{Inspiration and Last Call!} COLOR BLOOMS Blog Hop & Linky Party

Hey, STAMPlorations friends! The Color Blooms Blog Hop & Linky Party ends tomorrow night -- have you hopped yet and checked out the amazing projects the STAMPlorations girls created using pages from our first coloring book?

We also have a Color Blooms page sampler for you to download, print, and color if you'd like to join us in the linky party! The projects entered to the linky are simply gorgeous. Even if you've no plan (or time) to color and create with the page sampler, I invite you to check out the gallery and see how our fellow crafters/cardmakers/mixed media artists have used the page in their projects -- you will be amazed and inspired!

When Kathryn unwrapped Douglas, the first thing she
did was hug and kiss him. 

I wasn't able to join the girls last week because I had been busy preparing for my little girl's birthday. She turned one year old last August 29 :o)

I had pages all colored up but no time to get a project or two done in time. Normally I'd push myself to get something done but last week I didn't -- and I wasn't even stressed about it. Why? Well, you've seen the amazing projects the girls did! As I was preparing that post and adding their projects, I was telling myself, "They've got this!" I'm so proud to have incredibly creative and talented women in my design team :o)

Anyway, earlier today while the Kat was napping, I was able to squeeze in some craft time and made a card and an art block.

  

First, the card. I tore out the page with the large daffodils and colored the blooms with Caran d'Ache Fancolor pencils. I cut out the upper left and pasted it onto card stock. Next, I ran the card stock through my Cuttlebug and die-cut a panel using the medium rectangle from the CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle dies. Then I cut the panel with one of the new CUTplorations Stitched Snow Hills dies. I adhered the panels to the card base with foam tape, leaving a gap between the 2 panels for a little interest. I finished the card by die-cutting the sentiment (CUTplorations Hello word die) twice: orange craft foam and watercolor paper (which I then colored black). Here's the card again:

And now for the art block. I used the Color Blooms page sampler that I colored from our National Coloring Book Day event in August.

I have a box full of wood blocks in various sizes that my father-in-law helped me cut ages ago. They're all gesso-ed up and ready to use. I found one that was 4" wide by 4.5" tall. 

I painted the sides with orange acrylic paint and when it was dry, I stamped some grungy newsprint (Mixed Media Grunge) for faux texture. Next, I cut the page to size and stuck it onto the block with matte gel medium. I used a black marker (Faber-Castell PITT artist pen) to create a border around the block. On tissue paper, I stamped the sentiment (Blossom Like a Butterfly) then decoupaged it onto the block. I sealed the block with more matte gel medium and the art block is done. Here it is again:

I hope my two projects inspire you to color! Remember there's a little over 24 hours left to either hop and/or link up to the Color Blooms Blog Hop & Linky Party. We'll be drawing THREE winners of gift certificates and a copy of the Color Blooms coloring book. All the details are here.

By the way, COLOR BLOOMS is now available to buy on the shop -- it's here. If you live outside the US, you can buy Color Blooms from the Amazon site that is closest to you in order to save on shipping. (We offer a flat shipping rate but encourage you to buy your copy from an Amazon site if shipping is cheaper. Amazon links to 10 countries (UK, Canada, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, and Spain) where Color Blooms is available are found on the product page. If you have a group or are hosting a coloring book party, volume discounts are available for 10 copies or more.

Happy coloring!