Studio Calico Confetti Die Giveaway Winner!

Sorry for the delay!  I just got a chance to sit down and find a winner for this fantastic Studio Calico die!  

The lucky random number is...

That makes the winner Tori Bissell who won with this comment...

Tori, I'll try to catch you, but if you see this post, please email me at ribbongirls at gmail dot com for your prize!  

Thanks to everyone who joined in!  I'll be offering up another Studio Calico prize very soon and I hope to see you again!

Mahalo and aloha,

jj

Studio Calico Camelot Reveal!

It's the 27th and that means reveal day at Studio Calico!!!   The release is available to subscribers right now, and will be available to everyone at midnight tonight.  Want to see some cards from the main card kit Camelot and the Morgan add-on?  Here we go!  
    
This first card was made using supplies from the main card kit with one yummy addition, the Happy word die.  You know I love me a good word die;)  This time I did it up in metallic gold card stock and backed it with some teal vellum to create a shadow font effect. 

Here's a better look at that gold word die cut with the vellum "shadow"...

My second card with the main card kit uses fantastic stamp set!  Did you know that the stamp set is a collaboration with One Canoe Two Letterpress?    I love it when two things I love come together:)  The stamp set has builder stamps that allow you to create a custom cake.  I did a birthday cake and to make it that much more festive, I backed it with a shaker window.  

I filled the shaker with all kinds of sequins (my fave are the mint ones) and if you look closely you'll see some gold "tinsel".  The tinsel is actually from the kit ribbon.  I deconstructed the gold ribbon and pulled out just the gold threads.  So much fun!

Now to the card kit add-on, Morgan!  For my first card, I converted one of the digital stamps into a Silhouette cut file to create this fun cut out leaf.  I backed the leaf with some vellum and added some glitter with my favorite brush glitter pen.     

Here's a closer look at the glittery vellum...

Last but not least is my favorite card of the bunch!  It's about as clean and simple as you can get!  I used the flower stem stamp to create a bunch of balloons.  The balloons are cut from a variety of colored vellums (garnet, poolside, kiwi, light yellow, chambray, and light blue to be exact).

To give some lift to the balloons, they were attached off of the top of the card.  To give the appearance of hanging, I stamped the sentiment vertically instead of horizontally.  My CAS loving heart really loves this one!

That's it for me for now:)  Thanks for stopping in!  I hope you check out the entire release over at Studio Calico!  And stop in to the gallery to see all the goodies the Creative Team have put together!

Mahalo and aloha,

jj

P.S.  Did you check out my giveaway?  I've got a Studio Calico Confetti die up for grabs here:)  Check it out!  The giveaway is open until Tuesday, April 29th at midnight!  JJ

Studio Calico Camelot Sneak Peeks & Giveaway!

Just sharing a couple sneak peeks of my Studio Calico Camelot projects!  Lots of fun stuff to play with this month!  Here are a peek from the main card kit...

And another (this sneak includes a die that is separate from the kit)...

And how about one from the card kit add-on Morgan...

Last one from Morgan...

See you on Sunday the 27th for the full reveal!  Subscribe now so you can get in on the presale at noon tomorrow (only subscribers can order at noon)!  There are some add-ons and dies this month, so you'll really want to get in early!   Before I finish, I did promise a giveaway!  I have one Studio Confetti Die to give away!  This die is sold out and I don't think it's going to be restocked:)  Not only can you use the negative die cut, but you can use it to create a ton of your own custom confetti!

There are 3 ways you can enter the giveaway:

• Leave a comment on this post

• Be/become a follower of this blog (leave a separate comment below to let me know you are a Feedly, Bloglovin, or Google follower)

• Be/become a Twitter follower - jj_bolton (leave a separate comment below if you become or are a follower)

I'll choose a random winner on Tuesday night at midnight EST and announce on the blog on Wednesday, April 30th. 

****THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.  PLEASE CHECK OUT THE WINNERS HERE.****

Enjoy this wonderful weekend!

