Sunday, August 31, 2008

MFTeaser #1

My Favorite Things and Gina K Designs both have their releases scheduled for this week so there is going to be a lot of new stamps being shown here! woohoo! That is always fun!

My Favorite Things has their release on Wednesday, September 3...so I am going to give you a MFTeaser of one (of the seven!!!) new sets being released. This card uses a new image from MFT Presents by Annie LaPoint called "Chill Out."
I chose this image first because I coupled this teaser with my weekly CCEE Challenge. My friend Tosh sent us supplies to work with and we all have to create a card using them. The supplies are the patterned paper by My Mind's Eye and the beautiful pink pearl adhesive stickers. You can see what the other girls made here (on Monday morning!)


Here is a close up of the image!




Materials used: Stamps-Chill Out (My Favorite Things); Brilliance black ink; white gel pen (Ranger); Copic markers; cardstock-white, black (Stampin' Up!); Designer paper-"Love" Damask/Light Rose (My Mind's Eye); corner punch (Stampin' Up!); adhesive pearls (KaiserCraft); ribbon (May Arts); oval nestabilities (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug (Provocraft); dimensionals (SU!).

MFT releases seven new sets, two new paper packs and five rolls of ribbon on Wednesday night. Join the MFT team on the forum for sneak peeks, special offers and your chance to win some free stamps.
***AWARDS--Special thanks to Lynette for giving me the "I Love Your Blog" award and to Rita for the "You Inspire Me" award! Thank you both so much---and right back at ya!

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Shimmer Daisy

Although I am busy getting some cards ready for the two releases this week, I managed to squeeze in a quick card using two sets by illustrator Asela Hopkins (for Gina K Designs)-Botanical Dreams, Flowers for Daisy.

I used my Shimmerz Paints to add some incredible shine to the daisy. It is hard to see in the photo above--but hopefully this close up gives you an idea of the shimmer!




Check out the flower center! I used pumpkin Shimmerz Paints on the flower center and sunflower on the edge of the circle and all along the card border....resulting in some amazing sparkle....love it!


Materials used: Flowers for Daisy, Botanical Dreams (Gina K Designs); Brilliance Black ink; old olive ink, ruby red ink (Stampin' Up!); cardstock-vanilla, ruby red, barely bannana (Stampin' Up!); Copic markers; Shimmerz Paints-pumpkin, sunflower; Oval nestability dies (Spellbinders); Tag dies (Provocraft); Cuttlebug (Provocraft); raffia; dimensionals (SU!).
Stay tuned for some sneak peeks from the newest releases from My Favorite Things (release on Wednesday, September 3) and Gina K Designs (release on Friday, September 5). I have a new set that will be released through Gina K on Friday so I am very excited to share my projects with you! Stay tuned for your chance to win it!


Check out the forums on Splitcoaststampers for sneak peeks and party information:
Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Heavenly Glow!

I adore this image---It is just so sweet. I was a bit intimidated about using it....It is difficult to do such an amazing scene justice!

I thought that gold would be the best color to showcase this image---and so I used brushed gold cardstock for the base and layers, gold Krylon webbing spray for the white background, gold embossing powder for the flourishes, metallic gold rub-on paste to add gold around the circle, gold Zigpainty for the wings and gold eyelets to thread the ribbon through...so...

Even if I didn't do the image justice.....I think you can see the heavenly glow! lol!

All stamps used on this card can be found at Stamper's Dream: Manger Kisses (Stampendous!) currently out of stock; Classic Flourish (Memory Box).

Materials used: Stamps-Manger Kisses (Stampendous!), Classic Flourish (Memory Box); cardstock-white, brushed gold (Stampin' Up!); designer paper-Floral (Fancy Pants); Prismacolor Pencils; Odorless Mineral Spirits (Gina K Designs); Cuttlebug (Provocraft); Nestability circle dies (Spellbinders); Spellbinders Shapeabilities (corner pieces); gold webbing spray (Krylon);sheer ribbon (May Arts); gold embossing powder (SU!); versamark; heat tool; Metallic gold rub-on paste (Gina K Designs); gold Zigpainty pen; gold eyelets (Paper Studio); Cropadile; dimensionals (SU!).

Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Pieced Monsters!

Here is a card I used that features A LOT of the new ribbon and paper that My Favorite Things is carrying for the fall. This set was part of the last release and is called Monster Squad (My Favorite Things Presents-by Stephanie Fizer). Aren't those trick-or-treaters adorable?!

This was a fun card to make---it was an easy one for me to do just while sitting watching TV because majority of the image is paper pieced to match the backgrounds. I even varied colors for the ears on some!






Here is a close up of the dimension and of those pieced "monsters!"



Materials used: Monster Squad (My Favorite Things); Copic markers; Brilliance black ink; cardstock-white, black (Stampin' Up!); Paper (Spooky 1 and Spooky 2 Collection--My Favorite Things); ribbon (Spooky ribbon Collection--My Favorite Things); jumbo brads (unknown); paper piecing tool and mat pack (SU!); circle punches, photo corner punch and scalloped circle punch (Stampin' Up!); dimensionals (SU!)

I am working on lots of fun new things for next week--
My Favorite Things and Gina K both have new releases---MFT is on Wednesday and Gina K Designs is on Friday....more information on both coming soon!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

There they go...and Blog Candy Winner!

Yesterday was an emotional day...My daughter, Cara, started 7th grade and my son, Ben, had his first day of kindergarten.



Both were nervous and excited--starting school in a new neighborhood....but they survived. (Mom--just barely!)






I am busy with my kiddos so I have nothing to post today....just wanted to let you know the blog candy winner from last week---Random.Cara picked number 61--
Stephanie Hargis who wrote "Ooo! What a great incentive to visit other blogs! I may just have to check out a lot of the blogs on your blog roll! :D Thanks so much for the chance to win!"



Congrats Stephanie---email me your contact information and I will get those goodies right out to you.


Thanks for stopping by!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Shimmering Tag

It is time again for the weekly CCEE challenges I do with a bunch of buddies from SCS. This week we had to create a TAG! I don't make a lot of tags so I thought it would be a fun challenge for us to do.

Of course, I was then stumped on what to do for this challenge...but ended up creating something more elegant than cute (which is what I was thinking of when I first thought of the challenge!)

I based the whole tag around this Anna Griffin butterfly stamp, which has always been a favorite of mine. I stamped backgrounds on the vanilla and olive cardstocks. The flourish is a Quic Kutz die, which I used in my Cuttlebug.


Hands down--my favoritist part of this tag is the AMAZING shimmer it has. It is hard to capture it in the picture but the whole tag just glistens. How did I get it to do that???

Easy--using a new product called Shimmerz Paints. These little jars of paint are fantastic---they add serious shimmer! They are non-toxic, water-based and come ready to use (no mixing required--woohoo!) And, you can use them on glossy and non-porous surfaces! They have 35 colors and three limited edition colors for fall. I am super impressed with how much sparkle they have and how easy they are to use.

For this tag--I used Sunflower on all the edges of the vanilla cardstock. The flourish is painted over in Green Olive and I added Angel Wings to the distressed areas of the choc chip paper in the background. I colored both layers of the butterfly with Copics and painted Pumpkin and Sunflower Shimmerz over them.

Here is another view of the tag so you can see the dimension. In real life the flourish is so sparkly and so is the butterfly. They really make the tag!


And another:


In this photo, you can actually see a bit of the shimmer on the background distressed piece and along the vanilla edges. Again, it is difficult to pick it up the Shimmerz in the photo, but to see it in reality--it is awesome!



Materials used: Stamps-butterfly (Anna Griffin-All Night Media), Weathered (Stampin' Up!); French Script (SU!); cardstock-choc chip, old olive, very vanilla (Stampin' Up!); ink-close to cocoa, river rock (Stampin' Up!); Copic Markers; Shimmerz Paints (Angel Wings, Green Olive, Pumpkin, Sunflower); Sponge; Paint brush; Chipboard tags (SU!); Flourish die (Quic Kutz); Cuttlebug distressed embossing folder (Provocraft); Cuttlebug (Provocraft); Paper flower (Bazzill Basics); Copper brad (Making Memories); hemp (SU!); ribbon (May Arts); Sentiment rub on (Royal & Langnickel); Buttons (unknown); Glue dots.

