set (GKD Soft Stone and Innocent Pink) and use the coordinating Macramade with Love Die Set to cut it out and pop up with a foam square over the scalloped strip of Lemon Drop cardstock. So sweet! I love how this just looks like one big detailed background stamp once it's all together, soft and subtle.

Now I shared a baby boy card yesterday and my friends aren't having boys now, so I wanted to make some samples with Baby Boy that could work double duty as an encouraging card to give to a friend or loved one if I needed it. I made a simple scene with the tree and mountain stamps, adding some grass and a path to the mountains with markers and blending on some sky and clouds with GKD Blue Raspberry and Life Changing Blending Brush. A rainbow hear that the mountain top is so encouraging! I love this book and think anybody would recognize the Seuss sentiment and enjoy this encouraging card. Great for a grad! Cardstock is GKD Moonlit Fog, White and Black Onyx.

Here is a very different mountain scene, a circle punch or die cut creates a mask for you to do a little blended sunrise or sunset with GKD Coral Reef ink and a Life Changing Bending Brush. I used the Master Layout set of dies to cut my mats. The scene is offset and popped up with foam squares.

Last set of the day, the first card I made with Hannah's Graceful Greenery I can't find now to take a photo, ackk! (It'll turn up, but that was disappointing. I'll share it in our Instagram hop later, so all is not lost...) I'm explaining that to say I started coloring it *before* I checked the name of the set, and got to almost the end and it was all shades of green, what, no flowers? "Graceful Greenery", indeed! I love how it turned out, but I wanted to create something else to show you can do all sorts of colors, to be whimsical, or to look like the leaves that come in other shades, or are dried and dyed like eucalyptus. I used my Everblend alcohol markers on GKD Pure Luxury White. Love these vibrant jewel tones.

Here's all the sets I just used!

Baby Boy

Baby Girl

Free to Flourish

Free to Flourish dies

Graceful Greenery

Happy hopping and shopping! All products can be found here in the What's New section

Next up is Mindy Eggen blog!

The full list:

Gina

Melanie, you are here! thanks for your comment!

Mindy Eggen

Rema DeLeeuw

See you TOMORROW!!!

Sheri Gilson

Inspiration, Day 1: Macramade with Love and Let's Celebrate

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Good morning! Welcome to our first day of inspiration hops! It's been awhile, I've missed these so! Glad you are joining in! Please enjoy the teams ideas today and I hope you will leave comments as you go, you could win a $50 gift certificate to Gina K. Designs! You are not required to comment on every stop, but the more comments you leave the better you chances of winning, and we love hearing from you! Hope you enjoy all ideas and samples with the sets. Today we are showcasing my Macramade with Love and Beth's Let's Celebrate. Here we go!

I am having so much fun with these macramé images! I peeked the edge of this card in my ombre video last week, did any of you guess I had these hands from the Nature's Touch kit stamped and clinging for dear life from the end of the rope? I just couldn't resist with this greeting, hee hee!

Here I stamped one of the larger more intricate piece twice, then the tassels. This greeting is from Emily's Baby Boy which we are showing tomorrow. I really like all I've been seeing of modern nurseries with macrame and other crafty touches and neutral colors to "man up" a little man's room, but still have a softness and sweetness to it! Cardstock is GKD Pure Luxury White, Black Onyx and Tranquil Teal. I heart these new rainbow hearts!!!

Here is the card I showed during the release using the beautiful coordinating dies, I loved cutting a pile to match the 3 different tassels and get a fussy cut look so quickly! All images are stamped inn Soft Stone for a more subtle look. I colored them with my Everblend markers and used a Life Changing Blending Brush to give the Blue Raspberry mat a nice glow with Blue Denim ink at the bottom. A teeny strip of Sandy Beach layered behind the popped up die cut and it look like you knotted the rope on a dowel, and easy way to add an extra earthy touch and texture with your scraps.

