Guest Designer - Shay!

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas my SWEET friends!

Can you believe that Christmas is in a week? No, like literally - ONE WEEK (seven days) from today?! OH - EMM - GEEE!! I'm behind!

Are you feeling behind too?

We'll we're here today to show off a beautiful card that Shay made - she's the guest designer with us today! Are you ready?

Hi sweets! I am Shay Tibbs, a twenty something mommy to a munchkin living in Ohio. I currently go to school for Graphic Design and teach paper-crafting locally. I started scrapbooking over ten years ago, and have been lucky for some incredible opportunities and gotten to meet some amazing people because of it! I am SO thrilled to be guesting today, and cannot wait to share my project!

I am a scrapbooker and Project Lifer, but the holidays make me want to create cards constantly! From the ones my little guy and I send out to random notecards to stick on gifts, handmade cards are a favorite! Today I want to show you a 3x3 design--

What I love most about this adorable red nosed reindeer is that he's not only cute, but fun to make! Dressed up with a few snowflakes & glitter and he's sure to shine, I know I'll be giving a few sets with envelopes as gifts!

You can find me at shaytibbs.com a few days a week, or everyday on Instagram @shay_tibbs Follow my Facebook page, Shay Tibbs Designs to stay up to date with all my posts, pictures & events! Thanks for stopping by, Happy Holidays!

Big Hugs to Shay for showing off her talents! 

Today I have big plans to get 'caught up' .... I'll report back! 

Hooray! 

N. 

Pin It

Guest Designer: Jennifer Rzasa

Hey there sweet friends! Alyssa here today to introduce another FAN-TAB-U-LOUS guest designer: Jennifer Rzasa! Jennifer artist and blogger behind Our Change of Art and she is ALSO the creative mind that created the Runway Inspired Challenge. Her work is so clever and beautiful! Jen is another dear crafty friend who has supported me from my very first step into the craft world, so I couldn't be happier to have her showing off the new Alyssa Lea Designs line of stamps at Sweet Stamp Shop! Meet Jennifer:

Hi, this is Jen Rzasa and I'm so happy to be helping Alyssa release her first stamp set with the Sweet Stamp Shop! I'm an elementary music teacher, and I live with my husband near Boston MA. I love making cards, but I also adore watercolor painting, sewing, cooking, and making/altering jewelry.

And here are the sweet masterpieces Jennifer whipped up for us:

I think that the Yummy Love set is perfect for someone who is just getting started with coloring (like myself!), because you can fill in those cute fruits with a solid color or slight shading and it will look awesome either way! Plus, the sentiments are really sweet :)

Isn't she amazing?! I was lucky enough to receive one of Jen's beautiful cards in the mail a couple years ago - and let me tell you - they are even more beautiful in person!

Of course, Jen rocked the Yummy Love stamp set!

You can grab Yummy Love HERE!

Jen - thank you SO much for joining us this month, your hard work truly shows in your beautiful projects! Big hugs from everyone at Sweet!!

Alright my sweet friends, I would LOVE if you would leave some sweet comments for Jennifer, and remember to drop by her personal blog Our Change of Art!

Big bloggy hugs <3

Alyssa

Pin It

Guest Designer Erin Colby!

Hello sweet peps - NICOLE HERE!

I feel like it's been FOREVER since I've posted on the blog - I was so busy with the release - (thank you so much for making it such a great success) --- but, I'm back!

I think we have a give-a-way winner to announce too! The one from this AWESOME prize pack...

The grand prize winner is...... (randomly selected by Punch Tab)

Amelia Harris!

Congrats little lady! You should have received an email from us - (from punch tab) asking you to email us your address - so, if you didn't get that - go ahead and email us at info@sweetstampshop.com your home address :) Hip Hip Hooray!

We also have a guest designer today - Erin Colby!

Hi everyone, Erin here! I am a busy wife to an active duty United States Marine and mom of two little girls with a third on the way! My family is usually my inspiration for crafting and the reason I started to play with paper. I wanted to capture those special moments and have awesome baby books for my girls of course! Getting to play with paper is my "me" time and usually my source relaxation. I am currently working with the Kiwi Lane Design team, and am very excited and honored to be a guest designer for Sweet Stamp Stop.

Erin used the City Scape stamp set - LOVE that set! 

City Scape

Be sure to stop by Erin's blog today and check out more sweet creations by her - HERE. 

Also, I'll let a little some extra cool out of the 'sweet bag' --- We're starting our Thanksgiving/Black Friday sale THIS friday! --- ( b/c Mr. and Mrs. Sweet are taking the week off to celebrate Mr. Sweet's 30th Birthday!)

 ---- Because I'm not always the best 'planner' (I know, you're shocked! - lol) I am unfortunately 'between' stamp orders .... SO

THERE WILL BE REALLY LIMITED QUANTITIES OF STAMPS SETS FOR THE BIG SALE (so you'll wanna be first on the take on this sale - like, I think I have 3 Monogram It sets left...) 