You can check out all the other tags from my amazing CCEE friends here on Monday. Hope you will create your own tag and play along! Check out the CCEE blog for details!


***Don't forget to get entered to win blog candy here. You only have until noon on Monday!

Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Congratulations...

I had to participate in the House Mouse Monday challenge this week. My friend Stacy is on the design team and she and I first bonded (in part) because of our mutual love of these critters. Since I missed her birthday because I was away---I thought this was the perfect opportunity to send her a Happy Birthday + Congratulations card!

The challenge this week was to create a card with the theme of NEW---"new baby," "new home"...etc. This would be perfect for a new friend or new baby.....but I am sending it to Stacy as a Congratulations on the NEW DT! (They are lucky to have you, gf! I love what you do with these stamps!)

I used my oval Nestabilities to cut this critter out. He is colored with Copic markers. I kept the design very simple to focus on the adorable image. I added some buttons and a little May Arts ribbon on the side. The designer paper is from Cosmo Cricket (Honey Pie collection).



Here is a close up of the image. I used a little pink rhinestone in the center of the flower.


Materials used: Mudpie Munch 02 (House Mouse); cardstock-white (Stampin Up!), dp-Honey Pie (Cosmo Cricket); Brilliance black ink; Copic markers; oval punch (SU!); white gel pen (Ranger); paper piercing tool and mat pack (SU!); horizontal slot punch (SU!); buttons (unknown); Oval Nestabilitiy dies (Spellbinders); Corner rounder punch (Creative Memories); Cuttlebug (Provocraft); Crystal Sticker (Mark Richards); Ribbon (May Arts); dimensionals (SU!).

Happy belated birthday, Stac!

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Best Fishes!

I love making circle cards.

I thought this awesome stamp from Impression Obsession would be perfect for one. The image is called Seascape and actually only has one fish. I wanted two in my scene so I stamped the image twice and cut out the fish from the second one to place on top of my image. The fish themselves are paper pieced from the yellow and blue paper I used on the card. I put the extra fish on a dimensional to give the scene a bit more depth.

The rest of the image is colored with Copic markers. I sponged the water around the main image.

The sentiment is also from Impression Obsession....and goes perfectly with a lot of their sea stamps. I used the Classic Flourish from Memory Box to create the blue design on the white circle.


I used my threading water punch to create a little top for the card. I think this design would be adorable for a Christmas ornament shaped card! (Did you know that Gina K Designs now carries the threading water punch?? Hooray!)

The image is colored with Copic Markers. I used stickles (turquise and frosted lace) to add some sparkle to the fish and the water. I also added some Robin's Nest dew drops on the scene. Finally, I added a bit of texture with the bubbles cuttlebug embossing folder and a frayed ribbon accent along the bottom.



Here is a close up of the image so you can see the bottom fish that is lifted off the scene. Hopefully, you can see a bit of the sparkle in this picture too!


Materials used: Stamps-Seascape and Best Fishes (Impression Obsession), Classic Flourish (Memory Box); cardstock-white, blue bayau; Designer paper-Cupcake (Basic Grey); Copic markers; sponge; soft sky and blue bayau classic stamp pads (Stampin' Up!); Brilliance black ink; white grosgrain ribbon (Stampin' Up!); Threading water punch (Fiskars); Creative memories circle cutting system; Bubbles embossing folder (Provocraft); Stickles-frosted lace and turqoise (Ranger); Nestability dies (Spellbinders); Cuttlebug (Provocraft); Robin's Nest dew drops; dimensionals (SU!).
You can find most of the products and all of the stamps for this card at Stamper's Dream store!
Don't forget to enter to win blog candy on this post!
Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Treat Tote Tutorial

Supplies needed: Cardstock-Pick two colors of cardstock that complement each other. I used Real Red and River Rock (Stampin' Up!)

Scor-Pal (or other scoring tool)

Cropadile

Jumbo eyelets/grommets

Flower punch (Stampin' Up!)

Ribbon (Stampin' Up!)