This was a fun one to build with the round knotted pieces, hearts and large tassel. Combos are endless! Instead of using the two step filler stamps on these, I colored with a marker to leave some strands white, really like the two toned effect. I just love the different looks this allows, and how it lends to whether you feel like stamping to add color or coloring yourself. Cardstock is GKD Pure Luxury White, Black Onyx and Peach Bellini. A tiny heart is so fun on top of the o or the v in this love stamp in my set!!

Here are a couple border cards, I can't leave this image out of the hop! One I did with the coordinating dies. I LOVE the intertwined knots with a thank you or love card, all snuggly!! (It's called a double something or other and I will tell you later when I remember!) I so enjoyed drawing these! I will do a video with some coloring tips, it is fun to follow the cord, but color however YOU like!

The other with the Master Layout set of dies for the mats and sentiment mat. I covered the knots with the oval die cuts on the black and white card and added tassels, but it's that same image! Just wanted to emphasize the rope more than the knots to go with the greeting, know what I mean?

I have all my favorite shades of blue GKD inks (yes, pretty much every blue! Sea Glass, Turquoise Sea, Blue Raspberry, Blue Denim, Tranquil Teal) with the image made up of two round pieces. This makes a beautiful anywhere border, or fill up your whole card! You could stamp this all in one color with the line art, and then fill them in with the different colors with the 2 step image, or change color for each row like I did here and leave open. Cardstock is Pure Luxury White, Sea Glass and Tranquil Teal.

The set's "miss you" greeting works so well where you'd *expect* some tassels to be, and darn it, if I don't miss pretty much EVERYONE right now, you know?? KNOT even funny!! I added some of the new Clear Quartz solid sequins to the intersections and think these round embellishes are a perfect match for this macramé element.

I forgot to post last week's video with the direct to stamp technique to my blog, so in case you missed it, here 'tis!

There is so much more than can be done with this set in the more straightforward ways I've shown today, but I have to leave some surprises for videos upcoming! Stay tuned and get ready to stamp some awesome stuff with me! You will also see this set used in our hops the next two days because it plays SO WELL with out other release sets!

Macramade with Love

Macramade with Love Die Set-these are awesome!

Next we have Let's Celebrate. I really love the fonts in this set and greeting combos you can make. They are also fun to bling up. This first card I used the different bits to make a confetti wreath in GKD Sea Glass, Passionate Pink, Lucky Clover, and Wild Dandelion. One pink heart from the new rainbow heart embellishments to dot the i was the perfect little something. I cannot stop using these teeny so you cute you want to eat them hearts. Seriously, you need these things, get 'em while you can! Cardstock is GKD Pure Luxury White and Wild Dandelion.

For this next card I had to add some of the open hands from the new Nature's Touch Kit (we're showcasing that on Wednesday!), stamped in Jet Black Amalgam ink (I needed to reink my pad and stamped without the MISTI, so couldn't go over it, sorry it's not as crisp as it could be, my bad!) I used different ink cubes to roll the edge of the confetti image and greeting to make a virtual tie dye of color-Wild Dandelion, Key Lime, Tangerine Twist, Red Velvet and Tranquil Teal. Base is Pure Luxury White. I added more rainbow hearts with glue plus a couple of the new Angel Aura rhinestones for sparkle.

Let's Celebrate

Ready to see more inspiration with these stamp sets and other new products?!

Happy hopping and shopping!

All products can be found here.

Day 2 Inspiration Hop: Just Because, Kindness Wreath, & Woodland Whimsy

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Tue, 03 Mar 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Good morning, welcome back! The design team has a new inspiration hop for you showcasing the new stamp sets Just Because, Kindness Wreath and Woodland Whimsy. We hope you get tons of ideas today and as you hop, be sure to leave comments along the way, we love hearing from you and each one is a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to the Gina K. Designs store!

Gina will announce the winner a few days after the hops.

You should be coming from Karen Hightower's blog.

