Avery Elle: March Release Blog Hop

It's just about March, so today we're rolling out the March releases with a blog hop!!!  I am soooooo excited with this release!  Fun, fun stuff!  Speaking of fun, how fun is this?  I have been waiting and waiting for a bicycle set, and Jamie must have read my mind:)  How cool are these stamps?

This is one of those sets that the stamps just speak for themselves.  No fancy techniques needed;)  For this card, I stamped the bike onto watercolor paper using Versacolor ink (which will not run using watercolors/water-based inks).  I just love how crisp that bike stamp image is!  Using some of my Stampin Up water-based inks, I painted the background.  If you look closely, I did a little splatter painting to simulate raindrops.  

As a little detail, I fussy cut the flag (splattered a bit of "rain" on it) and glued it to the card base.  To simulate a flag, I used foam tape the trailing edge of the flag and scortape on the side of the flag attached to the flag pole.  Love the way it looks like it's waving!

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the blog hop!  Click on over to the other Avery Elle gals to see the new releases in action!  This month we have the fantastic Donna Mikasa playing along with us!  

Jamie Gracz (Avery Elle blog)

 Chunyuan Wu

Heather Campbell

JJ Bolton (you are here:)

Donna Mikasa

Kasia Curry (Kasia's March release stamps are caught up in customs, but go visit her anyway:)

To celebrate the March Release Blog Hop, Avery Elle is giving away and $25 Gift Certificate to one winner on the Avery Elle blog and another $25 Gift Certificate to a winner on Facebook (just share them with your friends and make sure they say you sent them).  You have until Sunday, March 3rd to enter.  The winner will be announced on the Avery Elle blog on Monday, March 4th.  All products will be available for purchase tonight at midnight EST.  

There are tons of way to increase your chances of winning:

• Comment on any of the design team's posts and the Avery Elle blog
• Tweet the contest (we are @averyellestamps)
• Share with your friends on Facebook (we are www.facebook.com/AveryElle) and make sure they tell us you sent them
• Pin one of the March Release projects from the Avery Elle blog or the design team blogs to Pinterest
• Like us on Facebook (comment on the Avery Elle blog if you like us or already like us)
• Become a blog follower at the Avery Elle blog (comment on the Avery Elle blog if you become  a follower or are already a follower)
• Join our Flickr group (comment on the Avery Elle blog if you join or are already a member)

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Clear & Simple Stamps: Beyond Borders

Hi guys!  It's Clear & Simple Stamps Group Project day and the theme for today is Beyond Borders.  The borders in my card are die cut borders (are you surprised?).  

You've already seen me use the Edgers 3 dies on this card but this time the border die cuts are front and center!  I chose to use the smaller edge die on a smaller card (card measures 4-1/4" square).  I thought about going the ombre route, but rainbow is just as fun!

For the sentiment, I took out my CSS Lowercase dies.  I love this alpha set because there are multiple dies for letters that are used more often.  {This is especially important for those who like to do reverse die cuts}  For a little subtle color, I double cut the letters once in white and once in the same colors as the borders.  The colored letters were glued behind each white counterpart slightly offset.  It's hard to see, but the sentiment is glued to a piece of vellum instead of directly onto the white card base.  By doing this, the background remains white but has just enough contrast to make the letters pop.  The rainbow borders covers where the vellum is glued to the card base.

Thanks so much for stopping in!  Go check out the CSS Design Team for more Beyond Borders projects!  

• Lori Tecler
• Kim Duran
• Laurie Willison
• Tracy Schultz
• Laura Bassen
• Dana Grothaus
• JJ Bolton (Guest Designer) ~ you're here:)
• CSS 

This is my last CSS group project for the month and it's been a blast!  I want to send out big, big thanks to Nicki and the wonderfully warm and talented crew over at CSS!  To have the opportunity to work with them has been tremendous:)   

Mahalo and Aloha,
jj

Made With Love Blog Hop Winners!!

Hey y'all!  It's time to announce the winners of my Made with Love Blog Hop giveaways!  And without further ado, the winners are....

Winner of a $20 GC from Avery Elle is #12, richardbreaks!  (I originally thought the prize was the Lots of Love, but looks like Richard can choose which one he wants:)
 

 

  
Winner of a set of their choice from Fresh Squeezed Stamps is #166, Amanda Coleman!

