Raindrop Echo Designs

Whimsy Stamps July Release!

Today is an exciting day here at Whimsy Stamps because it's ...
Rubber stamps and dies RELEASE DAY!

This month we are doing things a little differently - we are releasing the stamps and dies a whole week before our new release blog hop! So that means... the July New Release rubber stamps and dies are available to buy RIGHT NOW from the Whimsy Stamps store!

We are going to be holding a fabulous new release BLOG HOP on July 20th, when we will have our usual plethora of prizes, special guests, and lots of amazing creations from our DT.

From today until July 19th, the DT are going to be showcasing this month's new release stamps and dies in the lead up to our BLOG HOP on July 20th, so be sure to stop by our blogs to see what we've created.

Here is a list of the new stamps, sentiment sets and dies we have released today:

5 new Kenny K rubber stamps
Boogie Down ~ Holla Back Girl ~ Hot Weave ~ Spy Chick ~ Victory Kid

4 new Raindrop Echo Designs sentiment rubber stamp sets
A Touch of Elegance ~ Adventure Mini Postage Stamps ~ Vintage Bottle Labels ~ Vintage Transportation

2 new Raindrop Echo Designs dies
Dress Form Die (coordinates with A Touch of Elegance stamp set) ~ Elegant Flourishes

Remember, they are all available to buy from the Whimsy Stamps store RIGHT NOW!

Today I'm like to share with you a creation using KennyK's new Hot Weave and previously released Film Strip Sentiments. The Film Strip Sentiments were stamped on a transparency.

Stamps: Whimsy Stamps Hot Weave and Film Strip Sentiments; Medium: Distress Inks on Lanaquerrel watercolor and Prismacolour pencils for deeper shadows in her hair; Paper: BasicGrey; Embellishments: WOC flowers, Prima flowers; Tools: Tim Holtz Elegant Flourishes dies

Paper Fever

Hello everyone! Hope you're having a good weekend so far and that it's not too hot (or too cold for my Aussie friends) where you are!

If you are a frequenter of my blog, then you've heard me mention that the Pumpkin Spice store has THE BEST prices on paper: at least 30% off all products AND free shipping over $50 (I hate having to pay for high shipping). But of course, prices mean nothing if the service is crappy, so thankfully, Denine has great service, too! Everything always gets shipped so quickly. I recently ordered from the store and she informed me that she's having her first ever design team call and I knew I had to throw my name into the hat. You should, too! You can find more about the call HERE.

To try out, she's asking us to create something specifically for the DT Call using at least two of the following paper lines: Bo Bunny, Cosmo Cricket, Crate Paper, Echo Park, Graphic 45, My Mind’s Eye. You can find the paper lines I used below.

She's also posed the oh-so-impossible: mention your favorite paper line. WHAT? That's like asking me to choose my favorite dog, lol. My thought process was this: I love October Afternoon's fresh yet sometimes vintage colors and patterns, but I also love Cosmo Cricket's bold and clean lines, but of course there's my first love BasicGrey, and then there are my newly found loves Echo Park and Crate Paper. Sigh. If I had to chose one, I guess it would have to be Cosmo Cricket. It forces me to be bold and think outside what I would normally create. So there you have it!

Okay, so on to my cards! I created two because I was trying to put off having to study for my midterm. The "Butterfly Kisses" card is actually much nicer in person, but since it's so light, it didn't photograph well. And I just love how you can cut up parts of the Graphic 45 paper to make them the actual image for the card! Alrightey, wish me luck and hope you enjoy the cards!

Using Echo Park's Springtime and MME Lime Twist Fly a Kite

Stamps: Whimsy Stamps Spring Letter Seals; Papers: Echo Park's Springtime and MME Lime Twist Fly a Kite; Embellishments: seam binding, button; Tools: Spellbinders die, ATG gun, Aleene's Craft Glue

Using Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante and Crate Paper Portrait Collection

Stamps: Tickled Pink Stamps Steampunk Sentiments; Papers: Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante and Crate Paper Portrait Collection; Embellishments: seam binding, jute trims, WOC flower; Tools: Spellbinders dies, Inkssentials ink blending tool, Ranger Tea Dye ink pad, ATG gun

Our first Pink INK Sketch Challenge!

Hi everyone! Today is the FIRST challenge for Pink INK Sketch Challenges and to celebrate our grand "opening," we're kicking things off with a blog hop! I'm the first stop so if you're hopping along, you're in the right place. If you lose your way, I have a list of the hop participants at the bottom of this post or you can also find it on the Pink INK Sketch Challenges Blog.

Oh, and you can also find us on Facebook HERE if you fancy the social networking thing :)

For our first sketch, we would like you to use this lovely sketch by Jane:

We have FIVE generous sponsors for you this week which means FIVE different chances to win prizes!! Here are our wonderful sponsors for this week:

So on to my cards! I created three cards for this challenge and was a bit flexible with the sketch, but the elements are still there (I hope you see them). At first, I thought only Tickled Pink Stamps was sponsoring, then we added on Whiff of Joy and also Whimsy Stamps so since I work for all of them, I didn't want to be biased so I used products from all three companies. It was really fun making these cards! It's probably because Jane's sketch is so versatile, but I created these three in about an hour and a half. Granted, two of the images were already colored, but still, I don't think that's bad at all :)

Stamps: Whimsy Stamps Club Kid and Everyday Mini Postage Stamps; Medium: Distress Inks on Montval watercolor paper; Paper: Fancy Pants It's in the Little Things; Embellishments: WOC flowers, May Arts striped twill ribbon, baker's twine; Tools: Whimsy Stamps Mini Postage Stamp Die, Nestabilities, Martha Stewart Leaf Punch

Stamps: Whiff of Joy Little Nurse, Whimsy Stamps Oval Snippets; Medium: Distress Inks on Montval watercolor paper; Paper: October Afternoon Thrift Shop; Embellishments: WOC flowers, May Arts twill ribbon, lace; Tools: Nestabilities Ovals and Lacey Ovals; Memory Makers distressing tool

I think this Tickled Pink card turned out the best :) I'm also entering it into the Pink Lady DT call, though I think my chances are slim since there's so much talent already in the pool. If you haven't heard about the call, you can read all about it HERE and maybe give it a shot too :)

Stamps: Tickled Pink Stamps Lil Victoria Steampunk Lad Eric and Steampunk Sentiments; Medium: Distress Inks on Montval watercolor paper; Paper: October Afternoon Thrift Shop; Embellishments: WOC flowers, May Arts twill ribbon, lace; Tools: Nestabilities Ovals and Lacey Ovals; Memory Makers distressing tool

I hope you enjoyed my creations for today and we hope to see you join in at the Pink INK Sketch Challenges!

Now it's time to hop along to Cheri's magnificent blog to see what amazing creation she's come up with using Jane's oh-so-versatile sketch!

If you get lost along the way, here's the complete blog hop list:

Ann (me!)