Happy New Year

Just a quick post to wish you all the best of everything in the New Year.
At the moment my laptop is refusing to operate so it may be a little while before I can get some cards posted. I'm hoping it's fixable otherwise I'll be figuring out how to get more computer time on everyone else's computers and how to get my photos onto those same computers.
Oh well, it's always something and my philosophy is to be grateful I have all these options instead of bemoaning the loss of possessions.
So with the little time I have I would like to go visit some of my favorite places to visit.
Again - Happy New Year, Good Health, then wealth to you and all of yours.
PS - Click on the pink ribbon, good health an' all.

A Lotta Snow Challenges

I haven't had the time to participate in many challenges the last couple weeks and probably won't have the time for many this week either. Like everyone else I have a ton of things to get done for the holidays. One of the things I wanted to do was make a card for my buddy Phyllis. She is a jewelry maker and has a great appreciation for handcrafted goods so I know she'll enjoy getting this card.

I didn't have a lot of ideas when I sat down to make the card, just that I would use the stamp set "Shine Bright" from the Cat's Pajamas and the dp from Close to My Heart "Aspen". With not much else to work with I decided to see if there were any challenges that I could work on. Since I could work winter and snow into the card I hit the motherload. Here's all the challenges that I found:
1.) The Cat's Pajamas, TCPTUES88 "Let's Make a Wintry Card"
2.) The Sweetest Thing, Sweet Sunday Sketch #48
3.) Crazy for Challenges, C4C15 Theme Snowmen and/or Snowflakes
4.) Allsorts Challenge 31, "Pearls and Swirls"
5.) Our Creative Corner, the holidays are here create a card or project with a holiday theme, Christmas or Hannukah (how many spellings are there for this holiday?)
6.) Stamp Something, theme Winter Wonderland
7.) Paper Cutz Challenge #21, make something using a snowman or snowflake
8.) If the Shoe Fits, Fashionista Friday #14, Let It Snow
The paper I chose has snowflakes on it but because it's tan they are hard to see. I used a gelly roll pen to highlight the snowflakes and draw some swirls but it's very difficult to see in the picture. The silver snowflakes are a ribbon and the tan ones are the scraps from the EK Success border punch used on the DCWV cs. The tiny blue pearls in the centers of the snowflakes are from Recollections. The image and sentiment were stamped with SU Bordering Blue and embossed with SU clear powder.
Thanks for stopping by during this very busy season.

The New MFT Challenge

What do we do now that the "So You Think You Can Stamp" Challenges are over? Kim, the fabulous owner of My Favorite Things came up with the Wednesday Stamp Club. Kim said her idea would do three things: 1) Give us a reason to hang out and stamp together. 2) Create something beautiful, useful and (sometimes) outside of the A2 sized box. 3) Help us Learn. Grow. Know. with MFT!

Since stamping is my favorite thing to do and chatting with the MFT junkies in the SCS forum is so great fun - so I'm in. The next best thing about Wednesday Stamp Club is that there will be a weekly challenge. This week Kim posted a inspiration challenge with two of her own creations. If you click here you can read Kim's post and see one of her creations and get a link to the other.

For the challenge I was inspired to make a gift. I melted down some chocolate pieces and poured it into some old Jello Jiggler cutters I've had hanging around. I also picked up some new cookie cutters to make some more. I think it will be really cute to give these with some play dough, so that when the candy is eaten the kid who gets it will have something to do with the cookie cutters. I used a bag I've had on hand but now MFT is selling bags with gusseted bottoms which will work much better for this project. I just wanted to use up some of what I have on hand first.

Here's the deets: for the tag, MFT Pure Innocence "Snow Day" was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black on an MFT Perfect Panel, colored with copics and her hat and coat were paper pieced with Imaginisce "Polar Expressions, Twinkle Toes" dp. Her eyes, the heart on her coat and her hat's pompoms are stickles. The snow has been frosted with Glitzy Glitter from the The Cat's Pajamas. The gold ribbon is from MFT. The border punches are EK Success "Snowflake", Martha Stewart Lattice, and Fiskar's "Give It A Swirl". The tag holder punch is from SU. I have no idea where that miniature gingerbread cookie cutter comes from, I got it with a bunch of stuff from E-Bay many years ago and I have lots more of them.

Thanks for stopping by and please click on the pink ribbon before you leave.

