MFT Previews Begin - Don't Miss Your Chance to WIN!!!

The previews for My Favorite Things February release will begin today! And I've had the great pleasure to play with the sets, and I'm really excited to share my previews with you! I'll have posts Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and then again for the Shop Hop Wednesday night!

And let me say, you're going to want some shopping money for the release!

So, here a few chances for you to score!! Check it out....

Don't miss out on the chance to win a $15 gift certificate so that you have a little extra shopping money right?? Be sure to enter this week's Wednesday Stamp Club Challenge - to alter something, or create a piece of home decor. You can read about the challenge HERE

You'll also want to BE SURE to enter the MFT Guest Designer Contest. It is hosted by Cindy and Frances this month, and it is your chance to win the ENTIRE March Release, and to join us on the Design Team for one month, participating in next month's previews!! You'll find all the details on the here!

Also, be SURE to stop by the Release Party on Wednesday night beginning at 8pm EST. The virtual party will be HERE. Kim is always super generous with the give-aways, and trust me when I say that the convo will certainly make you laugh. So, whether you've never been to a release party before, or if you haven't been in a while, or if you're a true junkie and never miss it, I can't wait to see you!!

Well, Hello FRIDAY!

Hooray for Fridays! (Can you tell I'm excited...)

This week, Stamping Bella's Bellariffic Friday is all about Birthdays. And seriously, as a cardmaker, how is that I never ever have a card at the ready? What is wrong with me?

In my big cleanup last week, I found a stash of this Sonoma paper from Scenic Route, and decided that I loved it with this scrap of Crate Paper (the kiwi colored herringbone paper....)

And I hadn't gone "original Bella" in a while, so I told the Huggabuggs I'd be back soon and let sweet little Cuppacakeabella and started playing. The sentiment is from Rumball with Candle.

I'm loving that we get to announce the following week's challenge each Friday - I really HOPE that it gives you all a little more time to play along --- right?? Next week's challenge is a sketch, created by our very own Shannan! You have until Thursday, February 4th at 5pm EST to email your sample to Emily to be included in next week's roundup.

I'm headed over to Blogabella to check out all the samples from my friends the Bellariffic Babes. I'll meet you over there after I grab myself my ritual, large Friday morning coffee.

Got Giggles?

After my flubbed attempt at the Mojo Monday sketch last week, I was determined that I'd try again this week, and not mess it up. And then I saw the cute sketch for this week and there's a circular option too! Perfect!!! (.....can you hear me singing?)

A few months ago, Stamping Bella released this sweet Giggle definition stamp, and obviously I had to have it. I say obviously because if you read here with any regularity, you know that *giggle* is my word. I use it when I'm being sassy, or making fun of myself. Which, is sort of a lot!

And, to make it a really "me" card, I reached for all pinks and black - I haven't done one of those in sort of a while. And usually my cards are loaded with images to color, I must say that it was nice to get out of my own head and try something new, clean, graphic. After all, that's why we do challenges, right?

In place of the three button combo on the sketch, I used a glitter covered heart and added a twine threaded button.

This tiny sketch was just the right opportunity to put my new PTI polka dotted ribbon to work. Its very narrow width compared to the wide stuff I've been working with lately. I'll admit that I'm a little freaked out that half of the polka dots don't show when I finished the bow, but I'm trying to ignore it....I think its taunting me.

You'll find this Giggle stamp as well as many other definition stamps as part of the Miss Mint line over at Stamping Bella.

By the way, for any scrappers that might be reading here, did you see that there is now a Scrapping Bella too? Be sure to check it out.

Also, last call for this week's entries for Bellariffic Friday. This week's theme is Birthday. Please tell me that I'm not alone and that you too are scrambling at the last minute to put together a birthday card? Lets get ahead of the game and make one for your stash box! Send a photo of your submission to Emily Thursday by 5pm to be included.

Remember, Bella Bucks are awarded to one lucky participant, and also to one lucky person who comments on the weekly roundup. I know of at least three friends of mine that have won Bella Bucks for playing along! HOORAY! So, what are you waiting for!

I'm just sayin'

I gave fair warning as soon as the Beloved paper arrived in my house, that I'd be hard pressed to walk away from it. And, then I think I used it on every project I used for about a week...

I seem to recall the same feeling about the Cosmo Cricket Early Bird paper...and I still haven't been able to walk away from it.

So now, all I'm saying is that I just got in my order from Jacksonbelle Embellishments - Was that SO fast or what? And friends, I am IN PAPER LOVE. Pink Paislee Cupid Collection I grabbed two sheets of each pattern, and its adorable!!! I also picked up some Zva Creative goodies - after all I didn't want the paper to be lonely!