Your next stop will be Mindy Eggen's blog.

First up we have the Kindness Wreath set from Hannah Drapinski. This was so much fun to color. She has several sentiments that will fit inside the circle and I love how the flowers placement allows you to turn it in different directions for your layout.

For this next card, I wanted to use the individual branches for making a custom arrangement. After stamping them in Grass Green, I added the yucca flowers from Stately Flowers 13, in that same green ink colored with just a touch of yellow. Sentiment is stamped in Jet Black Amalgam.

Kindness Wreath

Next up we have Emily Loggan's Just Because set. What gorgeous scripty greetings! And so different form ones you may already have. The scale and beauty of these really make a statement, pardon the pun. For this card I added the Stately yucca flower again in Soft Stone to match the card base and spattered on some black.

Although I love monochromatic cards, this one feels a little unfinished to me so I am going to add color when I decide who exactly I am sending it to--their favorite, of course! This is a tip or having the stamping and cardmaking done when you need it, but allows for that personalization! OR, if THEY like to color, invite them to do when they get it! :)

On this next card, I used my Cherokee Rose from Stately Flowers 13. Cardstock is White, Black Onyx, and Tomato Soup. I know I am going to love all these new greetings with all my flowers and other sets as well. They are both timeless and on trend.

Just Because

Unfortunately, I do not have the Woodland Whimsy set, but I love it and know Lisa and the team will show you awesome things with it in our hop! (AND, I think it's going to work very well with my set coming out next release! So I will be playing with it and the two together for sure!)

Woodland Whimsy

Ready for more inspiration? Next on the hop is Mindy Eggen!

Thanks for visiting today!

Inspiration Hop, Day 1: Stately Flowers 13 and Simply Circular

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Good morning, happy Monday! The design team has a new inspiration hop for you showcasing the new stamp sets Stately Flowers 13 and Simply Circles. We hope you get tons of ideas today and as you hop, be sure to leave comments along the way, we love hearing from you and each one is a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to the Gina K. Designs store! Gina will announce the winner a few days after the hops.

First up we have my Stately Flowers 13! I am thrilled to give you the final set of the series and grateful all the friends I've made and fans of the stamps along the way! It has been a pleasure to see your creations online and in my mailbox using these beautful state flowers. I made a new video showing how you can create a design that will work with these 4 new flowers as well as every other flower in the Stately series with the postage images from Stately Flowers 11!

(If you missed my preview video of the new set from last week, I have another tutorial there on my channel and in the Stately Flowers 13 playlist)

On this next card I used the GKD Barely There cardstock, it has just a touch of pink that is perfect for a soft sunrise or sunset and these delicate petals! I embossed the flowers and leaves in white and and sponged on Innocent Pink to suggest clouds and sky.

I used my watercolor pans to add just a bit more color. Sentiment is stamped in Chocolate Truffle amalgam ink.

This next card uses the single peach blossom as well as its bold 2 step filler. I wanted these to look like they gently falling in the breeze. It is easy to collage stamp and fill this background!

Sequins secured with GKD Connect Glue in the centers are so fun. Colors are GKD Dusty Pink, Innocent Pink, and Passionate Pink.

I hope you love the new set as much as I do!

Stately Flowers 13

Next we have Beth Silaika's Simply circles! I love circles for backgrounds or spotlighting smaller images. They have a very contemporary feel, but it's also very striking to put them with classic images.

This first card I stamped a fun collage background in different Gina K. inks and then punched out a few to add dimension. Cardstock is Pure Luxury . Colors are GKD Turquoise Sea, Tangerine Twist, Passionate Pink, and Jet Black.

On this next card I used the single Cherokee Rose from Stately Flowers 13 inside the dotted circle. I chose that one for the look but also go with all the dots in the flowers' centers (I'm weird that way, gotta match stuff up even if no one else notices!) Cardstock is Pure Luxury White and Turquoise Sea and inks are Blue Denim, Turquoise Sea and Stormy Sky. Simply Circular is a great set for your stamping toolbox. Sentiment is from Emily's which we will show more of in tomorrow's hop.

