Spring into Summer!

Check out (click the catalog above) a sneaky peek of the newest mini Catalog and Inspiration book.  It's jam packed with amazing new products!  I'm sooo looking forward to my first order!  I've got a huge list growing!

Take a peek, start making your list and let me know if you'd like to join my New Catty Release Party on April 1 (My birthday!)  The top sales shopper in this party will be crowned "Hostess with the Mostest" and will receive all privileges and freebies/benefits from the party!

Lucky Me Deal Ends Soon!

Have you seen this amazing deal!  It's almost OVER!  Take 20% off most thin dies and products that are GREEN!  Just head to my shop and start taking advantage of the savings!  

Visit my store at www.funstampersjourney.com/401 to get your GREEN ON!  :)

I've got a CITRUS CRUSH!

Oh my goodness!  The "Spring into Summer" mini inspiration catalog has been revealed and I spied SOOOO many MUST HAVE ITEMS!  I've got a HUGE crush on this yummy ORANGE planner and it will most definitely be one of the items in my first order next month.  It'll be available on my birthday and you'd better bet that I'll be ordering it as a gift to myself!  I LOVE orange and it's perfect for my summer planning!  :)

This new Citrus Color Crush Planner by Fun Stampers Journey is sure to be a hit this summer.  It's exclusive to FSJ and will be offered for sale April 1.  If you're interested in ordering one, please comtact me!  :)

Easter Plans???

Hello stamping friends,

I'm sure many of you have big plans for Easter this year.  I'm looking forward to another amazing service at church followed by a visit to the lake. I'm spending Easter without family this year and this is the first time that it'll be just me...and my pups. 

I'm enjoying my spring break at home by spending time in my craft room stamping and doing some Spring cleaning.  If you know me well, you know that there is a TON to clean out and pitch...I'm hoping to get almost all of the clothes in my closets pitched or donated.  I haven't done that in years!!!

I also decided to dedicate my planner spread (Webster's Pages/FSJ Black and White Journey Girl Binder) this week to childhood memories and Him...after all, this week is a reflection of all He gave and the blessing of His resurrection.  

So I've been spending some time in prayerful thought this week too.  It's been a week of difficult and sad news for my family and with prayer, it helps the heart and encourages the spirit.  I was able to select some of my most favorite verses...meaningful verses this week.  My spread will probably remain pretty blank as I don't plan on doing much until Sunday...Unless I head down to my sister's on Friday.  We'll see what the week brings for her.

So this was a FUN spread to make (as if none of my other spreads are fun, right?).  I imagined some kiddos celebrating and having a big Easter Egg hunt...so I pulled out my Party Time set.  I stamped the background with the pinked-edge circle to create a faint wallpaper effect then doodled up some bunny ears, some eggs and some grass.  I like how I can add a little character to these kiddos by changing their hats!  :)

I also colored the kiddos with Banana Cream, Bubble Gum reinker and Fusion Blender with a tiny bristle brush, then went over that with a light Copic marker.  I also colored the TIME! banners with a few Copic Markers.  To finish the pages off, I applied some of my trusty FSJ Be Cool washi tape to the edges, re-punched the holes and POOF!  It was done.  :)

I hope you have a wonderful Easter and are blessed beyond measure.  :)  

Coffee Playtime...

I decided to create a little coffee loving locket for myself this time for the Spring Coffee Lovers Blog hop.  It was quite fun sitting down to get inky while having the yummy aroma of freshly ground coffee lingering around (and on me).  I thought I'd take some photos of the process from beginning to end so that I could share it with you.  

The first step was to sprinkle some coffee grounds onto a piece of watercolor paper.  I cut the circle after using the glass from the locket as my cutting template.  After laying the coffee beans on the circle, I spritzed with high-test Vodka.  I wanted there to be no aroma and rapid drying so the alcohol did the trick.

After letting the Vodka soak into the paper, I took my heat gun and heated up the grounds.  As I heated them up, they browned the paper and left a very yummy aroma.

