Barefoot Summer Day 2

Barefoot Summer, doesn't just that name make you smile? Part of it is because I loving walking around barefoot in my yard... okay now guys save your Tennessee jokes :). I do wear shoes everywhere else. But let's get back to the set. Today the Design Team and I are going to be featuring cards using this beautiful tree from the set.

I really wanted to let the tree be the focal point, and I think it looks amazing paper pieced. The flowers in the tree are actually a separate stamp that you can use in several different ways. As always with our stamps they are interactive and can be used for several purposes!

Dana rocked her Copic markers on this tree. I'm so jealous of these girls and their amazing work with their markers. When Dana used these different colors for the tree I realized it will make a great tree for the fall as well. And again this set has so many pieces that work together!

Aren't those scallops gorgeous. Paulina shows another great look for the tree. It can totally stand alone and make a statement. I love how she added rhinestones to the tree!

Alice sure knows how to rock a scene! And she's given you a few previews into some of the other stamps in the set. Alice has also treated us to a quick tutorial on that awesome yellow background she's created.

Didn't these ladies rock that tree stamp? Check out their blogs for more details on their cards. And don't forget to check out Michelle Philippi's blog for her cards featuring the new May Arts ribbon!

So what is your favorite tree? I love magnolia trees. So, pretty if only they could grow faster. Leave a comment on today's post for a chance to win this set. I'll be drawing the winner later this week!

Tomorrow we've got some more cards from Barefoot Summer as well as another tutorial!
June 4: It's all about ribbon and a special ribbon tutorial from Michelle Philippi!
June 5: Design Team cards from the new set and two special video tutorials for everyone.
June 6: Release of the new set!

The Latest Release - Let the Guessing Begin!

So I had an extra day this weekend to get things done and somehow I still feel behind! Today is June 1, so you know what that means. Are you ready to guess? This is an EXTREMELY distorted  image of the set that will release on June 6 at our store. I have to tell you I'm super excited about this set. It's different than anything else you've seen from Practicing Creativity. I hope you all will love it as much as I do.

It's always so hard for me to distort these because I always feel like it's so obvious. Of course that's because I've been staring at it for weeks now.

Leave your guess, no matter how crazy, on today's post for a chance to win the set. I'll be giving away this set to one person that comments between now and June 5 (there is not a limit on comments).
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Here's the schedule of the rest of the week. You won't want to miss it! The design team and our special guest have done an amazing job at not only showing off the set, but showing you HOW to use it!

June 2 & 3:  Design Team cards from the new set and two special tutorials for everyone. Michelle Philippi will be featuring cards using new May Arts ribbon coming to the store June 6.
June 4: New ribbon and a special ribbon tutorial from Michelle Philippi!
June 5: Design Team cards from the new set and two special video tutorials for everyone.
June 6: Release of the new set!

EBTKS Challenge 16 - Nail Polish

When Kelly first gave us this challenge I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to come up with anything, but now I'm SO SO glad she did. I started by just thinking of different embellishments that could be covered with polish. I finally realized that my crystal hat pins were there perfect thing.

Here are the hat pins I did (the original then covered with a white/cream and pink).

I made a simple card that I let the ribbon do the talking for (this may be a hint at some new ribbon coming for the new release, more info on Tuesday).

Simple but pretty. Since it was so simple I did add a sentiment to the inside panel.

Now I know you all have nail polish so come play along. Plus you'll want to go check our all the other girls cards at EBTKS Challenge.

Plus the winner will get a $30 gift card to...

I hope you all have an amazing Memorial Day tomorrow. Check back Tuesday as we start the next Practicing Creativity release!

Room Update

Hey there. Well there hasn't been much crafting going on here lately. I've been so busy with the new room! Plus I'm one of those weird creative types that has to have a clean working surface before crafting. However I do have this card I made a few weeks ago I wanted to share:

I broke out the Look Up! banners. I know some people think it takes awhile to cut these out, but because they are just straight cuts, it really takes less time then you would think.

