TAWS September Release Blog Hop!

It's Blog Hop time at The Alley Way Stamps and one lucky person (that could be YOU) is going to win all three brand new stamp sets that will be released on September 1st!  You should have landed here from Christine's blog, and if you did you're on the right track!

Over the last several days our amazing design team having been giving you sneak peeks of the new stamp sets.  My card features the quirky turkey from Give Thanks as well as a sentiment I put together from Alphabet Soup.  Now, I didn't invent this Thanksgiving sentiment, but it is one of my faves!

And if you'd like to be the lucky winner of the new stamp sets here's what you should do to win.  There are multiple things you can do and the more you do the better your chance of winning!

1. Comment on The Alley Way Stamps blog
2. Comment on the DT blogs (handy links are below)
3. Post about the new release on Facebook or your blog
4. Like us on Facebook

Be sure to leave a separate comment on the The Alley Way Stamps blog for each that you do.  You have until 9:00PM TAWS time.

And that's not all.  During the month of September, if you spend $40 or more in the TAWS store, you'll get this fun stamp set, Pointers, for FREE!

Next up on the hop is Kasia.  But if you get lost on the way here are the links to the DT!

And before I go I'll mention that the fab layout on my card is from this great sketch over at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  Love me some half circles!  

Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

Freshly Made Sketches 101

Before I show you my card for this week's challenge at Freshly Made Sketches I wanted to take a second to thank everyone who participated in our 100th sketch celebration.  From the entrants in the gallery to the previous guest designers who joined us to celebrate this milestone, we could not be more happy and proud that we reached this achievement.  And to have the chance to celebrate it with our faithful regular participants and some new faces was truly something special!  Now if you haven't already done so, check out our winner's post HERE to see if you were one of the winners of our blog candy.

This week our regularly scheduled program brings you Linda Callahan who designed our sketch.  I had a hankering to dig out some Christmas stamps for this one.

Last year I made a card with this lovely image and after I painstakingly fussy cut the image I made a mental note to never do that again.  Well, apparently I'm mental because I completely forgot what a pain in the you-know-what fussy cutting that image was because I did it again.  It was just as bad as the first time (at least I think so since apparently I've blocked the first time out).  All I know for sure is that I'm never fussy cutting this image again!

The challenge this week at Keep it Simple was for Christmas in August.  I think this fits.  My stamping friends Christine and Anni are on the design team over there and their cards are always Amazing with a capital A so check it out.

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to head on over to Freshly Made Sketches as we creep ever closer to another 100 sketches with you!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Christmas Blessings (SU)

Paper:  Neenah Natural White; Cranberry Crisp, Always Artichoke, Holiday Thyme DSP (SU)

Ink:  Always Artichoke (SU); Tuxedo Black (Memento); Copics

Accessories:  Polka Dots Large embossing folder (Lifestyle Crafts)

TAWS September Sneak Peeks Day 2

It's day two of the sneak peeks over at The Alley Way Stamps blog as we head to the big reveal of brand-spankin-new stamp sets on September 1st!  And did you know that you could win the stamp set featured here?

My card features the Calypso stamp set which have got some fantastic lacy images.  I used this great graphic stamp and created mirror images using the colors from the Sunday Stamps challenge and the sketch from Fab Fridays.

So how would you like to win this stamp set?  Well all you have to do is leave a comment on the TAWS post that you will find HERE and share that same post on Facebook.  Easy peasy, and you'll have two chances to win!  Leave a separate comment for each that you do!  Commenting closes at 9:30 PM TAWS time so don't delay!

Thanks for stopping by!

colourQ 204

I really love it when Arielle challenges me with super cool colors at colourQ.  It makes me think outside the box and use colors together that I never would have thought of using on my own.  This week the palette is inspired by this spoon rest.  

At first I had a bit of trouble deciding how to fit in the Concord Crush and Bermuda Bay so I used those bolder colors as anchors for the focal image.  There's a hint of Concord Crush behind the flower layer and by stamping the sentiment on the Bermuda Bay I added a splash of color contrast to the front.  I wasn't sure if I would like the end result, but I do.  I even stamped a few splotches of Bermuda Bay on the flower layer to soften the look.  And I must give credit to Friday Mashup for drawing up this awesome sketch that I used as my layout.  

The ladies at colourQ have got some great projects to show you this week, so be sure to check them out.  I hope you can join us in the gallery too!  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Summer Silhouettes, Gorgeous Grunge (SU)

Accessories:  Banner Trio die (WPlus9)

Sketchy and Washi

Any day I get to use some fun washi tape is a good day in my book.  And as luck would have it the challenge this week at Less is More is to use washi on your project.  A quick look around my favorite challenge sites and I noticed the latest Seize the Sketch was just crying out for some washi!

