Musings of an Addict

Just so you know, Kirsten and Katie have blog candy today. So be sure to head over to their blogs to check it out!!

Now on to the important stuff, lol! Yes, you saw that post title right! I said winners, plural! The wonderful ladies at Lizzie Anne Designs are sending a surprise to one lucky winner, and I’ve decided that blog candy was so much fun that I would draw another person and send a surprise set, too!!

The first number that random.org drew at about 10:15 EST was:

Here are your random numbers:

21

 Timestamp: 2008-07-08 02:14:02 UTC

That comment matches this post:

21. Victoria - July 7, 2008[Edit]

I’m soled to see the Rockin’ Holiday set. And I might have to make a play at Garden Isle too Great card. I’ll have to do that challenge for sure.

The second number is:

Here are your random numbers:

90

 Timestamp: 2008-07-08 02:19:27 UTC

Which is this comment:

90. Shannon Roberts - July 7, 2008[Edit]

I am gonna say The Halloween ones!! I LUV Halloween!!

Congrats, ladies! Use the “contact me” option on the top the right of the page, and send me your snail mail address. I’ll pass it on the the powers that be at Lizzie Anne Designs, and your surprises will be on there way! Thanks to everyone who played - hope you all love the new stamps when you get to see them!

***I have closed comments for the blog candy. Thanks to everyone who entered - 109 entries!! WOW! The winner will be posted Tuesday morning, so please check back!***

I have so much to share with you today! First, I am guest hosting the Try a New Technique challenge over on SCS today. I picked this fun little Suspension Card - Beate wrote a great tutorial that is way easy to follow. I was out of town quite a bit from Thursday through Saturday, so my sample is pretty quick and easy. Kirsten (ked) was kind enough to make a second sample (the alternate view is here) for me to share with everyone, and it is crazy cute — you have to see it!! HUGE thanks for making a sample!

On one of my circle punch pieces, I stamped the bird from In the Treetop by Lizzie Anne Designs in Old Olive. On the other piece I stamped the small leaf in River Rock (after stamping it off once) and the word “friend” from the Just Words set (also by Lizzie Anne) in Ruby Red. My goal for the tree was for it to look like an apple tree. The grass is the mane from the giraffe that is in the Born to be Wild set - I totally stole that idea from Bethany! My polka dot edges are from the Shapes and Stitches (again, LAD) set.

And now for the exciting news of the day! It is my turn to give away some blog candy! The awesome ladies at Lizzie Anne Designs are going to surprise the winner with a FREE set — and you know you love free stamp sets!!! All you have to do is leave me a comment and tell me which one of the upcoming “New Release” sets you are most excited about seeing (and why, if you want to add that)! I will close the contest at 10:00 pm EST, draw a winner shortly after that, and announce the name Tuesday morning! If you haven’t seen the list, here is the schedule for the sneak peeks:

July 15th

• Garden Isle (set)
• Giddyup Girl (set)
• Many Merries (single)
• Hand Stamped By (single)

July 16th

• Happy Harvest (set)
• Happy Halloween (single)
• Witch (single)
• Witch Saying (single)

July 17th

• Gizmos and Gears (set)
• Holiday Lane (set)
• Super Hero (single)
• Little People (set)

July 18th

• Holiday Script (set)
• Silent Night (set)
• Rockin’ Holiday (set)

And psssst…I think Jeni is giving away some candy today, too! Have a really wonderful Monday - I can’t wait to hear which sets you are jazzed about seeing! I’ve seen them all (I’m such a tease, lol) and I promise - you are going to LOVE them!

Blog Candy is coming on Monday!!!!

Yesterday I posted the card I made for DH’s grandmother’s birthday. Well, I made this one to. But for this one, my almost-three-year-old DD picked out all the details. Her favorite Lizzie Anne Designs set I have is By the Sea, because of the mermaid. She declared (yes, declared, lol) that she wanted a purple card. I bravely unleashed her on the hanging file cabinet where all of my cardstock is — she “ooohed” and “aaahed” and touched every color until she settled on Lavender Lace. Then she settled into my lap to “help” make the card.

The card itself is unbelievably simple, because I whipped it up about ten minutes before turning it over to be decorated inside by DD and then hand delivered to the birthday girl. I used the only sketch I hadn’t done for the Lizzie Anne Designs Birthday Sketch Challenge.  I colored the mermaid with my SU markers (because I am the only person on the planet who still doesn’t have Copics — I can’t settle on which colors to buy!), cut her out, and placed her on dimensionals. On the panel behind her I used one of the stitch stamps from the Shapes and Stitches set, which I also used for the “Happy Birthday” sentiment on the long panel. I put a few Primas on the card, quickly snapped a picture, and turned it over to DD. I love my stamping time with DD!