Simply Circular

Next on the hop is Beth!

Thanks for visiting and I look forward to reading your comments and answering your questions!

Which card do you like best??

Which new stately is your fave?

Simple Blended Desert Video

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 02 Mar 2020 13:30:00 +0000

Hey, friends! Here is my intro video to Stately Flowers 13 and a scene you can create in no time! Please enjoy! Supply list is in the video!

Thank so much for your enthusiasm for this set, and all the requests you made to bump this up in our release line up!

How to Create Shaped Pocket Cards with Embroidered Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 14:06:00 +0000

Hi! You will love how quick and easy today's card is! Create this fun pocket- shaped using my Embroidered Flowers stamp set from Gina K. Designs, without any template, die or tracing, just grab your scissors and make a few quick snips!

This card will stand on its own to display and can be customized to hold a gift card, cash, folded note, or other flat item--maybe even a stick of gum, bookmark or other stamped and die cut image, get creative! You can freehand your own stitching around the edges with a pen or stamp the row of knots I included in my Embroidered Flowers set. Enjoy making it fancy with the different embroidered leaves, blooms and border images! Please enjoy! Thanks for watching. I look forward to reading your comment and questions!

Here is another card I share in today's Instagram hop, using the hoop stamp and coordinating die from Lisas You Being You set, these are made for each other! I'll do a video, look for it!

Purchase Embroidered Flowers stamp set here: http://shrsl.com/22q38

Supplies:
Gina K. Designs Embroidered Flowers stamp set
Gina K. Pure Luxury Heavy Baseweight cardstock 4 1/4" x 8 1/2", scored at 4 1/4" (white)
Gina K. Jet Black amalgam, Soft Stone, Stormy Sky, and Red Velvet ink pads Scissors, craft knife, craft mat, acrylic blocks or MISTI, pen

Inspiration Hop, Day 1: Embroidered Flowers and Happy Hearts

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Be sure to visit each stop on the hop because the team has worked SO hard to give you lots of ideas, layouts and inspiration with the new products! As you go, please leave a comment, we so appreciate hearing from you, AND each comment is a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to Gina K. Designs.

Gina will announce the winner on her blog. Good luck!!

First we are sharing my new set, and I have a new video for you!

Super quick and easy, a little direct to paper technique to add texture like a distressed cloth or denim and some stenciling before you stamp the flowers and leaves. (I want to point out I did not use the MISTI or foam mat underneath my stamping like I recommended in my first video for the set which will show more detail in the stitches, I passed on using the cushion for this design since they were already layered over the swiping and stenciling. Either way..!)

Supplies:

GKD White and Blue Denim cardstock

GKD Powder Blue and Blue Denim ink

Funky Flourish Stencil

white gel pen, acrylic blocks or MISTI

I'm going to come back with more videos with this direct to stamp technique, sharing how to make a pocket and also a shirt card, how fun would those be with some great embroidered designs?!

(I haven't found a Gina K. stencil yet I don't love with these Embroidered Flowers!)

Like this one, for example! (Autumn Wishes Stencil) I sponged on some Stormy Sky ink with a Life Changing Blending Brush and then used the coordinating die set with Red Velvet and Grass Green paper. I like how this shows you don't always have to die cut from white.

Both the tone on tone greens for the leaves (Fresh Asparagus ink) and Jet Black Amalgam and White pigment for the roses create really different but bold and interesting looks. Cardstock is GKD Pure Luxury White, Stormy Sky, and Soft Stone. Also, I'm guessing you may not have "Love, Me" stamp in your collection (and if o its probably not embroidered!) I think this sentiment is perfect for all the cards you are making with your own hands and heart, for the front like you see here, for signing the *inside* because your person certainly knows who "me" is (in my everyday circle, I am the only one who makes handmade cards) AND for the backs of your cards, isn't that fun with the date?

