Pretty Sketchy!

I hope you're all recovered from the excitement of yesterdays CUTE VIP Collection. It was seriously, seriously a cute one.  I'm pre-posting, so I'm not sure if they're gone already, but my guess is they'll go lickety split!  At the most recent release, I hadn't had a chance to ink up the new Pure Innocence: Firefighter Girl and oh she's too cute with that huge helmet and those tiny pigtails. 

I paired her with some bold patterned paper from the new My Mind's Eye Collection.  And added a POP of black ribbon.  I had to *grow* the size of the card called for in this week's sketch, but I think if you look, you'll see this week's sketch hiding out in there. 

I subbed in the Simply Scallops Medium and the File Tab Die-namics to suit my project this week, and the same goes for you....if you don't happen to have these particular Die-namics, just create within the spirit of the sketch and add YOUR version to the Splitcoaststampers Galleries by Tuesday the 28th for your chance at a weekly prize.  

So far, I've been able to keep up with the WSC this year, we'll see if February Vacation does me in and puts me terribly behind.  So, if I slack in the next round, you'll have to forgive me, after all, I'm on kid time this week and I'm trying hard to be a Mom who says "YES" instead of "in a minute...." 

Have a great week everyone!  I hope you get to squeeze in a little crafty time if your kids are out of school this week.  Its worth that extra cup of coffee and a little late night stampin'!

VIP Collection is HERE!

Yee-haw people! I'm so excited about this month's VIP Collection, this month's Collection is Country Charm and features TWO Pure Innocence images and TWO Die-namics sets.  Of course, since it is a VIP Collection, you'll also get a free, exclusive, otherwise unavailable sentiment set which coordinates with both of the stamps in this month's collection.

These VIP Collections are known to sell out quickly, so if you think you'd like it, I'd recommend scooting right on over HERE and picking up yours before they're gone!  

I've used the little cowgirl, as well as the Royal Rolled Rose and the horseshoe charm.  I cut it from a piece of aluminum (you can buy craft sheets at your local store, or you can get crafty with a Diet Coke can. I chose the precut craft sheets) and then cut a piece of thin cardboard to back it for durability.  

Here's a closeup of the Die-namics I used. I love all the dimension on these roses. This is certainly a card that would have to be hand delivered, no envelope treatment here! The little girls I mind oohed and ached over this cutie, she was a big hit with the five and under crowd! 

Here's a peek at all the elements included in this month's AMAZING VIP Collection.  

Okay, now Giddy-Up on over HERE in the MFT Boutique to pick up yours! 

See you tomorrow for the WSC!

Wrapped, and Rolled!

Today for Feature Friday instead of my usual video, I've done a non-card item. I've been spending a lot of time lately perusing Pinterest.  Looking for things to cook, things to wear, beautiful quotes, sometimes, sassy quotes too!  I also keep my iPhone handy for inspiration when I'm out and about, most especially at Target, looking for decorating ideas, color schemes etc.  I've been enjoying making things "other" than cards lately...  they're just tricky to photograph. 

I've seen, and loved so many of these yarn wrapped wreaths, and as luck would have it, I had a sweet coupon for Michael's and got this one for only a few dollars.  I used to knit before I started paper crafting, so I love the idea of combining both into a little home decor.   I added some white and grey yarn too and got this wrapped up while watching my new favorite show...  Big Bang Theory.  I'd say it took only about 30 - 40 minutes to get it all wrapped up alternating about every two inches.

Then I warmed up my hot glue gun and got ready to cut felt! cutting. I grabbed white, grey, red and black and chose the Loopy Bloom Die-namics, Large Rolled Rose and the Rolled Scallop Flower for my Die-namics.

Wouldn't this be cute switched out for easter with brighter colors? Or what about a Christmas one using the Prima Donna Petals, and adding in some green felt.  I only wish I'd finished this up a few days earlier, it would have been fun for Valentines Day.  Looks like I've got one more trip to the craft store in my future, this time for a little wreath holder so I can tuck this on my mantle. 

Have a GREAT weekend!  Hope you get some crafty time!

Wednesday Stamp Club

Its Wednesday again, which means it's time for the My Favorite Things Wednesday Stamp Club!  I've got a pile of *new* patterned paper from My Mind's Eye that I'm so excited to play around with.  I love having the sketch as a jump start to my projects, it really speeds up the creative process! 

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I used this week's sketch to create a card for my little niece who just turned TWO!  I turned this sketch up on its side and (okay, maybe I omitted a panel...) I've added a little bit of the Simply Scallops Die-namics under the main rectangular panel.  The number "two" and the "Look Who's" are both part of the By the Numbers Stamp Set and Die-namics. I elongated my Mix & Match Banners Die-namics using this technique.  Then I rolled the finished piece around a pencil to put some wave into that pennant and secured it with a glue dot to hold it in place.

