Decorate to Celebrate Beach Party!!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!! It's time for another super-fun challenge at Decorate to Celebrate!! For Challenge #26, we are asking you to create any project to be used as a party decoration or party supply for a BEACH PARTY!! Let's celebrate everything wonderful about surf, sand and sunshine (my favorites!!) with your table decorations, party banners, pennants, yard signs, cupcakes, party favors and more :)

For my Beach Party, I created a lei, beach ball votive holder and splashtastic party invitation.

The lei was created with flowers from Spellbinders Daisy Flower Toppers dies and DCWV cardstock. I punched holes through the centers of the flowers and used heavy duty brads to anchor the flowers to stretch cord. The center circles are from a small punch and I ran them through the Xyron and glittered them.

The tag is a Tim Holtz die, glittered and stamped with K Andrew Designs "aloha" from the Splashtastic Summer stamp set.

The beach ball votive holder was constructed with one inch strips of paper, hole-punched on the top and bottom, and then woven together and secured at the ends with brads.

The base of the invitation is a Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Rectangle, with a Grand Rectangle on top, embossed with the Plum Blossoms embossing folder. The surfboards are from Spellbinders Surf's Up set, with the top sanded to bring out the design (and make it look like the surfboards are well-used ;) The flowers are Spellbinders Daisy Flower Toppers, with glittered centers to match the lei.

"Beach Party" is from Base Camp, cut at 1". The tag is from Spellbinders Nested Lacey Pennants. "Splashtastic" is also from K Andrew Designs Splashtastic Summer stamp set:

Click HERE to purchase your own set or to see her entire line of stamps, including new sets available for preorder!!

I am entering this into my sweet friend Karen's Fun Friday Use Red Challenge at Little Scrap Pieces!!

Now it's your turn!! Head on over to Decorate to Celebrate to see the amazing projects my design team sisters have created for today's challenge!! Then link up your Beach Party decorations!! I can't wait to see what you create :)

Happy Memorial Day!!

To enter my blog candy giveaway, click HERE!!

To all my US friends, I want to wish you a very safe and happy Memorial Day!! I also want to thank all of the servicemen and women, past and present, who dedicate their lives to keep America the home of the free, land of the brave :)

In honor of those brave men and women, I have a quick card to share with you today. The base is a Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Square. The next layer is a Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Square cut in DCWV Tradewinds cardstock. The circle is a Spellbinders Picot Edge die cut in DCWV Immortal Lovestack paper and adorned with pearls.

The stars are from a small punch and I ran them through the Xyron and added fine crystal glitter.

The tag is a Spellbinders Fancy Tag One, embossed with the Cuttlebug stars embossing folder and inked with Faded Jeans Distress Ink to bring out the texture of the stars. The quote is from K Andrew Designs Freedom Isn't Free stamp set:

Also, Kristal has two new sets available...

 Even More Food For Thought - Shipping NOW!!

Sweet July- Shipping June 15th

Aren't they awesome??  Click HERE to purchase your own set or to see her entire fabulous line of stamps!!

Thank you so much for stopping by today!! If you are headed out to a picnic or bbq, I hope you have beautiful weather!!

Je t'aime and WINNER!!

Happy Friday, everyone!!  I hope you have fun plans for the Memorial Day weekend!! It's a big one around here with the Indy 500 :)

I have a winner to announce for the K Andrew Designs Pirate Tales & Fish Scales stamp set from the Getting Cricky Summertime Blog Hop and Simply Sunday Disney Challenge!! But first, I have a card to enter into a couple of challenges today.

The base is a Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Rectangle, inked with Spun Sugar Distress Ink. The next layer is a Spellbinders Grand Rectangle, embossed with the Cuttlebug Fleur de Lis embossing folder (though it's a little hard to see in the pic). The Eiffel Tower is from the Summer in Paris cart. The butterfly is from Picturesque, embossed with the Script embossing folder and popped up with foam tape. The flower on the ribbon is from Flower Shoppe, and the heart charm from Hobby Lobby's jewelry section.

