Time for some more THURSDAY inspiration with the Unity design team blog hop. If you haven’t been hopping along, all the action starts on the Unity blog. There’s always fun stuff going on. We are gearing up for Halloween already. Eeek. haha. Just a little.

I’m breaking out this month’s BRAND NEW sentiment kit for today.

I started with one card and before I knew it, I had three! Yay, I love it when ideas just flow and I can crank out more than one card. Not to mention it helps to build up the birthday card stash… they disappear so fast.

Card #1 – I started with some bold colors. I stamped the dandelion head just along the bottom and left side. Then i die cut my sentiment in an upside down label with a few of the dandelion seeds floating above. The black background helps those beautiful colors pop.

Card #2 – Time to bring out the kraft. I used a new Lil’ Inker background die for the kraft background. Then, I stamped the dandelion flowers onto two tags. I love that hashtag sentiment, so fun.

Card #3 – I started out with just stamping along the bottom of the card and quickly realized it would make for one beautiful background and kept repeating the pattern up to the top. I just love the orange and greenish-blue color combo. At the end, I added a tag with the two sentiments.

** COMMENT PRIZE **
Don’t forget to leave a comment on each blog today.
We’ll be giving away 2 prizes from comments left on the participating blogs.

Here are all the girls hopping today… just click on the next pretty girl in line.

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[7.31.14] tag you’re it!

July 31, 2014Favorite Challenges, Simon Says Stamp, Tag You're It!baby, tagLisa Arana

Tag You’re It!

Let’s get ready, it is time for our next challenge with Tag You’re It!. To play along, just create a TAG or TAG containing project inspired by this sketch provided by CAS(E) this Sketch. I’m so excited we are joining up with CAS(E) this Sketch for this round. I started as part of the first design team for them and now for the inaugural Tag You’re It design team too! Kinda like a family reunion.

Inspiration: I immediately noticed the two different backgrounds in the sketch. I knew that had to happen somehow on my tag and then I decided to combine all the other little icons into one more small tag element.

Oh new babies… so fun to design tags and cards for these celebrations. I started with a regular utilitarian shipping tag and covered it with two different patterned papers to mimic the sketch. Next, I grabbed some matching die cuts to the paper and found two adorable ones to combine. I slipped that diaper pin into the top of the little celebrate tag and popped it up. Next. I wanted one more cute little element and created the grey tag with the heart center. Too adorbs, right? Gotta love baby things.

Now it is YOUR turn… Tag You’re It! Visit the Challenge blog to see all the inspiration projects and how to play along. It is all about fun and tags!!!

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InLinkz.com

[7.20.2014] wanna sketch no. 18

July 20, 2014Wanna Sketch Highlights, Wanna Sketch?card, Wanna Sketch?Lisa Arana

Wanna Sketch no. 18

Welcome to the next Wanna Sketch? Challenge. This one is a throwback to banners. I haven’t used strips of banner in ages. Time to challenge myself and you to banner it up.

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Here it is the middle of July and I’m feeling fallish… craziness. I colored my mushrooms first and somehow I ended up keeping them all monochromatic with the browns. I had the though of using the kraft paper for my card in my head and it must have influenced my Copic coloring of the mushrooms. I added the blue sky background (with Distress Inks) to add a little color at the end. Then, I went crazy with the banners. Heehee. Full of fall colors and patterns. I kinda forgot about the sentiment going in the bottom corner of the card when I went banner crazy. There wasn’t room to stamp it. Oops. So, I had to move it up a bit.

This stamp is the new Stamp of the Week I designed for Unity Stamp Co. I just love mushrooms.

Are you ready to take this sketch on??? The linky will stay open until Friday, August 15, 2014 {11:55pm PT}.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

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[7.20.2014] wanna sketch no. 17 highlights

July 20, 2014Wanna Sketch Highlights, Wanna Sketch?card, Wanna Sketch?Lisa Arana

Wanna Sketch Highlights

Another fabulously fun round of cards. I hope you all like playing with the sketch like I did. It is always fun to try a new layout. I have a few to highlight from the lovely entries. Let’s get to these pretty cards.

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Are you KITTEN me? This card is down right fun and adorable. I love the combination of two polka dot papers with that uber cool kitty cat. Plus, who doesn’t love a good punny sentiment? Gotta love it.

