You Warm My Heart

Today, My Favorite Things is kicking off a full five days of MFTeasers leading up to Wednesday's fabulous release. First up is Polar Love, a set that was part of a special giveaway last month, but will now be available for purchase. These polar sweethearts are so precious, and the sentiment is perfect! Visit Barb, Frances, Jessie, Joanne, Cindy, Natalie, Susan and Michele for more Polar Love teasers.

See all that white? It's all part of this month's Guest Designer Challenge. Kirsten and I are hosting this month, and we're challenging you to make a project with white as the dominant color. The winner of the challenge gets to be next month's guest designer. Will it be YOU???!! You have until next Tuesday, November 3, 10 pm EST to submit your entry. To be considered, upload to Splitcoast using keyword MFTGUESTDT1109. Your projects should use some MFT stamps or products but do not need to be exclusively MFT. Good luck!!

How about the layout? It's this week's Sketch For You To Try. Jen has the sketch, her sample, and guest designer Lorelie Kim's sample posted at i{heart}2stamp. Amy, Kelly, Leigh and Susan await with more inspiration. To play along, link your project to Jen's post and remember to use keyword SFYTT if you upload to Splitcoast.

Oh, I almost forgot: MFT is sponsoring this week's challenge over at Cuttlebug Challenges. Be sure to check it out for another chance to win some MFT freebies!

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you have a fabulous weekend doing whatever it is that makes your heart sing!



Stamps: Polar Love (My Favorite Things)
Paper: Neenah white cs
Ink: Versafine Onyx black, Stampin' Up Soft Sky
Accessories: Copic markers, Spellbinders dies, foam adhesive, Cuttlebug folders, ScorPal, black brads, glue pen, clear glitter, Martha Stewart snowflake punch, Papertrey buttons and ribbon, EK Success border punch
Size: 5 1/2" square

Autumn Blessings

I have to say, Fall is my favorite season. I like Spring, too, but Fall wins with its crisp, fresh air and the beautiful colors of the changing leaves. I can't wait to trade in my flip flops for boots, and my tank tops for turtlenecks and sweaters.

It's no surprise to me that Autumn Blessings is one of my favorite JustRite stamp sets ever. I colored the basket of apples with Copics, diecut the image panel with Labels Four Nestabilties and sponged on a little light peach ink while the die was still in place. Some Basic Grey Indian Summer patterned paper, ribbon, trim, buttons, and stitching and I was done.

I couldn't decide which of two versions I liked best, so I'll show them both. For this second one, I replaced the top designer paper panel with three vertical strips of wide striped ribbon to fit with this week's SCS sketch challenge (#252), and went a little heavier with the light peach sponging on the main image panel.



To some this may be taboo, but I stamped the image in black ink and the sentiment in brown. The reason is that when the image was also stamped in brown ink, I found I lost a lot of the detail of the artwork, especially since the basket is also brown. Switching to black ink (along with clear embossing) solved that problem, but I still wanted the sentiment to be brown to match the designer paper colors and the card base.

Thanks for stopping by today, and have a fantastic weekend!



Stamps: Autumn Blessings Border & Centers (JustRite Stamps)
Paper: Papertrey Dark Chocolate, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Basic Grey Indian Summer 6x6 paper pad Ink: Versafine Onyx Black and Vintage Sepia, Stampin' Up Blush Blossom
Accessories: Copic markers, white gel pen, Spellbinders Labels Four Nestabilities and Fancy Scalloped Piercabilities, foam adhesive, fabric trim, May Arts faux seude ribbon (white and brown), Cuttlebug Swiss Dots and Moroccan Screen embossing folders, SU striped ribbon, Papertrey buttons, May Arts burlap string, white embroidery floss

Live in the Sunshine

I wish you all could have seen the get-up my kindergartener wore to school the other day. Let's just say it was already colorful and full of an "interesting" combination of patterns even before she decided to wear an equally colorful (but not the same colors-- tee hee) striped hooded sweater in place of her usual jacket. I started to tell her it clashed, but then I thought better of it. I mean, really, who else can get away with that BUT a cute little girl? Go for it while you can, I say!

