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)

Swan Song

How about all that new Verve that was released last night?? What an awesome batch of new photopolymer! Today, I have another card that I made with the elegant Swan Song set. I love that there are two swans, one facing left and one facing right. Use them individually, or put them together to make sweet lovebirds. Another great thing is that there are the cutest little legs, too (separate stamps), so you can even turn them into peacocks! Check out Julee's peacock HERE - how cool is that?!?

The layout is Jen's Sketch For You To Try for the week. Visit i{heart}2stamp to see the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Gretchen Belknap's sample, then head over to the rest of the sample-making crew for more inspiration: Amy Rohl, Kelly Lunceford, and Susan Liles (who, in case you haven't seen or heard yet, is one of Splitcoast's newest Dirty Dozen designers. Woot!!). Carole, who is taking an short break right now, celebrated her birthday yesterday, so if you get a chance, stop by her blog to leave her some birthday love!

I stamped the swan onto ivory card stock, added some very light blue shadowing to the feathers using a BG0000 Copic marker, then painted on some Angel Wings Shimmerz for some extra zing. The crystal flourish is by Zva Creations. The designer papers I used are from the Ooh La La "For Him" collection by My Mind's Eye. I love the colors in these! The little ruled circle with the dotted perimeter that's behind the swan is one of the die-cuts from the MME paper kit.

Before I go, I wanted to answer a comment that I got today (Saturday) about blog feeds and subscriptions by email. The concern raised was a very valid one involving timing. Here's an example, if I post on Friday about Verve's release party that is happening that same night, most subscribers will not get that day's blog feed in their email until the early morning hours of the next day (or Saturday). Guess what? The release party is already over :( Same thing with challenges and giveaways - by the time you get my feed by email, the deadline may have passed already. Very frustrating, I know! I do try hard to promote and announce time-sensitive things a day or more in advance to give email subscribers plenty of notice.

But here are two options for how YOU can help make sure you get more timely updates:

1.) Change your Feedblitz delivery settings from "Nightly" to "Hourly." Here's how:
- go to http://www.feedblitz.com/ and log in
- click the "subscriptions" tab
- you'll see a drop-down box in the right corner. It says "Pick One of Your Subscriptions." Choose Pickled Paper Designs.
- In the main portion of the page, you'll have a list of options, such as "New," "Your Subscriptions," "Restore," etc. Choose "Scheduling."
- Where it says "How often do you want FeedBlitz to check for new articles?" I expect you'll see "Nightly (using the configured time zone)" If so, use the drop-down box to change to "Hourly."
- Be sure to click the "Update Schedule" button for your change to take effect.

Now Feedblitz will check for new feeds every hour, so as soon as it finds one, your email will be generated, and hopefully the timeliness problem will be a thing of the past!

The only possible downside is that you will likely increase the number of emails you get from Feedblitz. If, for example, you changed all your subscriptions to hourly, then instead of one email with a bunch of posts from different blogs, you might get a bunch of emails, each with only one post from that one blog.

Which is why you may want to ....

2.) Consider using Google Reader for blog updates. New blog posts generally show up in my Reader within about 30 minutes. Since Google Reader is not email-based, you are also not impacted by any third-party email problems (downtimes, delays, crashes, etc.), which neither of us will have any control over. I love Google Reader and have moved the vast majority of my blog roll to it. (I'll try NOT to take it personally if my Feedblitz subscription numbers drop off drastically {grin}).

I hope the above info helps out, and if you ever have any other questions or problems with feeds and subscriptions, I'll do my best to help!

Have a great weekend!



Stamps: Swan Song (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Vintage Cream and Aqua Mist, My Mind's Eye Ooh La La For Him dp collection
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up Always Artichoke
Accessories: Spellbinders Labels 1, Classic Circle, and Blossom Nestabilities, Fiskars lace border punch, Zva Creations and Swarovski crystals, Angel Wings Shimmerz paint, Michael's paper flowers, Stampin' Up taffeta ribbon, foam adhesive

You Put a Song in My Heart

I have a couple more peeks at the new Verve stamps that are releasing tonight. This first one shows a set called Swan Song - a gorgeous collection. I was drawn to the sketched look of this bird on a branch, as well as the tiny, sweet font of this particular sentiment. The partially stamped, text-style background was the by-product of a happy accident. I really liked the look so I went with it - love when that happens! The layout is from Julee's Mojo 104 sketch. I stamped the bird image in Papertrey's Dark Chocolate, then die-cut with a Spellbinders circle. I masked the body, then sponged on SU's Soft Sky and Papertrey's Ocean Tides with the die still in place. Then I added just a touch of Ranger Antique Linen Distress Ink to the bird's body. I think everything else is pretty straightforward, so I won't go into extra detail, but if you have any questions, just ask!

