January Sneak Peek Week: Ahoy! Hanna

I hope you don't mind me sharing my sneek peeks this way. I thought it was easier to group the cards by set so that you can see the versatility of each set. Hanna Stamp sets offer a wide selection of images in each set, so it is easy to come up with a variety of card designs with a single set.

You Light Up My Life
This first card uses the lighthouse from the set. I printed the sentiment on the computer. I also used the corner of the square scalloped punch to make the side of the sentiment. Like it? Start out with a strip of cardstock, then thread the side into the corner of the square scalloped punch. It makes this kewl design. I used two brads on each of the sides. The main image is colored with copics.

Ahoy, There!

This card is 5x5 square. I used some designer paper on the bottom and a circle punch for the sentiment (1 3/8 SU! punch). The clouds and birds are part of the set. I think this is one of those old wooden Chris Craft boats. I see them on Lake George all the time. I don't think they are big enough to hold our family though! :) That would be me driving - "Ahoy!!!!". Image is colored with copics. I free-hand colored the water with copics.



Hey Sunshine

This final card was so simple. I used the sentiment from Things Hanna Would Say {Hey Sunshine!}. The sun is from the Ahoy! Hanna set. The card is one of those DCWV note cards in a summer sun color - it is textured. I used a strip of black cardstock, punched with the SU! scalloped edge punch. There is a piece of designer paper on the side (pink with yellow polkadots) and some yellow polkadot ribbon. The main image is mounted on a scalloped circle punched piece of black cardstock.


You Light Up My Life
stamps: Ahoy! Hanna
paper: white, black, tempting turquoise, dcwv dp
ink: black, copics
misc: brads, square scalloped punch, sakura stardust (for light stream and windows), dimensionals

Ahoy! Hanna
stamps: Ahoy! Hanna
paper: white, navy, black, brocade dcwv dp
ink: black, copics
misc: sakura stardust (for chrome on boat), dimensionals , hemp

Hey Sunshine!
stamps: Ahoy! Hanna, Things Hanna would say
paper: white, black, dcwv dp, dcwv notecard (yellow)
ink: black, copics
misc: ribbon, circle scalloped punch, circle punch, scalloped edge punch, sakura stardust (for sun), dimensionals

January Sneak Peek Week: HAY Hanna

UNCLE! UNCLE! Enough of the ice already! I am *SO* not an ice person. I love the snow, but I am so frightened by ice storms. We are in the midst of our SECOND major ice storm of the season. The first one rendered the Capital District in complete CHAOS! Let's hope we weather this storm better. The kids are out of school today. They are enjoying the Wii (Super Mario Cart and the Wii fit) downstairs. I have a few moments to post some of my latest sneek peeks.

Thank Moo!
This first card is a 4.25 x .25 card (that way you can still mail it in a regular envie). I printed the sentiment on the computer. The main image is stamped on white with black soot ink and colored with copics. Main image die cut with my nestabilities. The may arts ribbon is stapled to the side. Main image on dimensionals. A celery brad on the sentiment "flag" The designer paper is from a DCWV pack that I picked up in Joanne's a while back.



Happy Birthday to Moooo!
This second card with the Hay Hanna set is so fun. Love the colors. The papers are from my stash. I think they are DCWV (they are in the same box as my other DCWV). The ribbon is mayarts and the main image is white cardstock, mounted on black. Black brads on each side the sentiment. This cow cracks me up! I am saving this one for my dad. His family owned a dairy farm locally. My grandparents ran the dairy farm until GE bought the land from them (which is now where the GE research and development center is in Niskayuna, NY.) My grandparents collected all kinds out cow stuff and would have LOVED this stamp set!

What's Shaken Bacon?
This final card is made with the pig from the Hay Hanna set. I found this sentiment in the Just what I wanted to say Hanna set. There is also "When Pigs fly" and "Holy Cow" which would go PERFECT with the Hay Hanna set.