The black and white script washi on the bottom is one of my favorites, but I wish it was wider.  Speaking of which, I don't think I have enough wide washi in my stash *wink*  The butterflies are from Papillon Potpourri and are fantastic layered together and because there are punches for both sizes so you get a perfectly cut butterfly every time!

Another beautiful day here in New England means I am heading outside for a little R & R on the patio.  I hope you have a fun and relaxing day too!  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Papillon Potpourri (SU); Be (Simon Says Stamp)

Accessories:  Elegant Butterfly punch, Bitty Butterfly punch (SU); washi tape

Yay!

Whenever I take a little stamping break it seems to take me forever to get my mojo going again.  It took me about two days to make the card here because I found myself wandering around my stamp room without a clear purpose!

In the end I combined the color challenge at CAS-ual Fridays with the sketch from Just Add Ink.  It's been ages since I've participated in either challenge so it feels good to join in the fun.  I'm pretty sure I over-did the orange splatters and I seriously considered doing scrapping this and starting again, but decided to leave it as is.  I wish I had listened to my first instinct!!

The weather here promises to be picture perfect this weekend so I hope to get outside and enjoy a little sunshine on my face.  Summer is winding down and it won't be long before we're all wearing sweaters again so I think I'll try and enjoy these warm t-shirt days while I can!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Gorgeous Grunge (SU); Scribble and Spill (Stamping Bella); Good Point (The Alley Way Stamps); Exclamations (CAS-ual Fridays Stamps)

Accessories:  washi tape

If the Shoe Fits

Hi everyone!  I'm so glad it's Wednesday because that means we're halfway through the work week and we start the downward slide into the weekend!  Yay!  But before the weekend gets here, I've got a few more cards up my sleeve!

I couldn't resist inking up these adorable shoes from Funky Feet (free in August just by spending $40 at The Alley Way Stamps)!  There are lots of reasons why I love this stamp set.  Not least of which is that I have a fascination with shoes and own a ridiculous number of them.  Which is why the companion sentiment to the one on the front of my card is perfect!

It's been a while since I've played along with the Sweet Sunday Sketch and I loved it so I'll be adding my card over there!  Thanks for stopping by!  

I'll be back in a bit with my card for the monster, epic 100th challenge at Freshly Made Sketches!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Funky Feet (The Alley Way Stamps)

Accessories:  Circles STAX 2 die, Pierced Circle STAX die (My Favorite Things); Enamel Dew Drop Stickers (Freckled Fawn); washi tape

colourQ 203

This week's colourQ colors looked awfully good to me when I first saw them.  Then I saw the Sketchbook Saturday challenge and the gorgeous sponged background of Chupa's card and I knew that I wanted to try it with the colourQ colors.  I think I need more practice :)

I don't do a lot of sponging and when I do, it's usually around the edges of my cardstock so this was a whole new adventure for me.  This is actually the second card that I made.  On the first one I used glossy cardstock which made it easier to sponge, but I had the card turned around so that the green color was on top.  Once I stamped the leafy image on it, the whole thing seemed kind of weird.  I think the green should go on the bottom (like grass) and the blues on top (like the sky).  So I re-did it and this is the result.

As luck would have it, the challenge this week at The Paper Players is to make a one layer card so I'll be entering this card over there as well!  

Thanks for stopping by!  And don't forget to check out the other girl's cards over at colourQ!  Amy is joining the Royal Court so be sure to hop on by and show her some love!

Supplies:

Stamps:  Kind and Caring Thoughts (SU); Signature Greetings (Papertrey Ink)

Sizzling Circuits!

Hey everyone!  I'm feeling the force today as I show you a card made with this brand new image from Crazy Circuits from The Alley Way Stamps.

The force is, of course, a reference to Star Wars.  I can't help it because this little robot reminds me so much of a certain robot in those movies that I'm afraid to mention by name in case George Lucas is reading this.  As if!

Seriously, I found the Fusion sketch to be perfect with the color challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More for this card.

Thanks for stopping by!

BE Inspired 35

It's time for another BE Inspired challenge over at The Alley Way Stamps blog!  This week the colors and stripey design inspired my card.

I alternated the graphic border image from Stack em' High stamped in the colors from the inspiration photo with a bit of washi.  The look is basically seamless.  The "hello" sentiment is from Words to Live By and was stamped onto a thought bubble!  There's a new challenge on the block started by the uber-busy Lesley called Seize the Sketch so I had to play along with sketch #1!

Now for the best part about playing along with the BE Inspired challenge:  PRIZES!  It's simple to win.  All you have to do is play along with the challenge using an image from The Alley Way Stamps.  And if you don't have any stamps you can find FREEBIES here!  One lucky person will be hand picked and one person will be randomly chosen and each will win a free stamp set!

So I hope you have a chance to play along!  Thanks for stopping by!