Snowman Serenade

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Hello.  Gail here today.  Winter has taken a firm hold in my part of the world and my thoughts have turned towards Christmas.  I have kept with traditional colours but admit the images are perhaps a little unusual!  These two just seemed to go together and I think it will be a perfect card for a special friend.  

Quirky, but cute!!  I've used Carmen's Veranda's Monkey with Banjo and Snow Cowboy with a greeting from Lost Coast Designs Misc. Words

I made a simple background, cos at Christmas simple is often best!  I gave my white hammered card base a blue watercolour wash and die cut some snowy hills

I stamped the Snow Cowboy and Monkey with Banjo, coloured them with Promarkers and fussy cut.  I think I may have missed a chance to add some glitter!  The sentiment was stamped with blue dye ink. 

Thanks for dropping by.

  There is still time to join our Cute challenge, and you can still comment on the Mayan Blog Hop, for your chance to win Lost Coast Dollars.  See you there!!

Rosie is Thinking of You

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

We're giving you a real challenge this fortnight...Cute!!  I know - right?  But Linda made it easy for us because she just released a bunch of fun new stamps that are just darling!  First off the Hard Luck Pixies are sweet as can be and the addition of Creepy Dolls by Carri aren't really all that creepy at all...just well loved!  You can see them all here in the New section!

I am so taken with these little pixies, they are so much fun to color and Rosie leads the pack....she was stamped on white cardstock with Nocturne VersaFine Clair ink, I then colored her with Memento Dual Tip makers which were used as a watercolor medium as well as colored directly on the image to add more detail.  The image was die-cut then mounted on a yellow card base, a piece of pattern paper by Authentique and a die-cut sentiment.

I hope this has inspired you to join in on the fun...

Ink Stained Roni

News Flash

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Hello.  Just in case you missed it there is a Black Friday Sale at Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda.  Use the code BLACK FRIDAY to get 20% off all stamps.

If you use this code the combined postage offer that usually applies if you order from both sites on the same day will NOT apply, but I'm sure you will agree this is still a fab offer.

If you haven't had a chance to check out the amazing Mayan Blog Hop projects from the team it's well worth a look.   Grab a coffee and hop along.  All comments left by the end of the month to be in the random draw for a chance to win a $10 gift certificate,

And then there is our Cute challenge.  If you have used rubber or clear stamping on any type of project, and it's cute, link it up for a chance to win Lost Coast dollars!!

Have a great day.  Hugz

Weird is the new Cute

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Hello all!

This cute little Chihuahua image by Katzelkraft definetly confirms that weird is the new cute.  Ha!   I love him!   He was the perfect image for this gift spiral note pad and pen set. 

Lost Coast Design

• Coffee Chihuahua, Katzelkraft
• Joy Dictionary Background
• Stay Weird

Other Products:

• Tsukineko, Walnut Ink
• Archival Ink
• Watercolor Pencils
• DecoArt DuraClear Varnish
• Paper cut photo corners
• SPC, Craft Paper Spriral  note and matching pen

Instructions:

1. Stamp the Joy Background onto white cardstock with Archival Ink.
2. Distress this panel with Walnut ink and water.  Allow to dry.
3. Tear top and bottom of panel.
4. Adhere to notebook front and trim excess.
5. Use the excess to cover the coordinating pen, adhere, and then seal with Matte Varnish.
6. Stamp Chihuahua onto white cardstock with Archival Ink. Color with water color pencils. Fussy cut image out and adhere to front of notebook.
7. Trim photo corners out paper and adhere to top left and bottom right corners.
8. Stamp saying with Archival Ink and cut into two parts.  Adhere to notebook front, as shown in photo.
9. Done.

Happy day!

Lori

Blessing

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

As we celebrate the theme of "Cute" this second half of November, I found the perfect Lost Coast Designs stamp to use - The Little Pilgrim.  This is Laurie here bringing you a Thanksgiving
message, and this is one of the oldest Lost Coast stamps I own, and it is still one of my favorites.  I think it's simplicity is brilliant and the look on the Little Pilgrim's face is beautiful.

