Guest Blogger- Holly Simoni

Hi Everyone,

It's Guest Blogger Day here at Stampin' Queen Creations! What does that mean you ask? Well, it means that every Friday I will take off my crown and pass it on to a fabulous professional designer who's work I respect more than words can say. Today I pass my crown to my friend, professional designer, Holly Simoni!!!

To be honest, I haven't really known Holly for that long. We met about 6 months ago through our friend, Theresa Cifali, and her group called "Socially Sensible Creatives". But even though I haven't known Holly long, I know by seeing her work, what an extremely talented designer she is!!! Her work just makes me say "Wow!" She is fabulous!!!

Since I would like for you to know her a little better, this is what Holly has to say about herself-

I live in a small rural town in Wyoming. I have a fabulous husband that supports my
creativity. My art can be a bit wild, grungy, distressed and at times have a graphic
feel to it. Scrapbooking became a hobby for me when my two little girls were born.
It has evolved into an expression of art for me. Photography, scrapbooking, altered
items and other forms of mixed media have become a great outlet for my artistic
endeavors. I have taught altered art, altered books, stamping, Photoshop Elements
and scrapbook classes. I have enjoyed being published in scrapbooking and altered
art magazines. I was a 2006, 2007 and 2009 Spellbinders Design Team Member, am a current Spellbinders Special Projects Designer, Spellbinders Travel Team Member and Spellbinders Blog Author. I have volunteered my time with “Stars in Heaven” – a group of parents who have had a child pass away, and want to make paper arts as a form of therapeutic expression. I have a B.S. Degree in Health and Human Development, and am a Certified Massage Therapist.

So now that you know a little bit more about Holly, make sure you stop by her blog and check out her work for yourself. You will be as amazed as I am with her design style. Holly's blog can be found here-

http://hollysimoni.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/09/spellbinders-grand-labels-fall-card.html

Holly, I can't begin to thank you enough for allowing me to feature your beautiful work on my blog. Thank you so much!!!

Thank you for joining me. Until next time...

 

Crafty hugs,

 

Lisa

Stampin' Queen Creations

 

Give The Queen A Call!!!

Wordless Wednesday- Colorful Thinking of You Card

Wordless Wednesday's are the days that I post just a project without instructions or a supply list.

 

 

Hi Everyone,

 

For today's Wordless Wednesday project, I thought I would share a card I made with my designer friend, Brenda Pinnick's, rubber stamps. These stamps are great to work with and I know that if you purchase some for yourself, you'll love them as much as I do.

 

For more information on Brenda's stamps, please visit her website at www.brendapinnick.com.

 

Thank you for joining me. Until next time...

 

Crafty hugs,

 

Lisa

Stampin' Queen Creations

 

Give The Queen A Call!!! 

 

Bella Crafts Quarterly

Hi Everyone,

I have had lots of blessed events in my life and most of them I have shared with all of you, but today I'm going to tell you about a dream of mine that has finally come true!

I have always dreamed of having my own magazine and after lots of hard work I, along with three of my designer friends Ann Butler, Carol Heppner and Theresa Cifali, have made that dream come true with our brand new FREE digital craft publication called Bella Crafts Quarterly™!



Bella Crafts Quarterly™ is a free downloadable, digital craft publication that you can view on all mobile devices such as cell phones tablets, laptops, computers and e-readers. The digital magazine is free and you can download it on our website. You can also read it free online and a printed version of the magazine is available for a minimal price through MagCloud. Bella Crafts Quarterly™ is like an e-book but in a magazine layout. It is downloadable, which means that it is portable.

