World's Best Father

The newest sets from Verve Stamps make creating Father's Day (and other masculine cards) a breeze. I used Protector and World's Best, plus oldie-but-goodie Seeing Stars, to make this one. For the tag, I stamped directly onto the grid pattern dp, which happens to be the back side of the red star pattern that I also used. All the edges are sponged with distress ink. Here's a neat thing: the blue tab on the tag is the smallest of the Labels 3 Nestabilities. I also decorated the inside a little bit, where I incorporated this wonderful word montage from Protector:



The inside stitching is faux. Oh my, I do so much better with a machine than a gel pen!

Thanks for visiting!

[Update: I almost forgot!! Well, actually I did forget, but then I remembered, so I'm back to let you know that a new Project Parade has started on the Verve Blog. This month's theme is "It's A Guy Thing: Celebrating the Men in Our Lives." Hope you can play along with us. Remember, two lucky players will win a Verve set of their choice! There will also be a third winner this month - a $25 gift certificate for a random commenter. Enjoy the parade!]



Stamps: Protector, World's Best, Seeing Stars (Verve Stamps)
Paper: SU Naturals Ivory card stock; Creative Imaginations and My Mind's Eye dp
Ink: SU Bordering Blue; Ranger Old Paper, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain Distress
Accessories: SU pewter jumbo eyelets, rope twine, large star punch, corner rounder; Spellbinders Labels 3 and square Nestabilities, sewing machine, paper piercer, white gel pen
Size: 5 1/2" square

Girls Rock!

How about another look at those cutie-patootie Poppies by My Favorite Things? This is my Nickelodian-meets-Barnum & Bailey card - LOL. You have to admit, it looks a little circus-y! I made this for today's "Mix It Up" My Favorite Challenge, which is to use three different designer paper patterns, and they must all come from different paper lines. That's tough!

By the way, the My Favorite Challenge is a new challenge in the MFT Forum on SCS. This is only the second one. Challenges will be posted on Thursdays and you have until the following Wednesday to complete it.  One winner will be chosen by our judges to receive $10 in MFT money. You can find all the details and chatter for this week's challenge HERE.

I stamped the little drummer girl in Memento Tuxedo Black onto one of MFT's Perfect Paper Panels (if you haven't tried this paper, you really should!) and colored with Copics, except for the drum, which is paper-pieced. My patterned papers are from Sassafras Lass, Papertrey, and Stampin' Up. 

Thanks for stopping by, and rock on ;)

Stamps: The Poppies (My Favorite Things)

Paper: MFT Perfect Paper Panel, Papertrey Raspberry Fizz card stock and Raspberry Fizz polka-dot dp, Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie and Yo Yo Yellow card stock, Sassafras Lass dp,  Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie prints dp

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa, SU white craft

Accessories: Copic markers, circle Nestabilities, white pom-pom trim, SU buttons, brads, and ribbon, burlap string from Pink Hedgehog Paper Crafts

Size: 5 1/2" square 

MFT June Blog Hop

My Favorite Things is kicking off its June stamp release with a blog hop tonight - Welcome! If you arrived here from Frances's blog, you're in the right place. And if not, you may wish to start back at the beginning with Kim's blog, and I'll see you back here in a few.

The first project I have for you uses the new set Who's That Grillin' Guy. I love how the hot dogs and hamburgers are separate stamps (along with a T-bone steak), so you can load up your grill however you like. See the charcoal in the bottom of the grill? That's just one of the things you can learn in this week's How'd They Do That tutorial. Hope you'll check it out!

Remember the blog hop a couple of weeks ago, where we featured MFT's new Perfect Packaging? I can't get enough of these awesome little jars, so I filled one up with a delicious homemade rub and decorated it (the jar, not the rub - LOL) to match the card. My kids and I will be giving this to our favorite Grill Master for his birthday later this month.



Here's a look at the top:





Next up is a card using one of THE cutest sets EVER!! The Poppies!!! I adore these girls!



I colored with Prismacolor pencils and paired her up with some kinda funky papers and accents from K&Co's Carolyn Gavin Greenhouse collection. This set is gonna be a hot one, friends!! Have you ever seen sweeter rocker chicks?

Join us tomorrow night, June 3, from 8-10 pm EST for our New Release Cocktail party. We'll be hanging out, chatting, teasing the new sets, and sharing some exciting design team additions. Hope you can make it!

Next stop on the hop is Carole, who I'm sure has something delicious to share!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy hopping!

Prayer Journal

Today marks the release of two new and highly anticipated sets from Our Daily Bread Designs.

Ask, Seek, Knock:





Quiet Waters:





I've focused on the Matthew 6:6 Scripture stamp from Ask, Seek, Knock, and fashioned myself a prayer journal. I covered the front and back of an inexpensive store-bought notebook as well as the pen with papers from Memory Box's Brandywine line, then added the Scripture and some embellishments. The frame is the Spellbinders Classic Frame, and the Scripture panel is die-cut from Papertrey Vintage Cream cardstock using a Spellbinders Labels 4 Nestie. The ribbons are from Offray, the Fleur De Lis border punch is by EK Success, the pearls are by Hero Arts, and the black scrollwork is an adhesive felt die-cut by Queen & Co (I think).