Stop Here for the MFT Blog Hop

Can you see me jumping up and down with excitement, flagging you down to stop here for the MFT Blog Hop. Let me tell you that this is just the most fun I've had in years. Thank you Kim, for asking me to be a Guest Designer for December. This is the best Christmas present ever.
If you got here from Christina's blog you're in the right place. If you just happened upon my post then you should go to Kim's Blog to start the hop and follow the links to every stop. There's blog candy hidden somewhere along the hop. All you have to do to win it is leave a comment on the blog where it's hidden, so leave a comment at each stop, that way you're sure to be in the drawing. The winner will be receive a $1o gift voucher for My Favorite Things.

I forgot to post this card made with the "Love Machine" stamp set, so I'm sharing that with you now. The cute Cosmo Cricket "Cogsmo Mr. Roboto" double sided paper is so perfect for this card. He's stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black on a MFT Perfect Panel paper and he's colored with copics. The red mat is card stock from MFT. That little heart on his chest is a Hero Arts Pearl and there are Dew Drops in the corners. The layout is MFT sketch #73 (Cindy, Bonnie, Frances - are you taking note!?). There were 100 sketch challenges at My Favorite Things and you can find all the sketches HERE.

Hop, Hop, Hop. Here's my Truffles Flopsey project. It was really simple to make. I found these Oreo cookie sticks at the store (no, not the dollar store this time) and thought they would be a good present for my darling daughter. She's dying to get her hands on them, she may have to fight me for them.

I used one full sheet of the Bubblegum card stock from MFT to make the box. Four cookie packages are a perfect fit to a box made out of the one sheet, no trimming it down, just a couple snips to make corner folds, and a little bit of red tape to hold it together, if you want directions leave me a comment and I'll measure it up and write something up for you.

Using a piece of Reminisce "Be Mine Hearts" paper I made a belly band to hold the box closed. The band has white card stock trim made with the Martha Stewart "Lacey Hearts" border punch. Then a Truffles Flopsey is popped up on the band with dimensionals. He was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with copics. The oval and scalloped oval were punched with Spellbinder's Nestibilities. Remember this Flopsey piece because you can re-use him on my next project. After you open the box and eat the cookies you can pop him off the belly band and recycle him.

My last project is a cover for a tissue box. I saw these done up in Christmas paper and thought wow, that looks cool and I bet I can do something like that. I sat down with a ruler and a sheet of red MFT card stock and played around for awhile. I measured the top of the box (it was about 4-1/2") and added two inches for the drop. I made two of them, one for the top (cut an oval out of that) and one for the bottom. I measured the middle pieces and taped together two pieces to go around the box. For the top and bottom I used the SU scalloped eyelet punch on white card stock for trim and then ran ribbon around to cover the edge. In the front I put a bow to hang a decorative panel. I chose the Pure Innocence "Presents for You" stamp for this panel. She's stamped in Memento Tuxedo balck on an MFT Perfect Panel and colored with copics. The mat is MFT Bubblegun card stock. In this close up photo you can see that I pierced the oval twice so that some floss could be threaded through it. The floss is run through the bow on the box and tied on top of a heart button. You can use any color cardstock to go with any holiday or color scheme, you can use any stamp. You can use paper with a design or you can stamp on it to make your own design. The love machine would be adorable in a little boy's room, and you can recycle the Flopsey from the belly band and put it on the box. The possibities are limitless. And best of all, it's quick, easy and inexpensive to make and give as a gift.

I've kept you here long enough. I really don't want to let you go, I love having you visit, so stop by whenever you have time. Don't forget to leave some love before you go.

From here you are going to the uber talented Cindy Haffner's blog. She's always got something spectacular to show you.

Thanks everyone, especially Kim for making this happen, and all my MFT junkie friends for all your love and support. I love you all.

How'd They Get My Picture?

Welcome to the last day of sneak peeks of the December release from My Favorite Things stamps. Today's sneak peek is of the "Maid for WTG" stamp set. When I first saw this stamp I cracked up and had to call the hubster to see how we were pictured in the stamp. It may look like I'm drinking a glass of wine but that's Diet Pepsi. The only thing missing in this pic is the kitty kat climbing on my keyboard. Oh, and sadly this couple is a little (okay, a lot) younger and well maybe a little (give me a break already, a lot) thinner than we are but that is us. We are a modern couple, my husband does all sorts of housework and I don't. Works for me. You're probably more interested in the details of this card than my life style so let me fill you in on the deets: the image and the sentiment are stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black on an MFT Perfect Paper Panel and then colored with copics and paper pieced. The dp is from the MFT Spring Collection and the pink "Bubblegum" card stock is also from MFT. The punch is Martha Stewart "Lacey Hearts" and the bling between the hearts and in the corners if from Heidi Swapp. The big old brad in the middle of the flower is from Making Memories. The layout is MFT sketch #63, there's a master list of the first 100 MFT sketch challenges. That's a great resource and one of my "go to" spots. Frances Bryne and Cindy Haffner are the talent behind the sketches and I have to tip my markers to them for the work that went into them, and it's no secret that I am on a mission to finish the 100 sketches so guys, another one down. I should have finished them months ago, but sometimes I do stuff besides blogging and stamping, not often or much but sometimes.

