Whoo Loves My Favorite Things?

Hi everyone ... if you're here for the My Favorite Things blog hop and didn't come by way of Amber, then you'll want to go back to the very beginning and start with Kim. I'll see you back here in a jiffy! Hey, wait a minute .... what am I doing in the MFT blog hop? Surprise!!! I'm part of the MFT design team now! Woohoo!!

Before I get carried away and forget ... when you're done here, the next stop on the blog hop is Ana!

If you've never done a blog hop, what you do is start with Kim (MFT owner), who will send you to the next person's blog, who will send you to the next, and so on down the list. You'll get a chance to see a whole bunch of MFTeasers (projects using the new sets) along the way, and at the end you'll find a special MFTreat! Have fun!

Tonight (Wednesday, January 7th), MFT is releasing FOUR new sets including a Who's That Girl set that is Maid for You! Join us for a New Release Cocktail Party from 9-10 p.m. Eastern time in the MFT forum on SCS. Be on the lookout for all the details on how YOU can be the next MFT Guest Designer. Hope to see you tonight!

As a DT member, I'll be focusing primarily on the MFT Presents line, which includes the adorable Stephanie Fizer images and the whimsical Annie LaPoint images. The MFT Presents set for January is Owls of the Season by Stephanie Fizer. Aren't these owls the sweetest? I stamped them onto different patterned papers from Memory Box's Frost collection, then trimmed them out and adhered them with dimensionals onto another Frost pattern. I did a lot of sponging, distressing, stitching, and piercing along the way, and embellished with some "Shimmerized" (new word) snowflakes, an Anna Wight-inspired sentiment banner, some yummy brown polka dot ribbon and some homemade glittery icicles.


Here's a close-up of the icicles:



Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: Owls of the Seasons (My Favorite Things)
Paper: Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Sage Shadow (SU!); Frost collection (Memory Box)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger distress inks, SU Sage Shadow & Chocolate Chip
Accessories: SU filigree brads, dazzling diamonds, crystal effects, distressing tool, and paper piercer; MS snowflake and border punch, Shimmerz (coffee and angel wings), ribbon (source unknown), burlap string (Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts); Copic markers; sewing machine

You're So Sweet

Yesterday, Verve Stamps began a series of sneak peeks on the Verve Stamps blog, all leading up to the Verve Release Party this Friday at 8 pm Eastern. We've got party favors along the way, as well as a special series of Looking for Love Release Week Challenges in the Verve Forum on SCS. Lots going on, and I don't want you to miss a thing, so before I get to today's goodies, be sure to go back to yesterday's Verve blog post for peeks of a new set called Meditations. Just for leaving a comment on each day's blog post, you'll have a chance to win that day's previewed sets. You can try every day!

Also, you won't want to miss the Looking For Love challenge series. Start with yesterday's Day 1 Challenge (where you can also download a PDF of all four challenges), then check out today's Day 2 Challenge. Just for completing the four challenges, you'll have the honor of being a Verve Challenge Champion, which enters you into a drawing to win the entire release (all six sets), a $78 value!

The card I'm showing today is a peek at a new set called Sweet Valentine, and it is a sweet one! I've used some traditional Valentine colors here, but don't be fooled into thinking of this as a Valentine-only set. Three of the four stamps in this little set work just as well year-round as they do for Valentine's projects. I know I {heart} my hearts all year long! And at only $9, this one's a must-have.

Hope you get a chance to play along in the challenges!



Stamps: Sweet Valentine (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Medium Suede Brown Prismatics card stock (Prism), Kraft (SU!) Classic K Card stock pad (K&Co)
Ink: Chocolate Chip (SU), Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress (Ranger)
Accessories: ivory satin ribbon (Offray); burlap string (Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts); crystal effects, paper piercer, corner rounder, sponge daubers, dimensionals (SU!); sewing machine

Year in Review, Part 2

Yesterday, I showed a favorite project from each month in the first half of 2008. Today, I'm looking back at the second half of '08.

