New Design Team!

Who's ready for July?!  We've got SO much fun stuff planned for July here at Fresh Squeezed Stamps, including brand new sets to reveal, but that will begin a bit later. What we really want to share now is our NEW design team members!

There were so many fabulous applicants, and choosing the team was no easy task.  Our goal is to make sure our team represents a variety of styles, and all have fantastic skills that show off Fresh Squeezed Stamps the way you love to see them! Without further ado, we unveil our new Fresh Squeezed Stamps Design Team:

Erin Taylor

I am married to my wonderful husband, Mark, and we have two adorable boys: Evan & Jack.  We recently relocated (again) to the beautiful state of Florida and I love it here! The weather is amazing, I love going to the beach with the kids, and the best part is NO SNOW!  I also love photography, scrapbooking, making cards, playing with my kids, finding new recipes to try, and reading blogs.

Heather Campbell

Hello!  My name is Heather Campbell and I live just outside of Seattle with my husband Dave and our two children, Parker & Molly.  I'm also a Manufacturing Engineer for one of the world's top aerospace manufacturing companies.  I absolutely love my job but I definitely need a creative outlet.  I've always been crafty and dabbled in scrapbook, both digital and physical. However, in 2011, I stumbled into card making/paper crafting when I decided I needed a hobby that I could do with limited amounts of time, require minimal space in the house, and not make much of a mess.  Yeah, obviously I had no idea what I was getting into but I am so glad I did!  I'm so excited to be a part of the Fresh Squeezed Stamps design team.

Heather Pulvirenti

My name is Heather Pulvirenti, and I live in Columbia, MD with my husband Jason, and our 8-year-old daughter Lindsay.  I was born in England, and have spent most of my life in the US (in Maryland and Virginia), except for the four years we lived in Canberra, Australia (my mom was career Air Force).  I am currently a SAHM, but since my daughter is off during the day at school, I try to keep busy by filling my days working on remodeling projects around the house.  I am so excited to be a part of the Fresh Squeezed Stamps team, and look forward to working with Ryann and Shannon!

Leigh Penner

My name is Leigh Penner and I live in Southern Manitoba, Canada with my husband of 17 years and our three children. I started scrapbooking 10 years ago and discovered stamping and card making two and a half years ago. I consider myself to be a scrapbooker & a card maker, as I enjoy both equally! When I'm not busy creating new layouts or cards, I enjoy reading, going for bike rides and going to tae kwon do with my kids (currently, I'm a second degree black belt & my kids are all junior black belts.) I also work as a substitute teacher for our school division, which thankfully gives me a couple of days off a week so I can stamp. I'm so excited to join the Fresh Squeezed Stamps DT and look forward to sharing my creations with you!

Tracey McNeely

Hi!  I'm Tracey McNeely and I live in Oshawa, Ontario.  I have been married to my very supportive high school sweetheart for almost 23 years.  I am Mom to Ben, 18 and Brooklyn, 16.  I taught high school for nearly 17 years when I had to leave my job because I was no longer able to manage my MS along with working.  I love all things crafty and have a passion for paper and stamps!  I have been making cards since my teens and scrapbooking now for about 12 years.  I find that I am happiest in my studio creating projects that are clean and simple.  Playing with paper is definitely my favorite creative outlet and I find it very therapeutic.  I am currently on a few design teams and I am so excited to be joining this group of talented ladies at Fresh Squeezed Stamps!  I hope that I am able to inspire and share my love of paper crafting with you.

Virginia Lu

I am a stay-at-home mom who used to work part-time in hubby’s medical office. I’m blessed with two wonderful children and a loving and supportive husband. Both of my two children are currently in university. I now devote much of my free time into card-making. I fell in love with stamping and card-making over 17 years ago. However, I only became active and passionate about my hobby in Fall 2008. I started my blog “Yes, Virginia...” in Sept. 2009, I haven’t stopped since! I love working with all kinds of stamps, pattern paper, inks, digital images and stickers! My favourite style is leaning toward Clean and Simple. I like to add a “wow” factor to my cards as it gives the receivers a lasting impression and a sense of delight and charm. I am excited that I get to play with  Fresh Squeezed Stamps on a regular basis!  It is such an honor to be part of the Fresh Squeezed Stamps Design Team.

