Mama Elephant July Stamp Highlight: Hustle

Happy Friday!  And happy last day of the Mama Elephant July release highlights:)  You know that Mama Elephant just can't have a release without an awesome and unique sentiment set!!!  And the new set Hustle is it!  (All the new stuff is available on the site NOW by the way)  Which sentiment is your favorite?  

I decided to use the Stitches set to put together a CAS (and cheeky) wedding card.  I have way too many friends who have made careers out of long term dating, lol, and I couldn't resist that sentiment.  And I just could resist making a set of "wooden" spools to tie the knot;)   

Thanks for visiting all week long!  Be sure to go see what the other ME gals are up to today:)

Mama Elephant/Kryssi 

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

JJ Bolton (you are here)

I hope you enjoyed all the projects this week!  Enjoy the weekend!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant July Stamp Highlight: Lights Out

***please scroll down to see my Avery Elle post***

Hey guys!  We're up to day 3 of the Mama Elephant July release highlights and the stamp set today is Lights Out!  (All the new stuff is available on the site NOW by the way)  This set is chock full of mix and match parts to create any lightbulb your heart desires!  

I thought I'd use this set to make an "anytime" card for my son Ryan who is voluntarily taking a math class in summer school (yes, by choice!).  Isn't this the perfect sentiment?  I curved the sentiment around a fussy cut light bulb and placed it over a background of light rays.  The light rays are from the set Sunny Skies and if you look reeeaaalll closely, you can see the lines that I drew in with a Spica glitter pen.  The same glitter pen that I used to fill in the star within the bulb.  With that sentiment, I had to go big on the bling;)

Thanks for stopping in!  Be sure to go see what the other ME gals are up to today:)

Mama Elephant/Kryssi 

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

JJ Bolton (you are here)

See you tomorrow for the last Mama Elephant stamp highlight this month!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Avery Elle Stamp Highlight: Simply Tags Everyday

Hello out there!  Today I'm having fun with a set from Avery Elle that my pal Nina Yang designed.  It's called Simply Tags: Everyday and you've already seen me playing around with this set.  Like me, I'm sure you will not want to stop making tags once you get your hands on these stamps and the matching dies:)  

 

I've used the tag dies the traditional way (like here) and used them to creative a negative die cut (like here), but today I tried something a little different.  Not wild and crazy different, but just a way to get something new from a tool you already have.  To create the little gold tag frame below, I die cut the largest tag die in gold card stock.  Then I took the negative die cut and cut around it.  Instant frame!  After a bit of experimenting, I found that the flags of the set Papel Picado fit just right into the frame.  (Don't you love when that happens!)  

Thank you so, so much for stopping by!  I hope you're having a wonderful week!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant July Stamp Highlight: Full House

Hey everyone!  Today is the day two of the Mama Elephant July release highlights and the whole DT is showcasing the set named Full House!   (All the new stuff is available on the site NOW by the way)  Technically this set has a house/home theme, but can't you just see all the graphic possibilities in these stamps? 

We're in the midst of selling and finding a new home, so I guess this one really shows what's on my mind!  I used the large solid house border to create a background and it was super quick and easy.  I borrowed the sentiment from the ME set On Target.  We have been house hunting a ton lately and I'm hoping to get that "You're the One" feeling soon:) 

Thanks for checking in!  Check out the rest of the DT blogs to see what they've done with this set!

Mama Elephant/Kryssi 

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

JJ Bolton (you are here)

See you tomorrow for the highlights of the new set Lights Out!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant July Stamp Highlight: Stitches

Hey everyone!  Today is the first day of the Mama Elephant July release highlights and the whole DT is showcasing the set that you saw here yesterday called Stitches!   (Which is available on the site NOW by the way)  Yesterday, I used the Stitches stamps to create some fun tags.  Today, I went straight for that lovely over-sized stitched sentiment!!!

You know I love my vellum and I thought wouldn't that stitched sentiment look great on vellum!  So I embossed it in gold and I love how it turned out!  Behind the vellum I stamped a background of flowers and leaves with stamps from last month's Water Blooms.  I used pinks, peaches, and yellows for a soft look.  To attach the vellum overlay, I punched two holes at the top and tied the vellum on with burlap string.  So easy!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope that you get a chance to drop by the rest of the DT to see what fun they had with this fun set! 

Mama Elephant/Kryssi 

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

JJ Bolton (you are here)

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant July Stampede

Hi everyone!  Welcome to the Mama Elephant July Stampede!  You've already seen the peeks of the July release over at the Mama Elephant blog, and the new release is now live and available for purchase in the store!  For the stampede, I'm working with the new set Stitches!

I was a seamstress (sewer? sewster? lol) long before I started up with cards, so this set really speaks to me.  Even now that I'm addicted to paper, I still break out the sewing machine every now and then:)  More often than not, I'm sewing up a little gift.  So today I thought I'd show some tags I made up to go with my little sewn goodies!  

   

Sets Used: (Left) Stitches, No Peeking / (Middle) Stitches, Big Words / (Right) Stitches, No Peeking

For each tag, I used the tag stamp from the set No Peeking (remember that one from last Winter?).  This tag is my favorite of the three:)  I stamped the spool image onto woodgrain paper and fussy cut it.  Then I wrapped it with embroidery thread.  So cute!  