This is another card using one of the Birthday Sketches from Lizzie Anne Designs. Have you checked them out? They are really great sketches! If you upload a card to the special gallery Lizzie Anne Designs has set up for this challenge by July 17th, you might win their entire summer release!!!! Who doesn’t love free stamps?

Before you say this isn’t a birthday-themed card, I did make it for someone’s birthday. DH’s grandmother celebrated her 78th this weekend and I created this card just for her! I really like the soothing feel of the blues and blacks. And I really love the In the Meadow set!!! I masked off the wildflower and stamped it 6 times - I watercolored it when I was done. The trio of flowers down the side are watercolord as well. On the inside of the card I stamped the sentiment “may all you seeds be wildflowers” and sponged the edges with Night of Navy ink. The “happiness” sentiment on the front is from the Lizze Anne set Just Words.

Be sure to check out all the happenings that Lizzie Anne Designs has going on this month! Their Anniversary Page has all the exciting details!

Supplies: Stamps - LAD In the Meadow, Just Words; Paper - SU Night of Navy, Bordering Blue, Basic Black, Confetti White; Ink - Brilliance Black, NoN, Garden Green, Bordering Blue; Accessories - aquapainter, post it notes (for masking)

Today is the day! Lizzie Anne Designs is kicking off their Anniversary Celebration - yippee! Tons of fun things are going on over at Lizzie Anne Designs this month, including a Birthday Sketch Challenge contest. There are three challenges, the contest is open until July 17th, and the winner gets…..the entire summer release! Whoa!!! Three runners-up will also win a Little Bits set. So please play along!

This fun card is done using the third of the three options for the sketch challenge. It was suggested that the cards be made with a birthday theme, so I used the Once Upon a Time set to put together this adorable pink princess. I love this sketch - the image panel is huge, and totally open for possibilities. I substituted a two Primas for the bow, because I just could not tie one that I was happy with. The princess’s dress is paper pieced - the ruffle on the bottom, the upper bodice, the sleeves, and her hat are all the Basic Grey dp. Across the bottom I added the “Happy Birthday” stamp from the Shapes and Stitches set - it’s a perfect touch, I think!

Be sure to check out all of the other Lizzie Anne Design Team members’ blogs today - everyone is featuring a Lizzie Anne card! And they are absolutely fabulous!!!

• Confessions of a Naptime Stamper
• Embellished
• Follow Your Bliss
• What I Do
• Inky Paws
• It’s Not All Black and White
• Katie’s Krafty Stuff
• Letters from Lizzie
• Little Treasures
• My Stampin’ Spot
• My Time, My Creations, My Stampendence
• Paper Delightz
• Paper Dreamz
• Stamp’n'Sparkle
• Stamp a Little Love
• Walkin’ on the Bad Side

Supplies: Stamps - LAD Once Upon a Time, Shapes and Stiches; Paper - SU Purely Pomegranate, Regal Rose, Basic Gray, dp by Basic Grey; Ink - Brilliance Black, Purely Pomegranate, SU Basic Gray; Accessories - gg ribbon, primas, crystal brad, SU markers

I’m so excited, I can barely type! Tomorrow is the big kick off for the Lizzie Anne Designs Anniversary Celebration - and I love a good celebration!! Who doesn’t?? If you aren’t subscribed to the newsletter, be sure to go to their homepage and do that, quick! You don’t want to miss a single detail of what is coming up.

I’ll be featuring cards made with Lizzie Anne Designs stamps all week long. This is a super simple one, made with the Fun to be Floral set. I loved the dp, from Basic Grey, and reeally wanted to let it be the focus. So I used two square punches to punch out a space in the lower corner, and white craft ink to stamp the sentiment in there. I stamped a few flowers and sprinkled them around the square. In the opposite upper corner I added two strips punched out with the word window punch, to balance things out. Simple, yes?

A few days ago my friend V was genius enough to come up with a quick mini challenge for us to do while we chatted. She dreamed up the color scheme, and picked this fabulous Basic Grey dp called Harvested.  V threw out several stamp sets to use, and I own two of the four she suggested. I decided to go with Heartfelt Thanks because I could not remember the last time I used it. Since I’m all about giving love to the unused rubber, I figured I’d go for it. I also used the Sanded background.