Hemp (Hobby Lobby)

Threading Water Punch (Fiscars)

Stamps or Rub-Ons to decorate as desired (I used Stampin' Up! Love and Happiness Rub-Ons)

Stapler

Clear bag (http://www.clearbags.com/)

Candy of your choice



1. Cut the cardstock that you would like to be the actual tote to 3 1/4 inches by 9 3/4 inches (my picture below shows the length at 10 inches but I trimmed it after this step because it was too long!)



Score lengthwise at 4", 5" and 9".



2. Fold cardstock as shown so you can see how it will be assembled.


3. Cut a long strip of the coordinating cardstock and punch with the threading water punch. (You can now find this awesome punch at Gina K. Designs)


After punching a border, trim piece to 3 1/4 inches to fit along top of tote.


I also trimmed the width of the scalloped piece to 1 1/4 inches

This is what it looks like when held up to the project:



4. Punch a flower in the main part of the tote. (Tip: Hold the scalloped piece up along the top to determine where you would like to punch the opening.)



5. Lay the tote flat and decorate as desired. For my example, I used rub-ons but you can also decorate with stamps, stickers..etc. (Tip: Remember - rub-ons have an expiration date---so remember to use them before it is too late!)




6. Fill a clear bag with the candy of your choice. I used m&ms. (Tip: Pick and choose the colors you would like to use for your project....try using one color for a monochromatic flower.)


Important: If any m&ms are damaged (as seen below)...make sure you eat them before you proceed to the next step.)



7. Seal bag and fold over a few times so it fits behind the punched shape. Staple the bag in place at the top. (Tip: Make sure the staple is high enough so that it will be hidden by the flap.)




Here is a view of the inside of the tote so you can see how the bag looks:



8. Adhere the scalloped piece to the top flap as shown:



9. Adhere the punched out flower on the top and, using a Cropadile, punch holes for the grommets:



10. Attach grommets:



11. Add a handle (I used a piece of braided hemp) and add a ribbon tie on the top. The tote is finished:



Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I would love to see your creations so be sure to post a comment with a link if you try it!


Also, don't forget to enter to win blog candy here.


Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

And....THIS is why I don't home school....

I try to be the best mom that I can. Sometimes I do find it difficult to engage a 3 year old, a 5 year old and a twelve year old simultaneously......luckily, I don't have to very often.

However, because the Olympics are such a monumental event that occur so infrequently I have been trying to make this a learning experience for my kids. After all, the events they are seeing now will not be on this large of a world stage for 4 more years.

We have been watching a lot of coverage with our children and engaging in lots of valuable discussions.....

Lauren-Gold Medal in Interpretive Somersaulting

Our very first lesson on the Olympics went something like this:

Dad: Every four years the Summer Olympics are held at a host country...and all the countries' top athletes travel there to compete.

Ben (5): Can I be in the Olympics when I get old?

Cara (12): No way...

Mom (interrupting Cara): Possibly, if you train very hard. Only a few people in the country get to compete and that is why they are so special.

Ben (5): Why are they in China....

Lauren (3) finally paying attention to the conversation squeaks out: Fra-China.......Fra-China.....I have a Fra-China.

Lesson over. Mom and Dad had to leave the room....

And.....THIS is why I don't home school!

Coming Soon: Candy Tote Tutorial! Don't forget to enter to win blog candy on this post!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Share the Love - Blog Candy

Winner!!! Random.Cara picked number 61--Stephanie Hargis who wrote "Ooo! What a great incentive to visit other blogs! I may just have to check out a lot of the blogs on your blog roll! :D Thanks so much for the chance to win!"
Congrats Stephanie---email me your contact information and I will get those goodies right out to you.