The next step was to brush off the coffee grounds.  I used my Journey Bloom Tool because the bristles were firm, yet gentle enough to brush the beans away without leaving dents or brown swipe marks.  

After removing the beans, I used the Media Pattern stamp set to add a few "splats" of Beach Breeze ink.  

I applied some Hazelnut Blend ink to the "blob" pattern and stamped it to the outer edge of the circle.

I wrapped some Natural Journey Thread around the stamped circle then realized I wanted some silk splatter on it too...SOOO...out came my Dark Roast Silk and some splattering commenced.  :)

Pure splattery goodness right there!  I heated it up to dry the splatter and then it was on to stamping the sentiments.  I pulled out my trusty Bezel Block set because it's just the right size for my locket!

I ended up adding quite a bit more stamping as I discovered that the coffee grounds and charms covered up the stamping when they were inside the locket.  I also added a bit of handwritten "coffee" words too.

Adding a little bit of coffee grounds, a few Coffee Cup Charms and the Red I Heart Hearts bauble finished up the locket.  I tied a little bit of jute (then rubbed it up a bit so it would unravel).

Hope you enjoy this little locket.  It's a perfect accompanying gift with my card!  :)

Locket Parts Used:  Large Sparkle Locket, Crystal Ring and Hoop, Large Diamond Cut Chain, Large Locket Kit

Spring Coffee Lovin'...

Hey stamping friends!

This Spring I'm joining the hundreds of Coffee Loving Papercrafters from across the globe as we hop, hop, hop to share our paper-crafty goods and get inspired to create, shop, brew and GUZZLE a few cups...

If you're not familiar with this MASSIVE hop, check it out HERE.  I know you'll be inspired, blown away by the creativity and um...encouraged to shop for new goodies to add to your coffee loving collection!  I've been hopping with this hop for many seasons and I appreciate all the work that Amy (and others) always put into it!  It's always something I look forward to doing each season and I wouldn't miss it for well, maybe a coffee factory or farm-to-table tour. wink wink.

So this hop, I decided to create a coordinating set.  A card AND a little Coffee Loving Locket.  I just loved creating this set as the fresh coffee aroma filled my craft room and soaked into my hands as I got lost in creating. MMMM...

The watercolor paper was spritzed with high-test Vodka then sprinkled with coffee grounds...After about a minute or two soaking in the grounds, I used my heat gun to dry the paper and "cook" the bean coloring into the paper.  After it was dry, I used my Journey Bloom Tool to brush off the coffee grounds.  I then added some stamping using a few of my favorite "Artsy" stamp sets from Fun Stampers Journey.

The locket was created in the same manner and I will create an additional blog post to show the step-by-step process in creating this fun "aromatherapy" treat.  Of course I had to add a few fun elements like the coffee grounds, the coffee cup charms AND the cute little red heart.

Items used to create these projects can be found/purchased in my FSJ shop HERE.  

Hope you enjoy!  I'll be back again to share more photos and a little tutorial Until then, I'm off to visit other hoppers!  

Items Featured In Today's Post:  

Stamps:  Enjoy Coffee,  Media Pattern, Bezel Block ATS, Damask Print

Inks: Hazelnut Blend, Beach Breeze, Dark Roast Silk, Cool Pool Silk

Papers: Oatmeal Cookie, Vellum Designer Prints, Kraft (Michael's), Watercolor Paper (WalMart)

Fibers:  Natural Journey Thread, Beach Breeze Journey Thread, Jute (WalMart)

Embellishments:  Wooden Star (FSJ Freebies), Pearl

Locket: Sparkled Round Locket, Locket Kit (used one glass) , Diamond Cut Link (Long), Crystal Ring Hoop
Charms: Coffee Cup Charm, I Heart Hearts

Tools:  Journey Bloom Tool

Adhesives:  White Liner Tape, Journey Craft Glue, Journey Foam Squares

Just Bloomin' Because!

