Serenity in Stamping

FNSI results: BB Bag!

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:23:00 +0000

Here is what I worked on for Friday Night Sew In! My very own BB Bag (the pattern comes with 3 sizes and I made the largest one). I used gorgeous fabric from The Cotton Cupboard but I don’t know the name of it – sorry! It was real fun to make! I worked on it until midnight and forced myself to go to bed and woke up early to finish more but it is not done just yet-I have to hand sew the binding which is why you see little clips all around. Figure since we have a long busy day ahead of us (niece’s basketball game, lunch for BIL’s birthday, geocaching and spending time with friends this evening), I’m sure I can fit it in while in the car! Then, I will show more of the bag like the inside and back. I have to go get dressed for our day!
Thanks for stopping by – hope you have an awesome day!

My 2nd quilt and Friday Night Sew In here I come!!

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:31:00 +0000

It sure feels great to share a big accomplishment like completing my 2nd quilt with you!!   I was determined last weekend (3-day) to finish this quilt I started cutting last September during Friday Night Sew In!! I sewed some squares in the middle of the week (Tue-Thu), took Friday night off, and started EARLY Sat morning (like 7:00 a.m.), stayed up until midnight. Then, started again Sun morning about 9:00 because I slept in, then finished at 8:30 p.m. about 30 mins before John came home from his geocaching trip with a friend!   It was a marathon for sure! I basically took restroom, eating, some housework and sleeping breaks (which included a few luxurious naps!) All the while, I watched almost all 3 seasons of The United States of Tara which is a really good series on Showtime about a mom, wife who has MPD (multiple personality disorder) or DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). It was funny and heartbreaking at times. Here is a link to a tutorial for a rag quilt. I got instructions with the kit I bought.

I was so determined to be able to ENJOY using it for a little while because before we know it, Spring will be here and it will be put away until next Fall/Winter! It is SO incredibly soft, cozy and clean smelling since I washed it right after I cut my last portion of it! It is a RAG quilt and definitely not the last one I make. However, it may be the only one I pay full price for the fabrics for though!   The front is made using a special roll of flannels by Robert Kaufman (Alpine Frost) by The Cotton Cupboard. It was one of my last purchases on my quilt bus trip I took with my friend Stephanie back in July.

In August when John was hanging out at Stephanie and James’ house (who live around the corner from there), I asked him to go get me the fabric for the backing. I told him I wanted red if they had it (to pick up the berries on the holly fabrics) and some of the others that are in the front of the set. Jessica (the store owner) and I chatted on the phone briefly as I told her I trusted her judgment in picking out the fabrics. I was so pleased when he came home (and not just because I got what I wanted, but because he was willing to do it in the first place!) thanks Honey you did good! *he reads my blog* So here is the backing which I absolutely LOVE! the POP of red is awesome especially because it pokes through the front because of the ragging! You can enlarge the photos if you want a closer look!

I am off to participate in the first of 2012’s Friday Night Sew Ins hosted by Bobbi and Heidi!   I will share tomorrow what I worked on!

sharing at the following link parties: Craftionary; Be Different, Act Normal; A Crafty Soiree; Think Pink Sunday; Along For the Ride; I {heart} naptime; Sew Darn Crafty; Ta-Da Tuesday! ; We Did It Wednesday!; Serenity Now!; Jaqs Studio

Howdy from Texas!

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 02:07:00 +0000

I was actually inspired to make a card this evening so I whipped this up in LESS than 10 minutes – my kind of card! I didn’t have much time in between cleaning dishes and cooking dinner so I went to the Clean and Simple blog for this week’s sketch FTL 173 for my inspiration! I love those kind of sketches! I knew I also wanted to finally ink up my bluebonnets from Stately Flowers 1 set (what took me so long?) I totally am going to make a BUNCH of these cards to have on hand when I want to send a card to someone in another state (or country!) it came together so quickly and I love the layout! The cardstock I used is Blue Raspberry and the pattern paper is Basic Grey Picadilly, which happens to be on sale right now in the Gina K Designs store - 25% off all Basic Grey, Echo Park, Jillibean Soup and Pink Paisley 6" X 6" Paper Packs!

Thanks for stopping by!

SewCalGal Free Motion Quilting Challenge, covered composition book and my favorite bag!

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 16:42:00 +0000

Ever since I can remember, I have had on my list for the new year to learn something new! It has been fun too! Last year it was learn to quilt and I completed my first one in July. Well, this long weekend I was determined to finish my 2nd quilt which I started last September and I am still working on it but I do have a sneak peek later in this post! In the meantime, I figured I would share one of the things I committed to learn more of this year; to free motion quilt better because I have several quilts on my to do list for the year and want to do that, instead of send it off to a long arm quilter to do it.   I made the pledge for the 2012 monthly Free Motion Quilt Challenge.   Read all about it – if you’re interested, it’s not too late to sign up!

Several months ago, I discovered SewCalGal’s blog where she shares insights on sewing products, blogs, etc. I made an easy composition book cover at her recommendation, to take notes during the challenge. I love how it turned out! I especially love the placement of the big red button for the closure – perfectly on the white flower! Each month, we are going to have a FMQ expert share their tips for free motion quilting and issue a challenge for us to practice. I am still working on getting my sample quilt sandwiches together! There are prizes each month as well as grand prizes at the end of the 12 month long commitment. How fun!

