Wednesday Challenge: Bunnies, Chicks, and Eggs!

Hi everyone! It's Geneviève here this Wednesday to share a challenge with you. Here's my challenge: use a bunny, chick or Easter egg on a card or project.

I made an Easter basket, since it’s in a few days. I told myself it was the best yet. As you can see, I used eggs on my basket to make it a little more festive and I used the image of Mallory. I didn’t use in its entirety, because I just wanted the face to identify the basket of my daughter.

I do not know about you, but for my part, I do not have many ornaments to make scrapbooking pages, projects or Easter cards. The eggs you see in my basket, I've made my own. I simply cut the eggs in my paper and I then coated Glossy Accents.

                   

Lana's

 So, let's see your wonderful creations. Leave a link here and we'll be sure to come check them out!

Method Monday

Happy Monday to you. This week, Method Monday has been cancelled. I had a tutorial all planned out and some other goodness, but my computer files can't be accessed. Hubby is trying his hardest to get me back online and I have had limited success, but all my business images can't be accessed. Yes we have a backup...but I think it's my computer.

I'm hoping to be back online this evening to post it. If not, we will have some yumness for you on Wednesday.

Have a great day, and wish me luck!

We Have a Winner!

The winner from our Blog Hop is.......

That's YOU, Wendy! A new set of Labels 10 Nesties will be coming your way, as long as you contact us within the next 48 hours!

And although ALL of the projects that the DT made were amazing, there can be only one winner. This month, Lana takes top honors! Congrats Lana - your project was wonderful :)

A big thanks to everyone for hopping along with us, and for voting. We all appreciate it! Stick with us for April - we've got big changes coming!!

It's Blog Hop Time Again!

**Comments and voting are closed! We'll announce the winner soon!**

It's time for this month's blog hop - can you believe it?!?! March just flew right on by! The theme for this month's blog hop is Easter. Don't you just love Easter projects? They are always so fresh and springy :) Just wait until you see what the girls have come up with this month!!!

This month's prize is......Nesties! That's right - you could win a Labels 10 set of Spellbinders Nestablitities just for playing along!. How to win this fabulousness, you ask? It's easy! Visit each DT Member's blog and check out their project. Come back here and vote for your favorite project -- be sure to leave a comment in this post, too! Once you've done those things, you'll automatically be entered to win. And as a bonus, the Design Team Member who gets the most votes will also win something from Spellbinders too!

Here's the blog hop order:

Angelique
Robin
Cyndi
Raquel
Angela
Linda
Genevieve
Taylor
Lana
Janelle
Kerry
Jodi
Julie
Joy

You have until 11:59 pm PST Saturday, March 27th to participate. The winner will be announced here on Sunday the 28th. The winner gets 48 hours to claim their prize, and then we'll pick again. Good luck!

Blog Candy Alert

Check out the blog candy HERE! It's awesome.

Wednesday Challenge - Chipboard

Happy Hump Day! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you are having a great day so far.

Before we get into the challenge, I just wanted to fill you in on a bunch of changes that will be happening shortly.

One big change that will be taking place will be with the Club Anime blog. We currently have 2 challenges on that blog. We have decided to combine both blogs into one blog and feature all the challenges in 1 place. So the Club Anime Sketch Challenge will now be the Sketch Challenge which occurs every 2nd day of the month and we also have our Color Challenge which happens every 2nd Saturday of the month. That won't change.

So starting with our April 2nd Sketch Challenge, you will only have to go to this blog to participate. We will still be having our Method Monday's, and Over the Hump Day Blog Candy Give-way's as well as Blog Hop.

Not only will those great challenges still be available, but we will also incorporating a Fan Appreciation day that will showcase creations made by our loyal supporters as well as another surprise.

All this is to begin in April. With our sites being redesigned, we thought it would be a great time to make changes.

We also wanted to let you know that you will be able to show off you've won something at ISS by posting a button created specifically for one of our challenges. That means if you won the Sketch Challenge or OHDBCGA, you will be able to have some brag time with a button that will say it for you and be too cute!

April will be a big month for us, so stay tuned!

Now onto this week's challenge - CHIPBOARD

This week's project is brought to you by Linda. She created this wonderful project using chipboard for the clouds. She took 2 cloud chipboard shapes and colored them with colorbox ink. She also added glossy crackle accents (sorry for the picture you can't really see it) and voila, a cute chipboard project.