This is a white 5x5 card, a layer of black and then pretty in pink, which I ran through my swiss dots folder (which was clearly neglected over the holiday). The pig was stamped on white, mounted on black. The main image was punched with the SU! punch. Pink mayarts ribbon (sheer polkadot pink) completes the design. Main image on dimensionals.



Thank Moo
stamps: Hay Hanna
ink: black soot, copics
paper: white, celery, dcwv
misc: ribbon, staple, dimensionals, brads, nesties


Happy Birthday to Moo
stamps: Hay Hanna
ink: black soot, copics
paper: white, black, dcwv
misc: ribbon, dimensionals, brads, nesties


What's Shaken Bacon?
stamps: Hay Hanna, Just what I wanted to say
ink: black soot, copics
paper: white, black, pretty in pink
misc: ribbon, dimensionals, cuttlebug (swiss dots), SU! punch

Todd and Karen's China Trip

I have been going through the 400 plus photographs from Todd and Karen's trip to China last month. I am in the process of going through all the photographs to put in a book for them. Here are a few that Todd and Karen really liked.

They stayed in Tainjin, China the majority of their trip. One of Karen's favorite places was the Old Culture District, where they had tea shops, specialty stores and lots of old world crafts.




A day trip to the Great Wall outside Beijing and the group climbed to the highest peak on the great wall. It was an exahusting day, but very memorable. Karen has a webkinz giraffe in her hand. That is Morning Glory. Morning Glory is her Girl Scout troop's webkinz. It travels the United States (and now the world) and blogs for the troop. Karen took several photos with Morning Glory for her troop.





The Forbidden City, the Emperor's Palace was a stop during their trip to Beijing. They also toured Mao's tomb and had lunch at the Original Peking Duck. Todd said that these buildings went for MILES and there were so many of them. You would walk through a grouping like the one behind him and the vast buildings went on and on, only to have another behind it.

One of the things that I was so excited for Karen and Todd to see was the Birds Nest. They were able to tour inside the vast stadium and see the Olympic mascots inside.










The final stop in Beijing was at the Ice Cube. They went inside - saw where the AMAZING Michael Phelps swam to victory over and over again! Makes your spine shiver with delight!!!! At night, they light up the Ice Cube (apparently blue because they know it is my *favorite* color). {grin}

So that is it! A few of our favorite shots from the China trip!

q

January Sneak Peek Week: Garden Hanna

Here are the creations I made with the new Garden Hanna set.



The first card is a white base (standard size), with a layer of DCWV designer paper (black/white floral) and My minds eye (pink/rose) designer papers. I used nestabilities for the main image (black cardstock and a white main image). I stamped the image with black soot and colored with copics. Sentiment from Everyday Sentiments {Hanna}. Main image is on dimensionals. Baubles (pink) in the lower right corner. Butterfly and ladybugs are from the Backyard Dwellers mini set (also being released Friday!)

CARD ONE:

stamps: Garden Hanna, Everyday Sentiments {Hanna}, Backyard dwellers
paper: white, Black, DCWV & My Minds Eye designer paper
ink: black soot, copics
misc: nesties, baubles, dimensionals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The second card was made for Todd's client. Sometimes he asks me to make a card for his clients and I remind him how much he saves by having me make these special cards for him (yeah, right!). This one is a rose red base, with some designer paper on the top (My minds eye). I used some rose red for the main image, then the white. A strip of celery, punched with the SU! scalloped edge punch, then holes punched in the center of each scallop with a small hole punch. Some fun ribbon (mayarts). Main image stamped with black soot, colored with copics. Some stickles in the center of the flowers. Sentiment from Everyday Sentiments {Hanna}. A little piercing under the sentiment.

CARD TWO:

stamps: Garden Hanna, Everyday Sentiments {Hanna}
paper: white, celery, rose red My Minds Eye designer paper
ink: black soot, copics
misc: nesties, stickles, dimensionals, ribbon
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The final card I made with Garden Hanna is this fun little number. I used an olive base, then added a strip of designer paper (it's polkadot). The main image is on summer sun, then white. I used nesties for the main image and the SU! scalloped circle punch/circle punch for the sentiment. Image stamped in black soot and colored with copics. Sakura stardust on the flower and each scallop on the sentiment .