The sale will start this Friday morning at 12:05am and go until we're sold out - or until next friday! Mark those calendars and come to the blog first - you'll want all the sweet details - and the coupon code! 

Hip Hip Hooray! 

Happy Stamping,

The Sweet Team! 

Pin It

Guest Designer: Lisa Arana

Hey there sweet friends! Alyssa here today - I am SO excited to be introducing you to another AMAZING guest designer - Lisa Arana! Lisa is the blogger and talented artist behind Dahl-house Designs. Her work is a beautiful mix of fun, cute, and classy and I am just ecstatic to have her showing off the new Alyssa Lea Designs line of stamps at Sweet Stamp Shop! Meet Lisa:

Hi there, my name is Lisa Arana and I'm thrilled to be here today. I live in Arizona with my amazing husband and three rescue dogs. I work full time and craft on the weekends. My first love is card making. I love the smaller canvas size and the instant gratification. Plus, I just love being able to give my cards to friends and family. That is the best part. I am so honored to be joining the Sweet Stamp Shop for the first release of Alyssa Lea Designs. Thank you so much for inviting me.

And here are the sweet masterpieces Lisa whipped up for us:

Can you say GORGEOUS?!

Lisa rocked the Yummy Love stamp set AND matching SVGs!

You can grab Yummy Love HERE!

Lisa - thank you SO much for joining us this month, your hard work truly shows in your beautiful projects! Big hugs from everyone at Sweet!!

Alright my sweet friends, I would LOVE if you would leave some sweet comments for Lisa, and remember to drop by her personal blog Dahl-house Designs!

Big bloggy hugs <3

Alyssa

Pin It

Guest Designer: Thienly Azim

Hey there sweet friends! Alyssa here today to introduce you to our FIRST amazing guest designer this month - Thienly Azim! Thienly is the blogger and papercrafting wizard behind Mod Paperie. Her work with SVGs is mind blowing! And -- having worked with Thienly in the past -- I can't say how happy I am to have her with me to show off the new Alyssa Lea Designs line of stamps at Sweet Stamp Shop! Meet Thienly:

Hello! I'm Thienly Azim and love anything crafty, especially if it involves paper! As a mother of three - I find that being creative is the best way to unwind my day! I love to make cards and 3D papercrafts with my cutting machine. I currrently design for two companies, and I'm thrilled to be here as a guest designer today!

And here is the amazing project Thienly whipped up for us:

I just couldn't resist but to make some fun straw toppers with these stamps! I matched the paper straw, twine and buttons to match each of the fruit colors, and backed them with cork. I used straw topper dies (Lifestyle Crafts straw topper), so everything was quick and easy to make! These make such fun addition to your next party!

Can you say ADORABLE?!

Thienly rocked the new Yummy Love stamp set!

You can grab Yummy Love HERE!

Thienly - thank you SO much for joining us this month, your hard work truly shows in your beautiful projects! Big hugs from everyone at Sweet!!

Alright my sweet friends, I would LOVE if you would leave some sweet comments for Thienly, and remember to drop by her personal blog Mod Paperie!

Big bloggy hugs <3

Alyssa

Pin It

Playing Catch Up - Guest Designer

Oh man, are you ever feeling so behind in life that you're tempted just to throw caution to the wind and *finally* sit down with that book you've been wanting to read and just forget the world?! Sigh, oh how I dream of that moment. But, as any responsible business owner - I'll just settle for being 'late' .. and running to play 'catch up' ....

Ok so, let's get ourselves caught up with a couple housekeeping items...

First, the winner of the last UWYH challenge was...

Katie Brooks - with this really unique and fun card

Be sure to stop by her blog - HERE and check out how she came up with this gem of a card!

*** We're not giving up on the UWYH challenge - it just won't be weekly - mostly because we're introducing more designers - and we've got a new illustrator and we need more room on the blog! So, we'll still throw out challenges - but, it won't be weekly.

Next - we had a bit of a give-a-way in honor of our big announcement - Alyssa as our new illustrator...

The random winner (thanks to punch tab - we just press 'random winner' and up pops a name)

It's Iva Youngs! Congrats girlie! You should have gotten an email from the punch tab people - from us - to let you know of your win!


Ok - now I'm feeling kinda caught up - well, at least with prizes.

I can't wait to introduce our guest designer this week - Bethany Stellpflug (and she's only 17!!)

Hello! My name is Bethany Stellpflug, I am 17, and I live in the Finger Lakes region of New York. I am a Jesus Freak, and I love photography, hunting, fishing, cats, playing board games with my sister, and I raise and show chickens and ducks, and I also help run our family's small pumpkin farm. My papercrafting style is pretty much clean and simple with a bit of fun and cute and lots of artistic looks, like watercolors and splatter and such thrown in. Thanks so much to Sweet Stamp Shop for asking me to be a guest designer!

