MFT's Ready for the Tree...Stitching it up

WOW!!! This card was a labor of love...and can I just say I love it?  The idea behind this card has been brewing for a few days, ever since I saw the December Guest Designer Challenge for MFT on SCS which is to use stitching on a card. I knew exactly what Pure Innocence image  I wanted to use, "Sending you a Little Christmas"  (It's out of stock right now but I'll link it as soon as I see it's available again).  I had the idea of creating a scene in my head but it took some time to created the final product. Like I said... it's a labor of love.  I decided I wanted to make a few trees (two with DP and the third with felt).  The felt tree has been hand stitched with Linen Thread as had the tree trunk.  The DP trees were sponged with Always Artichoke and then machine stitched.  I had some help from my mom to do the stitching on the trees... I'm not the best at sewing so I knew if I wanted it to look good, I needed the help on this part.  The snow was sponged with Brocade Blue and then machine stitched as well with a zig zag stitch. The PI has been watercolored with my Tombow Markers and then I painstakingly cut around it with a craft knife so that I could pop it up.  Another labor of love on that one I tell ya!!  I added some Diamond Stickles to the stars, hat trim,  boots trim, as well as Fruit Punch Stickles on the little tree in the sleigh. I then added some Rhinestones, Dew Drops and Buttons as "decorations" on the Christmas Tree. 

I love the whimsical, folky type look that this card has.  I can tell you one thing... I need to brush up on my sewing skills....  Be on the lookout for some sewing on my cards in the future. 

Stamps:  Sending you  a Little Christmas - MFT
Paper: Gina K White, Early Espresso, Echo Park DP, Watercolor paper
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black. Brocade Blue, Always Artichoke
Accessories and Tools: Clear Detail Embossing Powder, Water brush, Tombow Markers, Felt, Linen Thread, Thread, Tombow Multi Glue, Rhinestones, Dew Drops, Buttons, Pop Dots, Sewing Machine, Sewing Needle, Fruit Punch Stickles, Diamond Stickles

Hope you like it!!!!

CDS Sneak Peek - Blooming Bouquets

Hey there!! Welcome to the sneak peeks for December's release at Clear Dollar Stamps!! We have a bit of "spring" to show you in the form of flowers. This fantastic new set is called Blooming Bouquets and has a co-ordinating set of dies! I don't have much felt so my colors for my card were based on the felt colors I had on hand. See the dies in action?? Isn't it great?  I am a flower lover so for me this is great. I know that I'll use both the stamp set and dies again and again.   I've used one of the smaller flowers from the stamp set and stamped it in various colors.  I tried to keept the card clean and simple to show the flowers in all their glory.

Stamps/Images: Blooming Bouquet and Blooming Bouquet Dies
Cardstock/Papers:Gina K White, Basic Black, Melon Mambo
Inks: Rose Bud Memento, Studio G Blue and Lilac Pigment Inks
Accents/Tools: Felt, button, linen thread, Cuttlebug

My second card uses one of Jen del Muro's sketches from October and I was inspired by the DP which dictated everything about my card.  I love how it feels like the flower is popping off the page with it's color.  There are so many flowers in this set that are so versatile and can be used in many different combinations.

Stamps/Images: Blooming Bouquet
Cardstock/Papers: GIna K White, Early Espresso, Bazzill Swiss Dots, Scenic Route DP, MME DP
Inks: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie
Accents/Tools: Crochet Ribbon, Rhinestones, Nestabilities   

Make sure you check out what the other girls on the DT have made with this set.  Candy, Katie, Angela, Christi, Gloria, Lisa, Shell, Linda,  and Barb all have some great eye candy for  you!!! Check it out!!