So maybe I was channeling her and her crazy outfit when I put together this card. Put on your sunglasses ...



Kind of wild, huh? Oh well, maybe if I can't wear it, my cards can?

I used a delightful set by My Favorite Things called In the Background. It has the wonderful crosshatch background stamp (my green piece), as well as three additional whimsical images - the bird that I used here, as well as an adorable tea kettle, and a super fun flower. The sentiment I used is from a different set, On the Pier. My Favorite Things is sponsoring the sketch this week over at Card Positioning Systems (#139), so of course I wanted to play along. Upload your sketch creation and/or check out all the other entries HERE.

The glittered flowers, and photo corners are all from K&Co's Carolyn Gavin Greenhouse die-cut pack and the diagonal striped and dotted paper is from the coordinating paper line. The pink ricrac is from my stash, and the teal glitter pearls are from My Favorite Things.

Thanks for visiting today!

Hugs,

Sweet Holiday Wishes

Brighter colors are speaking to me the most right now - maybe it's the amazing sunny weather we had here in Virginia yesterday after a dreary and rainy Friday and Saturday. I was going for a candy shop look when I pulled out these papers from K&Co's Peppermint Twist mat pad and the large candy cane stamp from Santa Baby by My Favorite Things. I loaded 'er up with glittery brads, shiny crystals, and a "sugar" dusting of clear glitter. The layered wide ricrac was inspired by one of my daughter's summer dresses. To add the glitter to the perimeter of the green circle and to the white ricrac border, I used VersaMark ink, sprinkled on heat-and-stick powder, melted it with my heat tool, and then dipped it into clear glitter. The sentiment is stamped and die-cut with a Spellbinders tag die. Behind it are slivers I cut off the top and bottom of a Curved Rectangle Mega Nestabilities die-cut.

Here's a closer look at some of the glitter:



Thanks for visiting!



Stamps: Santa Baby (My Favorite Things)
Paper: MFT Perfect Paper Panels, Stampin' Up Real Red, Papertrey white, K&Co Peppermint Twist Mat Pad
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, VersaMark
Accessories: Copic markers, white gel pen, Michael's green glitter brads, Swarovski crystals - Spring Collection (MFT), Spellbinders Ricrac Piercabilities, tag die, and Curved Rectangle Mega Nestabilities, classic and scalloped circle Nestabilities, wide red ricrac (purchased from Jody), clear glitter, heat-and-stick powder, sewing machine, MFT Polka Dot Perfection Ribbon Nest, foam adhesive

Santa Baby ...

I have a flirty little somethin' to share today :) The cute image and sentiments are all part of Santa Baby by My Favorite Things. I colored with Copics and Prismacolor pencils, except for the paper pieced wallpaper. The designer papers are all from Basic Grey's Eskimo Kisses line. I wanted to gussy up the bottom with some ruffled ribbon. I've been seeing so many ruffled and other cool ribbon treatments in blogland, and now I know why - Moxie Fab World's Not Your Regular Ruffles contest! The deadline is midnight, Monday, 10/26, so you've still got a little bit of time to participate if you want to get in on the fun!

For my ribbon treatment, I hand-basted and gathered some wide green silk ribbon by May Arts. Layered over that is first some wide white ricrac and next a length of red polka dot ribbon tied in a knot. A couple of other extras: Santa's buttons are black Swarovski crystals, and the beard and fur are coated with white liquid applique.

Here's a look at the cute sentiment on the inside:



Thanks for visiting!



Stamps: Santa Baby (My Favorite Things)
Paper: MFT Perfect Paper Panels, Papertrey white, Stampin' Up Real Red, Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copic markers, Prismacolor pencils, white liquid applique, black crystals from Spooktacular Adornments by MFT, paper piercer, foam adhesive, Spellbinders fancy tags die, SU word window punch, May Arts green silk ribbon and wide white ricrac, MFT Polka Dot Perfection ribbon nest

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Good morning! I was looking through my growing stash of Christmas cards the other day and thinking they all look the same! So I pulled out one of my favorite not-so-traditional holiday color and paper combos from last year and got to work on something a little different. The circular sentiment and lacy circle border behind it are both from Christmas Treasures Borders & Centers by JustRite Stamps. The luscious blue and green papers are from K&Co's "Christmas Memories" mat pad.

