Blog Candy Winners, A Challenge Winner, More Candy And An Online Store Special Too!

Isn't our new blog fantastic?!!  Thank you, Mitra!  I am so excited about:

• the new BLOG EVENTS 
• and CHALLENGE WIDGETS
• and the new ways for you to see IO products.
• Let me know if you have any questions or additional ideas too!

During our Sending Comfort Challenge I had IO Blog Candy to give away as part of the challenge activities.  I said I would announce the winners on my Technique And Tutorial post.  A change was made due to my flu shot failure, or something, ;-).  I want to announce the winners today and apologize for the lateness.  Congratulations to:

• Patti J.
• and Denise Bryant. 
• If you ladies would please email me your addresses
• My email is under my name in the right-hand sidebar.

Our winner for the Sending Comfort Challenge is Carole Parsons at Magnolia's Place.  Congratulations, Carole!  And thanks to you and all who played for making it a lot of fun! 

Now for more blog candy.  All you need to do is:

• leave a comment about what you like most about our new blog.
• Random.org will be used to select the winners.
• the two winners will be announced on my Tuesday Techniques and Tutorials post on May 29.

BLOG CANDY!!

 

↓ONLINE STORE SPECIAL ↓

Don't forget the special Mitra has from now until Memorial Day (Monday, May 28) at midnight.  We are offering free shipping on all orders over just $15.00 and a free pack of 5 Action Wobble springs with every order! (Free Shipping for US & Canada only, Action Wobbles will be included in ALL orders. Wholesale orders excluded.)

Our next challenge will be the "By The Sea" Challenge on  Thursday, June 7.  It will continue until the followingWednesday evening, June 13, at 10 p.m.  Participants are notified that night of the winner.

If you would like ideas using our stamps, etc.:

• our CARD ALBUMS are now located by clicking on the CARD GALLERIES tab at the top of the page and/or
• click on our SHOP link at the top of the page and type in the name of your stamp (many of the stamps have sample cards and we are continually updating them with more.

Participating in each challenge gives you a chance to win a $25 gift certificate.  So have some fun, invite a friend to play, and create your own card for our "By The Sea"  Challenge using ALL IO stamps, and then post it using the Inlinkz at the bottom of the June 7 post.  If you have questions please email me.  My email is right under my name near the top of the left-hand sidebar.

Thanks for joining us in this DT Thursday!!  Get busy out there and join us for our next challenge and invite a friend to enjoy it with you!!!  Thanks for stopping by to look and share!

 Shirley

New-look Website & Blog

I am thrilled to announce the launch of our new website and blog design. We've added many features to the website to make your shopping experience easier, including the following:

• Sample card images attached to each stamp. If we have samples for a particular stamp, we've added them to the actual product listing so they are easy to find. 
• Wish Lists. We have installed a new wish list feature that allows you to shop on the site and save items to your list so you can retrieve them later. You may also save your entire shopping basket to a wish list. It's a great way to mark stamps (or samples) you'd like to reference later.
• Order History. Now your order history with us is online including tracking information.
• Improved Search Function. We have added keyword searching to make searching for particular stamps easier.
  
• Gift Certificates. We've added gift certificates as a product so you can purchase them in $25, $50, and $100 denominations.
• New Products. By popular demand we have added Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink pads AND reinkers to the site. We are stocking the entire line of these pads as we use them so often with our Cover-a-Card background stamps. We have also added Action Wobble springs to the site as well (see below for a special offer).
  
• Interface Improvements. There are other improvements to the shopping interface including breadcrumbs (you can see which categories a stamp is in), a mini-basket listing on the main screen, a "continue shopping" link in the shopping basket so you can pick up where you left off after adding items to your basket, and more...

I encourage you to take a look around the new site to see the improvements for yourself.

From now until Memorial Day (Monday, May 28) at midnight we are offering free shipping on all orders over just $15.00 and a free pack of 5 Action Wobble springs with every order! (Free Shipping for US & Canada only, Action Wobbles will be included in ALL orders. Wholesale orders excluded.)