To see more sneak peeks head on over to Kim's blog and at 11 AM she'll have links to all the blogs with a teaser posted.

I'm having so much fun I'm sad to see this come to an end. The good news is that tonight you will be able to purchase all of the great stamps you've been ogling for the last few days. It all starts with the release party on the MFT forum on Splitcoast Stampers. If you've never been to a release party you have got to go and be ready for the fun to fly at you fast and furiously. There will be lots of fun chat, posts of cards or projects created with the new stamps and prizes. Yes that's right prizes and MFT prizes are the best. Also, the winner of the December Guest Designer Challenge to get Krafty will be announced, you can view the gallery of entries by clicking here. There are some absolutely fabulous cards and projects there so the judges ,Kathy and Bar, have their work cut out for them. (Psst Kathy, Psst Bar - pick me, pick me, please, please, please). The party starts at 8:00 PM EST. The stamps will go live at 10:00 PM. If your a TLCer, and every self respecting MFT junkie is a TLC (or on the way to becoming one) then you can shop an hour earlier. If you're new to MFT shopping don't worry about all these letters, you just have to wait till 10 PM and with your first purchase you're on your way to becoming a junkie, just like me.

One of the other fun things that come with releases are blog hops. Because I am one of this month's guest designers this blog will be a stop along the hop, that's the most exciting thing that has ever happened in this blog. So go to release party and then head on over to Kim's blog for the hop.

Another Dollar Well Spent

Here's another sneakie peek for all you MFT junkies. This time I am showcasing another of the Pure Innocence stamps "Fairy Girl" as well as the much anticpated "Alpha Dots" set that was designed by my favorite stamp company owner, Kim, from My Favorite Things. Job well done Kim!

I swear I spend more than a buck on stuff, really, I really do. I just don't have any reason to show any of that stuff to you guys. So here's one of my recent favorite purchases from the $1 bin at the big old craft store. It's a recipe box and because it has strawberries on it, it's actually something I could use for my "berry special friend", Aguas, (all our gifts to each other are strawberry related) but I had something else in mind for this box.

I decided to make a new home for all my MFT Pure Innocence stamps. Since the lid is attached I especially liked that it was made with a nice paper that didn't need to be covered which made this a pretty simple project. Just a few simple measurements, cut and fold, lay down some red tape and voila, the bottom portion of the box is transformed.


The paper was picked for two reasons. I was looking for something that went with the stripes on top and something that could also be used for paper piecing PI's dress. The other side of this paper, "Twitterpated" by Imaginisce has a cute little mushroom pattern which would work well with the "Fairly Girl" stamp.

So here's the rest of the deets. PI is stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black, the dress is paper pieced and colored with copics, the wings, dots on the mushrooms, hearts and pompoms on the shoes are highlighted with stickles. Abig 'ole bling which is no longer identifiable was used for the wand. The name was stamped with VersaMagic "Aloe Vera" and the edge of the oval was inked with it. The image is popped up on dimensionals. Because the name is so long it was necessary to overlap the letters. It's matted with some green cs and popped up on dimensionals. I have plans to make another box like this for a little girl for a Christmas present and since her name will fit the letters will be punched and then mounted on the lid. For the Christmas present I am going to use the polar bear from the "Cool Yule" set and I found some adorable Arctic animals to put inside it. Oh, and by the way, the Arctic animals cost more than a buck.

This sort of box could be used for a gift for anyone, there are so many things that will fit inside it.

For some more inspiration and sneak peeks visit Kim's blog. At 11 AM she'll post the links to all the people who have something to show you.

Pure Innocence Heart Stripes

I had a little time on my hands tonight and wanted to enter a few challenges and use another of the new Pure Innocence stamps that were sneaked this morning. This one is "Heart Stripes". Cutey, isn't she? Well you can pick her up on Wednesday night when My Favorite Things has its December release.

I love every single stamp set that is in this release and am so glad that I was asked to be a guest DT. I have been having so much fun using them. If you want to see some more examples of the sets being released head on over to Kim's blog. At 11 AM each morning she's posting links to all the sneaks being made that day.