This last one's just a stamped scene! Whether you choose to make it look "more embroidered" with the needle and thread or embossing or or not, they are really versatile floral building elements. I used GKD Wild Dandelion and Prickly Pear inks direct to stamp for the flowers and Fresh Asparagus, stamped on and off for the leaves and stems. Cardstock is GKD Pure Luxury Heavy Base Weight White.

Thanks so, sew much for all the love and support you have already shown for Embroidered Flowers! I can't wait to see all the wonderful cards I know you will make once your sets arrive.

Embroidered Flowers

Funky Flourish Stencil

Embroidered Flowers dies

You will also see Beth's new Happy Hearts stamp set and dies showcased on today's hop! I don't have this set or I've made a bunch of valentines, but I know there are plenty in store from our team!

Happy Hearts

Happy Hearts dies

Shop all the new products here.

Now let's continue the hop and see what the rest of our super creative design team has made with both of these new sets!

Next on the list is

Beth Silaika-illustrator of Happy Hearts

The full link list is on Gina's blog.

Thanks so much for visiting today!

Which card is your favorite? Tell me in the comment section!

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Video: Embroidered Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 02:00:00 +0000

Hello! Today I am sharing my newest stamp set from Gina K. Designs, Embroidered Flowers! You will be amazed at how realistic these hand drawn (sewn!) large florals and sentiments look and how versatile they are for stamping, cardmaking and other projects. I share some tips for stamping, embossing and direct to stamp techniques with these images. Please enjoy! Let me know in the comments which layout you prefer OR your favorite images in the set.

Embroidered Flowers stamp set is available now! Shop here.

Supplies:
Gina K. Designs Embroidered Flowers stamp set
Gina K. Pure Luxury Passionate Pink (4 1/4" x 11", scored at 5 1/2") and White ( 3 7/8" x 5 1/8") cardstock
Passionate Pink, Innocent Pink, Jellybean Green, Grass Green, Fresh Asparagus, ink pads or cubes, Gina K. Jet Black amalgam ink pad, Gina K. Watermark ink pad
MISTI and acrylic blocks
Arteza Everblend marker A152
silver fine detail embossing powder and heat gun

Hops with the design team and tip sheet coming up!

Gina K. Blog Hop, Day 3: Warm Winter Wishes Card Kit

noreply@blogger.com (Melanie) — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 13:00:00 +0000

Hello, and welcome to our final day of the October Holiday Blog Hop! We are so glad you're back to see our ideas and art with you today, and thankful you are making time for it. Please be sure to leave a comment on each blog letting us know you were here and what you enjoyed. This feedback not only helps us plan for future hops for you, but you might ALSO win a $50 gift certificate to Gina K. Designs! One winner will be selected randomly from all the comments and announced on Gina's blog a few days after hops conclude. The more you comment the better your chances. Good luck!

You should be coming from Karen's blog.

I stamped these cuties and my popcorn string from Pallet Christmas and then colored with Arteza Everblend markers. Cardstock is GKD Pure Luxury White, Red Velvet, and Kraft.

Next I used one of the beautiful snowflakes and a greeting, for the sentiment, ink in Turquoise Sea then Tranquil Teal for the ombre effect. Adding a stencil to snowflake takes it to a 100, really pumps it up! Be sure to center it with the center of the snowflake stamp for more impact, like a bulls eye. I used a life changing blending brush, and i'll be honest , this is what happens when you grab one that is the wrong color or you forgot to clean, there's a lot of green and brown in there, when I was only using Sea Glass but it gave such an aged vintage look! Even better! Stencils usually look more interesting with at least 2 or 3 shades. Cardstock is GKD Pure Luxury White and Turquoise Sea.

Snowflake Mandala

Thank you for visiting! You can find all the

What's New products here.

Next stop is Beth's blog!