Such a quick and easy card to create.  I love how the hexie background helps create such a fun card! The florals were stamped in a trio of blues to help develop some depth.  I added some sparkle dust and some Liquid pearls in the center of the flowers to add another layer of dimension.

I love the softness of the taupe seam binding so I decided to add that to this card.  No card of mine is complete without some sort of fiber ribbon, so this worked perfectly.

To finish the card off I added a stamped tag tied with some natural twine...and a bit of bling!  

I'm thrilled to announce this card was named a "weekly Favorite" for the week ending March 22. Thanks for your kind comments!  

Supplies Used:  

Stamps:  Branch Out, Hexagon Print

Inks: Beach Breeze, Pool Play, Huckleberry Fusion, Hazelnut Blend

Papers:  Whip Cream, Oatmeal Cookie

Dies/Punches:  Tag Time, Punch Handle

Fibers/Ribbons: Natural Journey Thread, Taupe Binders Tape

Embellishments: Sparkle Drops, Journey Glaze, Sparkle Dust, Baby Blue Liquid Pearls

Adhesives: Craft Glue, Foam Squares

Not Just Donuts!

Hello there Journey Friends!  I'm back with a little bit more detail about my cards from the FSJ Journey Blog Hoppers March hop.  I know that many times in blog hops, folks are hopping so fast, they forget to read the lengthy tutorials, informationals and chatter from posters, so I thought posting a separate "wordy" post about each card might help those who want to find out more about my fun projects!  SOOO...Here goes with card # 2.

A little bit o' Sunshine!

This card was so fun!  I was inspired to create some "flowers" using the frosting stamp from the Donut set.   I thought it would be fun to use some sunshiney colors too.   The green sprinkles gave a little added color and helped set off the bright colors.  

To lighten up the SUNSHINE, I applied a "shade" by adding a panel of black star vellum.  I also used remnants from a star border diecut along the top edge of the paper.  My cards are never complete without a bit of ribbon so I added some Black Licorice satin ribbon to finish it off.

And of course, I had to add a few "rolled" flowers to the photo shoot... After all, we ARE supposed to be gettin' Springgggy here, right?  :)

Supplies Used:  

Stamps:  Donut Worry
Inks:  Sweet Pear (ON SALE!), Limeade Splash (ON SALE!), Lemon Drop, Watermelon Fusion, Citrus Cooler
Cardstock:  Lemon Drop, Whip Cream, Black Licorice
Printed Paper:  Designer Vellum Prints
Ribbon/Fibers:  Black Licorice Satin Ribbon
Adhesives:  Journey Craft Glue, White Liner Tape

Bloomin' Bunny!

Oh FUNNNN!!!  I just loved the creative process in making this card.  It was a scrappy paradise on my craft table and I had fun using the leftovers from previous projects.  Notice the brown crinkled paper?  That's some paper rescued from an order from FSJ!  Yes, all FSJ packages are packed securely and safely with bubble wrap, zippered bags and kraft paper wrapping...  I save it all so I can use it in crafty projects!  Do you save your package inserts?

I did a little video tutorial to show how I colored this adorable bunny!  I just LOVE him.  Take a peek at the yummy embossed/"sparklized" background paper.  SOOOO YUMMY, right?!

Anddddd....
Wanna watch me create this fun little bunny?  Here's a video!  Enjoy!

Supplies Used:  

Stamps: ATS Bunny Trail, ATS Damask Print
Inks:  Clear Embossing Ink, Whip Cream, Cocoa Powder, Limeade Splash, Sweet Pear, Oatmeal Cookie, Hazelnut Blend
Papers:  Oatmeal Cookie, Beach Breeze, Yummy Prints
Embellishments:  Sparkle Drops, white seed beads
Fibers/Ribbon:  Beach Breeze Thread
Powders:  Clear Embossing Powder, Sparkle Dust
Adhesives:  Journey Craft Glue, White Liner, Foam Squares
Scraps, Scraps, Scraps!

Just Bloomin' Along! FSJ style!

