My Favorite Things October Blog Hop!

Welcome to the My Favorite Things October blog hop! If you arrived here from Cindy's blog, you're right on track. If you just happened to stop by, be sure to hop back to the beginning, with Kim.

What do you think so far about all the new stamp sets that will be released tomorrow night? If you're the "gotta have it all" type, the One-Click Collection is for you. By purchasing it, you'll receive all of the new stamp sets AND the October Triple Scoop freebie! What is Triple Scoop? It's a new program that rewards you with a designated free set anytime you purchase three or more full size sets ($15.95 or higher). Want to know what the October Triple Scoop set is?? It's Here's the Scoop! To take advantage of the Triple Scoop program, just be sure to click the Triple Scoop "Add to Cart" button so you can receive your free set.

Next up, a few words about tonight's card: I love the image and this particular sentiment from the new set called A Balanced Holiday. Gosh, is this ever my wish for all of us as the holidays rapidly approach! I colored the image with Copics and Prismacolor pencils. The ornaments are stamped separately, trimmed out, and adhered with a glue pen. The color scheme is pulled from the Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses patterned paper that I used. Some machine-stitching, buttons, ribbon, and glitter serve as finishing touches.

The next stop on the hop is JESSIE, who I know will have something absolutely delicious for us to drool over!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Stamps: A Balanced Holiday (My Favorite Things, to be released on 10/7)
Paper: MFT Perfect Paper Panels, Papertrey Scarlet Jewel, New Leaf, and Aqua Mist card stock, Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses dp
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Old Paper Distress
Accessories: Copic markers, Prismacolor pencils, glue pen, clear glitter, Spellbinders Piercabilities, paper piercer, sewing machine, Papertrey pink button and ribbon, red and green button from stash, Blue Moon star charm, foam adhesive
Size: 5 1/2" square

WCMD Challenges

Happy Sunday! Just a quick post today to share a couple of cards I made for the World Card Making Day Challenges on Splitcoast. First up is a card I made for the My Favorite Things Challenge, which is to use the signature MFT colors (pink, black, white) plus add some bling. The image, Think Pink, is one of the images that MFT recently released in digital format. I printed on Neenah white card stock and colored with Copics and Prismacolor pencils. I've got some clear crystals on the corners of the image and some black ones adorning the corners of the patterned paper panels. The sentiment is from Twisted Too.

Next up is a card for Verve's challenge, which was to choose a country's flag and use it as inspiration. I chose Botswana, with its blue, black and white flag:



The sentiment is from Wishing You, a set that includes all sorts of endings to cover a multitude of occasions. I stamped "a very HAPPY birthday" on the inside.

Before I go, here's a funny (scary?) story ... I've recently become quite addicted to Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook - a HUGE time suck, I MUST stop. Clearly, I'm not very good at it, because I can't for the life of me figure out how these people are getting scores in the upper 100Ks, when my average is probably not even 25K! Don't tell me any secrets, please. I can't afford to waste any more time on FB! So, here's how you know you've been playing too much Bejeweled Blitz. At church this morning, I was looking across the sea of heads in the congregation thinking, "If I move that black-haired person up a row, he'll be beside two other black-haired people. Poof! Points for me!" Later, while driving, I watched a silver car merge into a lane in front of two other silver cars. Ha! Three in a row!! Yea. Too much Bejeweled Blitz, I'm thinkin'.

Thanks for visiting!

Caroling Hedgie

Isn't it funny how our tastes change over time? When I first started blogging two years ago, I didn't do "cute" - now I can't get enough of it! This adorable little hedgehog is from the The Wonder clear stamp set by Penny Black. I colored the image with Copics, then sponged on the blue sky. The sheet music and lantern are popped up for dimension, and the white liquid applique on the hat and the clear glitter on the ground add a little texture. I embellished with some sheer teal ribbon by My Arts and some white snowflakes punched with a Martha Stewart punch and coated with Frosted Lace Stickles. The patterned papers are from the Colorful Christmas collection by My Mind's Eye.