I got the pattern for my cool 12-pocket bag I have not shared yet, from SewCalGal – using my FAVORITE fabrics from my quilt shop bus trip last July!   I absolutely fell in LOVE with them the moment I saw them and bought 1 yard of each! I love the black background, bright floral and geometric designs on the fabric!   This is so ME!!

Her pattern was very easy to follow! I use this bag all the time to carry my projects, books, sometimes lunch to work! It fits a ton of stuff in it!   Imagine – 12 pockets! Sometimes I have to go through them all just to find what I am looking for that I stuff in them!

Check out all the room inside! Perhaps if I make another bag, I might put a zipper on the top or the inside. I took these photos out on our deck in the hopes I could get a better ‘natural’ photo!

Here is a sneak peek of the progress I made this week/weekend on the rag quilt!    I am so excited to finish this and snuggle with it for another few months before it gets put away until the Fall!

Thanks for stopping by and see ya soon with the quilt reveal!
Sharing on the following link parties: Craftionary, Be Different Act Normal, A Crafty Soiree, Flamingotoes, Along for the ride, I {Heart} Nap Time, Sew Darn Crafty, Love Affair with my Brother, Skip To My Lou

All Pets go to Heaven–kitty style

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:19:00 +0000

Here is a quick card I made for my friend *Stephanie whose kitty “Baby” died after Christmas, while she was on vacation. It’s bad enough for it to happen while you are around, but how hard is it when you have no closure and you are thousands of miles away? I know she was having a good time visiting family, but my heart just went out to her to have to have this to come home to. So, I had to make her a card to let her know I care!

I used Basket Buddies which is perfect for these occasions. I love the soothing combination of these pure luxury cardstock colors: kraft, white, black onyx and ocean mist. I made some simple doodles with a black memento marker around the focal image and a simple embellishment of a blue button with cotton thread and this card was done in less than 15 minutes. Incidentally, Stephanie loves the card and it is already displayed on her desk at work (*she works with John and he told me*).

Thanks for stopping by today!

No Sew Baby Blanket, matching card & our new family member!

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:34:00 +0000

I hope your first week of 2012 started off well. For me, it was nothing to complain about – I am just blessed!
Today I have a fun safari no-sew fleece baby blanket and matching card to share with you! I made this to send all the way to Hawaii because a dear friend is there to celebrate the birth of her first grandchild, Jack who was welcomed into the world on Dec 31 at 4:50 pm after 5 grueling days of labor! He was 9 lb 11 oz and 22 inches! He is a miracle baby and I am so excited about his arrival (his mommy was told about 7 years ago she was most likely never going to be able to conceive after a medical issue. Sharisse is someone I watched grow up from a sweet, loving 8 year old girl who affectionately called me Don-Don into a gorgeous, successful Korean linguist who I know will be a wonderful mommy because she was raised by a wonderful mommy herself! I wish I had pictures of the family but I don’t yet! Looking forward to seeing Jack!

This blanket was incredibly easy and fun to make! All you have to do is get 2 coordinating fleece fabrics (these were on sale at a local fabric store for 60% off) and cut them the same size and lay them out wrong sides together. **Edited to add, I purchased 1 yd of each fabric. The finished size of this blanket is rectangular 30x52. I wish I had purchased 1.25 or more yards for this since I would have preferred a square blanket but it was my first so that's o.k.! Live and Learn

Next, I cut strips about 1 inch wide and 4.5 inches long and tied them together all the way around! Then you can see the back color which is fun! It is incredibly warm too! I already got more fabrics to make myself one, as well as my niece Gabby and nephew Joey for Christmas (yes, I am that much a planner – already got 4 Christmas gifts ready to make!) I am going to have a stress-free Christmas in 2012 so I don’t make myself sick with stress like I did in 2011!
The card I made using Gina K stamps Zoo Animals was perfect to match this blanket! I also used a few of Tami’s sets (Special Occasion tags and Label Borders) because I used the CPS sketch 249 this week which coordinates so nicely with the sets! Lastly, the hanging leaves on the top of the card are from Theresa’s Vogue Vases set! I am also going to upload this card into the StampTV Free for All Friday challenge by Michelle which is All About Baby! I am not eligible to win any free stamps for that set since I am on the design team, but I still like to play along when I can!

PERSONAL NEWS!! As for our newest family member; the week before Christmas, we got another cat! We went to the Austin Animal Center and adoptions were discounted by $50! What a deal! John has been wanting a cat of his own since Elsie is mine and since Elsie doesn’t have her sisters Chica and Shelby anymore, we thought MAYBE she would like a companion! He so wanted a lap cat like Elsie is with me but *Moka (which is what he decided to name her) is not so much a lap cat yet. We both hope it changes. She is a little spastic at times (*which is why we call her Moka Loca a lot) but is slowly calming down. She is 6 months old and is a tortoiseshell cat who has a lot of personality already. She doesn’t really like to be grabbed but we will do it just to get close to her at times and she slowly calms down, she likes to play which is so fun to watch and she so wants to be friends with Elsie, who was NOT happy with us the first week we brought Moka home but is slowly coming around!