Welcome to the March Journey Blog Hop!  We're happy you're hoppin' along with us this month. Our theme this March is "Spring Blooms" and I'm happy to be the lead hopper on this amazing blog hop! 

This month's hop was a doozie for me!  I created THREE cards just yesterday that are exclusively for this hop.  I don't know what got over me..Well, maybe it's spring fever...Only one more week before SPRING BREAK!  WOOO!!!

As an extra treat, I created a fun (LONG 20+minutes) video tutorial of this bunny card on Youtube.  Check it out!  

And below you'll see some scrappy goodness!  So bloomin' yummy!  

Thanks so much for hopping along today.  I enjoy your comments so much and thank you for taking time to leave some love.  If you have questions about my projects or the yummy products I used today, please feel free to contact me.  Watch my blog for additional posts featuring each of these cards.  I'll share additional information and photos regarding my creative process...and will have a video to share too!  :)

Next stop in the hop is Susan's blog.  Please hop over there to see what she has bloomin'!
Ps...Don't forget about this month's amazing LUCKY GREEN deal!  Get 20% off all green stuff in the catalog (a few die exclusions apply).  Just go shopping and the discounted prices will be posted immediately!

March Blooms! Blogroll...

Welcome to the March Journey Blog Hop!  We're so happy you're hoppin' along with us!  This post serves as the home-base for the blog roll.  If you get lost, you can come back here to get back on track!

Kerry Urbatch

Susan Berg

Christine Pennington

Janice Whiting

Cindy Dale

Vicki Schmidt Soni

Jenny Watson

Becky Lemire

Heather Flaherty

Rachael Shedeed

Rosemary Roca

Ruth Cooper
Betsye Rose Cimino Erazo
Crissy Salima Rivas

Thanks for hopping with us this month!  We hope to see you again next month!  

Spritz, Spritz, Spritz!

Hello Journey friends!

Today I'm sharing a fun card I created for a special young woman in my life.  I hope she enjoys this card.  I really had fun making it.

I started out thinking of her favorite color...Purple...I'm not a purple lover, but I do really love the plum colors and the purples with more red in them.

I started out by spritzing some Color Splashes (Watermelon, Lavender, Blue Lagoon) onto some watercolor paper. While it was a bit wet, I also spritzed it with some booze...Yep, Super high-test Vodka.  That allowed the inks to bleed a bit more and spread on the paper.  Once the paper was saturated, I hit the paper with the heat gun.  I spritzed more alcohol onto the big splotches of color to bleed them a bit more.  I also flicked a few splatters of Gold Silk onto the wet paper.  Hit it again with the heat gun.

I spritz my paper in a Zip-loc bowl so I can contain all my ink.  This is a shot of the ink and alcohol "blooming".  Isn't it deelish???

When I was satisfied with the bleed effect of the background, I set the dry background down and grabbed my stencil (Vintage Screen) and Modeling Paste.  I added some random scrapes (I scrape the modeling paste with the plastic piece that our ATS stamps come on.) of modeling paste and used the heat gun to speed-dry the paste.  Did you know that when our modeling paste is heated, it bubbles up like bubble wrap?  If you heat it and cool it down just right, the bubbly embossing will remain.  It's a cool effect!  

After I was finished and the embossing paste was dry, I applied more Gold Silk and let it dry.  The final touch was to rub some Antique Gold Rub-n-Buff on the edges and over the top of the modeling paste.  I used my finger to apply this paste as it allows me more control and I really like to get messy! After applying the gold Rub-n-Buff, I rubbed it with an old cloth to shine it up a bit.

To finish the card off, I wrapped some Black Journey Twine around the panel, tied it off and mounted it onto Black Licorice cardstock.   I added embellishing touches of a freebie golden heart and a wooden star (adhered with foam squares).  I also tied a black licorice strip of stars to the panel from the Border Details Die set.   If you look closely at the wooden star, you might notice that the center is filled with Journey Glaze and sprinkled with some Licorice Sparkle Dust.  YEP...you read that right!  There USED to be Licorice Sparkle Dust and I have some!  It's retired now, but it's oh so amazing and I WISH Richard would bring it back!!!  I rubbed some Gold Rub-n-Buff over the star to give it a golden effect too.