MTSC101 Friendship warms the heart

How much do I love snow... I love it!!!  Over at SCS, the MFT challenge this week is about what you are thankful for.  I am lucky to be thankful for so many things in life but mostly I am thankful for my great family and friends.  So I made this card in honor of that - friendship.  I've used the MFT set called "Merry Kissmas" - one of my faves.  I know I mentioned yesterday about my coloring meltdown the other night so when I sat down on Wednesday night I decided I need to pull out my neglected Tombow Markers and took them for a ride.  I forgot how much I like them so I think I'll go back and forth between the Watercolor pencils and my beloved Tombows.  I have to be honest in saying that this card is one of the most fun I've had making a card recently.  I love the sketch - Thanks Mercy!!! Your sketches always rock!!! So you've guessed it... My card is for Mercy's Sketch Challenge this week.   As I was making this card, I kept thinking about the lighter DP panel and wondered what it reminded me of... and then I realized... "It's Snowing Gingerbreads" which is this week's Tuesday Trigger at the Moxie Fab World blog.

See... it's snowing gingerbreads... now if only that were true.  (it would make my Christmas baking so much easier). 

SSSC94 From the Snow Family

*** If you are looking for my TSG Sneak Peek - Season's Greetings Post, please scroll down just a tiny bit to see it.

Hi there everyone!!! Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers and friends. I hope you are enjoying spending time with your friends and family today.  Such a beautiful time of year... it's snowing outside today (enough to close the schools today but not enough for me to not have to go to work... I'll tell you that I will have a very slow day ahead of me).  I sat down a couple of nights ago to color up some images and it just wasn't working for me. My coloring mojo was gone.... I literally tore up about 3 different images out of sheer frustration. It was as if I had never picked up a pencil or a marker before.  So I gave up that evening, watched TV, surfed for layouts and then last night I sat down again to color and it worked... My mojo was back!! Thank goodness...  I've colored up "Snow Family" which is a digi illustrated by Lori Boyd. I love her style and am so happy and thankful that I get to play with them now.  I've watercolored the image with my watercolor pencils (after heat setting it) and then I've used Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch from this week.  I love it!!!  My DP is from My Mind's Eye and Echo Park. I was shocked to see how well the colors matched. It's like they were made for each other. Each layer was dry embossed with embossing folders. I also used my "Let it Snowflake" die from MFT to create the snowflakes that I ran through my Xyron Sticker maker machine and then used MS Coarse Glitter.  Love it!!

I hope you all have a wonderful day and that you treasure those you love.

TSG Sneak Peeks - Season's Greetings

Today’s sneak peek for There She Goes features a new stamp set from Chris Dark that is a combination of a Country/Victorian style. These wonderfully illustrated images are perfect for creating elegant as well as whimsical holiday cards for your friends and family! I'm the third stop along the hop today and you should have come here via Alex's blog.  If not, you'll want to head back to the beginning at the TSG blog to see the amazing eye candy.

Can I just say I love this set???  I love the whimsical look to the images - kinda vintagey (I'm pretty sure that this isn't a word but oh well...) yet current.  Love it!!! I chose to use two of the tree images because I love the curved  look of them and I thought they went so well with this week's Taylored Expressions sketch (TESC134).  I've watercolored the image with my watercolor pencils and kept the card relatively simple.

Now it's time to head on over to this set's illustrator, Chris Dark!!! Give her some love - her images are all so amazing!!!

Seasons Greetings is a 4x8 stamp set that includes a total of 13 stamps and will sell for $18.


Would you like a chance to win the Seasons Greetings stamp set? Here’s what you need to do- go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their Seasons Greetings Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own Seasons Greetings stamp set. The winner will be announced Saturday (Nov. 27) during the Release Party Chat.

TSG Sneak Peeks - Penguin Pals

TSG has a big announcement today and it has been soooo hard trying to keep it under wraps!!We are excited to tell you that TSG has joined up with Di Carubia (of Di’s Digi Downloads) to offer you exclusive TSG stamp sets that feature Di’s adorably whimsical illustrations!! For Di’s first TSG stamp set, she has illustrated these penguins that are too cute for words. They can also be combined with a variety of other images from the set for even more versatility and fun!! 

We're so glad you could join us today. If you just happened upon my blog, you'll want to go back to the beginning at the TSG Blog, otherwise you should have arrived from Alex's blog. 