Mahalo and aloha,

jj

Hey Mister Tool Guy with Waffleflower

I'm so happy to be sharing this card today!  This card was made with stamps from Waffleflower!  They are a new company with fun and clean designs and I'm so proud to say that my good friend Nina is the owner and designer of these wonderful stamps and dies!  Nina has long been designing cards and digital templates, so it's natural for her to move on to stamps and dies:)  So let's get to my card, shall we?

Do you have a tool guy in your life?  Then you need this set.  It's called Hey Mr and has a ton of fun tools and tool related stuff.  For my card, I envisioned a pegboard full of hanging tools and here's what I came up with!

        

First I stamped my tools and fussy cut them.  For the two-colored tools, I simply used 2 different ink pads.  This is super easy to do when the line between the colors is a straight line.  Just ink up one side of the stamp (use the straight edge of your ink pad along the line on your stamp) and do the same with the other color being carefully not to overlap.  

The next step was to create a pegboard with my Cameo (pick up the free file here).  To get the full effect of the little holes in the pegboard, I mounted the card panel to a white card base.  I did "dirty" up my pegboard with some blended ink (can't have unused tools, lol!).  I also distressed each of the tools with this handy ink applicator.  Here's a look at the entire stamp set...

I hope you check out the other designs over at Waffleflower!  Thanks for stopping in today:)

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Write It with Avery Elle

Happy Friday!  Today I have a quick post with a card I made using the new Avery Elle set, Write It!  I've pretty much been a fan of calligraphy since I was 12 and had to work the elementary school calligraphy booth for our 6th grade Medieval Fair.  My teacher picked a few kids with good handwriting, and gave us some beat up calligraphy pens and ink and a how-to book.  Who knew how much fun it would be!  This set brings back those fun memories for me!  

I started my card by creating a curved sheet of paper with my Custom Panel dies.  I used the arc die to create 2 parallel curves.  Then I used the large A2 rectangle die to cut it down to the size I wanted for my card.  I used one of the bottle dies from Bottle it Up for the inkwell (which I cut in vellum and overlaid with black "ink").  Doesn't that stamp really look hand-written?

Until next time!  Have a fantastic Friday and wonderful weekend!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Simon Says Stamp & Mama Elephant Summer Garden Blog Hop

Hello, hello, hello!  I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!  Today the Mama Elephant gang is hopping with the fun new stamp and die set designed by Mama Elephant called Summer Garden!  This set is the another collaboration between Simon Says Stamp and Mama Elephant (which is always a good thing in my book).  I have a couple projects I made using these wonderful stamps and matching dies!  

The first is a card that I made with an angled panel.  For something different.  I stamped and colored the same images on a card front and on the panel.  Then I diagonally cut the panel and backed it with a strip of vellum.  Both stamped layers are colored with Copics (these images are perfect for coloring with pens and pencils).  This treatment is a fun way to bring a little something extra to a card without it getting super busy.

My next project are a couple of simple double layer tags.  This technique is perfect for stamp sets with matching dies.  I started by cutting 2 sets of tags using the Embellished Tag die.  Then I stamped my flower image onto one of the tags.  Then I die cut my top layer with the matching die so that the negative cut is directly over my stamped image.

Here's an easy trick for die placement; use the negative of the tag as a placement tool.  Put your stamped tag into the negative die cut piece (top pic) and tape it in place (if you're wondering I use this tape for taping down dies).  Remember to place the tape on the negative template not the tag.  Then carefully removed the stamped tag and replace it with the unstamped tag.  Now tape down the die directly to the tag (bottom pic) and remove the other piece of tape.  Now you're ready to put it through your cutter and the die cut is perfectly placed!   

Here's a look at the entire set of stamps and dies...

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 gift voucher to one lucky winner from all of the comments left on the blog hop:)  Who couldn't use that?

