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

Indian Summer Cross

Some new goodies arrived in my mailbox yesterday afternoon and everything else has taken a temporary back seat! This Kilkenny Cross image is by Holly Berry House and the patterned paper is from Basic Grey's new Indian Summer 6x6 pad. I love how intricate this image is, yet it's still so easy to work with. Stamper's Dream carries a wonderful selection of Holly Berry House images done in this same style: three different crosses, bells, a butterfly, treasure boxes, a snowflake, and a poinsettia. All I had to do for this look was stamp the cross in VersaMark ink three times onto two different Indian Summer patterns, heat emboss with glittery gold powder, trim down the three different layers, then assemble them back together with foam adhesive. Easy!

I embellished the cross with some white Kaiser Craft pearls that I custom colored using a R14 Copic marker. I layered the cross onto two different sizes of the Curved Rectangle Mega Nestabilities and accented with some Rose 1 1/2" silk ribbon tied with gold cord. I ran a VersaMarker along the edges of most of the panels, then dipped into the gold EP and heat embossed.

Finished size: 4 1/4" x 6"

Thanks for visiting!

Wreath of Joy

One of my favorite parts of the holidays is the fresh greenery, especially those beautiful wreaths all filled with boxwood, holly, berries, and fresh fruits, so when I received this gorgeous holiday Wreath Rubber Stamp by Inkadinkado, I couldn't wait to ink it up. The artwork is incredibly detailed, and since all the shadowing is drawn in as part of the illustration, it's super easy to color. The best part? No need to refresh and replace the greens and fruits, and no dead needles to sweep up!

I used Prismacolors on the wreath and Copics on the bow (I liked the reds of my Copics better) then popped up the center of the bow for dimension. The patterned papers are all from Basic Grey's Wassail pack and the card stock is Prismatics. The sentiment is done with the Times New Roman font from JustRite Stamps. I used the 60-point letters that come in the 1 3/16" Damask Centers and Bonus Font collection (the 50-point letters of any of the Font Sets would also work well). The sentiment is die-cut with Spellbinders Fancy Tags, the image is cut with the Spellbinders Labels Three Nestabilities, and the decorative red border along the bottom was done with the Fancy Scallop Piercabilities (love my Spellbinders!). The white decorative border that peeks up from that striped pattern is the Fiskars Lace Border punch. It's hard to see in the picture, but the ribbon that's threaded through the sentiment tag is this amazing, rich, burgundy velvet ribbon - so luscious!

Thanks for visiting!



Stamps: Wreath Rubber Stamp (Inkadinkado), 1 3/16 Damask Centers and Bonus Font (JustRite)
Paper: Basic Grey Wassail, Prismatics Blush Red Dark and Herbal Garden Medium, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, Copic markers, Spellbinders Labels Three Nestabilties, Fancy Scalloped Piercabilities, and Fancy Tags, Fiskars Lace border punch, Sakura Quickie glue pen, Art Institute ultrafine crystal glitter, burgundy woven velvet 3/8" ribbon, foam adhesive, sewing machine
Size: 5 1/2" square

With Sympathy

Happy Tuesday, friends! I took a short break from stamping over the weekend, and what I worked on yesterday isn't quite ready, so how about I show one of the projects I created from when I was part of the Splitcoast Dirty Dozen? This was for the September 2008 gallery. Our theme was Colors of the Rainbow, and we each took a color to focus on. Mine (obviously) was blue. This sympathy card was one of my favorites from the month.

I love the soft, soothing, muted tones of Soft Sky and Baja Breeze together - perfect for a sympathy card. The layout was based on the September 2008 Dirty Dozen sketch, which was provided by my DD "roomie" Cindy Lawrence. I inked the branch image from Stampin' Up's Kindred Spirits set with Soft Sky, then, to give it a little more depth, I lightly sponged Blue Bayou ink around the edges before stamping. It took a little time to trim out the image, but I love the look, so it was worth it. The dry embossing on the Baja Breeze strip was done with the Argyle Cuttlebug folder, and the embossing on the Basic Gray circle was done with Nestabilities.

It's hard to believe a whole year has passed! Thanks so much for stopping by!



Stamps: Kindred Spirits (Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Soft Sky, Basic Gray, Baja Breeze, Whisper White (SU)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Blue Bayou, Basic Gray (SU)
Accessories: large oval punch, Baja Breeze Striped Ribbon, Basic Grey taffeta ribbon, scallop border punch, 1/4" circle punch, silver brads, distressing tool (SU!); classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities (Spellbinders); Argyle Cuttlebug folder (Provo Craft)