Happy (Superbowl–for all you football fans) Sunday!
January just breezed by us, but today we wanted to celebrate our fabulous January Guest Designer, Peggy Toole. We had a great time having her join us last month.If you missed Peggy’s introduction post, please click to read HERE.
This is a review of all the projects she created with us in January:
Thank you for all your hard work, Peggy! Please help me send Peggy off with a YNS farewell.
I wanted to drop by and give a big congratulations to our DT member, Sue, for getting published in the latest issue of Canadian Scrapbooker. I was out browsing the magazines a couple weeks ago and came across her card and let out a delighted squeal. We’re always so happy to see Your Next Stamp products in print.
We do offer publication incentives and they are as follows:
Please send a photo or scan of your published projects (within 2 months of being published) to karen {at} yournextstamp {dot} com along with all the magazine details.
Easy peasy, right? Hoping to see your projects out there soon! t.
Hello and welcome to a new week! We are starting a new Design Team series and I am kicking it off today. For our latest posts, we thought it would be nice to give you an introduction/reintroduction of the Design Team members with a fun twist of their favorite color combo(s) to use when creating.
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Q1: Tell us more about you, your family and where you live.
A: I’m Thanh and I’m the DT Coordinator of Your Next Stamp. I’m currently residing in the suburbs of Vancouver, BC, Canada. I live with my fiancé in our apartment and we’re both very busy planning our upcoming wedding. It will probably be the biggest party we’ll throw and because we’re on a budget, we’re doing a lot of DIY (or should I say DIO?). I’m looking forward to the coming months, but boy, I’m not going to lie – planning a wedding is a LOT of work!
Q2: When did you join the Team at Your Next Stamp?
A: I was introduced to YNS by my good friend, Peggy, and I had the opportunity to guest design for YNS in July 2012. I then joined the Team as a regular contributor starting January 2013. In July 2014, I took on the role of coordinating the Design Team.
Q3: What are your favorite Your Next Stamp images?
A: Ooooo! This is a hard one for me as I have many, but my absolute favorites that I can think of right away are: Thanks a Latte, Oh, Jam It! and Silly Monsters. These particular images are just so darn cute! If you follow my blog, I’m quite motivated by coffee and tea. I also love putting faces on images and personifying everything! The Monsters are just adorable and are perfect for masculine and feminine occasions. I love stamp sets where they have a lot of versatility.
Q4: What are your favorite color combos?
A: My favorite colors change with the season, but you’ll always see me gravitating towards bright and bold or soft pastels. While I don’t wear a lot of pink, I make a lot of pink cards! My favorite color also happens to be teal/turquoise. Lately, I’ve also been enjoying the black/white and gold combo and that’s what I decided to share with you today. Black/white and gold is a classic combo and yet, it’s right on par with being trendy right now, too!
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EEK! I love this little Cupid in the Lovestruck set and wanted to make sure I made a couple more cards with him for Valentine’s Day and so I chose to my favorite color combo (of today. As I said, it changes frequently).
Here’s a close up of the delicious gumdrops that YNS carries! Seriously, if you are into enamel dots, the YNS dots are perfect! They come in four different sizes and the glittery ones are oh so perfect to jazz up any project. The gumdrops I used for this card are the Gold Nugget color.
Here are all the different images in the Lovestruck set:
What do you think of black/white and gold? Are you loving the trend or so over it? Would love to hear your thoughts! If you’d like to see more projects made with this cupid cutie, you can head on over to our Pinterest page.
Julie will be next up on our DT series post so make sure you drop in next Monday to see what her favorite color combos are. Thanks for dropping by today. Thanh
YNS Supplies Used: Lovestruck | Puffy Cloud Die | Gumdrops
Hello and happy weekend, friends! I hope that you’re all enjoying the last weekend before we all have to go back to work and the kids go back to school. We hope that you’ve had a great start of the new year!
Our January Guest Designer should be no stranger to you. Please help me in welcoming Peggy Toole (back) to Your Next Stamp!
Peggy Toole
Blog: Made By Me
Hey everyone, Peggy here! I just could not stay away from YNS for long and when Karen asked me to be a guest this month I just could not say no! For those of you that haven’t “met” me yet I have been stamping for about 10 years now, wow time flies, and have been a fan of Karen’s and YNS for over 4 years! I am thrilled to be here for this month and can’t wait to share all my creations with you.
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Here is Peggy’s debut card with us this month:
This card sure brings some warmth to our current winter at the moment. I am sure that Peggy thought the same when she was creating this card (I personally know how much she loves snow – ha!). The YNS images that Peggy used can be found in our Cactus and Flower Fun set:
Head on over to Peggy’ blog to learn more about her HERE.
Thanks for hanging out with us today. Have a wonderful start to your week!
Good morning! Today we celebrate our fabulous December Guest Designer, Suzanne Bier.