Richard and Amanda, please email me at ribbongirls at comcast dot net to claim your prizes!!!   (I'll try to track you down too;)

Before I click out, I want to send a huge thanks to everyone who joined us in the blog hop!  You just don't know how much it means to us:)  And again a huge THANK YOU to our generous sponsors!  The response has been incredibly overwhelming and all of us gals are just so grateful!   See you all next time!  {Did I say next time? ;)}

Mahalo and aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant Stamp Highlight: Rustic Spring

Hiya everyone!  Today is the last day of the February Mama Elephant highlights and the final set is called Rustic Spring!  This set just screams cute and cozy to me.  There are so many teeny details in this set that make it ideal for building scenes.  My little scene is of a singing birdie:)

The sentiment medallion is from Smitten.  And that little music note stamp?  That's from Good Times!  Almost like they were made for each other!

That's it for me today!  Definitely go check out what the other Mama Elephant team members are doing with this cute set!

Mama Elephant/Kryssi 

Alice Wertz 
Cheiron Brandon 
Lea Lawson
Mariana Grigsby 
Savannah O'Gwynn 

JJ Bolton (you are here)

Thanks so much for stopping by this week!  It's been so much fun playing around with the new Mama Elephant stamps.  You don't know how much it means to me to have you all visit (much less comment)!  Please know how much I appreciate your kindness:)  

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Clear & Simple Stamps: Oh Oscar!

Hi guys!  It's Clear & Simple Stamps Group Project day and the theme is the Oscars!  It just so happens that the last movie I saw in the theatre was the Oscar-nominated movie Lincoln.  {Great movie by the way!}  I love a good period piece and I especially loved the period gowns and fabrics in the movie.  So for my card, I took CSS's Medallions 2 to create my own vintage lace background. 

I started by embossing a lace pattern in white over speckled cream card stock.  I used 3 different medallion stamps to achieve this look.  After embossing, I blended a layer of Antique Linen Distress Ink over it all.  The pattern reminds me a bit of a delicate lace collar.  To continue with the lace theme, I embossed the sentiment onto a vellum overlay.  

To dress up the edges of my lace panel, I used my Edgers 3 dies on the top and bottom edges.  Gives it a nice finished look!  The whole panel is adhered over a deep rich raspberry card base for a bit of contrast.  

I hope you enjoyed the project today!  I'll be back later one more time this month with another group project with CSS goodies:)  Definitely go check out the CSS Design Team for more Oscar-inspired projects!  

• Tracy Schultz
• Jennifer Rzasa
• Laura Bassen
• Elena Roussakis
• Audrey Tokach
• JJ Bolton (Guest Designer) ~ you're here:)
• CSS 

Mahalo and Aloha,
jj

Mama Elephant Stamp Highlight: Modern Borders

Hey guys!  We're back today with the new Mama Elephant set called Modern Borders!   These borders are so much fun to work with and really easy to create a custom background.  I chose to the hexagon pattern to work with for my first card.  If you look closely, the design has a textured look to it.  Gives a cool look and it's very forgiving to stamp (who doesn't love that;).  

I stamped the hexagon stamp 4 times in colors to match my enamel dots.  I love that the dots fit right inside each hexagon center.  It's the little things that make me happy:)  I fussy cut the panel and mounted it over a linen card stock base.  I like the fact that the base has a bit of texture too.  The sentiment is from the Say What set and has the perfect modern look to match the hexagons.

My next card uses the wave pattern from Modern Borders.  To get that rainbow look, I used my custom rainbow ink pad.  

I custom made this ink pad using Ranger Cut-n-Dry stamp pad foam sheet and reinkers.  The pic below shows 2 of my custom ink pads.  I keep them in a small flat container that used to hold herbs from the market:)  Am I the only one that takes things out of the recycling can for crafty purposes?  If you're thinking about making your own ink pads, just remember pigment inks work better with stamp pad foam and dye inks work better with stamp pad felt.  I strongly suggest you check the instructions and do a little experimentation.

Back to the card...I added the butterfly and sentiment from So Breezy.  As the final touch, I added my favorite enamel dots.  I'm so proud of myself for actually using the dots and not just hoarding them;)

That's it for me today!  Definitely go check out what the other Mama Elephant team members are doing with this great set!

Mama Elephant/Kryssi 

Alice Wertz 
Cheiron Brandon 
Lea Lawson
Mariana Grigsby 
Savannah O'Gwynn 

JJ Bolton (you are here)

Come back tomorrow for one more highlight from the February release!  Have a lovely day!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Avery Elle: Hipster-Potamus

Hi guys!  Chunyuan and I are back to share more February release projects from Avery Elle!  Last time it was a hipster giraffe, and today I'm working with the companion set, Hipster-Potamus!  The fedora in this set cracks...me...up!