Thanks to Lindsey for some super super fast shipping! I'm so excited to play! Off to fire up the Keurig and get going!

Check it out. And, well, don't say I didn't warn you. You're going to see a LOT of this paper, till I use up every single piece.

MFT's Wednesday Stamp Club

Kim asked me last week, if I'd host the Wednesday Stamp Club for MFT, and of course, I was more than happy to oblige!

Wednesday Stamp Club is fairly new, so I thought I'd mention it here just in case you hadn't yet stopped by.

Its a great chance to play along in weekly challenges, sometimes hosted by Kim, sometimes by girls on the team. There's a prize offered weekly, and the girls on the MFT Forum are always there to chat, give encouragement or just make you laugh! Here's a direct link to this week's thread

Here's a quick peek at my project - which is my sample for the challenge. The challenge, is to create a piece of altered art or home decor. I hope you'll get inspired by the challenge, and play along - you can add your sample to the Mr Linky on Kim's blog until Tuesday, February 2nd at midnight EST.

I'll admit, I'm crazy addicted now to playing with iMovie. So I've done a little video tutorial that will show you more details on my little altered canvas.... You'll spy a few of my favorite products on here, MFT's Bling Bet, Glitzy Glitter, and MFT's Perfect Plaid Ribbon.

And here's a tip, if you plan to become hopefully addicted to your Bling Bet, or your Bling Bers, do yourself a favor and grab a Hot Fix Applicator. Latley I love using mine for custom sentiments, and while I certainly can use my bet and bers without it, I think it would speed it up to just have the right tool on hand. And lets be real.... we know, its all about the tools right?

Stamps for Sale!

Its time to clean house around here! I've got the following stamp sets from Stampin Up for sale. Many have hardly been used, all come from a pet and smoke free home. The prices are low, to just move them!

All stamps must be paid for by PayPal, please email me at basilefamily at comcast dot net and I can send you an invoice. I'll pack as many as I can in a box for you, and will charge you only what it costs me to move the stamps to their new home!

I've begun to move these sets over to PayPal and will complete the process this week. You can find all my ebay listings HERE I'm donating 10% of my sales to The Haitian Project.

Here goes:

$5 Sets

Wishing You
Print Pattern
Wee Watercolors

$10 Sets

All in a Row
Batty For You


$15 Sets:

Always - sold
A Happy Heart - sold
For the Bride - sold

$20 Sets

Define Your Life - sold
Its Your Birthday
Teeny Tiny Wishes - sold!

Guest Blogger - Scrapbook News and Review

Hi everyone! I was asked by Scrapbook News and Review to be their guest blogger this week. How fun is that?

I've lately had a ton of fun adding what I call "Stitched Scraplets" to my cards. Its a great way to add detail to your project from your scraps, and it doesn't cost you a thing! Perfect if you ask me!

Please see my project, which is a little bit of MFT's Pure Innocence love, over HERE

Beary Sweet - TCP Tuesday and a Beary Good Contest!

Welcome to this week's TCP Tuesday. Leigh is our fantastic hostess this week, and she's issued a sketch challenge.

I of course, had to take a teeny bit of liberty, and add some pleated ribbon trim in place of the scallops. I seriously couldn't help myself. The ribbon was staring me down from the desktop saying "Pick me!" and so, the scallop punch stayed on the shelf, and the ribbon got stitched onto the card....

You eagle eyes might notice that this is a NEW stamp set "A Beary Good Year" from The Cat's Pajamas. That dear sweet bear now has a set all of his own. Or is it her own? Well guess what, you all get to decide!

Alma is issuing "A Beary Good Contest" to find that out. We're asking YOU all to name that bear! And the lucky winner, will win every stamp set that TCP puts out in the coming year. Seriously!

You'll find all the contest details on Alma's blog - but get your thinking caps on and name that bear!

Only one entry per email and entries will be accepted for approximately 2 weeks. From January 26th through February 8. In the event that the winning name has been submitted by more than one player, the winner of the grand prize will be selected at random from that group (the other players who suggested the name will receive the stamp set "A Beary Good Year"!)

Send your entry to contest@thecatspajamasrs.com

Be sure to hop around to visit all the girls in The Cat Pack this week for some eye candy featuring the upcoming set which will be available for sale on February 9th - which is

by the way, when Alma will announce the contest winner! And I hope you're so inspired by this sweet sketch that you'll play along with us this week.

Get stamping and add your sketchy sample to the guestbook on Alma's blog. Between new glitter, new ribbon, new buttons and this fantastic new stamp set, come on - you know you want a chance to win some Cat's Cash!!

Chitter Chatter and a little eye candy

Wow, is blogland ever a ghost town or what this week? I will say though that it has been so fun to see everyone popping up on Facebook with their updates, and I've seen quite a few products that I'm antsy to pick up. What is your favorite so far?

This morning, I bit the bullet and placed an order for some new Valentines paper because I figured you were probably TIRED of seeing the same old paper from me over and over again. Truth be told, I was feeling a little uninspired and needed something fresh to work with. I placed an order with Jacksonbelle Embellishments and had a quick email chat with Lindsey, because I goofed and only ordered one of each piece of patterned paper when clearly I need two. (If I only have one, I'm always nervous to cut into it. If I have two, then I can safely dig in...) Can I just say, she's lovely! I'm really excited for my new paper to arrive!!

I've been busy working on samples for tomorrow's TCP Tuesday, as well as a video for MFT for Wednesday. Now I've got to get cracking on my sample for this week's Bellariffic Friday - don't forget, this week's challenge is Birthday!

As promised, today I really do have a little eye candy for you today. This card is made with my October Unity Kit of the month, yes it is almost February, and yes, I know that means these stamps sat around a long time. (...embarassed...) I just love this sweet little church! I added Crystal Effects to the heart on the door and the heart within the sentiment for a little extra POP!

Today it is raining and windy and just terrible. Looking forward to getting home from my son's gym class later today so that I can make a big cup of coffee and get rolling on that Birthday Card for Friday. Have a wonderful day!

I know I promised eye candy today, but I've been busy working on a video for this week's Wednesday Stamp Club for My Favorite Things.

I've also got something big in the works, that I'm very excited about. In case you didn't see my appeal to you yesterday, you can watch it here

In the meantime, I'll ask again. What can you do to help Haiti today? This is what my seven year old has to contribute directly out of his piggy bank. (I'm back with an update, the little guy had over $10 once we counted it all out! Proud Mama moment here.....)

Remember every little bit counts. Please help. I'm loving reading reader comments about what you've been able to do to help the people of Haiti. Keep them coming!

You can read more about the charity that we're going to send our donations to here:

The Haitian Project

Won't you please help?

No pretty pictures today, no new products to share... just asking for your help. We've selected a charity that's right for our family, and there are so many ways to give. Please do whatever you can today to help, with whatever charity is right for your family. As my seven year old likes to say "Never put off until tomorrow...."

Thank you so much. I'm loving reader comments from those of you that have already taken action. Keep them coming. I know that stampers are some of the most wonderful people, and that together, we can make a difference.

(Pretty pictures will resume tomorrow!)

Get twinched!

This week's Bellariffic Challenge for Stamping Bella is to get twinched! And for anyone that doesn't have the actual twinchie product, a 2 inch square panel works just fine too!

I'm excited to see what everyone else was able to fit on a twinch, I was thrilled that my little "head over heels" bug was such a perfect fit!

After coloring her all in with my Copics, I added stickles to her wings for a little shine.

I was thrilled to find a bit more BeLoved from My Minds Eye in my stash o' paper. I can't believe I haven't used it all up yet, but I'm very very close.

All these Valentine cards are making me SO happy! Be sure to head on over to Blogabella to see all the samples from my friends the Bellariffic Babes, as well as all of YOU who submitted this week. Don't forget, that Bella Bucks are awarded at random to one person just for commenting!

Next week - the challenge is to create a birthday card. I don't know about you, but I always need them, and just never have them on hand.

Lookin for Mojo.....

It all began with a scary case of loss of mojo..... I sat down to work, and had nothing. No place to start. And then, I lost a good hour or so "blurfing" around through my google reader. You've been there right?

And then, I drooled over the beautiful samples on Mojo Monday this week. And loved the sketch. Which turned into a hunt for a stamp that fit the sketch.

Which turned into organizing my Bella stamps into their Bella Bindahs. Which turned into buying a new Bindah (I have two that are full.. eesh) and some new storage pockets. Yes. You need them too.

And then, I placed an order for a few of the newest stamps (Eloise is in Love,& Olivia) and picked up a few more Hugabuggs because I'm now addicted to them (Fluey Hugabugg, & Luna the Moth)

In my cleanup, I also discovered that there is a Turtle Tot that I didn't buy yet. So I did. I know, right? A Turtle Tot that I didn't own? That's just crazy talk.

