Blog Hop Winners!

I'm happy to be here letting you know the winners of the blog hop this past Friday! It was such a blast.

The random comment chosen was Gwen's of www.gwensbusylittlehands.blogspot.com and the dt winner was Janelle! Yee haw ladies, are you in for a big big treat. Gwen, please contact me at the contact below the banner within 48 hours to claim your prize.

I hope you have a very happy Sunday.

We will be announcing our new design team members on Monday, so please join us for our Method Monday and our good news post!

Bliggity Blog Hop Friday!*CLOSED*

I hope you are having a Happy Friday. I am sooo swamped it's not even funny. But it's all good. Working is being productive and produces results so I like being active.

This month's blog hop is all about Spring Flowers and St. Patrick's Day. I'm always up for fresh, new ideas and that is why I look forward to blog hop.

I got to see some sneak peeks and I have to say my team has got talent!

This month's prize is going to be a surpise, but it's worth over $50.00 in paper crafting goodies. Trust me, you will be happily hooked up. :)

Now onto the blog hop order:

Margie is up first!
Raquel
Piali
Genevieve
Maylee
Cyndi
Janelle
Lysa
Angelique
Joy
Linda
Lana
Julie

Once you've taken a gander at all our design team projects, make sure you come back here and vote for your favorite one and leave a comment in this post. You will automatically be entered into the drawing for our goodie basket. That's all you have to do. But I'm telling you, it will be a tough decision.

You have until 11:59 pm PST Saturday, February 27th to participate. The winner will be announced Sunday. Good luck!

I also wanted to mention that this will be the last project for a few of our design team members. We are going to miss them all! But they will be moving on to bigger and better things. :) I love when my team members gain confidence and boldly branch out to new area's of the craft world. And waiting in the wings is our new team members and some returning ones too. I'm excited for the new team. We have a lot of work cut out for us, but I'm sure they are up to the challenge.

This year is going to be big for ISS. You will be able to say, hey I remember when ISS was just starting out, now they are the Oprah of the stamp world. :) That's my goal.

Anyway have a fun hope and don't forget to come back and vote for your favorite dt member.

Wednesday Challenge: Flowers!

Happy Hump Day!  Can you believe it's already the end of February?!

It's time for another Wednesday Challenge- and despite what the weather seems to be like everywhere right now- we're going to get into the Spring mood with FLOWERS!

I used the super cute digi image, Mayah on my card- embellished with some prima flowers and some patterned paper...


So what are you waiting for!? I'm challenging YOU to make a card or project using flowers.  If you use an InStyle Stamps image GREAT, but if you don't that's okay too!  Be sure to leave a comment with the direct link to your card or project to THIS post for a chance to win a digi image of your choice by next Tuesday, March 2nd 12pm PST!!

Method Monday- Chipboard notepad

Hi, I'm Joy and I'm your hostess today! Today, I'm going to show you how to make a cute notepad out of chipboard coasters, perfect for any gift! I never buy chipboard coasters...I always pick some up when I go out to eat....the waiters are always so willing to give me a stack for that tip of theirs, wink wink!

Materials needed:

2 chipboard coasters - my coasters are 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches, all of my DP and white cardstock were cut to the same size
4 sheets of DP
Stack of white cardstock
Adhesive
Image- I used Chickie from ISS
Crop-a-dile or similiar punch
corner rounder
2 binder rings
Embellishments as needed
File


Color and embellish as desired, and VIOLA, a cute notebook for any occasion!


Thanks for joining me today and I hope you were inspired to make your own notebook!

Collection name and winner!

Hello All,

Happy Sunday. I decided on a name for the collection. It is "A Day in the Life."

I know no one came up with the name exactly, but Sheng and Rita were the motivation behind the name with their suggestions. Each stamp is a snapshot of a moment in our lives. And so A Day in the Life fit perfectly. Picture Perfect was good and so was My Life Collection, but I wanted it to be a little more specific so I came up with the title.

In other exciting news, these images will be rubber stamps and exclusively available with our retailers.

