The Embellish designers have a very special bond. Not only do we create, but we also share a special bond. Today, I have to share some bittersweet news. Our Maile has decided to step down from the team to spend more time with her family and explore her new opportunities. Since Maile has been a part of Embellish, she has blossomed into an awesome paper crafter than she was when she first started, joining stamp design teams and now even designing her own stamps.

 

 

I first recognized Maile and her designs from the pages of Cards magazine in 2008. I loved Maile’s designs and set my goal to be like her and get some cards published. I was her stalker before she even had a blog and will continue to stalk her blog through the years to come! It was such a pleasure to meet Maile last year at CHA. She’s just as sweet in person as she is via the computer screen.

We are so grateful she joined forces with us this past year and I wish her the best! Thanks, Maile for being a huge inspiration and contributor for Embellish! Big happy hugs!

 

 

 

 

 

That leaves us with a space to fill, right? We are super excited that Cristina will be challenging herself every other Friday with Embellish! I’ve become quite the stalker and have been perusing her blog for some time now. She has participated in so many of our challenges and blown us away with her clean and graphic design style.

Last summer in Chicago, I got the opportunity to meet Cristina. She is such a humble person who can create like no other! I welcome you, Cristina, to the Embellish team and know you will shine as you already have in this industry. Cristina will start challenging herself in this Friday’s challenge.

 

 

So, we want to thank Maile for sharing her time with us and welcome Cristina to some fun times along with Charlene, Mariana, Sarah, and Tina!

Please take a moment to congratulate Cristina and wish Maile a farewell! If you feel the urge to create, there’s still time to join us for this week’s Color Trends Challenge with Birds…tweet tweet!

–ashley + Embellish Team

Thanks so much for participating in the Color Trends Challenge with Hearts! We loved all of the entries and really are so glad you all participated. Hearts are not only for Valentine’s Day, so even if you didn’t get a chance to participate or just want to use this unique color combination again, feel free to use this challenge to create something fabulous!

We want to send a friendly reminder that some of our challenge rules have changed and to make sure you review them before participating.

Congratulations to the designers featured in our top designers showcase and to Karen W. for creating such a fabulous clean and simple card withing the challenge constraints. Please contact us letting us know you are the winner and we will send your information along to Tiffany Doodles to claim your digital prize! You may click on the images to view the projects in full and to see their blogs as well.

Please join us for our current challenge here.

We hope your are going to fly off to your craft space to create for this Color Trend Challenge. Please make sure you review the rules below. The images in the challenge inspiration board are by Flying House Studios and from our very own designer, Tina Fussell!

For this Color Trends Challenge, we have a great digital sponsor, Tiffany Doodles. Looking for something special? Well, it is super easy to check out the digital images, select what you need, download, and create! There is no shipping costs and waiting for delivery, plus you can make your images larger or smaller and alter the colors with ease to fit your project! We had a great time using some of Tiffany Doodle images in our inspirational projects below. Here is more from Tiffany:

Hi! I’m Tiffany, owner of TiffanyDoodles. My background is web design, graphic design & photography. I have been self employed for nine years and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my work! Since childhood, I’ve always been creative and taken great pleasure in drawing and painting. In 2009, I discovered the stamping and paper crafting world and just fell in love!! In a very short order, I began transforming some of my drawings and doodles into “digis”. It has truly been a joy to share them with folks. I get so thrilled every time I see something new that someone has created with one of my stamps!! Each design is like a child of mine and it’s really neat to see it all grown up and out in the world being all it can be…LOL!

All of my digital stamps are originally created by me and of the multiple styles I offer, most are hand-drawn images. Some are brushed up in Photoshop using the pen tool to produce very clean lines and others are left with a sketchy, rustic, hand-drawn look. An additional digi-style is one that I’ve dubbed as PhotoSketches and these are images from my photographs which I transformed into sketches with a little help from Photoshop. These beauties make splendid realistic images for stamping!

One of the ways that I wish to say “thank you” to all of the folks that follow TiffanyDoodles is by offering a brand new Freebie every Thursday. I’ve received a hefty response from this, which has encouraged me to continue creating even more!! I hope you find something you like here!

This challenge requires you to create a paper craft project using the color challenge and birds. Natural elements are so popular right now in home decor and even in fashion, such as necklaces. Have you seen this cute bird necklace? Well, maybe you haven’t seen this particular one, but they are popping up everywhere and are such a delight. For this challenge, feel free to create a project using any type of bird, whether it’s a hummingbird, blue bird, owl, or flamingo. We can’t wait to see what you create.

The main colors are featured in the challenge inspiration board above. Keep the colors of your project as close to the colors in the challenge image. Remember, colors can be incorporated into your project in more ways than cardstock. If you would like to use a neutral of white/cream and black/brown, please feel free to add it!

Upload a photo of your project to your blog or online gallery, such as Splitcoaststampers or Flickr, then copy the direct link to your project to the embedded link widget below or on one of the design team’s blogs. If you do not have a direct link to your blog/gallery posting that features the challenge, your link may be deleted. If it is deleted, no biggie, just come back and re-link the correct link! Only links left in the link widget will be considered for challenge submissions.