And then at last, I sat down to work on the Mojo Sketch using BeeeMine - I love this stamp, and you might just see it a few more times between now and Feb 14th! But duh, I didn't print it. I tried to just work from memory. (Bad call. Memory, um, not so much.) Once I realized that I had totally fouled up the panel sizes, I decided that I'd gone so far astray that I'd just add another panel, and skip the sentiment.

And lo, and behold. Hello sweet little card - I think I love you!

Don't forget that this week's challenge for Bellariffic Friday is "Twinchies" - if you've got Twinchies, we'd love to see them in your project, or else you can simply use a 2" panel on your project! Samples are due to Emily by Thursday at 5pm EST.

Get some "Lovin' from the Oven"

I am over the moon with excitement about the upcoming Who's That Girl stamp from My Favorite Things. She's called Lovin' From the Oven, and seriously I love it because it combines two things that I just love, cooking and stamping too!!

Tonight several of us on the MFT Design Team have samples of this fabulous new set for you. If you haven't hoped on following links from Kim's Blog you'll want to start over from the top so you don't miss any of the eye candy that's awaiting you!

Today only, you can purchase "Lovin from the Oven" which available as part of MFT's VIP Collection including:

• Lovin’ from the Oven Stamp Set
• Bakery Blend Buttons
• Bakery Blend Ribbons
• Sugar Glass Glitter
• Sakura Clear Glaze Pen
• Plus receive a FREE Clearly Sentimental about Food stamp set

The VIP Collection is a one day offering that allows you to get your hands on the upcoming Who's That Girl stamp set along with a fantastic bundle of products at a fantastic price! (Personally, I can't wait to get my hands on that ribbon bundle and buttons too!) After today, you won't be able to pick up this fabulous stamp set till its official release on February 3rd!

Now that I've shared the details on the bundle... who's ready to see my project?

Last year, I discovered that I really, really enjoy cooking. Who knew? Certainly not me. But, over the course of the last year, I've committed to looking at cooking as an enjoyable activity, rather than a "chore" to be done.

I'm often working from recipes that I've discovered online, which means having my laptop right next to the stove. And lets face it, I'm clumsy, so that's not really a great idea. I'm always worried that I'll spill something. So, I decided, to combine my new found love of cooking, with my longtime love of stamping, and swap out my current (not cute) recipe box with something I'll love using!

I popped right over to my LSS to pick up the Bare Elements Recipe Box. Its an oversized box, and its perfect! (It comes with dividers inside, which I'm working on, but with two sickies in the house, I didn't get as far as I'd hoped this week.)

The oustide of the box is covered with a few sheets of 12x12 paper from the Basic Grey Nook and Pantry collection as well as a sheet of Bo Bunny Double Dot paper. I've used MFT's Snow Cone and Hot Fudge cardstocks, and my beloved Kraft cardstock too.

The box has less layers and "stuff" than I usually add to a project, but as this is going to be countertop in my kitchen, I didn't want layers that would collect dust, or possibly fall off get ragged etc. As soon as my order from MFT arrives, I will however be adding a little button cluster from the Bakery Blend!

All the paper piecing was done with the Nook and Pantry 6x6 pad. I love piecing with these smaller sized patterns, just the right scale! I sponged each piece of her dress to give some added dimension then glued each layer in place. Once the little piece was finished, I gave it a nice coat of Multi Medium to protect it.

I used my Maya Road chipboard letters to spell out the word "recipes" for the front of the box. I hope you'll forgive me if it seems lazy, but I love the look of naked chipboard against the dark chocolate polka dot.

So, I gave them a nice protective coat of Multi Medium from Claudine Helmuth's line and then adhered them in place. This will protect them from grease stains and splatter from being kitchen top and all.

After I'd added the Multi Medium to the letters, I decided that coating the entire box was a good idea, to protect from dust, splatters and just life in general.

Once everyone is healthy, and I've unburried myself from the mountain of laundry, I'll get back to work on the insides of the recipe box, and show you a recipe card I've been working on. I'm so excited about this project, too bad LIFE got in the way of my stamping plans! LOL!

Hey Honey!

I hope you all got a chance to hop through the girls cards for the release of four new Kitty Cat packs at The Cat's Pajamas last night. The Cat Pack had so many great cards, I'm so honored to be on a team with such rockstars!If you're looking for the TCP Blog hop just scroll down a bit, its here....

But truth be told, I wasn't digging my own card. You know how you have those moments when you post that you think, WHAT IS THIS?

And, I wanted to show my love for the stamps, so I started fresh today, using Hearts and Fowers, as well as some fun scraps I had on my desk. Sometimes, you just need to start again. And let that other card go. And I'm okay admitting that!

