Stamp of Approval is Almost Here!

It’s THAT time of year… time for another fabulous Stamp of Approval box!

What’s Stamp of Approval you ask?

Well… it’s this amazing purdy little box that you can purchase that contains a variety of stamp sets from different manufacturers that are all designed to use together.  The box also contains two themed die sets and a cool stencil this time!  All these products will go on sale with their original manufacturers at some time in the future but they are exclusive to this box for the better part of 2016.  The box sells for much less than buying ALL of its contents on their own!!! This box will go on sale FEBRUARY 3rd!

To sign up for an email telling you that the box is available for purchase, please visit here.  Just click on “Get on the List” at the top of the page.  If you are a StampNation member, you will receive the shopping list an hour EARLY!

And let me tell ya, if there was any kind of theme related stamps, dies and stencils that you NEED… then this is the box for you!!!  This season’s box is called “Young at Heart” and it’s all about birthdays!  Yup, it’s birthday themed and it’s amazing!

Today, along with Catherine, Heather and Lisa, I’ll be sharing one of my many fun birthday card creations using the contents of this jaw-dropping box.

Can I say, the dies alone sold me on this box!  They’re amazing!  There is 19 individual dies in this box!  There are 6 of them used on this card alone.

We will be having a complete SOA Designer Blog Hop on February 2nd.  On this day you will be eligible to WIN a “Young at Heart” SOA box for your very own!!!  How cool is that!?  Comments will close Thursday Feb. 4th at 9:00am EST. So make sure to mark your calendars for February 2nd and come back here to have a chance at winning a box for yourself!

You can see a ton of new sneak peeks on Catherine Pooler’s blog.  She’s been sneaking for a while now.

Make sure you check out my fellow SOA designers today for a few more sneak peeks…

Catherine Pooler

Lisa Harrolle
Heather North

Thanks for stopping by everyone!  We’ll see you again on the 2nd!

~ Ally ~

#LoveNotes4U

Happy Friday everybody!  I’m so happy you’re here today!  I have some LOVE to share with you today…

I was inspired to create a VERY simple card today for you…

I began by masking off my background and stamping all the # words from the sweet “Good Thinking: Love Notes” stamp set across the back.  Then I used some more words from that set PLUS the “Best Day Ever” stamp set to finish off my text conversation!  I knew this whole thing would look so cute with that cell phone die!

Don’t forget about our January “Power & Spark” challenge…

For further contest details, see here!

And take a gander at what the Bloom Brigade is up to this week…

Allison Cope – you are here!
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Julie Koerber
Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Tosha Leyendekker
Power Poppy Blog


I hope you’ll join us this month.  Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ally ~

Sponsored by:  Power Poppy
Supplies:
stamps:  Power Poppy (Good Thinking: Love Notes, Best Day Ever)
cardstock: Recollections (110lb White)
patterned papers: Echo Park (Love Story), Pebbles (Yours Truly)
die cut shapes:  My Favorite Things (Die-namics Smart Phone), Spellbinders (Classic Hearts)
ink: Memento (Love Letter), Versafine (Black Onyx), Copic Marker (R21, R37), Inkssentials (White Gel Pen).

Congrats Sweet Boy!

Howdy all!  I know… two posts in one day – it’s a miracle!

I thought I’d pop in with a super simple card using this week’s SugarPea Designs SugarSketch 38…

It’s a card for my nephew whom is being baptized at the end of February.  Unfortunately I cannot make it back to home to attend this event so it will be accompanied by a gift for little Z in the mail in the next few weeks.

I used the cute little critters & matching dies from the SugarPea Designs “Everyday is Christmas” stamp set.  Even though though they are meant for a holiday, they are generically themed enough to use on anything – I love that!  Can you see the "12 Drummers drumming, 11 Pipers piping, 10 Lords a leaping"?

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great Wednesday!

Ally.

