Purple Onion Designs

Today's The Sweetest Day!

I am going to keep today's post short since there is lots to do around here.  First, I want to congratulate all The Sweetest Day! stamp winners!

Friday April 13th - Karen Adams (Rosie, Flit & Flutter, Tucker)

Saturday April 14th - Amy Guckes (Freckles, Tucker, Toadstool, Balloon, Party Hat & Kite Set) 

Sunday April 15th - Shelia (Sweet Offerings & Sunny Blooms)      

Monday April 16th - Kelly Bertram (complete The Sweetest Day! stamp collection)

Congratulations ladies!  I have emailed each of you for your shipping address.

The Sweetest Day! by Stacey Yacula

is now available on the website!

Once again, thank you to everyone who stopped by over the past few days and left all the wonderful comments for Stacey and the design team.

Please make sure you spread the word about the new stamps.  Let's make sure Stacey knows how much we want her to do another collection for us.  <wink, wink>

If you are new to my blog please make sure you sign up for the newsletter along the left hand side of the page.  It is a low volume newsletter that I send out to announce new stamp releases and sale information.

Since a blog post needs some eye candy here are a couple of cards for you.  Would you believe I still have even more than these to show you!

Courtney Kelley

 stamps used:  Tucker & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

 

Kim Teasdale

stamps used:  Freckles & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

 

Joy Taylor

stamps used:  Sweet Offerings & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

 

Jennifer Roach

stamps used:  Rosie & Early 1900's Music Background

 

Kathy Racoosin

stamps used:  Freckles, Toadstool & Sweet Offerings

 

Alice Wertz

stamps used:  Poppy, The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set & Home Sweet Home

 

Mel McCarthy

stamps used:  Flit & Flutter

 

Paula Williamson

stamps used:  Sunny Blooms & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

 

The Sweetest Day! Final Reveal

Today you get to see the last stamp in Stacey Yacula's The Sweetest Day!collection.  I am going to say that this is pretty much my favorite stamp of the whole collection.  Peep is a close runner up for me but there is something that I really love about Poppy.

Joy's card just makes you smile (then again, they all will).  The coloring and use of pattern papers makes this such a vibrant and cheery card.

stamps used:  Poppy & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

 

Jennifer H. made a darling party invitation.  This hit a soft spot for me because I used to make similar party invitations for my daughter.  Now that she is a teenager there hasn't been much need for cute invites like this.  I love the polka dots on the flag and the cross hatch design on the balloon.

stamps used:  Poppy & Balloon

 

I have another card from guest designer Paula Williamson.  Poppy is adorable flying the kite.  How cute is the little "hello" that Paula added to the flag.

stamps used:  Poppy, Kite & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

 

Dorcas Perkin's is also back with another card for this reveal.  I had asked Dorcas to be a guest designer because of her incredible colored pencil work.  To my delight she did a watercolor card that is just as incredible. 

stamps used:  Poppy

 

Cherry put together another card in her signature shabby style.  I really enjoyed seeing the creations she came up with using these stamps since her style is so different.

stamps used:  Poppy, Balloon & Party Hat

 

Guest designer Angie Hagist's card shows you a clean and simple style for creating a card with Poppy.  She used minimal coloring and added some fun diecut elements to create her scene.  The striped pattern paper for the flag and the little strings is a cute touch. 

  stamps used:  Poppy

 

The last card for today is from our last guest designer.  Kathy Racoosin created this  wonderful card with Poppy.  Poppy looks fabulous covered in glitter from head to toe.  I also like the dimension the card has with the Sunny Blooms in the background against the black. 

 stamps used:  Poppy, Sunny Blooms & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

This wraps up the reveal of The Sweetest Day! stamp collection.  I do have many more cards that I will be sharing on my blog.  The stamps will be available to purchase tomorrow, April 17th. 

A big thank you to all the designers who created these fantastic cards for the reveal.   It was a pleasure having all the guest designers join us.  Everyone did such an amazing job! 

I also want to thank you for the kind comments posted on all the blogs.  In appreciation I will have one more giveaway on my blog.  It's a goodie...the complete The Sweetest Day! collection will go to one lucky random winner.  Please leave a comment letting me know which was your favorite card and why from the reveal.  I know there are so many good ones and it will be tough to choose.  This is a quick giveaway...you only have until 11:59 est tonight Monday April 16th to leave your comment.