From July:



I often tend to head in a more "busy" direction with my layers and embellishments, so it was refreshing to switch over to something so clean and simple. Plus, this was my contribution to Julie Ebersole's "Dare to Get Dirty" challenge over the summer, and if you've ever gotten one of Julie's super-sized "SHUT UP" comments on SCS, you know it's not something to forget!

Or maybe she was just being nice?

From August:



Stampin' Up's Upsy Daisy stamp set and Haiku designer paper - what else does a stamper need?


From September:



Gotta love the first Christmas card of the year :)


From October:



Be still my beating heart ... I ADORE the Poppy Patch set by Flourishes, LLC!


From November:



This peaceful, serene winter church image from Our Daily Bread Designs is among my all-time favorite images ever.


From December:



You just can't go wrong with it!


Thanks for stopping by! Tomorrow, I'll be showing one of the new Verve stamp sets that will be released on January 10. Can't wait!!

Year in Review, Part 1

Have you been seeing all the "year in review" posts around blogland? I first saw this idea on Amy Westerman's blog, Heartfelt Greetings, where she picked her favorite card of each month throughout 2008. She got the idea from someone else, who got the idea from someone else, and so on. I saw a similar round-up again on Sharon Johnson's blog, No Time To Stamp, and began to think it would be fun to do something like that too. I followed Amy's lead and picked a favorite from each month, rather than just my top ten overall. I'll start with the first half of 2008 today, and then tomorrow I'll show the last half. I hope you enjoy the look back!

One thing I chuckled over as I was looking back was how much I've changed and grown as a stamper (I still can't bring myself to use the word "artist," LOL!). Of course my design skills have improved, as would be expected, but what I chuckled over the most was the change in attitude. I can remember a time not very long ago at all, when, if I made what I thought was a really great card, one that surprised me and made me think, "wow, I actually made this all by myself," I would have the crazy urge never to stamp again. I thought I'd reach my pinnacle, so why not just go out at the top of my game? Of course, I would stamp again, and eventually, some new project would take the old favorite's place (a good thing, I tell ya - lol!). At some point during the past year to eighteen months, I have finally gained enough confidence to trust that there actually WILL be another good idea to come out of this ol' head of mine! And now, instead of wanting to stop, I can't wait to get to that next great thing, whatever it is!

I could be happy enough stamping my way to the next project all holed up by myself in my studio, but how much nicer a journey it is with stamping friends like all of you to share it with! I am so thankful for each one of you who stops by for a visit, and I look forward to all the fun 2009 will surely hold!

So here we go, 2008 in review:

From January 2008



These still make me giggle. Sentiments are: "Loads of Love, Valentine," "You're the complete package, Valentine," "I'm on fire 4U," "Police be my Valentine," and "Your bed or mine? [eek]"


From February 2008:




Altering 3-D projects isn't my strength, but I was thrilled with the way these turned out.


From March 2008:



I overcame my fear of rub-ons :)


From April 2008:



This one was even published!


From May 2008:



My first foray into coloring with Copic markers.


From June 2008:



Love all the bright colors with the crisp white. I can't believe this was all the way back in June, though - that means my current blog banner has been up way too long. But change is a-comin', I promise!

Se you tomorrow with the second half!

Beauty and the Beastly SFYTT Sample

Good morning friends! It's true, I have a beauty and a beast, today, First up, of course, is the beauty - well, I think so, anyway. Can't go wrong with pink and green, right? This is my sample for today's sketch challenge at Our Creative Corner. You can find the sketch, plus samples from the OCC designers over on the OCC blog. I'm really, really, really excited to help welcome THREE new designers to the OCC Crew, Kim Teasdale, Jackie Pedro, and Silke Ledlow, and this week's guest designer, Shannon Erskine! What talent! And Shannon was even sweet enough to provide this week's prize, a new stamp set called Owlentine by Treehouse Stamps! All the details for how to enter the drawing are posted on the OCC blog. Hope you can play!