CARD THREE:

stamps: Garden Hanna, Everyday Sentiments
paper: white, olive, summer sun, My Minds Eye designer paper
ink: black soot, copics
misc: nesties, sakura stardust, dimensionals, ribbon (mayarts), su punches

January Sneak Peek Week: Riley Motorcycle

The start of a new year stamping! It feels good, doesn't it? I am in that perpetual process of organizing my stamp room and trying to use up some of the stuff I have hoarded savored in my stamp area over the past several months years. I will resolve to use things this year - to make room for the new! YEAH! That's the ticket!

This week's sneek peek starts with Motorcycle Riley. I created this cute little journal for my friend Shana. She has a Harley! I thought she could keep track of all her of all of her oil changes and tune ups in this little book! I know her Harley isn't pink - but she sure does love pink - so I thought that I would make her bike pink....I know it has a lot of chrome, so I used sakura silver on the bike. Although it is hard to see - it sure does sparkle. Do you like the label I made. I took a strip of paper and took the SU! square scalloped punch and put the side of the label in the corner of the punch and made the cute little edge. What do you think? I added some baubles to each side! The "Sophie G." is colored with copics....stamped on white paper - layered atop some black cardstock (both die cut with nestabilites). The pink is some WIDE grosgrain ribbon which is adhered to the log book under the main image. I used some cute pink ribbon on the wire binding.


stamps: Riley Motorcycle
paper: black, white
ink: black soot, copics
misc: square scalloped punch (SU!), nestabilities, ribbon (mayarts), baubles, sakura silver, computer printed sentiment

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This is my next card - I was unable to use my sewing because my bobbin was not cooperating, so I just sewed without the thread. I guess that is second best to sewing. I started with a white 4.5x4.5 base. I added a layer of black and then some designer paper. The main image is stamped with black soot on white cardstock, then mounted on black cardstock. I used walnut Ranger ink to sponge the edges of the card and main image. I used copics to color riley and the motorcycle. The wheels and leather jacket are colored with a sakura black gel pen. It is super shiney in real life. The swirl is Rhonna Fahrer flourishes (from my stash), stamped on the designer paper in the walnut ink. I hand drew some lines on the main image with the black gel pen. A blue button (which was somewhat bright - so I sponged some walnut ink on it to tone it down) finishes the card. I thought that this was masculine enough for a guy's birthday card.

stamps: Riley Motorcycle, Rhonna Fahrer Flourishes
paper: white, black, designer paper (My Minds Eye/Wild Asparagus costco pack)
ink: walnut stain (Ranger), black soot (Ranger), copics
misc: button, sakura stardust (on motorcycle), sakura black (on jacket, wheel and ground)


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Be sure to stop by all the blogs on the Hanna Stamps! design team to see what they come up with this week for the release. And don't forget - the Thursday night release party over at Splitcoast Stampers. Sure to be a FUN TIME!

• Kristi Ferro
  
• Adela Rossol
  
• Amanda Sewell
  
• Beth Silaika (me)
  
• Bev Gerard
  
• Candice Lighty
  
• Cindy Haffner
  
• Diana Gibbs
  
• Frances Byrne
  
• Ilina Crouse
  
• Jeanne Streiff
  
• Joycelyn Turner
  
• Judy Workman
  
• Kendra Wiestock
  
• Patti Stigsell
  
• Sandra MacLean
  
• Vicki Garrett - DT Co-ordinator

FS100: Her Royal Rubberness!

I cannot believe we are up to 100 Featured Stampers. I also cannot believe that I have not featured one of my most FAVORITE stampers in the WHOLE entire WORLD! ACK! JulieHRR is one of those stampers who I ADORE! She has the CLEANEST style - the most fun ideas. I have a hard time looking at her gallery because I want to replicate EVERYTHING she does - and there is not enough money for me to buy all those Amuse stamps and all the fun elements she uses.

Okay - I {heart} Jules so much that I get excited when I check out her blog! I can totally hear her talking when I read her blog!

