Say WHAT?!

Hey everyone!

Happy Halloween!! So today I have some BIG news -- and I mean big GIANT life altering news.. But FIRST, I'll give you a little back story..

Many of you know I used to have a small stamp line, unfortunately -- about a year ago -- I was forced to abruptly shut down due to some not so fun life circumstances. In July of this year I was excited to rejoin blog land. When I joined the Sweet Stamp Shop design team, I had NO idea what a huge blessing it would be! I met Sweet owner Nicole since she is local here in San Diego, and we became fast friends, we just "clicked" -- See:

^^^Us at the most recent Pinterest Party ^^^

(If you're a San Diego local, you MUST join us! These parties are so much fun!)

Anyway, when Nicole mentioned to me that Sweet Stamp Shop was looking to bring on an artist as SSS's first illustrator (besides Nicole of course) I mentioned to her that I had a ton of illustrations laying around that I never used for my own stamp line. She offered to give me some advice and share some of her contacts to help me sell my illustrations. So I brought my computer over one day and showed her my illustrations. Can you guess what happened?...

She asked ME to be Sweet Stamp Shop's first new illustrator!!

Say WHAT?!?

Pretty darn amazing.

Here's a little sneak of what we have coming..

How CUTE are those cards Nicole created?? And with MY illustrations! Eee!!

And a quick little card I threw together...

I can NOT say how excited I am about this new adventure with Nicole and Sweet Stamp Shop!!

We have some AMAZING releases lined up for the next couple months that I know you're going to LOVE!

PLUS, we will be welcoming these wonderful guest designers to show off my new line in November:

Wida Miller

Thienly Azim

Jennifer Rzasa

Lisa Arana

If you haven't already, be sure to stop by the Sweet blog today to check out Nicole's post, she's giving away some NEW SWEET! (Yep, my first Sweet stamp set!!)

AND I'd love if you'd check out my NEW blog dedicated to my illustrations!

(Don't worry, this blog isn't going anywhere. This blog will continue to be my personal crafty blog)

AND if you are a Facebooker, I'd love if you'd also give my NEW page a like!

Alright sweet friends, that's all for today!

Big bloggy hugs <3

Alyssa

Unity Hop: Winter Greetings

Hey everyone!

Happy Thursday!! It's HOP time again with Unity which means tons of inspiration from the design team and of course a SALE! You should have arrived here from Angie's blog. If not be sure to hop back to the Unity Blog and start from the beginning. Here's the whole line up for you in case you get lost:

Angie

Alyssa

Erin

Jolande

Joslyn

Lisa A.

Shilo

Thienly

This week there aren't any new releases at Unity, instead they are focusing on offering an amazing SALE! So for my project this week I decided to show off the AMAZING October Kit of the Month:

Oh Christmas Tree

Check out what I created:

I used square dies to cut out my window, then I stamped the trees on clear acetate and adhered that to make the glass in the window. Next I stamped the trees again on a plain piece of white cardstock and colored the background in with my copics. I created the snow by using my colorless blender and dotting randomly around the scene. Finally I stamped the light bulb on clear acetate, colored them with my copics, and strung them across my card with some twine!

Alright, are you ready for the awesome SALE? Check out the banners below and CLICK to shop!

Don’t forget to leave a comment on all the participating blogs. We'll be giving away a fabulous Unity PRIZE to comments left on each of the blogs!!! THREE winners will get to choose TWO sentiment kits!!

Alright sweet friends, it's time to hop on over to Erin's blog!

Big bloggy hugs <3

Sweet Stamp Shop October Release!

Hey everyone!

Happy Wednesday!! Guess what today is?? It's Sweet Stamp Shop's October release!!!

This month they are releasing THREE awesome new sets, and I got to play with all of them! Today I'm going to be showing off the new sets, AND stay tuned because there's a SALE and I'll have the coupon code at the end of this post!

First up, let me show you the super fun new sets!

Happy Hour

Speedy Greetings

What's for Dinner

Annnd, check out what I created:

Be sure to stop by the Sweet Stamp Shop blog to see ALL of the amazing Design Team inspiration!

AND, as I promised, the SALE code: enter OR25 to get 25% off the new releases!!

Have a wonderful day!

<3 Alyssa

Unity Kit of the Month Monday

Hey everyone!

Happy Monday!!

I'm on the Unity blog today with your weekly Kit of the Month Monday :D

Check out the GORGEOUS KOTM for October:

Oh Christmas Tree

Isn't it amazing?

My personal favorites: The jar, the wreath with interchangeable sentiments, and the light bulb!

Can you guess what I used for my card?

Yep! The jar!!

Check it out:

I decided to make a shaker card so I could fill my jar with peppermint sticks :) Then I grabbed a sentiment from the wreath. Isn't it fun?