As promised, I have some blog candy to share with you! Here is what the blog candy includes:




Here is the MFT set because it doesn't show up well in the picture above:

Blog Candy Contents:

The Craft Collections Metal Liquid Glue

Friend Furever Clear stamp set from My Favorite Things

Haunted clear stamp set from Cosmo Cricket

Cloud9 Design Outdoors Chipboard Accent Stickers

Me & My Big Ideas Soft Spoken Harvest Thanksgiving Embellishments

Scenic Route Chipboard Man/Woman Shapes

The Papercut Harvest Variety Large Scallop Circles

Halloween Ribbon Assortment from My Favorite Things


To win this blog candy, just post a comment on this post by Monday, August 25 at noon CENTRAL time zone. In order to be entered into the drawing, you must go to my blog roll and pick some one's whose blog is NEW TO YOU and post a comment. This is a great way to spread the love AND find some great new blogs! As always, subscribers can be entered twice, but you also must visit two new blogs!
Random.Cara will pick the winner on Monday night. Good luck!

Special thanks to Suzanne Dean who gave me two awards (the other one was having problems when I tried to load it into blogger.)
Thanks Suzanne--I am glad I found your blog--your work is amazing!!! I would like to pass this on to my entire blogroll cause you all rock!

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, August 18, 2008

The secret to a BIG BUTT...


...lol! NO...I am not talking about mine. I created this little m&m tote for my friend Charlene (SCS- LilluvsStampin) because she is having hand surgery today and will not be able to stamp for a few weeks. (((Charlene)))

I have NO idea why--but she somehow ended up with the nickname "Big Butt Bertie." I do know that she does NOT have a big butt, however, but she loves m&ms....so I designed this little m&m tote for her---I thought it would be the perfect "feel better" treat for her.

I am running short on time today so this is brief. I will update this post with a supply list asap. Here is a close up of the flower window:


My favorite part of the tote is that I used the flower punch from Stampin' Up! to create the little flower window so you can see the m&ms through the front. I love how all the colors of the m&ms look like a fun flower!

Thanks for stopping by!
Edit: Yes, I can do a tutorial if you are interested. Just give me a day or two!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Glitter, Stamps n Coffee!

I am very ready for school to start----very ready. With being away combined with the move and three, ahem...shall we just call them creative children...life has been interesting.

Trying to get anything done around here is pretty much futile. That is pretty much why I stopped trying!!!

Here is my littlest sprinkling some glitter in my bathtub....(don't even ask me WHY there was glitter in the bathroom to begin with?!?!)

Ohhh pretty!!
Glitter glitter everywhere....and I am sure I will be finding it for a long time to come....
In these pictures Lauren was having a bit of a "googlie" eye day. She has exotropia so her eyes wander mostly just when she is tired....We are not ready for surgical correction just yet so she is monitored every six weeks and wears glasses for nearsightedness.
Here is my card for the fun name challenge (CNFS) I do with my CCEE group. Once a month we pick someone with a fun Splitcoaststampers sign-on name and create a card for her. This month it is Stamps'nCoffee...so the challenge was to make a coffee themed card .... AND if you can find a way to add something stamp related on your card like a image of a rubber stamp or similar, that would give you extra bonus points (GRIN...I LOVE bonus points!!!)

Joycelyn was one of my first SCS friends and I just love her--so this was so much fun!!
I used the My Favorite Things set called Hot Stuff for this card...the coffee cup worked perfectly and I love the sentiment.
I used the faux postage tutorial on SCS to create stamps. You can find the tutorial and template for the stamps here.

I stamped the coffee mugs on celery cardstock and blush cardstock and paper pieced the polkadots (I know...batty idea!) Then I went over the green and blush with Copics (which totally made the paper piecing seem redundant!) Oh well, even though I had a round about way of accomplishing this---I still like the end result (I just could have saved a bit of time!)
I embossed the sentiment along the bottom with white ep. I love how that pops!

Here is the close up of the stamps! Stamps n Coffee---mission accomplished!

You can see all the other creations the fabulous CCEEers made here (on Monday!)

Materials: Hot Stuff (My Favorite Things); cardstock-white, blush blossom, black (Stampin' Up!); designer paper (unknown); Brillance black ink; Copic markers; ribbon (Offray); silver cord (SU!); silver eyelets (SU!); circle punch (SU!); Kraft Edgers Postal scissors; corner punch (Creative Memories punch); white embossing powder (SU!); Versamark; dimensionals (SU!).

Stay tuned: Super HUGEGANTIC Blog Candy coming this week!

Thanks for stopping by!