10 Minute Craft Dash #15

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Hello and Happy Wednesday!

It’s time for the a brand new 10 Minute Craft Dash and I’m thrilled to have an amazing line-up of special designers along with a swoon worthy prize for the winner. Whether you like to stamp, scrapbook or just like to dabble into a variety of crafts, you can join along in this challenge!

Now some may be a little intimidated by this color palette- don’t be, it’s really not as scary as it looks. You can take some slight creative freedoms with the colors {as you’ll see the DT did}, but try to stay as true to it as you can. Scroll below for the guidelines on how to play.

* If you aren’t able to stay within the 10 minutes, you can still link up your item! While it won’t quality for the winner spot, it still might be featured in the favorites section!

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As I mentioned yesterday, we have a first time sponsor providing the AMAZING prize this week. A giant thank you to Gossamer Blue for offering up their April Bits & Pieces kit to the lucky winner of this challenge.  This kit is packed full of yummy crafty items, as you can see below.

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If you were inspired by the DT’s cards, just wait until you see what some of the Gossamer Blue DT created! I was so giddy when I heard some of them were going to be able to participate- they all are so incredibly talented! Be sure to visit their blogs and see their inspiring creations!

Christine Middlecamp

Cindy Liebel

Angie Gutshall

Mitchell Kraft

Kim Moreno

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How to Play

  1. Create a card/craft project within 10 minutes featuring the color palette.
  2. Post the time it took to create.
  3. Be sure to include the challenge graphic in your post and link to the challenge.
  4. You may combine a total of three challenges with your entry. You may enter the challenge a maximum of two times.
  5. Subscribe to Pretty Pink Posh via Email

You can pull out your supplies before your timer starts!



10 Minute Craft Dash #14 Highlights

You know a challenge is a success when 1) you get the most international views you’ve ever received 2) people are raving about the color combination 3) you get multiple entries from participants 4) people are having FUN!

The 10 Minute Craft Dash #14 ended on Saturday and this one was packed full of both beautiful and cute cards. It’s always a joy to see how you all interpret the palette into your creations. Each one is so very unique! I’m constantly amazed at how much some of you are able to accomplish within the 10 minutes!

Now onto the winning entry and the favorites….

Congratulations to Leigh Penner

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Please email me (click the contact on the top right) with your contact info to claim your prize. Also, you get to grab the badge below and proudly display it on your blog!
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Here are my favorites picks from this last challenge. After I chose the cards I wanted to highlight, I realized I picked a mix of elegant and cute- such a perfect way to encapsulate this challenge! {Ladies, feel free to grab the badge below and put it on your blogs!}

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Anya

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Ashley M

Sarah Jay

Lindsey

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If you are interested in getting a head start on the next Craft Dash, I have the colors that will be featured on the Pretty Pink Posh Facebook page. This is EXCLUSIVE to those who like my page. If you go there and go to “exclusives”, you get to see the next 10 Minute Craft Dash challenge a day early!

fb_prettypinkposhI have never revealed a Craft Dash sponsor before their challenge, or let you in on the prize, but this week is an exception. I am so excited to share that Gossamer Blue {a company new to me} will be sponsoring the challenge starting on Wednesday and this prize is BEAUTIFUL! I had the honor of playing with these products and I couldn’t help but film a video showcasing everything that is included.

Doesn’t that prize just make you swoon? Who wins this upcoming challenge will get their very own April Bits & Pieces kit, which has already SOLD OUT! Hopefully that entices you to play along and to share this with your crafty friends! *wink*

I hope to see you all tomorrow for the brand new challenge, along with links to the Gossamer Blue gals who will be joining along. It’s going to be a post full of beautiful inspiration, you won’t want to miss it!

Featured Blogger- Jennifer McGuire

 

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For those new to my blog, on the first Monday of each month, I feature one of the bloggers that I follow. When I read blogs, I always enjoy getting to know the person BEHIND the blog. Whether it be a crafty blogger, a lifestyle blogger or a fellow young single gal- I love putting away the formalities and having a “conversation” with a blogger I enjoy.

