Desert Designs » Charity

Spread the Love – Jaimie’s Card

Shannon — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:09:18 +0000

After way too many mock-ups, I finally have a card I think is worth sending to Jaimie Cates as part of the Spread the Love blog hop. I wanted the card to be well done so as to convey the amount of Love and Prayers that are being sent her way from the fabulous crafters that have joined in the hop. I found this week’s sketch at Papertake Weekly to be perfect for my Sarah Kay image.I used a Sarah Kay image that I colored with " target="_blank">Prismacolor Pencils and blended with my " target="_blank">Prismacolor blender marker. She is matted on Navy and Blue CS from my stash. I used an EK Success Wrought Iron corner punch on the mat and stamped the sentiment (SU) using my stamp positioner after I had adhered the image to the mat. The DPs are from Stampin’ Up (I used my Big Shot and texture plates to emboss both DPs); the card base is Bazzill. Narrow white grosgrain ribbon hides the transition between the DPs. The bow was tied using one of the fabulous and easy Fork Tutorials available on the net. For a finishing touch, I added some MS half-back pearls.

Before I close, I wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow (Monday, November 9), is the last day of the blog hop and the last day to enter for a chance to win my blog candy. If you haven’t entered yet – see this post for the details.

Have a Blessed evening!

Spread The Love

Shannon — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:53:58 +0000

"On October 4^th, 4 teenagers armed with knives broke into a home in a small town in New Hampshire. Alone and sleeping inside were a mother and her 11 year old daughter. These 4 boys broke into this home with the intent to rob and kill anyone inside. They stabbed the mom, Kimberly Cates, to death and left her daughter, Jaimie, for dead in their driveway. It was a completely random act, their home was chosen only due to its secluded surroundings."

Welcome to the Spread the Love – Stamp Something for Jamie blog hop! We’re so very happy to have you join us! The hop starts November 2 and runs through November 9. The Spread The Love – Stamp Something for Jaimie blog hop is intended to raise the Spirit of a little girl and her family – it is our hope is that everyone hopping around this week will stop for a moment and think about Jaimie and her father and what life must be like for them now. One moment in time – one senseless act of evil – has changed their lives forever. We are asking that everyone reading this message to please take a moment to make a card and send it off to Jaimie. You can make something very simple or much more involved, but please share some words of hope and love and let her know that people do care and want the best for her. Cards can be mailed here:

This story touched my heart – I cannot imagine the pain Jaimie, her Dad, and the rest of their family is going through. I pray they find comfort and healing that only God can provide. Here’s a sneak peak of my card – just a peak though as I haven’t finished all of the details yet!

Don’t you just love Sarah Kay images? I’ll post the whole card when I’m satisfied with it. I want it to be something special for Jaimie.

In addition to the generous sponsor gifts, I have put together a little blog candy for you as well. Included in the package are 2 K&Company Chipboard Element Sets (1 Flower and 1 Tag), K&Company Brights Eyelet Set, K&Company Rhinestones and Brads Set, Melissa Frances Thankful Heart Ticket Book, 2 Martha Stewart Glitter sets (White and Red), Martha Stewart 2-Way Glue Pen, 200-count Dew Drops/Skittles/Baubles sampler from my friend Suzanne at Crafting-Connection, and 1 set of Pearlescent watercolor paints.

It’s easy to enter and is open to everyone:
1. Link to your Card for Jaimie (can be a blog or Gallery Link) with Mr. Linky.
2. Spread the word about our Spread the Love – Stamp Something for Jamie blog hop. (blog post or sidebar link, email, twitter, facebook, etc.)
3. Become a Follower (not necessary, but appreciated).

I’ll announce the winner via random number generator Tuesday, November 10.

If you didn’t arrive here from Tanya’s Blog, be sure to visit Katharina’s blog to start the hop – you never know what treats you’ll find along the way. Your next stop on the hop is Dianne’s blog. That’s all from me – for now. Have a fabulous Monday – and don’t forget to Hug someone you love!

