DeNami Design Product Spotlight April Blog Hop

It's the fourth Wednesday of the month and that means it is time to show off another awesome DeNami Design stamp with a blog hop! This month we are featuring the lovely Wavy Stem Trio stamp. What a versatile stamp!

I decided to use this stamp to start making Mother's Day cards. Here's what I created:

I combined the Wavy Stem Trio with a flower head from the cling Spring Flowers Set (stamped on white cardstock, colored with Copics, fussy cut, and mounted with foam tape on the ends of the stems) and planted in a flower pot from the cling Garden Accessories Set (treated in the same way as the flowers). To finish out this design, I added a stamped Happy Mother's Day sentiment and two strips of washi tape from the DeNami store: Pink/White Hearts and Orange Stripes. I'm so happy with how this card turned out! What is it about pink and bright orange that look so pretty together??

You can purchase this versatile stamp for 10% off the regular price for the next week. You also have the chance to WIN this fabulous product in today's spotlight blog hop! All you need to do is hop along to each stop in the lineup, leaving comments along the way. Here is the blog hop lineup:

DeNami blog 
Lisa Petrella
Deb Wabbe
Wendy Elliot
Emily Keaton  <==== you are here!
Lisa Elton
Pattie Goldman
Tammy Hobbs

One commenter will be selected at random to win this month's prize! Just check out the DeNami blog for all the details.

Thanks for stopping by today--have a super day!
Emily

My Embossed Elements Winner!

Happy day to all of you! And welcome to another wonderful Thursday. I'm announcing my Embossed Elements giveaway winner today. The brand-new Basket Weave embossing folder goes to lucky #10, which is Roey!! Congratulations, Roey! I couldn't find any way to contact you directly, so please email me (you can find my email address on my Profile page) with your mailing address so I can get your new embossing folder sent out to you right away. :)

I wish I could give all of my fabulous readers one of these lovely embossing folders. You are all so sweet! But that's just not possible, so I'm hoping a little eye candy will help soothe any disappointment ;) . I want to share another card that features the beautiful Basket Weave embossing folder, something perfect for spring:

I can't wait to see all the daffodils and tulips blooming this year! How about you? I am craving color in our dull and (still) frozen landscape. So I figured making a card featuring tulips and daffodils that I could color myself would be just what the doctor ordered. Here are the fantastic products from the DeNami Design store that I used for this card:

Large Spring Basket

Spring Flowers Cling Set

Spring Greetings

Yellow/White Dots Washi Tape

Pastel Baker's Twine

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink

I love how this card turned out!

Thanks so much for dropping by for a little slice of bliss with me today!
Emily

Embossed Elements: BASKET WEAVE + a Giveaway!

Happy Monday to you, DeNami fans! I'm here today with the March edition of my monthly Embossed Elements feature for the DeNami Design blog. Today I'm sharing with you two different projects featuring the oh-so-appropriate-for-Easter Basket Weave Embossing Folder from the DeNami store. Shall we take a peek at a few fun ways to use it?

First, I couldn't wait to try adding some realistic basket-weave texture to DeNami's Large Spring Basket stamp!

For this project, I stamped the basket on Iridescent Aquamarine cardstock in Jet Black Staz-On ink. After trimming out the basket, I embossed it with the Basket Weave embossing folder. When I glued down the basket to my card, I was careful to leave the scalloped top edge of the basket free of glue so I could easily slip in some brightly colored Easter eggs (trimmed from the Solid Egg Border stamped in Pearlescent Orchid Brilliance ink, Pearlescent Purple Brilliance ink, and Pearlescent Sky Blue Brilliance ink) and a {yummy!} little chocolate bunny (a trimmed-out, white-embossed version of the bunny from the Cuddly Pals stamp set). I rounded out this card with the beautifully scripted Small Happy Easter sentiment.

For my second project, I used the Basket Weave Embossing Folder as my background.

In this project, I used the debossed side of my cheery yellow panel. Don't you just love how richly detailed the weave pattern is? I know I do! With that basket-weave pattern and the Easter-Peeps-bright pinks, yellows, and purples, it's obvious that this card celebrates Easter! Here are the DeNami stamps that I used for this creation: Whimsical Garden Set, Summer Flowers Set, and Easter Blessings. I also used some gorgeous lavender cardstock and added those sweetly bright pearl accents with Crystal Lacquer pearl pens (I used this set and this set).

Once I got thinking about ways to use this lovely Basket Weave Embossing Folder, I just couldn't turn off the ideas! Wouldn't Easter Chickie or Chickie Easter Basket look marvelous with this embossing folder? Or how about "Hoppy" Easter Chickies? And just to show that basket weave isn't just for Easter, why not try pairing it with the gorgeous Apple Basket for autumn or hot-air Chickie in Balloon for summer? I think there are just so many possibilities :D.

Well, I hope that I've given you some useful ideas for embossing with this installment of Embossed Elements!

How would you like the chance to win this gorgeous Basket Weave Embossing Folder? I have one up for grabs in an Embossed Elements giveaway! Want to be in the running? Just leave me a comment on this post using the word "SPRING." There's no need to be a follower of my blog to enter, but if you are a follower (or become a new follower!), you can have a second entry in the drawing--just leave me a second comment telling me that you are a follower and how you follow. :)

I'll leave commenting open until 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, March 26, 2014, and will draw one commenter at random. The winner will be announced right here on my blog on Thursday, March 27, and if I'm able to find an email address, I'll be sure to contact the winner as well.

Thanks for joining me today!
Emily

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Top o' the mornin' to you, my friends! It's St. Patrick's Day! Today I'm sharing a St. Patrick's Day card that I made for a dear friend who also celebrates her birthday today. I had so much fun making a new-to-me Z-fold card last month that I just had to try another, and I thought it would be perfect for the elegant birthday/St.Patrick's Day card I had planned for my friend. Z-fold cards just seem so cool to me, but their one drawback is they are rather difficult to photograph, so I had to capture it with a series of shots. Anyway, here's how it turned out:

All of the stamps are from various Flourishes sets (including Irish Blessing, Hollyhocks, and Tag Lines). I used some Spellbinders (Beaded Ovals and Ovals) to die-cut the focal label, the St. Patrick's Day embossing folder from DeNami Design to emboss the background panels, and a green Crystal Lacquer Pearl Pen from DeNami to embellish the beaded oval frame. And that lovely green Prima flower has been hoarded in my stash forever--I'm so glad I finally had the perfect project to let it shine!

I love how the design for this Z-fold card leaves a little hidden panel inside for a message for the recipient!

Well, I hope the birthday girl is having a great day today, and that all of your are having a fabulous St. Patty's Day! Make sure to put on a little bit o' green to keep the pinches at bay today {wink!}.

Thanks for visiting!
Emily

An Irish Blessing

Just a quick post to share another St. Patrick's Day card that I made recently.

The stamps are all from Flourishes' Irish Blessing set. The St. Patrick's Day embossing folder and Green Stripes washi tape are from DeNami Design.

I'm entering this card in the current Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge: It's a Wash, to use washi tape.

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily

June Pinspired at DeNami

Greetings, friends! Today I'm bringing you another Pinspired post along with a few of my other DeNami Design teammates. This month we were inspired by this photo:

I picked up on the fruits in this photo and immediately reached for my DeNami Tropical Fruit petit four stamp set. That sweet little stamp set has been getting quite a workout from me lately!

I also used the "you're sweet" sentiment from the Love Sentiments petit four stamp set. I rounded out my project with some Lime Versacolor ink, Tuxedo Black Memento ink, and some pretty DeNami patterned paper from the Watermelon Sampler paper pack.

Want to see what the other designers did with this inspiration photo? Be sure to check out the DeNami blog today!

Thanks so much for visiting today! May you have a day filled with bliss!
Emily

A Craft Dash Hello

Hello there, friends! Today DeNami Design Rubber Stamps is sponsoring this week's 10 Minute Craft Dash Challenge! Sweet Paulina invited the DeNami Design team to play along. Challenge #20 features the colors hot pink, tangerine, and gray. Such an interesting and unique color combo!

Is the idea of completing a {usable} card in under 10 minutes as frightening to you as it is to me??? This is the third time that I've played along with 10 Minute Craft Dash as a DeNami Design team member, and I must say that it hasn't gotten any easier. But it's still fun to try!! Here's what i made this time around:

My hot pink comes in the form of Cherry Pink Impress ink from DeNami. I used it to stamp flower petals from the Solid Flower Accents cling stamp set. My tangerine shows up as the DeNami Golden Tangerine cardstock that I used for my card base and the tangerine flower center, stamped with the circular grid from the Whimsical Garden cling stamp set and colored with a Copic marker. My gray elements include the punched frame I used to mat my focal image, the gray background polka dots on the card base (DeNami Polka Dot Background stamped in Smokey Gray Versafine ink), and the perfectly scripted "Hello" found in the Assorted Greetings petit four stamp set.

My time for this overly ambitious design? I just squeaked in under the wire at 9:58. Whew! I was really sweating it as I tried to quickly peel off the foam-tape backing while completing the final step of mounting the focal panel ;) .

Want to give this challenge a go? I think you ought to – there is an awesome prize at stake! Check it out:

If you don't already have any DeNami Design stamps, then this is a great way to start your collection with no risk ;-). And if you do? Then you have the chance to feed your addiction! The challenge runs from June 19, 2013, through June 29, 2013.


Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have an awesome Wednesday!
Emily

Strawberry Magnets for a Sweet Friend

I'm popping in with a quick post to share a project that's being featured over on the DeNami blog today.

I made this set of strawberry magnets as a gift for a very dear friend of mine. When I was growing up in Ohio, June was the month of pick-your-own strawberries, so this little gift is perfect for this time of year in my mind!

I used the little strawberry stamp from DeNami's Tropical Fruit stamp set and the Arched Sweet Friend stamp. The patterned paper is a digital print from the Sweet Strawberry collection by Shery K Designs. I adhered a circle of the printed patterned paper to the metal lid of a depleted Yankee Candle. It's perfect for attaching, presenting, and gifting magnets!

Have a fabulous day today, friends!
Emily

Growing In Unity~Day 4

 Thanks for coming back for Day 4 of my week as Growing in Unity gal!

Today is a two-fer day! I've got two little Unity projects that I've been just itching to share with you. Let's get started!

The sentiment is from Unity's {my thoughts are with you} kit. Definitely a must-have! It is loaded with a great variety of "thinking of you" types of sentiments that are perfect for cardmakers. I love how this one in particular fits perfectly in my Stampin' Up! modern label punch.

The patterned paper is a digital print from the Beautiful Moments collection by Carta Bella (available from JessicaSprague.com).  I built the gilt frame around the portion I printed out using some really cool gold washi tape. It totally looks like a fancy picture frame, right? I think the effect is awesome.

Now, switching gears a bit.

This card pulls together two different Unity Stamp kits. The doily stamped in the background in white on kraft and the fancy label are from the Generations kit, and the fantastic "You are fabulous" sentiment is from the Where You Should Be kit. Quick and easy and perfect for dropping in the mail to a fabulous friend!

And I think that does it for today!

Please leave a comment on this post to be in the running for two free Unity Itty Bitty kits, one comment per person please. But if you are a follower of my blog (or become a new follower), you can leave a second comment--for a second chance to win--on today's post:  just let me know that you are a follower and how you follow my blog!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for my last GIU post. If you haven't already commented on my GIU Days 1, 2, and 3 posts, you should check out and comment on those as well to maximize your chances of winning in the random drawing. I will leave commenting open through 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 9, 2013, and will come back on June 10 to announce the winner here on my blog. If I can find a way to contact the winner via email, I'll be sure to do that, too. :)

I'm so happy that you stopped by to visit today!
Emily 

More Summer Lovin'

I have another card to share for the Summer Lovin' release-week challenge over at Flourishes.

This one was inspired by the colors in the challenge graphic.

I used two Flourishes stamp sets for my creation: Strawberries and Tiny Flowers and Tags. That beautiful crocheted mat was handmade by my sweet friend Jessi. You can buy them from Jessi here. You'll love them--I know that I do :D.

It will be a busy day--I'm gearing up for the kids' Spring Break next week. Gotta run!

Thanks for stopping by!
Emily

DeNami Design Product Spotlight March Blog Hop

Welcome to Wednesday! The DeNami Design team is featuring a very cool cling-style rubber stamp in our Product Spotlight today. It's the Flower Window Box, and the DeNami DT is showcasing creative ways to use it in a BLOG HOP today!

I decided to make an Easter card with my Flower Box Window image and spotted an Easter stamp from the most recent release that I hadn't used yet. Here's what resulted when I combined the two!

My card also features Hatching Chickies Border, Small Happy Easter, Tuxedo Black Memento ink, Onyx Black Versafine ink, Sky Blue cardstock, and EK Success Deco Scallop border punch.

You can purchase the Flower Box Window stamp for 10% off the regular price for the next week. You also have the chance to WIN this fabulous product in today's spotlight blog hop! All you need to do is hop along to each stop in the lineup, leaving comments along the way. Here is the blog hop lineup:

DeNami blog 
Lisa Petrella
Deb Wabbe
Wendy Elliot
Emily Keaton  <==== you are here!
Lisa Elton
Kanani Kawamura
Dana Seymour
Tammy Hobbs

One commenter will be selected at random to win this month's prize! Just check out the DeNami blog for all the details.

Thanks for stopping by today!!
Emily  

PS Have you played in the DeNami birthday celebration Pin It to Win It contest yet? If not, you should definitely check it out!  SIX lucky pinners will win six items from their DeNami birthday wish list--and if you play along, one of them could be YOU!! Right now there are only 30 entries (and my wish list and the DeNami example list won't count), so odds are pretty good, right? What do you have to lose? This would be a great opportunity to start or expand your DeNami collection!! Want an idea of how to put together your wish list on Pinterest or some suggestions of items to put on your list? Feel free to check out my DeNami Birthday Wish List. :D

Easter Blessings

This week the DeNami Design Team is featuring the new Easter Blessings stamp on our creations for the first DeNami Product Spotlight of March. I realized somewhat belatedly that Easter is far earlier this year than I was expecting, which means I'm far behind-er on Easter cards than I thought! This stamp was the perfect thing for playing a little catch-up on my Easter card stash. Here are some quick and easy cards that I cooked up:

Along with Easter Blessings, I used the Spring Flowers set, Three Line Border, a Boutique Button, some lovely baker's twine, and some celery cardstock that I adore. :) 

This stamp is on sale for 10% off for the next week!

Be sure to check out what the rest of the team made with this sweet sentiment stamp over on the DeNami blog today!

I'm playing along the Timeless Tuesday challenge: Go Green! 

Thanks for dropping in! Have a day filled with bliss,
Emily

DeNami Design Product Spotlight Blog Hop

Thanks for stopping by today! The DeNami Design team is featuring a brand-new rubber stamp in our Product Spotlight today, the versatile Grass Border. And we're showing it off BLOG HOP STYLE!

Here's the card I made with this new stamp:

My card also features Easter Blessings, Elegant Oval Frame, Decorative Butterflies stamp set, and Solid Egg Border, plus some great inks from the DeNami store: cherry pink, sea breeze, and spring pansy. I colored the frame and grass border with markers.

You can purchase this grass border stamp for 10% off the regular price for the next week. You also have the chance to WIN this fabulous product in today's spotlight blog hop! All you need to do is hop along to each stop in the lineup, leaving comments along the way. Here is the blog hop lineup:

DeNami blog 
Lisa Petrella
Deb Wabbe
Wendy Elliot
Emily Keaton  <==== you are here!
Lisa Elton
Kanani Kawamura
Dana Seymour
Tammy Hobbs

One commenter will be selected at random to win this month's prize! Just check out the DeNami blog for all the details.

I hope you have a day filled with bliss!!
Emily

Turn Your Face to the Sun

Yesterday was such a hectic day for me. I spent most of the day running errands (that I thought I could wrap up before lunch--HA!), and then our evening was rushed so we could attend our daughter's middle school holiday concert (thoroughly enjoyable--she really shone!). But all of yesterday's busy-ness left me in need of some quiet time for myself today. Here's what I did with my bit of "me" time:

I made this card for Flourishes' Let's Hop Progressive Challenge, which requires 8 components:

1. NOT an A2 size (my card is 5" x 7")
2. Use some type of floral (mine is this beautiful hollyhocks image from the Flourishes Hollyhocks stamp set)
3. Add ribbon or lace (mine is from May Arts)
4. Be inspired by this beautiful photo (I drew my colors from it)
   
5. Add a tag (used it for my sentiment, which comes from the Flourishes Sunflowers stamp set)
6. Add a rounded corner (check!)
7. Add ink distressing or sponging (which I did around my sentiment tag, main focal panel, and card base edges)
8. Use a die cut or punch somewhere (I used medium and large tag punches)

This is was such a fun challenge, and putting my card together was so relaxing. Just what I needed today! Now it's time for me to head out to do my weekly grocery shopping, so that's all for now.

Thanks so much for checking out my little slice of bliss today!
Emily

Thinking of You on Thanksgiving

OK, East Coast, are you bracing for Winter Storm Athena? Here we go again! It's likely to get frightful outside here later today, but it's cozy and warm inside for the moment. Once the kids were off to school this morning , I cranked some jazz, lit a spicy candle, and cranked out some more Thanksgiving cards. Here's one of them.

I reached for my DeNami stamps for this one: Small Jack O'Lantern (I masked out his sweet face for this Thanksgiving card--such an easy way to stretch your stamps!) and the "thinking of you" sentiment from the Thoughtful Greetings Petit Four stamp set. I love this little stamp set--such a great and useful collection of petite sentiments. One of my favorites! I had fun watercolor painting that little pumpkin. I stamped it in Vintage Sepia Versafine ink on watercolor paper and then heat embossed it with DeNami clear embossing powder.

I'm playing along with a few challenges with this card:

• CASology: Orange
• A Blog Named Hero: Punched/diecut elements (I think I have 5 on this CAS card!)
• Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Thinking of You/Sympathy

In case you haven't noticed, I'm just mad for DeNami Design products! Are you intrigued? Then you should give the DeNami Addict Challenge a try!! This month's challenge is a fun sketch, and it's open for three more days. You do not need to use DeNami stamps, but if you win (and there's a good chance that you could: right now there are only 5 entries!!) you could win a $15 gift certificate to the DeNami Design online store to start your DeNami addiction collection :).

Of course, if you already have some DeNami stamps, then you should also try the DeNami Design challenge hosted on the DeNami Design blog. This month's challenge is also a sketch and requires at least one DeNami stamp. The pay-off for winning on this challenge? How about a $20 shopping spree in the DeNami Design online store?

And what if you are more of an instant-gratification kinda craftista? Then DeNami has got you covered! This month DeNami has a great online store sale. Check this out!!

I did some stocking up at the DeNami store myself over the weekend and will share some photos of the new haul when my eagerly anticipated package arrives!!!

OK, friends, stay safe, warm, and dry wherever you are. And thanks so much for dropping by!
Emily

10-Minute Nurture Yourself

So, I mentioned on Sunday that I was waiting to pick up my daughter from her Girl Scout camping trip. Well, she returned safely and had a great time, but came home with a few hitchhikers. Three to be exact:  deer ticks. You know, the tiny kind that can carry Lyme disease, and we live in--you guessed it--prime Lyme territory. We removed them successfully (with tweezers, the best method according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are a lot of folklore removal methods out there, but some can actually increase the likelihood of disease transmission {something to do with increased salivation; I know, ewwwwwwwww!}. Our motto: when in doubt, yank it out!). Anyway, I consulted with our pediatrician yesterday, and because we have no way of knowing if the ticks were attached for less than 24 hours, we'll have her tested for Lyme disease in four to six weeks. (Yeah, it takes that long for it to show up in tests!) In the meantime, we'll keep our eyes peeled for that telltale bullseye rash, which apparently presents in only 60% of Lyme disease cases, so testing will be crucial. Our pediatrician mentioned that the practice has been seeing a lot of Lyme disease recently, most likely due to our very mild winter. Darn, and I was kind of liking that! I guess I'd better hope for lots of cold, snow, and ice next year!

Enough of the yucky stuff, let's get on with a card!

