MFT Blog Hop Candy Winner

Hey guess what??? I had the secret blog candy during yesterday's MFT hop, which means someone who left me a comment wins! Wanna know who it is??? Is it you? Is it you??

Random.org picked #60 ...

Kelly Leo said...
Such great dimension in this card - love it! Kelly Leo :)

Congratulations, Kelly! I don't have a link to you or any contact info, though. Please email me so I can tell you how to claim your prize. (My email is on the left sidebar, just under my picture.)

Too Cute To Spook

Welcome to the My Favorite Things September Blog Hop! If you made it here from Joanne, you're right on track. If you just happened to check in, you might want to jump back to the beginning, with Kim.

Hope you've been enjoying the teasers tonight - there's some really, really cute stuff coming out this month! I'm sharing a card I made using Too Cute To Spook - can't wait for you to see this set in its entirety at tomorrow night's release! I created a scene for this little Halloween cutie partly by masking and partly by cutting out and popping up some of the images. The coloring is done with Copics and sponging.

Don't forget to check out this week's How'd They Do That Tutorial. With each new release, a handful of DT members share a few tips and tricks for working with the new sets. I always learn something new!

Your next stop is the amazing Kirsten!

Enjoy the rest of the hop!



Stamps: Too Cute To Spook (My Favorite Things)
Paper: MFT Perfect Paper Panels, Stampin' Up Basic Black card stock, SU Halloween dp (purple and black), My Mind's Eye "Boo to You" dp (green)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU Apricot Appeal, Pumpkin Pie, Tangerine Tango, and Green Galore
Accessories: Copic markers, Spellbinders circle, scalloped circle, tag and scalloped border dies, Crystal Clear Swarovski Crystlas, Professional HotFix Crystal Applicator, foam adhesive, paper piercer, SU 1/4" square punch, May Arts purple burlap string

Zoom Zoom ...

... there goes August! Whew, I know I'm not the only one feeling this way, but seriously, what happened to August??

My Favorite Things is gearing up for its September release on Wednesday evening at 10 pm EST. Teasers have begun showing up on DT blogs, including here, yesterday. But wait -- I'm not ready to put away my August sets yet! I have three things to share today, and all three have been sitting in partial stages of completion for more than a week. I carved out a little stamping time today to finally get them finished and posted. Here goes ...

First up is a card using Trick or Treat with Who's That Girl:



The last time I colored this image, I gave Flopsey a green suit. This time, I thought I'd try out orange - now he looks like a giant candy corn! I gave the trio a green glow to give a little bit of a spooky feel. Coloring is with Prismacolor pencils. This started out as a large tag, but when it overpowered the bucket I was working with, I stuck it on a card base instead. Perfect size.

Next up is a super easy Halloween treat bag. I love the things Michelle Wooderson does with the glassine bags and clothespins and have been itching to give her idea a try.



How cute are these? The clothespin I used is a craft supply and therefore a good bit smaller than your normal laundry clothespins, but either will work. The pumpkin and sentiment are from Trick or Treat with Who's That Girl, and the bag is filled with my personal Halloween favorite - candy corn (has to be Brach's, though).

Last is the third of three items in the reading set I made for my daughter a while back. I posted a little backpack box to hold her library card and a matching card HERE, but this sign for her doorknob was just a sketch at the time.



The girl and the bookshelf are two separate images from I {Heart} Books (which is currently out of stock - I'm sorry!). I stamped them, then colored and drew in the floor and the wall using Prismacolor pencils. The "shh" letters are done with Bling 'Bet. I did the "I'm reading" sentiment by hand.



Thanks so much for stopping by!

It's Bean Awhile ...

Happy Saturday! Today, I have a peek at a new set called Coffee? Tea? coming next week from My Favorite Things. "Who's That {Coffee-Drinking} Girl" is wearing a paper pieced dress and otherwise colored with a combo of Copics and Prismacolors. I'm really, really, really lovin' the colors and patterns in Cosmo Cricket's new Earth Love paper pack. The papers I used on this card are all from the 6x6 Mini Deck.

