Little Joys

Little joys. Little joys, blessings, too... sent with love just for you. (sigh) I love everything Nina Brackett designs. Let's face it, I'm one of her biggest fans! She is not only the sweetest person, but a super talented artist whose style resonates with me. Her newest stamp set for GinaK Designs, Lovely Labels, is GORGEOUS! So much variety, so many possibilities.

I thought this particular label was perfect for the Mojo Monday 128 sketch challenge. And I can't resist making one more card for GinaK's Illustrator/Design Team Challenge. I'm loving all the spring colors, but I seem to be especially drawn to Creme de Menthe. It's truly a lot more muted than it appears on the website, and goes really well with Basic Grey's Sugar Rush and Origins DP. Since the challenge is to choose two of the spring Pure Luxury cardstock colors, I picked Innocent Pink for my second.

Just for kicks and giggles, I threw in a bit of orange to round things out. The DP is from the Basic Grey Sugar Rush collection, as is the felt leaf embellishment. It's kind of a funky take on the sketch, but I'm liking it!

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit. I hope you have a JOYful day, full of blessings!

Live the life you've dreamed...

A blessed Second Sunday in Lent to you! Today begins another awesome scripture inspired challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ. Our challenge hostess is Pamela Young (who, by the way, is an amazing scrapbooker and offers weekly sketches on her blog). Pamela chose as the scripture Colossians 3:17, "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

The challenge is, in Pamela's own words: You have free reign of what you want to do this week. But here's the deal: I want you to actively do this as an act of worship to our God. Before starting, pray. Thank God for your gift. While working, feel free to pray more, or perhaps sing out to Him. Put your focus on Him and remember that it is He who gave you your gift (however good or bad you think you are at this) and remember that it makes Him happy to see you at work. Do this challenge, as if you were doing it for Christ himself!

I am very thankful to God for the joy this awesome hobby brings to me; a creative outlet, a stress reliever, a source of pride, a ton of fun, and most especially for all the wonderful friendships I've made.

I've been facing some real trials lately, but I'm absolutely certain that God is leading me in a new and better direction. Because of this (and with a little help from my friends, who shower me with love and support and prayers), I am able to get through these hardships with more peace than would be possible without my trust in the Lord. With God's help, I will soon live the life I've dreamed...no doubt about it!

My card follows Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #62 and GinaK's Illustrator/Designer Blog Hop Challenge, which is to use two of the new Spring Assortment Pure Luxury Cardstock colors and any of the new stamp sets from the February release.

My card features Creme de Menthe and Ocean Mist Pure Luxury Cardstock paired with my dear friend Nina Brackett's Swing Into Spring digi papers. The image and greeting are from the Dream Birds stamp set by Asela Hopkins. A sweet and simple card. I think I'm going to keep it on my desk at work.

By the way, I think Gina K is one woman who is definitely living her dream. She is truly an inspiration to me!

I have a wonderful announcement to make tomorrow AND another amazing new release blog hop for Waltzingmouse Stamps that you won't want to miss. 'til then, have a wonderful day!

Bee My Valentine

Yay, it's my debut as a Sugar Baby for The Sweet Stop sketch challenge sponsored by Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps! I'm so proud to be joining this amazing group of stampers. Thank you Korin for the opportunity... and for the wonderful sketches! I've always said that I love a good sketch challenge, and Korin's are definitely among the best!

Sweet Stop Sketch #42 was a bit of a challenge for me... I'm not so good at making round cards. I can never figure out how to make them open! So I did the next best thing and turned the image block into a mini-card! I've been itching to play with Nina Brackett's Heartily Yours stamp set (for GinaK Designs), and this was the perfect sketch!

I used good ole Early Bird Mini Deck DP by Cosmo Cricket (with a strip of October Afternoon paper thrown in for good measure), and sponged around the edges to give it a bit of an aged look. A super simple card, but I love the way it turned out.

I hope you'll come along and play with us this week. To get you inspired, check out what the rest of the Sugar Babies have created:

• Andrea Vernagus
• Ann Clack
• Audrey Gonzales
• Candace Mitchell
• Jodi Collins
• Julie Masse
• Korin Sutherland - Sugar Mama
• Nancy Brown
• Nicole Anderson
• Renata Elenbaas

Have a SWEET day!

