Mama Elephant: Party Kit!!!

Hi y'all!  (yes, I did say y'all, lol!)  Mama Elephant is celebrating their first birthday with a special offer set called Party Kit!  This fun stamp set is FREE with a $100 purchase (after discount 10/15-11/14 EST only while supplies last).  And there's even a coordinating Party Kit die set that is FREE with a $150 purchase (after discount 10/15-11/14 EST only while supplies last).  Here's a look at the set and dies in use:)

Go check out the Mama Elephant blog for details and links to more Party Kit projects!  And stay tuned for the rest of the month!  There are so many wonderful things coming:)

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

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Iron Craft: Colorful Washi Shakers

Good Monday folks!  I'm popping in today to share my Iron Craft project!  Iron Craft  is the brainchild of Chaitali Narla who blogs over Cuts, Crops, and Creativity.  The basic premise is that two designers use the same ingredients (theme, color, products, etc) and see what happens!  A while back, Chaitali asked me to be one of the participants and here we are:)   

As our "ingredients", we used the same product, Avery Elle's rounded diamond dies...

And picked a theme of interactive cards!  For my card, I was inspired by my buddy Donna Mikasa who makes these adorable washi shaker cards (we like to refer to them as washakers, lol).  I adapted the technique to make little shakers!  I used my rounded diamond dies to cut clear card stock (transparencies), filled them up with sequins, and sealed the shaker pockets with washi tape.  The washi tape is very pliable and I was pleasantly surprised how well it worked even around the corners.  I finished the card off with a sentiment from the new Avery Elle set Oh Happy Day.  (The sequins are also from Avery Elle)  I love all the color and patterns of this card!  So cheery!

Thanks Chaitali for the invite (and for putting up with my chaotic schedule and craziness:)!  Hope it was fun!   

Thanks for stopping by!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Supplies:

Avery Elle April Release: Funky Monkey

***please scroll down for my CASE Study post***

Hi guys!  Today Heather and I have some new April release projects to share!  Last month we had a hipster hippo and giraffe.  This month we've got a sassy little monkey!  And this little guy has some pretty cool accessories;)  

For my card, I took that little guy and gave him a bunch of friends in rainbow colors!  And they're all "hanging" from a bit of twine that I stitched into the card.  For fun, I used matching washi tape on their bellies:)  (Note to self: get more washi!)  Anybody else singing to themselves...five little monkeys jumping on the bed..;)

Thanks so much for stopping in today!  Hop on over to Heather's blog today too! She's highlighting the set Rounded Diamonds!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant March Stampede

Happy Friday people!  Welcome to the Mama Elephant February Stampede!  You've already seen the first looks at the March release on the Mama Elephant blog, and the new release is now live and available for purchase in the store here!

For the Stampede, I created two CAS cards with the new set above called Hello.  This set includes more handwritten sentiments by Kryssi which you know I can't resist!  For my first card, I used the Fabulous sentiment bubble paired with some colorful patterned paper.  Love how the stamped image is so crisp!  To finish, I added enamel dots in the same yummy colors found in the paper.  Fun, right?

The next card has another sentiment bubble but this time I paired it with one of the matching phrases that fits perfectly in the bubble:)  For the image, I used a circle die as a template to create the "Earth" using blended ink and then stamped the city scape from Believe in Magic over it.  A bit of washi tape across the top and some strategically placed dots and it was done!  Loving the graphic black and white!  

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, March 18th.  The winners will have 48 hours to claim their prize.  

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 the Mama Elephant blog

3) Like/share Mama Elephant on Facebook

4) Follow/tweet about Mama Elephant on Twitter

Are you ready to stampede?  Here's the list of designer blogs you'll be visiting.

Mama Elephant/Kryssi 
Emily Leiphart (guest designer extraordinaire!)

Savannah O'Gwynn 
Lea Lawson 
Mariana Grigsby 

Geralyn Sy 

JJ Bolton (you are here)

Cheiron Brandon 
Jenn Beidermann
Pearl Lui 

Alice Wertz

Thank you so much for stopping by!!  Come back tomorrow for the start of the DT stamp highlights!  Are you ready to see the new sets in action?  Have an awesome weekend!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Avery Elle March Release: All Squared Up

Hi guys!  Today Heather and I have some new release projects to share!  I am working with the new set called All Squared Up!  You know I'm a fan of bold graphics and this one has bunches:)

I always like to keep a stash of cards for those "just in case" moments.  And that means that I need to keep them gender neutral.  Sets like this are the perfect thing to make cards that are great for practically anyone!  I stamped the continuous hexagon border along the side and dressed it up with several solid colored hexagons.  Before you know it, you've got a custom background stamp:)  

I finished off the card with a sentiment stamped onto a wood veneer banner that I colored with a bit of ink.  The sentiment is from another new set, Petals and Stems.  The orange stripes along the side are just a bit of washi tape:)  

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  Hop on over to Heather's blog today too! She's highlighting the set Roll With It!