One more...I especially want to thank Stacey for trusting me to turn her wonderful creations into rubber.  These illustrations are her heart and soul.  I know it was a big leap for her.  Stacey, I hope you enjoy this part of your artistic journey!

   

The Sweetest Day! Peep, Sweet Offerings & Sunny Blooms

Here is day 3 of Stacey Yacula's The Sweetest Day! stamp reveal! I am happy to hear you are enjoying Stacey's little creations.  I knew that many of you would find some great new blogs to stalk. 

The first image to share with you today is Peep.  I am normally not much of a bird person BUT this little birdie is soooo sweet.  Just look at her in this card that Mel McCarthy created.  A simple white one layer card really makes the images pop when colored.  Don't you love the hand stitched "hello" that Mel did.

stamps:  Peep

 

Donna's card features Peep along with a branch, which is part of a set called Sweet Offerings.  Peep is available individually or in a set with the branch and the "Thank You" banner shown in the card below.  Donna's card also uses a white base that she aged with some ink.  It helps softens up the whole look of the card.  I adore the soft colors she chose to color Peep.  So sweet.

stamps used:  Sweet Offerings and The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

 

The next card from Cherry also uses the Sweet Offerings set.  It is another example how the stamps can be used with simple coloring.  The card also shows the stamps being used in Cherry's signature shabby style.

stamps used:  Sweet Offerings

 

The last stamp for the day is Sunny Blooms.  This is another great stamp that Stacey created for all the little friends to congregate around. 

This first card is from Courtney.  Still lovin' the simple one layer white base card for these images.  The blooms colors are so vibrant.  I especially like the primary color combo.

stamps used:  Sunny Blooms and The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

 

Jenn R. shows an example of using Sunny Blooms with minimal coloring.  The image is embossed in white with just some hints of color.  Colored pencils or Copics will have a nice pop of color against the kraft background.

stamps used:  Sunny Blooms, The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set & Swiss Dot Background

 

Well, there you have today's stamp reveal.  Now let's do a giveaway!  Up for grabs is the Sweet Offerings set and Sunny Blooms.  If you would like a chance to win these stamps please leave a comment and tell us what other images you would like to see from Stacey.  You have till noon tomorrow, 12:00 pm est,  Monday April 16th to leave your comment.  I will randomly pick a winner from all the comments left.

Tomorrow will be the final reveal day before the stamps go on sale Tuesday April 17th.  I will also have the big giveaway tomorrow.  A complete set of The Sweetest Day!

The Sweetest Day! - Freckles & Tucker

It has been so lovely to read all the comments on my blog and the designer's blogs.  Thank you!  I read quite a few comments about those of you taking a liking to Tucker yesterday.  Well today is Tucker's big day!  I think you are going to get a kick out of his buddy Freckles too.

This first card is from one of my favorite designers.  I was over the moon when she came on board to work with the new stamps.  Paula Williamson creates some of the most gorgeous colored cards I have ever seen.  If you are not familiar with her work, you are in for a real treat.  I especially love the little bit of sparkle she adds to most of her cards.  You can see a little on the balloon in her card.

stamps used:  Freckles, Balloon & The Sweetest Day Senitment Set

 

Today is a big day for guest designers joining us.  Dorcas Perkins is another designer who works magic with a set of colored pencils.  I love how she favors using a kraft background which makes the colors pop.  Dorcas's choice of patterned papers are a great match for the images. 

stamps used:  Freckles, Tuker & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set 

 

Joy chose to watercolor her card which is another perfect medium for The Sweetest Day! collection.  Get ready to pull out those watercolors, watercolor pencils/crayons, brush markers and ink refills to color away!

stamps used:  Freckles & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

 

Julie's card is so fun with Freckles all ready to celebrate!  I like how she colored, cut and 3D'd her images onto the card.  It really adds to the fun of the card.  The string for the kite is a nice touch too.  The black lines all the girls have been drawing recently continues to have a great look.