My Featured Blogger today is one that is very well known in the paper crafts industry. She is Copic and Ranger certified, the Education Director at Hero Arts, has been a Paper Crafts Go-To Gal, and is one of the gals behind the super popular Online Card Classes phenomenon. I’m pleased to welcome Jennifer McGuire for today’s feature!

Let’s get started with the questions….

Tell us about your blog. When and why did you start it?

Ten years ago I quit my job as an engineer to do crafting full-time. So what was a hobby was now a job. About four years ago I wanted to bring back a bit of the hobby into my life – to make cards just for fun. Therefore, I started the blog. I enjoy it!

How did you get introduced to stamping/ paper crafts?

Eleven years ago, I volunteered to go on a mission trip with my church’s youth group. When we got home I wanted to make a scrapbook of the trip for the youth leader. This was my first paper crafting… and I fell madly in love. I did scrapbooking for many years, and then switched to card making thanks to my job with Hero Arts.

There are so many crafting trends right now, which ones are your favorite?

Tough question! I am normally not big on trends. (Can you believe I never used bakers twine or washi tape on a card?!) But I really am enjoying the many graphic stamps out there right now. Triangle patterns? Yes, please!

Is there a technique or style you admire, but aren’t able to “pull off” yourself?

YES! Clean and simple! I LOVE the clean and simple look. It is by far my favorite. However, I find it really difficult for me to do. I tend to go overboard on my cards!

If you could tell your “newbie” crafter self something, what would it be?

Honestly, I wouldn’t tell myself a thing. I think the adventure of figuring out your spot in the crafting world is a wonderful one.

How many hours do you spending crafting each week?

This is my job, so I spend a bit more than I would if it was a hobby. I probably create 15 hours a week… during Lila’s nap times! :)

Besides crafting, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I spend all of my time with my family. I also can be caught volunteering at the schools, working in the garden (when it is not snowing – ack!) and traveling. I LOVE to travel.

What is something about yourself that many people don’t know?

I can’t sit still! I am a busy bee!

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?

ANYWHERE. I love traveling anywhere and everywhere.

You have your choice to spend the day with any celebrity, who would you choose and why?

Kenny Chesney. Simply so I could ask him about his favorite islands. (Our family loves the caribbean!)

Top 5 things you are most passionate about:

  1. Family
  2. Faith
  3. Being healthy
  4. Stamping
  5. Sharing

I know that many of those in the stamping/ crafting industry have heard of Jennifer before, however, I have a feeling that quite a few of my readers haven’t been introduced to her work. Here are some of the places you can find her:

Jennifer’s Facebook page

Jennifer’s Twitter

Jennifer’s Instagram

Online Card Classes

I hope that you enjoyed this feature and are just as inspired by this gal as I have been. Want to recommend a blogger, or yourself,  for a future Featured Blogger post? Leave a comment with the blog link and you never know- you just might hear from me!

I’ll see you tomorrow for the 10 Minute Craft Dash Highlights, info on how you can get an exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming challenge AND a video showcasing the prize for the sponsor. It’ll be a packed day full of info and I know it’ll get you excited for the challenge on Wednesday- I hope you’ll stop by!

Blogging 101 {Pt. 1}

blogging101I recently asked on the Pretty Pink Posh Facebook page and Twitter if anyone was interested in me doing a post on Blogging 101. I got a resounding,”YES”, all the way around. Awesome, now I just needed to come up with content….who knew what started out as a little idea would lead to so many ideas, tips, lessons and, frankly, a series that I wish I had read when I first started.

Before I start out, I want to say that I am NOT an expert on blogging- I have so much more to learn myself. Throughout the years that I’ve been blogging, I have learned a lot, seen so many things and gained a lot from this world. I’ll share the good, bad and ugly {okay, there really isn’t too much ugly, but just thought I’d throw that in}.