Card Project Part 2

Shannon — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Welcome back! If you missed yesterday’s post, I created 6 cards in support of a Children’s Hospital in Utah and sent them to Dustin Pike. He’s offering fabulous blog candy to anyone that sends him the cards by October 31 so he can deliver the cards on November 2. You can check this post for more details. I showcased 3 cards yesterday so that leaves 3 more for today. Since my goal was to create a set of cards that could be used for a variety of occasions, I followed this week’s sketch over at ICS in some form for the entire set. Like the previous cards, I used Lindsay’s All Around Phrases for each card’s sentiment, but for these cards, I added adorable images from Dustin Pike to the centers. This Wedding card is my first “shaped” card and it counts for this week’s All Sorts Challenge. The Congratulations sentiment is from Lindsay’s All Around Phrases; the bears are Dustin Pike’s Wedding Bears. I used a fabulous digital paper from Designs by Kristine (her new kit is coming soon – check her blog for details) and a pearl style from Bannerwoman on the dots. Then I printed the image and colored the bears with my Copic markers and Sakura pens. The scallop DP is from DCWV – I have a stash of several of their mat stacks that I pull from. I added some glitter stickles to the scallop for extra dimension and bling. The card base is also DCWV that I trimmed with the largest of the Wizard Mega Nestabilities Labels 8 dies. The pink CS is from SU; it is also trimmed with one of the Labels 8 dies and then embossed with the Divine Swirl Cuttlebug folder. The organdy ribbon is from my stash. I’m not usually a pink and brown kind of girl, but when I found the DCWV DP, I knew what color scheme I had to use. For this fun celebration card, I used Dustin’s Party Elephant combined with another of the fabulous sentiments in Lindsay’s All Around Phrases. For the sentiment, I applied a gradient fill and then masked it to the text (watch for a tutorial on this soon). I applied the same gradient to the cupcake wrapper and the party hat (I also used a Mosaic pattern on the hat). I colored and textured the elephant body in Photoshop and then printed him out. I used copics and Sakura pens for his tummy, tusks, the cupcake frosting, candle, and party hat ball. The glittered scallop DP, the fun flower DP, and the card base are all DCWV. The pink and blue ribbons are Offray and the white scallop edge was created with an EK Success border punch. My last card of the set is another fun birthday card. I used Dustin’s Cupcake Monkey paired with another sentiment from Lindsay’s All Around Phrases digital stamp set. The sentiment and the cupcake wrapper had Glitter styles applied to them in Photoshop prior to being printed. The monkey and cupcake were colored with Copics and Sakura glitter pens. I added some Diamond Glaze to the cherry for additional shine and dimension. The scallop DP, sweet treat DP, white glitter DP and card base are all DCWV. I used a Sizzix Sizzlit die to create the scallop edge. The organdy ribbon is from my stash and the Skittles are from my friend Suzanne at Crafting-Connection.

That’s all for now. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! Don’t forget about Lindsay’s stamp sale – 10% off at her original store plus a free $1 stamp with every $5 purchase or 30% off at MyGrafico – only until October 31. Kristine has a fabulous freebie up as well – so stop by and leave her some love too.

Card Project Part 1

Shannon — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:00:00 +0000

I think I mentioned sometime back that Dustin Pike is offering some fabulous blog candy to people that send 5 or 6 handmade cards to him to be used as part of a Fundraiser for a Children’s Hospital in Utah. Dustin needs to have the cards no later than October 31 so he can deliver them November 2. I know I know, nothing like last minute! Anyway, I created 6 cards (all of them using this week’s sketch over at Inspirational Card Sketches in some form or another) – I’ll showcase 3 today and 3 more tomorrow – otherwise this post will be WAY too long!

All three of these cards feature stamps from Lindsay’s Stamp Stuff – including two of her latest releases – All Around Phrases and Doodle Flowers, as well as her Babies and Bows set and Daffodil #2 dollar stamp. For this card, I centered Daffodil #2 inside the Thank You Very Much stamp and “painted” it using a Wet Media Brush and a watercolor paper texture in Photoshop. I used a SuperbladePro preset from The Blading Basket on the text to give it a bit more dimension. The DPs are all from various DCWV mat stacks. The scallop edge is a Sizzix Sizzlits die. I added the Faux Stitching with my white gel pen. The card base is from my stash. This card is also my entry for this week’s challenge at Papertake Weekly – to use spots or stripes – and I did both!

For the Congratulations card, I layered and centered the baby shoes from Lindsay’s Babies and Bows set inside the sentiment from her All Around Phrases set. I duplicated the sentiment layer and recolored the dots using a digital paper from Designs By Kristine’s Misty Morning paper pack. I colored the shoes with my Copics and added some sparkle to the dots with my clear Spica glitter marker. The green scallop DP is from DCWV – the remaining DP and ribbon are from Melissa Frances’ Hush A Bye Boy page kit. The card base is also from my stash. I think this card rates as one of my favorites! The flower stamp is from Lindsay’s new Doodle Flowers set. I paper-pieced it in Photoshop using papers from Designs by Kristine’s Pink Peppermint (one of her previous freebies) and Emerald Isle digital kits. I layered the flower inside the Thinking of You sentiment from Lindsay’s All Around Phrases, and then printed 3 additional copies (one a single sheet of CS). I cut out the leaves and petals, and then attached them in layers with glue dots. The flower center is a red pearl from my stash. I used my Spica markers and white gel pen to add the highlights to the leaves and stitching. The DP is also from Kristine’s Pink Peppermint kit (the same as the large petal on the flower) – I printed it, embossed it with my Sizzix texturizer plates, and rubbed some glimmer chalk over the raised area for added sparkle. The Scallop DP is from DCWV’s new shimmer mat stack. I LOVE those papers! The ribbon and lace are both from my stash. The card base is a Stampin’ Up winter white pre-folded card.