The first challenge I wanted to do was the Color Throwdown #70. I wanted to do it because for me it was a real challenge to combine Dusty Durango, Elegant Eggplant and Old Olive. This is not a combo I would ever come up with on my own so I got to stretch and grow a little and actually liked the way it turned out. I used the Sweet Sunday sketch #46, now that was much easier to do than combining the colors. The last challenge is the Crazy for Challenges week 13 challenge to Get Punchy, for that I used the Martha Stewart Lacey Heart border punch on the olive cs.

Here are the rest of the deets: The card's base is SU Dusty Durango, the dp is from Imaginisce.

The image (oh cute is she?) is stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with copics (stripes are olive and purple in case you can't tell), there are stickle highlights on her buttons and barette and hearts on the pockets. Her jumper is paper pieced with a scrap of SU Kiwi Kiss paper. The corners are orange Candy Dots. I took the ribbon from my stash as well as the heart button it on the bow.

Thank you all for stopping and looking. Don't forget to visit Kim's blog to get links to all the other sneak peeks.

My Favorite Cutie Pie

Last month My Favorite Things introduced a new line of stamps called "Pure Innocence" by Heather Ellis. They were an instant hit with me and with all the other MFT junkies. Well, I predict that this month's release of PI stamps are going to be equally well received and I recommend that you be ready to shop as soon as the releases go on sale on Wednesday night. That way you will have plenty of time to whip up some Christmas cards with the ever adorable "Merry KISSmas" set you see being used here.

This month there are four new PI sets. If you didn't get here from Kim's blog then when you're done here click on the link and head on over there. Everyday during the sneak peeks, at 11:00 AM Kim will post a list of links to all the sites that have sneak peeks and if you visit everyone you are likely to see all four of the sets.

For both cards I stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored them with copics. On the first card I paper pieced PI's jacket and scarf with a scrap of Making Memories "Meg Narrow Stripe" dp. I used a strip of that paper on the inside of the card too. The edge of the paper is sponged with VersaMagic "Spring Pansy". The cs mat and card base are from SU. The dp is Basic Grey's Wassail, on top of that there's some purple mesh from SU (thank you to good buddy Eileen for that gift which looks so cute here). On top of that there's snowflake ribbon, one of them is in the upper right corner too. The felt snowflakes are from Creative Impressions. There's Glitzy Glitter on the snowman for highlights. His nose and buttons are stickles, so are the red berries and the pompoms on PI's hat. The white mat on the inside is punched with the EK Success Snowflake border punch.

For the second card I went a little more country looking by distressing it. I haven't been doing much of that lately and I miss it. I know a lot of stampers have a hard time ripping and tearing their beautiful papers but once you try it, it becomes sort of therapeutic. Besides roughing up the edges they are sponged with a blue ink, but I forgot to write down what color is is, it's very similar to the color of the scalloped mat which is from DCWV neutrals. The oval and scalloped oval were punched out with Spellbinder's Nestibilities, the ribbon slider is also from Spellbinders. The green cs is from DCWV neutrals too. There are stickles on the pompoms, the berries, the snowman's nose and buttons and there's Glitzy Glitter on his edges. The snowflake dp is from My Mind's Eye Christmas pad. The snowflake bling in the upper right corner is from Hero Arts.
Don't forget to click the pink ribbon before you go and then head back to Kim's blog for some more peeks.

An Apple for the Teacher

It's that time of the month again, no, not that time, it's time for the MFT Guest Designer Challenge. This month the challenge is being hosted by Kathy and Bar and they're challenging us to get Krafty. So we need to use Kraft in our card or project. At first I just made a gift card with a belly band with the Pure Innocence "Apple for You" stamp set. It turned out pretty cute.

I thought that if I were going to give this to a teacher I would probably want to have a little token gift to go along with it. At first I was thinking some chocolates, maybe in the shape of an apple but then I got the idea of a bottle of Sparking Cider and so I made a bottle hanger to go on the neck of a bottle. I know there are some Appletini fans amongst the MFT junkies, you could put this hanger on a bottle of vodka too. Heck you can put it on any bottle.

So here are the deets: The image is stamped on MFT Perfect Panels with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with copics. The barrette, shoes and apple have a SU Glossy effects on them. The dp is from the Cosmo Cricket "Nutmeg" pad. It's used to paper piece the dress, and for the front of the gift card and the bottom of the pocket on the hanger. The edge of the Perfect Panel is sponged with Ranger "Scattered Straw" and the edges of the do are sponged with Ranger "Spiced Marmalade". The yellow cs mats are from DCWV neutrals and the bases of the cards and hanger are SU kraft cs. The edge of the gift card is punched with the SU eyelet lace border punch. The circles and ovals are cut with nestibilities. In the corners of the dp on the gift card and on the hanger there are orange gemstones from Hero Arts. Just a little bit of bling to dress it up.