I snapped this picture this morning (no sheets on the bed because they’re in the wash), and for them to be this close is a BIG deal! They like to chase each other around the house at night and in the mornings! It’s so great to see although occasionally, there is some hissing from Elsie when she is tired of Moka. We have already established bed time is treat time. They both follow me in the room and I throw them treats and they chase after them (Elsie to eat them and Moka to mainly play with them although she decides she will indulge once in a while) otherwise Elsie gets most of the treats!

We forgot how fun it can be with more than 1 cat in the house since it had been roughly 2 years (to the weekend) we lost our sweet Chica that we brought Moka into our lives. We look forward to many more fun years of them interacting with one another!
Sorry this post is so long - Thanks for stopping by today!

Gina K Inspiration Hop Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Today the Gina K designers are sharing our projects made with the new StampTV kit True Love. This stamp set is designed to help you get all your Valentine cards (and future love & friendship cards) made! The kit is chock full of pure luxury cardstock, a super fun paper pack, ribbon and brads! I made my own designer paper for this card and treat pillow box, which is so fun. It was for the challenge I hosted at StampTV for the release. One of the first techniques I learned when I was introduced to stamping was stamping all over the cardstock to create your own pattern. Over the years, I got away from it when I started to love all the designer papers that are out there! So, I went back to basics for this. I loved using different colored inks and sentiments and 1 heart image on this card. I also made a cute pillow box which I stuffed with some Hershey's treasures candy that I covered with the patterned paper in the kit. Sorry I didn’t have a close up of the candy outside the pillow box.

As you hop through the designer’s blogs, make sure you leave comments on each one for a chance to win a grab bag full of 12 stamps!! We will randomly choose two winners so the more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win. Gina K will announce the winners on her blog.

Be sure to check out StampTV each week Monday and Friday we have challenges posted where you can win MORE free stamps!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Gina K Inspiration Hop Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

So glad you’ve joined us for our continued inspiration hops for the Gina K release! Here is a link to What’s New so you can find it all in one place!

First up is Tami’s Special Occasion Tags set. It was designed to work with Spellbinders Ribbon Tags 2 dies but also works well with Oval and Rectangles. It is also interchangeable with All Occasion Tags and Label Borders. I made a card ‘for my uncle’ (ha) since his birthday is on January 9. I don’t recall ever seeing him without a mustache/beard so this fun paper Times & Seasons by Echo Park with the mustaches was perfect for this card! Card base is Little Boy Blue and I used Black Onyx and White Pure Luxury cardstock. The tag was sponged with Antique Linen distress ink and the button is from the blue button jar (which is on sale for only $2.97! what a steal!

Here is a fun & bright card I made using the new You’ve Got Style stamp set you can get for FREE if you purchase 3 stamp sets! I just used one image on this card and chose to put my ‘I Miss Shoe’ sentiment on the inside of my card. I had fun coloring and making the shoes polka dot with my copic multiliner pen! The pattern paper I used on my card is from the StampTV kit True Love.

Gina K
Tami Mayberry – Illustrator Special Occasion Tags
Carolina Buchting
Cathy Tidwell
Deb Felts
Donna Baker
Giovana Smith
Jennie Harper
Jimmi Mayo
Lee Murphy
Melanie Muenchinger
Michelle Woerner
Sharon Harnist
Theresa Momber
Tina Gilliland
Vicki Dutcher

Hope you will be back for our last day of inspiration hops tomorrow!

2nd & 3rd Publication share–January 2012 CardMaker Magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

I am so excited to finally share the 2 cards I got accepted back in July from CardMaker magazine’s January 2012 issue! This year was exciting for me in that a goal to get published about 3 years ago finally came true! I kept plugging away with time after time getting rejected. I have to admit I almost wanted to give up! It happened the first time in July with Scrap & Stamp Arts and now CardMaker.

Here is my card on a full page spread (woo hoo!) using Perfect Pennants. I just adored all the bright colors on this card with the pop of black! I used White, Key Lime, Red Hot, Sweet Mango, Turquoise Sea and Black Onyx pure luxury cardstock. They were all stamped with a polka dot stamp from Timeless Textures then punched out with 1 1/4” square punches. The colored pennants are hanging from black cotton thread.

Here is another card that was accepted, but it did not make it in print. However, it is on the web as a bonus project. CardMaker sent me the full color printed copy of it which is what I am showing here (luckily since we don’t have a color printer!) I used A Year of Flowers on this card and the labels 9 die is some linen fabric. I love the simplicity of this card but also the wonderful textured brown button I found in my stash for the sunflower center! You can click on the photo for a larger view.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in my fun news!!

Gina K Inspiration Hop Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Did you make it to the release party last night!? It sure was a lot of fun chatting it up with all the Gina K fans!! I love it that everyone can chat together and see the video, contest questions, challenges and SHOP at their leisure! It’s great that Gina K chats with us too now!!