Ready to get started on Blogging 101? Since I don’t want to make this too terribly long, I’ll be posting a mini series of sorts, every Friday until I spill out all I have to say. Today’s topics: blogging your passion & making your blog a reflection of you.

BLOGGING101-1When I first started blogging, it was a place where I could get out my thoughts. There wasn’t a goal or audience I had in mind, I just did it. Oh goodness, I can’t believe I’m doing this, but HERE is a link to my very first post. Random? Yes, it sure is. The only thing someone could get out of it? That I loved Starbucks as much then as I do now.

If you are new to blogging, or are revamping your blog, you’ll want to ask yourself these four words: why are you blogging? Are you doing it as a hobby? Do you want to engage with people outside of your “normal circles”? Are you trying to promote something? Is it going to be your job? If you truly are trying to build an audience, you’ll want to blog about topics you have knowledge in and are passionate about. Why? You won’t run out of material and it won’t be something you dread, rather it’ll be an outlet or perhaps even fun for you.

You may be thinking to yourself- “Paulina, you blog about a multitude of things. Are you really one to talk?” You are absolutely correct- I DO blog about a variety of topics. However, I didn’t always do this. Previously, I blogged almost strictly cards and didn’t tarry far from that. With a recent change in my life and me growing as a person, I opened my blog up to someplace that encompasses everything I enjoy. It’s me on a platter, basically. I will say that the things I blog about now ARE things I’m passionate about and opening myself up on my blog has been one of the best things I could have done. Are there downsides to this? Absolutely. I’ll share those a little later….

I would highly encourage those new to blogging to figure out the purpose of your blog and then proceed from there. Are you trying to lose weight? Awesome, start a blog about that! {I did that previously and stumbled across so many amazing people on the same journey} Are you interested in fashion and make-up? Do a blog on that! There’s a whole world of bloggers who do that. Whatever your passion is, blog about that.

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When you go to someone’s house, their decor, furniture and paint colors typically are a reflection of their personality and style. In the same way, your blogging is a reflection of you. Your writing style to the colors/ layout/ designs, your blog showcases who you are as a person.

At a quick glance, I’d like to think that you can get a feel for my personality. I’m girly, love aqua, pink and pretty things. Even 4 1/2 years ago, when I hardly knew a thing about blogging, I knew that choosing a name for my blog was important. After writing out a huge list of some possibilities {and realizing that all of them were taken}, I finally decided to mix together three components that I love: pretty, pink and posh things. A quick search, some questioning if it was a good name and voilà, a name was born.

Now some may go as far to say you need to “brand” yourself, but honestly, if this is a hobby and you’re just starting out, this is far from necessary. Don’t worry about having THE perfect blog with the layout/ design that you’ll keep for years on end. Chances are, your style will change and you’ll revamp down the road. For those with a little extra spending money, there are places that can help you get the exact design you want.

*I recently paid someone to add elements to my blog that I have wanted for quite a while but were out of my realm of coding. If you’re looking to add some custom items, or want to do a whole new redesign, talk to Lauren and her team at Restored316 Designs. She has worked with me on several of my blog changes and has done a phenomenal job. I got exactly what I wanted with a quick turnaround time and a reasonable price.

Okay, so that will wrap up the first installment of Blogging 101. I hope you are leaving with some things to think about. If I’ve given you food for thought, I’d love to hear what stood out. If there’s a specific topic you hope I address in a future installment, feel free to leave a comment with that. While I do have an outline of things I want to tackle, I also want to mix in topics you may have questions about. I’ll try to be as open of a book as I can be.

Thanks so much for your interest in this series. I’m already looking forward to sharing with you again next Friday!

Sequin Butterflies + Giveaway

Give me a S-E-Q-U-I-N-S! What’s that spell? Sequins!  Okay, so I would never qualify as a cheerleader…

I’m back with another card featuring sequins- this time in a slightly different form. I wanted to showcase how you could use your die cuts to allow your sequins to peek through and shine. I had so much fun picking out the sequins to feature on this card- there are so many color combinations I could use!