 

That's it for me, folks!  Next stop on the hop is Nichol!  Here's the hop lineup if you want to start from the beginning:)  

Stephanie Klauck ~ Simon Says Stamp

Laura Bassen 

Emily Leiphart

JJ Bolton (you are here:)

Nichol Magouirk 

Elena Roussakis 

Mama Elephant  

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Watercolor Love & Kisses with Studio Calico ~ Giveaway Winner

I've got a ton to do today to get ready for company tomorrow, but I'm dropping in for just a bit to announce the winner of my Studio Calico giveaway!  It's lucky number...

The winner of the set of Studio Calico watercolors and a set of attacher dies is Pam who won with this comment...

Pam, please email me at ribbongirls at gmail dot com and I'll get your goodies to you right away!  To everyone who played along, thank you so much!  (I've got some more SC goodies to give away soon, so I hope you check back:)

Mahalo and aloha,

jj

Avery Elle: Weather It

Happy Thursday all!  Spring is here and everything is finally warming up here in northern Virginia:)  This one uses the new stamp set Weather It and the matching dies.  As soon as I saw the sentiment, I knew I would go gold (natch:). 

To make this shaker card, I first stamped the card base with the sun rays from Bright Days.  FYI, I use this 1/4" foam tape to make my shaker cards.  This tape is thin and you can cut slits about every 1/2" to make it easy to curve around circles.  It's a little pricey upfront, but the rolls last forever.  Plus, it makes shakers super easy!  Speaking of shakers, I filled it up with gold hexagon glitter, sequins, and stars:)  I finished it off with shiny gold clouds that I cut with the dies that are also in the Weather It die set.  I love the shape of these clouds!

Until next time!  Don't forget to stop by Heather's blog and check out her Avery Elle card too!  Have a wonderful rest of the week:)  

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Watercolor Love & Kisses with Studio Calico ~ Giveaway

Morning everyone!  Over at Studio Calico we are gearing up for next's month release, but I'm still having fun with all the goodies from last month:)   Last month, I was lucky enough to have my first designs come out in the Card Main kit and as a standalone stamp/die set, Buttercup!  For the card kit, I designed oversized sequin dies and that kit is still available!  My Buttercup set is out of stock at the moment, but I'm told that they have reordered a new batch.  

For my card today, I used the stamps from Buttercup with the new Triangle Background metal die.  This card is a combination of all the things I've been craving lately: watercolor, gold, and hand written sentiments!  I started by painting my card base with my new SC watercolors.  When working with watercolors, I strongly suggest using watercolor paper.  And don't worry if your paper gets warped.  Just "paint" the backside with water and put it under a heavy book or acrylic block:)

As you can see, I fussy cut the sentiment.  Definitely not a new technique, but I love how it looks!  To add a little shine, I die cut several metallic gold triangles and glued them into the die cut background here and there.  

Just for fun, I'm offering a giveaway today!!!!  I have a set of Studio Calico watercolors and a set of attacher dies that are totally sold out!  There are 3 ways you can enter the giveaway:

• Leave a comment on this post
• Be/become a follower of this blog (leave a separate comment to let me know you are a Feedly, Bloglovin, or Google follower)
• Be/become a Twitter follower - jj_bolton (leave a separate comment if you become or are a follower)

I'll choose a winner on Friday night at midnight EST and announce on the blog on Saturday, April 19th.  

****THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.  PLEASE CHECK OUT THE WINNERS HERE.****

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Mahalo and aloha,

jj

Spring is Sprung with Paper Smooches

Today I have a couple of Spring cards I made with my Paper Smooches goodies:)  Paper Smooches has just some of the cutest Spring animals that I couldn't resist doing up a couple of fresh cards!  My first card mixes a bunch of PS sets including Spring Fling stamps, Clouds dies, Eco Friendly stamps, and Frame 1 die.  

I cut the clouds so that they fit together kind of like a puzzle and then die cut them again with the frame die.  It's a fun way to get a different look with your dies:)  That little chick stamp is one of my all time favorite Paper Smooches stamps!  Seriously cute!  