Warm Winter Wishes - GinaK Designs Customer Blog Hop

I hope I got into the GinaK Designs Customer Blog Hop on time. I got a bit sidetracked today. You'll never guess what happened! My husband and boys actually CLEANED the house... or at least, we all worked together to clean the kitchen, family room and patio room today... a deep cleaning. Woo hoo! That made this girl so happy, you can't imagine. A dream come true! Someone pinch me!

I always tell them, Happy Wife, Happy Life. Why don't they listen more often?

My card uses the new set by Rupa Shevde called Winter Friends. There are soooo many cute images in this set, it was hard to pick which one to start with. But when I saw the little houses with trees, it reminded me of this Basic Grey DP... a perfect match! The greeting is from the Stamp TV Holiday Cheer bonus stamp set. A very simple card, with just a touch of bling... I can't resist a touch of bling. (*smile*)

I'm really enjoying my time off from work. Yesterday's movie was Confessions of a Shopaholic. No, the boys did NOT watch with me. Pooh on them. The movie was predictable, but cute. I did, however, finally have to face the fact that I, Lisa Hjulberg, am a Stamp-a-holic. Yes, it's true. When I listened to Rebecca describe the thrill of shopping for clothes, shoes and accessories, I could totally relate because that's exactly how I feel about new rubber and paper and ribbon and buttons and rhinestones and and and... Somehow, I don't think I'm alone, am I? Do you think we need a support group? Nah.

Have a wonderful evening my friends. Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to go to Gina's blog and hop around to see what other wonderful things have been created for your viewing pleasure!

Happy Holidays Nina Brackett Style!

How about some more inspiration with the Vintage Borders stamp set? First, check in with the Illustrator of this versatile stamp set, GinaK Senior Designer Nina Bracket and her friend Lisa Hjulberg (that's me!) joining in the blog hop tonight.

Then, stop by these GinaK Designers' blogs for even more samples:

Asela, Carolyn, Cindy, Emily, Erika, Jessica, Kurtis, Lee, Lynn, Melanie, Tami, and Theresa

And these Center Stage Spotlight blogs:

Deb, Melissa, Karen, Sharri, and Sue

Before you finish hopping, be sure to check in on GinaK's blog to enter your comment for a chance to win Nina's Vintage Borders stamp set. If you already have purchased Nina's set, you can substitute any GinaK Designs stamp set valued at $23.95 or less.

For those of you are who looking for a quick and easy Christmas card idea, check out the Vintage Borders Card Kit available online in GinaK's store tonight. The Kit includes the step by step tutorial as well as all the card stock cut to the exact measurements needed to make 4 cards. For more details and photos of this card kit, see Jessica Fick's blog as well as this Class Kit link.

One of the first things I thought of when I saw Vintage Borders is how wonderfully well the music notes would look as a background to other images... and I was right! I stamped the background in a "tea die" type of ink and then stamped the beautiful images from Nina's Elegant Posts stamp set on top. The pop of color comes from the "wreath" I made using the top of one of the topiaries in Nina's Lord of the Seasons stamp set. One thing I love about Nina's art is that it all coordinates so well together.

My card design is based on Sketch 142 at Card Positioning Systems. The DP is from the Indian Summer collection by Basic Grey. Not your typical Christmas colors, but I kinda like it!

Thanks so much for "hopping" by. Enjoy the rest of the hop... and prepare to be wowed!!!

Live Your Life With Grace

Isn't that a goal we should all strive for? It's one that eludes me from time to time, that's for sure. I am, shall we say, a bit emotional at times? Ha!

When I think of grace and beauty in the stamping world, I think of Nina Brackett's stamp designs for Gina K, especially her new Vintage Borders stamp set. Each stamp is so elegant, as are the stamps in Elegant Post. I paired the two sets for my card. The designs go perfectly with Webster's Pages DP, don't you think?

And, of course, since I'm always on the hunt for a good sketch, I happened on this one by Nina herself! It's actually for this week's Scrapbook Challenge on Stamp TV, but she mentioned that you could easily adapt the sketch to a card, so that's exactly what I did.

A short post today. I'll be back tomorrow with the Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge. Thank you again and again for stopping by and for the kind comments many of you leave. You have no idea how much it means to me! I hope you have a graceful day!

Peace

Welcome to the first Center Stage Spotlight Design Team Blog Hop!