Supplies:
stamps: SugarPea Designs (Everyday is Christmas, Fairy Sweet)
cardstock:   Stampin' Up! (Baked Brown Sugar)
patterned papers:  My Favorite Things (Homespun Gingham 6x6, Dots & Stripes Neutral 6x6)
inks:  Memento (Desert Sand), Copics (E81, E84, BG0000, BG000, BG11, G00, G000, Y000, YG0000, YG11), Sakura Glaze Pen
dies:  MFT (In & Out Stitched Rounded Squares, Homespun Stitched Lines), Pretty Pink Posh (Stitched Borders 2), SugarPea Designs (Everyday is Christmas)
twine:  Darice
#prettypinkposh #mftstamps SPDSS38

Follow Your Heart

Happy Hump Day all!

I’ve been stamping like crazy these past 2 weeks!  The new Stamp of Approval box is coming soon to a mailbox near you and Catherine and the SOA Creative Team have been madly creating cards for the printable PDF that each customer receives with their fabulous box.  This is a MUST-HAVE box let me tell ya!  To sign up to receive an email regarding when the box goes on sale can be found right here plus StampNation members receive notification 1 hour earlier than everyone else – just ONE of the many perks of being an SN member.

Another perk of StampNation is the amazing FREE Creative Stencils class going on right now in honour of SN's 5th birthday!  It’s amazing.  Here’s a little sneak of my latest stencil class creation…

So if you get a chance, check out StampNation!

Today it’s my turn as hostess of the Splitcoaststampers Card Sketch this week and here’s my fun sketch for this week…

I looked at the sketch and the first thing I saw was a “heart” at the end of the arrow so I used the brand new digital stamp set “Follow Your Heart” from Power Poppy.

 

Isn't it pretty?!?!

I used my Copic Markers to colour in the heart cluster of beautiful roses with all kinds of shades of pink and red.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you’ll join us beginning on Saturday for our first sneak peeks of the Stamp of Approval: Young at Heart collection.  See you then!!!

~ Ally ~
 
Sponsored by:  Power Poppy

Supplies:
stamps:  Power Poppy (Follow Your Heart)
cardstock: Stampin’ Up! (Real Red), Recollections 110lb White 
patterned papers:  Lawn Fawn (Beachside 6x6), My Favorite Things (Homespun Gingham 6x6)
die cut shapes:  MFT (In & Out Stitched rounded Square die, Stitched Ovals, Homespun Stitched Lines)
ink:  Copic Markers (R21, R22, R24, R27, R29, R39) 
sequins: Pretty Pink Posh (Sparkling Clear 4mm, 6mm)
Silhouette: Cut File (Chevron Borders).

It's Been a BUSY Week!

Howdy everyone!  It’s been a super busy week here as I get ready to take my Cub Scouts to camp this weekend.  I thought I’d share a few things happening though with you all.

First off StampNation kicked off their 5th Birthday celebration on Monday.  for this year’s bash, the Dream Team and few wonderful guest designers have prepared a FREE Creative Stenciling class!
  

It will eventually be moved over to the Creativity Grows Here classroom but until then it’s free to all StampNation members.  And it’s incredible!  We have much, much more than 7 days of challenges & how-to videos and inspiration.  Make sure you check it out!

Here’s a few sneak peeks of some of my cards for this awesome class…

Plus this week I shared a fun how-to video myself over at Power Poppy on Monday.  This week’s “Inspire Me Monday” is all about creating fun back grounds using the grid method.  You check it out HERE on the Power Poppy Blog. Here's a peek of that card...

Join us on Tuesday as the Instant Gardeners introduce a brand new digital stamp… and this is simply beautiful!  You’re gunna have to purchase & download this one immediately!!! 

I’ve also been hard at work creating examples for the newest (and most fabulous of all!) Stamp of Approval box!  And let me tell ya, if you can swing the $97 price tag (which is a STEAL for what's in this box!)

 THIS is THE box to invest in!!!  

It’s called “Young at Heart” and it’s a birthday themed box.  It has some amazing stamp sets, some even cooler dies and a fabulous stencil!  Wowsers… it’s AH-MAZING!

To get your name on the email waiting list, please visit here.

 Here’s a mini sneak peek of one of my card creations using the box contents….

Thanks for stopping in to see me today! I hope you have an amazing weekend!