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To adhere my sequins, I covered a sheet of cardstock with ATG tape and then lined up all of my pretty sequins. Once I had covered all of the paper, I overlaid my die cut chevron paper with dimensional tape. I will admit that it takes a bit of time, but for close friends or family, it’s worth it.

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Recently on Twitter, I mentioned that I was going to host a sequins giveaway soon. Well, the day has come! I purchased extras of some of my favorite sequin colors {shown below} and want to share the sequin love with one lucky person!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Everyone likes to hear about a giveaway, so be sure to let your friends know about my site! I’m reaching some milestone numbers on a few social media sites soon- you never know when another giveaway may be coming!

I hope that today’s card inspired you. As you know, I’m a huge fan of sequins {now} and want to pass along this love to all of you, my amazing readers. Hope you’ll join me on this sparkly bandwagon!

March Random Loves

It’s time for my March Random Loves blog post. For those of you new to my blog, every month I put together a post of some of the things I’ve been loving that month. You’ll want to take note, these are very random- I may feature jewelry, food items, entertainment items and things in between. You just never know what might appear in this feature, hence the name!

march-1bracelet can be found here

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’m in love with my new bracelet. I love the turquoise color, how it’s a “big” bracelet but not bulky, and the fact that it’s comfortable. Another plus, it goes with so many of my outfits!

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Sharpie pencils can be found here

I’m a huge fan of Sharpie products. I have every single color of their fine tip pens, many of their ultra fine permanent markers and now these liquid pencils. I keep a blog calendar, but there are times when I move a post to another day and needed something erasable. Imagine my surprise when I saw these! They work like a charm and definitely live up to the Sharpie brand.

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nail polish can be found here

If you’ve seen my latest videos, you may have noticed my nails. I’ve always been a fan of glitter nail polish, but recently I have been doing a “fade out” technique and LOVE the look. It’s glitzy without being too much.

march-6Recently I stumbled across Amazon Prime and boy, was I disappointed to have not found out about it sooner! The library of different shows/ movies that you can stream is impressive, not to mention you also get free two days shipping with your Amazon orders.

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Lately, with my recent diet changes, I’ve been eating TONS of vegetables and fruit. When the store had a sale on asparagus, I bought a bundle {since I hadn’t had any in a while}. OHMYGOODNESS. I forgot how delicious this veggie was! Since then, I think I’ve bought at least seven bundles. If you aren’t a fan of eating them plain, try it in an omelet- it’s so delicious!

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CLICK HERE to view previous Random Loves posts

 

What are a few of YOUR favorite things at the moment? It can be drinks, shows, clothing, movies, etc….  these posts have introduced my readers to new things, and your lists have introduced me to new things as well. It’s so fun to see what everyone else is enjoying!

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Ahoy Mate

While I can be quite girly, I have had a thing for nautical themed items for quite some time. In fact, back in my early high school years, my room was red/ white/ blue and had a semi nautical/ patriotic feel to it. {Don’t ask…I honestly couldn’t tell you why I chose that over a girly theme}

Recently, I was fulfilling an order at work and saw the Sailboat Chickie. How could I push this little guy aside for so long?! Over the weekend, I was at the store and saw these delicious looking cupcakes. Instantly I knew I wanted to create little cupcake toppers and a matching card featuring this little guy.

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Did you spy my newly purchased Quinn’s ABC’s dies? These little letters are so much fun to use! If you haven’t seen it already, head on over to THIS POST to see the stamp set used, along with a video on the matching dies. {They are currently out of stock at Ellen Hutson, but they should be restocked soon!}

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One of my March sponsors, Little Free Radical, carries a large variety of paper straws that are swoon worthy. Last month, I created a cupcake topper and card featuring a green straw {see here} and decided I wanted to use a grey straw today. I won’t lie, I literally am looking for any excuse to use one- they just make me so happy!

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I hope that these little creations brought a smile to your face and inspired you. I’ll be back tomorrow- hope to see you then!

