Woooo!

First, sorry I've been so absent lately- it's been so crazy here!

First of all, let's rewind a week and a half to the winner of the Facebook liking contest- now that Connie has received her prize in the mail, I can post some pictures of it! I gave Connie the choice between an item from the shop, the set of three Tim Holtz inks, or a custom item of her choice. Being the wild child she is, she told me to make her a custom home decor item and to surprise her with its design! Here's what I came up with: 

I'm really proud of it! 

Speaking of things I want to brag about, a local shop just ordered some of my cards to display in their store! The store is the Mukilteo Chocolate Company near the Rosehill Community Center in Mukilteo. They make AMAZING chocolate truffles, fudge, and other such deliciousness. Jan, the fantastic and friendly owner, has also agreed to show some sample favor tags that I've mocked up when people come in to order wedding or other party favors. So exciting! 

I also taught my first class at Lila's this week. I taught a bunch of techniques, including wet embossing and distressing. It was a pretty small class and I've had some requests to re-teach it tomorrow night.

you're nearby and want to take the class, call Lila's at 425-355-2500 and let her know! I'll also be selling some cards at Lila's, so if you're interested, come by and check 'em out! 

And of course, I still have lots of cards up for sale on Etsy here! 

There are some other new and exciting things on the horizon as well, but I don't want to spill all the beans at once! : )

Have a great weekend, everyone! 

Ooh la la!

So the husband is out with the ship so I've been crafting up a storm! Tonight, I participated in the Purple Cows Color Challenge! The challenge was to create a card using the colors black, white, and purple. My typical style is a little more brown/ green /ivory, so it's always nice to challenge my usual look with a little shake-up! 

Here's what I came up with: 

Isn't it cute? I always seem to find that with Mr. McLion away, I am much more girly-- I do my nails, watch trashy TV (Kardashians, anyone?), and with this card, glitzed it up! There's Rock Candy Distress Stickles accents, Perfect Pearls sheen on the edging, shimmery ribbon, and rhinestones on the center sentiment. Sweet and sassy at the same time- I just love it!

What kinds of fun things do you do when you have some free time to yourself?

Lots of New Things!

First and foremost, meet the newest McLion mascot, Lucas:

Lucas! 

Isn't he a doll? An 8 yr old chocolate lab/ golden retriever mix, my husband and I adopted Lucas from the local shelter. He's got such a pretty variegated color, lots of deep browns and reds (and whites, the little old man!). We just adore him : ) Boss, the original mascot, and still king, of McLion Design is adjusting well. Lucas has pretty intense hip arthritis, so he can't climb onto the sofa or the bed, which is a relief to Boss, who adores both, so that is a help!

On to business! 

The Facebook contest has been kind of a bust-- though I did get 5 new likes over the weekend (progress!). If you're reading this post and want to help out by sharing the McLion Design Facebook page on your page and encouraging your friends to like/ support McLion, I'd very much appreciate it! And remember, if you link to us/ share directly from the McLion page, I'll enter you into a contest to win any item in the shop, or the three-pack of Tim Holtz Distress Inks I posted the other day! 

My husband, being in the Navy, is on duty at least once a week, so while that is a bummer when it comes to a warm bed (he's a straight-up furnace!), it is good for productivity! After a small hiatus from creating yesterday to help Lucas settle in, I made two new sets of cards tonight! 

The first is this butterfly card I'm calling "Flight"-- very elegant, perfect for a bridal shower or as an inclusion in a wedding gift: 

Materials Used: 

My Mind's Eye Kraft Funday Paper

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Inks

Ranger Crackle Accents

Martha Stewart Butterfly Classic Punch

Recollections ivory pearls

Swirl cling stamp

white embossing powder

I also made this next card this evening-- probably my favorite so far! It obviously took me a little longer (and I made those rosettes by hand, darn it!), but I adore the result!: 

Materials Used: 

Ivory cardstock

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Inks

Ranger Super Fine Detail Embossing Powder

My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Cling stamps

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint

Perfect Pearls gold powder

Martha Stewart card stamp set

Pretty neat, huh? I just adore these cards! You can buy the butterfly card here and the bon voyage card here. 

I'll be teaching some classes at the Hobby Lobby in Everett starting in a couple weeks- if you're in the Mukilteo/ Everett/ Seattle area, I'll keep you up to date about times/ dates/ subjects!

Thanks for keeping up with the blog, guys!

Contest!

Help McLion Design reach 100 likes on Facebook! If you share our contest status or link to us in a status, you'll automatically be entered to win your choice of either an item from the Etsy shop or a three-pack of Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Forest Moss, Fired Brick, and my favorite color, Vintage Photo).

 The 100th person to like the page will also win a prize! Find McLion on Facebook here.

Thanks, everyone, for supporting me as I push this little bizzzz off the ground! : )

Happy Happy Happy

Quick post to show you another card that just went live on Etsy. My husband will be on duty for part of this weekend so I expect to put up a quick tutorial on how to do embossing resists at some point (The clear swirls on this card are an example of that technique).

Happy Happy Happy

An example of embossing resist 

Materials Used: 

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink

Ranger Perfect Medium

Ranger Super Fine Detail Embossing Powder

My Mind's Eye Lost & Found cling stamp

Swirl cling stamp (Maybe from Recollections? Ironically, I forget!)

Martha Stewart card-making stamp

Ribbon

Card for sale on Etsy here. 

I'm getting pretty excited to share the contest with you guys! I just want to make sure the Etsy shop is fully stocked before I start it, but I'm pretty sure you should keep an eye out for an announcement tomorrow. 

And if you haven't yet, go like McLion on Facebook here. 

I'll post another quick project tonight that I've been mulling over in my head most of today but just haven't had a chance to put together just yet. For now, it's off to a date with my husband! : )