My first card was made using Melanie’s Stately Flowers 2 which covers flowers from Kentucky, Minnesota and Nebraska! She draws flowers so wonderfully and realistic, they are so easy to create with! I wanted to make my Goldenrod flowers stand out on the white layer but yet still use my new Cuttlebug folder Kassie’s Brocade so I decided to just run the sides through the folder and LOVE how it turned out! I used Wild Dandelion and Black Onyx Pure Luxury cardstock and 5/8” stitched black ribbon.

Here is a card I made using Theresa’s new set Mountain Wilderness. It was my DH’s idea to created a background scene and I thought about using my distress inks to make a ‘painting-like’ sky and ground. I like how this turned out. Distress inks are fun to use! My card base is Green Apple and I layered the main image on black onyx pure luxury cardstock.

As you hop through the designer’s blogs, make sure you leave comments on each one for a chance to win a grab bag full of 12 stamps!! We will randomly choose two winners so the more comments you leave, the better chance you have to win. Gina K will announce the winners on her blog.

Here are links to the challenges you can participate in this weekend to win!! Challenge 1 and Challenge 2

Gina K
Melanie Muenchinger – Illustrator Stately Flowers 2
Theresa Momber – Illustrator Mountain Wilderness
Michelle Woerner
Sharon Harnist
Suzanne Dean
Tina Gilliland
Vicki Dutcher
Carolina Buchting
Cathy Tidwell
Deb Felts
Donna Baker
Giovana Smith
Jennie Harper
Jimmi Mayo
Lee Murphy

Thanks for stopping by and hope you come back on Monday and Tuesday as the inspiration hops continue!

Happy New Year to you!!

You’re Invited to the Gina K release party tonight!

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

I am excited for tonight’s release party and hope you are too!

If you came from Giovana Smith’s blog, A Place to Praise and Craft, you're at the right place. If not make sure to head over to StampTV where you will find a list of all those participating in today's hop.

Here's a sneak peek of one of the cards I will be sharing at the party using Theresa Momber’s new set!

Hope to see you there! Here are all the details:

When: Today, Thursday, December 29
Where: StampTV Release Party Forum
Time: 7 PM to 9 PM (CST)

Head on over to Deb Felts’ blog With a Stamp and a Song to see what she's sharing with you today and see you back here tomorrow for the beginning of our three day Inspiration Blog Hop series for December!

Last Minute Easy Wine Gift & True Friendship

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:09:00 +0000

I am a last minute Lucy this year – has mostly to do with the fact I was stressed out a few weeks ago and got sick so I decided to take it easy and scale way back so I could get through the holiday. I like planning in advance, so back in July we bottled some wine for gifts this year. It was a lot of fun because we did it with our best friends James & Stephanie! This is going to be part of a gift exchange at my in-law’s this evening.

I stamped the waterproof label with A Year of Borders (poinsettia) and greeting. Then colored it with copics. Isn’t it simple and pretty? This morning I found the easy coasters to make – they took less than an hour. If I wasn’t doing other stuff, I bet it would have taken less time! I get distracted by Pinterest and Facebook a lot. ha

Easy Wine Glass Coasters

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Here is a visual of the steps I took to make these and here is the tutorial I found online. I used Kate Spain’s Flurry charm squares I had.

Lastly, here is a picture of the real wine label we had made to go on the wine we bottled (it is a DELICIOUS sweet red wine). We had SO MUCH fun sampling all the wines the day we chose which wine we would bottle – geez. I remember it fondly! We chose to put an older picture of us all together (on the left) that we took in 2004 on a trip to Colorado Springs where we had a ton of fun! We went in July for our anniversaries. They are just a few days apart. The picture on the right was taken on the day we bottled the wine. It’s so funny we all wore red & blue on both days and it wasn’t even planned! Great minds think alike. It’s wonderful to have friends you can be your crazy self around and have them still like you – ha! No matter what we do together, we always enjoy one another’s company and true friendship is something you hold on dearly to.
We love these 2 people so much!

I want to wish y’all a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thank you so much for stopping by!

sharing on the following link parties: Made by You Monday The Girl Creative Homemaker on a Dime

Gina K Weekend Special & some Christmas Decor shares

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:48:00 +0000

Check out this great special from Gina K Designs this weekend! Click on the photo to start shopping! Don’t forget to check out the all new Clearance Bin too! I am going to stock up on button jars and tea tins!

John’s new Christmas Stocking

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Here are pics of the stocking I made for John. We don't have a lot of traditions for Christmas but one we really look forward to is opening our stockings on Christmas morning. It's like getting a ton of presents in one small package, how fun! I got the tutorial from Fabricworm. Super easy to follow – this went together pretty quickly. How do you like the funky multi-colored fabric John picked out from our LQS The Cotton Cupboard? It’s brand new Daydreams II by Stephanie Brandeburg for Camelot Cottons. Isn't it colorful, funky and fun? I wasn't crazy about it on the bolt, but once it was revealed to me in full (open), I really started to like it! I even bought some to make a purse out of it. He picked out the purple cuff fabric and the owner of the store helped him pick out the green liner which I also used for the loop instead of ribbon.