Here is what you'll find in this first edition of our magazine-

 

The Bella Crafts Quarterly™ Halloween issue contains:

• Socially Sensible™ column with Theresa Cifali covers how social media is important to your craft business
• Ann Butler’s Artist-to-Artist interview is with Kathy Cano-Murillo, The Crafty Chica
• Carol Heppner’s Trending Thoughts talks fall trends with craft professionals Laura Bray, Eileen Hull, Julie McGuffee, Debra Quartermain and Marisa Pawelko
• Ann Butler’s Blog Star column features craft blogger Alexa Westerfield
• Lisa Rojas’ column, Lessons with Lisa™, discusses Scrapbooking and Rubber Stamping’s burning question.
• Photo Talk™ with Carol Heppner helps you take better Halloween photos of your little ghouls.
• This month’s giveaway is by Duetica
• The Bella Crafts’ Creative Team, Ann Butler, Carol Heppner, Lisa Rojas and Theresa Cifali share Spooktacular craft projects for this Halloween season
• Free classy wine label downloads to alter bottles for Halloween

Make sure to tell your crafty friends about us. They can download their own FREE copy. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

 

I am so thriled about this new venture and I hope that you will help me by spreading the word on Bella Crafts Quarterly™. It really does have everything you need in a craft magzine! After you have downloaded your FREE copy, please leave me a comment here on my blog and let me know what you think about it, or you can email us at info@bellacraftsquarterly.com. For your free copy of the magazine, please visit us at www.bellacraftsquarterly.com

 

Thank you for joining me. Until next time...

 

Crafty hugs,

 

Lisa

Stampin' Queen Creations

 

Give The Queen A Call!!!

 

Advertising inquires at info@bellacraftsquarterly.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visit the Bella Crafts Quarterly™ http://bellacraftsquarterly.com/ to choose how you would like to read this publication.

The publishers of the Bella Crafts™, the Creative Team, are four of the craft industry’s top professional designers, Ann Butler, Carol Heppner, Lisa Rojas and Theresa Cifali. We have a lifetime of knowledge and expertise in all things that are craft-industry related.

Looking Into The Past- Halloween Basket

Hi Everyone,

Aside from Christmas, Halloween is my favorite holiday. I love everything about it. I love the decorations, the costumes, the make-up and of course, the candy. Every year from the time my children were infants, I spent weeks designing and making each of their Halloween costumes. With all of that time and effort I put into making their costumes each year, I couldn’t let them collect their candy in store bought bags! I used to love watching them run up to our neighbor’s doors, push their candy baskets forward and scream “Trick or Treat!” Once we got back to our house, my kids would pour their baskets of goodies onto the kitchen table and we would sort through all of it to make sure it was safe for them to eat.

Through the years, my children’s trick or treat baskets went from something very simple like a bag sewn from matching material, to hand stamped and painted baskets, depending on what their costumes were for that year.

This project was created years ago so the stamps will no longer be available, but as I have stated before any project that I have shared in my "Looking into the Past" posts can be recreated with the stamps that are on the market today.

So, if you ever come across a project that was made years before, don't cast it off and think that you can never make another one. Just because your supplies may be different, the techniques that are involved remain the same!

Thanks for joining me. Until next time…

Crafty hugs,

Lisa

Stampin’ Queen Creations

Give The Queen A Call!!!

 

Supplies

• Miss October and Cat S-164 from Close To My Heart
• Trick or Treat (word stamp) from Penny Black
• Spider 612-A from All Night Media
• Bats A-224 from Hero Arts
• Wood basket from Provo Craft
• White copy paper
• Versacolor pigment inkpad- black and purple from TSUKINEKO Inc.
• Clear embossing powder
• Aleene’s Premium-Coat Acrylic Paints- True Orange, True Lime
• Aleene’s Instant Decoupage Matte Finish
• Paintbrush
• Foam brush
• Micron pen- black
• Prismacolor Color Pencils
• Ribbon- orange and green
• Exacto knife
• Heat tool

Instructions

Step 1. Using a paintbrush, paint lid of basket with orange acrylic paint. Paint handle and top rim of basket with green acrylic paint. Set aside to dry.

Step 2. Stamp witch and cat onto white copy paper. Color both images with color pencils and cut out. Next stamp bats and spider along handle, top rim and lid of basket with black pigment pad. Emboss all images with clear powder.