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Shaking Shaker Card

If you haven't seen the Action Wobble springs in "action", here's a quick tutorial using one to make a shaker card that shakes:

1. This card uses our shaker pouches, the new die that cuts frames for the shaker pouches, a Bib Card from The Paper Cut, and features a cute Zenspirations clear set called What A Hoot.
   
   
2. I used a punched circle for the larger owl, but you can use just a scrap of white cardstock and trim around it once you've attached the shaker pouch (see step 7). I also used a small scallop punched circle for the smaller owl.  Stamp both owls in black and color them.
   
   
   
   
3. Stamp the Sno Cone Bib Overlay with our rectangular Cover-a-Card Stars background using Colorbox Fluid Chalk Blue Iris. Stamp the sentiment on a white strip also.
   
   
4. The new Circle Shaker Die cuts frames for both sizes of our shaker pouches.  We are using the small circle pouch for this card and when you cut the frame, a by-product is a solid circle which just happens to fit the circle on the bib card perfectly so we're using it as well. Assemble the card as shown.
   
   
5. I'm using a confetti mix that has moons and different sizes of stars. Our shaker pouches are self-adhesive and the 1/4" "lip" that has the adhesive needs to be covered up.  We sell pre-cut overlays that cover it and now we have dies to make cute frames that cover it and allow you to place the shaker part anywhere on the card that you would like.
   
   
6. When I use things inside the shaker that are not prone to roll around (like beads), I just pile them up in the center of the image (keep any inclusions away from the edges so that they don't get stuck in the adhesive, which breaks the seal and ruins your card).
   
   
7. Peel off the adhesive strip (sometimes it's a little tough to get it off, I just flick the pad of my finger on the edge of the pouch until I catch it and peel it back).  CAREFULLY place the pouch over the image, being careful to center it (especially if you are using just a scrap of paper). You can swipe the inside with a baby wipe before peel off the adhesive to get rid of static if that's a problem. Once you've stuck it down you CANNOT move it so be careful.
   
   
8. Now put adhesive ON THE LIP of the pouch. For this card I do this but if you're just doing a normal shaker card you can place the adhesive on the frame or overlay. Because this shaker pouch is going to move around on the card when it wobbles, any adhesive on the back might stick to the card and prevent it from moving.  I just used my tape runner and put little pieces of adhesive around the lip in 5 or 6 places.
   
   
   
   
9. Place the frame over the pouch and adhere.
   
   
10. Attach the Action Wobble piece to the back of the shaker (the Action Wobble has printed instructions on it as to which piece goes on the card and which goes on the "wobbling" piece). They are also self-adhesive on both sides of the wobble spring.
    
    
    
    
11. And here's the finished card!
    
    
12. Check out the video to see it in action!

 

Products Used:

• Action Wobble Spring
• What A Hoot Clear Set
• Owl Be Thankful Red Rubber Stamp
• Small Circle Shaker Pouch
• Circle Shaker Die
• Colorbox Fluid Chalk Blue Iris
• Black ink pad
• Copics
• Confetti
• Bib Card (The Paper Cut)
  

New Stamps that Coordinate with Stencils!

In March we began working with Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and the Crafter's Workshop to produce stamp sets to coordinate with their line of stencils. We sold out of the first batch immediately and just recently got a larger order in. Check out Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's Blog post where she shows all kinds of ideas for combining these two products.  Super cool!!!

There are 6 different stamps/stamp sets to choose from and she shows all of them used separately and together. Great inspiration for a neat new combination of products!

You can purchase the stamps at local stores and on our website and go to The Crafter's Workshop for the stencils.

 

Our Sending Comfort Challenge And Some Blog Candy Too!