For more designer chitchat on the cards, please visit the designers' individual blogs:

Cindy Haffner
Dawn Easton
Denise Marzec
Jackie Pedro
Jennifer Meyer
Julee Tilman
Kim Teasdale
Laurie Schmidlin
Lynda Benden
Silke Ledlow

My card features a Scripture stamp from Lift Up Our Hands, one of the two new sets from Our Daily Bread Designs. I paired it with some K&Co patterned papers, a flower cluster, and a cross charm for a soft, peaceful look.

And now, here's my sample for Jen's Sketch for You to Try:



You'll find the sketch, Jen's sample, and our new January guest designer's sample at i{heart}2stamp. The rest of the SFYTT girls have samples as well:

Amy
Carole
Shannan
Susan

Oh my, I totally jinxed myself on this one - when Jen sent this month's sketches earlier this week, I emailed back how much I like today's, that it looked really HARD, but fun and unique. I should have stopped about 1/3 of the way in and gone with plan B, but I was being stubborn and kept pushing this idea forward. It actually doesn't look as bad now as it did earlier this morning when I {finally} went to bed, but it's still not my favorite card ever!

For this one, I pulled out Verve's Petals & Stems, the colors and one of the papers from my beloved SU Haiku pack, a metal charm, and a sentiment from Verve's Artful Elegance.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you have an awesome weekend planned!



"Beauty"
Stamps: Lift Up Our Hands (Our Daily Bread Designs)
Paper: Always Artichoke, Very Vanilla (SU), dp (K&Co.)
Ink: Always Artichoke craft
Accessories: SU ribbon, Martha Stewart punches, K&Co adhesive pearls, sewing machine, clear embossing powder, paper piercer, silver cord, charm from Lost & Found Collection by Blue Moon Beads

"Beast"
Stamps: Petals & Stems, Artful Elegance (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Old Olive, Whisper White, So Saffron, Haiku dp (SU!)
Ink: Old Olive, So Saffron, More Mustard, Tangerine Tango (SU); Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: SU ribbon, burlap string (Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts); paper piercer, Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder, dimensionals, Spellbinders tag die, Around the Block metal charm

Viva La Verve!

Just wanted to let you know that Verve has started a new weekly Friday challenge, called Viva La Verve!, in the Verve Forum on SCS. Verve Diva Amber Hight will be hosting these, and she's cooked up a very cool "sketch with a twist" for today. Check out all the details, including prize info (because if it's Verve, then there are prizes!) right HERE! Hope you can play!!

See you tomorrow!

Happy 2009!

Happy New Year!! Here's to a healthy and happy 2009!

Today's card features a new stamp set from Our Daily Bread Designs called He is Risen, available in the store today. I've used the cross of nails image combined with John 3:16 (also from the He Is Risen set) to create the focal image. What I love about this set is that there are so many possibilities for Easter cards and projects, yet it's not limited to Easter. For more samples from the design team, visit our He Is Risen gallery. Here's the full set:

A second set, Lift Up Our Hands, was also released today. I'll have something from this set to show here on Saturday. In the meantime, check out the Lift Up Our Hands gallery for some beautiful and inspiring samples. And here's this one in full:

I'd also like to take a minute to welcome Our Daily Bread Designs's two newest designers: Chris Olsen and Guest Designer Cindy Motherway! They've really made these new sets shine!

A quick word about blogging ... I've slowed down quite a bit recently due to the holidays and various commitments. To be honest, it will probably stay a little slow for the next two weeks. I have four stamp releases and my last Dirty Dozen gallery (sniff, sniff) to get through by January 15. After that, I plan to return to a more frequent posting schedule. Thanks so much for your patience!! I can't wait to show you the rest of the new stamps I've been working with! And I really can't wait to tell you what two NEW companies I'll be working with! (Actually, the companies aren't new - I'm new to them!)

Cheers!