Step 3. Stamp “Trick or Treat” on lid of basket with purple pigment inkpad and emboss with clear powder. Apply instant decoupage with foam brush to lid, lay stamped images down and apply decoupage over images. Be sure to work fast. Instant decoupage dries quickly.

Step 4. Cover entire lid, handle and top rim with decoupage. Let dry, then repeat the step. When basket is completely dry, add ribbon bows to each side of handle. Add stitch marks to lid with Micron pen.

 

Wordless Wednesday-Halloween Card

Wordless Wednesday's are the days that I post just a project without instructions or a supply list.

Hi Everyone,

For today's Wordless Wednesday post I have a extra surprise for you! I don't include instructions on my Wordless Wenesday's post, but if you want to know how I created this fabulous Halloween card, please head over to the KellyCraft website. There you will not only find the instructions for this card, but I also did step by step photos! Be sure you check it out!

Thank you for joining me. Until next time...

 

Crafty hugs,

 

Lisa

Stampin' Queen Creations

 

Give The Queen A Call!!!

 



Designer Craft Connection Hop

Hi Everyone,

It’s the 1^st Monday of the month and that means it’s Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop Day! And this month’s theme is Halloween! I just love Halloween! It’s one of my favorite holidays and the project I created for this hop is a Halloween Centerpiece. 

I also have some wonderful news to share with you. I am so pleased to announce that I am joining Ann Butler, Carol Heppner and Theresa Cifali as part of the Creative Team for Bella Crafts Quarterly™.  It is a completely FREE digital craft publication that you can download on your computer, laptop, tablet, e-reader and cell phone. 

In this fabulous new publication, you will find a variety of columns written with you in mind.  The Socially Sensible™ column addresses topics related to social media for those in the creative industry. Artist to Artist is an in-depth interview with the craft industry’s hottest personalities. Trending Thoughts offers top professionals’ opinions on the newest trends for the season.  Blog Star introduces you to the Internet’s best craft bloggers.  

You can improve your skills with Bella Crafts Quarterly’s™ mini classes.  My column, Lessons with Lisa™ covers craft technique topics to boost your skills and Photo Talk™ helps you take your photography to the next level. 

Do you love giveaways? The first 100 people  to like and message Bella Crafts Quarterly™  on Facebook and then send a Facebook message with their name an email address will receive an amazing Duetica font absolutely FREE! Of course, there are fabulous craft projects.

Check out Bella Craft Quarterly™ Halloween Video here-

http://youtu.be/iBJPuSDpCeU 

You can find Bella Crafts Quarterly™ on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Let us know what you are creating.  Share your craft pictures on our Facebook Page and with us on Pinterest.  

Other items in the Halloween issue:

• Socially Sensible™ covers how social media is important to your craft business
• Artist to Artist interviews Kathy Cano-Murillo, The Crafty Chica
• Trending Thoughts talks fall trends with craft professionals Laura Bray, Eileen Hull, Julie McGuffee, Debra Quartermain and Marisa Pawelko
• Blog Star features craft blogger Alexa Westerfield
• Lessons with Lisa™ discuss Scrapbooking and Rubber Stamping’s burning question.
• Photo Talk™ helps you take better Halloween photos of your little ghouls.
• This month’s giveaway is by Duetica
• The Bella Crafts’ Creative Team, Ann Butler, Carol Heppner, Lisa Rojas and Theresa Cifali share Spooktacular craft projects for this Halloween season
• Free boo-tiful wine label download to alter bottles for Halloween

So, after you have finished hopping, please head over to MagCloud to download your FREE issue of Bella Crafts Quarterly™

http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/445607/follow 

Also in October the DCC Manufacturer Blog Hop features Makin's Clay so be sure to come back here Saturday October 13th to see some fabulous project showcasing Makin's No Bake Polymer Clay.

Makin's Clay will be giving away a prize package just over $100 retail cost to one lucky reader! In order to enter go to the Makin's Clay Blog between Saturday October 13 – Wednesday October 24; here is the link: http://makinsclayblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/makins-clay-blog-hop-contest.html  details for entering and winning will be posted there.