Click HERE to sign up for the Unity KOTM now!

There's still plenty of time to get this month's kit!!

Have a wonderful day!

Unity Hoppin' - It's Official!!

Hey everyone!

Happy Thursday sweet friends!! Wondering why I'm hopping with Unity even though my Guest Designer position ended a week and a half ago? Any guesses?? That's RIGHT! I am the NEWEST member of the Unity Design Team!!! The awesome ladies of the Unity team were SO super sweet and SO much fun to work with, I guess they musta liked me a little bit too, because they asked me to stay :D So, for the first time as an OFFICIAL Unity Design Team member, it's HOP TIME!

If you started at the Unity Blog then this isn't news to you :P But in case you didn't, here's the line up for you:

Angie

Alyssa

Erin

Jolande

Joslyn

Shilo

Stephanie

Lisa H.

For today's hop I wanted to show off the adorable NEW Little Hands stamps (perfect for your kiddos!!) AND the gorgeous Kit of the Month!!

Check it out:

Isn't that penguin the CUTEST??

Don't forget to stop by the Unity Blog to get all of the details on this weekend's SALE!!

AND don't forget to leave a comment on EVERY blog in the hop because TWO lucky commenters will win a grab bag of ONE HUNDRED Unity stamps!

Alright sweet friends, it's time to hop on over to Erin's blog!

Big bloggy hugs <3

Triple Sweet Thursday: 10 Minute Craft Dash

Hey everyone!

Happy Thursday sweet friends! I'm on the Sweet Stamp Shop Blog today with another Triple Sweet Thursday - 3 Cards, 3 Ways, 1 Challenge! As always I'll be spotlighting ONE challenge and rocking it THREE ways to get you inspired!

This week's featured challenge:

The 10 Minute Craft Dash

About the Challenge:

The 10 Minute Craft Dash is a color challenge with a TWIST: you must complete your card in under 10 minutes. A new challenge is posted every other Wednesday. Your entry must use the color palette and be completed in under 10 minutes. Though if you do go over 10 minutes you can still link up,  you just won't be eligible for the prize. An important note: you CAN plan and pull out your supplies prior  to starting the timer!

Why I Love This Challenge:

Do you LOVE color challenges but find yourself bored or not so challenged by them from time to time? If so, The 10 Minute Craft Dash is for YOU! I love a good old color challenge, but I REALLY love the 10 minute twist! It's like the card makers work out. Sometimes I find myself spending HOURS on one card. That's ok every now and then, but isn't great when you have several cards on your to do list. The 10 Minute Craft Dash really pushes you to get creative and just DO IT. Do it FAST.

The Current Challenge:

The current challenge called for the use of orange, black, and green. Perfect for Halloween right? But Halloween isn't the only way to rock this color palette!

3 Cards - 3 Ways -ONE Challenge

Way 1 : CAS

Time: 7 minutes and 2 seconds

For my first card I went the route I'm most comfortable with: CAS. I pulled out my Sweet Stamp Shop Triangle Style and Zombies stamp sets, an orange, a green, and a black ink pad, and some white paper. I started the timer and went to work creating my Halloween inspired triangle pattern. After scrambling to find some sequins to finish off my card, my stylish and simple Halloween card was finished in 7 minutes and 2 seconds!

Way 2 : a GUEST card by Danni!

Time: 7 minutes and 47 seconds

For card number two I brought in the help of my wonderful friend and Sweet Design Team coordinator Danni! It was super fun to do the dash with Danni and Nicole! Danni busted out this beautiful ombre card featuring the Sweet Stamp Shop Fall Gratitude stamp set in just 7 minutes and 47 seconds! I especially love the little gem accents. Thanks so much for your help Danni!!

Way 3 : More Involved

Time: 9 minutes and 38 seconds

Whew. This one was close. For my final card I challenged myself to step outside the halloween/fall box. I will admit a couple things: I stretched "orange" to a bit of a yellow to red spectrum, and see those green sequins? Yeah, those MIGHT have gone on after I stopped my timer and then realized I had no green, shhh. But I LOVE how this card turned out, and that's really what it's about isn't it? For this card I whipped out my Sweet Stamp Shop Super Mom stamp set, plus my watercolors and some clear acetate. Oh, and don't forget the sequins ;)

SSS Used in These Projects:

Triangle Style

Zombies

Fall Gratitude

Super Mom

I'm looking for MORE challenges to feature right here on the SSS blog! What is YOUR favorite challenge to play along with? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Have you checked out the SSS Pinterest and Flickr pages?

There's TONS more fantastic inspiration on those pages so be sure to click and check them out!!

Before I go, DON'T FORGET the Sweet Stamp Shop October release is happening October 16th! You WON'T want to miss this one!!

Big bloggy hugs <3

Alyssa