The labels are Spellbiners Labels 20, inked with Spun Sugar. The smaller label is stamped with a JustRite Fleur De Lis Label Twenty stamp and attached with foam tape. The tag is a Spellbinders Fancy Tag One. The flowers are from my sweet friend Amy of Love to Crop!! Je t'aime is from K Andrew Designs I Heart You stamp set:

Click HERE to purchase your own set!!

I am entering the card in the following challenges:

1. DL.Art - Anything Goes
2. Cooking With Cricut Challenge #87 - Pink-a-licious (plus satin, ribbon, fabric or flowers)
3. Joyful Stamper - Inspire Me Fridays #59 - Anything Goes
4. My Sheri Crafts Challenge #85 - Wedding/Anniversary: black/white and a pop of color

W I N N E R ! !

And now the winner from the Getting Cricky Summertime Blog Hop and Simply Sunday Disney Challenge...the prize a set of K Andrew Designs Pirate Tales & Fish Scales stamps:

I used Random.org to select the winner, and Random chose.....................

and #19 is...................................................................................................

Congratulations, Sandy!! I will email you for your address or you can contact me at indymermaid(at)gmail(dot)com!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!! Have a wonderful weekend :)

Bless Your Lil Old Heart, and BLOG CANDY GIVEAWAY!!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!! I hope you are having a fabulous week :) In celebration of passing 900 followers, I have Blog Candy!! But first, I have a project to enter into a few challenges :)

I made this mini-purse and card for the sweet lady who feeds my three outdoor cats when I travel!! The card fits inside the purse and I am going to include a gift card as well :)

I love making these Spellbinders purses...they are such great gifts!! For instructions on how to make the purses, check out my tutorial HERE. For this purse, I used smaller dies than the tutorial. The paper is from First Edition Spring Fling paper stack. The base is the largest Spellbinders Lacy Square, followed by a Classic Square Large and a smaller Lacy Square on top. For the top flap, I used one Nestabilities Label Four and two Grand Nestabilities Label Four.

The flower is a Spellbinders Rose Creation with a crystal center and the decorative crystal design is from Recollections.

The pink ribbon for the handle is from my stash, and I used Velcro dots to close the purse.

I wanted the card to mimic the purse, so the base is the same, only smaller dies of Lacy Squares, followed by Classic Squares Large, and then Lacy Squares. The tag is a Floral Doily Accent with a Standard Circle Small on top. The organza ribbon and flower button are from Hobby Lobby, the hemp fiber from Michaels. "Bless Your Lil Old Heart" is from one of the newest K Andrew Designs stamps sets, Southern Sayings:

I am not even Southern, and I love these!! Click HERE to purchase your own set!!

I am entering this project into the following challenges:

1. Crafty Friends Challenge #4 - Anything But A Card
2. Little Scrap Pieces Fun Friday Challenge - Use Green
3. DL Art Thankful Thursday - Thank You Card For Family, Friend or Neighbor & Use Green
4. Krafty Girls Challenge #8 - Kopy Kat (see the Spellbinders post where I found the purses HERE)
5. Sarah Hamer Design's Link Up Tuesday
6. Sisters Craft Cafe - Link Party #1

BLOG CANDY!!

In celebration of passing 900 followers, I have a giveaway!! The weather is hot, the days are getting longer and Summer is almost here!! So how about a summer-themed giveaway to celebrate??!! I am giving away a Bo Bunny garden-themed paper stack and gorgeous Spellbinders butterfly dies!!

A 6x6 Bo Bunny Garden Girl paper stack
A set of Spellbinders Shapeabilities Nested Butterflies Two

All you have to do to be eligible to win is:

1. Be a follower of my blog
2. Leave a comment with a way to contact you

That's it!! For an extra entry, post about this on your blog, FB or on your sidebar. Make sure to leave another comment for an extra chance to win!! So that's two chances!!

The deadline to enter is Sunday, June 17th and I will announce the winner soon after.

Thanks so much for following me!! I appreciate each and every one of you :)

Paper Playtime Say It With Sentiments #75 - Friendship

For my Getting Cricky Simply Sunday Challenge post, click HERE

Happy Monday, everyone!! I hope you had a great weekend!! It's the third Monday of the month, so that means its time for another super-fun Say It With Sentiments Challenge at Paper Playtime!! For Challenge #75 we are asking you to create a friendship card and don't forget to include the sentiment!!