Jessica Fick, the Design Team Coordinator for GinaK Designs has issued a challenge to all of the past and present team CSS team members to make a Christmas card with one of these sketches:



You're going to LOVE what everyone has designed for your viewing pleasure!

First, here are the links for GinaK's Current CSS Team Members:

Deb Felts
Diana S. Queen
Karen Knegten
Melissa Cash
Sharri Seffens
Sue VanDeVusse

and the links for all of the past CSS Design Team members participating:

Brenda Turner,
Carla Suto,
Carolina Buchting,
Charlene Merrick,
Dawn Lusk,
DeeMarie Kelemen,
Geri Utterback ,
Giovanna Smith,
Janice Melton,
JenMarie Taylor,
Jennie Harper,
Joy Hadden,
Kay Simmons,
Linda Payne,
Lori McAree,
Melisa Waldorf,
Pam Imholz,
Selma Stevenson,
Shannon Bracken,
Shelly Wilson,
Sue Walsh,
Tina Gilliland

Some of GinaK's Senior Design Team Members and Illustrators wanted to get in on the fun tonight too:

Asela Hopkins
Carolyn King
Cindy Lawrence
Jessica Fick
Lee Murphy
Lynn Mercurio
Nina Brackett
Melanie Muenchinger

I'm excited and privileged to play along as Nina Brackett's Guest Designer!

All of the gorgeous cards from the entire team will be added to the StampTV gallery throughout the next few days with the tag cssjf1 (which stands for center stage spotlight jessica fick 1)

These sketches are also the sketch challenge for this week, so be sure to check out all the information in the discussion in the Challenge group over on StampTV Thursday morning (Nov 5). We'd love to see your cards with the sketch too!

My card features stamps from the Holiday Cheer Stamp TV kit and Vintage Borders (designed by Nina Brackett), along with Cranberry Tart Pure Luxury Cardstock and Deck the Halls Digital Paper Pack. The beautiful red sheer ribbon is also from the Holiday Cheer Stamp TV kit. I'm in LOVE with everything! I think this will be another of my Christmas cards this year.

Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the HOP!

Merry Christmas in Any Language

One of the BEST parts about blogging for me is meeting the most wonderful people from all over the world. People I would never have otherwise met. That is an incredible gift of technology... and a gift from God.

I am blessed beyond words with the friendships I've made. And when I say "friendships," I mean that in every sense of the word. These are people who I KNOW, who I LOVE, who I care about, and who I look forward to hearing from and sharing with almost daily. And they are so wonderful to me... I'm both humbled and amazed. Of course, they haven't met Julie, but that's another story. (Inside joke with my local friends.)

One very special person I've had the pleasure of getting to know is Nina Brackett. I think I met Nina through her comments and challenge entries on the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Challenge blog. She has become very dear to me. I love her blog. I love her artwork (she designs stamps for Gina K). And I love her godly heart and Christian spirit. She and her husband and their three beautiful girls are missionaries in Croatia. I urge you to visit her blogs and learn more about their ministry, feast your eyes on her beautiful artwork, and get to know Nina, too. You will be blessed!

It was ME, however, who was blessed and delighted when Nina asked me to be part of her guest design team for the November release of her newest stamp set for Gina K. It took me all of three seconds to say Yes, emphatically YES! So you'll be seeing lots of creations from me this month using Nina's beautiful stamp set Vintage Borders, but also a couple of her other stamp sets...Elegant Post and Lord of the Season...from previous releases. We're having a blog hop starting Wednesday night and on into Thursday, so stay tuned for that!

My card today showcases two stamp sets... Vintage Borders appears in the background panel ("Merry Christmas" in many different languages) and Lord of the Season for the main image. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the star and ornaments on the tree sparkle thanks to my atYou Spica pens. The DP is Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses. I just love that little cardinal, by the way. Birds are one of my favorite things!

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have a happy day in any language!

Lord of the Season Blog Hop!

Hello everyone! I was so honored to be asked by Nina Brackett to showcase one of her beautiful stamp sets, Lord of the Season, in today's Gina K Blog Hop. I met Nina through Stampin' Sisters in Christ, although I had seen and admired her work long before that. Now that I've gotten to know her, she is even more of an inspiration and blessing to me than ever. Nina has such a sweet and godly spirit. You really must visit her blog and learn more about her and her husband's ministry in Croatia...and see pictures of her beautiful girls!