My next card uses a "Springy" stamps from the Squeaky Clean set.  Um yeah, I used a dust bunny stamp to make a Spring card, heehee!  As you can see, I fussy cut a bunch of them and had them springing all over the countryside:)  I used one of the Border dies to cut the rolling hills and the sentiment is from Eco Friendly.

Here's a closeup on those happy little bunnies! 

Thanks so much for stopping in today!  I hope you have a wonderful week!  

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Avery Elle April/May Release Blog Hop

Hi guys!!!  Release day is finally here!  I'm so, so excited for the Avery Elle April/May Release Blog Hop!  The previews have been rolling out on Avery Elle blog all week and you may have seen some sneaks on my blog the other day;)   Well, they are available in the store right now!  For the hop, I'm featuring my new set Red & Goldie!  This set has lots of hand-drawn images with some fun script sentiments.  I have already spent way too much time with this set just stamping and coloring away:)  And I love that I have matching dies for this set.  Especially for a couple of the sentiments.  I really love the look of a fussy cut sentiment, but I hate that actual cutting, lol.  

For my card today, I stamped Little Red Riding Hood with her fox friend.  Yes, there's no true wolf in this set because really isn't a fox-dog-wolf cuter;)?   I used my Copics and did some paper piecing on her red hood.  So much fun!  Then I used the coordinating dies to cut both of them out.  The tree background is from the Let It Snow set and it just fits so well!

That's it for me today!  I have another design coming out today, a versatile die set called Custom Panels.  You'll see more of that soon:)  I hope that you go check out the new release and check out all the lovely project my teamies have in store for you today!  Here's the full list... 

Avery Elle / Jamie
Chunyuan Wu
Brenda Weaver
Caryn Davies
Heather Campbell
JJ Bolton (you are here)
Yainea
Kasia Curry
Maska Vanacker

To celebrate our April/May Release Blog Hop, Avery Elle is giving away a $25 Gift Certificate to one random winner.  To enter to win just comment on this post.  There is no purchase necessary and you must be 18 years of age or older to enter.  This giveaway is void where prohibited.  You can also do options 2, 3, 4, 5 or all 6 of the following to increase your chances of winning. You have until midnight Sunday, April 13th to enter.  The winner will be announced on the Avery Elle Blog on Monday, April 14th .  All products are available for purchase in the Avery Elle store right now.

To enter to win you can do 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or all 6 of the following to increase your chances:

1. Comment on any of the design team's posts and/or here on the Avery Elle Blog
2. Follow us on Twitter and tweet the contest (we are @averyellestamps )
3. Follow us on Facebook (we are www.facebook.com/AveryElle ) and share us with your friends - make sure they tell us you sent them.
4. Follow us on Pinterest
5. Become a blog follower through email (comment on the Avery Elle blog if you already follow us)
6. Join our Flickr group (comment on the Avery Elle blog if you already belong)

Mahalo and Aloha,
jj

Avery Elle ~ Giveaway Winners!

Just stopping in real quick to announce the winners of my new Avery Elle sets giveaway!  

The winners are Sue D (commented on 4/8 @ 10:48 PM) and Sabrina (commented on 4/9 @5:54 PM)!  Please email me at ribbongirls at gmail dot com to make arrangements for getting your prizes!  Thanks so much for everyone who stopped in and joined the fun!  Your comments are *so very appreciated*!!!!

Remember that the new release is already live in the  store.  And check back later today when the entire DT gang will be hopping with the entire May/June release:)   

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Avery Elle: Red & Goldie and Custom Panels Sneak Peeks ~ Giveaway

I'm so excited to be posting first looks at my new sets coming out this Thursday, April 10th in the Avery Elle store!  The first set I want to share is the new Red & Goldie stamp set and coordinating dies:)  These sets just make me smile!  Now, this is unlike any I've ever designed before.  The theme was inspired by my nieces (age 2 and 5) who love all things fairy tale (naturally).  This set features Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, and a couple of friends;)  These designs started off as a few hand drawn figures.  With the help of my son, Brady, who has been doing pen and ink drawings and converting them to digital since he was little, it evolved into this...