But as a thank you, I will be giving a set of the rubber stamps to both Rita and Sheng. They will not be released until April, so make sure you send me your addresses via the contact link at the top and I will mail them as soon as they are available.

Thanks again guys!

Another one :) CLOSED

I know I know 3 posts in 1 day? What's going on with this girl. :) But I'm almost finished with this one and I couldn't wait. Haha

I'm going to be adding a bow to the side where the fence beam didn't go all the way to the edge and of course a sentiment.

But I showed a couple of friends and they said to wet your whistle's again. *wink*

So here she is:



So to spice things up a little, I'm going to be giving away all 6 digitals to the person that helps me name the collection. So far you've seen 2. As you can see they are all scene's and anime girls. If I can get the other 4 colored I will post them as well.

Here's how it will work! Simply leave a comment in this post with your name suggestion by 11:59 pm PST Saturday, February 20th. I will pick a name and announce a winner on Sunday. If I happen to like multiple names, we will have the readers vote. :)

Help me out will ya? Tell a friend too! The more the merrier!

Sneak Peek Alert, Sneak Peek Alert!

I know we just had an anime sneak peek today. Those images along with the retro's will be available for sale tomorrow. So please don't forget to pick up a couple! There is a sale, so that should make it even more appealing. :)

But I finished up this little beauty and couldn't wait any longer. I'm not sure when she will be released, but I'm shooting for April. There are 12 total "scene's." Each one just as cute as the next.

I'm calling her Pastry Girl. I think I need to create a name for this line. I'm stumped. Coming up with names for all these stamps is crazy complicated because I'm picky about that sort of thing. :)

Anyway, here is she:



Have a great day!

Sneak Peek Day 2

I'm glad you came back for day 2 of our sneak peeks. Today we will be featuring our cute Anime images. All of the images will be available on Friday. So make sure you stop by and buy something *wink*.

Since you are here I'm sure you are a crafter. Whether it be with fabric or with paper, creative people tend to find the perfect medium for them. For me I'm a fabric, paper, and ribbon hoarder. And when I say hoarder, I mean I have a ton of it. It is organized and visible, but it is way too much for me to use. And yet I continue to buy. I say hey why not support the economy LOL.

So I used Trish today for my sneak. she is a great little crafter. Right now she is actually working on some couture invites.

A very close friend of mine is a couture wedding designer. She was actually my inspiration for Trish. And by the way, her name is also Trish!

Here she is:



Be creative! No matter what you do or how you do it. For me, being creative relieves stress. :)

Ok so let's hop on over to our dt members that created projects for today.

Julie

Genevieve

Piali

Cyndi

Cabio

Janelle

Margie

Lana     

                                  
Stop back by tomorrow and use the 5% discount as well as take advantage of the sale. Thanks for looking.

Over The Hump Blog Candy Give -A-Way

Hi Everyone and welcome to another Over The Hump Blog Candy Give-A-way.
Before we reveal this month's theme the winner of last month's challenge is............... ROBIN MCK! Please email me (contact under the header) to claim your 5 digi's within 48 hours. Congratulations!!!

This month's theme is St. Patrick's Day! I love St. Patrick's Day. It's so festive. I didn't like it in school though cause even though green is my favorite color I never wore it much and so I always got pinched. I use to take leaves and foliage on me. Ha ha.

Here is Lana

And for another sneak peek I've been hiding here is Twirling Chloe.



I know she is adorable. I can hear it now, "Virginia why are you holding out on us?" LOL. I'm mean huh! She will be available shortly.

Anyway this month's challenge is to create a St. Patrick's Day using an image of your choice. You don't to use an ISS image but if you have it why not? Make sure you use either a shamrock on it or the green. :)

The winner this month will receive a $25.00 gift certificate to InStyle Stamps to be used in our store.

Simply leave a link to your card on your blog via Mr. Linky. You have until 11:59 pm PST by March 16th to enter.