So there you have it -- Come back tomorrow as our fabulous new design team begins to dazzle you with their talents!  It's going to be a rockin' July!!

There's one more fun thing we need to share with you.  We also have several free stamp set WINNERS to announce!

• Jennifer Ingle's Fave (On Trend 2013) - Caroline B.
• Amy Tsuruta's Fave (Subway Series: Basics) - Tana Drake
• Maureen Merritt's Fave (Friendly Folk) - Denise Bryant
• Val Stangle's Fave (Breath of Fresh Flair) - Pam Hansen Spradlin
• Chunyuan Wu's Fave (On Trend 2013) - Stephanie Rafos
• Amy Kolling's Fave (Breath of Fresh Flair) - April Walker

WINNERS - Please contact us HERE with your mailing information!  Congrats, ladies!!!

*Please note that winners have seven (7) days to contact us, otherwise prizes are returned to the prize bucket for the next giveaway.  You can find our complete contest/giveaway policy HERE.

DT Wrap Up: Amy Kolling

Happy Weekend!  We've made it!  We're at the end of our DT Wrap Up week featuring our super talented outgoing design team!  Before we finish out the week, we wanted to let you know that we will be revealing our NEW design team TOMORROW!!!


Today we've got our regular Wednesday poster, Amy Kolling!


What FSS owner Ryann has to say:

Amy Kolling is one of my favorite designers around and we were thrilled to have her join our design team.  Her projects are always perfectly executed and her attention to detail is impeccable.

What FSS Owner Shannon has to say:
Amy's so clever with combining texture and color - I love the way she works her magic! She really puts a sparkle into our Fresh Squeezed Stamps designs, turning them into mini masterpieces that make me smile every time I see them.

Shannon's Favorite:  Amy's use of elements beyond stamp and ink only magnify the beauty of the stamped images.  Here, her use of color and placement turn subtle into sophisticated.  This card exemplifies Amy's mad design skills!

Ryann’s Favorite:  This is Amy’s first project posted here on the FSS blog.  For me, this design is perfection – from the paper piecing to the faux stitched frame. 

For Amy's NEW project today, she's created a bold beauty using The Envelope, Please. Here's what Amy has to say about her card: "My last FSS card uses 5 images from The Envelope, Please.  I had fun creating my card to look like an envelope front using the adorable images in the set.  I must confess that I did cut my airplane "tail" off to stamp the images separately.  I didn't particularly get the rows of airmail stamped straight so to "ground" things, I added a tiny red strip of cardstock that I left overhanging the sides.  This card is at the top of my favorites for sure!!!"

When asked which was her favorite set Amy replied, "Breath of Fresh Flair...such a trendy, fun set!"

Breath of Fresh Flair

Want your own copy of Amy K's favorite stamp set, Breath of Fresh Flair? ** Use the Rafflecopter widget below for a chance to win a set!!  One winner will be announced on our blog this Sunday, June 30th!  Prize will ship mid-July.  *Please note that winners have seven (7) days to contact us, otherwise prizes are returned to the prize bucket for another giveaway.  You can find our complete contest/giveaways policy HERE.  

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm Eastern on June 29, 2013

To enter this giveaway, use the widget below and click the "Do It" button:

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DT Wrap Up: Chunyuan Wu

TGIF, Fresh Squeezed friends!  We're in the home stretch of our DT Wrap Up week featuring our super talented outgoing design team!  Next up is our regular Friday poster, Chunyuan Wu.

What FSS owner Shannon has to say:

Chunyuan Wu is such an enormously creative lady whose work often graces the pages of your favorite paper crafting magazines.  Her sweet personality shines through in all of her projects, which often have a soft focus, and always a terrific use of space and layout.  