I'm not a teacher but I'd be happy getting this for a present.

Thanks for visiting, please come back again. Your comments make my day.

Sneak Peaks - Day2

Welcome MFT junkies. If you're looking for sneak peaks you're in the right place. Here's the newest Flopsey - "Truffles Flopsey". I think he may just be the cutest Flopsey yet. Next Wednesday, December 2, MFT will be releasing this stamp set (and several other killer sets - you're gonna want them all) so mark your calendar, the release party will start at 8:00 PM EST on the MFT forum on Splitcoast Stampers, you can get to the party by clicking here. If you go there now you can read some info about the party, about the fabulous prizes that will be given away, info about the sneak peeks and of course you can just chat with us MFT Junkies.

For today's sneak peek I decided to make a card but I hope you'll keep coming back here because I have another project made with this stamp for another day. I can't give it all up right away, I want you to come back and visit, again and again.

For this card I used a sketch from an MFT Sketch Challenge. There were 100 sketches posted by Cindy Haffner and Frances Byrne and you can find a master list of them by clicking here. If you're a follower of my blog you know that I plan to do something with all one hundred of them and furthermore I have thrown down the gauntlet and challenged Bonnie (another MFT junkie) to see which one of us would get them done first. We've been slacking but I'm back at it Bonnie, so you better get cracking.

This sketch is MFTSC34. Flopsey and the sentiment are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with copics. The box of truffles was stamped a second time, colored, dusted with glitter, cut out and popped up on dimensionals. The image and the mat were cut with nestibilities. The edges of the papers were sponged with Ranger "Tattered Rose". Both sides of the dp "True Love" by Moxie was used. The edges of the light side of the dp and white cs were sponged with Ranger "Tattered Rose". The pink cs for the mat and red card stock base are from MFT, this card stock is nice and heavy. The white borders were punched with the Martha Stewart "Lacey Heart" border punch. The sentiment and its mat were punched with SU oval and scalloped oval punches. and the gingham ribbon is also from MFT.

I really like the way this card turned out, I hope you like it too.

If you like seeing the sneak peeks and want to see more stop over at Kim's blog on My Favorite Things. Everyday at 11AM EST she's posting a list of all the bloggers that are posting a card or project for the day's sneaks. You should go, you'll like what you see.

Before you leave, click on the pink ribbon.

Will Work for Stamps

I will work for stamps, oh yes I will, and I am supery dupery excited to work for My Favorite Things this week as a December Guest Design Team Member. If you've been following my blog you know that I love, love, love My Favorite Things so being asked if I would like to do this is the equivalent of being asked if I want to keep breathing this month. Hmmm...let me think on this for one billionith of a second. YES, YES, YES, I wanted to be on the team, so for the next few days you are going to be treated to cards and projects that I've made with the FABULOUS, stamp sets that are going to be released next Wednesday by My Favorite Things.

The first set that's being sneaked is "Love at First Sight". In my head I keep calling it "Love at First Bite" because there's a couple stamps that are of open boxes of candy and then one big yummy truffle. I like to make pins with stamped images. It's so simple to do. All you need is a stamp you love, a pin for the back, some markers, some strong cardstock and Crystal Effects (from Stampin' Up) or Ranger's Glossy Effects. Others have used UTEE but I haven't tried that yet. Point is you want something to seal them up, hold a pin on the back and make the image nice and shiney. So I made pins of the small candy box and the truffle. They are stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black on white card stock and colored with copics. Before I cut it out I adhered it to a piece of black card stock, so that the two layers were cut at the same time and would be exactly the same. Then the front is coated with the glossy accents, usually I put some glitter on it at this point but for this pin in order to get more control of where the glitter went I put it on a couple of the candy pieces before the glossy accents went on it. You need to put it aside for a couple hours (overnight is even better) to dry and then you flip it over and apply the glossy accents to the back and put the pin on. For the pin I made of the big truffle I put a pearl heart on it. You can see the heart in the picture it just doesn't look like a heart in the pic. These pins are going to be presents so I made little tin holders for them. The tins came from a craft supply store, I think they were made by Wilton, and they are in section for supplies to make party favors. The ones I got come in a pack of about 25 and I'm already on my second container, did I mention that I like to make pins? For the container lids I just stamped the image again, punched it and a scalloped mat out with SU punches. The images are colored like the pins and then adhered to the tin tops. A little MFT Spring collection ribbon was tied around the top rim. On the inside some paper slivers make a little nest for the pin. They are a darling present, easy to make, inexpensive and they look great.