We’ve had a great time having her join us this month and we know that she put her all into making her projects. Her enthusiasm shined through and I’ll even share that right after we got her settled in, she sent me an email with photos of FIVE different projects ready to go! lol How’s that for productive!
If you missed Suzanne’s introduction post, please click to read HERE.
This is a review of all the projects she created with us this month:
Thank you for all your hard work, Suzanne! Please help me send Suzanne off with a YNS farewell.
Hello, YNS fans! On behalf the YNS team, we hope you had a fantastic Christmas holiday! Karen and I took a much needed holiday break and that’s why we’ve been sort of quiet on the blog end but we’re slowly getting back on track. As a matter of fact, Karen always goes all out – if you missed her announcement, YNS is currently holding a Winter Sale!!! Your entire purchase is 30% off. If you received some cash for Christmas, this is a fantastic way to check off some items from your wish list.
The Design Team is still on a break and as Julie announced, we’ve extended the latest Challenge until January 8th. If you didn’t find time to craft over the holidays, here’s your chance to play catch up and join in on our bi-weekly challenge now! There’s always a prize involved.
Even though I say that the Design Team is on a break, I have to give them credit for still working so hard! Our January release is just over one week away and I know that they will bring you fabulous inspiration to start off 2015. Join us here on the blog starting January 6th for previews. Our Blog Hop and release day will be on January 7th. Would you like a small hint at what we’re releasing? Remember our little science guy that we previewed in the DT Call?
EUREKA – he and his deLIGHTful buddies will become some of your favourite YNS images! I’m totally MAD about him and we’ll have a special guest joining us to help showcase this set! Eek! I can’t wait!!! All DT members, including our latest two gals, are excited about this new release and we look forward to sharing it with you.
Speaking of the new year, I was just chatting with Karen about setting personal goals and one we equally shared was to be more organized – in every aspect of our lives! I bet some of you have set your goals to be more organized, yes? Does that include being organized on the crafty level as well? We just finished up our Design Team Series Posts where each DT member shared her creative process with you. If you missed out any of them, I’ve linked up each post below. Check ’em out, you may find one or a few new ways to organize your crafty stash which will enable you to be more productive in the craft room.
That’s it for announcements and the latest news on YNS! Remember to follow us on Instagram and Facebook for extra sneak peeks and daily inspiration! Thanks for checking in with us today.
Be well,
Thanh
Hello, hello!
It’s Thanh here and before I make the announcement of our New Design Team Members, I wanted to acknowledge ALL the applicants who applied for our last Design Team Call or for those who thought about it and decided “maybe next time.” Trust me when I say that I’ve been in your position; I’ve received my share of – I’m going to use the word – rejection emails. It’s not an easy topic to discuss and it was definitely challenging for Karen and I to choose just TWO designers from all the applicants! We’re so humbled by the love and the growth that you’ve given YNS over these years that we want to ensure you that each application was reviewed carefully and thoroughly. You took the time and effort to send them in to us and Karen made a point of responding to each one – with a discount to the Store!
When I was starting out (been actively in the business since 2008 now), I always used to wonder how companies choose their design team members. I hope that by being transparent about our selection process and giving you tips for next time (to apply for YNS or any other DT out there), this will help you in your future endeavours!
When Karen and I were reviewing the applications, we were looking for/most interested in the following:
I hope that this has helped and we encourage you to apply with us next time; continue applying to any DT company that you love. Your passion and enthusiasm will shine through! To summarize, I’ll leave you with a simple yet very true quote:
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. – Wayne Gretzky
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Once again, ya’ll made it so tough on us, but I am so happy to be introducing the following two ladies to our North American DT:
Annette Allen
Blog: My Clever Creations
Sue Taylor-Hill
Blog: Gertsgoods
You may recognize Sue who was our September Guest Designer. You will learn more about these two ladies in the new year as they create up a storm for YNS! Please help me in welcoming them to our YNS family.
Surprise! We have another exciting announcement to make. I bet you didn’t know that YNS has a large following in Japan! We are so fortunate that our stamps are also well known on the East Coast of the World and that we have some very talented designers working with our images. These two ladies will be joining the Japanese segment of the YNS family. Please also help me in welcoming the following two ladies:
Holiday Snow Globe – Ayako Hama
Too many YNS products to list :o) – Maki Kubo
Thank you so much for joining us today and helping us welcoming our new Team Members.
All the best,
Thanh
Hi all! Angel here and I hope you have your favorite drink handy because I have a picture-heavy post for ya! First up is my creative space. We moved to OK back in April and I’m blessed to have snagged this room near the front of our house. I work from home so a small portion of the room is dedicated to my work space and the rest of it is dedicated to my FUN work space 😉 I have a nice view and some great natural light that shines in most of the day.
Here’s my desk. It’s just a folding table that I’ve used for years, but I’m looking out for a replacement, just waiting to find the perfect one. Yep, my desk is normally this messy. Just keepin’ it real, folks!
Here’s my view when I sit at my desk. I have the tv to my left and the window view to my right. I just try to ignore the ugly real work computer and desk right in front of me, lol!