Shannon's Favorite:  To me, this card captures Chunyuan's style perfectly!  It says, "Let's celebrate" through its happy colors and use of white space, and the trendy sequins really add that extra touch of pizzaz.  

What FSS owner Ryann has to say:
Chunyuan is very versatile crafter!  Her designs are trendy, colorful, simple, bold, subtle - and can be all these things on just one project!  At first glance, her designs may seem just clean and simple, but they are cleverly executed and packs a punch!

Ryann's Favorite:  Chunyuan's designing brilliance is all over this card!  From the stamped fish background and the subtly stamped fishing pole even more in the background.  This is CAS perfection!

For Chunyuans's NEW project today, she's sporting a perfectly polka dotted Polaroid using her all-time favorite Fresh Squeezed Stamps set On Trend 2013! What a great color match between ink and paper -- this card just sings happiness!

On Trend 2013

Want your own copy of Chunyuan's favorite stamp set, On Trend 2013? ** Use the Rafflecopter widget below for a chance to win a set!!  One winner will be announced on our blog this Sunday, June 30th!  Prize will ship mid-July.  *Please note that winners have seven (7) days to contact us, otherwise prizes are returned to the prize bucket for another giveaway.  You can find our complete contest/giveaways policy HERE.

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm Eastern on June 28, 2013

To enter this giveaway, use the widget below and click the "Do It" button:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DT Wrap Up: Val Stangle

Welcome to Thursday!  Thank you for joining our DT Wrap Up week featuring our phenomenal outgoing design team!  Next up is our regular Thursday poster, Val Stangle.

What FSS owner Shannon has to say:

I've loved Val's work for years, getting to know of it through a local scrapbook store here in San Diego.  Her clean style and innovative projects have always appealed to me, so it was an honor to have Val design for FSS.  Val is a multi-talented lady and I've enjoyed getting to know her better personally and professionally.

Shannon's Favorite: I just love the way Val makes her cards *POP* with colorful elements and the perfect balance of stamps, paper and embellishments -- bravo!

What FSS owner Ryann has to say:
When I first started paper crafting in 2007, Val was one of the first designers I came across that really resonated with me as I was trying to find my “style” as a designer.  I admire her use of embellishments and her knack of pairing patterned paper with stamps.  A lot of card makers find that hard to do and she makes it look SO good (and easy)!

Ryann's Favorite: Leave it to Val to take a stamp set in a different direction than intended!  She used stamps from our masculine Father Knows Best set and made a fun and fabulous feminine card – complete with sparkles!  I’m a sucker for details on a card and this one has a lot of them – right down to the coordinating fuse!

For Val's NEW project today, she's taken her favorite stamp set, Breath of Fresh Flair and paired it up with You Said It, Sister for a "wheelie" fun card!

Breath of Fresh Flair

Want your own copy of Val's favorite stamp set, Breath of Fresh Flair? ** Use the Rafflecopter widget below for a chance to win a set!!  One winner will be announced on our blog this Sunday, June 30th!  Prize will ship mid-July.  *Please note that winners have seven (7) days to contact us, otherwise prizes are returned to the prize bucket for another giveaway.  You can find our complete contest/giveaways policy HERE.

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm Eastern on June 27, 2013

To enter this giveaway, use the widget below and click the "Do It" button:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DT Wrap Up: Maureen Merritt

Welcome to Wednesday!  Thanks for joining us for our DT Wrap Up week featuring our fantastic outgoing design team!  Next up is our Saturday poster, Maureen Merritt.  Our typical Wednesday poster, Amy Kolling, will be on the blog on Saturday!  :)

What FSS owner Ryann has to say:

Maureen Merritt is one of the most versatile paper crafters I’ve ever come across.  She’s a brilliant designer and shines bright when she pairs up multiple stamp sets on one project.  She excels at "thinking outside the box" stamping and is all-around awesome!!

Ryann's Favorite: Maureen mixed stamp sets to create this darling love themed card.  It's so quaint and homey and conveys the message beautifully! I love all the details and the pops of red.