Next up is a clean-and-simple take on Harvest Blessings, a simply awesome new fall set:



I used the color combo Charmaine picked for her Color Challenge - a tough one for me, especially trying to balance those four strong, deep colors. In the end (which is to say after MUCH fussing), I went with a lot of neutral and just small amounts of each color. Some ribbon, a touch of piercing, and a bit of scoring add just a bit more interest. I don't think you can see it at all in the photo, but I also stamped some of the smaller leaves from another new set called Happiness Found in VersaMark ink onto the cream background. Be sure to visit today's post on the Verve Blog for some amazing projects featuring these two fall sets, not to mention a chance to win both!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you can join us at the Release Party tonight, beginning at 9 pm EST in the Verve Forum. Have a great day!



Song in My Heart:
Stamps: Swan Song (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Stampin' Up Kraft, Papertrey White, Dark Chocolate, and Aqua Mist card stock
Ink: Papertrey Snow White and Ocean Tides, Stampin' Up Soft Sky
Accessories: Spellbinders classic circle Nestabilities and Blossom Nestabilities, Stampin' Up scalloped border punch and Vintage brads, Papertrey Ocean Tides saddle-stitch ribbon and Aqua Mist button, May Arts natural burlap string, foam adhesive

Autumn Wishes:
Stamps: Harvest Blessings, Happiness Found (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Vintage Cream, Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry, Daisy D's dp
Ink: Stampin' Up Old Olive, Dusty Durango, and Rich Razzleberrry, Tsukineko VersaMark
Accessories: Spellbinders Classic Circle and Peony Nestabilities, Spellbinders RicRac Piercabilities, Scor-Pal, Ornare piercing template, Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry ribbon

You're A Rockstar

It's Day 2 of sneak peeks over on the Verve blog. (Be sure to check out yesterday if you haven't already. There are giveaways each day, so you won't want to miss anything!) Today, the Verve Divas are previewing two awesome new sets, You Rock and Starstruck. I adore Julee's artistry and her ability to combine different styles into fresh, new combinations. You Rock is an enchanting fusion of the bold, geometric star shape and the elegant fleur-de-lis symbol, and I absolutely love the look!

The stars, from You Rock, are stamped in Stampin' Up's Blue Bayou and Soft Suede. I trimmed them out, cutting right on the outline, then layered them onto matching card stock stars punched with Stampin' Up's large star punch. The result is a perfect narrow mat. I stamped the sentiment, from Starstruck, in Soft Suede as well, then pleated and notched the strip for the banner look. My color combo is straight from the beautiful K&Co Amy Butler designer paper strip that I used along the right side. I embellished with some dry emossing, scallop borders, polka dots, bling, and paper piercing. The finished size is a tall and skinny 3 1/4" x 6 1/2."

Don't forget to click over to the Verve blog to see the rest of the peeks and for a chance to win today's two sets. Hope you'll join us in the Verve Forum tomorrow night (that's Friday, 9/18) at 9 pm for the release party!

Oh, and I almost forgot to add that I also made this to fit Lynda's current Bling Challenge. Lynda's challenge is just one of Verve's five release week challenges. Each individual challenge will have a random $25 gift certificate winner, and if you complete all five, you're entered into a drawing to win the entire release. Worth playing for? Of course! (Full details are in the Master Challenge Thread.)

Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: You Rock, Starstruck, Bountiful Backgrounds (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Stampin' Up Blue Bayou, Marigold Morning, and So Saffron card stock, Papertrey Vintage Cream card stock; K&Co Amy Butler designer paper
Ink: Stampin' Up Blue Bayou and Soft Suede
Accessories: Spellbinders classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities, Stampin' Up large star and scalloped border punches, SU ribbon, paper piercer, Swarovski clear crystals, D'Vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder, Making Memories button

Release Week at Verve!

Hi everyone, Verve kicked off its release week festivities yesterday with a quintet of challenges hosted by some of the Divas. Each challenge will have a random winner of a $25 gift certificate, and those who complete ALL the challenges are entered into a drawing to win the entire release! Check out the September '09 Master Challenge Thread in the Verve Forum for all the details. Official peeks begin tomorrow on the Verve blog, but you just may see an extra peek or two from the Divas who are hosting challenges ;)

I love the sketch that Julee drew up for her Sketch Challenge and used it for today's card. The stamps are from last month's Delightful & Delicious, and the papers are from the Ooh La La For Him collection by My Mind's Eye.

Join us on Friday night at 9 pm in the Verve Forum for our Release Party!

I finished off the inside to coordinate:



Hope you're having a great week so far!



Stamps: Delightful & Delicious (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Ooh La La For Him (My Mind's Eye); Summer Sunrise and Dark Chocolate (Papertrey); Always Artichoke (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Soft Sky (SU), Walnut Stain Distress (Ranger), Summer Sunrise (PTI)
Accessories: Classic and Scalloped Square Nestabilities, Classic and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, Fancy Scalloped Border Piercabilities (Spellbinders); brown twill (Offray); corduroy brads (Stampin' Up); paper piercer, foam adhesive

You're So Fabulous

Thanks, my blog friends, for the birthday wishes yesterday! I tried to slip that one right on by you without saying anything - didn't work ;) One of the best things about my birthday is getting to share it with my fabulous twin sister, Jennifer. Today's card is for her, and I'm going to try to actually mail it for once.

The floral images are from Verve's Budding Blossoms set, and the fabulous sentiment is from Bountiful Backgrounds. I used Jen's fabulous Sketch For You To Try for this week. Check out the sketch, Jen's sample and guest designer Gretchen Belknap's sample at i{heart}2stamp. Then visit Amy Rohl, Kelly Lunceford, and Susan Liles for lots more loveliness. To play along, link up your creation to i{heart}2stamp and remember to use keyword SFYTT on SCS.

I stamped the flowers in Chocolate Chip craft ink and clear embossed. The pink flowers are colored with Copic markers. I then clear embossed over them using a VersaMarker and clear EP so that I could sponge on the blue sky and green grass without getting color on the flowers. (I could have masked but the EP was already out, so I did it that way.) The papers are all from a small pack of Daisy D's autumn papers that I found on clearance at a stamp show.

Verve fans, mark your calendars: Next Friday (the 18th) is Verve's next release. Challenges, peeks, and release week fun will start on Monday!

Have a fabulous weekend!



Stamps: Budding Blossoms and Bountiful Backgrounds (Verve Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Vintage Cream and Dark Chocolate card stock, Daisy D's dp
Ink: SU Chocolate Chip craft ink, Soft Sky and Kiwi Kiss classic ink
Accessories: Spellbinders dies (squares, circle, and tag), EK Success Fleur-de-Lis border punch, clear embossing powder, paper piercer, PTI ribbon and button, May Arts pink burlap string
Size: 5 1/2" square

Impression Obsession Week - Day Five

Today wraps up Impression Obsession week at Stamper's Dream. Also sharing projects today are Tosha, Silke, and Michelle. And while you're visiting Michelle, be sure to check out her blog candy! Yummy, yummy!!

I've used one of the images from Impression Obsession's Tree & Poinsettias Clear Set for today's card. I colored with Copcis, did some paper tole on the poinsettia, and added some glitter. The dry embossed white panel was done with the Cuttlebug Fleur De Lis embossing folder, and the die-cut shapes and tag were done with Spellbinders dies. Had to add the requisite bling and ribbon, too!

Hope you've enjoyed Impression Obsession week, and thanks, as always, for visiting!