I think this first card may just be the CAS-iest card I've ever made!  I took the glasses and the bow tie from Hipster-Potamus, added the mustache from What's Up?, and the sentiment from Good Fortune.  This little card just makes me smile (and kinda makes me want to eat a Pringle too;)  Fun, right?

This next card is pretty CAS too, but he's got a little secret:)  I stamped the hippo onto some Simple Stories patterned papers and paper pieced him together.  Then I printed out the sentiment onto card stock on the computer.  Then I mounted the little colorful hippo onto the card base with a wobbler so he can shake his booty!  Check out the quick video to see him shake!  {Don't know what a wobbler is?  Check this out.}

That's it for me today!  I hope you had a bit of fun.  Don't forget to click on over to Chunyuan's blog to see her project for the new set What's Up?!

Before I go, I want to mention the Avery Elle AEI

♥

U Challenge

!  The winner of this challenge gets to join us next month as the guest designer!  The winner gets 2 free sets from the upcoming release and is featured on the blog.  How cool would that be?  Hope you play along!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant Stamp Highlight: Say What

Hey everyone!  Welcome to the second day of Mama Elephant stamp highlights!  And don't forget, the February release is now live and available for purchase in the store!

Today we are working with the set Say What!  This set is classic Mama Elephant with lots  of unique and awesome sentiments for cards and scrapbooking.  I've been on a sunshiny kick lately, and the trend continues today:)  This CAS card was so much fun to stamp!  The sentiment is from Say What and the little chevron stamp is from On Target.  Fun and easy, my favorite kind of card;)  

THANK SO MUCH for stopping in today!  Please go check out what the other Mama Elephant team members are doing with this great set!

Mama Elephant/Kryssi 

Alice Wertz 
Cheiron Brandon 
Lea Lawson
Mariana Grigsby 
Savannah O'Gwynn 

JJ Bolton (you are here)

Come back tomorrow for another highlight from the February release!  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant Stamp Highlight: So Breezy

Hey y'all!  You've seen the peeks all week from Kryssi and stampeded with the whole team, now it's time for Mama Elephant's February release highlights!  BTW, the February release is live now and available for purchase in the store!  The first set to highlight is So Breezy!

This set is really going to get you in the mood for Spring!  Or at least in the mood for sunshine:)  I got started on this card by creating the background using a reusable plastic cloud mask and some Distress Ink.  For the sun, I used one of my small circle dies as a mask.  The sentiment is a mix of 2 stamps (one off which is a design handwritten by Kryssi herself:)  I was going for cheery and these stamps definitely delivered!

I fussy cut the butterfly kit and glued him on with a little foam tape.  As a final detail, I did a little ombre coloring on the open letters of the sentiment.  That small little detail really perks it up!  

THANK YOU for stopping in today!  Definitely go check out what the other Mama Elephant team members are doing with this great set!

Mama Elephant/Kryssi 

Alice Wertz 
Cheiron Brandon 
Lea Lawson
Mariana Grigsby 
Savannah O'Gwynn 

JJ Bolton (you are here)

Come back tomorrow for another highlight from the February release!  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant February Stampede

Hey everyone!  Welcome to the Mama Elephant February Stampede!  The stampede is extra special for two reasons: our new DT gals are joining us for their first stampede and we have the uber talented and so sweet, Laura Bassen, joining us too!  Just like last month, you've already seen the first looks at the February release on the Mama Elephant blog, and went live on the site at midnight last night!

For the stampede, I created two CAS cards with the Springy new set called So Breezy!  The silhouette images in this set really lend themselves to clean and graphic cards:)

The sun spray background of this first card was created with just a scrap piece of paper and some Distress Ink.  At the bottom, I stamped 2 sentiments together and added a wee bit of sparkle with a glitter pen.  I love the fact that Kryssi and Angela design sentiments that you can fill in.  So versatile!