This year, we decided not to go all out and get a big tree or decorate to excess. We brought in our porch lit trees and are decorating each one ourselves. This is mine with all red, silver, white which I really love! It was so fun and not as time consuming to decorate! One reason we decided to go small is because I have been stressed out which caused me to get sick a week ago and it progressed throughout the week from a cold sore to sinus congestion to a sore throat to a cough to a fever, stomach ache and then the big “D” (I had the whole virus symptom gamut). I missed several days of work and lots of opportunities to make things or clean my house or wrap presents. I did manage to make it to our department event on Thursday although I was still feeling bad and the fever and “D” started! We worked 2 hours then went to a high class cinema with recliners, pillows, blankets and had lunch and watched a movie, New Year’s Eve which I liked a lot. I was just thrilled to go home and spent the better part of 24 hours in bed while I battled my fever, chills, body aches and sweating the fever out.

I am still on the mend and taking it easy still, as I don’t want to relapse. Right now I am mainly dealing with the stomach ache still. Here is a cute ornament I have on my tree I got from a “Secret Santa” at work with my name on it. how cute is that!?

Lastly, a few weeks ago when I was feeling like myself, I made a wreath for our front door which I adore! I bought it at Hobby Lobby for just $5 and all the Christmas picks were 1/2 price, then I got some red & silver ornaments from Home Depot for like $7 and the silver wire edged ribbon I got from Costco last year. I really love how it turned out!

Thanks for stopping by – promise I will stamp again when I feel better and get a handle on the messiness I left in my stamp room the last time I was in there! I will be back again soon.

Some Christmas cards to share

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:24:00 +0000

I bet you may be wondering if I have abandoned my blog or why I haven’t posted in so long? Well, I’m still here; super busy and trying to enjoy the holidays stress-free although I think I am miserably failing at that. When I woke up Friday morning, I felt the first signs of a cold (sore on my lip – yikes sure fire sign I am stressed out). I tried to get a prescription from my Dr to get it knocked out but they wanted to ‘see’ me first so I will be going on Monday morning before work. Ugh. Anyway…here are a few of the cards my friends made over at the house back in October. I love this cute snowman! He is from the Wishing You Joy stamptv kit. This card came together quite quickly, a version of one of my favorite sketches! I colored the snowman with prismacolor pencils blended with odorless mineral spirits. I love the snowflake embossing folder I used, it really gives a ton of texture to the card.

Next is a card I made using Festive Frame and my kraft magic technique! I love stamping on kraft cardstock and coloring in with colored pencils to make the images pop. The white for the poinsettias look a little velvety to me. I love the simplicity of this card.

I spent today as stress free as possible although I have a lot of things on my to do list! I washed laundry, made homemade granola bars, breakfast mini quiches for us to eat for breakfast during the week, and some lentils & kidney beans are in the crock pot for dinner. I am just waiting on John to get home so I can cook the rest of our dinner.

Hope you’re having a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by today.

Day 3: Gina K Release Inspiration Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to our last day of inspiration hops for the new release. I bet by now or by tomorrow those of you who placed your orders on the night of the release will be getting your new stuff and stamping your hearts out! I know how fun that is!

First, I have a card to share with you using the new one free with 3 set called Inspirational Blocks. When you purchase 3 sets (3 stamp duos will count as 1 set too), you add this set automatically to your cart and you will get it free! It is beautiful, sometimes I just want to take the quick route and stamp a solid image and not color anything in and that’s what I did here. Made a graduated color palette of Dandelion, Canteloupe and Potter’s Clay Memento inks. I also thought the leaves needed a little something so I put some stardust stickles on them. After stamping the sentiments partially in the blocks, I outlined the letters in the blocks with my inkssentials white pen to make them stand out a little more.

Here is my card using Master Butterfly stamp duo. As Gina said at the release party, she “can never have too many flower or butterfly stamps!” I have to agree! I used one of her background swiping techniques from this video to cover a whole layer of cardstock for a full background piece. I just made more of a wavy swipe. I really like it! After I stamped the butterfly, I filled it in with some stardust stickles (love that stuff!) and there I go sponging again on the sentiment tag).

On my final sample for the release, I used Just calling to say stamp duo. I kept this card real simple, showcasing the beautiful Cosmo Cricket Circa 1934 papers (reminiscent of old times like the style of the phone right?)

I’m so glad you joined us for the inspiration hops for this new release and I hope you are very inspired! Thank you for stopping by!

Day 2: Gina K Release Inspiration Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:00:00 +0000

So glad you’ve joined us for today’s inspiration hop!

First up is my card using Dogwood and Butterfly by Theresa Momber. Isn’t it gorgeous? I wanted to make a card using the spotlight technique on this card (makes it easier when you don’t want to color a whole bunch but still make a card’s image stand out! I went with soft colors (Bubblegum cardstock) and added some light pink silk ribbon.

Next up is a set of cards I made using Tami Mayberry’s new set Label Borders. This fun set coordinates with a lot of Tami’s other sets, so you can mix & match sentiments in the rectangle or use dies over the center to have a different look. Check out the stamp reveal thread from the release party for Tami’s tips!

I made monochromatic clean & simple cards for this card set. I could have left well enough alone with all the white space but when I was creating with all the release sets, I was totally in a sponging mood so I sponged away!

