October Monthly Challenge (and Sept. winner)

Happy Saturday, first day of October and World Card Making Day to you all!  I do plan on doing some crafting this weekend, and I also plan on doing some fall decorating :)

Let's start today off with the winner of our September Monthly Challenge.  We only had one, so Bobbi-Lynn wins with this adorable card!

She'll get our Sheltering Tree stamp set.  Thank you so much for playing along!  Just e-mail me with your address and we'll get that prize out to you!

This month I'm challenging you to make a Halloween-themed project with your gel-a-tin stamps!  It can be a card, layout or altered item, I just want to see some Halloween out there.  It could be in the colors or style too (just in case you don't have any of our Halloween stamps just yet).  Here's what I did...

I used both of our Halloween stamp sets to alter this little frame (which I then filled with a picture of my youngest in a candy coma).  I just love that pumpkin from the Halloween set and the banner from the Witchy Poo set is a favorite of mine too.  The papers are by GCD Studios and the accents are by Making Memories.  Ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.

I really want to see your work this month!  Please link up using the widget below and we'll choose a winner at random.  They'll get the Halloween set that I used for part of my project!

I can't wait to see what you all come up with!  Good luck!

Operation Write Home Challenge!

Today we're offering up another challenge that involves making cards for Operation Write Home.  Here's a little bit about them from their website:

Our Mission:
Supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them.
This merry band of thousands of cardmakers is made up of Americans - and citizens of other nations too - who care about our military, and want to support them through creativity and encouragement. Crafters of all ages and levels of experience have participated since 2007...and are on the way to a landmark one MILLION cards!
Care packages filled with hundreds of handmade cards are sent to our contacts, restocking every 6-8 weeks, and are sent in time for the long journey back home to loved ones. Each box is packed with great care, alternating styles, colors, and cardmakers from all over the USA, creating "eye candy" for heroes who see only khaki around them. The topper on each box is a plastic bag filled with 20-30 letters from adults and children across the country, letters handed out especially to those in need of a positive word from the homefront.

This is such a great cause and we wanted to get involved!  For the next two weeks (until October 6th) we challenge you to make cards for Operation Write Home.  There are some guide lines (check them out first) for your cards, so be sure to follow those.
We have a sketch to inspire you and we're challenging you to make fall-themed cards using this fabulous sketch by Sassy Lil' Sketches!

Dt member Angela made this great card based on the sketch...

"I used the Sweet to the Core set again and the Thanks set, and then I used the Build a Paisley set to "kiss" the pear stamp to get that great pattern on the orange pear. I then covered it with clear crackle paint.
The Thanks sentiment was stamped on twill tape that I had painted with shimmer spray and the button flower was made using one of Cosmo Cricket's enormous "Gluber" glue dots.
The paper is from Pink Paislee."

Here are some samples I made...

I use the Many Thanks set to add a sentiment and used the dragonfly from the Big and Wild Things set on the main paper strip.  I used my Xyron to cover the card in paper and all the patterned papers are by Bo Bunny.

This one was a little fancier, but I was having fun with the sketch :)  The next one is a bit more simple.

I used those same papers by Bo Bunny and my Xyron again, but I added some interest to those die-cut hearts with the flowers from the big and wild things set.  I added some lighter stamps to the paper strip again and a few misted leaves and and some foam adhesive finished this one off.

Want to get involved and enter to win a prize?  Here's what you can do:
1.  Make your cards (using gel-a-tins stamps isn't necessary, but we'd love to see them!)
2.  Take a photo of one and link up here with the Mr. Linky
3.  Send those cards in to Operation Write Home (info is at that link)

We'll choose one of the entries at random and that person will win our great Witchy Poo stamp set and our orange embossing powder!

Like this prize?  Check out all of our other products in our online store!

September Monthly Challenge

Helly again, gelly fans!  I'm back with our Monthly Challenge for September!

This month's challenge is a color combo challenge.  Check out my sample:

I used a light blue, pink, light green and pale yellow on this one.  This was made with our Butterflies are Free set.  I colored the images in with coordinating markers for the challenge.  I used the Many Thanks set for the sentiment.  Added a few pearls and some ink and I love how cheery it is!

So, that's your challenge for this month!  Use your gel-a-tin stamps to make a project that uses these colors!  Link up here using the widget below and at the end of the month we'll choose a random entry and that person will win our Sheltering Tree stamp set!

Good luck, gelly fans!  I can't wait to see your work!

The New gel-a-tins Monthly Challenge!

This month we're going to start a new feature here on the gel-a-tins blog.  I'm going to challenge you to use your gel-a-tin stamps on a project in a different way every month.  You'll need to link your project up at the end of the post and I'll do a random drawing at the end of the month for a winner!

First, let's talk about this month's challenge!

I thought for this first one, I'd ask you to use your gel-a-tin stamps to make the embellishments for your project!  I think sometimes we get used to just using stamps to add a sentiment to a card and forget how useful they can be.  So, use those stamps as your main embellishment on your page!

Here's what I did for this month's challenge:

I used the Super Star stamp set to make the embellishments for this layout.  This is one of my favorite sets and I love the way my layout came out using nothing but stars and some small alpha stickers.

(You may remember from a post earlier this month that the Super Star set is on sale for $12.99 this month.  If you need some gel-a-tins stamps to use for the challenge, this is a great set to grab right now!)

I bet you're wondering what you'll win now, right?  :)  How about the very cute new Thanksgiving set our DT has been using?  Cute, right?  You'll be able to get your fall craft on!

Rules:
One entry per person.
Must link project up through the widget in this post, and project must use only gel-a-tin stamps (no other manufacturers stamps, please).
Projects are due by midnight EST on August 30, 2011.  Winner will be selected by random drawing and announced on August 31, 2011.

I hope you'll play along with us every month!  Have fun and good luck!