The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge 10th Anniversary Blog Hop

ETA: We have a winner!!

Congratulations: Beth DevittJune 2, 2018 at 4:34 PM

Hi Gina, Boy it is hard to pick a favorite. Lately, I've been challenged the most by watercolor. I've been using my water brush and the tip of my AquaBlend pencils to color my images. So I guess I'm using both watercolor and colored pencils.

Send an email to info@ginakdesigns.com and tell them you won the 30 Day Coloring Challenge Blog Hop Giveaway on Gina's Blog! They will send your gift certificate to you by email. :)

Thanks to everyone for joining in! Have a great day!

-------------------------------------------------

Hi Everyone,

I am so honored to joining in on my amazing friend Kathy Raccosin's Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge Blog Hop and Giveaway! Can you believe that it's be 10 years? And every year, I learn something new and get more and more into coloring!

If you are new to the challenge, the premise of “The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge” is to color something everyday even if it’s for five minutes. However feel free to  jump in or out as time permits. Any coloring medium is great!

Click here for DAY 1. TO UPLOAD YOUR COLORING or here on Instagram or here on Facebook.

Please remember to use the hashtag
#thedailymarker30day and tag @kathyrac.
For kids & young adults #thedailymarker30daykids

Questions & Answers plus more info on The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge can be found here. If you are more visual here is a video.

If you have any questions about “The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge” you can refer to this post.  If you want more info on The Coloring Challenge Road Trip click here.

I have been into watercolor lately! So for my project, I chose to use the new Rose Peonies from the Sunshine and Love StampTV Kit.

First, I watercolored my images with Zig Clean Color Brush Markers and cut them out with the coordinating dies.

Then, I stamped a greeting from the Painted Autumn stamp set and cut it out with Double Stitched Ovals dies and layered it on top of one of the Single Stitched Ovals dies. Then, I arranged my bouquet with adhesive and foam squares to add dimension. I created the texture in the background using the large 6 X 6 Gauze Background stamp and stamping it with Moonlit Fog Ink.

Here is an up close shot of my flowers. By embossing them first with Fine Detail White Embossing Powder, it made it easier for me to watercolor and stay inside the lines. It's my favorite way to use watercolors.

There are lots of prizes in this giveaway! Check out Kathy's Blog to enter to win the prizes below and check on the individual blogs along the way to see what others might be doing!

I have a giveaway today as well! I am giving away a $50.00 gift certificate to Gina K. Designs! (Winner will be announced back here at the top of this post on Monday.)

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what you like to color with the most. For me, I think I always go back to colored pencils and gamsol as my favorite, however, watercolor markers have been on my desk a lot lately. How about you?

Ready for more coloring inspiration?

You may have arrived here from the talented Creative Chic

Your next stop is Hero Arts

If any of the links along the way don't work, you can always head back to Kathy's blog for the full list because you won't want to miss anything!

I hope you enjoy today's inspiration and Happy Coloring!

Hugs,

Gina

May Release Blog Hop- Day 3

Hi Everyone,

We have another blog hop for you today featuring the brand new StampTV Kit!

If you haven't had a chance to see my release party presentation video, I show you the first project featuring the new kit! You can see by by clicking HERE

This kit along with the rest of our new release are now available in the What's New category at www.ginakdesigns.com

As you hop through the blogs, make sure you leave a comment on each of them. We will be choosing three winners at the end of all of the hops who will each receive a $25.00 Gift Certificate to the Gina K. Designs store!

Ready to hop? Click the links below:

PLEASE NOTE* if any of the links aren't working, click back to my blog and you can get there from here. 

Arjita Singh

Cathy Tidwell

Donna Idlet

Karen Hightower

Laurie Schmidlin

Rema Deleeuw

Sheri Gilson

Susie Moore

Emily Schroepfer

I am up in Minneapolis helping Rina with a few things today but, stay tuned because later today, I will be sharing another video featuring the new kit!

Enjoy today's inspiration and Happy Stamping!
Hugs,

Gina K.

May Release Blog Hop Day 2

Welcome back to day two of our May release blog hops!

Today, we are featuring two brand new stamps from our newest illustrator, Hannah Schroepfer!

Introducing the Stuck on You stamp and die bundle:

And the Sending you a Llama Love bundle:

These sets along with the rest of our new release are now available in the What's New category at www.ginakdesigns.com

As you hop through the blogs, make sure you leave a comment on each of them. We will be choosing three winners at the end of all of the hops who will each receive a $25.00 Gift Certificate to the Gina K. Designs store!