Lastly, this is my card (also sponged again) using Friends are Flowers stamp duo. I used one of my favorite techniques kraft magic. That is where you stamp on kraft cardstock and color in with colored pencils. I used white & green prismacolor pencils.

Be sure to check out StampTV each week Monday and Friday we have challenges posted where you can win MORE free stamps!!

Gina K
Tami Mayberry – Illustrator Label Borders
Theresa Momber – Illustrator Dogwood and Butterfly
Tina Gilliland
Vicki Dutcher
Carolina Buchting
Cathy Tidwell
Deb Felts
Donna Baker
Emily Giovanni
Giovana Smith
Jimmi Mayo
Lee Murphy
Melanie Muenchinger
Michelle Woerner
Sharon Harnist
Suzanne Dean

Thanks for stopping by – hope you come back for the last day of inspiration hops!!

Day 1: Gina K release inspiration hop

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to our first day of inspiration hops for the Gina K release. I hope you had fun if you came to the party. They are always fast & furious and a lot of fun, huh?

First up is my card for Melanie’s new Stately Flowers, the first in a series (can you say yea?!) Personally, I am very fond of the flowers she chose for the first series. #1 I am a California Native #2 I call Texas home now #3 I want to live in Colorado someday and #4 I hope to visit Wisconsin some day so I can meet Gina!

I made this card to send to my oldest sister Val. I had a lot of fun coloring the poppies, which I think are very beautiful and of course, think Melanie did a fantastic job drawing (all of them!) I used White and Sweet Mango pure luxury cardstock, white gold lined organdy ribbon, textile cuttlebug embossing folder and labels. The poppies were colored using Copic markers. Here is a photo of the inside of the card. My sister is always asking for prayers for California because of the bad economy and frequent earthquakes which scare her. After living here 14 years, I am still trying to convince her to move to Texas where she wouldn’t have to worry about that!

Melanie’s other set, Make a State-ment. I made this card to send to my niece & nephew in CA…I’m sure they will love it. Since they visited last year, I’m sure a visual of the distance between where they are and where we are, will be helpful to see! I used kraft and black onyx pure luxury cardstock, Basic Grey Wander papers, distress tool and Distress Inks to sponge.

My next card uses the new Stamp Duo Close Knit Friends. I love this quote, it’s so true! I taught myself to knit a few years ago, but so far I have only made 1 scarf. I have some new yarn to make my 2nd one but now I have to make the time to do it! I used Sweet Mango, Chocolate and Turquoise Sea pure luxury cardstock, which coordinate nicely with the Basic Grey Indie Bloom papers I chose! I also stamped Vintage Borders on the turquoise panel and sponged lightly with antique linen distress ink. My embellishments are chocolate grosgrain ribbon and an orange button. The image was colored with Copic markers.

Last but not least is my card using Because of You stamp duo. I used White, Black Onyx pure luxury cardstock and the pattern paper is from Echo Park - Victoria Garden. I used gold lined white organdy ribbon again, with a pearl brad accent. I love the look of stamping on pattern paper, don’t you, that is fun with solid stamps.

Here is a list of all the designers participating in today’s inspiration hop, make sure you leave comments on each one for a chance to win a grab bag of 12 free stamps!! We will randomly choose two winners and Gina K will announce the winners on her blog.

Gina K
Melanie Muenchinger – Illustrator Stately Flowers and Make a Statement
Carolina Buchting
Cathy Tidwell
Deb Felts
Donna Baker
Emily Giovanni
Giovana Smith
Jennie Harper
Jimmi Mayo
Lee Murphy
Michelle Woerner
Sharon Harnist
Suzanne Dean
Theresa Momber
Tina Gilliland
Vicki Dutcher

Thanks for stopping by – be sure to come back tomorrow for Day 2 Inspiration!!

You’re Invited to the Gina K release party tonight!!

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:00:00 +0000

We are very excited to extend an invitation to Gina K. Designs November Release Party. We have a fun evening planned for you - chatting, prizes, challenges, stamp sets reveal, design team shares, and most importantly, at the end of the party you will be able to go shopping!

If you came from Deb Felts’ blog, you're at the right place. If not make sure to head over to StampTV where you will find a list of all those participating in today's hop.

Here's a photo of one of the cards I will be sharing at the party; I decided instead of a sneak peek this month, I would just show you the full card. This is from one of Melanie’s new sets and just like all her others, know it will be a BIG hit! I plan to send this card to my niece and nephew because just like the card says, I am missing them – ALWAYS. They love getting my cards in the mail and need to do it more often and more randomly and out of the blue.

Hope to see you at the party, here are all the details:

When: Tonight Tuesday, November 29
Where: StampTV Release Party Forum
Time: 7 PM to 9 PM (Central Time)

Head on over to Cat Tidwell’s blog to see what she's sharing with you today and see you back here on tomorrow for the beginning of our three day Inspiration Blog Hop series for November!

Gina K Black Friday Special!

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 06:00:00 +0000

Are you a Black Friday early morning or all day shopper? Not me. The only time I ever went shopping was with my sister in CA for an early morning Michael’s sale. But, I decided early on it just wasn’t worth it so I’ve never done it again! I’d rather hand make as many of my gifts so I start earlier in the year so I am usually done with gifts by the first or second week in December. This year, I am behind because I have a lot of gifts to sew still!