Thank you for joining me. Until next time...

 

Crafty hugs,

 

Lisa

Stampin' Queen Creations

 

Give The Queen A Call!!!

 

 Instructions to this project can be found by downloading you FREE issue of Bella Crafts Quarterly™ at www.bellacraftsquarterly.com!!!

 

 

 

 

Guest Blogger- Cindi Bisson

Hi Everyone,

It's Guest Blogger Day here at Stampin' Queen Creations! What does that mean you ask? Well, it means that every Friday I will take off my crown and pass it on to a fabulous professional designer who's work I respect more than words can say. Today I pass my crown to my friend, professional CHA Designer, Cindi Bisson!!!

I have to say that Cindi is one of my favorite people on the planet! I met Cindi a few years ago at a CHA show and we have been fast friends ever since! Not only is Cindi an absolutely amazing mixed media artist, she is also one very funny girl. I can never keep a straight face around this girl! This last July, Cindi, Ann Butler & I roomed together at the CHA show in Chicago. I have never laughed so hard in my life!!!

As I said, Cindi is a fabulous mixed media artist and one very busy girl. Cindi works with many different manufacturers on their Design Teams and she can also be found on When Creativity Knocks Web TV.  In Spring of 2012, Cindi's craft channel "Cindi Bisson - Behind These Eyes" premiered on the When Creativity Knocks website - featuring 10 episodes throughout the year. 

For more information on this fabulously funny & talented lady, please check out her website at www.fatcatcreations.blogspot.com. You will find tons of Cindi's work including this beautiful pendant that I'm sharing with you today.

Cindi, thank you so much for allowing me to showcase your beautiful work on my blog. But most importantly, thank you for being my friend! I absolutely adore you girlfriend and I'll share my bed with you anytime!!!

Thank you for joining me. Until next time...

 

Crafty hugs,

 

Lisa

Stampin' Queen Creations

 

Give The Queen A Call!!!



http://fatcatcreations.blogspot.com/2012_08_01_archive.html



http://fatcatcreations.blogspot.com/2012_08_01_archive.html

Wordless Wednesday- Teacher Pocket Card

Wordless Wednesday's are the days that I post just a project without instructions or a supply list.

 

 

Hi Everyone,

 

For today's Wordless Wednesday I thought I would share another pocket card and since the kids are back in school, the theme is perfect. I hope you like it!

 

PS- If there is ever a time when I post a Wordless Wednesday project and you would like the instructions, please leave me a comment or email me. If I have the directions for the project, I will be more than happy to send them to you. All you have to do is ask!

 

Thank you for joining me. Until next time...

 

Crafty hugs,

 

Lisa

Stampin' Queen Creations

 

Give The Queen A Call!!!

 



Fun & Funky Keychains

Hi Everyone,

 

I thought for today’s blog post I would share a rubber stamped project that I created. In a recent blog post, I made a confession about my inability to draw. Since they say that confession is good for the soul, I have another confession I want to share… I lose my keys all the time! That’s right. I said it and I can’t believe I admitted to that out loud, but it’s true. I am forever misplacing my keys!

When my kids were little, I used to blame it on them all the time. I would tell myself that they were just playing a game of hide and seek with me and my keys (I know, I’m a terrible mother!). But as my kids got older I finally had to admit to myself that I truly am a bonehead that is always losing her keys.

That is how this project came to be. I wanted to create a key chain that would be easy to locate (even for me!) but I wanted something that would be cute and durable. I also wanted something that would be easy to find in what I like to refer to as the “Deep Hole in Hades”, or better known as my purse. Let’s face it ladies, the bigger the purse the more stuff we can put into it. I don’t know about you, but for me a bigger purse causes many more problems in finding my keys.

So, in honor of all the women out there that have a habit of losing their keys, this project is for you. I have included four different styles of key chains you can make yourselves, but don’t make just one. Make all four so you can interchange them with your ever changing moods.

Thank you for joining me. Until next time...