Thanks for stopping by! Good Luck! Tell a friend :)

Sneak Peek Day 1

Thanks for stopping by. Friday is our February Release Day. Woot Woot! We have some very cute images this month. Day 1 of sneaks will be our retro and whimsy images. Day 2 will feature our anime.

So let's get it started!

One thing certain in life is change. We will always have to make changes. Sometimes we may even want to make them. No matter the reason for the change, change is often difficult, especially if you don't like change.

For my image I decided to use our beautiful butterflies. Here is what I came up with:



Piali used Erica so go and check her out. She is a cutie.

Julie is showcasing our cute frog

Angélique used Frog as well

Raquel is showing off Erica

Lysa used Natalie and Erica together!

Cyndi also used Erica

So make sure you check out their blogs too. The images will be available for purchase on Friday the 19th.

Make sure to stop back tomorrow for our Anime peeks. Thanks!

Method Monday - Oops CLOSED

Well not an oops really. I was to host Method Monday today (Virginia) but I didn't have enough time to finish my tutorial.

We had a pet emergency yesterday. And so I spent a few hours in the Vet. My dog is fine thank God.

So instead of rushing a project or posting one that has already been seen, I was in a generous mood and decided to give away a free digi. :)

They are new, never seen before images. Let's meet them:

Miko and Lina (in that order)



Aren't they adorable? Yeah I thought so too. Miko and Lina have 3 more friends, Larissa, Sonia and Dahlia. They should be making an appearance shortly. But one of these little ladies can be yours.

All you have to do is post about our free digi giveaway on your blog and submit your link and whether you'd like Miko or Lina via this post and I will be sending your image with 24 hours. Everyone is invited to do this. Even the DT members. :) You will have until Sunday, February 21st by 11:59 pm PST. Tell a friend!

I'm an email nut so I check my email all the time. So you most likely will get your image within a couple of hours, but just in case I'm not near the computer, I didn't want you upset with me *wink*.

Come back tomorrow for the beginning of our sneak peeks that will lead up to our release on Thursday. You won't be disappointed.

Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy.

Color Challenge and Sneak Peek

Thanks for stopping by. I'm excited about today because not only is it our Monthly Color Challenge over on our Club Anime Blog, but I've also got 2 sneak peeks. They were so secret that not even our design team knew about them.

We have a few new lines coming out shortly. We have a brand new line of anime stamps that are to die for. Ok you may not want to die over them, but you will definitely want to create with them. And then we have Simply Chloe which is a new whimsy line for ISS. We also have 3 sentiment sets coming out called Simply Sentiments. There will be a great variety. One of the sets matches perfectly to our still hush hush line of stamps that I can't wait to release. They are like nothing on the market right now. And the sentiments are both inspiring and funny! That's all I've got to say about that. :)

Anyway on to the sneak peeks of 2 images from our Simply Chloe line. First up is Bouquet Chloe.



And here is a close up of Chloe:



And lastly a close up of the Sentiment:



I love the sentiment.

And next is Moonbeam Chloe:



And here is a closeup of her:



And a closeup of the sentiment:



Cute right? Well there are 8 more of this sweetness in the set.

Thanks for looking. And don't forget to go check out the color challenge!

Wednesday Challenge

Thanks everyone for tuning into our weekly challenge. Last week's challenge was to create a goal list to help get you organized. The winner is Cheryl! Congrats! Please email me with 48 hour to claim your free digi. Simply click on contact under the banner up top of the blog.

With Valentine's day right around the corner, I thought it would be cute to do a challenge with kisses. I love kisses. Especially Hershey's white chocolate ones *wink*. Of course those can be fattening kisses so we shouldn't indulge too much. But kisses from our friends and family only fatten our hearts with love. So give those as much as you can and hopefully you receive a few back. :)

Our Company Kissing Couple:



This week's challenge is to create a project with kisses (any kind you want) and also to use the Turquoise and Red. I love that color combo!

To enter simply leave a link to your post via Mr. Linky by no later than 11:59 pm PST on Tuesday, February 16th. You don't have to use an ISS image, but if you got it why not flaunt it.

You will win one of our new Eco Friendly Grocery Bags!