The layout is this week's Sketch For You To Try. Visit Jen del Muro at i{heart}2stamp to see the sketch and guest designer Megan Lock's sample (Jen's sample is coming later). Some of the SFYTT sisters have samples, but not all - for sure check out what Amy Rohl and Kelly Lunceford have made! To play along, link up your project to Jen's post and remember to use keyword SFYTT if you upload to Splitcoast.

About this new stamp set ... Coffee? Tea?, along with four other sets, will be available at 10 pm on Wednesday, September 2, immediately following MFT's New Release Cocktail Party, which takes place from 8-10 pm EST in the MFT Forum on Splitcoast. Stop by and visit with us if you can! Leading up to that, we'll be doing our usual pre-release Blog Hop on Tuesday, September 1, at 10 pm EST, beginning with Kim at the MFT Blog.

Have a fantastic weekend!



Stamps: Coffee? Tea? (My Favorite Things)
Paper: MFT Perfect Paper Panels, Cosmo Cricket Earth Love, PTI Vintage Cream
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress Ink
Accessories: Prismacolors pencils, Gamsol, blending stumps, Copic markers, Spellbinders circle and mega curved rectangle Nestabilities, foam adhesive, Papertrey buttons and ribbon, EK Success wavy border punch, sewing machine

JustRite Week - Day Five

It's Day Five of JustRite Week at Stamper's Dream. Hope you've had a chance to follow along with all the gorgeous projects this week! Today, Cammie, Kimberly, and Michelle are also sharing JustRite projects.

I thought it would be fun to use the "Let It Snow" oval border and center from Christmas Joy as the letter "O" in the word "snow." The other letters are from my chipboard stash. The patterned papers are all from the Merry Days of Christmas Paper & Accessories Kit by My Mind's Eye.

Here's a tip you may find helpful. When I was die-cutting the oval center with my oval Nestabilities, I couldn't be sure the image was perfectly centered under the die. See below how the die covers the perimeter of the stamped image?



Here's what I did. I took a larger oval die (one large enough that the smaller die would fit inside) and centered it around the image. Since its opening is larger, I could see the full image and therefore center it.



Then I centered the smaller die within the larger die and ran it through my die-cutting machine.



Anybody have other ways to do this?

Thanks for visiting! See you tomorrow for a fun Sketch For You To Try!



Stamps: Christmas Joy (JustRite Stamps)
Paper: Merry Days of Christmas Paper & Accessories Kit (My Mind's Eye); Vintage Cream card stock (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Bashful Blue and Cranberry Crisp (Stampin' Up!)
Accessories: chipboard letters (My Mind's Eye), snowflake punch (Martha Stewart) Angel Wings Shimmerz, Classic Oval, Scalloped Oval, Labels One, and Deckled Mega Rectangle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), Pretties Kit and ivory organdy ribbon (Stampin' Up!), Bliss pearls (Kaiser Craft), Christmas Red Stickles (Ranger), sewing machine, foam adhesive
Size: 5 1/2" square

JustRite Week at Stamper's Dream!

Hi everyone, it's Day 2 of JustRite week at Stamper's Dream. Each day this week, the Dream Team will be showing different projects using the new JustRite Christmas sets. Today, be sure to visit Charmaine, Laurie, and Michelle for more ideas. (And if you didn't catch yesterday's projects, visit these posts, too: Tosha, Denise, Kimberly, and Michelle.)

My project is a wooden snowflake ornament that I decorated using A Merry Little Christmas Borders & Centers. I love the snowflake saying on this stamp: "Snowflakes Are Winter's Butterflies." After sanding the ornament just a little bit, I covered it with one of the patterns from Cosmo Cricket's Jolly By Golly 6x6 Mini Deck, sanded the edges, then lightly sponged with Ranger Tea Dye Distress Ink. (I used Zip-Dry Adhesive to adhere the paper to the wooden snowflake.) Next I took a chipboard frame and coated it with Martha Stewart snow glitter, using VersaMark ink and heat-and-stick powder. Last, I added my stamped border and center, a silver filigree flower brad by Nunn Designs, and a smidge of striped ribbon.