Here's a couple of cards I made with these new stamps and dies...

That Goldilocks stamp just makes me smile!  I colored her and her little bear buddy with Copics (even added some freckles with a black pen).  I die cut the sentiment and put a bit of gold thread behind it (that's something I learned from my pal, Wida at Beachorado).  BTW, the floral paper is something from Dear Lizzy that I've been hoarding forever.  

Here's another simple card using the Red Riding Hood stamp with an old Avery Elle set, Winter Wreath.  I really like the look of sentiments cut out, so the coordinating dies includes a die for the "Hello" and "Happy Birthday" sentiments.  You can see how I've used it here...

I colored Red with Copics (so much fun!) and I even gave her hood some cute little polka dots with a white pen.  I love these open images!  They are so much fun to color and paper piece!  

Now my next set is a standalone die set called Custom Panels!  This one should be no surprise to anyone:)  The idea behind this set came about 4 months ago when I tried to find a die that would cut a rectangle to fit an A2 card front (basically a 5-1/2" X 4-1/4" rectangle).  I frequently cut panels this size to make reverse die cut cards, shaker cards, and raised panel cards.  I was very surprised to find out that it didn't exist!  So here we are:)  Of course, to go with the panel die, I've added edger dies and other little elements to truly customize your panels:)  

Here's a card I made using this new die set. There are actually 2 panels in this card, one with the sentiment and the other is the vellum layer. I used the arc/rounded die to create a round edge to the the honeycomb vellum layer. The card stock panel has the sentiment but it also hides where I attached the vellum panel. I really enjoy using these types of dies that allow you to do multiple techniques. They may not be the center of the design, but they really add to the overall effect.


Here's a little closer view of the vellum panel...


Check out this video to learn more about this set...

Thanks for checking out my peeks of these new sets!  For fun, I'm giving away a set of the Red & Goldie (stamps and dies) and a set of the Custom Panels to 2 separate winners!  A comment on this post gets you one chance to win and becoming a follower of the blog gets you 2 additional chances!  I'll pick a winner Wednesday night (April 9th)  at midnight and announce the winner first thing Thursday morning (April 10th, try to get it posted before everything goes live on the site).  

****THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.  CHECK OUT THE WINNERS HERE.****

The new release will be available on Thursday, April 10th in the store.  Be sure to come back on Thursday to hop with the entire DT gang featuring the entire May/June release:)   There are lots more goodies to come!  

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant Photo Challenge

Did you know there's a new Mama Elephant photo challenge!  Here's a look at the inspiration pic:)

I was inspired by the colorful, translucent colors, so I pulled out my colored vellums:)  I love these papers and I'm *trying* not to hoard them;)  I used the Landscape Trio dies to cut a variety of "waves".  I layered them and attached them to 2 card stock panels.  The whole thing is lifted up over the card front with foam tape.  That way the layers really feel like waves and you get a bit of light behind them:)  The last step was to add a tiny bit of sugar glitter here and there.  I picked one of my favorite sentiments from the Everyday Greetings set.  That's really how I feel today!

I hope you play along with the challenge!  Check out the Mama Elephant blog for details:) 

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Graphics, Flowers, and Gold

Good morning all!  I'm looking forward to a great Thursday:)  We'e going to get up to 60 today, the flowers are blooming, and I'm relieved that Winter is finally retreating!  Feels good!  Here's a little card to say "Hello" to Spring!

I pulled out some of my favorite Avery Elle sets for this one (Petals and Stems, Rounded Diamonds, and Laurels)!  In my mind, you can never go wrong with a bold graphic, bright flower, and a touch of gold.  I stamped and die cut my flower (added a bit of shading with my Copics).  Then I stamped the bold graphic background, slightly offset.  Then the sentiment.  And lastly a good sprinkling of hexagon glitter (from Michael's, if you're wondering).  For the glitter, I used a glue pen and just randomly dotted around and sprinkled the glitter over.  Whatever stuck, stuck!  

Until next time!  Have a wonderful rest of the week:)  

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj