Ahhh..To Be in Paris

Well my morning did not start off very well at all! I can only hope that it gets better from here... and I so would love to be in Paris right now - LOL!

Today's beautiful card is created by design team member, Jacqueline Smith. She used the gorgeous Time In Paris stamp from the Stamp It Australia series from Crafter's Companion. Her sentiments were created using Whimsy Stamps Celebration Mini Tickets.

I am always blown away by Jacqueline's cards! All of the texture and layers are amazing! Just what I needed to brighten my day!

Happy Stamping!
Laura

A Gorgeous Opportunity

Good Morning!

It was a beautiful day this morning when I left for work! It is going to be a hot one today I have a feeling though. It was already 70 degrees but very humid and sticky feeling. I love the warm weather just not the humidity.

With the gorgeous weather we have been having it makes me want to get outside and toodle around on a bicycle. We have a gorgeous lake that has a 5 mile long walking or bicycle path around it...problem is I haven't rode a bike since I was about 12... LOL...so before I toodle around the lake I need to practice first or I would probably end up going swimming!

Today's card reminds me of a gorgeous summer day with the soft colors that design team member Meredith Winston used on her card. I love the papers that Meredith chose to accent her card with. The yellow polka dots, paired with a faded blue jean color and that beautiful pastel plaid in blues and yellows are so pretty together. The focal piece on Meredith's card is a verse from the Vintage Verses stamp set by Gourmet Rubber Stamps. I love this saying too... it is a great piece of advice that you need to sometimes be reminded of. Sometimes you have to create your own opportunities instead of waiting around for them to come to you. Pretty powerful! This stamp set is one of my super favs and can be used for so many occasions! It is a must have in my book :)

I also love Meredith's layers of texture and bling! It really makes the whole card pop and it is truely a stunning piece of art! Visit Meredith's Blog - Paper Canteen Creations to see all the details on this beauty!

I hope you enjoy your day and may it be full of many positive opportunities for you :)

Happy Stamping!

Laura

It Takes a LOOOONG Time....

Good Morning!

It is another two (maybe 3) cup coffee morning for me...LOL! Besides running Loves Rubberstamps I also work full time in law enforcement and this week has been a week so far! We are getting all new computer programs for the MDT's in the squad cars and a new CAD sytem and nothing works how it is supposed to. So it has been a TAAAAD stressful! Week's like these are the ones I am thankful for having the store and stamping therapy :)

On a much happier note...look at this cutie!

This adorable card was created by design team member Ceal Pritchett. She used a super cute S.W.A.L.K. stamp called Old Friend. I love the way Ceal colored her image. I have a hard time with red hair and she did it very well!

If you plan on making the men in your life a Father's Day card... don't forget to enter it in our Loves Rubberstamps Blog Challenge for Masculine Cards... you might be our winner for a shopping spree in our store!

Have a great day!
Laura

Dropping you a line...

Good Morning Stampers!

Hope you are having a wonderful morning so far! I am a little tired this morning and found it a little tough to get going. Had to have an extra large cup of my morning vitamin....caffeine :)

One thing that did gave me a smile this morning was this super sweet card created by design team member Lisa Rasmussen!

            

I love the soft grays with the pink and red. So pretty! Reminds me of a sweet summer day! Lisa used Ramona Fishing from Stamping Bella.

Be sure to visit Lisa's Blog - Eat, Sleep, Stamp to see all the details on this cutie!

Enjoy your day!
Laura

Let's Play a Round of...GOLF!

Good Morning Stampers!

Today's card was created for inspiration for this week's Loves Rubberstamps Blog Challenge - Masculine Cards. Be sure to play along because you could win a shopping spree to the Loves Rubberstamps Store of up to $50! The more people that play... the higher the shopping spree :)

Here is my card...

My card was actually a really quick card to make. The golf scene was inspired by Michelle Zindorf and I followed her tutorial to create it. I am not very good with the brayer like Michelle is, so I use all sponging instead of using a brayer.

I added the sentiment on the golf scene using the Flourishes stamp set called A Guiding Light.

My Stampin Up! More Mustard Layer was stamped repeatedly with the All About Men sentiment stamp from Great Impressions Stamps. I stamped it using the More Mustard Ink because I wanted it to be subtle. I then sponged the edges with early espresso ink also from Stampin Up! The thing I LOVED about the All About Men stamp is that my more mustard layer is 4" x 5 1/4" and the stamp fit PERFECTLY clear across the front!

Here is a close up of my golf ball so you can see it actually has dimples in it like a real golf ball would. You can't see it in the other picture because they are very subtle and the light was not the greatest. Sorry for the yellow tinge on this one, one of my lights burned out in my light box right in the middle of taking pics!

My ball is popped up using dimensionals. I also popped the golf scene layer up on dimensionals as well.
Really fun and quick card that packs a big "wow"!

Hope you play along in our Loves Rubberstamps Blog Challenge!

Happy Stampin!
Laura

Hello Stampers!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend! I didn't get as much done around the house as I wanted to but that is how it goes sometimes! Later today, I will be on the hunt for glass sun tea jars. A friend of mine told me that she found them at a store thats about a half hour drive from here. All the stores around here only have them in plastic! I don't think I want my tea brewing in the sun in plastic. Glass sun tea jars used to be so easy to find but not anymore, at least not in Iowa. They are a remnant of the good old days here!

Speaking of the good old days... today's card designed by design team member, Olivia Marmara has a very vintage look to it which I love. The colors of the paper and the way she colored her adorable fairy, with the sprinkling of glitter all gives it that vintage feeling. It is such a beautiful card!




I love it! Olivia did an amazing job and every element she chose to put on this piece is just a perfect accent. The image that she used is an Elizabeth Bell design called Crocus from the Twinkle Toes Collection designed for Sweet Pea Stamps.

Be sure to visit Olivia's Blog and see all the details on this gorgeous card!

Don't forget to play in our Loves Rubberstamps Blog Challenge - Anything Goes...submissions close at 9pm and a new challenge will post at midnight! The more people we have play ... the bigger our prize gets :)

Happy Stamping!
Laura

My Sunday Shares - June 10th

Good Afternoon Stampers!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend...mine is just starting so I treated myself to sleeping in this morning :) You have to do that every now and then I think! I have a LOOOONG list of things I need to get done around the house today...mow the yard, dishes, laundry, dust...well you get the jist of my day...all of the not so fun house chores...BUT after I am done I am going to go play in my stamp studio...I am looking forward to THAT!

Today's shares will be a little different. I didn't have much time this week to look around the galleries or do my company searches so I decided today to share some cool you tube videos that I have in my "favorites" with you, instead of cards today.

Today's videos are all created by Darlene Devries of DarleneDesign.com. She posts a new video on you tube about every Wednesday. I was searching around about creating with copics on you tube one day and came across this video she did. I loved the look of her card using copic markers on patterened paper. She uses Stampin Up! supplies but you could easily use any light colored scrapbook designer papers or stamps for this technique.

     

The second video I want to share with you is one about creating a card using multiple embossing powders. This card is really pretty! Not only does this video have a beautiful project...it also had a COOL TIP on how to create smaller frames with your layer dies. Doing this doubles the sizes of layers you can get out of your layer dies!!

     

I thought the idea of tracing the outside of your die and then cutting it out with your scissors was genius. You can get 2 sizes of layers for each die! This would work with many die brands too. Perfect for when you want just a very subtle layer.

This last video I will share with you really showcases the way Darlene colors with her copics. I really loved this method and thought that it is a great way for beginners to achieve the professional looking blends with copics. This card that she creates using a Hero Arts cupcakes set showcases this coloring style perfectly. Plus I love cupcakes :)

  

I hope you enjoyed today's shares. If you want to check out Darlene's other videos...and believe me she has a LOT of great ones... you can visit her you tube channel - darlene003

We will be starting to stock the copic markers at Loves Rubberstamps soon! YAY! I am excited for that! Hero Arts is also on our list of suppliers that we will be adding in the future too :)

Happy Stampin Everyone!
Laura