~Trendsetting Spotlight on Meredith K ~

Hi Friends!

Holly here... I'm shaking up the Trendsetter Spotlight just a bit today. Corinna usually does this post, but she got an offer she couldn't refuse *wink* and asked me to step in.

Normally I would contact our target stamper and ask a bunch of questions. Today, I'm going to tell you what I know about our spotlight stamper, Meredith K (aka CraftyMathChick!)

Instead of a head shot of Meredith, I'm using her favorite "avatar". I think if I ever met Meredith and she wasn't wearing a pink sweat suit, I'd faint! haha!

Meredith has a heart the size of Texas. She loves her animals and has a great passion for making sure those who are abused get the right homes.

Here is a card Meredith made with the Wonderful Winter Wishes set:

Meredith is currently packing up to move... or by now, she may already be moved. Having done that over 29 times in my life, I can relate to the chaos she's living. Yet, she still manages to produce some of the most adorable cards....

Here's one she made with Freeze the Moment:

A silly fact about Meredith..... she's loves to write silly song lyrics for the Friday Night Chats and the Release Party Chats. She's good, too!!

Here's a delightful card she made with the Rain & Sunshine mini set:

Thanks, Meredith, for being such a wonderful TSG Cheerleader. Our chats would not be the same without you!

Hugs!

Wednesday Trends - Spotlight Sponging

Hi everyone - it's Karen here.  For this week's Wednesday Trends, I thought it would be fun to show you a super simple, but super fabulous technique called Spotlight Sponging.  It's a fun way to give your image a little dimension and make it pop up out of plain white cardstock. 

Here is a quick little tutorial. 

After you have stamped your image on cardstock, stamp the image again on a sticky note and cut out the image directly on the lines.  Using a sticky note will allow you to stick the cut out image over the image you will mask for sponging.  No tape needed that way.  Just a little short cut :)

Place the mask over the image and then lay your shape template over the mask and secure it with repositional tape.  I'm using a Large Oval Nestabilties die for my shape.  Now you are set to sponge over the image.

Gently remove your shape template and mask to reveal your spotlight behind the image - voila!  You should be able to reuse the mask, so keep it tucked inside your stamp set packaging.  It comes in handy in the future! 

Now you are ready to add your image to your project. I've made a set of 6 birthday gift bag tags, which are also very trendy at the moment. 

I used the ice cream sundae image from Freeze the Moment and the birthday sentiment flag is from Make a Wish, which I made wavy and curly to match that adorable font. 

Add a few buttons and done!


Thanks so much for stopping by!
Karen

recipe -
stamps: make a wish, freeze the moment
paper: chocolate chip (su!), aqua mist (pti), kraft, choice snow white (taylored expressions) cardstock, lime twist life of the party (my mind's eye)
ink: memento tuxedo black & angel pink
accessories: copic markers, jumbo eyelets, designer buttons (su!), embroidery floss, baker's twine (in background tags), large oval/scallop nestabilities (spellbinders), corner rounder, medium scallop border die (taylored expressions)

Trendsetter Tuesday - Karen!

Hey everyone!  Hope you had a great weekend and are all buckled in for a great week of inspiration by our very own Trendsetter - Karen Giron!

I love Karen's CAS style.  She's always spot on with up and coming trends.  Here are a few of the great cards I spied on her blog recently.

 This gorgeous color combination just highlights the beauty of the gorgeous Hibiscus flowers from the newly released Hibiscus mini stamp set.  At just $7, it's a steal!

 With an encore presentation of the Hibiscus flower, this amazing card shows the amazing design style that Karen has.  She framed the mermaid from Make A Splash with a black oval outline and a few sparkles that make this a FIN-tabulous card! (couldn't resist!)

Pinwheels are all the rage right now and Karen's super sweet Leah holding a pinwheel is adorable and right on trend!  Leah can hold ice cream, a popsicle, this pinwheel or even a spoon.  With plenty of fabulous accessories, the Freeze the Moment stamp set is perfect for summer fun!

Be sure to head on over to Karen's blog, The Sweetest Thing..., for her great weekly sketch challenge and gorgeous artwork!

TSG115: Fabric

This week our challenge is brought to us by our Trendsetter of the week - Karen! She is challenging us to use fabric on our cards and projects. There are so many fun ways to incorporate fabric on cards and we can't wait to see all of the things you crafty peeps come up with!