The best part about today's card? The layout - thanks to Jen's AWESOME Sketch For You To Try for this week! Check it out at i{heart}2stamp, where you'll also see Jen's and guest designer Lorelie Kim's amazing samples. Head next to Amy Rohl, Kelly Lunceford, Leigh O'Brien, and Susan Liles for more inspiration. Hope you like this sketch as much as I have. To play along, link your creation to Jen's post and use keyword SFYTT when uploading to Splitcoast.

Some card details ... Stamper's Dream carries a wide assortment of JustRite Stamps products. And if there's ever something in particular you're looking for but don't see, just email Michelle and she can tell you if she carries it and when it will be back in stock. The set I used today is currently out of stock, but should be back by the middle of this coming week(sorry!). For the focal point medallion, I stamped the sentiment in Stampin' Up Not Quite Navy ink, then cut it with circle Nestabilities. With the die still in place I sponged on Certainly Celery, Old Olive, and just a hint of Not Quite Navy. I matted it, then popped it up atop the the stamped lacy circle border, which was sponged in the same manner as the sentiment. I used additional Spellbinders dies for the background layers: Curved Rectangle Mega Nestabilities and Fancy Scalloped Piercabilities. The corners are adorned with Kaiser Champagne Pearls. The ribbon is some Offray ivory wide satin from my stash and the bow is secured with a pearl brad from the wedding section at Michael's.

Thanks so much for stopping by!



Stamps: Christmas Treasures Borders & Centers (JustRite Stamps)
Paper: Prism Simply Smooth Ivory and Dark Island Mist card stock, K&Co Christmas Memories mat pad
Ink: Stampi' Up Not Quite Navy, Old Olive, Certainly Celery
Accessories: Spellbinders circle Nestabilities, Curved Rectangle Mega Nestabilities and Fancy Scalloped Piercabilities, foam adhesive, sponges, Kaiser Champagne self-adhesive pearls, Offray ribbon, Michael's brad

Here's the (MFT) Scoop

Sorry, friends, I trashed the card I was planning to post today. Yep, it was that bad :(

However, I do have some fun My Favorite Things news to share!

The Week 3 So You Think You Can Stamp challenge has been issued: WALTZ - elegant and flowing, romantic and classic. What’s your take? To enter the challenge, upload your waltz-inspired creation to Splitcoast using keyword SYTYCSWK3. You have until Monday, October 26 at midnight EST to enter. For a full set of instructions and rules, go HERE.

Also, MFT is currently running a sale! Through Friday, while supplies last:

*The First 25 orders will receive a FREE Memento Dew Drop with their order (as long as your order requires shipping)

*The First 25 OVER $25 receive a FREE set of scalloped note cards with envelopes valued at $6.95

-or-

*The First 25 OVER $50 receive a FREE grab bag of sample sets valued at over $20

-or-

*All orders OVER $75 receive a FREE set of YOUR choice (please list 3 set choices) in addition to the Triple Scoop set (if you qualify)

-or-

*All orders OVER $100 receive a FREE set of YOUR choice (please list 3 set choices) in addition to the Triple Scoop set (if you qualify) PLUS a $25 gift voucher

(These offers cannot be combined. You will be given the highest offer you are qualified for based on your order total. For example, should your order total $79, you will receive only the bonus for orders over $75.)

In addition to all four days of savings, here is the perfect ending...FREE US Budget shipping!

Add the code FREESHIP295 at checkout and you'll receive FREE US Budget shipping on every order!

Take Me Home, Country Roads

I've been up to my eyeballs in paperwork while getting prepared for a meeting I'm having tonight with the parents of the girls in a new Daisy troop I'm helping to lead. (Side note: from that sentence, would you ever guess I was once an editor? "Could I buy a comma, please?") What I also used to be was a Girl Scout, many, many years ago. But this will be my first experience as a leader - wish me luck!