But one thing I do like to do is shop online! So, here is a great special for all you Gina K fans! You can get 2 or all 5 of the new stamp duos that haven’t even been released yet! The designers have them, we are working on samples we plan to show at the release party, which by the way is next Tuesday, Nov 29th! Mark your calendars! I will see you then – no more posting for me until that day because I will be busy making samples and working on sewing those Christmas gifts!

Thanks for stopping by – hope you have a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

Thanksgiving Blessings and Décor!

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers who are celebrating with yummy food, family & friends today! First, I have to share a card I mass produced (just 4) to send to family I wish we were able to celebrate with and we miss. It came together real quickly (even with all the coloring, which I did with prismacolor pencils blended with odorless mineral spirits). I just got the new cuttlebug embossing folder (Grace’s Frame) after seeing Melanie use it on several of her cards. I think it lends a particular elegance to your cards which I like! I combined Holiday Basket and Basket Additions for a Basket of Blessings on Thanksgiving. The stamps are on pure luxury ivory and my card base is Pumpkin Spice.

Next up I have a few sewing shares for you. I was so excited to find some dish towels at Wal-Mart for less than $6 I believe for 2. They are a waffle weave and very soft. I sewed a piece of fabric, folding over the edge 1/8” and topstitching. EASY! I love how they add a pop of color to the boring white dish towels. I bought extra so I can make some for Christmas too. These would make a great gift to wrap around a homemade loaf of bread or line a basket of home baked cookies as a gift too.

Then I made a one yard table runner I got a pattern for during our quilt bus trip my friend Stephanie and I took back in July. It was simple to make and I love that it is reversible. The print fabric is on the other side. This is what our Thanksgiving table will look like. I finished these a few weeks ago. Yea, another thing crossed off my ever growing to do list!

I also made some matching napkins, using my rolled hem foot that came with my machine. Here is a photo of what the hem looks like. I tell you, it is FANCY and I am so glad I have it! It was super easy to use and I have grand plans to make lots of napkins! In fact, I already made a table runner from fabric I got in Santa Fe, NM for my sister and brother-in-law who have decorated their kitchen Southwestern. I just have to make their napkins and will share in a future post.

I hope you and your family have a Blessed Thanksgiving and enjoy all your time together with loved ones.

I am Thankful for you, my readers! Thank you for stopping by! Check back tomorrow a.m. for details on the Gina K Black Friday Special!

Friday Night Sew-In Results–NOT

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 15:41:00 +0000

***Disclaimer*** this is a previously sewn project I am sharing!!

I was not able to participate in the last 2 Friday Night Sew Ins and I am disappointed. I had grand plans (too ambitious if you ask me) because the holidays are fast approaching, we tend to put too much on our plates don’t we? Well, I am guilty as charged. This week was quite busy and emotional for me.**more on that later in the post. So, after work I went to a local Indian grocery store and spent almost $85 on spices and foods to stock our pantry so I can do more Indian food cooking from scratch. You may not realize, but Indian food is my favorite cuisine. I love the flavors, smells and variety. After I did that, John and I met at Costco to do some more shopping and we didn’t get home until almost 8:00. Of course, there were a lot of groceries to put away and well, I still need to finish that and it’s Sat. morning already, and after I compose this post, we are headed for a hike at McKinney Roughs Nature Park. John wants to get some geocaches and I want to get some exercise since it was on my to do list for today anyway. Plus, it is literally down the street from where we live and we have not been there yet (what a shame). I was just too exhausted last night to get out my sewing supplies and sew. I was in bed by 9:30 and had a great night’s sleep!

So, here I am showing some pillow ornaments I made a while back since I have not shared them yet. These were my winnings from a few months ago from the Friday Night Sew In I won from Heidi. She also sent me a quilting ruler and some chocolate covered potato chips that melted from the Texas heat but they were still tasty! The fabric is Kate Spain Flurry and I got the idea for these here. If you’d like to follow me on Pinterest, here is the link to my boards. It is addicting but I have made MANY projects and recipes I have pinned since I found it! I just don’t pin and not produce.

**About the emotional week I had. My favorite cousin Andrea is in the hospital very ill but as of Thursday, she was doing somewhat better. If you pray, will you please keep her in yours for a continued healing & recovery?** Thank you so much.

Thanks for stopping by & hope you have a great weekend!

Gratitude Blog Hop with Gina K Designs

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Welcome to another Gina K. Design Team blog hop. Today we're featuring cards with a Gratitude theme to them. If you came from Cat’s blog Cat’s Creations, you're at the right place. If not, make sure to head over to StampTV where you will find a list of all those participating in today's hop.

This time of year especially, we may need more Thank You cards than usual with dinner parties, gifts and other acts of hospitality that may be extended to you or your family so we can show some gratitude with a handmade card. So I made a set of Thank You cards to have on hand, actually I needed some to send out that are long overdue so this was the perfect theme for me this month! I used the new Nature’s Greeting stamp kit which I love (especially this whimsical bloom).