Shabby Chic Wall Decor

I remember a year or so ago when My Favorite Things first introduced Annie LaPoint as a new illustrator. I absolutely fell in love with the potted herbs and the flowers in the bathtubs. I adore her style, and am so glad to see some new things coming out now and in the near future! In July, MFT released Spread a Harvest of Hope. This month, Seeds of Love was released, which includes a darling pansy seed packet image and the title sentiment "Sow Seeds of Love." Once again, total home runs in my book!

For today's project, I cut the pair of pansies from the seed packet and used them on their own to make a piece of wall art. Coloring is with Copic markers, and the image is paper toled (flowers and one leaf are popped up) and glittered. I gave the image a shabby chic setting, using random bits and pieces of lovely textured things ... an embossed chipboard frame from Tattered Angels, a small piece of a page from an old book, some corrugated cardboard, a bit of fabric, and a length of wonderful trim. Heavy distressing, stitching, and buttons finish off the look.

The scalloped square base is chipboard from the Michael's $1 aisle. It came in a pack of five and measures around 6" square. I could hang or display the piece as-is, but I'd love to find a shadow box frame to hold it. That way I don't have to worry about dust.

For the chipboard base, I first painted it with ivory acrylic paint, then sanded away the edges just a bit, sponged on some different distress inks (Frayed Burlap and Brushed Corduroy), and last coated it with Ranger's crackle medium. Here's a detail shot of that:



And this next shot will give you a better look at the dimension from the paper tole, cardboard, and all the foam adhesive:



One last detail shot:



Thanks for visiting!



Stamps: Sow Seeds of Love (My Favorite Things)
Paper: MFT Perfect Paper Panels, Papertrey Vintage Cream card stock, Melissa Frances dp
Ink: Ranger Antique Linen, Old Paper, Frayed Burlap, Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessoires: copic markers, Sakura Quickie glue pen, clear glitter, Tattered Angels Framed Fonts Glimmer Chips, Papertrey Vintage buttons, twill, trim, cardboard, page from old book, fabric, May Arts burlap string, foam adhesive, dimsional glue dots, ivory acrylic pain, sanding block
Finished Size: approximately 6" square

Creepy Crawlies

I had the opportunity to do some experimenting with Diamond Glaze for a "How'd They Do That" tutorial I posted yesterday over in the My Favorite Things Forum on Splitcoast. The glittery spider web on this card was my favorite project! Check out the whole tutorial HERE.

The sentiment and spider are from the new Ghoulish Label Set by My Favorite Things. I adore this set - such a fun, unique mix of Halloween-themed images! The papers are all from the Twilight collection by Memory Box. The skinny ribbon is from the Spooktacular Ribbon Collection by My Favorite Things (out of stock at the moment, it looks like) and the black Swarovski crystals are from the Spooktacular Adornments collection, also from MFT. It's hard to see, but I created a frame using the Labels 4 Nestabilities and popped it up from the card base so that the web appears to be floating (it's actually on acetate). Here are a couple of shots that show that a little bit better.





I'm not normally much of a "technique" stamper, so this was really fun!

My older two kids started school yesterday, one in third grade and one in kindergarten. I'm so proud of myself for surviving my daughter's first wardrobe crisis (it seemed a bit cool out for the first day outfit we'd picked out) and for not breaking down in tears as the afternoon kindergarten bus drove away. It was hard, though! Now tonight, I'll take my youngest to preschool orientation - yikes! I feel like they're ALL flying the coop! Actually, my little Gabe-Gabe won't start school until November, when he hits that magic 2 1/2 mark. But he'll get a chance to meet his teachers tonight. And I'll get a chance to see if he's even remotely ready for school (I'm thinking not)!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Relax & Enjoy

It's Impression Obsession week at Stamper's Dream! Each day this week, some of the Dream Team will be sharing projects using new holiday images from Impression Obsession. I love the variety of IO images - everything from cute to whimsical to elegant - be sure to check out what Denise, Charmaine, and Michelle are sharing today. And if you didn't catch yesterday's posts, you can get all caught up at these links: Cammie, Charmaine, and Michelle.