Lana's

                                      
It's very simple to add chipboard to a project. Try it today! Our prize this week will be 3 digital images of your choice.

All you have to do is leave a link via Mr. Linky by no later than 11:59 pm PST on Tuesday, March 30th. The winner will be announced on Wednesday.

Have fun!

Bookmark Cards

Hi everyone! Ready to kick off another week? They are going by so fast, aren't they?!?! Today I want to share a quick and easy bookmark card with you - they make a great little gift to send to someone!

Here's what you need to get started:

• 5 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock (here, Kraft)
• perforating tool (here, my tool is from Stampin' Up)
  
• scoring tool
  
• items to decorate the card as you wish (here is used: dp, nestabilities, ribbon, markers, paper piercer, Martha Stewart edge punch)
  

Start by scoring the cardstock at 4 1/4" inches. Then use your perforating tool to perforate the card at 8 1/2". It will look like the image above when you are finished. You know what? That's it! The hard part is over! I told you this was a quick and easy little gift to make. Now all you need to do is create the card front and bookmark any way you want to.

I happen to like mine to match - but that's just me. You could make them in coordinating colors, or put the image on the card front and a sentiment on the bookmark. Really, the possibilities are endless. I went with Sasha on my card - isn't she great? I colored her with a combination of Prismacolor markers and Copics. Oh, and a Sakura glitter pen, to give her jewelry, hoes, and purse handles some pizzaz. Every sassy lady needs some sparkle!

One important thing to remember is to not over embellish or layer your bookmark - it does need to lay flat inside a book! I love cards like these because they can really brighten a person's day. Not only are they getting a handmade card in the mail, but a surprise gift too! And who doesn't need a bookmark?

You should try one of these this week! If you do, leave a link here so we can come check out your creation!

Wedding Week Day Five! - Winner announced

Well today is our last day of wedding week. I hope you enjoyed it. We will be previewing a new image...Lee and Miele our Bride and Groom. And we will be choosing our winner for our photo contest prize.

Here are Lee and Miele - ISS DT Style

Angela's

Genevieve



Taylor's



Virginia's



Angelique's



Lana's



And Raquel's



What wonderful cards. My aunt is going to be having a summer wedding this year (I think) and she came over to take a look at some color choices. She is very ecclectic and so her choices are not traditional in the least. But they fit her personality. What I love about design team work is that you don't always see the traditional side of things. Sometimes the color choices you think in your head translate very well onto cardstock.

It amazes me how just simply paper piecing a gown can give a dramatic effect to the entire card. Good job ladies!

All of our images showcased this week will be available real soon. Our redesigns are happening now and I can't wait to show you all. I'm soo excited about that. Once they are done, we will definitely recap all the images available in the store.

We will be releasing new images all the way up until July...and in July our Holiday images will be available as well. After that, we will be focusing on contests and previewing all the items in our store and catalog until November when we will begin showcasing our Spring 2011 line. Yeah...can you believe 2011 is right around the corner?

Anywho, now onto the photo contest. This photo contest prize is big. So I was glad to see people participating.

I received an entry from Kacie Mizoguchi. I wanted to share her 2 entries here since she was having blog difficulties. :)





Wow a fantasy wedding at Disneyland? That truly is a fairytale wedding right? Beautiful!!

Our lucky winner of this week's photo prize is SWEETPZ!!!

Check out her wedding photo HERE. Please contact me within 48 hours to claim your prize! Congratulations.

Thanks for taking the time to join us for this week of wedding bliss. I hope you had a good time.

Make sure to stop by on Monday for our Method Monday tutorial AND on Tuesday for 2 big announcements!

Have a great weekend.

Wedding Week Day Four!

And so it is almost Friday already. Wow this week just flew right by me. I've been so busy I haven't been able to really take time to create anything...wah!

Today we have the last of our interview Trisha Caal, owner of Embellishments which is a high-end invitation website. She has given us a lot of inspiration and it's been fun getting to know her.

We will also be showcasing another one of our wedding inspired images which is our cute bridesmaid Mylie. She is adorable. Watch, you will see!

And now onto the interview:

FarFalle

ISS - What’s the most important element of making a great invitation?

Trisha - The most important element of a custom invitation is understanding and grasping your client's vision. Ultimately, the design should fit the client's personality, style and vision for the event. Without understanding and "nailing" these factors, it would be just another invitation!

