Serendipity Stamps August Blog Hop #1!

Hi all!!

It's August, can you believe it? And you know what that means...fall can't be too far behind! Time to start thinking about making those fall cards! 

I love anything fall-themed. When our local papercrafting store begins carrying fall stamps, I admit I go a little crazy, but collecting fabulous stamps is part of the fun of our hobby, right? 

I have a fall card for you today, but first let me remind you that today is the first day of Serendipity Stamp's first August Blog Hop! Serendipity showcases a new set of stamps every two weeks. Just comment on the Design Team's blogs listed below to enter to win a $20 gift certificate to Serendipity Stamps. The more blogs you comment on, the likelier you are to win!

Here's a list of all the designers participating in the blog hop today...

Mary's Blog (Serendipity Stamp's owner)

Julie Warner

Beth Chiu (that's me!)

Vicki Zimmer

Marybeth Lopez

Miriam Napier

Keep in mind that the stamp and die of the month are Acorns and Sweetgum and Sympathy, respectively...both are 50% for the month of August! Woo-hoo!

For today's card I used the Acorns stamp...

This stamp is so pretty and so easy to color! I took a fun class last year with the incredibly talented Jenny from One Krafty Cat (http://onekraftykat.blogspot.com/). In the class we learned how to color leaves to make them look realistic. One of the main things I learned was not to worry about blending the colors perfectly...leaves aren't perfect in nature so why should they be in our images?  Here are the Copic markers I used...

 After my image was colored I cut it out using an oval die cut. 

I created the card background using Authentique's 'Harvest' patterned paper collection. I chose several papers to layer and used die cuts to create the horizonal stripes strip and the lacy edge border. I wrapped persimmon-colored twine twice around the card, securing with strong tape. I then popped up my image using foam tape and added it to my background. 

Next, I made a bow using the persimmon twine and an acorn charm from my stash and added it to the card. I also die cut a small leaf from the Leaves Reverse Die and tucked it below my bow. 

At this point I decided to make my card into a fall 'thank you' card. For my sentiment, I stamped For All You Do (small) using Distress Oxide Ink in Walnut Stain. I cut this out using a fishtail banner die and mounted this onto the front of my card.

For the inside, I layered more Authentique patterned papers. I stamped the Thank You II Horizontal using Walnut Stain Distress Oxide ink and added it with another leaf to finish the card.

As always, a big THANK YOU for visiting my blog today...I hope you have a great week!!

Serendipity Stamps July Blog Hop #2!!

Hello Everyone!

 It's July and you know what that means...time for Christmas in July!! Yes, I'm one of those weirdos that actually starts thinking about making their Christmas cards right in the heat of the Atlanta summertime!

I've got a beautiful Christmas card to share with you so that you can start thinking about making your Christmas cards early too! But first...it's time for another BLOG HOP!!  

Serendipity showcases a new set of stamps every two weeks. Just comment on the Design Team's blogs listed below to enter to win a $20 gift certificate to Serendipity Stamps. The more blogs you comment on, the likelier you are to win!

Here's a list of all the designers participating in the blog hop today...

Mary's Blog (Serendipity Stamp's owner)

Julie Warner

Beth Chiu (that's me!)

Vicki Zimmer

Marybeth Lopez
Miriam Napier

I also wanted to remind you guys about a couple of sales going on right now at Serendipity Stamps. Both the Grill stamp and the Friends die are 50% off until the end of July. Also, please check out the 20% off clearance sale on select dies at https://www.serendipitystamps.com/category/specials.html! Happy shopping!!

Today's Christmas card features the very sweet Nativity stamp...

I created this card by stamping the image onto Copic X-Press It paper in Memento Tuxedo black ink and coloring it with Copic markers. I used B0000 and B000 to create my sky background. 

I just love that sweet little lamb and that dove visiting the Baby Jesus, don't you? I used some warm grey markers to color them. I used the tip of my marker to "dot" the lamb's fur and create a more textured look.

I used some Wink of Stella glitter pen on the star and a few other areas of my image, but it's a bit difficult to see in the photos, sorry!

Once my stamped image was colored, I began putting my card together. I created a "frame" for my image using gold shimmery cardstock. I then used a "burst"-style die to create a background layer using teal mirror cardstock. Before placing my image down onto the teal layer, I ran a piece of teal silk ribbon across the mirror cardstock using a strong adhesive tape to secure it. I then popped up the nativity layer using foam tape and adhered it to the mirror paper. A teal silk bow was then added to the left side of my frame.

I then used foam tape to add this layer onto a "frame" of the shimmery gold cardstock, and finally layered this onto a white 4.75" x 4.75" square card.

For the inside of my card, I stamped a sentiment from the For Unto Us Cling Stamp Set using Lawn Fawn's Peacock ink and layered this using a 1/16" teal mirror cardstock border and another white and gold layer. I really love the teal and gold colors together for the holidays!

Thank you all so much for visiting with me today! Before I go I want to also let you know that the Nativity stamp I used for my card is also available as a SET with a beautiful verse so be sure and check that out here...Nativity Cling Set.

Have a great week!!

Serendipity Stamps July Blog Hop #1!

Hello Everyone and Happy Fourth of July!!

Serendipity showcases a new set of stamps every two weeks. Just comment on the Design Team's blogs listed below to enter to win a $20 gift certificate to Serendipity Stamps. The more blogs you comment on, the likelier you are to win!

Here's a list of all the designers participating in the blog hop today...

Mary's Blog (Serendipity Stamp's owner)

Julie Warner

Beth Chiu (that's me!)

Vicki Zimmer

Marybeth Lopez

Today's card features Serendipity Stamp's Grill stamp. I love the cool retro look of this stamp!

I tried a little something different for this card. Instead of stamping the image onto my usual Copic X-Press It or Neenah cardstock, I stamped it directly onto my patterned paper. I used Authentique's 'Honor" 6x6 coordinating papers for this project. 

I colored my image using Copic markers and then cut it out using a rectangle die. This was mounted onto a scalloped red rectangle, using a navy 1/16" border around my image first. I added some fishtail banners to this using the coordinating patterned papers and popped two of them up with foam tape onto my card background.

I also added a small fishtail banner to the upper right-hand corner of my image and topped it with a tiny bow made from red jute twine.

As a final touch, I added lots of red, blue, and clear sequins and some gold stars as well. 

Thanks for visiting today! Have a safe and happy holidays, everyone...and good luck on the blog hop!