We have 2 sponsors this challenge! The first is Amy D - Paper Trails Leaver!! Amy is giving away the finished card she creates for this challenge as well as a complete kit for the winner to make another one just like it!! Our 2nd sponsor is The Scrapbooking Queen's Royal Castle Shoppe!! She is offering a prize package of The Royal Nursery Stamp Set and a pack of 4 action wobbles!!

For my card, all of the paper is from My Mind's Eye Lost and Found 2 Blush stack. The base of this card is a Spellbinders Label 8. The next layer is a Spellbinders Label 10 and above that is a Label 20. The crystal swirls are from Recollections. The organza ribbon and hemp fiber is from Michaels, and the flower shaped button is from Hobby Lobby.

The frame is a Spellbinders Floral Oval die and I used a smaller Floral Oval die to make the inside cutout, and popped it up with foam tape for dimension. The tag is a Spellbinders Parisian Accents Die, with a Nestabilities Standard Circle Small on top. The circle is inked with Victorian Velvet Distress Ink and stamped with a sentiment from K Andrew Designs Scripture Sayings stamp set. Click HERE to see her entire line of stamps or to purchase your own!!

Keeping with the theme of The Scrapbooking Queen's giveaway, the center sentiment is on an action wobble!!

I am entering this into the Diva's By Design Challenge #35 - Tickled Pink!!

Now it's your turn!! Head on over to Paper Playtime and link up your Friendship Card...I can't wait to see what you create :)

Getting Cricky Simply Sunday Challenge - All About Disney

Happy Sunday, everyone!! It's time for another super-fun Simply Sunday Challenge at Getting Cricky!! Today's challenges is a special one...Getting Cricky is the last stop on the Disney Pixar Blog Hop!!

For my card today, I used one of my all-time favorite Disney charterers...Ariel, the Little Mermaid :) (Shocking, no??!!) I just love this cut from Disney Dreams Come True!! But....I cut it at 5" and still had to draw on the eyes because they wouldn't cut cleanly. Sigh. The Disney cuts are the hardest for me.

The base of the card is a Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Rectangle, cut with sparkly cloud paper from DCWV's Paper Playtime stack. I layered a smaller Grand Scalloped Rectangle with Ivory cardstock from my stash, and the adhered a Grand Rectangle on top.

I fell in love with this cut the first time I saw it on the Disney Dreams Come True cartridge!! I used a mixture of Core'dinations Core couture for her tail, red paper from the DCWV Metallic stack for her hair, and the rest from my stash.

The heart is from K Andrew Designs I Heart You stamp set, stamped in Barn Door Distress Ink. I added crystals from The paper studio around the edge. "You're my Hero" is from K Andrew Designs Of Mice & Lil' Men stamp set!! This is one of my favorites...such fun sentiments you can use for a wide variety of projects!!

Of Mice & Lil' Men

I Heart You

Click HERE to purchase your own set of K Andrew Design stamps!! And make sure you check out the three newest sets available for preorder!!

I used George and Basic Shapes for the larger hearts, cut with Core'dinations Core Couture. The ribbon is from Michaels, with a crystal gem attached to the center.

I have BLOG CANDY!! I am giving away a set of Pirate Tales and Fish Scales stamps!!

You must (1) be a follower of my blog and (2) leave me a comment on this post to be eligible to win. That's it!! You can earn another chance by visiting my Getting Cricky Summertime Blog Hop post HERE!! So you could have two chances to win!! I will draw a winner via Random.org on Wednesday, May 23.

Now it's your turn!! Head on over to Getting Cricky to see the amazing projects my design team sisters have created, and then link your Disney-themed project!! You could win a Disney Best of Pixar Cricut Cartridge!! I can't wait to see what you create :)

Getting Cricky Summertime Blog Hop!!

Welcome to the "Summertime" Getting Cricky Blog Hop!!

We're so happy you could join us for this month's Getting Cricky Design Team Blog Hop!! We'd like to invite you to visit each of our DT Sisters' Blogs (it's just half the crew this month -- you'll see the other half next month!!) and our very special Guest Designer, Melissa of Needful Things!!