I have one more simple card to share before I go:)  The So Breezy set includes two silhouette stamps, one boy and one girl.  I couldn't resist using the little boy stamp because it reminds me so much of my boys when they were little (getting a little misty-eyed just thinking about it).  As you can see, I kept the stamps the focal point with only a bit of blending (clouds behind the little boy stamp) and a sprinkling of enamel dots.  Just a sweet little birthday card for a little one:)

Stamps: So Breezy, We Click, Good Times

Thanks for stopping by today!  The next stop on this stampede is my pal, the awesome Cheiron Brandon !  Here's the blog order if you get lost:)

Mama Elephant/Kryssi 
Jenn Beidermann
Pearl Lui 

Alice Wertz 
Laura Bassen (guest designer) 
Savannah O'Gwynn 
Lea Lawson 
Mariana Grigsby 
Geralyn Sy 

JJ Bolton (you are here)

Cheiron Brandon 

To celebrate the new release, Mama Elephant is giving away 3 gift certificates worth $20 each to 3 lucky people!  Winners will be chosen at random from the collective blogs in the Stampede.  Winners will be announced on the blog Monday, February 18th.  

Here's how to qualify to win (leave a separate comment for each):

1) Leave a comment on this blog post

2) Like/share us on Facebook

3) Follow/tweet about us on Twitter

Come back tomorrow for the start of the DT stamp highlights!  Can't wait to show you the new sets:)  Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Made with Love Blog Hop

You don't even know how EXCITED I am today!  I get to blog hop with some of my favoritest gals EVER, the 2012 Gallery Idol gals!  Last July we hopped with a summer theme and we had so much fun, we knew we would do it again!  So what better occasion to hop than Valentine's Day?  No more wasting time chatting, let's get to the cards!  

This first card ticks all the boxes for me!  Die cuts, check.  Vellum, check.  Bright colors, check.  And that Hero Arts background stamp?  That was love at first sight!  Here's how it came together.  I stamped the spotty background twice (once in red, once in pink).  For the sentiment, I punched 4 squares from gray card stock and rounded opposite ends.  

Making sure each piece was facing the right way first (very important step here folks;), I die cut the letters and the heart.  I backed each reverse cut with a piece of vellum.  For the heart, I blended a bit of red ink over the vellum first.  The last step was to adhere each piece with a bit of foam tape and it was done and done!  I love that this card is Valentine-y but not too girly:)

For my second card, I pulled out 2 crafty tools I love to use: my trusty Post-It Label Roll tape  and my stack of Distress Inks.  {If you haven't tried label roll tape yet, you're missing out!}  I cut thin strips of the label roll tape with a craft knife and used the strips to mask the design over a heart that I hand cut from plain old copy paper.  {BTW, how do I not have heart dies?}  

 

Then very carefully using a scrap piece of paper to keep the ink in check,  I blended various colors of Distress Ink over each section.  After I pulled off the mask (love that part), I stamped the beautiful sentiment over it all.  For crisp stamped sentiments, I suggest using Versafine ink (great for detailed stamps, just don't use them with Copics).   I really love how vibrant the colors came out!  

Thanks so much for stopping in!  Before you go, I have one more treat!  Now you know we  couldn't hop without giving away prizes!  I have not one but two great prizes to give away!!!!  The first prize is the fabulous set Lots of Love from Avery Elle!  {The sentiment from my second card is from this great set!}

The second prize I have to offer is sponsored by Fresh Squeezed Stamps!  One lucky winner will receive their Punny Valentine stamp set!

I'll be picking the 2 winners at random from all the comments left on this post from today until next Thursday, February 21st at 11:59 pm EST.  I'll announce the winner on Monday, February 25th. 

Now off you go to the rest of the hop!  Remember that each gal has at least 2 prizes to give away!  And there's even a huge prize from the Ribbon Carousel that will be picked from all the comments along the way!  Next on the blog hop is the adorable and uber-talented Joscie!  Here's the full list, if you've lost your way:)

Taheerah
JJ ~ that's me:)
Joscie
Jennifer I.
 Amy
 Aga
Wida
 Jocelyn
 Miriam

Anita
Elena
Jen R.

Erin
Dana
Laurie
Tessa
Nina

BIG THANKS to everyone stopping in today!  And a huge THANK YOU to our generous sponsors!  The response has been incredibly overwhelming and all of us gals are just so excited and grateful! 

Mahalo and aloha,

jj

Showered with Love Card

Paper: Ultra Smooth Pure White, Fog Gray (Avery Elle), Vellum

Ink: Provincial Gray, Cherry (Fresh)

Stamps: Tiny Ink Spots (Hero Arts)

Tools: Square Punch (EK Success), Corner Chomper (We R Memory Makers)

Heartburst Card

Paper: Speckled (Avery Elle) 

Ink: Onyx Black (Versafine), Distress Inks

Stamps: Lots of Love (Avery Elle)