NOTE: **If you are having difficulties with our link widget, please click the question mark link to get help from their blog. They offer useful step-by-step instructions.

IE v6 Browser Users: The link widget is not compatible with IE version 6. Please feel free to download Firefox for free here. You can also update your IE browser here. Sorry for any inconvenience in the cross-browser issues, but we hope you give Firefox a try!

We also have a Flickr Group available to share your projects. Please add your projects to Embellish Magazine Flickr group.

If you want to use the graphic above, feel free to, but make sure you right-click and choose the “Save Image As” choice to save it to your computer, then upload to your blog!

After the challenge ends, the design team will select top designers who created hot projects to highlight. The designers will be highlighted in a blog posting. You can find all blog postings related to challenge winners in the category menu in the footer below, called “Embellish What’s Hot.”

Additionally, there will be a designer who will be featured and will win 10 digital images from TiffanyDoodles. The winner must contact Embellish within 48 hours of the announcement. We reserve the right to select a new winner if the designer makes no contact.

The design team has created wonderful cards showcasing TiffanyDoodles’ digital images. The natural color combination really sets a mood, which you can see differently in each design. For additional information and photos, please click on the images to visit their blogs.

Ashley created this thank you card using Bluebird 3 and Dogwood digital images. She printed the bird on cream cardstock, cut it out, and gave it color with some glimmer mists.

Charlene created this ever so cute and lovely card using Birdies Housework digital images. She printed the images on different cardstock colors, cut them out, and added them to her card. She braided some twine for the bird house rope and even added a nest for some hand cut eggs.

Maile designed a scenic love card using Love Banners, Clouds, and Birdies Housework digital images. She printed the birds on blue cardstock and positioned them to hold up the banner.

Mariana made this soothing card using Bluebird 3 digital image. She printed the bird on kraft cardstock, cut it out, and added it to the kraft panel for a monochromatic effect.

Sarah used Labels 9 and Bird Legs Stamp digital stamp sets to design this homespun card. She printed the birds on cardstock to create a tag.

Tina designed this clean and graphic card using Hummingbird digital image. She added color to her hummingbird, making it have a professional, graphic look.

Click the image above for additional rules. There are new rules, so please visit the link. Your entry may be deleted if your submission is also a part of other challenges.

Challenge ends Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST

Happy Valentine’s Day to our Embellish readers! We’re so thankful for you and love for you to stop by and get inspired, challenge yourself, and even view e-zines! Today, we wanted to share the love with you with some heart-filled projects that just so happen to fit our current challenge.

Presentation is everything. It is something I learned from my fashion teacher in high school. Your gift could be something big or even sentiment, but if you present it with pretty packaging, you are sure to catch the attention of the recipient. I created packaging ideas for gifts and food in hues of red, pink, green, and turquoise.

Metal tins are very popular in paper crafting, but what do you do with them? Simply wrap some patterned paper around the base of the tin and add some adhesive to make it stick.  You can do the same with the lid by tracing the heart shape on patterned paper, trimming, and adhering it. To finish it off, add some ribbon and trims, then embellish to your heart’s content. This heart-shaped tin can be filled with just about anything from jewelry to a sweet treat.

These small jewelry boxes are very popular for gift giving. Usually, they’re wrapped, but I though to add a doily and embellish with handmade heart-shaped garland. To create heart-shaped garland, die cut or punch heart shapes from patterned paper and cardstock. Feel free to layer various sizes. Using a sewing machine, stitch the hearts together. Wrap the garland multiple times around the box, then embellish with ribbon, button, and a tag. Make it an event for the recipient to open your gift!

Tags are super popular ways to embellish a gift. Perhaps you have a large item you are gifting to your friend or significant other – how will you package it in a true paper crafter’s handmade style? I say just add a tag. It’s super easy to create, but says that you thought to go a little step further. Here, instead of gifting those sweet valentine candies in a bag to someone, dump them in a glass and tie the tag around it. I embellished this tag with a doily, some trim, and some hearts.

Last, but definitely not least, especially for you foodies out there, cupcakes or any sweet treat may pose a big packaging challenge. I decided to focus on a cupcake in honor of Valentine’s Day to show how you can make that cupcake look like you spent all day on it! Imagine multiple cupcakes like this on a cupcake stand – I bet you that would be pretty too! On my red velvet cupcake, the cupcake liner is a silver foil liner. It’s not necessarily ugly, but here’s a way to dress it up. Take a large doily and trim two strips on a curve, then adhere to the original liner. I added a red ribbon to complete the look. For the top, I used the same hearts, added some glitter and a flower on a toothpick. Food confetti is a great addition to cupcakes, especially when you can add color and that’s how I achieved this look. Although my doily was not as large as the one used in this tutorial, I thought I would share a guideline on how to make your own doily cupcake liner.

I hope each of you share the love today with someone and don’t stop there, continue to share love every day!