ISS - Who would be your dream client?

Trisha - Of course Oprah would be the ultimate client as all of her events are always so fun, well thought out, sophisticated and elegant. But I also have a yearning to design something fabulous for President and First Lady Obama. I dream of the day I will have the honor to design an invite for his daughters Sasha or Melia, or to participate in the decorating of the White House at Christmas time. A girl can dream right?

ISS - If you were locked into a store, which store would it be?

Trisha - Bluefly.com. Bluefly carries all the top designer brands; fashion, shoes, handbags, home decor, jewelry accessories, Did I say HANDBAGS? My favorite part is saving big $$$ for designer names. I love to discover hidden treasures and a good deal! Aside from the shopping aspect of Bluefly, I also get inspired by certain elements used by the top fashion designers such as Chanel, Valentino and Christian Dior.

ISS - Where do you see yourself in five years?

Trisha - After reading Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth, I learned to just enjoy and embrace the moment. I love that each day brings with it new opportunities, challenges and happiness. One thing I can tell you, whatever it is and wherever I am, I will be doing what I love, for those I love.

Thank you Trisha for taking the time to do this interview. We wish you much luck in all your endeavors.

I love doing invitations. Especially when I can create someting from what I gather from the information give to me and not have so much of the client's input. I do at least 10 orders a year for non-family and have come up with some very cute ideas if I do say so myself. :) But none so far have been catagorized as "Couture" Ha ha.

If you have an upcoming nuptial and would like more ideas and to even possibly use one of Trisha's services, make sure you check out her out on the web. She is wonderful to work with and has a flair for design.

With all the wedding talk, I think we have forgotten a little about an important person other than the bride in a wedding. What about the bridesmaid, or matron of honor?

Did you see 27 Dresses? That movie was hilarious. The main character was alwasy a bridesmaid! That sparked my interest and that is how Mylie came about. She is always the bridesmaid...and she can't wait to be the bride.

Check her out:

Taylor



Janelle



Jodi's



And Robin's cute box


Joy

Angélique

How cute are these projects? Mylie is definitely a keeper. She has the cutest smirk on her face. You could also use her for being stood up on a first date, or even on a prom themed card. Versatility! I love it.

Thanks for joining us. Tomorrow will out last day of wedding week. We will be previewing our final wedding inspired image, which is our Bride and Groom. :)

Don't forget to enter one of your wedding photo's in our drawing. You could win this huge prize:



Don't feel left out if you don't have a blog. Email us, and we will post your picture for you!

See you tomorrow!

Wedding Week Day Three!

I'm so happy you stopped by for day three of our wedding week. We have another wedding inspired image to showcase as well as part three of our interview with Trisha Caal of Embellishments, a couture invitation website.

Trisha started a new line of DIY invites called Captured Hearts. These invites are couture inspired, but perfect for any budget. They are not only gorgeous, but very affordable.

Here is more of the interview:
Antiquity!



ISS - Why Captured Hearts?

Trisha - Captured Hearts was created for those who want something unique and extraordinary yet are on a budget. I always say, "you don't have to forfeit style & elegance just because you are on a budget."

During these hard economic times, everyone is watching their spending. Captured Hearts is for those clients who are looking for something different but are willing to put in a little effort of their own by printing and assembling on their end, and in doing so will save big. In the case of Captured Hearts, a little sacrifice goes a long way.

ISS - What is your favorite event to create for?

Trisha - I would say weddings are my favorite because of their grand, elaborate scale. But in this day and age, most events are orchestrated on the same caliber!

I also love designing eco-wise invitations. An eco-friendly, budget minded event is exciting to me because there are unlimited resources of used or recycled materials available. Not only can we take something old and reuse it in a new way, but it also helps save our environment!

Come back for part four of this interview tomorrow. How exciting are DIY invites? I mean why wouldn't you splurge a little on the design but save big because you print and assemble on your own? I think that is a great idea!
And speaking of great idea's, I thought we'd give you a few more wedding inspired creations. Today's preview is of our Couture Cake. How well does that fit in with our interview? Yes, even cakes can be couture. Do you watch Cake Boss, or Amazing Wedding Cakes? Those cake are gorgeous but EXPENSIVE! They are sometimes so elaborate I think to myself, I couldn't eat that. It cost me to much. Ha ha.

So here are our inexpensive ideas for a couture cake.