What FSS owner Shannon has to say:
Maureen's attention to detail is amazing!  Seriously, amazing.  I've so enjoyed sharing my Saturdays with her :-)  Her projects consistently "wow" and inspire me.  My hat's off to you, Maureen!

Shannon's Favorite: So, this is like the "how many can you find" games in the newspaper -- how many FSS stamp sets did Maureen perfectly incorporate into this adorable birthday card?  She's the queen of mix-n-match and does a stellar job of it!

For Maureen's NEW project today, she's used Friendly Folk to create this adorable tagged card!  The attention to detail brings this rustic card to the next level!!

When making her last card, Maureen thought it fitting to use her all-time favorite FSS set, Friendly Folk.

Friendly Folk

Want your own copy of Maureen's favorite stamp set, Friendly Folk? ** Use the Rafflecopter widget below for a chance to win a set!!  One winner will be announced on our blog this Sunday, June 30th!  Prize will ship mid-July.  *Please note that winners have seven (7) days to contact us, otherwise prizes are returned to the prize bucket for another giveaway.  You can find our complete contest/giveaways policy HERE.

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm Eastern on June 26, 2013

To enter this giveaway, use the widget below and click the "Do It" button:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DT Wrap Up: Amy Tsuruta

Hello Tuesday!  We're back at it again today for our DT Wrap Up week featuring our awesome outgoing design team!  Next up is our regular Tuesday poster, Amy Tsuruta.

What FSS owner Ryann has to say:

If the paper crafting community had a Miss Congeniality award, Amy Tsuruta would win by a landslide!  She’s a consummate cheerleader of her peers and her contribution to our design team has been invaluable.  Amy has an amazing eye for spotting trends and incorporating them into her designs.

Ryann's Favorite: When I first saw Amy’s “oh, happy day” card, it literally made me squeal out loud!  I love everything about this card – from the expansive white space, color scheme and the overlapped stamped images.  It conjures up sights and smells of the deep sea and the simplicity of the design makes me sing!

What FSS owner Shannon has to say:

I've had a ball working with Amy!  There's a huge amount of talent packed inside that adorable little lady -- and in case you were wondering, she's as sweet in person as she is in Blogland.  Amy's smart style is always consistent and I know I'll murmur, "coooool" whenever I check out her posts!

Shannon's Favorite:  Amy's Valentine's Day card using Subway Series: Spring brings to life exactly my vision for these sets.  Amy takes her sublime sense of style and makes a stack of words into artful brilliance!

For Amy's NEW project today, she's created not one, but TWO back to basics cards using her all-time favorite stamp set, Subway Series: Basics.  Here's what Amy has to say about her cards: "The Subway Series is my favorite collection by Fresh Squeezed Stamps.  The graphic images are so fun to play with and bonus points that they are unisex!"

"I have used the same stamp for both cards yet they look so different!  The one with the black panel is actually going to a young man that graduated high school.  We've known him since he was a toddler and actually all our kids went to the same Seattle day care. Why yes, I believe glitter paper is suitable for a guy...team it up with black and white and it adds some nice zing to the card."

"The other card is going to a young lady that graduated with my daughter.  The girls grew up in the same neighborhood and I'm fabulous friends with her mother.  I stamped on a wood tag - love how crisp it looks.  The background has been stamped with the polkas from You Said It, Sister.  The school colors determined my ink!"

Subway Series: Basics

Want your own copy of Amy T's favorite stamp set, Subway Series: Basics? ** Use the Rafflecopter widget below for a chance to win a set!!  One winner will be announced on our blog this Sunday, June 30th!  Prize will ship mid-July.  *Please note that winners have seven (7) days to contact us, otherwise prizes are returned to the prize bucket for another giveaway.  You can find our complete contest/giveaways policy HERE.