When I check out the cards - I fall in love. So Julie - here are my cases of your brilliant work!

Card one based on {this card} was done because it was so simple, yet - SO FUN!
changes: colors (to celery) and stamp set (I used Heather's PTI stamp set Warm Happiness) - I used the stamp for the sentiment, Julie hand wrote hers!


Card two based on {THIS CARD} was done because it was such an adorable layout.
changes: colors (to pinks) and stamp set (I used Cami's new Our Craft Lounge set TreeMendous Love). I also used different ribbon (mayarts).





Card One:
stamps: Warm Happiness
paper: white
ink: black, celery, bashful, going grey
misc: dimensionals, sakura stardust (for steam)

Card Two:
stamps: TreeMendous Love
paper: rose red, regal rose, white, chocolate chip
ink: black soot, copics, regal rose, chocolate chip
tag corner punch, scalloped edge punch, ribbon, copper cord, hole punch

Happy New Year!!!!

I know I have not been posting regularly here on the blog! I just waned to let everyone know that I am okay!

I hope that you all survived the holidays! We had a whirlwind of fun and memories here at the Silaika house. The holidays started out very sad for us, however, when my mother's brother passed away unexpectedly. We had a few extra out of town guests just prior to Christmas. It was nice catching up with cousins and extended family. We had a true Irish wake for Uncle Jim. He would have smiled and sang right along with us.

My brother and his wife and their three kids (plus the tree frog) arrived for the funeral and stayed through the holidays. We experienced snow storms - bitter temperatures and lots of fun with 9 kids (11 and under). Life is truly wonderful! Christmas eve was beautiful. We went to the early family service at church and watching the kids sing brought tears to my eyes. I looked over the poinsettias, white lit trees and manger scene from the balcony of the church and knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. You see, for the past 13 years, my family gathered as one in Florida to spend the holidays together. No presents, just family getting together. That was our gift to one another. Bring back the true meaning of the holidays. It was not in the cards for us to travel this year. We decided collectively as a family to spend the holidays in NY. Thankfully we did, because everyone was here for Jim's services.

Sure, we did a little more shopping this year....got the wii fit for the kids and they each got some toys (mainly webkinz) and clothes. We still spent a lot of time reflecting on the wonderful gift of Jesus Christ - the purest, most perfect gift of our lives.

Friends of mine have discussed their "word" or what will "define" themselves for the upcoming year. I did a lot of reflecting about what my word would be. I think I have decided that my word for 2009 will be Opportunity. I am hoping that there are several new adventures which I will partake in. Some are going to leave some of you shaking your head...but I hope you will visit the blog often and find out more about these wonderful new opportunities which I will embark on over the coming year.

I will reflect on these new opportunities over the next few weeks. One that I would like to share with you today is my stamping. I really love stamping. It is my favorite means of crafting. I go into my office and explode! I love stamping with my kids, stamping with friends, but I really enjoy crafting in my room, listening to music. I try and get in and create as often as possible. I will continue working with Stampin' Up! ® as a demonstrator. I will also continue to work with Hanna Stamps! along with Riley and Sophie G. stamps. I love creating with these stamps. Next week I will be sharing my January release sneak peeks. For all you Hanna and Riley/Sophie G. fans - There is a BRAND SPANKIN' NEW discount code valid through January 31, 2009! Just enter the coupon code SUPPORT and you will receive an additional 10% off your entire order! So don't forget to visit http://www.hannastamps.com/ and enter the code SUPPORT! Don't forget: Thursday, January 8 is the next release party over at www.splitcoaststampers.com!

Over the holiday, Todd and I were talking to my mom's cousin about an exciting opportunity! She runs medical missions in South America and Africa. Todd was talking to her about the mission trips and their lack of volunteers. If all goes as planned, I will be volunteering on a mission trip in Kenya some time this summer. I am really looking forward to it. I will find out more details soon and share them with you then!

Todd and I are especially pleased with the upturn in the Stock Market the past few days. I hope that everyone has a healthy and prosperous new year!