I stamped Little Pilgrim with black ink onto white card stock and cut her out.  I then colored her with Copic markers, leaving her cap and collar white.  I created my background with a stencil, green and pale yellow acrylic paints, and my Gelli plate.  Using black StazOn ink, I stamped my background - Shrubbery 5.5 " - onto the lower portion of my card base.  I then attached my Little Pilgrim atop and used a sticker with the word "blessing" in the upper left corner.
I edged this in black ink and layered it with a white panel.

We would love for you to join us for this fun cute challenge - everyone has some cute stamps in their stash - so get them out and start stamping.  You might win some free stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda!

And then there's this............

(Orders using this discount will NOT qualify for the combined shipping rebate when ordering
from both Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Let The Cute Shine

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!
Hello all Cathy here with 2 cards for you today.

As the title says we went cute for this Challenge.

So for this card I wanted to make it have a Christmas feel to it so I used reds and greens for my color choice.
I first stamped CDDevil doll on some white cardstock and colored it in with some green copic markers . Next I colored the tie, mittens and the heart with red copic marker. Then I cut out.

I added some red glitter to the heart.

 Then I stamped I am who I am from Carmen's Veranda new saying on red cardstock and cut out

Then I layered some red pattern paper on some green cardstock base and some woodgrain paper and layered them all together.

For this card I started with white cardstock and I grabbed 3 colors of Distress Oxide ink to make the sky .

 Then I stamped MittsHLP on white cardstock and colored her in with copic markers. Cut her out. Then I added some glossy accents to her wings to make them shine.

After the ink was dry on the card front I took a star stencil and some white paint and added stars. Then I to a mountain top stencil and did the bottom of the card. 

I figured out where I wanted to have MittsHLP and stamped her there. (there was no way I was going to cut all the stars out).

After added the cut out MittsHLP I added some star sequence to it.

I hope you like our cute here at Lost Coast. I would love to see your cute makes you can add them here Challenge#65

CHALLENGE #65 - CUTE

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Greetings.  It's time for our new Challenge.
Our challenges are now fortnightly!  A new challenge starting the 1st and the 15th of every month, with chances to win your self some Lost Coast dollars. We will be announcing winners on the 5th of the month, so do pop back and see who wowed the team and gets our snazzy blog badge and the coveted Lost Coast dollars.

Now for our new Challenge!

CHALLENGE #65

CUTE

Show us your cute stamped makes.  That's it.  Anything cute.  Ready, set, stamp!!!!

Please remember we do have some Challenge Rules to follow so look them over to ensure your entries qualify to win this month's prize!

You are welcome to play in our Challenges using rubber stamp images from any company but if you use any of our Lost Coast Designs or Carmen's Veranda stamps...we love it when you do...then your entry counts as two which doubles your chances of winning in our random prize drawing.

PRIZES

To ensure you all have a fabulous time playing in our Challenges this is how our Prize system works!
The more entries the better the Prize so tell all your friends to join the fun too!

1 - 4 Entries = one winner chosen by the team is awarded our Challenge Winner's Badge
5+ Entries = one randomly picked winner will receive a $5 gift certificate to spend at
Lost Coast Designs/Carmen's Veranda
10+ Entries = one randomly picked winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to spend at
Lost Coast Designs/Carmen's Veranda
and all winners get our snazzy Challenge Winner's Badge to proudly display on their blogs!

If you don't have a blog then no prob, you can still play in our challenges by sharing your projects from public photo sharing sites which includes our Facebook Company Pages for Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda.  Please include our Challenge info and the link back to our challenge in your photo's description!  As long as the privacy setting for your photo is public you're good to go.  See, it's so easy to join the fun!  FYI, you can't link up projects shared in closed Facebook groups! 

Here's some inspiration from the team to get us started.  ENJOY!

Gail made this card and tag using the oh so cute Carmen's Veranda Duck and words from Lost Coast Designs Misc. Words set. 