My second project with this set of stamps is a photo frame. This is another inexpensive project. To start with I picked up a magnetic frame in the $1 bin at a craft store. I do love to find cheap stuff that can be altered. I almost forgot to take a photo of it before I covered it, so in the photo you can see some of the red tape I used to adhere my designer paper "Be Mine" by Reminisce. I stamped the sentiment "Puppy Love" in Memento Lady Bug, a yummy red ink that Kim gave me with one of my orders. Lots of times there's a gift for the first 50 orders at a release so you might want to get over there quick as a bunny on Wednesday night, but I digress...The sentiment and mat were punched with SU oval and scalloped oval punches. The doggies were stamped with Memento tuxedo black and colored with copics and some stickles on the hearts. The ovals were punched with Nestibilities. Lastly the buttony bow was made with ribbon from the $1 bin. That buttony bow is a neat little trick I learned from the MFT design team. They have brilliant ideas and they share them. You all probably know I have cats so if you're wondering, that whacky doggie in the picture is Tommy, a very active Jack Russell Terrier, he belongs to my buddy Rosie and this is going to be a present for her - I'm sure she has some better pictures of Tommy and her other baby Mickalah to put in the frame but I didn't have any other funny doggie pics.


This stamp set also has a girl stamp in it and some other sentiments. It will be great for Valentine's Day cards, scrap book pages and projects but you don't have to limit yourself to just that holiday. Personally I like candy all year long, and I love doggies all year long too.


If you didn't come here by way of Kim's blog you should know that some of my favorite stampers have also been asked to be on the team this month and you just have to go visit their blogs to see what they have made. They may not have a sneak peek post for every day but they have fab blogs just the same, well worth checking out. First of all there's Megan Lock. I have sent you to see her work before. She is just fabulous AND she just won the My Favorite Things "So You Think You Can Stamp" contest and she's been asked to be the newest member of the MFT design team. Then there's Kelli Jo. She was one of the finalists so she's no slack either, she had one heck of a final project with coffee as a theme. She's also one of the funniest people in blogland. Kerry J was also a finalist and no slouch in the talent department. For her project she made a scrapbook of the WTG (Who's That Girl) on tour as a winner of the "So You Think You Can Dance" contest. She used WTG stamps as photos and used towns that the tour actually visit. Another fabulous stamper and finalist in the contest is Julie. She made an outrageous box that I would love to copy but it requires lots of work and attention to detail. So I will just admire how cool it looks. Then there's Bonnie, Lisa and Erin, they may not have made it to the finals (but then neither did I) they are all terrific stampers with great ideas. I follow all their blogs and can guarantee you'll like what you see. You should probably favorite all these sites too cause over the next couple days they are gonna have sneaks to show off and you aren't going to want to miss any of them.

Let It Snow

Let It Snow, anywhere but here. Yeah, it's pretty and delicate but it's also cold, wet and nuisance for driving and parking around here.

Enough of my complaining how about the I switch to the card, that's really why you keep coming back.

This stamp is from Impression Obsession. When I buy them from the website I get them unmounted so it doesn't have a name on it and at the moment I'm drawing a blank, but I think it's a Leigh Hannan.

This card is for a few challenges. One of my favorite challenges is Crazy 4 Challenges. This week it's a sketch. So I had my stamp and my layout next I needed a color scheme so I went to the Scrapmaster's Paradise Color Combo Challenge #24. This week the colors are Bashful Blue, Real Red and Certainly Celery. Luckily for me I recently picked up a sheet of Imaginisce "Polar Expressions" double sided paper which as that color scheme. (Unluckily for me, when I went to post this I discovered it was last week's challenge ). I used both sides for this card. The Bizzy Becs Creatalicious Challenge #4 is to make something for Christmas and to include snowflakes and lots of glitter. Lastly, the Allsort's Week 28 Challenge is to take your inspirations from a Christmas Carol or a Song Title. The sentiment on this card is "Let It Snow" which is a Christmas Carol, which sends shivers down my spine every time I hear it. Kind of like the snow makes me shiver, ok, I said I wasn't gonna complain anymore so I'll just give you the rest of the deets.
The snowflake and the stamp mats were made with Spellbinders nestibilities and die cuts. The chunky glitter is from The Cat's Pajama. The image was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black on Georgia Pacific cs and colored with copics, with stickles for highlights. The light blue pearls in the corners are Crystal Stickers. The paper edges were brushed with Ranger's Distressed Straw. The tag is a Martha Stewart punch. The blue cs is DCWV and the green (certainly celery) cs is from SU.
Thanks for visiting, I hope you come back. I don't know if I'll be posting again before Thanksgiving so I'm wishing you all a great Turkey day. Enjoy your friends and families.
Please click on the pink ribbon before you leave.