I guess that’s all from me! Be sure to check Lindsay’s blog as she always has fabulous projects to share and usually a freebie or two. To top all of this fabulous creativeness off, Lindsay is having a 10% off SALE at her original store (you also get a free $1 stamp with every $5 purchase; the $1 stamps are ONLY available here) and a 30% off SALE at her new MyGrafico store (instant downloads, but no free stamps with purchase) – either way, now is the time to shop as the sale only lasts until Saturday! Don’t forget to stop by the other DT blogs as well – you won’t be disappointed! Stop by tomorrow for the remaining cards in my Dustin Pike charity card project.

Happy Birthday and Coming to America

Shannon — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:50:00 +0000

The one and only Kristine is celebrating her birthday this month – all month long! How is she doing that you might ask? By having her entire STORE on-sale for the WHOLE month – yup 43% off all month long! What’s not to celebrate?!?!?!

And if that’s not enough, my dear Bunny is also celebrating her birthday this month – yup you guessed it – another fabulous sale! 50% off her stores at DSO and DSV for the entire month, plus random retired products being brought back in the Blow Out category for 75% off – check each week for something new!
To further add to your shopping options, and to celebrate her first visit to America, our very own Mel (aka Melanie Ann Designs) is also having a 50% off sale for the WHOLE month. What are you waiting for?

Card for a Cause

Shannon — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:59:39 +0000

I was visiting Dustin Pike’s blog (yes I stalk his new releases) and saw the link to Erin’s blog – her neighbor’s daughter – age 13, was injured in a serious boating accident and as a result has lost part of her arm (the doctor’s are working to save the rest of it). Erin has asked the card-making world to send cards to Paige to help cheer her up and keep her going! Several stamping store owners and/or designers have also stepped in by offering artwork or goodies to support Erin’s efforts for Paige. Although I don’t know Erin or Paige, my heart goes out to Paige and her family! Here’s my card that will be headed to the mailbox in the morning (today is a Holiday in the US).

I’m adding a bauble to the pink flower but didn’t want to get glue on my scanner.

Ingredients Are:

Cardstock: Stampin’ Up and Bazzill Monochromatics

Stamps: Stampin’ Up (several sets – all retired)

Ribbon: Light Pink Grosgrain

Flower: Paper Shapers Retro

Ink: Kaleidecolor Desert Heat

Bauble Drops: Crafting-Connection

Since I’m posting cards, I’ll add my 2nd submission to the CWC Blues swap.

Ingredients Are:

Cardstock: Georgia Pacific, Stampin’ Up, Paper Studio

Stamps: Sarah Kay 1st Kiss

Ribbon: Offray Fleur White

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Prismacolor Pencils and Colorless Blender Marker

Bauble Drops: Crafting-Connection

Other: Nestablities, EK Success Border Bunch

Time for a snack! I love Happy Hour at Sonic!

A Worthy Cause – Make A Wish

Shannon — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 16:34:44 +0000

Straight from Vicki’s blog, Pink Cat Studio is releasing these new digital stamps to raise money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation in honor of Ethan Wieman. Little Ethan passed away on June 12th from Neuroblastoma Cancer. Ethan was a true cowboy, loved horses, balloons and knock knock jokes. By purchasing these digital images, you will help brighten the day of a sick child as the money that is raised, will go toward making one of their dreams come true. You can follow this link to Pink Cat Studio to contribute to this worthy cause in Ethan’s memory and to read about this remarkable little boy.

This is truly a wonderful cause and program. I thank God every day that my little one is healthy and my heart goes out to every family facing health challenges or the loss of a precious one.

Lauren and Heather are also offering a chance for some fabulous blog candy and/or Pink Cat Gift Certificates if you purchase these digital stamps and create a card with them. I think I may make a few cards for our local cancer center to give to patients receiving treatments. Let’s brighten someone’s day shall we?