Look at that golden shine!  YUMMY!!!  Oh...I also added the sentiment "Happy Birthday" from the Rock Notes set using Lavender Fusion and Watermelon Fusion Inks.  The card base is some Bazzill cardstock from my stash!

Hope you enjoyed this "tipsy" post!  See you again soon!

Coffee Buzzzzz...

I'm a member of the Coffee Loving Papercrafters group on Facebook and for a couple months now, I've been participating in a coffee lovers themed cardmaking pal exchange.  A fellow stamper partners us up at the beginning of each month and we create and send a special card featuring coffee...of course.

This month, I decided to do a little experimenting with my Journey Emojis.  I wanted to create a little shaker card using the coffee mug icon in the set.  I love how I can use these little images in my cards. Using them in a shaker just made this card sooo much more fun!  It's as if I had the coffee BUZZZZ and shakes, if you know what I mean.

Selecting a perfect combo of products for this card was the first step in my play session. Dark Roast ink, Yummy Prints paper, Kraft Cardstock, Bubble Gum cardstock, Natural Journey Thread, Jute, Copics and some yummy stamps!

A closer peek at the shaker part...I diecut a white oval and stamped "Lucky Me, I have you" from the Green Cheers set (available at 20% off this March) and also used Candy Shop "mmm..." in the background using Bubble Gum ink.  After stamping the background, I applied adhesive foam to the back of my Oval diecut/pierced (20% off this March!) Bubble Gum cardstock , added some Clear View Sheet, trimmed it up a bit then popped a few of the coffee cups strategically on the white stamped panel of the shaker.  I filled the rest of the coffee cups in the shaker, added some Sparkle Dust and some pink and teal sequins and put the lid on the shaker...  It's fun to just sip a cup of coffee and shake, shake, shake the card.  You should try it!

Take a closer peek at the bottom ruffle too...That was created using a coffee filter.  Just another fun little element to help this little card tell her story!  :)

Thank you to my fellow coffee lover Larissa!  She sent me this gorgeous card.  I love the kraft (You probably know how much I use my kraft cardstock!).

Thanks for stopping by.  Remember, this month is LUCKY ME month where you can get 20% off GREEN items in the FSJ shop.  I used TWO of those items in my card featured today!  Make sure to take advantage of this awesome deal!  :)  See you again soon!  

March Bloom Box: Tickled Pink!

Hello there Journey friends!

Wahoo!  I'm excited to announce the new BLOOM BOX for March.  I hear my Bloom Box kit will be shipped on Monday and I can't wait to play with this set!  It's such a fun and summery set- perfect for the beachy dreams I'm having right now!

Doesn't this set look FUN?  I just can't wait to play with the leaves, the pretty floral images and of course, the flamingo!  The sentiments are an awesome mix of stick-like and brush lettering fonts! Love that!

Soooo...What will I in my fancy-schmancy kit?

• Complete red-rubber cling mount (indexed) stamp set.  
• Four pre cut, cardmaking kits featured above (complete with diecuts and embellishments)
• Full color instruction booklet with step-by-step directions
• Featured Technique spotlight and tips.
• Access to additional NEW inspiration projects. 
• Richard's Exclusive Tips and Tutorial Monthly Bloom Box Video

Check out Richard's Tickled Pink video here:

Such an awesome deal!  This kit will be available for the month of March ONLY.  After that, the stamp set will be unavailable for purchase until July.  Get your Kit TODAY!  

AND....When you become a Bloom Box subscriber with me, I'll mail you FOUR additional card/project kits (precut and ready to create)/instructional pdfs using your new set! I'll ship those on or before the 20th of each month.    

Visit my shop and sign up today!  

(Bloom Box:  Six month commitment required)