Here's this weeks sketch, and I hope you'll play along.  All you have to do is add your sample to the Splitcoaststampers Gallery by next Tuesday at noon EST for your chance at the weekly prize.

You'll find a list of all the designers with samples to share on the MFT Blog.

Teacher Valentines

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This makes the third post in 24 hours and I don't ever do that.... but I'm guessing that I'm probably not alone in being LATE with my Valentines projects.  If you're in the same last minute panic, here goes!! These are the times I'm SO glad that I stockpile paper, and ribbon and oh yeah, chocolate. When you untie the ribbon and pull, out pops a Hershey bar.  Sweet!

I've honestly never made one of these candy pull treats before, and I have no idea why not?  What a handy little idea!  Using my Scor-Pal and my Vertical Greetings Stamp Set and Die-namics and the heart from Homespun Birdhouse Die-namics voila, a sweet treat for my son's teachers.  I've got to pull the second one together after dinner, but phew, I'm getting close!

You can find the instructions for these pull treats here from my friend Beate at Splitcoaststampers.

Photo Frame Whiteboard

I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest lately, looking for ideas.   Ideas of crafty things to do, ideas of tasty things to eat (so many good recipes) ideas of pretty things to buy, nice ways to organize, helpful cleaning hints. When I pair outfits in the morning I've been trying to think of things I've "liked" on Pinterest and how to re-create the look. 

So, I ran across a pretty picture frame whiteboard a few weeks ago, and added it to one of my Pinboards.  And I often keep a handy stash of frames around. This pretty patterned paper is from Crate Paper: Paper Heart. I ran my By the Letters Die-namics through with corrugated cardboard and cut a tiny banner with the Mix & Match Banners Die-namics.  this is totally easy to do, and really practical. Go ahead and make yourself a little photo frame whiteboard out of your patterned papers, dies and stamps, you'll LOVE it!  To use this as a whiteboard, all you'd have to do is write with a dry-erase marker and write on the glass!

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The oversized flower is created with the new Botanical Beauty Die-namics.   I'd planned to make this for my stamping area to leave myself important notes about deadlines and assignments!  However, now that it's done, I'm going to tuck it into a basket of goodies I'm preparing for an auction at my kids school.  I hope its helpful for homework assignments for one of the girls!

Valentine Time....

The guys have been very busy building their cars for this years Cub Scout Pinewood Derby, I've been taking advantage of some extra crafty time to work on their valentines!  If you're watching the Red Carpet tonight, you too can put all your goodies to work for some quick valentines for your family...

I was so excited when my package of My Mind's Eye 6x6 patterned paper pads arrived. This one is On the Bright Side. I love the assortment of woodgrain papers, this red barn one is amazing! I paired it with a bit of denim and this hot and trendy chevron.  I reached for my printouts from former Wednesday Stamp Club sketches, and gave this one a whirl again.   I warned you, I love this Vertical Greetings Stamp Set - and see, it even works for masculine cards!

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I did some digging around in my stash bins for the next card which I created for my husband.  I found this houndstooth and this red with white polka dots and white with black polka dots. I added in a bit of the new My Mind's Eye, this whitewashed wood and again that fabulous denim.  I paired Just the Ticket with the Open Scallop Doily Duo Die-namics cut from corrugated cardboard. 

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I've got the third valentine to share, this one of my littlest son.  He's still young enough that I can go *cute* with him and I think he's going to enjoy this sweet love-dovey pinwheel. I've use the Perfect Pinwheel Stamp Set and Die-namics.

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I finished off the inside because that pinwheel didn't leave much room for a sentiment. I added the sentiment to the You Move Me Die-namics. 

Okay, Valentines for hubby and kids - check. Now, off to work on valentines for teachers. So. Very. Behind this year.....

Feeling Sketchy?

 I hope that you've had a chance to place your orders for the new release over at My Favorite Things.  I was tickled pink that my new favorites worked just perfectly for this week's Wednesday Stamp Club.  Are you playing along? Well if not, there's no time like the present to jump right on in!

I've paired patterned paper from October Afternoon along with the Vertical Greetings Stamp Set and Die-namics.  I die-cut the Die-namics Botanical Beauty and then coated the petals with Picket Fence Paint.  If you haven't noticed, I'm loving grey lately.  You really *must* pick up some of this twine.

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I've done my little banner extension trick and then applied the longer pennant sideways across the layout.... here's my little video tutorial showing how to extend them if you don't know what I'm talking about. 