I know for myself that this is a busy time of year and it's hard to keep organized... I like to call my life organized chaos. I can live it but I'm sure it would drive everyone else a little batty... LOL.  So to keep myself a bit better organized, I decided to decorate a journal I bought at Michael's in the $1.50 section.  It already had the great black and white stripes so I decided I didn't want to cover that part up.  Overall, it was a relatively quick and easy project.  I've watercolored the image with my watercolor pencils and then matted it on black cardstock and did the same thing with the Bo Bunny DP.  I then added some ribbon, a button, the sentiment and Voila... all done!! And ready to be thrown into my purse.

The next stop on the blog hop is the amazing Corinna!!! Her power has been out so I'm not sure if she'll be participating or not. 

Penguin Pals is a 4x8 stamp set that includes a total of 16 stamps and will sell for $18.

Would you like a chance to win the Penguin Pals stamp set? Here’s what you need to do- go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their Penguin Pals Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own Penguin Pals stamp set. The winner will be announced Saturday (Nov. 27) during the Release Party Chat.

TSG Sneak Peeks - Wrapped in Joy and Just for You

Hey there!! Welcome to Day One of Sneak Peeks for There She Goes. We have some great sets to show you over the next few days and today's is just the tip of the iceberg. So grab a coffee, sit down and enjoy!!!  If you just happened upon my blog, you'll want to go back to the TSG Blog to start.  Otherwise, you should have come to my blog from Alex's. 

                                                   

One of my favorite things about the holidays is creating handmade projects for those that I love. But one thing to remember is that the packaging is just as important as the gift itself! Torico has done a beautiful job illustrating this tag set that can not only be used for the holidays but is versatile enough to use all year long!

Just For You is a 4x6 stamp set that includes a total of 15 stamps and will sell for $15. Isn't this tag set great?  I decided I wanted to cover a tin that I bought awhile back at Michael's. I love "prettifying" (yup - I made up that word) things to give them that extra touch.  Who doesn't love getting something that you know someone took the extra mile to make right? I covered the tin with some Echo Park DP and then at the top and bottom added brown grosgrain ribbon (I used red sticky tape to secure) and at the top I added what Kim Teasdale refers to as "dingle balls" .  I then stamped the main image in Versamark and Rose Red and then embossed with clear embossing powder.  I cut it out and added it to the tin. At the top of the tin, I've added a wooden snowflake to "top" it off.

We are so excited to share this stamp set with you today! When Torico first showed Jessica her ideas for this set, she was instantly smitten and to be honest, so am I!!! . The three little girls that are included in this set are absolutely adorable and you are going to love coloring in the accessory images that are included!!

I had so much fun making this card.  I bought the DP at a store called Home Sense (similar to TJ Maxx or Marshall's) but unfortunately I accidentally threw out the packaging so I don't know who made it.  I drew my color inspiration from the DP and I've watercolored the image with my Watercolor pencils.  I  sponged around the edge of the main image with Wheat Versamagic Ink. Each layer of DP has been dry embossed with various Cuttlebug folders.   The layout used is from this week's challenge at Sweet Stop Sketch (the twist to this week's challenge was to decorate the inside of the card - which I did do but forgot to take a pic of it).
Wrapped In Joy is a 4x6 stamp set that includes a total of 16 stamps and will sell for $15.

Would you like a chance to win the Just For You/Wrapped In Joy stamp sets? Here’s what you need to do- go to each of the Trendsetter’s Blogs and leave a comment on their Just For You/Wrapped In Joy Blog Hop Challenge post. After you have finished checking out the eye candy and have left some love, return to the TSG Blog and add your name to the Mr. Linky at the bottom of this Blog Hop Challenge post. A winner will be chosen randomly using a random number generator to receive their very own Just For You/Wrapped In Joy stamp sets. The winner will be announced Saturday (Nov. 27 ) during the Release Party Chat.