Stamps used:  Freckles, Kite, Party Hat & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

When Stacey designed The Sweetest Day!, she made sure to include a little natural habitat for our new friends.  The toadstool stamp is a good place for Freckles and Tucker to hangout.  It also makes for a great card on its own. 

The next guest designer for the day is Kim Teasdale.  Once again, a designer with wonderful coloring skills.  Kim favors watercoloring with brush markers and re-inkers.  The look of her coloring is very unique.  In addition Kim adds beautiful coordinating pattern papers, stitching and embossed textures to her cards.

stamps used:  Tucker & Toadstool

 

Jenn B's card shows how the toadstool makes a beautiful card on it's own.  This one layer card with the stark white background really shows off the colored toadstool.  The stitched border and pretty ribbon finish off the card nicely.  Oh! and of course the little bit of glitter on the toadstool. 

stamps used:  Toadstool & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

 

The final share for today is a card from guest designer Angie Hagist, who I introduced you to yesterday.  Angie's card is a great example if you are not a fan of coloring.  Angie used patterned papers to "color" her toadstool along with some simple coloring of the stem, grass and butterfly. 

stamps used:  Toadstool, Flutter & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

 

That wraps up today's stamp reveal.  Remember that Stacey Yacula's The Sweetest Day! stamp collection will be available to purchase on Tuesday, April 17th. 

If you would like a chance to win the stamps shown today (Freckles, Tucker, Balloon, Kite, Party Hat & Toadstool) leave a comment on today's post letting us know if you are team Rosie, team Tucker or team Freckles so far.  You have till 11:59 pm est on Sunday April 15th to post your answer.  I will radomly select a winner from all the answers posted.

Make sure you visit the other designer's blogs for additional chances to win some of The Sweetest Day! stamps.

 

The Sweetest Day - Part I

Today is the big day!  It is the first day of sharing Stacey Yacula's The Sweetest Day stamp collection.  I will have peeks starting today and running till Monday.  The stamps will be available to purchase on Tuesday 4/17.  There are several guest designers joining the design team for this release.  If you are not familiar with them, I am pretty certain you will have a few new blogs to follow. ;)  These girls are so talented.  I don't have the chance to follow many blogs but theirs are in the handful that I do. 

Take some time to visit the design team and the guest designers blogs.  All their blogs will be linked in the posts.  I am pretty sure you will stumble across some giveaways on all the blogs over the next few days.  In addition, I will do a giveaway of the stamps showcased each day.

So, today we have an appearance by Rosie.  Look how adorable she is with her sweet little flower!

Alice's card is so sweet and simple just like Rosie. The coloring on Rosie is great.  I adore the scallop edge with the stitching.  You will notice some sentiments being used with the cards.  They will also be available as a set.

  stamps used:  Rosie & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

 

Jeanie's card is simply adorable.  I love the softness of the coloring She has the perfect amount of coloring to show Rosie as a white bunny.

stamps used:  Rosie & The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set

 

Angie Hagist is one of our guest designers for this release.  Angie has a great CAS (clean and simple) style that I wanted to show with the stamps.  Once again, some simple coloring on Rosie.

stamps used:  Rosie

 

Donna created a cute polaroid to show off the stamps.  I love the how the white border really shows off the images.  Once again, some simple shading to make Rosie pop a little.  Flutter is the next stamp from Stacey.  She is actually part of set called Flit & Flutter (how adorable!).  Oh, and a little sneak of Tucker who you will properly meet tomorrow.

stamps used:  Rosie, Flit & Flutter, Tucker, The Sweetest Day Sentiment Set & Swiss Dot Background

 

Courtney created this card with the other butterfly Flit.  A simple card that works beautifully.  The "Thank You" banner is part of a set called Sweet Offerings that you will see later on.

 
stamps used:  Flit & Flutter and Sweet Offerings

 

The final card for today is from another guest designer Mel McCarthy.  Mel has been featured here before but it has been way too long!  Mel's cards can be crazy ridiculous with the amount of details and techniques she uses.  I know you will enjoy going through her blog.  Mel's card uses Flit & Flutter.  I love all the colors, the stitching, those clouds! and the overall patchwork feel of her card.  Oh, and of course the popped up butterfly wings.