Today I am sharing, appropriately enough, a get well card! I realized last week that my supply of such cards has been depleted, so it was time to re-stock. Because I've been so time-crunched, I decided to play along with Flourishes' Gimme Ten challenge again, to make a 10-minute card.

I used three sets from Flourishes to put together this card: Sunflowers, Tiny Flowers and Tags, and From the Garden. I made a super-quick background by scoring a 3.75" x 3.75" piece of cardstock in a grid and stamping a tiny daisy in each square. I already had that handmade spiral fabric flower in my stash, and all that was left to do was quickly stamp and trim a few leaves. Done! I'm linking this up as my final entry in Julie Koerber's Celebrate Five challenge.

I also used some more Bazzill Card Shoppe cardstock to make this card. Today's colors are Peanut Cluster (for the card base), Gumball (for the blue scored panel), and Easter Grass (for the leaves). I am so impressed with how will this cardstock scores: nice crisp lines and no danger of accidentally perforating the paper. And even though this is nice heavyweight cardstock (100 lb.), I had no trouble fussy-cutting those leaves, although I admit I wasn't going for precision here. It is, after all, a 10-minute card!

Well, I already have dinner in the crockpot, and the kids are off to school,  so it's time to get cranking on my freelance work for the day. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Emily

Stamps:  Sunflowers, Tiny Flowers and Tags, and From the Garden by Flourishes

Paper: Peanut Cluster, Gumball, and Easter Grass from the Bazzill Card Shoppe collection; white from Papertrey Ink

Ink: Versafine Spanish Moss, SU Bashful Blue

Accessories: handmade rolled fabric flower, pearl, SU label punch, scoring board, baker's twine from the DeNami Design Spring Twine 3-pack, Corner Chomper

Techniques: scoring, rolled ribbon flower

DeNami Pretty Pastels Blog Hop

Welcome to the DeNami Design Pretty Pastels Blog Hop! Today the DeNami Design Team and customers alike are showing off creations made with DeNami stamps that incorporate pretty pastel colors.

 
Hopefully, you've arrived here by way of Stacy M.'s blog, Sweethearts & Sweet Tarts. If so, you are on the right track! If not, you'll want to head over to the DeNami blog to start the blog hop at the beginning. (And remember, if you get lost along the way, you can always head over to the DeNami blog to get pointed in the right direction.)

Don't forget, there are delightful DeNami prizes to be won! Two lucky duckies will be drawn at random from among the comments left along the blog hop to win a $20 DeNami Design gift certificate! You have until Monday, May 21, 2012, 11:59 pm PST, to leave comments on all the blogs to be eligible for a prize. 

Getting projects ready for DeNami Blog Hops is always a blast, but this one was especially fun because I just love pastels! Here's what I came up with:

I did some tone-on-tone background stamping using the scalloped border stamp from the cling-style DeNami Spring Garden 1 Set to frame some pastel polka-dotted ribbon from my stash. The "thinking of you" sentiment comes from the DeNami Thoughtful Greetings stamp set.  

I made that layered fabric flower myself from pink cotton fabric I had on hand, and hand-trimmed some DeNami celery cardstock into a leaf shape for my sentiment. Perfectly pastel embellishments, don't you agree?

 

Well, I do believe that I am the last stop on today's blog hop. I hope that you've been overwhelmed with DeNami inspiration in all shades of pastels today! Before you leave, be sure to leave a comment to be eligible for the randomly drawn prizes.

Thanks so much for stopping by to check out my pretty pastels creation!
Emily

Garden-Themed Congratulations

Today I'm sharing a garden-themed anniversary card I created for a two-fold purpose. It's not just for any anniversary, but for my sister and her husband's 14th anniversary! Happy Anniversary, Amy and Mike!

So that was purpose #1. Not long ago I was asked if I'd like to make a sample card for an exciting, brand-new card challenge. Of course, I said I'd love to, and that was purpose #2 for this card! That new challenge? It's called the DeNami Addict Challenge and it debuts today. The first challenge is to create a project with a garden theme.