Tracy simplified the sketch quite a bit, but I LOVE her take. Those darling little buttons sold me on this absolutely adorable card.

I would like to be Kim when I grow up. I am absolutely in LOVE with each and every card she makes and this one is no exception. Just look at that uber cool background. And then to think to layer black flower silhouettes over the top is just genius!!!

Thank you all again for joining in on the fun with wanna sketch.

The next Wanna Sketch challenge goes up in an hour!!! Make sure you check back and play along! You are more than welcome to grab the Wanna Sketch Highlight blinkie to place on your blogs if you’d like.

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[7.17.2014] unity thursday – hello gorgeous

July 17, 2014my stamp designs, Stamp of the Week, Unity Stamp Company, Unity Thursdaybirthday, cardLisa Arana

Hello Gorgeous

Time for some more THURSDAY fun with the Unity design team. If you haven’t been hopping along, all the action starts on the Unity blog. There’s always fun stuff going on.

Did you all see the brand new stamp of the week?

Isn’t it darling? I just love the combination of sunflowers and the antique milk can. Country at it’s best.

See what I mean? That milk can full of sunflowers is absolutely FABULOUS! I’m pretty thrilled with my Copic coloring this round. I’m slowly getting better at creating contrast between my shading colors. I’m not as scared to go darker in my shading which most images need in order to create depth. *big grin*

** COMMENT PRIZE **
Don’t forget to leave a comment on each blog today.
We’ll be giving away 2 prizes from comments left on the participating blogs.

Here are all the girls hopping today… just click on the next pretty girl in line.

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[7.4.2014] tag you’re it

July 4, 2014Favorite Challenges, Simon Says Stamp, Tag You're It!birthday, cardLisa Arana

Tag You’re It!

Happy Fourth to all my US friends. We are going to be finding some fireworks to watch tonight with some visiting friends. It has been years since we did this, hopefully we’ll survive. heehee

Let’s get ready, it is time for our next challenge with Tag You’re It!. To play along, just create a TAG or TAG containing project inspired by this tag project. We have an amazing, extra special guest designer. Please give a warm welcome to the fabulous Virginia Lu. *clap, clap, clap*

Inspiration: Virginia’s tags contain simple stamping, bold colors and minimal decoration. I do not do bold colors very often. I’m more of a soft, pastel palette kind of girl. I was bound and determined to be bold this time around. I love her off the edge stamping, so I wanted to mimic that effect as well, but in card form.

Holy Hannah, is that ever bold!!! My mini Distress Inks cubes arrived recently and you can’t get any bolder than that. I pick three of my favorite colors and directly applied the ink to the watercolor paper tag (created by trimming of the top corners of a rectangle), spritzed with water and letting it dry naturally. Once dry, I heat embossed the sentiment. You will want to make sure that the tag is EXTRA dry because the embossing powder will stick to if just freshly dried. You’ll notice a few stray white dots, I painstakingly removed an enormous amount of stray embossing powder. Yuck, don’t recommend it.

While my tag was drying, I stamped the background stars (also on watercolor paper) using the same inks. I practiced on some scrap paper this time. My watercolor paper is precious and I didn’t want to have to throw it away and try again. Then, I just slapped that big tag on my card and called it done.

Now it is YOUR turn… Tag You’re It! Visit the Challenge blog to see all the inspiration projects and how to play along. It is all about fun and tags!!!

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[7.3.2014] more Unity Thursday

July 3, 2014Unity Stamp Company, Unity Thursday, Wanna Sketch?birthday, card, thank youLisa Arana

More Unity Thursday

Time for some more THURSDAY fun with the Unity design team. If you haven’t been hopping along, all the action starts on the Unity blog. There’s always fun stuff going on. We are still loving the Gina & Me stamps plus the Ang & Me paper package.

So much fun, I have two cards to share with you today.

I don’t think I have a stamp set specifically for besties. So, glad Ang & Gina came up with this idea and the Unity Artistas created the perfect stamps. I’m using some of the lovely new patterned paper behind the stamped girls and sentiment. The background stamp is from Unity too.

I based this card on my current Wanna Sketch? challenge. I thought it would be a great way to feature those beautiful papers by Gina K and the lovely butterflies in the stamp set.