And here is a link to my blog: http://justmebethany.blogspot.com/

Ahhhh, to be 17 again.... --- eh, actually - Bethany, you're going to LOVE your twenties WAY more! <3 I'd go even a step further and say, 25 onward - I owned. lol - So, give it a couple years... you're going to rock this crafty universe - I can tell! <3 

Here's what Bethany put together with some of the stamps we sent her... 

Love her style - it's fresh and funky - and kinda artsy! Just what I'd expect from a budding artist! Thank you so much Bethany for hanging out with us - you're welcome anytime! 

Take a moment to join the Facebook event page for our November release - it's happening soon! HERE.

Have a nice Wednesday PEPS! 

Hugs, 

N. 

Pin It

Guest Designer Penny - UWYH #20

Hey Sweets! I'm so excited to be back on the blog today (it's Nicole :) --- feels like it's been a while and I miss you!

Anyway, we have a really fun guest designer spotlight today and then we'll dive right into the challenge. Sound good?! Ok, let's get started...

I'd like to introduce Penny

Here's a little something about Penny in her own words...


Hi everyone...My name is Penny Ward (and my little dog Snowy).

As a Guest Designer today, I would like to thank everyone at Sweet Stamp Shop for the invitation. I have had so much fun playing with your stamps and getting inky.


I have been card making for about three years after retiring from a Fortune 500 company. I was hooked when I saw all the pretty papers and tools. When you get a spare moment, click over for a visit to my blog Penny Ward Ink.

Visit Penny on her blog - HERE

Let's check out what Penny had up her sleeve using the new 'Whats For Dinner' and 'Made By'

Ohh- look she even used some of the 'City Scape' ... isn't that cute?! Thanks so much to Penny for playing along with some sweet! Make sure to stop and give a **sweet** hello to Penny at her blog - HERE.


So are we ready for the new challenge! Yes PLEASE!!

It's time to announce the winner from the challenge #19 -

Congrats to Michelle Duffy and her single layer card... it's really genius and a great use of her stamp stash --- funny enough, we're using our stamp stash for this weeks challenge - so stay tuned! If you want to see the card in all it's glory visit Michelle - HERE

Michelle - email us your address and we'll get something right out to you!

______________________

Let's just take a moment to go over the rules...

Read through the directions carefully - we've changed just a couple things... (well, not really changed - just made more clear) 

You'll have until next Tuesday to add your link below - your link needs to be to the direct post not to your general blog - and it needs to include -

1. A link back to our challenge (and optional - our challenge badge - see above)

2. A picture of your stash

3. A picture of your project

Some Extra Details -

1. You do not *have to* use SSS in your card or project - although, we'd love it! (and we can't feature your project in our marketing without you using SWEET! - so keep that in mind!)

2. You have until Tuesday at 10pm pst to add your link below

3. There will be ONE winner based upon most creative use of 'old stuff' .... and ONE winner drawn from all the participants. Winners will be announced the day of the new challenge - so, in this case... next Wednesday. Prize will be something sweet - lol. REMINDER - NEW RULE - In order for us to have TWO winners we must have AT LEAST 15 entries (by 15 different people - multiple entries don't count towards the 15) in the challenge! If not, then we'll just award the one person who used their stash the best. SO, SHARE the challenge and get your friends on board! 

4. Entries limited to 3 per person. Thanks! 

MOST IMPORTANT!!! Create whatever strikes your fancy - scrapbook page, project life - cards - altered art - home decor.... anything! Just be sure to use that old stuff in it!

INTERNATIONAL participation is welcome - but, prizes will be shipped at the expense of the participant. 

__________________________

This week we're all about using our stamp stash! --- Yep, we have yet to do a challenge where we spotlighted STAMPS (how weird is that... lol)


As you can imagine - I stamp A LOT. lol --- And, when I sit down to stamp I really try to use the stamps in ways that people might not consider. Like using a Christmas themed set for a birthday card... or grabbing our baby set for a holiday card.... Do you know why I do that? (yes, it does have a little something to do with the fact that I want to show the versatility of stamping) BUT, in art school you're taught that the more comfortable you get with thinking 'outside the box' the better you'll be 'in the box' ... so the more I use stamps for themes that perhaps they're not 'made for' --- the better I can think of cards that the stamp set WAS made for.... SO, this challenge I really want you to think outside the box ... from stamps - to ribbon - or ink - or anything... use it in a way that doesn't seem obvious!