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Mama Elephant January Stampede

Hey everyone!  We're mixing it up a bit this month over at Mama Elephant!  Instead of the usual schedule, Kryssi has been showing peeks of each set all week and the new release is on the website today!  Yeah, I said TODAY, like NOW!  Go ahead, I'll wait:)  

You back?  Great!  To kick off the release, we're stampeding!!  {Saying that always makes me want to yell "Yahoo!"}  We're so lucky to have the amazing Betsy Veldman and Lea Lawson joining us this stampede.  We're also joined by our first Guest Designer, Leigh Penner!  Leigh was chosen from the first Mama Elephant Challenge (see the details here)!  No more chit chat, let's get to stampedin'!  

Today I'm using the adorable Type It set.  This set has an vintage typewriter (is that redundant? lol!) and a bunch of matching sentiment stamps, typewriter keys, and a notebook page stamp (perfect size for Project Life journaling).  I had a little something different in mind for the sentiment so I printed it off on the computer and then stamped the little paper image over it.  {Free font called Traveling Typewriter found at dafont.com}  The sheet of paper is popped up just a little with foam tape on the top edge only.  

Just added a bit of sequin bling and some washi and there you have it!  So sweet:)  The next stop on this stampede is the lovely and talented Mariana Grigsby !  Here's the blog order if you get lost:)

Mama Elephant/Kryssi 

Alice Wertz 

Cheiron Brandon 

Leigh Penner

JJ Bolton (you are here)

Mariana Grigsby 

Lea Lawson 

Pearl Lui 

Savannah O'Gwynn 

Betsy Veldman

While you're stampeding, don't forget to leave comments along the way!  Mama Elephant is giving away 3 gift certificates (chosen at random from the collective blogs in the stampede).  Winners will be announced on the ME blog on January 21st.  There will also be one surprise giveaway on the Mama Elephant Facebook page!  

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

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

2013 Hero Arts Catalog Blog Hop

Hi guys!  I'm so excited today because I get to be a part of the Hero Arts 2013 Catalog Blog Hop!  The 2013 Hero Arts Catalog makes its debut appearance today and to celebrate, we're hopping with the new goodies!  There's all kinds of festivities planned online and in stores, so check out the Hero Arts website for details! 

Now on to the good stuff, the stamps!  For my first card, I used the new set Clear Hexagons.  Such a fun mix of solid, patterned, and sentiment hexagons!  I chose a "bubbly" hexagon and heat embossed it in white onto vellum.  To color each hexagon, I masked off the edges and blended the *backs* of the each hexagon (the non-embossed side) with different color inks.  By blending the inks on the back side, the embossing stays nice and crisp.  I used a little clear foam (Kooltak, if you're wondering:) to attach each hexagon to my card base and finished it off with a great sentiment from the Many Birthday Messages set.  

My next card uses the new Tape Your Message set!  And when they say tape, I mean washi, of course!  This set includes a variety of washi tape stamps but I chose to work with the little tag stamp in the set.    

This little card is hiding a colorful secret!  It's a magic slider!  Just pull on the tab, and here comes the color!  This card just makes me happy, happy, happy!  I love the neon pink next to the mint green with just a little bit of sunny yellow.  {BTW, the fabulous flair is from the equally fabulous Bossy Joscie} The card base is stamped in Hero Arts Neon Pink with the Looped Flower stamp (love that this stamp will cover a card in one press:) 

If you're looking to try this technique on your own (and you SHOULD!), check out the fabulous Amy Wanford's site  or search "magic slider card" for directions.  Fun stuff!  

I couldn't resist making one more card with my Hero Arts goodies!  A rainbow holiday card!  This year, I seem to be all about the non-traditional holiday cards.  I started by heat embossing a piece of cardstock with this awesome "snowy" background stamp (ETA, the name of this stamp is Tiny Ink Spots) and blended inks over it.  I was going for an Aurora Borealis look.  Can you see it?  The sentiment is heat embossed in white onto a piece of vellum.  {The sentiment is one of my favorites and is from the set Joy to All.}  I just love how groovy (yes, I'm old;) and festive it turned out!   

That's it for me today!  Thanks so much Hero Arts for inviting me to play along:)  I really can't believe that I'm hopping with these unbelievably fantastic designers!  Somebody pinch me:)

Next stop on the hop is the wildly talented and fun Julie Ebersole!!  You know she's going to have something amazing to share:)  

Remember, if you find a link that doesn't work, you can always hop back to the Hero Arts Blog for a list of direct links to all the blogs in the hop!  You won't want to miss a stop!  Don't forget to leave some comments as you hop through.  Hero Arts is giving away several prize packs to random winners chosen from all the blog hop comments left by Monday, December 17th (midnight PST).  Thank you so much for stopping by!  

Mahalo and Aloha,

jj

Links to Hero Arts Stamps & Product used:

Hexagons (new)
Many Birthday Messages
Tape Your Message (new)
Looped Flower (new)
Tiny Ink Spots (new)
Joy to All 
Neon Pink Ink
Neon Yellow Ink