Mazie's At the Beach

I wish I were at the beach too.

When I got home tonight there was a little surprise for me in my mailbox. Mazie just got here from Shirley's 2 Girls. Last week I won my choice of any stamp for participating in the sketch challenge. I realize it's Thanksgiving and I should be stamping cornucopias, but I can barely spell that, forget about stamping it. Heck, I'm dreaming of sunnier times and Mazie was just screaming for me to pick her.

And Mazie was just in time to get inked up for the Shirley 's 2 Girls sketch challenge #34. S2G sketch challenges have a twist and the twist this week is to use rick rack. I've had this rick rack for a long time and am glad I finally got around to using it. I tweaked the sketch a little by using a rectangle where the circle should be and a split circle where the split rectangle should be.

Here's the rest of the deets, the dp is from a Me and My Big Ideas pack. The image was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and colored with copics. There are stickles on the sand, the sun and flower centers. The edges of the white cs are sponged with Ranger Spiced Marmalade and the corners have Pebbles Candy Dots. They really do look like candy dots.

So a big thanks to Shirley's 2 Girls for the prize and the badge.

Thanks for stopping by, please come back again and don't forget to click on the pink ribbon.

Sprinkles Goes Skating

You know what I hate, I hate when I can't figure out how to edit my photos so that the pink looks pink, cause the center bar on this card is a really nice almost hot pink. I think this card stock is from the SU in colors, maybe mambo melon? So if you have access to a color swatch for this year's in colors check it out, it's a much nicer color in real life.

So why do I care so much about how this color looks. The pic of the card is pretty decent overall. All the neato glitzy glitter on it doesn't show that well but maybe if you click on it to enlarge it, you'll be able to see the glitter but clicking won't change the color. Well, I care because this week at The Cat's Pajama's the challenge is a color inspiration based on this hat from the LL Bean catalogue. Cute hat, I'd wear it. I love the blue in it and the background is a yummy chocolate.

So I've got my first challenge picked out, and if you've been here before you know that I'm going to look for some others to combine with it. I like to do a sketch challenge, so I've picked the SSSC45 from the Sweetest Thing. For this layout I picked the skater cat Sprinkle as the center element and wanted to use glitzy glitter with it so I pulled out the Martha Stewart "Icicles" border punch. I added a couple embellishments. I just got the Spellbinder's "Create a Flake 1" set and had to use it. It works well with this layout, the colors and the stamp. Using the glitter and snowflakes makes it work for the Bizzy Bec's Creatalicious Challenge #4 to make something for Christmas, include snowflakes and lots of sparkle/glitter. Lastly, the Pile It On Challenge #25 is to use Rub Ons. The twist with Pile It On is to do at least one more challenge which is already covered. I was going to stamp something Christmasy in the sentiment area but since PIO is rub ons I pulled out a package from Close To My Heart and picked two snowflakes the the work "friend". Guess that will work.

The rest of the deets are: the edges of the circles are sponged with VersaMagic "Sea Breeze", the image is stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black; the snowflake bling is from Hero Arts, the dp is KI Memories "Alpine Fashion", the blue card stocks are DCWV, the card base is brown cs from Nicole. When the card base is a dark color like chocolate it's difficult to write a message on it so I put a piece of white card stock inside. This time I added a couple strips of the blue and pink card stock that was used on the exterior of the card. The white card stock was punched with the EK Success snowflake border punch to go along with the wintry, snowy theme.

Thanks for visiting, I hope you'll come back again. I know this is going to be a busy week for everyone but I've been working on some special cards and projects. So I know I'll have lots ready to go next weekend, hopefully I'll be able to get a something posted before then. But just in case, I wish you all a happy holiday. I hope you spend the day surrounded by people you love, but whatever your circumstances spend a little time being thankful. Surely, if you are reading this you have much to be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving, and by the way, you are one of the many things I have to be thankful for.

Deck the Howls

I haven't howled in a couple weeks so it's about time I participated in a Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge. I've been checking in to see the sketches and what the design team is up to, there is always something to make the visit worth while. Between blog candy give aways, blog hops and technique tips there's they keep me entertained, but as you may know I am easily amused.

This week Priscilla asked for Christmas cards, so I used one of my new stamps from Impression Obsession. I think it's called Holiday Topiary. It was so much fun to color it with copics and then ice it up with stickles.