I hope you like what you have seen so far!  There is more to come.  If you would like a chance to win Rosie and Flit & Flutter (and I'll even throw in Tucker) leave a comment on today's post and let us all know what you think of the stamps so far.  I will select one name at random to recieve the stamps.  You have until Saturday at 11:59 pm est to leave your comment.  I will announce a winner on Sunday 4/15.  Remember to visit the other blogs for additional chances to win some stamps.

The Sweetest Day!

I mentioned over the weekend that I would start to share a new stamp release with you.  I am so excited to show you this new release!  The collection is from a FABULOUS artist who I have come to know over the past year or so.  I am beyond thrilled that she decided to venture on this journey with me.  Let me introduce to you the uber talented Stacey Yacula.

Stacey's first passion is creating wonderful illustrations.  She also has some serious coloring skills.

Stacey creates wonderful greeting cards with her illustrations and more recently with photos of her adorable art dolls.

Stacey's illustrations are perfect artwork for a child's room.

Her art dolls are simply irresistible.

They have even been published a couple of times!

Stacey is a girl after my own heart...presentation is key!  Look at her wonderful packaging.

Stacey also dabbles in creating some beautiful home furnishings.

You can see more of Stacey's work by visiting her blog Stacey Yacula Studio.  She also sells many of her creations in her Etsy shop.

Now take a peek at some of the images in Stacey's first stamp collection "The Sweetest Day!"

I have so many wonderful projects featuring Stacey's stamps that I will start sharing with you on Friday.  I even have a few guest designers joining us.  If that wasn't enough, I believe some of the DT members will have giveaways for you all!

Everyone working with Stacey's stamps has been so excited.  We all agree her images are like nothing else out there right now.  We hope you will love them as much as the rest of us!

 

Macaron Share...

I did make macarons on Saturday to bring to Easter dinner.  I only snapped a couple of photos on my phone to send to my sister.  They are not great but here they are...

This is one tray of the cookies as they were cooling. 

This is a filled cookie I set aside in a plastic container for a friend.

I basically followed this recipe.  There was a lot of info, photos, video and a whole FAQ page on making them.  I did consult a few other blogs.  I filled mine with raspberry and dark chocolate.  I would of preferred something a bit lighter but I was trying to cater to the crowd.  Overall, they came out great.  I had a few cookies with hollows but they all looked good.

Off to go work on some peeks of the new stamps. 

 

 

 

How Very Eggciting!

Wishing everyone a happy weekend!  Happy Easter and a Happy Passover.  I am about to make my first attempt at making macarons to bring to a friend's for dessert tomorrow. Since I am not hosting Easter dinner, I thought I could try something that has been on my list.  This will also be the first year that there will be no dyed eggs, Easter baskets and an egg hunt in our house.  So, I really have the time to try something a bit challenging.  I figured some pretty vibrant pink macarons would look pretty for dessert.

Speaking of vibrant...

stamps used:  Cracked Egg - Chick and Egg Sentiments 

I love the coloring that Alice did on this card.  It is almost hard to believe that she did this with markers.  Now the sentiment on the card might not be totally appropriate for wishing someone a Happy Easter.  However, it is appropriate for a new stamp release that we will start to show you next week!  Make sure you pop back next week and see all the wonderful cards the girls have created with these stamps.   

 

Hot Chick

It is quite obvious that the Cracked Egg Chick is the most popular out of the group.  I have to say that I am pretty partial to that one too.

Jennifer Holmes

stamps used:  Cracked Egg - Chick

 

Courtney Kelley

stamps used:  Cracked Egg - Chick, Post Office

 

Julie Dudley

stamps used:  Cracked Egg Chick and Egg Sentiments

 

Hippity Hoppity...

Easter is on it's way!  I have a few Easter cards to share with you over the next few days. Today is a mix of styles.  Cherry brings us soft shabby spring colors, Courtney's card is clean and simple and Jennifer H. adds a bit of humor.

Cherry Nelson

stamps used:  Cracked Egg - Chick

 

Courtney Kelley

stamps used:  Easter Logo and Happy Mail

 

Jennifer Holmes

stamps used:  Bear Framed Doodle, Cracked Egg - Bunny, Hoppy Easter