Saturday Play and other things...

Impression Obsession designers are previewing some of the beautiful new stamps this week, just released in preparation for CHA. This is Day Six of the reveal, the last day of the blog hop and the first day of CHA! For your chance to win some IO stampin' dollars for those new releases, visit here to read about it.

For this card, I've used a new cover-a-card stamp, thermal embossed with Top Boss Silver EP, paired with a new sentiment. You can see all the newly released stamps right here.

The theme over at One Powerful Hour is "sweet sweet love." The Charisma challenge is all about love and Valentines this week too. The Wednesday Stamper challenge this week is "inky backgrounds; mine is stamped. The gals at the Sisterhood and at the One Stop Craft Challenge are hosting a free theme. The theme over at Kraftin' Kimmie's is reduce reuse recycle. I needed a snippet of red ribbon for my card, but didn't have any. So I cut the tail of a bow from a card I received at Christmas...et voila! This card uses one of the new sentiments called "Feel the sun," and the new Cover-a-card stamp hearts and swirls. I use Aleene’s® Crystal Clear Tacky Spray™ (iLoveToCreate™) to affix all the layers to my cards. Also, I used Tulip ® Fashion Glitter Bond (iLoveToCreate™) to paint over the petals, then I sprinkled Tulip ® Fashion Glitter (gold) over adhesive.

I really enjoy monochromatic colour schemes. This card uses one of the newly released Dreamweaver embossing stencils with white glossy embossing paste, and the new IO sentiment stamp "You are in my thoughts." I love the huge variety of new sentiment stamps with this release! I used Tulip® Glam it Up™ Iron On Crystals™ on the sentiment stamped panel, glued on with Aleene's® Paper Glaze™, both by iLovetoCreate.™

I'm posting some cards I created for the display board at CHA too. These were created specifically to highlight the new sentiment stamps, with Flower Soft, hand stitching and beading, and a couple of die cut images done with my Silhouette. I glue all flat layers on my cards with Aleene’s® Crystal Clear Tacky Spray™ (iLoveToCreate™), and use dimensional foam strips and squares if I want to layer them with some dimension. To adhere Flower Soft, I use Aleene’s® Original Tacky Glue (iLoveToCreate™) from a small plastic squeeze bottle with a #9 Squeeze Bottle Tip...great for fine applications of glue. This card uses the new "Feel Better Soon" sentiment stamp.

This card uses the new "Greetings" stamp.

This card uses the new Emerson stamp "To find the beautiful..."

This card uses the new sentiment stamp "With Deepest Sympathy".

This card uses the IO "Follow your dreams" stamp.

This card uses the new "Greatest gift of the garden" sentiment stamp.

This card uses the IO "Follow your dreams" stamp.

I hope you'll have time to see the beautiful paper crafts posted by other IO designers today, as part of the CHA release week. Please check here for the list of IO blogs to visit.

WHEW!! LONG post today! Now here's one more little thing. I just visited Neil's blog, and found another "Pay it Forward" activity. I'd participated in one last year, and really enjoyed it.

It's called Pay it Forward and it's really simple. I promise to send something handmade to the first five people who comment on THIS part of my post specifically. If you enter you must post this on YOUR blog too, and offer something handmade to another five people that comment on your blog.

The rules are that it must be something handmade or homemade by YOU and it must be sent to five other people any time this year...plenty of time to play. If you'd like to join in the fun, then be in the first five to post a comment related to this part of my post today.

Once you have left your comment and posted YOUR pay it forward on your blog, then email me with your blog link, and your name and snail mail address details and something created by me will come to you sometime this year. (Actually, it'll come within the next month or so...just so I don't forget!) Lets spread the blessing of our artsy endeavors! My email address can be found on the right side of my blog.

Thank you SO much for taking the time to come by today.