I thought it would be fun to make a set of cards using some Basic Grey Indie Bloom papers which I just got from the Gina K store! Believe it or not, these cards came together in about an hour because I kept them simple, using the same layout and putting them together mass production-style. Here is what I did: 1. picked out all my pure luxury cardstock colors (red hot, pumpkin spice, sweet corn and lovely lavender), cut them and scored them. 2. Picked out my matching ribbons, buttons and pattern papers. 3. Stamped all the flowers and greetings, colored them (prismacolor pencils blended with odorless mineral spirits) and cut them out. 4. Cut all the layers at one time. 5. Assemble all layers (focal image is popped up with foam tape) 6. Placed liquid pearls in the flower centers.

I just love the centers of the flowers!
I want to extend a special thank you to everyone hopping with us today and for those who stop by my blog…I appreciate you!! P.S. I apologize for the quality of my photos – I cannot find my camera so I had to use my phone.

Please head on over to Giovana's blog to see what she's sharing with you today!

Vroom!! Vroom!! Vroom!!

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 17:49:00 +0000

Here is a little gift with matching card I made to give a friend who is having a little boy soon (her 2nd child). I always love the blue brown & red combo so when I found this adorable little 3- piece outfit at Ross, I had to get it! I adore the little blue & red star on the behind of the pants! I knew I could use Melanie’s Wee Tees set to make a perfectly matched card to go with it.

Here is a close up of the card. I used the Traffic Jam (fitting) cuttlebug embossing folder on the Little Boy Blue layer. This card came together within 10 minutes (love the quick ones!) The other cardstock colors I used are pure luxury white, red hot and chocolate brown, all colors I pulled from the outfit. I used small silver brads to embellish and made the cars appear as if they are zooming across the cards in the circle punches.

I gifted this to the mom this past week and she loved it! In fact, she shared some pregnancy photos with me that featured her, her husband and little Jack’s (baby in the tummy) older sister Ella. They were all precious!

Thanks for stopping by today! I have to get back to my sewing and stamping projects for the weekend!

Nature’s Greetings Stamp Kit available by Gina K Designs

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:34:00 +0000

I am happy to share with you a card I made using some of the supplies that come in the Nature’s Greetings stamp kit by Gina K! I just love the whimsical images in this set and beautiful greetings! I stamped a trio of blooms on my ivory cardstock and placed the greeting in the center with the lowered bloom. In the far left corner, I put a copper brad (comes in the kit) and made a small triangle with my paper piercer for some added depth & interest. I colored the blooms with prismacolor pencils blended with odorless mineral spirits.

Here is a picture of the stamp set you will get when you purchase your kit. It is a great value at $39.95, in addition to the stamps, you will get many colors of pure luxury cardstock, beautiful pattern paper to coordinate, copper brads and ribbon plus a DVD with instructions to create at 6 cards! Be sure to click on this link to see a video with all the contents of the kit!

Thanks for stopping by; I hope you have a wonderful weekend! I will try to be back with more photos from our vacation last month and share what I have been working on.

All pets go to Heaven–missing Shelby

noreply@blogger.com (Donna Baker) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 02:37:00 +0000

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while; my evenings are filled with housework, cooking and relaxing lately so not much energy or time to stamp during the week. By the time the weekend rolls around, there are more chores to do and more relaxing and of course socializing activities, before I know it, the time gets away from me – but I am still here!

This is a card I made a few months ago to send to our former vet that we used to take Shelby to. Shelby was our sweet dog who was 13+ years old and we had loved and enjoyed having around for 11 of those years! She got a tumor in her mouth/throat back in May and we had to put her to sleep on my birthday this year (it happened so fast). It was the worst birthday ever for me, from start to finish; so painful to say good bye to her but we knew it was the best decision to make, just the timing sucked. I also put the picture of her inside the card to them. Everyone at that vet office was always so caring and genuinely loves all the pets they care for! I will never forget the first time I took Shelby there and Dr. Rafferty loved on her for a little while and got down on the floor with her before he examined her. He never put her on that cold table top. That made a lasting impression with me.

I used Melanie’s Basket Buddies for my card and kept the card clean & simple. The lined paper is Basic Grey Basics Manila and I just traced the inside of a nestability oval to put the dog silhouette inside. The pure luxury cardstock I used is Kraft for the base and chocolate is layered behind the pattern paper. I love the row of paw prints on the card and mimicked that on the envelope.

I am sure they put the card & her picture in an album and have it displayed on their table; I always enjoyed looking through the albums and magazines while we waited in the office. I will always think very fondly of everyone who worked at Circle C Animal Hospital and cared for our pets.

I am also glad I have a stamp set geared toward sympathy for the loss of a pet; those who have pets and have experienced the loss knows how much it means to have someone care enough to send a card during a time like this. In fact, I got a card from my middle sister Deana just a few days later that she handpicked at the store for me. It touched my heart, she definitely knows how hard this was for me, as she was the first person I called to tell what happened that day, and we both cried on the phone together. Shelby will always be in my heart, I am grateful she spent 8 months with us at the property, she enjoyed it a lot!!

Thanks for stopping by today, promise to have something more cheerful to share next time.