Roni made is gorgeously cute card using the new Pixikin

and this amazingly cute, oh so cute Creepy Doll Teddy1 card
 also using Carmen's Veranda Smell Cake

OK, so the team are proving that creepy can do cute.  How about you.  Are you up for the challenge?  We can't wait to see your projects!  

Submit your entries in the linky party below by 5 to midnight PST on the 30th and don't forget to follow us so you don't miss anything!  The team will be posting more inspiration throughout the month so check back and join the fun.

Happy Stamping!
Gail
Challenge Host

An InLinkz Link-up

Yellow, Green and Orange Skull

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Hi again from Laurie with another Day of the Dead project.  We are celebrating DOD here on the Portal until the 15th of the month, so you still have time to enter your creations.

This is an ATC I made using the Black Nose Sugar Skull stamp from Lost Coast Designs.  There are three different sugar skull stamps to choose from, so be sure to check them out.  All three are great and really lend themselves to being colored and decorated.

I stamped my skull onto white card stock with black ink and cut it out.  I then colored it using yellow, orange, and green markers.  I outlined around the teeth with black to make them really stand out.  I added some "jewels" in orange and green and some Glossy Accents for the eyes to give them some dimension.

 I used another one of my Gelli prints with yellow and green paints and cut it to fit my ATC.  I edged it with green ink and using black ink, stamped the Swirls and Dots border stamp along the bottom.  I mounted my sugar skull with foam tape as shown giving it a bit of dimension.  And that's it!  So easy, fun, and colorful!  Show us what fun things you can make using the DOD theme.

If you haven't visited all the wonderful projects from the team for the Lost Coast Designs Mayan Blog hop then please do.  You can leave comment until the end of the month and be in the draw for Lost Coast Dollars!


And then there's our design team call!!! 
Maybe it's you we are looking for!
Make sure you are following so you don't miss any of the exciting happenings. 

DESIGN TEAM CALL

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

We are looking for a few new Lost Coast Designers to join our fabulous Lost Coast Designs/Carmen’s Veranda team!  We are an enthusiastic and friendly team and would love to welcome some fun-loving stampers with positive, professional, no-drama attitudes, who love working with eclectic and quirky rubber stamps. 

This is an international call open until 30 November 2018.  

DT term is one year starting January 2019

Please read over our DT Requirements carefully and consider your current obligations before applying.  Joining a DT is fun and a way for you to share your love of creating but it is also a commitment.  You are expected to do your best for our team regardless of how many other teams you serve on, so make sure you fully understand what being a Lost Coast Designer entails and feel free to ask questions if you need anything clarified. 

If you think our team is right for you then we’d love for you to apply by emailing Gail (craftynomad at gmail dot com)   If you have applied before please feel free to reapply.  We do not keep your personal information on file so you need to send a new application if you wish to be considered. 

• Name, address, phone number (best number to contact you on if needed) and email address.
• Short biography - tell us a little about yourself and why you would like to join our Design Team.  Please mention if you own any Lost Coast Designs/Carmen's Veranda stamps and have you ever entered our challenges.
• Links to your online galleries, blogs, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.
• List any Design Teams you are currently on and have previously been on.  Please note that past DT experience is not necessary, all are welcome to apply.  
• Include 3-5 project photos that best shows your style and quality of work (please keep file sizes under 300kB). 

DESIGN TEAM PERKS

• Access to a generous selection of quality rubber stamps from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen’s Veranda at no charge. 
• Access to Nuance Powders which are available to you at wholesale cost - use of these powders is encouraged but not a DT requirement.
• Your paper art projects proudly displayed at stamp conventions in the USA and Europe.
• Exposure on our Lost Coast Portal to Creativity event and challenge blog, Lost Coast Designs & Carmen’s Veranda company Facebook Pages and our Lost Coast Designs/Carmen's Veranda Facebook Fan Group.
• You get to create with and be inspired by a group of very talented stampers and participate in lots of fun events.