My tip for making your stamps more versatile is to CUT them... YEP! Cut off the parts that make it 'specific' ... for example - in the new Speedy Greetings set.... (check out the car)

Speedy Greetings

See the 'Special Delivery' in the middle of the car?! This set would be so much more versatile if I cut off that portion of the stamp. (you'll see) --- So, grab your Exacto Knife and start making one clean cut. (you'll want to do this carefully - not because you'll break or rip the stamp - but, because you want the two pieces to easily fit back together - so you can use the stamp either with the element or without)

So, now that's out of the way --- look what I can make ...

A 16th birthday card - featuring the Car - and some cute embellishments - like, the flair .. 'this just got real' ... lol

Or - what about a Super Hero style birthday card - with Super 'speedy' Birthday Wishes --- :) I used the 'Super Mom' set with this card - and it went PERFECT!

Super Mom

***** Please advert your eyes now if you're easily offended at 'hunting' type cards (I think this card is hilarious - but, I know not everyone has my sense of humor.) Don't worry NO DEER was hurt in the making of this card******




This is my personal favorite card --- thinking outside the box...

How funny is this?! My Dad would LOVE this card. It's perfect for the 'hunting' men in your life - or just for someone who likes a good giggle. Don't worry, no deer was hurt in the making of this card :)


I used the 'target' and the sentiment from our 'Wheely Like You' stamp set...

Wheely Like You 

Ok - so now are you inspired to look again at that stash of yours and use it in a way that you might not have thought of?!


I can't wait to see what you'll make! --- Please feel free to add your link below!

Happy Stamping,

N.

Pin It

Designer Spotlight #3

Hello, my sweet friends!  It's Judy here with my next installment of "Designer Spotlight!"

Today I have the pleasure of introducing Kim Singdahlsen and her blog, Joyful Creations with Kim.  Welcome to the Sweet Stamp Shop, Kim!  I have admired Kim's amazing card-making skills for some time, and I'm guessing many of you are familiar with her work, too.  After all, she currently serves on three Design Teams including CAS(E) This Sketch, Curtain Call, and Catered Crop.  She has served on many other design teams at some point as well, and I can't even count how many Guest Designer spots she has done!  (Today we add another one to her list!)  You really need to check out her blog HERE...you'll see why I admire her so much!

So, Kim was not only willing to share some cards with us today but she also entertained a few questions for all of our readers.

First up...her amazing cards!  Kim had two sets to play with (seen below) and she really displays her skills in making amazingly clean and simple designs...check it out!

But wait, there is more!

And yet another!  (My guess is that somebody had a very busy World Card Making Day!!!)

All this amazingness with two sets of stamps!  Here is what Kim had to play with when making her cards:

Starts Here

Triangle Style

Amazing, right?!  Next up...my interview with Kim.  Here is what I thought we all might like to know:

Q:  On average, how many cards do you make in one week?

A:  Currently, I average 7 cards a week.  I try to create a card and post it each and every day mainly to force myself to sit down and unwind at my craft table even on busy days.  In my real life, I am surrounded by men and boys, and I am a full-time college student getting my second degree in accounting.  Being surrounded by men and by numbers, there is nothing better than spending some time surrounded by stamps and patterns and sequins!!

Q:  What is your favorite stamping technique?

A:  There are many techniques that I love and use regularly - as long as they fit into a clean and simple style!  I love to color.  I am by no means an artist, but coloring with my Copics does take me back to my childhood!!  I love the look of paper-piecing and it can often add a special touch to a clean card.  I love white heat-embossed images on colored paper. And I'm not at all against using heat-and-stick powder and glitter all over a panel or an image!  Just due to my style, there are a number of techniques and coloring mediums that I don't tend to use - but I certainly admire them on other crafter's cards!

Q:  Do you have any advice for beginning stampers?

A:   I have two pieces of advice for beginning stampers.  (1) Play along with challenge blogs even if you are not sure you are ready.  They are the best place to learn and to grow in your own crafting.  You get ideas for color combinations.  You see new ways to lay out your card.  Be sure to study the design team cards to see how they have used the challenge in creative ways.  I've been doing this for well over a decade and I still learn from studying other cards!  (2) If you like a certain companies' products, stick with them.  It's very tempting to buy every stamp that you see and like, but it is so much easier in the long run to build a collection from a few companies.  Their stamps will work together so it's very easy to use a border from one set, an image from another and a sentiment from a third.

-----

I have to agree with that advice, Kim.  (And might I suggest that Sweet Stamp Shop stamps would be a great company to go to in order to build your stamp collection?!)

So, my sweet friends, let's give Kim a big shout out of THANKS for letting us spotlight her as one amazing designer!  Be sure to visit her blog for some amazing inspiration, and stop by my blog for a flat-out CASE of one of Kim's cards using my Sweet Stamp Shop stamps!

We are preparing for our October stamp release coming on October 16th...be sure to check it out, I promise you will not be disappointed!  Details can be found at our Facebook Events Page.  

Have a sweet day, friends!

Judy

Pin It