How easy is that? Lots of room for interpretation I'd say, right? It was definitely the perfect theme for creating an elegant card to congratulate my sister and brother-in-law. And I'm betting there are plenty of upcoming occasions that you could make a garden-themed card for, too. I hope you'll try to play along! The requirements are easy--just make something with a garden theme and enter it over at the Confessions of a DeNami Addict blog. That's it! You can use any stamps and products you'd like, too. No restrictions! The prize is a $15 DeNami gift certificate. Isn't that awesome? So if you love the look of DeNami Design stamps, but don't have any yet, this is the perfect opportunity to win some and finally start your collection! Of course, if you are already addicted to DeNami stamps, then this is a wonderful way to continue to feed that addiction!

DeNami Addict Challenges will run monthly, starting on the second Monday each month. This first challenge will end on June 11 at 11:59 p.m. CDT. You can find all the details about this new challenge, and see some more great garden-themed cards contributed by some of the other DeNami DT gals, over on the DeNami Addict blog. I know you'll love playing along!

Thanks for dropping by!

Emily

Card Details:

Stamps: all from DeNami Design: Elegant Floral Vine, Ornamental Vine, Small Congratulations
Paper: all from DeNami Design: Lavender, Celery
Ink: Palette noir black, Versafine onyx black, Versamagic aloe vera
Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, Doodlebug lilac boutique trims, Martha Stewart Cherish PATP set,
Techniques: Gamsol magic

The Twinery/DeNami Design Blog Hop

A hearty "Happy Friday" to you and WELCOME to The Twinery and DeNami Design Blog Hop: showcasing the BEST in twine and rubber stamps! Today the design teams of both of these fabulous companies are sharing projects that show how well DeNami Design and The Twinery products complement one another, and I'm tickled pink to be a part of it all as a DeNami designer.

If you are hopping along (and you should: there's a PRIZE involved!), you should have arrived here from the blog of the talented Monika Wright. If not, you can start the blog hop from the beginning at The Twinery blog.

I know you have lots of stops to make on today's hop, so I'll get right down to business. When DeNami Design first started carrying baker's twine from The Twinery earlier this year, I was so impressed with how well the twine colors coordinate with DeNami cardstock colors. That was my jumping-off point for today's project! To show off that fantastic color coordination, I designed a small petal box that I could decorate elegantly with DeNami stamps and tie up perfectly with The Twinery's baker's twine.

 

Just look at how well DeNami's Magenta cardstock matches The Twinery's Pink Sorbet baker's twine! DeNami's Iridescent Aquamarine cardstock (so shimmery!) is a dead ringer for The Twinery's Caribbean baker's twine, and DeNami's Petal Pink cardstock harmonizes perfectly with The Twinery's Blossom baker's twine.  

I knew I wanted to use a variety of cardstock colors for this collection of petal boxes, so I stamped the oh-so-chic DeNami Elegant Floral Vine in black on each petal to maintain a cohesive look. The beautiful Ornamental Vine stamp was perfect for some subtle background stamping on each tag, and the sentiments--like this "for you"--in the Everyday Greetings stamp set are the ideal size for tags.

These elegant little petal boxes are just the right size (2" square at the base) for filling with a truffle or other sweet treat (like the Ferrero Rocher chocolate I tucked inside mine). And wouldn't they make perfect favors for a wedding, baby shower, bridal shower, or Mother's Day tea? So easy to coordinate with a bride's colors or the color scheme of a new baby's nursery.

  

I had fun making up my own design for these tiny petal boxes, but you don't have to.  I'm happy to share a template for making them. Simply print this petal box pattern (in pdf form) on cardstock and trim for a template you can trace around on any cardstock or patterned paper. Once your petal box has been cut out, simply score where indicated by the dotted lines on the template and punch holes where indicated. To complete, thread with baker's twine, pull to close petals (overlap as shown below), and tie shut. But don't forget to tuck a treat inside first!

That wraps up my project for today, but before you go, I'm sure you'd like to know more about that prize I mentioned earlier! Here's a little peek at what's up for grabs:

And guess what? There's not just one prize to be given away, but TWO! So be sure to leave a comment here before you go, as well as on each participating blog on the hop for your best chance of winning, before 11:59 pm EDT on Saturday, May 12, 2012, to be eligible for the product giveaways. :)

Now it's time to head off to visit the next designer on today's blog hop:

Jamie Cripps

Thanks so much for dropping by!

Emily