The next stop on the blog hop is the amazing Corinna!!! I know she'll have some great eye candy for you!!

TSG82 Sitting around...

 Hey there!! It was a quiet weekend on my blog but with good reason.... It's almost Sneak Peek time for November's There She Goes release!! Yeah!!!  This week at There She Goes we have a color challenge for you - Cherry Cobbler (one of my fave SU colors), Crumb Cake aka Kraft and White.  Loving this color combo!! Great for Christmas cards and it looks so nice and crisp. 

Now you're probably thinking that this isn't a TSG image... BUT IT IS!!!  I'm giving you a little sneak peek of an image from one of the sets, Penguin Pals which we will be previewing on Wednesday. I'm a sneaky one aren't I?  Hehehe... Hope you like this bit of eye candy....  This card was relatively quick and easy to make...  Did you notice something??? No DP!!! Yup... I can make a card with no DP (it just doesn't happen very often).  I have a love for all things Kraft... and that also means a love for "That's Krafty Thursday" - loving the fact that Jeanie has a challenge to celebrate Kraft. The layout for my card is this week's sketch from Card Patterns.


Want to play along with us??  To be eligible for the giveaway, you are to create a card that uses the provided color combo then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the Mr. Linky that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (Nov. 29). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!


By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the look out to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG82 so we can check out your beautiful work!
 
See you tomorrow for the beginning of our sneak peeks!!!
 
 

SSSC93 Now listen to this...

LOL... I love how this cute little snow girl has her hands on her hips. Do snow girls have hips?  Hehehe.. Well this girl sure does.  It seems like an appropriate card considering we are getting our first snow as I write this post.  I made sure I knew where my scraper for my car is,  got my winter boots out, bought a new toque (wool hat - I remember when I lived in North Carolina and everyone called toques- toboggans...), bought some new long sleeve shirts (who doesn't love a bit of retail therapy right?). Now I just have to find a pair of gloves and a new scarf to match my new toques. 

Oh right... you're here for my card aren't you?  Just got a little side tracked with the snow falling.  I've used a new release from Skipping Stones Design called "Sassy Snow" and the sentiments from it are hilarious. My favorite one is the one that says "Does this snow make my butt look big?"  LOL.  I kept a sentiment off this card because it was one of the cards I made for someone who asked me to make 20 Christmas cards for them to send out.  Because I didn't know the recipient, I thought it was better not to put the sentiment on.  The layout I've used is from Karen Giron's Sweet Sketch Sunday from this week.  I'm getting it in just under the wire.  Can I just say I'm really enjoying the Snow Days Crate Paper DP?  Loving it!!! 

Well I'm off to Starbucks with my mom for our Saturday ritual and having a bit of girl time!! See you tomorrow.

MTSC100 Congratulations

WOWZA!!! I can't believe that Mercy is at 100 sketches!!!  Congrats to Mercy!!!! Mercy has sketches like no other and I always try to do it each week as they are all so inspirational and I swear they just keep getting better and better! Thanks Mercy!!

I had so much fun with this sketch... even though I messed up one of the panels and made it too big... OOPS! I was trying to do it from memory (have I mentioned I'm getting older?  - let's just blame it on that). OOPS!!! I ordered this cutie a la Mode from My Favorite Things called "It must be Love" and apparently I love it because I accidentally ordered two of them.  Oh well... it's just money right?  LOL. Actually it will end up being a RAK for someone I know as soon as I get it in the mail....  I've watercolored the image with my watercolor pencils and then sponged the edge of the main panel with Wheat Versamagic Ink.  Each layer of DP has been dry embossed with various embossing folders.  And what's another great thing I love?  Jeanie Whitmer "The Spotted Chick" is back in action and so is her "That's Krafty Thursday" in which you need to use Kraft on your card. I've used Kraft to mat all my layers as well as the matting for the main image. Love it!

It's been a great week with a lot of cards being made for someone I know and I'm so happy to say, WAHOO!!! I'm done... 20 cards done and delivered! Now to start on my Christmas cards. 