The other 2 tags are easy peasy one-layer tags.  Perfect for putting in the post with no worries of them getting smushed!  I love to pop these tags onto a package wrapped up in kraft paper:)  Thanks for letting me share!

To celebrate the new release, Mama Elephant is giving away 3 gift certificates worth $20.00 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 on the last Stamp Highlight day.

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

1. Leave a comment on this blog post

2. Become a follower of our blog

3. Like/share us on Facebook:http://facebook.com/mamaelephant

4. Follow/tweet us on Twitter:http://twitter.com/heymamaelephant

Here's the list of all the hopper today!  Big thanks to the amazing Karolyn for joining us this month (woohoo)!
Kryssi Ng / Mama Elephant 

Karolyn Loncon
JJ Bolton (you are here)

Geralyn Sy 

Jenn Biederman 

Cheiron Brandon 

Alice Wertz 

Mariana Grigsby 

Savannah O'Gwynn 
Pearl Lui

Lea Lawson 

Thank you so much for stopping by!!  And remember tomorrow, we start new stamp highlights!  Lots of fun coming!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Avery Elle June/July Stamp Highlight: Party Animal

Hi everyone!  I can't believe that it's already the middle of July!  This summer is going way too fast for me!  Come to think of it, fall, winter, and spring are like this too:)  That's part of the reason I like the new every other month releases at Avery Elle.  It's nice to have some time to play with the stamps!  Stamps like the new Party Animal mini set from the June/July Avery Elle release! 

How much fun is this balloon animal stamp?  To go along with the party theme, I used the streamer stamps from Celebrate to create a festive party!  I stamped the balloon animal onto a piece of white card stock and fussy cut only around the left side of the image.  I love how the little guy is hanging off the panel.   

If you look close, you can see that I covered the balloon animal in glossy accents just for a bit of dimension (got that trick from Nina;)  Just a fun birthday card for practically anyone of any age!

Thank you so, so much for stopping by!  I hope you're having a wonderful week!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Online Card Classes Summer Camp 2 Giveaway Winner!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!!  Are you ready for the the Online Card Classes  Summer Card Camp 2?  Summer Camp 2 starts today and I've got a winner just in time:)  The winner of my blog giveaway is #54, Jenny!

Jenny won with this sweet comment:)  I'll be in touch Jenny!  

 

Even if you didn't win, I do hope that you sign up!  See you there!

Mahalo and Aloha,
jj

Giveaway: Online Card Classes Summer Card Camp 2

The lovely gals over at Online Card Classes are offering another fun and inspiring class for the summer, Summer Card Camp 2!  I hope you join your Online Card Classes Summer Camp counselors Kristina Werner, Jennifer McGuire, and friends (including me!) for a three-week adventure packed with cardmaking ideas! Each day, you'll discover a new way to have fun with your cardmaking supplies, whether we're exploring a color combo, transforming a design sketch, or learning a new technique together. Summer Card Camp 2 includes designs from over 40 guest artists (yay!), lively videos, PDFs containing step-by-step instructions, shopping discounts, and loads of giveaways!  Plus, you'll have lifetime access to all of the class content - talk about making that summertime feeling last!  Summer Card Camp 2 runs July 8-29. Sign up now for only $35!

I'm so excited about this class because there is going to be SO MUCH eye candy:)  I've taken several of the OCC classes and I've learned so many new things!  For those of you who have never taken one of these classes, please don't hesitate if you think you don't have time to devote to it every day.  The beauty of these classes is that you can work through the lessons at your own pace and you have lifetime access to the content.  I'm so lucky to be participating and here's a peek of the card that I made for Camp!  

For a chance to win a spot to this awesome class, just leave a comment on this post.  I'll pick a winner on 7/7/2013 (Sunday at midnight EST) and announce it on the blog on 7/8/2013.  Good luck!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Avery Elle July Blog Hop

Last month Avery Elle went to a bimonthly release, but that doesn't mean we can't hop this month!  Today I'm hopping with the set Oh Happy Day!  As I'm sure you've noticed, I cannot put this set down.  The font is just so unique and seems to go with practically any style.  So I paired the Oh Happy Day sentiment with an older Avery Elle set, Blooming Banner.  

To make this design, I stamped the largest image from the Blooming Banner set 4 times on to a piece of scrap white card stock.  Then I used a Rounded Diamond die to cut just the middle of the design.  I colored the design with Copics and arranged them together on the card front with a bit of foam tape.  I love how it came out modern and folk arty all at the same time!  

That's my bit for today!  I hope you check out what the other gals have in store today!  Here's the blog line up if you've just started the hop...

Jamie Gracz (Avery Elle blog)

 Chunyuan Wu
Miriam Prantner
Nina Yang
Heather Campbell

JJ Bolton (you are here:)

Donna Mikasa

Kasia Curry
Maska Vanaker

To celebrate the Release Blog Hop, Avery Elle is giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to one winner!  You have until Sunday, July 8th midnight EST to enter.  The winner will be announced on the Avery Elle blog on  Monday, July 9th.  All products are available for purchase in the Avery Elle store right NOW!!!

To increase your chances of winning do any or all of the following (each item will give you one chance 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
• Like us on Facebook (comment on the Avery Elle blog if you like us or already like us)
• Follow Avery Elle on Pinterest
• Become a blog follower of the Avery Elle blog through Google Reader, Feedly, or Bloglovin'  (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)

Before I go, I want to wish a Happy 4th of July to all my friends in the U.S.!  Hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday:)

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

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