And besides, this project shows the gorgeous new wide width ribbon that Alma has added to the Embellies section of the store. It is available in Black, Red, Pink and Green. For this card, I tacked it into a ruffly bunch with my adhesive, then stitched it into place.

I also added the new red Glitzy to the petals of my flower for a little shine, and also, yes, because "Hello, my name is Joanne, and I'm addicted to Glitzy!"

Susan is our hostess for this week's TCP Tuesday and I do SO hope you'll play along for your chance to get swanky! You'll find all the details, over at Susie's place.

Feeling much better about today's project... hope you all have a GREAT day and thanks for stopping by!

Nothin' but a Glitzy Glitter Love Monkey

I've been home today with a sick little boy and a sick hubby too, so my post today is going to be super quick....

The Cat Pack has lots of eye candy for you tonight featuring four new Kitty Cat Packs from The Cat's Pajamas. This value packed product set contains your choice of one of these four stamp sets:

Be Still My beating Heart
Loving Mew
Puppy Love
Hearts and Flowers

along with the Sweet Thing Button Assortment and Glitzy Glitter! The button assortment is truly delicious with all the shades you'll need for your valentine cardmaking.... and glitzy. Um? Need I say more? I think you know how I feel about the Glitzy - I love it!

If you didn't start up at Susan's place, be sure to pop over to visit her so you don't miss anything along the way!

I used Hearts and Flowers for my card tonight, and loaded that heart shape up with the bright pink glitzy.

Now, be sure to head on over to visit Tracy - the next stop on our hop tonight. Me, I'm back to cleaning up after the sickies patrol. bleech. Have, fun, go shopping to cheer me up okay? *giggle*

Dinner Time Calendars

Last night, I attended a little ladies night out with the girls, to celebrate for a dear friend who is expecting her third child. The hostess had a fun idea to put together a little calendar - and we could all sign up for a night to bring dinner to the family.

And of course, my MFT templates were just perfect for the job! Since the the gender of the new baby is a surprise... I thought it would be fun to have one Pink calendar, and one Blue calendar.

I printed the large sized template onto white cardstock and then trimmed off just outside the borders. Since I happen to have sort of a ridiculous stash of patterned papers it wasn't hard to pull a few

pieces that were just right for the project.

Since I didn't need the "notes" section for this project, I used that little section for an added swatch of patterned paper, and I created a flower bloom with a paper punch, a twine threaded

button, and a paper curlie-que and some punched leaves. In my little closeup shot, you can see that I stitched all the edges, and then gave a dabber with my vintage distress inks to soften all the edges.

For both calendars, I stamped the name of the month with the "Make the Date" stamp set, and then I stamped out the word "Dinner" with

the "Alpha Dot" stamp set.

Its a great set for custom, quick sentiments. I punched the letters themselves out with a 3/4" punch, and then added a matting with a 1" punch. Easy peasy!

For the March calendar, I used a little baby boy theme with the October Afternoon "Ducks in a Row" paper. Again, who knows what the baby will be... I can't wait to find out!

I kept the layout the same to streamline my production. The Alpha Dots were stamped in Soft Sky ink. Instead of my little flower treatment, I used a set of chipboard alphas to spell out baby.

After I finished the calendars, I backed them each with a piece of chipboard (You know you'll often find a lightweight piece inside your 12x12 patterned paper packs.) Then I added a large piece of magnet to each calendar so that my friend can hang them on her fridge and know who's delivering the goods for the first month with the new baby.

I think that these dinner calendars would also be amazing for anyone who likes to plan out the family menu in advance for shopping or dieting purposes!

So, now that I've got the calendars finished, I've just got to figure out some good casseroles for the THREE women I know who are expecting a new babies during the month of February!! Any ideas??

Beloved Blog Candy winner and Eye Candy too!

I hope you all had a fantastic time playing along with my Beloved Challenge this week! I've loved checking out all your projects as they come in. I'm actually working on another watercoloring piece, but you'll have to wait till MFT's February release to see it (I know, so mean!!)

The winner, as selected by Random.org was #11 - Sharon Holden's sweet Pure Innocence Creation found here. Sharon, I'm sending you a PM through Splitcoast for your mailing address so I can get your prize package on the way!!

There were so many beautiful pieces that you submitted, and I'm just thrilled! Here are a few of my favorite pieces of eye candy for you to look at today! Thanks so much for stopping by today!

clipped from easilyamused-chrisv.blogspot.com

clipped from mylittlecreativeescape.blogspot.com

clipped from stampinghappy.blogspot.com

clipped from cardsbykerry.blogspot.com

clipped from happinessisus.blogspot.com