~ Ally ~

Make it a Tall One!

Welcome to the first official Power & Spark challenge of 2016 for Power Poppy! I’m excited about this challenge because I always love the look of a tall card and that’s what our first challenge is… to STRETCH YOURSELF.... maybe a TALL card or a trying a new technique to you?  Super easy right!?  The possibilities are endless!

For all of this month’s challenge details and rules, click here!  Good luck!

For my tall card I decided to use a few of my favourite Power Poppy stamp sets. The cardinals and their cups is from the “Cozy Cupfuls”, the 2 piece sentiment is from the “So Grateful” set and the bows & hearts are from the “Good Thinking: Love Notes” collection.

Here’s a close up of the back ground…

And since I was having so much fun, I decided to make a second one with a slightly different back ground.

And here’s a close up of the second back ground…

Now, off you go and check out what the amazing Bloom Brigade has put together for you today for our fun tall card challenge…

Allison Cope – you are here!
Christine Okken
Cindy Lawrence
Julie Koerber

Katie Sims
Leslie Miller
Stacy Morgan

Power Poppy Blog


Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you enjoy all these new inky creations from the Bloom Brigade today!

~ Ally ~

Sponsored by:  Power Poppy
 
Supplies:
stamps: Power Poppy (Cozy Cupfuls, Good Thinking Love Notes, So Grateful)
cardstock:  Neenah Solar White Cardstock, Recollections #110 White Cardstock, Stampin’ Up! (Cherry Cobbler), Flourishes
ink: Memento (Tuxedo Black, Love Letter), Versafine (Black Onyx), Simon Says Stamp (Teeny Bikini - Hybrid), Copic Markers, Clear Wink of Stella
die: Lawn Fawn  (Stitched Rectangles), My Favorite Things (Stitched Circles).

Get Your Jamz On!

It’s the beginning of a New Year and time to start along with some new challenges for StampNation members too!  It’s our first official challenge of 2016.

Here’s a little sneak peek of what the Dream Team and our Guest Designers Debbie T. and Debbie B. created this week…

Did Santa bring you any new stamping goodies for Christmas? Did you put any little extra goodies in your online cart during the fabulous sales in November and December? Do you have a new stamp or tool that you got months ago and haven't used? Is there a new technique you are itching to try?
The challenge this week is to create a card using something NEW to you.

Here’s a card I wanted to share with you for this challenge but here on my blog.  I used the “new to me” stamp & matching die set “Bear Necessities” from Simon Says Stamp!.

His little pair of jammies are held on by a magnet and it just pops right off.

And look, I even decorated the inside of the card…

I hope you’ll come and check out StampNation and become a member.

We are having our 5th birthday bash beginning January 11th and you’ll have a ball!  Come along and celebrate with us!

Thanks for stopping by today!  

~ Ally ~

Supplies:
stamps:  Stamp Says Stamp! (Bear Necessities)
inks:  Memento (Black Tuxedo), Simon Says Stamp! (Teeny Bikini), Versafine (Black Onyx), Copic Markers
patterned paper:  Lawn Fawn (Let’s Polka, Mon Amie)
cardstock:  Recollections 110lb White, Stampin’ Up! (Real Red)
dies:  Lawn Fawn (Stitched Rectangles), Stamp Says Stamp! (Bear Necessities)
twine:  unknown.

My Top 12 Favourite Cards of 2015!

Howdy all… happy Sunday!  Today I thought I’d share some of my favourite cards from each month of 2015!  Here goes…

January 2015

 She is Fierce

February 2015

Birthday Lilacs

March 2015

You’re a Hoot

April 2015

Ying Versus Yang

May 2015

 Twinkle, Twinkle

June 2015

Oceans of Love

July 2015

Groovy

August 2015

Aloha Birdies

September 2015

You Deserve the Very Best

October 2015

Birthday Branches

November 2015

Merry Kiss-mas

December 2015

Shepherd & Sheep

Thanks for taking a gander at some of my favourites for the year!  I had lots more cards that were favourites but most of them are exclusive to StampNation!

Have a great weekend!

~ Ally ~