Spotlight on Creativity...From Designing Divas

Creativity from our team

It's time to meet Sue Taylor-Hill, Consultant and her artistic flair

Once again it's Friday, and time to meet some more creative talent!

Let me introduce you to Sue Taylor-Hill!  A multitalented artist and crafter, Sue is a consistent top-seller and has been a valued member of the Designing Divas for several years.  Take a look at her fabulous work and get to know her a little bit better!

I run two monthly Clubs and enjoy teaching new techniques and getting together with new people.

I am a stay at home Mom of two children, married for 15 years and my office is my creative safe haven. I love anything to do with scrapbooking, cardmaking and crafts and have been with CTMH for almost 7 years.  

Materials:
My Creations Pennant Frame
Seaside Papers
Sorbet, Colonial White, Glacier, Kraft C/S
SOTM - Family Is Forever
Chocolate, Glacier, and Sorbet Inks
Chalk it Up Assortment/ Bulk Hearts


Thanks Sue, for sharing your wonderful project!

So sad to go.....

Well, today is my last day of creating with the Your Next Stamp Design Team! 

I am very sad to go but had an amazing time making things with the beautiful stamps and dies.

I created this layout and I used the "Piles of Smiles"stamp set and matching die. I paper pieced the little man, and cut out lots of leaves. As well, I used both of the "Ink splatter" stamps on the background.

   

I would just like to thank Karen and Thanh and all of the other Girls from the Design Team who welcomed me to this great team this month!

Check out all the great products from YNS at:  http://yournextstamp.com/

Thanks and have a great day!

Sue

Patchwork Challenge at Meljens Today!

Today we are using the theme "patchwork" in our newest Challenge!

I used this adorable image called: Fru Fru Fairy Joy and coloured her with Copic markers. The paper I used is from Crate Paper and I pieced squares together to make a quilt effect. Then I outlined it with a journalling pen to add stitches.

Check out our new challenge at: http://meljensdesignsdt.blogspot.ca/

Cheers,

Sue

Creative Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Creative Blog Hop:

This hop is a way to have an ongoing and never-ending hop to introduce each other and make new friends and broaden our list of blog artists!

Thank you to Thanh Vo ( http://makeitsweetandneat.com ) for nominating me!

What am I working on now?
I was a lucky Girl this month to be asked by Your Next Stamp to be their Guest Designer so I am working on cards for them using their new release stamps.
 

 How does my work differ from others in my genre?

My work is different than others in my genre in that I use all types of stamps (Acrylic, digital and rubber) and I like different mediums. (Copics, Prismacolors, Distress Inks) I constantly change it up depending on what I am doing and feeling.

Why do I create what I do?

I create the things I do basically because I LOVE papercrafting. Papers, markers and embellishments make me happy! My office is my creative safe haven and I love sitting at my desk using new products and creating.

How does my creative process work?

When I get a new project I will actually make a sketch first of what I want to do. Then I pick a stamp that goes with the theme, then the papers and cardstock. The sketch helps me think out and balance my project and I can make changes to it without wasting supplies.

Hope you learned a bit about me today and I would like to introduce you to the next Blogger! 
SHERI BALLANTYNE



Sheri Ballantyne:  http://sherisays-justscrapit.blogspot.ca

 Who is Sheri?

I am a jack of all crafts.  I love scrapbooking, cardmaking, home decor, jewellery making and so much more.  I'm also a writer and love playing with words as much as my crafting supplies.  For me, it's about the creative process, and throughout the process, I learn new things, relax, de-stress and just have fun. 

Please visit Sheri's blog and give her some love!

Hugs,

Sue

YNS Fall Treat!

Fall is fast approaching and YNS has some fantastic new stamps this month to celebrate!

One of my favourite is called "Piles of Smiles" and I love the way it makes me 

happy when I look at it!

I embossed the leaves from the set onto Kraft cardstock and inked them, then attached them over washi tape and an embossed wood background and added punched out branches.

Piles of Smiles

Take a look at all the new releases at:   http://yournextstamp.com

Happy Fall!

Sue

YNS September Challenge

September is a great month at Your Next Stamp!
They have some great new releases and a wonderful Challenge going on right now!

It is a sketch challenge based on this sketch:

And here is some inspiration for you:

Here is the card I made for the Challenge:

The stamp set I used is called: Tea-Rific

Please join us in this month's challenge at: http://ynschallenges.blogspot.ca/

And to find the above stamp set and to see all the new releases this month

go to:   http://yournextstamp.com/

Sue

DT Day at Meljens Today!

HI Everyone, it is my DT Day over at Meljen Designs today and I thought I would do a little project!

I believe in recycling, reusing and repurposing things and when my daughter's Epipen expired I was left with this great green case with a locking lid. Just the thing for me to find something to do with it!

I first printed the image called " Little Sign Mouse" by Meljens and punched it out with a square scalloped punch. I then cut a background cardstock and rounded the corners of it. The image was then coloured with Copics and I added the word "Piercers" to it.

 

Here is the end result! I now have a fantastic container for my piercers and needles (which were ALWAYS getting lost!) and a great tag to go on it!

Check out Meljens wonderful designs at: http://www.meljensdesigns.com/ and also join us in the monthly challenges!