Crafty hugs,

Lisa

Stampin' Queen Creations

Give The Queen A Call!!!

 

 

SUPPLIES FOR ALL KEY CHAINS

• Mat board
• Tags- 2”W x 3 ¾”H
• White card stock
• Key rings
• Aleene’s Paper Glaze
• Aleene’s Clear Gel Tacky Glue
• Therm O Web Super Tape
• Copper tape ( for The Queen key chain)
• Silver embossing powder (for the Celestial key chain)
• Purple embossing powder ( for the Birdhouse key chain)
• Black dye-based inkpad
• Krylon Preserve It! Spray Sealer
• Delta Ceramcoat Acrylic Paints- Purple (for the Birdhouse), Fruit Punch (for the Rose), Straw (for the Queen), Metallic Silver (for Celestial)
• Loew-Cornell Pastel Chalks
• Jacquard Pearl Ex Powders
• Assorted fibers and beads
• Heat tool
• Exacto knife
• Rubber Stamps:
• Rose by DeNami
• Musical notes by Stampendous
• Birdhouse by Stampington & Co.
• Queen bee and Celestial by All Night Media

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALL KEY CHAINS

1. Lay manila tag on to mat board and trace with a pencil four times. Cut out mat board with exacto knife. Place tag down again on white card stock. Trace twice and cut out. NOTE: You will be using two manila tags (for The Queen & The Rose), and two white tags (for Celestial & The Birdhouse).
2. Stamp all tags with black inkpad. Add color to stamped images using chalks. For The Queen, use Pearl Ex powders to color image. Seal tags with Krylon Preserve It!. After tags have dried, glue tags to the mat board with tacky glue.
3. Spread a layer of Paper Glaze over top of each tag. Let dry completely to a clear finish. NOTE: Dry time will depend on the amount of Paper Glaze used.
4. To edge around each tag do as follows; Use copper tape for The Queen. For the Birdhouse and Celestial, wrap Super Tape along the edges, then dip edges into embossing powders. Melt with heat tool. For the Rose, paint edges and back with red paint.
5. Finish the backs of the tags by painting them with coordinating colors. Add fibers, beads and key rings to each tag for the finishing touches.

Guest Blogger- Linda Chilcott!!!

Hi Everyone,

It's Guest Blogger Day here at Stampin' Queen Creations! What does that mean you ask? Well, it means that every Friday I will take off my crown and pass it on to a fabulous professional designer who's work I respect more that words can say. Today I pass my crown to my friend, professional CHA Designer, Linda Chilcott!!!

I am excited to have Linda as my Guest Blogger today! I met Linda a few years when I was helping my designer friend, Ann Butler, in the workshop she was teaching at the CHA show in Anaheim. Linda was taking the class at the time and she asked me for some help with the project she was working on. As I was helping her we struck up a conversation. Linda explained that she was new to CHA as a designer and the next thing I know we had spent two hours talking like we have known each other for years! I told her everything I knew about CHA, being a designer and the programs and opportunities that we have as designers. The next thing I know Linda is asking me to be her CHA Designer Mentor and the rest as they, is history!

Linda is a very talented mixed media designer and she loves adding new products to her designs. She also loves to learn new techniques and apply those new techniques to her work. She is always asking questions and looking for ways to better improve her work.

Linda's project that I'm sharing with you today is one of my favorites. I am always looking for new items to stamp on like the popcorn container I shared with you on Monday, and this project is something way out of the box! Linda's project is made from paint sticks that you can get a your local hardware store. I absolutely love that idea! I would have never thought of paint sticks!!!

For more information on Linda's work, please visit her website at www.whimsicalcraftstudio.com.  Go check out what she can do with paper napkins!

Linda, as your mentor and your friend I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. You have come along way with your business and I know that if you keep working at it, you can achieve all of your dreams. Keeping moving forward!!!

Thank you for joining me. Until next time...

 

Crafty hugs,

 

Lisa

Stampin' Queen Creations

 

Give The Queen A Call!!!

©Linda Chilcott, Whimsical Craft Studio