Here's a detail shot where you can really see the sparkle on that chipboard frame:



Thanks for stopping by! I'll have another JustRite project to share on Friday. In the meantime, here's the schedule for tomorrow ...

Laurie, Tosha, Kimberly, and Michelle

... and Thursday:

Kimberly, Denise and Michelle

Thanks so much for stopping by!



Stamps: A Merry Little Christmas Borders & Centers (JustRite Stampers)
Paper: Jolly By Golly 6x6 Mini Deck (Cosmo Cricket), Simply Smooth Ivory Cardstock (Prism)
Ink: Tea Dye Distress Ink (Ranger), Aqua Mist (Papertrey)
Accessories: bare wood snowflake ornament (one of the big craft stores - Michael's maybe?), Framed Fonts Glimmer Chips (Tattered Angels), vintage buttons (Papertrey), classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders), 1 1/4" circle punch (Stampin' Up), snow glitter (Martha Stewart), silver filigree flower brad (Nunn Designs), ribbon (SU), foam adhesive

Boo!

Happy Saturday! Ready for another Sketch For You To Try? Jen's got another fun one this week - check it out at i{heart}2stamp, where you'll also find Jen's sample and guest designer Megan Lock's sample. Be sure to hit the rest of the samples too: Amy Rohl, Carole Burrage, Kelly Lunceford, and Susan Liles. Hope you can play along! Remember to use keyword SFYTT if you upload to Splitcoast.

I went for a scrappy look with my sample - no stamping at all in fact. Most of what I used for the card comes from the adorable new Boo To You Paper & Accessories Kit from My Mind's Eye. It has some of the cutest Halloween papers I think I've ever seen, as well as a coordinating sheet of die-cut accessories, which is where the owl in the tree, the orange label shape behind the owl, and one of the vertical strips came from. I couldn't wait to dig into it! I added some American Crafts vinyl alphabet stickers, a row of brads, some paper piercing, and some stitching and that was that. Super quick and easy :)

While the kit was still out, I made another super quick one:



See the adorable mummy brad up at the top? I made that with the new I-Top Brad Maker Tool from Imaginisce. You can totally customize your brads to whatever project you're making! How cool is that? The little mummy was part of one of the patterned papers in the MME kit. I just used traced the I-Top template onto the dp, and trimmed it out. It's see-through so you can see exactly what part of the patterned paper is going to show on the brad. Then I followed the directions that come with the tool (there's also an accompanying how-to DVD) to add the paper topper to a medium-size (22mm) I-Top Brad Daddy. Voila, in just two squeezes I had a custom brad. The tool works with fabric too! A little while back, Michelle posted an Imaginisce video on the I-Top - check it out for a great little introduction to this cool tool.

FYI ... Michelle has added tons of new paper collections and stamps to the Stamper's Dream store. The New Arrivals section is my favorite place to visit :)

So glad you stopped by today. I've received some of the nicest comments from readers this week, and I just want to let you all know how thankful I am!



"Boo" Card
Stamps: none
Paper: Stampin' Up Basic Black card stock, Prismatics white card stock, My Mind's Eye "Boo To You" Paper and Accessories kit
Ink: none
Accessories: American Crafts vinyl alphabet stickers, Stampin' Up vintage brads, paper piercer, black embroidery floss

"Happy Halloween" Card
Stamps: none
Paper: Stampin' Up Basic Black card stock, My Mind's Eye "Boo To You" Paper and Accessories kit
Ink: none
Accesories: Imaginisce I-Top Brad Maker Tool, I-Top template, I-Top Brad Daddies (medium), corner rounder, SU black striped ribbon, Papertrey Summer Sunrise saddle-stitch ribbon, foam adhesive