For more ideas with these two new sets, I hope you'll visit some of my amazing fellow design team members:

Angel Wilde - Angelosity
Angella Crockett - Body, Mind, Spirit, and STAMPS
Angie Zublionis - Quacking Creations
Becca Feeken - Amazing Paper Grace
Betty Wright - Stamping to the Wright
Chris Olsen - Twinkles Glow With Stamps
Dina Kowal - Mama Dini's Stamperia
Jane Wetzel - Anything But Plain Jane
Judy Rozema - Joy in a JAR
Lorelie Kim - My Paper Adventures
Sandee Shanabrough - Simply Southern Sandee

And a special warm welcome to the two newest guest designers:

Grace Nywening - Th-INK-ing of You
Kathy Jones - Inspired to Stamp

Thanks so much for visiting today! Hope your week gets off to a great start!

Ask, Seek, Knock

Happy Saturday, happy weekend! I have another Our Daily Bread Designs peek for you today. I've always loved architecture, especially that with some age on it, so I've really taken a fancy to this old wooden door image from Ask, Seek, Knock (to be released on Monday, June 1). My layout is a sideways version of this week's Sketch for You To Try by Jen del Muro. Check out the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Julie Lacey's sample, at i{heart}2stamp. Then visit the rest of the SFYTT chicas for even more inspiration: Amy Rohl, Carole Burrage, Kelly Lunceford, and Susan Liles. We love when you play along! To do so, link up your card or project to Jen's post using Mr. Linky. If you upload to SCS, remember to use keyword: SFYTT.

I'm extra low on chit-chat - hustling out the door for my daughter's softball game. The girls are all 5 and 6 - soooooo cute!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

[Updated to Add: The two decorative black corners at the top are die-cut using one of Cuttlebug's Vintage dies. The Vintage collection includes four 2x2 dies.]




Stamps: Ask, Seek, Knock (Our Daily Bread Designs - to be released on June 1)
Paper: SU Basic Black, Whisper White, Mellow Moss; Around the Block dp
Ink: SU Mellow Moss, Versafine Onyx Black
Accessories: Kaiser pearls, SU white taffeta ribbon, Martha Stewart and EK Success border punches, Michael's silver and pearl buttons, paper piercer, clear ep
Size: 6" square

Best Dad Ever

How about a little somethin' for Dads today? Verve's latest release has loads of sentiments perfect for celebrating men. I wish I had loads of ideas for masculine cards - LOL! Seriously, are they the hardest cards to make or what? Trees are always good masculine images, right? Not too flowery, symbolic of strength, outdoorsy, etc. I took the Whimsy Tree Plain Jane and the smaller tree that's in Up, Up, & Away and created a scene using various green and blue designer papers. The sentiment, from Dad's Day, is done in a yellow circle to represent the sun. The inside is decorated as well, and holds a "Happy Father's Day" sentiment, also from Dad's Day. This was kind of different for me and so fun to make!

Have a fantastic day!



Stamps: Dad's Day, Whimsy Tree Plain Jane, Up, Up & Away (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Stampin' Up Kraft, So Saffron, and Whisper White, Memory Box Sprout and Sweetbay dp, ATD A Family Affair dp
Ink: Ranger Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Inks
Accessories: Prismacolors, Gamsol, blending stump, SU 1/4" circle punch, scalloped border punch, and vintage brads, Spellbinders classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities, Offray brown twill, sewing machine, paper piercer

Let's Picnic

It's the last Wednesday of the month, and guess what that means? It's VIP day at My Favorite Things! For one day only - today - you'll have a chance to purchase one of June's new sets, Let's Picnic, a whole week early. It comes as part of the MFT VIP Package, which includes a bunch of other fun products, as well as PERKS, like an extra free set and being able to post pre-release teasers during next week's release party. Want to be a VIP?? Of course!! Hurry, quantities are limited. Last month's VIP package sold out quickly (like within a few hours).

In other MFT news, Candice has put together this week's How'd They Do That tutorial. She's the Copic queen, and she'll be sharing tips on identifying your light source and adding realistic shading, using your Copics (or any other coloring method). Also, we're down to the final two MFT Idol contestants!! You can see their awesome creations HERE, and then cast your vote before 10 pm today. (Be sure to read the voting instructions!) Congratulations to all of the MFT Idol contestants, and best of luck to 20something and Mrs. Mac!

I've stamped my image from Let's Picnic on MFT's Perfect Paper Panels and then colored with both Copics and Prismacolors. The blanket is paper pieced. I layered the image onto a combination of papers from K&Co's Wild Raspberry die-cut mat pad. These papers are die-cut with various decorative edges, such as the oversize Top Note-style die on the background panel. I wanted to keep that shape intact, so I made my card extra large at 5" x 7". Love this size! The cheese board and wine bottle are some of the wonderful little extras in this set.

Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: Let's Picnic (My Favorite Things - to be released June 3)
Paper: MFT Perfect Paper Panels, Papertrey Vintage Cream, Prismatics Desert Coral Light, K&Co Wild Raspberry Die-Cut Mat Pad dp
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Memento Rich Cocoa, Ranger Old Paper Distress
Accessories: Papertrey buttons and ribbon, Sizzix swirl die, sewing machine