Okay folks, I'm off to clean the *disaster* that has grown on top of my desk after my stamping marathon from Teaser Time.  I hope YOU have lots of stamping time, and I can't wait to see what you've picked up from the new release!  If you don't hear from me, I'm lost somewhere in the mess of my stamping area...

February's New Product Tour

At last, the new release from My Favorite Things is here! I've had a blast preparing for this month's release, and made a total disaster of my crafty area. (That's usually a sign that I've had a lot of fun!)

All of us on the MFT Design Team are participating in our New Product Tour this evening. We've each selected a new stamp set to work with and by clicking over to the MFT Blog you'll get to see all the new set graphics, you'll have direct links to each of the new products, and you'll see which designer is working with which set.

Tonight I'm working with Pure Innocence: Violin Girl, but I've also added some details with the new Finishing Flourishes Stamp Set and the new Botanical Beauty Die-namics. I always have such fun dressing up my little Pure Innocence girls.  Her dress is paper pieced with a tiny scrap from this Authentique Patterned paper 6x6 pack.  The sketch I'd originally used here is from the Deconstructed Sketch, but I omitted one of the panels, and of course had to tuck in a bow... I'm really a sketch tweaker. (Oops.)

I've mentioned here before that when it comes to embellishments, I don't really stock up on pre-made flowers.  I like to create them using my Die-namics.  In particular, I love creating them from ledger or text printed paper.  Now, I've got a fun stamp set that is amazing for kicking those up a notch.

I've stamped each layer of the Botanical Beauty Die-namics with the largest flourish from Finishing Flourishes in Distress Ink.  I also did the same treatment on the ivory card stock which I die-cut with the Simply Scallops Border Die-namics. 

I hope you've had fun with this week's Teaser Time and I hope you've found a few items that you'd love to come home with you this month. You'll find all the latest stamps and Die-naics HERE in the MFT Boutique!

Die-namics Feature and Pre-Release Pep Rally

Oh my goodness! I'm so excited to share a project I've been working on ALL weekend.  And I do mean all weekend.  This was so fun to work on, and I'm going to be sort of sad when I pack it up and mail it off to it's final destination....

You probably know that I'm in LOVE with Die-namics dies.  And if you're a faithful collector of the MFT Die-namics product line, you already have many of these elements in your collection too.

I picked up this printer's tray at Michaels.  I was astonished to find it in the clearance area? WHAT?!  It has been patiently sitting on my crafting desk waiting to be filled.  And the new Vertical Greetings Die-namics was *just* the right item to kick off my craft-a-palooza.  Here's a full look at the finished product and then I'll walk you through all the items I used to pull this together....   Patterned Papers are from Glitz Design: Beautiful Dreamer.

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Here's the first two panels.  I'm using Vertical Greetings stamp set and Die-namics (available tonight!).  I did shorten the length of the Die-namics in order to fit in this square.  note: You can see how to quickly and easily shorten any Die-namics in this video  The second square has a Cavas Corp Mini Kraft Bag folded in half, and embellished with the Die-namics Butterflies die.

Here's the second set of photos. For the next slot, I've cut the Flat Bottom Clouds Die-namics with Puff Cloud White Felt, the bird is from Homespun Birdhouse Die-namics and then I've added a tiny Woodgrain Fence Die-namics.   

The top right hand panel uses the Die-namics 3/4 Rosettes. In order to get the really teeny one, I cut 1/4 inch off the width of the patterned paper after die-cutting, then cut that in half and used two teeny strips to assemble the rosette.  I {heart} the way this trio of rosettes came out.   note: If you haven't assembled those before, here's a quick video showing you how they work.  

The next panel uses the Sew Nifty Stamp set and Die-namics and I've wrapped my spool with the new Twine in Shore.   Then, the new, and very, very loved Botanical Beauty Die-namics (available TONIGHT!)  I've stamped each of the blossoms with the new Finishing Flourishes in Distress Ink.  Personally, I like antique linen.  I love the way it dresses up a bit of plain ledger paper to make a really lovely flower!

The next little panel uses the Die-namics By the Letters.  I cut out MFT and then painted them with Picket Fence Crackle Paint.  Once dried, I applied a light coating of Distress Ink.  The next panel uses the Pearls of Wisdom Stamp Set and a bit of Simply Scallops cut from burlap.

note: You can see how to cut fabric (including burlap) with your Die-namics with perfectly smoothed, non raggedy edges in this video.