MOJO165 Feeling Sick?

Feeling a little under the weather?  Well if you are... then this cute set called "Get Well Critters" illustrated by Laurie Wilson from Clear Dollar Stamps is the best.  I have had so much making cards with this set and know I'll be pulling it out again and again.  The layout I've used is this week's Mojo Monday challenge and LOVING it.  I am loving sketches lately - it takes part of the hard work out of it.  Hehehe... Each week, Moxie Fab World has a Tuesday Trigger picture to inspire cards and wow this week's is fantastic and was the inspiration behind the colors for my card.

As soon as I saw the Tuesday Trigger, I knew that the Thrift Shop DP from October Afternoon had just the right look to bring out the elegance with such a fun image. The image has been watercolored with my watercolor pencils.   I kept it pretty simple as I needed to get a few cards made quickly.  My mom hasn't been feeling well this week so I think this card and some soup will be making it's way over to her house.

Hope you have a wonderful day.

GS64 A holiday of Splendor

I can't believe how much I've been posting this week... are you enjoying the eye candy?  :-)  I've been in card making mode because one of my brother's friends who owns a local hair studio asked me if she could buy 20 Christmas cards and of course I said yes... Then I realized I only had about 10 made so of to Santa's little workshop aka my craft area I went and I  have been getting busy... only 3 more to go!! Wahoo!!!  This is one I started yesterday and finished off this morning.  The layout is from this week's Get Sketchy Challenge - I have never participated in their challenges before but I know I will again - yup... I'm addicted to sketches lately.  The stamp set I've used is called Snow Flourishes from Clear Dollar Stamps. It's great for quick easy cards and that's what I need, quick and easy!  I've stamped various snowflakes in different SU ink colors and then as my focal image using the MFT Snowflake Die I made snowflakes. They didn't turn out exactly as expected.  I should have used the more glittery glitter I have than the one I did use for a bit more sparkle.  This card ended up costing me a lot of money.... Hehhe.... I only had a little Xyron (1.5 inches) and it wasn't quite big enough for the largest snowflake so off to Michaels I went and I came home with the 5 inch Xyron... Bigger than I needed but I know I'll be using it more in the future (you can get cartridges to make magnets, laminating etc). 

I have to start getting ready for work so I'll add all the details later.  Have a wonderful day!!!

SFYTT I have a present for you

Lori Boyd has crazy talent and her Puddle Jumpers and Lollipops are the cutest!! I've fallen in love with all of them and wish I had more time last night to play with them all! Lori has a bunch of great Christmas digis which will be getting released in the store any time.  I couldn't wait though - I had to play.  Well I didn't have to... but I wanted to. I can't resist these little cuties!  I had so much fun coloring Tanner with my watercolor pencils. Have I mentioned that I have the Derwent Inktense 72 pack of watercolor pencils on my birthday list?  I'm hoping I get them because I'm enjoying watercoloring with pencils rather than markers right now.   Isn't Tanner's face just too cute?  Kinda looks like he's shy to give the present but you can tell he totally wants to.  The layout I've used is from Jen del Muro's sketch this week which I am sure I will be using again.  I've been busy making Christmas cards the last couple of nights so you'll be seeing a lot of them on my blog over the next little while.  

Have a great day everyone!!! 

TSG81 A book

I've been so inspired this week and last night I sat down to make a few cards that I'll be sharing with you the next few days.  This week at the There She Goes blog, Holly has come up with an amazing sketch challenge and I knew I wanted to play.  I love this School Days DP from Crate Paper so it inspired the entire card.  It definitely fit the theme for using the cute set called "Believe In You".  I've had the set for a few months but haven't had the chance to ink it up and this was the perfect opportunity.  I've watercolored the image with my watercolor pencils.  Have I mentioned how much I love them?  Hehehe... I have a set of Derwent Inktense pencils (the 72 pack) on my birthday list so hopefully I'll be opening them up in the next few weeks.  Each layer of DP has been dry embossed with a variety of Cuttlebug Embossing Folders and then the edges were sponged with co-ordinating inks.  Loving it!!!