I meant to pop up the teal paper to create a separation between the two layers, but ahem, forgot. Ha. So after I cursed myself a little, I decided tying some twine will do just fine.

I layered to two butterflies on top of each other, the little guy creates the perfect lifted set of wings.

** COMMENT PRIZE **
Don’t forget to leave a comment on each blog today.
We’ll be giving away 2 prizes from comments left on the participating blogs.

Here are all the girls hopping today… just click on the next pretty girl in line.

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[6.27.2014] Tag I’m It!

June 27, 2014Favorite Challenges, Tag You're It!birthday, cardLisa Arana

Tag I’m It!

I’m full of fun news today!!! There is a brand new challenge in town and I’m thrilled to be joining in the fun. Jackie Rockwell has started a brilliant challenge all about TAGS called Tag You’re It! I thought for sure I used tags on almost everything. As I looked through my past projects, I was surprised to be proven wrong. How does that happen? So, I’m super excited to up my tag stash with this new design team.

So, let’s get this party started and kick off our FIRST challenge with Tag You’re It! To play along, just create a TAG or TAG containing project based on the inspiration tag below. Our first challenge will be a “mini” one and last for 5 days, ending on July 4th. We’ll begin our regularly scheduled two week challenges on that day too with a brand new inspiration from a special guest designer.

Inspiration: Karin’s card is too adorable. Don’t you just love the little scene she created with that happy crab? As I studied her tag, I kept coming back to that gradient background. I decided that would be the inspiration for my card.

I was in a bit of a rush to get this card done and decided on pattern paper to provide the gradient background for my tag. THESE coordinating dies and stamps just arrived from Simon Says Stamp and were conveniently located on my desk. I was so excited to be able to use them right away for this challenge.

The hubs and I just spent a week in Colorado Springs with some friends from Miami, FL. One of our friends is a biker (the road biking kind, not the hog kind) and we saw a lot of bike riders racing along the roads. His daughters would cheer them on from the car (I guess that is the thing to do). Heehee, it made me giggle and cheer them on too. So, this card is for his birthday and that little bike side banner is in his honor.

Now it is YOUR turn… Tag You’re It! Visit the Challenge blog to see all the amazing ladies on this team. I can’t believe I get to create along side them!!! You’ll definitely want to see all the inspiration projects and how to play along. It is all about fun and tags!!!

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[6.16.2014] in love with love today

June 16, 2014kit of the month, my stamp designs, Unity Friends with Flair, Unity Stamp Companycard, generalLisa Arana

In Love with Love Today

I’m sharing this card on the Unity blog today.

I’m featuring that big doodled cluster of flowers (that just might have been designed by little ol’ me). I thought about coloring it in, but then decided that I loved the black and white look. It just needed a little pop of color somewhere. Thus, we have the pink polka dot paper in the background. I also wanted to add a sentiment but didn’t want to cover up that beautiful design. I opted for a vellum banner with the sentiment embossed in black. I hid the glue behind the popped up area of the banner. Worked like a charm.

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[6.15.2014] wanna sketch no. 17

June 15, 2014kit of the month, Silhouette, Simon Says Stamp, Unity Stamp Company, Wanna Sketch Highlights, Wanna Sketch?card, Wanna Sketch?Lisa Arana

Wanna Sketch no. 17

Happy Father’s Day! Hope you’ll be celebrating with your family and with your father today. We are lucky to be spending the day with my dad and will be honoring my husband’s in our hearts.

I hope you have tons of fun with the newest Wanna Sketch. Lots of possibilities with this one, so let’s get creative.

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I decided to go with a landscape card with this sketch. You are more than welcome to adjust the sketch to your ideas. It is just a starting point, flip it, turn it, widen it, it is all good. Just so long as we can still see the basic sketch in your design. It is all about having a jumping off point to forge ahead in our creative process.

I had this idea of the feathers floating on the wind and just went with it. The cloud panel is popped up from the card and the velum is wrapped around and secured from behind to hide the adhesive. I stamped on the velum before adding to the card. Those fun little feathers were cut with my Silhouette Cameo and the little bow was glued on at the end.

Are you ready to take this sketch on??? The linky will stay open until Friday, July 18, 2014 {11:55pm PT}.
Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

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