Welcome to our "Sending Comfort" (Sympathy, Encouragement, etc.) Challenge.  I can't wait to see what the DT has created and then see what you add too.  So first let's get on over to the the Design Team blogs below and see what they have for us:

• Daniela Dobson
• Dina Kowal
• Jeanne Streiff
• Jenny Gropp
• Laura Fulcher
• Vicki Garrett

Now it's your turn.  For those of you who aren't familiar with our challenges, they are open to you too as participants using the Inlinkz thumbnail format.  You are invited to join us with the chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate in all of our challenges.  The dates for this challenge are below and the rules are with the thumbnail format at the bottom of the post:

• Ending time for this challenge is next Wednesday, May 23 , at 10 p.m. EST.  (Note - The Inlinkz code is not always closing posts when I enter the correct date and time, so please be sure to note the 10 pm EST ending time.  Thanks)
  
• The winner is picked using Random.org.
• The players are notified of the winner by email that night.
• The winner's name will be posted with the DT Thursday post on May 24.

Now about the BLOG CANDY.  Since some of the most comforting 'people' in our world are our pets, I have two animal Clear Stamp Sets to give away.  I will be using Random.org to select the winners.  Here is how you win:

• Leave a comment on each DT member's blog who is participating today.
• Leave a comment at the bottom of this blog too.
• I will announce the winners on my next Tuesday Tips and Techniques post on May 23.
• Below are the sets in the order of the two drawings.

I don't have the new challenge list, starting with June yet, but I can tell you there will be a really really exciting release.  It will include some awesome Gary Robertson images and a new IO designer's images too.  :-)  So stay tuned.

You are invited to join us in this challenge with the chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate.  The winner is chosen by Random.org.  So get busy out there and add your creation at the bottom of this post.  Invite a friend and stamp up a storm!!  Have a stamping party and use your IO stamps.  Don't forget that when you join in the challenge, there is a direct link from your card in the Customer Album to your blog or gallery, so people can see how you designed your card too!

If you would like some ideas, you can check out all the great cards created by the DT for today's challenge.  You can also look at the albums in the sidebar to your right.  There are direct links to each DT member's post on their blogs.  You can also check them out by DT member, by clicking on the blog links under their names in the sidebar to your right.  They have been linked to show their LATEST IO posts in chronological order.

Hope your week has been great so far!! Can't wait to see your creativity with our Sending Comfort challenge, and thanks for stopping by to join in the fun and say hi!  If you have any questions, please click on the EMAIL link under my name in the sidebar.

 

Shirley

DT Thursday And The Summer Celebrations Challenge Winner

As you know, our DT member, Daniela Dobson, had IO Blog Candy to give away as part of the challenge week before last.  Her winner was Yolanda Derstine at Imagine, Make, Share.  Congratulations, Yolanda!

Our winner for the Summer Celebration Challenge is Linda Monroe at Stampin' In The Suburbs.  Congratulations, Linda!  And thanks to you and all who played for making it a lot of fun! 

And while I am thinking about it, for those of you who haven't noticed, I have changed the way your cards are posted in your Customer Album.  I have been linking the card directly to your post so others can see how you made your card too.  There is some beautiful art in that album!

This week's "DT Thursday" hostess is Laura Fulcher.  Check out her sneak peek below, and then head on over to her great post, HERE!!  While your are there you can check out her other IO creations, and let her know what you think about her card too!!  I'm on my way over there right now.  The link is set up so you can go right on down the page to see what other IO creations she has done in her past posts, in case you missed any!!

Our next challenge will be the "Sending Comfort" Challenge on  Thursday, May 17.  It will continue until the following Wednesday evening, May 23, at 10 p.m.  Participants are notified that night of the winner.

Participating in each challenge gives you a chance to win a $25 gift certificate.  So have some fun, invite a friend to play, and create your own card for our "Sending Comfort"  Challenge using ALL IO stamps, and then post it using the Inlinkz at the bottom of the May 17 post.  If you have questions please email me.  My email is right under my name in the sidebar.

Get busy out there and join us for our next challenge and invite a friend to enjoy it with you!!!  Thanks for stopping by to look and share!

 

 Shirley