Several of you asked for updates on the room as we went along. We've pretty much finished, but I still need to add some more bins and curtains. I'm thinking of some really fun fabric for those.

Here's chase adding my bookshelves. I love open shelving. I really wish I had some in my kitchen. Oh and do you like that light fixture. I just love it and it was only $30 at Lowes! Score!

Here's the latest. Again I still have a long way to go, but we're getting there! It seems like the last leg of getting everything in place takes the longest.

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We are gearing up for the next Practicing Creativity release! I have to tell you I'm SOOOO excited about this one.

Glitz Designs

There are so many Glitz products that I love, that I honestly didn't know where to turn for my first time to post of the Glitz blog. I decided that rather than spending hours weeding through all the things I love, I'd go with the first two inspiration pieces. It's funny because my two inspirations resulted in two completely different styles of cards. I just love when products can push your creativity!

The first card all started with Maya Floral from the Maya collection. The paper is just gorgeous. I used one of the flowers from the patterned paper to create my focal point:

Patterned Paper: Maya Floral, Maya Navy (Glitz Design)
Rhinestones: Pink Frosting (Glitz Design)
Stamp: I'm Feeling (Glitz Design)
Ribbon: Navy (Offray)
Ink: Viridian Leaf (Palette)
Thread: White (Coats & Clarks)

I love that little "I'm Feeling" stamp. I stamped off once to give it a little "worn" effect.

On my second card, I went with one of my favorite color schemes...  neutral! These vintage Whatnots, are SOOO cute and perfect for card marking.

And don't you love when this don't go the way you planned, but you end up loving it? Do you see the stitching on the top right? Well that was not suppose to end. My thread in my bobbin however did end. Once I realized I was no longer sewing... I realized I liked the effect on this vintage card.

Patterned Paper: Vintage Love Polka (Glitz Design)
Accesories: Vintage Whatnots (Glitz Design)
Ribbon: Netting (May Arts); Black Crepe Paper
Thread: Coats & Clark

Do you have a project that didn't turn out the way you planned, but you ended up liking it better?

A Busy Day - Room Update

For our anniversary, my sweet husband is moving and redoing my office aka my craft room. There is a long list of reason why we are moving it, but one of my greatest needs is funcional furniture. Here's the history of my crafting space:

High School: Thankfully I had a huge room, and I had a desk that was always covered with my scrapbooking.

College: My roommate Kate and I would drag our stuff out onto the coffee table in the middle of our living room. It was probably the worst crafting space I've had.

Our First Apartment: Chase and I had an extra room that we both shared for an office. He was still getting his masters, and I felt like I needed to try to keep my things arranged in the closet. I so badly wish I had a picture of this set up. I made it work!

Current: I now am so fortunate to have a whole room, but currently I'm using an oval kitchen table that I spray painted. You can see pictures of my current setup here. It has been a great setup, but Chase sure knows how to make me smile by offering to build new storage.

So here's where we are at so far:

Paint Change...

Did I mention that there is going to be way more lighting in this room? I'm SO SO SO excited about that!

I'm off to work so more! I hope you're having a great weekend!

Clear & Simple Stamps + Practicing Creativity

Don't you just love encouraging people? Nicki from Clear & Simple Stamps has been super encouraging to me through my whole process of starting Practicing Creativity. It's not every day you meet people that are so willing to go out of their way to encourage you. So when the opportunity came for me to work with her, I was just thrilled.

First up, today I  have a card featured on their iPhone app. I will say that I love this card, but this is all I can show you! So if you want to see more check out their app:

I also made a card using Kind Deeds from Clear & Simple Stamps and For the Love of Dotsfrom Practicing Creativity! I loved how well these stamps worked together!

It's been awhile since I've made one of my fabric flowers, but they are still so fun. For these I made them extra small. If you'd like to learn how to make these you can watch my tutorial here. I've also made a video showing you how I made the card above!




You can also watch it over on YouTube, here.

I had so much fun working on these!

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Have you checked out the latest EBTKS challenge?