I've cut two tickets with the Just the Ticket Die-namics and stamped them with two of the coordinating stamps.  The word ticket was colored, just ever so lightly with my R11 marker and then given a generous helping of distress ink.  The ticket tucked behind has the tiniest heart from the Notched Tag Die-namics stitched onto it.   The next panel uses the Eiffel Tower Die-namics and cluster of pennants created using the Mix & Match Banners which I've cut longer using this technique here....

Oh my goodness, you've made it to the end! Hooray! Here's the last two panels.  I've used the sweet and tiny Die-namics Open Scallop Doily Duo and added a small burlap heart cut with the heart from Homespun Birdhouse Die-namics.  The very final panel uses one of my all time favorites, Own Your Story.  

This was a total blast to make, and I'm telling you ladies, collect those Die-namics!  I'll hope to see you tonight over on the MFT Forum for tonight's New Release Party and a little shopping over in the MFT Boutique.

Be sure to stop by the MFT Blog for a full listing of designers with previews for you today.

Meow!

It's Pure Innocence Preview Day - hooray!  That mans that the new release will be tomorrow, Tuesday at 10pm EST.  We hope you'll join us on the MFT Forum on Splitcoast Stampers for our monthly New Release party from 8-10pm EST. It's your chance to visit with your fellow MFT fanatics, and get to know the MFT Designers. Oh, and right, there will be PRIZES!  You won't want to miss it.

Today five Pure Innocence images are up for previews, I'll let you in on a secret, I am *not* a cat person, but this sweet image, Purrfect stole my heart and was the very first one up for a good inking!

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I'm rummaging my paper bin again, this is another My Mind's Eye 6x6 pad and I used the oh-so trendy chevron pattern for her little dress.  I'm using the newest Sweet Sunday Sketch for my layout this week.  Karen's doing sketches every other week - which is great, gives me a little longer to get it done!  I'm using the charm from the new Pet Charms Die-namics.  I added a bit of blue card-stock to the back of the die cut piece, and added a twine bow, then coated the entire piece with Glossy Accents for a "faux" epoxy look. 

Be sure to visit the MFT Blog for a full list of participating designers today!

What's the 411?

Let the telephone fun from My Favorite Things continue with this month's á la modes!  There are two of these fabulous girls previewing today, but I had to ink up this one with her iPhone. I tried to paper piece it to look just like mine, and of course, if this girl is me, then she's wearing jeans. I'm a jeans girl all the way!  Lucky thing I work from home....  If you're not familiar with paper piecing, you can see how to create this effect here..

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The sentiment is tucked onto the Mini Tabs Foursome. I've made some of my extended tabs using *this* technique and my Die-namics Mix and Match Banners.  I'm having so much fun with the new Botanical Beauty Die-namics (again I'm using just the two smallest blooms and finishing off with a shiny pink button). I've got a bit of Shore Twine threaded through the button (my latest twine favorite...)

Be sure to hop on over to the MFT Blog for a full list of designers with previews for you today!  

Introducing Vertical Greetings

I am really, and I mean REALLY in love with the stamp set I'm previewing today. It is called Vertical Greetings and let me just say, its beautiful.    

For my first preview today, I'm sharing some Project Life filler cards I've created.  I'm going to be working on a 12x12 page with my aspirations and goals for 2012.  I love this quote "Don't follow your dreams; chase them" because you've got to work to make things happen in your life!  I've created a coordinating journaling card with the Mini Tabs Foursome, the Mix and Match Banner Die-namics, the Teeny Tiny heart from the Notched Tag Die-namics and the sentiment is from Just My Type.

I had so much fun making these two cards, that I decided to make a full 12x12 Project Life page with the scraps I have leftover from this fun paper pack from Lily Bee: Head over Heels. Rather than my usual blow-by-blow of the week, I've made a page for my 2012 goals.  I find that I'm much more accountable to these things if I actually publicly proclaim what I'm working on....  

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I've added LOTS of my Die-namics elements to this page including the Butterflies Die-namics, the Solid Bracket Border Die-namics, the By the Numbers Die-namics for the "2012" and added all my typeface elements with the Typewriter Alphabet.

It was so pretty before I went and ruined it with my messy handwriting... here it is complete with my journaling...

This set also makes pretty beautiful and inspirational cards too.  I've paired the stamp set and Die-namics with my new Canvas Corp mini kraft bags and these sweet little mini clothespins. Corrugated cardboard accents created using the Paper Dolls Die-namics and the Solid Bracket Border Die-mamics.  I've added a teeny tiny button using the Button Quartet Die-namics too. 

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This, is my very favorite stamp and Die-namics from this month's release! Look at the four amazing sentiments included....

Thanks for sticking with me through a MARATHON post! Be sure to visit the MFT Blog today for the full list of designers with samples for you today!