Anyway, it seems like my family and I have all picked up quite a few more extracurriculars this year, which is seriously cutting into my stamping time (I know ... WHAT?! LOL.) So today I thought I'd dip into my "rainy day fund" of projects not yet shown here. This, one of my all-time favorite cards ever, is a card that I made for the Splitcoast Dirty Dozen gallery last October (2008). Our theme that month was "For A Song," and our projects were all related to, or inspired by, music.

Here's what I wrote at the time:

Almost heaven, West Virginia,
Blue Ridge Mountain, Shenandoah River,
Life is old there, older than the trees,
Younger than the mountains,
blowing like a breeze

Country Roads, take me home
To the place I
belong,
West Virginia,
Mountain mama, take me home
Country roads

~Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver~

I grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, very close to the Shenandoah River and nearby Blue Ridge Mountains, so this song speaks of home and brings back so many childhood memories. This image from Art Impressions seemed like a perfect fit for the song. The barn, rolling hills, and barbed-wire fence look just like a scene you'd expect to find along an old, country road.The image is stamped on watercolor paper and watercolored with various Stampin' Up reinkers. I embellished with burlap ribbon, buttons, and twine for an outdoorsy, country look.This month, each of the DD designers has selected a favorite project to feature. I'm choosing this one for two reasons. The first is the emotional connection to the scene in the image and to the song lyrics that inspired the card. Second, so many of my favorite things are incorporated into the design -- watercoloring, distressing, earth tones, and lots of texture and dimension. I hope you like it too!

Speaking of the Dirty Dozen, on the 20th of each month, some of the current dirty girls and DD alumni participate in a group challenge. This month's challenge is "You Want a {Paper} Piece of Me." The challenge is to paper piece and the required element is to use fall or Christmas colors. I wasn't able to play along this month, but you can check out all the fabulous entries throughout the day at keyword DCPOM1009 on Splitcoast.

Hope your week is off to a great start! Thanks for visiting!



Stamps: M-3180 Farm Window (Art Impressions)
Paper: True Thyme, Really Rust card stock (SU!); watercolor paper (Canson); "Simple Pleasures" dp (Close To My Heart)
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black (Tsukineko); various dye reinkers (SU!)
Accessories: aqua painter, edge distressing tool, sponge daubers, dimensionals (SU!); Garden Green buttons (Close to My Heart); burlap ribbon (SEI); branch punch (Martha Stewart); thin twine, sewing machine, thread
Size: 5 1/2" square

Heart of Joy

Today's image and accompanying sentiment are from Garden of Joy, illustrated by Annie LaPoint for My Favorite Things. It's the third in a series of sweet garden-themed sets. (The first was Spread a Harvest of Hope, and the second was Sow Seeds of Love.) Coloring is with Copics, and the card base is composed of various Cosmo Cricket Earth Love patterns. I omitted the word "joy" when I stamped the sentiment and replaced it with chipboard letters instead.

Thanks for visiting!



Stamps: Garden of Joy (My Favorite Things)
Paper: MFT Perfect Panels, Papertrey Vintage Cream, Cosmo Cricket Earth Love collection
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa, Ranger Walnut Stain Distress
Accessories: Copic markers, Prima flower, Papertrey button, May Arts burlap string, chipboard letters (unknown), Spellbinders Piercabilities (for wavy edge), paper piercer, EK Success corner rounder, foam adhesive

New Flourishes: The Holly & The Ivy

The folks over at Flourishes have done it again! With every new release, I'm more and more amazed at the beauty of the artwork. Did you know Stamper's Dream carries Flourishes stamps now? Tonight's project uses a brand-new Flourishes set called The Holly & The Ivy. I stamped the main image from the set onto watercolor paper, and, get this, I watercolored! I used to watercolor all the time, but those were the B.C. days (before Copics). I took Jerri Jimenez's Tombow Marker class at CHA in January, and now currently, I'm taking Kim Teasdale's Watercoloring with Tombow Markers class via My Creative Classroom. Can those two ladies color or what?! I have to say, so far, I'm loving my Tombows, and I expect you'll be seeing a lot more watercoloring from me in the near future.