I decided on a sketch that Lauren posted - one of her Saturday Sketches. And oh my stars, she busted out the buttons! Buttons!!! Who knows when the last time I used those??? So I figured if someone as cool as Lauren was using buttons, I had to do it too, lol.

This one is the card that V made - gorgeous, isn’t it?? She used the Always stamp set, paired with Oh So Lovely. I think my favorite thing about V’s card is the grosgrain ribbon threaded through that jumbo eyelet. How cool did that turn out?

I loved doing this challenge while we chatted. It was too fun!! And thanks for letting me post your card on here, V. It really does look terrific!

Don’t forget that this week, Lizzie Anne Designs is kicking off their Anniversary Celebration! If you don’t already subscribe, visit their homepage and subscribe today. I’ll be featuring Lizzie Anne Designs cards on the blog all week, starting tomorrow. I love a good celelbration. I’ll also be sharing links to exciting giveaways in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!!

Here is a super quick one I made using the Lizzie Anne Designs set Far East. The chipboard frame is by Cosmo Cricket, and I covered it with Cosmo Cricket paper from the Wanted Line.

I stamped the Really Rust panel tone-on-tone with the leaf stamp from the set, and then lightly stamped it with Sanded by SU in Chocolate Chip. I rounded all the edges with the corner rounder and did some light sponging. I just love this image, and wanted to feature it!

Don’t forget the Lizzie Anne Designs Anniversary Celebration, which kicks off on Tuesday! They’ve got some really fun things planned, including a seriously fabulous group of new stamps to unveil — so sign up for the newsletter and don’t miss a thing!

***Countdown to the Lizzie Anne Designs Anniversary Celebration: 5 days!***

This is Gus the ladybug. He is part of the Doodle Factory Animals set. Cute, huh? I made him for the sketch challenge last week on SCS. My sentiment is from the Lizzie Anne Designs set called Sketched Sentiments. My background stamp is Dots and Daisies by SU. I really enjoyed this simple layout!

The mail was good to me on Wednesday! Guess what I got? A whole big box of Lizzie Anne Designs stamps!! And whoa o they have some cute new sets coming out — they are all must-have kind of sets, I promise!! Make sure you are signed up for their newsletter, so you don’t miss one single bit of the upcoming Anniversary Celebration! Also in the box were new acrylic blocks for me. I have to say something about these blocks. I already own some, and I got them from a well known, popular stamp company. And they work fine. But when I unwrapped these new blocks, I could immediately tell a difference! The edges are more comfortable for holding, the weight feels better in my hand, and they are clearer than my other blocks. No, it isn’t from heavy use - one I’ve my older blocks I’ve actually never used (shhhhh!). I cannot recommend these acrylic blocks highly enough — go get some!

***Countdown to the Lizzie Anne Designs Anniversary Celebration: 6 days!***

My husband and I are hosting a his-and-her shower for my little brother and his soon-to-be-wife in late July. I wanted to make their invitations but still keep it simple. So I went to Michael’s and bought a huge box of blank white invitations that I could print in my computer.

I fought with my printer for awhile - it wanted to print these things all sorts or wrong. First they were off the page, then a little left of center, then they jammed. I’ve not been that frustrated in quite awhile!

Eventually they printed, and I decided to go with my Lizzie Anne Designs Fun to be Floral and Far East sets to decorate the edges. I did three different color combos - Purely Pomegranate/River Rock/Blue Bayou, Wild Wasabi/Soft Sky/Marigold Morning, and Blu Bayou/Groovy Guava/Soft Sky. I can’t decide which combo is my favorite!

I stamped the envelopes too, in matching colors to the invitations. And on the actual invitations, there is address and phone info - but I edited it out to put these pics on here. So don’t think it looks all lopsided - it actually has more words on it irl!

I am attaching all three pictures of the invitations, so you can see them

And now for some news about upcoming events! Did you know that next Tuesday, July 1st, Lizzie Anne Designs is kicking off their Anniversary Celebration? It is going to be so exciting!!! Be sure you are subscribed to the newsletter - if you aren’t you can do that here. You don’t want to miss the newsletter :) Next week, the link on the side of my blog will take you to a NEW page — so be sure to check it on Tuesday!

Also, if you are in search of more blog candy, be sure to check out the newest Starving Artistamps giveaway! They have their darling new Tropics and set and TWO sets of Tropics Sentiments up for grabs!