Ready to hop? Click the links below:

PLEASE NOTE* if any of the links aren't working, click back to my blog and you can get there from here. 

Hannah Schroepfer - Today's featured illustrator

Arjita Singh

Cathy Tidwell

Donna Idlet

Karen Hightower

Laurie Schmidlin

Rema Deleeuw

Sheri Gilson

Susie Moore

Emily Schroepfer

Enjoy today's inspiration and Happy Stamping!
Hugs,

Gina K.

May Release Blog Hop Day 1

Hello and thank you so much for joining us today for our May Release Blog Hop!

Today, we are featuring two brand new stamps from two of our illustrators!

Introducing the Women of Faith stamp set by Melanie Muenchinger:

And the Anemone Wishes stamp and die bundle by Emily Schroepfer:

These sets along with the rest of our new release are now available in the What's New category at www.ginakdesigns.com

As you hop through the blogs, make sure you leave a comment on each of them. We will be choosing three winners at the end of all of the hops who will each receive a $25.00 Gift Certificate to the Gina K. Designs store!

Ready to hop? Click the links below:

PLEASE NOTE* if any of the links aren't working, click back to my blog and you can get there from here. 

Melanie Muenchinger- Illustrator of Women of Faith

Emily Schroepfer- Illustrator of Anemone Wishes

Arjita Singh

Cathy Tidwell

Donna Idlet

Gina K.- (You are Here)

Karen Hightower

Laurie Schmidlin

Rema Deleeuw

Sheri Gilson

Susie Moore

Enjoy today's inspiration and Happy Stamping!
Hugs,

Gina K.

Layton's Legacy Card Drive & Fundraiser Blog Hop

I am so honored to be part of today's  Card Drive & Fundraiser blog hop. This hop was put together by Lea Lawson who lost her beautiful little boy named Layton on Nov. 17, 2016.

You can read Lea's whole story HERE.

Today, we have a huge Card Drive blog hop going on in Layton's honor, with tons of amazing inspiration! We also have a fundraising effort, where every $5 donated gets you an entry into the prize drawing. There are over $2000 in prizes, sponsored by some of the most amazing stamping & papercrafting companies in the industry!

Visit the fundraising site HERE to make your donation. Every little bit helps!

And look at all of these sponsors and prizes:

BLOG HOP

Not only is this a fundraiser, but also a super inspiring blog hop with MANY stops along the way! As you hop along, you will see beautiful cards created with a very special theme. Lea created this mood board when they started planning Layton's nursery. And the mood board is where we got our inspiration for our projects.

Here is the card that I created for today's hop. I focused on the woodland creatures and chose the Ocean Mist, Sweet Corn and Moonlit Fog color scheme. These are the closest colors from our Gina K. Designs brand.

I did a little woodgraining on the strip of my card and used a new background stamp coming to Gina K. Designs this Thursday night to create the yellow texture. I used the GKD stamp set called Bounty of Blessings to stamp the owl and greeting. I also added a little button with twine and colored the owl with Copic Markers.

Now on to the blog hop info. On your first stop at Lea's blog, you will see other ways to help including making cards for the card drive and so much more. You can also share these posts using the hashtag #laytonslegacy

Thank you SO much for being part of Layton's Legacy Card Drive & Fundraiser. It's time to start hopping! Make it a great day! XO

An InLinkz Link-up

Personal Update- Life has a way...

Hi Everyone,
Just a disclaimer- this is a personal post with no real crafting involved so if you aren't interested in that sort of thing, carry on with your day and thank you for checking in! XO

For those interested, here's an update.

Life has a way of bringing the right people together at the right time.

Lately, life has been a bit crazy. My beautiful mom, Ruth, celebrated her 91st birthday last week.
Here is a photo of her at the DMV a couple of weeks ago. She finally decided to surrender her driver's license which was very hard for her. It made her feel sad. I am sure she liked knowing that she could jump in her car anytime and go somewhere without help. But it was time and I am proud of her for admitting it. There is so much dignity in surrendering rather than having something taken away. And it's a mature and thoughtful decision.

My mom's health has been failing lately and she really needs someone to take care of her. We talked about assisted living but she is totally against it. 

So Tom and I decided that we would sell our house and buy a different house that had a first floor bedroom and full bathroom so my mom could come and live with us. And I would take care of her.

We close on our new house on May 7th and my Mom will move in around the first week of June. I am a little nervous because I have never done this sort of thing before. But I also never took care of babies before and somehow, love helps you figure it all out.