DT REQUIRMENTS

• Be able to work with all our stamp images, regardless of personal tastes and preferences.
• Have an active, up to date blog.  We use blogger, so familiarity would be an advantage.
• Be a good communicator, reliable, dedicated & on time with deadlines and be able to work with themes in a team environment. 
• You must be able to take good photographs to showcase your art well.
• Display 3-4 badges (3 permanent, 1 temporary) on your personal blogs to promote Lost Coast Designs/Carmen's Veranda and our various activities.  
• Actively promote our stamps and activities on your personal blog, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, etc, as much as possible.
• Be an active member of our official Lost Coast Designs/Carmen's Veranda Facebook Fan group as well as belong to our private DT group. 
• Be willing to participate in various events like blog hops, etc.
• Share at least three project per month on our Lost Coast Portal to Creativity blog on assigned dates.  Posts are to be engaging, written in good English, easy to follow, with info on what was made and how it was done, either as a brief summary or in tutorial form. 
• In October we do an annual Halloween blog hop/event where we post everyday of the month.  Additional projects will be expected at this time, split between the whole team.
• You are required to comment on challenge entries.  
• You are required to mail in some non-bulky paper art projects to Lost Coast Designs for display at our convention booths across the USA and Europe. 

Looking forward to hearing from you.  If you wish to strutt your stuff in addition to your application we have two challenges a month and there is also a blog hop where you can comment to win some Lost Coast Designs dollars!

Happy Stamping!
Gail
Design Team Leader

Back to the Day of the Dead

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!
Cathy here and I hope you liked the Blog Hop we had, but right now we are back to Day of the Dead Challenge.

Like my other card. I started off with a napkin. I glued the napkin on some cardstock. Set aside to dry.

Die cut the new skull from Tim Holtz out of white cardstock. Save eyes and nose. Color them with black ink.  Stamp on the skull with sketchy lily stamp   on the top of the skull. Then on the mouth stamp corner swirl stamp on it.

Then glue the skull in the cardstock napkin. Next add the eyes and nose back. Then you add a row of colorful flowers across the top of the skull. After that is done trace the sketchy lily with colored glitter. I also added some sliver glitter to the eyes and nose then I edged the whole thing with the same sliver glitter.

You can add you challenge make here.

LOST COAST DESIGNS MAYAN BLOG HOP - DAY 2

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Hello and welcome to Day 2 of

LOST COAST DESIGNS

MAYAN BLOG HOP!

 Have you seen the amazing new Mayan Stamps in the Lost Coast Designs Shop??

The team have had a blast playing with these amazing images and also Lost Coast Designs Mayan Stele stamp which, as you will see, makes a fabulous background and much more.

We hope you had a chance to check out all the awesome Day 1 projects from the team.  Everyone got a bit carried away playing with these beautiful stamps so we decided to have another day of fun and inspiration!!

So hop around and leave some love on all the teams blogs and then come back here and share your thoughts on the teams projects by the end of November.  There will be prizes for a lucky hopper which we will announce on the 5th December in our winners post.  Ready, set, hop!!

Cathy 

Gail 

Laurie

Lori 

There is also a video on Lori's blog showing how she made this tag

Roni

 

LOST COAST DESIGNS MAYAN BLOG HOP - DAY 1

Welcome back to Lost Coast Portal to Creativity where Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda collide to bring you twice the inspiration and double the fun!

Hello and welcome to Day 1 of

LOST COAST DESIGNS

MAYAN BLOG HOP!

  Have you seen the amazing new Mayan Heiroglyph Stamps in the Lost Coast Designs Shop??

The team have had a blast playing with these amazing images and also Lost Coast Designs Mayan Stele stamp which, as you will see, makes a fabulous background and much more.

Hop around and leave some love on all the teams blogs and then come back here and share your thoughts on the teams projects.  We will be back again tomorrow with some more inspiration.  The more comments you leave the better chance you have to win a prize!  Ready, set, hop!!

Cathy 

 

Gail  

 Laurie

Lori 

Roni