Throughout the hop we'll be showing what we love about.... SUMMERTIME!! From parties and celebrations to campfires and s'mores, we hope you'll enjoy each and every project along the way!! Sooooo, let's get hopping...

If you've hopped along from my dear, sweet, amazingly talented friend Amy of Love To Crop!, then you are in the right place!! If you are just joining me from your dashboard, or reading this via email, please be sure to CLICK HERE to start at the beginning with Kristal's blog (you'll want to catch up on all the FUN and you don't want to miss the opportunity for BLOG CANDY!!)...

Each of Kristal's stamp sets benefit charity. At least $1 per stamp set goes to benefit the charity noted on the stamp set package. Kristal is donating to the following charities: Cancer Angels, Storefront Shelter for Homeless Children, Intrepid & Fallen Heroes, E. Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Doorways Shelter for Women & Children (Domestic Violence), Wayside House for Women, Camp Good Days & Special Times, Adopt a Classroom, and Autism Research Institute. Kristal will donate $1 for every stamp set sold, retail or wholesale to the charity noted; and over time believes this will add up to some wonderful miracles for these special people. So you can feel good that each time you purchase a K Andrew Designs art stamp set, someone around the country is receiving some good help!

K Andrew's stamps are all made and assembled here in the USA, which is very important to Kristal. This ensures all product materials are safe and that jobs are being provided and maintained here in America. You can learn even more about Kristal's stamps (and pick some up for yourself) by visiting her online store: K Andrew Designs:

Kristal's stamp sets are perfect for cards, layouts, and so much more...

For my project, I'm featuring the Splashtastic Summer and Fashionable Friends stamp sets!!

Splashtastic Summer

Fashionable Friends

For more details or to make these sets YOURS, please click on the preview!! Plus...enter the code "newship" to receive FREE SHIPPING  on your entire order during the hop!! What an awesome deal!!

I love just about everything about summer...the sun shining, being outdoors, long days, trips to the beach, camping. And during the summer (and okay, Spring, Fall and Winter when possible ;) I live in flip-flops!! I have sporty ones, dressy ones and everything in between :) So for my project, I created a gift box to hold a summery surprise (I know I still owe a tutorial on making a box and I will get to it soon!!) I embossed the box with the Sizzix Flower Clusters embossing folder...they look like hibiscus. I cut a hibiscus from Life's a Beach three times and pop-dotted between layers to give it dimension. The paper is from Core'dinations Core Couture. I used a Spellbinders banner tag for the sentiment "Enjoy the summer" from Splashtastic Summer.

Inside the box is a pair of flip-flop earrings!! The flip-flops are from Spellbinders Surf's Up dies. The tag is a Marvy Uchida mega-punch, also embossed with Flower Clusters. I added eyelets with my Crop-a-dile. "Sole-sister!" is from Fashionable Friends.

I colored in the white parts with Ranger White Enamel Accents and used platinum Liquid Pearls for the rest. Once they dried, I covered both shoes with Glossy Accents. The black flower is a little cheapy punch and I attached a Paper Studio crystal.

I lightly stamped the back of the earrings with Barn Door Distress ink and then stamped "Aloha" from Splashtastic Summer on both.

I have BLOG CANDY!! I am giving away a set of Pirate Tales and Fish Scales stamps!!

There are so many creative and fun sentiments and images on here!! All you have to do to be eligible to win this set is:

1. Be a Follower of my blog
2. Leave me a comment with a way to contact you

That's it!! I will choose a winner on Wednesday, May 23rd!!

We'd also like to share TWO BRAND NEW Stamp Art Sets that are now available for Pre-Order with an expected ship date of May 25th!! If you want to be one of the FIRST to own these SUPER-CUTE sets, you'll definitely want to order TODAY (clicking on the previews will take you directly to the order page!!)...

Guy Talk

Southern Sayings

Don't forget to enter the code "newship" for FREE SHIPPING on all your purchases during the hop!!

Now you can hop on over to your next stop: the awesome and talented Miranda of Nana's Scrap Spot!!

.......................................