I am moving my studio, office and craft room into my home so I can start doing videos from home as well as work on designing new products and projects. I am actually pretty excited about that!

I think it will be good. My Mom tends to eat a lot of microwave frozen foods because she can't lift her arms due to bad shoulders so I am looking forward to cooking her healthy, yummy meals. I am also looking forward to her being close by so at night I don't have to worry that she is laying on the floor with nobody to help her. (I'm thinking of adding a baby monitor into her room so I can hear her call me at night if she needs me.) I am also excited that she will be part of my every day life and the girls will get to see her whenever they come home. I know they are happy about that too. They love her so much.

Here is a photo of all of us this past Christmas in our current house. We currently live in a tiny two bedroom condo. 

This past week, we headed out to Philadelphia for a wedding. We were so excited to go because BOTH of our girls were coming in for it and it was a little bit of family time for us.

Then it hit. Poor Rina got hit with what we think was food poisoning. That was TWICE in a matter of four weeks. I guess it takes a long time to come back 100% and you are especially vulnerable to anything that a healthy person could tolerate for awhile after you have been poisoned.

So Rina spent the entire weekend in bed at the hotel and then we moved to a hotel by the airport and I stayed an additional two days with her until she was able to fly again without being sick.

We actually tried to leave and Alicia agreed to stay with her, but our flight got canceled due to weather and when we got back to the hotel, she was bad enough to want to go to the hospital.

I am so glad she is feeling better. She was so worried about not doing her Monday video. I told her it had been two weeks since I did my last video and every single one of my subscribers are the kindest people on earth and would never be upset! 

Here is a photo of Alicia from the wedding.

And here is one of Alicia and Rina together during a moment when Rina felt good enough to come down and meet a few relatives she hadn't yet met. (That lasted about 1/2 hour.)

Here is a photo of Alicia and me. (no filter, haha, just bright sun!)

And here is a photo of Tom and his brother Steve. Everyone thinks they looks like twins. :)

So like I said earlier, life has a way of bringing the right people together at the right time. I am so thankful my flight was canceled and I could be there to take Rina to the hospital. I am so thankful my mom is coming to live with us and that I can do my job from home. And I am SO thankful for your patience with me as a very behind and somewhat frazzled YouTuber.  

I know things will get better soon and the inspiration and videos will flow again. I actually postponed my new kit a couple of weeks so I can get caught up. Once I am settled into my new space, I will give you the grand tour. 

Much love and thanks to all of you for sticking by me and giving me the time to take care of my people. You all mean so much to me. XO

Hugs,

Gina K.

Gina K. Designs 2018 New Colors Blog Hop

Hi Everyone,

I am so excited today because our new colors are here! 

I first want to show you some special collections and then I have some photos to share that will show you how our new colors compare to the rest of our collection. 

All of the ink pads, ink cubes, reinkers, card stock colors, pre-cut card stock and envelopes are available in single colors packs. But we have some special collections along with one limited edition, exclusive collection.

You can get a card stock assortment that contains 3 sheets of each of the new card stock colors.

And you can also get a matching envelope assortment that contains three of each of the new envelope colors.

Also available is an ink cube collection that has eight of the 10 new ink colors. Not included are Sandy Beach and the new Jet Black Amalgam Ink. But they are available separately.

For a very limited time, we have an exclusive collection of eight of the new full size ink pads. Not included are Sandy Beach and the new Jet Black Amalgam Ink. But they are available separately as well.

All of these new colors will continue to be available as part of our regular line and no colors are currently being discontinued. 

Sandy Beach is available in ink pads, ink cubes, reinkers, card stock, pre-cut card stock and envelopes. 

Our new Amalgam Ink is available in ink pads, ink cubes and reinkers. Amalgam Ink is a new ink that works with Copic Markers, Watercolors and Colored Pencils with Gamsol and will not bleed at all! Now you can mix all three coloring types together on one project with no bleeding. And you can pre-stamp tons of images and not have to wonder which ink you used when you are ready to color them. Great for travel, this one ink will cover all the bases. It's crisp and jet black. I know you're going to love it as much as I do!

Now I'd like to show you some photos of how the new colors compare to our existing line. I have placed an asterisk next to the new colors. I did add Sandy Beach as a new color because of the new ink that coordinates with the card stock and envelopes. For Amalgam Ink, Black Onyx is a perfect match.