To be eligible for the giveaway, you are to create a card that incorporates fabric, and then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the InLinkz that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (July 18). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every THursday. We will be on the look out to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)

Hi everybody! This challenge was a LOT of fun for me and honestly, I don't think I've ever used fabric on a card before. Is that crazy? I chose to stamp simply and kept the base of the lamp blank and let the lamp shade do all the talking. Instead of paper piecing with paper, I did a little fabric piecing. How fun! I stamped the lamp shade from Lighten Up in Staz-On jet black ink and then cut it out and placed it over the base. I did paper piece the little rose and leaves on the shade since my markers were bleeding on the fabric. I also cut out some fabric scallops underneath the ribbon, which make an elegant statement.

I hope you'll play along this week! Have fun with this one!

Need some inspiration to help get you started? Check out these great cards made by the following Trendsetters!
~ Tammy
~ Christine
~ Jessie
~ Iwona
Karen
~Jessica

Winner from last week's TSG114 Glitter, Glitz & Bling challenge: Made By Mandy
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:41
Timestamp: 2011-07-11 08:07:07 UTC

Congrats Mandy! Email me to find out how to claim your prize :)

Week In Review (July 4-10) & Card Give Away!

What is Week In Review (WIR)?- WIR is where we showcase cards made by the Trendsetters and myself throughout the week. Not only to you get to see gorgeous projects made using TSG stamps, but you also have a chance to WIN one of these cards! Leave a comment on this post and next WIR I will choose a winner using a random number generator. That person will then get to pick out their favorite card and the Trendsetter that created it will send it to them :)

Iwona

Iwona

Corinna

Jessie

Christine

Torico

 

Stampbook Saturday- Jessica

Hello everyone, Jessica here with this week's Stampbook Saturday post :) I have to admit that it has been quite some time since I've done any type of scrapbooking and I need to get in gear lol!

What is a Stampbook Page? A stampbook page is a scrapbook page created using stamps and inspired by a card. Each week we create a new stampbook page to give you ideas on how to use your stamps in a new way and hopefully inspire you to catch up on those family photos you've been meaning to scrapbook.

The page I made today was inspired by this gorgeous card that Iwona made for my birthday a couple of months ago. I absolutely love the bright colors paired with the vintage style and tried to replicate it in my page but didn't quite pull it off lol! Looks like I need to get back into the groove of Stampbooking ;)

I knew right away that I wanted to make a Stampbook page featuring this picture of Kylie and her amazing doctor at Seattle Children's Hospital. She was the one to diagnose Kylie with JDM back in August and has been with us every step of the way. Unfortunately she is moving down to California and we are going to miss her so very much!! I want Kylie to always remember this very special doctor that came into our lives at such a frightening time in our lives and provided us with the information and support we needed to get from one health problem to the next. She will always be in our hearts and I am so thankful that she will continue to be in our lives via the wonderful word of Facebook :D

Supplies:

Stamps: Dream A New Dream, Poppies

Paper: K&Co, My Mind's Eye, Kraft, Very Vanilla

Ink: Early Espresso, Momento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Pleated Satin Ribbon from Ribbon Carousel, Dimensionals, Nestabilities, Adhesive pearls, Prismacolor pencils, SU rub ons, sewing machine, sponge

Dollar Find Friday

Join us tonight right here in the TSG Forum for the Friday Night Chat! Everyone is welcome and we love to meet new people :)

Okay so in my haste to get all my DT work done before I leave for vacation, I forgot to take before pictures for you today. I only have the end result but for todays Dollar Find, I used a small clipboard that can be purchased for a dollar at either Michaels or Staples. I have bought them from both places. I wanted to make this a "working girls" clipboard so I turned to the cute set Confidential. Now this process is very simple. I measured my cardstock to 6 x 9...I rounded the corners and sanded them down. Then this particular clipboard had the clip permanently attached so I just cut a notch out of my cardstock to fit around the clip. Some of them you can take apart which would be ideal but you work with what you have right!! Then I created a simple but elegant top border and stamped my image and sentiment on the bottom of the board. Your possibilities are endless.

Thanks for stopping in today and dont forget to stop by the forum tonight for alittle TSG camaraderie and fun. All Deets are up above.