I know lots of people are getting into the Christmas mood, but I'm still embracing autumn, so I chose the autumn topiary for my card... and one of the two awesome verses that come with this stamp set. Yes, to everything there IS a season... and we need to keep that in mind when we are in a hurry for something to happen. God knows what He is doing!

The DP is by Bo Bunny. Since I was following this week's sketch challenge at Stamp TV, I couldn't resist breaking out my lattice Borderability for the center strip.

I have lots of Gina K stamp sets and it's long past time that I start inking them up and giving them the love they deserve! Stamp TV is such a wonderful resource and place to share our love of paper crafting. I will definitely be back soon with more!

For even more ideas with Nina Brackett's Lord of the Season stamp set,
visit her blog as well as the GinaK Idea Center here: Lord of the Season Ideas

Gina K Designer's joining in on the hop tonight:

Nina Brackett

Carolyn King
Cathy Tidwell
Donna Baker
Erika Martin
Jessica Fick
Kurtis Amundson
Lee Murphy
Melanie Muenchinger
Theresa Momber

September's Center Stage Spotlight Team:

Janice Melton

Joy Hadden

Kay Simmons
Lori McAree

Nina's Guest DT and friends:

Crystal Bernsdorf

JenMarie Taylor
Lisa Hjulberg

Thanks again Nina for inviting me to play! Have a heavenly day everyone!

Golden Apples - Delicious!

Happy Sunday! Which means it's time for another challenge at Stampin' Sisters in Christ!!! I was privileged to choose this week's scripture, Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

This is a very special scripture to me, one I live by each day. When the going gets tough, or I'm worried about something, or I have an important decision to make, I always rest in the knowledge that the Lord has plans for me... plans to prosper me and not to harm me, plans to give me a hope and a future. All I need to do is pray and listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit to guide me. And when things don't go exactly as I thought they should or hoped they would, I rest in the knowledge that there is simply something better ahead for me. This, my friends, is part of the peace that passes all understanding when you keep your heart and mind on Jesus Christ our Lord. I pray you know that peace yourself.

The challenge is to make a card using this sketch (plans!). We always have choices about how to build on Christ's foundation, so why not with our paper crafting as well?

And, by the way, can I just say we have the most awesome blinkie creator, blog designer and techie, and a girl who can turn my scribbles into a beautiful sketch like this... our very own Kristine Breach! I am not only privileged to be her Stampin' Sister in Christ, but she is also one of my dearest friends. I'm so blessed that blog world brought us together... through Christ! I saw a post of hers asking for prayers for a family member, to which I responded, and the rest, as they say, is history! Praise God!

Our sponsor this week is the wonderful Gina K Designs. Gina is one of my business woman heros... I admire her so much. She has got to be one of the sweetest most generous people in this wonderful industry, never hesitating to donate to worthy causes. I feel like I know her through her blog, A Day in the Life, and her awesome video tutorials on Stamp TV. If you haven't already visited her store, her blog and/or Stamp TV, what are you waiting for? You are in for a treat! And, by the way, there was a recent blog hop using one of the stamp sets donated as a prize, Autumn Beauty, to give you LOTS of ideas about how to use that set.

For my card, I used Gina's set from the current Signs of Autumn Stamp TV kit. I went for Golden Delicious when I colored my apples. The DP is from... you guessed it... the Taylored Expressions August Key Ingredients Kit. I'm just loving that Bo Bunny paper for fall!

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I shall be hopping around, visiting you as well!

Another Gina K Stamp TV Card

I am just loving Gina K's Stamp TV and Floral Frenzy Kit! Not only am I trying old techniques again, but it's helping me get my mojo going. There's nothing like settling in and following along after someone else has done the hard work of designing for you. Then it's all about the crafting and relaxing... no pressure. I love it!

This card uses the Thumping With Markers technique. Gina uses Memento markers, but you can do this with Stampin Up markers (that's what I used). It works best with watercolor markers. You could actually get it to work with Copics, but it requires re-moistening with a mist of Colorless Blender. I've never tried it, but I saw Marianne demonstrate it at the Copic Certification class. Still, I think Thumping is really meant for watercolor markers.

Everything here is from the Floral Frenzy kit except the little felt butterfly, which is by Heidi Swapp.