*Monitors vary from computer to computer so use this as a guide to see the differences between the colors rather than an exact replica of the color. On my screen, they look exactly like the card stock colors in real life.

I hope these photos are useful in helping you determine how these colors will fit into what you already have. 

All of the new products are now in the store here:

Gina K. Designs Online Store

Ink pads, cubes, and reinkers along with collections are in the What's new category. You can find all the card stock and envelope products in their regular categories. 

Today, the design team has put together a blog hop to showcase the new ink along with some of their favorite stamps!

As you hop along, please leave a comment on each of the blogs because each comment is worth a chance to win a $25 Gift Certificate to Gina K. Designs. The winner will be chosen from all the blog comments and will be announced in the Big News Category over at StampTV on Friday. 

If any of the links are broken, you can come back here to hop to the next blog! Enjoy today's inspiration:

Beth Silaika

Cathy Tidwell

Donna Idlet

Emily Schroepfer

Karen Hightower

Laurie Schmidlin

Lisa Hetrick

Melanie Muenchinger

Rema DeLeeuw

Sheri Gilson

Susie Moore

Theresa Momber

Thanks so much for joining us and Happy Stamping!

Hugs,

Gina K.

Mini Blog Hop Winners!

Thanks so much to everyone for their kind comments on our blogs and a HUGE thanks to Lydia and Jessica for hopping along with me! 
We have three winners:

From My Blog:

Debbie SelbyMarch 31, 2018 at 3:31 PM

Just ordered from your site for the first time. Great ideas and great products. Thanks

From Lydia's Blog:

Cathy MorrisMarch 30, 2018 at 11:21 AM

Love the lion and the watercolor technique . I didn't know you could do that! Love your flower cards as well. Thanks for the inspiration.

From Jessica's Blog:

Bonnie Johnson says

March 30, 2018 at 10:53 am

What a stunning card! Thank you for the clear explanation of how you created this beauty.

Please email info@ginakdesigns.com and tell them you won the Mini Blog Hop $25 gift certificate!

They will get that emailed to your right away.

Thanks to everyone who joined us on this fun hop!

Hugs,

Gina K.

A little hop with my friends! March Release

Hi Everyone!

Lat night, we released some fun new products at Gina K. Designs. Your response has been incredible and today, I asked a couple of my friends to hop along with me to showcase a few of the new stamp sets!

I love these short little blog hops and today, Lydia Fiedler,  Jessica Frost Ballas and I all have blog posts and new videos for you! We sure hope to inspire you and we are also giving away a $25 gift certificate from each blog so drop a comment on each along the way to be entered. We will announce the winners on Monday here on my blog.

In my projects today, I am featuring my new mini set called You Make me Smile and a new set by Emily Schroepfer called Lettered and Lovely.

You make me smile is a 4" x 4" mini set

Lettered and Lovely is a 6" x 8" set

The little floral set is perfect for both focal images and backgrounds. You can use the large floral stamp as the highlight for your card or you can stamp it several times as a background and use one of the large greetings from Lettered and Lovely as the spotlight.

In my first card, I used Zig Clean Color Markers to watercolor the flowers. The flowers are really the highlight of this card and the delicate greeting adds just a little touch of black which makes it stand out against all of the rich color.

This card was really fun to make! And this stamp set will be one that travels with me wherever I go because it's small but gives me tons of coloring fun!

In my video last night, I showcased this card in purple using the same technique.

The flowers are a pretty accent but in my mind, the beautiful greeting is the spotlight. This is the card I am giving to my Mom for Mother's Day.

Here is the video if you'd like to watch it:


And I am thrilled to be invited over to the Simon Says Stamp Blog this morning! 
(Simon Says Stamp has these new sets too!) 


I did a special technique for them called Distress Oxide Lift with Colored Pencils. It's a really fun way to color and it's pretty cool how the Oxides react to Gamsol and colored pencils! It all blends together beautifully with very little skill!

You can watch me over on the Simon Blog HERE 

Leave a comment on their blog because they have some fun blog candy to give away as well!

And you can also find Zig Clean Color Markers and Prismacolor Pencils at the Simon Says Stamp Store.

Affiliate links may be used at no additional cost to you.

All of our new stamp sets are also available in the Gina K. Designs online store and in our Village Paper & Ink retail store in Greendale, WI. 

Ready to see what my two fabulous friends have in store for you?

Next up is Jessica Frost Ballas and you won't believe how beautiful her post is!

I hope you enjoyed today's inspiration and Happy Stamping!
Hugs,

Gina K.