The layout is Jen's Sketch For You To Try for this week. Visit Jen at i{heart}2stamp, where you'll see the sketch, her sample, and the guest designer's sketch. Since it's the first Saturday, Jen is introducing a new guest who will be playing with us all of October. I'm not going to tell you who (you'll have to get the scoop from Jen), but I'm sooo excited! Another piece of super exciting news is the addition of a new permanent teammate, Leigh O'Brien - welcome, Leigh! The regular SFYTT crew awaits with more samples: Amy Rohl, Kelly Lunceford, and Susan Liles. We love to see your interpretations of the sketches each week. Upload your link to Jen's post and remember to use keyword SFYTT if you upload to SCS or PCP.

Thanks for visiting, and Happy World Cardmaking Day!




Stamps: The Wonder (Penny Black)
Paper: Colorful Christmas dp by My Mind's Eye, Neenah white, SU Rose Red, Prismatics light nautical blue
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Bashful Blue, Ranger Vintage Photo Distress
Accessories: Spellbinders circle dies, EK Success border punch, May Arts ribbon, MS snowflake punch, foam adhesive, sewing machine, white liquid applique, clear glitter, Frosted Lace Stickles, Copic markers

Boo Crew

Today, My Favorite Things is introducing something NEW -- a line of digital stamps! Some of your favorite MFT images are now available in digi format, AND, the best part, there's a brand spankin' new Stephanie Fizer image that's available right now in digital format only. It's called Boo Crew and is it not the cutest image EVER? Oh my gosh, I absolutely adore this!

But wait, there's more. Boo Crew is available as a single image ($3.95) OR as part of the Boo Crew Digi Kit ($5.95). In the kit, you'll also get PDFs of various sentiments, intructions, notecards, and a project idea sheet that you can use to make Boo Buckets. Have you heard of these? Prior to Halloween, the idea is that you fill up a bucket with treats and then anonymously "Boo" a friend, co-worker, or neighbor. Leave it for them while they're out, or, if it works, ring their doorbell and then quickly run away, leaving the bucket behind. In the poem and accompanying instructions, they're encouraged to "spread the Boo" by giving buckets to one or more of their friends or neighbors. So fun!

I did not get a Boo Bucket finished for tonight's post, but some of the other MFT Design Team members have posted the most adorable creations: Christina Fischer, Michele Boyer, Kathy Daume. Hope you'll check them out - too cute!! [Updating to include links to Joanne Basile and Jessie Rone.]

I have to confess I was a digi stamp skeptic. My printer tends not to like card stock for one thing, and for another, I expected the printed image to bleed and run with my different coloring mediums. I was able to easily print the image in three different sizes and colored the heck out of the largest one with no bleeding at all! I'm sold! (FYI, in case you're wondering, I printed on Neenah Classic Crest Solar White card stock on my cheapie HP printer using HP Vivera inks. I colored with Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils, blending with Gamsol and stumps.)

[Note: I should probably add that the image comes as a rectangle ... almost a square, but it is slightly taller than it is wide. I added that half-circle notch using a Spellbinders circle die as part of my ribbon treatment.]

Thanks for stopping by!

Ghoulish Grub

Here's a fun Halloween treat jar I made for My Favorite Things earlier this month, but forgot to post here. I used two different MFT sets - Ghoulish Label and Too Cute To Spook (currently out of stock). The jar is one of the squared 16-ounce clear plastic jars that are part of MFT's Perfect Packaging line, and the label set is designed to fit perfectly.

When I first made this earlier in the month, I filled it with some homemade green slime, but decided that was really horribly impractical. After all, those who are young enough to enjoy playing with slime are probably too young to get it in and out of the jar without making a complete mess of the decorating, know what I mean? So I switched to a new, clean jar and filled it with some black DOTS gumdrops that I found at my local Rite-Aid.

Here's a close-up of the label:



I used some Diamond Glaze to coat the drips, then for some "gross" factor, swirled in some black re-inker using a toothpick. Last, I added some glitter (sometimes a girl can't help herself).

And here's a close-up of the lid:



Here, I stamped the tree from Too Cute to Spook in VersaMark, clear embossed, then added the labels for the sentiment. Adorning those labels are some black crystals from MFT's Spooktacular Collection of Swarovski crystals.

Thanks for visiting!