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Blissful Botanical Thanks + Video

Today I not only have a card for the 10 Minute Craft Dash #14 {sponsored by Lawn Fawn}, I also have a video showing how I created it! I don’t post a video for each challenge for a few different reasons…one of the main ones, I’m a perfectionist and I truly dislike how these videos show me scrambling about. I have no problem crafting with a timer when the camera isn’t rolling, but when it is, it’s like I freeze up!

I won’t go into detail of how I created this card, since it’s shown in the video. *wink* If you don’t already, I hope that you’ll subscribe to the Pretty Pink Posh YouTube channel. As I’m getting the hang of the lighting, working on camera and showcasing techniques, I’m hoping to post videos more regularly.

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Time it took to create: 9 minutes 30 seconds

Do you spy that scrumptious ribbon? I bought a WHOLE bunch of it from one of my blog sponsors, Little Free Radical, in eight different colors. Crystal is such a sweetheart, has an amazingly fast turnaround time and her products are lovely! {Yes, I’m totally encouraging you to check out her site!}

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Okay, now onto the craziness video…. As I was re-watching this video, I noticed there are a lot of awkward silence pauses. Eeek! This is what a video looks like raw and uncut.

That’s going to wrap up this post, sweet blog friends. I will be back tomorrow with a nautical inspired card and some cupcakes! Hope to see you then!

Shine Brightly {like a diamond}

I’ll admit it, the name of this post is a little ridiculous. When I first created this card, it was based solely around my new Summertime Charm jar and matching die. After the main elements were stamped out, I felt like it needed some sequins and a sentiment. I wanted to do something that reflected the blinged out card and well, I came up with this. I won’t pretend that I didn’t have a popular RiRi song going through my head while I stamped this out.

I recently created THIS CARD , THIS CARD and THIS CARD that featured sequins, but wanted to go the pastel route for this one. After all, with the flowers blooming and Easter right around the corner, it’s hard not to think about these pretty colors!

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Confession time: within a month or so, my collection of sequin colors has gone from ZERO to over TWENTY. I think I need an intervention. On the plus side of things- they are fairly inexpensive, pretty and I use them. On the other side- they are addictive and I neglect some other accessories because of them. Oh the trade offs of crafting….

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Since this card features lots of Lawn Fawn goodies, I wanted to remind you all that they are sponsoring the current 10 Minute Craft Dash. Join the fun and you just might win a LF set of your choice, along with a 6 x 6 paper pack!

In closing, I’m curious, any specific colors of sequins you want to see used on an upcoming project? I plan on crafting sometime this weekend, so hopefully I can work in a few requests! :)

Happy Anniversary + Giveaway Winner

Now before you get too excited…it’s not MY anniversary. Goodness, I don’t even have “someone special” in my life. Today is my parent’s 26th wedding anniversary. They have had their fair share of ups and downs in their marriage, but I am so proud and blessed to see them together. Marriage is hard work {I’ve been told} and the fact that they not only can live together but also work together, is a feat not many can take on.

I’ve said it before, but I have such a hard time with anniversary cards. I don’t like them too “lovey dovey”, but then again, I don’t want them to be boring. I decided to try my hand at mixing in some colorful colors and polka dots {since my moml loves them} and also work in the number 26. After a little playing and gathering inspiration from my “Cards I Love” Pinterest board, I finally settled on this card.

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Yes, I have pulled out sequins once again. I hope y’all don’t mind them….I have quite a few more cards to share in the near future that highlight these fun embellishments!

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It’s time to announce the winner of the Paper Sweeties Gift Certificate Giveaway! I’m so sorry it’s taken so long to post the winner- this week has been jam packed full of posts! Congratulations to Kristina M. Anderson! I’ll be forwarding your email information to Debbie so she can send you the gift certificate information!

Thank you to everyone who entered this past giveaway…..stay tuned for a SEQUIN giveaway soon! I know that many of you have been eying these blingy items and in a recent purchase, I ordered extra so one lucky reader can enjoy them. If you don’t already, be sure to subscribe to my posts via email so you don’t miss this giveaway!