Big XOXO from the Embellish Team

–Ashley

Did you miss us? We sure missed you and the challenges too! We’re back with more challenges this year! We thought we take a new spin on things and name them Color Trend Challenges. We’re still focusing on color and a theme, so we hope you enjoy it. Our challenge inspiration board is so fabulous! The images are by Flying House Studios and from our very own designer, Tina Fussell! Every challenge will be different. Some may feature one photo and other more, like this one!

For this Color Trends Challenge, we have a great digital sponsor, Tiffany Doodles. Looking for something special? Well, it is super easy to check out the digital images, select what you need, download, and create! There is no shipping costs and waiting for delivery, plus you can make your images larger or smaller and alter the colors with ease to fit your project! We had a great time using some of Tiffany Doodle images in our inspirational projects below.  Here is more from Tiffany:

Hi! I’m Tiffany, owner of TiffanyDoodles. My background is web design, graphic design & photography. I have been self employed for nine years and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my work! Since childhood, I’ve always been creative and taken great pleasure in drawing and painting. In 2009, I discovered the stamping and paper crafting world and just fell in love!! In a very short order, I began transforming some of my drawings and doodles into “digis”. It has truly been a joy to share them with folks. I get so thrilled every time I see something new that someone has created with one of my stamps!! Each design is like a child of mine and it’s really neat to see it all grown up and out in the world being all it can be…LOL!

All of my digital stamps are originally created by me and of the multiple styles I offer, most are hand-drawn images. Some are brushed up in Photoshop using the pen tool to produce very clean lines and others are left with a sketchy, rustic, hand-drawn look. An additional digi-style is one that I’ve dubbed as PhotoSketches and these are images from my photographs which I transformed into sketches with a little help from Photoshop. These beauties make splendid realistic images for stamping!

One of the ways that I wish to say “thank you” to all of the folks that follow TiffanyDoodles is by offering a brand new Freebie every Thursday. I’ve received a hefty response from this, which has encouraged me to continue creating even more!! I hope you find something you like here!

This challenge requires you to create a paper craft project using the color challenge and hearts. Have you been in a store lately? Well, they are fully stocked with everything pink and red, plus lots of hearts. So, we thought this challenge fits this time of year! Let’s see what you can create with a little extra challenge!

The main colors are featured in the challenge inspiration board above. Keep the colors of your project as close to the colors in the challenge image.  Remember, colors can be incorporated into your project in more ways than cardstock. If you would like to use a neutral of white/cream and black/brown, please feel free to add it!

Upload a photo of your project to your blog or online gallery, such as Splitcoaststampers or Flickr, then copy the direct link to your project to the embedded link widget below or on one of the design team’s blogs. If you do not have a direct link to your blog/gallery posting that features the challenge, your link may be deleted. If it is deleted, no biggie, just come back and re-link the correct link! Only links left in the link widget will be considered for challenge submissions.

NOTE: **If you are having difficulties with our link widget, please click the question mark link to get help from their blog. They offer useful step-by-step instructions.

IE v6 Browser Users: The link widget is not compatible with IE version 6. Please feel free to download Firefox for free here. You can also update your IE browser here. Sorry for any inconvenience in the cross-browser issues, but we hope you give Firefox a try!

We also have a Flickr Group available to share your projects. Please add your projects to Embellish Magazine Flickr group.

If you want to use the graphic above, feel free to, but make sure you right-click and choose the “Save Image As” choice to save it to your computer, then upload to your blog!

After the challenge ends, the design team will select top designers who created hot projects to highlight. The designers will be highlighted in a blog posting.  You can find all blog postings related to challenge winners in the category menu in the footer below, called “Embellish What’s Hot.”

Additionally, there will be a designer who will be featured and will win 10 digital images from TiffanyDoodles.  The winner must contact Embellish within 48 hours of the announcement. We reserve the right to select a new winner if the designer makes no contact.

The design team has created wonderful cards showcasing TiffanyDoodles’ digital images. The striking color combination really stands out in these designs that will surely inspire you! For additional information and photos, please click on the images to visit their blogs.

Ashley created this LOVE YOU card using Love Letters digital images. She printed them in pink ink, cut them out, and embellished a die cut heart.

Charlene created this super cute Valentine’s Day card using the Love Banners digital image. She printed the image out in blank ink and colored a shadow with a blue marker.

Maile designed a clean and simple XOXO card using Labels 3 and Birdies Housework digital images. She used a white card base to make images printed on colored cardstock pop.

Mariana made this colorful card using Triple Hearts digital images. She colored the images printed on white cardstock and embellished with layers.

Sarah used Leaf Heart Lips and Love Banners digital stamp sets on her Valentine’s embellished card.

Tina designed this clean and graphic card using the Kiss Tags digital images. She printed her images on patterned paper and left a border around each kiss.

Click the image above for additional rules. There are new rules, so please visit the link. Your entry may be deleted if your submission is also a part of other challenges.

Challenge ends Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 11:59 pm EST