Tea Sampler

I have many, many coffee lovers in my group of friends, but not so many tea drinkers. To introduce them to the pleasures of brewing full-leaf loose tea, I've put together a tea sampler tin. Inside the rectangular tin are 11 small round tins, each holding just enough loose tea (1 teaspoon) to brew a single cup. The rectangular tins are available from My Favorite Things, and the small round tins, intended for bead storage, are from my stash (I probably got them at Michael's). I'm not sure if these are officially classified as food-grade, so I washed them out really well and I'm hoping they'll be just fine. (If you're interested in making something like this, you might want to try searching for food-grade storage tins.) The tea cups on the top of the tin are from Coffee? Tea? by My Favorite Things. The sentiment is from Tea For Two, also by My Favorite Things.

Here's a look at the round tins that hold the different teas. You can't see it well, but I placed a circle of patterned paper on the inside of each round tin and a coordinating pattern on the inside bottom of the rectangle tin. The names of the teas are on the bottom of the round tins.




Instructions are on the back side of the lid:





And of course, there's a matching card, using the main image from Coffee? Tea? and another sentiment from Tea for Two. I used Jen's SFYTT from this past Saturday for the layout.




And last, the pair:



Thanks so much for stopping by!



Tin:
Stamps: Coffee? Tea? and Tea For Two (My Favorite Things)
Paper: Papertrey Vintage Cream, Stampin' Up Blue Bayou, K&Co Amy Butler dp
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Ranger Vintage Photo Distress
Accessories: BossKut tag die, paper piercer, May Arts burlap string, SU small oval punch, clear plastic baubles (from floral dept of Michael's a year or two ago), round jewelry tins, rectangle tin, SU Always Artichoke ribbon

Card:
Stamps: Coffee? Tea? and Tea For Two (My Favorite Things)
Paper: MFT Perfect Paper Panels, Papertrey Vintage Cream, Stampin' Up Blue Bayou, K&Co Amy Butler dp
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Stampin' Up Soft Sky, Ranger Vintage Photo Distress
Accessories: Copic markers, Imaginisce I-Top brad maker, Martha Stewart hydrangea punches, yellow flower from floral dept at Michael's, sewing machine, EK Success fleur-de-lis border punch

Jolly Snowman

This cute snowman image from JustRite's Old Fashioned Christmas set is such a perfect fit for the fun patterns and colors of Cosmo Cricket's Jolly By Golly paper collection. I stamped the little fella in Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Neenah Classic Crest Solar White card stock and colored with a combination of Copic markers and Prismacolor pencils. I accented the mouth and eyes with tiny black Kaiser Craft pearls, added some liquid applique to the furry parts of the Santa hat, and sprinkled on some glitter to the snowman's face.

The layout is mostly this week's Sketch For You to Try. I say mostly because that top circle panel is actually not included in the sketch, just the rectangle behind it. The image just looked so much better framed by the circle that I made that "adjustment." To see the real SFYTT, visit Jen at i{heart}2stamp, where you'll see the sketch, her sample, and guest designer Gretchen Belknap's sample. Carole is still on break, but the rest of the crew is on hand this week with more inspiration: Amy Rohl, Kelly Lunceford, and Susan Liles. We love when you play along - link up your sketch project to Jen's post and remember to use keyword SFYTT when uploading to SCS or PCP.

Here's a look at the inside, where I added the sentiment (from Christmas Joy by JustRite) and a little bit of decorating:



So glad you stopped by! Have a great weekend!



Stamps: Old Fashioned Christmas and Christmas Joy (JustRite Stamps)
Paper: Prismatics Yellow (Dark), Stampin' Up Real Red, Neenah Solar White Classic Crest, Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly 6x6 Mini Deck
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Accessories: Copic markers, Prismacolor pencils, Gamsol, blending stumps, liquid applique, black Kaiser Craft pearls, Sakura quickie glue pen, ultrafine crystal glitter, foam adhesive, Martha Stewart snowflake punch, Angel Wings Shimmerz, Papertrey button, May Arts natural burlap string, Spellbinders Curved Rectangle Mega Nestabilites, classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities, Fancy Scalloped Border Piercabilities, D'Vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder, Stampin Up ribbon, sewing machine