I was so excited to play with the Spa Day image. This comical witch makes me giggle every time I look at her - must be some good stuff she's soaking in :) I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black onto Neenah Classic Crest Solar White card stock and colored with a combination of Copics and Prismacolor Pencils. I die-cut the image using Spellbinders Labels 1 Nestabilities, then popped her up on a card base made from patterns from My Mind's Eye's Boo To You collection and Prism card stock. I embellished with some clear ultrafine glitter, Kaiser Craft black adhesive pearls, machine stitching, scoring, and paper piercing. The sentiment, Relax & Enjoy, is also from Impression Obsession.

Hope you'll tune in with the Dream Team the rest of the week for more Impression Obsession goodies!

Wednesday: Silke , Becca, and Michelle

Thursday: Becca, Denise , Laurie, and Michelle

Friday: Tosha , Silke , Michelle, and me again

Psssst ... rumor has it that Michelle is celebrating 200K hits with some blog candy sometime this week!

Thanks for visiting :)

A Christmas SFYTT

So sorry I'm a little late with my Sketch For You To Try sample. Between my daughter's sleepover (why do we call them sleepovers anyway, since there's really very little sleeping involved???) and opening day for my son's football team, my morning got away from me. But I'm here now, with some fun new things to share: of course a new Sketch For You To Try, but also new Penny Black Christmas stamps (Holly Jolly), Cosmo Cricket's fun, new Jolly By Golly 6x6 Mini Deck, and new-to-me Rockstar Red Sparkly Fluff by Our Craft Lounge. That last one, the fluff, I've had for a while, but hadn't yet played with it. My little snowman's hat and scarf seemed perfect for it! I don't know if there's a "right" way to apply it or not, but I wanted to make sure I got a pretty thin application, so I just colored in my areas with a Quickie Glue Pen (as opposed to a thicker type of glue), sprinked the fluff on top, pressed down lightly, then shook the excess off. It's staying put just fine, and I love the fibrous, sparkle it adds. You can see it a little better here:



It did cover up some of the depth and shading I had done to the scarf with my coloring, but that's okay - the unique texture and sparkle are totally worth it! (Pardon the stray bit of whatever it is that's hanging across snowman's face - the things you see when you magnify your work {sigh} ...)

As I mentioned, this is also my sample for Jen's weekly Sketch For You To Try. Jen's got the sketch, her sample, and a new guest designer announcement over at i{heart}2stamp. I'm tickled to death we're welcoming one of my sweet, sweet blog friends to the team for September! Be sure to also visit Amy, Kelly, and Susan for more inspiration. If your weekend plans include stamping, I hope you'll play along. Link up your creation to Jen's post and remember to use keyword SFYTT if you upload to Splitcoast.

Before I go, have you seen THIS?? I'm so impressed and can't wait to see this idea take off! Congratulations, Ashley!

I wish all of my American readers a fun, safe holiday weekend. And to everyone else the same, minus the holiday part :)

Thanks for visiting!



Stamps: Penny Black Holly Jolly Clear Stamp Set
Paper: Papertrey Vintage Cream and Dark Chocolate card stock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White card stock, Prismatics Suede Brown (dark) card stock, Cosmo Cricket Jolly By Golly 6x6 Mini Deck
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Antique Linen Distress Ink
Accessories: Copic markers, D'Vine Swirls Cuttlebug folder, Our Craft Lounge Rockstar Red Sparkly Fluff, Spellbinders long rectangle Nestabilities, classic and scalloped square Nestabilities, Spellbinders tag die, May Arts natural burlap string, Papertrey ribbon and buttons, Martha Stewart snowflake punch, EK Success wavy border punch

Happiness for Hostesses Project Parade

Hi friends, Verve's monthly Project Parade is in full-swing - we're already on Day 10, in fact. Our theme this month is Happiness for Hostesses, and the projects have been phenomenal! If you haven't had a chance to see what the Divas have cooked up so far, visit the Verve Stamps blog. You'll be glad you did!

It's my turn today, and I'm sharing this project:



What is it? Visit the THIS POST for more info and additional photos, but here's a HINT.

If you're new to Verve, the Project Parade is both a chance for the Design Team to share ideas around a specific theme AND a chance for you to participate as well. All the details are on the Verve blog. Will YOU be one of the two lucky winners of a free stamp set? Or the winner of a $25 Verve gift certificate? Good luck!