Here’s my photo set up. A BIG shout out to Debbie Olsen for sharing her process because it made me rethink mine. I bought that cute little birdcage a while back from Hobby Lobby, but it was just sitting on a shelf. The lighting is perfect for pictures several hours during the day in this spot, so regardless of when I finish my cards, I wait to take a pic for that right moment. It’s worth the wait because I’m so happy with how my pics have turned out lately!
Ok, now on to my creating process! First off, I almost always, like 99.9% of the time, am creating a card with at least one type of challenge in mind. Doesn’t matter if it’s a sketch challenge (which are my faves), a color challenge, inspiration challenge, whatever… you can pretty much bet that I’m making a card for a challenge somewhere! Once I found the challenges I want to create for, I take pictures of the screen – see my phone on the upper right? That’s a pic of one of the challenges I’m using for the card I’m about to make. Having the pics handy keeps me from needing to go back and remember which blog I found it on, etc… then I get to work! For this card, I’m using the NEWLY RELEASED Little Darling January set, which I colored with Copics. I knew I was going to fussy-cut her, so I stamped her with Memento black ink onto a scrap of Neenah solar white card stock.
Before I adhere anything, I lay it all out to make sure there’s nothing else I need to add, like ribbon, twine, whatever. How cool does that silver metallic paper look with the embossing?! The sentiment is from the Celebrate the Season set. I thought the pretty font went perfectly with this sweet little girl. Another thing I’d like to point out is when using the YNS gumdrops, in this case the sparkly white ones, I always use my paper piercer to get them off the packaging and place them lightly where I think I want them. I don’t push them onto the card stock until I’m happy with the placement.
Phew!!!! Well, you can’t say I didn’t warn you about the long post, ha!
Don’t forget, we are currently in the middle of a new release hop — there is still plenty of time to check out the new images and leave comments for your chance to win a $20 YNS gift certificate. Read all about the hop HERE.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Angel
Hello! I have a very special announcement today, but before I move forward with that, I wanted to address all of those who applied to be on the YNS Design Team. Thank you SO much for setting aside the time to put in an application and we are so humbled by the fact that you all want to be apart of our little family! We are currently reviewing the applications but we’re a little overwhelmed with the response! We’re also in the midst of bringing you another new release on December 7th, so we are working hard behind the scenes. We will be sending all applicants a response soon. 🙂
For the big announcement today, the YNS Crew is very excited to welcome back Carole Burrage to the team! Carole is no stranger to YNS – she used to write the most amusing posts and her creative spirit is a force to be reckoned with! I had the opportunity to meet Carole in person at CHA 2012 and I can attest that she is as funny in person as she is online!
I’ll let Carole take it away and introduce herself:
Hi, my name is Carole Burrage, and I’m thrilled to be re-uniting (and it feels so good… 😉 ) with my dear friends at Your Next Stamp. I’ve been stamping since 2006, and have had the pleasure of serving on many design teams as well as the Splitcoaststamper’s Dirty Dozen (June – Nov. 2008). I also used to write the ‘Carole’s Creative Commotion’ monthly blog post for YNS (who knows – maybe it will make a comeback one of these days!). I took a lengthy hiatus from serious stamping to go back to work after several years as a stay-at-home-mom. Thanks to a recent move, I’m once again a SAHM and itching to get those creative juices flowing again. I now live in Durant, Oklahoma, with my husband, two sons, and our two rescue dogs. I’m so grateful to Karen for giving me another opportunity to get crafty with her awesome company and talented team of designers. I look forward to sharing my designs with you!
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YAY! I can’t wait to see what you create, Carole! Please go visit her on her blog – Mother’s Little Helper – and give her some love!
Have a fantastic day!
– Thanh
Greetings, Your Next Stamp readers!
We hope that you are enjoying your week so far. I am excited to introduce you to our final guest in 2014! She’s also a dear friend of mine and a familiar face to YNS. Please help me in welcoming Suzanne:
Suzanne Bier
Blog: Sparkling Scrapper
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Hi, everybody! My name is Suzanne Bier. I live in northern Virginia with my dear husband and our sweet (and spoiled) dachshund. I’ve been stamping and coloring with Copics for more than four years, but have been crafting for as long as I can remember! Although most of my projects are cards, I love working in techniques from other crafts into my creations! I’m so excited to be guest designing this month for Your Next Stamp, and I’m looking forward to sharing my cards with all of you! I’d love it if you’d visit me at my blog to say hello!
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Here’s Suzanne’s first project with us using my favourite holiday stamp set, the Ugly Sweater:
I love how Suzanne has showcased the different sweaters you can make in this single set! Here’s all the different combinations you can make:
Please visit Suzanne on her blog and give her some YNS love! I’m sure looking forward to seeing what she has up her sleeve this month.
Thanks for coming by today and Maureen will be on the blog tomorrow with another Whatcha Watching video.
– Thanh
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