Want to play along with us this week?  Here's what you'll have to do.
To be eligible for the giveaway, you are to create a card that uses the sketch provided then come back to the TSG Blog to add your name and a link to your project in the Mr. Linky that is located at the bottom of this challenge post. This challenge is open until the winner has been announced on the following Monday (Nov. 22). The winner will get a $5 gift certificate to use in the TSG Web store!

By participating in this challenge, you may also find yourself in the Trendsetting Spotlight that shines on the TSG Blog every Thursday. We will be on the look out to find challenge cards that stand out and show Trendsetting qualities. TSG stamps are not required to participate in the challenges but are appreciated :)

You do not need to have a blog to be able to participate in the TSG Challenges! You can simply add the URL link from your project after it has been uploaded to your online craft gallery. If you upload your card to an online craft gallery, please use the keyword TSG81 so we can check out your beautiful work!
 

New images at BLD

A few new Puddle Jumper Digis have just been added to the By LORI Designs Shop

I'll be back tomorrow or Wednesday with a card using one of the new images.

Imagine....

WOW! This last week has been a complete whirlwind - I can't believe how quickly it went by!  So much has happened in the last week and one of the most exciting things is that Lori Boyd asked me to be part of her design team!!! Yup - you read that right, I'm one of the newest members of the By Lori Designs DT - Digital stamps. I was shocked when I opened up the message from Lori but was so humbled that she asked me to be on her team.  Thank you Lori!!!

And to top it all off, I was the Featured Stamper over at SCS yesterday!!! A great week indeed!!!

 I'm still relatively new to digital stamps so bear with me but I can tell you I'm loving them and I'm loving working with the Lollipop girls - this image is called Presley and I absolutely love her cute little bunny slippers.  Lori's images are so much fun!! And I'm in love!

For my card (that loosely follows this week's The Pink Elephant Challenge (I woke up early this morning to finish this card as I'd had the image colored for a few days) and once I had the card finished I realized I left off the scalloped edge on part of the sketch.  And if you know me, I always alter a sketch just a tad.... this time I changed it from a circle to an oval to fit this super cute image called Presley.  Isn't she a cutie pie with her bunny slippers (we all have a pair - admit it) and her bunny rabbit.  I've watercolored the image with my Watercolor pencils (my new go to coloring medium - fantastic when working with digital images).  The sentiment comes from the There She Goes set, Polka Dot Pals. 

Thank you so much for dropping by today.

MFTWSC11102010 Cooking up some Love

Put on your sunglasses ladies... I didn't realize how bright the yellow was around the image until just now.. Sorry about that!  Okay... now that your eyes have adjusted I'll tell you a little about my card. I've made the card for the MFT Challenge this week at SCS which is to make a card featuring cooking in some way.   I know I have a lot of loves but I am totally in love with the a la mode line from My Favorite Things.  (Apparently I really do because I accidentally ordered two of one stamp last month when I placed an order - OOPS).  This a la Mode is called "What's Cooking" and she's so cute. (It's currently out of stock so I can't link it)  Now if only I looked that good while cooking... In my dreams I know you're probably telling me. 

The image has been watercolored with my Watercolor pencils and I was experimenting by trying to highlight around the image but looking at it - yellow wasn't a good choice.  Another OOPS! The DP is from October Afternoon's Fly a Kite and the brown DP is from Crate Paper.  Did you check out that whisk?  Isn't it purdy? 

Well ladies, my parents are back in town after a two month adventure in Australia and New Zealand so I'm off for a girls day out with my mom.  (Of course, it's all going to start with a trip to Starbucks!!!)

Let it Snow

WOW!!! It's been fun  as the Trendsetter of the Week over at There She Goes and today is Dollar Find Friday. I had so much fun making this sign for the door and can't wait to make a few more for loved ones.  I know they'll appreciate it. For full details on how to create the project head on over to the There She Goes blog.