I'm giving you an early peek at Jen's Sketch For You To Try, too, which Jen will officially post on her blog tomorrow (Saturday) morning. If you're brave, you could start your own sketch card based on what you see here, but I'll warn you, there's a small bit of "interpretation" going on, so you might want to wait {grin}. Tomorrow (again, that's Saturday), be sure to have a look at the sketch team's creations: Amy Rohl, Kelly Lunceford, Leigh O'Brien, and Susan Liles. To play along, just link to your creation in a comment on Jen's SFYTT post and if you upload to SCS, remember to use keyword: SFYTT.

Last, here's a look at the finished inside, where I included the greeting:



Have a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: The Holly & The Ivy (Flourishes)
Paper: Strathmore watercolor paper, Prismatics Blush Red (Dark) card stock, Graphic 45 dp, Stampin' Up Basic Black card stock
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Ranger Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress Ink
Accessories: Tombow Markers, Creative Memories circle cutting system, Spellbinders Scalloped circle and Labels 5 Nestabilities and Fancy Tags die, Papertrey buttons, May Arts black/ivory plaid 7/8" check ribbon and burlap string, paper piercer, Ornare piercing template, sewing machine, foam adhesive
Size: 5 1/2" square

Hand Mailed

These things I love:

* the darling old-fashioned mailbox in this Penny Black Hand Mailed image
* the fact that the sticker labels on the Penny Black wood-mount stamps are in full color - they're great when you're getting started on your coloring!
* Basic Grey's Eskimo Kisses patterned paper
* Prismatics Blush Red Dark card stock - the absolute *perfect* Christmas red - deep, rich, and velvety
* sparkle - the snow glitter on the ground and on the top of the mailbox, the subtle shimmer from the white sheer ribbon, the Frosted Lace Stickles on the snowflakes
* It's mid-October and I already have a small, but decent stash of one-of-a-kind handmade holiday cards to send!!!! Much better than starting on 80-100 cards on the 22nd of December. Been there, done that - never again!
* sketch challenges - this layout is last week's SCS sketch challenge (okay, sort of, I modified it just a bit)

Thanks for visiting!




Stamps: Hand Mailed (Penny Black)
Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Prismatics Blush Red Dark, Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: Copic markers, Martha Stewart snow glitter and snowflake punch, Frosted Lace Stickles, Papertrey buttons, Stampin' Up brads, EK Success border punch, foam adhesive, May Arts white 1" sheer ribbon, sewing machine
Size: 5 1/2" square

Maple Leaf Tags

I have another quick, clean and simple creation to share today (two CAS days in a row!). I've been on the PTO Appreciation Committee at my children's elementary school for a few years now, and every so often I get the chance to whip up some kind of appreciation gift or packaging. Today, the cafeteria staff is receiving baskets of parent-donated food items. My {non-food} contribution - these maple leaf tags for the baskets.



I die-cut the maple leaf out of Riding Hood Red card stock using the largest of the Nested Maple Leaf Shapeabilities by Spellbinders, then repeatedly stamped the "thanks" sentiment (from Verve's Circular Sayings set) all over it in Riding Hood Red ink. The "from the" and "PTO" tags are done with JustRite New York Times font stamps. Quick and easy!

Thanks for visiting! Tomorrow, we'll be back to our regular programming: layer upon layer upon embellished layer of papercrafted yumminess {wink}.



Stamps: New York Times Complete Font Set (JustRite Stamps); Circular Sayings (Verve)
Paper: Riding Hood Red, So Saffron, and Very Vanilla card stock (Stampin' Up)
Ink: Riding Hood Red, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip (Stampin' Up)
Accessories: maple leaf die (Spellbinders), Papertrey button, May Arts burlap string

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

Here's a little clean-and-simple holiday card idea. A little different from my normal style, huh? The sprig of mistletoe and the accompanying sentiment are from Santa Baby, newly released by My Favorite Things. Click on the link to see the full set - there's such a wonderful variety of images jam-packed into this awesome set! I stamped onto MFT's Perfect Paper Panels, colored with Copics and Prismacolors, then die-cut the panel using the Labels 5 Nestabilities. I added some black self-adhesive pearls, a black button, some black perfect plaid ribbon, and a little machine stitching, all on a three-layer Kraft backdrop.