I'll be back soon with more cards to share.

In the meantime, the Question of the Day is: what is your favorite meat (if any)?

Mine is filet mignon... cooked to perfection, of course, at a fine restaurant! I guess I have steak on my mind right now because my husband is grilling some for dinner. Not filet mignon, but it will be tasty just the same.

Stamp TV Sketch Challenge

Have you checked out Stamp TV with Gina K Designs yet? If you haven't, you'd better head over there and watch her videos. Although I've heard of and/or tried most of the techniques before, seeing her demonstrations reminds me of what fun they are and inspire me to try them again. The old becomes new again! Plus, I think Gina K is one of the sweetest people out there in stamping land.

They also post challenges on Stamp TV, so I thought I'd give the Thursday 3/26 Sketch Challenge a try. My version turns the sketch sideways.

One of the techniques Gina teaches on Stamp TV is Coloring with Odorless Mineral Spirits. I've been so wrapped up in my Copics, that I hadn't touched another coloring medium in ages. It was fun to get out the Prisma pencils and OMS and give this a try. I used the same stamped image as does Gina in her videos, which comes from the Stamp TV Floral Frenzy Kit. It was easy to follow along with Gina's instructions to get the technique flowing again. It's fun! I'm going to have to use my pencils more often.

My card uses Gina K's new base weight Chocolate Kiss paper (a few sheets come in the kit), and one of the green layering cardstock pieces and sheer vanilla ribbon that also come in the kit. However, the DP is Die Cuts With a View called Once Upon a Time. That glittery corner was serendipity!

While I was at it, I made a second card with this image just for fun. Everything here is from the kit except the brads, which are from SU (More Mustard). I also tried the double layering trick that Gina uses so often, and I love it!I hope you've had a wonderful weekend. Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the world. And don't forget to support the Non-Raffle for the Victorian Bushfires Appeal!

Question of the day: If you were able to master a talent that you don't already have, what would it be?

For me it would be to play the piano. Oh how I wish I could sit down and play anything I wanted!

The Ultimate Recipe Showdown and a Gina K Challenge

Hey y'all. (That's what my kin folk say in Mississippi.) Before I post my card for the day, I have to give a plug to my BFF Laureen, who is going to be on TV tonight as a finalist in Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdown! (Click that link to see a video clip of Laureen.) I previously mentioned that she was a finalist in this post. Anyway, tonight (Sunday) is the night! Out here in So Cal, the show is on at 9:00 pm PST. If you miss it tonight, it will repeat a couple of times this week. Just check the program guide for Food Network. I'm soooo excited for Laureen, and so proud of her. I'm also happy to say I've been a happy guest at her table many times. I've told her I'm looking forward to tasting her show recipes!




















On to the card of the day! I actually colored this image a couple of weeks ago. I attended my first Gina K Release Party last Thursday night, and there were a couple of challenges posted. One was this sketch. As of right this moment, Framed Friends is the only Gina K set I own, so I did my best to adapt one of the images to this sketch. (Happily, I have more Gina K stamps coming as I loved the sets she released that night!) To make the mat, I simply ran red cardstock through my Wizard using the Labels One dies and then ran it through again with the embossing mat so that I could easily trim off the edge by following the line created by the embossing. I then ran black cardstock through with the same die, matted it with the red, and voila! I used the paper tole technique on the corner flower.

For some reason, the photo quality is bad on this. I think I messed up the settings Collin set for me on my camera. I'll have to ask him again, and this time write it down!

There is still a bit of time to participate in this sketch challenge for a chance to win a Gina K stamp set! Just click here for the 4-1-1.

I had a wonderful time at the Copics Certification class yesterday (note the new badge on my blog!). I'll write more about it in another post, as I must sign off for now and get a few things done before Laureen's program is on. After that, it's beddy bye since tomorrow is a work day. (waaah)

One last note... Ian (my eldest) and I have decided that for the first time ever, we are going to see all the Academy Award nominated movies before the Academy Awards show. We started out this afternoon with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It's really quite long, and there were times when I was thinking that I liked it but wasn't loving it, but then I bawled at the end. It's a really excellent movie in many ways, but I'm not a big fan of loooooong movies... this one is 2 hrs 40-some mins. But it's worth seeing if you haven't already.

Okay, off I go! Thanks for stopping by. Have a good night.