Super cute right? I've gotten a lot of compliments using my bag and it is nice and big to tote around a lot of stuff! These bags are very popular so we will be reordering shortly and changing out the image. :)

Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

Method Monday: Joy Fold

Happy Monday!!

It's Lysa here back again to share a slightly different twist on a card fold with you... You may remember a few weeks ago during the last blog hop, I made a this Joy fold card.  I decided to do a tutorial of it show you how I did it!

The Supplies:
- (1) 4.25" x 8.5" piece of cardstock
- (1) 3" x 8" piece of cardstock
- (3) 2.75" x 4" pieces of patterned paper
- (1) 4" x 5.25" piece of patterned paper
- Misc. embellishments

Step 1: Score the 4.25"x8.5" piece of cardstock at 5.5" to create the card base.


Step 2: Score the 3"x 8" piece of cardstock at 4".


Step 3: Adhere the 4"x5.25" piece of patterned paper to the inside of the folded card base, and one of the 2.75"x 4" piece of patterned paper to the outside.


Step 4: Adhere the other two pieces of 2.75"x4" pieces of cardstock to the inside & outside of the folded 3"x8" cardstock.


Step 5: Adhere the smaller folded card to the inside of the card base- be sure the flap opens to the right.


Step 6: This step is optional if you want to add something to secure the card from opening. Add an embellishment of stamped image (or anything) with dimensional adhesives on one edge (shown w/arrows) to overlap the corner of the folded card.


Step 7: Embellish & complete the front of your card, I used adorable Marissa.


& Here's another view of it open.


Hope to see you give it a try!!

Method Monday

Thanks for joining me for Method Monday. I'm Virginia and I'm going to show you how to remove a background from a digital image.

I was originally going to turn this into an article, but I decided a step by step tutorial may help some of you and so I decided to write up a Method Monday instead. :) Hope it is helpful.

I use Adobe Photoshop for all my editing. So that is what I created the tutorial for. I am not sure but I believe you may be able to do this with Photoshop elements. I've never used that program but I hear it does some of the same things and is less expensive.

Let's get started.

Digital images usually come in jpg form. And that means there will always be a white background. But what if you wanted to print the digital image onto a colored cardstock or if you wanted to change the color of the background? That is still possible to do.

Step One:



Choose your image. I chose to use Vicky. I opened photoshop, Clicked on file, chose open and found Vicky where I had her saved.

Step Two:



Go to the filter tab and drop down the menu. Click on Extract.

Step Three:



In the Extract folder you will notice a little pen tip on the top left hand side under the word Extract. Make sure that is depressed. You will now begin outlining the image. On your right is a tool option box. You can select the size of this tool and hightlight color. I keep mine on green. Take your mouse or stylus (I use a wacom tablet) and carefully outline the image. Make sure you even do between her arm and body. Whatever you see inside the green line will remain. Everything outside it will be erased. I get as close to the image without cutting into it. But if you do, don't worry about it. You can restore it at the end.

Step Four:



Once you've

Step Five:



Once you've completed your outline, select the fill bucket under the pen tip on the left. On the right side make sure you have a color in the fill box under tool option. I always use blue. Go to the image and fill inside the green. You will notice it will turn blue. Once you fill all the spots where you need it filled, on the right side of the screen is a box called Textured image under Extraction. Make sue this box is checked. All the other boxes are defaulted with settings, leave them alone. Go to the top of the box and click ok.

Step Six:



After you click ok you will be taken back to your image. Notice that the image is now on a transparent background. I purposely left a lot of white so you can see the difference. Also, I went inside the green image and removed some of her leg. I wanted to show you how to fix your mistakes. On the right side there is a box. Click the first button. That is the history tool. Take your mouse or stylus and go over the areas you want to restore. It will add back in the background as much as you want. I love the history tool.

Step Seven:



This shows the restoring of the background. I have arrows pointing to it.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you need extra help. There is a way to remove the background in less steps, but sometimes it is not as detailed. With these steps you can really get detailed and remove anything you don't want.

Thanks for stopping by.