Short and sweet today :) Thanks so much for visiting and for all the kind comments! You are such an encouragement to me!

Mouse On Daisy

This past week flew by, and here it's Saturday already! Looking forward to the long weekend, are you? Jen has a really cool Sketch For You To Try this week AND a goody bag up for grabs, so I hope you'll be able to play along! Take a look at the sketch, Jen's sample, and guest designer Lorelie Kim's sample, at i{heart}2stamp. Also making samples are Amy Rohl, Kelly Lunceford, Leigh O'Brien, and Susan Liles. You probably saw on Jen's blog last week that Carole stepped down. We'll miss her!

For my sample, I've used an adorable Stampavie image, Mouse on Orange Daisy, illustrated by Tina Wenke. Stamper's Dream carries a wide assortment of Stampavie images. This particular one is sold out, but you can see other Tina Wenke images HERE and all the other Stampavie illustrators HERE. I colored with Copics and Prismacolors and popped up the daisy and mouse, the ladybug, and the bird for some extra dimension. I also added some ivory FlowerSoft to the other flowers, so they'd look like dandelions.

Have you seen all the new goodies at Stamper's Dream? You know I have paper issues, so I'm particularly itching to get my inky fingers all over Cosmo Cricket's new Nutmeg Collection and Webster's Pages Holiday Collection and Sweet as Cherry Pie. And check out the Say It In Pearls and Say It in Studs from Prima. I've never seen anything like these - gorgeous!

I received a question recently about how to color with both Copics and Prismacolors. I start with the Copics and then when I'm finished with those, I go back and work with the Prismacolors. As I recall, you shouldn't color over Prismacolors with Copics because the wax in the pencils can mess up your markers, so start with the markers, then move to the pencils. I like to use Prismacolors for skies and any other time when I'm trying to fade to white. I find I have much better control with pencils for the fading.

Speaking of questions, I've been bad lately about answering them - I'm sorry! A Q&A is coming soon - I promise.

Thanks so much for visiting!




Stamps: Mouse on Orange Daisy (Stampavie)
Paper: Papertrey Dark Chocolate and Vintage Cream, Stampin' Up Real Red, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, October Afternoon dp (green grid), Jillibean Soup dp (green paisley), K&Co dp (blue)
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Ranger Vintage Photo Distress
Accessories: Copics, Prismacolor pencils, blending stumps, Gamsol, Spellbinders petite oval Nestabilities, Stampin' Up ribbon, Close to My Heart flowers, Papertrey buttons, May Arts burlap string, foam adhesive, EK Success border punch, FlowerSoft

You Warm My Heart

I have a thing for teapots - I can't get enough of them! Today's cute little teapot, my newest acquisition, is from In the Background by My Favorite Things. Six new sets (including In the Background), as well as October's MFT Kit (Thinking of Hoo), are now available in the MFT store. Also new this month are Santa's Suit Baby Braddies Adornments and Candy Cane Kisses Ribbon Nests.

Have you seen the announcement about MFT's So You Think You Can Stamp contest? Check it out HERE. The contest runs for seven weeks and the grand prize is unbelievable - ALL the upcoming new releases from December '09 through May '10!!! WOW! The Week 1 theme has been announced, and you have until Monday, October 12 at midnight EST to enter. I hope you'll join in the fun!

Thanks for stopping by!



Stamps: In the Background (My Favorite Things), Baby It's Cold Outside (sentiment, My Favorite Things)
Paper: K&Co Wild Saffron collection, Papertrey Dark Chocolate and Vintage Cream
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa, Stampin' Up Soft Sky, Ranger Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress
Accessories: Spellbinders Nestabilities, Papertrey ribbon, Stampin' Up vintage brads, edge distressing tool, sewing machine, foam adhesive
Size: 5 1/2" square

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