Virginia's

Taylor's


Cyndi's


And Raquel's



Aren't they adorable? I love them.

Janelle also got into the spirit and created a cute bouquet for our wedding week button. We are posting it for sale here for $1.00.



Of course the image is line-art. So you would color it yourself! If you are interested in purchasing it, please email me. I have a special offer for it and I can't get the paypal button to work for it. This special offer will expire in 1 week from today. :) You will LOVE IT. Trust me. :) And it's only a buck. You can't lose either way. :)

Thanks for stopping by, join us again for day Four tomorrow!

Over-the-Hump-Day Blog Candy Giveaway!!

Happy Hump Day! We've got a lot planned for today. Not only it is OHBCGA day but it's also Day Three of Wedding Week. So before we jump into this month's challenge, let's announce the winner of last month's prize. And the winner of the $25.00 gift certificate is LEANNE! You have 48 hours to claim your prize. Please click on the contact tab under the heading above for the email address. Congratulations!

This month's challenge is to create a project with some yellow and green on it. Since it is St. Patrick's Day, we are in the spirit right? Can't pinch us, we all have green. :)

Here are some fabulous projects:

Taylor


Geneviève

Robin

Kerry

Joy

Angela

Julie's
Jodi's

Janelle's

Raquel

Linda

Cyndi's

Lucy

Lana

Angélique

This month's prize is a set of all the digital images we are releasing this month. There are over 25. They will all be available after the redesign is complete. So all you have to do to be entered is create a project using yellow and green and post a link to it in Mr. Linky by no later than 11:59 pm PST on April 13th. We will do a recap of all the images at the end of this month after blog hop in this post. That way you can see all the images you will receive.

You have a whole month to participate. 25 free digital images is a great prize. And there is a variety of styles from our great anime images, to even our cute kitty with anime eyes.

Can't wait to see what you come up with! Come back at 12:00 pm for Wedding Week Day Three! Thanks for stopping by.

All New Digi's

We have around 27 new digital images being released this month. The design team has been working with them for various projects. During blog hop we will recap all of them. They will be available after the redesigns of the site and blogs are done. Hopefully in a couple of weeks. They are wonderful!

And during the month of April we will be debuting our exclusive rubber stamps that will be available only with our retailers. In fact, most of our rubber stamps will not be available on ISS anymore, you will have to get them through our retailers. ISS will be focusing on digital stamps only on the main website. But don't worry, we are still selling rubber stamps for now. And we will be selling the digital images of some of the exclusive rubber stamps we will be working with for the month of April.

:)

Wedding Week Day Two!

Welcome back for the 2nd day of our wedding week. Part 2 of the Interview with Trisha Caal is coming up along with a preview of another one of our lovely images.

For those of you who are married know that it is not easy. It takes a lot of hard work and compromise. People say if both give 50/50 then a marriage will work. I say you can't just give part of yourself. You have to give 100% each in order to make a marriage last. I loved being married even during the rough times. It's a commitment you must give your whole self to.

Ok off my soap box lol. Now onto the interview.

Dazzle Em




ISS - What is your style? What are your favorite types of materials to work with?

Trish - My personal style is classicism, always mixed with an element of surprise! I seem to be drawn to dangling antique crystals, sassy ostrich feathers and rich, illustrious textiles and ribbons.

ISS - If you had 3 pieces of materials to work with what would they be?

Trish - Oh, if only every order required antique textiles, heirloom ribbons and letterpress! The old textiles and ribbons are so intricate and unique in design and letterpress adds such a traditional, timeless and old world feel. Every so often I will come across these heirloom items and I just can't get enough of them. I sometimes think I was born in the wrong time period!

Join us tomorrow for Day Three of this interview.

*Update* What is letterpress? I wanted to address what letterpress is. It is is a term for the relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image. It was the normal form of printing text in the west from its invention by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century until the 19th century and remained in wide use for books and other uses until the second half of the 20th century.

Here is a sample of a letterpress invitation from Bella Figura:



I absolutely love letterpress. While it can be pricey, it is amazingly beautiful. If you can afford to have it done for a special occasion, I'd do it.

And now onto our preview of Fiona, our bridal portrait.

I absolutely love portrait pictures. I like how they focus on the face. Doesn't Fiona look great?

Virginia's



Taylor's



And Julie's



All of our new images will be available after our redesign has been complete.

See you tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by.