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm Eastern on June 25, 2013

To enter this giveaway, use the widget below and click the "Do It" button:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DT Wrap Up: Jennifer Ingle

Happy Monday, Fresh Squeezed friends!  Thanks for joining us today as we kick start our DT Wrap Up week featuring our amazing outgoing design team!  First up to bat is our regular Monday poster, Jennifer Ingle.

What FSS owner Ryann has to say:

Jennifer (aka Jingle) is one of the most energetic and refreshing designers around!  She designs with passion and spunk and her creations often reflect her outgoing personality.  She’s a master of spotting trends and rocks each and every one!  From bold color combinations to innovative layouts, she is truly one of a kind!

Ryann's Favorite:  My favorite card of Jennifer’s is this washi taped creation first posted during our February release week.  It’s fun, bright and vibrant - and chock full of personality!  I love the faux stitching and dot patterns Jennifer added.  This small bit of hand inking makes the card so personal!

What FSS owner Shannon has to say:

Jennifer's exuberance is evident in every card she creates.  I've enjoyed getting to know her this term professionally and quasi-personally (she's a total crack up with a wicked sense of humor).  It's evident that Jennifer is absolutely passionate about stamping and playing with paper!

Shannon's Favorite: It's got to be her Starry Birthday card, also from February.  Jennifer's confetti of stars is so alive, so joyful!  This card illustrates Jennifer's fabulous sense of perspective, her artistic style and personal joy for this craft.

For Jennifer's NEW project today, she's created a bright cityscape card with fun chevron accents!  Here's what Jennifer has to say about her card:  "I have included my final card using On Trend 2013, my favorite FSS stamp set.  It's my favorite because it's totally trendy and fun and it has SEQUIN STAMPS AND A CITYSCAPE!!!!"

On Trend 2013

Want your own copy of Jennifer's favorite stamp set, On Trend 2013?  Use the Rafflecopter widget below for a chance to win a set!!  One winner will be announced on our blog this Sunday, June 30th!  Prize will ship mid-July.  *Please note that winners have seven (7) days to contact us, otherwise prizes are returned to the prize bucket for another giveaway.  You can find our complete contest/giveaways policy HERE.

Giveaway ends at 11:59pm Eastern on June 24, 2013

To enter this giveaway, use the widget below and click the "Do It" button:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

DT Wrap-Up Begins Tomorrow!

"Parting is such sweet sorrow," says Juliet to Romeo.  And so says Fresh Squeezed Stamps to our inaugural design team!

All week long we'll spotlight these six FAB designers!  They're such an amazing group of women, we couldn't let them leave without a proper FSS send off!  

In addition to featuring a NEW project created by each designer, we thought it would be fun to also share our favorite OLD projects created by them!  

Each designer also shares with us their all-time favorite Fresh Squeezed Stamps set - and there is something in it for YOU too!!  Be sure to tune in beginning tomorrow as we say our goodbyes, and MUCH more!!!  *wink wink*

Your Special Day

Hi there, it's Maureen here today with a Fresh Squeezed project.  I've been seeing gold used everywhere lately in paper crafting. It's definitely a hot trend!

I stamped the polka dots from You Said It, Sister in black ink, then stamped a smaller dot from On Trend 2013 over top of that, embossing each with gold embossing powder. It's fun to look at your stamps and find different ways to combine them!

Stamp Sets Used:  You Said It, Sister and On Trend 2013

That's all from me for today.  Stop by tomorrow for more from Fresh Squeezed Stamps. I hear there's a special announcement you won't want to miss!

Summer Sun Sand

TGIF, FSS fans! Chunyuan here to share a card made with Subway Series: Summer.

Have a great weekend!

Laugh

Val here with your Thursday morning post.   For inspiration for today's card I turned to 2 different challenge blogs, Freshly Made Sketches and Color Throwdown, to help jumpstart my creativity.

Stamps used:

Background Check: The striped strip on the inside panel

Friendly Folk: the primitive star with the silver brad

Subway Series: Basics: the birthday block with the red banner highlight

Thanks for popping by today, please check back tomorrow for Chunyuan's weekly post!

V.~