Since I was making a Christmas card I used the Tuesday Taggers Colour (oh so British, can't you hear that great accent - hey I'm from Joisey, any accent sounds better than us) Challenge to use red, gold and green. They said they are going easy on us and I have to agree, and participate.

The last challenge I'm doing is the Crafty Creations Challenge to use metal or metallic finishes. One of the design elements in the sketch was a star hanging off a flower embellishment in the lower left. I happen to have a package of stars that I've been wanting to use so here it is. You want to click on the photo to enlarge it so that you can see the star. It's hanging of the brad that's attached to the red gingham bow.

Here's the rest of the deets: The paper is Basic Grey Figgy Pudding, the cs is DCWV neutrals, the gingham ribbon is My Favorite Things, the star is Blue Moon Beads, the brad is Making Memories Jumbo Pebble Brads, the edges are sponged with Ranger "Worn Lipstick". Lots of stickles on the image.

Thanks for visiting. come back again and don't forget to click on the Pink Ribbon. And if I may be so bold as to say it, don't listen to idiots who say 40 is too young for a mammogram. Follow your head and heart, talk to your doctor, your friends, your mother - but do not listen to statisticians, your breast health is not a numbers game.

One Suave Dog Got Mojo

Is that not the sharpest dog you've ever seen? He is one suave dude with his chocolatini. I just had to have this stamp. It's from the latest release at the Cat's Pajamas. I was lucky enough to be picked as last month's Swanky Stamper which means I received a $25 credit to spend on anything in the online store. So a big thank you very much to Alma for the lovely prize and the great honor of being "Swanky", it's quite a thrill. The way I stalked the mailbox waiting for my order to be delivered you would have thought I was expecting the cure to cancer. As soon as it got here I had to make this card for last week's the Cat's Pajama's challenge to make a Holiday card. Since you have to the end of the month to post your challenge I really didn't have to be so impatient but I'm like a kid at Christmas when it comes to stamps. And I can't wait to post this on Alma's blog because she has a cool slide show of the cards submitted. I like to see the cards people make for the different challenges but sometimes I just want to keep clicking on all the names, well Alma has the cool slide show so you can just sit back and watch as the cards are displayed. Very Cool!

So I knew I wanted to use this stamp and for a holiday card so I looked for some other challenges for my next direction and I checked out the Color Throwdown. This week's challenge #69 is to use Chocolate, cream and dark red, olive is optional. So I pulled out some Basic Grey papers. For my layout I turned to the Mojo Monday Challenge week 113 sketch challenge. With those three challenges as my guide the card went together pretty quickly. It's almost a bonus that I get to enter this card in the Simon Says Challenge this week which is "Animal Antics". I bet this dog would consider himself way above antics, he's much to cool but he isn't getting a say in this.

Here's the deets - The cs is from DCWV neutrals, the crossbar dp is BG "Cranberry Sauce", the dotted mat is from the BG Porcelain collection and paper on that mat is BG "Tree Lot". The paper edges are sponged with Ranger "Peeled Paint". The shapes were cut with Spellbinders nestibilities. The "Cheers" punch is from Martha Stewart, the ribbon around it is from the MFT Chocolate Kiss collection. The image and sentiment are stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black and the image is colored with copics. The berries are covered with stickles. The bling around the sentiment is from Heide Swapp.

I have a lot of fun making my cards and a lot of fun reading your comments so thanks for visiting. Will you please click the pink ribbon before you leave.

Baby First

Here are two stamps I inked up for the first time. They're a onesie and a blank postage stamp from the MFT "Baby First" set. It's a great set of stamps with lots of images to choose from. I've forgotten some of those images and have to pull the set out every now and then to see what's in it. In fact, my buddy Pam a card using this acetate sheet in our LSS. The card had this really cute lambie stamped on it. Pam wanted to recreate the card and asked to buy the stamp, the saleswoman said they didn't have it but that it was from MFT. So when I got home I went on line and ordered it. Later I went to look for something to stamp and discovered that I already had the stamp. So I surprised Pam with a present of the set. We both picked up the "Onesie" acetate sheet (by Hambly). I never asked if Pam made the card but my acetate has sat in my stash since then, until I saw the Crazy for Challenges C4C11 post this weekend to create a card or project using acetate. So I made a little baby card. This is perfect timing because I need to send a present out to someone who recently had a little girl. She is the most precious thing.

The other details on the card are it's stamped on an MFT perfect panel in Memento tuxedo Black and colored with copics. I don't remember who the brads are from and the yellow cs is DCWV neutrals.

Thanks for visiting, please come back again. Don't forget to click the pink ribbon.