Hope you enjoy,

Sue

Still Hopping at YNS!

It is our After Party at YNS today to celebrate all the new stamps released for September!

 Don't you love them?!

This one I especially loved because it is fun and you can use it for any occasion.

This amazing stamp set is called: "Coaster Bug" which I coloured with Copic markers.


Remember to join in on our Blog Hop and you could win a $20 gift certificate to YNS!

New items are still on sale (No coupon code necessary) including YNS Gumdrops
 will be on sale for 25% off 
and remember to check out the clearance section !


The Hop will end on September 17th at 12 EST
and you can see if you are a winner on the 18th!

Now GO!  HOP and SHOP!

http://yournextstamp.blogspot.ca

Sue

Its BLOG HOP Day!

Hello and welcome to our September New Release Blog Hop!

As the weather transitions to crisp mornings and the leaves start to fall from the trees, all of the YNS Design Team members are hard at work creating fabulous fall themed inspiration for you!

 We have a fun September lineup of stamps and dies for you this month. We know you are going to fall in love with the new dies and our harvest characters!!! If you love interactive cards, we have the perfect dies for you!
Want to try splattering ink, but worried that it will look messy?
Have no fear, our Ink Splatter stamp will solve that!
Everything is available now in the YNS Store HERE

The hop begins on Peggy's blog and if you've been hopping along, you should have come from Maureen's blog.
Make sure you hop around to all of the blogs featured in the link list located at the bottom of this post for lots of inspiration using the new products!

Make sure to leave a comment on all of the blogs for your chance to win
a $20.00 YNS gift certificate!!!.

The lucky winner will be announced on the Your Next Stamp Blog September 18th.

For my project I used: "Piles of Smiles" and the "Woodgrain" stamps.

I stamped this cute squirrel and coloured him with Prismacolor pencils then mounted him on a background stamped with the Woodgrain stamp.

You may have read that YNS is getting ready to launch a new website!
As they say, out with the old and in with the new! With getting the new website ready for the new site this prompted them to retire/discontinue quite a few stamps and discontinuing the Digital Stamps line. We'll also be retiring plenty of stamps so NOW is the time to stock up on your wishlists!
Check out all the retiring stamps HERE .

Also, back by popular demand, all YNS Gumdrops will be on sale for
 25% off between September 14 to 18.

Thank you so much for stopping by today and hopping along with us!

Now it's time to head on over to Tracy's blog,
 but before you go, don't forget to leave a comment.

Thanks,

Sue

Sneek Peek at Your Next Stamp today!

SHHHHHH....Sneek Peek today of YNS' NEW September stamp release!

Here is a card I made using the brand new stamps called: Piles of Smiles and Mini Splatter.

I stamped the mini splatter in two colours on textured white cardstock, added the leaves which I coloured with Prismacolor pencils and added jewels.

Stay tuned for more exciting new releases and exciting Blog Hop starting tomorrow!

Join us at: http://yournextstamp.blogspot.ca

SUE

Do something Funny!

There is a new challenge today over at Meljens and we are acting funny!

 Making funny cards actually...

For this card I used this cute image called "Chocolate Diva" and coloured her with Copics. The printed papers are from My Minds Eye and I punched the border with a butterfly punch from EK Success. The cardstock and the stamped sentiment from CTMH.

Please join us in this weeks Challenge and get funny!

http://meljensdesignsdt.blogspot.ca/

Sue

YNS Challenge Today!

Join us today in a fun Sketch Challenge over at Your Next Stamp!

Here is your September sketch:

 And here is some Inspiration:

And here is what I created:

The cute stamp I chose for this card is by Your Next Stamp and it is called: Dance Fhiona.

 I coloured her with Copic markers and Wink of Stella pen in pink.

I used cardstock from Close to My Heart, and papers from Doodlebug Designs.

Join us this month at: http://ynschallenges.blogspot.ca/

I am Guest Designer at Your Next Stamp this Month!

I am SO happy to have been asked to be a part of the very talented group over at 

Your Next Stamp for the month of September!

When I received my very generous gift package I saw this adorable stamp set called: Autumn Greetings and I knew I had to make something for Thanksgiving with it. Thanksgiving is always celebrated up north at mine or my parents' cottage and we have the whole family come (and sometimes friends). It is one of my favourite times of the year because the leaves are all changing (I get awesome pictures of my Girls) and we are all together.

I used cardstock, patterned papers and ribbon from CTMH and coloured the images with Copics.

 markers.

Check out the Autumn Blessings stamp set and all the other amazing stamps at YNS: http://www.yournextstamp.com/

Hope you enjoy!

Sue

Celebrate National Stamping Month!

September is National Stamping Month, and Close To My Heart is ready to celebrate all month long! When you spend $30 on any current retail-priced stamps during the month of September, you qualify to receive the exclusive C-sized stamp set #30yearsofhappy for FREE! This special offer is part of our celebration of National Stamping Month and in honor of our ongoing celebration of our founder and CEO Jeanette Lynton’s 30-year anniversary in the scrapbooking and stamping industry. The exclusive stamp set features 30 mini images and sentiments perfectly suited for 30 days of happy stamping!

 Offer valid September 1, 2014–September 30, 2014. 

I will be placing an order on September 15th, 2014